#taekook long ass fics

[here2bbtstrash]

real magic (explicit)

genre: smut, fluff, bangin’ your boss, m attempts kidfic - part of a hyung holiday collab !

pairing: namjoon x reader

summary: the holiday season has never meant anything to you beyond suffering long hours for minimum wage and awaiting the collapse of capitalism— but this year, you’d be willing to add making out with your dilf coffee shop boss to the list.

word count: 16.7k 😩

contains: ~*~explicit sexual content (after kind of a slow burn sorry lol)~*~ the "moving back to your hometown" hallmark trope, a nick jonas poster (yes that's a warning), some taekook slander in the beginning because i thought it was funny, namjoon is so buff and so dumb but so wise and so hot, moni is a little shit, namjoon is a dad!, namjoon's kid uses they/them pronouns but it's not like A Focus of the story it's just flavor, reader thinks joon has a dead wife for like one second 💀 mentions of teenage pregnancy and co-parenting, one incredibly stupid asshole customer lmao, mint choco slander (it's what namjoon would want 😌), obviously there is an employee/boss power dynamic but they talk about it and figure it out because this is namjoon and he overthinks everything, namjoon driving (he's a dad i have to assume he would get his license if he had a literal child!!!!!!!!) and a lotta sentimental holiday and life talk. here are ur sex specific warnings: making out/going to second base in a car in a parking lot (what is it with my namjoons and cars in parking lots yo), fingering, semi-drunk sex, and fuckin' rawwwww with a smidge of size and breeding kink lmao (but she's on the pill!!! no more kids!!!!!!)

A/N: hello hello hi merry crisis this damn fic is finally here lmao~ as i have been babbling on about for days i really really (REALLY) love how this namjoon turned out he's just hesjkrgdhtgk such a fucking himbo but a good dad and wise and did i mention hot aaaaaa 🫠 all the love in my gay little heart to @goodsoop for their barista wisdom and real life experiences that went into this one (the cookie story will never not make me laugh) ! and to @sailoryooons for beta reading this 50 million times and encouraging me when i was convinced it sucked ass, and also for making all the gorgeous banners for this collab 😭

which btw - be sure to go check out @gimmethatagustd & @sailoryooons & @nabiolive 's fics tooooo !!! i've loved collabing with them so very much even when we were all hashtag Going Through It, we got the whole damn hyung line you hear meeeeee 🎁🎁🎁🎁

read on AO3!

Rudely awoken by the incessant beep of your alarm, you open your eyes to find Nick Jonas staring back at you, and you sit up with a scream.

Realization washes over your sleep-addled brain in waves: first, that you aren’t actually staring at a real person. He’s just smizing on a hot pink poster, held up by some remarkably durable masking tape you stuck to the wall fifteen years ago. Second, it comes back to you that you are staring at said poster because you’ve woken up in your childhood bedroom. It’s been left untouched since you were a teenager, like a weird time capsule of all your high school obsessions.

After reaching for your phone to silence the alarm, you kick your way out from under the blankets, trying not to make eye contact with Nick, or Justin, or Zayn as you stumble to the bathroom. The circumstances of your grand return to living in your goddamn parents’ house linger like a bad taste in your mouth, one that all the tongue brushing in the world can’t remove.

It still doesn’t feel real. Taehyung, your best friend in the world since freshman year of college, kicked you out. Sure, it may have been phrased more like a gentle request, but as far as your ego is concerned, it still feels like exile. Banishment, even. The person you thought you could never be parted from made his choice, and he chose his fucking boyfriend over you.

Jungkook. You think the name with all the venom your cold, dead heart can manage as you spit toothpaste into the sink.

Jungkook, the weird, bug-eyed kid who put his toe-socked feet on your couch, drank his banana milk out of your favorite mug, and ate up all of your Samyang ramyeon because he ‘thought it was communal’. 

Jungkook, who ruined your sleep schedule nightly, either by fucking Taehyung senseless on the other side of your paper-thin apartment wall, or by blasting the same four Ariana Grande songs over and over on his bluetooth speaker and singing along in an annoyingly good voice. Either activity would go on well into the early hours of the morning, until you had to bang on the wall so hard you nearly put your fist through it.

Jungkook, whose dog once took a shit right on the floor in the middle of the kitchen.

Bam was cute enough to forgive, of course. But you can never forgive Taehyung for his betrayal. Especially when he knew you’d just been fired from your shitty coffee shop job for the stupidest reason ever, and he didn’t let that derail or even delay him. He still went ahead and delivered the killing blow.

Et tu, Taehyung? you think angrily to yourself as you stand in front of the suitcase containing as much of your closet as you could possibly fit. You still need to go back for your bigger furniture, and little things like your plates and your mugs and your silverware, which Jungkook is probably putting his grimy little fingers all over at this very moment. But until you’ve checked out of your indefinite vacation at the Nightmare Parental Hotel, there doesn’t really seem a point.

If you were less upset, you might take consolation in the fact that your parents aren’t actually here, that they’ve jaunted off to their timeshare until the new year, but you’re busy being too swallowed whole by your misery to find an ounce of joy in any piece of your current reality.

You dig through the pile of clothes until you manage to pull out something halfway decent. The first order of business now that you’ve moved back in is simple: acquire another stupid coffee shop job. You have no plans to stick around long, you just need something seasonal that will give you some meager income while you start looking for a real gig, one that is ideally not in your hometown.

Watching yourself in the mirror as you pull on a simple black blouse and your least-stained pair of jeans, you attempt to mentally dust off your interview skills. You conjure up your best fake smile and customer service voice, both of which are second-nature at this point.

Why do you want this job? “I’m just so passionate about coming home sticky and verbally abused by caffeine-addicted assholes every night.”

What’s your biggest weakness? “Clearly it’s the fact that I’m a ray of fucking sunshine.”

Why were you terminated from your last job? “Oh, well, I attempted to get my previous employer to improve their standards of worker treatment. You see, I selfishly requested that they raise the bar a single notch above hell. Certainly won’t happen again!”

This should go well, you tell yourself, and your reflection grimaces back.

With several hours to kill before your job interview and a growing desire to avoid the weird nostalgia of your childhood that seems to lurk in every corner of your parents’ house, you decide to take a walk.

The sky is bright blue and cloudless, and though the air is brisk, it isn’t terribly windy. You tuck in your earbuds as you shut the front door behind you and pick a direction, aimless, letting your mind wander to the soundtrack of your “seasonal depression” playlist.

A whole new crop of families must have moved into your parents’ neighborhood in the years since you moved out, because the streets are more alive with kids than you can ever remember them being, even when you were a kid yourself. Bikes and scooters lay abandoned on the sidewalks between homes, and you can hear the repeated echo of a basketball dribbling on a driveway, punctuated by distant, playful screaming.

Even in the daytime, you can tell these families have spared no expense when it comes to Christmas decor: some homes have every eave outlined in string lights, some have candy cane stakes dug into the perimeter of their perfectly manicured lawns, and some have been seemingly invaded by small armies of inflatable reindeer and snowmen. You can’t help but giggle a little at the inflatable decorations that have been set to turn off during the day, the way the airless material lays limp in the grass, giving the impression of a yard strewn with dead bodies.

But you remember what it looked like when you drove in last night, everything lit up and brought to life.

Your parents definitely didn’t have inflatable lawn decorations when you were a kid, but you’d get so excited every year when your dad would drag the ladder out and spend the day stringing up the simple rainbow lights you did have. You still remember the little spark of joy you’d feel in your chest when the colors would click on after dark, the way you would run outside every night just to see them twinkle, your breath puffing steam clouds in the air, your bare feet freezing on the ice-cold driveway.

It felt like magic then. But somewhere along the way you grew up. And now that feeling’s gone. Even at night, the lights just look like… lights.

Distracted as you are by the music in your ears and thoughts of your childhood that have brought you to a standstill on the sidewalk, you don’t notice what’s happening until it’s too late. 

A blur of red and white is suddenly circling around and between your legs, and you feel something twining over your ankles, then tugging with a force that threatens to knock you off balance. As you lean forward in an attempt to right yourself, the chaos in question slows enough for you to realize it’s a fluffy white dog in a red sweater, who has excitedly tangled you up in his leash.

You manage to find the looped end of the leash and slowly get yourself unwrapped while the dog continues to pant and jump and occasionally yap at you. With your legs freed, you squat down for a proper greeting, laughing to yourself as he lifts up on his hind legs, balancing his paws on your knee to lick an enthusiastic greeting across your cheek.

“Hi, puppy,” you murmur, trying to get him to hold still long enough to read the name on his tag. A voice beats you to it.

“Moni!”

When you glance up to find Moni’s owner jogging up the sidewalk, you have to make a conscious effort to keep your own tongue in your mouth, because good lord, he is fine.

He’s tall, towering over you even once you bring yourself back up to standing, and the black workout tank and athletic shorts he’s wearing do absolutely nothing to hide the thick, well-defined muscles of his arms, chest, and thighs.

Despite his lack of clothing in the cool winter air, you can see his face and neck are slick with sweat, his white-blonde hair damp with it too. There’s even a dark patch that’s soaked his shirt at his sternum, making the firm swell of his pecs that much more apparent. It takes you an extra second to break eye contact with them, but when you do finally manage to drag your gaze up to meet his, you realize his face is just as nice of a view: honey-tan skin, full lips, and cute dimples that pop as he gives a sheepish, appreciative laugh.

“Thank you,” he says, a little breathless; his voice is deep and slightly husky in a way that makes your face grow hot. You blink stupidly at him for a few moments, your mind reeling, and then it occurs to you that you still have his dog’s leash in your hand.

“No problem,” you manage, handing the looped end back over and double-checking to make sure your ankles are still free from their entanglement. Though now that this man is holding the leash, you kind of wish they weren’t.

“Moni’s usually good about not taking off when I stop to do a circuit,” he explains, like you’re the dog owner police. It makes you wonder what kind of Karens must have moved into this neighborhood since you left it. “I don’t know why he ran, maybe he saw a squirrel or something.”

“It’s okay,” you reassure him with a smile, admiring Moni as he stretches and settles into a polite seated pose. “I like his sweater.”

“Thanks,” he laughs again. “C’mon Mon.”

You can’t help focusing on how big this guy’s hands are as he slips his fingers through the end of Moni’s leash, tugging slightly as if to encourage the dog back in the direction he came from.

Moni blinks and stays right where he is.

“You little shit,” his owner huffs under his breath, and you have to bite down on your bottom lip to keep from laughing. You distantly realize you should probably leave them to it and continue on your walk, but this is too entertaining to turn away from now. Your hot neighbor tries one more futile attempt to get Moni to move, then seems to give up entirely.

He stoops down with a low grunt of effort that makes your core flutter as he grabs the fluffy dog and hoists him up in his arms. You try to force yourself to stop noticing the way his biceps flex, the fact that the muscles of his arms are nearly bigger than your head.

“Thanks again,” he says with a final grateful smile, and your only response is to swallow hard and stand there like an idiot as he turns and carries his spoiled dog back home.

When you arrive for your interview, you’re delighted to discover that Indigo Coffee is nothing like your last job. It’s warm and bright, with large picture windows that flood the space in sunlight, and there’s a cozy personal touch to it, the likes of which you’d certainly never see in your former corporate shell of a workplace. The sitting area is dotted with live edge wood tables and mismatched chairs. There are an array of framed paintings on the walls that look handmade in a good way, simple yet bold brush-stroke lines in a deep blue color scheme. And, you realize as your eyes linger, the shop is absolutely overflowing with plants: in simple clay pots lined up along the windows, free-standing between tables, and tucked into bookshelves placed artfully throughout the space. 

You step closer to inspect one as you wait on your interviewer and are pleased to see that it’s real, that they all are— no waxy fake leaves jammed into a thick block of cement, but real greenery sprouted in real dirt, deep brown soil gone soft from what must have been a recent watering. These are plants someone cares for, coaxed and kept alive by someone’s time and patience and love. The thought makes you smile a little despite yourself.

There’s still fucking Christmas music playing, but you figure that’s inescapable this time of year.

“Are you here for the interview?” someone asks over your shoulder. As you turn away from the plant, you wonder if you’re imagining that the voice in question sounds slightly familiar, and then you find yourself once again staring up at a fine-ass man with white-blonde hair and a sweet pair of dimples.

He’s clearly showered since your last encounter, and is now slightly more covered up in a pair of faded jeans and a gray-green flannel thrown over a black shirt emblazoned with bold white lettering: Protect Trans Kids.

“Oh.” Moni’s owner blinks back at you, and the shock on his face is so apparent that a giggle escapes your lips before you can stop it. “Uh, hi again.”

“Hi,” you echo, equally flustered, before realizing you failed to answer his initial question. “Oh, yeah. Yes. I am. The interview. I’m— that’s me.” So well-spoken, you mentally kick yourself.

One dimple deepens slightly as he extends a hand. “Kim Namjoon. Owner of Indigo Coffee. And the world’s least obedient dog, as you saw earlier.”

You offer your best handshake in return and a smile that you surprisingly don’t have to force as you give Namjoon your name. He gestures to a table in the corner, and you each pull back a chair to have a seat. You try to banish any potential horny thoughts from your brain, but shifting into interview mode proves difficult as he rests his large hands on the table in front of him, drumming idly along to the horribly cheery music.

You manage to tear your gaze away from Namjoon’s fingers when he speaks again. “If it’s cool with you, we can just chat a little? I’m not so good at conducting formal interviews. Too inauthentic.”

It’s like you can feel some of the tension release from your shoulders. “I— yeah. That sounds great.”

“Cool,” he nods, and you try to ignore the rush of heat up your neck at the intensity of his stare. Professional, be professional. “So I saw on your resume that it looks like your last few jobs were out of town. Did you just move here?”

“Moved back,” you say quickly. “Yeah. I grew up here, actually.”

Namjoon’s eyes widen a little in clear interest. “Really? What brings you back?”

You purse your lips as you consider how to phrase it. “My life… kind of fell apart. So. I moved in with my parents for a bit. Like a winner.” His dimples pop when he smiles at your joke, and you drop your gaze to the table. “Just trying to figure out what’s next, and find something seasonal in the meantime.”

“Well, we could certainly use the help,” Namjoon admits. When you chance a glance up, there’s a look on his face like he’s choosing his next words carefully. “I saw in your application that you were terminated from your last position.” He leans in, lowering his voice slightly as he continues. “I’m gonna be honest, I hate that we even ask that question. But can you tell me a bit about what happened?”

You keep your stare fixed on the wood grain in front of you as you try to stay calm. “Well, if I can be honest too...” Squeezing your eyes shut, you tell yourself to just say it. “I was fired for trying to unionize.”

“Oh.” Namjoon sounds surprised, but you can’t manage to look at him. “Really?” You nod slowly, biting down on your bottom lip. “That’s— fucking illegal.”

That makes your gaze snap back up to meet his. His brow is furrowed slightly, a muscle in his jaw pulled tight.

“Yeah,” you say belatedly. “Yeah, I know. They made up a bunch of fake excuses as to why I was fired, but I knew what it really was. It was because I wanted them to actually pay us what we were worth, and hire more workers so we weren’t being scheduled to death. And I was getting everyone else riled up too, and I guess it scared them.”

Namjoon sits back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest. “Huh. Man. Well, I’m sorry that happened to you.”

It takes you a second to process what you’re hearing. Union has always been a scary word for any person in upper management you’ve previously encountered. You hadn’t expected this to be so… easy. For him to understand, or sympathize. “I— yeah. I am too.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Namjoon continues quickly, “I think it’s great, what you tried to do. I’m very pro-union.” He pauses for a moment, his face twisting slightly in thought. “I mean, admittedly, we don’t have one here. Granted, there are only five of us. I should probably ask, though, if they want one.”

You can’t quite hide your smile. “I’m gonna take a guess that you probably treat your employees pretty well as-is.”

“I try,” he says with a shake of his head. His eyes meet yours again. “So, here’s the deal. You have a ton of experience, and with holiday time off and a few people out sick, I’m super understaffed right now. You seem like you have a good head on your shoulders, and hopefully you feel like you can come to me if you have any issues, without fearing retaliation.”

You blink slowly, and he must be able to read the disbelief on your face. “What I’m saying is I’m offering you the seasonal position,” he clarifies. “Is that— do you, uh, accept?”

“Yes.” The word is chased by a dazed laugh, and Namjoon’s dimples resurface around a small smile.

“Cool. I told you I’m bad at interviews,” he huffs, rubbing a hand at the back of his neck. You try to ignore the swell of his bicep, clearly visible even beneath his bulky flannel. “I know this is a lot to ask, but. Is there any chance you can start, like, right now? Because Jimin’s shift ends in…” He tilts a little, fishing his phone from the front pocket of his jeans, and his mouth drops open in surprise when he gets a glimpse at the time.

“Oh, shit,” Namjoon murmurs, and then he raises his voice to call across the mostly empty store. “Jimin-ah! I’m so sorry!”

You turn around, your gaze landing on the barista leaned up against the counter next to the register. His dyed-gray hair dusts over his eyes, which pull into crescent moons as he laughs. “It’s cool. I knew you were almost done. But I’m gonna clock out now, if she’s good?”

“Yeah,” you answer, turning back to Namjoon. “Yeah, I can start now.”

The two of you move behind the counter, and you sweep your hair up out of your face while Namjoon starts to go through a basic run-down of where everything is located. The overhead bell tinkles as Jimin shoulders the front door open, and he lifts a hand over his head in parting.

“See you after the holidays!”

“Alright,” Namjoon says as he waves to Jimin, a little breathless from having rambled on for the better part of several minutes. “That was a lot. Do you want to just start on register? I feel like that should be easy enough, and I can train you on everything as people come in, since it’s pretty dead right now.”

You shrug. “Works for me.”

Within half an hour, there’s a line out the door, and Namjoon has managed to spill espresso grounds all over his shoes for a second time.

“Ah, shit,” he groans, taking a step back. “Sorry. Been a minute since I’ve had to be back here.”

“It’s okay,” you try to reassure him, but you can see from the faces of the customers who have been waiting on their drinks for several minutes— including one who’s had hers remade three times, all of them incorrect— that it is very much not okay. You certainly lack the people skills to smooth over any of Namjoon’s mistakes, and you can feel a stress-induced eye twitch starting to flare up, brought on by Kelly Clarkson’s incessant yuletide belting.

You give your boss five more minutes, wherein he scalds his hand on the milk steamer, forgets about a cookie in the warmer until it’s burnt entirely black, and nearly turns the blender on with the lid off, before you finally intervene.

“Hey, Namjoon?” You do your best to keep your expression pleasant when he glances over at you, wiping at his brow with the back of his hand. “Maybe we should switch?”

“A-are you sure?” he stammers, apparently torn between wanting to be a good boss and a clear desire to just take the L. “I feel bad, this is literally your first shift.”

“I think I can handle it,” you reassure him, lowering your voice a little. “Let me take care of the drinks, and you can do your… endearing golden retriever thing. Keep the people entertained.”

Color blooms in the apples of his cheeks as his dimples make a brief appearance. “Oh, okay. Can do. Just let me know if you need help.”

You can’t imagine a universe where his clumsiness could in any way be considered helpful, but you keep that thought to yourself as you smile at him. At least he’s cute.

Things improve dramatically once your roles are reversed: as you expected, Namjoon is far more charismatic than he is coordinated, and he chats endlessly with the people waiting on their drinks, hardly pausing long enough to take a breath, while you scramble around trying to get your bearings in a new environment. The steady stream of customers doesn’t let up for the rest of the evening, until the last few finally trickle out of the store a few minutes after close, and you waste no time locking the door behind them with a sigh of relief.

You spin around, letting your back thud against the door for a moment as you watch Namjoon fight with a broom and dustpan in a futile attempt to get espresso dust out of the grout between the tiles. There’s a dull ache starting to thud in your skull, and it’s only deepened by the shrill opening notes of another fucking a cappella song.

“Namjoon?” you ask as you cross toward the counter, and his head instantly snaps up. “Do you think we could maybe turn off the Christmas music?”

“Oh, sure.” He’s already fumbling to grab his phone, and he taps a few buttons until the music suddenly switches, a soft voice starting to croon over an old school beat.

“Thanks,” you say, and you can’t help the pity smile that pulls up your mouth when he returns to his useless task. “I think the grout might be a lost cause, but I can go ahead and mop whenever you’re ready.”

He rights himself with a defeated sigh, nodding his head to the storage closet in the back. You follow his lead to retrieve the mop, then set about filling up the bucket with water and cleaning solution. Namjoon’s voice floats in from the front of the shop as he busies himself with his own closing tasks.

“Imagine smokin’ weed in the street without cops harassin’ / Imagine goin’ to court with no trial / Lifestyle cruisin’ blue Bahama waters / No welfare supporters, more conscious of the way we raise our daughters...”

You’re laughing a little as you roll the bucket out, starting at the door to work your way back. “Is this… Nas?”

He glances up, like he’s just remembered other people exist in the world. “Yeah, sorry. I can turn it off.”

“No, no,” you say quickly when he starts to reach for his phone again. “This is good. Much better than Pentatonix. I’m just… you really know every word.”

Namjoon shrugs, clearly embarrassed. “He’s my favorite.”

The revelation surprises you, and you pause to think as you pull the mop back and forth over the tile floor. It didn’t even occur to you that Namjoon would have a favorite kind of music, apart from the soft elevator muzak you imagine must play on a steady loop in his brain, given the way he fumbles through life.

“I actually wanted to be a rapper,” his voice comes back, and you look up again, your interest piqued. “When I was younger. But you know. Life had other plans.”

“Ah yes, the rapper to coffee shop owner pipeline,” you muse, and he barks a laugh that you wish you didn’t find so hot. Shaking your head, you force yourself to look back down at the espresso-studded tile, doing your best to shove your attraction aside and not think about it. He’s your boss, dumbass.

Still, it’s hard to ignore, particularly as he continues to rap along to each song that comes on, his voice deeper and huskier than you’ve heard it thus far in casual conversation. He doesn’t miss a word, and you can’t deny that it’s impressive. And sexy. Fuck.

Once the floor has been successfully mopped and everything else is put back together, you hop up onto the counter to wait for the tile to dry, and your gaze lingers over Namjoon’s large hands as he cashes out the register. He flips through the bills in time to the music, still humming under his breath as he goes, and you do your best to hold in your laugh when he inevitably loses count and has to start over from the beginning. Thankfully the second attempt sticks, and he smiles proudly to himself as he zips everything up into the deposit bag.

“First shift down,” he announces, as if you might have forgotten, and then his eyes find yours and you swear your breath gets stuck in your throat. “How do you feel?”

It only occurs to you now how close he’s standing to you, and with the way your legs are casually dangling over the edge of the counter, it wouldn’t take much for him to step between them. And god, he’s so damn tall, you’re practically eye-to-eye.

“Uh,” you manage, your mouth suddenly gone dry. “Good. I feel good.”

“That’s good,” he answers, his voice dipping into that throaty tone again. You find yourself wondering absentmindedly if maybe Namjoon has a customer service voice, too, and then for the briefest flash of a moment, his gaze flits from your eyes to your lips and back again. It’s so quick, you can’t be sure it even really happened.

You tell yourself it’s just your exhausted post-shift brain seeing things that aren’t there, wanting this fine-ass man to be into you, too.

A sudden bang on the front door makes you flinch so hard, you come dangerously close to kneeing Namjoon in the crotch. He takes a large step back as you whip around to look over your shoulder, only to see a kid’s face pressed to the glass, framed by two small hands. You’ve never been great at telling the age of children on sight, but this one looks like… maybe a middle schooler?

“Whose fucking kid is that?” you say automatically, blinking, dumbfounded. Namjoon’s laugh is a low rumble behind you.

“That would be mine.”

It takes several days for the shock to wear off. Your boss has a kid. Kim “could’ve burnt the building down with a single cookie” Namjoon is at least partially responsible for keeping another human being alive. Which means you have a crush… on a father.

A father who also happens to be your boss.

You try not to think about any of it.

There’d been brief introductions when you left the shop that first night, but all you’d really managed to glean was the kid’s name, Sol, and their pronouns. As someone who is historically terrible with children, you’d excused yourself the minute Namjoon locked the front door, after what felt like an eternity spent watching him pat each of his pockets twice before he finally managed to find his keys.

“I hope it wasn’t weird,” your boss says out of nowhere in the middle of your next shift, during a much-needed moment of peace after the morning rush. “For you to meet Sol like that. It’s just been hard, since their mom, uh…”

Namjoon trails off, leaving the sentence unfinished. You glance up, eyes widening as you put the pieces together.

“Oh my god,” you breathe. “I’m so sorry.”

His gaze meets yours, and it’s like you can see the wheels in his head turning before he catches up. “No, no,” he says quickly, and then he starts to laugh. “Wow, I really did not start that sentence well. She’s not dead. She just got married, and she’s on her honeymoon for most of December. The logistics have been hard, is what I meant.”

An embarrassed heat creeps up your neck, and your elbows thud against the countertop as you press your face into your hands, attempting to muffle your own laughter. “In my defense,” you groan, “you really made it sound like you had a dead wife.”

“Not dead! She’s fine!” Namjoon’s dimples are as prominent as you’ve ever seen them when you peek up at him from your full-body cringe. “Very much alive, very much not my wife.” The muscles in his arms flex as he crosses them over his chest, leaning up against the counter next to the register. “Never was, actually.”

“Really?” you answer automatically, your damned curiosity getting the better of you.

He nods, his voice a little more serious when he continues, rambling on in the way that you’ve already started to suspect is his default setting, talking as if to fill empty space. “We were seventeen when we got pregnant. I knew we were young then, but I don’t think I really realized. Now that I’m almost thirty, I know: seventeen is fucking young.”

The line of his jaw tightens, thoughtful, as his gaze sweeps over the floor. “I thought I wanted to marry her, or at least felt obligated to. Like it was the right thing to do, but. We didn’t have any money, and then it all got so hectic after Sol was born. Didn’t even take a year for us to realize it wasn’t gonna work, not for us.”

You blink, trying to take in all the new information. “That sounds really hard.”

“It was,” Namjoon admits. “But we were both on the same page about it. That no matter what, Sol had to come first.” He glances up with a shrug. “It’s all good now. She’s a great co-parent, and her new husband is really good for her. And… well, I have Indigo.”

The tinkling of the bell at the front door snaps you out of a daze, makes you realize you’ve been staring at him, dumbfounded. You do your best to shoot Namjoon a soft smile, and to ignore the pang in your chest as he turns to greet the customer that’s just wandered in, already starting to babble on about the weather.

You find yourself more grateful for Namjoon’s presence with each passing shift, in a way that you try to convince yourself is thoroughly platonic. Between fairly steady work and his very steady chatter, your time spent in the warm, sunny space of Indigo turns out to be a good distraction from your own miserable excuse for a life. The repetitive motions of making drink after drink are oddly comforting, and you have to admit, Namjoon really is good with the customers.

“Peppermint mocha to go.”

You do your best to follow up the sentence with a polite smile as you set a drink down for the customer who has done nothing but scowl at you the whole time you were making it. The silent prayer you’ve sent out to the universe that he’ll take whatever personal problem he has elsewhere and leave you alone has clearly gone unanswered.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he snaps, and you can feel your shoulders creep up towards your ears in anticipation of nothing good. Here we fucking go.

You blink twice, trying to keep your service persona engaged. “I’m sorry, is that not what you ordered?” It is, you know it is, you heard him say it.

“No, that’s mine,” the man quickly responds, reaching out to snatch the cup in a motion that makes you flinch. “But do you hear this fucking song?”

The honest answer is no: at this point the ever-present Christmas music might as well be white noise, so you have to make a conscious effort to tune back in and listen. It’s a few seconds, and then you pick up on the melody. “…Last Christmas?”

“Uh, yeah,” he continues, explaining like you’re stupid. “The original. Last Christmas by Wham!” When it’s clear you still aren’t putting the pieces together, he scoffs in pure frustration. “You just made me lose Whamageddon! I’ve won every year for the last five years, I can’t believe you would even put this on your fucking playlist!”

Your face pulls into an incredulous grimace before you can think to control it. “Uh, I’m sorry, but I didn’t make the—”

He cuts you off. “First off, I don’t need the fucking attitude. And surely you’re at least capable of checking what songs are on there, right? That’s not too advanced for you to handle?”

You didn’t even hear Namjoon walk up from the back office, but he’s suddenly stepping in front of you, and you’re more than glad to move back and let him handle this dude before you end up in jail. “Woah, woah, alright,” Namjoon interjects, his voice loud enough to carry. “What’s going on?”

The man beats you to it. “I’m trying to file a legitimate complaint and she’s rolling her fucking eyes and getting an attitude with me!”

“It’s the song,” you explain briefly, trying to keep everything about your expression neutral. “He’s mad that we’re… playing Wham.”

Namjoon’s face twists in an expression that you would find funny if you weren’t so fucking livid, one that you’re pretty sure is the mirror image of your own reaction minutes earlier. “The song? Seriously?”

You can see the guy scrambling, clearly starting to get embarrassed at his own dramatics. “Alright, I don’t have time for this. I guess I just need to take my business elsewhere, because this is ridiculous. What ever happened to the customer is always right?”

Namjoon goes silent for a minute, and you try to ignore the way the look on his face makes your pulse quicken, thudding brightly in the hollow of your neck. His voice is deadly serious when he speaks again. “I appreciate that you’re upset, but if you’re going to look my employee in the face, after she just performed a service for you, and disrespect her like that? Over a fucking song? Nah, I’m not gonna tolerate it. Maybe the next time you want someone to make you a toothpaste drink, you should take your ass to Starbucks.”

It takes every ounce of strength you have to keep the reaction off your face until the asshole has stormed out the front door, nasty drink in hand. As the bell finally tinkles to signal his departure, you collapse forward, just barely catching yourself on the counter so you don’t crumple straight down to the floor.

“Oh my god.” Your laugh of disbelief comes out more like a groan, at the ridiculous complaint and your boss’ insanely attractive comeback alike. “I fucking hate this time of year.”

“Hey.” The word is punctuated by Namjoon’s shoulder bumping into yours, and you look back up at him, still laughing a little at your own misery. His eyes search yours, sincere. “Assholes are assholes no matter what season it is. I’m sure that guy finds plenty of things to complain about the other eleven months of the year, too. Don’t let him ruin it for you.”

You can’t help rolling your eyes, if only because you can do it freely now, without a man standing over you and yelling about your ‘bad attitude’. “I guess,” you huff. “And thank you.”

Namjoon shakes his head, like it’s nothing. “Chin up, okay?”

The two of you breeze through closing that night, familiar enough to fall into a steady routine now. You’re wiping everything down behind the counter and humming along to Tupac when Namjoon’s voice drags you back out of your thoughts in a way you’ve already grown accustomed to.

“You know…”

You glance up, only to realize that he’s started to flip chairs on top of tables to clear the floor, and is grabbing them two at a time, one in each hand. The image makes you a little dizzy, and you tell yourself to focus on his words, not his biceps.

“I think we make a pretty good team,” he concludes.

“Yeah,” you breathe, trying to keep your composure at the unexpected compliment. “I was thinking the same thing. And thanks again for, you know. Handling that guy.”

Namjoon shrugs, like it’s nothing. “Hey, you’re doing me a favor, taking this seasonal job. I’m not about to let anyone fuck with you.”

You bite down on a smile as you head towards the back to grab the mop, and then you hear a loud bang on the front door— it’s another sound you’ve gotten used to in your brief time at Indigo. There’s the click of the deadbolt, chased by the tinkling overhead bell and Namjoon’s chiding voice. “Homie, if you break my door I’m gonna make you get a job to pay me back for it.”

“You think I don’t know about child labor laws?” you hear Sol retort, clearly not intimidated, and the attitude in their voice has you biting back a laugh.

Wheeling the mop bucket out of the storage closet, you glance up to see Namjoon jut his chin toward the large front window, indicating Sol to take a seat on the ledge. “Feet off the floor, she’s tryna clean.”

Sol complies, plopping down in the window with their eyes glued to their phone as Namjoon disappears back toward the office to grab his things. You watch as Sol pulls their knees into their chest so their chunky black boots clear the tile, and you can’t help noticing that said boots are adorned with oversized silver bat-shaped buckles, reflecting the amber streetlight gleam that leaks through the window.

“I like your boots,” you say, more to yourself than Sol, half expecting them to be so engrossed in TikTok that they don’t even hear you.

But to your surprise, Sol looks up.

“Thanks,” they say, glancing at their feet. “I just got them. I’m in my post-hardcore era right now.”

The statement is delivered without a trace of irony, and you do your best to hold in another amused giggle as you respond. “Wow, you are… so much cooler than I was when I was your age.”

Sol seems to consider this for a moment, then shrugs. “I mean, you didn’t have the internet back then, right?”

The question hits you like a train, and you have to pause and press a hand over your heart at the impact. “Okay, ouch, I’m not that old.” They grimace apologetically, and you lean up against the mop handle in thought. “But the internet definitely wasn’t like it is now. The only social media that really existed was Myspace, and my parents wouldn’t let me make one. I mostly just used the internet to, like, play RuneScape.”

“Oh shit,” Sol remarks, sounding remarkably like Namjoon in the process. “You played old school?!”

It’s like you can feel your bones crumbling to dust inside your body, and you wince as you resume dragging the mop over the tile. “Hey, back then it was the only kind of RuneScape we had. But yes, you can consider me a… founding father of that game.”

“That’s cool!” they exclaim, sounding so genuine it makes your head spin. When did RuneScape become cool again? “My friends and I play old school all the time. It’s the best, for real.”

You shake your head in disbelief as you continue to mop, and a long pause settles between you, with Sol’s interest clearly returning to their phone.

Fuck, you think to yourself, what else do kids even talk about? Marvel movies? It’s like your mind has gone totally blank, unable to conjure up a single topic of conversation, and you practically huff out an audible sigh of relief when their voice breaks the silence again.

“I think my dad has been happier since you started working here.”

The mop nearly slips out of your hands entirely, and you glance up, eyes wide. “I— really?”

Sol nods, playing absentmindedly with the strings of their black hoodie, then bringing the end of one up to their mouth to gently chew on. “It’s a theory I have. A game theory. I plan to ask additional follow-up questions tonight.”

At this, you can’t help but laugh. “Well, I’m sure your investigation will be very thorough.”

There’s a flash of a dimple in Sol’s cheek, like the mirror image of their dad. “I can tell you what he says, if you want.”

You wonder how telling your own smile is. “I mean… I can’t say I’m not curious.” You’re distantly aware of the sound of the office door closing, chased by Joon whistling to himself, and you lower your voice conspiratorially as you drop the mop back into the bucket. “I look forward to hearing what you find out.”

Monday morning, when you wake up to the omnipresent smize of Nick Jonas, you can’t help smiling back. 

You made it through your first week of work, and it wasn’t even that torturous. And best of all, Namjoon reminded you the night before that Indigo is closed on Mondays, which gives you an entire day to spend as you please. A real day off, which was truly unheard of at your last job, where you’d spend your non-scheduled days still anticipating an incoming emergency text asking you to cover a shift last-minute. More often than not, you’d end up working after all.

“But not today,” you announce to Nick.

A grand plan has already started to form in your head, one that involves a party size bag of Hot Cheetos and all eight episodes of The Fabulous, and yet. There’s a lingering urge at the back of your brain that you can’t quite ignore. With all the day-off energy you can muster, you drag yourself out of bed and tug on a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt, then shuffle into the bathroom to at least make yourself halfway decent.

You’re just going for a quick walk around the block to get some fresh air, you tell yourself. That’s all. Certainly no other reason.

It’s only a few minutes after you step out your front door that a fluffy white blur nearly collides with your shins, and when you stoop down to lift Moni into your arms, you once again can’t keep the smile off your face. Huh, who could’ve seen this coming?

But when you glance up, there’s no hot buff man jogging up the sidewalk after his dog. In fact, you realize as you look back at the ball of fluff in your arms, he isn’t wearing a leash or harness at all, just another cute sweater.

“Are you even supposed to be out here?” you ask Moni. His only answer is to drag his tongue up the side of your face.

You shift him a little in your arms so you can fumble for the tag attached to his collar, and thankfully, there’s an address listed. It takes you a second to get your bearings in the neighborhood, having not lived here for close to a decade, but it eventually comes back to you where the listed street is, and you start to walk. Moni is already blinking sleepily in your arms, clearly enjoying his preferred mode of transportation.

A laugh bubbles up in your chest as you approach the house in question— even if you hadn’t had Moni’s tag to guide you, finding his home would’ve been easy enough as soon as you passed this street, because you can hear old school hip-hop bumping through a speaker despite still being several houses down the block. You suppose Namjoon can get away with it during the day, when all the neighborhood kids are still in school.

As you make your way up the driveway, you realize the music is actually coming from behind the house, and when you follow the path that leads around back, you spot the culprit: a simple wooden-slat fence surrounds the yard, and the gate has been left wide open.

Before you can even make it over the threshold, a familiar voice reaches your ears, sounding much closer than the music. “Ah, shit.”

Namjoon comes barreling through the open gate so fast he practically runs you over, and Moni yaps, like he’s annoyed at being jostled as you quickly try to stumble out of his owner’s path.

“Oh. Uh, hi.”

You wonder if you’ll ever be able to take in how shock looks on Namjoon’s features without giggling a little. Today is certainly not that day. It’s just so endearing, the way his eyes widen and his mouth pulls into a perfect o-shape.

“Hi,” you breathe out around your laughter, trying to ignore the heat that flushes into your face when his dimples appear in return. “I think I found something that belongs to you.”

With a wave of his hand and several profuse thank yous, you follow Namjoon back through the gate, and wait until he firmly shuts it behind you before letting Moni down to trot off across the yard. It’s only now that you take Namjoon in properly: he’s in a gray hoodie under a pair of denim overalls, both of which are splattered artfully with paint in a variety of colors.

“I was just in my studio,” he explains, tipping his head toward the small shed in the yard, which you quickly realize is also the source of the music that led you here. “Doin’ some art. Do you, uh… wanna see?”

“Yeah, okay,” you answer with a nod.

“Fair warning, I’m really bad at it,” he calls over his shoulder as he leads you in the open studio door, raising his voice to be heard over the music. He reaches for his phone, propped up in the windowsill, to turn the volume down a few notches.

There’s an easel up against the far wall holding what must be his current project, a half-finished scene that you realize upon closer inspection is thousands of tiny dots of color, painstakingly blotted onto the canvas to form a mountain landscape at a distance. A few more pieces that he’s already completed have been leaned up against another wall to dry, one featuring an abstract array of featherlight brushstrokes, and another where the paint’s been globbed on in thick layers.

Namjoon is talking a mile a minute as you inspect the canvases. “I thought maybe I’d do cyanotypes today, but it’s not sunny enough, and I’ve made that mistake before. I’m really into texture right now, so I’m trying out some different techniques with paint. I want to get better at pointillism, but it’s a lot harder than you’d think it would be. ‘Cause it’s just dots, right? But you have to be able to see the forest for the trees, too.”

“These are amazing,” you finally manage to murmur, and to your surprise, the compliment actually renders him silent. When you turn back over your shoulder to look at him, he’s glancing down, almost like he’s embarrassed.

“Thanks. But I just do it for fun. ‘Cause I love art.”

“I can tell,” you say, and when he looks up, you offer him a smile you hope reads as encouraging. “Did you make the art at work, too?”

He nods, still sheepish, and that answer also surprises you. You recall thinking on your first day that the paintings hung on the walls looked handmade, but it never crossed your mind that they might have been made by Namjoon’s hands. Maybe because you’ve grown so accustomed to seeing him drop and break things, you haven’t ever considered him as also capable of… creation.

And yet, here he is. Proving you wrong.

“Sorry,” Namjoon’s voice makes you refocus on him, and your brow furrows in confusion at the unexpected apology. “This is literally your one day away from me and here I am, taking up your time. Thanks again for bringing Moni back.”

“It’s okay.” You shrug. “Don’t have much going on today, honestly. I never really know what to do with myself when I’m not working. Which I’m aware is very sad.”

“Well, uh,” Namjoon starts, and when he takes a single step closer, you swear you feel something flutter in your stomach— or maybe lower. “Sol’s got a half-day today, since it’s the last day before break, so I’m picking them up in a bit. And we were gonna go on a hike, probably take Moni too. You’re welcome to join us, if you’d like?”

Your eyes widen at the invitation. “Oh. That sounds great. I mean, if you’re sure I wouldn’t be intruding?”

He shakes his head, the corner of his mouth pulling up just so. “Nah. I actually think Sol really likes you. At least, they wouldn’t stop asking questions about you at dinner last night.”

“Is that right?” You do your best to keep your expression neutral.

Namjoon drives far enough north that there’s actually snow on the ground when you climb out of his front seat. You shove your hands into the pockets of your jacket as you follow him across the gravel parking lot towards the trailhead, a few paces behind Sol and Moni.

Sol shoots an expression of pure mischief at you over their shoulder, and then immediately starts to sprint up the marked path through the woods, Moni easily keeping up.

“Bye, nerds!” you hear them call before they disappear between the trees.

“Stay on the trail!” Namjoon shouts back, sounding as dad-like as you’ve ever heard him, and you can’t help but laugh. The two of you quicken your steps slightly to not fall too far behind, tracking the set of boot and paw-prints they’ve left to mark their trail.

For a moment, it’s silent between you, save the crunching of snow underfoot. It’s nice, being out in nature like this, time spent with Namjoon where you aren’t suffering through Christmas music and ungrateful customers. Where you can just… breathe. It makes you feel a little less sorry for yourself, a little less fixated on your own miserable life.

You glance over at him as that strange seasonal melancholy starts to settle into your bones again. “Are the holidays… better? With a kid?”

Namjoon makes a face, like he’s surprised by the question. “I mean, they’re definitely different. Then again, it’s been a long time since I did the holidays without a kid— not since I was a kid myself. What do you mean by better?”

Self-consciousness washes over you, your gaze drifting down to the path beneath your feet. “I don’t know, there’s just… I can’t shake this weird feeling now that I’m back home. This time of year used to be so exciting for me when I was Sol’s age. Everything felt special. Magical. But now I’m back here, and nothing’s really changed, except me. But I just keep feeling like the magic is gone. It’s… sad.”

He nods, taking a moment before he responds, and he’s chuckling softly to himself when he finally does. “You know, it’s kinda funny. When Sol was younger I actually felt a lot of stress this time of year. I couldn’t really enjoy it, because I was too busy trying to make sure that they had the best holiday I could possibly give them. That they didn’t feel like they were getting any less, since, you know. Their mom and I aren’t together. It’s funny that you bring up the magic, because I put a lot of pressure on myself to make that magic happen. But now that they’re a little older, I don’t know, it’s different.”

“Different how?” you prompt.

A dimple deepens as he hesitates. “It’s gonna sound corny. But really, I realized that the holidays aren’t about the gifts, or the decorations, or every little thing going perfect. You can make yourself sick over that shit, and I did, but kids don’t really care about it.” He pauses, and for a second you think that might be it, but then he keeps going, eyes fixed on the towering pine trees ahead of you.

“The year I opened Indigo, I had sank so much fucking money into it that I was broke. Broke broke. I couldn’t afford a single gift, a tree, not even a turkey. Sol and I sat on the floor of my shitty apartment and ate Chapagetti and watched Friends. And I felt like the biggest fucking failure imaginable. And then you know what happened?”

“What?”

“Sol turned to me, and they said, ‘This is the best Christmas ever, because we get to hang out, just the two of us.’” He blinks a few times, like he’s trying to ward off tears, and his voice comes back slightly less steady than before. “I still don’t know if they said that because they really meant it, or if they could just tell that I needed to hear it. But either way, I thought to myself: how fucking lucky am I, to have such a great kid? Like what did I ever do to deserve them? I still feel that way.”

Namjoon shrugs, as if to shake off the emotion. “I don’t know. Maybe that’s not helpful to you, but. I just see it differently now. It’s not about the what, or the how. It’s about the who. Spending this time of year with the people you care about, and making sure they know you do. That’s the real magic.”

You realize the trail has carried you up the sloping hillside, and is now flattening out at the edge of a clearing, where you can see Moni chasing Sol through the snow, can hear their high-pitched laughter ringing out in the wide-open air.

When you turn back to Namjoon, he’s already looking at you.

“I’m sorry you don’t feel the magic right now. I didn’t either, for a long time. But it does come back, I believe that. It’ll come back for you, too.”

You blink up at him, overwhelmed by his willingness to be so honest, and by the wisdom of his words. “I— thank you,” you finally manage to say.

Namjoon doesn’t answer, just glances up to where Sol and Moni are still playing, and your gaze follows his out over the snow-covered field. Sol is dusting off a sizable stick, and they call out for Moni to fetch before launching it into a dramatic arc, high up in the air.

Moni watches it go, entirely disinterested, then settles onto his haunches in the snow with a yawn.

“You’re so bad at being a dog!” Sol shouts, and that’s enough to make you and Namjoon both dissolve into laughter. They look up at the sound, hands-on-hips, before yelling again, this time in your direction. “My dad said he has a crush on you!”

Your jaw drops open, and Namjoon’s eyes are wide as you’ve ever seen them when you look up at him.

“Damn, dude, you said you were gonna be chill about it!” he exclaims, and you press a hand to your mouth as a fresh wave of giggles overtakes you. Given how long Namjoon’s legs are, it only takes him a few strides to catch up to Sol. You stay a tentative distance behind him, but still close enough to be able to make out their conversation.

“Uncle Hobi says you need to be bolder with women,” Sol chides, matter-of-fact.

“Uncle Hobi says a lot of shit,” Namjoon mutters under his breath.

“He painted my nails,” Sol raises their voice, clearly talking more to you than to their dad, and holds up a hand for you to see, waggling their fingers proudly.

“They look great,” you call out in response.

Namjoon turns back to you as you step in closer, then juts his chin to a bench at the other side of the clearing. “Sit with me for a sec?”

With a nod, you follow him over, and he wipes the metal surface free of snow with his sleeve before gesturing for you to have a seat. For a moment, the two of you sit silently and watch Sol, who is already busying themself with building a snowperson while Moni slow-blinks encouragingly from a distance.

Namjoon’s words chase a heavy sigh. “I’m gonna be real with you, despite the fact that my child just stole my thunder. I like you a lot.”

Your heart swells in your chest, threatening to burst. “I-I like you too,” you stammer back immediately. “Have definitely been harboring my own crush… basically since I started working at Indigo.”

When you turn to look at him, it surprises you a little that he isn’t smiling. You can see a muscle working in his jaw, like he’s nervous.

“That’s the thing,” he finally relents. “Work. I don’t— I hadn’t really planned to tell you how I was feeling, or act on it. Because I’m your boss, and that means, you know. There’s a power dynamic there. And it would be… unethical of me to blur the lines like that, by getting involved with my employee. I wanted you to come out with us today because it was a chance for you and I to be equals, outside of work, but it’s not like that dynamic just goes away, you know? And I feel a little guilty about it now. Because I really like being around you so much, but I just. We can’t. It wouldn’t be right. Not while you’re working for me.”

You stare down at the snow under your boots as you take in his words, and you can’t help it. Try as you might to sit there and take his worries seriously, laughter flutters out of you before you can hold it in.

“What?” Namjoon asks, and you shake your head, trying to compose yourself.

“I really, really appreciate that you gave it so much thought,” you say, willing your voice to stay even. “I mean it.”

“It’s weighed really heavy on me, if I’m honest,” he says solemnly, and you glance over to see him staring into the middle distance, like he’s deep in contemplation.

Before you can stop yourself, you’re reaching out to where his hand rests on the bench between you and covering it with your own.

“Namjoon?” you ask softly, and it seems to snap him out of his trance enough to look back at you.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” you preface. “But if I have to choose between you and my stupid seasonal coffee shop job?” The smile starts to flicker over your face again. “Then I quit. I quit right now.”

“Oh thank god,” Namjoon breathes, and you can only make a soft noise of surprise when all at once, he takes your face in his hands and kisses you. You need a split second for the shock to wear off, and then you’re moving your mouth against his, one hand fisting tight in the fabric of his jacket. His lips are full and warm, and it feels like far too soon that he’s pulling back again, his cheeks flushed with color.

“Will you, uh—” he pauses, like he’s remembering how to form a sentence. “Will you still work tomorrow though? Jimin’s back after Christmas, but I really don’t think I can survive a shift on my own.”

“Yeah,” you murmur, still a little breathless from his kiss. “Yeah, I think you’d burn the place down.”

Unable to deny the claim, he laughs brightly as you untangle from each other, then gets to his feet before offering a hand to help you up. “We should head out, it’s gonna get dark soon.”

It’s true: across the wide clearing you can already see the sun threatening to sink back down between the trees, casting a golden-pink light that gleams off the snow and paints the world in warmth.

Sol leads the way back through the woods to the car, tugging Moni along by their leash, while you and Namjoon bring up the rear. You glance over at him a few times to catch him staring, and you scrape your teeth across your bottom lip, unable to keep the smile off your face, unable to stop yourself from mentally replaying the moment when he kissed you, over and over.

Just as you step under the shadow of a large tree, snow-covered branches stretching up toward the clear sky above you, Namjoon stops in the path. It’s so abrupt that you continue a few more paces before you even realize, and then you stop, too, glancing back towards him.

“Hey Sol,” Namjoon calls. “Think you and Moni can make it all the way back to the car in ten seconds?”

“I know what you’re doing,” comes Sol’s cheeky reply, but when Namjoon starts counting backwards from ten, you can hear the crunch of their boots taking off down the path.

“Eight, seven, six…” You watch as Namjoon cranes his neck until he deems Sol far enough out of sight, taking a step toward you as his counting trails off, and you find yourself pulled into him like a magnet. “Come here,” he murmurs, and then his hands are slipping up your waist and guiding you backwards until your back hits the trunk of the tree.

In true Namjoon fashion, he uses way more strength than is necessary for the task, and though your winter jacket cushions you from the impact, you’re smacked against the bark so hard that it knocks a dusting of snow off the branches above you, covering you both in flakes that stick to your hair and eyelashes. The sudden rush of cold makes you gasp into Namjoon’s mouth, but then he’s rolling his tongue over yours and you can’t think about anything else. A heavy pulse has started to thud between your legs at the heat of his breath in your mouth, the way his hips have you pinned to the tree, his body big enough to cover yours entirely.

“Joon,” you find the air to breathe as his lips trail hungrily down the slope of your neck. You rake a hand through his hair, white-blonde strands studded with snow, to try and pull his attention back, despite very much not wanting him to stop. “Joon, we should go. Before someone steals your kid.”

“Yeah,” he murmurs against your skin, and then his mouth is on yours again for one more kiss, like he can’t get enough. “Okay,” he finally grunts as he pulls away, sounding as begrudgingly responsible as you feel. Your head is still spinning; you want nothing more than to stay here and let him kiss you dizzy.

“Let’s go.”

He takes a step back so you can right yourself, reaching out to dust some snow off your jacket, and then the two of you resume walking up the path, sharing a breathless laugh like confidantes. You assume it’s just his standard clumsiness when Namjoon’s hand knocks into yours, but then his fingers are twining through yours purposefully, until you’re pressed palm to palm.

The rush of heat that blooms in your chest at his touch keeps you warm the rest of the way to the car.

Your last shift at Indigo somehow manages to feel exactly like every shift that’s come before it and completely new at the same time.

The work is the same, the steady stream of customers unchanged, the Christmas music still an aggravating soundtrack. But you no longer feel like you have to ignore the butterflies that flutter in your stomach when Namjoon asks you a question, or meets your gaze across the shop.

The only urges you have to suppress are indecent ones, made worse by Namjoon seemingly taking advantage of every opportunity to touch you: hip-checking you when you’re both standing at the front counter, pressing a hand to the small of your back whenever he has to squeeze behind you, leaning in a little closer than necessary to be heard over the noise of the milk steamer. It’s enough to make your breath hitch each time, and you can’t help but wonder if he feels the same relief at not having to hold back anymore.

Towards the end of the night, it surprises you when the typically consistent flow of customers starts to slow down, until it seems to have ceased entirely. You still have two hours to go, but you find yourself staring at the walls, every table empty, having done all the side work you can think of to distract yourself from boredom.

The sound of the front door’s lock clicking shut makes you glance up, only to see Namjoon flipping the open sign over.

“What are you doing?” you ask, blinking dumbfounded, and he looks over his shoulder at you with a shrug.

“It’s Christmas Eve Eve, and I’m the owner, so. We’re closing early. Effective immediately.” The decree makes you laugh a little, and his dimples wink back. “Let’s finish cleaning, I wanna show you something.”

In record time, you find yourself standing outside the front door of Indigo as Namjoon locks up, only tonight your hands are kept warm by the hot chocolates he’d made for the two of you as you closed. He takes his cup back once his hands are free, and you try a tentative sip from yours, now cool enough to drink without burning your mouth. Given what you witnessed of his barista abilities on your first day, you brace yourself for the worst, but your eyes widen in pleasant surprise when the liquid hits your tongue.

“Being a dad means getting really good at a few specific things,” he says by way of explanation as he unlocks his car doors, and you smile as you slip into the passenger seat.

It occurs to you as Namjoon starts to drive that you don’t actually know where he’s taking you, but when you open your mouth to ask at the next red light, he leans over you to fumble open the glovebox and you lose your train of thought. He fishes inside for a few seconds before retrieving a CD case, then makes quick work of prying it open and sliding the disc into the slot on the dash. You attempt to hide your giggle behind the rim of your cup.

“No wonder you like ‘90s music so much. You’re still living there,” you say, nodding to his antiquated stereo, and he smirks as he turns up the volume. 

“This is A Tribe Called Quest,” he remarks, quirking an eyebrow when he looks back at you. “You better show some respect.”

“Yes, sir,” you tease in response, and you don’t miss the color that flushes his cheeks.

The light turns green and he accelerates through the intersection, one hand on the steering wheel, the other reaching across the center console to grip playfully at your leg, a few inches above your knee. You can see his tongue pressed to the inside of his cheek, like he’s considering saying something, but when he finally opens his mouth, it’s just to rap along to the music.

It’s only a few songs later that he’s turning off the main road and following a barely-lit gravel path up to a large grassy parking lot, where he pulls into a space and kills the engine. You squint through the windshield, tucking your now-empty drink into the cupholder, but you can’t make out much except dusk and some vague lights over a hill in the distance.

“Was this crush thing just a ploy to murder me?” you quip, and Namjoon looks a little nervous when you glance over, like he took the question to heart. “I’m kidding,” you clarify quickly.

His voice comes out surprisingly soft. “This is one of my favorite things to do during the holidays. Thought it might help with, you know. The magic.”

Something cracks open inside you as you look back at him. “That’s… really sweet.”

“Ah,” he says, as if to dismiss the compliment. “You haven’t seen it yet. Maybe you’ll hate it. Come on.”

The two of you climb out of his car to start your trek to whatever he has in store, heading in the direction of the lights, and Namjoon’s hand slips into yours, like it’s already second nature. Easy and sweet. You grip tight to him, the night air colder now than it was when you left work, but then you finally crest over the hill, and the temperature is suddenly the furthest thing from your mind.

It takes you a moment to even understand what you’re looking at. The place is clearly some kind of arboretum, as the path ahead of you snakes through a perfectly manicured garden of various plants, but the only thing you can focus on are the lights. Every tree, bush, shrub, and other kind of greenery that lines the walkway has been intricately strung up with lights, each one boasting a different hue. The end result is nothing short of dazzling— a veritable rainbow of light and life and color, glittering diamond-bright against the deep-set night around you.

“Namjoon,” you breathe. “This is beautiful.”

There’s a dimple flickering at the corner of his mouth when you look up at him. “Thought you might like it.”

“I can’t believe I never knew this was here,” you remark, your eyes wide and blinking as you try to take it all in.

“Hey,” he answers with a shrug. “Maybe your hometown still has a few good surprises left in it.” You exhale a laugh as you lean into his side and he squeezes your joined hands; you can’t help feeling like you’ve already found the greatest surprise of them all.

After an hour spent wandering through the displays, each one more breathtaking than the last, Namjoon diverts you toward a small food stand. He comes away from the counter with a paper carton filled to the brim with long ropes of twisted, fried dough, warm enough to release steam into the air when you tear one apart to share, and dusted with cinnamon sugar that sticks to your fingertips.

The two of you take a few steps back down the path until you’re under an archway of glowing golden lights, then eventually come to a standstill, too hungry to do anything except devour your food.

Namjoon speaks first, mid-chew. “Can I ask you a question?”

“What’s up?” you answer as you reach for another piece.

He swallows, swiping the back of his hand over his mouth before he continues. “At your interview, you said your life fell apart. What happened?”

“Oh.” You smirk as you rip the braided dough in two, then in two again, before popping it into your mouth. “It seems a little silly now, but. I got fired from that last job, like I told you. And the same day, my roommate pretty much kicked me out of the apartment, because he wanted his boyfriend to move in. He was also my best friend, so. It stung a little. A lot. Moving back in with your parents at this age is humbling, to say the least. Feels a lot like starting over.”

Namjoon hums, like he understands. “I’m sorry about your friend.”

“Eh,” you respond noncommittally. “I should probably be happy for him. The timing just… wasn’t amazing.”

“You know,” he murmurs, thoughtful. “I thought my life was over when my ex and I got pregnant. Not even eighteen and about to be a dad. I really felt like… I don’t know, like that was it for me.” You nod slowly, unable to even fathom what that must’ve been like.

“But, here I am. Still alive.” Namjoon flashes you a grin, and you find yourself smiling back. “Still figuring it out. I actually feel like I’ve learned a lot from watching Sol grow up. They’re like—” He shakes his head, as if at a momentary loss for words. “They’re like a different person every month, I swear. What they’re into, how they dress. Who they wanna be. It makes me feel, I don’t know. Like it’s okay. Like I can change too.” He shrugs. “That’s the thing about life. It’s long. And even when you feel like it’s ended… it keeps going anyway.”

His words wash over you, and you’re so in awe that you can’t help but laugh.

“Ah, sorry.” He grimaces, suddenly self-conscious. “I know that was corny.”

“No, no,” you interject, trying to keep your composure. “I just think you are like, literally the wisest person I’ve ever met.”

The lights glimmering overhead aren’t enough to hide the way Namjoon blushes at the compliment, and then he pauses, as if recalling something. “Didn’t I nearly run the blender with the lid off on your first day?”

You double-over at the memory, and he’s laughing now, too. “Okay, okay. Fair point.” 

The thought keeps circling around in your brain as you dust cinnamon sugar from each other’s jackets and continue your way around the rest of the gardens, occasionally pausing to trade sticky-sweet kisses in the twinkling glow: you don’t want the night to end. You keep glancing over at Namjoon, wondering if he’s feeling the same way as he drives you back into town, the heat in his car on full blast, the CD player still underscoring your conversation.

“So, what do your Christmas plans look like?” he asks, eyes flitting briefly from the road to meet your gaze.

You fiddle with a button on your coat, wishing you had a less depressing answer. “I was just gonna spend it by myself. My parents already had a vacation in Hawaii planned, so I’m gonna do what I always do: hole up with booze and snacks and wait for it all to be over.”

He chuckles, tapping his fingertips absentmindedly against the steering wheel. “Well, I have about a hundred presents to wrap tomorrow night while Sol’s at their mom’s. Why don’t you come over and help? I can even provide the booze.” There’s a pause, and his voice comes back softer before you can respond. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

The corner of your mouth tugs up at his sincerity, the way he gently cares for you, has since day one. “Yeah, okay. I mean, you had me at free alcohol.”

Just like that, Namjoon is already turning back into the Indigo parking lot, where your car sits waiting for you. The two of you shrug off your seatbelts once he’s pulled into a space and parked, and he reaches to turn down the music before shifting in his seat to get a better look at you.

“So,” he starts, clearing his throat a little. “You are officially no longer my employee.”

“And you are no longer my boss,” you answer back, and a thrill buzzes in your chest at the statement.

“Which means,” he continues, doing his best to lean over the center console, “I can do this.” He barely finishes getting the words out before his mouth is on yours, your eyes fluttering closed, his kisses far less chaste than the ones you shared earlier. They’re open-mouthed and urgent this time, with Namjoon slipping his tongue into the heat of your mouth like he’s been waiting all night for it.

“Uh-huh,” you murmur between kisses, and then he dips his head lower, until his lips find the join of your neck and shoulder.

“And this,” he purrs before kissing you just as hungrily there, tongue-first. You can’t hold back the soft noise his mouth pulls out of you.

“Fuck,” you breathe as he sucks gently over the same spot, with just enough pressure to make you writhe in your seat. A shiver rolls up your spine when he hums against your skin, clearly pleased at your reaction.

“And, uh…” You slowly blink your eyes open when you feel the warmth of his breath dissipate, and he’s looking at you with his brow furrowed, as if attempting some difficult mental math. “Actually—” He reaches down for the lever to adjust his seat, and it drops all the way back with a graceless thud that makes a laugh flutter out of you. “Maybe you could take your jacket off and come over here?”

You don’t need him to ask you twice, and you’re moving quickly as you peel out of the thick material and scramble across the console to straddle him. You both groan a little when you duck down to press your mouth to his again, all of this suddenly feeling much more real now that you’re basically horizontal. His hands alight on your hips, tentative, like he isn’t quite sure what to do with them, and you smile against his lips.

“Touch me, Joon,” you instruct, and he does as he’s told.

His hands are warm as he slips them beneath the hem of your shirt, trailing over your skin until he reaches the band of your bra. When you hum encouragingly into his mouth, he keeps going, pushing the fabric up your chest so your tits spill free from their confinement. He cups one in each hand, and though you might’ve expected him to be clumsy or rough, given everything you’ve seen of him thus far, you’re surprised to instead find that he’s gentle, thumbs circling your nipples with just the right amount of pressure to tighten them into stiff peaks.

Unable to bite back your whimper at the heat that blossoms through you at his touch, at how much more of him you need, you pull away just enough to break your kiss, glancing up through the back window of his car to confirm the parking lot is still empty.

Namjoon groans low in his throat when you reach down to tug up the hem of your shirt, shifting a little on top of him to give him better access. He doesn’t hesitate, thumb still working at one nipple while he takes the other into his mouth, and your sigh of relief comes edged with a soft moan when he swirls his tongue over the bud of your breast.

“Shit,” you gasp. “Feels so fucking good.”

He pulls off with a wet pop to switch sides, and the slick heat of his mouth sends bolt after bolt of arousal through you until there’s a dull ache of need thudding between your legs. As you roll your hips in desperate search of friction, you can feel him beneath you, straining hard against the fabric of his jeans.

Namjoon pulls his mouth off your breast, letting out a hoarse laugh when you shift to drop your forehead against his collarbone with a groan, horny enough to practically be delirious. “I hate that I’m even saying this,” he rasps, “but I really can’t have sex in a car. I’m too—”

“Big?” you offer, and there’s a smile on his lips as he presses a kiss to your temple.

“I was going to say old.”

You can’t help giggling as you lean up to find his mouth with yours again. Namjoon kisses you a little while longer, lazily, his hands still kneading gently at your tits, until he finally tips his head back, heaving a sigh up to the roof of his car. “Okay, okay. You should go.” His tone is reluctant, like it’s the last thing he wants. “It’s late. And my jeans fucking hurt.”

There’s a self-satisfied smirk toying at your mouth as you sit up, tugging your bra and shirt back into place and not missing the bulge in Namjoon’s pants where your hips meet his. “I will take the blame for that one.”

He folds his hands behind his head, biceps and dimples on full display. “Damn straight.”

You lean down for one more kiss, letting it linger before you make your way back over the center console to retrieve your jacket. “Have a good night, Joon,” you murmur as you reach for the door handle, and when you glance back, his eyes are fixed on you, still heavy-lidded with lust.

“Get home safe. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I have booze, as promised.” Namjoon’s voice echoes in from the kitchen as you kick off your boots and hang your coat up at his front door come Christmas Eve. The aroma hits your nose as your socked feet pad down the hall to follow him: the spice of cinnamon and clove, paired with a hint of citrus. It smells like the holidays, like home.

“Mulled wine?” you wager a guess, and he nods, turning away from the stove to retrieve two mugs from a cabinet.

“I halved the recipe, since it’s just us,” he explains, mouth pulling down at the corners as he starts to ladle out servings from the pot full of deep red liquid. “Still made a lot, though.”

Your eyes drift across the kitchen until they land on the two empty bottles of red sitting next to the sink, and that makes you pause for a moment to consider. “So the original recipe called for four bottles?”

Namjoon’s brow is furrowed when he glances up, and then he follows your gaze, and a look of delayed understanding washes over him. “Oh, fuck.”

Your elbows dig into the kitchen island as you press your hands to your mouth, as if to physically hold in your laughter. “Did you… halve everything in the recipe except the wine?”

His eyes drop closed as he nods, his answer a resigned sigh. “Yeah. Yes, I did.”

You can’t help yourself: all at once, you’re circling around to join Namjoon behind the stove, so you can take his face in your hands and pull his mouth down to yours. He makes a soft noise of surprise, but then his lips fall into rhythm, kissing you hard enough to knock the air out of your lungs. Even through the fabric of your shirt, his large hands are warm when they slide over the small of your back, and then they keep going, until you finally break the kiss with another laugh when he reaches his final target and outright grabs your ass.

“Not the reaction I anticipated,” Namjoon admits, paired with a teasing squeeze. “But I’ll take it.”

You look up at him through your lashes, pressing your palms flat to the firm plane of his chest. “A very wise friend of mine once told me that the holidays aren’t about every little thing going perfect. I thought maybe you needed a reminder.”

His dimples deepen as his eyes search yours, and his voice is lower in his throat when he responds. “I think that fool was just sayin’ words because a pretty girl asked him a question.”

Heat flushes your face as you smile back. “Well, they were very good words.” You drop your gaze to the pot on the stove. “Come on, I bet we can salvage this.”

Determined to save Christmas, you throw in another handful of spices, chased with a few glugs from a bottle of orange juice Namjoon heroically digs out of the back of the fridge. After a few more minutes of simmering, you take a tentative sip of the mixture to find it perfectly adequate.

“I guess we just have to drink twice as much now,” Namjoon quips, filling up two fresh mugs with the remedied wine. You raise an eyebrow back at him, as if to accept the challenge, while you tap your drinks together in a cheers.

By the time you realize that a double-batch of mulled wine and gift-wrapping don’t exactly go together, it’s already too late. The booze makes Namjoon’s big hands go even clumsier, the few presents he attempts an absolute disaster, and you can’t stop laughing long enough to be of any help. At one point he reaches up to cup your jaw for a kiss, but completely misjudges the distance, deftly knocking into his half-drunk mug and spilling the contents all over a tube of wrapping paper and the crotch of your jeans.

You dissolve into giggles until you can scarcely breathe, scooting your chair a few inches back from the table as he jumps up to grab something to soak up the mess. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” you manage to gasp when he returns, immediately focused on cleaning you up first. You wave him away as you get to your feet. “Seriously, it’s not that bad, it’s mostly the table.”

“Jesus,” Namjoon groans as he drops the kitchen towels in his hands onto the wooden surface, doing his best to soak up the puddle, though there’s no saving the ruined gift-wrap.

“It’s not a big deal,” you murmur as he turns back, once again examining the extent of the damage done to your clothes. A shiver rolls through you as his thumb brushes over the waistband of your jeans, and he grimaces a little.

“This is probably gonna stain.”

“I mean…” Your pulse starts to quicken as his fingertips linger where they are, and Namjoon’s gaze flits up to meet yours when you speak, clearly hearing a shift in your tone of voice. “I could just… take them off.”

A smile teases at the corner of your mouth when his eyes widen. “Yeah,” he breathes, then seems to self-correct. “I mean, uh. If-if that’s something you would feel comfortable doing.”

You’re already reaching to undo the button, and then Namjoon takes over to tug open the zipper and push the fabric down your legs, and your nipples tighten beneath your bra at the reminder of how gentle his large hands can be. His lips find yours again and you don’t hesitate to lick into his mouth, jostling slightly as you try to make out with him and kick your pants the rest of the way off at the same time. It’s graceless, but you manage to make it work, and then he pulls away from you to glance back down.

“It looks like a little got on your shirt, too.”

He’s right, you realize: there are faint purple marks splattered just above the hem of your long-sleeve, and you smirk as you look up at him.

“If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you did this on purpose,” you tease, and then in one swift move you pull your shirt over your head, letting it drop to the kitchen floor next to your discarded jeans.

Namjoon’s hands are instantly on your bare skin, trailing heat as they trace the curve from your hip to your waist, and your breath hitches as he ducks down to brush his lips over your collarbone. The low tone of his voice reverberates through you when he speaks against your skin. “I like to think I could’ve gotten you naked tonight even without being an accident-prone idiot.”

You run a hand along the line of his jaw, tipping his head up to seek a kiss, before leaning back to murmur, “I guess we’ll never know.”

He kisses you again, and the two of you stumble across the threshold into the living room, pausing along the way to peel off his sweater and then his jeans, laughing into each other’s mouths, just drunk enough to lack any semblance of coordination you might have otherwise had.

When you drop down to lay back on his sofa, you’re both stripped to your underwear, and you can feel the thick bulge of him, pressing firm-heavy heat into your thigh as he settles his hips between your spread legs.

Namjoon’s eyes roam over your body beneath him, and then he’s tugging the lace of your panties to the side to slip a finger into your drenched center, beckoning it up to rub you just right. Your mouth drops open as he traces slow circles against your front wall, and when he adds a second digit, you can’t help but whimper softly at the stretch. It thrums through you like your lingering red wine buzz, hot and thick and good enough to get lost in, your head dropping back on the couch cushions as your hips rock up into his touch.

“Goddamn,” Namjoon groans, and your eyes flutter open again to take him in, his gaze heavy-lidded as he watches his fingers disappear up into you, coaxing slick sounds out with each pump of his hand. “I had a whole plan,” he rasps. “To take my time. But, fuck, I really want to fuck you.”

“It’s okay, Joon,” you breathe, not sure how much longer you could stand the torturous feeling of his clothed cock grinding into your thigh, so close to where you want him. An ache throbs in your cunt, needy, plugged up with two fingers but still begging for more. “Just fuck me.”

Realization flashes over his face, and then he suddenly heaves a sigh, looking defeated. You have to bite back a noise at the loss as he withdraws his fingers. “I— there’s an obvious joke here, but. I don’t have any condoms. Or if I do, they’re definitely expired.”

It takes you a second to process the revelation, and then you reach up to pull him down to you, smiling when he hums surprise into your mouth at the unexpected response. Your lips linger on his, and then you tip your head to press a kiss to the slope of his neck, not quite able to maintain eye contact as you murmur, “I mean. I’m on the pill, and I’m clean. So.”

“Yeah?” he replies, and your nose bumps against his shoulder as you nod. “Me too. Well, I-I’m clean, I mean. I’m not on the pill.”

You can’t help the giggle that slips out as you look up at him. “Right, no, I get it.”

“Sorry,” Namjoon huffs a laugh in return, his face flushing a little. “I talk a lot, when I’m nervous.”

“I just thought it was an all-the-time thing,” you admit, and the color in his cheeks deepens.

“I’m just always nervous around you.”

Your mouth seeks his out for a kiss sweeter than the last, slower for his shy honesty and the hummingbird thrum of your heartbeat behind your ribs. The heat of his breath ghosts over your lips when you tip back to answer, “You don’t have to be.”

“So, you’re okay?” he asks, almost reverent with his question. “If we—if I don’t—”

“Please,” you insist, and it’s all the encouragement he needs.

With remarkably little fumbling, he drags the lace of your panties down your legs, letting you kick them the rest of the way off while he moves up to unclasp your bra. You slip the straps off your shoulders and drop it over the edge of the couch, then watch as he shifts to strip out of his boxers, freeing his cock with enough force that it smacks against his abdomen with a hefty thud.

You swallow hard as you take him in: long and thick, flushed dark. Big, and fuck, you want all of him; you can feel how drenched you already are between your legs at the thought of all that cock filling you up.

When you tear your gaze away to meet his, Namjoon is staring at you just as hungrily, and he brings a hand to pump himself a few times, to coat his shaft in the wetness that’s started to drool from the head of his dick.

“Come here,” he grunts, his voice rough-edged, and you waste no time straddling yourself over his hips.

Given his considerable size, you figured it might take you a second to adjust, but you want him so bad, the feeling of his cock stretching you open is all white-hot pleasure. Your fingertips dig into his shoulders as you slowly lower yourself down on him, inch by overwhelming inch, until your ass is flush with thighs.

Namjoon’s head drops back against the couch as you slowly grind your hips into him, his hands gripping at your waist to guide the movement. You can’t help the soft sound that flutters out of you: he just looks so good like this, white-blonde hair swept off his forehead, beads of sweat trailing down his temples and glistening at his collarbones, his parted lips full and kiss-bitten.

“Baby,” he groans as you start to move a little more intentionally. “Fuck, I’m not gonna last long. Tell me what to do.”

“Touch me,” you breathe, and you close a hand over one of his, guiding him down to your clit. 

Just like the night before in his car, his touch is so gentle when he begins to trace circles into the sensitive nub with his thumb. You can feel the slow-hum build of an orgasm in your core, drawn up by the steady rub of his hand, and you lean back to allow him better access, bracing yourself on his thighs as you rock along his length.

A moan rips through you as the new angle drags the head of his dick just right against your front wall, and it’s good enough to make your eyes roll back. Chasing the feeling, you shove your hips down harder, driving his cock into that spot over and over until your thighs have started to tremble.

“That’s it,” Namjoon grunts encouragingly, his voice husky. “Use me, baby. Look so good when you bounce on my cock like that.”

The words set every last one of your nerve endings alight, and you dig your nails into his skin as your spine arches from the pleasure. His thumb is still working steadily at your clit, and the heavy stretch of his cock has you so wet, you can feel arousal starting to leak down your thighs. Your pussy clings to him like a vice, a throbbing-tight heat, taking him to the hilt every time.

“Oh my god, Joon,” you groan, “I’m gonna come.”

His touch doesn’t let up, and you can feel yourself teetering right on the precipice of it, only able to manage little gasps as you drop yourself down onto his cock again and again and again, with enough force that there’s an audible sound of your skin slapping against his.

Your legs are outright shaking from the effort now, from how close you are, and then Namjoon ducks his head, using his free hand to guide your tit into his mouth. The swirl of his tongue laved across the tight bud of your nipple is just what you need to push you over the edge.

With a moan that’s more like a sob, you drop forward against Namjoon’s chest, sinking all the way down to bury him in your pulsing cunt as you come. He continues to rub you through the waves of your orgasm, breathing ragged in your ear while your pussy gushes around him, until you grab his wrist with a soft whimper of overstimulation, and he relents.

Too gone to get any words out, all you can do is take his face in your hands and kiss him. He rolls his tongue over yours, decadent, as his palms slip down to cup your ass. You groan a little into his mouth when he begins to shift you, your cunt still fluttering-sensitive at every little motion, but he manages to maneuver you onto your back while still keeping himself sheathed in you.

His hands move to your thighs, encouraging your legs to hook over his hips, and his mouth trails kisses down the valley between your breasts before he breathes against your skin, “Can I keep going?”

“Please,” you murmur, and it’s chased with a moan when he starts to rock his hips into you. You feel so full, so swollen from your climax that it’s like your walls were molded to take him, the crown of his cock stroking deep-deep over the place that lights you up inside, shooting sparks of pleasure all the way down to your toes.

Namjoon’s breath stutters on a laugh. “Shit, I’m already close.”

You tilt up to brush your lips against his, humming encouragingly into his mouth, and then he pulls back again, one dimple teasing at the corner of his smile. “God, I— wanna hear you say it.”

Somehow, you know exactly what he means. “Come in me, Joon,” you beg, fucked so good that you’re shameless for it, and you gasp when he bottoms out in you with his next thrust. “Fill me up. Fuck me full of your cum, baby, please.”

It’s like the words send him into overdrive, and he practically growls as he starts to fuck his cock into you forcefully, hard enough to make your tits bounce. Each snap of his hips punches a heady groan from your lungs, and you reach up to drag your nails across the skin of his back as he chases his own end.

“Gonna fucking— give it to you,” he hisses, rolling his hips one, two, three more times, and then you feel his cock twitching, shoved in as deep as you can take him. He heaves a final strangled groan as he comes, rope after rope of his release pumping into you to paint your walls, until you can feel it beginning to spill back down your thighs.

You kiss through the comedown, inhaling shaky breaths into each other’s mouths, your bodies still fitted together like puzzle pieces, sweat starting to cool in the places where skin is pressed to skin. Namjoon finally moves first, giving a grunt of effort as he rolls off the couch, and you throw an arm over your face while the world slowly settles into focus around you.

When he returns, it’s with a towel in hand, and you can’t help smiling as he cleans you up, trailing soft kisses along your collarbone in tandem.

His voice is soft, too, when he finally speaks. “Will you stay here tonight?”

You prop yourself up on your forearms to look at him, and a little glimmer of something lights up in your chest that you can’t ignore. The first spark of an ember, just enough to reignite a flame you’d long since believed to be entirely extinguished. But now he’s shown you: it doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to be alone.

“Of course. We still have presents to wrap,” you say simply, and he huffs a laugh as he leans in to press a kiss to your forehead.

“Joon?” you murmur into the crook of his neck, unable to keep your voice entirely steady.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you,” you breathe. “For the magic.”

[trivialovehandles]

Omg Pls can you do an either taekook/ jikook squashing

Where Jungkook is gaining weight fast after eating something and suddenly he’s squashing his bf

ngl squashing is a lower-tier kink for me so this is maybe more focused on the rapid wg aspect but? so fun to write (ao3 link! i will be putting all request fics here as well)

Jimin’s learned throughout the years that Jungkook coming home looking sheepish and excited is either a very good thing (see: the day he came home with a puppy who is now no longer a puppy and is currently napping next to the refrigerator) or a very bad thing (see: the day he came home with a bunch of stuff to do stick-and-poke tattoos and now they each have the Hangul for each other’s names on their left ass cheeks forever).

When he breezes through their apartment door today, he’s clearly trying to hide it, but Jimin’s known him long enough to see the telltale signs: his teeth clamped on his lower lip, the excited way he covers his ears with his hands, and the way he keeps spacing out, like he’s thinking of something else.

Jimin doesn’t push for now, too busy finishing their dinner, but he’s sure by the time they’re done eating that Jungkook won’t be able to keep holding it back anyway. Instead, he accepts the kiss Jungkook gives him on his way to change out of his work clothes and pinches his hip affectionately as he leaves.

And he’s right: Jungkook’s only halfway through his first serving of bibimbap when he can’t take it anymore.

“So I found something today,” he says with a mouthful of meat and rice, like the thought couldn’t wait until he swallowed.

Jimin places his chopsticks gently back down so he can give his clearly excited boyfriend his undivided attention. “Oh?”

Jungkook doesn’t stop eating as he talks. “At the pharmacy, when I was getting those blister pads for you—”

Not a very appetizing moment to be reminded of the blisters from his new pointe shoes, but Jimin nods anyway.

“I saw”—Jungkook starts to dig through the oversized pockets of his cargo pants, rattling beneath the table—“these supplements.”

What he pulls out is a small bottle that can’t be holding more than four or five pills. The label has bold writing, terrible graphic design honestly, but Jimin squints across the table and sees GAIN WEIGHT FASTER written beneath the brand name and raises a curious brow.

For the couple of months they’ve been experimenting with Jungkook’s burgeoning weight gain kink and Jimin’s growing love for seeing, well… his love growing, progress has been slow-going. Jungkook laments his current skinny-fat phase near-daily; he wants to be big already, not having to settle for taking it one measly kilo at a time, and there’s only so much Jimin can do to help his boyfriend get extra calories, short of inedibly drowning their food in oil.

Truthfully, Jimin thinks Jungkook looks cute at his current weight, soft and pudgy and barely erring on the side of plump, just bigger enough for it to be a bit noticeable when he’s fully clothed, but he’s also a firm supporter of his boyfriend’s happiness and would never begrudge having more Jungkook, so he plays along. He’s heard of these dubiously legal supplements that claim to make your appetite grow, your metabolism slow down, and the resulting weight flow to more desirable places. He’s fallen down that particular Instagram rabbit hole before—he doesn’t blame Jungkook for wanting to give it a try at least. And hey, good on him for grabbing what seems to be a trial size first. Sound financial decisions look good on a boyfriend.

Jimin leans back in his seat, picking up his chopsticks again. “So it’s like an appetite stimulant? A ‘take it and hope it makes you hungrier and fatter’ kind of thing?”

Jungkook twists the bottle between his fingers, squinting at the small label. “Not exactly. I grabbed it because… well, it made the results seem kind of… instant? Quicker, at the very least?”

He slides the bottle across the table so Jimin can read the label in full. No real drug facts, no specified ingredients, just the promise of quick weight gain, some brief directions, and a generic warning about abusing medication. Rattling in his hands, there really are only a handful of pills inside the glass, which is more like the size of a bottle of facial serum than any supplement Jimin’s ever seen before.

Jungkook fidgets in his seat, radiating nervous excitement. “They only sold them in these tiny bottles, and… I don’t know, I probably just got scammed, but that made it seem more legitimate to me, you know? Like I wouldn’t need to keep taking them all the time?”

Sliding the bottle back, Jimin asks, “Did you ask the pharmacist about them?”

Jungkook shakes his head with a laugh. “I did self-checkout. I wasn’t about to ask someone with a PhD if a sketchy pill was gonna make me fat.”

Jimin can’t help the small snort he lets out as he finishes the end of his dinner. That’s just like Jungkook: impulsive, determined, almost single-minded in his dedication to gain.

 --

 After dinner finds them in a familiar position: Jimin comfortable on the couch, Jungkook planted over his lap, the two of them kissing feverishly. Jungkook’s foregone his flannel shirt, shrugging it off before he sat down and now in just his cargos and the t-shirt he’d had beneath that’s well on its way to too small. Meaning that it is too small, but Jungkook insists it still works as an undershirt. Where the t-shirt had been form-fitting before, it now clings to the round distension that is Jungkook’s stomach, sliding up to offer glimpses of his pudgier hips and belly whenever he so much as slightly lifts his arms. He’s not as small as he complains he is, but Jimin’s not about to stop him from letting himself get bigger.

Which must be on Jungkook’s mind too, because as he pulls back from a kiss, the bottle he’d put back into one of his pants’ many, many pockets rattles. He grabs it with one hand, the other keeping Jimin’s in place beneath the stretched hem of his t-shirt, fingers dug into pudge.

“Do you think I should?” Jungkook asks, eyes wide. “It says to take one tablet within an hour of a meal. It’s been… what, 45 minutes?”

Jimin tilts his head, mostly listening while also appreciating the spillage of flesh between his fingers when he squeezes Jungkook’s hips in reply. “Wouldn’t hurt,” he says, pauses, and amends, “Well, might hurt, but we’ll see.”

Jungkook uncaps the bottle, and nothing happens: no hiss of smoke, no immediate waft of poison. He upends a single pill into his hand and looks long and hard at it. It’s just a plain white tablet, indistinguishable from the various painkillers and supplements in their medicine cabinet. He stares at it for a long moment, shrugs, and pops it into his mouth, washing it down with the last sips of his can of Coke from dinner.

And nothing happens. Jimin would know if it did, hands planted firmly on the belly that would be stretching further outward if these pills worked as instantly as Jungkook had hoped, but there’s no budge except for the contraction of muscles when Jungkook swallows his soda. He stares downward, poking himself in the stomach so his fingertip sinks into soft fat, and his shoulders slump.

“I don’t know why I thought it would be instant,” Jungkook grumbles.

Jimin shrugs, moving one hand from his boyfriend’s still-just-pudgy body to card through his curls. “It’s the ‘go big or go home’ in you,” he says, letting his fingers cup a chubby cheek, guiding their faces back together. “Come on, relax. We’ll wait it out, see if anything happens.”

They kiss again, slower. Jimin lets his fingertips keep mapping out the cushioned planes of Jungkook’s body, slipping under his t-shirt and lightly beneath his snug waistband. Jungkook’s skin feels warm to the touch, more than usual, and he keeps squirming, differently to the way he usually does when he’s getting worked up.

“You okay, Jungkookie?” Jimin asks against his heated cheek.

“M’just—ngh—really warm,” Jungkook grumbles, stretching his back this way and that so his belly bucks Jimin’s chest. “Feel kinda bloated.”

Jimin doesn’t notice at first that when Jungkook tugs his t-shirt back down, it doesn’t quite go all the way—he just slides his perpetually cold hands up the back of it, letting them chill the overwarm skin across Jungkook’s spine, pulling him in closer and closer. He doesn’t really notice, either, that the pressure on his thighs is growing stronger, just blindly assuming that Jungkook’s finally relaxed so more of his weight rests on Jimin than on his own legs.

Jimin doesn’t notice anything until Jungkook makes a small grunt above him at the same time his hands start struggling to meet around his middle.

“Hyung,” Jungkook says, awed, a little pained. “Hyung, I think it’s—”

He doesn’t finish his thought, interrupted by a low whine that escapes his lips seemingly of its own volition. His belly juts forward, crowding his lap, pushing into Jimin’s torso, thick and heavy and so warm, so unnaturally warm that this can’t be anything but—

“It’s working,” Jimin finishes for him. “Holy shit.”

“Holy shit is right,” Jungkook gasps as his already too-small shirt continues to slide up his expanding gut, seams straining as his body starts spilling—really spilling, his once-perkily taut stomach now beginning to sag onto his thighs with doughy fat—out of it. He squirms as if pinned down by the constant motion of his body growing outward, trying to scoot his hips backward but instead accidentally grinding down where Jimin’s dick is taking clear interest. “Hyung, hyung, help me get off you, you’re gonna get crushed.”

Jimin does no such thing. He stays put, hands on Jungkook’s ballooning waistline now that it’s all he can really reach without his arms being forced apart by the growth, and moves his hands in slow, deep ministrations. It seems to make Jungkook relax, panic easing as it really hits him what’s happening.

“Hyung, I’m… I’m getting so fucking fat. Look how I keep growing, keep swelling, keep getting fatter. Am I heavy? I bet I’m so fucking heavy on you.”

It’s punctuated with a low creak, the elastic waist of Jungkook’s cargo pants stretched to its limits until finally, the plastic button just barely holding them shut breaks free, careening across the room to clatter against the wood floor somewhere between the living area and the kitchen. Unbidden, the mass of his gut flows through the open V left in the button’s wake, no longer held back by rigid fabric, free to rest on his legs that have blown up to the point of his pants—baggy before—fitting like sausage casings.

And he is heavy—is, quote, so fucking heavy. By the time the stretch and swell of him slows to a halt, Jungkook has to be twice the size he was when he sat down. His shirt that hugged his chubby stomach now barely passes beneath his chest, filled out like a crop top, the seams at the sleeves strained and splitting from Jungkook’s arms that had previously still held some tone and definition now gone flabby. Between his thick arms and his chest grown into plump, protruding tits, his arms don’t lower the way they used to—not like it matters with how Jungkook’s hands map his own body, picking up the upper roll his now double belly and sliding his fat, dimpled hands into the crevice it makes between itself and his lower belly. A lower belly that hangs so far out of his pants that it’s flowing between stocky thighs and pinning Jimin right to the back of the couch.

Not that Jimin’s complaining. He was the one who didn’t budge when Jungkook tried to climb off of him a couple of minutes probably 45 kilograms ago. The weight of him is heavy and grounding and, shit, arousing. He’s been mostly into Jungkook’s weight gain kink in that he probably has a Jungkook kink, attracted to him at all times and all sizes, but a double-sized Jungkook pinning him to the couch… it’s doing a lot for him. He wonders if Jungkook can even feel how Jimin’s rock-hard against his blubbery overhang or if there’s just too much padding in the way.

“Jungkook-ah.” Jimin tugs at one of the many rolls of Jungkook’s stomach—because there are rolls big enough to tug with his whole hand now, to pull him closer. “Baby, lean forward.”

Jungkook, hazy-eyed, seemingly entranced into a fog by his body grown so fat so quickly, blinks heavily a few times. “What do you mean?”

“Lean forward,” Jimin repeats, pulling him in closer. The heavy thighs caging him in and the massive gut pinning his lower half to the back of the couch don’t feel like enough. He needs Jungkook all over him.

Jungkook gets it this time. Hesitantly, checking Jimin’s face beforehand and going gloriously red when Jimin nods and keeps guiding him forward, he leans his upper half against Jimin’s, holding him down further into the couch cushions. In his lap like this, Jimin’s face-height with Jungkook’s chest, his rucked-up t-shirt that pushes up even further with his movements, revealing his chest, fat tits that Jimin buries his face between, biting at the skin, swirling his tongue around a hardened nipple just to hear Jungkook groan in that pained ecstasy that means he’s really into it.

It’s not the easiest to breathe with what’s probably nearly three times his own weight pushing his body down, but it’s easy enough for Jimin to still get worked up, grinding up as much as he can despite the pressure, despite the mass that is now Jungkook jiggling and quivering on top of him. He didn’t start putting in more weightlifting and core-building time when Jungkook decided to get fat for nothing.

By the time Jimin’s seeing white, Jungkook’s emerging from his horny haze too, eyes clearer and more mischievous as he leans back, letting Jimin breathe again. Very deliberately, he’s lifting his gut, dropping it back down—massaging his chest—grabbing the hem of his t-shirt so that it rips straight down the middle with how strained the cotton has become.

Quickly, they catch each other in another kiss. It’s like before, but it’s not—still Jimin and Jungkook, still hot and heavy, but Jungkook keeps having to take breathers, unused to the new weight on his body, and so does Jimin, unused to the new weight on top of his body.

Pulling away, puffing and panting, Jungkook laughs, low and rumbling in a way that makes his whole belly undulate. “Do you think this effect is permanent?” he asks, curious, maybe a little hopeful.

“I don’t know,” Jimin gasps in reply, heart thrumming. “If it’s not, you have a few more pills left.”

A nod. “And if it is?”

Jimin blinks at him through heavy eyes. “Then you still have a few more pills left.”

[aboutnavi]

OK give us more information!!!!! Bias?? Fav album/era?? Fic recs?

My army life is not that interesting lol

Uh, Yoongi biased since day one (and day one was 2015) so also… hyyh is my ride or die bestie but I do have a tattoo for MOTS7 🩵

90% of my BTS-related fics are Yoonmin (they are still on my top3 bookmarks couple). I would 100% rec (no order of preference except the top 3):

First touch by flowerpicture2. Perfect fanfic. Literally changed me. Author posted it and went missing, never to post again. I respect them.

Atoms and Empty Space by AtillaTheHun (genuinely, to this day, the best fanfiction I’ve ever read in my life. The writing is magnificent.);

Saltation by momora; (I have been reading this fic for 5 years and this author is a sweetheart. Embark in this journey with us);

In a blaze of glitter by mariposawings;

Circus lights by shoshinlaurels;

Impulse by mintsoda;

Sad eyes by whenitstarted;

Mise en place by adelagia;

Petals and Ink by SugarAndMint;

Maybe I hate you can be our always by ameliabedelias;

If you want my seal of approval for any “yoonmin bible” slash the biggest monsters in the fandom, I would go for The Songbird and the Sea. Ukiyo is not something you really want to read it (I’ve read it while it was being posted. I do cherish the experience but never again. Not for me.)

Besides Yoonmin, I’m a huge slut for Jinkook. Cherub vice is truly one of my all time favorite fics and it genuinely changed me as a person and put so much into perspective and it has a permanent mark in my heart.

No, I don’t have anything against Jikook/Taekook, love both, read both, I just never touch any of the jikook/taekook fans with a ten feet pole and I rather not rec anything because Jikook/Taekook writers are monsters and almost everything is either really good or really problematic. Or both. You never know what you are going for.

I genuinely am a person who sort of hyperfixates on a couple and doesn’t like to read anything beyond that, so it’s either Yoonmin or Jinkook for me. Which reminds me: taaffeite moths by nonheather was an insane reading and birdsong by literallies was the sweetest thing and grounding/unmoored also by literallies was genuinely the funniest thing I’ve ever read and I cannot believe I cried reading a 2k anthropomorphic fic about a boat (seokjin) being stuck at the suez canal (jungkook).

Let me see what else… I think because BTS has been such a big part of my life for so long that those first years fan crazyness sort of dimmed down. They are still very important to me, but instead of being a guiding light in my life, they are now a brilliant sunset that bathes me in hope for what is to come. I still go drink some coffee by myself at each member’s birthday and I’m counting the days to 2025, but it’s like I’m waiting for a long distance friend to come visit instead of losing my mind over seven celebrities being able to perform for me or give me new content. Which reminds me: we are boycotting hybe and we do not stand with 🛴 zionist ass, so I’m careful with any content I engage now (& truly, I’m not on any social media besides tumblr, and I rarely engage with anything hybe related here or anywhere else).

Anyway… that’s basically it!

[taekookfests]

slow burn fest - fic reveals season 1

lock-bound by pinkfleure [link] 52.3k Words | Completed | Explicit

Taehyung could barely remember a time before Jeon Jeongguk started working at SpineBreaker Press, when every cover Taehyung designed for the publishing house wasn't tainted in an element of competition. Project meetings were filled with snide bickerings and under-hand remarks. The office floor was a firing range for sarcastic and cruel comments. Tension building, and like anything of this nature, it was only a matter of time before it exploded.

Or what happens when a small misunderstanding spirals into a six month feud?

This Is My Time - Taekook by MiJay_V1995 [link] 47.2k Words | Completed | Explicit

Insomniac Jungkook is trying to get a regular sleep pattern so he can work more and get his life back to what it was before it all fell apart thanks to a bad work situation with the company he used to work for. One night he stumbles upon a late night radio show and he finds himself getting some decent sleep which starts him on a road to discover who the radio host is.

Magnet and Steel by AM1119 [link] 41k Words | Completed | Mature

Taehyung and Jeongguk meet in September 2011 as young trainees with big goals to be idols.

Maybe more.

or

How Taehyung and Jeongguk realize they're going to be more than friends

...and how the hyungs find out.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This by TaekookPanda [link] 38.7k Words | Completed | Explicit

After graduating college, Taehyung and Jungkook set out on a road trip with a bucket list of places they wanted to see together in hand. They've both been hopelessly pining for one another for years now, and this road trip is their one big chance to finally admit their feelings. To themselves and to each other.

{Title inspired by the song: Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paloma Faith}

hide and seek (forever winter) by louderthanmitam [link] 27.8k Words | Completed | General Audiences

JEONGGUK is the Golden Boy of South Korea. Taehyung is a normal teacher who loves his boyfriend deeply.

Jeongguk knows his long-term boyfriend is supportive and he understands the reasons why no one knows they're together, but is love enough?

TROUVAILLE by serenawaller1126 [link] 16k Words | Completed | Explicit

Jeon Jeongguk came back to Seoul after ten years. He studied in the US partly because he got broken hearted by Kim Taehyung.

When Jeon Jeongguk came back, he became the boss of Kim Taehyung.

There were so many questions left unanswered when Jeongguk left for the US and they both still feel for each other.

What could Taehyung do to win him back?

Dreams and Uncertainties by Taeynney [link] 12.7k Words | Completed | Not Rated

"I would want someone I can talk to. Someone whom I can share my secrets with, without being judged. Someone who boost my confidence. Who accepts my immaturity but at the same time looks at my maturity."

For the prompt I claimed. Only, the discussion happened in the 2nd night. These will be in three chapters. The emotional manipulation is not between the main characters. It will just be mentioned along with therapy.

A Simple Life by where_sunflowers_rest [link] 40k Words | Ongoing | Not Rated

Taehyung has deluded himself for so long that meeting his long-lost best friend again should not matter, but here he is, his ass wet and the tip of his nose frozen, and all he wants to do is crawl back home and cry.

Before he could even make himself disappear, he looks up, and Jungkook's there. Just like that.

Or

Jungkook comes back to their little town after being away for a decade. So much has changed. Taehyung tries to deal with it.

Hometown Glory by vggukcherie [link] 12.5k Words | Ongoing | Explicit

Bound to the conditions of life, Jeongguk suffered in his world. One day, he accidentally crossed over, and learned about a man named Taehyung and the existence of a society unlike his.

This is their story.

Too close to see by MoonieMoonlight [link] 10.3k Words | Ongoing | Explicit

Taehyung and Jeongguk are good friends and good at casual sex. When Taehyung falls for his teacher's new assistant, and realizes he’s put him in the friend zone, he can't think of anything better than drowning his sorrows by having sex with his best friend.

But some bonds are unavoidable, some feelings grow without permission and sometimes pain comes in disguise, uninvited.

l'appel du vide by jeonggukstaee [link] 10.2k Words | Ongoing | Explicit

L'appel du vide — "The call of the void" is a French phrase used to refer to the urge to engage in destructive behaviors during everyday life or to jump from a high place.

After leaving his hometown as soon as he could, Taehyung left behind a long list of regrets. Jeongguk was the greatest one.

memories of an old friend by jeonggukstaee [link] 8.2k Words | Ongoing | Explicit

"Perhaps you have to accept, my darling, that just because something's illegal, it doesn't mean it's morally wrong. Forbidden things have a secret charm, don't you think?"

New York, 1930s. Criminal organizations acted in the shadows as Prohibition was coming to an end. Police officer Jeon Jeongguk was flanked by private investigator Kim Taehyung, who seemed to be detached from all the crimes that were taking place in the metropolis, but in reality, behind his glacial calm and infallible logic, he hid a dark shadow of a past impossible to forget.

THE SNOW ANGEL by rDec123 [link] 8.3k Words | Ongoing | Explicit

When Taehyung, an ancient vampire, discovers a fledgling insatiable vampire, he decides to take It in, naming It, and teaching It the modern ways of survival.

As much as they both hate to admit, Taehyung loves to spoil It, and It loves being spoiled.

Taehyung will offer It anything, including his blood, and his body, as It is the epitome of gluttony; Its love for Taehyung is sorely feasible. Until It begins asking for more, more, and more than Taehyung can hope to offer.

What happens if It unleashes the true form Taehyung has been dying to leash?

i close my eyes and all i see is you by the_sevensins [link] 7.4k Words | Ongoing | Mature

Taehyung and Jeongguk have been inseparable since they were born. Grew up together, went to school and college together, they're incredibly close, so much so that the people around them think they're a couple.

So, to avoid the constant pressure of marriage by their respective families, they get married to each other instead. It's a good union, for both Taehyung and Jeongguk. A fake marriage is very convenient, until it isn't fake anymore.

OR

Taehyung and Jeongguk fall together and fall hard.

sometimes all i think about is you by lvelytaetae [link] 6.2k Words | Ongoing | Not Rated

Taehyung and Jeongguk were perfect together. They were inseperable and perfect for each other.

They were happy...until they were not.

What happens when fate brings them back together, four years after their break up?

strangers inside our bodies (mine wants yours) by jeonggukstaee [link] 6.5k Words | Ongoing | Explicit

Taehyung is older and attractive, but there is also something dangerous about him — something Jeongguk can't help but be drawn to.

Or, Jeongguk's always had a penchant for older men. He never met one like Taehyung though.

Amorous by SBtaetae [link] 3.6k Words | Ongoing | Mature

In lieu of finding his style, Idol Jeon Jungkook lands into the arms of Kim Taehyung, quite literally.

The Royal Endeavour by 00_EVY_00 [link] 7.2k Words | Ongoing | Mature

The cheers of the people rang in his ears, making them ache but the burning pain wasn’t as bad as the pain that was to come. The showcase of his trial had been gruesome and cruel but, alas, the subjects of the kingdom didn't spare a glance at him, after all, the sinner they oh so hated was at last getting punished.

Taehyung kept his eyes on the ground, ridden with sharp pebbles and stone. He had the urge to cut off his ears just like his tongue. Who cared for the pain, he asked himself. The pain wasn’t as agonising to bear as was to hear the laughter and cheer of the people around him. But when the stoic executioner yanked his head up by his hair, the strands straining against the roots, his eyes met with the icy blue orbs and blonde hair that he had learnt to despise in the cold prison cell.

His only wish was death upon him.

Yet, deep down he knew he couldn't fully blame his half-brother for his demise. The realisation hurt his heart more than any lashing he had received prior.

As he closed his eyes, he calmed his breath and prepared for death; when he heard a familiar voice he could only imagine greeting him in the Holy Lands.

"Your Highness, are you okay?”

façade by Avirati [link] 3.1k Words | Ongoing | Not Rated

In a world where omegas are still often considered as weak subgender, always to be protected by alphas, Jeon Jungkook doesn't want to depend on an alpha and doesn't want to be treated as a weak just because he was presented as an Omega.

So, Jungkook pretends to be an alpha while he works hard for his rightful place in the world of boxing.

What happens when his trainer Kim Taehyung discovers his true identity?

Epistle by Avirati [link] 5.8k Words | Ongoing | Mature

Taehyung writes letters to an unknown inmate in the prison.

Was It Honestly The Best? by vkooksimp [link] 4.5k Words | Ongoing | General Audiences

"How could you!?", Taehyung screams in Jungkook's face.

After all these years he has been by Taehyung's side, Jungkook had to let go. The love he had for the man would never be returned so he removed himself from the other's life.

"I had to Taehyung, I hope you can forgive me."

not one to need saving (but I guess I'll give it a try) by tkvenergy [link] 4.4k Words | Ongoing | Not Rated

They have been married for a year. And things aren't going well. Everything falls apart when Taehyung forgets their first anniversary, and Jungkook thinks he doesn't want to live like this anymore and asks for a divorce.

(a huge thanks to Jane for helping me compile all the fics)

[anythingtrxsh]

how to talk to other humans (and other valuable life skills)

by drawingspaces [ 148k words - 11/11 - taekook; side namgi ]

If love is a word, let it be a song.

People rarely get a second chance at growing up. Somehow, Jeongguk lucks out.

it’s been a while since i stayed up all night reading a fic because i just couldn’t put it down. it is officially 5:58 in the morning and i’ve just finished reading this amazing fic. it only occurred to me halfway through it that this is the only single dad fic i’ve read from the single dad’s pov. and that just resulted in me silently screaming at around 2 am because i just love singledad aus so much its practically ridiculous at this point. i’m ranting and ik this is not aesthetic or whatever but i haven’t slept and i’m overwhelmed w emotions for this amazing fic and this amazing writer. 

[anythingtrxsh]

okay so I'm guessing you don't want anything with a lot of smut so so I hope these are good enough?

(I will also add the fics you just mentioned in case anyone else wants to read them heh)

Chemistry [200k] by taecheeks {college au-- so so I'm IN LOVE with this fic and I really can't stop talking about it so I apologize for that but at the same time I'm not sorry bc this is great}

The Wild Adventures of Pinkish Tough Bunny Cooky and Super Curious Tata [183k] by cuttothequickk {daemon au-- so I haven't read this fic but I think it sounds rly funny heh. but as always, red the tags!}

Maybe I Love You (We're Too Young For That) [153k] by kaihua {music producer au-- taehyung dislikes jeon jeongguk but hey ;) it pay the bills ;) of his heart ;))) ok that was lame ik but that the best thing I could come up with}

Fall Asleep (Fall For You) [149k] by drannie {college au-- the roommates au literally everyone in this fandom has read or at least heard of}

trust your heart if the sea catches fire [135k] by maxx {canon divergence-- it hurts so. get ur tissues :((}

see you through the screen [126k] by moonsteps {social media/idol au-- I never actually finished this fic for whatever reason but i remember it being really good lmao}

Incalescense [120k] by melarose {fantasy au-- jeongguk is winter and taehyung is summer. theyre forced to room together and fate has its way}

crystal snow [118k] by shadowsinsounds {abo au-- I'm reading this atm skdjskd}

pulling shapes just for your eyes [110k] by aeterisks {reality show au-- I absolutely love love love this fic. secret dating aus just make my heart so so so happy}

Could've Stuck (The Landing) [103k] by devilrin {spiderman au-- I haven't read this one yet but I'm pretty sure it's based off spiderman:ffh and I am ALL IN for it}

Unwanted Butterflies [101k] by lookingathimhurts {fwb au-- rivals to lovers bestest bestest trope don't @ meee}

Hiraeth [100k] by haruday {college au-- this is a really angsty fic so please read the tags beforehand anon}

happy reading!!

Hi thank you for all your recs, you're amazing, so my favourite fics are Fall Asleep (Fall For You), (Maybe I Love You) We're too Young For That, Pulling Shapes Just For Your Eyes, and Break/Bloom, and I wanted to know if you could recommend me some very long fics, even ones that are very famous, just not something about mafia or strippers, it would be amazing because It's been so long since I've fallen in love with a fic

hello cutie! i don't rec fics in this blog but if you go to @anythingtrxsh I'll leave u a link there in a few minutes💜

[jungkussyficrecs]

Jungkussy's Masterlist

Jungkussy Writes:

Convenience Series (1/?)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Summary: Jungkook has a crush on the girl who works at the convenience store.

8 Times Extra (1/2)

Summary: 8 times you woke up without Jungkook: The 7 times you convince him to come back, and the 1 time you can’t.

Let's Talk About Sex Series (3/3)

Part 1: Let's Talk About Sex

Part 2: Let's Talk About Us

Part 3: Let's Talk About Love

Summary: Jungkook has been your best friend for a long time. Recently he’s been hiding something from you, and you need to find out what it is.

Stroke Game

Summary: Teasing Taehyung while he's palying golf might just come back to bite you in the ass.

Beaches and Vlives

The story of Jungkook's camping trip where he went live.

Jungkussy Fic Recs

Jungkook

Taehyung

Jimin

OT8

OT7

Namkookmin

Taekook

Vmin

Vminkookie

Jikook

(If I don't have a ship listed there aren't any recs for it, or I've forgotten it. Try the name of the ship is all caps with 'IE' on the end. ex: Jikook recs are #JIKOOKIE on my blog)

(the ot8 tag is ot7 x reader)

[illneverrecover]

💌: end of 2021 fic review

A bit late, but better than never! I was tagged by two lovelies @kithtaehyung​ and @lavienjin​. Thank you for thinking of me! 

5 works you’re most proud of

SO, fun fact - I only posted 4 things in 2021 TT___TT. I think this goes to show just how crazy of a year it was for me,  haha. But since there’s only 4 I’ll write about each of them.

1. Trust My Love - Jinyoung x reader - this was actually for a secret admirer project I took on in the beginning of 2021 for @ksmutclub. It was very outside my comfort zone, since it was the first time I’d written for Jinyoung (or anyone in GOT7, for that matter). I’m proud of myself for doing something outside my usual range, and I had a lot of fun getting to know the person I was writing for and including specific life details about them into the fic.  2. Forever Young pt 1 - ot7 x reader; side ksj x reader - another project fic! I was having a hard time feeling motivated but knew that the crushing sense of letting someone down would push me to write and publish. This is my first ot7 attempt and also something outside of the regular for me. Making something more action focused was a lot of fun, but it was hard as hell.  3. Forever Young pt 2 - ot7 x reader; side ksj x reader - making this into a series became necessary because my ideas proved to be too much. Basically, I can never shut up, lmao. Setting up for a series was very daunting to me, as I feel there can be more pressure when people are expecting chapters on a consistent basis. I’m still proud that I pushed through that and released two chapters in 2021.  4. The Interview - jhs x reader - this almost feels like cheating to include, because it’s just a very short drabble. But I’m proud of myself nonetheless. This was a challenge for me because as I said before, I never shut up. Drabbles end up being several thousand words long typically (please see: the attempted drabble game I did in 2019 that was basically all oneshots, lmao) so I really wanted to keep myself within the parameters of 500 words or less. It’s harder than it looks to provide enough context that shorter stories have impact, so I was glad to practice it here (and also i would do literally anything for @xjoonchildx​ and that’s the that on that.)

4 current WIPs you’re excited to release

1. The Last Time (angst, smut) jhs x reader - this is likely the next thing I’ll release, as it’s already almost complete! Inspired by rude looks Hoseok pulls in the Butter MV, spurned on by the release of Red (Taylors version), and fueled by @xjoonchildx​ and @jimins-ass-eater​’s tears. Just some good ol’ fashion smangst. 2. A currently unnamed Taekook threesome that I will be working on with the insanely talented and lovely @madseok​. 3. Idk if I’m allowed to mention the project this is for yet  because we haven’t announced, but I have another upcoming Tae fic (currently unnamed) that I’ve plotted for and am really excited to share!! 4. A Chanyeol/Changkyun college AU solely written to hurt @taetaesbaebaepsae​’s feelings.

3 biggest improvements

This is hard!! I feel like I have so much I need to improve, and I didn’t write as much as I would have liked in 2021. So it’s a bit hard to track things like this.

• One thing is during the writing process itself - I’ve been working on not editing as I write. This is REALLY, REALLY hard for me. I tend to overthink and get stuck in parts and before would just give up if it kept happening. Now, I try to just write - write without stopping to edit, change, think about the right word, whatever. Just. Write. If I get to a part where I feel stuck, I write myself a note to come back and keep going. It’s really helped me get things finished, and I’ve found that my first drafts aren’t as terrible as I think they are while working on them. • Just writing more in general! I’ve found the first thing that happens when I get overly stressed is any creativity goes out the window. When I’m feeling the real world too hard, I get disconnected from my creative side and have no desire to write. I’ve found that things like sprints, workshopping, or even just talking things out with friends can help me feel more motivated, and I was able to write more towards the later half of 2021. • One thing that I don’t know if I’ve improved upon (mostly because I am always hoping to improve upon it) is showing rather than telling. I like being descriptive but sometimes that can be overkill. The fact that I’m an overthinker in general certainly doesn’t help, haha. So it’s a balance that I’d like to find more as my writing continues.

2 resolutions

• Write more! Write more and more often. Writing makes me happy and is a great outlet for me to express myself. I deserve to practice some self care by doing things simply because I enjoy them. As a bit of a part two to this point, I’d like to write more non-BTS centered fics as well. • Comparison is the thief of joy, and I am guilty of it. There is no such thing as perfection, and I’d like to embrace and trust in my writing a bit more instead of always striving for it. 

1 favourite line

I’m assuming this should be from something we’ve written in 2021, so I picked something from one of the four posted pieces.

“ There was so much - a whole life, all in a breath, in a single bite - but there was one thing that showed up repeatedly, constantly, making Seokjin’s undead heart race and threaten to burst within his chest.  A woman, achingly beautiful, her smile contagious but not in the way that causes monstrosities like him - but in that peaceful way that feels like coming home.” - Forever Young pt 1

Tagging: I think every single one of my writing moots was tagged in this already lol so I won’t bother, but if you haven’t been tagged and would like to do this - use me as your excuse (and tag me so I can read it!)

[wintershell]

Hi! How are you doing? I love you and all your posts and blogs a lot! you're literally my lifesaver and are just amazing. Thank you so so much for all your hard work!^^ So I just wanted to ask if you perhaps knew where can I find the taekook fic "let's trade shoes" by mygverse? You made a post about it so I thought you'd be able to help. It's my fav fic of all time and I just loved everything about it. It was such a beautiful fic. I've been looking for it or something similar to it for months but I can't find it anywhere. I think the author deleted their ao3 account which is just so sad because I loved that fic so much. I literally cried while reading it and believe me when I say I never cry so easily over something like this. So could you help me find it or at least recommend me something similar to it, please? That would help so much. And once again, thank you so much for everything and we all love and appreciate you a lot and remember- you nice, keep going.<3

(Also- so sorry about the long ass essay, ik I pour my heart out and babble a lot but I just can't help it till I've said everything- sorry .·´¯`(>▂<)´¯`·.)

hi! i'm the author of let's trade shoes, which is why i have a post about it! i feel really bad saying this but you won't be able to find let's trade shoes anymore because i decided to delete it. i wasn't happy with the fic, and while i appreciated the love people like you gave to it, i simply wasn't comfortable leaving it up since i wrote it at a very dark time of my life. i made a new ao3 account which is linked right there! but i'm not active on there anymore either T___T and i don't think I'll go back to writing bts fiction anytime soon. as for recs, these two fics have similar themes ongoing, but they're pretty well-known in the fandom so you might have already read them:

maybe i'm fine with being by myself

ellipsism

you can also check out my other fics if you'd like. loneliness and depression are current themes i used to write about, although i don't think i ever did write about it in a way as "deep" as i did in let's trade shoes. i'm so sorry again that i can't help you! but just know reading how much love you held for my fic make me really, really happy. i hope you have an amazing day!

[minieggukie]

HELLO- you're the adorable one here snnsndnd 😭 ALSO listen i have this thing that i wanna share. i have read manyyyy taekook fics AND MANY JIKOOK FICS (im that ao3 bitch basically-) and jikook fics just flow so fucking better? LIKE THE CHEMISTRY? I AM DYING. it's also because jikook as a couple flow so much better than taekook im telling you- AND THE AUTHORS AT TIMES TRY TO KEEP THEIR AUTHENTIC BEHAVIOURS INTACT IN THE FICS? which makes it so much realer 😭😭

(no hating on taekook they're fucking adorable okay? so if y'all come at me or at her for "comparing taekook and jikook" imma whoop your ass to neptune.)

- anon 🦋 (ps. WATCH THAT VIDEO WHENEVER YOU LIKE. IT'S FUCKING LONG SO TAKE YOUR TIME- and i curse a lot so just BEAR WITH ME. you have no escape from me <3)

OHHHHH YOU READ FICS?? Please I'm constantly looking out for new JKK fics 😭 I keep this rec list updated mainly for myself so I could find my favorites back easily. (i haven't updated the newest batch of fics I've read though... i'm lazy lol) THERE'S JUST SO MANY AMAZING FICS OUT THERE. JKK FIC WRITERS ARE SO SO TALENTED. I have so much admiration for them!!

I understand you're not comparing them! I've been reading fanfics for a long time (for loads of other fandoms too) so I could separate it from IRL or 'canon' pretty easily. Honestly, some JKK fics are not my cup of tea either so I just purge it from my mind and move on. 🤷‍♀️

I think it's really cool you've read both! I've also read some VM fics aside from JKK and they're ADORABLE 🥺 (even though I always go back to JKK in the end 😂) I think my favorite VM fic is the first one I've ever read, which is this one!

Do share your favs with me too! It's been really nice chatting with you 🥰

[taegikookluvr]

Shameless Fanfic Promo 2

Hello, my lovelies! It's been a while since I've visited this place but I haven't gone anywhere. Over the past few years, I've been writing nonstop and in the process, added six additional fics to my little library. I've expanded my subject matter, experimented with main topics other than romance, and even explored a ship other than Taekook/Taegi (I'm still shocked by that actually, lol).

Long story short, I'm here to share my newest works with you. If there's anything that catches your eye, just click the link included at the end of every synopsis. Pay attention to the tags when you get there. Much love to you all. Enjoy!

1. Seven Little Boyscouts (Taekook) Completed

Summary: Sometimes things buried in the past get unearthed...

I'm an avid reader and my poison is horror/mystery, so of course I had to try my hand at it. This fic is homage to one of my favorite authors ever: Agatha Christie. Her mystery novel, And Then There Were None is one of my favorite stories of all-time so I took the premise but put my own spin on it. This fic has a little bit of everything--romance, angst, murder, supernatural elements; there's a lot of death and it'll keep you guessing up until the end. It's an OT7 story for the most part and there are several relationships but the main pairing is Taekook. If you don't mind reading about the boys get picked off one-by-one by a mysterious killer, this is perfect for you. I guarantee you'll be entertained. You can read it here.

2. Vandal City Vengeance (Taegi) Completed

Summary: Suga, the ace hitman of the Vandal City Assasins Association (VCAA) is this close to earning his freedom and reuniting with his long-estranged younger brother when his name unwittingly appears on the hit list. With the aid of a private investigator--the eccentric, enigmatic, and irresistible Kim Taehyung--he sets out to destroy the company who burned him and hopefully save his precious brother from the auction block.

I'm a HUGE anime fan and this fic was born after I watched Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens. I don't know why but as I was watching, I visualized Taegi in the roles of the protagonists and BOOM! I don't know why, it just fit. This was my first attempt at writing action and I have to be honest, things get a little violent and bloody. It's an entirely different take for me but damn did I love writing it, hehe. Picture this: cocky ass, cross-dressing, knife-wielding, emotionless assassin Suga falling in love for the very first time with superhuman, mysterious, heroic, head-over-heels detective Taehyung. And they kill a shitload of people along the way. Tell me that's not appealing, lol. You can read it here.

3. The Loophole (Taegi) Completed

Summary: Yoongi is blindsided when Taehyung ends their 5-year relationship suddenly without warning. Although his boyfriend is adamant about breaking up and lists reason upon reason, Yoongi can't help thinking that there's more to the story...mainly because Taehyung is lying through his teeth.

This fic was one of two Valentine's Day offerings, so while it's angsty, it's also the fluffiest incarnation of Taegi I've ever written. The plot is basic as hell: rich man and poor man fall in love, but the rich man's family doesn't approve. Yes, it's simple and unoriginal but I guarantee you, the story is none of those things. You get pulled in from the very first chapter and become invested in the Taegi relationship. You will cry a little, curse a lot, squeal in delight, and there will be no escaping the fluttering in your heart--you will feel everything. Taegi in this fic is relationship goals and it's the loveliest feeling watching sacrifice and fight with all their might to be together. Their devotion is unmatched and I guarantee you will love it as much as I do. If this sounds like your thing, click here.

4. Obviously Oblivious (95z/Vmin) Completed

Summary: Though there are plenty of hardships and surprises to overcome, Taehyung and Jimin are determined to be together at all costs. Will the two lovers get their happily ever after? If they have any say in it, fuck yes.

This was the second of two Valentine's Day offerings and is the first Vmin fic I ever wrote. It happened because in one of my other fics, Alone Together, I couldn't give them a happy ending (it was endgame Taekook and Jimin's love for Taehyung was unrequited). I had to give the soulmates a shot at happiness and I think I accomplished it. Imagine two best friends who are secretly in love with each other finally confessing to each other after several misunderstandings, but still unable to be together because of certain circumstances, lol. Their friendship and love for each other are beautiful and spoiler alert: Vmin as parents (not mpreg tho)! If you can tolerate the angst and want to see a love that endures no matter what is thrown at it, click here.

5. Of Stains and Shadows (Taegikook) Ongoing

Summary: Taehyung, Yoongi, and Jungkook are as devoted to each other as ever. Taegi are happy in their engagement and Jungkook is their biggest supporter, but their bond is about to be severely tested. It's been said that secrets have a way of making their presence felt even before you know they exist. Our trio is about to find out firsthand exactly how accurate that is...

When hidden truths unearth themselves from shadow and lies become permanent stains on the soul, will Yoongi, Taehyung, and Jungkook be able to endure it all, or will the future they've fought for remain out of reach? Will their family survive the turmoil or crumble into a fine dust?

This fic is the sequel to my first and most popular fic, My Rock or My Hard Place. I was hesitant to write it because the OG ended so well but I felt some type of way about Jungkook being alone. I also had more things I wanted to expound on or settle--Taehyung's parents and their tragic past, Kim Taesuk getting what he deserved, Hoseok's unsettled beef with Yoonkook, and of course, the Taegikook relationship. Most readers were happy with the ending of MRoMHP but there was a small contingent that was sad that it couldn't be Taegikook endgame and I was like, What would happen if the threesome decided to explore that? That was all the inspiration I needed. I'm nearly thirty chapters in and I'm trying my best to keep the feel of the OG but y'all know that's rare when it comes to sequels. If you're curious anyway, check it out here.

6. Two Weeks Notice (Taekook) Ongoing

Two complete idiots are in like with each other but...

My newest offering is only a few days old and happened because I simply missed writing my OTP, lol. There's just something about Taekook that always makes me smile and feel comforted. I love them. The story is pretty standard, boss and employee are crushing hard on each other but the boss' hesitance and nervousness lead to a huge misunderstanding. Only the first chapter is up so far, but upcoming chapters will be heartwarming fluff as Jungkook tries with all his might to clear the misunderstanding and win Taehyung's already-won heart. I'm not planning any angst at this point but I can't promise that there won't be any. I don't plan out my stories and they pretty much write themselves, so while I'm envisioning sweet gestures and romantic overtures, a gut punch might somehow sneak in there. If you love Taekook and wanna see them be cute and lovey-dovey, you can find it here.

So, that's that and this is me signing off. I hope to see you soon on AO3. Bye, my lovelies.

AO3: bangtan_brwnsuga80 Twitter: @taegikookluvr

[jtrbluv]

“F 2020!” - TXT

it’s 3:30am and i’m 2 lazy to make a header so here’s yoongi, i promise i have nicer handwriting

wow, i literally have no idea where to start. it’s almost my three year anniversary of being on this hellsite, but i think i can definitely say that 2020 has probably been one of my favorite years by far, and i am really grateful for it. i think 2020 was a year i was able to improve a lot in my writing despite not producing and releasing a lot of content. quarantine finally allowed me to actually sit down and focus on writing more than i ever have before, and shit, it felt good! it finally felt like i was able to write for myself and not just to please others, and it felt so rewarding rawr (•̀ᴗ•́)و

to all my followers, thank you all so so much. each and every single one of you are a huge reason as to why i’m still here and continue to write. all the likes, reblogs, comments, asks, and more mean the absolute world to me and other writers as well. i think as content creators we can all say that we all go back and scroll through all your messages. thank you for continuing to support me and hopefully i can manage to gift more fics to you this year! luv u all so much <33

to all my mutuals, whether we’ve talked once, twice, never, or a lot, thank you so much for letting me into your world! i really appreciate and luv each and every one of you and always enjoy seeing you all around my dash, we love 2 see it!! i wish you all the best and pls never hesitate to talk to me, i’ll always be here through but especially to support you and hype you all up!! >:) <33

i was going to tag people, but i don’t wanna risk missing anyone T-T. hopefully, you all know who you are :)) just know i luv u fr

lastly, here are some sappy ass luv letters to some of you in particular, sry in advance 🥶🥶

@koushiningg - yeah, of course your ass is going first. hey jae bae, bestie 4L, partner-in-crime, the one person who’s read every, and i mean EVERY single one of my fics. it irks me how much you’re always able to write out your feelings towards the people you care about, bc i SUCK at it! so yes, thank you so much for just being you, i’ll write u a sappy long letter for ur grad email but for now, thank u so much for putting up with my dumbass, listening to me ramble abt the ideas i get at the asscrack of dawn, reading my fics, supporting me in everything that i do. i love u sm fr. here is to the year that we’ve been waiting for, 2021. let’s make it our year.

@taehyungieskith - mika bae........ to think that you were still a local this year is so silly to think abt, i still remember us in the 400s and me giving u song recs in the band room GAHAHDHAJ. i love the little book club type shit we be doing, i always love ur recs duh wtf. thank u twin for always hyping up my stuff and thank god u arent on wattpad anymore mhm love u twin jumi #2 fr

@viopera - VIO!!! we’ve met recently but it feels like i’ve known u for awhile now. literally i’m so happy cuz i remember telling u to write fics and u were straight up like “no.” and now here we are RAWR! u should know this by now and u probably do but i will always be ur #1 supporter and eternal beta-reader. i hope you’re feeling better and ily my fav corpse stan and bad bitch!!!!

@bangtans-peaceful-piegon - AHH PIDGE!!! if i can remember correctly, you were one of the first people i actually talked to on the fic hub server and wow you are just the cutest and literal sweetest thing. we clicked so easily and the vibes u give off are just absolutely impeccable. i love u and i’m always here for u !!! <33

@sugacouture - AYO MEI!!! istg we literally just started talking frfr like a couple days ago but it’s like i’ve known u for years, like wtf. we literally have the same humor and vibes and it’s been rly swag talking to u. i am also more than happy to be ur eternal beta-reader and header helper if that wasn’t already clear duh <3 yeah you are so cute and you write so well that it’s unfair. mhm. unfair. *inserts that one taekook photo* love u, i’ll kidnap u and we’ll get boba and pho <3

@dreamystuffers - RACH!!!!!! rach you truly mesmerize me bc you are so freaking multi-talented, it leaves me in awe. i’m so happy you’ve continued to do what you do luv!! i will always be here and supporting u thru whatever u do!!! luv u sm!! <33

@tatastaetae - marria bby! hi!! ik we don’t talk that much but when we do you’re always such a joy to talk to! the range in ur fics is insane and i always love 2 see it! love u sm and i’m always here for u luv (i swear i’ll be more active on servers wjdjsjjds)

@pjmsdior - bella!!! we haven’t talked for that long either but i always love meeting fil moots!!! you are the sweetest thing and just know that i’ll always be here for u if u need anyone to talk to!!! if i was rich, i’d buy us both new phones in a heartbeat bc our phone literally hate us and for WHAT. kk luv u bella mwah <3

@suhdays - MO! oh my i rly do mean it when i say that u have got to be one of the sweetest and most genuine ppl i’ve met so far this year on this hellsite. ty for making me feel so welcome on the discord servers and networks despite me not being super active on there. when i do get money, i do wish to buy from your etsy shop T-T ,, you are literally the best and deserve the world mo, love u !

@jinpanman - mai! hiii!!! i know we don’t talk much but i’d just like to thank u for the sheer kindness and sweetness you’ve always treated me with! on the occasions that we do talk, you are such a sweetheart omg. ur fics are absolutely to die for and ilysm bby <3

@softguks - AHHDHJE LAUR! when i save u best 4 last <3. we’ve honestly barely interacted at all but you are the most sweetest thing ever, you make my heart full!!! i hope we’re able to interact more in the future and that u come back soon!

- ur local laur luvbot

my secret admirer, hi! i’m not sure if you’ll see this or not since i obviously can’t tag u, but i rly do appreciate u and all the messages u send 🥺🥺 sometimes i go back to them and read them over bc they’re actually so sweet and this is my first actual anon interaction rawr ;w; like always, i wish u nothing but the best and pls take care ☀️ anon!!! <3

sending luv and good vibes to all of u for the new year, always <3

— love, jumi (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃

[borathae]

2020 Year Roundup

I was tagged by  @breadoffoxy thank you so much 💜

🎆 Fandom(s): BTS  

🎆 Total Fics: 4 long stories (one is in progress), 14 oneshots, 42 drabbles (help)

🎆 Total Words: okay imma exclude the drabbles because it’s far too many anyway. Okay so are you ready? 

373.901 words. Christ give me strength 

And that excludes Sanguis Alpha, which is currently at a proud 115k words, hahaha help

~SHIP/CHARACTER BREAKDOWN~

Every BTS member x reader 

Yoonmin 

Taekook 

~SPECIFICS~ 

Again, I am going to exclude the drabbles lmao

Best and Worst Title?

Best: Voluptés Artistiques

Worst: Of Potions and Bodily Desires

Best and Worst first line?

Best: It is a stormy night. [Purple Rain]

Worst: You hate not being able to sleep. [Let Me Take Care of You]

Best and Worst ending line?

Best: The Purple Rain ending line, but I ain’t gonna spoiler it hahaha

Worst:  The rest of the world can wait till the morning. [Death Whispers]

~GENERAL QUESTIONS~

🎆 Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than, or about what was expected?

I mean my oveerachievin, perfectionist ass kind of wants to say that I could have written far more fics, but I need to give myself a little credit here. So I would say that wrote far more than I thought I would, just a few days ago I talked with Tipsy about how 2020 was my best year as far as writing was concerned. And no joke I am so proud of myself, I was thriving and I feel like I improved so much over the year.

🎆 What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

As far is pairing is concerned, probably Yoonmin? Now bear in mind it’s for The Cocktail Trilogy series and I am still highly against shipping the real members. But it was still really fun to write a little romance story for sassy waiter!Jimin and broody biker!Yoongi. 

And as far as genre is concerned, probably hybrid!AU with Only You.

🎆 What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

Purple Rain, this story is legit my baby. I would kill for this story :(

🎆 Okay, your most popular story?

Seeing Red, I see y’all are thristy for snobby editor-in-chief!Taehyung and I respect that

🎆 Story most underappreciated by the universe?

Purple Rain, I am saying it again Purple Rain deserves more love!! 

🎆 Story that could have been better?

Death doesnt scream, She Whispers, idk I kind of rushed it because I wanted to keep it at oneshot length. I really dislike it, if I had the opportunity to rewrite it, I would make it a two part story and put a lot more thought into the creation of it. 

🎆 Sexiest story?

Oh god this is so hard, it is either 

Voluptés Artistiques

Play Me Like a Melody

Bratty

Listen do not make me choose between my three men, I physically cAN NoT.

🎆 Saddest story?

Purple Rain, that little motherfucker made me cry like a bitch at some parts 

🎆 Fluffiest story?

Goofy Smiles and Droopy Eyes, OH MY GOD that story gave me heart palpitations

🎆 Most fun story?

Tequila Sunrise, I’ll never be over cocky biker!Jungkook he owns my heart and ass

🎆 Hardest story to write?

Purple Rain. Yes I am mentioning this story quite a lot and that is because that story took me eight months to finish and cost me even my last nerve. Just so you know, Purple Rain officially has six endings and deleted scenes with a total wordcount of 140k :)))))) <- this is my smile of pain. 

🎆 Easiest/most fun story to write?

As far as easiest story to write is concerned, Seeing Red. I wrote that story in like two and a half weeks and I had a blast working on it.

And as far as most fun story to write is concerned, most definitely Tequila Sunrise. I felt so happy when I wrote this story and fell in love with the world I created so deeply, that I decided to make a trilogy out of it fjdasfj

🎆 What story took the longest?

Purple Rain. lmao repetition but again eight months *takes ten shots of Tequila*

🎆 Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I took so many risks, I was always scared to kind of venture into the darker places of story writing (eg violence, sadness, morally twisted characters etc.) because I was scared that people would hate me for it hahahaha (thank you anxiety for that). But then I received such positive feedback on my darker chapters of Purple Rain and that made all the hard work and thourough research so worth it. 

What did I learn from it? Well, I would say that I learned that it is okay to take risks and that people won’t hate me for venturing into the darker places of my mind.

🎆 What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Well, first of all, I want to finish Sanguis Alpha, which I started working on in late October ‘20. Then I want to work on Golden Cadillac so I can finally conclude The Cocktail Trilogy. And then we will see what my mind comes up with next hahaha

🎆 And finally, fics that you wrote in 2020:

I’m just gonna link you to my masterlist, I have written far too many stories to list them all here

[anythingtrxsh]

hi im not sure if you saw my ask but basically my school is closed until april because of corona :( can u pls rec some very very long college fics 🥺ty :) also im the anon who wasnt feeling well yesterday but u really helped so thank uuuuuu 🥺💕

ANOOOOONNNNN yes ofc i can rec u fics omg omg yes ofc ily anon please feel better ilyily im also gonna include my favorite college aus fics even though theyre not that long okay? just bc ily anon loml

(btw how long is long? lmao ill try my best)

Chemistry [200k] by taecheeks {tutor au-- this is a pretty well-known fic so youve probably already read this one? but its amazing so just in case u havent}

Fall Asleep (Fall For You) [149k] by drannie {imsomnia au-- this is a classic so youve probably already read this one lmao}

i forget to breathe (when i'm with you) [111k] by locks {sugar daddy au?-- i actually havent read this one anon but the tags say college so :(}

New (Newer) Rules [108k] by jvante {i am terrified of the tags on this one so i havent read it but i love jvante so so here u go}

You're So Special [87k] by miniimin {growing up au-- the slow burn omfgggg}

black butterflies [70k] by aeterisks {fwb au-- bro. brO}

Dilemma [68k] by taecheeks {roommates au-- and ohmygod they were roommates}

Meet Me After Dark [58k] by parmejeon {parmejeon the actual loml}

maybe we’re fireproof [50k] by thestarsabove {magic twist-- one of the most original fics ive ever read. its just perfect for me.}

we made these memories for ourselves [32k] by thestarsabove {fwb au-- bestest fwb au ever i think?!?$#?&/%?!}

loving easy [30k] by aeterisks {cheerleader au-- this is my favorite fic by her and i am not sorry goodnight}

i wanna come put your lips on mine [27k] by locks {BY FAR one of my faves. i love this trope. i love this writer. i love these characters. i just loVE}

got a kiss (with your name on it) [11k] by orphan_account {i re-read this one every once in a while for self care omg}

anon! please also check my college tag and my long ass fics tag! 

i hope these fics entertain you on this lockdown we all have to go through, please always stay safe and healthy. wash your hands! 

happy reading!! 

[taekookficrecs]

weird request but do u know any friends to enemies to lovers fics??

admin jh - hi! don’t worry, your ask is probably the most normal request we have in our inbox right now :) here are some enemies to lovers fics, some that are angsty & some that are cutesy! 

The Wedding Date - Bwipea (( 1/1 | T | 59904 ))

Yoongi and Jimin are getting married. Taehyung, as their best friend, should be thrilled. And he would be too, if not for the fact his ex has also been invited to the wedding.

When Yoongi decides to set him up with a fake date in the form of national celebrity superstar athlete Jeon Jungkook, you’d think all his troubles would be solved.

Sounds perfect, right? Wrong.

Because there’s just one problem. Taehyung knows Jungkook…and he can’t stand him.

Dire Straits - notionally (( 11/11 | T | 40815 ))

Prince Taehyung is sick of living like a caged bird in the palace. The feeling of suffocation only increases when his father sets up an arranged marriage for him, with Prince Bogum of the neighbouring kingdom.

So when the opportunity arises for Taehyung to become a stowaway on a ship, he doesn’t think twice, just takes it.

It’s only later that he finds out he’s not just on any old ship - but a pirate ship. And there’s a very attractive pirate with dark hair and too many piercings, pointing a sword at him.

You Feel Your Strength In The Experience Of Pain - WhiteClown (( 3/3 | T | 10708 ))

“Why don’t you want to be friends with me?”

“Because you’re the little shit who took my part.”

Jungkook’s face fell. “I won the part.”

“Belcourt likes you. You have charisma and an ass that’s perky enough to distract audiences.”

“Oh Taehyung, don’t worry, your ass is very attractive in tights.”

A dancers!taekook AU.

there’s nothing else that I want (I just want to feel a little bit more) - Pmjkimjeon (( 12/12 | T | 30068 ))

Taehyung’s stuck with an overly optimistic Jeongguk who was his temporary editor because Jung Hoseok decided to take a one month leave (again, “Bon Voyage” his fucking ass) and he finds himself stuck with a person who would probably refuse to leave until he makes sure Taehyung knows how to live.

Between the lips(50cm) - rsgldana (( 1/1 | T | 3422 ))

Jeongguk had learnt through the years that everytime his life took a turn, it started with him taking a shower. Some longer than others, some colder, but it was always under a tiny waterfall in his even smaller apartment. However, he didn’t expect that coming up for the plot of his next novel would end up with him falling in love with Kim Taehyung.

Campanula (Bellflower) - mochiidust (( 1/? | M | 5233 ))

“I know where you’re from!” Taehyung bellows, jumping from his seat to point a slender finger at Jungkooks face.

“You were that kid in my class, you know, in our second year?”

Taehyung expected Jungkooks face morph into recognition at the reminder of their second year of high school. What he hadn’t expected was Jungkooks face to turn eerily cold and grim, an expression he hasn’t directed towards him in a long time.

Jungkook stands up and grabs Taehyungs wrist firmly. If he squeezes any harder, Taehyung knows it’d leave a bruise.

“I think you’re mistaking me for someone,” Jungkooks voice comes out steady, almost robotic. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

//or

Taehyung and Jungkook used to be classmates in their second year of high school. Taehyung almost forgot, and Jungkook wants to.

Fall Asleep (Fall For You) - drannie (( 22/22 | M | 149954 ))

“They say when you fall in love you can’t fall asleep, but now that I’ve met you I feel like I finally can.”

A University AU where Jungkook and Taehyung become roommates. But Jungkook has insomnia and can’t fall asleep with other people and Taehyung can’t fall asleep alone.

Sunset - hobicannoli (( 3/3 | E | 55267 ))

Taehyung idolizes Spider-Man, even writes a column about him in the university’s newspaper.

However, he does not get along with his roommate, Jungkook, who seems to disappear at odd hours of the night.

(or: Spideykook and Writer!Tae, the latter is oblivious about the former)

Fundamental - trashcancath (( 1/1 | G | 1611 ))

Taehyung just really annoys Jeongguk, okay?

Whose Line it is Anyways? - kwonbagel (( 2/2 | G | 11226 ))

Taehyung was always one to appreciate the arts, and damn, Jungkook was one fine piece. 

Anpanman’s Boyfriend - am_i_right_or_am_i_write (( 1/1 | NR | 3602 ))

A hero and a villain, eating instant ramen together. (K-I-S-S-I-N-G)

cut out all the ropes (let me fall) - aeterisks (( 9/9 | E | 76761 ))

Being Korea’s most successful model has been working pretty well for Taehyung. That is, until Jeon Jeongguk appears.

(Maybe I Love You) We’re Too Young For That - kaihua (( 22/22 | E | 153324 ))

If there’s anything Taehyung dislikes more than writing pop songs, it’s writing songs for Jungkook: rising idol, CF magnet, and one of the biggest douchebags Taehyung’s ever met.

But hey, it pays the bills.

[bts-fic-collection]

Hello😊 i'm looking for good taekook and yoonmin canon compliant fics 🤗 Thanks a lot!!

Sure! ^_^

deeply addicted (to the prison that is you) by cuddlemins

Rating: E

Pairings: Yoongi/Jimin

Status: Complete

Word count: 33,705

Summary:  yoongi becomes infatuated with jimin's ass...and then falls for jimin himself.

We Bloom Until We Ache by WereAllTrashHere

Rating: E

Pairings: Yoongi/Jimin

Status: Incomplete

Word count: 79,080

Summary: They weren't second guessing. Yoongi knew that. They weren't hesitating at the last second or questioning whether it was really worth it because it was. No doubt. But that didn't mean it was easy. That didn't mean it didn't leave them terrified and nauseous and so close to crying that they were quickly becoming more afraid of ruining their makeup and angering the stylists than coming out to the entire music industry.

Emotions were strange.

Or: Yoongi and Jimin deal with the aftermath of revealing their relationship to the world through the Serendipity music video. Through this potentially devastating decision, Yoongi is reminded why exactly he fell in love with Jimin in the first place.

i love you, golden blue by porches

Rating: E

Pairings: Yoongi/Jimin

Status: Incomplete

Word count: 8,641

Summary:  Yoongi has long forgotten what it’s like to wake up without the sound of a humidifier. He closes his eyes as he feels another breeze from the summer sea. The small puff of air from the kettle his only companion as he clutches his hands harder on the cup. In this state, he thinks of home. He knows by now Namjoon has read the letter. By now his phone must be vibrating on the bottom of his suitcase. By now, Namjoon has frantically knocked on every door in the dorm, announcing the news. Yoongi is missing, but he’s okay. Yoongi is missing, and he’s not alone. A touch on his shoulders. Warm palms scraping against his bare skin. The smell of the sea muted with sweat and cotton. A voice. “Hyung,” Jimin says, voice low. “The kettle is boiling.” or the fic where Jimin takes Yoongi away to a cottage by the sea, far from the prying eyes and the dangerous hands that try to tear them apart.

He Tells Me, "Stay If You Can" by vestals

Rating: M

Pairings: Taehyung/Jungkook

Status: Complete

Word count: 8,638

Summary:  It takes Jungkook three years to realise two things: 1. He certainly is not straight 2. He is very much in love with Kim Taehyung