#tagging this was a task phew

[pocketwei]

digging through files again

[miabebe]

Accidentally Kidnapping A Mafia Boss (Yoon Jeonghan)

Reverse Trope Series Installment 2

Pairing - Yoon Jeonghan x afab!reader

Word Count - 70K 29K (please congratulate me, cutting down was the hardest thing I've ever done)

Genre - Strangers to something more I guess? Minimal crack (I had to choose between humour and sexual tension - it was painful, like choosing a favourite child), angst (just a small splash) and smut (loads of it, warnings under the cut)

Warnings - mentions of kidnapping and mafia, one scene where hands are thrown (But just to be clear, this is not like your usual mafia fics - it’s not dark or violent), mention of dub-con in OC's past

A/n -Those who are up to date with the teasers can jump directly for day 1 I guess! Anyways, this fic should have been a whole ass series, it was such a task finishing it in under 30K phew. I hope you enjoy this roller coaster - your comments, reblogs and tags are all very very appreciated! I shall put out an announcement when the next Reverse Trope installment is coming - for now, its time for Camp Seventeen!

Smut warnings - there's a bunch of call girls, masturbation-almost?, voyeurism, multiple smut scenes (3 or 4 idk), exhibitionism (nobody saw them though), fingering, oral (f receiving), protected sex, unprotected sex (please don't be stupid like them), multiple orgasms, oral (male receiving), okay I hope we're done

"You're being a real pain in my ass right now."  "I don't see how it’s an issue since that’s not much of an ass."  Seokmin glared at Seungkwan. "Just because some stupid college club awarded you a silly superlative-" "-best bakery in town is not a ‘silly’ superlative-" "-like once-" "-twice. In a row-"  "-doesn't mean-"  "-absolutely does-"  "Will you two shut up?" You hissed under your breath looking around. "Are you trying to get us all caught?"  Seungkwan clicked his tongue annoyed. "You're acting like we're in the middle of a crime."  Your eyes flickered from Seokmin to Seungkwan before landing on the third guy in between them, the one who was unconscious and being held up with his arms thrown over the shoulders of his friends.  "Last I checked, kidnapping is a crime." You pointed out. Seokmin rolled his eyes. "Prank-ing your friend isn't." "That is if Soonyoung decides he wants to save your sorry ass." "Again, not much of an ass-"  "I swear to god Kwan-"  Groaning you covered your ears to shut out all the bickering.  That night when drunk Soonyoung had pushed your buttons, consequently leading to the events of tonight, you did not think it would be this hard. 

The plan was simple - on Mondays, Soonyoung was in charge of closing the BBQ shop where all 3 of your closest friends worked. His routine was fairly straightforward - first he clears and cleans all the tables, then he closes the kitchen, then changes out of his uniform and finally wraps it up by locking the main door.  That's where you would get him, right as he closed the doors. You were to take him by surprise from the back, cover his face with a black cloth bag, bring him to your apartment and tie him up leaving him immobile, blinded and helpless.  One might wonder why such cruelty when you called him a friend but you would argue that Soonyoung deserved it. After all, last night he hadn't stopped mentioning how boring you were and how your life was so uninteresting and how you didn't have a single exciting adventure while he had a shit ton of them. Well, today you were about to give yourself, and him, a story to tell.

Now things did go according to plan, for the most part. Seokmin and Seungkwan were first reluctant to be a part of this madness but that was until you brought up the prospect of Soonyoung being scared enough to hopefully piss in his pants. Intrigued by the idea, they joined and all three of you waited in the bushes, watching your friend's silhouette moving around the shop, putting things away, cleaning up. Just as he reappeared after changing, hurriedly trying to leave the shop, the three of you got to action, approaching him silently from the back, swiftly holding him by the hands and putting the bag over his face.  What you didn't take into account in this plan was just how much resistance Soonyoung would show, God knows why you didn't consider his adrenaline driven reaction, but man did he put up a fight. It was only natural you retaliate and so instinctively, you landed a smack on his head with the torch in your hand knocking him out, making him buckle into the pavement as the two other boys caught him, looking at you bewildered. That was perhaps just the beginning of your problems because now you had to very un-suspiciously drag a very unconscious man to your apartment in the dead of the night. It would have helped if this neighbourhood was even a little sketchy but being a quiet, painfully uneventful suburb meant even the smallest of things was seen with high scrutiny.  So far, the three of you had somehow managed to make it from the restaurant to your building undetected but it was getting from the first floor to your house that was the real task since the building's resident old woman decided she wanted to feed the stray cats at 2 am. 

"How much longer are we gonna have to do this?" Seungkwan groaned. "He's surprisingly not that heavy but my arm is starting to sleep." "Yeah, this joke isn't as funny anymore-"  "Will you two just keep quiet?" You turned to them annoyed. "She'll be gone in a few minutes and then we can move. Didn't you two say you wanted Soonyoung to shut up for a few days?”  Seokmin mumbled a yes under his breath while Seungkwan nodded hesitating. Hoping for some silence after this, you turned to watch the old woman stroking the cat softly as it slowly nibbled its food. Although your patience was really being tested, something told you if you didn't go through this plan, in another 40 years, you'd be exactly like that old lady - lonely, boring and feeding stray cats. Terrified by that thought, you held it together even though it took a whole 15 minutes for the scene to clear. As the three, no four of you, proceeded towards your apartment, the stray cat watched, licking its paw. 

Seungkwan and Seokmin groaned in relief as they half threw Soonyoung onto the chair you pulled to the middle, rubbing their aching shoulders. Scouring the drawers, you pulled out a rope with a soft “aha” making them turn towards your unnaturally happy self. Soonyoung stirred in his chair. “You're a little too excited about this-”  “Shhh!” You covered Seokmin's mouth with your hand, whispering. “If you talk, he'll know it's us, then it's not scary anymore.” “Frankly, I think the kidnapping and knocking him out cold must have been scary enough already.” “Not enough” You glared as Soonyoung let out a soft groan, letting you know he was coming around. “Quick, take out your phone and open one of those AI apps. We'll type what we want to say and use the bot voice - that way he'll have no idea.”  All three of you huddled, glancing at the phone as Seungkwan typed something quickly, pressing play to let the low toned automated voice echo through the room.  “I cannot wait to see Soonyoung shit his pants.” Seokmin giggled as your lips curled into a pleased smile. Oh, he was surely going to shit his pants.  “And why would I do that?” Soonyoung's voice sounded confused. “Because we-”  Seokmin looked up, freezing mid-sentence, noticing the voice did not come from the person before him.  All three of you exchanged looks realising the same before slowly turning around. Soonyoung  was standing at the entrance like he just walked in, looking bewildered.  Before any of you could process the situation, he pointed over your shoulders, frowning.

“And who's that?”

Oh. 

“And why is he wearing my clothes?” 

Oh no.

You turned back to see the man in question, slowly pull the black bag from over his head, shaking his golden tresses away from his face. Oh lord was he gorgeous.  As he blinked his eyes open, wondering where the hell he was, you were busy running your eyes all over his pretty features and suddenly, in that short span of 20 seconds, you had memorised where every single mole on his face was.  Seokmin and Seungkwan meanwhile, held your arms on either side half hiding behind you which was stupid considering you were the biggest coward in the room.  But somehow, as the man before you looked at all of you with narrowed, accusing eyes and tried to stand up, you swung your arm and smacked him right on the head with the torch again. All three boys gawked at you as the man fell back into the chair again, head rolling to the side, unconscious.  “What the hell mate-” “I'm sorry I panicked!” “Will someone tell me what's happening? Why is he wearing my clothes-” “Shut up Soonyoung.” Seungkwan turned to you looking terrified. “Do you have any idea what you've done?”  “Hey, this can't be just on me, we all thought it was Soonyoung-”  “Me???”  “-how is this only my fault-”  “Because!” Seungkwan raised his voice pointing a shaking finger. “The man you just knocked out again, that's…that's….” “That's…” Seokmin's eyes widened in realisation. “That's the city’s most infamous mafia boss, Yoon Jeonghan.” 

“They aren't picking up.” You sighed, pacing around the room. “Why aren't they picking up??” 

All three boys who were perched on the breakfast bar shrugged, continuing to munch on their chocolate bars.

“Y’all are awfully calm considering the mess we’ve landed in.” 

“The mess you landed us in.” Soonyoung, who had been filled about the situation, pointed out, licking his fingers. “If you hadn’t tried to pull that terrible prank on me-” 

“Okay Kwon, I don’t need this right now.” You rolled your eyes and Soonyoung made a mocking face before returning to his snack. Sighing, you dialed the number again, hoping for a response at least this time. 

“Voicemail. Again!” You squeezed your phone, nearly throwing it across the room, half screaming in frustration. The boys hissed, signaling you to shut up as you bit your tongue and turned towards the elephant in the room. 

Well, not a literal elephant, he was barely one sixteenth its size, the figurative elephant, Yoon Jeonghan. 

He still sat, unconscious and beautiful as ever, only his hands were now tied behind the chair, securing him in place. Seokmin insisted it was necessary considering this would be his second time attempting to try and escape. When you had expressed your confusion, Seungkwan pulled out his phone, flipped through his gallery and showed you a picture he had clicked in the city a few days ago - a poster with Jeonghan’s face on it, a text on the bottom. 

Dangerous criminal Yoon Jeonghan escaped from prison on the 15th of August. Please be cautious and if seen, call the number below. A reward of 20,000 dollars is offered for any incriminating information. 

The moment all of you finished reading, it was like a switch flipped. 

Soonyoung immediately secured Jeonghan's hands, Seokmin darkened the room, turning off all the lights and Seungkwan shut all the curtains, shoving his phone into your hands. You though, just stood frozen, watching all of them getting to work, unable to comprehend the situation. It was only when Seungkwan shook you physically telling you to call that number that you finally came to your senses, quickly dialing it. 

Since then, it had been over an hour and you had called almost 48 times unsuccessfully, much to your frustration but not so much to the boys. They simply continued to raid your snack drawer, chattering away in hushed whispers. You on the other hand wanted to pull your hair out. 

“Why do you look so distressed hon?” Soonyoung looked at you, worried.

“Why?” You raised your eyebrows. “Why?? Can you not see why? Do you not understand how risky it is keeping him here-” You shot the unconscious man a glance, whispering. “What if he wakes up?” 

“Then you knock him out again.” Seungkwan chuckled. “This is not a joke you guys.” You tried to be heard above all the reenacting and laughing. “I get that the 20k offer looks enticing but should we take a risk this big-” 

“You think this is about the money?” Seokmin looked at you almost offended. “He’s a criminal Y/n, handing him over to the cops is doing what’s right! That’s our duty as responsible citizens-” 

“Well this can’t be the only way to go about it? I’m sure there are other ways-” 

“Like what?” Seungkwan frowned curiously. 

“I don’t know.” You bit your lower lip, turning to Jeonghan, hands shaking nervously. “We could go out there and find a cop-” 

“When was the last time you even saw a cop in this vicinity?” Soonyoung raised an amused eyebrow.

“Fine, then we’ll take him to the nearest police station?” 

“That’s almost twenty five miles from here.” Soonyoung pointed out. “What if on the way he becomes un-unconscious-” 

“Conscious.” 

“-then wouldn’t we be in more danger?” 

Sighing, you buried your face in your hands, shaking your head. “Oh god, how did we get ourselves stuck in a situation this terrible-.” 

“Oh come on, it's not so bad.” Seungkwan clicked his tongue. “It's not like we're committing a crime, in fact we are doing the complete opposite of it, you should be proud of us.” 

“I prefer my sanity over pride please, thank you.” 

Soonyoung clapped his hand. “So let's get you your vanity back-”  

“Sanity.” 

“-the more we try to call that number, the sooner we manage to contact the cops and before you know it, he'll be gone and all of this will be over.”

Sighing, you handed the phone to him, gesturing that he try now, sick of hearing the voicemail message over and over again. No sooner after he reached for it, a loud ringtone began echoing in the room making all of you jump cause a. it was really loud and b. it was not coming from this phone…..

All four of you exchanged looks turning to the source of the sound - the pocket on the inside of Jeonghan’s jacket. 

Noticing how Jeonghan was starting to slightly stir, Seungkwan quickly moved closer to him, pulling out his phone, fingers moving swiftly to mute. As it continued to vibrate in his hand, the rest of you gathered around, looking at the screen over his shoulder - Assistant 1, annoying, do not pick up. But before any of you had to make the executive decision whether or not to lift the phone, thank god for the timing, the call ended, allowing you all to take a sigh of relief. 

Trying to catch your breath again, just as you almost moved back to your original position, it rang again, somehow even more loudly this time and like an idiot in his hurry, Seungkwan accidentally lifted the call, making you gasp and almost scream. 

“No, don’t-” 

“Boss.” Though it was barely audible, he sounded exasperated. “Please tell me you’re not with a girl.” 

As Seungkwan put the call on speaker, the boys looked at you, signaling you to talk. Looking lost, you stuttered. “I uh…yes, he’s with me.” 

“Of course he is.” His voice boomed in the room. “I need to talk to him.” 

You hesitated, looking at Jeonghan still sitting slumped. “I’m afraid he can’t come to the phone right now.” 

“And why not?” 

“Cause he’s tied up?” You shook your head fast, when your friends looked at you wide eyed - now was not the time for truths??? “I mean he’s tied up with some work-” 

“Oh please, there’s no need to cover up.” The man sounded amused. “I always had a feeling that this was one of his kinks.” 

You looked at the screen mortified. Did he just say kinks? “I’m sorry what???” 

“No, I’m sorry you’re stuck with that sadist of a man. If you’re free after you’re done with him, I assure you, I could show you a much better time.” 

Gasping inaudibly, you felt the heat in your cheeks rising. “I’m not a…. no, god no. He’s tied up as in, unconscious and tied up. Kidnapped, unconscious and tied up.” 

The boys’ jaws dropped in disbelief. What the hell were you blabbering? 

“Did you just say you kidnapped him?” 

Hands shivering you tried to shove the phone into someone else's hands, only for all of them to quite literally run away. 

“Woman, I’m asking you something. Did you just say you kidnapped Jeonghan? The Yoon Jeonghan?” He paused, as you moved, standing in front of the man in question, watching him carefully. “Do you even know who he is?” 

“I….yes.” You sighed, sweat rolling down your forehead. “Yes I know who he is and look, it's a long story that I can’t explain right now and I’m sorry you had to find out this way but I’m calling the cops and handing him over tonight.”

“You called me to tell me that you were handing him to the cops?” 

“Actually you called-”  

“And for what? That measly twenty k?” He scoffed. “I know what you’re doing here - I’ll give you thirty in exchange for him.” 

And suddenly, all the boys were around the phone. 

“No thank you.” You shook your head. “This isn’t about the money, it’s about doing the right thing and that is to hand him over-” 

“Wow you’re really playing that card?” He sighed. “Fine, I’ll give you fifty.” 

At this point, Seungkwan lunged for his phone, narrowly missing it as you swiftly moved your hand away, surprised. 

“Seventy five?” 

Seokmin tried to reach for it too, but you were too quick for him too, moving away, looking at them incredulously. What the hell were they doing now? 

“Final offer, a hundred thousand or I have other ways-” 

“Done.” Soonyoung, the nimblest of them all, quickly grabbed the phone from your hands talking into it. “Hundred thousand and he’s yours.” 

“Kwon-” 

Seokmin covered your mouth, holding you back. “We want it in cash.” 

“That might be an issue-” The man on the phone let out a tired breath. “-things are tight now, cash will be hard.” 

“It’s cash or he goes to the cops.” Seokmin continued, still holding you back with his strong arms, rendering your struggles pointless.

The line went quiet on the other side. The boys look at each other, worried. 

“Fine.” He finally agreed as they sighed in relief. “But I’ll need about ten days to arrange for it.” 

“We are in no hurry.” Seungkwan added. “Whenever you send the cash, we’ll send him.” 

“And till then?” 

“Till then, he’ll be here, with us.” Soonyoung confirmed, earning a protest from you that drowned out. 

“I hope you remember that the cops are actively looking for him-” 

“We do. Which is why you need to make sure the money reaches us by the tenth day.” Seungkwan pointed out. “Otherwise you know where he’s going.” 

“No don’t….” The man sighed. “There’s no need to make such hasty decisions, you’ll get your money.” 

“Good, keep in touch on this number and let us know when you have the cash ready and….that's all, okay bye.” 

Seungkwan spoke quickly before he cut the call and all the boys looked at each other amazed. When Seokmin finally released you, he shrieked as you landed a few harmless punches on him, hard and fast.

“Are you insane???” You looked around. “Are all of you insane?” 

“Hon,” Soonyoung held you by the shoulders, shaking them. “It’s a hundred thousand dollars-” 

“I thought it was not about the money.” You narrowed your eyes at him. “I thought you wanted to be a responsible citizen-” 

“Oh please it’s always about the money.” Seokmin walked over and fell back onto the couch. “A hundred thousand dollars, wow, I’ve never even heard of so much money in my life.”

“Can’t believe I’m going to be a millionaire.” Soonyoung joined him on, earning an eye roll from you. 

“How exactly?” You crossed your arms. “It’s twenty five thousand dollars a person.” 

“So you are agreeing to be a part of it!” Seungkwan clapped happily, ignoring your words of protest. “We’re all going to be so rich.” 

“Twenty five thousand dollars isn’t exactly a fortune-” 

“It might not be for you, but not all of us have dropped out of college and are running our own freelance business from the comfort of our grandmother’s apartment.” Seokmin pointed out. “We could really use the money.” 

“That’s fair but-” 

“No ‘buts’ now.” Seungkwan raised his hand to stop you. “Come on Y/n, do this for us? All we ask is for ten days. Don’t you remember when you moved to this locality, we were the only ones there for you? For 2 whole years we’ve been with you through thick and thin-” 

Thud.

Seungkwan stuttered to a stop, turning around at the sound. The rest of you shifted around too to see what happened, heartbeat rapidly rising when you realized that Jeonghan was stirring awake..... and more importantly, the knot that “believe me I'm an expert” Soonyoung had tied around his hands had come undone, the rope falling to the floor. 

Wincing, Jeonghan opened his eyes slowly as all of you froze, watching the infamous mafia boss raise his head, blinking in the darkness. 

You panicked, noticing that your one and only weapon here, your trusty torchlight, was far from you, right by his foot. Wondering if it was dark enough, considering the room was only lit by the soft and minimal glow of the streetlights pouring in, you slowly inched towards Jeonghan who still seemed like he hadn't fully come around. Just as you reached him, bending to pick up the torch, Seungkwan, who was inching back to press himself against the wall and somehow blend into it, pressed against the switches, the lights instantly turning on, illuminating the whole room. 

Jeonghan slowly looked up, eyes meeting yours, lips parting softly. 

You opened your mouth to scream or say something, you can’t remember what exactly, instead resorting to just staring at the way his hair beautifully framed his face, long eyelashes touching the curve of his cheeks as he blinked. As you continued to remain frozen, his eyes ran over the features of your face, before his lips curled into a small smile.

“I love you.” 

You snapped out of your trance in a second, jaw dropping. 

“God I really love you.” He repeated, as you quickly grabbed the torch and moved back hurriedly and Seokmin, clearly your most sensible friend, quickly got up, putting himself between you and Jeonghan.

“What did he say?” Seokmin looked at you over his shoulder, mumbling. 

“You’re….” Seungkwan took a small, careful step. “You’re not mad?” 

“My head does hurt like a bitch.” Jeonghan cocked his head at you who was half hiding behind your biggest friend. “But I would have been more mad if I was in jail compared to waking up in….” He looked around again. “.....whatever this is.” 

“My house.” You muttered, gripping the torch as Soonyoung slowly and silently walked around, kicking the rope under the sofa, before he joined you, looking casual as ever.

“Yes, jail would be bad.” He agreed. “But here, you’re totally safe, no stress at all.” 

“And why exactly?” Jeonghan frowned, eyes flickering over all of you. “Obviously you know who I am. Why aren’t you handing me to the cops?” 

“That's um…because….” Seungkwan mumbled, putting his arm around your shoulder, with a firm nod. “Because of her uncle.” 

You blinked at him. 

You had no uncle. 

“M-mine?” 

“Yes, her uncle was….unfairly arrested by the cops last year, they sort of put him away for good so uh….helping you is, in a way, our revenge against this foul legal system.” 

Jeonghan didn’t look even a little convinced. Maybe just a little when he looked at you with an eyebrow raised in question and you hesitatingly nodded. 

“Okay, y’all are clearly a weird bunch but I'm not going to question it since whatever this is, it's helping me out.” He got up, wincing as he held his head. “and now I'll get going-” 

“No!” All three boys screamed, taking both Jeonghan and you aback, ears almost ringing. 

“We mean…” Seungkwan started at a much softer tone. “You can’t go out right now, it’s not safe for you.” 

“I am aware,” Jeonghan patted his pockets as though he was searching for something. “I need to call my people and find them in the city again. Once they arrange a way for me to permanently leave the country, I'll be safe, finally-” 

“You are safe here too.” Soonyoung quipped. “There’s no place better than this neighbourhood - it’s quiet, almost thirty miles from the city, filled with senior citizens who are absolutely cut off from the world - they probably don’t even know who you are.” 

“Most importantly,” Seokmin added. “Because this place is so dull, cops don’t even come here, hell the closest police station is over twenty five miles away.” 

“Huh” Jeonghan looked thoughtful, continuing to slide his hands into all his pockets one by one, mumbling. “I can't find my phone-” 

“It probably fell when you were running around-.” Seungkwan gripped the bulge in his back pocket where Jeonghan’s phone was tucked away. “-now that you can't contact your…gang? it'll be dangerous for you to go unguided.”

“Exactly.” Soonyoung stepped up. “Say you give it some time, maybe 10 ten days or so for things in the city to cool off a little and then you can go, find your people and leave the country?” 

Jeonghan started at the floor as though he was mulling over it, each passing second feeling like almost an hour.

Finally he looked up, slowly nodding, much to everyone's relief. “I guess I could?” He held the bump on his head again, wincing in pain. “First I'm gonna need a shower and a meal.” He looked at you, lips curling into a small smile. “Is knocking people out your only talent or can you whip up a ramyeon too?”

Tearing your eyes away from his intense gaze you mumbled that you could, earning a two finger salute from him before he disappeared behind the door of the bathroom. 

As all of four of you collectively let out a sigh of relief, Seungkwan shoved Jeonghan’s phone into your hands. 

“Keep this safe and keep him safe.” He looked around at everyone. “We need to continue making him feel as though living here for 10 days is good for him, not us.”

“Agreed.” Seokmin hummed. “He cannot, at any cost, know he’s being held for ransom. God knows what he might do then.” 

“I still can’t believe it though.” Soonyoung let out a low whistle, looking around almost proud. “I can’t believe we accidentally kidnapped a mafia boss.”

“Smells fucking good.” 

You bit back a gasp hearing Jeonghan’s voice from behind you, right at the shell of your ear as you stood behind the stove, stirring his meal. Gulping you turned, regretting it immediately when you found yourself inches away from him yet again but this time, he was standing in just his towel, blonde wet hair falling into his eyes, rivets of water running down his smooth abdomen. As your eyes found their way back up again, Jeonghan smirked at you. 

“Strange.” He cocked his head at you. “On one hand you seem so meek and quiet, yet no one has ever really looked at me the way you do.” 

Please don’t say things like that. 

Feeling unnaturally hot, perhaps because you were sandwiched between a boiling pot of noodles and a man this attractive, you turned away, turning off the gas, wiping the sweat running down your neck. 

Jeonghan chuckled. “I need something to wear. Think you got anything?” 

You nodded, setting the pot down, before moving away from him (thank god) and walking into your office room. Jeonghan followed at a distance, shaking off the water in his hair, looking around confused as he stepped in. 

“Aren’t you a bit too old to play dress up?” He pointed at the mannequin in the corner donning a pretty maroon half finished dress. 

“That’s…. My work.” You confessed, going through a stack of clothes in the drawers on the far end. 

“You made that?” 

You nodded softly. “Yeah I’m sort of a freelance fashion designer.” 

“For who, the dead?” He frowned. “Who even wears clothes like these anymore?” 

Trying not to get too offended, you pulled out the pair of pajamas you were looking for and turned to him. “It’s for the main lead of the new Macbeth play. I, uh, custom make clothes for theater productions and stage plays.” 

“Ah.” He nodded looking around at the large table filled with all kinds of measuring tapes and scissors and big shelves stacked with materials of all kinds, two sewing machines lined up against the wall. “Interesting.” 

You're not really sure what he found so fascinating but you cleared your throat, trying to change the topic. 

“I only have this that might fit you.” Walking over, you handed him a neatly folded purple checkered pajama set. “I made it for my…. for someone a few years back but he didn’t like the colour so it's brand new.” 

“I love purple.” Jeonghan grinned, taking it from you, immediately slipping on the shirt. “By someone else, do you mean one of the boys?”

You shook your head. “No, I never make clothes for them, my style is a bit too…. um old fashioned?” 

“You continue to surprise me.” He looked at you thoughtfully. “Old fashioned with clothes but open minded enough to live with three men.”

You blinked stupidly. “I don't live with three men.”

“Oh they don’t live here?” Jeonghan raised an eyebrow. “You four aren't a thing?” 

 “Four? As in all four of us??.….” You looked at him wide eyed and scandalized. “Of course not! How could you even think that, w-what does that even mean-” 

“Okay relax princess.” Jeonghan took a step back, raising his hands. “Even if you were, it’s cool. I don’t judge.” 

Definitely not relaxing, you looked everywhere but at him, heat continuing to rise uncomfortably in your body. 

Jeonghan looked at you amused, biting his lip. “But I will judge if you continue to stand here and watch me wear the pants.” 

Shaking your head and apologising, you practically ran out of there, heart racing in your chest as you leaned against the kitchen counter, hands gripping the edge. The kind of things he said, the way he looked….Please please please stop it. 

Trying your best to push him out of your mind, you got back to the stove, grabbing the pot and placing it on the table. You stared at it for a bit before sighing and pulling out a few of your mom’s sides from the fridge, adding it to his meal. As you poured out a glass of juice, Jeonghan walked up, rubbing his hands, pulling the chair and sitting down. 

“You put sides and all? Sweet.” 

He grabbed the pair of chopsticks and took a large bite, humming in relief. You knew it was burning hot, but he was probably way too hungry to care because the speed made it look like he was inhaling it. 

“Sit.” He looked up mid bite. “I don’t like eating alone.” 

Although you didn't wish to be in his presence for long, you sat down, unable to say no. The entire time, Jeonghan ate quietly, tasting all the sides, drinking the juice in between, loudly smacking his lips after every bite. After devouring it all in less than five minutes, he raised the bowl to his mouth, downing all the soup, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.  “That was so delicious princess, I almost wanna stay here all my life.” He got up, stretching as he did. “But unfortunately 10 days is all we have.” 

Silently, you half nodded, gathering all the dishes he had left on the table, taking them to the sink. Jeonghan watched you, please stop looking at me, and when you returned to wipe the table, he leaned in, for the third time tonight, putting his face incredibly close to yours. “You’re a tough nut to crack, but I think I’ll have you all figured out in ten days.” As you tried to move further back, unable to breathe in the proximity, he moved closer, smirking. “Goodnight princess.” 

And with that he walked off, turning into your bedroom, closing the door behind him. 

You simply stared, rapidly blinking, heart refusing to calm down, chest heaving as you struggled to breathe.

And this was just day zero of ten. 

Day 1 of 10 

“Yoon Jeonghan has to go.” 

Soonyoung, Seungkwan and Seokmin looked up from their dinner as you slammed the restaurant door open. Immediately panicked and looking around, they pulled you to their table, shushing you with hushed voices. 

“What is wrong with you-” Seungkwan hissed as Seokmin went over to the only other people in the shop, the two old ladies sitting in the corner, trying to distract them with some free tea. “-you can’t go around screaming his name.” 

“You don’t understand.” Leaning back into the chair, you sighed. “I cannot be around him, I can’t handle it….” 

“What did he even do?” Soonyoung looked at you curiously and Seokmin returned, settling in his chair. 

And then you began to spill the details of all the events, starting from the moment he took over your bedroom last night. 

Yes you lived in a decently sized two bedroom house but with one room converted into your workspace and the other occupied by Jeonghan, you had no choice but to take the extremely uncomfortable couch in the living room. Of course you were already drifting in and out of sleep because of all the pain in your back and like that was not enough……

As though on cue, the lady who lived in the apartment above yours walked in, her pleasant expression turning almost disgusted as her eyes fell on you and you knew precisely why - because of all the obnoxiously loud moaning last night. 

Seokmin watched the two of you, eyes narrowing. “Why is she looking at you like that?” 

Voice shaking, you told them. 

“Wait wait wait.” Seungkwan interjected, jaw dropping. “You’re telling me he didn’t just sleep in your room but also…. also brought home a woman?” 

You nodded. For a hot second, last night you thought you were dreaming or imagining those sounds. As you focused, listening harder you realised they were the moans of an actual woman, coming straight from your bedroom,  followed by Jeonghan’s soft grunts. And lord, the things he was saying??

Are you even trying? Is that the best you can do?

Oh, you feel good? Where are your manners then? Be a good girl and thank me. 

You’ll do anything, won’t you? This is all you’re good for - a set of wet and wanting holes. 

“So you think he brought home a whore-” You winced at the word, making Seokmin immediately change his statement. “-a person, a professional, and had a love making session in your room? On your bed?” 

“I don’t think it, I know it.” You groaned. “And that was no love making, it was loud and-” You gulped, pressing your legs together, trying to ignore the feeling between them. “-and just disturbing.” 

“I understand it’s hard for you,” Seungkwan started. “But if it’s just that one thing-”

“Oh no no it’s not just that one thing.” You sat up, ready with a whole mentally prepared list. “That's what I slept to, guess what I woke up to? A delivery man with nearly 30 packages of all sorts of things he ordered online for his ‘ease’ because he ‘can’t live without them’ and you might wonder what the issue with that is? It is the fact that he had me pay for it and it wasn’t five or ten dollars, I paid seven thousand dollars in the morning-” All the boys' jaws dropped. “-that’s right I paid seven thousand for his things which he, by the way, made me sit and open because his ‘head hurts too much’.”

“Okay, we get it-”

“And he keeps wearing all my clothes! Not mine, I mean the ones I make-” You corrected when the boys looked at you weirdly. “This morning he wore the pure white cashmere sweater I spent hours making for the evil queen in Snow white. Now it sits in my house decorated with polka dots of ramyeon soup.”

“Oh-” 

“And he never cleans up after himself! He expects me to cook, sits and eats and then just leaves when he’s done?! He drops crumbs everywhere, he doesn't put things back in their place, I'm-”

“Breathe hon breathe,” Soonyoung rubbed your back. “He's inconvenient and it sucks, we get it but….but it’s only been a day?” He looked around, pausing as the lady above your house collected her food and walked past, face turned away from you. “What about the rest of the time? Did he bother you in any way?” 

“Not really.” You sigh. “He pretty much minds his own business. He was either sleeping or watching tv the rest of the time…and also going through all my fashion magazines, with potato chip dust on his fingers by the way-” 

“Alright, alright, we get it, he’s a pain.” Seungkwan looked at you a little pleadingly. “But you do know, given our current situation, we don’t have a choice but to house him for another 9 days.”

“Kwan, It’s still not too late to hand him over to the cops-” 

“Please.” Seungkwan pleaded, hands joined, ready to fall to his knees if needed. “We’ll give you a higher share of the ransom if you want-” 

“You think money is the issue?” 

“Of course it’s not, he’s an idiot to suggest that.” Seokmin interrupted. “It’s not about the money Y/n, just…. do it for us? Think about how you could reform the three of our lives. We could go from busting our asses waiting tables here to maybe owning our own little shop. Don’t you want that for us?” 

You stared at Seokmin’s puppy face then at Soonyoung’s big eyes then at…..whatever cute expression Seungkwan was trying and failing to make. If you could help improve the lives of the friends who were closest to you, maybe you can hang in there for a few days? 

You could not. You most definitely could not. And you realised that the moment you excitedly stepped into your house again with a generous amount of packed late night snacks. 

Clothes - Jeonghan’s and a woman’s - were strewn all over the house, right from the main door to the bedroom as though they couldn’t wait for even the five seconds it took to walk the minimal distance. As you heard a guttural moan, you shut your ears, preparing for yet another night of suffocating yourself under your pillow. 

Day 2 of 10 

“I got you some DakGalBi.” Soonyoung raised the familiar black bag of the bbq shop before him as you sighed. 

“I made the same thing for lunch.” 

“You did?” He looked surprised. “I thought you didn’t know how to.” 

“I don't, I watched a few videos; followed a cookbook.” You mumbled. “Jeonghan said he wanted to eat.” 

“Is he still bothering you?” Soonyoung asked concerned, eyes running over your tired features. By bothering if he meant taking over every aspect of your life and not giving you the freedom to breathe peacefully in your own house, then yes, Yoon Jeonghan was absolutely bothering you. Did you tell Soonyoung that though? No, because 1, just yesterday, you had told your friends that you would “hang in there” and 2, you most definitely couldn’t hang in there and were already secretly planning ways to oust Jeonghan from your house. 

The journey to making this decision started the moment you woke up. It was yet again to the sound of knocking except, it wasn’t on your door, it was coming from your home office. Wondering what in the world Jeonghan was doing there, you quickly kicked off the covers and jumped to your feet, walking over. At first glance, you didn’t spot him inside and then your eyes found a complete stranger drumming her fingers on your sewing machine. You stood frozen, fully taken aback as she looked at you, your favorite coffee mug in her hand as she sipped out of it. 

“This dress could use a deeper neck.” She pointed at the one on the mannequin and then at herself. “Like this.” 

You refused to look at her plunging neckline out of which all her….assets were spilling out. God knows why you couldn’t refuse to take her opinion on your work or tell her to get the hell out of your house. Instead, you just continued to stand frozen until you felt Jeonghan’s presence behind you. 

“What are you doing here?” He sounded like he just woke up, voice just a little deep and husky. 

“I was curious what was in here-” 

“I mean what are you still doing here?” He walked up, putting himself between the two of you. “You were supposed to leave after you were done.” 

“It was raining outside, I couldn’t go.” She muttered, looking at him hopefully. “Besides I wanted to see you in the morning before I go-” 

“I don’t.” He cut her off, pointing over his shoulder. “Get going.” 

“But-” 

“Go.” He repeated, more firmly this time. 

Looking mad, she slammed the coffee mug on the table and grabbed her bag from the floor. As she walked up to Jeonghan and tried to plant a kiss on his cheek, he turned his face away, “Don’t cross the line. Get out.” 

Huffing she left, the sound of the front door closing resounding behind her. Jeonghan turned to you, rolling his eyes, looking at you like you’ll understand. “The audacity when she can’t even deepthroat without gagging.” 

You didn’t understand. You didn’t want to understand. You just wanted him to stop saying these kind of things. Please please please shut up. 

When he walked away, yawning and stretching, you grabbed the coffee mug, nearly crying at the sight of a neat brown ring of coffee imprinted on the paper. 

Oh yeah, Yoon Jeonghan had to go. 

Now you would have told all this to the boys but you knew they would tell you to ‘adjust for a few days’ and as always, you'd give in, regardless of the fact that you wanted this man’s entire existence obliterated from your life. So you decided to handle things differently now - you would get Jeonghan out of your house without the boys realising you had a hand in it - that way you'd be free and they couldn't blame you. You weren’t quite sure how to go about this plan but that was until you went to the grocery store in the afternoon to buy some ingredients for lunch. 

The biggest drawback of this suburb was that there was barely anyone below the age of twenty who could help you out with your predicament except for the cashier's grandson, Minguk. Minguk lived in the city, but over the weekends, he came to help his grandmother, greeting you every time you crossed paths. You weren’t really close friends but he was always nice to you, helping you reach things from the higher shelves, offering to carry heavier items to your house. If anyone here could recognise Jeonghan and help you out, it had to be him. 

That’s why when you went to the shop, you told the old lady you needed a big bag of rice, twenty five kgs of it for some big rice starch cloth experiment, asking if Minguk could drop by later and bring it to your house. She agreed happily, stating she would get him to do it the moment he came in the evening and you left, waiting for said evening and said moment to arrive. 

Your prediction for the events that would follow today went somewhat like this - Minguk would come home, notice and recognise Jeonghan, ask you to get behind him while they fought and Minguk would knock down Jeonghan’s skinny ass stick figure, then make sure to hand Jeonghan to the police while you sadly told BooSeokSoon it was unfortunate that things unfolded this way. 

Now for this whole plan to be successful, you needed Soonyoung to get out of the house as soon as possible because Minguk could come any moment now. Hence you resorted to answering all of the former’s questions with short, simple replies, hoping this conversation would end fast.

“No he’s not still bothering me.”  “You sure? You-”  “Absolutely.”  “Again, we’re sorry that this-”  “No worries.”  Soonyoung frowned, confused at your curt answers. “Where is he now?” “Bathroom, showering I think.”  “What did he do before lunch?”  “Waited for lunch.”  “What did he do after lunch?”  “Nothing.” You shrugged. “Claimed he was bored, sat in my home office and watched me sketching for hours together.”  “He was…. just watching you?”  “Not the whole time, he fell asleep in between…”

You recalled how hearing his soft snores, you looked up from your work, eyes falling on him leaning back against the bean bag, drifted off in a pleasant slumber. As you glanced at him, noticing just how sharp his jaw was and how high his cheekbones sat, his lips curled into a small smile. You’re giving me that look again, princess. After that, you didn’t take your eyes off your work even once. 

“I think he fell asleep?” 

“Did you get any sleep?” Soonyoung looked over your shoulder at your bedding still on the couch. “Did he… you know, bring someone last night too?” 

You nodded, but brushed it off immediately. “It’s fine, it’s nothing I can’t handle. I promised you guys 10 days, I’ll deliver.” 

Soonyoung looked relieved, before he glanced at his watch, face morphing in worry. “It’s nearly peak hour, I gotta go back to the restaurant.” 

You agreed to him, assuring him you were fine when he asked you again, waving goodbye as you shut the door behind him. 

Minguk would be here any minute now, and if all went well, you’d finally be free again. 

Day 3 of 10 

All did not go well. 

In complete contrast to what you had imagined, here you were, yet again cooking lunch for Jeonghan, still absolutely sleep deprived and there he was, lying sprawled on your couch, going through your books, just like yesterday. Only difference was, Seokmin was on call, the sound of him chewing his apple ringing in your ears. 

As you moved around to make Kalguksu, Jeonghan’s order of the day, Seokmin spoke into your ear. “So you're saying he's not too bad to live with?” 

Bad? Bad was an understatement. Living with Yoon Jeonghan was the absolute worst. Just this morning, when you had stepped out to check your mailbox, your neighbour coincidentally returned from her morning walk, greeting you with a hard smile, asking why you looked so tired. You told her you had a lot of orders to work on, claiming you had to stay up all night to finish it and to that she said, “Yes, I think everyone in this building can tell what exactly you are doing staying up all night.” 

Never in your life before that statement did you want to be swallowed by concrete. You knew last night must’ve been particularly more noticeable because the women so far were moaners but this one….. Oh she was a screamer; so loud not even your pillow could save you. Thank god she was gone by the morning but so was a very treasured dress of yours, one you gifted by your mother. When Jeonghan woke up, he mumbled something about how her clothes tore, and she grabbed something from your cupboard before he went off to take a shower. 

“Yes, he’s not too bad.” You replied, glad Seokmin couldn't see your sarcastic expression. 

“I had a feeling he was a chill guy from the first time we saw him-” Seokmin continued to loudly chew on call. “-he seems kinda calm and knowledgeable?”

Yes, if only Seokmin heard all the 'instructions' Jeonghan loved to give his lady friends at night, he would know just how knowledgeable this man was. Although he did say something that you were thinking about for a while now…

“Min.” You slid onto the kitchen counter. “Do you think Minguk has a crush on me?” 

“Minguk as in supermart granny’s grandson Minguk?” Seokmin chuckled. “Yeah, obviously, a mega huge one.” 

“What?” You looked at your phone betrayed. “How could you not tell me?” 

“I assumed you knew and didn’t care?” Seokmin sounded nonchalant. “Since you know, he already has a girlfriend?” 

That’s what you had said too, last night when Minguk came over and all did not go well. 

Initially, it was going according to plan though. A few moments after Soonyoung left, Minguk arrived at your door, carrying a huge sack of rice, half panting as he smiled at you. Given that Jeonghan was still in the bathroom, you engaged him in casual conversation, hoping the man who usually showered in under 5 minutes, would finally come out after the two hours he had been holed up in there. Just as you were running out of stupid questions to ask, Minguk looked over your shoulder, forehead slowly pulling together in a frown as you heard footsteps behind you. Finally finally finally, please help me-

“Who is that?” He pointed, looking confused. Did he not recognise….? 

You turned, as Jeonghan approached you, your eyes widening as they landed on him - he had dyed his golden blonde hair into a dark jet black, the length of it also a lot shorter now, the pieces framing his face pushed back in a way even you could barely recognise him. You continued staring as he walked over, throwing his arm around your shoulder, glancing at Minguk.

“And who is this?” 

Tearing your eyes away from him, you looked at Minguk, almost at a loss of words, “T-this is Minguk, he works um in the supermarket nearby, he’s my friend and this is uh….” You gulped, the weight of Jeonghan’s hand heavy on your shoulder. “This is-” 

“Come on, don’t be shy.” Jeonghan laughed. “Hi….friend? I’m the boyfriend.” 

“Oh.” Minguk looked at you just as surprised as you looked at him. “I didn’t know…” 

Neither did you.

“Yeah we’ve been doing long distance for a while now, I just got back recently.” Jeonghan answered like it was a matter of fact when a few days back, you didn't even know of his existence. 

After that Minguk, who always said bye to you with a cheery wave, mumbled that he had to go and left, without sparing you a second glance.

“What an idiot.” Jeonghan chuckled as he let you go, walking into the house. “Men who don’t have the guts to be honest with the woman they like are not worth anyone’s time.” 

“I’m sorry what?” You frowned, closing the door and following him. “The woman they like?” 

Jeonghan looked at you incredulously. “You didn’t know? He was literally making heart eyes, his drool is probably outside on the floor-” 

“He has a girlfriend.” 

“So?” He shrugged. 

“So he can’t possibly like me??” 

Jeonghan looked at you amused. “You’re dense as hell princess, there’s so much I could teach you.” and with that he walked away leaving you baffled, which was not how you expected events to turn out yesterday. 

As Seokmin went on and on about how Minguk wasn’t being fair to his girlfriend, you zoned out, mind wandering on something else entirely. You needed a new, revised plan, one that was guaranteed to get Jeonghan out of your life and this time, you swore you wouldn’t fail.

Day 4 of 10 

Plan B failed just as miserably as plan A. 

You had promised yourself to get Jeonghan out of your life, but all you managed to do was get him out of the house. 

That was part of the plan though, him stepping out was vital but somehow, as though luck loved him and despised you, things worked out in his favour yet again. 

Plan B was a long and elaborate one, one that you worked on really hard, starting from last night. 

Last night, you got into your couch tired as hell, but determined not to sleep, eyes wide open in the darkness. Around 1am, you heard the sound of feet shuffling as Jeonghan’s silhouette walked past you, opening the door, letting yet another girl into your house. As the two of them moved towards your room, bodies and tongues tangled, shutting the bedroom door behind them, you immediately got up, rushing to your office room. Looking up the posters of Jeonghan on the internet, you quickly printed out a bunch of them, silently donned your jacket and a mask and left your house in the dead of the night. It took you nearly 3 hours but by the end of it you had put up those posters along all the streets of the suburb and had barely just returned and got under the covers when the bedroom door opened and Jeonghan’s companion of the night left your house. Confident that by daybreak, everyone in the neighborhood would know Jeonghan’s face and there would at least be someone smarter than Minguk who could look past the changed hair colour, you slept happily, after a long time. 

But you were rudely awakened by the sound of Jeonghan’s voice, whispering right by your ear. 

“Be honest. You don’t actually want me to leave do you?” 

Your eyes flew open only to find his face hovering above yours, inches away. You held your breath as his hand rested on your waist, fingers tracing over the sliver of skin exposed by your shirt having ridden up. 

“You’re scared of what I do to you.” He smirked, lips teasingly close to yours. “But I could do so many wonderful things to you princess.” 

You gasped as you felt his fingers slip under the waistband of your underwear, inching closer and closer to the desperate hot and wet feeling between your legs. You couldn’t bring yourself to stop him…. You didn’t want to. As he slipped a finger in, groaning about how tight you were, your eyes flew open, meeting the cracks on the ceiling above. 

Petrified, you sat up, forehead and neck drenched in sweat as though every nerve ending was on fire. Did you just have a wet dream about Yoon Jeonghan?? 

Oh he had to leave. He had to leave as soon as possible. This plan had to work. 

And you really thought it would when you were going to buy lunch (today he wanted clam chowder which was way beyond your expertise) and he insisted on following you to get it since he was getting bored at home. You thought the entire universe had finally channelised its energy into helping you get rid of him. 

You could not have been more wrong. 

Turned out that in the few hours you had spent happily sleeping, it rained cats and dogs, obliterating nearly every single piece of paper you had put up. Hours of your hard work was quite literally washed down the drain while Jeonghan happily walked out in the open right alongside dozens of people who had no idea who he was. On the contrary, they had a wilder assumption regarding who he might be - apparently your boyfriend. 

The moment you’d stepped into the restaurant, all the old women who were your grandmother’s friends and loved to strike conversation with you, absolutely ignored your existence as they caught hold of ‘your boyfriend’, insisting that the two of you eat with them. You sat across Jeonghan, watching him talking and giggling with all the old ladies as they threw all sorts of questions at him. He answered, stuffing his mouth with food, spinning the most wonderful stories of your relationship, stories that made you almost wish they were true.

After he bid them all goodbye, which was nearly two hours later, he declared he wanted to play football in the big ground where all the ladies had mentioned their visiting grandkids were playing. You took him there, sitting on the sidelines and watching this man twice their height, tackling all the little kids effortlessly, laughing - not sadistically, just happily, enjoying himself. At that moment somehow, he felt so ordinary, like any other normal person, like he could really have been your boyfriend, like this was really your life. You abandoned that thought the moment Jeonghan pulled you from the bench into the field, demanding that you play. Though you despised the idea of running around in half muddy fields, as always, you found yourself unable to say no to him, joining him and the kids in a game that was a lot more fun than you had anticipated. That was until it started pouring rain again, forcing all of you to run back to your homes, drenched from head to toe by the time you reached. The laughter in your chest fizzled out at the sight of Jeonghan shaking the wet droplets of his hair, his wet shirt sticking to his body, the outline of it unnecessarily obvious. 

But I could do so many wonderful things to you princess.

Gulping, you left to dry yourself, heart racing behind its cage, not wanting to think of the dream. The rest of the evening you refused to so much as look at him, focusing on only on the one thing you were supposed to - Plan C.

Day 5 of 10

Plan C was short and simple and it was supposed to work like a charm. 

To be honest, a part of you always had a feeling plan A and B wouldn’t work because BooSeokSoon were right - expecting anyone in this neighbourhood to know Jeonghan was stupid. So if nobody here recognised Jeonghan, you had to bring someone who recognised Jeonghan here. And that’s exactly what you did because just as you were washing the breakfast dishes and Jeonghan was asking for your help with something, there was a loud knock on the door. 

“Police, open up.” 

Finally. 

After you had gotten up in the morning, under the pretext of getting milk, you went over to the closest public phone, calling the one and only police station nearby, the one over twenty five miles away. Trying to keep the message as anonymous and vague as possible, you spoke about how it seemed like something was not right in unit 84, your own apartment. With the fear of being identified, you didn't tell them anything else but clearly your half information was taken seriously because barely half an hour later, they were here at your door. Before you could wash your soapy hands and walk over the door, Jeonghan was already there, opening it.

You held your breath, staying hidden in the kitchen, peeking from behind the wall as the two men looked at each other. The expectation was a dramatic, movie-like scene where both men confronted each other with fists, maybe even guns but the reality, much to your surprise, was the complete opposite - they were both just talking, having a conversation you could barely hear from your hiding place. Could the cop also not recognise Jeonghan? 

The answer was no, he could not. It was Jeonghan’s luck playing it’s hand once again because the moment the cop shook Jeonghan’s hand and left and the latter turned you, you noticed how the entire lower half of his face was lathered in layers of shaving foam rendering half his face completely hidden. You vaguely recalled he was asking you for help to shave, wondering what were the odds that the cop would turn up at this exact moment. Jeonghan’s luck was indeed your biggest enemy. 

Inwardly crying about the fact that not only did he just dodge your biggest weapon, but you still had to continue doing menial work for him, you followed him to the bathroom. As you prepared the razor, he sat on the edge of the bathtub, peering at you curiously in the mirror. 

“Why do you think the cop turned up at your house today?” 

Trying not to let your hands shake, you shrugged. “How would I know?....What did he say?” 

“Someone apparently called to complain about something strange going on in this house.” 

You met his eye in the reflection, thinking fast. “I mean it is a quiet neighbourhood and the people around are really old so, I guess, maybe someone complained about, you know, all the noise at night….” 

“But you don’t use the sewing machine at night?” Jeonghan frowned like he didn’t understand. 

Clearing your throat, you turned to him. “Not me, it's you…and you know all the….” Making vague hand gestures you tried to explain your point. “....when the girls come and…”

“Sex?” Jeonghan raised an eyebrow, half laughing. “What are you, a prude? You can’t say the word sex?” 

Shifting uneasily you looked away from him, mumbling. “I just don't think everything has to be said….”

Jeonghan didn't say anything to that, continuing to look at you just a little amused as you stood between his manspread, holding his jaw and tilting his head up. When his eyes met yours, a strange something flashing behind them, every cell in your body feeling hyper-alert. Gulping you slowly ran the blades along his cheek, your own cheeks heating up under his gaze, one that never left your face. 

When you did a half turn to grab a towel, feet stumbling in the process, Jeonghan’s hands flew to grab your hips, stabilizing you. He didn't let go even after you had found your footing. He didn't let go even after you finished the task at hand. 

“I'm done…” You mumbled, taking a step back and his grip on you finally loosened. Just for a second though, before he suddenly held your hand and stood up, face inches away from yours, eyes still on you the same way. 

“What’s your deal princess?” 

You gulped, looking away confused when he bent down, to your eye level, looking curious.

“You can't even bring yourself to say ‘sex’ but….” He ran his thumb across your lower lip, rubbing away a speck of foam that somehow seemed to have gotten there. “The way you look at me, there's something a lot darker behind those eyes. Which is the real you?” 

You had no idea. 

You really really had no idea.

Which is the real you?

Staring at the ceiling you pondered over Jeonghan’s question. 

Was it the you who was thoroughly scandalized by the things Jeonghan kept saying and doing? Or the you who was lying on the couch wide awake at nearly 1am, trying to pretend like you weren’t listening to the same man absolutely ruin someone in your bed. You told yourself it wasn’t that you liked it, you were simply curious. As for why you had kept your legs pressed together, you had no answer, you most definitely were not turned on, no. 

But strangely the discomfort between your legs only got worse, like a dull, desperate ache. Hesitating, you slipped your hand under the waistband of your underwear, fingers slowly inching downward, terrified of what you would discover. Your digits slid easily, given the fact that you were soaked, eyes shutting tight in embarrassment. This was so wrong and so inappropriate on so many levels….. quickly getting yourself together you rushed over to the bathroom, washing up, throwing cold water on your face to get you back into your senses. Getting it together and patting your face dry with your towel, you walked out, stepping into complete silence. 

Frowning, you turned to the clock -  usually, Jeonghan went on for hours together, giving you some peace of mind only around 3am in the morning - could they have been done already? Confused, you slowly moved towards the room door, pushing it softly, expecting to find Jeonghan fast asleep. Instead, you’re met with the sight of a woman on all fours, her head pressed into the mattress, muffling her sounds as Jeonghan railed her from behind, his hips snapping against hers at a ridiculous pace. 

Now either you should have run away from there, or screamed and then run away from there but you did neither - instead you simply froze, eyes wide and unblinking, unable to move any part of your body. It became a whole lot worse when Jeonghan, whose face was contorted with focus, suddenly lifted his head, his vision finding you by the door. The only good thing that came from this was that somehow, you found your footing again, stumbling back, loudly shutting the door. Not knowing what else to do, you grabbed your jacket from the coat rack and quickly ran out of the house, ignoring the heavy pitter patter of the rain. Thank god the boys are still sitting at the restaurant, gathered around a table, laughing away. You walked in, ready to cry out of embarrassment and dissolve in your embarrassment. 

“Okay, let’s calm down a little.” Seokmin reached for your glass, prying it out of your hands slowly, earning a glare from you. 

“I need it. I need to drown in my sorrows.” You looked over your shoulder at the lady who was sitting at the table alone, hiccuping at her fourth bottle of beer. “Like her.” 

“What’s the deal with that woman?” Seungkwan muttered looking over. “She’s been here for hours.” 

“Something about her crush being kissed by his best friend.” Soonyoung shrugged. “Apparently the other girl dared her to watch.” 

“Ouch.” You grimaced, thoroughly impressed. “God I wish I could be like that.” 

“You are like that.” Seungkwan pointed at all the bottles of soju in front of you. 

“Not her, the other one.” You clicked your tongue, not hearing the restaurant door opening behind you. “I wish I was daring like that. Gutsy enough to put people in their place, to say what’s on my mind, to tell Yoon Jeonghan to stop fucking other people in my bed-” 

“Would you rather I fuck you?” 

You turned quickly, a chill running down your spine as you found Jeonghan right behind, bent over to whisper into your ear. All three boys before you looked with their jaws hung. Turning away from him, unable to meet his eyes, you mumbled something even you didn’t understand. 

Jeonghan smiled. “Doesn’t sound like a no.” 

“I could barely recognise you.” Seokmin looked at the man before him in awe, glancing over his not so new hairdo. “Black hair looks good on you.” 

“I know.” Jeonghan agreed like it was a matter of fact before turning to you again. “The rain just stopped but looks like it might start again anytime soon, you should come home.” 

You shook your head slowly.

“I’m amazed you know how to refuse.” Jeonghan chuckled. “But now’s not the time to; come home.” 

“No.” You stood up, facing him. “I don’t want to go to your home.” 

“Not mine, yours.” 

“Oh yeah.” You looked at him spacey as Jeonghan tried to stop himself from laughing. “That’s my house. My room. My bed. What the hell are you doing there?” 

“A new woman everyday apparently.” Soonyoung muttered, purposely looking away from Jeonghan. 

“What kind of person does that?” You poked his chest, slurring. “A-and the way you talk to them? Who says things like that?” 

“Okay, we can discuss this at home. It’s 3am, get up-” 

“It’s 3???” Seungkwan quickly turned at the clock on the wall. “Fuck, fuck, fuck we have to close up.” 

The boys quickly got to their feet, one gathering the trash, the other stacking the dishes and the other ushering the only other person in the store to leave. She got up, walking towards the entrance, wantonly tripping on her own feet and holding onto Jeonghan. Something in you wanted to smack her right across the head. 

“Hi,” She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “I’m Yuri.” 

“Hi,” Jeonghan pulled his arm from her grip. “I’m not interested.” He turned to you, blatantly ignoring the other girl’s existence. “Let’s go.” 

You watched as the poor woman, looking close to tears, stormed out as you swayed and muttered. “I can’t. I can barely stand, forget walking.” 

“Get on my back.” Jeonghan offered, making you laugh. 

“Have you seen yourself?” You threw your jacket over your shoulders. “If you carry me, you’ll break. Like literally snap in half.” 

“Huh.” Jeonghan inched closer to you, tucking his hands in his pocket. “There’s so much to teach you princess. Lesson number one, size does not matter.” 

Yet again, you found yourself burning under his gaze, words lost in your mouth which was opening and closing like a fish. Sighing, Jeonghan swooped down faster than you could register his movement, grabbing you by the knees, throwing you over his shoulder. Shrieking, you protested, trying to get him to put you down but he simply ignored you, walking away as your friends watched, thoroughly shocked. 

Within minutes he had you in your house, putting you down in your bathroom, letting you sit on the edge of the bathtub as he grabbed your towel. Standing before you, he tilted your head up, softly rubbing the towel into your hair, drying it. You tried to avoid his eye, looking everywhere but him and that small amused smile on his face, only looking at him when he finally spoke. 

“What’s your name?” 

You scoffed. “You lived in my house for 5 days, ate my food, slept in my bed, and you don’t know my name?” 

���I didn’t think it was necessary.” 

“Why is it necessary now?” 

He smiled. “If you want me to fuck you, I need to know your name princess.” 

“God.” You pulled away from him. “I didn’t say I want you to… to…” 

“There we go again.” He sighed. “The celestial prude returns.” 

“I’m not a prude, don’t call me that.” You pointed an accusatory finger at him. “I’ll have you know I have….” You cleared your throat, the volume of your voice considerably lowering. “I have slept with a man before. More than once. In fact, I have also slept with two men at the same time.” 

Jeonghan raised his eyebrow like he didn’t believe it. 

“Okay fine, one of them was just watching…...” You rolled your eyes. “But there were two, my boyfriend - ex-boyfriend - and his friend-” 

“Did you agree to that?” 

Somehow Jeonghan’s voice was a lot harder now, catching you off guard. 

“Huh?” 

“I asked you if you agreed for your boyfriend’s friend to watch?” 

“I….” You stuttered, looking around. “I didn’t say no.” 

“Princess, you never say no.” Jeonghan crouched before you, looking serious. “But that doesn’t mean it's a yes.” 

You stared at him unsure what to say. That was a night you never thought about again - you always thought it was maybe because you were embarrassed but perhaps…..a part of you was trying to forget it ever happened. 

“You asked me who says the kind of things I do in bed, right? I say them because the women I’m with want me to, they enjoy it. But what you just told me,” Jeonghan shook his head. “Did you want that?” 

“I…I don’t know.” You confess. You didn’t ever question yourself like Jeonghan was. “He didn’t ask and I didn’t think I could say no-” 

“You can always say no.” Jeonghan insisted, holding your hands. “If you don’t want something, you should say no. The same way, if you want something, you should ask for it, unashamed.” 

“Then I… I want you..…” You whispered, unsure whether you should say it, not noticing the way Jeonghan's eyes darkened instantly. Taking a deep breath, you continued. “I want you…. to stop sleeping in my bed. I want you to stop wearing the clothes I design. I want you to stop making me cook for you-”

“Okay wow we’re spiraling-”

“I want you to stop making me clean after you, to stop treating me like your personal assistant, I mean what kind of man doesn’t know how to shave-” 

“The kind who’s always had people to do these things for him so he doesn’t really know how to do anything.” He muttered, sighing. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think of it too much, I should’ve been more mindful of how I was being…. but now that you told me-” He got up. “-I won’t bother you, and on the off chance that I do, and you wish for me to leave, I will do so immediately, I promise.” 

You nodded slowly, both amazed that you managed to get all of that off your chest and that he took it all really well. He continued to look at you like you were both fascinating and funny. 

“What?” 

“You still haven’t told me your name by the way.” 

Half laughing you did and he repeated it, your name rolling off his tongue in a way that made something in your stomach flip. 

“I’m going to grab whatever clothes of yours I can find.” He walked up to the door, turning to you. “Please change, you’ll fall sick if you sleep in wet clothes.” 

With that he left, and that was the last thing you remembered. 

Day 6 of 10 

Today you woke up in the bathtub. 

The twisted form that you slept in obviously resulted in stiff joints and pains all over but it was falling asleep in drenched clothes that caused the continuous sneezing that followed. Dragging yourself out of the bathroom, you slowly walked into your house, meeting a strange silence - Jeonghan wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Feeling too weak to even wonder where he was, you dragged yourself to the couch, sinking into it, eyes fluttering shut. No more than five minutes later, you were awakened by the feeling of a cold hand on your forehead, making you jump at the suddenness. Jeonghan peered at you shaking his head. 

“Great, you’ve got a fever.” He clicked his tongue. “I was gone for two minutes last night and you fell asleep in the tub.” 

“Should’ve woken me up.” 

“Believe me, I tried but you wouldn’t even budge and it wasn’t like I could just carry you out of there.” He turned away muttering as you raised your eyebrows in faux surprise. “Okay, just carrying you once almost broke my back, so yeah, I admit it, I’m weak.” 

You burst out laughing, doubling over into a coughing fit as Jeonghan handed you a bottle of water, smiling almost fondly. 

“What do you want to eat for lunch?” 

“You’re going to make lunch?” 

“Don’t get used to it, only cause you’re sick.” 

You pondered, leaning back into the pillows. “Something hot and with soup would be great actually.” 

“Can you shower and change out of those clothes in the meantime?” 

You whined, shaking your head, body drained of all its energy. 

“Come on.” Jeonghan pulled you up from the couch, struggling as he did. “Wash up.” 

Stumbling to the bathroom, you did, albeit much slower than usual but a hot shower made all the difference in the world. You didn’t want to leave the warmth and maybe you wouldn’t have if the landline wasn’t constantly ringing. Groaning you wrapped a towel around you, dragging yourself to the phone, picking it up. 

“Where the hell is your phone?” Seungkwan scolded you from the other side. “Why won’t you pick up?” 

“On silent somewhere I guess.” You mumbled, looking around. “What’s wrong?” 

“Just wanted to check if you were okay-”

“I’m okay.” 

“-and also wanted to tell you that your dream shop? It’s up for lease.” 

You immediately straightened out, tiredness suddenly vanishing. “You mean the one down two streets? The one I've been waiting to get my hands on for months?” 

“Yes and yes and the price they’ve quoted is actually manageable.” Seungkwan sounded excited. “If us boys add a few thousand each to your 25K, I think you can actually afford it.” 

Your face softened. “You… you guys would do that for me?” 

“Of course, you’re our best friend Y/n, that’s the least we can do.” Twisting the cord of your phone, you glanced at it fondly. “Besides, you're the one who Jeonghan is living with, it's only fair….”

As though on cue, Jeonghan walked in, hands filled with bags, shooting you a surprised look. You looked back at him, both happy and conflicted. While you had been trying to get rid of Jeonghan behind your friend’s backs, they were so willing to go above and beyond for you. And the Jeonghan you so desperately were trying to paint as the big pain in your life, was here, offering to cook and look after you - did that mean you were the terrible one here? 

As Seungkwan hung up citing he had to go, Jeonghan walked up to you, looking worried. 

“All good?” 

“Yeah I just…. My dream might come true and I don’t know how to react.” 

"Dream come true?"He leaned closer, whispering into your ear. “I don't recall actually agreeing to fuck you…”

He looked at your towel clad body up and down, making you gulp and quickly walk away, gripping the material tight, him laughing behind you. 

When you returned in a fresh pair of pajamas to a Jeonghan who was busy bustling away in the kitchen, singing a song softly, he asked what dream you were talking about. 

“There's this space I've wanted to own for a long time now.” You sat down at the breakfast bar, head perched on interlocked hands. “It's up for lease and I might have the money to finally own it.”

“Congratulations princess.” Jeonghan looked up from his busy stirring, shooting you a smile. “That sounds great.” 

You nodded, continuing to feel all too happy. “I still can't believe it, I think I might pass out.” 

“Yes you might after eating this too.” He looked at you frazzled, “I might have added too much spice.”

“Is it that bad….”

You trailed away when he held out a blob of the marinade on his finger, hand extended towards you. Hesitating, you leaned closer, taking his finger in your mouth, lips wrapping around his digit and pulled off with a pop. Your eyes didn't leave him the whole time, neither did his.  

Clearing your throat, you wiped your mouth with the back of your hand.

“It's fine actually, I can take it.” 

Jeonghan didn’t reply to that, simply turning back to his work silently. In the remaining 2 hours he spent cooking and flipping through the cookbook pages, he didn’t talk or so much as look at you. Even when the two of you were eating and you complimented his food, he just gave a short nod. It was only when everything was done and he cleared the table that he finally spoke, telling you to rest for a bit. You told him you were behind a lot of projects and orders and had to work, and that’s when he turned to you exasperated, 

“You’re sick, you can take a day off.” 

“There's nothing else to do anyway.” You mumbled. “And I don’t want to sleep again, I just woke up.” 

Jeonghan hummed, putting away the dishes before turning to you. “Wanna build something?” 

You watched confused as he unpacked the remaining bags he brought home earlier, pulling out boxes of Legos. 

“I wanna make a nice little space for Doljjong.” 

“Who?” You looked around, almost terrified. “Please don’t tell me you brought home a cat-” 

He pulled out a rock from his pocket, looking all too pleased. “Doljjong, my new pet.” 

“That’s a rock.” 

“And?” He looked at it, stroking the soft surface. “I found it while playing football yesterday. Even the kids agreed it was perfect.” 

You burst out laughing at his silliness as he continued to insist how it was the perfect pet and how he had found the perfect Lego sets to build it the perfect small home. 

That’s how most of the remaining day went - the two of you building Doljjong’s new residence. Actually, it was mostly Jeonghan at work, insisting that you were sick and slow and should just watch him. So that’s what you did, leaning against the couch, sipping on the hot tea he made you, munching on the snacks he bought, watching him giggle away, making his creation. 

As the sun began to set outside, you looked at him in the soft golden light, at how simple and ordinary he looked. Maybe you could bear him for another 4 days, maybe you didn’t have to feel so terrified around him. Or perhaps you should feel more scared now that you were comfortable around him…. 

Even as you sat next to him snuggling on your couch with afternoon’s leftovers warmed up for dinner, you could only think about how you kinda wished he was here for longer, which was kind of insane - just a day ago you were desperate to have him out of here but now? Now you had to admit to yourself that the only reason left on the long list of ‘Why Jeonghan Must Go’ was the way he made you feel, even when he was just sitting across you, eating and watching tv. God this was embarrassing….

When you finally put your thoughts behind you, getting ready to sleep in your usual place, Jeonghan offered that you take the bed but you refused, mumbling something about not washing the sheets. Laughing, Jeonghan sat back on his end of the couch, settling with a jacket wrapped around him. 

“You're gonna be here all night?” You looked at him surprised. 

“Yeah.” He shut his eyes, leaning back. “Just in case you need anything.”

“Why?” You glanced at him. “I mean everything today, why did you….” 

“I know what it's like to not have anyone care when you're sick.” Sighing, he turned to look at you. “I've always had people at my beck and call but they always worked for me like it was their job, because I was their boss. It never really felt like any of them cared and sometimes, that hurt. But I've come to terms with that, that's just what it's like in this job.” 

“Why….” You hesitated but decided to take a shot anyway. “Why did you choose this profession then? I mean, what compelled you…” 

“Compelled?” Jeonghan chuckled, looking away and shutting his eyes again. “If you're looking for a good-boy-forced-by-circumstances-to-go-bad kinda story I'm afraid I'm not the one for it, princess.” 

“If it wasn't a compulsion, was it your choice….” 

“I've never really been afraid to ask and get what I want.” He smiled. “Somewhere in that process this is who I became.”

“Is it that easy to just…. go for what you want?”

“It usually is when you don't care about the consequences that may follow so yeah, it has been easy for me.” He paused, like he was mulling over something. “So far.”

Before you could ask him what he meant by that, he leaned over, tucking you properly under the sheets. 

“Enough questions for today. You need rest.” He snuggled further on his end, a small smile dancing on his lips. “Goodnight Y/n.” 

“Goodnight…..Jeonghan.” 

Day 7 of 10

Of all the ways you had imagined, one would think you'd wake up to Jeonghan, this was not one of them. 

He was still fast asleep seated on his end of the couch, head leaned back, mouth slightly askew, his breathing soft and deep. Only noticeable thing was his hand on your thigh like a comforting weight - you vaguely remembered him gently patting you as you broke into a coughing fit in the middle of the night. Dragging yourself to sit up, you continued to stare at him, taking in all the beautiful features - he looked just like he did the day you first saw him. Maybe you would've given in to the temptation and run your finger across the delicate angles of his face if the landline didn't ring so loudly, both pulling you back and waking him up. 

Muttering an apology you quickly picked up the call, only to be met by the even louder voice of your mother. 

“You're sick!?”

“Hi mom, yeah, I was sick.” You mumbled frowning. “….how did you know?” 

“Why didn't you tell me? I would've come, brought you some sides, made you something to eat-” 

“Please stop screaming.” You groaned. “I can hear you just fine.” 

“Don't tell me what to do young woman. How can I not scream when I find out my sick daughter is being taken care of by a boyfriend whose existence I'm not even aware of.” 

You immediately sat up. “W-what?” 

“Yeah, imagine my surprise when Minguk's grandmother told me you weren't well but I wasn't to worry because your ‘very caring boyfriend’ is looking after you well.” 

You looked at Jeonghan who seemed to be able to hear everything given the volume your mother was talking in. 

“Mom I can explain-” 

“Save it. I'm coming home.” 

“Mom-” 

And with that she cut the call, sending your heartbeat racing.

“Fuck fuck fuck-” 

“Calm down princess.” 

“You calm down!” You snapped back stupidly, running your hands through your hair. “I'm sorry, it's just, my mom is…. a hawk. She's going to figure things out-”

“You think she’ll call the cops on me?” 

“No, no that. She hates watching the news, I'm sure she has no idea who you are but she’s definitely going to know we-” you pointed between the two of you. “-aren't a thing.”

“Hey I made your supermart boy believe it.” Jeonghan shrugged, leaning back. “And every old woman in a 2km radius.” 

“Yeah well my mother isn't one of those women. She's hella observant and nosy and most importantly, she knows me. She knows I wouldn't be with someone like you.” 

“Wow,” Jeonghan let out a low whistle. “This is starting to become offensive, princess.”

“No…” You turned to him. “No no no. What I mean is, you're not exactly the gentle, sweet boyfriend kind right? I mean… you know what I mean right?” 

Jeonghan smiled at you like he was enjoying this. “No, I don't.” 

“You do.” You muttered, knowing well that he was pushing you into a spot. “The way you’re with women, it isn’t how boyfriends are really, or at least how my mum would expect my boyfriend to be.” 

“It’s not like I’m going to talk dirty to you in front of her.” 

Feeling the heat in your cheeks rise, you looked away. “No I mean… you just seem so much more….bad boy kinds and I’ve never been the kind to date someone like you, someone who’s not-” 

“A prince wearing a shining armor on a white horse who comes to save the day?” 

Yes exactly that, as evident by the many drawings in your childhood journal but Jeonghan did not need to know that. 

“-someone who’s not very gentlemanly?” 

“So what do you want me to do? Bow to your mother, kiss her hand, ask for your hand in marriage-” 

“I said gentle, not archaic.” You rolled your eyes.

“Do you really want that though?” He turned to you, head cocked in question. “A man who is gentle?”

You tried to avoid his gaze knowing he would read your answer to that like an open book.

“Of course. I'm….I'm a suburban girl with a boring, uneventful life. I…obviously want someone who's soft and sweet and-”

“Show me.” 

You turned to him so fast and so wide eyed, you were sure a vessel had burst somewhere. 

“Show me how you want to be loved.” 

Stuttering and at an absolute loss of words, you continued staring at him stupidly. Chuckling softly, like always, Jeonghan leaned close. 

“If we need to convince your mother, then you're going to have to teach me what you like, princess.” 

Gulping you blinked at him, eyes flickering to his lips. He watched you with raised eyebrows as you hesitatingly mirrored his lean, closing the space between the two of you and gently pressed your mouth onto his. 

Uncharacteristically, Jeonghan froze. 

His sudden stiffness instantly brought you back to your senses, making you pull away, ready to apologise and banish yourself into your room forever but before a word could leave your mouth, Jeonghan quickly captured it again, sighing into the kiss, lips moving unnaturally soft. 

“Well,” He muttered as he drew back and your eyes met his. “When I said show me, I meant show me what you wanted me to do to convince your mother about us? I didn’t think this was a part of that-” 

“Good god.” You groaned, burying your face in your hands and yourself in the couch. What the hell did you just do?

“Hey.” Chuckling, Jeonghan pulled your hands away, looking at you keenly. “Be honest with me though, is this really how you like it?” 

For some reason, the question seemed rhetorical, like he knew the answer already. Not entirely honest, you nodded slowly. 

“Huh.” He leaned closer, like he was challenging your answer. “Do you want to know how I like it?” 

“Yes.” 

You’re not really sure how or why that word left your mouth so quickly but clearly, Jeonghan didn’t care. Before you knew it, he ran his hand up your thigh, pulling you onto his lap with an ease you did not expect from him. 

“Are you sure?” He whispered, tucking your hair behind your ear with one hand, gripping your waist with the other. “You don’t-” 

“Please.” You whispered back and that was all it took for him to hold your face and pull you down onto his mouth, lips ravenous against yours. As your hands fisted the material of his shirt, his slipped in your hair, gripping it in a way that surprisingly didn’t hurt. Rather it felt good, like you wanted him to guide you the way he wanted, the way he liked, in any way he needed you to submit to him. As his hand ran down your back, his tongue slipped into your mouth, tasting like a mistake, a scandal and a terrible decision all at once but somehow you couldn’t stop. Even when he pulled back to breathe, you descended upon him immediately, oxygen be damned because for the first time in forever, something in you was truly alive. Smirking against your lips Jeonghan grabbed your ass, rocking you against him, the outline of his hard length evident under you. You moaned very audibly when he broke away, placing a line of kisses down your neck while your hands, out of their own will, began unbuttoning your shirt.

“Fuck princess, I knew you had a wild side.” He muttered against your skin, tongue running along the bruise he had made. 

You had no idea. You had no idea an animal as hungry as this was inside you - the dull feeling that you had been getting between your legs all these days was turning into a terribly unbearable ache. You could not ignore it anymore. 

“I need you-” You gasped, not expecting his mouth on the swell of your breasts. “I need your help, please Jeong-” 

And perhaps he would’ve helped if not for the sound of the lock turning. 

Your mother stood outside, balancing the bags in her hand, struggling to open the door with her spare set of keys. When she had managed to unlock the door and swing it open, she was met with the sight of her child and her apparent boyfriend sitting side by side expectantly. She however did not notice the mismatched buttoning of your shirt, or Jeonghan’s red, flushed expression or your hand awkwardly covering something on your neck. 

“Mom, you’re here, what a surprise.” Smiling wide and fake, you walked up to the woman setting her bags down on the kitchen counter, frowning at you. 

“I let you know I was coming like half an hour ago.” 

“Right.” You mumbled as Jeonghan joined, standing beside you. Getting a hold of yourself, you moved to stand next to your mother putting some much needed distance between you and the man you were practically dying to jump. “This is uh, Jeonghan. He’s… he’s actually…” 

“The boyfriend.” Jeonghan and your mother answered at the same time, taking each other aback. 

“Well, well.” Your mother looked at him up and down in scrutiny before breaking into a smile. “Something tells me you and I are going to get along great, Jeonghan. I want to hear all about how the two of you met.” 

If there is anything you’ve learnt about Jeonghan today, it was that he was an excellent storyteller. Honestly, you wouldn’t have been surprised if he was one of those people who wrote fanfictions on the internet as a hobby because wow did he have the talent for it. 

As you were putting away all the things your mother bought you and he told her the apparent story of how the two of you met, you too listened in awe, stopping your work and staring at him, amazed. Your mother kept laughing, asking why you were behaving like you were listening to this story for the first time when you actually lived it. Laughing weakly you continued to listen, trying to look less awestruck.

You’re not quite sure how Jeonghan learned the idea of romance within minutes because strangely, the story he made up was nothing short of a fairytale, one that had absolutely convinced your mother. 

“Oh Hannie.” She cooed, rubbing his arm. “I’m so glad my baby found you. There could not have been anyone more perfect.” 

As she looked at you fondly over her shoulder, Jeonghan shot you a triumphant smirk. You returned their looks with a hard smile of your own. 

The rest of the day went pretty the same way - Your mother busied herself with making you some soup and dishes for lunch while Jeonghan stood nearby, entertaining her with his words and stories. Neither of them seemed to notice how you were doing. For one, you were feeling extremely hot - it was a cool day yet you were sweating like crazy, your cheeks were hot, and just the fabric of your clothes touching your skin felt weirdly uncomfortable. You were also strangely jumpy - every time Jeonghan so much as passed by you or his hand accidentally brushed any part of your skin, you would react like you were touched by a few hundred volts of electricity. The worst thing of them all was having to sit next to him during lunch - sure it was easier when you didn’t have to look at him eye to eye but the soft kisses on your cheek and forehead??? The wiping of food on the edge of your mouth??? The constant brushing of your hair away from your face?? It was all getting a little too unbearable. 

And it didn’t help that you were already incredibly wet from your little escapade earlier, your panties sticking to you uncomfortable throughout all of this, only getting wetter if that were even possible.

Jeonghan seemed to have finally noticed your situation way too late in the day. 

After lunch your mom took over the entertainment, showing Jeonghan pictures of you as a kid, telling him all your embarrassing stories. Soon, the sun set outside and usually, your mother, who liked to leave before it was too dark, insisted she wanted to have dinner with her daughter’s boyfriend. That was how the three of you found yourself in your usual bbq place with Seokmin, Seungkwan and Soonyoung, all looking at you, wide eyed. 

Perhaps it was the many hours that she spent with Jeonghan today or watching him interact with your three best friends so casually or looking at him play with the cats in the neighborhood, by the time your tipsy mother made it back to your apartment, she could not stop gushing about how Jeonghan was the best thing that ever happened to you. The praises only stopped when she finally resorted to the bathroom for a long, hot shower, leaving you standing and looking out of the balcony, finally alone, finally at peace. 

That didn’t last for long as Jeonghan stood beside you, trying to figure out what you were so intently staring at. 

“Gotta give it to you.” You scoffed. “I was worried my mom would doubt us but you’re a natural.” 

“It helped that it was you.” 

Confused, you turned to him. 

“I mean, the little demonstration of what you pretend to like and what you really like kinda helped.” He smirked.

Knowing he was trying to put you on the spot again, you looked away, “You think you know everything….” 

“I do. You think I haven’t noticed that you’ve been incredibly turned on since our little make out session?” You froze, unable to take your eyes off the empty street. “I could smell the arousal on you all day princess and quite frankly, it’s been driving me crazy.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You mumbled, trying to leave only to be pulled back as Jeonghan trapped you between him and the railing before you. 

His fingers ran down your arm slowly, “Are you telling me if I were to slip my hand between your legs, I won’t find you soaking wet?” 

“Jeonghan please.” You whispered. “Y-you can’t say such things-” 

“You could admit it….or I could check for myself.” 

It was like the words were stuck in your throat, the shame not letting you say anything. To begin with it was already embarrassing enough to come to terms with the fact that you were immensely attracted to this man, you have been since you laid eyes on him, but to admit that he had you desperate for him all day and wanted him in any and all ways possible? That was entirely a whole other level of mortification. 

Jeonghan let out a breath, muttering in your ear. “I can’t help you if you won’t ask me to.” 

You gulped. “So begging really gets you off huh?” 

“Yes, but you don’t need to.” He smiled, his fingers running across the elastic of your bottoms. “You just need to say the word. Say you want this. Say you want me.”

When you didn’t respond to him despite a whole minute passing by, he let out a deep breath, stepping back with an understanding nod. Given how just that minimal distance between the two of you made your stomach drop, you finally cracked, holding him by the hand, pulling him back to press against your back. Holding your breath you dragged his hand, guiding it once again along the elastic of your pants. 

You couldn’t see but Jeonghan looked at you concerned. “Here?” 

“If you don’t touch me right now I might just cry.” You muttered, thankful you couldn’t see what you assumed would be a triumphant expression, pushing his hand further down, past the hem of your underwear. “Please Jeonghan.” 

Two very long and frustrating heartbeats later, he finally angled his hand, moving further down.

“Fuck.” He groaned as his digits met the slick between your folds. “Were you this soaked all day?” 

You nodded, whispering. “Been aching…...” 

“Trust me, not more than I have.” He moved closer to you, pressing against your back, his erection confirming his words. The thought of potentially feeling that inside you made your mouth practically water, as you pressed your legs closer, squeezing his hand in between them. 

Jeonghan’s finger grazed over your clit, making you keen and hold onto the railing for dear life. 

“Please.” That was all you could say with the way his fingers were teasing your entrance. “Please, please, please-” 

Jeonghan covered your mouth with his free hand, pulling you back against his chest, whispering gruffly. “Save the begging for next time y/n.” 

Next time? 

You gulped, body taut with anticipation, mind still reeling over his words as Jeonghan finally pushed in not one but two fingers at the same time, his thumb grazing over your clit simultaneously, your hand reflexively gripping his wrist. Maybe because you’ve been silently thirsting over this man for almost a week now, or because you have been inexplicably horny all day, or because you just realised that the two of you were quite literally doing this out in the open where anyone could catch you in the act but the moment Jeonghan’s fingers pushed all the way in and he pressed on your clit, your walls clamped around his digits, back arching against him, your moan held back by his hand against your mouth. As your orgasm washed over you in waves, you panted against him, trying to catch your breath, the stars in the night sky suddenly swarming in front of your eyes. 

“Did…” For the first time ever, Jeonghan stuttered, like he was confused. “Did you just cum?” 

Your arousal dripped down his fingers, giving him his answer. 

“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” He groaned. “or felt, rather.” 

As the pleasurable feeling began to ebb and the embarrassment took over, you tried to pry yourself away from his grip only for him to hold you more firmly, further pushing his fingers in. Overstimulated, your protests came out muffled against his hand, as you unwittingly clamped around him again. 

“Don’t.” He warned, head dipping to the crook of your neck, sighing. “God, you’d feel like heaven around me.” You smiled slightly at his words, just a little proud, making him chuckle. “You like the thought of that, don’t you?” 

Given your new found bravado, you slowly nodded and Jeonghan pulled himself back with resolve. “It’s not very gentlemanly to fuck a woman after making her come just once.” Finally taking his hand off your mouth and sadly also pulling his fingers out you, he turned you around swiftly, pushing you up against the wall behind him. “Give me another one.” He muttered against your ear. 

Although the post orgasm haze and more importantly, the post horny haze was receding and you were suddenly hyper aware that you were out in the open, Jeonghan’s deep voice, as he peppered kisses along your shoulder, “Come on, be good for me.”, made your decision.

 Oh you could be so good for him. 

Threading your fingers in his hair, you pressed yourself up against him, nodding almost too eagerly. Smiling against your skin, Jeonghan slipped his hand between your bodies, sliding his fingers past all the layers of cloth keeping you away from him. You sighed like you were drowning in ecstasy as his fingers found your hole again, wasting no time to push his fingers in, curling almost instantly. When you gasped at the feeling of him grazing that spot, Jeonghan covered your mouth with his free hand once again, pressing you against the wall. 

“Not here.” He warned but his actions seemed to be trying to do the exact opposite, fingers pumping in and out of you fast, your eyes almost rolling back in pleasure. “After this we are going inside and you’re gonna choose where you want to get railed and there, you can scream all you want.” 

You whined, both at the idea of him taking you on nearly every surface of your house and feeling everything inside you tighten once again. Jeonghan’s thumb began circling on your clit once again, making you squirm, knees almost buckling as you gripped his arm hard to steady yourself.

You could hear the sound of a plane flying high above, the beeping of a reversing car from somewhere below, the chatter from your neighbour’s television - somehow all of it exhilarated you. The thought of getting caught with Jeonghan knuckles deep inside you was weirdly, insanely hot…. until you heard the next sound - the bathroom door opening. 

Quickly pulling Jeonghan’s hand from your mouth and pushing him back much to his surprise, you harshly whispered. “My mom!” 

Jeonghan immediately pulled his hand away, giving you just enough time to adjust your pants and smoothen the crinkles on your clothes before your mother walked into the balcony looking for the two of you. 

Yet again, you were both smiling at her, abnormally and unnaturally wide. She frowned but overlooked it, announcing her decision instead. “I’ll need an extra pillow for my back, I’m staying the night.” 

Jeonghan and you exchanged looks at the unexpected news as the older woman narrowed her eyes at the two of you. “Is there a problem?” 

“No….” You tore your eyes away from Jeonghan. “I was just trying to remember where the extra bedding is….” 

“It’s at the bottom of your closet.” He muttered. “I’ll grab it.” 

Jeonghan walked out of there quickly, not meeting your mother’s eyes as she leaned against the railing, looking out, saying something about how it was going to rain like crazy tonight. 

You watched him disappear into the house and were about to turn your attention to your mother when he took a step back, catching your eye. As you raised your eyebrows in question, Jeonghan slipped two of his fingers into his mouth, yeah the two that were inside you moments ago, pulling them out with a pop. Laughing at your mortified expression, he walked away, leaving you with your heartbeat ringing in your ears. 

Tonight was far from over. 

Day 8 of 10 

Much to your disappointment, nothing else happened last night. 

Excusing yourself from your mother, the first thing you did was to shower, hoping you’d feel somewhat less filthy after your escapade in the balcony. Surprisingly, more than feeling scandalized about the madness you had indulged in, you found yourself disappointed that you didn’t get the chance to cum on Jeonghan’s fingers again. Part of you wanted to finish off in the shower by yourself but you knew after Jeonghan, there was no way you could feel the same kind of high in your own - it was him or nothing. 

By the time you had stepped out, Jeonghan had pillows and blankets piled up next to him on the couch and from the room, your mother called out to you. Shooting him a disappointed look which he returned, you retired to your room, sleeping next to her on your bed after a whole damn week. 

That was perhaps why you woke up when it was way past 11 in the morning, body well rested after so long. When you stretched, walking out of your room, you could hear Jeonghan and your mother talking over the sound of what you guessed was them making breakfast. 

“....that experience isolated my poor child.” You frowned hearing your mother’s voice. “After that she quit fashion school, moved away from everything she considered her world till that point-” 

“Mom!” Walking over quickly, you interrupted the conversation. “What are you doing?” 

“Making breakfast.” She shrugged as Jeonghan walked up to you, placing a soft kiss on your temple, rubbing your arm like he sensed you were angry. “And telling Han about that shithead Bohyun-” 

“Mom.” You spoke between gritted teeth. “There’s no need to talk about him early in the morning-” 

“It’s half past 11-” 

“Mom!” Looking at her exasperatedly, you crossed your arms. “Don’t you have to give grandma her medicines, what are you still doing here?” 

“Would you look at that Han?” She looked at Jeonghan, shaking her head. “She’s throwing her own mother out of the house.” 

“What? I’m not-” 

“The disrespect I tell you.” She continued, ignoring you. “When all I wish is the best for her. I told her. I told her back then not to date that boy. If she had listened to me things wouldn’t have been like this-” 

“Okay, that’s it, I’m done here.” Giving up, you turned away, heading to your studio and locked yourself in. You would now do what you always did every time your dreaded ex came across your mind - throw yourself into your work and forget the rest of the world.

In a way, you had to thank your mother for reminding you about that man and consequently pushing you towards your work cause god were you way behind schedule. You knew you were falling behind but you didn’t know it was this bad until you noticed all your deadlines menacingly staring at you from your calendar. Without wasting time, you got back into the mechanical pursuit of your job, the way you usually did when you had a surmount of orders. You only ever stepped out twice, once for lunch and once for dinner, settling for the food your mother had made for you, scarfing it down within minutes before returning to your designs. 

It was only when your shoulders began to miserably ache way past your bedtime that you dragged yourself to the living and found Jeonghan sitting in front of the tv. Surprisingly, you had forgotten all about him in the last many hours, a strange guilt rising in your chest as you sat beside him. Jeonghan did not turn to you as you approached. 

“Are you…” You laughed at the screen. “Are you watching Princess and the Frog?” 

He nodded.

“As a child, I never understood this movie.” You leaned back into the couch. “I always thought the prince was supposed to save the princess. Instead he turned out to be a playboy and dragged her through his miserable fate too.” 

Jeonghan hummed in response. 

“I can’t remember the last time I watched this.” You fiddled with your hands, trying to make conversation. “Seungkwan hates this movie so he never lets us watch during movie nights too.” 

Jeonghan simply hummed again. 

Sighing, you turned to him. “Are you….angry or something?” 

“I’m not angry, just thinking.” 

“About what?” 

“The things your mother told me about you and your past.” Jeonghan let out a deep breath, contemplating for a bit before finally talking. “I don’t understand when people forget themselves in a relationship. It makes no sense to lose yourself in love.” 

“That’s because you’ve never been in love.” You watched the screen as the two animated frogs ran through the forest. “That’s just how it is.” 

“If that’s love then I don’t ever want to be in it.” 

“Yeah well that’s the part that sucks.” You scoffed. “You don’t really get to choose. Love just happens.” 

Jeonghan finally turned to you. “You read too many fairy tales, princess.” 

Smiling at the familiar nickname, you leaned back into the couch. “I did, as a child. I grew up in a world of fairy tales. That’s where I met Bohyun, my ex.” 

Now Jeonghan had all his attention on you. 

“We were re-enacting Sleeping Beauty for a school play - I was Aurora and he was Prince Philip. He was my first kiss, my first love, my first of many things to be honest. We lived in the same neighbourhood, went to the same schools, had the same friends… I even enrolled into fashion school because he wanted to study fashion and I wanted to be with him.” You sighed looking at Jeonghan’s expression. “Yeah I can tell you don’t like that. Honestly, that wasn’t the worst decision I made. I actually really grew to love fashion designing, I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. It’s all the stuff after that I failed to see. Rather, I did see it all but…. I guess I was too much of a coward to do anything about it.” 

Jeonghan waited quietly for you to continue. 

“It started with him disappearing for long hours, then it became days together. On some days he would give explanations and on some days he would in turn scold me for not trusting him? All this went on till the last semester of fashion school when as my mother would have told you, I….found him cheating on me.” 

Jeonghan looked like he expected that outcome. 

“The crazier thing was, I actually begged him to leave her and come back to me. It took a while but he eventually did and I thought everything was back to normal again but something had changed. I refused to see it but he became strangely controlling. He would want to have a say in who my friends were, he didn’t like me hanging out with people he didn't get along with, he became more demanding about….” You gulped, voice dropping a little. “...sex. It was like he knew how much I needed him, like….” 

“He knew you didn’t know how to say no.” Jeonghan completed for you, and you nodded. 

“But then he cheated again, and came back again and then cheated yet again and I took him back again and it just kept going on and on until…. one day he asked me for a lot of money, to help kick start his new business.” You sighed. “Do you remember that dream space I told you about? It was originally my grandmother’s old kimbap shop, one that she gifted me, so I could open my own boutique there one day. I uh sold it, to get him the money he wanted and….he used it to buy his other girlfriend a house.” 

Jeonghan’s jaw tightened like he was mad. 

“After that blow, I quit school and moved away from that neighbourhood to this place, my grandmother’s apartment. Everyone thought I was done with him and was trying to move on but…. I was honestly running away. Because I knew if he came back….”

“You still wouldn’t be able to say no.” 

You nodded. “I am pathetic, aren’t I?” 

“Yeah, a little.” Jeonghan scoffed. “I don’t understand love, and I’ve never been in it, but one would have to be a fool to not be in love with you.” 

You looked at Jeonghan, slightly taken aback. 

“The world is harsh and cold and selfish Y/n. No one thinks about anything beyond themselves. And there’s you, putting the person you love above everything. It’s both pathetic and noble.” Jeonghan turned off the movie as the credits began rolling. “But you cannot put your self respect on the line for assholes like him, you deserve much better than that.” 

“I know.” You sighed. “I wish I knew how to.” 

“By speaking your mind.” Jeonghan stated like it was obvious. “By refusing the things you don’t want. By asking for the things you do want. By talking about how you feel…. Not just when you’re drunk but also in all your senses.” 

Recalling that drunk night in the bathroom you laughed softly. He wasn’t wrong. Things between the two of you had changed drastically since that conversation. A strange gratitude swelled in your heart towards Jeonghan and how though he had been with you for barely a week, he had understood you better than anyone had. Turning him to you, you placed a soft kiss on his mouth, muttering a heartfelt “Thank you.” 

Jeonghan, though, rolled his eyes. “Y/n, I’m not even kidding, my grandmother kisses me like this.” 

You laughed as he reached for you, attempting to pull you into his lap yet again but you beat him to it, clambering in yourself, tucking your hair behind your ear. 

Jeonghan smiled at the sight of you above him. “Hey.” 

“Hi.” 

“Is there something you want?” 

“Yes.” You whispered, taking his face in your hands and kissing him again, this time, slipping your tongue in his mouth. Jeonghan’s lips curled into a smile as he pressed back, breaking free only to softly bite on your lower lip. Sighing dreamily, you rocked your hips against his, guided by his hands. You softly mumbled, holding back a moan. “We didn’t get to finish…. whatever we were doing last night.” 

“And what was that?” 

“.....you know what.” 

“Use your words princess,” His voice went low and gruff, sending a tingle across your groin. “You were far from shy with my fingers inside you.” 

“Don’t….” 

Jeonghan’s hands sneaked under your shirt, more than pleased to not find the hooks of a bra. “Bedroom.”

You shook your head slowly, muttering. “Too far.” 

Chuckling Jeonghan leaned back. “You want me to take you right here?” 

“You said I could choose next time….” 

“I also asked you to beg next time.” He whispered, tongue running over his lower lip, hands dragging you hips along his length. “So tell me you want me to fuck you with my fingers again.” 

“Please.” You gasped. “Just fuck me…  with anything.” 

“Anything…” He repeated amused, before pulling your shirt over your head. No sooner did the material leave you, his mouth descended on your boob, pulling you in, towards him. Threading your fingers in his hair you gripped it as a moan slipped out of you - never in your life had you ever been this obscene but something about doing it with Jeonghan felt like this was the big catharsis of your life, waiting to happen. 

With a swift movement he flipped you onto your back, laying you on the couch, hovering over you. Without wasting any time, you unbuttoned his shirt, fingers moving nimbly, thank god for fashion school. Jeonghan laughed as you attempted to push the fabric off his shoulders, holding your hands by the wrists, pinning it to your chest. 

“Eager aren't we?” He looked at you in a way that could only be described as mocking. “If only you were honest with me from the start we could have been doing this for so long.” 

“I'm sorry-” 

“Shhh.” Head raised, you watched him drag his mouth down your chest, inching closer to your abdomen. “I hate apologies. You either own it or fix it.” 

“How can I fix it?” 

“By telling me what you really want.” Pulling your shorts off your legs, he hovered right above where you were aching once again. 

“I…I don’t know.” Falling back onto the couch, you stared at the ceiling. “I really don't. I just know that I’ve been weirdly winded and uneasy for a long time and it feels like you’re the only one who can help- oh my god.” 

Your eyes widened as you raised yourself on your elbows to see Jeonghan right between your legs, his mouth pressed onto your panties right there. 

“Like this?” He grinned before peppering small kisses on the inside of your thigh. 

When words refused to leave your dried up throat, you nodded slowly, not looking at him. Leaving your hands Jeonghan hooked his fingers on the elastic of your underwear, “Up.” and pulled it down your raised hips. As it joined the rest of your clothes somewhere on the floor, suddenly you were hyper aware of the fact that you were completely bare while Jeonghan was still almost entirely clothed. Reflexively, your legs tried to squeeze shut, but Jeonghan’s hands stopped them, pulling them over his shoulders instead. 

“I wish you could see yourself from my eyes Y/n.” He looked at you, eyes darkened in desire. You probably looked like a flushed, panting mess, completely missing the admiration etched on Jeonghan’s face. 

Aware of Jeonghan and his ability to tease and especially his affinity for begging, you opened your mouth to do just the same but what left it was an unholy moan as Jeonghan descended upon you like he was ravenous. As though just his mouth on your clit wasn’t making you lose your mind, his digits too slipped in, pumping slowly. He must’ve liked it when your fingers automatically threaded into his hair because his groan reverberated against your core making your back arch off the couch in pleasure. 

Oral was completely new territory - you had never gotten or given it, god knows why considering this was clearly the best thing that has ever happened to you. As discussed yesterday, you let every sound leave your mouth freely, unbothered about the neighbours or people living around. Frankly it could be the end of the world and you wouldn’t care, not with what Jeonghan’s tongue was doing inside you. He too seemed to enjoy your audible reactions and the way it told him just how you liked it, his fingers and mouth taking turns to manhandle you. 

“Jeonghan fu-fuck, right there.” You nearly sobbed as his fingers found your sweet spot, the one that made your toes quite literally curl. 

“Don’t cum Y/n, I don’t want to be done just yet.” 

Well then he should have behaved like it because seconds after he said that you felt that tightening coil in you snap as you embarrassingly loudly, came on his tongue, riding it out against his mouth. Licking his lips Jeonghan pulled himself away from your legs, hovering above you once more, kissing you again. The taste of you in his mouth felt sinful but you let yourself be carried away by it as his hand ran up your thigh seductively before grabbing your more petite hand, placing it right where he was rock hard. As your mouth practically watered at how long and heavy he felt in your hands, Jeonghan buried his face in the crook of your neck, leaving little bite marks of red. 

“I thought gentlemen didn’t make a woman cum just once.” You muttered, gripping his erection the best you could in that angle and over his sweats. 

Jeonghan hissed, his voice dropping an octave. “I thought you didn’t want anything gentle?” 

“I….I don’t.” You confessed out loud for the first time. “Do whatever you want, I can take it.” 

Jeonghan raised his eyebrows both pleased and impressed as his fingers toyed with the slick dripping between your folds. Eyes shut tight, you waited to feel him ravage you once again instead, you were met with the sound of a loud knock on your door. 

Both Jeonghan and you looked at each other wondering if that was just imagination till another knock pulled you to your senses. 

“Please don’t tell me that’s your mother again.” Jeonghan quickly sat up, hands moving to button himself up. 

“I hope not.” You got off the couch hurriedly, grabbed your clothes from the floor and quickly threw them on, smoothing out your hair. Jeonghan walked up to the door, waiting with his hand on the handle for you to look decent as you and your wobbly self tried to keep it together. The moment you pulled your shirt over your head and adjusted your shorts, Jeonghan opened the door and your heart dropped to your stomach. 

Standing at the entrance was a young woman dressed in an unbelievably tight black dress, her hair held up by a high ponytail as she blew her baby pink bubblegum. She looked up from her phone at you then at the door number as though she was confirming if she was in the right place. You knew exactly why she was here and for whom. 

Unable to comprehend how exactly to react in this situation, you grabbed your jacket from the stand and walked past Jeonghan, harshly pulling away from his attempt to hold you back. Not even glancing back, you disappeared into the night doing what you did best - running away. 

“Y/n.” 

When you opened your eyes you were met with the sight of Jeonghan’s face high above, upside down. 

“Oh my god.” You gasped slowly. “Your mouth is on your forehead and your eyes are on your chin.”

“And you’re clearly drunk. Again.” He walked around, lying down on the grass beside you. “Which means it's time for both stupidity and honesty.” 

You turned your head towards him. “Did you just call me stupid?” 

Jeonghan mirrored you. “I also called you honest.” 

“Hmm. Then I'll be honest. I don't want to talk to you.” 

“Do you want me to go then?” 

“No.” You sighed. “I don't want you to go… to her.” 

“She's gone. I sent her away the moment you left.”

“Why did it take you so long to come to me then?” You pouted as Jeonghan laughed. 

“I thought you'd be at the restaurant. I didn't expect to find you lying in the middle of the football field.” 

In all fairness, that was a valid point - you didn't want to face the boys right now so you purchased a few bottles of soju from the supermarket which were now lying empty around you. 

“Why did she come?”

“I didn’t call anyone today.” He sighed. “It’s just, the instruction was for a new one to come every night. They came the last two nights too, I sent them away, just like I did today.”

“Why?” 

“Because…. Because we,” Jeonghan cleared his throat. “I mean you and I-” 

“Why do you need a new girl every night?” 

“I'm not sure.” Jeonghan turned away, staring at the stars. “I guess I'm just…  looking for a human connection with someone.” 

“Like that?” You scoffed. “By sleeping with someone new everyday?” 

“I don’t know Y/n, I don't even know how what I’m searching for feels. Perhaps I’m just looking for someone who makes me feel….. Normal? Like I’m worthy of being cared for.” 

“Did you manage to find anyone…. who makes you feel like that?” 

Jeonghan turned to you with a small smile, eyes roaming over your features. “Yes but ironically, not by sleeping with them.” 

You hummed, pausing for a silent minute. 

“Did you never want to try and find that with me?” Eyes big and curious you turned to him. “Did you never want to sleep with me?” 

“I did. From the moment I laid my eyes on you.” Jeonghan recalled the first ever words he said to you. I love you. Maybe he didn't just say it out of relief. Maybe a part of him subconsciously knew this was it. You were it. “But you quite literally kept running away from me. Hell, you couldn't even say the word ‘sex'-”

“I want to have sex with you.” You sat up in a flash. “Jeonghan I really do want to have sex with you-” 

“You're drunk.” Jeonghan chuckled. “Sober you may not want the same thing-” 

“It does. Every me wants this. Jeonghan-” To his complete surprise, you climbed onto him, straddling him around the waist, palms planted on his chest. “-I'm serious. Didn't you say I was honest when I'm drunk?” 

“I also said you were stupid when drunk.” He tucked your hair behind your ear fondly. “It won’t be right to do anything now.” 

“Fine. I’ll be sober by the morning and ask you first thing when I wake up, do you promise to fuck me right here?” 

“Out here? Ok that’s a bit much even for me.” Jeonghan laughed. “You’re a lot wilder than I anticipated, princess.” 

“Ugh.” You groaned, lying down on his chest, eyes fluttering shut from the tiredness. “I think you bring out the worst in me.” 

“But somehow you bring out the best in me.” Jeonghan stroked your head softly. “I can't remember the last time I felt this free and happy. Strangely, I think I've grown to like this little domestic life with you. The cooking, the shopping, the grandmas, the kids, your mom…..does it all have to end in 2 days?” 

When he didn’t get a response, Jeonghan glanced down only to find you fast asleep, mouth slightly open. Laughing silently he wrapped his arms around you, holding you close against his chest as he too dozed off into a peaceful slumber.  

Day 9 of 10 

You woke up to the feeling of harsh sunlight on your face which was not unusual given you always slept next to the window. What was unusual was waking up in the middle of the football field wrapped in Jeonghan's arms.

You're fully awake in the blink of an eye, mortified by the thought of people having seen the two of you, although no one seemed to be around as far as the eye could see.

“Good morning princess.” Jeonghan yawned, slowly waking up, his arms loosening around you. Taking the chance you slid off him, mumbling a small “morning.” in reply.

Jeonghan snickered, glancing at you. “Someone's definitely sober.” 

“We should go….before someone sees us.” 

As you looked around trying to spot any unwelcome viewers, Jeonghan raised himself on his elbow, looking down at you. 

“Last night you didn't seem to care.” 

“Jeonghan….” His finger traced down your arm seductively. “Please let's go home.” 

Reading into your urgency, Jeonghan nodded, pulling you up to your feet. As the two of you walked away, his hand was still interlocked in yours. 

The streets near your house somehow looked more alive today. Suddenly everyone you knew was out on the street, waving you hi, wishing you good morning, smiling slightly at the sight of the two of you walking hand in hand. Seokmin, Seungkwan and Soonyoung, who normally only turned up in the evening for their shift after classes, were also standing outside the restaurant, looking at the two of you quizzically. As Jeonghan spotted them he let your hand go, greeting them with a nod before glancing at the convenience store. 

“I’m gonna grab breakfast.” He stepped back. “We’re going to need our energy for what’s coming.”

As he walked off with a wink and you tried to suppress your excited smile, the boys jogged up to you, gathering around. 

“Did I just see you two hold hands?” Soonyoung poked your arm with a smirk. 

“Soonyoung later.” Seungkwan shut him up. “Y/n, you have Jeonghan’s phone right?” 

“H-his phone?” You shook your head. “Not right now. It’s in the drawer of the tv cabinet…. I think?” 

“Well we gotta message that guy, assistant 1, remind him to keep the money ready.” 

You blinked like all the words he said just went over your head. 

Seungkwan looked at you pointedly, “Tomorrow is the tenth day Y/n, remember what we’re doing all this for?” 

“Are you okay?” Seokmin glanced at you lost in thought. 

No, no you did not think you were okay. 

“No.” 

That was the first word that left you the moment you entered your house and Jeonghan closed the door behind you. 

“I mean, you were right. Sober me doesn’t want the same thing.” 

Jeonghan looked at you trying not to show the surprise and confusion on his face. You, on the other hand, finally had clarity - this was Jeonghan. Mafia boss Yoon Jeonghan. The man who was on the run from the cops, the man who you were in fact holding for a ransom, the man who will be gone in a day. This wasn’t you - sleeping with a man because you couldn’t keep it in your pants. You had no idea why you were behaving like this. 

“Jeonghan, I'm a relationship kind of girl. I can’t sleep with someone who…. Who isn’t a permanent part of my life. Who’s just…. in it for one night.” 

“What?” 

“Jeonghan you’re the kind who needs a new woman every night and I’m not interested in being a part of that long list-”

“Did you not hear a word I said last night?” 

“You told me to learn how to say no.” You raised your hands. “I’ve learnt it and this is me saying no. “ You let out a deep, determined breath. “I don’t want this.” 

Jeonghan stared at you for a minute before his eyes fell to the floor. 

“If that’s what you want.” 

And with that he walked past you, finishing everything just as easily as it started. 

Strangely, the rest of the day, Jeonghan didn’t behave any differently than he usually did. You expected him to be mad or at least upset but quite frankly, he seemed unbothered. You did notice though that he ordered his own food for lunch and seemed particularly cautious about how he was around you in your personal space. Gone was the Jeonghan who liked to lean in to say the simplest of things. 

His lack of botheration though, particularly bothered you. From the things he had said and the way he had behaved, it seemed like he wanted you as much as you wanted him so how was it so easy for him to put so much distance between the two of you when it was excruciatingly painful for you to stay even a foot away from him? How was he able to be so calm and casual, like you didn’t just completely cast him aside? How did it not matter to him that you didn’t want him to be a part of your life? 

It was because of all this consistent overthinking that you could only manage to keep yourself away from Jeonghan for about five hours, till around sunset. Finding a pack of condoms in the bag of food he brought from the supermarket was probably what finally set you off. 

“What is wrong with you?” You threw the pack onto the couch beside him.

Jeonghan glanced at the pack, then at you. “Based on last night’s conversation, I assumed certain things about today, so I thought that was a sensible purchase.” 

“Exactly, why aren’t you more upset?” You crossed your arms. “I told you I wanted to last night, you even prepared for it, then in the very last second, I said no-” 

“That’s exactly why I’m not upset.” Sighing, Jeonghan stood. “Y/n, I’m glad you said no. I’m happy you learnt to say it. I couldn't care less that I’m the first victim of this newfound voice, I’m just happy you found it.” 

You blinked at him.

“I know you’re thinking about the future and that’s fair. I don’t know how long I can be here or if I will be forced to be on the run again, or what really is in store for me but I’m just happy that even if I’m not there, you will be able to respect yourself the way I do. That you won’t compromise with what you want for what others want from you-” 

Strangely overwhelmed, you pulled him by his shirt and claimed his breath with a kiss. Almost instantly, Jeonghan kissed you back, hands gripping your waist, mouth ravenously capturing yours like the five hours you were apart were unbearable for him too. 

“Wait.” He pulled back when the loss of breath somehow brought him back to his senses. “Y/n what-” 

“Fuck me Jeonghan.” 

“Didn’t you say-” 

“I take it back.” 

“Y/n.” Jeonghan pulled away, holding you at an arm's distance. “Don’t do things you’ll regret.” 

“But I want this.” You kissed him again, muttering against his mouth. “I want you.” 

Jeonghan clearly, if anything, was a man. The moment you whispered a soft please, grinding your hip against his, he smashed his lips onto yours again, refusing to break away even though the two of you could barely find footing as you stumbled to your room. He only parted when the back of his knees hit your bed, forcing him to sit down and he looked up at you between the tresses falling into his eyes. You pushed it back, running the back of your hand along his cheek. 

“I wish the world looked at me the way you do.” 

“If anyone else looked at you this way,” Jeonghan raised his eyebrows. “I’m afraid it's going to be the last thing they ever look at.” 

You laughed rolling your eyes. “A little admiration isn’t a crime.” 

“If admiration is what you want, then I shall bend the will of every man in the city into doing so.” He smirked, attempting to bite your fingers lingering by his lips. “Let me properly show you mine first.” 

As he tugged on your shirt you obediently pulled it over your head as he stripped out of his own. It wasn’t the first time the two of you were seeing each other shirtless but there was a strange charged energy rippling between you now, one that was almost impossible to ignore. As you bent down to kiss him again, his hands found the hooks of your bra, unclasping them as you quickly dragged it down your arms, tossing it somewhere. His hand ran up the insides of your thigh, a jolt running through you when his fingers grazed over your clit. As you gasped, he took the chance to pull you closer by the leg, running his mouth below your belly button. 

“Jeonghan, haven’t we had enough foreplay?” You sighed, throwing your head back as he marked your skin, slowly pulling both your shorts and underwear in one go. “We’ve been doing this for days, let’s just get to it please.” 

“To what?” Feigning innocence he smirked, running his tongue along his teeth. 

“Fucking.” You pushed him back into the bed. “Fuck me Jeonghan. Properly. Your dick inside me kinds.”

Jeonghan raised himself on his elbows, laughing. “Look at you, using your big girl words.” 

Kicking off the rest of your clothes, you attempted to straddle him when he pulled you into the mattress and in a flash, you were lying on the bed and he was towering over you instead. Sticking his hand in his pocket, he pulled out a condom and threw it at you. 

“Open it.” 

Holding the wrapper between your teeth, you ripped it open as fast as you could, earning a tutting noise from Jeonghan. 

“Y/n, you could make a hole like that.” 

You stared at him blankly, like you were supposed to understand what he was saying when he was standing there with his pants discarded, stroking himself. Your mouth was in a strange combination of being dry but also somehow almost drooling. Almost the same way you wanted him both in your mouth and rearranging your organs down under, all at once. Jeonghan chuckled at your inability to function as he gently grabbed the latex from you and rolled it over his length. You shouldn’t have expressed so much eagerness to have him fuck you - you could’ve felt every vein and ridge you were seeing in your mouth first but that thought dissipated the moment Jeonghan hovered over you, grabbing you by the jaw. Almost reflexively, your mouth opened for him, allowing him to slide his thumb in as you earnestly sucked it, hoping his smirk would turn into the hunger to feel your lips around him. As much as Jeonghan did tell you to ask for what you want, you had a feeling if you told him just how desperate you were to have him fuck your mouth, he would never let you live it down. 

“I know what you want.” Jeonghan spoke under his breath as his hand trailed down your body, slipping between your legs. “But I want this a lot more. Is that okay?” 

Okay? You nodded immediately - it was absolutely okay. You just wanted to be full of him one way or another. Jeonghan shook his head.

“Words baby.” He slid his thumb in, almost embarrassingly easily, as he stared at his finger disappear inside you. “Although this is telltale, we will do whatever you want.” He leaned over, pressing his forehead against yours. “I’ll give you whatever you want.” 

“You.” You breathed out, “However, wherever-” 

And the words died on your tongue when he swiftly pulled his finger out and immediately entered you, gently pushing in till he bottomed out. Chest heaving, you could feel yourself panting as your body tried to adjust to his girth. Jeonghan groaned into your ear as your walls fluttered around him, still getting accustomed to the stretch. 

“I knew you’d feel good.” 

“Y-yeah?”

“You feel fucking perfect.” Jeonghan pulled back just a little, his hips setting a slow rhythm. “I could be in you forever.”

Before a proud smile could even fully form on your face, Jeonghan picked up the pace, making your lips part with a moan. 

“I….Oh god.” You whined, trying to find your words in between his continuous strokes. “I….. didn’t think you were a missionary kind of guy.” 

Jeonghan chuckled as he ran his hand down your leg and pulled your knee up so he could grip your thigh. “I want to see you cum.” Sighing, he bit on your lower lip, tugging it between his teeth. “I want to see how I make you feel.” 

“So fucking good.” You muttered against his mouth, finding your hips moving against his on their own accord. You wanted to make him feel good so you wrapped your legs around his waist and ran your nails down his back and wow did that work like a charm because Jeonghan’s rhythm instantly faltered, as did his grip on your thigh, surely bruising it. 

“Oh Y/n,” He slipped his hand between your bodies, fingers finding your clit when you groaned at the touch. “I can play the game too.” 

“Whatever you do, just- fuck.” You squirmed as Jeonghan seemed to have the perfect combination of thrusts and rubbing circles. “Just don’t stop.” 

“Never.” He groaned, continuing to make you fall apart as you felt your back arch off the mattress, toes curling in pleasure. Jeonghan latched his mouth on your bared neck, muttering, “Yes, yes cum for me.” 

And you did, finally, after days of desiring to be railed by this man, you came around him, body keening under his weight, eyes nearly rolling back. As you slowly panted back to reality, Jeonghan, who had long pulled out of you and rolled off you onto his side, was looking at you intently. Embarrassed that this was not the first but the second time he managed to break you in minutes, you covered your face with your hands, earning Jeonghan’s laugh. 

“Why are you hiding?” He tried to pry your hands away, only to fail. “I didn’t think it was possible for you to look more pretty but fuck you looked so beautful when you came.” 

“Jeonghan please….”  

“Please what?” He chuckled, shifting beside you. “I’ve seen all there is to.”

You shook your head, choosing the darkness over meeting his eyes when suddenly, you felt him crawl between your legs and his mouth descend on you as he spread them apart. Considering how sensitive you were, your hands immediately flew to his head, eyes widening as he licked your arousal, looking at you victoriously. 

“I can’t….” You muttered and he pulled away, licking his lips, sitting back on his heels. Eyes running over his flushed face and body, you noticed the marks of your nail on his bicep, and also the fact that he was still hard as ever. 

“You didn’t finish.” You sat up, crossing your legs, only just realizing.

“I usually need a lot more than a few minutes to finish.” He pursed his lips but you knew he was trying to hold back a smile. A mocking one, at how easily you seemed to cum. 

“Then let’s go again.” You cocked your head. “…. On one condition.” 

“And what is that?” 

You let out a deep breath. “Take off your condom.” 

Jeonghan’s eyebrows shot up. “You can’t be serious.” 

“Considering you sleep with a new woman every night, I’m guessing you always use protection.” 

“Always, that's an unsaid rule” 

“But I’m not them, so their rules can’t apply to me.” It was your turn to smirk. “We’ll see how long you last when you fuck me raw.” 

“Look at you, challenging me.” Jeonghan smiled like he was proud. “But it's not safe Y/n-” 

“What’s life without a little recklessness?” You rolled your eyes earning Jeonghan’s laugh. “Besides, that condom probably already has a hole from my teeth so-” 

“So I’ll grab another one.” 

“Yoon Jeonghan, if you leave this bed, this ends.” You crossed your arms. “Your choice.” 

“You’re not giving me much of a choice really.” 

“I know.” You grinned. “Now might also be a good time to add that though I might not be one of your regular nightly encounters, you should know that I heard you almost every night.” You let your voice go softer. “And I liked it….. A lot.” 

Finally, finally, Jeonghan’s expression darkened the way you wanted it to. “I suspected.” 

“And I’m confirming.” You shrugged. “And by the way, I also have an IUD so I’m not sure what you’re waiting for.” 

Jeonghan paused for a minute before he finally spoke. “On your knees.” 

You shook your head, extending your hand and pulling his condom off, tossing the latex in a nearby bin. “In my mouth.” 

“I don’t think so, princess.” Jeonghan not so gently pushed you back into the mattress, your back barely hitting it before he flipped you over and pulled you onto your knees. “I prefer blowjobs as a wake up call. This time of the night, I like to prove bratty girls wrong.” 

You laughed, looking over your shoulder. “But I want to see your face when I prove you wrong.” 

Knowing exactly what you wanted, Jeonnghan sighed before lying down on his back next to you, allowing you to move over and straddle him. 

“My bet is 9 minutes.” You ran your hand down his chest. “I don’t think you can last till double digits.” 

“We both know you won’t last even half of that Y/n-” He smirked. “-given your track record.” 

Deciding to prove him wrong with actions not words, you aligned his tip under you and sank down his length with a slow, deep moan. The stretch in this new angle felt different but it also let you take him further in, deeper than you had even imagined it was possible. 

Maybe Jeonghan was right about you breaking first. Given the way he made you feel so full, the way you felt every inch of his bare length in your insides, you knew it was only a matter of time. 

Or maybe not. Evidently, this was the first time Jeonghan was ever fucking someone raw. You could tell by the way he sounded with every drag of your walls against his dick - the struggling breathy moans that he was trying not to let out as you picked up the pace. 

You knew if you chose to grind your hips against his, it would help reach those spots in you a whole lot better, sending waves of pleasure through your body but you were determined to make Jeonghan cum first. That’s why you supported yourself with your palms on his chest, moving your hips up and down along his length and momentarily, Jeonghan gripped your waist tight, encouraging you to move just like that. At least until he realised he was getting too close to cumming and too close to losing. Changing strategy, he grabbed and squeezed your boobs instead, trying to ignore his own approaching high. When you responded with a whimper, satisfied, he dragged his hand down, bringing attention to your ignored clit. 

“That’s cheating.” You panted, throwing your head back, feeling the coil tighten in your stomach. 

Jeonghan snickered, shaking his head, refusing to stop his ministrations. If there was one thing he always took pride in, it was his ability to capitalize on every woman’s weakness - her clit. 

Though you were feeling your legs shake and your arms were struggling to hold your weight, you didn’t stop, ignoring your breaths which were getting fast and shallow. 

Jeonghan however, immediately picked up on it, reaching for your wrist and pulling you, making you fall over, onto him. 

“Hey,” He tried to get a good look at your face. “You okay?” 

“Tired.” You mumbled. “I’ve never been on top.” 

“Let me.” He whispered, dropping a kiss on your cheek as you nodded. 

Grabbing your ass with both his hands he raised it, guiding your movements and snapping his hips up at the same time. You on the other hand, let him have his way with you, busying yourself, alternating leaving marks all over his neck and shoulder and moaning sweetly into his ear. Both things seemed to rile him effectively as his pace became merciless and erratic, pounding into you the way you had only dreamed of for days. With a few more rough thrusts, you felt your walls tighten around him as the coil in you finally snapped and thanks to your tight constriction around his length, Jeonghan too came inside you, ropes of white filling you as he groaned in your ear. 

As the two of you slowly came down from your high, Jeonghan wrapped his arms around you, dropping a sweet kiss in your hair. You snuggled into his neck, ignoring the feeling of your mixed releases leaking out of you. 

“That was definitely more than 9 minutes.” Jeonghan pointed out. 

“I lasted more than half.” 

“So neither of us won?” Jeonghan hummed.

You pulled yourself up, looking at him. “Or maybe…. we need round three to decide.” 

“You read my mind.” He smirked, quickly flipping you onto your back, ignoring your shriek of surprise as he hovered over you. The night was still so so young.

Day 10 of 10 

By the time you came around, the night had passed and the sun had begun to rise. No wonder it felt a whole lot warmer even though you were butt naked, covered by just a thin blanket thrown over you. It was the morning sun and also Jeonghan, who was comfortably snuggled in your arms, his breath soft against the crook of your neck. As you shifted from him just a little, trying to glance at his beautiful face, he pulled away, grumbling as he rolled onto his back, still fast asleep. Raising yourself on your elbow, you glanced at him. 

Last night was…..something. You never really admitted to yourself in the last few days that you had thought about sleeping with Jeonghan a few hundred times, but now you did and you also had to admit that it was nowhere how you thought it would have gone. Maybe rounds two, three, four and how many ever that followed did match up to that but somehow, it was round one that was playing in your mind. The unexpected softness from him, the way he was looking into your eyes….. It all felt a bit strange. Like it was something you would do. 

On the other hand, the wild person you expected Jeonghan to be, ended up coming out of you. The kinds of things you said? The kinds of things you did? It was so uncharacteristic yet….. It didn’t feel wrong. In fact, in a very long time, you were feeling strangely liberated. Like there was no fairytale ending written for you and surprisingly you didn’t mind that. 

But speaking of happy endings…..

You determinedly pulled away your blanket covering Jeonghan, glancing at how his boxers were on again. Maybe he put them on after you had promptly passed out last night, completely worn out and exhausted, just the way he seemed to have cleaned you up before tucking you in. Pulling your hair up into a bun, you got between his legs, pulling down the elastic of his underwear, taking his dick into your hands. Surprisingly, Jeonghan didn’t stir awake, or even move an inch so you promptly began stroking it, quickening your movements, especially when you slowly felt him harden under your touch. It was only when you spat in your hand and began to jerk him off more steadily that he finally came around, eyes slowly blinking open. 

“First thing in the morning?” He smiled sleepily. “You’re insatiable.” 

“Rise and shine.” You grinned. “Someone said something about a wake up call.” 

“I said I’d like your mouth.” He tucked his hand below his head looking at you with what you could only comprehend as a mix of lust and fondness. 

Smiling, you got down on your stomach, wrapping your mouth around his tip eliciting a shaky breath from him. You pulled back with a wet pop and the lick of the lips. “And it's all yours.” 

Jeonghan chuckled, whispering, “You’re going to be the end of me princess.” 

Little did he know.... you actually were. 

The warm water on your skin was much needed after an unexpectedly long morning. Actually, it was very much expected considering the way you woke Jeonghan up. It was only natural that he would return the favor to the best of his abilities and that somehow spiraled from one thing to another, causing morning to turn into afternoon. Your stomach let out a low rumble, reminding you that you were hungry and that you should have put water to boil so you could make some ramyeon for lunch. You knew Jeonghan particularly enjoyed soggy noodles and it was also the quickest meal you could have given how much energy was exhausted in the last 12 or so hours.

As you stepped out of the shower, dried yourself and slipped into a comfortable pair of clothes, conspicuously leaving the top two buttons open, you found Jeonghan standing in the kitchen behind the stove. 

“You put the water to boil?” You smiled relieved. “Thank god-” 

“You kidnapped me?” Jeonghan turned to you, eyes flashing the pain of betrayal. In his hand was his phone, the one you had safely stashed in the drawer and on the screen was a message from his assistant. One that said the money in exchange for Jeonghan was ready. “All these days, you let me stay in your house because you were holding me for ransom?” 

“Jeonghan I know what it looks like and I can explain-” 

“All this for what? To buy your grandmother’s shop again?” 

“No….” You stepped up shaking your head. “I didn’t even know about the shop till you were with me. Jeonghan, I didn’t do this for money-” 

“I should have known when your mother said she had no brother.” Jeonghan shook his head like he couldn’t believe himself. “Keeping me here as a twisted revenge for your incarcerated uncle, why did I overlook how stupid that was?”

“Okay that was a lie, but I didn’t make it up.” You tried to hold his hand, but he pulled away hurtfully. “Jeonghan, it was the boys…. I just went with whatever they told me to do. Things just turned out this way, none of us planned for it to happen and…. I wasn’t going to go through with this plan anyways, I was going to call it off today-” 

“Why?” Jeonghan looked at you impassively. “What changed in 10 days?” 

You blinked at him, words lost. “I….. I got to know you. I saw who you could be if you distanced yourself from all that crime and lived a normal life. I always believe people deserve a second chance and I thought so do you. And we didn’t even get a first chance-” 

You turned at the sound of the doorbell before glancing at the clock. A part of you wanted to ignore it and clear the air with Jeonghan but when it rang urgently again, you sighed, turning to him. 

“I think it’s the boys, I’m sorry, just give me a second.” 

Rushing, you half ran over to the door quickly opening it, shaking your head. “Guys, things are a mess-” 

But it seemed like the bigger mess had in fact just arrived. Standing before you was the one person you did not want to see, especially now - Bohyun. 

“W-what are you doing here? And how did you even find me?” 

Uninvited, Bohyun stepped in walking past you. “Your mother….” He turned to you, clearing his throat. “I assumed when you left that you had gone overseas, to Paris maybe, your dream city. But your mother said she met you and your new boyfriend so I figured you were in town and considering how your grandmother moved in with your mom, I guessed that you would be here.” He looked at you painfully. “Is… Is it true? Do you actually have a boyfriend now?” 

“Bohyun….” You ran your fingers through your hair stressed. There was too much going on at once. Your past and your potential future were at crossroads you had never imagined. “I don’t know what to tell you-” 

“Maybe try telling the truth Y/n.” Jeonghan walked out of the kitchen, his hands stuffed in his pockets. “Don’t you think it’s time?” 

“You….” Bohyun’s eyes widened as they fell on Jeonghan and he immediately stepped back, pulling you behind him. “You’re Yoon Jeonghan.” 

“Finally.” Jeonghan scoffed. “Someone knows.” 

“Y/n, I don’t know what this man has been telling you but he is a criminal.” Bohyun looked at you over his shoulder. “His posters are all over the city, he’s wanted by the cops-” 

“She knows.” Jeonghan's voice shook, just a little. “She knows exactly who I am and exactly what I’m worth.” 

“Jeonghan please-” 

“You know?” Bohyun turned to you, shocked. “You know who he is and you chose to be with him?” 

“Bohyun…. y-you have no idea what’s going on here.” 

“Oh I do.” He let out a breath like this was all ridiculous. “You’re so desperate for a man, that you would throw yourself at literally anyone-” 

And before he could ever complete that sentence, Jeonghan turned him by the shoulder and landed a hard punch straight at his jaw.

“Jeonghan!” 

As Bohyun stumbled, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, he snarled at the other man, throwing a punch on his own, straight in his midriff, making him buckle over. As the two men furiously threw hands, bruising and bleeding, you stood frozen, unable to watch them or stop them. Before you knew it though, within minutes, Jeonghan had Bohyun on his knees, the latter struggling to keep his eyes open, just one blow away from being knocked out. As Jeonghan raised his hand, you quickly put yourself between the two men. 

“Jeonghan no.” 

“Did you not hear the way he spoke about you?” He looked uncharacteristically furious, breathing hard. “How dare he-” 

“That’s between Bohyun and I. You shouldn’t have come in between.” 

Jeonghan lowered his hand, looking at you like he was jolted. Standing up staggering, Bohyun wiped the blood from his mouth, hissing.

“You heard her. Clearly, she picks me.” He smiled victoriously. “The only place you belong is in jail, you bastard, where the fuck is my phone-” 

“Y/n, after all he’s done to you, you’re really siding with him?” 

“Jeonghan, I think you should leave.” Your voice left you in a soft whisper as he looked at you unbelievably hurt. “Please just…. it’s best that you go.” 

Tearing his eyes away from you, Jeonghan let out a shaky breath before slowly nodding. “If that’s what you want.” 

And with that, without so much as sparing you a glance, he walked past you and out of your house as you watched him disappearing from your sight. When you finally let out the breath you were holding, Bohyun put his arm around your shoulder. 

“I knew you still loved me.” He rubbed your arm. “You and I were always meant to be, sweetheart.” 

Tongue in your cheek you sighed before removing Bohyun’s arm from around you. Turning to him, with everything you had in your being, you slapped him right across the face. Bohyun stumbled at the impact, looking shell shocked. 

“The only thing you and I are, is over.” You spat, the words bitter in your mouth. “How could you even think of coming back to me?” 

“Babe-” 

“Don't call me that.” You pushed him away. “You're right. I always did choose you. I always put you above me, but you? Forget loving me, you didn't have the minimum decency to respect me.”

“Y/n, I said sorry, I really am sorry.”

“Me too.” You stood your ground. “I’m sorry to myself. I'm sorry I gave you the chance to push me around like this. I'm sorry I didn't stand up for myself sooner. But I'm done now. I won't be making the same mistakes.”

“Y/n….” Bohyun held your arm softer than he ever had in the many years you were together. “I know I was wrong. The last few months without you weren't the same, I realised how bad I was to you and how much I need you please don't do this. Please come back…..what we had was so good-” 

“Good for you Bohyun, but not good enough for me.” You pulled your arm away. “I won't take you back this time, or ever. We're done for good.” 

Bohyun stared at the floor, coming to terms with your words.

“It's because of Yoon Jeonghan isn't it?” His voice turned into a nasty snarl. “You would choose a criminal over me-”

“You still don't get it, do you?” You looked at him with disbelief. “It's not him I choose, it's myself.” 

“But-” 

“I'm done explaining. I don't owe you anymore conversation, I didn't even owe you this.” You sighed, walking up to the door, holding it open. “Get out of my house.”

Bohyun tried to meet your eye as he slowly walked up to you while you refused to so much as look at him. When he realised you were not going to change your mind, he stepped out of the house and you closed the door behind him with a resounding slam. Holding your racing heart you leaned against it, unable to believe what you just did. 

Something in you felt free yet your heart was strangely heavy - you got rid of Bohyun but you lost Jeonghan in the process. Unwilling to give him up, you quickly grabbed your jacket and phone and rushed out of the house, calling your friends. Hopefully he hadn't gotten too far. 

You needed to see him again. You needed to tell him everything truthfully.

As the night sky darkened, you walked into your apartment slowly, finding yourself alone in it after days.

You didn’t find Jeonghan anywhere. When you told the boys about all that happened, they were beyond understanding, immediately helping you look for him too. But alas, he was nowhere to be found. 

As you sank into the couch, heartbroken over how things ended between you two, Seungkwan's message popped on your phone screen. 

Y/n, I think you should see the news.

Panicking, you grabbed your remote and turned on the TV only to see your worst nightmare - Jeonghan being handcuffed and led away by the cops. 

“Mafia criminal and mastermind Yoon Jeonghan surrendered a few hours ago to the city police force after nearly 15 days of absconding. The precise reason for why he turned himself in and where he was all this while is unknown but the police are investigating the case. Yoon Jeonghan escaped prison on the 15th of August after tricking two security guards with a severe stomach ache and requesting for medical assistance…..” 

The rest of the words faded away as you watched the footage of Jeonghan being escorted away. The pain of betrayal was still flashing in his eyes. Everything was truly over.

10 days later. 

Jeonghan leaned against the wall of his cell, staring into the darkness. He knew it was well into the night but sleep wasn't coming to him as always. Every time he closed his eyes, he could only see you, every time he opened them he instinctively looked for you - you refused to get out of his head. 

When Jeonghan saw you for the first time, admittedly he thought you were incredibly beautiful but he saw you as more of a conquest - you had that sweet, innocent expression but there was something darker lingering behind your eyes. It made him want to tease it out of you, expose you for what you really were but with each day, when he saw how simple and soft you were, that desire in him died. In his world everything was as corrupt as could be and you were so good to him, Jeonghan knew that little uncommon goodness had to be preserved, remain untouched. That's why though he itched to get under your skin, he tried his best to keep his distance.

That was of course until you decided to kiss him - after that Jeonghan knew keeping his hands off you was the hardest thing he ever had to do. It wasn’t just because he was uncharacteristically attracted to you, normally it was girls in skin tight leather pants and low neck dresses that caught his attention but because he……liked you. He liked watching you work, he liked spending time with you, he liked the idea of a quiet, uneventful life with you. He had spent all his life chasing something that made him feel complete, not even knowing what it was, until those 10 days with you - that was what he wanted. 

But clearly you didn’t want him. Though he was unable to accept it at the moment, eventually, he believed you when you said it was never your intention to kidnap him. When he discovered his ringing phone in the drawer due to his assistant’s consistent calling and found out that his price was a hundred thousand dollars Jeonghan was beyond hurt. But you were right - you didn’t know about your grandmother’s shop until the last few days. His assistant too confirmed that it was more the boy's plan than yours and that it was definitely not intentional because it was so poorly made that thanks to his phone, his assistant knew Jeonghan's location the whole time - he was only letting the boys get away with it so Jeonghan had a safe place to hide till things fell in place.

Regardless of everything that happened, it still didn’t mean that you wanted him. Especially when that ex of yours came into your life yet again and you so easily asked him to leave - Jeonghan received the message loud and clear. He was not wanted. 

By you at least. The city police definitely wanted him and he knew he had to be on the run yet again but with a part of him left behind in your home, he didn’t know how he was supposed to move away and move on. All he could do was hopelessly wish that you had left a part of you with him too and didn’t always just appear before him like a figment of his imagination. Even now his eyes were playing tricks, showing him the image of you crouched outside his cell bars. You were wearing a police uniform though - Jeonghan softly chuckled. Roleplay was a new element in his imagination. 

Or not. 

Because as Jeonghan stared harder, expecting the mirage of you to disappear, you smiled at him with a small wave and the whisper of his name…..You were actually here. 

Panicking, Jeonghan quickly got to his feet rushing towards you. As his fingers touched your face, confirming your presence, he shook his head. 

“Oh no…. Y/n, what are you doing here?” 

“Hello to you too.” You chuckled. “And what do you mean? I’m here to rescue you.” 

“Rescue me?” 

You nodded. “We’re gonna break out of this prison.” 

“You’re insane.” You grinned as Jeonghan looked at you with disbelief. “You shouldn’t even be here and I can’t run away from here-” 

“You did it last time.” 

“Precisely why. The security is at an all time high, they’re not going to let the same mistake happen twice.” 

“You think I don’t know that?” You raised your eyebrows at him. “Why do you think it took me 10 days to come to you? I was doing my research and figuring out how to get you out of here, and I have found a foolproof way.” 

Jeonghan narrowed his eyes. “And what is that?”

“Just follow my lead.” You pulled out a pair of keys from your pocket, opened his cell door and thrust a package into his hand as you walked in. “Change into this quickly. We only have 17 minutes till the security footage is on loop. We need to get out of here before that.” 

As he confusedly dressed himself, you pulled out a can of spray paint from your pocket and scribbled a message on the wall, one that Jeonghan could barely read thanks to the dimness of the cell. Tossing the can aside, you too quickly stripped out of your uniform and changed into clothes similar to Jeonghan’s.

“Don’t stare, Yoon.” You smiled, pulling your hair into a bun, tucking it under the hat. “This is not the first or last time you’re gonna see me naked.” 

As Jeonghan tried to process all the information, you quickly gathered all the discarded clothes with one hand and held his hand with the other, rushing out of the cell. At the end of the corridor was a cleaning cart in which you promptly dumped all the clothes and asked him to follow you. As you led the way to the washrooms cautiously, keeping an eye on the patrolling security, Jeonghan realised the two of you were wearing the uniforms of the cleaning staff. Finally, you led him to a ladies washroom, promptly locking it behind you. 

“Y/n, what are we doing-” 

“Look, that’s the cleaning supplies closet, inside it is a door that leads to the older wing of this prison that is now undergoing renovation. This door was supposed to be locked from the other side but I already broke it open in the morning.” 

“Morning?” 

“I came in with a bunch of medical volunteers for the camp but I never left the premises - I’ve been hiding here all day. Now we’ve to get through this door and cross the construction site without being seen by the patrolling guards in-” You glanced at your watch. “-8 minutes where the boys are waiting with transport. If we don’t, the guards are gonna figure out you’re missing and security will tighten and we will never be able to get out. If you have any other questions, I promise I’ll answer all of them once we get in the car, okay?” 

Letting out an unsure breath, Jeonghan nodded, following through with your plan to the T. In all the years Jeonghan had been in crime, he had drawn up several heists and master plans but this….. This was probably the most meticulous and well thought out plan he had ever seen. It was to the point it actually both impressed and terrified him that you, the girl who was hiding behind her three friends the first time he tried to talk to you, were the one who came up with it. When the two of you finally stepped out of the last fence, Jeonghan looked back at prison in awe - he thought this time, he was back here for good but when you called out his name and he turned to you, Jeonghan knew the only place he belonged was with you. 

As the two of you trudged through the woods, hand in hand, sirens began to go off in the prison behind you, making you pick up speed, only stopping at the sight of a white car and a white bike beside the very stressed Seokmin, Seungkwan and Soonyoung. The boys sighed in relief as the two of you approached, quickly giving you two a new set of clothes to change into, ushering you into the car. As the two of you began to do so yet again, Jeonghan looked at you intently. 

“Come on Jeonghan, the faster we move from here the better.” 

“Why did you do this? Why did you save me?” 

“Why did you surrender?” 

“Because….” Jeonghan sighed. “I didn’t want your ex to have the power over you with the information that you were housing a criminal. But if I was already in their custody, they wouldn’t really care about where I was on the days I was missing.” 

You smiled at him softly. “So much from a guy who didn’t understand what it meant to put others before yourself.” 

“I told you, you bring out the best in me.” He laughed. “Evidently, I do bring out the worst in you. This was the most badass thing ever, I would’ve never imagined you would do it.” 

“Well, someone did tell me I shouldn’t be afraid to ask or go for what I want.” You leaned back against the door. “I’m done sitting and taking whatever life hands me with the hope that it will be my fairytale ending. I’m gonna take things into my own hands now.” 

“Successfully you mean.” Jeonghan smirked at you. “You had been trying to take things in your hands for quite a while. Like the first few days you tried so hard to get me arrested again?” 

“You knew about that??” 

“It was cute, how you were trying to do the right thing. I should have known you would have never held me hostage for money.” 

“I was going to tell you about it before things spiraled. I had to get you out of my house first so you were at least safe from Bohyun, even if that meant you hated me.” 

“I don’t hate you.” Jeonghan confessed. “I never can. You showed me what I truly wanted from life.” 

“As did you. Which is why I ended things with Bohyun once and for all and now I’m here with you, for whatever adventure it is that’s ahead of us.” 

“Adventure?” Jeonghan looked at you surprised. “What do you mean?” 

“I managed to track down your assistant when I received the papers that I apparently own my grandmother's shop again.” Jeonghan returned your accusatory expression with a sheepish one. “He told me that the last many days, he had been working on liquidating your assets. He also managed to arrange for you to get out of the country and go elsewhere.” You smiled at him. “And I convinced him to let me tag along with you."

“No…..” Jeonghan shook his head. “No you’re not leaving behind your life here and following me around-” 

“Jeonghan, I have no life here.” You sighed. “I always thought I was the kind who wanted something safe and secure but you made me see that deep down I’ve been craving for something more, something stimulating and exciting. I genuinely do want to go with you.” 

“Your mom?” 

“Is more than happy to learn that her daughter is going to Milan to explore her fashion dreams and that my grandmother can move back to her old apartment.” 

“You….. You’re really sure?” 

“Never been more sure.” You reached for his hand, holding it. Jeonghan stroked the back of your hand softly, a smile growing on his face. It did seem like he wanted to say something, until Soonyoung knocked on the window urgently, ushering you out. Putting on the last of your clothes, the two of you stepped out. 

“If the guards send people out to look for Jeonghan, we might get caught here.” Seokmin tapped his foot nervously. 

“Yeah, we need to leave as soon as possible.” Seungkwan added, looking equally scared. 

“Relax,” You rolled your eyes. “They’re not going to find us. They’re not even going to try to look.” 

All four boys looked at you skeptically but it was Jeonghan that spoke up, “Y/n, What did you write on that wall?” 

“Fool you once, shame on you. Fool you twice, more shame for you.” You shrugged, quoting yourself. “I basically wrote in short that if they knew what was good for them, they would keep their mouth shuts and allow the public to think you were still in their captivity rather than admit that you fooled them twice in the span of a month and they are incapable of keeping their prisoners in check. I might have also added that you will not be creating any trouble anymore, rest assured, this secret is best buried in the walls of the prison itself.” 

As your friends stared at you with hung jaws, Jeonghan laughed like he couldn’t believe his ears. “Who are you?” 

“You should’ve seen her the last 10 days.” Soonyoung mumbled. “All the planning, the plotting, she even stitched all these uniforms from scratch, it was low-key terrifying.” 

“I want to know all the details of this master plan.” Jeonghan looked proud. “Every single one of them.” 

“And you will, we have a long journey to Italy.” You clapped your hands, then held it out to Seugnkwan. “Bike keys.” 

“You don’t want the car?” 

“Bike is more fun.” You said casually, reaching for the helmets. “And I’m going to drive.” 

Jeonghan raised his eyebrow impressed, “So the princess is going to rescue me on her big white…. bike.” 

“Guess we got our fairytale ending after all.” You laughed, getting on as your friends rolled their eyes and got into the car. Pulling Jeonghan closer, you finally kissed him, before mumbling against his lips. “Or I guess this time, I’m really kidnapping a mafia boss.” 

a/n - I cannot explain how much trouble the 1000 blocks per post limit caused. I hope the spacing inconsistency was overlooked oops! Don't forget to leave you thoughts and opinions about the story! This one took a lot of time and effort to make :)

[star-wrote]

Need

ao3 link

Character: Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader | Prison Era

Summary: After somehow convincing Daryl to let you go on a hunt with him, you stop to admire a pretty flower. Little did you know, the pollen would have an… interesting effect on you.

Warnings: smut, swearing, sexual details, sex pollen??, insecurity on daryl’s part, a little fluffy, a little angsty, apparently no threat of walkers bc they get it on in the woods.

Word Count: 2,500 ish

18+

Convincing Daryl to let you tag along on a hunt was a task in itself. He was the closest thing you had to a best friend these days, so he knew how antsy you got when being behind the prison gates for too long. He felt the same way. That didn’t mean he was going to let you go out into possible danger any easier though. You practically had to drop to your knees and beg him to let you join, swearing you’d bring extra luck for him to catch a deer. Muttering something like “ain’t need no luck” under his breath, he eventually agreed to let you join. You pretended not to see his cheeks redden when you wrapped your arms around his neck in an excited hug.

That was about two hours ago. Now, you were following him through the forest as he tracked some animal. You were doing your best to keep quiet, given the fact that he had scolded you just about five minutes ago for walking too carelessly (whatever that means). You started to grow bored. Sure it was nice being away from the prison, but you figured your best friend would entertain you in at least some conversation. You should’ve known better, this was Daryl Dixon.

You were about to suggest playing a silly game of truth or truth when you saw something pink out of the corner of your eye. You paused and walked over, observing a beautiful flower that looked like it belonged to a storybook. Your internal battle of deciding whether or not to pick it was fast as you assumed a walker would just trample it anyway. So you picked it.

Daryl knew right away that you weren’t following him anymore, so he paused for a drink of water while he watched you get distracted by a flower. He rolled his eyes, but couldn’t fight the smile as he noticed you pick it and immediately bring it to your nose to inhale the scent. As you pulled it away from your face, he saw it left pink specks of pollen on your nose.

“Ya got a lil somethin’ on yer nose.”

Instead of a reply, he was met with a series of four loud sneezes.

“Jeez woman, gonna draw all the walkers in.”

You giggled, wiped your nose, and finally replied with a small, “sorry.”

“If yer done pickin’ flowers, let’s get back to trackin’ this deer,” he said as he grabbed his bag from where he placed it on the forest floor.

You gasped, “You didn’t tell me we were tracking a deer! I told you I would bring good luck.”

He rolled his eyes at you for the second time that day and muttered “stop.”

It started as an ache in between your legs. It wasn’t particularly unpleasant, but it was surprising how strong it was.

You weren’t unfamiliar with the feeling of arousal. You were a girl who knew her own body. At least before the end of the world. There wasn’t enough time, safety, or privacy to bring yourself pleasure. Not to mention the lack of people throwing themselves at you.

Still, it was unfamiliar for you to feel so much arousal on a hunt with Daryl.

Daryl.

You found your gaze wandering to the archer taking sure steps in front of you. His shoulders seemed to be broader than normal… no, he was always this large. Your eyes went lower as you found yourself thinking about what else had to be large, accidentally letting out a whimper.

Daryl didn’t stop walking, just tossed a “ya okay?” over his shoulder.

You shook your head, as if it would cleanse your brain of the impure thoughts you had for your best friend, and answered.

“Yeah, sorry, just tripped over my feet. You know me, super clumsy haha.” Stop talking!

He just grunted in response. Phew.

You wondered if he would grunt like that while he was deep inside of you…

This time you actually did trip, bumping into the firm man in front of you. He whipped around and grabbed you by your shoulders.

“Tha’ hell? What’s gotten into ya?”

Not you, sadly.

He looked at you more deeply and noticed your face was flushed pink like the flower you still held in your hand, and your chest was rising and falling with heavy breaths.

“Are ya okay? Ya bit?” He asked with a worried look as his eyes ran down your frame.

It wouldn’t make sense for you to have gotten bit, he was with you the entire time. No, it was something else.

You looked up at him with a glazed look in your eyes and got out the words “so hot.” You weren’t sure if you were talking about your body temperature or him at this point. His big hands on your shoulders felt as if they were burning holes through your skin. The ache between your legs had turned into a stabbing pain, and your lower stomach felt a different kind of hunger. Lust.

Daryl was beyond worried when he saw you drop your flower to clutch at your stomach. His eyes looked to the flower and recognition finally crossed his brain. Oh no.

He scooped you up bridal style, and you all but moaned. Now that he knew what was happening, a blush reached his face. He carried you to a nearby willow tree next to a lake and sat you down under the shade. You whined when he let go, so he made sure to at least grab your hands with his.

“Sunshine? I need ya to listen to me.”

You met his eyes and nodded, but still had a glazed over expression.

He sighed, knowing this was the best it would get. “I think tha’ flower ya smelled was one of those aphrodisiacs. A really strong one too. I remember reading about it in that unique plants of Georgia book ya found for me.”

Your eyes widened and you let out another whine. “It hurts so bad. I- I need. Ugh.”

“Ya need to just wait it out. Could be a couple of hours.”

“No Daryl I can’t. I need you to fix it. Please fix it.”

He wasn’t sure what you were asking for, but he knew he’d give you anything if you asked him with those big, round eyes.

“Honey, I’m not sure what yer askin’.

“Need you to fuck me.”

That stopped his breath where it was in his chest. His eyes widened as he looked anywhere but your desperate face. He knew you weren’t in your right mind. You didn’t actually want him, you just wanted to act on the arousal you felt. He wasn’t sure he could handle your touch if it wasn’t genuine.

He was drawn out of his thoughts as he saw you strip your shirt off out of the corner of his eye. Somehow, his face grew even more red.

“Nah, you don’t wanna do this. You don’t want me.”

“Daryl please, I only want you. I’ve only wanted you for so long. Since the farm. Not just your body, but your soul and mind and thoughts and oh my god please I just need you to fuck me. Make it go away please.” You cried.

His heart stopped at your confession. Was this true or was it just the drug from the flower talking?

He brought his hands up to your cheeks and looked into your eyes as you nuzzled into his warm palms.

“Need ya to look at me.” He waited until your eyes met his. “Need ya to tell me that you really want this, want me. And that ya wont regret it.”

You brought your hands to his on your face. “I promise. I want you. I want you so bad. Only you.”

With that, he roughly pushed his lips to yours in a heated kiss. You could’ve melted then and there. Especially when you moved your hand to wrap around the back of his hair and heard the sound he let out. A kind of grunt that you had only heard in your dreams until then.

“Imma take care of ya. Don’t worry baby.” He panted.

Clothes were off in an instant, but Daryl’s shirt stayed on. You knew about the scars and had seen them a few times, but you didn’t want to push him. Plus, you weren’t in the state to reassure him much anyway.

He currently had you on your back on the soft moss next to the willow tree, his mouth sucking your clit and fingers deep in your pussy. He said he needed to warm you up, even after you tried to convince him you were warmed up enough. You had a feeling it was more for him to prepare himself anyway.

It was heavenly, his eyes closed and arms wrapped around your thighs. His tongue never stopping at lapping up your wetness. His fingers gently but firmly hooking into you at a steady pace. It was perfect.

But it wasn’t enough.

“Daryl, please, I need more. I need you, please.” You gasped out.

He released your clit with a wet pop and pulled his fingers out of you, licking them clean of your juices. Your eyes could’ve rolled back in your head at the sight.

“Alright,” he rasped out, “quit yer whinin’ girl.”

You grinned up at him as he pumped his cock in his hands. You knew he was big.

He must’ve seen you drooling over his dick because he smirked and gently caressed your cheek before popping his thumb into your mouth for you to suck.

You weren’t sure where this newfound confidence came from, but god you loved it.

He took his thumb out and shushed you as you whined in protest.

“Ya ready for me baby?”

You could’ve nodded until your head fell off. His “warming you up” took the edge off, but the ache was back in full force, begging for you to just jump on him.

“Please Daryl. Need you so bad.”

“Alright, alright. Tell me if anythin’ hurts. I’ll try and be gentle baby.”

Your heart swooned but your lust clouded brain wanted you to yell at him to not be gentle. Instead, you settled on nodding at him.

Daryl placed his tip at your entrance and looked into your eyes as he pushed inside. Any amount of hesitance he felt dissipated as soon as he felt your wet, warm walls squeezing him.

The stretch you felt was the relief you needed. You felt your thoughts clear, as well as your clouded eyes.

Daryl noticed the change immediately and kissed your nose, then your forehead.

“Ya okay? Want me to stop?” He asked with a hint of embarrassment. Now that he solved your “problem” he was worried that you’d suddenly find him less appealing and grow disgusted with him. He tried to push the thoughts away, but his brain has always been programmed to doubt himself. He felt your arms snake up his back and hold on tight to him as your legs wrapped around him to keep him inside of you.

“Don’t you dare stop.” You breathed out, still accommodating to the stretch you felt between your legs. “I still want you. Still need you.”

Even though the effects of the pollen were sated as soon as he entered you, that didn’t stop you from being turned on by the archer. You always knew you wanted something more with him, and now you were finally getting it. So you bucked your hips up further on his length with a moan.

He closed his eyes tight to prevent himself from thrusting the rest of the way into you. He knew he was big, and now that you were thinking more clearly, he knew that he had to be more gentle. When he opened his eyes, he saw you looking at him with wide eyes and your teeth tugging on your lower lip. God, you were beautiful.

He brought your hands above your head and locked your fingers with his. Then he slowly and finally filled you up the rest of the way. You both gasped and squeezed each other’s hands.

You let out a whine when he pulled out again, but sighed as he thrusted back in.

“Harder, you won’t break me.” You pleaded with him.

“I gotcha.” His next thrust was hard enough for you to release his hands and clutch onto his back. He leaned on one of his arms above you and brought the other to press into your lower stomach. “You feel me right here, baby? So deep huh?”

“Oh my god!” You moaned out for him. “Daryl… feels so good.”

He just thrusted faster and harder in response, desperate to make you feel good like you deserve.

He felt you tighten around him and he read your body signs with ease, as if you two had done this a million times before. He brought the hand was pressing on your lower stomach down to find and circle your puffy clit, getting a reaction immediately. You gasped and scratched your nails down his covered back as you somehow got out the word, “gonna-“

“I know, let go for me baby, c’mon.” He felt himself getting closer, wishing so bad that he could stay inside your cunt and finish there, but he knew the risks.

You tugged his body into yours as you finished around him, squeezing him in more ways than one.

Daryl let you ride out your pleasure before pulling out of the sweet cunt that kept sucking him in. It only took two pumps for him to release all over your inner thighs with a raspy grunt. He sat back on his knees and watched as his cum trickled down the puffy wetness between your legs and fell into the moss below him. He wished he has a camera in a moment like this, but he decided to settle on a mental snapshot for later.

He grabbed his handkerchief from his pants on the forest floor and wiped his cum from your thighs. You smiled up at him even though he wouldn’t meet your eyes. You grabbed his hand when he finished and brought it up to your lips to kiss his knuckles.

You could’ve laughed at the blush that crossed his features. This man just said the dirtiest things to you without shame, but got so shy over a small kiss to his hand.

When Daryl finally met your eyes, a look of relief showed on his face as he saw the smile that graced your lips. He suddenly collapsed onto his back next to you and brought your face to his in the sweetest kiss ever experienced between you two.

“This wasn’t a one time thing, right?” You asked, furrowing a brow at him.

He pecked your pouted lips again. “Nah, now that I have ya, I ain’t lettin’ ya go.”

As you and Daryl enjoyed the blissful silence together, tracing fingers along each other’s frames, you both jumped when you heard sticks cracking a couple of feet away.

You both relaxed when you saw that it was the deer that brought you both out here in the first place. You started giggling uncontrollably, scaring the deer away.

Daryl scoffed. “Last time I take ya on a hunt with me, woman.”

You just continued giggling into his chest with the smile that he adored.

[thatdeadaquarius]

Soon.

☆

With a puzzled squint, you could see the adeptus was running over what you said in his mind, trying to parse out the meaning. Xiao then threw his head up out of his slight bow, almost glaring at you, “There is no task nor person more important than guarding you, my Lord. I will stand guard, worry not about my state.”

Nodding to you, he abruptly turned on his heel to shift to the side of the entrance to the mansion, his spear tall and ready. You’d have twitched a smile at him if you could, as you're sure he’s gotten a little more comfortable with you than when you first officially met. You’re also sure from meeting Zhongli just once in person that he’d have a small heart attack if he saw some of Xiao’s informal behavior.

But you’re glad he hasn’t, the more relaxed they are, especially considering your form, the better.

You duck inside, though the ceilings are so raised that you don’t have to go that low surprisingly. Huh, it was nice to be anticipated in a building usually sized for human heights. Wow. You’ve really reached the point of casually calling yourself inhuman.

…well, to be real with yourself right now, it might actually help to get more accustomed to that in case you’re never human again.

You also put that possibility back into the vault at the back of your mind.

☆

HEY I live, again,

I had a big life update what with my sib graduating grad school (getting their masters degree) at the same time we both moved like 2 states over from our home state 😅

and unfortunately, i wasnt able to get my monster of a sequel out in time to post it remotely to get it out to you guys while i was afk

(as i havent had wifi/free time consistently in like 2-3 weeks)

which, phew, im finally able to be settled in one place enough to write again, and have enough time in the day to not be dealing wiht my apartment to write ToT

i hope you guys arent too mad at me! (or have forgotten me?? sobs)

also.

i hear Natlan's coming out. 👀

I don't think it'll be out before i post the full (3 chapters total planned) sequel, but just in case, disclaimer-

🪄I am not to be held liable for not writing about Natlan bc it wasnt out yet woooo🪄

anyway, yeah its also taking a bit bc i wanna post the completed thing all in one go, over the course of like 3 days or so, that way u guys can actually look forward to the next little chapter in a reasonable amount of time lmao

well yknow, if anyones still reading this or my blog lol

happy summer you guys! I hope u all are having a good one so far, esp those of you in school, heart going out to yall fr <33

Catch you on the flip side (ao3 side?)✌️

Safe Travels,

💀♒

If you wanna join a taglist, DM me what for! "Pspspsss, please tag me for [All SAGAU posts, Only SAGAU Language AUs, diff fandom, etc.]!"

(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/[specifically this AU/fandom] please!")

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks / @devilangel657 / @esthelily / @justinsomniachild / @nanithefuck / @questionotmystopit / @chinuneko / @silvers-tongue

@karmascreeches / @yomilyy / @0rah-s / @idontknowwhatimdoingbutweball / @blackstar-gazer / @voidsgarden / @a-gay-piece-of-paper / @oxyotl / @thefirstonetoeverlikemeback / @kurayamioterasu / @randompersoninyourworld / @byakuren100 / @lemonade7255

[starriegalaxy]

Title : Birthday Delights (It Was YOU All Along) 

Posted on AO3 as well!

Tags : Fluff, romance, romantic-leaning, female reader, set in Fear Factor AU, FNAF daycare attendants, head chef bot (oc) 

Rated : General 

Synopsis : It's your birthday and don't your beloveds have a surprise for you! 

Note : I kinda based this on my b'day events a little but yes, enjoy reading hehehe <33 Also, there's like one suggestive-ish thing but it's more to like a grab but it's harmless HAHA okay go read and COMMENT PLSPLSPLS I need to hear thine thoughtssss ‼️💖‼️

Tagging : @crabsnpersimmons @amarynthian-chronicles @hexcii @kaprisvn @ping-ski and ALL MY MOOTS AND SUPPORTERS!! Thanks for making me feel loved 🥹💕

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

Another day, another year. 

Except this time, it’s a special day for you. 

Where the stars aligned and paved a way for your existence to be carved into the world. 

A star was born. 

And that was you. 

Wonderful, exceptional and brilliant you. 

Of course, that didn't mean you were off work during this time. Quite the opposite really, it was devastatingly busy. So busy, you blundered a bit when giving directions to visitors and had to bring up the map in your watch several times for help. This helplessness escalated into kicking the mapbot for being too annoying today and you tripped over the caution bots more often. 

Just another day, with twice the mishaps. Normal to you but when explained to others, has people looking at you with bug eyes, wondering how you still existed at this point. Nothing short of a miracle and some kind of fate, you would jest lightly. Oh, can't be dreary on your own day so you metaphorically swiped those thoughts with a broom and continued with your patrol. 

As it hit around 6PM, your feet were beyond sore. It wouldn't hurt to take a quick nap at the office, right? Debating for about half a second, you shrug and take your chances. Stepping in with a yawn, you sat on the chair, put on your jacket like a blanket and dozed off….. phew! Good thing nothing more exciting will happen - 

Ah. Nevermind, strings were being pulled in the background and everyone was determined to make you feel just as special on your day and as much of it as possible! 

Freddy got to work preparing a heartfelt letter, Chica prepared some music selections with Music Man, Bonnie gathered some desserts from his own parlor, Monty tried to find something but ended up custom making a guitar pick for you somehow and Roxy was selecting some of the color palettes that they had in store to give you whereas the caution bots practised singing the happy birthday song, the S.T.A.F.F bots were practising their dancing and skits - everyone had a task to do and they were all determined to make it as close to perfect for you! 

Meanwhile, Moon swiftly kidnapped head chef bot, threatened him to stay quiet and obey his next orders. Too afraid to even speak considering this animatronic was notorious for dealing with the previous staff bots, he could only nod in acceptance. As they reached the daycare, Moon continues carrying head chef bot until they reach the playhouse where Hannah frequently likes to play in. 

“Stay here. Be silent.”, Moon commands, placing head chef bot delicately into said house. A tad cramped, it was a good thing robots didn't have nerves that would flare if they sat the way he did for that long. Head chef bot nods frantically and tries to melt into the wall. Even after there was reassurance that the daycare attendants would be more civil with head chef bot when you were present… It was another thing entirely when it was only both of them left alone together. 

“Good.”, Moon rasps, giggling mischievously before patting head chef bot’s hair and scuttling off to find you. As always, they were sooo excited to see you any time and day but today was the one time, they get permission to be extra excited. Hat jingling with excitement, its sound awakens you as it shook about near the security office door. At first, you thought it was your phone’s alarm but quickly tuned into it properly and judged that it was the daycare attendant's bells. 

Rubbing your eyes to shake off the remnants of the sleep spells, you sleepily opened the door just a smidge to confirm the person behind it. Moon’s glowing red eyes greeted you, almost like a zoomed in picture and it scared the sprinkles out of you which resulted in punching him fully on the face by instinct. That hurt your hand SO bad. Oh well, he was also reeling back from the pain that set off too, his head legit spinned like 3 times from the sheer force.

“Moony! What'd I tell you about doing that?!”, you exclaimed, rubbing your sore hand while fighting back the tears in your eyes. “... It funny. Sorry.”, he holds his faceplate, then proceeds to grab your hands gently and tries to pat away the pain, making small smooching sounds against your skin. That made your skin darken in hue and you flap your hand out of his grasp. “U-Um, anyways, what happened?”, you flit your gaze downwards at your shoes, fidgeting with your tie. 

“Follow.”, Moon orders, getting on all fours. Huh. You would do the exact action he was doing right now but you decide against it. Also, judging by your internal clock, it was already closing time and right on cue, the automated announcement rang. It was somewhat halfway to the daycare when you announced that you couldn't take walking anymore and asked for uppies. Moon does a whole acrobatic contortion before scooping you into his arms, making you hang off him like a koala bear. 

A cute imagery to the daycare attendants, an embarrassing position to be had in. Augh. You don't argue as he subtly turns up his temperature and the soft warmth almost lulls you back into sleep. He squeezes your thigh cheekily once to keep you awake and then laughs when you tiredly whack him at his ruffles. With your arms wrapped around his neck and your legs crisscrossed to enable stability around his waist, you could do little and just enjoy not having to exert more energy temporarily. 

Murmuring incoherent and silly sounds into his shoulders, he slows to a stop in front of the gates. “Here.”, Moon announces and settles you down on the floor. You gave him an absurdly cute pout but he doesn't yield into carrying you again. Instead, he opens the gates and pulls you into the daycare, the sounds of his gears turning a comfort to your ears. “How was day?”, Moon fills the silence with the default 20 questions starter pack. 

“Tiring. Eepy.”, you murmur. “Stay awake, Starlight.” You whine louder and he giggles all the same. Relentless. Why do you like the daycare attendants? Booooo tomato tomato tomato!!! You pat at his back, where his hook would've sunk in. Moon pays no mind and guides you to the playhouse. Wha….t? The windows and doors were closed and you hadn't the faintest idea what could be stored in here and why it felt like he was shaking with giddiness…

“Moony, if you're thinking of pranking me today of all days, I'll let you know-”, he silences you with his finger and says, “Open.” effectively making your curiosity peak. Oh no… hate it when that happens. He subtly changes appearances into Eclipse in the background due to Sun wanting to get in on seeing your live reaction too. Stomping your feet like an upset bunny and making a displeased noise, you begrudgingly begin opening the door. All of a sudden, you were nervous…. What if it was a scary item? What if it was weird? What if - 

You pull back immediately once you open the door, afraid of what might grace your sights but paused in pure confusion at seeing head chef bot. As you stood there, waiting for whatever scheme these jesters had in mind, head chef bot was dragged out of the playhouse gently by Eclipse. The slow realisation that came to you when you saw Eclipse set him up like a makeshift doll made you want to laugh a bit. Poor thing looked so distressed despite the lack of facial structure for it. He must've not liked being kept there for too long. 

“Hey… eggtart.”, you smile, loosening your arms from their folded position and opened them for a hug. Funnily enough, he zooms right into your arms and you could feel him shake from whatever jitters a robot could have. It wasn't like he could have that tingly session alike humans when they've sat on their legs for too long… You chalk it up to the daycare attendants not really being good at sharing. Plus, you've seen how intimidating they could be when jealous. It took a lot of coaxing via apology kisses and cuddles… Sigh. 

You pat his back comfortingly and send a soft glare the attendant’s way. They show no remorse in their body language. Tch, of course. They were anything but dishonest with their intentions. It's become better… they were willing to spare a bit more time to head chef bot whenever you wanted his attention but it wasn't easy. The incessant dramatic whinings and subtle threats while the sweet boy didn't know anything, actually no - he knew close to nothing about love so they could at least cut him some slack in that regard. 

And they did. Again, not an easy feat but it was successful regardless. Sometimes. 

You tuck some of head bot’s hair to the side and kiss his temple while standing on your tippy toes. “Did the big bad daycare attendant scare you again?”, you ask carefully. That earns you a tighter squeeze and repeated nods. Sighhhhhh. “What do you have to say for yourself, mister?”, your glare sharpening. Eclipse scoffs, exuding Sun’s stronger personality while crossing his own arms. “I have the right to remain silent. Lest, our lady gets upset with us.”, he evades skillfully. 

“No kisses for today then.” A comedic quick turn of his head that would've caused a normal human to be whiplashed was given as a reply, flashes of neon blue and red evident in his eyes. “You wouldn't.”, Eclipse’s tone turns raspier, bordering on tipping into sheer static. “Try me.”, comes your auto reply. A few puffs were let out from his joints and with a spin of his rays, he looks away while muttering a, “Fine. I'm sorry.”, with a hiss in his pitch. If words could burn… 

You sigh again and let one arm open to coax him into the hug. “C’mere, baby.” His rays twitch, a rapid jut of in and out before he's scrambling to get in on the cuddle action. A burst of giggles is let out from you. “You can have kisses after you tell me what's my surprise.”, you delicately wipe his smile after kissing your thumb in a semblance of an indirect kiss. He leans closer but keeps his distance respectful as he holds you alongside head chef bot. 

“Temptress.”, he affectionately jokes, kissing your forehead and grabs your hand. Head chef bot rolls along with you both. “This way then.” He does a cartwheel before Moon is reassembled at the end when he's standing back up again. He crouches in his default silly way and tilts his head, hat jingling loudly. “Starlight, promise?”, your Sandman rasps, blinking to mimic fluttering eyelashes. Oh for crying out loud! “Yes. I do. Now c'mon, I'm curious!”, you urge him. Moon giggles, full of delight at the promise before opening the gates for you and your fourth lover. 

The walk there is quiet and both Eclipse and head chef bot were insistent on holding your hands on the way to your destination : the food court. Feeling a bit giddy and embarrassed as you got nearer to said place, you slip out your hands and tell them, “That'll do, boys. Thank you.” Pocketing your hands into your pants pockets, you walk further in and discover there were streamers lined up on the ceiling somehow - must be Moon’s doing - a small yet wonderful orange coloured with dark chocolate accented assortments of cream swirls on top, chocolate spiders and white frosted webs on the cake placed on one of the food court tables you'd been escorted to. 

There was a plate set already with plastic cutlery and a pink plastic Chica-themed cup along with plushies of the Glamrocks, presumably from the daycare. Oh, right. They were confined to night mode charging… augh. “Take a seat, Nightingale.”, Moon gestures to the chair. You sat down gingerly and stared at the cake in front of you. It was so cute. Head chef bot rolls next to you and signs, “You like autumn, right? So, I made this with that in mind. Happy birthday, jellybean.” 

Your eyes well with tears, putting a hand over your heart. A teary thank you and slight hiccup was given as a reply. Moon helps to slice the cake since you were already wracking with tears. Your uniform was undoubtedly dotted with said tears and you ate the cake that was spoon fed to you by Moon as well. Happy. You were really happy. “Thank you, you two. I love you all. Sun, Moon, Eclipse, head chef bot, Love you. Oh…”, you wailed after chewing the cake piece fully. Oh, that made their heart ache yet full. They both sandwich you in another hug. Warm. Theirs. Yours. Together.

“One more surprise.”, head chef bot signs through your bleary eyes. Another? Your heart was so impossibly frail right now - How could anything top this? Moon wipes your tears properly and closes them, blocking your vision. Head chef bot holds your left shoulder. The faint sound of heavy metal footsteps rings throughout the food court. Eh? It stops right in front of your table and you hear a few rollers sound off too. “Happy birthday, Starlight.”, Moon whispers, pulling back his hands to rest his left hand on your right shoulder. 

The Glamrocks appeared when you were able to see again, each holding their own respective plushie, brightness exuding in their poses. “Happy birthday, Superstar!”, Freddy bellows, holding his plushie in the crook of his elbow. “You're all grown up now huh, Carrotcake?”, Bonnie continues with a tease. “Another day with you is always a better day, cutie!”, Chica chirps with a high pitch, sending a wink your way. You shake with the overwhelming happiness that seemed to flow endlessly tonight. 

“Guess you're not that bad, shortcake.”, Roxy puts a hand on the table, leaning forward with a smirk in her tone. That makes you crease your eyebrows a bit but you know it's harmless. “Birthday or whatever runt, keep living.”, Monty offers snarkily. he caution bots and the rest of the S.T.A.F.F bots joined in and beeped ceremoniously, the “Happy Birthday Song” being hummed harmoniously. They didn't…. They didn'ttttt - You sob harder and Moon frantically pats your back and head chef bot also frets over you. Maybe that was a bit too much?

“Sorry, sorry, too much?”, Moon’s worried whispers snaps your attention like lightning. You could only nod, you don't trust your voice right now. It would most likely be hoarse. Augh. “Precious thing.”, he places a placating kiss on your head while head chef bot nuzzles into your hat affectionately. What'd you to deserve this? And why does it hit harder than usual? Your tears still flowed but you then bursted into laughter, hugging your lovers closely as the glamrocks joined in, various words of congratulations being said, the caution bots beeping cutely and the S.T.A.F.F bots clapping. 

Hey, the party’s just getting started - Oh well. 

What a wonderful day… 

And you're just as wonderful, Starlight. 

Happy birthday!

The End. 

[lone-wolf-nergiganos]

idk if my request ever sent bc my wifi is absolute garbage but i was wondering if you could do a tighnari x male reader where the reader tags along with tighnari to help him with his duties but ends up slipping/tripping on something and get hurt so tighnari bandages him up but is more protective?

ITS A LOT IK AND IM SORRY AAAAAA

-romantic, oneshot, im he/him-

Sure Anon, your request is approved 💙😁

Tighnari X Injured! Male Reader

You and Tighnari were tasked with duties, fortunately they aren't that hard for you guys to finish. "Be careful Y/N, I don't want to see you get hurt," your boyfriend, Tighnari said.

"Aww, don't worry babe, I won't. We are almost done anyway," you said happily. You began walking before suddenly tripping on something, Tighnari quickly ran up to you. "Baby, are you okay?" Tighnari asked in a panicked tone, "yes, I'm okay," you replied before you noticed a small but deep cut on your arm. This caused your arm to bleed profusely.

Without wasting another second, Tighnari quickly went to get some bandages for the wound to stop bleeding, he came back before quickly putting the bandages on your arm. "Phew, it stopped bleeding," Tighnari said relieved. "Haha, it wasn't a big deal Tighnari," you said.

"Not a big deal? Babe that wound is very deep, sure it small, but still," Tighnari replied before crossing his arms. "You need to be more careful," he added. "Aww, you don't want to see me get hurt?" You asked, "of course not," you're my boyfriend after all," Tighnari replied.

"Aww, I don't want to see you get hurt either babe," you replied before playing with his ears gently. After a few minutes of playing with his ears, you guys went back to finishing your duties before calling it a day and going back home.

[medea10]

Medea Played Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, The DLC's (Part II)

Okay, let's check out Blueberry Academy.

If you'll indulge me for a second...

BLUE HIS HOUSE

WITH A BLUE LITTLE WINDOW

AND A BLUE CORVETTE

AND EVERYTHING IS BLUE FOR HIM

I apologize for nothing. Moving away from the random musical interlude. This academy is a floating terarium in the Unova region.

And here's our first nod to the Black & White games. The girl with the pink hair is Lacey.

She came from this guy's penis.

Oh, there are more surprises this DLC has.

This rich-ass school has four places in this dome, the canyon, the coast, the savanna, and the polar. Many, many, many pokemon not in the original game are there. Yes, all the starters. There is however, a hefty price tag for that.

Aside from the vending machines at the rest areas, you are to pay with BP's (Blueberry Points). And you get that by doing Blueberry Picnics (BBQs). Unfortunately, the tasks are only worth like 100 or something cheap like that. And if you want ALL the starters, you have to have a grand total of 12,000 points. And so much more points if you want to decorate your club room, put music in it, print items, challenge the elite four, buy special items at the school cafeteria, get new features for selfies, learn new throwing styles, invite coaches like Larry, and catch legendaries.

Phew, that is a lot. My recommendation, host and/or join BBQs. If you're like me and are prone to playing solo, there are some Discord groups that offer a lot of opportunities. The group quests are something you'll need to get more legendaries. Moving on.

You will eventually meet up with Carmine. Her brother however...

Kieran becomes an angsty teenager who should just go back to his dorm room, put on some My Chemical Romance, and cry into his knock-off Ogerpon teal mask.

More importantly, Kieran is the champ of the school. Higher than the elite four. You know where this is going. You have to challenge the elite four and then Kieran.

That's when you're introduced to Drayton. And it better be obvious to you by looking at this kid. He's a slacker. He was the ex-champ. He's definitely a dragon-type trainer. But more importantly, he is the grandson to Unova gym leader Drayden.

And as you can tell, Carmine hates this guy's guts. Drayton will sucker you into challenging the elite four. There is pushback as you are merely an exchange student. But you do get the support of two members and Kieran just wants to defeat you. Yeah, we'll see how that turns out for you.

Okay, let's take on the E4. Please note that every single battle you do here are double battles. And give this game some credit, these are not easy battles. Not even the random trainers are.

Let's battle Amarys first. Just like the gyms in Paldea, you have to do certain tasks first before the battle. Amarys has you and Koraidon jump through hoops. Kinda like a Mario Party game.

I have my own theories about this girl as I think she's the product of Lenora and her white husband Hawes. But apparently, she's from Castelia City and Lenora is from a different town. So, that theory ends with me. Also, she's a steel-type trainer.

Next, let's battle Crispin.

He's a fire-type trainer. His first task is to make him a spicy sandwich. I have no theories of where this kid came from. The second I saw Crispin and his cooking attire and his pan...

And all I can think of is Kuga from Food Wars. They're both spicy boys who cook. And they're both in an elite group where they both are on the verge of getting kicked out.

Drayton's trial can be tricky if you're walking into this blindfolded. You have to face three trainers only using pokemon you caught in the Terarium. Raids in the terarium do not count. Traded pokemon technically caught in the terarium do not count. Once done, you can battle the dragon boy.

And as for Lacey...

Urp.

I'm resisting the urge to not bring up learning about Venonat's radar eyes from Tracey Sketchit in the second season. Oh wait, I still said it. You should know me by now.

Lacey's trial is a quiz with 5 questions. It's actually the easiest trial. As long as you know where she sleeps on Granbull and which is the true Sinistea.

Kid, I'm about ready to put you through a wall. Sigh. Let me just waste this wannabe punk.

You are going to battle Kieran. Much of the school and the E4 come out to watch you. And if you want to watch this boy suffer, put Ogerpon in your team.

So you defeat him.

Kieran pretty much has a mental breakdown and is beyond repair at this moment.

SELFIE TIME!!!

As much as I'd love to relish in this kid's agony, we have to move the story along. Because immediately after, Ms. Briar asks for you, Kieran, Carmine, and Drayton for help.

So all of us (minus Drayton because he's a lazy-fuck) are going to Area Zero. Briar was finally able to get permission from Geeta and Rika (who are there now). It's been a while since I saw Rika.

GAH! What did I do?!

Oh. I forgot about The Way Home arc already. When it's been a full year since playing, you tend to forget why you're being yelled at.

Geeta gives you the Indigo Disk (hence the name of this DLC). Has no idea what it is or why it is. But thinks you might have some use for it.

The Indigo Disk actually sends you to a lower level of Area Zero since it seems Professor Crazy Bitch's lab is locked down due to inactivity.

In the depths of Area Zero, you'll come across these special tera pokemon. They are stella-tera. And in the depthiest of depths, we will come across Terapagos.

Kieran decides he's going to use this opportunity to surpass you.

LADY, CONTROL YOUR STUDENT!

What am I, a judge in a Donald Trump trial?

More swipes at Trump. I thought I told you that we won't stop! I thought I told you that we won't stop!

Terapagos eventually emerges. But then...

This little shit catches it with a Master Ball. I'm impressed.

Kieran battles you with Terapagos. It fails. Then, Briar tells him to terastylize Terapagos.

Think of this as a Tera-raid from Hell. It puts up three barriers. Constantly takes away your ability to terastylize. And every now and then, it changes what type it is. All the while, Briar is having her wet-dream of seeing Terapagos in full form and Kieran is...

Yeah, this whole thing is a cluster-fuck. Time for you to end this nightmare and catch this fucker.

But wait, didn't Kieran catch it with a master ba...?

We good now? Okay. Let's take this behemoth down.

After finishing off Terapagos, you can then catch it, and 100% rate for this one. It better be after all the shit you go through.

Lady, Ms. Frizzle has more control than you do.

Well, that's the end of the main story to Indigo Disc. The pokemon is caught, the day is saved, we think Kieran is going back to normal, and the end credits play with a remix to Ed Sheeran's Celestial.

Okay, I think this is a perfect place to end my shit-post.

To be continued.

[caramelcoffeeaddict]

Klaine Secret Santa fic is officially written AND edited! *phew*

now I just have the daunting task of coming up with a (new) title, adding the title to the already made fic art, and then figuring out a summary and tags so I can post it to AO3.

[mygeekcorner]

this or that

tagged by @this-must-be-my-tardis sorry I’m so late ^^;

Spell or curse / abandoned mansion or haunted cemetery / vampire slayer or ghost hunter / phoenix or griffin / wrist bite or neck bite / herbs or potion / ghost or wraith / dragon scales or werewolf claws / druid or mage / elf or hobbit / divination or necromancy / wand magic or hand magic / centaur or unicorn / dark fairytale or disney-style fairytale / sword or bow and arrow / talking animal or walking tree / demon trap or crossroads pact / enchanted fairy forest or mermaid lagoon / castle or cottage / pirate or prince / immortal or normal lifespan / wizard or witcher

phew, some of these were really tricky! Though some were obvious, if I was tasked with vampire slyaing there would be a whole lot more vampire laying, so had to go with ghosts lol

I’m tagging @silversoulstardust @krippe90 @ablazenqueen @genderfluid-faerie-bf and anyone else who might enjoy picking sides <3

[letsdothisbruh]

I posted 44 times in 2022

That's 44 more posts than 2021!

24 posts created (55%)

20 posts reblogged (45%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@cybersugarstuffs

@stuck-with-that-sum

@studyandstorms

@sizeleak

I tagged 22 of my posts in 2022

Only 50% of my posts had no tags

#letsdothisbruh - 21 posts

#motivation - 21 posts

#study - 21 posts

#studyspo - 21 posts

#studyinspo - 21 posts

#studyblr - 21 posts

#100 days of productivity - 20 posts

#we can do it - 19 posts

#stem major - 19 posts

#together - 18 posts

Longest Tag: 24 characters

#100 days of productivity

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Day 1/100- Nov 14- Mon

Trying to flesh out my SOP from the edits I got from my folks… it’s been daunting since I’m unable to find a good framework narrative without it sounding cliched…

Planning to put together a ppt and meet my advisor today, let’s see how that pans out. I have been anxious about it and have been procrastinating it for a while now.

Hopefully I make it through today and am productive.

Just reading a paper right now to finesse my question of purpose.

Song of the day:

On repeat 🔂

2 notes - Posted November 14, 2022

#4

Day 10/100- Nov 23- Wed

Half the week is over and I feel lazy and useless… gosh damn it.

I didn’t feel like doing anything today but still made myself come to my lab for the microscopy time I booked since it’s super crowded and I can’t try to change timings or make it up later…

I’m hoping to go back home and just finish some of my tasks for my courses. Today. I have to work it.

My avengers travel mug is keeping me sane with caffeine for now….

Song of the day:

This song accurately describes how I’m not enough how much ever I keep trying to jump hoops for everyone’s expectations of me 😑

2 notes - Posted November 23, 2022

#3

Day 17/100- Dec 2- Fri

Why is time moving this fast?

I didn’t get much done in terms of studying today but got much lab work done, setup for the genetic crosses for the week and made sure I did all I can so I can stay home guilt free tomorrow and go in on Sunday instead.

Even took time to go see my prof today and phew, I can see a tonne of work brewing up for this weekend!

The trick I need to master here is to hit the bed right now and make sure I wake up at a normal morning time tomo, eat healthy and NOT be intimidated by the lots of tasks… just gotta… bunch it all up into smaller tasks and get going and finish it!!

Just trying to get the courage to work smart and hard in the next few days, but I will be fine. I have to!!

Song of the Day:

4 notes - Posted December 2, 2022

#2

Day 12&13/100- Nov 26- Sat

Hmm I seemed to have forgotten to post yesterday..

Eh no one cares anyways.

See the full post

6 notes - Posted November 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Hey I found the #studychallengewithcleo by @that-premed-student and decided to go for it!

Today I’m continuing to work on my Thesis committee meeting presentation right now. Been at it since morning and I’m sure I crossed the 6 hour mark a while back haha

I’m definitely taking breaks in between, and eating food and drinking water/beverages (do be kind to yourself and take care of yourself even if you are stressed)

So currently my work for today is:

Finish analysing my final dataset

Include those graphs on my ppt

Finish including all the info from the tagged papers on my ppt

Make a script and read it 3-5 times before retiring for the night

And ofc overthinking and writing down any Qs I could be asked in that meeting tomorrow and looking up and keeping track of those answers separately.

I think my list is doable… I am hoping my presentation tomorrow goes amazingly well and my committee members greenlit me for my final semester without any issues.

8 notes - Posted November 29, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[tomboyjessie13]

Upscale Mall - Cairo, Egypt Spring 11:45 AM

A few days after the whole affair with Daniel J. D'Arby, Mariah and Midler took Medea to a convoluted but very fancy looking mall to make up for the incident, as well as the cancelled baseball game that started it all, the mall in question was large and easy to get lost in if you're not from Cairo.

Medea: *Getting tired while carrying their bags* Phew, I never thought I get exhausted in a mall.

Mariah: You don't have one in Morro Bay?

Medea: We do, but not as big as this, frankly my mom wouldn't even let me go to the mall because she thinks that they're a danger to smaller locally owned businesses.

Midler: Ooooh I hate it when parents do that.

Medea: Eh, I don't really blame her, she was born and raised in the countryside and appreciates the simpler things in life compared to the hustle and bustle of Cork. Besides, I mostly sneak off to the mall without her knowing just look for some sports goods and to hang with fri-...I mean, congregate with former classmates. *Huffs sternly*

Mariah: Who needs them? They just abandoned you for your ex.

Medea: Right? We've been friends since grade school, and this is how they repay me? Siding with a cheater?

Midler: They're so fake.

Medea: That's what I'm saying! *Sighs sadly*....I just wished they've listened to my side of the story....

Midler: Well, you got us now, we're all a bunch of misfits thrown away by society for whatever reason, Lord DIO is the only person who saw that we all deserve a second chance, *swooning* that's one of the reasons why he wants to become god of the new world~

Medea: Hm... If you say so...

Mariah: How about some drinks? *Starts walking in the direction of the food court* I heard a Taiwanese man just opened up a pop-up cafe and I want to try that out.

Midler: *Follows* You mean the one with the "bubble tea"?

Mariah: Yeah.

Midler: Sure why not?.....*Looks back* Meds?

Mariah: *Looks back to* Hm?

Medea: *Standing in front of a sports store's window, eyes sparkling. The girls walk to her and finds that she's looking at a white and fuchsia pink American letterman jacket with black and white lining* O3O

Midler: Ooooh, that's a cute jacket~

Medea: *Hyped* It's not just a normal jacket, it's a letterman jacket that only high school and college athletes dream of wearing, football, baseball, basketball, tennis, you name it.

Mariah: My aren't you a tomboy?

Medea: I've always wanted to buy one of these, but my mom keeps wanting to buy me dresses instead even though I didn't want them... Huh? *Sees the price tag and sees that it reads: £2000, this caused her to yell out in despair:* AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! *Slaps her hand on the glass window* IT'S NOT FAAAAIR! *Slams her back on the window and slides down, disappointed* If only D'Arby Elder didn't take my money...

Midler: Oh, chin up, Meds. Enyaba will let you have your allowance back in two days.

Medea: *Pouts* Yeah, with DIO paying me like he's still living in the 1800s.... housemaids get paid less than butlers.

Mariah: *Cringes* Yeesh, yeah that is a bit of problem...*She remembers* OH! That reminds me! 

Medea: What?

Mariah: Ok, hear me out: You and the boys get paid based on your ranking in servitude, but all of us agents who go out into the world performing tasks under DIO's name get paid quiet handsomely regardless of who we are or where we're from, as long as someone he dislikes gets assassinated, the money we stole gets laundered, or the Speedwagon Foundation's secrets gets spilled.

Medea: *Perks up* No fooling?

Midler: It's true, I always have enough bread on the table because I assassinate his enemies ^o^

Medea: *Stands up* But what does that have to do with me?

Mariah: Isn't it obvious? House servants get compensated the same way as the rest of us if they perform the same missions as us! Last month I've dated Kenny and he mentions how he'd wished that he had more money to fix up his new bedroom, so I asked Lord DIO to let him come with me on my mission and he got paid the same amount as me for his participation.

Medea: Huh, I was wondering where he ran off to...So what you're saying is I have to collab with an active agent so I can get paid like them?

Mariah: Yes :-)

Medea: *Hyped* YOOOOOOOOOOOO! 8-D

Midler: SHU! Keep it down! We're incognito!

Medea: *Calms down* Right, I'm sorry. Anyway, are you guys open for a team up?

Mariah: Sorry but no, i'm having a week off.

Midler: Not me either, I got hired for a hit in Madagascar and have to leave tonight.

Medea: *Frowns* Oh, ok, *gives the girls their shopping bags* i'll go find someone else then. 

Mariah: I strongly recommend checking in with Lord DIO first, you know how he gets when people don't report in.

Medea: I know, *starts leaving* see ya later girls, I got some money to reclaim!

Midler: *Waves bye to her* Good luck, Meds.

TO BE CONTINUED

That bit of Medea despairing over the price tag was loosely inspired by "Ed Edd n Eddy"

[cmdr-h-of-the-woods]

Lots of firsts!

My new friend and I parted ways at Farkas Dock. My intent was to take some time getting familiar with this new area before jumping much further away. I picked up a few missions, all of which involving retrieval of various items. I’ve been doing quite a bit of that lately, retrieving and/or delivering things. Good way of getting to know the area. Anyway, this person approached me, asking me if I’d go and retrieve something of data for them. It was going to get me a decent amount of credits, so I accepted, and off to Veroandi I went.

I had just dropped from supercruise around the area where I had picked up the signal. But I didn’t even have the time to think about the size of that planet looming on the side of my ship. This time, I wasn’t alone. A message popped up on my comms panel, something from a guy who introduced himself as Johnny Dashwood. "I was just looking for something to kill", he said, "and look what turned up." I barely had the time to comprehend what was going on, he was already hurling at me, weapons out, blasts of coloured fire blinding me. My first hostile encounter. In a panic, I tried to remember how I was even supposed to activate my weapons, while my computer unhelpfully shouted error message after error message at me. And then... the space police showed up and saved my butt. To my greatest surprise, I got out of this without even a scratch.

Alright, Dashwood was no longer a threat, his Viper Mk IV was blown to pieces. Time to focus on the task at hand. Deployed my cargo scoop. Found the item in question. Which turned out to be illegal. Oh great. That will teach me to be more careful about the missions I accept, and who I accept missions from. Holding my breath, I jumped back to AY Indi, trying really hard to ignore the "Illegal cargo" message flashing in a corner of my HUD. And, somehow... I docked unnoticed and collected my dirty money. Phew.

As a new Commander, can I afford to be choosy anyway?

Turns out, I can (a bit). There was nothing else over there that piqued my interest, and I had no intention of risking getting blown to pieces for some unknown client. Time to see if the grass was greener on the other side star. There, I picked up two courier missions, both in the same system. The first one went off without a hitch. Comme une lettre à la poste. The second one, however, was going to be another first for me, because the recipient was at a planetary station. Elder Vision, in Tiolce. I’m noting the name, because... that was my first planetary landing! I actually landed there! It took a few tries – turns out getting close to a planet is one thing, but landing at a precise place, on the right side of said planet, is not so easy.

But, I did it!

And guess who I found there? Cmdr Curious.Sparrow! She was in a new ship, and I didn’t recognise her at first, but it was nice seeing a friendly face. She had a few things to do in neighbouring systems, so I tagged along -- which gave me the opportunity to scan plenty of new systems. I also picked up some new materials, which I am sure will be helpful at some point. We had a lot of fun jumping together from star to star. I wish I could have captured a picture of those simultaneous boosts into hyperspace. Oh, and I got to see a type of star I had not observed before, a Class Y brown dwarf. (As a side note, I wonder if I am ever going to stop having a heart attack whenever I get out of hyperspace facing a giant ball of burning gas.) That might be the one I got a little too close to while charging my FSD for my next jump... ooof that one was hot.

[thebrainrotsreal]

Ooo! Thank you for tagging me :3

Favorite Color: Honestly changes too often and I’ll overthink it usually, but let’s say darkish bloody red, a bright neon green and a deep navy blue. Yes, I choose three.

Last Song: “No Longer You” by Jorge Rivera-Herrans, Mason Olshavsky ! Love imagining a pissed off seer mockingly telling someone their future because they won’t leave them alone.

Currently Reading: Gokurakugai, currently one of my favorite mangas at the moment. The style is utterly incredible. I wanna eat every panel. Look at this. Like holy shit?

Currently Watching: Tsurune, and The Elusive Samurai, a sports anime about archery and a beautifully animated anime about a son with the incredible ability to run away, tasked with avenging his family, respectively! I love sporty anime, and action, haha!

Currently Craving: Unemployment without consequences, I am so sick of being busy as fuck, oh my goodness. Free me. I just wanna draw, PLEASE. Oh, and bbq ribs and baked macaroni. None of that stove top none sense.

Coffee or Tea: Tea all the way! I tend to forget I’m drinking it as I wait for it to cool and chug the rest lukewarm, if not cold, haha! But caffeinated tea and a muffin is a blessing for early mornings.

Hobby to Try: Ideally? Axe throwing, dagger collecting, and crafting little bookmarks. Realistically, trying to maintain a gaming hobby.

Current AU: Phew, all the ideas immediately ran outta my head as soon as I saw this prompt! But an AU for Invincible made with the lovely @/byfulcrums !! Plus, thinking about whatever version of Mark had survived the alternate dimension wasteland. I think it’s be fun to mess around with like Viltramite biology for the sake of it, so Mark’s aging slows down, he’s hungry but he can’t die of starvation (congrats on unlocking stress induced photosynthesis), and he just kinda loses it for a little bit and then has to be forced right back to the normal world like it didn’t happen. Messing with Viltramite biology so he looks “fine” but it’s been year(s) for him and a couple months for everyone else. Literally just putting him through the wringer because I can.

No pressure but I’d love to hear your answers, @willosword @crismakesstuff and legit anyone who wants to join :)))

Hi, hello, howdy, thank you for the tag @batsycline69

rules: answer and tag nine people you want to get to know better and/or catch up with.

favorite color: Never not pink

last song: Danny Phantom by Medusa

currently reading: Milkman by Anna Burns

currently watching: Gilmore Girls

currently craving: Toffee ice cream and tacos (separately)

coffee or tea: 1000 times coffee

hobby to try: I’ve always wanted to try scrapbooking but just know I would never be able to commit to a lay-out

current au: Idk if a MILF plotline counts but currently my mind is occupied thinking about Wally West having a thing for Dick Grayson’s controversially young ex-stepmom.

No pressure tags for: @suburbanstreetrat @wandalfnation @monst @luffyadolover @poiscnivyism

And anyone who sees this and wants to participate!

[episims]

Foxfire Tarot Cards reply

Thank you @lina-cherie, @vampireacademysims, @persimmonsimmer, @equinoxts2, @rurpleplayssims, @mdpthatsme, and everyone who said nice things in reblogs and tags. I'm flattered and very glad you enjoyed my little card play!

[haitaniapologist]

ALL FOR US. ( favorite crime part 2 )

pairings — hanma shuji x female!reader, mentions of chifuyu x kazutora.

genre — angst, fluff.

warnings — an unhealthy obsession with using dashes instead of commas, sentences with strange structures and grammatical errors because english isn’t my first language, SPOILERS for episodes 21 and 24 of the first season of tokyo revengers, SPOILERS for chapter 74 of tokyo revengers and the black dragons arc, mentions major character death, a pregnancy, depression thoughts, smut, pregnancy kink, fingering, overstimulation, edging, lactating kink, typical violence, kisaki tetta.

word counting — 15.1k

songs — all for us, labrinth ft. zendaya.

tagging — @tooweirdforyou @aetheriaess @etheralyonn @lonnie19 @sincerelyraylene @chronic-claire-universe @harufilms @softbajis @markedsweetly @severellamahottub @sanzu-s

notes — phew, part 2 is here!!! it was a long ride since i first had this idea, and i can't believe i finally finished it. i hope you guys will enjoy it as much as i did!! reblogs, comments and likes are appreciated <3 also, natsuki is the name i choose for chifuyu and y/n's mom so i wouldn't be calling her just mom the entire fic jdaghjjsd

DARK CONTENT AND NSFW THEMES UNDER THE CUT, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT !!!!!!!

“what the fuck are you doing, shuji?”

he blinked his golden eyes slowly, finally regaining control of his senses. the last thing he remembered was seeing you get in your car, and a tormenting feeling inside his heart. what was that? hanma never felt anything like that before — it was like an animal was tearing his heart apart, and he was still alive to feel that. his knuckles were bleeding and his cheeks were warm with tears still freely falling from his eyes.

oh, yes. he lost you.

he lifted his head, meeting tetta's hard glare. what happened? he couldn't remember much more than your crying face and you running away from him.

“did you kill her?” kisaki asked impatiently. he already lost takemichi to kazutora — someone he should have killed when he stepped his foot off jail, but tetta never thought he would be a stone in his way — but managed to kill chifuyu, at least. he let the task of dispose of you to hanma, as he had promised many years ago. but he wasn't expecting to find his second in command on the ground floor, bloody hands and tears on his face. that was a pathetic sight, but he hoped that meant that you received the same fate as your younger brother.

shuji didn't understand what tetta wanted from him. “kill her? did… did you mean y/n?” that couldn't be true. he didn't remember kisaki asking him to do that — and as if hanma would kill you. tetta knew he couldn't do that. he could live with the fact that you hated him and never wanted to see him again, but at least you were alive. he could still see you and know you were okay. but you dying? that was one of his worst nightmares. “why would i need to kill my wife?”

kisaki eyes widened from a fraction of seconds, a realization striking him. he never thought hanma was capable of loving someone, and that's why he gave him the task of winning your heart. but maybe, he hadn't thought about the power you would hold over shuji — power enough to make him change and be capable of thinking about someone else that wasn't him. shuji loved you, and that was something that tetta couldn't predict in his plans.

and he hoped that such a foolish feeling wouldn’t mean his downfall. if kisaki lost what he minutely worked to have because of love, he would make sure to hunt you and shuji to the depths of hell.

“why, shuji?” he asked with venom dripping from his lips. “because your pretty little wife is a fucking traitor, just like her brother. she was helping him to take us down, did you notice?” he spat, observing gladly how hanma's eyes widened with pain. “and she's now probably whoring herself to kazutora as we speak.” kisaki could hear hanma's heart breaking, and that amused him. shuji needed to be the man he was before he met you — and if that meant that kisaki needed to break his heart with his own hands and then mend it as how he liked, he didn't care. “o-oh, you didn't know she's seeing him behind your back?” he asked in faux surprise, watching as his friend's eyes were tearing up again.

kisaki watched as life drained from hanma's eyes, like a bird flying for the warm land in the winter, helping him getting up. his plan was working out. “i'll help you get revenge, my friend.” he murmured, his hand on hanma's shoulders, trying to comfort him. fool.

“those matsunos have nothing but treason running in their blood, and we'll make sure to spill them to the whole world to see what happens when someone tries to stab our backs.”

—

you stopped at your mother's doorstep, not knowing what to do.

the last time you were there was when you married shuji, when you left your mother's home and went to live in a penthouse with your husband. could you still call him that? you didn't know.

after you calmed yourself down inside the car, you thought of what you would say to your mother. it wouldn't be easy to inform a mother of her son's death — and a dark side of you wished she was there to witness what happened. it would be easier for you, at least. what could you say to her? how could you tell that chifuyu, her dearest baby, was now dead? how could you explain that you watched the scene unfolding in front of your eyes but you were a coward, and didn't help your brother? you should be dead in his place. it was the natural course of life — you were older, and you were supposed to die first.

you took a deep breath, your shaky hand pressing the doorbell. it was funny how your mother never wished to move you from the same apartment he first bought with your father, even though you and chifuyu had the money to buy something bigger and in a better neighborhood for her. but she always denied yours and your brother’s words. she couldn’t leave precious memories like that.

and if you tried hard enough, you could hear chifuyu and keisuke laughing in the hallways.

you pressed the doorbell again, panic flooding in your system — but the door opened, and you watched with teary eyes as your mother broke down in front of you.

matsuno natsuki knew what happened the moment her eyes fell on your figure.

your dishevelled hair, teary eyes and bloody hands. that could only mean one thing: chifuyu was dead. she didn't mean to fall down to her knees and cry painful tears — almost tears of blood, as the virgin mary did when she watched what the romans were doing to her son. she needed to be strong to comfort you, chifuyu said. you would be there to watch him die,

“mama.” you whimpered, hugging her. it was the only thing you offered to her. “chifuyu is dead, mama.” you cried on her shoulder, feeling as her shaky hands tried to hug you back. "i'm sorry, i'm so sorry, mama."

you two cried for what seemed hours, until your and your mother's sobs became whimpers, and you managed to get her from the ground. you seated her on the sofa, making cold water with sugar for her.

“i knew he was going to die.” natsuki whispered, her eyes glued on her husband's photo. oh, dear.

you gave her a puzzled look, seating next to her. was she talking about a sixth sense mothers had regarding the safety of their children? you remembered when keisuke died and how his mom knew something happened to him.

you watched as your mother drank the water, and she looked so small — so young. she had always been young, but you never noticed that. too young to lose her husband, too young to raise two children alone, too young to bury a child. “your brother… he came here this morning.” she started, and your eyes widened. “he knew he was being targeted by kisaki.” she put a hand on your shoulder, her touch comforting, but you could see how she was struggling to not cry more. your mother never showed her weak side to you or your brother, ever. she had always been your rock, and your heart ached, seeing how she still tried to stay strong just for you. “he left something for you.”

what?

natsuki walked to where she had put chifuyu's letters — one for her, another for you — your dumbfounded eyes following her every movement. she prayed and prayed that things wouldn't reach the moment she would need to read what her son wrote for her. she handed you the paper, and you took it as it was the most precious jewel you ever saw. “why don't you go to your room, my sweetheart? i’m afraid toman's men will arrive soon to inform me about chifuyu, and i don't know what they could do to you.”

right. you were still a traitor.

you nodded, hugging your mother tightly, hoping that your arms could translate what you wanted to tell her. the hug ended when the doorbell rang again, and you rushed to your old childhood room, trying to ignore all the memories you had in it. it was hard, but you needed to focus on what chifuyu wanted to say to you.

taking another deep breath and seating in your old writing desk, you opened the letter:

y/n/n,

i'm trying to find words to say to you. but nothing comes to my mind — because how can i write a goodbye letter when i'm still here? how i can put into words what i'm feeling now? goodbyes weren't easy for you, for us, and i hope i can make mine more bearable for you with this letter. kind old-fashioned, isn't it? but i can't trust any other way of communication. he can't know that i know what is going to happen.

you have been with me since i was born. i never knew a world where my older sister wasn't with me, guiding me and making sure i didn't trip on my own feet. did you know my oldest memory is with you? i probably never told one about this, but i remember you looking down at me when i was in my crib. you said nothing, but i could see in your eyes how much you loved me. you were always looking out for me, and i knew how much of a troublesome kid i was. and for that, i apologize. but i was nothing but a child, and now, as an adult, i wish i could still give you such kind of troubles. not this one.

but i'm now the one looking out for you. if you're reading this, then i managed to protect you as always did with me.

you know a world without me. even if you don't remember it — you know. and you need to remember it and learn how you used to live back then. in a few days, i'll be nothing but ashes, nothing but ancestors and my memories and dreams will build our family grave, and i hope they'll be carried by you and takemichi. in a few hours, i'll be with dad and keisuke again, and i can't wait to tell them how beautiful you were as a bride. i'm sure they are so, so proud of you. as i am.

don't ever feel guilty about my death. it isn't your fault, even though i know you'll feel it is. you did not fail your job as my sister. i've made peace with it, really. i'm ready to die — but not ready to leave you, mom and kazutora behind. i can't make peace with the fact that you three will cry over my dead body, or i can't make peace with the fact that i'll never see my nephews and nieces. but that's ok. i'll watch over them. that's the least i can do for you.

i can't guarantee to you that your life will be easy now. i can't guarantee that it'll get easier to wake up and remember i'm dead, but i'm sure it'll get steadier. i thought about what i would feel if you died, and it was almost like a part of my soul died too. the world wasn't turning like it did, and the ground was rocking beneath my feet like an unquiet sea. but you are stronger than me, and i know you'll learn to live like that, like the sailors do. i could never. that's why i hope i'll be ashes by the end of the week, instead of you. but, promise me one thing: be happy. that's all i ask of you.

i'm whispering the words i hope will find you when you read this letter. i whisper your name, y/n, and i whisper the most important thing:

i love you, sister. i love you.

i love you.

your forever little brother,

chifuyu.

p.s: i've already forgiven shuji. i can't know if he'll have a role in my death, but it isn't easy to get away from kisaki's manipulation. remember that, please.

p.s 2: if you ever have children, name the girl shinobu and the boy after me. that's my last wish.

ps. 3: i’m just kidding. i just don’t know how to end this. i don’t want to die, but it seems to be my fate. i’m sorry. i love you.

you didn’t know if you should laugh or cry. he was thinking about you, about how you would react and how you could live with him. how much pain chifuyu went through knowing he was going to die? what was he thinking? why didn’t he ran away instead of showing himself at the meeting and accepting his fate? why did he stay and make you and your mother suffer because of him? why? why?

why your brother had to die?

new tears were now streaming down your face, but you didn’t have enough strength to sob or scream. you just wanted to wake up from this nightmare and be able to call your brother to gossip about your friends’ life, or help your husband get ready to work. you just wanted to have your life back the way it was. you cried and cried, and cried. it was the only thing you could do. you didn’t notice when your mother entered your room, only acknowledging her presence when she made you lay down on her lap, her hand stroking your hair. she did the same thing with you when you noticed your father was never going to return home again, and you almost laughed at how miserable your life had been — a dead father, a dead boyfriend and a dead brother. who was going to be the next? a dead mother? a husband?

“mama, am i cursed?” your voice was small, quiet, but filled with sorrow.

natsuki needed to be strong, but seeing you in such a state broke her heart. if she could, she would be the one feeling your pain — you didn’t deserve any of that. “of course not, dear. but we can’t predict what will happen in our lives.” she stroked your hair, hoping that the act would comfort you. it used to do, at least, but you weren’t her baby anymore.

“i should have listened to you, mama.” your thoughts only prompted you to cry harder. “if i… if i had taken care with shuji, i wouldn’t be here today.” crying for both my brother and my failed marriage. was shuji such a heartless man? did your love for him blinded you to all the bad he had done or could do?

natsuki inhaled deeply. she didn’t know what happened between you and your husband, but it was clear that her son-in-law knew something. chifuyu seemed to think that, and being the second in command to kisaki meant that he and toman’s leader shared secrets. “we could never have thought that things would end like this, y/n. you didn’t listen to me, but weren’t you happy?”

you nodded.

“then that’s what mattered to me.” her hand left your hair and she helped you get up. “we don’t know what the future holds for us, but i think you should take a bath. i’ll be there with you.” she smiled at you, and you did what your mother said. the walk to the bathroom was a difficult one. the house was still the same, and you had many memories about running in those halls after chifuyu or peke j, sometimes both, because they were annoying you. it was like chifuyu said — you felt as if the ground beneath your feet was like an unquiet sea, the earth wasn’t turning like it always did. something was missing.

natsuki helped you bathe, cleaning the blood from your hands and washing your hair. you hoped the water would be enough to clean you — both physically and spiritually. would you ever be able to life with the guilt of not being able to help your little brother? you both cried and laughed reminiscing memories with your brother and father, and even keisuke did a cameo in them.

now dressed and seated in front of your father’s altar, you heard your mother speak again. “the funeral will be tomorrow morning. toman will defray all of it.” you only nodded. shuji would probably be there. what would you do? what would you say to him? the ring in your left hand was now heavy. you were the only that left him, after he finally said he loved you, but could you forgive him? did he want to be forgiven? “they said to me that chifuyu died protecting kisaki from takemichi.”

you scoffed. tomorrow would be even harder.

you hugged your mother one last time before going to sleep. it wasn’t the same bed, but you still could see your teenage self wrapped around shuji arms, giggling and squirming in his hold, or even smell the brand of cheap cigarettes he used to smoke at the time. a sigh left your lips, and you noticed your phone on the night stand. your mother probably put it there, and you started to look through your messages. kazutora and naoto were asking how you were, and you answered them with a heavy heart, informing them of the details about the funeral.

putting it back on the furniture, your eyes tearing up again when it buzzed with new messages.

shuji: the bed is cold without you

shuji: come back home please

shuji: i love you

—

the house was cold and empty, but shuji could see you in everything.

at first, he thought he was hallucinating.

he could still smell your rose scented shampoo and your cologne in the whole house. it was like someone had played a prank on him and sprayed it just to see him more miserable — but he could hear you laugh too. he could feel you inside the penthouse, and he cursed himself for letting you do all the decoration. at any corner his eyes laid upon, he could see a part of you. how you cared for your family and friends, how you were passionate about baking, how you loved him.

but the worst was the bedroom.

it was filled with you. your clothes, your jewels, your hair products and makeup, your favorite photos and everything you held dear to your heart. he picked up the photo that was on your night stand, his heart clenching — him, you, your mother and chifuyu in the day you became his wife. he lost all of that, and for what?

the sheets were still warm it seemed, and they and your pillow still smelled like you, hanma noticed when he managed to lay down after a cold shower. if he focused enough, he could feel how warm your skin was beneath his fingertips and feel the outline of your curves pressing against his body, or hear your heartbeat in his ears and feel your butterfly kisses against his jaw.

the bed was cold without you there, and shuji didn’t know what to do. how could he fall asleep without your warmth as his lullaby?

kisaki’s words were resonating in his head. was you really cheating on him with kazutora? it was almost impossible, but tetta was his friend and shuji was sure he would never lie to him. but he trusted you too, and even if you were helping your brother, it didn’t make sense that you would cheat on him. you still treated him the same, albeit being a little distant, and never stopped showing him your love. however, if you really were, you and shuji were even. he helped someone murder your brother, and you cheated on him. he was willing to forgive you, it that was the truth.

turning his head to smell you on your pillow once more, he reached for his phone, texting kisaki. you were in your mother’s house as he had predicted, and unharmed, as he promised too. hanma thanked him, and in return received the details about his brother-in-law’s funeral. he felt as a hypocrite by going, but everyone thought chifuyu died trying to protect kisaki from takemichi, as no one would believe he was the judas. tetta wanted to frame hanagaki as it, and since he was arrested, it was easy to go with that narrative.

before shuji could think better, he was facing your contact photo. it was you two, in pajamas, doing face masks. he smiled fondly at the sight of it, typing what was in his mind.

you: the bed is cold without you

you: come back home please

you: i love you

he didn’t care if you had really cheated on him. he was willing to forgive anything just to have you at his side again.

the screen glowed and shuji watched as how typing appeared and disappeared, his heart racing every time he could see you were formulating an answer for him.

y/n: go to sleep, shuji

y/n: it’s really late

oh, how good it was to see you calling him by his first name.

y/n: we can talk tomorrow after the funeral if you'll be there

y/n: good night

he smiled at the text, texting you a good night and putting his phone again on his night stand. tomorrow, he would gain your forgiveness, even if he needed to beg on his knees and scream to the world how much you meant to him.

—

the ground still felt like an unquiet sea beneath your feet, but you were getting steadier.

it wasn't easy to wake up and remember what happened to your brother, and after crying a little more both in your bed and in the shower, you were ready — as you could be — to attend his funeral. you were wearing your mother's clothes, an old black dress of hers that was the one that fitted you, with your hair styled in a ponytail and the heels you were wearing the night prior, which the men who visited your mom returned for you.

you didn't understand why kisaki was being too kind to you. if he knew you were helping your brother, thus being considered a traitor, why didn't he order the men to kill you yesterday? wasn't it easier to kill two birds with just a stone?

that were the thoughts haunting you during the funeral.

you were on your knees next to your mother, receiving everyone's condolences. it wasn't easy, especially when the old toman boys came. smiley, angry, peh, pah, mucho, and even hakkai — you shared teary eyed smiles with every single one of them, and you were grateful to kisaki, in a twisted way. your brother didn't die as a traitor to the eyes of his friends.

the worst, however, was when it arrived shuji’s time to talk to you both.

his eyes were in you since he arrived, and you tried your best to ignore it. but from time to time you stole a glance at his way, your heart aching to see him in such a state. you never saw your husband looking so miserable, but you needed to remember that he deserved that. did he really think that you would be willing to accept the fact that he helped someone murder your brother? it was strange, what you were feeling. shuji deserved that, yes, but you wanted nothing more than to just kiss his pain away.

you watched as he prayed in front of chifuyu's casket, his smiling photo a bitter reminder that you would never see him looking like that at you. you lowered your eyes as soon as shuji kneeled in front of you and your mother, but you couldn't escape him, as he bent over in a formal apology form, his forehead in the ground. “i'm sorry, mother.” you heard him say before he got away from your line of vision, probably hugging your mom. you didn't tell her what happened. she didn't need to know more details about last night, as you didn't want to suffer more. but she knew. she was your mom, after all.

“thank you, shuji, dear.” you heard her say, and you thought that was it. but you soon felt your husband's hands on your shoulders, and you just rested your face on his chest. you couldn't look at him. “meet me in front of the lake, in five, okay?” he kissed your hair, and you took a deep breath when his warmth left you.

after him, kisaki came.

you wanted to throw up, your fists clenching in anger at your sides. how dare he? tetta was the one who pulled the trigger, the mastermind behind chifuyu’s death, he didn’t have shame to appear in his funeral with a sorrowful look on his face? you felt as if you couldn’t breathe, and when he approached you and your mother, you noticed how your nails managed to draw blood from your hands from how hard you were pressing them to your palms. you had never felt so much anger in your life, and you wanted nothing more than to break his glasses on his face and beat him to death.

his arms were filled with thorns sticking on your skin, and his smile a blade that aimed at your heart, and his words were the most dangerous venom. “you’re lucky shuji loves you, y/n.” he murmured in your ear while you were in what people would call a friendly embrace, but you felt inside a cage. “or else your mother would be crying over two today. behave, sweetheart.”

you got up as soon as kisaki started to talk with your mother, your legs taking you to any secluded place they could find. you needed to get out of there, you needed to get out of kisaki’s grasp and plans. his warning meant only one thing: if you tried to carry on your brother’s plans, you would meet the same end as him, and neither your husband nor anyone else would be able to stop tetta from killing you. and you couldn’t do that to your mom, no. she already lost chifuyu and your dad, but, at the same time, changing toman was what chifuyu and keisuke wanted.

it was like you were a trapped bird and kisaki was your master.

you noticed you were in the lake when your eyes found shuji’s, dark bags under his golden eyes, which were reflecting pure misery.

“i didn’t think you would come.” shuji started, taking a step closer to you. you saw how his hands were twitching at his sides, as if he was doing anything he could to not touch you. and he was. hanma wanted nothing more than to feel your skin on his fingers and comfort you, as hypocritical as that sounded.

you reverted your eyes to the water, the way his eyes were burning holes in your body was too much to bear. “would you blame me if i did not?” you asked, observing your reflection on the water. shuji soon appeared too, and it was better to look at his reflection than to his face.

“no, but i was hoping you would come.” it was almost like the words were blades that hurt his throat just by saying that, but shuji wouldn’t blame you if you never wanted to see him again. but your text last night said otherwise, and he hoped he could save the shreds that your once strong marriage was. “forgive me, y/n.” hanma knew that words could mean nothing — his line of work only proved to him that, because lying to him was almost as drinking water — but he wanted you to believe him. he never had been so sincere in his whole life. “believe me when i say that i love you, because i do.”

“shuji, i… i don't know if i can.” you answered, closing your eyes when you saw his face changing from one full of love to one full of despair, the tears streaming down his face visible even in the water. but you needed to support your convictions, even if they would hurt. “not… now, at least.”

shuji’s face disappeared from the water, and your eyes followed his movements. he kneeled in front of you — the same way he did when he asked you to be his wife — and rested his head on your belly, hands on your hips you fought the urge to put your hands on his hair and stroke it, like you used to do when he was too stressed. “y/n, please… i don't know how i'll live without you.” his words were like a million paper cuts on your skin, too agonizing to support. you didn’t even care anymore about the tears.

“i… you will…” you will learn, was what you wanted to say, but the words were stuck to your throat. he needed to learn, as you should too.

but his next words took you by surprise.

“is this because you're cheating on me kazutora?”

“w-what?” was what you managed to say, too shocked to form any other sentence. you and kazutora? shuji was kidding, right? kazutora… kazutora was in love with your brother. you were playing matchmaker before everything happened. it took you a while to forgive kazutora for stabbing baji, but, when you did, he became like a little brother to you too. and when he expressed his feelings towards chifuyu, you were beyond happy. your brother deserved someone that loved and cared for him until the end of the world — as you and shuji had been.

“so it's true.” you were used to that tone of shuji — the toman hanma, the reaper — but he never used it with you. desperation started to bubble in your heart, and you needed to make him believe you were telling the truth. it wasn’t fair — yesterday you were thinking that your marriage had been a lie since day one, and now hanma is thinking you were cheating on him?

you gripped his shoulders when he tried to move away from you. “what the hell are you talking about, shuji? i would never cheat on you!” you almost screamed, seeing how hurt he looked from just that thought. “and tora… he loved my brother.” you didn’t know why you were telling him that. your husband didn't deserve to know anything about kazutora’s life, but that was the only thing you could say for him to believe you.

shuji gulped. he wanted to believe in you, he did. but it was your word against kisaki’s. “tetta, he… he told me you were cheating on me with kazutora.” you realized with horror that what chifuyu said was right. shuji was tied to kisaki’s manipulation like an insect in a spider’s web. “and helping your brother, too.”

“and you believed him?”

your words were harsh and shuji felt as if you slapped him. he… he should believe kisaki. they knew each other since their teenagers dreams, the reaper and the pierrot, and tetta never lied. but by just looking at your expression shuji knew you weren’t lying — he could read you as an open book. maybe kisaki was wrong? maybe he just thought you were cheating on him.

“i was helping my brother, yes, but i would never cheat on you, oh my god.” you added, releasing shuji from your hold and trying to escape him. he didn’t deserve your tears or even your pity, if he thought so low of yourself, his own wife.

but shuji wouldn’t let you go so easily. why were you helping chifuyu? why did you want to take toman down? didn't you love him? if toman ended, he would go to jail for god’s knew how long, away from you. was that what you really wanted? to see your husband behind bars? “... why?”

you understood what he wanted to know, your hands now cupping his face. “because of you.” you answered quietly, hearing the birds singing. “toman… toman became too dangerous.” you explained. you knew what gang life was, but everyday toman started to have more and more shady work, and that wasn’t its purpose. the gang was created to protect people, and not to kill innocents. tachibana hinata’s death had been your last straw. why kisaki needed to kill her? you remembered her as takemichi’s sweet girlfriend from middle school. you were afraid that someday you would be awake at 3am by a text saying your husband had died in a mission. “i did not… i did not want our kids to have the same fate as me.”

“the same fate… as you?” shuji asked with confusion lacing his voice, leaning in your touch.

you took a deep breath, his face becoming blurry by the tears in your eyes. “i didn't want them to wake up one day to their father never coming back home again.” it was hard to speak of the family you two wanted in the past sentence, but you didn’t know if shuji would agree with your thoughts. “i didn't want them to feel the same loneliness i did on father's day, or hearing other people calling their fathers heroes and not knowing what to say when their friends asked about theirs.” you smiled down at him, sadly, remembering moments from your childhood that no child needed to go through. it was painful to watch all the other kids doing drawings and cards, saying how much they loved their father, telling each other how cool they were, while your work would be deposited on a gravestone and your memories of your father were starting to fade away. you couldn’t even recall the exact color of his eyes anymore. “i didn't want to be the one to tell them their father died.” not like your mother did on a saturday morning, you and chifuyu still in your pajamas, hugging each other. “i didn't want them to know you only from my memories, shuji.” like chifuyu did.

“princess…” he got up from his knees, trapping you in his arms. that time, however, you embraced him back, and relief washed over him. you were worried for him, about him — you weren’t cheating on him. you were a traitor because you loved him, because you wanted to have a family with him. tetta would understand that.

you two stayed in each other’s embrace for a few minutes, and hanma was hopeful that things would go back to their normal. but your next words were like a bucket of cold water someone turned on him.

“i think it's better if we don't see each other for a while, shuji.”

it was as if someone ripped a bandage from his skin without warning, the bruise opening up again and dripping blood. “w-what?” he asked, holding you by your shoulders, as if he could shake sense into you. didn't you love him anymore? but your gaze was determined, and shuji knew he wouldn't be able to change your mind. you were too stubborn, he came to learn, and when you had an idea in your mind, you wouldn't back down. but he hoped — no, he dared to plead — that the gods would change your mind. “n-no, i can't. the house, my life is too cold without you with me, y/n. i won't… i won't be able to.” he tried to reason, and you almost have in at the sight of his golden eyes pleading to yours.

you smiled sadly at him, your hand cupping his cheek to wipe the tears falling from his eyes. “didn't you say you would wait for me forever if you needed to?” you remembered that day as if it happened a few hours ago — how shuji cupped your face between his large hands, after you said you wanted to take things slow, to be able to heal properly and because you liked him too, and it wasn’t fair to him if you started a relationship while still grieving over keisuke. the room smelling like his favorite brand of cigarettes, and his eyes hooded with affection, and how tears freely fell down your cheeks after he made you that promise.

he nodded. it was the only promise he was able to fulfill.

you stroked his cheek, and hanma could die from the love dripping from your eyes. he didn't deserve any of that. “i'm not saying i won't ever be able to forgive you, but i need some time. to put my thoughts in place, to mourn my brother and to find myself again.” sometimes, when someone you love hurts you, you should stay some time away from them to heal and be able to forgive and love them again — your mother whispered to you when she thought you were sleeping, and you took her words to heart. this time, you would listen to her.

“please.” you murmured, watching as hanma's shoulders slug down and as his face could cause envy to a puppy trying to have their owner to give them food. but it was for the best, for the both of you.

shuji tightened his grip on your shoulders, but sighed, defeated. “o-okay.” he answered, and you tried to not dwell in the quiver his voice made when he agreed with you. his eyes were glistening with tears of sadness and something you thought was determination. “just promise me that you'll never take the ring off of your finger, princess.” he demanded, and you almost laughed at how imposing he looked. but you nodded, nonetheless, and he gave you a teary smile.

“can i kiss you, one more time?” shuji asked, apprehensive, afraid that you would deny his request. but he needed to feel your lips on his one more time, to have a memory, in future sleepless and cold nights, to remember why he was going through such martyrdom.

you didn't answer him with words, but, with your hand still on his cheek, you brought his head down, connecting your lips. hanma almost moaned at the feeling of your soft skin against his lips, and he caged you inside his arms one more time.

the kiss tasted of tears, which were freely falling from both of your eyes, and shuji held you as if you could break at any moment, his touch on the bare skin of your back was almost like an ember, as if he wanted to bruise you — and, if anyone else dared to touch you, they would know who you belonged to. your touch, however, was gentle and caring, like a summer breeze gracing his cheeks. but, at the same time, shuji felt that you wanted to mark him too.

you reluctantly broke the kiss, the burn on your eyes becoming too much for you to bear. shuji kissed your forehead, one last time, and you watched as he distanced himself from you, walking back to the funeral's salon.

“goodbye, y/n.”

“goodbye, shuji.”

i love you.

—

it wasn't easy in the beginning.

you used to sleep and wake up feeling shuji's warmth, and now, waking up in a cold and small bed, without all the pillows you had in your husband's penthouse, was strange. but you grew used to it — and, as chifuyu said, the ground started to feel steadier. you stopped waking up with sorrow running through your veins, and started to see the beauty in the little things life had to offer. maybe it was the birds singing, or a cat wanting you to scratch their head — you started to smile more and feel like yourself again, even if you felt something missing in your heart and soul.

you also needed to learn how to live without the luxuries shuji's job offered to you, as your mother income was made up of your father's pension and the money you and chifuyu would deposit to her. she now had a part in the income of all of your brother's bars and clubs, but it wasn't like before. you learned again how it was to live without maids and personal chefs, and while you missed the comfort that brought you, it was good to connect yourself with your roots again.

and, when kazutora offered you a job in the pet shop chifuyu was helping him open up, you didn't hesitate to agree.

you hadn't worked in at least seven years, since toman started to make enough money for shuji to sustain you, and you had forgotten how good it was to do something you loved. the look of love on a kid's face when you showed them a kitten, or the grateful words you would receive from elderly people when they came asking for suggestions about how to take better care of their dogs was something that kept you going and waking up everyday. you had found a new purpose in life, and, this time, was solely yours.

you were reminded of shuji in the smallest things. in the smell of coffee in the morning, to a pack of cigarettes someone forgot in the pet shop, to the way the sun shines in the sky — golden exactly like his eyes were. you couldn't watch sitcoms without remembering how he liked to make fun of the characters with you, or you couldn't see a man wearing a suit, or your head would turn so quickly that it would give you a whiplash because you thought it was him. there was now a hole in the place shuji used to be in your world, a hole that you constantly walked around in the daytime, like a moth to a flame, and falling in the night — you missed him like hell, and the ring in your finger was heavy, reminding you that you and hanma once had it all, and now you didn't even know if he was fulfilling his promise. however, you managed to make peace with the longing you had for your husband's presence, and started to live with it as if it was just a friend.

but some days were worse than others.

there were days when you woke up and you wanted nothing more than to just curl yourself under the covers, days when a kid's smile didn't bring a sincere one to your face, and you just wanted to hear hanma shuji's voice and feel his kisses on your face. but you had kazutora, and you both understand each other. you two had lost the same people, and he understood better than anyone what you felt. his company was like the sun rays on a cold winter day, and you and him learned together how to cope with your mourning and sadness. no one could ever replace chifuyu, but kazutora was a warm reminder that you still had sisterly love to give to others.

but did shuji still love you? was he keeping his promise of waiting for you, or when you felt you were ready again to face him, he would dismiss you with a disgusted frown on his handsome face?

—

hanma was miserable.

everywhere he looked, he saw you. either it was in the way the towels were folded in the bathroom, to the lilies resting in a vase inside his office. you were everywhere in his life, haunting and making him remember his sins, and he wondered if you felt the same as he did.

he knew you were faring well. shuji kept his most trusted men to observe you and make sure that nothing bad happened to you, as well to inform him of your well-being. every day one of them returned to tell him that you seemed better, that you smiled more and that you were still wearing your ring, shuji felt as if he was the happiest man alive. if being away from you meant your happiness, he would gladly stay away until you were ready again.

but he missed you. oh, how he missed you.

he missed your sweet smile and your hands caressing his cheeks. he missed the feel of your smaller hands intertwined with his big ones, and he missed how you would trace patterns on his tattoos. but he missed being loved, he missed your eyes shining with love every time he arrived home, and he missed your tight pussy clenching around him. his fist was nothing compared to your cunt.

shuji couldn't go out with the other toman's executives because all the fun was going with you — to see you dancing and having fun, to see you dressed in the finest silks the world has to offer. he didn't need excuses to drink anymore. he already did it, either to forget the pain or to try to remember how it was to hold you, to kiss you, to feel you.

however, you words of wanting to make toman better because of him haunted his thoughts, and, little by little, shuji started some changes inside the organisation. of course, he didn't tell tetta that it was solely because of you — hanma said it would put them in good eyes with the police once more, so they would leave toman to their devices once more — but kisaki knew you had something to do with shuji's change of demeanour. how he started to donate his money to orphanages and shelters, and how he started to finance the building of schools and hospitals. it wasn't much, but his job stopped being just dangerous missions.

shuji also started to donate to kazutora's petshop, and help it as chifuyu was. you didn't know, of course — shuji made kazutora swear he would never tell you.

and he tried to stay away from you, how he tried. but two months after chifuyu's funeral, shuji appeared in the pet shop.

he wasn’t supposed to. he made a promise, but shuji felt as if he was going crazier and crazier each day he wasn’t graced with your smile. he endured sixty days, but he couldn't do more. he texted kazutora — they couldn’t be considered as friends, but they were on better terms since the bloody halloween — to see if you were working that afternoon, because hanma needed to get just a simple glance of your face.

and he did.

you looked up when the bell over the door hung, and a happy smile made its way to your lips before you saw who it was. “hello, and welcome our shop! how can i hel—” you felt your throat dry at the sight of your husband’s golden eyes, and your smile faltered, hands shaking and breath speeding up.

the urge to run up to the bathroom and throw up was huge, but you already had done that today. and in the days prior too, and you wondered if it wasn’t a signal that your world was going to be flipped down again by him.

“y/n.”

his voice was hoarse, but it held so many emotions. you were glowing in hanma's eyes, and he never saw you looking so beautiful. he had seen you with designed dresses made by the finest stylists, but you were something else with your hair in messy pigtails, comfy jeans and a white t-shirt under a green apron. you had bags under your eyes, and shuji hoped he wasn't the cause of that.

“shuji… wha— how can i—” you didn't know what to say, because you want to say it all. you wanted to say how you missed him, how you thought you were getting better, tell him all about the new shows you watched with your mom and every good thing that happened in your life. you wanted to ask him if he still loved you, if he thought of you as much as you thought of him, if you haunted his dreams like he did with yours.

but shuji just smiled at you, and you swore the sight was more beautiful than all the stars in the galaxy.

“i'm here to…” to see you again, because i miss you so much that it makes my heart bleed. “adopt a kitten.” he didn't know where that wish came from, but maybe, with a kitten, he would have an excuse to see you again. “the house has been too lifeless since you left.”

you just nodded, feeling your eyes burn, averting your gaze from him to the counter. he seemed well, but his eyes weren't your husband's eyes anymore. they were emptier, and you knew it was your fault. “tora is the one who helps a person choose a kitten. he'll be back soon, i think.” and you hoped too, because you wouldn't be able to be in shuji's presence for too much time.

“alright.” you heard him answer, your eyes now glued to the computer's bright screen. you suppressed a yawn, too annoyed with the fatigue that was plaguing you these past few weeks. you mother was worried, too, and she thought that maybe it was time to either see a doctor, or talk with your husband. a message popped in your phone from the clinic, and your eyes found shuji's again — his looking a little worried from the notification's sound.

you answered your confirmation, eyes returning to your husband's, who was looking at his hands. “it was just my doctor's clinic to confirm my appointment tomorrow.” you explained, cheeks heating up. “i'm not… seeing anyone else, if that's what you were thinking.”

relieved washed through shuji's body, and, before he could answer — saying that he also wasn't seeing anyone else — kazutora's black and blond hair popped from the back door, and he gave shuji a puzzled look.

“he's here to adopt a kitten!” you answered before shuji could, and he gave kazutora a sheepish smile.

“very well, then. follow me, hanma.” shuji did what he was told, following kazutora to the back room, smiling politely in your direction. the back was full of kittens and puppies, and shuji felt as if he died and was in heaven — the atmosphere was something he never experienced before, and all the attention the little ones were giving him almost made him tear up. he didn’t care if he showed up in that night’s meeting with fur in his suit.

kazutora’s voice took him from his daydreams, and hanma almost chocked on his own spit at this question, a puppy in his hand. “are you here to actually adopt a kitten or just to see y/n?”

“woah man, i didn't remember you being so straightforward.” he answered promptly, feeling his ears heating up. shuji actually didn’t know why he said that — peke j absolutely loathed him when the cat was still around, saving some time when he was sleepy and hanma was smoking on your balcony and peke j asked for some head scratches. he still had some faint scars from the times your brother’s cat caused havoc on his hands.

kazutora chuckled, changing the water of the animals. “well, years in jail can change someone.” hanma knew he was just joking, but he felt guilt creeping his spine hearing that. he was one of the main reasons why kazutora spent so many years there, and he didn’t want to be reminded of his past mistakes — because of you, and how much pain that day brought to you. “but i'm being serious, hanma. a kitten is a being, which needs love and the best things in the world, and i need to know if you'll be a good tutor or not.”

shuji contemplated if he should just tell the truth or if he should tell a little white lie.

“the house is cold and lonely without her.” he decided to be honest with kazutora, and hanma frowned at how his yellow eyes widened. what, he couldn’t believe shuji had feelings and felt more lonely than he ever in his entire life felt without you? “i was already thinking about getting a pet before everything happened.” you were thinking about that, but kazutora didn’t need to know.

he didn’t enjoy the smile kazutora gave him. “do you have any color preferences?”

“black.” was shuji’s answer, while he crossed his arms.

it was because of peke j, and kazutora knew it. but besides that, black cats were always seen as a sign of bad luck, and hanma used to relate to that. “okay.” the pet shop’s owner answered, picking up a small black kitten, and its big green eyes were glued in shuji’s face. “we have this one.” kazutora explained, handling it to him. shuji held the kitten gently, observing how it wanted to play with his earring. “all her siblings were adopted and she's the only one left. y/n likes to play with her a lot.”

he involuntarily smiled, thinking about how you enjoyed playing with your brother’s cat when you were too stressed, or the many old photos he had of you doing that.

“then it'll be her.” shuji decided, holding the little kitten to his chest. “she's cute.” he smiled down at her, already enamoured by her big green eyes and little black nose. it would be a good addition to the family, and she would keep him company while he awaited for you.

“you really loves y/n, don’t you, shuji?” kazutora said out of nowhere, watching as the toman executive got familiarized with the black kitten. but he asked on your behalf — kazutora heard your concerns many times, always wondering if your husband still loved you.

“of course.” shuji answered, sorrow lacing his voice. “we don’t give the power to destroy us to someone you don’t love.”

kazutora smiled sadly, mentioning hanma to handle him the kitten. “i’ll be taking care of the preparations for you to take her home.” he explained, stroking her black fur. “y/n deals with the paperwork, and you should talk to her now. shuji nodded, giving him a small smile and exiting the back room, finding yourself too entertained with what you were doing at the computer. its light reflecting in your face only made you more breathtaking, but shuji cleared his throat to get your attention — he could stay the whole afternoon just looking at your face, but he had a meeting to go to.

“kazutora said you are the one who does the paperwork.” he didn’t know how to approach you without being too forward, and ask if you were ready again and if you still loved him. but he was just there to see you, because you were supposed to be the one who would dictate your own time.

you nodded, and mentioned for him to get closer to the counter. “did you change any of your info?” you asked cautiously, because you still remembered everything about him. a soft smile made its way to your lips when you saw shuji shaking his head negatively, and you started to fill the adoption form. but the silence was too heavy, and you could feel the intensity of his gaze watching you. “what kitten will you adopt?” you asked, both out of curiosity and because of your job.

“the black kitten.” hanma answered, his eyes concentrated on your face. “kazutora said she’s the last one from her siblings.” you hummed, eyes scanning the form. she was so cute, and you were glad shuji was the one adopting her. because if no one did, you were going to — but your mother already had a hard time dealing with peke j, and you were sure she wouldn’t want another black cat in her home.

you send the form to be printed, walking towards the printer to get the sheet. “do you have a name in mind?”

shuji smiled down at you while you handed him the paper, taking his black pen from his suit pocket to sign it. “guinevere.” he watched as you cutely gave him a puzzled look, and how realization struck your face. excalibur. he still remembered peke j’s first and lame name? you probably told him that in the first stages of your relationship, when you used to snuck him in your room without your mother or brother knowing he was there.

“it’s a cute name for a cute kitten.” you acknowledged, your eyes fixed in the paper. “i’ll miss her.”

the words slipped from shuji’s mouth before he could think twice. “you can visit her whenever you want, you know. it’s still your home, too.” it was as if he was a teenager again, waiting for your answer and reactions to his pick-up lines. he saw how your cheeks gained a reddish color, his heart hammering inside his chest. it didn’t matter how many years had passed, he would always be in love with you, as if you two were still sixteen and fifteen.

“shuji, you…” he couldn’t say things like that, without a warning. it was just like when you two were young again, and you wished for that time to come back. you weren’t sure if you would’ve done something different — probably not, your memories with shuji were kept in a dear place in your heart — but things were easier. “you can’t say things like that.”

you felt his hand on your cheek, and you unconsciously leaned into his touch. “if you ever forget how much i love you, remember that i’m willing to give up the stars if it's necessary to have you at my side again.” he stroked your cheek before kazutora made his presence known, handling hanma the kitten’s box and what he would need to take care of her, leaving you missing his warmth once more.

shuji waved at you and kazutora, and you two repaid the gesture, your eyes watching him leaving with longing on them. “wait, isn't shuji going to pay for the things?” you asked, curious eyes now looking at kazutora.

“well.” he started, tidying up some things inside the shop so you two could close it. “he’s donating a good amount of money every month here to the stray puppies and kittens, and i felt bad for charging him, since he’s already donating.” kazutora smiled at how your face lit up at the mention of your husband donating his money for something, and not only using it to buy luxurious things for both him and yourself. “i also heard he’s donating to the building of hospitals and schools, too.”

you tried to hold back your tears, but you couldn’t. you were way more emotional than ever those past few weeks, and kazutora promptly hugged you. “your love made him a better man, y/n.”

—

“what is this?” kisaki asked angrily, watching as his second in command was playing in the ground with a black cat. he knew hanma was a wild card since day one, but tetta never expected that.

shuji frowned at him. “this is what it looks like.” he shrugged, shaking the toy so guinevere could chase it. “i adopt a cat. meet guinevere, tetta. she's like your niece or something.” hanma watched with amusement in his eyes as kisaki sneered at him, but tried to play with the cat nonetheless. “atta girl.” he whispered as guinevere bit tetta's hands — at least something she learned from you.

“fucking brat.” kisaki murmured, sitting on the leather couch of shuji's office.

hanma followed his friend, leaving the kitten to her devices. he hoped he had tired her enough so she could sleep while he talked with tetta, and then the two of them could go home. “what is the matter you want to discuss today?”

kisaki adjusted his glasses. “the police.” he started, an annoyed frown on his face. “that idea of yours, of donating money and try to be a beneficent organization for a few months, was a good one.” an idea that was inspired by what you said to him, actually — but no one knew that. shuji hoped that when he told you what was happening, you would be happy to know that toman was changing. “but they're still nagging us.”

he knew what kisaki wanted. “maybe we could try to protect people instead of just killing them?” shuji offered a piece of his mind. “so we can pose publicly as the good guys for once. it can be just a planned situation, so we'll have control of what will happen and what will not.”

hanma could see the gears working on kisaki's mind, and he felt confident that your — and chifuyu's, too — dream could be a reality without the blood that was spilled.

“i knew that being without y/n would do good for you, shuji.”

“yeah, whatever.” he dismissed tetta's words with a waving hand, already knowing what he was going to say. that you were a distraction, that he shouldn't let love be too important to him, and all of that. just because he preferred you alive, even that meant being away from him, and kisaki preferred the woman of his affections dead, it didn't mean shuji was weaker. “anything else, tetta?”

kisaki narrowed his eyes, eyeing hanma from his head to his toes. “you know that i only didn't kill y/n for your sake.” shuji nodded, remembering how he begged his friend to not lay a hand on his wife — it had a good explanation for what you did, shuji was sure of it, and you had. but kisaki didn't buy it, and shuji needed to beg on his knees so you would be spared from the same fate as your brother. “don't make me regret my decision, hanma.”

he watched as tetta exited his office, running a hand through his face. he needed to have you at his side again, because if he didn’t, any day you would appear dead and shuji would have a little souvenir waiting for him at his door.

—

natsuki watched as you fidgeted with your fingers while waiting for the blood test to come out.

she knew you and hanma were ready to take the next steps and, before everything that happened, she was beyond excited to have her first grandchildren. but now, watching as she was the one accompanying you to the doctors instead of your husband, she wasn’t so sure if a pregnancy was what you’re needing right now. it was supposed to be shuji there, hugging you by the shoulders while you two waited for the results of something that was supposed to be a happy moment. the unshed tears now in your eyes told her otherwise, but it was your decision to distance yourself from shuji for now.

words of comfort weren’t needed at that moment, and when the doctor stepped out you tightened your grip on your mother’s hand.

“congratulations, mrs. hanma.” the doctor smiled warmly, and your heart fell to your belly. “you’re pregnant. the due date is seven months from now.” you shook his hand, a teary smile on your face. you hoped he bought your story — your husband had an emergency at work and you called your mother to accompany you — and that he couldn’t read your tears as tears of sadness, because that was what they were.

the arms around you weren’t the arms you were expecting, but your mother knew how to calm you. “it’ll be alright, dear.” she whispered in your ear, and you tried so hard to not break down in sobs. your relationship with your husband seemed to be on better terms than you thought, but would shuji receive well these news? he already thought you were cheating on him with kazutora, what if kisaki managed to manipulate him enough for him to think the baby wasn’t his?

and, of course, your brother’s words on his letter were a cruel reminder that he would be the best uncle ever, loving and doting your children as if they were his own — but he wasn’t there to share that moment with you.

you drove your mother back home, saying to her that you needed to run some errands for kazutora and would be back soon, but she knew where you were going. you parked in a convenience store, near the cemetery, to buy some peyang yakisoba, as well as some other sweets. the walk there was lonely and sorrowful, your thoughts running a mile per hour in you head, and you would never be used to going to your family's grave because of your brother.

but the first stop wasn't the matsunos' grave.

you looked at the stone as if it was an old friend of yours, and, to some extent, it was. you didn't know how many times you visited it through the twelve years since keisuke died, and you felt as if he needed to be the first one to know. because before he was your boyfriend, he was your friend too, and you thought that if he was alive he would be thriving with the news. you placed the peyang yakisoba at the feet of the grave, lighting an incense and praying.

“i'm pregnant, keisuke.” you whispered, your hand caressing your belly. it was strange to think about it — the words didn’t sit properly on your tongue, and they had a bittersweet taste. it was just like yesterday that you were still a teenager, riding around with the toman boys on keisuke's bike, laughing and your only responsibility being school. now, you were a grown woman, married and carrying another being inside your womb.

would you be a good mother?

you wiped your tears, getting up from the ground, kissing your fingers and pressing them on the stone. it was funny how the distance between the bajis' and your family's grave wasn't long, and you were happy to know that even death couldn't separate your brother from keisuke.

but you stopped in your tracks when you saw a familiar figure seated in the front of the matsunos' grave, your heart hammering in your chest at the sight of your husband. it was just yesterday that you saw him, but it felt too long ago.

the words coming from his mouth were incomprehensible to you, but you understood what feeling was making your heart hammer inside your ribcage. it was love, pure love — the same love that you felt before your brother died, soft as snowflakes falling on your skin in the first snow of the winter, the love that burned your heart with passion and made it anew just to be burned again. not the love that had a tough grip on your heart, that made your heart clench with pain and your throat dry with unsaid words.

you watched as shuji left the grave, slowly walking towards it to tell the news for your brother and father.

you knew what you had to do when you arrived home.

—

going to visit your family grave made shuji think he was being forgiven by his sins.

it was a total lie and he knew that, but doing something he didn’t even do to his dead relatives made him feel like your brother and father were slowly forgiving him. it was good to stay a while in a quiet place, just him and his thoughts, and sometimes a cigarette. shuji didn’t know if your father smoked — because you were too young when he died and didn’t remember — but he hoped he was happy with the brands shuji was gifting him. for chifuyu, though, he remembered what chocolates he used to like, at least.

arriving home had been a torture for him, even with guinevere. the kitten had proved to be a good companion to him, and shuji could speak freely to her — because he knew the cat wouldn’t judge him, because she couldn’t understand what he was saying. guinevere was his own therapist, and she didn’t even know it. but the house was still too cold and lifeless without you, your nonexistent presence like a shadow over his shoulders.

he sighed when he felt his phone vibrating, putting guinevere’s food on her little pot before reading it.

y/n: hi shuji

y/n: we need to talk

y/n: when you are free?

with a hammering heart and trembling fingers, shuji read your message over and over again. it could only mean two things: either you were going back to his arms, or you would ask for a divorce. he hoped it was the first conclusion, but he couldn’t help and be afraid — what if you found that being without him was better? what if you stopped loving him?

you: hi princess

you: im free tonight if you want

you: do you want to have dinner here?

you: we can order italian food from your favorite restaurant

before he could know your answer, hanma started to tidy up the house. the maids always did a wonderful job, but the atmosphere in it was too… strange. he opened the windows, the curtains, putting some music and lit some scented candles you left behind. guinevere looked at him curiously, following her tutor closely, trying to play with the ends of the curtains. shuji checked his phone again, smiling at your response.

y/n: of course! can i arrive in 30?

thirty minutes was what he needed to feel like himself again to meet you.

you: i'll send you a car in 30, then, princess

you: see you soon

—

you were nervous getting ready, but shuji's words from yesterday calmed you. he still loved you, and you hoped he would be thrilled with the news. you grew used to it, especially after your visit to the cemetery. you mother's words soothed you too, and you knew she was excited to be a grandmother.

finishing the last bits of your makeup, you heard your mother calling for you, saying the driver already arrived. you forgot how it was to have such luxuries, such as private drivers and maids, and felt quite overwhelmed with shuji's words. but you hoped he was just looking out for you, and it isn't a trap from kisaki. you trusted your husband, yes, but the fear was always lingering on you.

biding farewell to your mother, you went down the stairs, smiling at the familiar face of the driver. he was the one who drove you on the night chifuyu died, and you were happy he didn't lose his job because of you. the drive to your once penthouse was peaceful, with a little bit of traffic, but not something that would interfere too much. you wished you arrived there quickly, so you could end your suffering.

shuji was waiting for you at the entrance, and you couldn't help but see the parallel between that night and now — this time, shuji was seeing you arriving and not going away.

“hi.” he greeted, almost breathless, and you wished you had worn more fancy clothes. you weren't expecting to see him wearing a designed shirt and trousers — and so you opted for a cotton shirt and a cute skirt, not in the mood to use tight dresses. “you look amazing.”

you laughed at his words, cheeks blushing as if this was your first date, hugging shuji by his waist. the action took him by surprise, but you needed that — needed to feel his warmth and feel his skin, to make sure you aren't dreaming. “if i knew you would be still wearing your work clothes, i would've put more effort in my appearance.”

shuji felt confident enough, because of your actions, to kiss your forehead, his arms around you like you were a prized possession. “stop that, y/n.” he scolded you, leading you to a way you knew like the back of your heart. he was taking you home. “you look breathtaking wearing anything.” and he meant that. the same glow you had in the pet shop you had now, but something was different.

you squeezed the hand that was leading you to your once shared penthouse, and you hoped he couldn't hear your heart beating loudly. you decided to tell shuji about your pregnancy after dinner, because, if he didn't react well, at least you two shared one last fun dinner.

he opened the door to you, and you almost teared up at the sight of your home. everything was like you left, nothing was out of place — as if the penthouse was just waiting for your return. you noticed the table already made, and you smile fondly at shuji's attempt to do something you always did to him. “the table is magnificent.” you murmured, watching as his cheeks gained a reddish color.

shuji scratched his neck in embarrassment at your words, but started to smile seeing you interacting with guinevere. his two favorite girls.

“is she giving you too much trouble?” you asked with the kitten on your lap, pampering her little face with kisses as you used to do in the shop. she reminded you a lot of peke j, and you remembered fondly the day you arrived from school to your brother taking a bath with a cat and using all the hot water.

hanma shook his head. “no. she's an angel, actually, and i'm sure he's happy that her mom is home.” he noticed how your eyes widened at his words, and he cursed himself for being so forward. shuji would just drive you far away from him at the end of the night.

but you smiled, nuzzling your face on guinevere's black fur, and shuji saw the whole world beaming down at him. “yeah? you're happy mommy is home, baby girl?” you kissed her little one last time before she got too annoyed in your lap, blushing under your husband's gaze. “should we eat? the food will get cold.”

dinner went smoothly. you updated shuji in everything that happened in your life since your brother's funeral — how you were working with kazutora, how you found a passion for taking care of animals and in painting and baking, all the shows you watched with your mother that you thought he would like. and thus, he told you about how the gang was going. you were surprised to know that they — not just shuji — were now donating a part of their income to charity, and that hanma didn't kill a man since chifuyu died. it was as if nothing happened between you two, as if you two weren't away from each other for two months. you laughed and chatted as if it was a normal night from shuji coming back from work to the safety of your arms.

“so.” hanma started, curiosity eating him alive. “you wanted to talk?” it was the only thing in his mind the entire night. you two talked about a lot of things, but it seemed that you were hiding something. ever since he referred to you as guinevere’s mom you started to react differently when he touched some subjects.

you took a deep breath, intertwining your hands over your lap. “y-yes.” shuji didn’t like the way you stuttered, and you noticed the worry in his eyes. it’s now or never. “i'm pregnant.” you decided to be short about the announcement, like ripping quickly a bandage from a healed wound, so it could hurt, but it would pass. “and i… i will carry it.” you smiled at you, a hand protectively on your stomach, where your womb was. you wondered how love could be born so fast just from a few words from the doctor. “i know it's selfish of me to ask it because i was the one who decided i wanted to stay away from you, but i want to go through this with you.”

in a swift movement, shuji was kneeling in front of you, hands on your thighs. “are you saying…”

he couldn’t believe it. it was what shuji dreamed every time since you left him becoming reality right in front of his eyes, and he didn’t know how to react. he hoped you could sense the happiness he was feeling irradiating from him, because he thought he never felt such a thing before. and you smiled at him, and hanma could melt under it — you were a goddess offering forgiveness for him, and he would gladly accept it.

“if you want me back, i'm all yours again.” you whispered, hand guiding his sin one to rest on your belly. “i didn't stop being.”

he almost broke down on sobs by hearing such things leaving your mouth and from the feeling of where his child was growing. what did he do to receive such a blessing? “i love you. so, so much.” he whispered it like a prayer, words tasting like honey on his tongue. you would never be used to hearing him saying that. you've waited ten years for shuji to profess his love out loud for you — even though the first time wasn’t in ideal circumstances — and it was worth it. “can’t believe you’ll make me a dad.” shuji thought out loud while lifting your shirt to look at where his child was resting.

you giggled, both from his words and from the kisses he was pampering your belly with. “you are the one who made me a mom in the first place.” your fingers found themselves on his hair, stroking the double coloured locks.

“yeah, you’re a mommy now.” your giggles died at how husky his voice sounded, your grip on his hair tightening.

“shuji.” you whimpered, and your husband took this as his clue to get up and finally kiss you after two months. the feel of your lips on his, now, that you were his wife again, was better than he could ever imagine. your hands gripped his designed shirt while he lifted you up from the chair to kiss you properly.

“fuck, i missed you.” he whispered against your lips, a determined gaze on his golden eyes. you watched breathlessly as your husband took off his glasses aggressively, and you had time to wonder if he didn't break them before shuji's lips found yours again, his kisses desperately and full of longing. “i promise i'll kiss you now for all the kisses you denied me these two months.” he promised before claiming your lips once again, and you could only agree with his words by reciprocating his actions with the same intensity.

soon your legs were wrapped around shuji's middle, and your hands opened the buttons of his shirt while he walked you to your shared bedroom, his lips — and yours, too — red and swollen by the kisses. it was a sight you missed seeing — hanma’s golden eyes widened with lust and love directly to you.

your back hit the mattress with ease, and you helped your husband getting out both yours and his shirt, his punishment hand unclasping your bra. “holy shit.” he whispered, massaging the soft skin of your breasts with both hands. “they’re bigger than i remember.”

“it’s because—” your explanation was cut by the feeling of shuji’s tongue encircling one of your nipples, a gasp leaving your mouth at the contact. “i-i’m pregnant.” and they were sensitive too — you didn’t remember squirming so much in other times hanma did that before. it was good, but you were too impatient to enjoy it properly. “i need you, shuji, please.” you whispered, tugging at his hair to get his attention.

with a plop sound, he stopped his ministrations. “i can’t wait until they’re leaking milk.” his words made you blush, and shuji smiled at your blushing face. he could never grow tired of you and your reactions to his filthy words. “what do you choose today, princess? sin or punishment?”

both offers were tempting, and you couldn’t think straight with the trail of kisses shuji was leaving in your skin. he stopped with his hands on the waistline of your skirt, fingers ghosting the warm skin there. “i asked you a question, y/n.”

“p-punishment.” he drew out of you, and alongside your answer, both your skirt and panties were discarded on the floor.

shuji hummed happily, his fingers running through your folds. “this wet already, princess?” you nodded meekly, whimpering every time his thumb ghosted over your clit but not applying any pressure there. you moaned loudly when a finger from punishment entered your clenching hole, the thumb drawing faint circles over your throbbing bud. shuji’s finger didn’t stop, and he added one more, pumping in and out of you at a merciless pace, smiling growing bigger every time you whimpered at the loss of contact on your clit — he was bringing you to the edge and back, and you couldn’t do anything.

“it’s what you asked for, y/n.” you groaned in annoyance, tears in the corner of your eyes with the fourth ruined orgasm.

you whimpered again, feeling the coil in your stomach growing bigger and bigger, squirming under him. “but i want to cum, shuji. p-please.” you begged, blinking your pretty eyes at him, and he cooed in faux sympathy. “n-no one can make me cum like y-you, please.” you tried again, breathing starting to speed up and hand gripping his arms.

“you want to cum, princess?” you nodded eagerly, a soft smile on your face, which soon became a frown at the loss of his fingers inside. shuji shoved them in your mouth before you could protest, and you licked them obediently, tears now falling from your eyes. “then you’ll cum around my cock, like you always did.” he promised, taking off his trousers and boxers, aligning the tip of it with your entrance.

you were expecting a little tease before shuji’s cock entered your gummy walls, like he always did, but he probably was desperate enough to feel you clenching against him, entering without a warming. he hissed at the sensation of your walls sucking him, and you lowered his head so you could kiss his lips. “fuck, y/n.” he murmured against your lips, not moving yet, adoration shining in his eyes. “you don’t know much i missed it, m-missed us.”

“me too, l-love.” you whimpered, hiding your face in the crook of his neck.

just like when he was using his fingers, shuji’s pace was merciless, but you couldn’t ask for more. both of you were desperate for each other, breathing heavily and moaning each other’s name shamelessly. you almost screamed when your husband’s thumb found your clit again, and your eyes begged for him to let you cum this time.

noticing how your walls were clenching even more around his length, shuji stroked your cheek. “cum for me, princess.”

you came with a cry of his name, and shuji followed you — the way you clenched him was too much to handle. he slid out of you, reaching for a cigarette in the night stand. you scooted closer to his body, mind still a bit foggy, resting your head on his shoulder. “you were so good to me.” shuji pressed a kiss to your forehead before mentioning you to light the cigarette, a peaceful smile on his face. “when i finish this, i’ll run a bath for you, alright?”

you just nodded, too tired to think about something to say, nuzzling back in his body.

“i can’t wait to know the gender of our baby.” you commented after your mind came back to its normal state, shuji hands rubbing circles on her back, you smiled down at the small bump on your belly, imagining what life would be with a little you or a little shuji running down the halls. but you were afraid, too, especially of kisaki’s reaction. he said for you to behave, and you thought you were, but you weren't sure if he would be happy to know you and shuji reconciled.

“neither do i. i hope it’s a girl.” your husband smiled down at you, but it turned on a frown after seeing the worry expression on your face. shuji knew what you were thinking. “y/n, princess, look at me.” you did what you were told, watching as shuji disposed of the cigarette, his attention solely on you. “i will never let something happen to our little family. tetta can cry and throw tantrums as much as he likes, but you are the love of my life and i’ll never do anything to hurt you again, even if it costs my position in toman.” he sealed his promise with a quick kiss, and you sighed happily, your hands resting on your belly.

“but now, let’s take a bath. we have two months worth of sex to replenish.”

you giggled at his words, letting be carried by your husband to the bathroom.

everything would be fine, as long as you had each other.

—

“papa, papa!” you heard a childish voice murmuring, excitement on their voice. “when i’ll be able to wake up mama?” you heard shuji’s laughing quietly and telling the child to shush.

mama? was this child talking about you? it didn’t make sense. yesterday you had dinner with your husband to tell him you were pregnant and… wait. that didn’t make sense, at all. you already had a child, didn't you? hanma shinobu, with black hair just as her father and blue-green eyes she inherited from her uncle. but you were pregnant again, you were sure of that. the soreness in your back told you that.

“it’s almost time, shinobu.” he said, and it took everything in you to not open your eyes. everything was confusing — because you were sure yesterday you and shuji reconciled and you told him you were pregnant — but maybe you just had a really vivid dream of something that happened in the past. you heard the girl laugh, and you bit your lip to not let your giggles out.

“mama!” she exclaimed climbing into your lap, and you opened your eyes, being graced with your daughter’s beautiful eyes and her… black and blonde hair? “did you like it, mama? i made papa dye my hair so i can match him, and match uncle chifuyu when he was younger!” she told you excitedly, bouncing up and down on your lap.

you shot your husband a dirt look. what was he thinking when dyeing a four-year-old’s hair? but you smiled at shinobu, the nostalgia of seeing the same glist of mischief your brother once had in your daughter’s eyes almost making you tear up. “you look beautiful, baby. i'm sure uncle is happy to know you love him enough to want to match with him.” she smiled at your words, and you held her closely to your chest, kissing her hair.

“good morning, princess.” shuji said sheepishly, sitting next to you in bed, one arm encircling your shoulders.

you smiled, feeling his lips pressing against your forehead, and shinobu hugged you tighter, seeing her father displaying affection towards her mother. you giggled at your little girl, giving her a kiss on her forehead. but you weren’t exactly happy — you had a beautiful family and a beautiful house, but you were melancholic. especially when shinobu mentioned her uncle. but you couldn’t remember why.

“shin, my baby.” shuji started, noticing how down you looked. “why don’t you go play with guinevere a little? papa needs to talk to mama.” the little girl whined, but did that her father said, not before receiving kisses on her cheeks from the both of you. your hand rested on your belly, and you sighed.

your husband hugged you once more, his sin hand resting in your growing belly. wasn’t it smaller?

“mikey went to the philippines.”

oh, yes. mikey killed chifuyu and everyone who was in toman. how did you forget about that? that’s why you were so melancholic. your brother’s death was still fresh in your mind, but you were happy he lived enough to meet his niece. but not his nephew, and you suffered for your little boy growing in your womb.

shuji caressed your belly. “i know you’re worried that he’ll come for you, but i’ll kill him before he lays his hands on you, princess.” your heart fluttered inside your chest at your husband’s words, and you nuzzled on his side. you were so lucky to have someone like shuji with you — even though your relationship started rocky, with him tying up your brother on christmas day before meeting you at a church’s stair, you couldn’t see yourself without him now.

“like izana will let you, shuji.” you teased him, and he chuckled.

“hey, i’m your big and strong husband, okay? being married to the reaper has its perks.” he tried to resonate, but shuji knew izana was stronger than him. but he promised him that mikey would never lay a hand on your, and he knew tetta would make sure izana would fulfill his part on the deal — shinobu was his goddaughter, and if anything happened to her, hanma was sure kisaki wouldn’t hesitate to kill izana, mikey and kakucho.

you squinted your eyes. “speaking of being married to the reaper.” you started, and shuji gulped. he knew what would come next. “why the hell did you dye shin’s hair? she’s four!” you knew shuji was wrapped around shinobu’s fingers — and you were too, because she was too adorable to receive a no — dyeing her locks would make your mom go crazy.

“she wanted to look like her uncle.” shuji explained, and your heart clenched inside your ribcage. she was spoiled by all her family and your husband’s friends, but chifuyu always had a special place in her heart. “and i couldn’t say no, not after… you know. but i managed to convince her to make it like mine, because she wanted her hair all blonde.” you and shuji shared sad smiles, and you hugged him tighter, inhaling his scent. “but let’s get breakfast, shall we?” your husband helped you out of the bed, and you smiled at how big you bump was.

the due date would be in two months, and you already knew what name your little boy have — chifuyu, just like his uncle.

if it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t be here now, eating breakfast with your husband, while your little girl played with the family’s cat.

you couldn’t be more grateful to your brother.

lil note: if you didn't understand the ending, y/n and hanma are now in the manila timeline due to takemichi's time leap!!

[numetalsun]

Here's a nice little list of places/times I've read smut when I probably shouldn't. But it was safe for me because no one here speaks english (phew)

math class

Outside an elementary school

My toilet (my favourite place to read tbh)

Trainstation Toilet

At my granny's birthday

While my sister was searching Easter eggs

When she was watching spongebob

When we listened to her favourite audiobook

When she didn't want to let me go and clinged to me until she fell asleep (aw)

At her school start celebration

In an indoor playground

School bus

On the train

Berlin Subway

McDonalds

McDonalds Toilet

Gas station

Gas station Toilet

While my fav artist was having a live stream concert (mind u I was reading smut with him in it lol)

While watching live streams from concerts on instagram

While I watched the Oscars (2 yrs in a row)

While I watched the Grammys (also 2 yrs in a row)

In English class after(!) I finished my task (I love english)

Sleepover with my Bestie when she was awake

When she was asleep

When I woke up and she was still asleep

Car wash

Car rides with family (the classic)

In the line for a concert

During a concert opener (sorry)

Vacation in an international hotel

On the beach

In a beach bar

During a sight-seeing bus tour

On a class trip

Hair salon

In the cinema before the movie

Amusement Park

Study session with my friend (I explained her what the tags meant more than we studied)

On the official school laptops in class

After I found out the teacher can see what we're doing on the official school laptops (but he didn't understand English... phew)

A flight

Airport waiting area

Airport Toilet

Summer camp (with like 3 people at the same time)

On my granny's TV (God bless smart TVs)

During a house party

At my great grandmas house

In her garden

In her basement

While my dad was telling me about the illuminati

While he was explaining bitcoin to me

While he described sex with his girlfriend (I had to stop reading for a few days to get the pictures out of my head)

While the Queen died (I got a push notification and it was the most hilarious shit ever)

During online school (like all the time)

In church (on Christmas and only because I was promised 50€ if I go)

On my Dad's laptop (praying I deleted every trace of it)

While on a boat

At Pride (fitting because it was gay smut)

During practical work experience at my grannys store

In their storage room

On their toilet

While waiting for my doctors appointment

In the room with the doctor

At the funeral of my sisters non-existent frog friend (she totally made it up and we had to sit there for 30 mins in silence)

I think that's it....for now atleast.

One thing about me is that I will read smut wherever I am if I want to. I'm in the bus? I'll go on ao3. In class? On ao3. At my grandparents? Pull out the tabs. Waiting for my sis in front of her school? You'll find me on ao3. I'm supposed to study vocabulary? I'm studying gay sex instead. On the toilet? U guessed it, I'm reading smut. I read it like my morning paper and my good night story, fuck everyone else it's me and ao3 against the world.