#soulmates needs a bit more editing but it's almost done

[queenie-ofthe-void]

WIP Word Game

Rules: You will be given a word. Share on sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that start with each letter of that word.

Thank you for the tag @steviewashere! This game is so much fun I'm glad I get to play again. My word is BAND.

Red is for snippets from my rock star break-up au Homesick (aka a desperate fool).

Blue is for snippets from a soulmates au I just started throwing together a few days ago.

~~~

B: “Better doesn’t mean he’s good enough for you, Steve!"

A: After his momma died, and his daddy grew drunk and violent, Eddie couldn’t stop his pain from connecting. Everything from the smallest shove to hushed slurs passed through the invisible bond, and even though pain connections can’t be controlled, most people only sent their most intense pains. It felt like he sent everything. Any little thing that set him off, the signature crack followed by that same strange, soft comfort settled in his mind.

N: “Nancy mentioned something about her working in the sports department.”

“Becky gets press tickets and front row seats for a ton of games. They go to Blackhawks and Cubs games all the time.” Tone rising, Dustin’s cheeks are flushed, hands clenched at his sides.

“That’s–” Eddie starts, but is interrupted.

“Has he called you?” Dustin shouts at him.

D:  Did Eddie’s eyes linger a bit longer on Steve than Tommy or the other athletes? Maybe. Maybe not. Steve did his best not to think about it too much.

Only play if you want AND if I didn't tag you and you see this, feel free to play and tag me back! Your word is ANGST.

@pearynice @devondespresso @eriquin @katyawriteswhump @werepuppy-steve

@eddiethebrave @estrellami-1 @runninriot

And of course @carolperkinsexgirlfriend <3

[mrspark7777777]

Atp I'm genuinely wondering whether I should just drop BTS and Jikook and just focus on JM, the only one who gives his everything for his work, not even an ounce jealous of anyone and is ready to give his own spotlight to his loved ones. While The negativity I feel from certain members towards him is so high. With JK too, he wasn't able to stay a bit more or visit Jimin during FACE era but got time to travel half world to see Tae. Ik jikookers like JK thus not calling out his bs and only dragging Tae for his double face. Jimin might love both of them so much so he might not be expressing this distaste but Jimin doesn't deserve this bro. When he'll find someone who'll genuinely be there for him whenever he needs him ? Atp the only one who has genuinely supported his all ventures is Jhope. They are the real soulmates of the group not the one assigned by Fandom.

I am so confused by your ask, anon. Is there a different JK other than the one I know? Which BTS do you mean? Because the one I know has member JK who has always put Jimin first. Always protected and defended him even when he didn't need it. Always been there for him.

Did you just miss this part?

Music is almost everything to Jimin the perfectionist and JK has always been there to help him. Be it a listening ear, or vocal lessons. Its literally INSANE to me when people like u come to me to denounce JK for something V did. JK who btw, has always corrected any misinformation thats been laid down by V. JK who purposely doesn't feed the vermin if he can help it.

So anon, what are you on about? Seriously. Here is a post I made ages ago about how well JK shows up.

And God knows i didn't even scratch the surface.

JK wasn't able to stay a bit more or visit Jimin during FACE

Bro, the editing on that Bangtan Bomb is so shady we don't know how long JK stayed. As for not visiting Jimin's promotions a) they were short as hell. we even saw how shocked JK was to find that out during that Jimin live where he asked to come visit and Jimin informed him he was done. So you've conveniently forgotten that JK was asking to go see Jimin. b) Jimin went to live with Pdogg during the production of FACE. We have talked about this alot already but he did so to avoid distractions and I bet you his boyfriend would have been the biggest distraction of them all. So don't be blaming JK for a decision Jimin made. c) last but not least please stop conveniently forgetting just how much JK promoted and supported FACE. Something he never did for any other member.

U wanna stop supporting BTS and JK, you do you. But don't sit there and say JK doesn't care about Jimin or has never supported him because you would be lying.

[mybrainismelted]

Weekly Tag Wednesay!

thanks for the tags @jrooc, @stocious, @michellemisfit, @thepupperino and @doshiart!

Name and ao3 handle: Kat, ,My_Brain_Melted

Current location: living room

Favorite picrew (don't have one? you can skip this or do this one)?

This one was too cute:

What's one thing you want in a picrew?

Better curly hair options, and MAYBE one that admits that some of us are older than 20

Favorite thing you’ve created (or seen created) for the fandom?

Battlefield Chicago, for sure. It's almost done, but it's been occupying huge amounts of space in my brain for too long now.

Why is it your favorite?

Ok, so the style of it is probably not going to be for everyone. But building the world, figuring out the background and the motivations for so many of the OC's has been a huge but amazing exercise.

Did it come easily or was it hard to create?

Oof, definitely much easier in the beginning. I'm trying to get the last chapter written write now and it is TOUGH.

Last ao3 fic you commented on?

Parking Lot Lovers, or Drive-Thru Dick Down by @nymacron

Biggest WIP heartache you’ve ever experienced? Hmmm. There are a few that I'm a bit sad that they haven't been finished, but I try to see unfinished WIPS as opportunity for my brain to fill in the gaps and make up my own ending.

Favorite trope or headcanon you like included in a fanfic? I'm a bit of a sucker for a good soulmate fic

Least favorite? Degradation

Secret or surprising kink or trope? 🤷‍♀️ no secrets here

Describe how you feel after you’ve created something new? That really depends. A quick one-shot gives a very different feel from completing something longer and more complicated. Mostly relief that it's finished I guess, followed by "ugh, everyone is going to hate this"

Top hype man you have that always helps you get across the finish line: Currently my biggest cheerleaders that I need to give a shout out to are @blue-disco-lights and @ms-moonlight-inn

It's been a bad day, you turn to the fandom and you _____? Depends on the day I guess and just how bad. But I have a few video edits that I watch that can usually cheer me up, or I'll dive into a re-read of a comfort fic.

If you were mentioned you are tagged!

other tags under the cut

@deathclassic @celestialmickey @deedala @creepkinginc @crossmydna @suzy-queued @takeyourpillsbitchh @francesrose3 @sleepyfacetoughguy @energievie @sleepyheadgallavich

@mickittotheman @spacerockwriting @gallapiech @gallawitchxx @lingy910y @vintagelacerosette @burninface @wehangout @palepinkgoat @darlingian @i-think-you-mean-reduction

@energievie @spookygingerr

[staybabblingbaby]

Soulmate Garden AU Ch.4 (Lewisia) a1d1

[Caution: These are not full fics, or even full parts of fics for some, these are part of my writing progress archive!]

Concept: Growing up, you knew Soulmates weren't all that they cracked up to be. So when, on your 18th birthday, your skin is painted with a garden of flower buds, you resolve to hide it from everyone. Who had ever heard of someone with 8 soulmates, anyway?

Or; Reader has 8 soulmates and no issue avoiding all of them. It's up to SKZ to show her that while every soulbond might not be made of fairy tales, theirs certainly could be.

Word Count: 237

TO THE UNAWARE: THIS IS A PROGRESS UPDATE OF A CHAPTER NOT REMOTELY CLOSE TO DONE! PLEASE DON'T EXPECT A FULL OR POLISHED PRODUCT HERE

Notes: I am a worm of my word! Going back to our roots w the archive and progress posting! I might be very lazy abt posting the progress bits (I've been done w this for days) But I'm doing it! Was very tempted to post the outline 4 this chapter bc I put them on the same doc, but I'll hold back :p I also need to start thinking of a new summary, I don't like this one :/ Bc of Prior feedback I've gotten, I'm not gonna tag anyone until the chapter is finished. That being said, if anyone wants to be on the in-progress tag list, lmk!

Dividers by @saradika

Warnings: She/Her Reader

Leave me comments or questions or anything! Love hearing from folks <3

Masterlist <3 | Main Part (Unfinished </3)

[Bear w me y'all, 1st attempts are more rough ideas than anything T^T Y'all asked 4 this!!!]

The next morning starts you back on your usual routine. It's a Tuesday, which means a dreaded gym day. You'd wonder why you do this to yourself but you know the answer is more than you'd like to hear right now.

You crawl out of bed in a foul mood, and even pausing to take in your mark can't lift it today. Youre almost surprised it doesn't make it worse actually, as you take in the purple and white blooms across your torso.

You know what they are. Of course you do. You could recite their growing conditions and meaning in Victorian flower language, if you really wanted to. You don't.

Springs and summers spent dogging your mother's shadow in the garden flash by your eyes as your fingers delicately trace droopy bellflowers on your side. Your family garden had been more your stomping grounds than your mother's by the time another petty argument between your parents had put a stop to your shared hobby.

Your father had become convinced that you were taking your mother's side about everything since you spent so much time in her garden. Never mind that the thing was basically yours. You mother had just been letting you do as you'd wished for years.

[Editing Babs Note: Idea to include in 2nd Attempt!]

(Your sister had been right- you'd been asking people about their favorite flowers long before you'd gotten your soulmark. It was bordering on obsession for a long time.)

[3cheers4alex]

Fanfics update:

I've almost finished editing the soulmates AU; I just need to tweak the first few chapters. I'm hoping to have it translated into English by fall, ideally ready for Otabek's birthday. Hopefully, life won't get too hectic. It's an insane amount of work and doing it all by myself is... Yeah. It's a lot.

I've outlined a new long story (not Otayuri) that spans a hundred pages. I'm hoping to be halfway done by mid-September? We'll see. I'm guessing this one will hit the 75k words mark.

Still planning to write more Otayuri—I haven't fallen out of love with that ship. I'm just a bit burnt out at the moment. I'm open to ideas for shorter fics (15-20k words max) and one-shots. I'm not sure if Otayuri week will happen this year, but I might come up with something by then. It all depends on how chaotic life gets in the next few months.

[unohanadaydreams]

I’ve actually written enough Bleach stuff to have an actual writing update. So here:

Unfortunately the Mayuri/Reader/Senjumaru piece is not doing well. The focus isn’t where I want it to be. I had so much fun with exploring the world building and wacky things Senju & Mayuri would do for Christmas that I fully lost sight of the x reader aspect (and tbh focusing on characters at all).

There are two scenes I can probably salvage, but three Im throwing my hands up on. So that’s in limbo until I can figure out what I want from that. Honestly, I’m so stuck with it because I REALLY like focusing on the absurdities the characters are or have already created so I don’t want to cut any of it. But it just doesn’t work for the fic!!! They’re not the focus!!!! But I want them to be!!! There is more word count in the first scene dedicated to a fucked up tree and roomba creature than there is to Mayuri himself, the subject of the scene!!! Why am I like this!!!!

Almost done with a Workaholic!Reader/Mayuri thing. The bones of which I repurposed from an ancient, unanswered request. I’m talking April 2021 old. It’s not long or anything and I just need to finish one scene before it’s done. Whoever requested this, your patience is saintly. I am bringing the purposeful sex pollen but tossing the sequel-feel to that one public fingering post.

Not so close to done with a truly Freak4Freak Reader/Mayuri fic because it’s a bit longer, also basted from old bones. Reader is honestly specific enough to be an OC but I also don’t feel like making this a long form story or committing to fleshing them out more so lmao.

The premise is basically, a scientist from WingBind who really envies the lack of regulation (and HR department) of R&D gets to join an exchange program and live out their horrible dreams post TYBW. Obviously they are obsessed with Mayuri and he is Loving it but also Hating it. Also the R&D cast of characters features more heavily in this and I’m having so much fun with them.

I’m halfway done with a Zaraki/Mayuri thing that would not leave my brain in peace until I started writing it. Zaraki tries to use his body to get what he wants (as always) and Mayuri spirals from how much he likes it. Just normal, really well-adjusted beginnings of a burgeoning relationship.

Lastly, I decided to pick up that Zaraki soulmate AU again now that I’m fully engaged in the fuck it, we ball mindset and don’t care how it reads pre-edit.

And that’s all I’ve decided to take on for now. But I’m having fun with them all (except the first one. Fuck me I’m so lost on the first one. And it’s my own fault lmao)

[amiramorozova]

Soulmates? -werewolf edition- pt. 11

Laying in my bed after being in that room for four days felt like a blessing as I was able to relax but everytime I felt like closing my eyes I kept seeing what we did as I sat up. I questioned if something came out of our time together but I shook that thought off knowing that it wasn't like me to be like that. I knew that it was not going to be that easy. Still when I walked in and sat down in the kitchen Grandma set me some tea down as I took it and had some.

"You've had quite a time from what I heard. Your manager drugged you and only your mate could help you.." Grandma said as I nod while having the tea. I didn't normally do so but I had my feet on the chair as my body hunched with my legs close to me. I was so shaken up by the whole thing. He never did anything outside of my permission..he always asked.. I thought as I had more tea. When my cup was empty Grandma got me more as I didn't want to talk about it. The after affects of a drug was I was antsy but all my mind could think about was my demanding need to have my fated mate..

Grandfather noticed I was antsy and he moved my hair as I was drinking the 2nd drink of tea as I looked over at him. "Your mate didn't mark you.." Grandfather said as I nod knowing that it was true. Grandma knew I had gone through a lot so once my 2nd tea was done she sent me to rest and I did. Honestly my bed felt like heaven and seen there was not anything else I wanted more than stay in my bed.

Two days later I was feeling more myself as I was walking back and I helped out around the home. I was going to deal with a lot and grandma offered me a drink as I looked at her. "What is that?" I asked. "Drink this, if it stays down you're fine if it doesn't you're pregnant." Grandma said as I took it and looked at the drink. I couldn't argue with an Alpha and grandma was a woman Alpha but even being an Alpha she was the one who had dad.. "Bottoms up.." I said before I drank the drink. I wondered how this was going to tell anything but I felt a bit sick just after but I didn't throw up as the drink stayed down. After a few minutes Grandma nod "I see, well then you're lucky." Grandma said

I smiled knowing that was best as I set it down and then walked away but once I went to the bathroom I threw it up because it tasted disgusting. No one knew I did but still I didn't believe this drink was going to tell such a thing and went about my day. I left the house not long after as I went to the market and got some things. I got myself an apple and ate which help settle my stomach.

The drug should be out of my system but could lingering side affects be why I threw up that drink? I thought

I wasn't ready to be with my fated mate and I wasn't ready to be a mother that was for sure. I knew that something was going to happen and maybe someday I would be but not now. That wasn't even a real cycle..it was just a induced heat.. I thought yet as I walked I felt the tingling on my neck.

I realized he was close by but I did not want to get that close to him as I knew that there was a lot still in my head. I didn't know if I wanted to really continue the whole thing yet when I thought about him..the things he did and when his Alpha was in control..just the thought of my fated mate with me like that had an affect on me as I shivered and then before I could get too far I felt arms around me.

"I see you're out and about...glad to see you didn't have too many side affects off of it." He said as I was tempted to just tell him to go away. "You helped me..but I've been doing fine." I said as I felt him lead me to a shade spot where we could talk..or at least I thought he'd want to talk but instead he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. I was shocked, I knew we had kissed quite a bit when I was in my induced moment but while I almost slapped him for doing that I ended up kissing him back. We kissed for a few seconds but when I felt him press against me I pushed him back as I started to walk out. "Don't get the wrong idea." I said

Fated mates...fuck I can't deny him forever but I can hold strong now that the drug is out.. I thought

As I was about to get out of the dark I felt him pull me back as he moved my hair and bit down on my neck as I gasped. He fucking marked me again.. I thought as I knew that he had the last one healed to not connect me to him against my choice. When I got free and he let go I turned to him and I slapped him for that with a growl of my own. "You fucking mark me again.." I said as he put a hand on his cheek and then he walked close. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him as he looked into my eyes. "I won't have another fucking Alpha look at you. There are other Alphas everywhere Amira. Don't be naïve.." He said with a growl of his own

I glared at him knowing that I was having a hard time being so resistant to him after being with him intimately but I still had my dignity and my free will. "You could have just said so." I said as he smirked and put a hand on my cheek. "Now what fun would that be when you're so defiant?" He teased

TagList: @lifeisingrey​,  @houseoftoomanyfandoms​, @mizelophsun11​, @budugu​ ,   @wheresthesunshinesblog  

[maruyaaya]

Would you like to tell us something about the 50k prongsfoot wip? 🙏🏼

YES!!!! holy shit i fucking love talking about my fics. rambling under the cut so i can include some snippets

so it’s titled my calamitous love (and insurmountable grief) and the basic premise of it is that it’s a canon compliant (more or less. i use the term canon compliant lightly) fic focused on james and sirius’ fifth year. originally, it had started as a vent fic for me to write whump about sirius, but then i just kept writing and it just kept evolving. i say 50k but thats a bit of an exaggeration as the fic is currently only at about 40k words, but the issue lies in that i think it’s about 75% done so it’ll likely end up to be like 60k or so words.

it is a very heavy fic and one of the main plot points is that sirius has an eating disorder so it is definitely not a light fic! it also focuses on sirius & regulus’ relationship almost as much as it does on prongsfoot (what can i say? sibling relationships destroy me) and it’s very hurt/comfort.

i mostly started writing it bc i wanted more longer prongsfoot fics. theyre probably (definitely) my fav marauders ships and i wish more people saw how good they can be romantically instead of focusing so hard on the “platonic soulmates” bit. like maybe they kiss a little!! (also you didnt hear it from me, but im kinda a wolfstar hater… i mean theyre fine but theyre so boring to me. prongsfoot 🔛🔝 (elaborating on this: wolfstar is fine and i like the ship fine, but i dont like most fandom interpretations of them and the fandom has made me dislike them. i like good wolfstar characterizations tho.))

the general plot goes from the beginning of fifth year likely to somewhere around sixth year (though i havent decided as i havent written that far and i dont plan fics in advance at all). it includes sirius running away from grimmauld place to the potters and a lot of silly banter between the marauders.

the problem with it is that i started this fic about a year ago (november 2022) and my writing style has changed a lot since then so in order to finish this fic, i need to do a complete edit and revamp which honestly! i would like to do if i have time! i am also working on my long jason gender fic always an angel (never a god) which takes a lot of my free time, but i might return to this prongsfoot fic once that behemoth of a fic is finished.

let me include some random snippets of this fic that i really like!!

my problem is that i continuously create fics and then never finish them when my hyperfixation dies. i plotted out a rosekiller fic with the funniest concept ever and then just never did anything with it and it just rots in my google docs

but anyways!! as u can tell im literally the yapmaster 5000 so if u ever want to ask abt any of my wips or fics, i will gladly ramble. (wait until u hear about the prongsfoot daisy jones & the six au that i started)

[blocksruinedme]

22. describe your writing process from scratch to finish.

28. handwritten notes or typed notes?

44. any writing advice you want to share?

22) my writing process!

be living my life, possibly babysitting or driving (maybe talking about blorbos)

think "hey what if...."

become possessed

from there it splits Version A - the fastest, and rarest, one

A1. get to my couch (or a different laptop place, or a notebook if desperate)

A2. Frantically let words spill out of me, often wishing my fingers could keep up with my brain. It's sometimes almost painful, needing to get the words out

A3. edit for a variable amount of time an post

My first published mcyt was like this - watched ranchers in the crossover at 11am, ideas marinated all day, came up with "what if tango's the key to fix fwhimmy" walking to my car at 5pm, started writing like 5:15 and published at maybe 1am. almost 5k long. Insane. that was MY EX STOLE MY SOULMATE.. | Empires SMP S2 1.19 (rated T) and I'm told also With Their Knife to His Throat (rated M) but I legit have next to no memories of writing that one, I think it was 48 hours from idea to published (4k).

B - normal version. Note: all of this is interspersed with working on a lot of other stories

B1: Have an idea, probably frantically but maybe it builds

B2: Think about it a lot, maybe ideas in a little notebook if they are coming at the wrong times. 

B3: write down bits of prose as they come, do a lot of outline in gdocs. 

B4: start writing from the beginning based on outline but also what feels right - in any given moment, i know more about the story than i did when i wrote the outline

B5: if i’m lucky write chronologically and work through the outline and add things. Often a section isn’t coming and i skip ahead. If it’s not happening, it’s not time for it to happen. To write the way I really want to, I need to know how it ends, so I can have the story build. 

B6: probably fuss a lot

B7: beg people for help and to tell me it’s okay to publish

B8: stress a lot about if it’s good enough and about minor changes i could make

Optional: B9: put it down for 1-7 months (i just published a fic from january, and two of my bang fics are from september and november)

B10: publish it pretty much the same as it was in B8

(I deleted C by adding B9 but already wrote D)

D: Probably just the once

D1: See a prompt for driving after dark and get unexpectedly interested

D2: write 2k of notes while trying to get another story done

D3: Give myself 6 days to write those 2k of notes and then it’s 20k and my longest fic ever and oops needs a lot of typo fixes: The Key to His Problem (rated E)

The editing etc process:

 During every version of this I have a gdoc shared with people and am begging for advice. If i can’t decide on a word when i’m writing and have some flow going, i say “they were all [very] surprised” and leave a comment (or just the brackets) to come back later and fix it. THIS IS MUCH OF HOW I WRITE FAST. The first draft is to get out it out of my head, the second draft is to get it into the reader’s head. SOMETIMES the flow is perfect and i don’t need to do this, but like, idk, 10% of the time? 

A lot of the words in [brackets] will wind up staying as is, but it gives me permission to move on without feeling like i’ve settled. 

Editing sometimes involves a lot of of editing passes, sometimes just because i want to work on it and don’t want to write. This can mean the early parts get soooo much more love. 

Sometimes I print out a fic that has gone through a set of editing and do more on paper. It can be great. I just see the story differently, and it mostly keeps me from adding huge amounts, and i catch errors i didn’t otherwise. 

Usually i put up the ao3 draft a few days earlier and start adding tags and putting in my text (which i do in html) to look at it. The title often comes the day i publish, cause i wait till the end.

28. handwritten notes or typed notes?

typed unless i don't have my laptop. I started carrying around a pocket sized notebook in march and i'm onto my second one. I got it in a Japanese stationery store and got hooked, i have this line in many sizes, here's my pocket notebook -https://www.jetpens.com/Maruman-Mnemosyne-N184A-Twin-Ring-Memo-Pad-A7-Graph/pd/7379 I've written in this baby in the corner of a club cause i had ideas waiting at the bar for a drink.

44. any writing advice you want to share?

You have to get the words out. You have to get the words out. You have to get the words out.

Good words can be, often are, born of less good words.

Don't be afraid of editing! Great fiction generally comes from editing! Put down some fucking words even if you hate them and get to the next part. I do this, I am not preaching advice I don't take. I'll leave a comment sometimes to tell my future self I didn't think they were good words, I just needed them out. It's fine, I survive every single time.

If you don't need to edit, swell! But if you're stuck, just keep writing something -- or if that won't work, or you feel shitty, take a break. Work on another story, do something else, but if you're miserable and slamming your head against the wall, STOP! Don't hurt yourself! Because you shouldn't hurt, and because you'll associate writing more and more with hurt.

Get other people involved. Share snippets with your friends (if you've got an appropriate discord, make a channel for it!) Trade off reading with your writer friends. If you like my writing, know that not a single word I've ever published hasn't been read by multiple other people. My pre-fic writing was generally group works, so that's what feels normal. The idea of publishing with not even anyone to say "Hey Vee, this makes sense in your brain but not mine" is terrifying. You don't need to Have Serious Beta, it can just be cheerleading or really general "point out if anything is a big problem". I found out this week i am a "phenomenal cheerleader" -- your friends, or some kind soul on a discord, don't need to give you literary analysis to say "this part is cool, your fic is good, i hope you publish!"

Fandom is shared joy. Share your joy in every way - cheerleading others, getting other to share joy with you on your works, leave comments, leave kudos, reblog, make happy posts, keep the negativity to smaller spaces, SHARE THE JOY. I've been in fandom legit longer than some of you have been alive and it's always the joy, that's what it always comes back to. Hold onto the joy, that's what will last in your hearts. <3 <3 <3

[aparticularbandit]

several sentences sunday

I was tagged by @spyridonya!  ...whose name I will eventually learn to type out on here.  XD

I will tag @only-freaking-sunflowers (belle if you have agatha/eve/caro/agnes stuff then grabby hands for that), @hahnspoetrywrites, @butimnotasexyrussian, and @our-blood-is-our-ink.  If any of you have things you would like to share with the class please and thank.

Alright, cool, bits and bops of current projects.

I will submit five!

...under the cut because this gets long, but I’ll also tell you what they are in case you don’t want to read:

1) Glass Onion Family Fluff

2) The Nature of Soulmates (next chapter)

3) Agatha/Eve ACTUAL Date (next one-shot)

4) Roisa Soulmate Timer AU Book 4 (...this has been done for almost two years and I really just need to edit it)

5) Noir Fic (which has been done even longer and is on the fifth draft and really needs some heavy revising)

Birdie Dresses Claire which is exactly what it says on the tin.

“Clairebear, I’m going to tell you a secret,” [Birdie] says, wrapping her arms around Claire’s waist and resting her head on her shoulder, “but you’ve got to promise you’re not going to tell anybody.”

Claire couldn’t promise anything right now.  She can’t say anything right now that wouldn’t come out as incoherent mumbling because she’s not sure if she’s comfortable with this or uncomfortable with this.  Birdie, do you even realize—

Birdie begins to play with Claire’s hair, wrapping strands of it around one finger, and if Claire thought she could say anything, she certainly can’t now.  “So you remember how I used to fix everyone’s clothes?”

It’s been a while, but Claire remembers.  Back when everyone had first met, when they’d first become friends, when Andi had convinced them it would be cheaper if they all moved into a little house together, and then they could pull their resources to help each other out (and she’d been right, but it had been weird, like living in a frat house, sometimes, with Duke in the basement and the sort of bro-ship he’d built up with Lionel), Birdie set herself up as their tailor.  It was one of the things she was trying – looking at fashion from the clothes side of things instead of the model side of things – and it helped her to practice on their clothes…and when she got good at it, it had helped them to have clothes tailored to fit each of them specifically, even if they just got cheap jeans from Walmart, because it made them look sharper.  More capable.  And Birdie had gone from tailoring their clothes to making some of her own design, and—

Claire swallows once.  Nods. “I remember.”

“I, uh.  I still have all of your sizes.”  Birdie giggles, buries her head in the slope of Claire’s neck, smiles against her skin, and then continues, “Not just yours, but.  All of us? So sometimes, when I’m really bored, I just.”  The fingers of the hand still around Claire’s waist drum against her skin.  “Peg says it’s good to keep me busy doing something that isn’t Twitter.”  She slumps, pouts.  “Bras are harder to make, but I can do it.”

“You….”  Claire takes a moment, wets her lips.  “You make us clothes.”

Birdie nods.  “Mmhm.”

“And you don’t…you didn’t tell any of us about this.”

Birdie nods again.  “Mmhm.” Her head tilts.  “Well, I think Andi knows, but she asks for stuff from me.  You don’t.  Duke never does.  Lionel does sometimes, but only when he’s already found something he likes and just can’t get it in the right color.” Without thinking, she scowls, bites soft into Claire’s shoulder, hangs there for a second.  “That’s not the same, though,” she mutters into Claire’s skin.

Claire swallows again.  The worst thing about Birdie – the absolute worst thing about Birdie – is that she doesn’t mean anything by this.  Being handsy.  Setting her teeth into Claire’s shoulder.  It’s just her.  And yet Claire still shivers when she does it, like she does mean something when she knows – she knows – she doesn’t.  “So you’re saying you have a bra.  For me.  For this dress you’ve made?”

“I didn’t make the dress.”  Birdie unhooks her teeth from Clarie’s shoulder, and Claire resists the urge to turn to her, to open her eyes, because she already knows the confused expression Birdie is wearing.  “You’re not ready for the dress I made for you.”

Somehow, this does not make Claire feel any better about this whole letting Birdie dress her thing.

“But I made a bra—”

The Nature of Soulmates chapter whatever we’re on now (is it really nine?!)

Outside, a brisk autumn breeze tussles Wanda’s hair, cools the unanticipated heat that now flows through your veins – the opposite of yesterday, when you’d been struck freezing again simply from grazing the thinnest thread of a fragile leaf.  It isn’t silent; it can’t be, with the vroom of cars that speed past, the honking when one driver doesn’t notice that the light has changed as soon as the one behind them would like, the chirping of birds that you can almost make out underneath everything else, if you really think about it.  But that doesn’t mean things can’t still feel awkward, full of things you want to say but don’t or the expectation that Wanda has something to say but doesn’t, because awkward doesn’t need true silence to still be silent.

This, however, is not awkward.  Wanda sneaks glances at you every now and again as she sips at her chamomile tea, and whenever she meets your eyes, her lips curve up in what is almost a smile, although she hides that with her paper cup as much as possible.  For your part, maybe you shouldn’t be staring at her, tracking her every movement, the excitement you can read beneath everything, but you can’t stop.  You lift your thermos, sip at the last dregs of the hot apple cider you’d poured into it an hour or so ago (you still aren’t used to the café’s coffee not being shitty, and you still know better than to pour that much caffeine down your throat on any given day when you don’t want a huge anxiety attack), and smile when Wanda glances over to you in the same motion with her cup, meets your eyes, glances away quickly, and then looks back, meets your eyes again, and holds your gaze.

“So,” you start, not wanting to break the comfortable air that has fallen between you.

“So?” Wanda echoes, waiting for what you might say, both brows raising with the slightest hint of fear.

“Do you, um.  Do you live around here?”  Okay, that’s awkward.

Actual Agave Autumn Date

Eve looks at her text for probably a good ten minutes before sending it, swallowing hard as she clicks the button.  The last time she’d even brought up the idea of a date, Agatha had been extremely uncomfortable, and even though that had, eventually, turned out well, she’d spent a week avoiding her texts and scrubbing dishes until her hands got raw and broke down crying in her hallway. She’d rather not have to go through all of that again.  Hopefully setting the text up like one of those old school notes that she’d passed in middle school and elementary school and that had almost always (fuck Timmy Newton) ended with the warm, happy feeling of the boy she’d had a crush on sending it back with the y circled would succeed.  Of course, her mom hadn’t actually let her go out with any of those boys, but sometimes she’d set up playdates with them (when she was in elementary school) or let her go to dances with them (when she was in middle school, which didn’t really count as a date, but at the time, it’d been close enough).

do you wanna go out with me?

please text one: y/n

That’s not the point.

The point is that hopefully sending it in this format means that Agatha won’t have the same reaction she did last time.  Actually, sending it as a text instead of just dropping it on her one morning, right after she’d woken up and was probably more than a little groggy, is probably also a better idea.  Maybe she should always bring up the date idea as a text.  Give Agatha more time to think about it before she says—

y

Eve stares at the text.  She maybe should have thought this through.

y as in yes or y as in why

The Time of Your Life: Book Four: Love Is Not A Victory March

Michael Cordero, Jr. had never had a strong fascination with hotels like the Marbella.  He knew they existed, but to him, they had always seemed like tourist traps, destinations for people who didn’t live in Florida, meant for an elite sort of people that he and his family had never and would never be part of.  That made it sound as though he had a strong distaste for them, and maybe, to some extent, that was true, but for the most part, he just didn’t think about them.

That was until his timer went off for one of the waitresses who worked there.

At the time, Michael couldn’t have guessed that’s what she was, and in the years since, years he’d spent watching her from afar while he tracked down a crime lord who had grown mysteriously silent until, finally, he’d been connected to the very same hotel where his soulmate worked, he’d found that distaste slowly growing.  His soulmate deserved better, and he couldn’t wait to see her grow into whatever that better would be.

Mostly he couldn’t wait to spend his time watching something other than this stupid tourist trap hotel and its absolutely unattractive current manager with his rippling muscles that looked like they could burst out of his shirt at any moment or his leggy blonde wife who seemed to have no sense of propriety and wore bootie shorts everywhere like she wanted to be seen as a piece of meat. Not that he was one of those misogynistic assholes who thought that women couldn’t wear whatever they wanted, because he was not that.

He was just growing very, very tired of watching all of it.

Until Roman Zazo fell from a window on the twelfth floor and landed with the sharp point of an ice Marlin piercing through his chest.

Then everything seemed to suddenly grow a lot more interesting.

The Story of a Girl (title subject to change)

The sun shone down on the Manor, illuminating its ruins. Once the buildings must have been reminiscent of the ancient Greeks, but now all that remained of those glorious structures were their crumbling Corinthian columns.  Living vineyards filled the grounds, a gentle breeze rustling their branches, and beyond these stood three intact buildings, built of decaying bricks.  Throughout the rows of grapes stood a handful of women who tended the berries, their white robes barely so much as fluttering in the breeze. Some checked the leaves while others watered the still fragile fruit.  Others disappeared from their work into the three standing buildings – most headed to the nearest building for their midday meal.  On the whole, it looked like a child’s play area, bricks torn and made into new creations, while ants swarmed everywhere.

One woman glanced up at the sun, her lips parting as though to drink it in with a relaxed breath.  She closed her eyes as the heat of the sun beat against her skin, the purple fabric along the inside of her robe.  

Altena opened her lavender eyes and turned away from the plants, heading into the building farthest away.  As she walked, the breeze tugged strands of her copper hair out of its loose braid without throwing them in her face.  She shuffled down the pathway, steps hurried but steady.  A few of the other women – her children, her servants – nodded in her direction as a way of acknowledgement, knowing that even the softest of words to her might distract from her current task.

As she walked, a calm smile appeared on her face – one that, although it appeared somewhat motherly, nevertheless did not reach her eyes. Therein one could see no joy or sparkle, just a grim determination and a deep-seated poise.

The smile did not leave as she entered the cool stone building, nor did it disappear as she reached her destination, footsteps slowing to a halt outside a bedroom just a few feet from the inner temple.  She did not hesitate as she knocked twice on the closed door.  She waited a moment, listening to the hustle behind the door.  It did not concern her – not because she trusted her people but because experience was on their side.   This was not the first time they had performed this particular procedure, but she knew it would be the last.

She did not expect that they would live long enough to pull it off a third time.

A woman with graying hair cracked the door open and upon seeing her mistress she opened it a sliver further.  “Lady Altena,” she murmured with a lowering of her head.  “We have just finished.  Would you like to see her?”

“No, thank you, Anastasia.  I just wanted to make sure everything is going according to plan.”

“Yes, mistress,” the woman said, averting her eyes. “Joanne is on her way to get the transport now.”

“Good.”  Altena let her smile grow without losing any of the serene charm.  “I trust that you will make sure nothing will go wrong. I’m counting on you.”

Anastasia nodded and closed the door once more, but before it shut, Altena could see an Asian teenager lying on a cot, seemingly asleep. She refused to focus on her, the checkmate, the last piece to the puzzle that was her actions.  Instead, she stepped away and headed into the Temple, where a large carving of two women, half-kneeling with swords in their hands, stood.  She stopped in front of the carving, gazing not at the two women but on the high priestess behind them, her hood lifted to hide her hair but not her serene face.

The two women may have been a team of assassins, but their actions were always guided by a soldier, a woman standing behind as guardian and head of their small family.  But now the soldiers who might once have birthed them were just as corrupt as the world they were meant to save.  No one, even the woman staring at the carving, could direct them without bias. But hopefully, with her current plans in motion, the new girls to take these women’s place would be free to seek the light together.

Altena bowed her head in front of the statue, hands clasped together in reverence.  She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath.  If her plans within plans worked, then this new team would become the new man within the man, the new love within the love, and, above all, the new sin within the sin.  And with their dark hands, they would protect and save the grieving children of this world from everything that would corrupt them.

The breath escaped from her thin lips as she released it, letting go of her last strands of control.  From now on, she would work in the shadows and wait for her saplings to return to her.  Her small mouth moved in a whisper to form these words—

“Let Le Grand Retour begin.”

[nickfowlerrr]

pretty when you cry - chapter thirteen

series masterlist

pairing: dark!biker!bucky x curvy!reader (dark!soulmate au)

warnings: Dead Dove: Do Not Eat. 18+ ONLY. dubcon elements. poorly written smut. elements of toxic relationships. darkish happy? ending (imo). if i’m missing anything pls let me know

words: 6.6k

notes: this is it! sorry it took so damn long and is poorly edited but i hope you all enjoy. and if you don’t - i completely understand bc i think it’s kind of a let down but i usually am let down by my work 💀 also i’m terrible at endings so sorry again lol but i hope it wasn’t too bad. this has been my first ever series and i’ve learned so much about my writing in the process. thank you to each and every one of you who has read and shared and commented on pwyc - i love all of you so much and i’m so glad i was able to share this with you. i said this previously but i am more than open to writing drabbles and one shots for these guys if anyone has anything they’d like to send in and i am already planning on writing an epilogue i’m just not sure when i will. also! if you have already sent in requests just know i did receive them and am working on them - it just takes me a while to get things done if i’m not entirely inspired when i’m trying to write them lol. anywho! please let me know what you think about this last chapter - i love reading your feedback and thoughts. again - i hope you all enjoy and thank you again for reading 🥰

This is a DARK series!!! Please proceed with abundant caution.

You got up out of the bed and walked straight out of the room. As you opened the door and walked out into the hall, it was pitch black all around you. You didn’t know the house well enough to make much out around you but you had a vague idea of where things were and where the stairs were at least. There was no sign of him being downstairs as there were no lights on, though you thought maybe he could be down there and simply turned the lights out already.. You tried to look around the rest of the floor before having to go down the steps and were relieved to see a hint of light behind one of the doors on the opposite side of the hall.

You knew he could quite literally feel you and it only made you more upset. He knew what you were feeling and was content to only make you feel worse. It would have pissed you off if you weren’t so desperate for him. You walked to the door and only then did you notice it wasn’t shut all the way. If you were remembering correctly, this was one of the guest rooms you had seen earlier in the day. Pushing the door open, you slowly made your way inside. There you found Bucky pulling the covers back on the bed looking like he was getting ready to lay down, still not bothering to look at you. You bit your lip and took a breath before walking further into the room.

“Are you sleeping in here?” was all you could think to ask as you stared at him with a longing you were sure he felt.

“You said you needed to be alone. I’m leaving you alone. Just like you asked.” he said as he turned to face you.

“I’m not stupid, Bucky. I know you know what you’re doing.”

“Oh? And what am I doing?” he asked, moving to sit on the bed.

You couldn’t find the words to answer him, so you just looked at him with glassy eyes. You didn’t want to break first, really you didn’t. But you couldn’t take it anymore. He took your silence as a sign that the conversation was over and proceeded to lay down, turning the light off next to him as he did.

You stood there in the dark for a second before finally speaking.

“You said that you love me,”

Your voice was meek and barely audible, but you knew he heard you from the way he went rigid and the change in his breathing.

“Don’t you love me?” you asked with tears in your eyes.

It would have almost been funny the way Bucky shot up if you hadn’t been so caught up in your own despair.

Before you knew what he was doing, he pulled you to him as he sat up. With you standing before him between his legs, he turned the lights back on and then turned back to you with a serious look.

You didn’t know what he was about to say, but you knew you couldn’t take hearing anything other than his reassurances so you spoke again before he could.

“Please don’t be mean to me,” you said as you stood there, his hands finding your hips and pulling you closer to him.

“Sweetheart. I love you more than I ever thought I was capable of. More than anything or anyone.” he said as he looked into your eyes. “You’re my whole heart. Of course I love you. I’m never letting you go,” he finished as he squeezed you.

“Yeah? If you really mean that then why- why were you being so mean?” you heard yourself ask, though it was hard to believe it was really you talking. You sounded so sad and broken and you felt like a little kid.

“I needed you to see how much you need me, sweetheart. You had to see that. Had to feel what I’ve been feeling… being denied the love you're supposed to be receiving from your soulmate. What it’s like without it. You know now, yeah? It’s not just me, it’s both of us. It’s our connection. I need you just as much as you need me. And I need you more than anyone or anything,” he was soft spoken, treating you with such delicacy it was almost maddening. The switch from his earlier demeanor and attitude was near instantaneous and jarring as it always was. But his touch was soothing, and you couldn’t stop yourself from seeking more. As if he knew what you were wanting without you saying it aloud, Bucky was pulling you onto the bed with him and before you knew it you were cuddling up to him like a lovesick puppy. And Bucky loved it.

Suddenly, it all clicked for you. You got it now. Like, really really got it. Even though it seemed like you could never pin him down, it was clear as day the reason he could so easily flip on a dime. It was you, it always had been you. This connection. His obvious fear of losing you, of being rejected by the one person who was guaranteed to love him despite everything, was the main cause of it. He couldn’t lose you and so he reacted instinctively with malice and possessiveness, though he was in a prison of his own making.

Bucky, obviously, was all in now. He couldn’t deny that he was in total love with you and you challenging that, the one thing he knows to be true about himself, had to be triggering. From your own perspective, you knew you were different around Bucky, you realized that it had to be the same for him. It’s a change you still aren’t used to and you were sure he wasn’t used to his own changes either.. But if you played your cards right, the shitty hand you had been dealt by life, you were sure you could play him just as easily, if not easier, than he had played you today. And that was an oddly comforting conclusion to come to. Though it would certainly be easier to just give in completely to your connection - to him, you weren’t sure if you could truly let it all go. It’d always be somewhere in the back of your mind - it’s not easily forgotten, no matter how much either of you may wish it would be. And you weren’t too keen on the idea of losing yourself and your will entirely just because you were soulmates. It was supposed to be an equal exchange of one’s self to the other, wasn’t it?

As little consolation as it was, you had a growing awareness that Bucky would do nearly anything if it made you happy. He would do anything for you…you could get him to do almost anything. You just had to work it the right way. And you could do that.

“I’m..I’m so sorry, Bucky” you said while your head was on his shoulder. He undoubtedly could feel the tension fading from you as you laid with him and while you spoke. “I get it now. You were right, this whole time.. you’ve been right. I just didn’t want to admit it, didn’t want to accept it. I just..I’m sorry. But I think I’m seeing things clearly now,” you whispered. A part of you was worried that if you kept this up you’d start to believe yourself, but you knew that Bucky was wrong. At least in the extreme ways he acted. And the way he approached the majority, if not all, of your relationship thus far. He was just too stubborn or maybe too selfish to understand that right now. But unlike him, you wouldn’t try and force him to see things your way. You’d move a little more gently than that.

Still, you felt a tinge of guilt for how manipulative you thought you were being and yet you also felt a bit of shame for how appeasing you were at the same time. You honestly didn’t know how you truly felt in the moment.. You were still acutely aware of how you ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ feel. Maybe you did know deep down how you felt, but you weren’t open to fully embracing or accepting it. What you did know was that Bucky holding you and telling you that it was all okay was making you feel better than you had the past few days. And you knew you didn’t want him to be upset with you or hurt by you any further. Though that hurt was in truth brought on by his own actions, you couldn’t find it in yourself to knowingly continue it.

You felt you needed to quiet your mind for a moment and so you let your eyes flutter shut as Bucky’s metal arm held you and his flesh hand rubbed your back soothingly. Before you could catch yourself, you fell asleep.

The next morning you woke up feeling more clear and more like yourself. The smell of freshly brewed coffee greeted your senses as you sat up on the bed to find that you were back in the main bedroom and the spot beside you was warm but empty. Your brows furrowed as you looked for your phone and checked the time, seeing a steaming mug on the stand where your phone laid. You made to sip some coffee, seemingly made the way you always took it, but decided against it as you didn’t want to scald your tongue on the hot brew. You got up and wandered into the bathroom, going about your typical morning routine in the still new home you found yourself in.

As you finished up and walked back into the bedroom, you were met by the sight of Bucky coming in.

“Morning, princess,” he greeted with a smile much too big for your liking at the moment as he approached his bedside table while carrying two plates of breakfast in his hands.

“Morning,” you responded almost skeptically as you sized him up. He wasn’t gonna act like yesterday just never happened, was he? Well, of course he probably was. But you still needed to finish your conversation from yesterday and he wouldn’t charm his way out of it or distract you this time.

“Lay back down,” he urged, voice soothing and expectant. The hold Bucky had over you was, frankly, obnoxious because though you stood in your spot a moment, you soon moved to his whim and sat back on the bed, reaching for the coffee as you did.

“I made pancakes,” he said as he handed you the plate and you set the mug back down to take it from him. “How’s the coffee?”

“Good,” you responded, nodding your head slightly. “Thank you.”

He took his spot back on the bed with his own plate as you stared down at yours. You weren’t sure how to approach this. The last thing you wanted to do was start another argument, but you needed to say what you needed to say.

“They’re not poisoned,” Bucky spoke from beside you as he cut into his own pancakes. You looked over at him as he shoveled a forkful into his mouth and gave you a lopsided grin before reaching over to you and cutting into the pancakes on your plate, taking a piece onto his own fork and making a show of eating it. “See?” he taunted almost cheekily. You couldn’t help the small laugh that slipped out or the lilting of your lips as you rolled your eyes at him.

You started eating in slow bites as you thought and didn’t notice Bucky moving in closer as you both sat in, dare you say, comfortable silence, until he took your plate from you and moved it on top of his as he leaned back over to his left side and set them on his bedside table. He was back beside you in an instant as he wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you into his side, placing a kiss on your temple. “This is how yesterday was supposed to go,” he muttered against your skin, giving you the perfect opportunity to bring up what you needed to.

You tried to pull away from him, wanting to look at him more directly as you started talking, but he didn’t let you out of his grasp. Instead, he pulled you more into him, causing you to turn completely and forcing you to essentially straddle him as you had nowhere else to move. You huffed as you tried to get off of him and he only held you still.

“Bucky,” you whined.

“What?” he asked as if he was doing nothing.

“Stop it. I- we need to talk..about yesterday,” you started. His grip got a little tighter around you, pulling you closer against his chest before he responded.

“We did talk,”

“No, we didn’t. Not about everything,”

His jaw clenched but you refused to let this conversation go as you held eye contact with him.

“Fine. What do you want to talk about?”

“You know what,” you accused.

“Enlighten me,” he mused as his hands began rubbing up and down your back.

The urge to push off of him and get distance between the two of you was strong, but you fought that urge - thinking that as long as you could keep your own head on straight, the closeness would make Bucky more receptive to you.

You moved his right arm from around your back and held his hand in your own. “Please listen to me,” you urged him.

“I’m listening,” he said as he intertwined your fingers. You honestly couldn’t tell how much he was paying attention as it seemed like his mind was elsewhere, but figured you needed to just talk and see how he responded.

“I need you to hear me, Bucky. Because I mean this. You can’t ever treat me like that again. If this is gonna work, if there’s any chance of making this work, you..you have to at least be nice to me,” you started, pausing in case he had anything to say yet, but he didn’t so you continued on.

“You have to do better. You have to treat me better. And you have to be more consistent,” you spoke a little more confidently. “You’re so nice to me one second and then I say something you don’t like and the next.. I just- I can’t take the whiplash anymore. I won’t.” Bucky’s eyes looked like they had darkened as he took in your last words and though it looked like he was about to say something, you spoke again before he could.

“I’m not- I’m not threatening or saying I’m gonna leave,” you rushed out. “You just.. There’s so much happening. So much has happened. And everything is so different for me, everything is changing and I just- I guess I just need you to be patient with me..”

“You may not believe me,” he began quietly, “But I am trying. There’s a lot happening and changing with me, too, you know. This hasn’t been all sunshine and roses for me either, sweetheart.”

A sense of guilt rushed through you as he spoke. But why? You felt sorry for what you had done, but really what did you do? You didn’t let him have you when he wanted you, and that was what you felt guilty for? You shouldn’t feel sorry for respecting yourself and your feelings.

Still though, just reflecting back on the previous day you couldn’t imagine what Bucky had to be going through each time you rejected him and turned him away. But was there really any comparison between the unintentional emotional pain you caused him and the pain he had caused you? How do you even compare such things..were they even worth comparing.?

Bucky felt your hurt and continued on as you stared down at your still interlocked hands, surely looking conflicted.

“I never meant to hurt you. And I know you never meant to hurt me.”

Try as you might, you couldn’t hide your indignation at that.

“I hurt you? I hurt you?” you said in disbelief as you let go of his hand and pulled away from him. “Are you fucking serious, Bucky? Intention is kind of the big difference here, don’t you think? You say you never meant to, but fuck, you did. You absolutely did. Forget everything that happened before I got here, okay, let’s just focus on literally yesterday alone!

You used this connection against me. You were mean and hurtful and you purposely humiliated me. So don’t sit here and act like you never meant to. I never meant to hurt you, but you hurt me over and over to prove your point and you know you did.”

Bucky grabbed you as you tried to get off the bed and restrained you with your back to his chest and his arms wrapping around you.

“Stop. Stop,” he spoke in your ear as you tried to get out of his grasp. You had to calm yourself down and took a couple deep breaths as you stopped fighting against him. This was not going to plan, and you thought back to what Eva had told you again, your attitude always came out at the least opportune times (ie when you were in the midst of situations you should be deescalating).

You squeezed your eyes shut tightly as you tried to relax yourself in his strong grip before speaking again.

“I’m sorry. For hurting you. I didn’t- I never realized how affected you were by our connection and by my..resisting it. I didn’t know I was hurting you. I can’t say that I didn’t ever want you to hurt, especially before, but I never meant to intentionally hurt you. I couldn’t. It makes me feel illogically terrible knowing that you were ever feeling that way because of me. That you felt that way because of me. I’m sorry.” Bucky’s hold tightened around you briefly as he buried his head in your neck for a second before looking back up and tilting to kiss you. It was soft and you were feeling yourself fall weak as he held you.

“I don’t need an apology, princess,” he said.

“Well, I do,” you stated breathily. “I do. I need one.”

“Okay,” he said before placing a light kiss on your neck. “I’ll make it up to you,” he murmured against your skin before he began trailing kisses along your neck.

It was sobering as he did so. Did he actually hear you at all? Did he care at all about how upsetting his behavior had been? Did it really even matter? You didn’t really care. Whether he meant it or not, you just needed to hear him say he was sorry or you didn’t think you could keep this up. Loving him was outside of your control, but you couldn’t imagine living being so angry all the time because he was incapable of taking full responsibility for his shitty actions and for being incapable of saying a simple ‘I’m sorry’, because in all reality that was the very least he could offer you. You pulled away from him and moved to turn around and face him.

“No. I need you to say it. Say you’re sorry,”

“I have,”

“No you haven’t. You’ve been trying to pacify me, you’re acting like nothing happened but I can’t. I just need to hear you apologize. Just say it - just tell me you’re sorry and I can pretend that you really are and I’ll feel better. I don’t care if you don’t mean it, okay? I don’t care if you’re lying, just say it, please,” you pleaded as tears grew in your eyes. Bucky swiftly moved to hold your face in his hands and continued to hold your gaze as he spoke.

“Listen to me,” he began seriously. “I’m not lying. I’m sorry, I really am. I’m so sorry,” the sincerity in his voice was evident and felt real as he leaned his forehead against yours. You found your arms wrapping around him as your tears started to fall. He pulled you down to lay on the mattress while he hugged you back and kissed your head, letting out a heavy sigh as he squeezed you.

“I’m sorry,” he said again as he tilted your jaw up, right hand holding your chin before he moved in and kissed you, then pulled back to wipe some of your tears away as you blinked at him. You suddenly wanted him even closer and pulled him back toward you, surprising him by catching his lips in yours. You don’t know what came over you, but it felt like you had been missing him your entire life all at once and you wanted him all around you, heart and soul consumed by your sudden need for him - stronger even than the day before. It was like just hearing him say he was sorry was a huge weight lifted off you. You couldn’t explain it, you just acted on what you were feeling, no thoughts other than Bucky.

Your lips were on his, and then on his cheek, down his throat, and all over his exposed chest. You had no inhibitions, no trepidations, and Bucky was more than on board with your sudden shift, if not just a little surprised. His hands found the hem of your sleep shirt and he pulled it off and over your head with no complaints against the action from you as he then flipped you completely onto your back, hovering over you. Your hands found his hair and you pulled him back down to you, lips crashing into his once again. You felt frenzied.

Bucky pulled away, both of you a little breathless.

“Slow down there, sweetheart,” he chuckled.

“No,” was all you responded with as you pulled him back down to you.

The kiss was electric and full of passion and desire as you allowed it to grow deeper and deeper.

You all of a sudden found yourself tugging down his sweats as best you could before he pulled away and took them the rest of the way off while you tore your shorts and panties down your legs.

He returned to his position above you and made quick work of your bra, hands then fondling you as you leaned up and took his lips in yours once again.

“You okay?” he asked suddenly after breaking away once again breathless.

“‘M’fine. I just want you. Need you. Now,” you panted before pulling him down to you again.

His lips crashed with yours in another heated kiss as he lifted your leg, urging you to wrap it around him and open yourself up for him which you complied with instantly.

In one swift motion, Bucky seated himself deep inside of you, no foreplay or explicit warning. You slightly winced then moaned at the feel of him and your hands reached to wrap around his body as your nails raked down his skin. You were surprised by how wet you were for him already as you welcomed him in, your heat wrapped around his cock like a vice to keep him inside as he fucked you. Your bodies were cosmically in sync as he quickly brought you closer and closer to your orgasm. Your nerves were alight with the pleasure as he rocked into you and you were touching and grabbing and feeling each other like you never had before. It was sudden and animal and passion fueld and you didn’t know where it came from but you didn’t want it to stop.

His lips planting along your skin, trailing up and down, leaving bites every now and again. You soon had both legs wrapped around him as he moved inside of you - hitting every perfect spot and causing delightful friction against your clit as well.

He was breathing heavy as you were and when you began to shower him with praise, he only got more dedicated in his movements.

“That’s so good, Bucky,” you moaned. “Oh god you’re so good,” you said, earning a deep groan from him that only got you more turned on and left you feeling hotter than you had been feeling before.

“Right there, Bucky. Yes, please, please don’t stop,” you continued to beg. “I’m so close, please!” And you really were. You weren’t sure what was going on or what had come over you but you did know that you desperately needed him and wanted to feel him hitting in and out of you. You wanted to feel him come so desperately that you didn’t care how loud or needy you might have been being. You were solely focused on your need for him. You wanted to come and you wanted him to come with you.

“Fuck, baby, keep talking like that I’m not gonna last,” he moaned out.

“Don’t want you to,” you said, “Wanna come, I wanna come with you,” you whined. “Please, Bucky, I want you so badly - I can’t wait. I need it, Buck, please”

You almost screamed out when his fingers found your stimulated nub and he continued to work you over even as his hips slowed down to a deep rocking. You were sure you’d burst if he didn’t give you what you needed soon. Especially as what felt animal became slower and deeper and more sensual. You felt even closer than before as his pace ensured you felt each and every drag of his thick cock and each and every touch he left on your skin. The look in each other’s eyes was indescribable as you gazed into one another - wanting to see all you could. Every feeling, every thought, every emotion, everything.

“Tell me you love me,” he breathed raggedly as he continued to fuck into you while his thumb worked your sensitive clit, sending delicious waves of pleasure through you with every move he made.

“I-“ you tried to speak but suddenly words were lost. “I love- I love you. I love you, Bucky- I love you!” you chanted repeatedly as you held onto him like your life depended on it. “Please,” you cried. “Please come with me, please.”

The grunts and groans and moans coming from him were beautiful and the look of pure pleasure that flooded his face as he reached his peak inside of you was enchanting and you were laid there, consumed completely by him as you reached your own bliss in time with his.

Bucky had come inside of you and you didn’t know you could ever feel so full as you held him to you. Settling down, he didn’t want to move you too much, as comfortable as you both were, so he gently pulled you onto your side and against him after he lowered himself down onto the mattress. “Fuck, I love you, princess. So goddamn much,” he breathed before kissing you again.

You cuddled closer to him as you regained your breathing and he kissed you up and down your neck and down to your shoulder as he held you to him. one of your legs still wrapped around him while he stayed inside of you, keeping you as full of him as he could. You both laid with each other for a while, though you were sure Bucky was ready to go again should you want as you still felt him inside of you. But before you could initiate another round, still craving more intimacy with him like your soul was wanting to try and make up for lost time, your phone started ringing on the opposite bedside table. Bucky gently removed himself from you and you gasped at the loss of him and the flood of his seed that followed. You gingerly got off the bed while Bucky turned to check your phone. It was the perfect chance to get your head back on as you could put a little distance between you and not get completely swept up by him and your heart. That didn’t really work though as you were still craving his touch and seeking his closeness. You walked to the bathroom and Bucky followed suit. You showered together and the air around the both of you just felt entirely different. It felt like a dream. He helped clean you up and after you were both done, you found yourself just standing under the water, hugging him while he held you in return as you slightly swayed against him. You felt different. He felt different. It wasn’t hard to pinpoint why.

For the first time, really, you openly wanted him. You loved him, no holds barred. And the mutual affection was almost supercharging your desire to be around one another. This was what it always should have been.

Now, it’s not like you had forgotten anything he’d done, but the stranglehold you had on it- the hold it had over you had been..alleviated? It had to be, or none of this would ever work out happily for you. If you had to let go in order to not be so angry and hurt and bitter all the time, you would. And you did. The shift was instantaneous.

It certainly wasn’t an easy thing to do, forgiving him, but you know the end. It’s you two, together. No matter what. So why should you have to suffer any more than you already have? This could be good, great even. Bucky has only been mean when you’ve pushed him away and rejected him (whether it was deserved or not - he couldn’t see the difference past his selfishness). The rest of the time, sure, he could be domineering and possessive and a bit of a cocky jackass but you could handle that. And you knew what he was capable of, but there was a dominant, innate part of you that trusted him to never take advantage of your connection the way he had before again. You weren’t really worried that he’d ever hurt you and you weren’t planning on pushing him to the point of threatening or hurting other people again. You knew he’d do whatever he had to to keep you with him and keep you his.

And you know now just how far you can push him and you’re sure you know how to get your way..for most things. You were sure there were some things he wouldn’t budge on, like say, moving you in with him, but for others, you’d test the waters and see. Though there were some things you wouldn’t budge on either and you’d have no problem fighting for. You may be more appeasing and amenable, considering how much easier it would make your life, but you weren’t a door mat. He couldn’t take over every aspect of your life and you had to make sure he knew how you felt about that.

When you two finally got out of the shower and dried off and dressed, you grabbed your phone to see it was a missed call from Eva and some text messages.

Holding you to it this time, no joke. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever, you’re not gonna flake on me again!! 😤

And answer your damn phone once in a while - what if it was an emergency??

Also! I switched shifts with Max tomorrow so we’re gonna be working together again finally😍

You felt so guilty for how in the dark you were keeping your best friend, and how shitty of a friend you had been in general. Bucky obviously picked up on it and walked up behind you as you wrote a quick response.

Sorry, I was in the shower!! But no flaking this time, I promise. 💗 See you tomorrow 🥰

“What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked as he read your text from over your shoulder. You locked your phone and put it in your pocket as you turned to face him.

“Working,” you said simply. He quirked an eyebrow at you and you proceeded to walk around him before he caught you by the arm, pulled you into him and looked down at you.

“No you’re not,” he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. You bit your tongue before your instinctive response could be voiced and tilted your head back to look up at him with the best puppy dog eyes you could manage.

“I’m not?” you said, voice full of disappointment. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Why would you? You don’t need to be working anywhere anymore, princess,” he stated as his arms wrapped around you and your head hit his chest. Your hands found his and you blinked up at him.

“Okay…so I don’t need to, but.. I want to,” you said. Bucky just sucked his teeth and stared down at you a moment, and before he could respond, you spoke again.

“Please, Buck,” you coaxed sweetly, though every last bit of independence and dignity in you was fighting against you to just tell him you were going whether he wanted you to or not instead of asking him for his blessing to do so. The saying, ‘You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar’ ran through your head as you swallowed down the words you were really wanting to say. You spun around in his arms instead and reached up to wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him down to you.

“Please,” you whispered against his lips as your noses touched. He groaned softly and rolled his eyes before he gave in and kissed you. You couldn’t help but smile into the kiss and pulled away to look at him as his hands moved down to your ass.

“That a yes?”

“Fine, but don’t think I’m not gonna have anyone there to keep an eye out,” he warned, causing you to literally bite your tongue as you held back a retort.

“Oh, I’d expect nothing less,” you said sarcastically. He lightly smacked your ass and then let you go, walking to the opposite bedside table and grabbing your plates. You took the half filled mug of now cold coffee and followed him downstairs. He placed the plates in the dishwasher after rinsing them off and then did the same with the mug after taking it from you.

You bit your lip as you watched him move around the kitchen, not exactly sure what to do then. You were pulled from your thoughts by the sound of Bucky’s chuckle, making your brows furrow as you refocused on him. He shook his head as he looked at you, admiring you.

“What?” you asked, suddenly feel a little self conscious.

“I- ha,” he laughed, “I don’t remember the last time I felt this happy,” he smiled, causing you to swallow hard and look down and away from him.

“Shit, don’t look so sick, sweetheart,”

Your head shot up as you found his eyes and you shook your head.

“No, I- I’m just..I,” you stuttered before taking a deep breath. “I just wish we could have started this way..ya know?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know,” he responded. You stared at him a moment longer and nodded your head.

“I don’t know what to do now,” you admitted.

“I have to head to the shop later tonight, but until then I really just wanna be around you,” he said as he approached you.

“You always wanna be around me,” you said with an eye roll.

“Yeah, and you and I both know the feeling is growing mutual,” he said as he gently grabbed your chin and leaned down to kiss you.

“So what are we doing, then?” you asked after pulling away. Bucky just shrugged and dropped his hands from your face, moving to lean against the counter.

“We can do whatever you want to do as long as you ask nicely,” he grinned as your jaw clenched in immediate annoyance. “Come on now, sweetheart, you’ve been hiding it so well so far,” he laughed. You huffed and gawked at him a second before replying.

“So you just enjoy testing my limits, then, is that it?” you said as you really took in his meaning. He knew what you had been doing just as well as you knew what he had been doing.

“Apparently just as much as you enjoy testing mine. Glad you finally realized I respond much better to positive reinforcement than I do negative,”

You glared at him as you clicked your tongue.

“This isn’t a very healthy relationship dynamic, you know that, right?”

“It’s working for us, though, isn’t it,” he said as he pushed off the counter and led you to the living room, pulling you onto the couch with him. He had you on his lap in an instant and attacked your neck with kisses and love bites all over again as your hands held his head. You were going to stop him, but only ended up tilting your head back further, granting him more access to you as your nails lightly raked through his hair and along his head. He flipped you onto your back in a swift move you didn’t see coming as he laid you along the couch. His lips were against your ear as he held himself up above you.

“I’d do anything for you, you know that, don’t you?” he asked sincerely.

“Mhm,” you nodded. “I think I’m starting to get that, Buck,” you replied quietly, sounding nearly out of breath as you closed your eyes.

“Anything,” he repeated against your skin as he continued kissing every inch of exposed skin he could reach from his position.

“I know. I know you would,” you responded again.

You thought briefly about how stupid both of you were. How fucked up everything had been and how ridiculously you both were acting. But he was right, it did seem to be working for you two. Here you were making out on his couch after having incredible sex and sharing an even more intimate shower together after essentially exploiting your dynamic. And at least you weren’t fighting. In fact, you were sure it would have settled like this one way or another. There’s no defying destiny and at the end of the day, you were soulmates. It may have been dark and mangled and out right fucked at times, but no matter what, you were meant to be together, right?. And now here you found yourself. With Bucky. Just you two. Together. Things weren’t perfect, you didn’t think they’d ever be, but you loved him. And you were tied to him. So you knew it’d have to work out somehow. This could be good. You could heal. You could both heal. You could let this be what it was always meant to be. You were meant to be together and you belonged to one another. Why keep fighting the inevitable? Why make things harder and hurt more when you could just…let yourself let go and trust that Bucky would be there to keep you. To trust that you could trust him. To just let him love you and let yourself love him fully and completely. He couldn’t hurt you again, he wouldn’t. You had to believe that. You had to believe him. It wouldn’t be all sunshine and roses, you were only human. But you knew that despite everything, you were it for Bucky and Bucky was it for you. That was unchangeable. So you stopped trying to change it.

[jkstompers]

a royal engagement | jjk

pairing: jeon jungkook x female reader

summary: the rough ground against his clothed knee doesn’t matter anymore when he sees the sweetest smile on your face. everything is perfect.

genre: arranged marriage but they wanna do it right!, best friends to lovers, royalty!au, FLUFF, crown princess!oc, prince!jk, surprises!, jk believes in soulmates confirmed, oc is so in love, perhaps jk flexes how rich he is in this ~(˘▾˘~)

warnings: mentions of sex, sexual tension, more talk of exes (both jk and oc’s), they both talk about losing their virginity, mild jealousy, mentions of menstrual cycles, a little bit of lip locking action

word count: 11.1k

author’s note: ♡ happy jungkook day! ♡ this chapter spans over a week and a half-ish! also i made a little oopsies in the last chapter when i said that oc had only been back in raemor for a week… it’s actually been a month since she’s left the city. i’m sorry about that! i changed it on an arrangement already, but i just figured it out when i was editing this chapter. other than that, i’m so excited for this series and i hope u all enjoy!! pls lmk what u think! ღ'ᴗ'ღ 

banner pic creds here! <3

jungkook had the utmost faith in you.

there was something in him that always knew that the love the two of you had ran way deeper than a friendship— probably more than a relationship too. it was something like a soul tie. something the stars created before the earth was ever created. two beings that were always meant to be together, in every universe, in every time before and after this. jungkook held his hope in that. his trust that the love the two of you forged was strong enough to pull you out of your room and into his arms before the plane took off.

the war between your head and your heart ended in a stalemate. you were fighting against something that you knew in your heart you wanted. your brain couldn’t make any more excuses to go against it when jungkook laid his heart out on the floor for you. you’d already made your decision before you went to sleep— before you even left jungkook’s grasp. but you were one for the dramatics.

the sound of the plane landing woke you, you were afraid you were too late. thinking that you slept in during a moment that could decide the rest of your life, you ran. bare feet smacking against the cold floor of the castle, before you eventually made it out to the garden and then the royal runway.

the sound of your voice that morning set it in stone. that jungkook will never love another the way he does you.

“jungkook!” you called out.

he was just about to board the plane for fenutar, jungkook and his advisors huddled into a circle to talk about customs and special etiquette since it’s been a while since he’s last visited. your shout interrupted the conversation. jungkook turned around immediately at the familiar voice.

the sight of you running through the cold, wet grass in your sleep wear with a winter coat and no shoes on. it makes his heart swell, with both love and worry. more so worry. “princess? what are you doing out here?! it’s freezing and you’re not even wearing the right clothes—”

you cut him off as you crash into his body for a tight hug. it felt right, it always did. “am i too late?” you ask, face snuggled into his warm chest.

he shakes his head, a little laugh accompanying the words. “you’re just in time.”

now, jungkook and you lay in your bed, staring up at the ceiling together. since seven in the morning, the two of you have just been talking about everything and nothing. mostly just appreciating each others presence. time passed quickly and it was almost time for everyone to start getting ready for breakfast. “so... how should we tell everyone? over breakfast?” you asked, pulling yourself on his chest and resting your cheek against his ribs.

he smiles at you. “sure, i heard they’re serving waffles, donuts— you know, sweet stuff.”

“and wouldn’t our news be so sweet?” you grinned. he laughs and you can feel his chest rise and fall under your head, the sound of his laughter just up against your ear. “should we go now?”

you move to get up, but jungkook stops you, placing a hand on your waist. “let’s stay here for a little bit longer.” he suggests, moving his hand up to run through your hair. “aren’t you tired from your dramatic show of affection this morning?” laughing as his fingers card through the strands of your hair. he combats your glare with a tender massage to your scalp. remembering how you’d always fall asleep whenever he did, and it worked. your eyelids fell and you melt against jungkook as he continues to rub your scalp gently.

love wasn’t scary. times like this, when it’s just you and jungkook; no expectations, no titles, no responsibilities. it’s just love. it wasn’t terrifying, it’s not painful. well, maybe it is sometimes. like how your heart beats out of your chest whenever jungkook looks at you, eyes glistening with admiration. like when you smile at jungkook and he feels like he could burst at any second just from the sight of you. love is hard to explain. love is whatever you make it out to be. and right now, love is in the curve of jungkook’s lips when he smiles at you. love is in the palm of your hand when you reach out to hold him.

the sound of the knocks on the door doesn’t register until the second round of taps. “princess, it is time for breakfast.” you hear from behind the door.

you sit up. “i’ll be right out!” trying to get out of bed but jungkook pulls you back.

“uh-uh,” he tsks. “you’re not dressed.” you furrow your eyebrows before you look down at what you’re wearing. a slip dress, the one you wore to sleep to be specific. “i won’t look, don’t worry.” he laughs, scooting himself up on your bed and covering his face with one of your pillows. he ignores how nice it smells, just like that shampoo he really likes. you bought it back in the city, raemor doesn’t have shampoos that smell like this.

he hears you rustle around in your closet before he hears a faint zip. “wait— jungkook, how does this look?”

the pillow is pulled away from his face and his eyes lay on you. with a colorful sundress draped on your body. it flows and compliments your skin beautifully. you’re beautiful. god, you’re gorgeous. asking jungkook for his opinion wouldn’t help, he’s biased. you’re pretty in his eyes no matter what you wear. “that— yeah, it’s— you look great.” he stumbles over his words.

“cat’s got your tongue?” you tease. in retaliation, jungkook ruffles up your hair a bit, making you groan and spend another five minutes in front of the mirror to fix it. meanwhile, jungkook pulls himself off the bed and straightens his outfit out, opting to leave his jacket off since it was toasty in the castle. he still looks proper and handsome with his white button up and dress pants on. for the last touch, you dig through your jewelry box, knowing that it has to be somewhere in there.

then there it was, at the bottom, tangled with a necklace from your mother, was the friendship bracelet jungkook gave you when you were twelve at the lantern festival. a dainty gold chain with a flower embellishment on it, signifying the promise the two of you made. he watches from afar when you put it on, trying to hide his surprise. “you still have it?”

you nod, “you don’t?”

“i do.” he assures. “i just didn’t think you’d remember it after all this time.”

you scoff playfully, walking towards him. “of course i remember,” linking your arm with his. “i remember everything.”

with that, the two of you step out of your room and down to the dining hall. they were expecting you, but not jungkook. the shock on everyone’s faces was evident. your parents, clementine, your ladies, venus, even blue. it was a good surprise though. both of your parents had to hide their big smiles behind their napkins. the staff kindly added another chair next to you for jungkook to sit down in. no one spoke up about it, if they wanted to ask, they kept their mouths shut. the two of you enjoy a delicious breakfast without any interference from any of the advisors.

but someone had to say it, and you were happy that it was going to be you.

you let out a cough before standing up, holding a glass of water and clinking your knife against it gently to grab everyone's attention. it only took a few seconds for all eyes to land on you. “jungkook and i have come to the conclusion that we will marry.” you announce.

the hall is overjoyed. cheers coming from your parents, smiles being sent your way from blue and your ladies. even the advisors, the most stern and inexpressive people you know (except for venus) crack a little smile at the news. “but—” you begin. silence quickly takes over the room. “only on jungkook and i’s terms.”

there is a bit of confusion amongst the crowd. so clementine is quick to ask, “and what are those terms, your highness?”

one. “jungkook and i will wed next year, when spring begins.”

two. “both of us will plan the wedding, with help of others, but the main parts will be orchestrated by the two of us.”

three. “there will be no talk of an heir until we are ready.”

“deal!” both yours and jungkook’s parents say as soon as you’re done talking.

“then it is settled! prince jungkook and princess ___ will wed next spring!” clementine announces to the hall and cheers erupt through the room once more.

jungkook stands and gives you a tight hug. the moment is all too perfect, the joyous chatter of everyone around you and the warm embrace of the one you love wrapped around you. it’s something you’ve dreamed of. “i won’t let you down, princess.” he promises you, in your ear, only for you to hear.

“i’ll be the best husband this world has ever seen.”

a good husband has to be honest.

jungkook has something to tell you, and he isn’t sure how to word it. he’s scared you’ll be turned off by it. it is a pretty serious topic, so he needs to say it, or else he would feel the guilt start to build in his stomach. then before he knows it, it’ll spill all out. so it’s better to nip the bud. get it done before it becomes a bigger problem.

the two of you were having a sleepover tonight. it’s the first one you guys had since you’ve been back. jungkook brought all the fancy snacks that his mother packed along with some drinks, while you had your contraband: face masks and matching pajamas for the both of you.

he looks funny with his peel off mask drying on his face. you told him not to make any facial expressions or else it wouldn’t work. jungkook’s been pulling a straight face for ten minutes while watching elle woods destroy chutney in the courtroom.

he couldn’t have chosen a worse time to speak up about it, but it’s been eating at him for long enough. “i have to tell you something.” he says out of nowhere. you look at him, trying not to react with your face. his serious tone makes you want to burst out into laughter, it was just so out of place.

but he looks somber, like how he looks when something’s bothering him. you swallow the urge to laugh and just nod. “you can tell me while i peel this mask off your face, deal?” you ask, moving closer and picking at the edge of the mask.

you wait patiently until he spills whatever he needs to say, but he looks a little distracted by the feeling of the face mask being peeled off. he’s already nervous, he tells himself not to get side tracked. so he just spits it out. “i’m not a virgin.”

well. that was one way to start a conversation.

you try not to show your shock, but your eyebrows were already raised and now your facemask is stuck to itself. “oh— oh my god, jungkook,” you laugh, covering your mouth. “do you want a high-five or something?” you can’t hold back the laughter anymore. you raise your hand up and wait for him to reciprocate.

if you were being honest, it did make you a little jealous. you wondered who he lost it to. it was probably jieun. did he love her? enough to want to lose his virtue to her? while the questions run through your mind, he returns the high-five, taking you out of the downward spiral of queries. you weren’t angry at him. there wasn’t an agreement between the two of you that you’d take each other’s virginities. jealousy is unforgiving, because you knew there was no reason to be mad but you still felt the stupid pang in your heart.

you finish taking his mask off, expertly in one piece. jungkook waits for you as you throw it in the trash. he’s still silent, not really knowing what else to say. he was waiting for an argument, in all honesty. but you’re smiling, seemingly unaffected by his confession. “do you wanna help me take off mine?” you ask him, sitting back on the bed, facing him.

he nods, picking at the edge and trying to do exactly what you did. “you’re not upset?” he asks, pulling the mask off of your face. maybe you were, but you weren’t going to tell him. it’s in the past, what matters is now, and he’s here with you now. you couldn’t be too mad.

maybe you should be honest too. you shake your head, “of course not, i’m not a virgin either.” this conversation only proves that there was no need to hide when it came to jungkook. you admired him for speaking up about it first too, even though you aren’t exactly sure why.

jungkook successfully took your mask off in one piece as well, discarding it into the trash can. you tell him that the two of you have to wash your faces to get the tiny pieces off and he follows you into the bathroom. responding with a, “really?” and a raise of his eyebrows.

you turn the water on and splash him a little bit. “are you trying to say i’m too ugly to get laid, jeon?!” you glare.

jungkook backtracks, “no— no! you’re pretty— really pretty— i just— i didn’t know what to say.”

you roll your eyes playfully. rinsing your face with water and making sure your face is entirely clean from the mask before stepping aside and drying your face off, allowing jungkook to have his turn. “who’d you lose it to?” you asked. despite probably already knowing the answer, you just had to make sure.

“uh—” he starts, looking at you through the mirror. his eyes flicker back down to the stream of water when he answers, “jieun.”

of course. you let out a little laugh, stepping closer and nudging his side with your elbow. “congratulations, dude.” at least he told you, at least he was honest. that’s all that matters. jealousy can play it’s part later. after the sleepover.

“what about you?” jungkook asks when he finishes drying his face off. he wants to know, but at the same time he doesn’t. curiosity gets the best of everyone.

“my ex-boyfriend,” you answer nonchalantly. “min yoongi.”

“boyfriend…” he exaggerates. pursing his lips and nodding, the same jealousy you felt earlier coursing through his veins now. “that’s nice— congratulations.” he says, copying what you said. an awkward silence comes between the two of you, in turn, making the two of you laugh out loud. clutching your stomach type of laugh.

“why did you bring it up in the first place?” you question. curious as to why he would need to speak up about his sexual past.

“well, i just wanted to tell you because— i don’t know— when it happened, you were the first one i wanted to tell, and i know it’s too much information but we always talked about stuff like this— like remember when you told me when you got your first period?” he begins to ramble again. a cute habit of his.

you cringe at the mention, but you remember it so well. jungkook was so worried for you, he did all the research he could on menstrual cycles; asked his parents about it, looked online, asked his advisors, and even the doctors that come around the palace for check-ups. with all the advice he got, he showed up in front of your door with a big basket of your favorite sweets, literally every menstrual product ever produced (he wasn’t sure which one you used so he brought all), and other random things like flowers, just to be extra nice. you ended up crying in his arms because of how lovely the gesture was. it showed what kind of person jungkook was. meticulous, caring, and just so sweet.

“you’re right.” the trip down memory lane was delightful, as it always is whenever it comes to him. “but what… about us?” you asked. the question seemed random, but whenever you travel down memory lane with jungkook, you’re always reminded of the feelings that you had and still do have for jungkook. being on this topic makes you wonder: did he bring this up because he wants to have sex and wants to be transparent about how many partners he’s had?

“what do you mean? what about us?” he asks. his eyebrows are furrowed and you can tell he doesn’t understand.

the question shouldn’t have made you hesitate the way you did, but now you’re trying to find the words to backtrack. “i— um,” your smile fades a little. expecting you and jungkook to jump into a relationship was unrealistic, let alone having sex. “nothing.” you shake your head.

jungkook can somehow read your mind. he probably just picked up on context clues. “if you’re thinking about— you know— us, having sex,” he starts. “we don’t have to do anything of that sort, if you don’t want to.”

the thought is something that’s lingered in your mind for a while. same for jungkook. but neither of you will admit that. so the conversation comes to an awkward halt. you blush. “right! yeah— sure, of course.” you nod. every synonym of ‘okay’ leaves your mouth. it makes jungkook laugh, starting a domino effect and making you laugh. soon enough, the conversation was pushed aside and the two of you focused on whatever movie netflix decided to autoplay. it wasn’t long before the buzz of the tv lulled the two of you to sleep.

“jungkook! save me!” you shout from the doors of his palace, spotting him talking to his father in the foyer. you just ran from your castle to his in hopes to outrun your chaser. jungkook’s head turns at the sound of your voice, your figure coming closer and closer.

“what? what is it?” quickly placing the papers in his hand onto the table, he rushes towards you. his face was riddled with worry as he watched you run towards him.

taking you into his arms, you hold him tightly. “venus won’t stop asking me what color the table cloths for the guests should be— please… spare me, my prince.” you fake sob into his chest.

he lets out a relieved laugh, the stress lifting away when he realized that you were just being bombarded with wedding questions again. “shouldn’t they be white?” he asks.

you look up at him in his embrace, chin against his chest, near his throat. “that’s what i said! then she started asking about the details of the cloth— like if we wanted it to be a certain type of thread, if we wanted a different colored detail woven through it— i just— why does it matter?!”

“it matters because it’s going to be the wedding of the century! now tell me, ___, white with gold detail or—” venus finally finds you after asking the guards where you went. she approaches you hurriedly and tries to shove the samples in your face, but you hide in jungkook’s chest, refusing to look at them.

“the gold detail is beautiful, venus, thank you.” jungkook answers for you. you relax against him once again. venus looks satisfied, putting her cloth samples back into her bag and walking away. with venus finally out of your hair, jungkook rubs your back gently. “wanna stay the night?” jungkook asks in your ear.

“depends.” you act like you think about it. pulling away from his embrace, looking at him with a playful glare. “do they still make those strawberry tarts i used to love?”

jungkook smiles. “i’ll ask them to bake you some right now.”

“deal.” you pinch his cheek. “hello, your majesty!” you greet his dad when you turn around. jungkook moves over to the side and tells one of his assistants to ask the kitchen to make your strawberry tarts.

jungkook’s dad gives you a bright smile. “good evening, princess.” even bowing slightly.

“you know you don’t need to do that, papa, it’s just me.” you smiled, giving him a curtsy back for the courtesy

“yes, yes, i know.” he laughs. “i’m just so glad to see you home.” opening his arms for a hug. which you move for immediately, hugging him tightly.

jungkook’s parents were always amazing to you. never making you feel unwelcome or uncomfortable. “i missed you as well, you and mama jeon always make me feel at home whenever i’m here.” you express your gratitude to him.

he holds one of your hands in his. “it is your second home, ___.”

“thank you,” you grinned. when you look down, his hands are holding an entire stack of papers. it must be something important, you excuse yourself so that they could finish their business. “i’ll see you later, papa! jungkook! i’ll be in your room!”

jungkook only gives you a thumbs up as he takes his place back next to his dad. the two of them watch as you skip your way up the stairs. your figure receding as you make it to his room when jungkook’s dad speaks up once more. “she is something else, son.” patting his back with a light laugh.

jungkook laughs too. a big smile on his face when he says, “in the best way possible.”

“agreed.” he replicates the same smile that’s on his son’s face. “i’m happy for you.”

when he looks down, his father holds out the papers to verify the marriage arrangement for him to sign. your family had already signed and his parents did too, a while ago. jungkook told them that he’ll only sign after you did. then, just after breakfast when the two of you announced your agreement to the arrangement, you signed happily. it’s a little late because jungkook’s been super busy, but now, with excitement in his heart for your future together, he scribbles his signature on the line. “thanks, dad.” he says as he hands the papers back to him.

they settle the rest of their business and finish signing some more papers. after about ten minutes, jungkook is finished with all the reading and signatures. he makes his way to the kitchen and the chefs hand him a platter of strawberry tarts on the cutest serving plate. white with little red hearts that match the strawberries. a detail that jungkook knows you’ll appreciate.

with two waters in his hand and the tarts in the other, he makes his way up the stairs. hilariously, a problem arises when jungkook needs to open the door to his room. he doesn’t wanna put the stuff down and he figures that you probably can’t hear him if he knocks because the volume of the tv is leaking through the door. in the corner of his eye, jungkook can see a guard crossing the hallway. “psst!” he calls out, hoping to get his attention. the guard passes by without a second thought. a few seconds pass and he can hear the guard take a couple steps back.

soon enough, the guard pops his head into the hallway. “everything alright, your highness?” he asks.

“yes, but— do you mind opening the door for me?” he laughs awkwardly. the guard nods and rushes over, turning the knob and sliding the door open. “thanks, man, have a good night.” he smiles at the guard.

“of course— you too, your highness.” he bows before leaving him be.

when he enters the room, you’re nowhere to be seen. the tv is on and playing some scary movie from what he can tell, the background music is eerie and quite frankly creeping him out. he sets down the waters first onto his bedside table and you come out of his bathroom at the perfect time. “there you are.” he sighs. “how are you just going to play a scary movie and then make me come into an empty room?!” he cries.

you roll your eyes playfully. “my apologies, prince, i didn’t hear you come in!” sporting a hoodie and a pair of boxers stolen from jungkook’s closet, you jump into his bed and eye the beautifully plated tarts in his grasp.

jungkook tries not to get distracted by the way you look right now. so cute in his clothes. he wonders if you caught the way that he looked you up and down. when he realizes that you’ve been staring at the tarts, he refocuses and picks up one of the pastries, holding it close to your mouth “your tarts, your majesty.” when you open to take a bite, he snatches it back quickly and takes a bite himself. his face contorted in pleasure, the treat was perfect amounts sweet and sour.

“jungkook,” you deadpanned. your straight face breaks into laughter not even a second later when he holds the bitten pastry back up to your mouth. “you literally ate half of it!”

“then eat the rest of it!” he shoots back with a laugh. you roll your eyes, taking the rest of the pastry into your mouth. in turn, your lips slightly graze against his fingers. it wasn’t helping that your eyes were looking directly into jungkook’s. it was quite obvious that there was some tension here.

neither of you knew how to address moments like this.

most of the time the two of you just act like it never happened. but they’ve just been happening a little too often these days. like that one time you and jungkook almost kissed after he helped you put on a necklace. that time you and jungkook were hiding from blue; he held his hand over your mouth and the other arm tightly around your waist so you wouldn’t move or make a noise. then now, your sex eyes peering directly into his as your lips graze his fingers. yeah… it was a hard thing to talk about.

jungkook is just as confused as you when it comes to whatever the two of you were. just best friends? engaged but friends? dating? no, that wouldn’t be right. jungkook should ask you to be his girlfriend, er— fiancee, right? just because the two of you are arranged to be married doesn’t mean the two of you go from best friends to a pair of lovers just like that, even with requited feelings.

communication wasn’t a hard thing for the two of you. being best friends for twenty years does that to you. fights, the silent treatment, and even that one period of time where you swore that you’d never talk to jungkook ever again; you guys have been through it all.

it’s just that— neither of you really know how to go about it. this conversation was awkward. maybe it’s just not time to talk about it yet, jungkook thought. you were so busy these days. your advisors would pull you away from him before he even got a word in.

then when you two do get the time to spend with each other, the both of you are usually exhausted from the days you’ve had. even though the wedding was an entire year away, there was way more planning than either of you expected. everyone wants it to be perfect. which is nice in hindsight, but it does get annoying sometimes. like how venus was hounding you earlier for the choice of table cloths.

so the two of you just ignore it for now. maybe when it becomes more of a problem, you’ll talk about it with each other. but for now, it’s just something neither of you are ready to face. you chew and swallow the rest of the tart while jungkook moves into the bathroom to get ready for bed. giving the both of you enough time to calm down and gather your thoughts.

when he comes back out, you’ve eaten at least three more strawberry tarts and started a new movie. another scary one. jungkook doesn’t understand how you can watch these kinds of things before you go to sleep, it’s like you’re immune to nightmares or something.

but you weren’t immune to feeling tired. just before jungkook joins you in bed, you let out a yawn before stretching your limbs a little bit.

“tired?” jungkook asks, pulling the comforter over his legs.

you nod, “a little.”

he smiles. “it’s late,” he nods to the clock on his night stand. one in the morning. “sleep, you did a lot of work today.”

“i know,” you groan. “just one more bite.” trying to fit an entire strawberry tart into your mouth was a bad decision. the pastry crumbled into your throat and had you choking for a minute.

jungkook comes to the rescue with your glass of water and a hand rubbing circles against your back. “alright, alright.” he laughs. “no more tarts— go to sleep, princess.”

when you’ve come down from your coughing fit, you nod before you tell him that you’re going to call seungyeon and jimin. “let me just update them about the wedding planning— they’re gonna laugh about everything, i just know it!”

“it’s supposed to be a secret, princess.” jungkook shakes his head, watching as your hands pull out your phone at lightning speed.

“oh… really?” you pause, “i’ve been telling them everything since we’ve started.” jungkook only laughs. he could never be mad at that, why wouldn’t you wanna share something like this with your friends?

“just make sure your advisors don’t find out, okay?” he holds his pinky up for a classic promise, which you reciprocate.

the next fifteen minutes or so, jungkook acts like he isn’t listening to your conversation as he immerses himself into the storyline of this movie, it was interesting but not as interesting as the way you tell them about the wedding. you sound so excited, telling seungyeon that you’re gonna have to go dress shopping soon and that you want her to be there and everything. it makes jungkook smile. it’s more back and forth between the two of you, seungyeon saying of course she’ll be there and you saying that she better because you’re sending a jet to her. it was quite funny.

then seungyeon’s voice rings over the line, updating you about how jimin’s prepping for his big dance recital on saturday and how much they miss you.

you wish you could go to support him. jimin’s been dancing for as long as he’s lived. he’s so passionate about it and you admire him for it. he talked your ear off about how excited he was about this performance. that the crowd is going to be the biggest he’s ever performed for and how scouts will be in the audience. you wished you could go.

the way your voice shakes isn’t something you can hide very well. over the phone it may pass off as a breath you took too long to breathe in, but in person, jungkook can hear the way that your voice gives way to the tears building in your eyes. “tell him i wish him the best of luck.”

“of course,” she answers. “oh! and i was able to take some pictures when we went into the city, you remember all those hole-in-the-wall spots, right? turns out they’re great for photography!”

not long after, you received an email notification. containing the pictures that seungyeon took and they were beautiful. the city's night lights make everything look so cool, like a movie.

you miss the city. you miss your friends.

“they’re gorgeous,” you tell her. scrolling through picture after picture. seungyeon rambles more about a new restaurant they found that she hopes to bring you (and jungkook) to when they have the chance. jungkook could see the way that your energy changed. you’re sad now. he can feel it. he knows you miss the city. the way you slowly scroll through the pictures, longing to be there instead of having to look at a picture of it through a screen.

the gears in his head turn. a plan has already been set into motion for a date between the two of you. yugyeom, taehyung, and eunwoo have all been trying to pitch in, give him ideas as to where to go, what to do. but jungkook thinks he knows exactly what to do. he wanted to do this right.

so that next morning, jungkook makes an important phone call after retrieving the phone number from namjoon.

“hello, jimin? this is jungkook…”

it’s already been a week and a half since you and jungkook agreed to an arranged marriage. you’ve only been able to see him five out of the twelve days. busy was an understatement. venus said there is too much to do and that even a year isn’t enough time to get everything done. it seems like an exaggeration, in your opinion. sure, a wedding was a lot of work, but did you really need to be there to confirm everything?

maybe venus will let you have a break one of these days. you don’t suspect it to be anytime soon. today, you were told to wake up early (six in the morning type of early) and get dressed. no one told you exactly why, but you listened and once you were ready, made your way to the briefing room.

when you push the big doors open, venus eyes you suspiciously. “princess, what are you doing here? we are not wedding planning today.”

you furrow your eyebrows. “then what are we doing?”

“you are going on a plane, something about a political appearance.” she winks. walking your way and weaving her arm through yours to lead you out.

“already? mother said appearances weren’t for another month!” you groaned.

“sorry, princess.” she laughs. “your bags are being packed as we speak, just go freshen up and we’ll meet jungkook and blue at the royal runway.”

“got it.” you assure her. ah, such a good kid. venus thinks. you don’t even question the random political appearance and just accept it at face value. she knows you’ll be surprised. you don’t even suspect a thing!

after maybe ten minutes, you walk with venus down to the runway and meet up with the boys. jungkook seems a little nervous. he’s doing that thing where he shifts his weight on his feet. “you okay?” you ask him.

“yeah! yeah— why wouldn’t i be?” jungkook answers. a smile that’s way too bright is displayed on his face. you suspect it’s just nerves for the speech he’s probably gonna have to do.

“if you’re nervous, just remember i’ll be right there next to you, yeah?” you assure him. gently taking his hand into yours.

jungkook is suddenly reminded why he shouldn’t be so damn nervous. because it’s you. he gets to be with you. to marry you. of course, he wants it to be perfect, that’s why he keeps going over everything in his head, making sure he’s got everything down. but it’s you. his best friend. when he looks at you, his nerves are at ease. that burning feeling in his chest dies down and his throat no longer feels like closing in on itself.

he lets out a breath. “ready?”

you nod, “where are we going anyway? venus never told me.” stepping up into the aircraft and taking your seat, jungkook and blue follow suit.

“i think we’re going to gotia, right, blue?” jungkook answers, turning his head to namjoon. his face directly telling him to go along with it.

“yes, your highness, gotia.” namjoon smiles brightly.

your eyebrows knit together. they’re acting weird again. “alright…” you say, suspicious of them already. “wake me up when we’re there.”

apparently, you were exhausted. you slept through the entire plane ride and it was a fifteen hour plane ride. namjoon said you did this the last time too. only waking up to eat and talk briefly before falling asleep again. it was a great time for namjoon and jungkook to gather blackmail photos for themselves as your sleeping faces are unbeatable. even when you land, you don’t wake up. jungkook isn’t gonna be the one to wake you up, so he gently lifts you up, bridal style. you don’t even bother opening your eyes, you just cuddle into his further. jungkook was always so warm, and so strong. he carries you into a car and lets you continue sleeping there, with your head on his shoulder.

after about twenty minutes of traffic, you finally decide to open your eyes. suddenly conscious of the way that jungkook’s hand is intertwined with yours. you don’t mind, his hand felt nice in yours. with sleep-riddled eyes, you look outside the window to see city infrastructure; which is not very common in gotia. gotia is a green mountain country, known particularly for their abundance of livestock and green grass.

you give them the benefit of doubt, perhaps you guys were just going somewhere in gotia that you’ve never been before. so you ask, “where exactly in gotia are we going?”

jungkook smiles. a very mischievous smile. “you’ll see when we get there, princess, don’t worry.”

hm, suspicious. this time you sit up, the seat belt digging into your belly when you push forward to lean against the front seat. “blue, where are we going?” you ask your trusty body guard.

“i am just following directions, your highness.” he tells you with a tight grin.

you were already suspicious during the plane ride, and now since neither jungkook or namjoon want to tell you where you’re going; you’re starting to put the pieces together. they’re gonna make you play that game where blue drops you and jungkook off in a random location and the two of you have to figure out where to go from there. and from your own experience: it sucks! so you scoff. “you guys are kidnapping me! hand me my phone, i am calling my father.” holding your hand out with your palm facing up. both of them laugh, jungkook places his hand on yours instead of giving you your phone.

“just wait a little longer, princess.” jungkook tells you as he intertwines your fingers together.

another few minutes and you’re still unsure of where you are, the dark tint of the windows is only adding onto the difficulty to spot the exact location. blue stops abruptly and turns to the two of you, “i was told to let you off here.” he says. the street is empty, but somewhat familiar. you weren’t able to get another look before jungkook covered your eyes.

“it’s a surprise, close your eyes.” he says. out of habit, you close your eyes, giving your trust to jungkook. jungkook steps out of the car first and then the door to the left of you opens. you keep your eyes closed and scoot out of the car with jungkooks’ help. he helps you out and onto the ground where he leads you somewhere onto the sidewalk.

“can i open my eyes now?” you ask, still squeezing your eyes shut.

“in a sec,” jungkook promises. bringing you a little further, you can hear him open a door and feel him lead you inside. “you can open your eyes now, we have to go up some stairs first.” he tells you.

when you open your eyes, you’re in a staircase with carpeted floors and metal railings. it looks fancy. the two of you make it up the stairs and you still can’t tell where the hell you are before jungkook tells you to close your eyes again. he opens another door and leads you out, leading you through a curtain you can feel. now you can hear some noise, quiet bickers of a crowd of people. it had to be hundreds of people out there.

you hear jungkook sit down beside you before he speaks up once more, “okay, open.”

scared, you only open your right eye just a peek. from the image, there’s an entire crowd below you. you’re in a theater of some sort. no, wait— it’s not just some theater, it’s the theater. the one that jimin’s performing at! that’s when your eyes shoot open. you’re back in the city, with jungkook by your side, about to watch your best friends’ performance.

“no way.” you spoke quietly, facing jungkook. he only smiles at you, holding your hand in his. “did you really do this for me?” the two of you sat in the highest box seat, jimin called them ‘the rich people seats.’ no one can really see you from here and you had one of the best views; it was perfect.

it was just so thoughtful. he must have noticed how homesick you were feeling, how much you yearned to see your friends again. this is the best gift you could have ever received. you’re not even sure what to say, and jungkook understands. he doesn’t expect any thank you’s or a major display of affection. he’s just happy that you’re happy.

when the lights dim and the music begins to play, you can’t help but feel the tears start to build in your eyes. “thank you, jungkook, so much.” you pull yourself close to him, laying your head on his shoulder.

“of course, princess.” he tells you, wrapping his arm around your waist to pull you in closer. “anything for you.”

with that, a tear falls and the curtains are drawn. revealing jimin standing in position with a beautiful dark forest background, performing his black swan routine. one of his longest and most physically intensive choreography he’s ever made. but it’s so damn gorgeous. he performs flawlessly and receives a standing ovation. you couldn’t have been any happier for him.

during the extended applause, jungkook stands up pulls you along, through another carpeted hallway. “wait— where are we going?” you ask him. his other hand holds a bouquet that literally came out of nowhere. “and where did you get those flowers?!”

“we’re gonna see jimin!” he tells you as he maneuvers through the never ending hallways. “oh, and i hid these— so you could give them to jimin.”

the two of you stop just before another door, you pull him back gently. “what? people are going to see us, jungkook, we aren’t allowed to be outside of the kingdom without proper guards.”

“no one will see us, i promise, jimin will meet us here in this room.” he tells you. the both of you peek through the door window, it was an empty practice room. the door on the other side of the room opens and it’s the cue that it’s safe to come in. “ready?” he asks, holding the flowers out for you to take.

you start crying again, it was immediate. jungkook wipes the tears away quickly, “don’t cry, princess.” he places a sweet kiss on your forehead before he hands you the bouquet and opens the door for you.

then there in the middle of the room stands your best friend. his arms open for a hug and you run into them. crying even harder when you realize that jimin is crying too, you can hear the way he sniffles. “why are you crying?! you did amazing!” you sob.

“because you’re here and everything went perfectly— it’s just overwhelming.” he admits, pulling back from the hug. the two of you laugh at your crying faces.

“congratulations, jimin.” you tell him, holding out the flowers for him.

“thank you, ___.” he accepts them with a smile, wiping his tears and turning his attention to jungkook, who stands at the door as a lookout. “jungkook—! oh crap, wait— should i call him majesty or highness or something?” jimin’s quickly tries to correct himself, asking you for advice.

you can only laugh and shake your head. “you can just call him jungkook.”

“i was called?” jungkook stands just behind you, with a smile on his face.

“yeah, man— come here.” jimin embraces him in a hug and jungkook doesn’t object it.

rubbing his back, jungkook congratulates him as well. “you’re incredibly talented, jimin.” he smiles when he pulls away. “it’s great to finally meet you in person.”

“thank—”

“jimin! it’s curtain call!” a lady barges into the practice room. she stands speechless for a second, her eyes darting straight to jungkook. “wait, is that prince jungkook?!” all of you are wide eyed. jimin’s mouth is silently telling you two to ‘run!’ before you knew it, she was pulling out her phone, trying to take a picture.

jimin is quick to block the camera as he shouts. “go! hurry!” the two of you rush out of the door you came from. you and jungkook bolt back to the car, blue is a little startled when you both jump in, breathless.

“everything alrig—“

“drive!” you demanded.

“shit— alright!” blue complies and steps on the gas, getting you out of the parking spot behind the theater and now onto the streets of the city.

now that everyone’s calmed down. you just realized that you, again, have no idea where you were going. “now where are we off to? it’s about eleven o’clock, right?”

“go with the plan, blue.” jungkook tells him. with the creepy wording, you begin to feel more suspicion around the two of them. what more surprises could there be?

the three of you spent another fifteen or so minutes of driving, and quite frankly you were tired of looking for little landmarks to pinpoint where you were. just as you were about to ask again, blue stops the car and looks at jungkook.

“okay, another surprise— close your eyes.” jungkook says. you can’t help but admit this is kind of fun. sure, you were annoying the hell out of the boys for the past fifteen minutes asking when you were gonna get there and where you were going. but they love you either way.

you keep your eyes squeezed shut as jungkook helps you out of the car and onto another sidewalk. “just a little further.” he says, leading you closer to whatever it was. just before he speaks again, you hear a little jingle. “okay, open.”

when your eyes finally adjust to the city lights, you recognize the building entirely too well. a place that you lived for five years. “is this— are we— no way!” you stutter, purely out of surprise. you were sure that you weren’t going to see this place for at least another decade.

you stand there speechless, just like how you did at jimin’s recital, for a good minute or so. jungkook has to wave his hand in front of your face to break you out of the trance.

“so, are you gonna show me your apartment or not?” jungkook grins, holding up your cutely decorated keychain. you squeal in excitement as he hands you the keys and you drag him into the building. it’s only been about a month and a half since you’ve last seen it, but it feels so nostalgic. it feels special. you suspect it’s because of the man whose hand you’re holding right now.

up the elevator and to the left, the apartment labeled with a silver plated 101 beckons you inside. soon enough, you’re pulling jungkook through the door and giving him a detailed tour of your shoe closet that is right there when you walk in.

as the two of you walk around, it’s cleaner than you remember. venus must have gotten people to tidy the place up after you left. just as you finish the very short tour of your apartment, you remember that you’d left some things from jimin and seungyeon in your room. “make yourself at home, my prince, i’ll just be in my room, collecting some things.” you excuse yourself and let jungkook look around some more.

if jungkook were honest, he would have told you that he got a bit of whiplash from your tour. he was turning every two seconds because you were speaking so fast. you were just so excited, and jungkook couldn’t have been happier. everything was going exactly as planned. the clock was ticking and jungkook did have a schedule to be on, but there was nothing wrong with a little snooping around your apartment. he wanted to see the place that you called home for the past five years.

your couch looks cozy, blankets on one side with decorative pillows to adorn the piece of furniture. your coffee table is cute too. you’ve got good taste. everything just seems so you. so when jungkook turns toward the bookcase you mentioned earlier into your tour. it was crowded with books, photo albums, cd’s, and records. a specific photo album catches his eyes, a cute light blue album. on the spine it was labeled: ‘jjk’ and from what jungkook knows, it must be his initials.

it’s when he opens it is when he confirms. the album is full of pictures of the two of you when you were kids, at every festival, from infant to teens. flipping through the pages, both of your smiles never changed. over the years; in both of your eyes, the certain glimmer of love shines so brightly. he puts it back with a soft smile after he’s flipped through all the pages. another book catches his eyes, your favorite fairy tale story: hansel and gretel. while everyone made fun of your choice of story, jungkook thought it was cool. you were all about safety and stranger danger, therefore making hansel and gretel a good story for kids to read (in your opinion.) you always read it when you needed to make an important decision, you called it a comfort read. it helped you get into the right mindset, think about all the pros and especially the cons of the decision you were about to make.

jungkook was only going to look at it and flip through the pages mindlessly. but when he pulls it out of its place in the bookshelf, two envelopes fall out from between the pages. squatting down, he picks up the fallen pieces of paper and coincidentally, sees his name on one of the letters. the other is blank, just a plain envelope. if it was addressed to him, then it means it was meant for him, therefore, he could read it… right?

jungkook,

if you are reading this, then that means i’ve already left for the city.

first, i wanted to apologize: for everything. for not telling you that i would leave sooner, for leaving you, for not telling you how i felt.

i was scared terrified that i would ruin our friendship if i ever told you, but now, since i don’t know if i’ll ever come back. i need to get this off my chest.

i’ve wanted to tell you this for the longest time.

jeon jungkook, i am in love with you.

i’m sorry this is how you had to find out, i’m sorry i didn’t have the courage to tell you in person.

but i love you, and i think i always will.

i hope you will be happy, whoever you marry. i hope they love you the way you deserve.

i hope to be at your wedding when i hear the news.

i’m sorry again.

sincerely,

___

easily, his eyes gloss over. you’ve loved him all along. he should have known. how could he have not known? thoughts run through his mind at hundreds of miles an hour; what would have happened if you did give this to him when you left. he probably would have gotten on the next plane out and searched the city to find you. probably would have done the exact same thing he did recently, beg you to give the two of you a chance. he shakes his head, sliding the letter back into its envelope. reading the other letters wouldn’t hurt, right?

of course not, he tells himself. he was always so nosy. the blank envelope held multiple pieces of paper. most of them were unfinished confessions to him, smudged black ink with multiple sentences crossed off. from what he can count, you wanted to confess to him at least five times now.

jungkook isn’t sure how he feels, he just knows how in love he is. this feeling of being surrounded by warmth, it’s enough to make a tear slip out. he can’t help but smile either. this is the boost of confidence he needed for tonight. he was so nervous before, that everything would go terribly wrong, but now he’s just so… content, so happy. he wanted to hug you, kiss you, everything. so he puts the envelopes back into the book, places it back into the shelf and makes his way to your room. your body hovers over your vanity, digging through your jewelry box.

“my princess.” jungkook pouts even though you can’t see him. coming from behind, he hugs you tightly and rests his head against yours. he tries to hide the way that his tears began to tear up. you look up from your tangle of necklaces, turning and taking him into your arms.

“are you crying?” the single tear that rolls down his cheek grabs your attention. your hand immediately coming up to wipe it away. “what’s wrong? do you hate my little apartment that much?” you let out a laugh.

he laughs too, shaking his head with a smile. “your little apartment is perfect— i love it actually, i love you.”

“aw,” you mumble against his chest. “i love you too, even though you’re acting super weird.” the two of you stand there, swaying in a hug for a little longer.

“am not.” he rests his chin atop your head.

“whatever you say.” you hum, pulling him towards your prized possession— your queen sized bed. the two of you plop on top, your fluffy comforter proving to be one of the best purchases you have ever made in your entire life. the two of you lay there in silence for a little bit, you almost fall asleep due to how warm jungkook is.

“as much as i would love to cuddle and take a nap in your bed, we’re on a tight schedule— c’mon.” jungkook says as he stands from your bed, pulling you up.

“a schedule?” you quirk an eyebrow. “what else are we gonna do in the city? our faces are plastered all over the internet, not to mention you’re the most-thirsted-after prince in the entire world.” you ask as he tugs you through the hallway and back into the living room.

“can you show me the roof?” jungkook asks. a sly smile on his face, while you’re still completely clueless.

“of course!” you squeal, excited to show him the amazing view of the city the roof of your building has. the two of you exit your apartment and you pull him up another two flights of stairs. “usually it’s kind of dirty, so don’t mind the mess.” you warn before opening the heavy door.

but when you push it open, the roof is…clean. it’s decorated too. it’s not the same as you last saw it. “huh— would you look at that?” jungkook steps out onto the roof first, with his hands on his hips as he looks back at you. “it looks pretty clean— and look! it’s set up for dinner...?” he acts surprised. his eyebrows raised as the two of you walk towards the dinner table. he pulls out the chair for you to sit down and you can’t help but let out a little laugh.

“so this was your plan.” you snort. dinner was in the shape of cups of ice cream. it was adorable. “ice cream for dinner?”

jungkook nods, handing you a tiny spoon for the ice cream. “your favorite.”

he did all of this for me. you realize the effort. he must have gone through meticulous planning and conspiring all of this in secret. he’s good. really good. god, you could kiss him.

the two of you sit there in the ambiance of the late city night, eating ice cream and having a small conversation. whenever the conversation paused, you could hear some music playing quietly in the back.

jungkook really did deserve the mantle of prince charming. king of romance. ruler of your heart.

“do you hear that?” jungkook asks, holding a hand out next to his ear. a familiar tune playing from wherever the music was. standing up, he extends his grasp for you to take. “a dance, princess?”

“you know i have two left feet.” you try to decline him, remembering how taehyung teased you about the way that you tripped over his feet when the two of you danced at your welcome home party. but jungkook doesn’t mind. he loves dancing with you, always has. he loves the way that your feet crash into his, how focused you get when you try not to get the moves wrong. he wanted to waltz with you everywhere, even if you stood on his feet the entire time.

“just follow me, alright?” he smiles. giving in, you take his hand and the two of you make your way to the middle of the rooftop. the night sky bearing witness to one of the most romantic things you’ve ever received. you feel his hand wrap around your waist, guiding you to step where he does.

“sparks, huh?” you smile, finally putting a title on the song playing. “kind of a sad song to dance to.” following his moves, dancing does seem a little easier with jungkook there.

“i thought it was perfect.” he states, leading you in for a twirl and then back into his arms. “it explains exactly how i feel about you.

“yeah?” you look up to him. even in this faint lighting, the abandoned flickering light bulbs that hang from strings all across the rooftop from an old tenant party, he still shines so bright.

he nods. the two of you silently sway for another few beats of the song. you lay your head against his chest, the beat of his heart is as calming as the music in the back. maybe if you just leave your eyes closed, this moment could last forever.

meanwhile, jungkook is trying to amp himself up to get these words out. another confession and an important question sits heavy on his tongue. he knows you feel the same, knows that you’ll accept, but he’s still so nervous. what if you don’t say yes and he’s left there with his knee against the rough concrete floor? what if this was just too cheesy for you and you hate it?

jungkook tells himself there’s only one way to find out.

“i— can i tell you something?” he asks. you lift your head away and look in his eyes, they greet you with that sweet eye smile that hasn’t changed in all the days you’ve known him.

“of course.” you pull yourself back, holding his hands.  

“when you were gone...i was always afraid that i was romanticizing you— i had nothing but our memories and the small talks we would have sometimes through our parents,” he admits. “i was scared that i was in love with the idea of you, and not… you— you know?”

his confession makes you stop in your tracks, clear disbelief on your face as you drop his hands from your grasp. “what?! jungkook— why are you telling me this now?” you groan, folding your arms over your chest. you move to grab your phone to find a way to reverse this. “you know what— it’s not too late to cancel the engagement and call up the king of fenutar— i’m sure they’ll forgive you— yeah, let’s give them a call—”

he pulls you back gently, “princess, relax.” he laughs. “i was just getting started.”

your gaze softens, letting him finish his point as he restarts the sway. your feet move with his, slowly to the beat of the song playing in the back. it’s changed to something calmer, from what you could hear, it sounds like cigarettes after sex.

“this past month, ever since you came back—” he starts up once more. you attention falling back onto him instead of the music in the back. “i don’t know what it is, but i think i was wrong.” he says. you gently furrow your eyebrows. confused as to what he means. jungkook brings his hand up to your face, cupping your jaw before raising his thumb to soothe the creases in your forehead.

relaxing your muscles under his touch, he lowers his hands back down to hold your hands. he says the next words, staring straight into your eyes. “i love you, i always want to be around you, i wonder if you are alright— if you’re sad, because i want to be there for you, i want to take care of you.” your hands are pulled close to him, enough for him to be able to gently press a kiss against your knuckles. “i want to be by your side, against foes seen and unseen.”

“so—“ he lets go of your hand to pull a tiny white box out from his pocket and gets on one knee. “will you marry me?”

the rough ground against his clothed knee doesn’t matter anymore when he sees the sweetest smile on your face. everything is perfect.

you let out a little laugh, your smile going from ear to ear. “yes! of course— yes, yes!” tears collect in your eyes quickly. holding your arms out for him, jungkook comes up and collects your embrace. a tear slips out and he can hear your sniffle. gently, he wipes the tear away, and the two of you stare at each other just long enough. long enough to understand that this was the time.

you both lean forward and finally, let your lips connect. a kiss seals the fate of both hearts involved.

dreaming of this moment ever since you were fifteen has given you quite high expectations for it, but jungkook always exceeds expectations. even when you think he couldn’t be anymore perfect, he always has something up his sleeve. it shows in the way his kiss is gentle, but so passionate. transferring his love to you in the most efficient way possible.

jungkook is in dreamland almost. wonders if this is what being on drugs is like. pure euphoria. knows that this is what love stories are based off of. pure adoration. fears what he’ll do if he won’t be able to kiss you. the beginning of an addiction. your lips, they take him prisoner.

slowly, the two of you pull away and stare at each other like love sick puppies. jungkook holds your face in his hand as you lean into his grasp. the sound of confetti poppers startle you, flinching at the noise before looking to see what happened. through the rain of confetti, you can see all of them. seungyeon, jimin, blue, taehyung, eunwoo, and yugyeom. you didn’t think it could get any better. you were so happy.

“congratulations, your majesties.” blue moves forward after the confetti settles and hands the two of you a purple rose. the national flower of raemor and it was a common tradition to give engaged couples raemors for good luck all throughout their relationship and marriage. you thank blue with a hug and so does jungkook. jimin and seungyeon also congratulate you, seungyeon pulls out her camera and shows you the pictures she took while she was hidden with everyone behind the huge skylights.

eunwoo takes hold of your hand gently, raising the ring up for everyone to see. jimin and seungyeon also come close to get a better look, holding your arm still. “that rock is adorable, jungkook.” he pats him on the back. making slight fun of the stones size. everyone in the kingdom was used to huge gems, rings that would weigh down the finger of the wearer. you give eunwoo a light shove.

the ring was your style. it was actually really thoughtful too. there were conversations where you and jungkook would gossip about the adults sometimes, you knew everything back then. who was cheating on who, whose wives knew about the mistress, whose husbands knew about the paramour. then most of the time, they would solve it through money. buying bigger, more expensive material things to woo them, to make them forget the betrayals. you hated it. you specifically remember telling jungkook that you’d rather have a small ring and a great love, instead of a big ring and a loveless marriage.

so when you stare at the pretty gem laid on your ring finger, you realize it’s just more evidence that jungkook listens, and he takes your words into account. you couldn’t have been happier with the piece of jewelry. “i think it’s beautiful.” you pout in defense of the ring.

“it’s a red diamond.” namjoon tells them. “one of the rarest diamonds in the world.”

“how much is it?” yugyeom peers at the ring as well, he likes the way it sparkles even without the light.

“it doesn’t matter!” you groan, looking at jungkook for some help as four different people have your hand in their grasp.

“the diamond itself is roughly about five million— the rest of the ring, i can’t say.” namjoon shrugs nonchalantly.

jimin and seungyeon gasp at the same time, same pitch. both yugyeom and eunwoo’s eyes almost bulge out of their sockets. “sorry man— i thought it was a ruby.” eunwoo scratches the back of his head. jungkook only laughs at the conversation, not taking any of it to heart, along with taehyung (and chaeyoung!) who helped him customize the ring in the first place.

“five million?! are you serious?” you turn to him, about to scold him for wasting his money. just for an engagement ring too?!

he catches your hand before you can shove him like you did eunwoo. he brings it to his mouth, kissing your ring finger gently. before coming close to your ear, he whispers, “it’s worth way more than five million.”

“jungkook!”

taglist: @kookxin @fan-ati--c

[princehrry-writings]

Y/n's a witch and Harry's her soulmate

I'VE LITERALLY BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR 2 MONTHS!!!

lanfvksbkvjbs I hope you guys like it because I poured my whole soul into this!!!! I wanted it to be over 10k but I felt like I was just dragging it on and the ending isn't great but it's ok.

I switch between present and past tense without meaning too- oops :)

wordcount: 9911

warnings: uhhh, swearing, google translated latin :) catcalling and unwanted male attention (with a bad witch moment... see what i did there😏), a little bit of violence, very lightly edited lmao

She didn’t quite understand what was going on. Was this another witch? No, she would have felt that energy differently. So he had to be a mortal. But why did it feel like she had just been set on fire in the best way possible.

“Thank you…” He muttered, eyes glazed over. “M’Harry, by the way.”

Harry.

What a magical name, she thought.

or

Harry walks into Y/n’s shop one day, sees the brooms sweeping by themselves and gets a little curious.

.

.

.

“Althea, get your claws out of there. You’re gonna get hair in the muffins!” Y/n shrieked, quickly shooing the troublesome feline away from the open bowl of batter sat atop the counter. The cat just meowed at her, unbothered by her person's shrieking. Thea was quite the diva. She couldn’t give a flying fuck even if she tried.

“Oh Stars, look what you’ve done!” Y/n continued, cleaning up the trail of paw prints left in the flour on the table. “How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of the kitchen when I’m baking Thea! Why don’t you ever listen!”

Y/n has been a little strung up lately. That’s probably the understatement of the century. Maybe if she hadn’t been put in charge of the shop for the first time by herself while her mother went to gather supplies and place orders for said shop, she wouldn’t be so stressed. She’s only 22 years into her eternal lifetime. She’s yet to learn the virtue of patience, her mind never ceasing to run with ideas and thoughts and feelings.

Her mother always griped about how she needed to take a deep breath and let go of the tension in her shoulders because now that she had stopped ageing- she had all the time in the world (literally) to do everything she was worried about. Y/n would argue that she’s not worried so much as eager. She’s just very excitable.

“Why do I even bother yelling at you anymore.” Y/n grumbled, flicking her wrist in the direction of the broom closet. The broom and dustpan came floating out and got to work sweeping up the bits of flower seeds and petals that had dropped off the table instead of into the mortar like she had planned.

Y/n’s never been known for her cleanliness.

Out of the blue, the hair on the back of her neck and arms stood at full attention, a warm shiver shooting down her spine. What the hell? She thought to herself. Thea didn’t seem bothered by whatever energy was coming closer so she knew it wasn’t any danger, but it was something. Y/n flicked her wrist once more, quickly sending the broom away and going to hide behind a wall where whoever this was couldn’t see her.

The little bells above the door chimed, alerting anyone inside that someone had just arrived. In walked, who Y/n thought to be, the most beautiful boy she thinks she’s ever seen. Chestnut curls shielded by a knit beanie, sea glass eyes, broad shoulders, a kind smile on his face. He looked as ethereal as she was.

She felt the earth shift under her feet, her heart speeding up slightly in his presence. He was magnificent, she thought. The shiver she felt was steadfast and unchanging, finding a home in the goosebumps covering her whole body. She had never felt like this before.

The witch watched from behind the wall as the man gazed about the shop, his hands rested behind his back. In a pair of black jeans with a rip in the knee and a white tee shirt with a cardigan thrown over it, he shuffled about.

Y/n took a deep breath, collecting herself before making her presence known. She walked out from behind the wall, stepping behind the main checkout counter and clearing her throat lightly.

“Welcome in! I’m Y/n, let me know if you need any help!” She said, trying not to cringe at how scripted that sounded.

His head popped up, eyes connecting with hers and that’s when they both felt the energy in the room grow. Thea came sauntering out of the kitchen area in the back, Y/n made a mental note to check the muffin batter for cat hair later, no doubt at the electrical charge of the room.

She didn’t quite understand what was going on. Was this another witch? No, she would have felt that energy differently. So he had to be a mortal. But why did it feel like she had just been set on fire in the best way possible.

“Thank you…” He muttered, eyes glazed over. “M’Harry, by the way.”

Harry.

What a magical name, she thought.

There was a pause, where neither of them wanted to move, in fear of this moment passing and never getting to feel like this ever again.

It felt like having a picnic on a warm summer day, where it’s not too hot but just right. It felt like the first breath of fresh Spring air, like hearing a baby giggle. She felt fuzzy and warm. Like she was wrapped in a hug. Y/n felt… peaceful. She felt all of her anxiety about the shop melt away, as if it had never been there.

Harry smiled at her, a pink tinge coating his skin, and pulled his eyes away (he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by staring), continuing on with his peruse of the shop. He had no idea why he was here, truly. Didn’t realize where he was until he pushed through the door. He doesn’t even know what any of this stuff is, he’s just looking so it seems like he knows what he’s doing.

He felt something brush his ankle, looking down and seeing a fluffy snow white cat with striking green eyes (just like his!), and cooed at her.

“Is it alright if I pet her?” He asked, looking back up at Y/n. He would take any chance he got to look at her. She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. With her shiny hair and kind eyes, a smile that made you want to hug her. She looked so welcoming. He felt… oddly peaceful.

“Yeah of course! She’s my little attention whore, aren’t you Thea?” Y/n giggled and Harry thought his heart would stop right there. Her little giggle was the most glorious sound he’d ever heard, he decided.

She got up from her little stool behind the counter and floated over to him, using her cat as an excuse to get closer. She just couldn’t figure out why she had such a pull to him. It didn’t make sense to her. Maybe he was a witch and was just masking his energy really well, maybe he was some sort of other creature, or maybe… no, that can’t be it.

Well…

Maybe… he’s her Flame. Her Twin Flame… Her Soulmate.

No. There’s no way. It’s so rare for witches to find their flames. And especially at such a young age. Y/n’s parents didn’t find each other for almost 75 years, and here she is at just 22, stumbling upon some magical happenstance where her Flame just saunters into her family’s shop.

Harry scratched behind Thea’s ear, a motor-like pur erupting from her little belly. She nuzzled into his touch, and then sprung up onto his shoulder from the table, startling the man. Y/n giggled at the look on his face, reaching up to scratch just above Thea’s tail, her favorite spot.

“She does that when she likes someone.” Y/n explained. A blush appeared on his face at this.

She likes him.

“So was there anything in particular you were looking for?” Y/n continued, hoping to make more conversation with him. Her fingers are buzzing, wanting to reach out and hold his hand or touch his arm, anyway she can get her hands on him really, but she knows that would be inappropriate so she refrains (however difficult it may be).

Harry was in the same boat. He felt the need to wrap her up in his embrace and never let her go. It was the strangest thing he thinks he’s ever felt.

“Honestly, no. I don’t really know what any of this stuff is… I didn’t even realize when I walked in but I didn’t want to look like a psycho just walking in and out of shops randomly.” A shy smile displays on his features.

Y/n chuckled. This furthers her hunch that he is, in fact, her Flame. Getting a random urge to come in here could only mean that the invisible string tying them together was leading him to her. Pulling them closer and closer everyday until this very moment, when they were fated to meet. Written in the stars to know each other, whether that be for love or friendship only time would tell.

She really hopes it’s love.

“Ok… We’re kind of just a general shop. We carry crystals, herbs, spices, oils, candles, and my mother does a lot of crafts, so we sell those here too.” Y/n went on to explain, Harry’s eyes flitted around to all the things she mentioned. He saw glittering crystals, by themselves but also made into jewelry like rings and necklaces, he saw bundles of different flowers and vials of liquids he assumed were the oils she mentioned.

“What is all this stuff for?” He questioned. He had never heard of anyone suddenly needing Oxeye Daisies or black onyx crystals, but he’d never been one to judge.

Y/n paused, thinking of the best way to explain everything. Practising “witchcraft” wasn’t an unusual topic to humans, but they didn’t know that witches with magic that was (semi-inaccurately) portrayed in movies and tv shows actually existed.

“Uhm, anything in the shop can be used for a number of things. Apothecary, gardening, herbal remedies, manifestation.” She explained. He nodded along with her words, doing his best to focus on what she was saying rather than just her. His body was tingling the closer she stood. He never wanted this feeling to go away.

Whatever this feeling was.

Harry looked around, his sights landing on a shelf full of colorful candles. His eyes lit up, trotting over to them, picking up one that was a light lavender color. He didn’t know he was drawn to this one in particular, but something had pulled him to grab it. Something was telling him to buy it, bring it home, and burn it on his bedside table, right next to his head every night.

It was Y/n’s favorite color.

The girl's cheeks burnt when she realized this was the one he had picked out. The occurrence might seem random to anyone passing by, anyone who didn’t know two halves of a soul had just been reunited with one another after being apart for however many years. But Y/n knew, and hopefully Harry would know soon.

She didn’t want to scare him though. He would think she was crazy. Imagine a random stranger that you’ve never seen before in your entire life tells you that you’re meant to spend the rest of your life together. He would run away screaming.

So she has to start slow.

“Think I might get a few candles…” Harry trails off, looking around at all the different shapes and sizes of colored wax sitting before him. Y/n smiles at this and nods, letting him know she’ll be at the counter if he needs anything.

Please need something, she hopes to herself.

He didn’t end up needing anything, but he ended up purchasing 3 candles, all of them being that same lavender color.

* .

. * .

It was a few weeks later when Y/n felt a familiar tingle run down her spine. Harry must be near, she thought.

She had spent the last fortnight and then some moping about the shop and her flat, hoping her Flame would turn up again. Her mother, Asteria, had been ecstatic when she heard that her daughter had found her Flame, and empathised with her pain, understanding that he was a mortal and it was difficult to form bonds with them quickly. The woman always found it interesting how the most indefinite creatures took the longest to form their bonds. But then she remembered they had no knowledge of Twin Souls and often settled for one not fated to them.

“Mama, he’s close. I can feel him!” Y/n cried, tidying her appearance in the reflection of the window. She hopes to the Stars that he’s coming to see her and not just passing through.

Waving away the brooms fluttering around the shop, she busies herself restocking shelves. Asteria had just finished a new batch of candles that needed shelving. The mother had been trying new recipes lately and was excited to see how they would fare.

Y/n almost misses the little chime of the bells signaling that someone has just entered. If it weren’t for the energy in the room skyrocketing and all the hair in her body standing at attention, she wouldn’t have noticed it at all. Turning, her gaze falls upon a familiar set of sea glass eyes and chestnut curls that have enchanted her mind every passing second since the first time they met. She tried her damndest to hide her grin, but had to turn away so he wouldn’t be able to see it.

Harry looked around the shop before his gaze fell upon the girl he hadn’t stopped dreaming about since he last was here. There she stood, back turned to him, with her shiny hair and adorable outfit. In a lavender colored sundress, hair pulled back by a white scarf, she fussed about the candle shelf that Harry had searched the last time he came.

Everytime he burned that candle, he thought of the way her eyes sparkled when she talked about the different items in the shop and how she smiled at him when he asked her a question.

Harry had never been one to jump into things quickly. He was the kind of guy that liked to get a feel for a situation before he really dived into it. But there was something about this girl that made him want to jump in head first, fearless. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her, daydreaming about little scenarios that he wished would happen between them.

He knows he sounds crazy, but he has a crush on her. And he’d only met her once! That is so not like him at all.

Y/n turned once again, sure that she had calmed the burning in her cheeks, greeting Harry as if she hadn’t thought of him in weeks.

“Welcome in,” she says, wondering if it would be weird to him if she remembered who he was, she decided she doesn’t care, “Oh, hi Harry!”

“Hello Y/n!” He smiles. Y/n felt her heart stutter in her chest when her name fell from his lips. As if she was floating (she had to check to make sure she actually wasn’t), she followed the sound of his voice, going to stand before him. Her first instinct was to hug him, and she was very sad that she had to stop herself.

“What brings you back?” She asked, itching to reach out and hold his hand. His gaze flits around for a few seconds before landing back on her face, a rose tint now on his cheeks.

“I- uh, I don’t really know. I just felt like I needed to come back…” He stuttered. A smile graced her lips, causing an identical one to grow on his own. Asteria watched from behind the counter, beaming at the couple.

“Y/n dear, who’s this?” The witch called. Y/n snapped out of her love-drunk haze, looking to her mother.

“Mama, this is Harry. He came in a few weeks ago while you were away.” She answered, giving her a look that said “please don’t say anything.” Asteria had a tendency to butt into her daughter's life, and Y/n needed to figure this out on her own.

Thea came flouncing out from whichever corner she had burrowed herself into and nosed at Harry’s feet before launching herself onto Y/n’s shoulder and staring at Harry from her new height advantage.

“Well look at you Thea, sittin’ all pretty up there!” Harry reached out to scratch behind her ears. Thea began purring loudly, louder than she did when Y/n petted her (Y/n did her best not to roll her eyes at her attention whore cat). The one thing the girl loved about this was now she had a reason to step closer to the boy before her. He smelled like citrus and woods, with a hint of weed (she’s not judging, she just wouldn’t peg him for a stoner so it’s a little surprising). She let it take over her senses until all she could think about was HaryHaryHary, having to stop herself from purring just like the cat.

“Well, whatever led you back here, it’s nice to see you again!” She blushed, deciding to let her affection for him shine through lightly. Y/n realized she didn’t really want to waste time dancing around mortal niceties. She didn’t want to scare him off but she wouldn’t feign disinterest. The witch wanted to make it clear she was smitten with him. So this was her way of starting slow, letting her blushes be seen, maybe resting a gentle hand on his bicep if he says something that makes her laugh, letting her longing gazes be caught before she looks away.

Like she said before, she’s going to start slow.

“I am too…” Harry wondered if maybe she felt the things he was feeling too. If she couldn’t stop thinking about him the way he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He wondered if it would be weird to ask her out. See if she wanted to get dinner with him, or have a picnic in a park on a sunny afternoon while he stared, as uncreepily as he could, at her bright smile and star-stricken eyes.

Very quickly, like it almost didn’t happen, Y/n saw a blush pink haze surrounding the boy. He was feeling love. The heat in her cheeks rose, fluttering of her heart increasing.

Now she knew for sure, he was her soulmate for love- not friendship. Thank the Stars!

* .

. * .

The next few weeks, Harry would come in every few days just to see Y/n. After realizing that she might be feeling the way he was, he wanted to make it clear to her that he was smitten. So he’d come in after he got done with whatever he’d been doing that day, bring her flowers or a blue-raspberry red bull italian soda (he saw her drinking one one day when he came by) and they would talk and sometimes he’d bring food if it was late and they would eat at the counter in the back kitchen. It became a routine, and he started showing up almost everyday. On slower days, she would close up early, so as not to have a single distraction from her Flame.

The two would talk about the most obscure things, not giving a rat if others heard them cackling at each other's jokes and misspeakings (Y/n stumbled over her words quite a bit when she was tired, he came to realize. He thought it was adorable).

In return for the beautiful flowers and the delicious drinks he’d bring her, Y/n would give him little spell jars or charmed items to make his life easier. He didn’t know they were spelled or charmed, but he thought it was cute how she gave him a lavender colored pen and told him he would think of her every time he wrote anything down (she had charmed it to always spell things correctly) or a little jar filled with lavender and chamomile buds, a few drops of lavender oil and a small amethyst crystal sealed in white wax to help quell the anxiety he’d been feeling with his job lately.

He appreciated them more than any material thing she could have purchased for him. He liked that she wanted him to think about her or that she wanted to do away with his ailments. He came in with a cold once and she spent the better part of an hour fussing over him, telling him all these little tricks to clear his sinuses and giving him different blends of herbs and spices that should clear this up in no time! He thought she was very adorable, worrying over a little cold and wanting to make him better.

Harry found that each time he left her, the force that pulled him to her grew stronger. He wanted to be in her presence more and more every time he walked out the door of the shop. The boy still didn’t really understand what it was about her, but he’s long since stopped asking questions and was just rolling with the punches.

Speaking of things Y/n did that Harry thought was cute- the things she said enamoured him, rendered him so speechless sometimes all he could do was sit there and look at her, (ironically) wondering what magical force brought her to him. He had no idea that the Universe herself was the one who chose his favorite girl.

“Oh Stars Thea! Get out of the nettle! It makes you sneeze, silly cat!”

“Stars forbid you ever listen to me, mother.”

“Althea Rose get your furry ass away from that hot wax before I feed you to the hellhounds!”

He loved how she was always saying Stars where he would normally say Jesus Christ. He never was one to be into religion but it was just something people around him said.

As the weeks went by, they began to sit closer and closer to each other. What started as across the table from one another, began to turn into her at the head and him on the corner next to her, then both of them sitting on one side but a bit of space between them, and then side by side, thighs touching, on the bench seat. Eventually, Y/n would lay one of her legs over his and he would rest his hand innocently on her skin, his thumb absentmindedly brushing back and forth, tapping his fingers to an imaginary beat as she told him a story about a kooky customer that came in.

That was another thing he loved that she said a lot: kooky.

Their goodbyes had grown more and more affectionate over time as well. From a little wave and a shy smile to a little hug, to a bear hug with a kiss on the temple from Harry.

Things were moving very swimmingly. Y/n was happy with the progress the two had made in getting to know each other. She had learned that he worked at a marketing firm but his passion was music, that he was in a band when he was in high school, and he’s from a village in Manchester.

Harry learned that Y/n has a degree in herbology and really likes the woods, and the show The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (despite the inaccurate depiction of witches, she thinks the characters are pretty).

Y/n has been trying to figure out the best way to tell Harry about her… lifestyle. It’s going to be a big shift in his reality and she worries that she’s going to overwhelm him. Her parents didn’t have this problem because they were both witches, but she had been fated to a mortal, which she’s not complaining about because loves Harry and all his human afflictions (loves!), but it’s quite a task keeping him in the dark until she’s ready to shed light on everything.

Especially on a day like today.

Her mother is out again, leaving her in charge of the store, again! And as previously mentioned, Y/n gets a little strung up when she’s left in charge. She’s forgetful, her mind flying all over the place. Her messiness gets worse, leaving different things all over the place (she somehow left a grimoire in the refrigerator at home), losing things… Basically, Y/n’s not doing so hot at the moment.

A busy spell had just finished, she had like 7 different customers in at once, all of them needing her for different things and all the chamomile and lavender oil rubbed behind her ear in the world couldn’t calm the anxiety flowing through her at the moment. She’d been so strung up that she hadn’t noticed the warm golden shiver running down her spine or all the hair on her body raising to attention or the jingle of the bells on the door when Harry walked in.

Walked in to see… the brooms sweeping up by themselves? And different pots and pans flying back into place… with no one carrying them. And Y/n muttering words he didn’t understand while her fingers wiggled, making the pestle inside what he learned to be called a mortar, moving by itself.

To say the least, Harry was very confused. And a little scared. Was he dreaming? Did today even happen? Was he still at home lying in bed?

The only thing that makes him realize he’s not is the shriek Y/n let’s out when she sees him standing frozen in the doorway, eyebrows pulled together in confusion (and a little bit of terror), mouth agape like he wanted to say something but didn’t know where to start. All at once, every moving item ceased and dropped, including the pots and pans which made a very loud noise, scaring Thea so much that she did the loud “meow!” that you only hear cats do in movies, and Y/n let out a quiet“Shit!”

“Harry…” She muttered, standing up slowly and treading towards him.

“Um… Y/n. What- what the fuck… was all of that?” He stuttered, and she continued to walk to him.

“Love, why don’t we go sit down and I’ll explain everything to you!” Y/n said slowly. She had taken to calling him Love lately, not being able to stop herself. They had yet to really “confess their feelings” to the other, but it was like a silent thing that no one said but they both just knew. So the name didn’t surprise him. Actually in the midst of all this craziness (and how his whole world had just seemed to be flipped in a matter of 5 seconds) he was clinging to the familiarity of the pet name.

He nodded, his eyes glazing over as he tried to wrap his head around what he was seeing. Y/n waved her wrist, everything that had dropped seeming to come to life again and be put back into their rightful places. Harry stared in amazement. Seeing it for the second time really drove the nail into the coffin that holy shit this is really happening…

They sat down side by side on the bench where they normally did but Y/n didn’t put her leg over his like they had grown used to. She missed the contact but figured a little space while she explained everything would be best for her Flame. Harry didn’t agree and tugged her closer to him. She didn’t fight it.

“Ok,” She sighed, cracking her knuckles as she took a deep breath, “Harry… my darling Harry. I need you to keep an open mind while I tell you all of this ok? It’s gonna be a lot for you to take in and I don’t want you to get a headache.” He nodded, and she took his hands in her own, running her thumb over his palm and channeling positive energy between the two of them. She saw Harry relax a little, letting her know it worked. He was ready (as ready as he could be) to hear what she had to say.

“Love, I’m a witch.” She says, letting it sink in for a moment. Harry doesn’t say anything for a moment. Y/n wonders if he’s even breathing. The strong pulse thumping in his wrist is a steady reminder that he’s ok, just shocked. (Very, very shocked).

“I come from a very long line of very powerful witches. I have magic, kind of like you see in movies and tv shows except I don’t worship the devil or eat children. None of us do. We’re usually very gentle creatures, unless we’re put in danger. Witches don’t use magic to hurt others, quite the opposite actually.”

“So… you cast spells and stuff?” He asks quietly. She breathes a laugh through her nose, nodding her head, continuing to channel him by rubbing her thumbs over his palms.

“I do, that’s what you saw me doing at the counter. I was actually strengthening the anti-anxiety jar I gave you a few weeks ago, because you told me you had a big project coming up and I didn’t want you to get too stressed out.” The girl said.

Harry couldn’t really focus on one thing for too long, letting his gaze flit around the kitchen area. He felt oddly… calm.

“Why do I feel so calm right now? I feel like I should be freaking out a little bit more than I am…” He voiced, finally looking into her eyes.

“I’m channeling you… look.” She said, pointing her gaze to their hands. He sees her thumbs rubbing gentle circles into his palms and looks back into her eyes.

“You’re casting a spell on me right now?” Harry wonders out loud.

“Channeling isn’t necessarily a spell, I’m just focusing and directing positive energy onto you right now, to help keep you calm. Like I said, I don’t want you to get a headache or pass out on me. I can stop if you want me to though!” She added quickly at the end but he shook his head.

“No, don’t stop…” He almost cried, pulling her closer to him.

“Ok, I won’t. It’s ok!” She shushed him, letting one of her hands float to his cheek, brushing over his cheek bone and pushing a fallen curl out of his eyes, before her hand found his again.

“Was it a spell that made me want to come in here that first day?”

“No baby, that’s actually a little different. This might be a little much so you gotta bear with me ok?” She explained and he nodded, heaving out a heavy breath.

A beat of silence passes and Y/n lets her eyes lock with his.

“We’re Twin Flames… or what you would know as Soulmates. We were fated to be together. That’s why you felt a pull to come in here. We were… destined… to meet each other.”

Harry doesn’t say anything and Y/n feels like her heart is about to beat out of her chest. She knew he was going to find out someday, but really didn’t expect that day to be this one. This crazy long day where everything had seemed to just bubble over and explode. She should have known something was going to happen when this morning, the flame on the candle she had lit for Harry on her altar was taller than it ever had been. She had written it off to him just thinking about her or something (if this was the case, it would be to the ceiling all day everyday because he never stops thinking about her), but she should have known. And now, here she was, terrified that Harry was going to walk away from her. She would understand if he did, it’s a lot to take in, and having your whole world flipped on its head is a bit much.

It would still break her heart though.

“So… this is normal?” Harry broke his silence.

“Is what normal?”

“That I want to be around you all the time? That I think about you all the time? What I’m feeling is normal?”

Y/n’s face softens. He’s so cute, she thinks. She could just wrap him up in a little bow and keep him all to herself for the rest of time.

“Yes, baby. It’s normal! I’ve been feeling the same things as you ever since we first met!” Harry’s mind is a little clearer now, so he picks up on the new pet name. Baby. He likes it, he decides.

“You feel this way too?” He looks like a little puppy right now, Y/n could just cry. She nodded her head, scooting impossibly closer to him, practically sitting in his lap. It seemed now that he was even calmer than he had been before, even without her channeling. She stopped for a second to test his reaction and he was ok. He didn’t tense up, eyes didn’t well in tears, didn’t lose consciousness. So she moved her hands to cup his cheeks now, feeling him lean into her touch.

“You’ve been the only thing on my mind since before you even walked through the door that first day. You’re in my dreams every night, I see you every time I close my eyes, I’m completely taken with everything you do.” Y/n confesses, feeling a weight lift off her chest.

“I know it seems fast to you, as a mortal. Your kind usually takes this kind of thing slowly, really learns a person before you become vulnerable. Out of fear for being judged or whatever it might be, but I would never judge you. I want you to know it’s ok to let your guard down with me. Whatever you're comfortable with! I don’t want to overwhelm you in any way, and I know all of this is so so much to take in. I just want what’s best for you, my Love.”

It’s not lost on Harry that she adds my before Love. He feels his heart flutter.

“I’m taken with everything you do too. Absolutely everything.” He whispers, if he speaks too loudly the moment might be lost.

They stare into each other's eyes, feeling the energy in the room grow. Flames from the lit candles around the room grow tenfold, reflecting the rising energy. Harry has half a mind to break his gaze from the girl before him, seeing the tall flames before bringing his eyes back to hers. He sees her gaze drop to his lips repeatedly. He doesn’t think she even realizes that she’s leaning in to him, but he’s not going to stop her.

When she’s so close he can feel her breath fanning over his face, she pauses, looking back up to his eyes, silently asking for permission. With her hands still cupping his cheeks gently, she closes the distance between them, pressing her lips delicately to his. Harry places his hands in two places: her waist and her neck. He pulls her in closer, pressing their lips together more firmly. A wildfire spreads from head to toe on both of them. It seems as though time has paused for this very moment, and again the earth shifts. A piece of the universe has just been restored, two halves of a soul reunited.

Harry’s fingertips send sparks flowing down her spine, she hums against his lips. The kiss is simple, just two people getting to know each other, learning the other's body, but it’s long. It’s not just one peck. Harry presses his lips against hers multiple times, slotting her bottom between both of his.

When Y/n pulls back to catch her breath, Harry chases after her, not ready to end this moment yet. She chuckles and grants him a few more kisses until she really is about to pass out because she needs to breathe. Pushing him gently, she breaks the kiss and rests her forehead against his, keeping her eyes closed.

She so badly wants to let the three words sitting on the tip of her tongue go, but doesn’t want to overwhelm him with too much all at once.

“Do you feel that?” He whispers, pulling her to sit astride his lap. She moves pliantly, letting him take control of the situation.

The air feels charged, thick, like it should be hard to breath but it flows, smooth as water, into their lungs.

Y/n’s head feels heavy, like she’s high on every drug there ever was, her mind fuzzy, unable to think outside of this moment. Outside of this little wrinkle in time where Harry is the only other thing that exists.

“Yeah,” She whispers back, reconnecting their lips, slotting them together over and over until their lips are puffy and red. Harry slides his hands around her waist, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her flush against him, not even a slip of paper would fit.

Pulling away, Harry heaves in a deep breath, squeezing Y/n’s hips.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for so long…” He says, nudging his nose against hers. She smiles, letting his affections wash over her, warming her eternal soul.

“This doesn’t freak you out?”

“Oh, I’m so freaked out but I'm kind of just going with it, living in the ambiguity and all that shit.” He heaves a laugh through his nose, pressing kisses to her cheek and down her neck, smoothing his hands up and down her back.

This was the best possible outcome of the situation, if Y/n had to be honest. It could have gone so many ways. Harry being freaked out but rolling with it… she’ll take it.

“How about we make dinner and you can ask me any questions you have?” She suggested and he nodded.

So they did just that. But Y/n closed the shop early and they went back to her place. Hand in hand they walked the few blocks, side glaces of reassurance and little squeezes of the hand, letting the other know they were there, and they weren’t going anywhere, with Thea in her little travel backpack (that she was absolutely in love with surprisingly).

They came upon an unsuspecting alleyway. Harry thought they were just passing through as a shortcut but Y/n stopped walking in the middle of a blank brick wall and muttered a few words she didn’t understand while waving her hands. He started to realize maybe this wasn’t just a shortcut.

Before his eyes, a door appeared. His brows shot up in surprise (he’s gonna get worry lines on his forehead if he doesn’t stop doing that, he realizes). Y/n looked over her shoulder at him, trying to hide a smirk but the look on his face was too good.

“Pretty wicked huh?” Harry didn't say anything, just chuckled and nodded, following her when she opened the door and a set of stairs appeared. Walking up the dimly lit hallway, they come to another door with the cheeky The Witch Is In sign.

“Cute.” Harry smirks at her and she laughs, opening it and letting him walk through first.

“Make yourself at home! I’ve got records on the shelf over there, you can pick one if you want. I’m just gonna feed Thea and get her all settled and we can get to making dinner.” Y/n explained. Harry ventured off into her living room, seeing the shelf she was talking about and browsing through. There were many different artists from Fleetwood Mac to Taylor Swift to Weezer. He picks out Hozier's self-titled album and puts it on, the beginning of Take Me To Church crackling through the speakers.

“Good choice,” He hears from behind him and smiles, turning around to see the girl he was apparently destined to spend the rest of his life with standing before him.

“Jackie and Wilson has been stuck in my head the last few days so,” He said, sauntering over to her and snaking his arms around her waist.

Taking a look around, he sees many different trinkets and items similar to what was in the shop. A lot of jars filled with different things, candles of all different colors, crystals, a broom (he didn’t realize witches actually had brooms but ok), among other things that he didn’t know the purpose of.

“Wait… how are there windows in here? I didn’t see any outside.” He asked, pulling back from the hug and looking at her.

“Well, there aren’t any windows in the alley. But there’s also a glamour spell on this building so nobody can see my apartment. That’s why you can’t see the door until I do the little thing you saw me do.” She answered. A sheepish smile broke onto his face.

“Oh,” he said and she laughed from her chest, petting a few fallen curls back from his forehead. She could get used to this, she thinks as she stares into his eyes, green as the forest and wide with wonder at everything he’s discovered today.

Who knew the girl he was falling in love with would be a witch… with actual powers.

* .

. * .

“Wait so, if no one can see your front door… how do you get mail?” Harry asked, reaching around Y/n for the salt.

“At the shop,”

“Oh,” He says. She laughs, kissing his cheek and continuing on cutting up veggies for the salad they're making.

“Have you always been able to do magic or was it something you grew into?” Y/n thought back to when she was little, remembering how she struggled to harness her powers for a few years before she started getting the hang of things.

“I always had powers, but imagic isn’t something you just wake up and know how to do so it took a while for me to really settle into and control. Magic is a skill, same as reading and writing, so I had to be taught and I had to work on it. Does that make sense?” She pauses while she explains, looking into his eyes. Harry nods, but his light hearted curious expression turns into one of embarrassment and she doesn’t understand why.

A rosy red color surrounds him, telling her he was feeling… embarrassed? Why did he feel embarrassed?

“Baby? What’s going through your head?” She asks, wanting to help him feel better.

She doesn’t like when he’s feeling anything other than happy!

“I just… I feel like I’m asking you so many questions about all of this stuff and it’s just tough to wrap my head around I guess.” She puts the knife down and sets her hand on his wrist, stopping from what he’s doing. She places her other hand on his shoulder, coaxing him to face her.

“Harry, this is a lot to take in, yeah? It’s not something you can just find out and move on from. It’s gonna take time to process. You’re gonna feel a lot of emotions, and that’s ok! I would be worried if you weren’t feeling a little off, as much as I hate that you’re not feeling 100%.”

She places a series of gentle pecks on his lips, doing her best to soothe him in any way.

“Ask all the questions you want! You don’t have to worry about being judged or saying something wrong, you have a right to be curious.” She feels him relax in her hold which in turn makes her relax.

“Thank you for being patient with me,”

He’ll get used to this, he thinks. He’ll get used to the fact that real witches actually exist, he’ll start to understand the words she mutters when she waves her hands, he’ll get it eventually. But right now, he doesn’t really get it, he’s not really used to it. But she’s worth it. She’s worth more than everything.

“I think you’re the one thing I know how to be patient with,” Again, she wants to mutter those three words on the tip of her tongue, but he’s already been through so much today, she doesn’t want to overwhelm him any more than he already is. So she’ll wait, because one day (hopefully soon) he’ll be ready to hear them.

“Can you do a spell? I kind of want to see how they work…” Harry asks after a moment of them just enjoying the silence that only really comes when two people understand each other.

She chuckles and nods, telling him she will show him a few spells after dinner. He agrees and they go back to making their meal, dancing around each other and laughing just like they always did and it felt good. Felt like this would be ok. Y/n was still scared because he could still decide to leave, that this was too much for him. That she was too much for him.

But for right now, things were ok.

* .

. * .

“Amoris et lux sum ego ipse, et carorum beatum facere potest, per potentiam solem et lunam, ut superius, et inferius.”

(I am love and light, I bring happiness to myself and my loved ones, By the power of the sun and moon, as above, so below)

Harry doesn’t think he’s ever heard anything weirder in his life...and his college roommate freshman year was a conspiracy theorist.

As Y/n spoke the words, she stirred a brew of tea infused with different herbs clockwise. He watched from beside her as she did this, his hand placed on her thigh so that his energy could be used in the spell along with hers.

Before she said the spell, she told him to set an intention and he had no idea what that was so she did a little lesson after reassuring him that his question was valid. (He’s still feeling insecure about not understanding anything she was talking about.) She told him to “close your eyes, take a deep breath, and clear your mind. Think of something you want in life that isn’t material.”

His immediate thought was that he wanted to spread kindness and love in the world (Y/n did her best not to tear up at her Flame’s pure intentions) so she nodded, telling him to think about that and only that, and set her intentions to the same thing so the spell would work. Mixing lavender, rose petals, and chamomile in a large mug, she pours in hot water to steep the herbs and, as previously mentioned, stirs it clockwise (something about clockwise being for manifestation), , rubs her palms together and snaps her fingers, and snuffs out the candles she had lit.

When all is said and finished, Y/n pulls Harry into a sweet kiss, and then has him take a sip of the tea telling him be careful my Love, it’s still hot. He kisses her back, taking a sip of the tea (he’d never been one for lavender things but this was actually really good. He wonders if it has anything to do with the fact that Y/n made it).

“So we just drink this and then what?” He asks, handing her the mug.

“We sacrifice an animal,” She says, not skipping a beat and taking her sip. Harry chokes on his spit, gasping for a breath of air before the girl bursts into a fit of giggles.

“I’m just kidding, baby. That’s it. That’s the whole spell. You just have to honestly believe it for it to work.” She says and he heaves a sigh of relief.

“Don’t joke like that!” He whines, more giggles escaping from Y/n’s throat.

“I’m sorry bub, I won’t do that anymore.” She says, still fighting off laughs. They continue to sip the tea, Y/n telling Harry about different things she did during the day.

Harry looked upon her as if she hung the moon just for him, and was telling him all about how she did it. Without even realizing it, he started to feel warmer and like a buzz was coursing through his veins.

“I feel weird…”

“What do you mean you mean you feel weird?” She voiced, pressing the back of her hand to his forehead and then feeling his pulse. Both were normal.

“I feel warm and like I’m buzzing… Kind of like I’m high…” He explained and she nodded her head, a small sigh of relief escaping her.

“That’s the spell working baby. You’re ok!”

“Oh, ok. It just worried me a little,”

“You��re ok! I want you to tell me when something worries you or feels different or off.” She says, and places a hand on his thigh. Harry agrees and they continue with their conversation.

When they both took their last sips on the tea, they cuddled up on the couch, an incense stick and candle lit on the coffee table.

Y/n sat, manipulating the smoke and flame simultaneously while Harry watched with a wide eyed gaze. She had explained how this was something he would be able to learn if he wanted to, and that she had been practicing for years to be able to do both things at the same time.

“I started when I was… I want to say 5. It’s a simple skill that promotes concentration. You have to stay extremely focused to even manipulate one element at a time. It’s only been these last few years that I’ve been able to concentrate enough to do both.” She explained, taking a break. As much as she loved showing Harry all these different things, it took a lot of energy out of her and it had already been a dreadfully long day.

“How about we go to sleep and I’ll show you more tomorrow? I’m pooped!” Harry hums an agreement, lifting his head from her lap and letting her lead the way to her bedroom.

Light lavender walls adorned with shelves full of plants and different nicknacks, and a desk with more candles, herbs, and other eclectic items sat atop it.

“What is all of this?” He sifts through all the things on the desk, not touching as Y/n had explained to him at some point today, I know you don’t have any ill intent, but a lot of this stuff absorbs other people's energy which can mess up what I use it for, so look and don’t touch. If you want a closer look, I’ll pick it up. There are different colored stones of varied shapes and sizes and many candles. One in particular catches his eyes. A green one with a very tall flame with something carved into the side of it. “What’s up with this green candle?”

“This is my altar, and the green candle is the one I have lit for you. I’m assuming that because you’re here, it’s going a little crazy. Nothing to be afraid of! I’m actually going to put it out since you’re here with me.” She explained quickly, reaching towards the flame with her finger and snuffing it out.

“Wait, you had a candle lit for me?” His eyes rounded, a shy smile coming onto his lips. An identical smile graced her features as she turned to look at him.

“Yeah, I’ve had one lit for you since the day we met. I made a sigil and carved it into the side and keep it lit day and night as an extra layer of protection for you.” She explained. Harry felt his heart melt at this.

She couldn’t get any cuter, he thinks.

A candle lit for him… to keep him safe. That’s adorable.

He leans in and places a gentle kiss on her lips, brushing the little hairs away from her face.

Y/n led him further into her room where her ensuite bathroom was, giving him a tooth brush and letting him know he could shower if he wanted to. When he came back into the room after getting ready, Y/n laid out on the bed in a sports bra and shorts. He just wore his boxers.

Climbing into bed next to her, she cuddled up to him right away, his arm finding a home around her body and her head laid on his chest, listening to his heart beat.

“Been dreaming about this moment my whole life,” Y/n mumbled, cheek smushed against his skin, making her look all cute and cuddly. Harry had to hold back a coo at the sentiment.

“Me too Moppet, me too,” He sighed, and they both drifted off into warm, fluffy, dream-like states, wrapped in the safety of each other's arms.

* .

. * .

Walking down the street at night isn’t the best idea for normal women, Y/n had learned over her 22 years of life. But Y/n is not a normal woman. She’s a witch.

And while most women carry their keys between their knuckles and have tasers or pepper spray or mace at the ready, Y/n didn’t really need that. This was one of the only instances where she would use her magic to harm anyone. Like she’d said before- only when she’s put in danger (or someone else around her is put in danger).

So when a prick who reeks of whiskey starts tailing her, she waits for him to take the first blow. Waits for him to get a little too close, so she can turn around and unleash her wrath on him. All the while making it seem like it’s not her doing. Like causing a brink to fall off the roof above her and hit him in the head. She wouldn’t actually do that but a witch could dream.

No, she’ll trip him up without turning around and if he still insists on gaining her attention, she’ll spin around quick, flick her wrist and send him into an unconscious daze and let him sleep off his inebriation on the lovely warmth of the concrete sidewalk.

That’s exactly what she does.

“Hey sweetheart, where you goin’?” He slurs, beginning his trek behind her. She’s unresponsive which leads him to believe she’s playing hard to get because his fragile little man ego can’t fathom that a woman would ignore his attention.

“Oh c’mon baby don’t be like that!” He speeds up, already wobbling but this only serves to make him clumsier.

She does her thing, flicking her wrist in his direction (discreetly) so he trips, but this doesn’t stall him. He reaches out, effectively grabbing her arm. She whips around to face him, cheeks growing red hot with anger. Ripping her arm out of his grasp and twisting his arm around, she gets close to his face.

“Touch me again, I fucking dare you!” She snarls, doesn’t even realize her grip is burning into his flesh- her magic gets a little crazy when she’s mad. Releasing him (tossing his arm away from her in a rough manner), she flicks her wrist once again and mutters a quick “et obliviscere somnum*”, watching him fall to the ground, unconscious. She looked around to see if anyone was watching the scene go down but no one was sober enough to pay attention to some drunk bloke harassing a young woman.

*(forget and sleep)

She shakes off her frustration as she comes to a stop in front of an unfamiliar building. Where her Flame lives.

She had agreed to let him make her dinner at his house, so she packed an overnight back and made her way further into town. He had given her an address and while, yes she did use it, she also let their bond lead her to him. She just kind of knew where to go, it seemed. Harry had expressed that he felt something similar the first time he went into the shop, though he didn’t understand why he wanted to walk in- just felt like he had to.

Making her way up the stairs, she let’s Harry know she’s there, beginning to feel the familiar tingle rush down her spine. She hadn’t seen him for a week and a half since he's been busy with a project at work- a client wasn’t happy with all the work he and a coworker had done so they had to quickly re-do an entire proposal to meet the client's deadline. Needless to say- the little anti-anxiety jar she made him was coming in real handy lately. Y/n had also had him put citrine and amethyst points on his desk while he worked to help him focus and stay calm so he didn’t stress too badly.

She always had a little something to make his life easier, whether it be a stone, or a jar of different things (a spell jar, he’d learned), or whatever it may be- she always had something to help.

When she made it to his floor, he was standing there waiting for her with open arms. She ran to him, jumping into his arms and holding onto him tight.

“I missed you, my wild girl,” He muttered into her neck, spinning her around. Her face flushed without fail, her arms wrapping tighter around him.

“Missed you most,” She sighed, nuzzling into him.

“Don’t think that’s possible.”

She hummed in disagreement while he walked them inside, Y/n still wrapped around him like a koala bear. His house smelled of peach and mango. It’s sweet- just like him. The thought made her smile.

Giving him a big smacking kiss on the cheek, she pulls back to have a look at his face, seeing he’s smiling like an idiot. It warms her heart to see him smile, butterflies breaking out of their cocoons and fluttering about her tummy.

“What’re you smiling for?” She voices, giggling at him.

“M’ happy you’re here,” He sighed, “Don’t like not seeing you.”

“I don’t like not seeing you either,” She frowned, petting his wild curls back and placing little pecks all around his face.

His cheeks flushed at her affection.

Harry set Y/n down on the kitchen counter, standing in between her legs, hands resting on her hips. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to hers lightly, before slotting them together, fully indulging himself in his girl. She responds immediately, letting her hands rest around his neck.

She will never not be amazed by how soft his lips are. Kissing him feels like floating through clouds, like laying down in bed after a long day on your feet. Kissing him is like the first breath of warm summer air after the longest winter. Kissing him feels like coming home.

Y/n’s heartbeat picks up as the kiss becomes more needy, leaning into him further. Harry pulls her closer, his hands ghosting up the bare skin under her shirt and fiddling with the band of the bralette she’s wearing. A gasp escapes her lips when he pulled the fabric up, letting it snap back to her skin causing a smirk to grow on his face- struggling to keep up with her lips.

He kisses her breathless before pulling away, watching as her eyes flutter open and she heaves air into her lungs, her cheeks flushed and supple.

“Don’t want the food to burn,” He smirks again, hands falling away from her body, moving the pots and pans on the stove around to the counter so he could plate their dinner.

“Asshole,” He hears her mutter.

Harry could get used to this, having Y/n around. Being able to come home to her, make them dinner, make out in the kitchen, fall asleep together. He can’t believe he ever thought he loved anyone before she came along. There was just no way. Y/n came into his life and took over every aspect and now he couldn’t imagine a world without her in it. He hopes to the Stars he doesn’t have to.

Yeah, she’s got him praying to the stars now.

[thotsforvillainrights]

Hey friend! (Not gonna lie I'm jealous of that Kai plushie ;-;) I'm sorry to bother but do you remember that chibi au? I was just curious how would you do it? Maybe with Shigaraki? Could be hcs but only if you want to do it. Have a great day ^^

(I abuse that plush every single day. I punch his stupid face all the time, I love him so much. I highly recommend getting one so you can throw it against the wall too. Perfect for stress!😂 Anyway, I remember a long time ago of your Chibi works and I’d love to try my hand at it. I can only hope it would turn out even half as good as yours did. Wish me luck as I put my little spin on things!)

~Chibi! Soulmate AU: Shigaraki Edition~

headcanon|scenario|imagine|match-up

(This is from the reader’s P.O.V by the way!!!)

It happened again today and to say you were both warmed yet upset by it was an understatement. Another new couple was formed today in public. This time it was in the mall when a boy met his soulmate for the first time. Watching the two men combine as their Chibis happily disappeared was gut wrenching since you figured it would never happen to the likes of you. It was around that time of the year where Chibi soulmates were more prominent in the community than usual. Who’s to say where and when these things came about. There haven’t been much scientific studies on the creatures, and many people theorized they came about around the time that quirks did. Either way, it was that time of the year again and they were seemingly everywhere. Although they were like tiny squeaking humans, they were widely regarded as a temporary pet of sort. Some people got one in their lifetime. Some people ended up luckily with two if one of their soulmates died and by chance was reincarnated as another person. Some people unfortunately would never get a Chibi nor a soulmate in their entire life. By now in your age you had figured you’d have gotten your soulmate. Really it could happen to anyone at any age but it was more renowned that it happened around this age group of yours. You spent your days watching soulmate connection videos online, and reading about forums where people hadn’t received their Soulmates. When you got home that night you had fully prepared to read some more articles until you opened the door and saw him. You gasped while dropping your bags on the ground and you followed as well, dropping to your knees. 

The Chibi was rooting through the snacks on your shelf, struggling to get into the bag of chips before nearly falling off the counter and basically almost killing itself. “You quickly caught him and laughed while still in shock. “How did you even get up there!?” It looked at you in annoyance before squeaking once. He laughed lightly and gently placed him on the ground before standing up and grabbing the chips. He watched from the ground as you grabbed a bowl, opened the bag, and poured some chips into it. You put the bowl on the ground and watched him munching on the snack, squeaking happily with a full mouth. “To just eat this bowl would probably take you all night little guy.” It growled a bit before continuing to eat. You sat there and admired the light blue tint to his hair and the cute little dot on his chin. It was rather peculiar to see the damage to his skin along his face and his neck, but you weren’t one to judge. He was your soulmate and as far as you could tell, he was beautiful to you even by just viewing his Chibi in the moment. 

When the little guy was done snacking you placed him on your shoulder and you continued with your evening. Without needing to do any reading you actually freed up your time and took on a lot less stress about the whole Chibi situation. Now you could spend time doing things you really enjoyed like watching a movie or playing a mindless game on your phone. It would’ve been more relaxing had you not had to deal with the unnecessarily LOUD squeaking commentary from the Chibi on your shoulder. It was as if he was directing you on the game when you were sure you knew it better than him. “Well fine if you think you can beat this level then by all means feel free to try.” You said sarcastically as he climbed down your shoulder and held got good balance on your arm. To your surprise, he absolutely obliterated the level and caused you to get a new high score. He flashed you a rather smug look and you rolled your eyes. “Oh please, that was beginners luck!” 

The rest of your week would usually be more mundane if you were alone but you ended up having a bit more fun with him there by your side. Grocery shopping, work, even just sitting in the park and enjoying the sunlight was different when you weren’t alone for once. Of course don’t forget you were also ever vigilant now that he was around. You always scanned the crowd as you searched desperately in hopes to find your one true soulmate. You haven’t found him yet but you felt it would be soon. 

And you were right.

One particularly hectic morning was brought about as your phone alarm shocked you awake from being set too loudly. You slapped the desk quickly in search of the snooze button and your phone accidently fell to the ground and cracked. Your Chibi peered up at you with concerned red eyes before you reassured him with a small scratch to his head. “Oh I’m sure it’ll  be okay. I’ve dropped it plenty of times!” You were wrong. And now you found yourself standing in the worlds longest line at the phone store while you waited to get it repaired. You had finally almost made it to your turn in line when your Chibi started squeaking frantically and running around like a chicken with his head cut off. “Hey wait! WAIT!” You shouted, pushing past someone and following your Chibi out of the store. You were so worried you’d lose him that you kept your eyes on him and him only as you were chasing. Most people moved out of your way since they either knew what was happening, or they just didn’t wanna get ran over by some random crazy girl/boy/person running down the sidewalk. You ended up slamming into someone’s chest as a Chibi that looked exactly like you stopped just short of your feet and smiled at you. “Wha...?” You rubbed your head and looked up at him...your Soulmate. He was even more beautiful in person than you had ever imagined. By the look on his face, he clearly felt the same way about you. You were so taken aback with shock and happiness/relief that you hadn’t noticed your little Chibis disappearing. A part of you was saddened by the fact but how could you stay upset for much longer when the person you were always meant for was standing right in front of you. It felt like it took years to get to this point. You clearly had a lot to catch up on 💗

Instagram: @pastelbattydraws & @pastelbattystore

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRNMJH7vHL7APNobUykhK4w?view_as=subscriber

[hangovercurse]

Blind Date (continued)

You invite Colson in after your blind date

Request: “I loved this so much! If you get the chance and are up to it, I’d love a second part!” ”I would like to read a second part of it”

Colson X Reader

Warnings: cursing

A/N: Have I edited this? No. Did I even look back over this after I wrote it? Also no

Word Count: 1974

Your hand touched the handle before you turned around, finding Colson in the same situation at his car door, still looking at you. “Do you maybe wanna… come in?” You asked, biting your lip. His face lit up, a smirk highlighting his features.

“I would love that.”

The man’s lanky figure strutted over to your front door as you opened it, pausing as he entered to take in the smell of your house that screamed you. He let his eyes wander around the place as he stepped further in, taking off his coat and shoes at the front entryway.

You moved into the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of red wine while he made his way into the space. You found a note on the counter from your best friend and roommate.

Staying at Eric’s tonight in case you and your date need the place to yourself <3

You rolled your eyes at the note, chuckling as you tossed it in the trash. You rustled through your drawers to grab a corkscrew, fiddling with the bottle as Colson shuffled into the room, standing behind you to encase you in his arms.

He took the corkscrew from your hands and opened the bottle with ease. “I was getting there,” you whined jokingly.

He chuckled, “I could see that.” You turned around and allowed your lower back to rest against the counter, squeezed between the surface and Colson. His arms rested on the countertop on either side of you, his figure leaning to be level with you.

You couldn’t help but admire his features, his bright blue eyes and the stubble on his jaw sparking your artistic mind. “I wish I could sketch you right now,” you murmured your thoughts aloud.

He smirked, leaning closer into you, your lips almost meeting, “why don’t you?”

You smiled, pressing a soft kiss to his lips before softly speaking, “you would get bored being my model.”

He pulled away from you, fingers running across your waist until they found your hands, intertwining your fingers. “I would be honored to be your model.”

You perked an eyebrow, “seriously?”

He shrugged, “I’ve done it before for cameras, and you are much more interesting than photographers.” He pulled you away from the counter, “go get your stuff and I’ll pour wine.”

Rolling your eyes, you walked towards your art room, which was really just your bedroom, “don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

When you returned, he was wandering your small living area, a glass of wine in his hands and one on the small coffee table. His eyes danced along the picture frames you and your roommate had placed around the house when you first moved in, which you honestly hadn’t looked at since.

You stepped into the room with your sketchbook and pencils, making your presence known. His gaze drifted to you with a smile, watching you settle onto the couch, “so, is this your roommate?” He motioned towards one of the pictures.

You glanced up, smiling at the goofy picture you two had taken at graduation, “yep, that’s us.” You turned your head back to your book, flipping to the next blank page as he continued asking about your pictures.

“Who’s in this one?” He asked, pointing to a photo of your roommate and her boyfriend, Eric.

You chuckled at the image of them pulling funny faces in the front seat of a car while you sat in the background looking bored, “that’s Eric, her boyfriend. We went on this huge road trip and they swore I wouldn’t have to third wheel, but I obviously did.”

Colson let out a small laugh, taking a sip of his wine, “and who is that?”

You had honestly forgotten about the picture he was pointing to, but seeing it made your stomach fill with unease. “Oh, I forgot that was still up,” you sighed at Colson’s curious expression, “that’s me and my ex, TJ. We broke up months ago, I thought I’d gotten everything of his out of here.”

Colson could see the discomfort in your expression, sitting down on the armchair next to your couch, throwing his legs over the side and posing dramatically. “Bad ex, huh?” You nodded, not wanting to make him uncomfortable with the conversation, though you wanted nothing more than to open up to him. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

You rolled your eyes, turning so you could face him, “of all the poses, that’s what you pick?”

He smiled innocently, “yep.” A chuckle fell from your lips as you looked down at your sketchbook, pressing your pencil to the paper. “Fine, I’ll go first,” he began, “can’t really get to know each other if we don’t get at least a little bit of trauma out of the way.”

You looked up at him and giggled, “you got me there.”

He sighed, taking a sip of his wine, “Baze told me not to talk about it, but the look on your face when I asked you about him tells me you might be able to relate.” You raised an eyebrow but kept drawing, giving him a silent signal to continue. “I was dating this girl for a while, you’ve probably heard of her, Megan Fox.”

Your eyes went wide at the name, looking up at him in shock, “yeah, because that’s not an intimidating act to follow at all!”

Colson waved you off, “you’re doing great so far, don’t even worry about it.” You gave him a stern look, but he only continued with his story, “anyways, we were together for a while and she told me all the time she thought we were soulmates, and I believed her, you know?” You bit your lip, starting to feel slightly intimidated as he spoke about the woman. “But then she cheated on me after, like, 9 months. And I realized after we broke up how wrong we were for each other and how much she manipulated me.”

You frowned as he spoke, his tone getting sadder with each word. “That’s so shitty. I don’t understand why people cheat in long term relationships, especially after you’ve given them so much hope and trust. Like someone convinces you that they love you and then they go around and pull that shit. It’s evil.”

He nodded, a slight smile on his face, “I’m over it now though, in case you were worried. Came to the realization about a month or two later that I was better without her.”

You held the pencil in your hands still, trying to find the words you needed to say. “I, uh, I was dating that guy, TJ. We had been friends for a while and he asked me out and I said yes. Everything was great, you know? And then like almost a year end he starts acting all weird and possessive. Like just because we had been together for so long means he doesn’t have to treat me like his girlfriend anymore. He would make me feel like shit in front of our friends and just all around was being a shitty boyfriend.” Colson stared at you intensely with a frown on his face, eyebrows furrowed.

“A guy should never do that shit to his girl. You don’t deserve that shit, no one does.”

You nodded sadly, “yeah, well, then I found out like 4 months into all of this that he had cheated on me and gotten the girl pregnant so… I ended things real quick.” You let out a sad huff, turning your attention back to the book and continuing your sketch of the beautiful man in front of you. “I was really upset at first but now I’m just kind of angry. Dude was a dick.”

Colson let out a dry laugh as you took a long sip of wine, “sounds like it. I’m sorry you went through that shit.”

You shrugged, smiling up at him, “if I hadn’t, we wouldn’t be here.”

He chuckled, biting his lip, “guess something good came out of it.”

A blush spread across your cheeks, “oh yeah, the food was amazing.” Your words were full of sarcasm, yet the pout on his face still made you giggle, “I’m joking, loser.”

“You better be miss second-date.” You giggled but didn’t respond, turning back to draw him. It was quiet for a few moments, your pencil tracing along the paper.

He shifted, at which you glared up at him, “I told you you’d get bored.”

With a chuckle he said, “I’m not bored. I get to look at you while you draw, it’s far from boring.” You tried to look annoyed at him but failed miserably at his flattering words. “I was thinking though, since it’s my picture and all, I should get to make some executive decisions.”

You scoffed, “you chose your pose, what else would you like oh great model Colson?”

He rolled his eyes playfully, stretching his arm out to set his glass on the table. “Well, I mentioned that I have some tattoos,” he reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it up, “you should draw them.”

Once his shirt was fully removed from his body, you couldn’t help but gawk just a little. His entire chest was covered in ink, designs beautifully engraved into his skin. “I was gonna make a joke about this only being our first date but holy shit, these are beautiful.”

He blushed, looking down shyly, ”I was honestly scared you weren’t gonna like them.”

You looked at him with wide eyes, “Seriously? This is so cool. I’m an artist, you really think I’m not gonna like tattoos? Its an art form in itself.”

Colson shrugged, moving back to his pose, expecting you to continue your drawing. Instead, your eyes wandered his torso, taking in every detail of the work. “If you’re lucky,” he commented slyly, “one day I might show you all of them.”

You rolled your eyes with a scoff, moving back into drawing position, “you think you’re so cool.”

A breathy laugh fell from his lips, “I do, actually.”

The two of you continued banter-laced conversation while you drew him, his likeness coming to life on your page. At some point it turned into 3 am, and you were struggling to keep your eyes opened, but you were finished.

“Here.” You turned the book to him, letting him take in your work. He didn’t speak for a few moments, causing worry to build in you. “I mean, it’s no Mona Lisa but-“

“That is fucking amazing.” He cut you off with a wide smile, “you make me look hot.”

You rolled your eyes with a grin, “I’m not going to feed your ego by saying something super lame like “that’s just what you look like,” but I’m glad you like it.” He chuckled at your response, climbing off of the chair to stand in front of you.

“Damn, I was really hoping to get my ego fed tonight.” He grabbed the sketchbook from you and threw it onto the couch next to you before grabbing your hands and pulling you up to stand.

You smiled to yourself, chest shaking with silent laughter, “does the sketch not feed it enough?”

He shook his head, “I need the approval of a really pretty girl to satisfy its hunger.”

Rolling your eyes, you leaned up into him, “you gotta work harder than that, Rockstar.” Your words came out breathy against his lips as he wrapped his arms around your waist.

His mouth connected to yours, the kiss deep and passionate. His soft lips meshed perfectly with yours, his hands pulling you up to stand on your tiptoes. Once you pulled away you stayed close to him, breathing in his intoxicating scent. He whispered, “I never thought a blind date could turn out so well.”

[tefilovesreading]

It’s a match! Part. 1

Pairing: Charlie Gillespie x Fem!Reader

Word count: +1,7k

Warnings: language, mention of alcohol.

A/N: This is a mini series, I’m not sure how many parts it’s gonna have and there’s gonna be some texts in between. LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANNA BE TAGGED. 

Edited by: @theamazingtomholland

MASTERLIST // PART 2 // PART 3

She felt her hands start sweating as she saw the small circle slowly filling up, letting her know that the app was being downloaded. She knew what a dating app was, how it worked and what was its purpose, but never created her account, not that she needed it before because she had a boyfriend. Her roommate, on the other hand, was well acquainted with dating apps, and they’d spent nights swiping through the profiles together. 

Now that she was single for the first time since she graduated from high school, her roommate and best friend had convinced her to download Tinder and have fun.

“You don’t even have to go and meet the guy, Y/N,” Jo had said with a beaming smile to encourage her when they met for coffee earlier that day, “just have a look and see if you find someone you’d want to talk to.”

She nibbled on her lip when the circle filled up entirely and the icon appeared on her screen, bright and inviting. Putting her phone down, she decided she’d create her account later, for now, downloading it was more than enough.

In her sophomore year, she broke up with her boyfriend because they couldn’t find time to be together, too busy with classes, exams, and part-time jobs. But that didn’t last long, ‘cause they got back together after three weeks. 

Those three weeks ignited a spark in her, suddenly things were more exciting to her, and she didn’t feel like she was acting how others expected her to. Y/N felt a kind of freedom that made her go on a date with her co-worker, sure they just went for a coffee together once and decided that they were better off as friends, but that small rejection made her want to make that spark disappear.

Being with Lance made things easier, they knew each other since they were little, and that meant she didn’t have to open up to let him know her flaws and fears, because he knew her like the palm of his hand. Being with him made her feel safe, even when they were apart during his first year of college since she was a year younger than him and was still in high school when he left for college, but that safety net vanished when Lance decided he wanted to spend time overseas after he graduated from college. And it was useless to wait for him if he wasn’t even sure he wanted to come back.

Eight months later, Y/N felt that spark reigniting again, making her feel like she was missing something. Ever since Lance left, she spent too much time afraid to put herself out there. How can you let someone into your life and trust them to not hurt you? After all, she trusted Lance for so long just to get hurt because they didn’t want the same things, and their paths went in different ways. But Y/N knew she couldn’t hide much longer, she wanted to go out, have fun, go on dates and meet new people, she just didn’t know how to start.

Her phone vibrated with a new notification from her best friend, and she snorted at her text.

Jo: Any matches yet heartbreaker???

If only Jo knew she still wasn’t able to bring herself into making an account. Maybe she could choose the pictures first, plan her bio, and then create it. Planning that out was definitely better than staring at the app icon.

Y/N: Not yet, but I’ll let you know ;)

After an hour of scrolling through her photos, Y/N chose five pictures where she looked decent. Hell, she looked really hot in one or two of those, and she wasn’t going to act as if that wasn’t true.

“Here goes nothing,” she muttered to herself after her account was finally set up. 

It was a strange feeling swiping through the profiles, reading their bios, and rolling her eyes at some of them. But after a few minutes, she started enjoying it, not even feeling bad if she didn’t match with a guy.

She smiled at the simple bio on her screen and swiped right, not even bothering to go through his other photos. He was cute, he seemed like he liked to have fun, and even though he was cute, he was also hot. A dangerous mix, but a really nice one.

It’s a match!

“Honey I’m home!” her best friend sang, entering  the living room.

“Shit Jo!” Y/N scolded the girl, “you scared me.”

“Why?” Jo faked an offended look, “were you sending dirty messages or something?”

“Oh shut up,” Y/N said, handing her phone over to her friend with a sheepish smile on her face, “check out my last match.”

“Okay, so he likes outdoor activities, he plays the guitar, and he has a cute smile,” her friend listed, swiping through his photos, “what are you waiting for, Y/N? Send him a message!”

“I was actually waiting for him to send one first,” she admitted, feeling her cheeks heat up, “you know I suck with conversations over chat.”

“But what if he’s waiting for you to talk to him, and you don’t do it,” Y/N looked at her friend and knew she was already making up a whole movie in her head, about how they could be soulmates, but they would never know if she didn’t send him a text.

“Fine!” She huffed and took her phone from her friend’s hands, “Do I send him a hello or what?”

“No, that’s too dry,” Jo replied, “you should ask him about where he took that picture, the one where he’s in the snow.”

She bit her bottom lip to distract herself from the fact that she felt as if her stomach was tied up in knots. He was really cute, and she had a good feeling about him, almost as if the universe was telling her to go for it, meet up with him and have fun.

Hesitating at first, she let her finger hover over the little “send” button for a few seconds, before pressing the screen and sending the text.

Y/N: Hey! Where did you take the first pic? The place looks great

“What now?” Jo looked at her with one of her eyebrows arched.

“We wait, you idiot.”

“I need to do something,” Y/N locked her phone and got up, “if I stay on that couch waiting for a reply I’m gonna end up with no nails.”

“I did your nails last night, Y/N, don’t ruin my work,” Jo complained, “why don’t you cook dinner today?, and I’ll wash the dishes, so you can text with that guy if he replies to you by the time we’re done eating.”

“I’m gonna ignore the fact that it was your turn, Jo” she pointed out but made her way to the kitchen anyway, “and you better wash, dry, and put the dishes back in the cabinets.”

Cooking was the perfect distraction, and the glass of wine she drank while they were eating helped her loosen up just enough to check her phone without feeling like she was getting back some important results.

Charlie: It’s in Canada Charlie: Sulphur Mountain Trail! Charlie: I like your smile btw

She smiled with excitement when she opened the app and saw those three messages, and just as she was about to respond, Charlie sent another one.

Charlie: How was your day??  Y/N: It was good, pretty relaxing actually Y/N: Yours?? Charlie: Great! I went hiking with a friend, so now I’m just chilling at home Y/N: I’m assuming you’re into hiking, don’t you??? Charlie: Hahaha yeah you’re right Charlie: I guess I enjoy being outside, it keeps my mind occupied

Y/N: I get it, I’m not really into outdoor activities Y/N: I mean Y/N: I don’t mind going on a hike once in a while, but I prefer reading, painting, or playing some music  Y/N: To keep my mind occupied 

Five texts in a row. Was that too much? She didn’t want to appear intense, but she also didn’t want to send just one massive text and type it for way too long.

Charlie: You play an instrument?? Charlie: I love music Y/N: Yeah I play the piano Y/N: I just don’t have one with me now, so I haven’t played in a while Charlie: Oh! That sucks! Charlie: When I moved here I think I packed my guitars first and then the rest of my stuff

Y/N let out a soft laugh at his text, he did seem like the kind of guy to pack random stuff before things that he might actually need. She should’ve done the same, she missed playing the piano, and now that she was miles away from her parents’ house it wasn’t like she could just go and play. Especially because she didn’t even know how to drive a car.

Y/N: Should’ve done the same if I’m honest Y/N: Where are you from? You said you moved here

After reading his answer to her last question, she groaned in embarrassment because it was the most obvious answer, and yet she didn’t notice it.

Charlie: I’m Canadian

She lost track of time talking to him about things they both enjoyed doing, what was their favorite movie, favorite musician, and to her surprise it was so easy to talk to him about small things like that could help you a lot to get to know another person. Y/N got startled when Jo touched her shoulder to get her attention.

“I’m off to bed, babe,” Y/N dodged when her friend tried to ruffle her hair as if she was a little kid, “don’t go to bed too late.”

“I won’t mom,” she replied jokingly, “sweet dreams, Jo.”

With a heavy sigh, Y/N typed a message, telling him that she needed to get some rest and that she was hoping they could keep talking the next day.

Charlie: Do you mind if I ask you for your number?? Charlie: I’d love to call you or FaceTime with you if you’re okay with that

“Shit, shit, shit,” she whispered, wishing her best friend hadn’t gone to bed already. Of course, she wanted to give him her number, but was she supposed to give her number to the first guy she talked to on Tinder? “fuck it, I’m doing it.”

Y/N sent him her number and after telling him goodnight, she closed the app and got ready for bed. She really had a good feeling about this whole thing, and she couldn’t put her finger on what it was, because the feeling started even before they even matched. 

Maybe it was just fate doing its work.