#stray kids x latin reader

[oddent]

[8:15 AM] h.jisung x gn!latin@!reader [idol au]

“y/n.”

“¿que paso amor?” you ask groggily.

he makes a bewildered face. you know he’s confused without having to glance but you’re too tired to try and look at him. instead, you keep your eyes closed and snuggle into your pillow once more.

“y/n,” he tries again.

“¿que?” you ask again, maybe a little frustrated.

he frowns, basically pouting, “i don’t know what that means!”

“i’m saying what,” you translate, hoping he gets on with what he wants because you really want to sleep and you have a heavy schedule in a few hours.

“oh,” he stares at your messy hair, “i’m hungry!”

“well order something,” you grunt.

“but i wanted to make breakfast!”

“then make it.”

“with you!”

“ai Dios,” you groan, rolling over to finally squint at his sitting figure.

he looks adorable, cheeks puffy from a nights sleep and hair all ruffled up. you know he’s trying to spend quality time with you, as much as he can before the two of you part ways for weeks. it’s been amazing, these past two days. a peaceful, chill routine that neither of you really want to get out of.

but today is the last day for that. half day, really.

you sigh, knowing you would regret not giving in.

“vamos pues,” you say as you sit up as well.

“i’m going to guess that’s a yes,” he says as he watches you get up and walk about with stars in his eyes.

“yup,” you grab your phone from the night stand, frowning at the hour before leaning in to give him a peck on the lips.

he giggles silently, grinning at how well you read him. he quickly follows you to the restroom, ready to spend whatever time the two of you have.

as he leans into your shoulder while brushing his teeth, you know you would risk anything to see him smile as well as him by your side for as long as possible.

[iheartmapi]

A fluffy surprise

Mapi Leon x reader

Summary: After finishing work you want to enjoy some fresh air before coming home, while on a walk you notice a poor stray kitten, you take it in but how will Mapi react?

Fluff.

TW: kitten in a bad situation, mentions of death (very brief ones tho),

Word summary: 1,565

At last, your shift was approaching its end, you stared tiredly at your computers screen, yawning you finally turned it off. It was time for you to get back home, you were dreaming of a warm bath to ease the tension in your muscles and bones from sitting at your desk all day.

As you stood up from your seat you stretched awkwardly, hearing a couple of crunches here and there, your eyes scanned over your almost empty desk, it was kind of a sad sight to be honest..save for the framed picture of you and your girlfriend together, Mapi was looking at the camera whilst you kissed her cheek affectionately, you smiled at the photo before taking your bag along with your employee ID.

You made your way to the elevator, going down onto the ground floor, at the bottom you said goodbye to a couple of work colleagues before finally leaving.

Mapi would be still busy at this point at time..you hadn’t got much to do at home all alone, so you decided to visit your beloved cafe, some time has passed since the last time you went there, after all you were busy with your work as well as Mapi with hers.

You walked down the lively streets, the chatter of cars and reinventions in the distance ringing in your ears..with purpose you neared the desired street, a couple of shops down you could see the shield of your cafe already.

Finally you grasped the cafe’s glass doors handel and came inside, looking around the comfy and boho-inspired cafe memories of your time spent here alone, outings with friends and dates with Mapi came back to you, you smiled as you reminisced, making your way over to the counter with a smile on your face, there clearly weren’t a lot of clients today so the barista came up to take your order immediately. During your walk here you had decided on getting yourself a take out Latte.

After a very short period of waiting you got handed your hot cup.

As you stood in front of the cafe’s entrance again you looked down at the forest green disposable cup in your hand, your name written with a black sharpie and an extra heart next to it clear on it.

What better way to drink it than whilst on a walk at the picturesque park close to the cafe? And so, in a not hurried manner you strolled towards the park.

Your eyes moved along the greenery around you, for a change you were now surrounded with the sounds of birds singing and leaves rustling, it was very different from the city’s music filled with drunken shouting and cars honking.

You approached a tiny garden space in the middle filled with beautiful and vibrant-coloured flowers, you read the confusing labels they had next to them..sadly you did not understand the Latin terminology at all, but well, you enjoyed them anyway…then you were sure you heard something a bit weird, like a quiet weep? You turned away from the flowers, perhaps someone’s kid just fell from their bike or something..but there were practically no people around, as you were then sure that you probably just mistook something it was heard again, this time more clearly.

It wasn’t a kid weeping, it rather sounded like an animal, a cat to be precise, it was very high pitched though…so a kitten then.

You took a couple of steps towards where you think the sounds were coming from…and there it was, your eyes widened, but the surprise quickly turned into a look of pure sadness at what you saw. A little kitten was barely holding itself up, your heart broke into little pieces, what happend to this poor thing? It was skinny, dirty and disheveled, looking like a painting of pure melancholy and pain.

You crouched down carefully, not wanting to scare the kitten away, though by one glance you were sure the little animal didn’t even have enough strength to run away from you, so you slowly inched towards it…

You managed to take hold of the kitten, holding it with extreme precision, you didn’t want to put it in any more pain, the kitty was so poor, it’s big eyes glassy, it’s thinness telling you how starved it must be.

You stood back up, kitten cradled in your arms.

“You poor thing…” you murmured to yourself, the kitten only mewed in response.

So here you were now. Back at your flat, your main concern was getting the kitty back in a healthy shape. The first thing on your list was washing it, it must’ve gone through hell trying to survive in the city, that’s the story it’s dirty fur told you. So you got some lukewarm water in your sink (not too much) a soft sponge and shampoo which’s ingredient list proved to be safe for the animal…you gently washed it’s fur, later carefully drying it…you were a bit stressed about literally everything, the last thing you wanted was to hurt the poor pet.

Then the next obvious step was feeding it, you brought it into the kitchen, giving it some canned cat food (you and Mapi already had a cat so that’s why you had it in the first place) surely the kitty ate it with vigour, you couldn’t blame it, if you were starving you’d eat everything that got into your hands first as fast as you could to quench the cruel hunger…

You made sure to take care of the kitten, doing everything with precise and carefulness. After it ate and drank it feel asleep in your lap, you sat still like a marble statue, assuring it to get its much needed sleep.

Now came the hard part…what would Mapi think? You literally just took some random kitten off the street to help it..and besides you already had a cat, sure maybe cats weren’t human children but they still were a responsibility for the two of you. But what were you supposed to do? You couldn’t just leave it to surely die on the streets sooner or later. You couldn’t save every poor cat but at least you could help this one out..

An hour later…you heard the front door lock turning, yep, it was Mapi…and time to explain the situation to your girlfriend.

“I’m back!” You heard Mapi yell from the hallway. “Uh…Hey love, can you come here?” You couldn’t get up to greet her, the kitten was still asleep in your lap. Then you heard the sound of footsteps getting closer to the living room, Mapi appeared in the doorframe “What’s up, nena?” Mapi asked as she threw her bag from training onto the floor, “Um, I actually don’t really know how to tell you this-“ you started, stumbling over your words, your girlfriend came closer to the armchair you were sitting on, confusion appeared on her features, after a while she spoke up “Did something happen, Y/n?” She raised an eyebrow, you wanted to find words to explain but you just sighed and pointed down onto your lap.

This confused Mapi even more but sure enough she saw the tiny animal sleeping on your lap. She didn’t say anything for a good while neither did you.

“Y/n?”

“Listen Mapi I was in the park and I just saw it- you don’t even know how starved and dirty it was before!” You had to explain it to her somehow, she didn’t look mad but clearly a bit confused and mixed. “I..I guess I understand but I don’t know Y/n…we already have a cat, you know how it is” she answered, like a calm parent trying to explain to their child why they couldn’t just keep a stray dog or random frog they found.

You were about to say something back but then felt something stirring on your lap, it was the kitten, stretching its small limbs..it seemed as though it was waking up finally.

As Mapi saw that you had focused on something else she looked down at the kitty as well.

The small animal started meowing at you, it seemed although it has gained some strength thanks to you. You delicately cradled it in your arms, standing up and movie closer to your girlfriend.

“Listen Mapi I don’t want to sound like some annoying kid- but look at it!” You refuted, she looked at the kitty, she seemed to be debating something inside her head now.

“Y/n…oh I just don’t know” she faltered, bringing her pointer finger towards the kitten, it curiously wrapped its tiny paws around it, licking her digit. Mapi chuckled.

“Yeah it’s pretty cute, can’t lie” you smiled observing the interaction “I knew you’d warm up to her, come on I’m sure our cat won’t mind a new sibling…this little one would’ve died out there I’m sure” you kept on begging her.

Mapi looked back up at you, after a moment she sighed and answered. “Fine…we can keep her..or him…” she said.

“Are you ready though?” Mapi started petting the kitten cautiously ���It’s a kitten..a baby, it’ll be even more work”

“I’m sure my supervisor will grant me some maternal leave” you joked

Mapi chuckled “that was a good one…you know I’m used to me being the one begging you for things like a child most of the time” she added

“There’s always time for changes”

[stayteezdreams]

Finding out they are supernatural creatures {ot8!Ateez}

Scenario: Hurt to comfort when reader finds out their bf!ateez is some kind of mythical or supernatural creature

Pairings: Supernatural Creature!Ateez x Gn!Reader

Requested By: @otakutrash669

Warnings: Vague mentions of blood (Seonghwa's). Mention of drunk driving (Yunhos). Near-death's in Yunhos and Jonghos. Suggestive/Sexual references (Wooyoungs).

A/n: Not all of this will be accurate, I made some shit up. Also, I only read through it once so sorry if there are any errors.

Words: ~2.6k

-Stray Kids Version- -TXT Version-

Seonghwa {Vampire}

As careful as Seonghwa was, you noticed too many peculiar things to not become suspicious.

The peculiar red liquid you were not allowed to touch that he regarded as a disgusting medicine he took. Medicine for a disease that apparently made him so sensitive to sunlight he had to wear a special sunscreen.

Then there was the fact that sometimes his teeth seemed sharper than other times, as if they changed.

Naturally your mind wandered to the thought of him being a vampire. Ultimately you thought it was ridiculous, and let it go.

But one day, you couldn't keep it to yourself.

He once again made sure you did not accidentally drink the red liquid, and you joked "I'm starting to think you're a vampire and it's you're blood stash."

It was a joke. Until you saw the fear that crossed his face. When he realized you were joking he quickly reacted with a fake laugh and you became more than suspicious.

"Seonghwa. Is it blood?" "...No of course not." "Seonghwa."

When he noticed your suspicion turning into fear, he had to tell you. He was of course afraid you were going to run, the scream, to call the police.

But you waited for him to explain everything, and to prove it. That was the most important part.

Once he proved it, you were in shock, but almost amazed. You couldn't help but ask question after question.

When you promised you weren't going to tell anyone he was more relieved. But he still feared you would be afraid of him.

He gave you a long speech bout how he will never hurt you, how he has control, and will protect you. You knew he meant it. And honestly, you never feared him, not even for a second.

Hongjoong {Demon}

You found out Hongjoong was a demon when you accidentally summoned him.

He had a bunch of old books he said were collectors items, and things he collected when studying Latin and various religious studies.

One day, when he left you alone to go deal with something, you flipped through the books.

You came across a passage you couldn't really figure out, but what you did recognize, was Hongjoongs name, written within the script.

Curious, you recited the passage out loud, and when the room suddenly grew cold, you turned around to see a black mass forming. You grew terrified as you fled to the corner of the room.

When the black smoke faded, revealing your confused boyfriend, you stared at each other in silence.

His eyes flicked to the table where he saw the passage and his heart dropped.

He knew he would tell you one day about what he really was, but he kept putting it off, for fear you would leave him.

But now, as you were cowering in the corner in confusion and fear, he had no choice.

"Hongjoong, what-" He lifted his hands and spoke slowly as he walked towards you. "I can explain."

"Demon." "Yes." "You're a Demon." "Yes."

Hongjoongs heart dropped when you left in near silence, muttering about how you just needed some time alone to think. But he understood, letting you leave, though the sight tore him apart.

If Hongjoong were to tell you he was a demon on any other day you would have thought he was joking or had gone crazy. But since you had literally summoned him in front of your very own eyes, you couldn't deny it.

Nor could you deny the way his eyes were fully black, or the horns that were on his head before he changed back into his normal appearance right in front of you.

You knew he didn't want to scare you but you were scared. It took you a while to figure out that you weren't afraid of him necessarily. He was Hongjoong, and he loved you.

But you were afraid of the knowledge that came with this, that there could be more secrets, more lies.

So you confronted him. And he was more than glad to open up fully now that you knew. He would do anything for you and tell you anything you wanted to know, as long as you stayed.

Yunho {Nephilim}

You knew Yunho had mixed feeling about when you called him your 'Angel'

The first time he seemed flustered and almost recoiled. But he slowly warmed up to it, even saying he was your Guardian Angel, or your "Personal Angel".

Sometimes when you used the pet-name he seemed to withdrawal in himself for a moment, as if he wanted to say something. But instead he would just smile and press a kiss to your forehead.

Then one day, you almost died. You should have died.

You were seconds away from the drunk driver hitting you as you walked down the street, then before you knew it, you were in Yunho's arms, and surrounding you, were large wings, growing out from his back.

Then you learned everything. Why the pet-name threw him of, why he sometimes seemed like he wanted to say something but changed his mind. Why he dubbed himself your personal Angel.

He shouldn't exist. His mother was human, and his father a fallen angel. He was half of each.

Yunho was forced to hide what he was for his whole life and it wasn't until he met you that he thought he didn't have to hide anymore. But the fear still stopped him from telling you.

He liked the idea of being your personal Guardian Angel, but was still afraid you would not want him to be if you learned what he truly was

But it didn't change how you felt. Though you were hurt he had not told you sooner, you quickly realized his choices and reasoning were more important.

You forgave him, and swore to him you would keep his secret.

You bond only got stronger after you leaned what he was, and he no longer hid it from you. Sometimes you would even find him walking around the house with his wings out.

You adored them, and him, and he adored you.

He was your personal guardian Angel, and you were the love of his life.

Yeosang {Fairy}

You knew Yeosang was hiding something, and when you confronted him, his saying he was a Fairy was the last thing you expected.

You expected that he wanted to break up, or that he had fallen for someone else, something that would explain his recent behavior and all the secrets he was keeping.

But the excuse he gave you only hurt you more. It was such a ridiculous lie, the truth would have hurt less.

"What do you take me for? If you want to break up with me, just do it Yeosang." You stormed off leaving Yeosang to scramble after you.

He didn't realize just how ridiculous it would sound. Of course you wouldn't believe him.

When he got you alone again, after much convincing and a bit of begging on his side. He showed you it was not a lie.

He thought it would be something he would have to hide forever out of fear. Of course you would figure out something was off.

But the idea that you thought he wanted to leave you, that you thought it was another person stealing him away from you and not this. That was not worth it.

So he showed you his wings and his magic, he proved he was a fairy. And to say you were shocked was an understatement.

When you finally came out of your stupor, and you realized you were in fact not going crazy, you were amazed.

You couldn't even really be mad that he hid it, of course he would, he was a fairy. He needed to know he could trust you with his secret.

And he assured you that he did, that it was just his fear stopping him.

He was sorry. Sorry that he did not trust you enough, when you deserved more. He hated that you were tormenting yourself with 'What If's', and reasons he was hiding secrets.

But once you reassured him that you understood and forgave him, he made sure you knew everything. And he promised to never keep anything from you again.

San {Shapeshifter}

You figured out San was a shape-shifter with deductive reasoning.

One day, a beautiful black cat showed up at your house, sheltering itself from the rain.

You let it in, dried him off, and let him go.

He became a common visitor to your house after that.

And then one day, instead of a black cat, you met a man named San. He told you the cat was his and he found out where he was going when he would get out.

You bonded with San, and eventually started dating.

But, you never saw the cat and San at the same time.

And you couldn't help but think they had the same eyes, and the same mannerisms.

You thought you were crazy, but you couldn't shake the gut feeling that you were right.

And when San slipped and mentioned something he wouldn't know about, something that happened when he was not present, but his cat was, you put it together.

The next time the cat visited you, you were sitting on your porch.

You sighed, heart pounding, stared deep into his eyes and spoke.

"Hello San."

The cat seemed to freeze, before slowly he grew bigger, before San was standing in front of you, eyes full of surprise as you stared at him.

"I was right." You muttered breathlessly, and he slowly approached you. "How long have you known?"

"I think I knew from the beginning in a way. But I wasn't certain until recently."

"Aren't you afraid?" "Should I be?"

He shook his head softly "I'd ever hurt you." "I know that San. But why didn't you tell me sooner?"

You could tell he was apprehensive. Perhaps he thought you would be afraid, maybe you'd tell someone who could hurt him.

"I wouldn't hurt you either." You admitted softly.

He would take your face in his hands. "I know that. I'm sorry, I should have told you, I just... No one knows, and the idea of someone, anyone knowing, I don't know I guess I was scared."

Your relationship grew stronger after this as he learned to put all of his trust in you, and you learned to do the same.

Mingi {Werewolf}

When you learned what Mingi was, you were in shock. You left, and ended up avoided him.

You needed to gather your thoughts and get over the shock before figuring out what to do.

He waited impatiently to hear from you again, even going to your house to check on you, though never telling you he was there.

Mingi wanted nothing more than to talk to you, to see you, to hold you, but he resisted, making sure to give you the time you needed to adjust.

All he could do was hope and pray you would come back to him.

He was so afraid to tell you what he was for fear of you leaving or being afraid, but he would fight as hard as he could to keep you.

Mingi would never harm you, our put you in harms way.

When he first fell for you, he tried his hardest to ignore the feelings, being to afraid to fall in love. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not ignore the feelings.

He told you all of this after admitting what he was, but you still left, uncertain of what to do and what to think.

You knew you loved him, and after a week of not seeing him after learning he was a werewolf, you realized your feelings would not change. All you did was miss him more every day.

When you finally gave in and went to go see him again, he scooped you up in his arms out of relief and joy.

He wanted nothing more than to hold you in his arms again.

And when he was holding you, you knew it didn't matter what he was, or what he hid from you, you would love him all the same.

Wooyoung {Demon/Incubus}

Wooyoung drunkenly told you he was the descendant of an Incubus demon one night, and you simply thought it was a weird joke at first.

But when he was sober, you noticed he watched you wearily, as if trying to figure out if he really told you, and to see if you had believed him.

You started to wonder if maybe it wasn't a joke after all. So you started to pay more attention, and you did some research.

It all seemed so unbelievable, but some things started to add up.

The way he seemed to pull things off that were impossible, how he could get to you faster than he should be able to. How he always seemed to know when you needed him. Not to mention his heightened sexual drive.

A short time after that night passed, and Wooyoung seemed to relax around you again, you asked him straight up if what he said was true.

He was obviously startled, stumbling and stuttering over his words as he tried to lie to you.

If it wasn't true he would have laughed and been able to play it off, but you knew he had a hard time lying to you, so it became obvious that it was true, or at least some of it.

"Wooyoung." He could hear in your tone that there was no point in trying to lie so he gave in.

He confessed everything, and even proved it to you.

You were in shock, but not as much as you thought you would be, to both of your surprise.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

He shrugged "I didn't want you to be afraid of me."

"I would never be afraid of you Wooyoung."

He was relieved, and became emotional and apologetic, swearing he would never hide anything from you again.

Jongho {Demi-God}

You weren't supposed to know what Jongho was at least not yet.

But when you were put in danger from someone looking for Jongho, he had to protect you no matter what.

You knew he was strong, but when he was able to knock over a wall with one punch, you knew there was more to it.

You watched him fight with powers you had not expected while protecting you from the mysterious man who showed up and threatened to hurt you.

You were in the middle of something you didn't know how to explain, but you knew Jongho was protecting you, and would do with with his life if needed.

Luckily you both made it out, and he took you somewhere safe.

He explained to you what he was, who he was the descendant of, and why he could do the things he could.

You were amazed, and shocked, and confused. Any resentment you held towards Jongho for keeping this secret from you faded when you saw how nervous he was, obviously afraid of how you would react.

He answered every question you asked, and patiently waited as you thought over everything.

When you approached him after a few hours and he apprehensively watched you, you wrapped your arms around him and he melted, relaxing in relief at your touch.

He swore he would protect you, and keep you safe, and you believed him.

Even if you were put in danger as your life seemed to change, you would not leave his side.

xx End xx

Not sure how I feel about some of thee, but it is what it is lol

General Taglist: @otsilliak, @brattybunfornct, @bahng-chrizz, @otakutrash669

Ateez Taglist: @soso59love-blog, @thunderous-wolf

Jongho Taglist: @lieutenantn

[soft-girl-musings]

Perks of Being a Wallflower

Jake Lockley x plus size fem!Reader

cross-posted to ao3

tags: rated T for thirsty jake, author does not dance but saw it on the tv once (i'm mostly kidding), mustachioed jake jumpscare (tagging for the haters), no use of Y/N

wc: 1.9k

fic summary: For Jake, a night on the town means sticking to the background, listening for signs of trouble. That all changes when he sees you at the dance hall.

A/N: still on the jake train and I am making it everyone's problem. just wanted to preface by saying, as a curvy girlie, i recognize that plus size folk are not a monolith. so everything in this fic is based on my own experience, etc. enjoy!

----------

Jake likes to keep his intel hotspots in rotation. 

Mondays and Wednesdays he'll head to the diner after a day in the cab, refueling and checking in with his network.

Tuesdays and Thursdays he'll hit the bars. Weekends are mostly for driving.

But Fridays? Fridays are for dancing.

Jake's guilty pleasure is scoping out the dance hall. The clubs have their appeal, but there's something timeless about the hole in the wall he’d discovered a while back. Nothing special, just a cozy ballroom with a bar, tables lifted on a platform framing ¾ of the room and turning the dance floor into an inverse stage.

Tonight he nurses a beer in the corner, listening to a couple of seedy characters describe some suspicious activity at a warehouse he'd been tailing. But he hasn't caught much of their conversation. Truth be told, he's a bit distracted tonight.

Because of you.

He'd seen you come in with four other people, two couples by the look of it. He'd been immediately taken by you: while some patrons came to dance in jeans and t-shirts, you'd dressed to impress. He'd shamelessly raked his eyes over your form, generous curves hugged by the bodice of your dress that trailed down over your ample hips. You walked with a timid sway, the movement inevitable even as you drew your arms about yourself, settling into your seat with care at a table clear across the room from him.

As much as he's tried to fight it, his attention always drifts back to you: poised and pretty, eyes scanning the room as one couple, then another leaves you for the Latin-dance-of-the-week group lesson hosted like clockwork every Friday. The instructor drones on, but Jake is zeroed in on you: all softness and warmth, criminally tucked away from the rest of the fun.

The warehouse can wait.

__________

You don’t consider yourself the kind of girl someone crosses the room for.

That’s probably why you don’t notice the determined stranger making his way across the crowded dance floor, eyes trained on you as he adjusts his cap with a smirk.

You’re taking another sip of your overpriced cocktail when you hear an unfamiliar voice below you.

“Not a fan of the rumba?”

You finally register the man standing by the corner of your table. He’s handsome, you have to admit, his dark features highlighting kind brown eyes, creased from his almost too-eager smile. When you realize he’s talking to you, your words are still slow to come out.

But he doesn’t miss a beat. “It’s the mustache, isn’t it?” He grins sheepishly, dragging a palm across his lower face. “Knew it’d skeeve some people out, but I thought I’d give it a go.”

“No,” you say too quickly for your own liking, “It’s, ah– nice. Suits you.”

You’re met with a cheeky grin as he steps closer, eyes half-lidded as he leans in. “I’m Jake. Nice to meet a friendly face.”

You eye him warily, wondering what his angle could be. A quick glance around the room confirms there’s only so many unattached women surrounding the dance floor. You sigh internally. The game is always the same: keep them entertained until the girls they really want to talk to come back from the bar, or the bathroom, or stray just far enough from the guys they arrived with.

Might as well play along. 

Settling back into your seat, you tell him your name. His grin widens as he echoes it with something bordering reverence, and you bite your cheek to keep from smiling too wide.

Jake props one elbow on the table, looking up at you. Seems like he’s not going anywhere for a while.

“I gotta know– you not a fan of the rumba?”  He asks again, staring up at you dreamily. You don't catch it, your eyes flitting between him and the dance floor. The lesson is over, and couples spread out to dance independently.

“Hm? Oh, um– it’s alright,” you say with a shrug, arms wrapping around your middle again. “Just not a dancing night for me.” 

Truth be told, it’s been ages since anyone’s invited you to dance. You’ve contented yourself with watching, although something deep inside aches for someone to ask you to–

"Dance with me."

You raise an eyebrow, struck by his bluntness. "I'm sorry?"

He leans in, both arms now resting on the table. "Dance with me, doll." His grin widens as he drinks you in. Your cheeks heat under his gaze, and you almost believe the admiration behind his eyes.

You press your lips together and look back to the crowd. "No thanks."

"I promise I don't bite," he teases, baring his teeth for effect. The slight gap in his smile catches your eye and you look away again. He's definitely a charmer.

"I…" you trail off, searching for an excuse but find you're hesitant to give it. 

Your self-sabotaging streak wins out. "Sorry, I have to keep the table for my friends." You nod toward the couples you came with, each person settled in the arms of their partner as they stumble through the rumba on their own. Your frown deepens; it does look fun.

Jake hums and props his head on one hand. "Don't tell me you only tagged along to watch their purses? Not the best of friends," he adds, critique mixed with sympathy.

You almost tell him that this wasn't the plan, you were meant to have a date tonight. A date who suddenly couldn't make it once your friend had caved and sent him a picture of you– a snapshot you'd both hoped wouldn't "fatfish" but was flattering enough to entice him to commit. Clearly he didn't.

You consider telling him everything, so lost in thought you don't realize he's been saying your name. He calls you once more, and you snap back to the present, tearing your eyes away from the dance floor.

"Sorry, what was that?"

As you speak, Jake walks around the table until he's closer to your side. He holds out his hand.

"C'mon, one dance." He asks again, angling his head to catch your eye. "Please?"

The last of your resolve absolutely crumbles at the way his voice softens with every word. As if you have something he wants. As if you could reject him and make it sting. 

Oh, what the hell.

"...Alright. One dance." 

You didn't think he could smile any wider, but he does– tossing his cap onto the table and trailing a hand through his thick black curls, he's all crow's feet and smile lines as you accept his hand.

Jake weaves between dancing pairs with you in tow, until you reach the middle of the floor. Your eyes dart around at the couples surrounding you, but a gentle touch under your chin brings your attention back to him.

"Just focus on me, yeah?" His voice is still soft, keeping you grounded in the eye of the busy dance floor. You nod, letting out a shaky breath.

"Right, so–" Jake clasps your right hand and raises it to chin level. He moves your left hand to cradle his shoulder, and places his right hand on your shoulder blade. It takes everything in him not to squeeze the flesh under his palm; you're just as warm and soft as he'd thought you'd be.

He talks you through the basics, how to time your steps and the flow of each movement. Every so often, he’ll lift your chin again, since you keep looking at your feet to keep up.

You catch on quicker than you’d expected. Even though your cheeks are blazing, you feel yourself loosen up– your body relaxing, your hips swaying a bit more freely. 

Jake can tell: he’s never short of praise and encouragement, and has to remember his own advice to stop himself from watching your hips the whole time.

"Alright," he warns, "here's something a little tricky-"

As soon as you feel his hand flex, you know what to do. You step out and deftly spin under his arm, hips swaying with a cheeky flourish for effect.

Jake barks a laugh of surprise, arms settling back into place as you complete the step.

You let yourself crack a smile. “You third wheel enough of these dance lessons, you’re bound to pick some things up.”

“No kidding,” he affirms, resuming an easy rhythm for you both. You’d think he was born with that grin on his face, the way it hasn’t faltered since he introduced himself.

One song bleeds into another, but neither of you notice. Instead, you draw closer together, your frame more relaxed and your heart racing. With every beat, you fight back the budding intoxication of the moment. Because this can't be real; this can't be something that lasts. No matter how many praises he showers, winks he offers, or lingering brushes against your hips, shoulders, seemingly anywhere he can touch you, you know you won't be hearing from Jake once you leave this dance floor. That's how this always goes down.

The song ends and you both slow to a stop. Slightly breathless, your hands trail up to Jake’s shoulders, thumbs tracing the fabric there as you work up the courage to ask one last question.

"So… is this the part where you go back to your friends and tally up who got the big girl to believe you were interested?"

Jake's brows knit together, his hands pressed to your shoulder blades to hold you steady. "I don't-"

"Oh please, you don't have to pretend. I survived high school, I can take it." You smirk, worrying your lip to keep your disappointment at bay. This was a nice fantasy, but you know how this ends.

The band starts to play a slower tune, and his eyes meet yours. In a flash of flexed arms and footwork, you’re suddenly looking up at him, body tilted back as he dips you. A cheeky grin is plastered on his flushed features.

"Doll, you misunderstand." He draws you back up, bringing you cheek to cheek as the stubble of his warm face scratches your skin. He continues, voice low and close to your ear:

"We're dancin' because it'd be criminal to leave such a pretty wallflower unplucked all night." He starts to sway in time to the music, still holding you. An invitation to stay, to do this all again.

You lean back; his rapt attention is trained on you like before, the warmth in his brown eyes seeping into your cheeks. Your face blossoms into the widest smile, your soft angles catching the light and making you look downright radiant. 

"That's… so corny." And you laugh, a rich, uninhibited sound pouring from your lips until tears nearly spill down your cheeks. 

Jake takes it all in– the vision that you are. His hand trails down to the softness at the small of your back. The way you quake from laughter sends a thrill up his spine, and he chuckles in turn. If he wasn’t holding you, he swears he’d be a little weak in the knees.

You rest your forehead against his shoulder as you calm down. “What’s one more dance?” You breathe, letting yourself move in time with the music.

Jake bites his lip and nods, taking your hand again. “Thought you’d never ask, doll.”

With a flick of the wrist he spins you out, eliciting another laugh from you as he pulls you back in.

The warehouse can definitely wait: his night's going to be spent drawing that sweet sound from your lips as long as you'll let him.

----------

A/N: when I say "brainrot," i mean i couldn't sleep until i set this gd thing to publish (don't ask me what time)

huge shoutout to @hon3yboy @chrissymodi-frost and @mrsnadeem for letting me ramble in your DMs about dancer!Jake, all my love my darlings <3

addtl tag list: @lunar-ghoulie @shadystarlightgentlemen @casa-boiardi

tysm for reading!

[hellfire--cult]

Request:

i’d love a sequel where there’s a bit of a “day in the life” with the new happy family, or maybe like some vignettes of them getting settled in and making their new home their own? i would literally love any more content in this universe but there’s my ideas in the hat! 🤍

-

Your wish is my command 💚

Hook!Eddie x Fem!Reader

wc 3.5K

Read the main story here. 🌟

Summary: This is what happens after everyone starts living in the home. A recap of everything that's happened until we reach the present.

You can always support your writers by hitting THE REBLOG button! 💚

You can always send requests for this beautiful couple! My ask is open!

Hooked on You: After Story

Life after was something everyone had to get used to.

The boys had to be given names, full names, and thankfully Nancy who has some contacts in the newspaper industry pulled some strings for your “orphaned” family.

You didn’t give specifics, but told her that you started dating a man who was struggling to keep his family afloat. They had no records since they were living anywhere they could, and he just picked the kids up like strays. He and his best friend took care of the kids, and that it was a coincidence in meeting when you hired a ‘cleaning service’. 

But it wasn’t just any name. 

When you showed up with a big smile to your face at dinner, while everyone was enjoying themselves with the food, you had grasped in your hands the adoption papers for each boy in the group. 

Through tears, and smiles, they had hugged you one by one, appreciating your kindness but overall, calling you a different name. 

Mom.

Eddie, whose last name he chose was Munson, was stunned when he asked if they were going to call him Dad and each boy grimaced at that outcome, shaking their heads. After that Eddie had played a game of chase with the children, playing as the big bad bear, with his hands above his head, reaching for the boys.

That was another change.

“So, this is a– what?” 

“Prosthetic. It’s not normal to have a hook as a second hand here, and this has motor sensors, so you can basically have another hand!” You had explained to him, and he was stunned at the realization that he could have his left hand back. But sometimes, he discards the prosthetic, and goes back to his hook because he feels complete with it, that’s what he had told you.

Steve, now Steve Harrington, had acquired the second mom title. Whenever you were gone, or busy, or simply tired, he took care of the boys, played with them, and helped them clean the house. 

It was summer time, but you knew you will have to enroll the kids into school soon, but you had to teach them basic things, such as the ABC, numbers, some math, a little bit of history and biology, and Eddie and Steve listened intently, giving their own teachings here and there. 

You didn’t want your boys to go into middle school without knowing at least the basics, because then everything would be too complex, so thankfully, Robin, who is a teacher, happily comes once a week to give her own teaching to the kids. You found out that Steve and her had developed a strong friendship during the two months you all had been living together.

Another thing they discovered was music.

While the kids loved normal pop songs, except for Mike who had taken a liking to punk music, Steve had loved the 80’s vibe, sticking to it, and then some 90’s, but poor Eddie had not found himself in any of those genres. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was that he might like, but it wasn’t any of that. 

You had tried almost everything, latin music, grunge, rock, techno, but he was still not feeling any of those genres. You were in your room when trying everything in his music app on his phone, and you sighed when he, once again, said he didn’t feel anything from it. 

“I really don’t know what else to play Eds…” He grabbed his phone, which you had taught everyone in the house how to use and bought one for each of them, and started scrolling. 

“There was something about that Rock genre that you showed me… Something is there, but not fully?” You frowned in confusion at his words, and you had to think outside the box. You were showing him things you liked, so maybe, you had to show him things that you wouldn’t normally listen to.

“Hang on…” You grabbed his phone again and searched for a particular playlist. You grabbed his headphones from his night table, and urged him to put them on. He was confused, but did so anyways, and you pressed play onto the playlist.

Eddie’s eyes widened at the sudden strum of a guitar, wild, heavy, powerful, chord after chord. You bit your lip as you stared at his face, and by the smile that was spreading on his cheeks you knew that you hit the jackpot. 

He spent an entire day listening to Metallica. Then the next day to Slipknot. Then Guns ‘n Roses. My Chemical Romance. Megadeth. Rammstein.

The man was a metalhead.

After finding their own music, they had to find their own style. The boys almost wore the same things, sometimes jeans, sometimes shorts, sometimes plaid shirts, sometimes stamped shirts, sneakers… Steve had gone for the rich boy vibe, as you called it. He likes polos, dress pants, tight denims, sweaters, maybe a cardigan.

Now Eddie, you were surprised. He liked everything black, ripped, and he loved the sound of chains as an accessory on his hip. When he found out there were shirts of the bands he started to like, he bought a ton of them, some in white, some in black. One thing that stayed authentic of Eddie, was the black bandana, which he sometimes uses on his head still, or he puts it in his back pocket.

But one of your favorite things in the whole day was going into your room, to finally be alone with him. He was always reading a book, and you came to find out that he loved fantasy. It was funny, because he came out of a fairytale himself, but yet he loves those kinds of books. He devoured Tolkien in a week. 

He would always put whatever he was reading down to welcome you into bed, embracing you in his arms, gentle kisses that always turned into heated ones because that’s another thing that happened. He couldn’t keep himself from touching you. 

And you didn’t want him to. The boys at first made gagging noises whenever he came into the kitchen for breakfast and gave you a morning kiss, lingering there more than it should, but they soon got used to it. Whenever he could, he was wrapping an arm around you, pulling you close, kissing your neck, your face, your shoulder, anywhere he saw skin. 

So you had to introduce him to condoms.

He wasn’t a fan of them, but when you remembered you two didn’t use protection in Neverland, he told you to not worry. In Neverland time is completely stopped, as well as your cycle, and that would explain why you didn’t have periods while being there. You were in such a blissful experience that you didn’t even remember about your period.

But in this world, you could get pregnant, and even if you want a kid of your own with Eddie, there was still so much to get used to for him. But still, it didn’t forbid him from touching every single night, wanting to drown himself in you, and you weren’t complaining. He was always up for trying new things, and you both had discovered many together.

You taught Eddie and Steve how to drive, but there wasn’t much for you to teach because as soon as they touched the steering wheel, they immediately got the hang of it, and Eddie even described it as easy as sailing a ship. You couldn’t believe a former pirate said a car feels like a ship. With the prosthetic, driving an automatic is very easy for Eddie. 

The kids love the pool, you bought a slide for it and a lot of floaters for them to swim in. You noticed how maternal you had gotten ever since getting the kids into your life, and it wasn’t something you thought of ever having. Now, you want more, for some reason. You always have to shake that thought out of your head because that would end badly.

Another thing you did, not very recommended in the summer, was getting a tattoo. You had tattooed your grandma’s drawing of Neverland. You knew there was a diary of hers, and she sometimes read the story from her own head, and sometimes from there and showed you the drawing. She explained she could see the island at the top of the clouds, while flying with Peter.

So you outlined it and tattooed it on your wrist. 

When Eddie saw it, he was immediately interested, knowing about tattoos but the tribe were the only people that knew how to do it. You decided to visit the shop once with him, and he got a hook tattoo on his ankle, to test the waters of the pain. After a week, you couldn’t find him anywhere for three hours, sending you into a panic, only for him to return with six more tattoos on his body, with a wide grin on his face.

“It's summer! One is already bad, you got seven!” You had yelled at him, but he just shrugged and grinned down at you.

“I’ll get even more in winter.” 

But summer was ending, as well as the boys started becoming nervous of going to school, which was a private one so they had to use uniforms for it. They complained of course, but you had promised them that the teacher they were having was going to be very patient and that you met the kids' parents of the class already and they all seemed nice and welcoming. 

A week before the start of classes, you decided it was time for a last pool party, and so, you invited Nancy, Jonathan and Robin over, where Robin mentioned she had a long distance friend visiting and she had asked if they could come over with their little sister, to which you agreed. 

So now, you were cutting the vegetables for the salads in your kitchen, as Jonathan helped Will start the fire outside for the BBQ. For some reason, Jonathan had taken particular liking to one of your kids, but that’s good, because Nancy had found herself teaching Mike how to play some chess, and Dustin was already attached to Eddie like a Piranha. 

One of your boys, though, was sitting alone on one of the lawn chairs, looking at nothing in particular, just the ripples of the water happening  on the pool. You put down your knife, ready to go talk to Lucas, but the doorbell rings, making your head snap that way.

“Don’t worry, I got it!” Steve yells as he rushes towards the door, opening it, to see Robin, a smile on his face as they hug tightly.

“Hi there Dingus.” She pulled away from the hug to point behind her back. “My friend is unloading something and he’s right here, okay?” 

“Yeah sure.” Steve turns his head to guide Robin towards the kitchen and garden where everyone is and she immediately bolts away. He hears a clear of throat and his head turns back around, only for his eyes to land on blue ones, knocking the breath out of his lungs in an instant.

“Hi, um… Hope we’re not intruding, it’s just, I’m with my sister and I couldn’t leave her alone.” The blonde man says, looking at Steve with the same hazed look in his eyes. Steve shook his head to come out of the trance he was in and smiled, putting his hand out for a shake.

“No issue at all! The boys will love her. I’m Steve by the way.” The other man smiles, his white teeth showing off as he presses his hand against Steve’s, electricity immediately coursing through their bodies.

“I’m Billy.”

“Are you going to keep flirting or…” A soft voice says from behind him, making Billy let go of Steve’s hand with a groan, a blush appearing on his cheeks as he makes way for the redheaded girl to come forward. “I’m Max.” 

“Oh hi–” Steve felt the presence of someone else next to him, and he turned his head to see Lucas, staring at the girl with a dreamy look in his eyes. 

“Hi… I’m Lucas.” Max’s lips tugged slightly up at the sight of the boy, her skateboard in hand. “What's that?” He pointed at it and she smiled widely, walking inside the house, grabbing onto his hand to guide him outside where everyone was.

“I’ll teach you!” Steve could hear her yell as he let Billy in. He closes the door only to see Billy looking all over the house with a confused frown on his face. 

“This is big… You all live here?” He asks and Steve stands next to him, nodding as he looks around as well.

“Yep. We are grateful to her, you know. We would have…” He suddenly heard some footsteps coming over and Steve turned his head to see Eddie reaching them, with a piece of bread in his hand, his other one reaching out to shake Billy’s.

“I’m Eddie.” He greets and Billy looks down at the prosthetic hand, shaking it carefully with him, and when Eddie lets go, the blonde man’s curiosity got the best of him.

“I’m Billy– Um… how did that happen?” He asks, pointing at the hand. Eddie looks down at it and then back at Billy.

“Crocodile bit it off.” He shrugs and walks towards the kitchen once again as Billy stands there completely stunned. Steve’s eyes were bulging out of his skull almost, and he was trying to come up with another excuse because that sounded way too unreal and he didn’t want Billy to think Eddie was messing with him.

“Fucking sick.” Billy says with a smile and he looks back down towards Steve. The brown haired man lets out a sigh of relief and then nods.

“Gruesome, but yeah, sick.” Billy just stands there looking at Steve, his mind completely drifting away and Steve could even sense that, as the blonde’s eyes were just gazing into his, and that was making Steve’s heart accelerate rapidly. “W-What’s wrong?”  That made Billy snap out but his face was still the same, still staring as if his eyes were not to be trusted.

“I-I don’t know, you just seem… like you came out of a fairytale or something.” Steve couldn’t help the big smile and blush that spread on his cheeks, while Billy realized what he had just said, embarrassment filling him from head to toe, stammering on his words to try to save it but Steve was just laughing, enjoying the man’s company and voice. 

You were sneaking glances through the kitchen door, a smile on your face as you bit your bottom lip. Everyone has someone in your family, your big family, and that fills you with joy. You felt an arm creep from behind you, pulling you close to a warm body. You giggle as his face immediately snuzzled in the crook of your neck, causing your skin to grow goosebumps from it. 

“Eddie–”

“Don’t spy on them. Let my second in command flirt in peace.” He says in your ear and you turn around to face him, smiling widely up at him, your arms wrapping around his shoulders.

“I’m just so happy… Everyday just feels like a dream.” You say to him, and he gives you a nod, a gentle smile spreading on his lips as he leans down to kiss your cheek, then the tip of your nose, expressing his love for you.

“I will never regret the day I thought you were Wendy and kidnapped you.”

“I should sue.” He fake gasps while shaking his head at you.

“Now, you’ve hurt me Angel.” Your eyes looked to your side, seeing everyone playing with each other through the window pane you had, and your eyes filled with tears at the sight of it all. Nothing could make it better. Nothing at all… Except.

You felt Eddie grip your side, giving it a soft press to catch your attention again. You looked at him and his eyes were nervous, full of doubt yet with determination. 

“Eds? What's wrong?”

“I know… The kids don’t call me dad… But–” He licked his lips while swallowing a big lump down his throat and your heart was almost out of your chest and you could hear its beating on your ears. He gives you a big grin as a tear already rolls down your cheek.

He grabs your hand and walks out of the kitchen to take you upstairs and into your grandmother’s room. He then opens the balcony’s door and steps out with you, the breeze already hitting you and the sun beaming down at your body.

“Close your eyes Angel.” He whispers in your ear as he lets go of your hand. Your breathing became heavy as you did as told, and you raised your head up, towards where the second star to the right is. You always wished on it, wished that it wouldn’t take your love away, that it wouldn’t take your children away, wished that everything was real and not a dream.

“Eddie–”

“Open them and turn around.” You did as told, turning to see Eddie on one knee, a box on his hand as his elbow rested on his knee. Your heart got caught in your throat as you looked at the diamond in the box, covering your mouth with both of your hands as tears started spilling out uncontrollably from your eyes.

“What…?”

“I want to be their dad. I want to be with you, forever, for as long as you’ll have me, or for as long as we live. You’re it for me Angel, you have been it for me from the moment you decided to fly towards me, towards the ship, instead of here.” He choked up on a sob and then took a deep breath to keep going. “I know it’s soon, but I can’t imagine my life with anyone else. In my eyes, into my future, you’re always there. You will always be there.” 

You dropped to your knees, as happiness flourished in your chest, smiling through your tears as you put your left hand up, putting it on display for him. You looked up at his big doe eyes, a tear slipping out of his left one as he looked down at you as if you were the only thing keeping him alive.

And you were.

“I’m ready to be Mrs. Hook.”

And when our journey is through, each time we say "Goodnight", we'll thank the little star that shines, the second from the right.

A/N: Remember you can still send requests for these two! I plan on making more little one shots for them, but this one is good so you can all know what happened after the return 🥰

Hope you enjoyed this magical little thing!

Song at the bottom is Second Star to the Right from the original 1953 Peter Pan soundtrack.

[sourbinnie]

☆ cerca de ti.mp3 ☆

♡ genre ¿? ♡ -> angst ♡ pair ¿? ♡ -> ot8!skz x gn!reader ♡ plot ¿? ♡ -> the song they wrote when you left them + some moments and how it went down. ♡ warnings ¿? ♡ -> swearing ; smoking (weed) ♡ request ¿? ♡ -> nope

a/n: so i had this idea today and i wrote it all today because i wanted it out as soon as possible. i obviously get it if you don't like or think it's kinda odd? idk i really enjoyed this and the process of it so i hope yall like it too. it was kind of inspired by edits that i see on instagram where they make stray kids lipsync to latin songs, goddamn i love those. so yeah this is my take on how they would sing cerca de ti!

[ intro : chan & seungmin ] cerca de ti estaba bien y de tu vida me borré (close to you i was okay but of your life i got erased) y ella ante' no lo veía, pero sé que te fallé (but she didn't see it before but i know i failed you) y si ahora vuelves, te juro que no te vuelvo a perder (and if you come back, i swear that i won't lose you again) porque me di cuenta que muero si me alejo de tu piel (i realized that i die when i'm far away from your skin)

when they first started writing this song, only one thing would come to their minds and that was you. it wasn't your typical love song or even sad song but more of a mix of emotions that all the members were feeling condensed into one song. one they would call close to you, one that would express how much a certain person had changed them and their experiences with that individual.

chan at first didn't want to take a part in the song, he thought it was too soon, too much but the rest convinced him that it would be a good idea to let go with lyrics (it wasn't). when he wrote the first two verses of the introduction, he knew he was fucked and he was too deep now. when you decided to leave, he was the last one you saw and he got the final word, it didn't go well. he was too harsh and too egoistic to see what was happening in front of his eyes, the hate that blinded him was making him spill words that he didn't mean. 

"(y/n) i don't think you're realizing what you're doing." he said almost as if you were betraying him and the boys as you packed your things. you thought this was the right choice all along and you weren't gonna get convinced, especially by someone who wasn't showing they cared or that they appreciate you in anyway (he did very much so in the end). 

"what do you want me to do chan? to pretend everything's alright? god you guys really only think about yourselves." you said and it wasn't nice but it needed to be said. you've been left in the dust for way too long to care about other people's feelings, especially if it was the 8 boys you were referring to.

"rich coming from you, you act like we don't have a job. our lives don't revolve around you!" he exclaimed but it just made you roll your eyes. you weren't talking about that, you never even once mentioned their job because you knew how busy their schedules were but it just got to the point where they didn't show that they cared, that they loved you, that they wanted you. "if you leave, you aren't coming back."

"watch me." you said as you walked out the front door and out of their lives.

seungmin felt so lost without you, he got too used to your presence. he got used to your morning kisses, you preparing his lunch for work, how you would listen to him. the thing he missed the most was your body, not really in a sexual way, he just wanted to hold you. to feel your skin against his and plant a kiss on your cheek, he wanted to kiss your lips again and love you tenderly & softly.

he didn't think much of you leaving because he knew in the end you would come back to them. when you didn't for months, he lost hope and when the boys suggested writing, he was the first one grabbing a pen and a paper. he almost seemed desperate to get these feelings out of the way.

"you think they're gonna listen to it?" jeongin asked and the older didn't know how to respond. he wanted you to hear it, for you to process the words that everyone was singing. you were always so attentive towards their lyrics that it just made sense that if you heard it, you would want to contact them right?

"i hope so, this is our last shot i think." seungmin responded and jeongin nodded as he sat down next to him to write the lyrics. everyone needed to put in a bit of effort to make a team and for it to be put out.

[ chorus : chan, seungmin & jeongin ] y si fuera por mí, estaría cerca de ti, eh (and if it was up to me, i would be close to you) pero tengo que dejarte volar (but i gotta let you fly) supongo que es una parte dе amar (i guess it's a part of love) y si fuera por mí, estaría cerca dе ti, yeah (and if it was up to me, i would be close to you, yeah) pero tengo que dejarte volar (but i gotta let you fly) supongo que es una parte de amar (i guess it's a part of love)

vocalracha did the chorus, it just seemed right. jeongin finding the right words to go with the flow and chan's voice starting it were exactly what everyone was looking for. it was their way of showing they were letting go but not willingly because if it was up to all of them they would want to continue what they had with (y/n).

jeongin took it really hard when you left. like seungmin, he had hope that you would come back, that it might be a mistake or a joke in bad taste but it wasn't like that. he didn't even get to say goodbye, to tell you to take care of yourself. he wanted you so bad in every way that your presence not being there for him when he needed you the most was destroying him.

"hyung i wish i could talk to them. i'm so lost and i don't even know what to do." jeongin expressed, in the verge of crying because he just wanted you but he was stuck in the dorms not even knowing where you were.

"we gotta give them time innie, i know it's hard but we'll find a way." chan said as let the younger cry and let his worries out. even if he didn't feel like things were gonna get better, his hyung always had his back.

right now he was feeling less broken, more confident but he just wanted you to hear this song. even if you didn't want to, these were the things that needed to be said and expressed by the members. he felt like he was left in the dark, he was trapped and had no way out but right now he was seeing the light. when they were filming the music video, everything shined so bright and it took his breath away. if only you could be right there, right now. 

[ verse 1 : jisung & minho ] cerca de ti fue que sentí que ya no había más na' malo (yeah-eh) (close to you i felt like there was nothing that could be bad) cerca de ti fue que sentí que ya no había más na' de amor (close to you i felt like there was no more love) sé que me fui lastimado (ey), dejaste en mí todo raro (i know i left hurt, you left everything weird in me) yo no sé cuándo estaré sano (i don't know when i'm gonna heal) pacas y pacas, todas las gasté, stop, ¿toda esa mierda pa' qué? (bags and bags, i spent them all. stop, all of that shit for what?) ya no me sirve fumar de la maría si no e' con vo' en el hotel (now i can't smoke the maria if it's not with you in the hotel) oh-oh, no me sirve fumar si no e' con vo' en el hotel (oh-oh, i can't smoke if it's not with you in the hotel)

jisung like he said, was left with a mix of everything. the weirdness that affected him when he wasn't by your side but the way you made him believe that he could be loved again lived within him. you showed him a new side of himself, way more careful and way more calm, one that brought peace everywhere he went. he carried that when he wasn't with you because he would go crazy if he didn't.

"you're kinda different today, i like the vibe." you said as you sat down next to him and he smiled, nodding. he couldn't explain the relaxation that invaded his body whenever he found himself in the same room as you. he couldn't let go of the feeling and yet at the same time he didn't want to.

"just wanted to be with you and enjoy the moment." he mumbled burying himself in you but then coming up to give you a sweet kiss. you smiled and pulled him closer as you made out on the sofa in the 3racha + hyunjin) dorms. 

he found himself smiling at the memories and not looking back because he was confident this would catch your attention. maybe a little too cocky for his liking but he knew you all too well to know that this isn't the end but the start of something different.

minho wasn't a big smoker, yet this verse was a reminder of how fucked up you two got at the hotels when he was on tour. when he brought you along, he wasted all of his money on you and on pleasing you, whatever the baby wanted they would get. maybe he acted more like a sugar daddy and didn't realize but he couldn't care less because he wanted to spoil you rotten.

"dude are you smoking?" jisung asked him and he could just nod, of course jisung was only interested because he wanted to hop on the same train. "this is fucking harder than i thought it would be, everything i write is shit."

"i wrote my verses but i still feel like it's missing their approval." minho said laughing, a bit high already. jisung just laughed because his giggles were contagious. they would spend the whole night like this, just going back and forth with new bars but in the end settling down for the ones they had at first. there was a reason those were the first things they thought of, it was because they came out of the broken heart they were experiencing.

staying silent wasn't unusual for them but since they met you, you would always invade with your voice and say whatever you were thinking. now the silence was uncomfortable and they just wanted to hear your voice again.

[ verse 2 : changbin & hyunjin ; both ] miro pa' atrás y parece to' un chiste (i look back and it seems like a joke) yo sé que no daba y por eso te fuiste (i knew i couldn't do it and that's why you left) no sé qué le pa', no sé qué le diste (i don't know what's going on, i don't know why you gave) pero estoy nuevo, como si no exististe (but i am new like you never existed) y sé que si yo puedo, podría cualquiera (and i know if i can, anyone can do it) porque mi corazón era una heladera (because my heart was a fridge) ahora tropical entre cocos y palmeras (now tropical between coconuts and palms) con un recuerdo dulce de cómo eras tú (with a sweet memory of how you were) ah, de cómo eras tú, oh-oh-woh (ah, of how you were, oh-oh-woh) miro pa' atrás y parece to' un chiste (i look back and it all seems like a joke) yo sé que no daba y por eso te fuiste (i knew i couldn't do it and that's why you left) no sé qué le pa', no sé que le diste (i don't know what's going, i don't know what you gave) pero estoy nuevo, como si no-como si-como si- (but now i'm new, like you've never-)

changbin thought it was genuinely a joke when chan told them you weren't coming back. this is why the first lyric went like this and then they immediately thought of realizing why you left him. it's like he knew he had to accept that you were not gonna come back, that the situation got worse and that they left you behind (without wanting to). you didn't leave because you wanted to but because you had to, you were done with them. 

he was the first to try to pretend like you didn't exist, like it didn't mean a thing to him that you left. while most of them were broken and trying to pick up the pieces, changbin decided to live in his new reality where he didn't even meet you. that lasted way too little for his liking since he got reminded of you everywhere he went.

"i feel like being without you makes me feel so fucking weird." he said one time to you and you raised your eyebrow at this. he wasn't one to usually get sappy but you welcomed this moments any time they happened. "okay i know i sound like a major loser but i love you."

"i love you more and you're not a loser for expressing your feelings binnie." your voice was engraved on his mind but he still craved to call you when he felt low. he knew leaving voice messages was weird to get it out since you blocked all of them but a man had to let it out somehow.

hyunjin thought his lyrics were so stupid but somehow he knew that's the way to go. if he wanted to capture your attention somehow, he wanted it to be in a cheesy line and make it seem like he was doing fantastic. yet when he thinks of the sweet memory of you, he's brought back to you, your perfume/cologne, your smile and your hugs. it felt like home every time you held him in your arms.

"hyunjin i feel like i'm drifting away from you guys and i'm scared." he remembers you said to him this one day and he was a bit shocked. he didn't feel like that at all but there had to be a reason why you were feeling like this and not overreacting right? he knew he had to talk it out with the other guys.

"no baby, we're here for you okay? i doubt anything is gonna happen." he said and now that he thinks about it, he should've done something, he should've held you closer and reassured you even more that nothing was gonna separate you from them. he didn't, he now regrets it every day because he missed you like crazy and there was no turning back.

but he knew he still had a chance to mend things, to at least have a way to contact you if you needed anything. he didn't want your last messages to be so sad, to be blocked in your phone forever 'cause you could never be blocked on his. it was stupid but he wanted to be in your life, even if it was the bare minimum.

[ verse 3 : changbin & felix ] ¿cuántas vece' te fallé? (how many times did i fail you?) sin contar la última ve' (without counting last time) pensando volverte a ver (thinking of seeing you again) cuando llego, yo te llamo y no respondes, baby (when i arrive, i call you and you don't answer, baby) me tiene' quemándome en tu fuego (you got me burning in your fire) todo' tu' problema' lo' resuelvo (all of your problems i solve them) como un boomerang yo siempre vuelvo (like a boomerang i always come back) tengo gana' de explorar tu cuerpo (i want to explore your body) ya me lastimaste, igual no aprendo (you already hurt me, i never learn) (ya me lastimaste, igual no aprendo) (you already hurt me, i never learn) (igual no aprendo) (still i don't learn)

felix didn't think he did things wrong, he didn't feel like your falling out was justified. yeah they made a mistake, he made a mistake but all the missed calls that night would haunt him forever. he wanted to see you, to talk to you, to know how you feel and what went wrong. he still couldn't understand it even if chan tried to explain it 100 times, he wasn't convinced. he wanted another chance and he would live in delusion of you coming back if he had to. 

the last time he saw you, you two fought. he remembers it very clearly but he wants to forget it every day, he felt like it wasn't that bad. was he in the wrong? 100% but it didn't justify you walking out on them. 

"(y/n) come on, you can't be serious. even if you do feel like that, it's nothing that we can't fix!" he said when you came to visit him to talk about how you were feeling. god he was such a fucking idiot, he should've just taken you seriously and the more he thinks about it, the more he cringes at how he reacted.

when you sighed and shook your head as you left, he was so blinded by hysteria that he didn't even look at you. he remembers telling changbin this and he knew he would get mad at him but he didn't care, if a lesson needed to be taught that he behaved in a stupid manner, he deserved it. it never arrived though, changbin understood that he wasn't in the right but he also missed the red flags so he couldn't blame his friend for taking this approach.

"i just want her back bin. this song is all i fucking have and it already feels like it's done for." felix expressed and changbin just patted him on the back as he looked at the lyrics his member wrote. 

"i think we can do it though, i think everything will be alright in the end." the older said as he continued the song with his verse and together they made it work. changbin hugged him and held him close as the other one just lost himself in his hyung.

if there was a feeling worse than losing you, it was missing you felix thought.

[ chorus : chan, seungmin & jeongin ] y si fuera por mí, estaría cerca de ti, ah (and if it was up to me, i would be close to you, ah) pero tengo que dejarte volar (but i gotta let you fly) supongo que es una parte de amar (i guess it's a part of love) y si fuera por mí, no me correría de tu lado (and if it was up to me, i wouldn't be moved from your side) apretados, pero ya embarcaste (tightly but you already sailed away) di todo lo que tengo por vos, pero sé que yo fui un desastre [i gave everything for you, but i know i was a disaster)

he knew his members would eventually fight him because he was the last one that saw you. the confrontation was tough because even though everyone was fond of each other, the glue that tied them together was you when the situations got hard. chan knew he didn't handle the situation well, he knew everyone was disappointed in him and blamed himself for you leaving every day. he didn't want to feel like this but it was impossible when he was so cold and distant with his words and actions.

as a leader he should've known better, as a person he should've been better. 

"hyung please don't blame yourself." seungmin said as he sat down next to him. he was the only one who didn't yell at him and yet he thought he deserved it but the youngest wouldn't do it. "it was long overdue that they were gonna leave us because of how they felt and all of the signs were there."

"yeah but i had my chance to stop it and didn't" chan expressed, rotten and bitter that he still had to put up a fight against himself. if he couldn't keep you, he wouldn't be able to keep anything, not like he cared since the only thing he wanted right now was to see you again. 

"maybe you did but we can't keep on thinking that, we need to do something about it." seungmin said and chan nodded. he was right, he couldn't leave in the shadows forever, he couldn't keep on taking the bullet because it would only make it worse for him.

he really gave everything for you but it wasn't enough. even like he said, he was a disaster and there was no changing what went down or how it happened. there was only hoping that it would all heal and you would be able to continue what you once started. or maybe there would be a part where he would have to let go finally.

jeongin got lost in a train of thought when he had to say his verse. he got completely caught up in a moment that happened so long ago that all he could do was stare as he tried to say his lyrics but chan told him to start all over again.

"innie i know it's hard but i'm always here for you." you said and that should've been sweet but it wasn't because he responded the worst way possible.

"please go (y/n), i can't do this right now." he said and it made him physically recoil. like he could not understand why he was so distant, why he felt the need to talk to you like that and of course he remembers it now that he doesn't have a chance at all.

he was mad at himself not only because of that, because of everything they made you go through. maybe it was for the best that you went away because if you did stay, things would've gotten worse. but he wouldn't go without a fight as stupid and cliche as it was, he needed to fight for you and what your love was.

[ verse 4 : hyunjin, felix & minho ] sé que mucho arriesgaste, pero mirá al final (i know you risked a lot but look at the end) paso la noche viendo las fotos que tengo de los dos (i spent the nights looking at the photos i got from both of us) cara de póker cuando mi brother pregunta: "¿qué pasó?" (poker face when my brother asks the question "what happened?") yo solo estoy enfocado en ver cómo soltarte (i'm only focused on seeing how i let you go) bebé, no quiero perderte (baby, i don't wanna lose you) pero menos que me pierdas una oportunidad (but less that you make me lose the chance) eso significa no verte, fuck mi mala suerte (that means not seeing you, fuck my bad luck) tengo que aprender a soltar (i need to learn to let go)

minho remembers taking a picture of you, it was by the han river and you were making a peace sign. late at night when no one could see him and you didn't have to hide from the public. he wanted to keep you there forever, cherish you and make you feel loved.

"god i look so bad, delete it." you said and he just shook his head as he embraced you, giving you a tight hug. covering you with his coat as the wind blew near the water, it got suddenly colder. you accepted his tenderness and love as you laid your head on his shoulder.

"you look good all the time." he said, smiling and giving you a kiss on the forehead. you blushed as you looked up to meet his eyes and then suddenly closed them to meet him in a peaceful and lovely kiss that you would be sure to remember. well at least he still remembered and felt it from time to time.

"stop daydreaming." hyunjin said as he woke up minho from his daily session of reimagining things again and he sighed, annoyed by the others' presence but he knew they had to record their lines together. "It's all about letting go now like the lyrics say."

"yeah none of us are doing a good job at that." felix said as he walked in, his hair a mess and his voice raspier than usual. he knew he wasn't doing well but this was bottom of the barrel and he just didn't know how to take care of himself anymore.

"tired of saying we'll probably get a chance when i actually don't know." minho mumbled to himself but the other two catched it and nodded along. this was gonna be a tough act to put on but they needed to keep going till the end. a bad loser was one that wouldn't even show up, at least they were trying to win something out of this.

[ chorus : jisung, chan & seungmin ] y si fuera por mí (yoh, yoh), estaría cerca de ti, yeah (and if it was up to me, i would be close to you, yeah) pero tengo que dejarte volar (but i gotta let you fly) supongo que es una parte de amar (i guess it's a part of love)

jisung was in the last chorus because that's what they decided on. he sighed as he had only one verse, the last one to make the chance count. even now he was feeling nervous for one line, he never felt this tense since he started being in stray kids and now he just wanted to shut himself off and close the door to his bedroom to not think about you. he was always invaded by memories anyways, so it's not like he could stop it but right now all the flashbacks like a movie were on his mind and he felt the tears build up.

seungmin found himself saying the last lyric of the song, thinking of the times when you would be staring at him before you two kissed. he didn't want to let go even if the song said otherwise but it would be the best option if things didn't go as planned.

"i love you minnie." you whispered to him after an award show one day. they had collected most of the trophies yet none of them felt as good as your love and having you by his side (as corny as it sounds). 

"i love you too." he whispered back and kissed your cheek as you were leaving the place were it took place. fingers intertwined and smiles on both of your faces. 

he remembered it with such love but deep pain as he pronounced his lyrics. i guess it's a part of love huh? he thought to himself as he saw the video going up, the song reaching an incredible amount of listens and going viral on every platform

maybe something good would come out of this.

+ 1

you knew it was about you and it was absolutely everywhere. you didn't have a friend who didn't send you the song and you didn't have a coworker who didn't talk about it. the new stray kids song is so sad that it will make you cry but it's still a vibe or whatever the headlines were saying. you were done with it but because your curiosity was over the roof, you knew you had to listen to it at least once.

and you did, you took in all the lyrics, all the verses and the chorus. you sighed when you finished it, is it really like this? do they really want you back? do they crave to be close to you like they say? you didn't know fully. maybe they just took in the situation and made the song for clout. but you knew them better than that and wouldn't do that if they weren't truly sorry, it was a whole mess to think about this.

you unblocked all of them, the hardest one to unblock being chan but you did it. speaking of the devil, he sent you a message as soon as you did unblock him and it was like destiny or magic or something insane because he couldn't believe he was no longer prohibited on your phone as he started spamming you. 

then soon everyone started messaging you and it felt like the old times, bringing back a smile to your face. it looks like they really did miss you and wanted you back.

you opened seungmin's chat and wrote just two words.

one chance.

[cowboylikeyoongi]

― about the creator.

➳ LET’S START WITH THE BASICS!

name: romy

unofficial nicknames: ro, remy, rosé, rosemary (???)

age: twenty-two (born february, ‘02)

pronouns: they/them

sexuality: lesbian (i just think that ✨women✨)

zodiac signs: pisces sun, taurus moon, aries rising

mbti: infj

occupation: demonic entity (translation: uni student)

mortal enemies: writer’s block, heteronormativity, bigots, non-inclusive/white-coded reader inserts

➳ THAT’S WHAT I LIKE.

various activities i enjoy: writing, reading, graphic design, gif making, sleeping, crying, simping for people and fictional characters, learning languages, poetry, carpool karaoke by myself

languages i butcher on the daily: english, italian, bootleg spanish, german, latin (against my will)

girlgroups & bands: dreamcatcher, twice, blackpink, loona, red velvet, mamamoo, itzy, purple kiss, (g)i-dle, pixy, rolling quartz

boygroups & bands: bts, stray kids, seventeen, astro, monsta x, exo, got7, txt, shinee, ateez, nct, enhypen, day6

soloists: hyuna, chungha, sunmi, hyolyn, cl, iu

k-dramas & movies: hotel del luna, it’s okay to not be okay, happiness, all of us are dead, flower of evil, kill it, the penthouse, vincenzo, goblin, lawless lawyer, i am not a robot, itaewon class, my name, the witch: subversion, the handmaiden

➳ WRITERLY-RELATED STUFF.

i only write for bts at the moment.

all my fics feature a gender-neutral!reader whose appearance & anatomy remain ambiguous. i don’t specify the reader’s physique, skin colour, gender identity, etc. because i want everybody to be able to relate to them. 

all my reader-insert characters and fictional, romy-verse bts are written as queer individuals. 

➳ MEMES FOR THE SOUL.

[blossom-hwa]

inspired by bridgerton. yes this is the third time. it will likely not be the last. seungmin is the equivalent of the duke of hastings (simon bassett) but the netflix version and this is specifically inspired by piano/gun duel from s1 ep 7, but the reason behind the fight is not mentioned because I'm not wholly comfortable with the scene that led up to it in the show

wc: 2.6k ~ seungmin x fem!reader ~ nobility!au, bridgerton!au ~ triggers: slight allusions to sex, implied death of a parent ~ stray kids masterlist

~ parallels of a fight, several years apart.

[ find your way ] End not the night in anger, and do not begin the day with strife.

Your mother gave you these words the day before you were to be married, advice you did not quite hear but still took, nodded and filed the words away into the recesses of your mind and heart to examine later when your thoughts had thinned from the swampy mire that they were at the time and turned into a clearer lake in which you could finally pick out your reflection. And examine you did after that first exhilarating night with him, in which you finally declared your love and he declared his before his lips overtook yours and only the moon bore witness to the pleasure that racked your bodies for hours afterwards.

They did not seem too hard, then, the words your mother gave you in hands clasped and eyes filled with worried affection. They were not the philosophical texts your tutors had forced you to parse during your school days, nor were they the words of another language that you sometimes did not know when you made your first attempts on a new score of music your brother had gifted you. They were simple. Easy. Comprehensive. You could even use your mother and father as an example, at least when your father was alive – even when they had had fights that carried through closed doors and sturdy walls, shouts that echoed down the staircases and that wouldn’t drown under the sound of your pianoforte, you cannot recall a time when they did not die before the day ended, when they did not become smiles and promises unspoken in loving eyes to do better, to be better, by the next morning.

But now – in the face of Seungmin’s trickery, his deception – and that of your mother’s too because lies by omission are just as much lies as the carefully crafted words Seungmin had used to dissuade you from the union that you needed –

Rose stands by, quiet, as you slide scores of music from the shelves with hands unnaturally still. Only reverence for the markings on the paper keeps you from throwing them onto the pianoforte with undue force, but for all your efforts, a slight noise rises as the sheets hit the polished wood. Your fingers remain terribly calm as you select one, a favorite for the angry days where you cannot scream or cry, only channel every snarling emotion into the keys of your favorite instrument.

It is not a sad day. It is not a gray day. In fact the sun shines bright outdoors, giving the green grass a quiet, soft glow. Its rays stream in through the window, warming your back as you settle on the bench and place your hands on the keyboard.

Your lips twist. You stare at the score, at the notes and rests swimming across the page. Your fingers begin to move, and you begin to play.

Something something finances money something something something about something that doesn’t matter because it’s his voice –

You pick your hands off the keyboard. Sigh. Sigh again.

Snarl enough that Rose seems to flinch, just barely, out of the corner of your eye.

It’s enough to remind you of your place, of the role you must play even when only a servants’ eyes are watching. Because you are the Duchess of Hastings, diamond of the season, daughter of a viscount and sister to another, married to a previously infamous rake of a duke who was said to have tamed his ways for you, and only you.

You close your eyes. Breathe. Count to ten in your native language, then English, then Latin, for good measure. By that time you have a smile back on your face, and even if your eyes flash bloody murder anyone who saw you now could not say your lips were not curved pleasantly when they passed by.

Picking yourself up off the stool, you move toward the closed door, the door behind which you can hear Seungmin’s dealings even though he has never before taken them so close to you at such an hour in the morning, the time you reserved for yourself, only yourself and the pianoforte and whatever books you had been reading lately. He has never disturbed you, not even after all of the lies had exploded and the manor had grown cold as ice.

Until now.

You fling the door open. A servant startles with his tray on his way to the kitchens, but no one else is there. You dip your head lightly in apology and head back inside, settling yourself back onto the bench. All without closing the door.

You begin to play once more. And if it’s a little louder than before, Rose certainly says nothing.

The voices stop. Seungmin’s, and the other one as well.

You keep playing.

They go back to talking. Droning. A little louder, too, you’re sure, and though the rational part of your mind questions whether this is true or you are simply projecting your own anger onto him, the irrational part has far too much power in the moment and you find logic very easy to ignore. And it certainly isn’t irrational when you hear footsteps beginning to couple with the voices growing louder as they thump down the stairs, your husband’s tones in particular rising gradually as he comes closer, closer, closer – and you are not imagining it –

A footstep sounds particularly close to the door. On reflex, you look up from where your fingers fly across the keyboard, eyes no longer needing the sheet music to keep yourself on track.

And cross gazes with the man in the open doorway who held your affections just days ago, affections that have since turned into dust and ashes liable to flit away on the wind at any second, only waiting for the right gale to carry them off.

One moment passes with gazes held in that open doorway, snarling anger bright in two pairs of eyes. And in that moment, you wish, oh you wish –

You wish that the gale had already come to scatter the ashes of your old passion to the corners of the earth, because maybe if it had you wouldn’t find your thrice-be-damned husband handsome in the flames of his fury.

Dark hair, narrowed eyes. Broad shoulders and strong arms that had once held the ability to engulf you in some sort of peaceful cocoon from which you wish you could never be disturbed, the warmth of his being all around you. Those lips that whispered, that kissed, that could curve into the brightest smile known to man.

A rake. That’s what he was, an irredeemable rake. And he was just who you had to fall in love with, wasn’t he, a ridiculously handsome rake who swore he loved you too, whispered it hot against your skin as he looked at you with those soft, soft eyes –

Your heart twists. One who loved you could not have betrayed you so easily in the same damn breath.

You tear your eyes away, forcing them back to the keys dipping beneath your fingers in their furious dance. Seungmin walks past too, his voice growing softer in the distance as his steps fade into the air.

The welling in your chest is anger, you tell yourself. Nothing cold, only blazing, furiously hot – no sorrow, no desolation, only sharp fire and fury.

End not the night in anger, and do not begin the day with strife. You snort at the memory of your mother’s words, the advice she gave so earnestly even though you now know just how much she refused to tell, everything that would have been useful in dealing with this.

You go to sleep angry. You wake the next morning angry.

And when you see Seungmin in the halls after breakfast, neither of you speaks a word.

. . . . .

several years later

When you settle your hands on the keyboard, you remember a similar day just weeks after you married, only days after the revelation that had thrown your and Seungmin’s marriage into the flames. It is lucky – truly lucky indeed – that you managed to rescue it from the ashes, singed and burning as it was, and restore it to something bigger, better, more beautiful than ever before.

No, a voice reminds you. You did not manage to rescue it. You chose to. 

And Seungmin did too. 

A perfect marriage does not exist, you think as your fingers begin their dance. At least in the way that many believe a perfect marriage to be – devoid of arguments, devoid of conflict, devoid of anything contrarian that would seemingly jeopardize a relationship. Because in this way, nothing is perfect. No two people could ever be perfectly aligned as to never have their opinions differ in some way unless maybe they were one and the same, and when would that be possible? No, there is no perfect marriage, not in the way that you used to think, not in the way that many still do.

Soft footsteps sound down the hall, just audible through the closed door and over the music of the pianoforte. You recognize them now so well after several years, the familiar footfalls that grow heavier or lighter depending on his mood. Right now, they are light despite the events of earlier in the day, and they remain light until they stop entirely in front of the door.

A gentle knock sounds on the wood. “Y/N.”

Your hands don’t leave the pianoforte, don’t stop the delicate dance they weave across its keys. They do soften their touch, though, allowing your voice to carry over the hushed volume of the piece. “Come in.”

The door opens slightly, and Seungmin’s head pokes into the room. You meet his eyes, dark eyes not narrowed in the moment but soft and heavy with exhaustion and maybe a tinge of regret that you can recognize if only for the fact that you are sure he must see the same emotion in your own gaze. He enters fully, dark hair and broad shoulders and all, then shuts the door softly.

You continue to play, weaving the strands of a soft sonata’s second movement until the piece finishes and you can almost see the tapestry in front of you, a mesh of color and song that hangs in the air for a moment, beautiful, ephemeral, until it falls away and all you can do is remember it with a faint smile. It is this faint smile that you give your husband, leaning against the doorway, a soft smile painting his own lips as his eyes flutter open.

“Now don’t fall asleep where you stand,” you say, gesturing to where you still sit on the pianoforte bench. “Come.”

Seungmin walks over with those same light footsteps, never once jostling himself against the floor as he places himself on the bench by your side. You lean into him and he leans into you, and for a moment you two allow silence to overcome the still room.

He speaks first. “I’m sorry.”

The urge to say so am I is almost overwhelming, but by now you know when Seungmin welcomes interruptions and when he doesn’t, and the solemn look on his face as he looks at you tells you now isn’t the time. So you keep quiet, only rub soft circles against the side of his body instead.

“I’m sorry,” he repeats with a little sigh. “I’ve been stressed with the accounts since the farmers started having trouble with their fields and today was a bad day in particular what with everyone coming in and out of the house, but…” Seungmin sighs again, deeper this time. “That’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t have lashed out that way. I apologize.”

“It’s partially my fault,” you say. “I’m sorry. I knew you were stressed, and I should have guessed that having so many people over at this time would have made it worse. I should have moved around dates and things, so I apologize for being inconsiderate.”

“It would’ve been difficult to move around appointments with so many people,” Seungmin points out. “You are, after all, a very important person to many people, Your Grace.”

“As are you, Your Grace.” You both laugh at the titles, the brief mockery with which you said them. “I know that we can’t control our moods with the seasons, but I will endeavor to be more flexible in the future.”

“And I will try to control my moods better,” Seungmin replies, kissing the side of your head. “Again, I apologize.”

“Quite in the mood for apologizing, aren’t you?” You place a kiss of your own on his cheek, feeling the stretch of his growing smile against your lips. “Don’t worry, Seungmin. It’s all right.”

There is no perfect marriage in the world, in the way that one party never raises conflict with another over warring tradition or desire. Of that, you are sure. Not even a single person can remain constant – you argue with yourself more often than not – so there is no way that two people, however similar, could ever have a relationship without an argument ever to be seen.

But arguments will fade, and conflict can be resolved. It is a choice, always a choice – a choice between two people to continue loving each other, no matter the difficulties they face. Because in the end, they do not face them alone. They face them together. As one.

Your marriage is not perfect. It will never be. But as Seungmin leans over to press a soft kiss to your lips, you privately think that it is about as close to perfect as it can get.

This is what your mother meant when she gave you that advice all those years ago, end not the night in anger, and do not begin the day with strife. It is not a demand to never be angry, to always resolve any dispute in a day’s time. No, sometimes the stillness after an argument carries into the next day and the one after that, for not all conflicts are as small or as grand as others. It is a reminder to make that choice, to always make that choice to continue loving.

No matter what.

“Will you play something more?” Seungmin whispers, his voice feather soft against your skin. “Before we go to bed?”

“Of course.” You smile, sifting through the scores on the instrument for one to your liking. “But just one.”

You return to bed after the next piece, allow gentle kisses and soft touches to soothe you into sleep. And when you wake the next morning, the events of the day prior have not been forgotten or buried, but simply set away. A reminder. A lesson.

End not the night in anger, and do not begin the day with strife.

Seungmin shifts in your hold, his eyes beginning to flutter open to the dawn sunlight trickling through the curtains. And when he looks at you, really looks at you with all of the morning light on his face, you know that regardless of what passes in your journey, you will find your ways to each other. You will always make the choice to love. 

Always. 

No matter what.

If you enjoyed, please don’t forget to reblog and leave a comment to tell me what you thought! Thank you for reading and have a lovely day <3

(1 reblog = 1 prayer for a perfect marriage <3)

[inncubus-honey]

nicknames with skz

hi everyone! hope everything is going good for yall; this is just what i think the nicknames between you and stray kids would be, enjoy <3

Word Count: 2.5k

Skz x gn!reader

a/n: this is longest thing i written so far, im very happy with it :) also i hope some of the nicknames made sense.

bang chan

for you: amata, lamby

lamby is the one he uses most often; yes, he does use this in contrast to him being compared to a wolf. doesn’t matter if you’re taller, bigger, smaller or just different in contrast to the nickname; you are his lamb. he will just lay his head on your shoulder and just look at you with the utmost love in his eyes as you do whatever;

“you’ll always be my lamb, y/n. even when we’re old and wrinkly”

while amata is latin for ‘beloved’, he will use this in private and intimate moments. 3am dances in the kitchen with music softly playing from his phone. when alone in the studio and he's waking up from your nap on the couch cause it's time to go home. comfort for your stressful week because of work or school.

“y/n…amata i’m done with work, let's go home.”

for him: wolfie, blinky

blinky is from the Australian book, Blinky Bill. this would be the everyday nickname as for the past 2 or 3 years, he hasn’t been able to visit his family so you wanted him to feel at home. every time you entered the studio while giving him a soft ‘blinky~’ he hides in his hands as the name makes him feel like a kid again, who is reading Blinky Bill again.

“come on, blinky! lets go to the new cafe that opened up!”

wolfie would be the intimate moments, again used in contrast to his usage of lamby. the late night talks about anything and everything, comfort for his stress as he rushes around trying to do everything, sneaking out onto the jyp roof at night with snacks. the nickname only he is allowed to hear as he gazes into your lovesick eyes.

“you’ve done enough for today, wolfie. its okay to rest now.”

lee minho

for you: dear, dearest

doesn't matter who you are; those are the go-to nicknames for his s/o. "you're just too cute, dear." he loves how simple, yet so endearing they are; a timeless classic in the book of nicknames. minho feels that he doesnt need a super unique or cute nickname for you in order to show that he loves you. he does that more with his actions, but when he does express himself verbally, dear is one of his go-tos.

“you’re so perfect for me, my dear…”

"dearest, come here a sec..." the blush on your face sends his heart running; its his job to make you flustered. and he does succeed with this nickname. dear is a more tame and daily use nickname while dearest is meant to make you hide your face in your hands or his chest. afterwards he relishes in seeing you trying to calm yourself down by fanning yourself with your hands or using a cold water bottle on your cheeks in the corner of the room.

“careful-you’ll overheat, dearest.”

for him: stud, bunbun

minho rolls his eyes when you use this nickname for him, but the minute he turns his back to you, his cheeks burn and he has to splash water on his face. you always know tho, minho is very bad at hiding his blushy cheeks after you call him bunbun.

“so red, what for bunbun?~”

but stud is reserved for more private times, just you and him cuddling or just when he needs to be grounded again. just when its you and him huddled under the fluffiest blanket in yalls apartment. he cant explain it, but minho just feels alleviation at the name ment for him.

"i love you, stud..."

changbin

for you: dove, poppet

changbin once read poppet in a book and he vowed to himself that he would use that when he had s/o, so he was excited when he met you so he could call you poppet to his hearts content. "are you hungry, poppet?" cause he loved romantic it sounds like yall are forbidden lovers meeting in the dark of night.

"you're my cute little poppet.."

but dove is used when y'all are alone. he uses it when you're stressed, sad, angry or whatever y'all are doing when alone "dove its okay, just let it out..." he loves seeing your face soften and just wash over with relief as he says it.

"you're safe here, dove.."

for him: honeysop, bun-butt

you will use both of these in private and public equally. honeysop is a play on words meaning someone is so sweet that they’re dripping with honey which changbin is. he always makes sure that you're content in anything when you’re with him. "you're such a honeysop.." his face always got slightly red when you called him that, along with doing his cute little nose scrunch afterwards.

"lets head home, honeysop."

bun-butt is because he is dwaekki and dwaekki has muscles😤. if you feel up for going to the gym with binnie, you’ll call him bun-butt when yall take a water break or when you find him napping on yalls couch and he needs to do something. he cheeks will be squished against the throw pillow as you gently shook his shoulder.

“come on, bun-butt…you’re needed at the studio.”

hyunjin

for you: petal, dewdrop

petal would come up when one day a cherry blossom petal got caught on your nose; before you could remove it yourself, hyunjin gently picked it off your nose, sharing a chuckle. but as hyunjin went to blow it off his finger and back into the wind, you took his hand and blew it away yourself. he loves the simplicity of it, but also the secret reason behind it for y'all.

"thank you for staying with me, petal."

but if he had to choose one to call you for the rest of his life, dewdrop would be his choice. to him, it means a new day and waking up refreshed or a rainy day which are his favorite days with you as y'all cuddle in any weather, but he loves using it when it rains mainly. you’ll start to look away from his strong gaze with a flustered smirk on your velvety lips, but he’ll bring you back with his hand under your chin then moving a stray hair behind your ear. resting foreheads together, his gaze grew stronger as you stared back.

"i always think of you when it rains whether we're together or not, dewdrop. it reminds me of waking up with you everyday..."

for him: lovebug, ducky

hyunjin is clingy for two people: felix and you. count yourself lucky :). anyone else not you or felix, he just walks away and finds one of yall; so lovebug is the perfect nickname for the boy. his eyes go into crescent moons when you call him it, nuzzles into your neck and brings your body closer to his. also gets very giggle-y when you call him that in front of the boys because he loves that you love showing off your love for him.

“you’re tickling my neck, lovebug.”

when he pouts with his full lips, he looks like a duck, so you call him ducky. whenever you dont give him attention right away or he has to be away from you for longer than he would like, he pouts to himself and just waits until he can be in your arms again. but he favorite thing ever you do is when you squish his cheeks to make his lips pout and then kiss his lips and all over his face.

“you have such a cute pout, ducky.”

han

for you: peanut, munchkin

his go to names for you, doesn't matter your height(because normally those nicknames are used for shorter/smaller people) compared to him. you will be called those nicknames with so much love in his voice. "hell yeah! my peanut is here to cheer me on!" when you go to the concerts, he'll shout at you from the stage.

"this song is for my peanut!" *just ‘noona\hyung, do you have a boyfriend?’ in jokey, horrible voice*

he loves how you scrunch your nose at the nickname cause he'll also kiss your nose when he calls you munchkin. han gives you what's the best nicknames in his head because you deserve the best. he favorite moments are when yall facing each other in bed, holding one another in the softest way possible.

"you're the best *kiss* munchkin a guy could ask for."

for him: sailor, bubs

swears you're the devil with how much you tease him, then you act like you didn't just do that which gets him to even more. "you did a good job, sailor..." his knees slightly buckled at that one. always gives you a salute after you use it then marches off while you laugh in the background. his favorite thing is how you react when you see each other after a while.

“ah, my sailor has returned from the sea!”

late nights in the studios when you came to bring him food from his favorite place and when you see that his eye bags were bigger than they were this morning made you sigh. “bubs, eat first then sit with me.” soon he had his squirrel cheeks full of some much needed food as he talked with you about the track he was working on. after eating and saving his work, he jumped onto you and clung onto you as you hugged him back, rubbing his back as he started to get sleepy.

“you gotta remember to take breaks, bubs.”

felix

for you: lil' otter, chickadee

felix favorites for his s/o. felix loves the more animal like nicknames cause then he'll get gifts that fit the nickname. "my lil' otter got me an energy drink, i love them so much!" so you have little chick and otter stuffed animals, an otter ring, a pair of chick earrings and so much more that he got all from etsy.

"look my chickadee is the crowd to cheer me on!"

for him: love nugget, luvs

yours would be more toned down than felix, but still full with just as much love as his. felix is clingy with everyone unlike hyunjin who is selective; he is just overflowing with love for everyone :). when you’re backstage with him, hes next to you nine times out of ten. if yall are eating, you’ll take turns feeding each other or if hes feeling sleepy, you put his head on your lap.

“rest while you can, love nugget."

felix loves going home to you and just decompressing in your arms. just you, him and the comfort of your own four walls. felix just grabs your hand after dinner to yalls room, jumping onto the bed and cuddling into your chest. your hands went to his hair and started putting in small braids all over as he started falling asleep for the last he hears is.

“i’ll always be here, luvs.”

seungmin

for you: bugga-boo, dummy

he cant let the others know how whipped he is for you so he’ll call you dummy to your face. but that way, yk. “careful dummy, you’ll get hurt if you dont stop running around like that.” softly tugs you by the wrist towards him as people rushed around backstage. if there are no seats backstage, he’ll give up his seat for you and do the stand behind but also to the side of you stance. when he thinks no one is looking, he’ll tuck hair behind your ear or caress the nape of your neck. but the boys do notice from time to time, they wont say anything cause they know he’ll stop and they dont want that for you.

“just sit down, dummy, i need to stretch anyway.”

back hugs you as you make soup because the cold weather got you in the mood. slightly sways yall back and forth, a grainy record playing to override the sounds you were making in the kitchen. his slightly damp hair rested your cheek as your head rested against his. your free hand holding one of his as they in-cased your waist.

“thank you for this, bugga-boo.”

for him: puppy, sky

i know i know, these are super obvious, but its like you cant use any other names for him because none perfectly fit him like those two. the members will run behind you if they bothered seungmin too much and he starts chasing them, your hand closed around his fist as he tries to reach the boy hidden behind you as your body shakes with laughter.

“stop fighting, puppy, they love teasing you. lets go sit down.”

if he wont listen to you when you call him seungmin, you’ll call him sky sternly. his cheeks slightly puffed as they were sandwiched between your hands and from when you found him crying by himself earlier. you just need him to listen to you as you remind him how great he is, how much he means to the boys, stays and you. he buried himself in your chest as you played with his hair.

“you’re valuable to stray kids, stays and me. you’ll always be wanted and needed in the band, dont sell yourself short, sky.”

jeongin

for you: angel eyes, lune

jeongin loves your eyes, if you would allow him, he would like to stare into them all day. but he cant, sadly :(. he loves looking for all the color flecks that contrast in your irises or watching your eye movements as you work/look at whatever you’re doing or when there are so many catchlights in your eyes, they’re his angel eyes. when he softly calls you from where he's sitting and see how your pupils dilate when your eyes meet; he swears his heart skips a beat.

“when we have kids, i hope they have your eyes because you have best i’ve ever seen, angel eyes.”

you’re his beacon at night for when hes lost in the darkness. as the youngest, jeongin does harbor a lot of pressure to keep up with hyungs and be there for stays. but your light broke through the dark and showed him comfort when he felt like the pressure was too much. nothing could touch him when he was with you in your light, placing his chin on top of your head. taking in everything about you and just let himself relax.

“lune, i love that i get to have every night with you. you’re my moon and i love you.”

for him: soleil, kit

jeongins smiles is brighter than the sun, so hes yours soleil until the end of time. his chubby maknae cheeks are always squished when you’re with him backstage and waiting. he only allows you to be touchy with him in public; chan did pout in the corner when he saw this. but jeongin did feel slightly bad so he let chan hug him for a few minutes which afterward, he shoved himself into your neck and *faked* cried.

“soleil, it was not that bad. chan just wanted to show his maknae some love.”

jeongin is your baby fennec fox. obviously, kit had to be a nickname for him. when hes sleepy and rests his head on your lap\shoulder, yall going home late and just laying on the bed without getting under covers, late night ice cream dates turning into wandering around koreas streets and taking so many selcas together and of each other.

“stays are gonna love this one, kit.”

[oddent]

SNATCH ME UP | b.chan x latina!reader

implied angst + spanish words + idol!au + making up + cat owner reader + fluff

the air is chilly and your racing heart only makes you acknowledge how nervous you are. which means you feel colder than usual because of the nerves. you can hear the crowd, muffled by your heart beat but you only dwell on it more than usual.

“n/n,” the maknae of your group whispers behind you, the nickname she specifically gave you brings you back to reality.

“hm?” you hum, not trusting your voice.

“are you ready?”

“no,” you whisper, but it sounds more like a whimper.

she hugs you from behind, reassuring you that you got this. “-and chan-sunbaenim will be very proud!”

you relax for a moment but that is exactly why you’re nervous. chan is somewhere in the crowd, definitely waiting for your amazing performance alongside your group but what he doesn’t know is that you and emi have a duo opening act and more importantly you will be singing in spanish (or whatever latin american language you speak). your native tongue.

“we got this, you’re not alone.” emi assures quickly before the backtrack starts to play in your in-ear monitors.

you take a quick deep breath before taking your first stride down the stage. the instrumental is slow, darker than what the original song is but it’s perfect. you’ll sing it just as slow and full of pain, acting has always been your forte. you’ll just have to pretend like always, making your heart calm down sooner than later.

“VE~N,” you scream-sing into the mic, looking darkly at the crowd, you know everyone must be startled at the foreign language. “Y CUENTAME LA VERDAD.”

“TEN PIEDAD,” you takes a shuddering breath, “Y DIME. POR QUE~!? NO. NO, NO~!”

and emi goes in, translating the verse that comes afterwards in korean as you move to back her up in the dance. you manage to get a glimpse of a screen, seeing chan and minho stare intensely at the performance. you make yourself believe that there wasn’t any pain in chan’s face. you didn’t even want to see him, really. what a coincidence that was.

and just when the trumpet’s instrumental dies down, the transition to your group’s latest comeback plays. you and emi move in sync, her voice filling up your in-ear again and soon, your other members join in.

your composure lasts all evening. you feel relieved when you finally get off the stage. emi and the others exclaim how happy they were, that you did amazing. that everything will be alright.

you weren’t sure but hopefully everything did go well. whether chan and you make up or not, whether the two of you break up, you knew you had other things to focus on. you were fine before him, you could be fine aft-

“y/n.”

you freeze, last in line as your group files out to leave the backstage and head to the seats outside.

“y/n we need to talk,” chan whispers loud enough for you to hear.

you peer over your shoulder, “now is not the time, chris.”

he can hear the underlying venom in your voice. he takes a deep breath.

“well look at my messages and you’ll deem what day is fit.” is all he says before walking away, preparing for the stage.

you swallow, rushing your steps to catch up to the girls. you get some praise from idols you pass by, a lot of soft claps and “loved it!” whisper-shouted. your back hurt from all the bowing.

by the time you sit, stray kids’ performance already started. you can only hold back tears as you see your possible ex-boyfriend shine.

“we can leave and let him come here to talk,” your leader says.

“i don’t know…” you say softly, sullen.

“i think it’s best, our dorms aren’t known by the public yet, unlike theirs, and the dorms are safer than a cafe or whatever you two originally had in mind.”

you stare at her, sighing in defeat. “okay, i’ll text him then.”

she pats your shoulder, smiling warmly.

“thank marie,” you say to her, jokingly adding a french accent.

“yah,” she says while ruffling your hair as she exits the kitchen.

you go to chan’s chat, staring at all the messages and all the registered missed calls. your hands tremble and sweat, your mind races. what if he changes his mind and immediately just says the 3 words? what if he gets aggressive when he gets here? what if-

“stop overthinking,” emi’s voice startles you, causing your thumb to send the message you had mindlessly typed.

“ai- mierda!” you groan, whining as you slump over the table.

“if this is about chan you shouldn’t be like this!” she scolds, “you act like he’d hurt you.”

“he already has-“

“on purpose.” she strains, “and physically. he would never hurt you in that way! plus. he wouldn’t have any reason or right to, he’s the one at fault.”

“i know,” you groan as you hear your phone ding.

chan’s reply was a simple “alright”. you weren’t sure how to feel about that. but it didn’t matter, emi made sure you were in decent spirits by the time she and the girls left. all of them gave you words of encouragement and you relaxed just a tiny bit but the nerves returned while meet up time got closer.

you shut yourself in your room, playing with you cat to try to relax once more. yet, you couldn’t. everything frustrated you, everything made you want to cry. especially how cute your cat looked in the white vest chan gave him a few weeks ago.

when the doorbell rings, you jump. your cat scurries away, surprised at how jittery you are. you close the door behind you, locking your baby inside your room.

your heart is racing, you already want to cry.

but you have to be strong. you have to face reality. nothing has been easy up until now, foreigners as trainees never do.

a break up is nothing.

chan us standing on the other side of the door frame, looking charming in his grey sweats and black hoodie. he doesn’t have his beany on, but he looks dashing as ever.

“hi,” he tries a smile, you reflect it as well.

“hi, come in,” you step aside, allowing him to do so.

both of you are quiet and tense as you head to the kitchen. he sets his bag on the table, and quickly strikes conversation.

“i want to apologize.” he starts, you silently sit down on the stool. “for constantly putting you aside, for diminishing you, for taking out my problems on you and treating you like that’s all i have you for. y/n,” you manage to make eye contact and you see the tears brimming in his eyes.

it makes you reflect that same expression.

“i love you. i truly mean it. i know me having problems these past few months aren’t an excuse, i know better than to treat you like that and still did it and i hurt you and that makes me feel horrible. because the moment i let you in my life, i’ve never been happier. you’ve been nothing but supportive and loving and i’ve tried my best to return it but i’ve failed you so horribly these last few months. i’m really sorry, for doing that. for making you cry.”

you wipe your tears, realizing that you indeed were crying at that very moment. you sniffle, looking down at the ends of chan’s bag’s straps that you’ve been messing with these past few minutes.

“i’m tired, chan,” you say.

his shoulders sag, “i know, and i know i caused that. you’re so patient… i actually hit your limit.”

you swallows thickly, “but even so, i still want to give it another try,” you look at him again, “because i love you too. we’ve been together for a year and a half, chan. i don’t want to throw that away. and if we ever do then i don’t want to end on bad terms. that would hurt me more.”

“i know,” he says softly, “i know. baby.” he leans over the table, reaching out and placing his hands over yours. “will you forgive me?”

you nod.

“and will you give me another chance?”

“yeah,” you sniffle.

“good, because i brought this.” chan grins, sniffling a bit as well. he removes his hands from yours and pulls out a box from his bag.

“and what’s this for?” you question as you take the box.

“a present,” he simply says, biting his bottom lip as he watches you set it on the table to open it.

you gasp as you see the custom made cat collar that you had made a few days ago. you didn’t really have money for it, most of your check went into the trainee debt you’ve earned and are close to paying off. you found a beautiful site with expensive but pretty customizable options. with every collar purchase, the seller would send a matching ring or bracelet (to obviously match with the kitty).

you couldn’t help but grin as chan put the bracelet on. especially when he said he purchased the ring so the three of you have family jewelry.

“cosita linda mia,” you squeal, swooping up the fluffy orange cat that comfortably laid on your bed in a loaf position. “look what daddy brought you!”

chan grins, adoring how you cradle and kiss your cat. he hugs you from behind, resting his chin on your shoulder.

“i’m serious,” he says softly. “i love you, i always want to see you happy.”

you sigh softly, melting into his arms as your cat jumps out of your arms. the two of you watch the feline walk away to the bed, to resume its previous position.

“always?”

he nods, “always,” he kisses your neck, “and i’ll make sure to achieve that. i don’t want to lose a talented, beautiful person because of my stupidity.”

“yeah,” you grin, “cus like lilly says, i don’t like stupid people.”

hearing his laugh in your ears makes you feel warm and fuzzy again. and thats how you know, you’re back in his hold for sure.

[creatively--challenged]

Dark Dealings - i // demon!Tom Holland x Reader au

Pairing: Demon!Tom Holland x Reader

Warnings: Implied smut, alcohol, feelings of being watched, slight noncon?

Word Count: 2.5k

Summary: Y/N and her friends decide it would be a great idea to mess around with a spell book they find in the library. What happens when she accidentally binds herself to a dangerous demon who takes a huge interest in her?

A/N: Hey guys, here’s the first part to my Demon!Tom au. I aim to make this a 3 part fic though with how much I run away with myself it could end up being longer. Anyway, enjoy! If you would like to be added / removed from my taglist please let me know.

It began as a joke. A book she had found in the library with her friends while they were studying for their final exams. Her best friend, Alex, had checked the book out to bring back to their apartment after the exam, something to incite excitement as they dimmed the lights, lit candles, drew the curtains and finally opened the heavy, leather bound, tome of what looked to be spells, hexes, and diagrams of summoning circles. Glasses of wine in hands, the girls lit some incense and candles, gathered around the giant rug in the middle of their living room with fluffy blankets around their shoulders, and pored over the ‘ridiculous’ book.

                “Can you believe they had this in a university library?” Alex sniggered, eyes sweeping over a supposed ‘love charm’, albeit with vague interest.  Y/N laughed lightly, raising the wine glass to her lips and letting out a contented sigh after she took a generous swig, thankful for the deep red liquid after the long week of exams.

                “If you think it’s so ridiculous why did you take it home and insist we all gather around in the dark to read it?” She questioned, quirking her eyebrows at Alex as she continued to scan through the book.

                “For fun. Same reason kids tell ghost stories at sleepovers even if they don’t believe in them.” She rolled her eyes, “Plus, if there’s a luck spell in here I might just give it a go anyway in the hopes it’ll help me pass those exams.” All of the girls raised their glasses to that.

                “I’m with you on that, although I might just try that love charm too, just in case, you know?” Maia, their other roommate, chimed in.

                Y/N leaned her head back against the sofa she was sitting against, eyes closed, finally relaxing after a long week as her two closest friends giggled about different pages in the book, listing a plethora of ‘spells’ such as one to find a lost item, a summoning spell for a desire demon, a hex for someone who had crossed you, and a charm for protection, which elicited a few giggles from the two girls. Y/N definitely heard the words “free birth control” through the laughter.

                “Hey, Y’N! This one’s for you, ‘A guiding spell to help you find someone worthy of your love’, it’s perfect! Maybe if you give this one a go you’ll stop bringing home god-awful dates.” Maia winked at you and Alex burst into laughter. Y/N rolled her eyes. Yes, she has had some terrible dates. Okay, she’s had a lot of terrible dates, and one or two terrible boyfriends too, but she never worried herself over it. That’s what college was for, right?

                “Excuse you! I didn’t mention anything about that blonde you came home with last Friday that barely lasted 5 minutes before I heard the front door open and close again.” Y/N shot back, Alex gasping and erupting into more chuckles as she watched her roommates tease each other.

                “You know what?” Alex said when she’d sobered up, “I say we all do it. We’re all worthy of love and God knows we’ve all been with awful people, be they one-night stands or relationships.” She admitted while reading through the steps to the spell.

                “Yes! Let’s do it, maybe we’ll magically meet some boys –“

                “And girls!”

                “-And girls that will make up for the past 5 years of dating.” Maia finished, shooting Alex an apologetic look. Y/N hummed and thought to go along with the girls’ plan. She’d like to think it was purely to keep them happy though the idea of the spell did seem tantalizing and if, by some miracle, it worked? She’d never snigger at corny TV shows where girls use love spells to find romance ever again.

                “Okay, I’m in. What do we need to do?” Alex started to explain the ingredients they needed, all common things that they probably had lying around the house. Flower petals from the weekly bouquet of flowers Maia bought, an apple each, more candles, and a lock of hair from each of them. As the girls gathered the ingredients and bowls to perform the spell and refilled their wine glasses, Y/N flicked through the book herself. Some pages were in English, though some appeared to be in Latin and she could not even make out the titles or purposes of those ones. It was almost as if there were two books stitched together, as the Latin pages looked far older than the ones written in English. Just as she came across a particularly serious looking spell with a lot of Latin inscriptions and diagrams that looked quite daunting she was jolted into an upright position by Alex calling her loudly from the kitchen. Y/N jumped and dropped the book back onto the luscious rug on the floor, earning a deep papercut on her finger in the process. She scowled as she turned towards the arch leading into the kitchen and held her finger up to her mouth to stop the blood from trickling down her hand.

                “Jesus, what? What’s so important you had to scare me half to death for?” She felt a little embarrassed about being scared so easily.

                “Do we have more wine?”  Alex asked, ignoring Y/N’s glares.

                “Ughhh yeah, on top of the fridge, I think?” She asked, finger still in her mouth.

                Y/N sat back against the couch, re-wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and waited on the girls to sit back down. She glanced around the room, feeling at ease in the dimly lit room as the shadows bounced in accordance with the dancing flames of the candles, until something felt suddenly… different. She wasn’t sure what it was, if anything at all, but she felt as if she was being watched. She subtly checked the windows but the thick, velvet, plum coloured curtains were heavily drawn shut without even a crack of the outside visible. The front door to the flat was also locked, she had made sure herself before she’d opened her wine. She glanced back to the book and found that when she had dropped it, it had fallen open on the page of the love spell they were about to perform, coincidentally.

                Maia and Alex eventually gathered themselves back around the ruby rug brandishing a new bottle of wine to share and placing the ingredients they needed around the tome.

                “Okay. So, we each have to hold our apples and imagine what kind of person we think we deserve the most, imbuing our apple with our wishes for love and filling it with the idea of our worthy partner. Then, we place the apples in our bowl, sprinkle our petals over the apples while holding onto the thought of that person, place our locks of hair into our bowls over the apple to attach the idea to our bodies, and then drop in the flower petals. Finally, light your candle and drip wax from it into the bowl while saying the incantation aloud.” Alex finished while passing a small scissors around for them to cut off a small lock of hair.

                Maia eyed the scissors skeptically. “You sure are serious about this, aren’t you? Do we have to cut our hair?” Alex rolled her eyes.

              “It’s only a little bit, you won’t even notice.”

 They all completed the steps to the spell in order, and finally all three read the incantation aloud, before reaching around to hold hands and wait. Except, nothing happened. The three eyed their bowls and each other in expectance.

                “Is something supposed to happen? What does the book say?” Maia asked, reaching for the book.

                “It doesn’t say! The page stops after the incantation… I suppose it’s not even real anyway. And if it is, we won’t really know, will we?” Y/N admits, finishing the rest of her wine before filling her glass up again generously while Alex suggests they do another one, one of the slightly more sinister looking ones.

                “No, absolutely not. I’m not cutting any more hair for a joke that none of us even believe anyway. Let’s just relax and talk about anything other than college or witchcraft, thank you.” Maia laid her head back against the couch, exhaling deeply, while Y/N agreed and Alex eventually gave in and started filling her friends in on her last escapade with a gorgeous girl from her Pysch lectures.

                Y/N checks her phone after a while, noting it was almost 3am. Maia had fallen asleep on the couch and now Alex wrestled with her to get her into bed, whispering a good night as she half carried Maia in the direction of their rooms. Y/N elected to tidy up the living room before bed, feeling more than just a little tired after the events of the day. As she turned the kitchen lights off and moved to the living room to pick up some stray cushions and throw blankets she felt that same strange uneasiness again. She eyed the book sideways, then shook her head, moving to blow out the candles that scattered the room. As she moved towards the centre of the room, she bent down to the book still lying on the floor and placed it on the coffee table. With a slight chuckle, she shook her head again at her apprehensive demeanour towards the bundle of pages.

She moved to walk out of the room and bent to blow out the last candle when she felt it again, but stronger this time. It overwhelmed her, and it wasn’t just an uneasiness this time, but fear. The kind that glued her to where she stood, even when she could clearly hear something move behind her. Eventually she found the courage to whip around, fists brandished as if she could fight off whatever intruder she came in contact with. Except… there was nobody there. Not that she could see much in the dim lighting, anyway, but the uneasiness disappeared. As quickly as it came, it went, though it was reinstated by fear again quickly, this time as a result of the sight of the spell book lying wide open on the floor from where Y/N had moved it.

She willed herself to move forward, closer to the book, eyes scanning the room for movement, and upon closer inspection she noticed the book hadn’t opened on the love spell this time. No, it was open on the page of a daunting looking Latin inscription, with carnal looking symbols and what looked like warnings scattered around the page. As she investigated the page closer, she noticed a smudge of what looked like blood down the side of the page. She felt an abrupt chill down her spine before she felt a hand cover her mouth from behind, while another wrapped around her waist and pulled her back into a feverishly warm body.

 “Why hello, darling. What have we here?” She felt lips against the shell of her ear and a devilishly low and raspy voice sounded in her ear. Y/N tried to struggle, to turn around and face her attacker, though she was trapped in his vice-like grip and found she could barely move an inch. “Now, now, let’s not be too hasty. Here’s what’s going to happen; I’m going to let you go and you’re going to turn around nice and slowly and stay quiet lest you want something terrible to happen to your little friends, not that they’re sober enough to do much, anyway. Understood?” She felt his hot breath against her ear and his lips brushed her jaw as he spoke, his voice deathly low and almost intoxicating. Y/N whimpered and nodded her head as much as his iron grip on her allowed.

She felt his arms loosen slightly, enough for her to turn herself around in them and face him slowly. She felt strangely compelled to do exactly as he said as the thought of crying out for help or making a dash for it didn’t even seem to cross her mind, something she guessed he knew as she caught her first glimpse of him, a confident, cocky almost, smirk adorned his perfect lips. It took her a second to take in the sight of him; he was perhaps the most attractive man she had ever seen, not much taller than she, though his demeanour made him seem 10ft tall. She found herself caught in his eyes, so dark she thought they were black, and noted him studying her as much as she studied him. He emanated a seductive aura, though there was definitely something off about this man, for he also gave off a distinct sense of danger.

 “How did you get into my house?” She tried to keep her voice steady, she dared not let him see how scared she was. He chuckled eerily at her and the area around him seemed to darken as his grip on her got tighter.

 “Why, darling, you invited me.” He leaned in close to her, his smell intoxicating, but strangely pleasant, addictive almost. Her face screwed up in confusion and just as she was going to protest, his dark eyes fluttered to the book lying open on the table, displaying the ancient looking scripture and the blood soaking the page. She wasn’t entirely sure what was going on but before she got a chance to ask him he’d spun her around and shoved her against the nearest wall, pressing his all too warm body against hers and holding her in place. When she struggled to get out of his grip he took hold of her chin, bringing her face up to his, his grip was solid, though not exactly painful. She was forced to look into his eyes, and a whimper fell from her lips as she noticed the whites of them were completely gone, his fully black orbs boring into hers as he smiled devilishly at her, almost sizing her up as if she was meat at the butcher’s counter.

 “What do you want?”

 “You. Just you.” His hand travelling down her body forced a gasp from her lips and he took this opportunity to dive forward and attach his mouth to hers, kissing her viciously, tongue delving in and out at his own pace, nipping her lips with his strangely sharp teeth. He pulled back as she caught her breath, utterly terrified, and his black eyes bored deep into hers while his mouth held a devious smirk.

 “Don’t you know not to play with magic you don’t understand? Why, you could be inviting any and all demons into your home.” He smirked as horror took over her face. Suddenly he lurched forward and clamped a hand over her mouth as he sank his teeth into the skin where her neck met her shoulder. She felt the world go black around her, an evil lingering in her skin, and felt his arms around her as he continued to mark her as his own. He broke away from her skin and the last thing she felt was his lips brushing her ear as he whispered softly to her;

 “Doesn’t matter anymore; you’re all mine now.”

Taglist : @cyrusandhiscollaredahirts​

@rachaeldonnaspiteri1​ @averyfosterthoughts​

[leejungchans]

latin ; “the written letter lasts”

a series of short drabbles inspired by different words

appearances by: stray kids, ateez, seventeen (other groups may be added in the future!!)

a/n: this series is inspired by other creators who have done the same/a similar concept!! some words here have most definitely been covered by other writers, but all these drabbles are my own interpretation. if there are any similarities, they are purely coincidental and i hope you can understand 💕 if you enjoy these kinds of fics, you should definitely check out the lover’s dictionary by @got-svt and @honeyshua’s upcoming beautiful words, just to name a few!! 💕

key

[f] = fluff ; [a] = angst ; [h] = humour

♡ = sol’s favourites

➛ petrichor

(n.) the pleasant, earthy smell after rain

lee minho (skz) x gn!reader ; [f]

➛ brontide ♡

(n.) the low rumble of distant thunder

joshua hong (svt) x gn!reader ; [f]

➛ cafuné

(n.) the act of running your fingers through your lover’s hair

joshua hong (svt) x gn!reader ; [f]

➛ baisemain

(n.) a kiss on the hand

kim mingyu (svt) x gn!reader ; [f]

➛ gumusservi ♡

(n.) moonlight shining on water

lee chan (svt) x gn!reader ; [f] [a]

➛ basorexia [coming soon]

(n.) the overwhelming desire to kiss

seo changbin (skz) x gn!reader ; [f]

➛ clinomania

(n.) the excessive desire to stay in bed

➛ tarantism

(n.) overcoming melancholy by dancing; the uncontrollable urge to dance

➛ forelsket

(n.) the euphoria you experience when you first fall in love

➛ catharsis

(n.) the purging or release of emotional tensions; especially through kinds of music or art

➛ apricity

(n.) the warmth of the sun in winter

➛ reverie

(n.) the state of being pleasantly lost in one’s thoughts; a daydream

➛ hiraeth

(n.) homesickness for a home you can’t return to, or that never was

[shianhygge-imagines]

Masterlist Format 3.0

So, once a year, I try to redo my Masterlist to make it look better.

I’m doing away with the old system, though I’m still sticking with the old “NUMERICAL-ALPHABETICAL ORDER” for the fandom names. I will, however, be listing chapters in the order that they are meant to be read.

{C} = Completed      {O} = Ongoing      {H} = Hiatus        

{E} = Experimental        {A} = Abandoned        {R} = Request

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bungou Stray Dogs 文豪ストレイドッグス

Reactions

{R} Where Do Babies Come From, Mister?    |Link here|

{E} Jonquil [Kunikida/Reader] (Hanahaki Prompt)    |Link here|

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Destiny

{O} Thin Line 

Choosing a Side    |Link here|

Guardian Games    |Link here|

{E} If I Had A Heart [Cayde-6/Reader]    |Link here|

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Devil May Cry

Headcanons

Cooking with the DMC Crew    |Link here|

Dating the DMC Boys    |Link here|

ASMR with the DMC Crew    |Link here|

Waking up with the DMC Crew    |Link here|

That Time of the Month with the Sons of Sparda    |Link here|

Reactions

{R} So... You dropped the Nutella    |Link here|

{R} S/O Sacrifice    |Link here|

{R} The Kids Are Alright    |Link here|

{R} S/O Sacrifice Scramble    |Link here|

Devils Never Cry (Non-canon oneshots) All posted before March 8, 2019

Prompt 1: Vergil’s wife finds out about Nero    |Link here|

Prompt 2 Reader’s reaction to seeing Vergil again    |Link here|

Prompt 3: Reader confronts Vergil at the end of DMC5    |Link here|

{E} Devil May Cry x Among Us [Crossover Reader-centric series]

Playing the Game    |Link here|

{O}{E} Black Rose [V/GenderNeutral Reader]

The House on the Outskirts    |Link here|

{O} Silver Rose [Vergil/Fem!Reader] (Devils Never Cry, except canon accurate)

Where it All Began    |Link here|

The Power to Protect    |Link here|

Hope    |Link here|

Nothing Dies Like It    |Link here|

Sabbatical    |Link here|  

Gifts    |Link here|

Imposter    |Link here|

Doubt and Trust    |Link here|

Nero    |Link here|

The New Contract    |Link here|

Splitting Fool    |Link here|

The Demon Half    |Link here|    

The Mortal Half  {NSFW}    |Link here|

Umbral Angelo    |Link here|

Bury the Light    |Link here|   

-coming soon-

Silver Rose Related Reactions & Headcanons

{R} Habits & Catchphrase! (Vergil Reacts)    |Link here|

Silver Rose: Cafe AU    |Link here|

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Detroit: Become Human

Headcanons

Deviants want bad skin    |Link here|

{C} For Love [Connor/Reader]    |Link here|

{H} Reason Living [Connor/Fem!Reader]

You Chose Another Path    |Link here|

So Close Yet So Far    |Link here|

{E} Sweet Dreams [Markus/Fem!Reader]    |Link here|

{E} Invoke [Hank/Android!Reader]    |Link here|

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Diabolik Lovers

{E} VoiD [undecided/Reader]

Prologue    |Link here|

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Final Fantasy XV

Headcanons

Relationship w/ Chocobros (Some minor NSFW)    |Link here|

{R} Kissing the Chocobros    |Link here|

King Regis    |Link here|

Studying    |Link here|

{R} Relationship w/ Ravus    |Link here|

{R} Holiday w/ Chocobros    |Link here|

{R} When Ignis Proposes    |Link here|

Regalia Designs    |Link here|

{R} Ardyn’s Daughter    |Link here|

Afterlife    |Link here|

Starscourge Analysis    |Link here|

Character Reactions

{R} Being Fathers [Ravus & Ardyn]    |Link here|

{R} Smol Chocobo Reader [Chocobros]    |Link here|

{C} Shian’s Middlemarch (Finding Love in Unexpected Places)

{R} The Middlemarch [One-sided Noctis/Reader]    |Link here|

The Case of Cor [Mentor!Cor Leonis/Reader]    |Link here|

The Case of Ravus [Ravus/Reader]    |Link here|

{R} The Case of the Brotherhood [Chocobros/Reader]    |Link here|

{R} Middlemarch Alternate Universe [Ravus/Reader]    |Part 1|      |Part 2| 

{C} Amor Sempiternus Duology (Latin: “everlasting love”) [Ardyn/Reader]

I. Ephemeral    |Link here|

II. Eternal    |Link here|

{R} {A} Imaginary Lover Series (NSFW) [Ardyn/Reader]

Sin 1. First Interaction    |Link here|

Sin 2. Temptation    |Link here|

{C} {R} Evermore Duology (”You don’t know a good thing until it’s gone”) [Ravus/Reader]

Q.E.D    |Link here|

I Will Be    |Part 1|      |Part 2|

{C} {R} Divine Intervention (AU to “Relationship w/Ravus”)    |Link here|

{C} {R} Rinne [Ignis/Fem!Reader]    |Link here|

{H} Claymore Series [Ignis/Fem!Reader]

Prelude One    |Link here|

Prelude Two    |Link here|

Act 1    |Link here|

{C} {R} Calling [Gladio/Fem!Reader]    |Link here|

{C} {R} Home [Nyx/Reader] (Headcanon format)    |Link here|

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shian and Hikigaya’s Photo Commentary

Magical Girl Gladio    |Link here|

The Prince’s Natural Habitat    |Link here|

Shian’s Theories on Ardyn’s Backstory    |Part 1|      |Part 2|

Shian’s Thoughts on an Ardyn DLC    |Link here|

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Final Fantasy VII

Headcanons

{R} Dating Genesis Rhapsodos    |Link here|

{R} Dating Sephiroth    |Link here|

{R} Dating Angeal Hewley    |Link here|

{R} NSFW Sephiroth    |Link here|

Dating Rufus Shinra    |Link here|

{C} The Letter - 手紙  [???/Reader]    |Link here|  -coming soon-

{C} Divide/Together   [???/Reader]    |Link here|  -coming soon-

Sundown 勿忘草   [Reno/Reader] 

Episode 1    |Link here|

Episode 2    |Link here|

{C} Ash [Sephiroth/ReaderOC]

Act 1    |Link here|

Act 2    |Link here|

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Haikyuu!!!

{E} Aberrant [???/OC]

Prologue    |Link here|

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NBC’s Hannibal

{E} {Deleted} A Monster Among Monsters [Mentor!Hannibal/Reader]

Diamond Heart   

This Is The Moment   

{O} The Referral [Mentor!Hannibal/Reader]

Session 1    |Link here|

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Hetalia

{E} Taking A Chance [Various Countries/Reader]

Denmark    |Link here|

{E} Finding Peace (A Hetalia Haunting Story)

Voice of Reason [England]    |Link here|

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Kimetsu no Yaiba 鬼滅の刃 - Demon Slayer 

Headcanons

Meeting the Kamaboko Squad    |Link here|

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Kingdom Hearts

{E} Faded [Riku/Reader] (Angst)    |Link here|

{E} Enter the Darkness [Vanitas/Reader]    |Link here|

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Overwatch

{E} Fable [???/Reader]

Entry 1    |Link here|

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Persona 3

{E} Living with Determination [Shinjiro/Reader/Akihiko]    |Link here|

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Persona 5

Headcanons

Studying with the Phantom Thieves of Heart    |Link here|

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Resident Evil

{R} Shian: On Ada/Leon    |Link here|

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RWBY

{E} Balance [Qrow/Reader] (Angst)    |Link here|

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Watch_Dogs 2

Headcanons

{R} Snuggling w/ Wrench    |Link here|

{R} Holiday w/ Josh    |Link here|

{R} Getting Mugged [Wrench/Reader]    |Link here|

{R} Sick Week [DedSec S/O]    |Link here|

{R} Sex w/ Wrench (NSFW)    |Link here|

Customer Escalations w/ DedSec    |Link here|

{R} Male!Reader/Wrench Relationship    |Link here|

{C} Project Wrench Your Heart (Wrench with a large helping of Angst)

How Close You Are (Angst)    |Part 1|      |Part 2|      |Part 3|

{R} Your First (NSFW)    |Link here|

{R} This I Promise You (Fluff)    |Link here|

{R} Don’t Leave (Fluff)    |Link here|

{R} By Your Side (Pregnancy Scare)    |Link here|

Est-ce Que Tu M’aimes?    |Link here|

Climbing the Walls    |Link here|

{R} In the Name of Love    |Part 1|      |Part 2|      |Part 3|      |Part 4|

So Far Away    |M.1|

{C} {R} Now Kiss [Wrench/Reader] (Fluff)    |Link here|

{C} {R} Lies [Wrench/Reader] (Angst)    |Link here|

{C} {R} Hardships Included [Wrench/Reader]    |Link here|

{C} {R} Unavailable [Marcus/Reader] (Comfort/Fluff)    |Link here|

{C} {R} In A World Like This [Josh/Reader] (Fluff)    |Link here|

{C} {R} Breathe [Josh/Reader] (Lime)    |Link here|

{E} {R} Busted and Blue [Wrench/Reader] (Hurt/Comfort)    |Link here|

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Witcher [Wiedźmin]

{H} The Difference (A Witcher Story)

Prologue: I’m Too Sober    |Link here|

Chapter 1: No Room For Morals    |Link here|

Chapter 2: An Eye For An Eye    |Link here|

Chapter 3: Trouble Will Find You    |Link here|

Chapter 4: A Brief Respite    |Link here|

Chapter 5: Uma    |Link here|

Chapter 6: Geralt Has Stepped Out    |Link here|

Chapter 7: Something Mundane    |Link here|

Chapter 8: Awaken the Monster Within    |Link here|    

Chapter 9: Quest Start-The Bark of Another    |Link here| 

Chapter 10: The Burden of Living    |Link here|    -coming soon-

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

薄桜鬼 〜新選組奇譚〜 Hakuouki

Dating Headcanons

Kazama Chikage    |Link here|

Saito Hajime    |Link here|

Hijikata Toshizou    |Link here|

Okita Souji    |Link here|

{R} Harada Sanosuke    |Link here|

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Original Work

{E} 夜は眠れるかい？    |Link here|

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[softlunars]

unholy.

60 things ; things you said that i wish you hadn’t & things you said with clenched fists. — bang chan ; stray kids

demon au! —fallen angel!chan x demon!reader

requested: [yes!]

(a/n): “nunc ostende te” is latin for “now show yourself.” i didnt,,, wanna look up an actual demon summon cause i’m a whole ass scaredy cat so that’s the most i did sjzknaksmz

technically, chan shouldn’t be doing this. he shouldn’t be drawing a pentagram on his apartment floor. he shouldn’t be opening a summoning book. and he definitely shouldn’t be flipping to the demons section of said book.

this would’ve all applied to him if he still had wings on his back. but he didn’t — they were clipped off months ago, and chan was sent to tumble down to the earth, forced to make his own path from then on. did it bother him? well, maybe if he thought about it enough, it would. he doesn’t allow himself to drift off to the past, though; things are left in the past for a reason, and sometimes, they’re better off there — to be forgotten.

chan thumbed through the demons section, his eyes flitting across the hundreds of pages until he found what he was looking for.

how to summon a demon.

he scanned the page, looking for the ceremony that had to take place. he skipped over the descriptions of demons — different types, kinds of powers, different demon specialities. chan wasn’t interested in all that; he just wanted to summon a demon. did he have any reason? no, not really. maybe he wanted to spite God further or something, he didn’t know.

the book, which was filled with descriptions of supernatural beings and different summons, materialized in front of him in the early dawn. the ancient literature acted as if it were a magnet, reeling in chan’s interest until he finally picked it up. which is how he found himself in the middle of a pentagram.

he set the book down, outside of the pentagram’s reach. a nervous huff of air left him. why the hell was he doing this? he didn’t want to come face to face with a soul-eating creature from the depths of hell, and he certainly didn’t want to be ripped to shreds before his soul followed suit.

chan continued anyways. he’s already finished the preliminary setup — there was no legitimate reason to stop now.

he took a deep breath in a futile effort to relieve his nerves. was chan stupid? going through with this, yes, he most likely was. did he lose his mind? most definitely.

chan took a quick glance at the sentences he needed to utter. he had to get them right; if he didn’t, he might as well sell his soul to the actual devil.

he began the chant, albeit very shakily. chan was certain he was going to die tonight. his few months spent on earth were going to abruptly end as soon as he finished.

“nunc ostende te.” as he uttered the final sentence, chan snapped his eyes open. if he were going to die right now, he might as well look his killer in the eyes.

the dim flicker of the candles’ flames were the only things he could see. nothing moved, nothing changed, not even the air felt different — something chan thought to be the first aspect to dramatically shift after chanting a summon this dark.

he breathed a sigh of relief. thank the heavens that didn’t work.

the candles were extinguished. the air became bitingly cold. and suddenly, chan feared for his life.

“i don’t know who’s coming out but you don’t have to show yourself — i’d be more than happy to just go to sleep.” he spoke into the still air, trying to convince whatever spirit entered his apartment to leave him the hell alone.

“you summoned me, man. it’s your fault you asked for a demon.” a dark voice bounced off his living room walls. as it stopped speaking, a body materialized at the edge of the pentagram. well, chan thought, it was a nice couple months.

the gaze that met his eyes was apathetic, empty and almost… entertainingly bored. there were no visible horns, no bats’ wings or pointy tail chan could make out. if he didn’t know any better, he’d assume the person in front of him was just a mortal.

you spoke again, this time with an amused edge decorating your speech. “i don’t take fallen angels’ souls, if that’s why your mind’s traveling twenty trillion miles an hour. i don’t even collect souls in general, dude. i just fuck with people.”

“how did you know i’m a fallen angel?” chan’s eyes glinted with a curious apprehension; he knew demons could read minds — angels were granted that ability, as well — but he didn’t know they could differentiate immortal beings from mortal ones. this was something angels weren’t granted the gift to do. unless they made themselves known to each other, angels weren’t able to tell supernatural from human.

“you got a funny aura ‘round you. i usually only see that with fallen angels or whatever. but what’s a former God’s kiss-ass doing in the middle of a pentagram?” you raised an eyebrow conspicuously. the few times you were summoned before, you’d only been greeted by a handful of fallen angels. their reasoning for summoning such a dark creature was simple — they were bored and wanted to tell their former ruler to “fuck off.”

chan shrugged his shoulders at your question. he didn’t have a response; he didn’t even know why he did it himself. your head rolled back on your shoulders as a sharp laugh echoed throughout the room.

“your thoughts are fucking hilarious, just thought i should tell ya.” your comment made a blush furiously form on chan’s face. maybe this was a really shitty idea.

“listen, fallen angel, i gotta make other rounds, so i’m gonna strike a deal with ya.” you watched as your summoner’s eyebrows rose, prompting you to continue.

“i ain’t gonna do some typical demon shit, alright? but i wanna mark ya — it isn’t a bad thing, man, calm down!” you really were entertained by this. what a hell of a fun time this was making itself out to be!

chan’s eyes squinted as he stared you down. he had his apprehensions, of course — he didn’t know what the hell a mark was; he was never taught that! what if this was a way for you to siphon his soul from him, bit by bit, until you drained it from his body entirely?

“it’s just so i’m the only demon that’s allowed near ya. no one else can come anywhere close to you with this. so, while you’re protected from other nasty lil’ shits, you got your own lil’ shit that can annoy you until the end of the universe.” you observed the former angel’s face, gauging his reaction to your offer. you were pleasantly surprised when he nodded his head.

“fine. mark me.”

after you marked the fallen angel, you found yourself constantly appearing at his side. he would almost jump out of his skin every time, which always provided you with an intense laughing session.

you learned quite a bit about chan. you were informed about the difficult schooling he was put through as a child; he’d reveal small bits and pieces about his life in the clouds, like how one time he almost made a fellow angel kick his ass past recognition.

“i was a really shitty angel, now that i think about it.” chan laughed out once, on one of the times you accompanied him at nightfall. “maybe you shoulda been born a demon.” you had joked that night, but chan took it harsher than you intended. the shift in his emotions was evident, as he turned colder toward you until you left him alone for the following week.

you chose your words more carefully after that night. sure, you were a demon — a supernatural entity born for the sole purpose of evil. but being a creature formed from pure hatred didn’t hinder the conscience you owned, regardless of how small it was.

your efforts weren’t always fruitful. tonight was one of those times.

chan had turned colder than ice just moments before, a comment you made angering him once more. the fallen angel became mute, barely even acknowledging you were still in his apartment. it hurt your feelings — pissed you off more than anything. you never intended to attack him with your choice of words. but, regardless of how cautious you were, so many things seemed to set chan off.

“chan, i dunno what your whole… issue or whatever is, but you ain’t gotta be a dick to me ‘cause of it.” you felt the boiling pit in your stomach grow as chan turned to face you. if looks could kill, both of you would have been reduced to dust.

“my problem, (y/n), is your heartless comments about how i ‘should’ve been born in hell.’ i was born an angel for a reason, just like you were born a demon for a reason.” his voice sliced through the air, making the fire in your stomach pour out. if chan wanted to see why you were a demon, oh, was he going to see why.

“okay, kid. your wings were torn off your back for a reason, and you wanna know why? ‘cause you fucking failed at being an angel! you couldn’t appease God, you couldn’t reach the standards he set. you. fucked. up.” your aura darkened as you continued spitting words at chan. flames seemed to form around your body as your fury fueled you.

“which means, angel boy, that you weren’t cut out to stay behind those damn pearly gates! you weren’t a good fit. you weren’t meant to stay at God’s ‘holy fucking side.’”

chan’s gaze filled with hatred and indignation as your jabs reached his ears. how dare you say that to him? how dare you act as if you know anything about heaven, about God?

his fists clenched and unclenched by his side as he listened to your tyraid. finally, chan snapped after your last insult hung in the air.

“you might as well have been banished to hell, ‘cause at least you woulda been surrounded by people who fucked up just as bad as you did, and people who were just as shitty as you.”

“stop acting as if you know anything about heaven. you’re a lowlife demon, for fucks sake!” his words felt hotter than the flames that licked at your skin down in hell.

“you’re the scum of the supernatural world. you hold no good in your heart, no light in your soul — nothing!” you watched as the glint in his eye grew into a ball of fire, aimed to hit you and reduce you to nothing.

“God wanted me at one point, which is the difference between you and i. someone wanted me, no one ever wanted you.”

chan’s words slammed into your brain. these thoughts — they weren’t new to you. you were well aware that no one wants a demon around. no one would ever want a demon around.

you could easily push those facts to the side if you or a fellow demon voiced them. but hearing them from chan, a former angel, someone God handpicked to serve him, lit you up.

“you’re just as terrible as us demons. you have no fucking soul, bang chan.”

“you deserve to rot in hell, just like the rest of us.”

with that, you disappeared from chan’s apartment. the fallen angel never saw you again.

[yeppeojiwrites]

beauty and a beat 9: exita acta probat//multigroup crossover

title translation: (latin) the result justifies the deed

summary : you attend cix’s debut showcase and make some new friends.

pairings : oc!reader x byounggon and oc!reader x hyunsuk (feat. the silver boy gang, ab6ix, and daniel kang)

warnings : none

a/n : after like 12 years,,,here’s a chapter i’ve been putting off writing,,sorry for no read more, i’m on mobile

—

reminders:

plain text is english

bold text is korean

italicized bold text is korean with honorifics

—

Your phone buzzed in your pocket as you sat in one of the seats in the VVIP portion of the South Korean olympic handball gymnasium’s balcony.

18:54 : New Snap from ¡vanessa!

You swiped on your screen to see what your friend sent to you. You pressed on her name and saw a blurry photo of your currently wide-eyed friend in her pitch black room, the only light source coming from her laptop with the caption, “ARE YOU NERVOUS?????”

You tapped your screen once to close the photo and took a blurry photo of your own face with the caption “WHY ARE YOU STILL AWAKE??? IT’S ALMOST 5AM” and sent it.

She quickly opened it and responded with a photo of her laptop screen with the vlive website opened to the “waiting room” of CIX’s debut livestream.

You shook your head and turned off your notifications before pocketing your phone. You decided to take a quick look around the area just to see your surroundings. Some masked figures stood around the area while others who you assumed were the group’s parents and family members sat in their seats.

You looked back to the stage and tapped your fingers in expectation. Suddenly, the seat next to you was filled, spooking you a bit.

“I’m sorry if I startled you.” the person bowed to you.

“It’s okay. Thank you for worrying though.” you bowed in response.

The two of you stood up and cheered as the lights on the stage dimmed.

After watching your friends perform their debut song, the person next to you, who you assumed was an idol because of their mask and cap, turned to you.

“So who are you here for?” he asked.

You hummed for a second as you thought. “Everyone.” you answered. “How about you?”

“Everyone.” he copied your tone. You smiled at him before turning back to look at the stage.

“How’d you know that I spoke Korean?” you turned towards him again.

“No one on that stage knows English well enough to get you a seat up here.” he laughed.

“What makes you think I speak English?” you teased.

“I saw you Snapchatting someone and the app was in English.” he responded.

“You’re really sharp.” you noted.

“I have to be, especially in my field.”

You nodded in agreement.

After a couple more minutes of standing, you sat down as the CIX members started their talking segment. After realizing just how short your shorts were, you tried to tug the hem down to stop them from riding up. After a couple of seconds of adjusting your shorts, the man sitting next to you took off their jacket and offered it to you.

“No, it’s okay.” you shook your head and sat still. The man sucked their teeth and sighed before proceeding to lay his jacket over your lap. He held his hands over yours when you tried to give him his jacket his back.

“You need it more than I do. Just give it back to me later, alright?” he bargained.

You frowned but agreed anyways. “Alright.”

The two of you talked throughout the rest of the showcase, the person next to him chiming in every once in a while with some kind of quip or a giggle.

Twenty minutes after the arena was cleared out, a few security guards came to the VVIP area to escort its occupants to the backstage area.

“Did you watch Treasure Box?” your seat-neighbor from earlier asked you.

“YG Treasure Box?” you whispered. The boy laughed and nodded.

“You don’t have to whisper it. Nothing bad will happen.” the other boy laughed.

“I didn’t want to bring back bad memories.” you explained. “But yes, I did watch it.”

“Did you have any favorites?” your seat-neighbor asked.

“From the final line-up?” you asked for clarification purposes.

The two boys shared a look before looking back at you.

“That works too.”

“Hmm...Hyunsuk and Junkyu are cool.” you answered absentmindedly.

The two boys shared another look.

“We think so too.”

When you finally made your way to the backstage area with your two unnamed friends, you met eyes with Byounggon. His eyes lit up when you smiled at him and widened a bit when he saw who you were with.

“I just realized that I still have your jacket.” you turned to the shorter boy and handed him his jacket. “Thanks for letting me borrow it.”

“No problem.” he answered.

Byounggon finally made his way over to the three of you and flicked the smaller boy’s hat up a bit to get a better look at him.

“So I see you met Hyunsuk and Junkyu.” Byounggon threw an arm around your shoulder.

“Hyunsuk and Junkyu?” you asked. The boys in question took off their hats and masks and revealed themselves to be Choi Hyunsuk and Kim Junkyu.

“Why didn’t you guys say anything?” you asked them.

Hyunsuk shrugged. “You never asked.”

“I thought it was weird that you guys asked about Treasure Box but I didn’t think that it was you guys.” you sighed.

“It made us laugh, so you’re fine.” Junkyu smiled at you.

“So what did you guys think of the show?” Byounggon asked the three of you.

“It was really good! I’m very proud of you.” you smiled at him.

“She teared up at the fanmeet part.” Junkyu informed Byounggon. Your eyes widened.

“No I didn’t.” you reassured Byounggon.

“She was t o t a l l y crying. You could probably hear her blubbering from the stage.” Hyunsuk teased.

“Oh so that’s what I heard on stage.” Byounggon played along. “It’s nice to know that you care about me.” Byounggon laughed.

“I can’t believe I’m being bullied like this by. Mashiho and Yedam have taken your places as my favorites.” You turned to face Byounggon. “And Yonghee is my favorite CIX member.”

All three of the boys gasped dramatically.

“We were joking, please take us back!” Junkyu begged.

You playfully rolled your eyes before moving Byounggon’s arm from it’s place over your shoulders.

“I’ll let you guys talk. I’m gonna go find somewhere to sit down.” you said before walking away.

“I’ll find you later.” Byounggon yelled over his shoulder. You hummed in response.

After searching around the area, you found a free spot on a couch and sat down. You greeted the other occupant, Daniel Kang, and he replied with a bow before turning back to his phone and typing, barely-audible laughs leaving his mouth every couple of seconds.

“I think you and Jihyo are really cute together.” you whispered to him.

“Thanks,” he smiled.

You pulled out your own phone and checked your messages.

“Hey!” you heard a high pitched voice say from in front of you. You looked up and met eyes with Daehwi and Woong.

“Hey Daehwi!” Daniel quickly stood up and hugged the boy tightly. He turned to the other boy and greeted him. “Jeon Woong, right?”

Woong nodded. “Just call me Woong.”

Daehwi’s attention turned to you.

“Oh I know you! You’re Chan-hyung’s girlfriend, right?” Daehwi asked you.

Your eyebrows furrowed.

“Stray Kids Chan?” you asked in confusion. Daehwi nodded hesitantly.

“He said that we’re dating?” you felt nervous.

“Well...no...but I just assumed because- nevermind.” Daehwi shook his head.

The two other boys watched the exchange curiously.

“That’s Chan’s girlfriend?” Woong attempted to whisper to Daehwi.

You and Daehwi shook your heads at the same time.

“Definitely not.” you clarified.

Woong and Daniel shared a look before looking at you again.

“Anyways...I’m Daehwi and this is Woong-hyung.” Daehwi introduced himself and his groupmate. “But you already knew that, right?”

You nodded. “Of course. Your debut was really good by the way.”

The two boys thanked you.

“So who are you here for?” Woong asked you.

“All of them.” you answered.

“Hmm...I don’t know. You and Byounggon looked pretty close earlier~” Woong teased.

“Ooh~” Daehwi instigated.

“I see why you and Daehwi are in the same group.” you laughed. “But we’re just friends. I’m only friends with everyone.”

“That’s debatable.” Jinyoung chimed in from behind Daehwi, patting himself with a towel as he stood next to Woojin.

“There’s a second source.” Daniel said as he put his phone in his pocket.

“Byounggon and (Y/N) have an interesting...relationship.” Jinyoung wriggled his eyebrows at you.

You cleared your throat.

“Enough about Byounggon and I’s relationship...” you diverted. “Or lack therof. Let’s talk about Jinyoung’s relationship with the stage. You were amazing up there.”

“Aw thanks.” Jinyoung sat next to you on the couch. “You should debut too.”

You snorted. “This industry wasn’t made for me. I’m fine with making music behind the scenes.”

“You make music?” Daniel asked.

“She used to make music with with Stray Kids but now she works with Ateez. She made a bunch of other songs too.” Daehwi answered.

“Weren’t you signed with JYP?” Jinyoung asked. You nodded.

“I was on a contract for two mini-albums just to see how we would work together.”

“They didn’t offer you a full producing contract?” Daehwi gasped.

“They did but KQ Entertainment had a better offer so I took theirs.” you replied. “And it’s not like I’m too far away from JYP anyways so I can visit my friends if they’re available. My mom was really worried about me being alone while I’m here so she made sure I that wouldn’t be too far away.”

“How old are you?” Woong asked.

“My Korean age is 19 but I’ll be 20 in November.” you answered.

“So you’re my noona, right?” Daehwi leaned forward.

You cringed. “I’m just a few months older than you, don’t worry about honorifics.”

“Hey, (Y/N)!” you looked up and saw Byounggon waving you over as he stood against the wall.

“The boyfriend calls~” Jinyoung snickered. The boys you were sitting with let out a collective “Ooh~” as you stood up.

“I’ll see you guys later.” you said while shaking your head with an embarrased smile.

You walked over to Byounggon leaned against the wall so that you were perpendicular to the way that he was facing.

“So...” you started.

“What did you think of the showcase?”

“I already told you. It was amazing to see you up there.” you assured him.

“Really?” he smiled. You nodded.

“I’m really proud of you.”

He turned to face you. “Would you come to our first comeback showcase?”

“Depends on when it is.”

He leaned in closer and you leaned back.

“Aren’t you being too bold?” you laughed.

“Am I?” he smirked. He looked you up and down once. “I like your outfit.”

“Thank you.” You looked him up and down. “I like the white.”

“I do too but it gets dirtier than the blue does.” he sighed. “The coordi-noonas scold us a lot.”

“I guess you have to be more careful.” you smiled.

“I guess I have to since you’re telling me.”

“You wouldn’t listen to anyone else?”

“I’d listen to you first.”

You looked down and shook your head.

“I’ll have to leave soon. It’s getting late.” you informed him.

He pouted slightly but nodded in understanding.

“Do you want me to get you a taxi?” he asked.

“No it’s fine.” you assured him. “I’ll text you when I get home, alright?”

“Okay.” he pulled you into a goodbye hug. You hugged him back.

“Aww~” the boys on the other side of the room chorused.

“I’m really really proud of you. Congrats on your debut, Byounggon.” you whispered.

He tightened his grip around your waist.

“Thank you for coming to support me.” he whispered back.

“Thank you for getting me tickets to come support you.”

“You still owe me for that.” he said as he pulled away from you.

“What do I owe you?” you asked him.

“I’ll figure it out.” he tapped your nose. “Get home safely, alright?”

“Good luck with your music show performance tomorrow.” you pat his shoulder.

—

“You’re gonna leave without saying goodbye?” you heard as you left. You looked over and saw Hyunsuk and Junkyu waiting in the lobby of the concert venue.

“I thought you guys left already!” you walked over to them. “Are you guys leaving soon?”

Junkyu nodded. “Our manager is coming to get us.”

You nodded in understanding.

“Will you watch our debut showcase too?” Hyunsuk asked you.

“Of course. I’ll even rearrange my schedule just to see you guys.”

“What if we don’t debut?” Junkyu asked. Hyunsuk elbowed him.

“Then I’ll put in a good word for you guys at Seven Seasons.” you countered.

They laughed.

“We’ll see you around, (Y/N).” Hyunsuk smiled at you.

“For sure.”

—

ayy lmao things have been kinda busy this summer and i’ve been doing a lot of procrastinating but,,,i updated!!!

this update kinda sucks but i promise it’ll get better!! these are just the filler chapters until i get to the good part (spoiler: a reality show)

thanks for reading :)) i really appreciate it

[sweetlangdon]

From Eden: Chapter 8

Notes: Michael Langdon x Reader/OC. Evil Power Couple fic. It’s difficult to write a summary for this one, because I don’t want to give away the twists. (It’ll also include canon rewrite/divergence for the later half of the season.) It has plenty of angst and fluff, and a bit of character study.

Warnings: Swearing, blood, murder, graphic violence. Very brief mention of suicidal thoughts. There’s a lot of angst in this chapter. 

Chapter One     Chapter Two    Chapter Three     Chapter Four    Chapter Five   Chapter Six      Chapter Seven     Also Available on AO3

The blood ritual at the Cortez had left her physically and emotionally drained—Michael had guided her home, both of them tripping on unsteady legs, their bodies heavy like they’d been weighed down with stones, feeling an exhaustion they couldn’t quite name. She hadn’t wanted to be alone, then. She didn’t know what to feel, how something could make her both so whole and powerful and yet so empty. Michael had been hesitant to leave her side, and she hadn’t even asked him to stay. He just knew.

“Don’t you need to get back to Hawthorne?” She peered up at Michael from where she’d curled around her pillow, watching him undo the elegant silver clasp of his cape. There were shadows under his eyes; he dragged a hand down his face, shoulders drooping as he let out a sigh. He looked as tired as she felt.

Michael left his cape across the chair in the far corner of her bedroom and went around to the other side of the bed, slipping off his shoes before he settled next to her. A moment later, the warmth of his presence lapped along her spine, his arm draped over her waist, tugging her into his chest. She dragged one of her arms out from under the pillow and laced her fingers between his, her thumb wandering over his knuckles and up his wrist. She felt Michael’s fatigued exhale against her back, the slightly anxious rhythm of his pulse against her fingers. He didn’t want to talk about it, but the ritual had left him shaken, too.

This time, she was absolutely certain that he’d pressed a kiss into her hair. “The only place I’m needed is right here.”

Her eyes fluttered closed. A few stray tears spilled down her cheeks and she tasted the salt on her lips. “I don’t want to get you into trouble, not so close to the test.”

Michael burrowed his face into the back of her shoulder, lithe fingers threading through her hair. She could fall asleep under the spell of his gentle hands. She had, before, many times over the course of their relationship. He pulled her closer, the warmth of his fingertips spreading across her hip. The scent of candle smoke and iron and whatever strong drink her father had shared at the Cortez lingered in her nose. The faint trace of sandalwood and jasmine that usually hung in her bedroom wasn’t powerful enough to suppress the echoes of their blood ritual.

“That doesn’t matter.” There was another deep exhale, but his pulse had slowed somewhat.

“Michael—”

“They won’t question my absence,” his voice was low, muffled into her shoulder. “And you’re far too important to me.” 

Michael’s fingers tightened around hers, and for a moment, if she closed her eyes, it seemed like they were just two kids in his bedroom with the rain tapping against the window. But she couldn’t pretend, couldn’t hold onto that illusion if she’d wanted to. Too much had changed since then.

Her lower lip trembled and made her voice shake. “I’m scared,” she confessed. “I’ve never been afraid like this before. Of…what we’re supposed to be doing. Of—”

“Afraid of me,” Michael murmured against her shoulder. It was so quiet she almost couldn’t hear it, but when she did, it was as if that damned ritual knife had torn right through her chest and stabbed her heart. She hadn’t missed the hitch in his breath, the tremor in his words.

“No.” She squeezed his hand, her fingers cold and numb from the lingering anxiety compared to his. “Never you.”

“If I had known about the ritual…”

“It’s not your fault,” she assured, softly. “I’m glad I didn’t have to go through that alone. It’s just…this is a lot to be okay with in such a short amount of time.”

She knew that the ritual would change her irrevocably, and it had, just not the way she’d envisioned. Maybe she’d been stupid to think that her immediate future would involve a lot more fire and brimstone, that maybe those pitch black eyes staring back at her would be permanent. She hadn’t recognized her own reflection in her father’s study, and she’d only seen Michael like that for a fleeting moment the night they’d burned down her aunt’s house. She’d always known there was something dark in her soul, but the knowledge that she wasn’t fully human—and half-demon, no less—had left her reeling.

“None of this has been easy for you.”

He shifted slightly, his chin digging into the crook of her shoulder, soft curls brushing the side of her neck and ear. The low rumble of his words resonated into her back, and that made her feel warmer and more whole than anything her father could’ve told her about where she’d come from.

“But there’s no one else,” He sounded so quiet and more terrified than he’d ever admit, that confident façade left behind at the doors to the Hawthorne School. This was the boy who’d always shared the truth with her and feared it leave him abandoned yet again. “I wouldn’t choose anyone except you to stand at my side in all of this. I don’t want anyone else.”

“I’m right here,” she whispered back to him. “I told you I’m not going anywhere. I promised you that.”

A promise was a promise. She had no intention of breaking it or leaving Michael’s side when there was nowhere else she’d belong. The fact was, neither of them could do this alone, and neither of them wanted to. They had little choice but shoulder the burden of their birthright together. And carry on.

***

Michael returned to Hawthorne in anticipation of completing the test of the Seven Wonders, and she went back to her mundane life of homework and avoiding her parents, a little envious of Michael’s unconventional education. She also hated being apart from him. But separated as they were, the increase in the strength of their combined power was almost immediately perceptible.

There had always been this invisible thread between them, a tether in the darkness, but now it had become more resilient, connecting them across great distances. A current of energy that let them know where the other was, and that they were forever bound. It was a comfort to her; gentle, whereas everything else about her newfound power was unwieldy and prone to give her headaches. Her father had unleashed Hell within her and hadn’t exactly given her any guidance on how to tame it for good use.

She hadn’t seen him since the Cortez and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to.

On the eve of the test, Miriam told her they had an errand to run for Michael. She’d been sitting at their tiny kitchen table, her fist propped under her chin, paging through the Book of Revelation. As if it would answer some things beneath all of that flowery language and prophecy. It certainly didn’t do a damn thing to ease the internal panic she’d concealed after her father had declared that she was supposed to be some kind of leader. Of legions. A soldier of the apocalypse she’d help create. Her father had had millennia to earn whatever rank he currently held, she was sure, and she was just a human with some demon blood whose primary concern right now was getting into the college of her choice.

“Where are we going?” she asked as she slid into the passenger seat of Miriam’s car.

It was late, nearing midnight, and she wondered what sort of errand they could’ve possibly needed to run at this hour. It definitely wasn’t just a drive up to the corner store. Late night trips in the Mead household usually entailed rituals of whispered Latin and sacrificial blood in some unfortunate soul’s backyard.

Miriam shoved the key into the ignition. “It’s best if you don’t ask a lot of questions. The less you know, the better.”

They meandered through empty back roads under a clear night sky, following a trail that Miriam apparently had picked up. She kept the window rolled down a little to let in the chilly air tinged with the scent of fresh cut grass and damp earth. It had rained sometime during the day; the headlights reflected off the slick asphalt and puddles still gathered in the roads as they broke through the shadows of the trees.

With the radio droning on softly in the background, and her attention out the window, her mind miles away, she nearly drifted off to sleep. The car slowed, gravel crackling under the wheels, when they inched closer to a gas station. It was bright, set deep into the wilderness without another soul around. Except for the car that had just pulled in.

“Get out,” Miriam whispered.

“What? Why?”

Miriam shot her a stern look, lips curving into a frown. The blinding white light from the gas station made her jet black hair look glossy. “Didn’t I tell you not to ask questions? Now, stay close, but stick to the shadows until I call for you. If for some reason this goes sideways, take the car and meet Michael outside Hawthorne. Last thing we need is for you to get yourself killed by a damn warlock.” Miriam reached over to the glove box and emerged with a kerchief, which she wrapped around her head and tied beneath her chin.

Her eyes went wide, her hand stilled on the door handle. “Wait, warlock? But—”

“Don’t you start. Go on, get.”

“Why don’t you just let me take care of it?” Her fingers curled around the handle, but she’d yet to make any real effort to budge the door open.

“With the way your powers have been acting? You set my curtains on fire two days ago.” In the dark of the car’s interior, Miriam’s eyebrow rose. She pursed her lips, and the glint in her eyes turned into something more sincere. “No, I can handle this. I’ve gotta protect my Devil babies.”

She had seriously misjudged Ms. Miriam Mead.

Hidden by the night that had enveloped the woods, she waited near the tree line with a clear view of Miriam’s car. A man was already leaning against the side of his own car at one of the pumps, arms crossed over his chest, when Miriam pulled up. From this distance, she couldn’t really see anything but his dark hair and sharp clothes and a distinct swagger. A warlock, Miriam had said. She wasn’t sure what his problem was, but if it was enough to have them out here in the middle of the night committing murder, then she guessed it had to be pretty fucking important.

Miriam engaged the warlock in some small talk, and he obliged to help her with putting gas into her car. She couldn’t hear the echoes of their conversation from so far across the road, but she knew Miriam had a disarming way of playing the part when she needed to. She waited, holding her breath, for a sign of a struggle. It didn’t come. Distracted, the warlock never saw Miriam take a swipe at his ankles until it was too late.

“Holy shit,” she breathed.

The warlock collapsed onto the asphalt, a cry ricocheting off the trees. It would be a mess, she mused, even if she couldn’t see the way the blood had exploded from his broken flesh. Once the warlock was vulnerable, on his knees, crashing toward the ground, Miriam sliced the fragile skin of his throat. And she took that as her cue to break through the tree line, fists stuffed into the pockets of her hooded sweatshirt as she dashed across the empty road.

Miriam exhaled a long-suffering noise when she reached her side. “What’d I tell you about staying put? That damned ritual give you selective hearing or something?”

She pushed up the hood of her sweatshirt. “Who was he?”

The warlock lay at their feet in a pool of crimson, polished black like ink on the pavement. There was still a weak gurgling sound as he choked on his own blood, his clothes stained with it, his handsome face coated with the spray from his neck. He stared up at nothing, pale blue eyes unseeing and lifeless.

“A threat.” Miriam pulled a box of matches from an inside pocket of her coat. “You go get in the car and I’ll clean up the mess.”

“I’m perfectly capable of cleaning up a mess,” she said. “You don’t have to do all the heavy lifting, you know.”

She held her hand out over the warlock’s body with her palm facing downward. Miriam’s hand shot out and smacked hers away, and she tried to level Miriam with a glare, her mouth opened in annoyed silence.

“At a gas station? Are you crazy?” Miriam whispered, though her voice wanted to edge into a shout. “None of this’ll matter if you blow both of us to pieces trying to clean up.”

“Thanks for your confidence.” She lifted an eyebrow.

“We don’t have time to—”

Before Miriam could protest any further, she held her hands over the warlock’s dead body where the blood was beginning to run into the puddles left from the rain. She drew from the well that had been offered to her, from the ancient, dark power that had coursed through her veins since her birth. The rush was enough to make her sway a little on her feet, but she kept a tight hold on it, willing it to manifest where she needed it. Her control was shaky at best, but she focused, directing just the right amount that hopefully would do the job and leave her and Miriam unharmed in the process.

Flames sprung up from the pavement around the warlock’s body, licking at his clothes until they ignited. The heat of the fire drifted upward to meet her outstretched palms, the orange glow tossing deep shadows across their faces. The barest trace of sulfur cut through the scent of blood and damp earth.

She felt Miriam’s hand on the small of her back. “Let’s go.” When she tore her eyes away from the body burning at their feet, Miriam was grinning. “Michael will be expecting us.”

 ***

Days later, there was an ache deep in her chest that she couldn’t explain. The acceptance letter that her parents barely acknowledged—even though they insisted on a university education with their newfound wealth; she wasn’t stupid, it was just means to get her out of their way—sat neglected in her bedroom. The ache evolved into a sharp pain, wrapping itself around her ribcage with claws and teeth and a strong, unbearable feeling that something was horribly wrong.

As much as she didn’t want to, she stifled the impulse to show up at Hawthorne. If she got herself caught, she knew it would only make the situation worse. Michael had already conquered the Seven Wonders with little difficulty. But her gut feelings were seldom incorrect. Something had happened. Every frantic call to Miriam’s house phone went unanswered, and her cell phone brought her straight to voicemail. She left a few panicked, slightly breathless messages before she finally pulled on a jacket and materialized outside of the house she’d come to consider more of a home than anywhere else in her life.

A home that was dark and unoccupied.

Streetlights filled the empty driveway with a dim orange glow. Her eyebrows pulled together, considering the darkened windows as she rounded the corner to the side doors. She tugged on a handle and found it locked, a realization that made the pain in her chest flare like a piercing stab wound. It would be no use to venture inside. Miriam wasn’t here, and it looked as though the house had been like this for some time. 

The radio silence from Miriam made her think the worst—she would never just disappear like this, never be so out of touch. The chances of her skipping town were unlikely, but she refused to dwell on the grimmest of all the possible outcomes. She felt guilty enough for not getting here sooner, for not knowing how to translate the dread that had coiled around her insides. For doubting Miriam’s care and love for both her and Michael. All of this power at her disposal and she had no idea how to use it to help the situation or follow Miriam’s trail. What good was she, then? It didn’t make her some great leader of prophecy, it just made her goddamn useless.

Maybe she would have to sneak into Hawthorne, after all.

She stuffed her hands into her pockets, exhaling loudly, tears welling in her eyes, wondering if the dread inside her was something more profound, like grief. 

A shape caught her periphery, a familiar ripple of power and light hitting her senses. She didn’t realize it was magic until it was too late.

The darkness swallowed her whole.

***

Four days.

Michael had stayed in this pentagram for four agonizing days, watching the sunlight move across the trees. Time seemed to slow down around him. He never counted the hours, left at the mercy of the passing sun overhead and the long shadows in the dirt. Except for the occasional birdsong and the rustle of leaves, there had been silence. Frustrating, resounding silence.

There was no one left. A hollow ache settled in his bones and gnawed at him with more violence than the hunger and thirst. His father had abandoned him, presumably because he’d already failed at the one thing he’d been put on this earth to do. He’d lost sight of his path and was now stumbling around in the dark once again, grasping at nothing. What was the point, now?

The acrid scent of burning flesh still clung to his nose like a ghost, his mind plagued by the images of his Ms. Mead charred beyond recognition. The grief that Michael could barely process since he’d dropped to his knees in this circle had numbed him; it came and went like the tide, stronger when the sun dipped below the horizon and the night’s quiet seemed more crushing. Sometimes, it had been accompanied by a fiery rage that he couldn’t contain, that left him exhausted from screaming into the forest until it felt as if he’d swallowed broken glass. In the moments when his fingertips had hovered over the burnt bodies, Michael thought that he’d lost them both to the witches.

And maybe he had. But they hadn’t set fire to her.

Four days and he couldn’t feel any sign of her. It was like the tether that bound them had inexplicably snapped, snuffing out the light that had helped to guide his path. Michael knew what her power was like, knew what it did when it mingled with his even when they were apart. The loss of her power was the least of his concerns, though—it was the absence of her that made his soul feel incomplete.

She was just…gone.

When he’d asked Cordelia Goode where she was, Michael had noticed the glint in her eye of an answer that she would not give. Whatever the witches had done, it had concealed her from him.

He was alone.

Michael knelt in the dirt, the clear, earthy scent of the forest unable to scrub away the odor of scorched flesh. He hunched over, elbows resting on top of his thighs with his face buried in his hands. The once carefully parted hair underneath his dirt-streaked fingers had become a greasy, unkempt mess. Stubble along his jawline prickled at his hands as he dragged them across his face to wipe away the fatigue. Michael’s formerly pristine clothes were now ragged and caked in filth, his appearance a testament to the past four days of aimless waiting.

A low, waning sun spilled golden rays over the dirt and stung at his tired and bloodshot eyes. Four days of catching a few minutes’ worth of sleep wherever he could manage them had done terrible things to his mind. The world spun around his head, in and out of focus. Michael could no longer tell what was real and what wasn’t. Had it really been just four days? How long would it take for him to waste away in this forest?

Michael’s fingers itched to conjure his knife. It was tempting—the thought of the blade kissing his skin so he could finally be at peace.

“Michael.”

He knew that voice. He’d know it anywhere.

The sound of it filled the air like a melody to his heavy, aching head, and he lifted his face from his palms in response, those dark and violent thoughts withering away with the breeze. There was something wrong in her voice, a dissonant note that made his blood run cold. When he finally turned around, the streaks of daylight, now burning orange as if it was fire across the dirt, caught the highlights in her dark hair and beads of scarlet running down her ashen lips.

“You left me.” Tears mingled with the blood dripping from her chin. Michael saw her hand clutched against her chest, the dirt at her feet pooling with deep crimson from a wound he couldn’t find, her fingers slick with bright red. “After everything,” her breath shuddered, gasping, “why would you leave me? How could you let them kill me?”

She staggered forward, approaching the circle. How had she found him, when he hadn’t even felt her presence in days? Michael caught her once her knees gave out, cradling her in his arms, fingers raking through her hair. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking, trying to find the source of all the blood.

A tear slipped down the curve of his cheek just when he thought he’d had no more left in him.

“I never wanted this to happen.” Michael desperately searched for a wound that wasn’t there, a wound that he didn’t think he would be powerful enough to heal. Not yet, anyway. He tried to temper his sorrow with anger instead, but the pain burned white-hot through his chest as if he could feel her wound as his own. “We’ll kill them all, I swear it. They won’t get away with what they’ve done to you and our Ms. Mead. They won’t survive us, I promise you that.”

She reached up and touched her fingertips to his cheek, leaving bloody fingerprints behind. She was so pale, the scent of blood all around them, the warmth retreating from her even as he held her close.

“Michael,” she whispered again.

“It’s all my fault.” A trembling hand cradled her ashen face. “I…I failed you, too.”

An apology wouldn’t be enough. It would never be enough for the feeling that carved its way through his ribcage like cold steel. Was there a name for it, the pain of having part of your soul ripped from you? A word for an emotion stronger than grief?

Michael gathered her to his chest when he felt her go still, his tears falling into her hair. “Don’t leave me like this…please…you’re all I have left…” He let her go to trace the fragile skin of her throat with his unsteady fingers. Her skin was cold to the touch, and no matter how hard he tried, he could no longer feel the once steady, strong rhythm of her pulse. She lay across his bent knees, unmoving, while he leaned over her.

Michael sobbed and pressed his forehead to hers. “I can’t lose you.”

He held her, dragging his fingers through her hair and sobbing her name until the illusion finally broke—her lifeless body vanishing in the next instant. The last of Michael’s sobs faded and he lifted his tear-stained face from his now empty hands.

All of it had seemed so frighteningly real—she had felt so real.

But it was just another cruel trick.  

Where are you?

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