#the backpack 🤣

[alexbkrieger13]

[blitzy-blitzwing]

My brother found my ID. It was in my backpack. 🤦

[sorry-i-spaced]

I feel like my cop out answer anytime someone assumes I just came back from school is "yea"

Idk it's easier to just agree and there is really no harm in it

[lo1k-diamonds]

Moving On 💜

You can sleep with me.

PAIRING: Hoseok x (f) Reader

SUMMARY: All you wanted was to help your best friend move in with her fiancé, Jin — you just didn't know putting up with Hoseok came with the deal. And now there's only one bed.

WORD COUNT: 22.2k

GENRE: enemies to lovers, one bed trope, smut, oneshot (is renovating a house a genre? 🤣)

RATING: Explicit

WARNINGS: bickering, arguing, Jin is a whole mood and sometimes he doesn't help, unfinished business, misunderstandings, Hoseok is actually a sweetheart and vulnerable and goals, alcohol (no one does things drunk), sexual tension, dirty talking, brief masturbation, exhibitionism (kinda), oh brat reader 💯, soft Dom Hoseok, oral f rec, fingering, unprotected sex, biting, his hand around your throat once, pulling out, reader can't get enough of him 🤷‍♀️

A.N.: So... I had the idea for this fic one year ago, when I renovated my place and moved in. I'm trying to go through my WIP folder, what can I say? Better late than never. Also, that's where some of the knowledge comes from, but don't take it at face value 😅 I did most of the painting, not the rest 🤣 Anyway, enjoy 😉 Thank you, Raven @eerieedits, for the banner! This is another entry for Bangtan Writers HQ's Second Quarter 2025 event: ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’.

Masterlist | AO3 | Wattpad

As soon as you exited the bus, you heard a familiar voice shouting your name. Ahn Hyeonseo was easy to spot at the Gwangju bus terminal — she was the beautiful girl jumping around and waving for you to find her between the crowd of families, the elderly, and a few young people. You waved back and got your luggage from the bus luggage compartment before making your way to her.

She squealed in your ear as she hugged you, “I’m so happy you’re here!!!”

You hugged your best friend with a sigh, then pulled away. “There are way too many people here,” you complained, telling her in so many words that you wanted to leave.

She led the way from the terminal to the nearby, overcrowded parking lot. “Because of the festival. I’m happy we scheduled this well in advance, or I’m not sure how you’d get a ticket.” 

“It’s why we picked this weekend anyway.” You shrugged as you dragged your luggage at least half your size behind you.

She raised an eyebrow as she eyed it. “Yeah… And you need all that for a weekend?”

You scoffed. “This is just what I might need to help you,” you underlined, poking her with your elbow as she grinned. “My clothes are in my backpack,” you added, showing her your big backpack that she certainly noticed when she hugged you.

She smiled widely as she unlocked the car and helped you load your things inside. “I got everything you told me to, and you can always wear my clothes.”

You pushed the trunk door closed. “These are just for the details… I don’t know what I’ll encounter.”

Hyeonseo laughed playfully as she got into the driver's seat, and you got into the shotgun seat. You were teasing her because she had only sent you a few photos, hoping to convince you to visit and see for yourself. That made things more complicated because you didn’t just want to visit, you wanted to help her restore the house she had bought with her fiancé. But Hyeonseo preferred to keep up the mystery.

“Don't exaggerate, you've seen the whole place. I've sent you enough photos and videos.”

“Not of the details,” you complained, and she shrugged. 

“People were working, so everything was covered anyway. Now that the electricity, plumbing, floors, and all that is done, we can finally finish it.” She had a massive smile as she drove you to her new home. “I'm very excited about it.”

“How was the move-in?”

“We took two days off and already slept there tonight.” She glanced at you with sparkles in her eyes. “I love it. I’m so happy we did this, even if it literally makes me broke for the rest of my life.”

You grimaced ever so slightly, but stopped yourself from commenting negatively.

“It was a good investment,” you told her, observing the streets that would witness your best friend building her family. “It was a good find for where it is and everything.”

“Yeah, it’s just the amount of work it needed,” she sighed. She gave you the latest update about the roof, and you recognized the long sigh of someone who wanted to spare you the stressful details. “But it’s finally done. We’ve moved in, everything is in boxes everywhere, and we can now work on the details. That’s where you come in.”

She smiled sheepishly, and you felt lighter. “I thought you’d want to settle in asap and overlook the details.”

“Well, Jin is right — if we don’t do it now, we will never do it. And since we can get help, we decided to push through it,” she explained as you observed the residential neighbourhood you were now in. “Our kitchen isn’t finished, we only have a few pieces of furniture… It’s a work in progress. Actually, that’s one thing we need your help with,” she added, as though suddenly remembering. “We thought to replace the built-in closets, but it’s really expensive. So we wanted you to take a look and tell us if they can be recovered.”

“That’s not a problem.”

“There’s also— Ah, you’ll see,” she cut herself short when she entered her new driveway. 

A pickup was already parked there, and you automatically assumed someone was still working at the house. More importantly, you leaned forward to look out of the windshield at their new home. It had two floors, plus an attic, and it looked quite nice, with black tiles on the roof and large windows. Who knew your best friend would become a homeowner?

“Come, let’s get you inside,” she said, already getting your luggage from the trunk. “I have to call the furniture store again, it’s getting late.” 

Hyeonseo huffed and refused to let you carry everything by yourself. Instead, she went ahead and entered the place through the garage, welcoming you inside her home for the first time.

“Come in!!!” she almost squealed, putting your luggage to the side and forcing you to put your backpack down too.

You were already in awe, eying the whole place. It was spacious, with an open concept and large windows at the front, providing ample light to an almost empty living room, aside from the materials and machines left there and the air conditioning unit up in the corner. The wood floor was beautiful and matched the vibe of a fixer-upper. The kitchen also looked brand new, but you could see what Hyeonseo meant with it not being finished — there was no stove, for example.

“We’re supposed to get a bunch of things still today, I’m so excited!” She clapped her hands. “Chairs, a dining table, and a couch. Finally, it will start looking a bit more proper!”

“Tell me you have a bed,” you asked, suddenly worried.

Hyeonseo laughed. “First thing we assembled — our bed and the guest room’s bed.” You sighed, and she waved at you to follow. “Come, I’ll show you the rest!”

You wanted to stop and observe things a bit more carefully, but Hyeonseo dragged you along to the first floor after a glimpse at the bathroom. Instantly, you noticed the dark blue stains on the wood stair treads and halted. Glancing behind you, you noticed that the ground-floor wooden floor had no stains.

“What happened here?” you asked, reaching to touch a particularly dark stain to feel how thick it was.

“Some walls upstairs were blue and they didn’t protect the floors while painting,” Hyeonseo revealed, then heaved a deep breath. “The renovating team fixed the floors, but not the stairs. They proposed it, but it was expensive, and it would mean not being able to access the rooms for a while, which didn’t work for us. We needed to move in this week,” she reminded you as she climbed the rest of the stairs, and you nodded.

“Yeah, well, it’s not a lot, it just takes a lot of time… I might be able to do something about it.”

Hyeonseo sighed in relief, happy to count on you. Once on the first floor, she proudly showed you the second bathroom and the master bedroom. You nodded, noting that the only pieces of furniture you’d seen so far were that bed and a couple of chairs in the living room. The ladders didn’t count. Nor did the yet-to-be-assembled furniture, like the bookshelves, closets, and desk, still sitting in piles of wood planks and bolts in the living room.

“You painted the rooms already?” you asked, and she nodded.

“Just the bedrooms, so we could learn to do it and already sleep here. What do you think? That main wall was dark blue before.” She pointed at the main wall behind their bed, and you nodded, approving the very light orange tone they had chosen instead.

“It’s nice, it opens the room and makes it softer.” You walked around, noticing the corners and the skirting board. “You even protected the skirting board and taped the other wall for a perfect line. I’m impressed.”

“You told us to!”

You smirked. “Sure, but you did it properly.” Hyeonseo rolled her eyes, and you raised an eyebrow at the built-in closet. “Is that the one?”

You approached it carefully, instantly entranced by the beautiful flower engravings on the wooden sliding doors. However, once close, you scowled. “They got paint on the closets too?! How clumsy can they be?”

Hyeonseo sighed. “Yeah, they left it a mess.”

You slid the closet door open and started feeling the shelves and the back of the closet. You hummed as you did, glad that it didn’t look like there was much damage to be fixed.

“Well, the closet might look old, but the wood is sound. I think just some sanding and treatment with oil should be enough.”

“That’s wonderful news!” your best friend beamed. “Let me show you your room.”

You followed her to the room next door, which had a queen-sized bed and a similar built-in closet. You were about to make your way to it to check it out, but Hyeonseo guided you away gently by the shoulders. “You can check it later. Think about this,” she coaxed, turning you to look at the sun-lit room. “You can visit anytime,” she gushed, hugging you dearly. “We’re just a three-hour drive away!”

You smiled and held her back, eternally thankful for her.

“Now come and check the attic!” She beamed at you, grabbing your hand to drag you along. “It’s the only part they finished before we bought it,” she explained as she went up the narrow wooden stairs.

You placed your hand on the wooden railing and compared it with the other set leading to the ground floor. The Korean pine wood you were touching had been recently installed, and it still had a fresh, new smell. It was the same type of wood as the older set leading to the ground floor, but that one needed work. Starting by removing those horrible dark blue paint stains—

“Oh, hi!!” Hyeonseo beamed again, already out of your sight.

You pressed your lips and hurried to follow your best friend to the attic before she called you out for geeking about the wood of her stairs.

You instantly heard Jin’s voice replying to her and smiled, but your stomach dropped as the attic came into view.

“Hobi!” Hyeonseo all but shouted and jumped into his arms, and you almost missed the last step and fell face-first onto the beautiful varnished floor. 

Only Jin seemed to notice your almost tumble; he hid a smirk as you kept going, sniffling casually. By then, your brain couldn’t take in the spacious, raised-ceiling, well-lit room. You were just staring at the man hugging Hyeonseo, anticipating being able to see his face at any moment and confirm that it was, in fact—

Hyeonseo’s feet touched the floor when Hoseok put her down. “Ah! The pickup outside! I didn’t recognize it!”

Hoseok smiled casually as he let her step back into Jin’s orbit. “It’s my father’s. I grabbed a bunch of things from him just in case.”

“I told you the roof was fixed.” Jin shrugged, placing a hand on Hyeonseo’s shoulder, only to make her slide to the side so he could greet you.

“I have other things as well,” Hoseok said as his eyes landed on you, and you stopped breathing. 

For a split second, you didn’t know how to feel. He looked good five years later, with clearer skin and a sturdier build. Even if he still looked scrawny under his cargo pants and white tank top, he was taller and stronger. His eyes were just as scrutinizing as you remembered, even with soft locks of hair falling over them. Yet, they were all you could see until Jin got in your line of sight.

“There she is!”

You raised your eyes to meet Jin’s just in time to be swept off your feet and squeezed empty like a balloon while trying not to squeak like one.

“Don’t kill her, put her down,” Hyeonseo chuckled, tapping her fiancé’s shoulder. Jin put you down with a grin as she told him, “We need her alive.”

“That we do,” he agreed, then turned to Hoseok. “I’m guessing you remember each other.”

You almost gasped. Instead, your eyes jumped to Hoseok’s, remembering everything. Your gut churned as his features remained stoic. All he did was bow, and you bowed back.

“Hello.”

You mumbled a hello back before pointing behind you. “I’ll go check the other closet now.”

“Now?” Jin asked, confused. “You can do that later!” he suggested, but you were already going down the stairs.

“In case we need to buy something extra,” you retorted, projecting your voice so he could still hear you.

You heard feet behind you and knew Hyeonseo was following you down. You waited in the second bedroom, then closed the door behind her.

“What the hell?!” you whispered-shouted, widening your eyes at her.

“What?”

You instantly knew she was feigning her naivety. “You know we don’t get along!!”

She rolled her eyes. “That was in high school.”

You opened your mouth, then closed it, biting your lip. Reeling your frustration in. “Why is he here anyway?”

“Besides being Jin’s best friend,” she underlined, “he also knows what he’s doing. His dad is a contractor, and Hoseok has helped him his whole life with renovating houses. He brought a lot of materials and machines so we could do this right and for free.”

You groaned. “Aren’t you lucky with your friends?”

She beamed at you with the wildest smile, but you were still uneasy.

“Why this weekend?” you insisted. “I know you say it’s just high school and that it was five years ago, but you know me better than that.”

“I know,” she acknowledged, sighing. “This wasn’t the plan. He was supposed to have come last weekend, but plans changed at the last minute, so it happened like this.”

“And I don’t suppose he could come back later?” you asked, and she smiled sheepishly.

“Not really… His mom moved to Seoul, and his dad lives more than two hours away. He drove all the way on purpose to help us. Sorry,” she added before opening the bedroom door to shout back at Jin. “WHAT?”

You didn’t hear what he was asking, only that Hobi would stay there the weekend at the same time as you. Maybe he’d leave soon. Clearly, the place was almost done anyway. All that was left were details, and you could handle those.

You took a deep breath, using that thought to soothe yourself. It was temporary. And it was all water under the bridge anyway. It all happened a long time ago.

“Not yet! Come,” Hyeonseo called you to follow her. “I have to call the furniture retailer and then order something for dinner.”

You heaved a deep breath, throwing a woeful eye at the built-in closet before following her out. You didn’t want to be anywhere Hoseok was, nor did you want to pretend otherwise.

You could appreciate Jin and Hyeonseo’s effort, though. She called the furniture retailer, which confirmed delivery soon, then ordered fried chicken. Meanwhile, she bantered with Jin the whole time, who focused on trying to create cocktails without knowing where anything was.

“It’s written on the box!” Hyeonseo facepalmed, and Jin started whining just to push her buttons.

“Yeah, I know! But it’s not in the box that says bar!! Did you throw my shaker away?”

“No!!” she denied with a screech as she pushed boxes left and right, trying to find the right one. “How else would you make me drinks?”

“Right? Then you have to find it,” he teased, then scoffed. “Otherwise I’ll never again be able to—”

“Ah!!! Found it!” she claimed victoriously as she stood from her knees with a small box containing a cocktail shaker and other things.

“Woah!! How was I supposed to find it?! You called the box ‘tools’!!”

“It is a tool… to make drinks…” she tried, putting the box in his hands. He scoffed and she insisted, “The tool boxes are all yours anyway.”

He gasped. “There’s more than one?!”

She forced an angelic smile, then darted away, and Jin kept whining about her. You knew it was all playful and guessed Hoseok knew as hell, only he wasn’t listening. He was inspecting the sockets and light switches to ensure they were installed correctly. When a socket almost broke apart in his hand when he touched it, you guessed all of them needed to be checked.

He glanced at you, then kept going as though you could be anyone, and it annoyed you. He was the douchebag, why the hell was he ignoring you? 

You spun on your heels. “I’m going to—”

“No way!” Jin stopped you, leaning over the counter as though he would run after you if he had to. “You had a long trip, and you just got here. Sit while I make you a drink.”

Your mood lightened as the evening progressed. Hyeonseo and Jin kept playfully bickering while she made fun of him for not making proper drinks, settling instead for soju and beer bottles. The fried chicken arrived not long after, and the conversation between the four of you was decent, even if you and Hoseok never really addressed or answered each other. You never thought you’d ever be sitting down on the floor eating fried chicken with your bare hands with him, but there you were.

You were almost done eating when the doorbell rang. Hyeonseo instantly sprang up to go get it with Jin echoing close behind her, “Finally!!!”

You glanced at Hoseok, who lowered his eyes quickly as the couple got the door. Instantly, you could hear how relieved they sounded, but it was short-lived.

“This can’t be right,” Hyeonseo challenged, and you turned to look. 

There were six beige textile dining chairs with light oak legs and a gorgeous matching dining table that made you gasp quietly. It was beautiful craftsmanship with a smoke finish that just made you want to slide your hand on its surface.

“Where is the couch?”

That was the question that sparked a long, back-and-forth discussion. The delivery guys had no idea; it wasn’t on their delivery sheet. It was past closing time, so at first they couldn’t contact the retailer. Eventually, they managed to, but everything was correct on their side — chairs, table, and couch. Finally, the store said something had happened at the warehouse, and even though Hoseok offered to go get the couch himself, the manager had sad news.

“It was shipped to our warehouse in Daegu by mistake,” he said over the phone on speaker. “I can promise you’ll get it, but only on Monday.”

“It’s two hours away,” Hoseok said, and Hyeonseo shook her head.

“Two and a half hours, which makes five. You’re not going at this hour—”

“They can’t give it to you even if you go. The paperwork must be sorted before it can be delivered to you. I’ll do it personally, but they only reopen on Monday. I’m sorry.”

There seemed to be no workaround, so the call ended, and the delivery guys left.

After a moment of silence, Jin decided, “We’ll pay for your hotel room.”

“Don’t be silly,” Hoseok instantly shook his head.

“It’s the only option.” Hyeonseo exchanged a look with Jin, then continued, “Your dad is too far away.”

“The fuel is cheaper than a hotel,” Hoseok argued, and she shrugged.

“But the four-hour drive is not worth it.”

“You blew through all your savings, absolutely not,” Hoseok insisted, throwing a look at Jin as well. “I can book my own hotel room, it’s fine—”

“Everything is likely booked because of the festival,” Jin breathed, and you knew before he finished talking that Hyeonseo would groan and curse their luck.

“Damn it, you’re right!”

Hoseok still tried, “Well, there must be one room left somewhere—”

“You can sleep with me,” you offered.

Everyone turned to look at you, even him, and the silence stretched. It was the first time he was looking at you as though he saw you, and his features hardened.

Next to him, Hyeonseo raised her voice, “I’ll ask my parents for money and—”

“What?!” Hoseok interjected, then shook his head firmly. “I can sleep on the floor.”

“You can sleep with me,” you repeated firmly, trying as best you could not to be annoyed. 

He looked at you again, and you could see the vexation sparkling in his eyes. You kept your eyes on his, daring him to say he was so petty about stupid high school drama that he’d rather sleep on the floor.

“We can’t ask you to do that,” Hyeonseo protested, and you shrugged.

“We’re both adults. Besides, we’re not strangers,” you pointed out, letting the room take in your laidbackness. 

Hours before, you had told Hyeonseo she should have known better than to invite Hoseok while you were there, and now you were saying it was fine to sleep in the same bed. And that was the thing — it was logical. Because there was a difference between what you’d prefer and the situation at hand. You were not that petty. 

Hoseok kept scrutinizing you as though he could read your mind, and you held his stare relaxedly, with nothing to hide. “I don't bite, you know.”

He rolled his eyes as Jin and Hyeonseo exchanged a look, but then they looked at Hoseok, and you noticed the hope in their eyes. You didn’t doubt they’d call their parents and get money to pay for a place somewhere, even if it cost hundreds of thousands or millions of Korean won a night. But you also knew there was no way Hoseok would go for that. And there was no way they’d let him pay it, so—

“Fine,” Hoseok accepted as he shrugged. His hands were in his pockets, and you couldn’t help the irritation. Not even a thank you, a bow, an acknowledgment, or any indication that he’d make this an endurable experience. You couldn’t believe you had ever fallen for him. Even as a teen, how were you so stupid? He was not a soft-spoken or gentle person. He was unrefined and ungrateful.

“Shouldn’t you also promise not to bite her?” Jin asked Hoseok, and Hyeonseo elbowed her fiancé. Hoseok didn’t bother answering, and you couldn’t tell if Jin was serious or trying to lighten the mood. He insisted, “No, I’m serious. I think it’s only healthy to establish boundaries. See, I should have forbidden you from hitting me from the start, now it’s a bad habit,” he explained as he caught Hyeonseo’s hands mid air trying to stop him from saying nonsense and making things weird. “We’re a cautionary tale, kids. Listen well to—”

“Oh, stop it,” she whined, and Jin smiled and kissed her forehead.

“It’s getting late,” Hobi commented, interrupting them. “Maybe we should decide on how to make this weekend the most efficient.”

He grabbed his beer and waved at the hosts to sit first on their new dining chairs. You couldn’t help but smile as Hyeonseo and Jin sat and touched the new table, kicking their feet and giggling — their house was coming together little by little. 

Hoseok gave them a minute before settling on a chair next to Jin, and you finally mimicked him — you grabbed your soju and sat next to Hyeonseo.

“Okay, let’s make a list and then establish priorities,” Hoseok started, and everyone agreed. “Have you bought the stove?”

“Yes, we can pick it up tomorrow morning,” Jin replied.

“Okay, I can install it. I noticed that some sockets and light switches are not installed properly, and one of them is broken. We need to buy that too. Now, lamps,” he pointed above their heads, “you only have the light bulbs or nothing at all. We need to get something too, have you decided what you want?”

“We wanted something modern and simplistic,” Hyeonseo told him, and Jin nodded.

“Pick something, I can also install them. Same for garden lights. What else?” Hoseok mused, looking around. “We’ll need to paint the whole ground floor, bathrooms, and corridors. I noticed the damage and cracks on the wall.”

“We were told it was normal,” Hyeonseo mumbled, instantly worried, and Hoseok nodded.

“It is, it’s the house breathing, and probably from paintings and shelves and things like that from the previous owners. But I’ll patch those up before we paint. I also noticed that the doors look old, and the built-in closets are not looking great either. Have you considered replacing them?”

Hyeonseo shook her head, but you spoke first, “That’s why I’m here. They need a bit of work, but they should be great after I’m done with them.”

He didn’t instantly reply, and both Jin and Hyeonseo stayed quiet. Hoseok just looked at you as though he was evaluating whether he had misjudged your role in this renovation, and you couldn’t care less about his opinion. 

You turned to the couple. “I’ll also remove the stains from the stairs. Though for that, I need you to buy the proper remover tomorrow as well.”

Hoseok hummed. “Okay, that’s a lot of work for two days. Maybe we should start prepping still tonight.”

You scoffed. “No way,” you disagreed, then shrugged. “We’re four adults and two of us know what we’re doing. As long as we have everything we need, this will go fast.”

He huffed. “Still. Prepping now is time we don’t have to spend tomorrow.”

You rolled your eyes and turned to Hyeonseo. “You have the paint you want?”

“Yes.”

“Did you pick special paint for the bathrooms?” Hoseok asked. “Because of the humidity—”

“I told them to get waterproof paint,” you interrupted.

“She did, we have it,” Jin confirmed, eyeing the two of you as though you were children about to fight.

You looked away from Hoseok to Hyeonseo. “So the most efficient way of doing things will be that you and Jin go get your stove and the ceiling and garden lights while Hoseok handles the wall patches, and I check the sockets and light switches.”

“You know how to do that?” Hoseok asked, and you couldn’t help your sarcasm.

“What else are you going to ask me? If I can change a light bulb?”

His features sharpened, but Hyeonseo spoke first, “Alright, and then?”

“Then Hoseok can install the stove so we can eat lunch while the others prep the floors, skirting boards, and windows. I wouldn’t tape the doors cause I plan on sanding them and painting them anyway. Then, after lunch, if the patches are dry, we can sand them and start painting. That will take the longest, but with three people, you’ll go fast.”

“Why, what will you do?” Hoseok asked with a hint of cynicism.

“I’ll start with the stairs because they will take the longest. Then I’ll handle the closets and then the doors. If you could sand them beforehand, that would be great.”

He scoffed with derision before smiling. “There’s one flaw in your plan.”

“What?”

“The spackling paste needs at least twenty-four hours to dry.”

You frowned. “No, it doesn’t, a couple of hours is enough.”

“No, that’s not good enough.”

You rolled your eyes. “It’s to fix little—”

“Doesn’t matter how little it is, the paint won't adhere nicely and it will be noticeable in the long run,” he argued, and you heaved a deep breath.

“Guys—” Hyeonseo tried.

“Fine,” you relented, though as annoyed as ever. “Then we only paint the walls and ceilings without patches and leave the others for Sunday.”

Hoseok didn’t even blink. “Once you open the paint bucket, the color might change.”

You had to snicker. “Over twelve hours? Give me a break!”

“It’s best to do it in one go,” Hoseok insisted.

“Sure, it’s best, but we only have two days!”

“If we start tonight, we can get it all done.”

“We’re too tired to start tonight, we can start tomorrow!” you argued, leaning over the table towards him.

“We won't be able to finish it.”

“Whatever we can’t finish, they can. They’ll at least know what to do. They can paint anytime!”

He rolled his eyes. “They need to live too. They have everything in boxes. They don’t even have closets to put their clothes or shoes in—”

You bristled. “You worry about your part, I’ll worry about mine!!”

“Okay, let’s calm down,” Jin suggested, rising from his chair. “How about a drink? A toast?”

Hyeonseo instantly picked up on his cue. “That’s a great idea! Another beer? And for you, soju?” You gave her a look, but eventually nodded and got up alongside her. Hoseok stood up too, and you ignored him. You had to swallow your pride and tone it down; there was no use in wasting your time with him.

Jin was back in a second and opened the bottles, then passed them around. Then, he raised his. “To moving in with my starlight and to surviving this,” he started, and Hyeonseo elbowed him.

“To our best man and maid of honor for being by our sides every step of our lives. We love you,” she added, teary-eyed, and you reached an arm around her. You didn’t want to fight or stress her out even more. She knew that, you could see it in her fond smile as she eyed you. 

“Right, thank you also for helping us finish our house and saving us a lot of money!” Jin added cheekily, and you all had to smile.

“Jjan!”

Four bottles clinked together, and you were still smiling when your eyes crossed Hoseok’s. His expression was so much lighter and tender that it was like a gut punch. He looked just like when you were teenagers at parties or school, laughing and playing around. It was nonsensical, but your heart fluttered just as it had back then. You had to press your lips before taking a sip from your drink. It was as though your heart had forgotten all that had happened on your prom night.

But he was quick to remind you why you had fallen out. He put the bottle down and headed toward his tools in the far corner of the living room. “I’ll patch the walls tonight so we can paint tomorrow.”

You widened your eyes, instantly irked, and Hyeonseo put her hand on your shoulder, shaking her head. Jin hurried to follow Hoseok while you bristled. “Why does he have to be like this?!”

“Let him,” she told you with a shrug. “It’s his body and energy, right? Don’t worry about him, let’s get you settled in.”

You appreciated Hyeonseo's help with your bags and even more the time alone with her. With the move and her wedding planning, you barely had time to talk. 

She turned to you, then propped herself up on one elbow beside you on the bed. “Do you think they're still at it?”

You nodded. You had suggested that Hoseok take the morning to do spackling because you believed he'd need more than two hours. You hadn't even been talking that long.

You tapped your fingers on the mattress over the sheet, then got up and neared the built-in closet in that room. You stood your ground that you’d only really start tomorrow, but the fact that Hoseok was getting things done already made you a little restless. It wasn’t a competition, but…

Hyeonseo called your name, and you hummed while you inspected the closet in the same way you had the other one earlier. No blue stains there, so that was a plus.

“Is it really okay for Hoseok to sleep here?”

You didn't answer, frowning as you felt something on a shelf that you weren't expecting. 

“I was thinking that maybe he could sleep with Jin while I—”

“Shit!!” you exclaimed.

“What?”

She got up to join you as you started hitting the shelf until it dislodged, and you could take it out. 

“Shit,” you bit again and she looked at the wooden shelf in your hand. “See this?” You pointed at the edge — it looked rugged, frail, and friable, as if it were about to break apart. “It's rotten. I think a few of them have it. Something must have spilled in there, and they didn't clean it properly at the time.”

“Okay… can you fix it?”

You were fretful as you realized the problem. “I can, but I didn't bring wood with me or tools to cut wood. I do have glue, but that’s about it.”

“Okay, but… is it really a big deal?”

You looked at her in disbelief. “I’m not going to let you use a closet that is rotting! It’s not impossible to fix, I just don’t have the tools!”

She nodded, knowing you well enough — you said you’d do it and you didn’t like failing your best friend. “I can ask Hobi.”

Your eyes instantly widened as though she had lost her mind. “I don’t want to ask him!” you blurted out louder than you needed to, and you instantly regretted it. Hyeonseo raised an eyebrow, and you swallowed dryly, reeling your irritation back in. This wasn’t about you. “But I will.”

“I can ask,” she suggested, and you shook your head.

“No, I need to ask.”

Hyeonseo didn’t question you, and you were thankful for it. You followed her out of the room downstairs as you mused over how to go about this. You decided that being professional was the best way to handle the situation. For Hyeonseo and Jin, Hoseok would surely agree.

You found him on a ladder, sanding a hole in the wall, likely from a nail used to hang up a painting. On your way, you notice multiple patches already spackled, and you have to give it to him — he’s fast and efficient. Hyeonseo turned to the kitchen to talk to Jin, but you didn’t. You stopped right next to Hoseok.

“What?” he asked quietly, feeling the hole and surrounding wall with a digit before passing the brown sandpaper a few more times.

“I need to ask you something.”

He didn’t stop working or tell you to go on, so you couldn’t help seething underneath your composure.

Still, you continued, “Did you bring any tools to work with wood?”

“I did.”

Your expression instantly morphed from concealed anger to hope. “What did you bring?”

“I have a track saw.”

“And bar clamps?”

He finally put the sandpaper in a pocket of his cargo pants and turned to look at you. “Yeah, why?”

You instantly explained the situation to him, transparent about what you needed and why. You knew you sounded overly concerned about something simple, but he didn’t snicker or mock. Instead, by the time you were done explaining what you needed and what you planned on doing, he was down from the ladder, listening to you intently. 

“What type of wood do you need?”

“A type of soft pine wood. It’s inside the closet, so I can turn the shelf around and it won’t be visible even if the color is slightly different.”

He nodded. “What size?”

You raised your hand. “About twenty by ten? I’m not sure yet, I haven’t cut the rot out yet.”

“How many?”

“Two that I’ve noticed so far.”

“So, four bar clamps would be enough?” he asked, and you nodded. “I’ll check, give me a sec.”

You held back from following him and simply stayed put, waiting expectantly. You couldn’t believe you were nervous and hopeful that Hoseok would help you with this. But at the same time, you didn’t care that it was him as long as you could do it. Built-in closets were expensive, and you didn’t want to leave without fixing them. On one hand, you could just buy new shelves, but on the other, that felt like wasted money when it was something you knew how to fix.

When he came back, you rushed to him. He had six bar clamps in one hand and a couple of planks of wood that you instantly took off his hands. You analyzed the thickness, color, and size while he put the bar clamps down in the corner next to his tools.

“What do you think?” he asked, stopping next to you with his hands on his waist.

“They’ll do,” you told him with relief relaxing your shoulders. “Should I go take the measurements now?”

His eyebrows raised in a moment of surprise, and you pressed your lips. You surprised yourself by asking his opinion.

“No, that’s okay,” he said quietly, extending his hands so you could give him the planks. “Maybe we could start with the closets tomorrow morning? That way, you can leave the wood gluing until Sunday while you get the stairs done.”

You nodded, gave him the planks so he could put them down, and pressed your lips, noticing the bucket with spackling paste hanging on the ladder.

“Cool,” he told you before getting back on the ladder. 

You kept your lips pressed as he grabbed his metal spackle knife. You cleared your throat. “And the sockets and light switches?”

“I can check them, don’t worry.”

He gathered paste on his spackle knife and applied it to the wall, and you ended up sighing. “Do you need help?”

“I’m almost done,” he muttered, focused on what he was doing. “A couple more and I’ll be done.”

He got down from the ladder, and if he could see your uneasiness, he didn’t say anything. So you simply nodded and let him be. After informing Hyeonseo and Jin about Hoseok helping you with everything in the morning, you headed to bed, but sleep didn’t come easily.

Hoseok said he’d be done soon. What was taking so long? You huffed and played with the sheet while you waited, getting irked. Why did you care anyway?

You sighed and looked at the ceiling. While you almost berated him for wanting to start tonight, it was the fact that he did that that gave you extra time to handle the unexpected wood rot in the built-in closet. Not only that, but he simply offered to help instead of flat out refusing or even taking a jab. He ended up being way more professional than you were, making you uneasy with your own attitude. You wanted things to go smoothly.

It was almost two in the morning by the time he entered the bedroom. He did so quietly in case you were sleeping, so you croaked hurriedly, “I’m not sleeping yet.”

He paused and looked at you, already under the sheets, then nodded. He had a bag with him that he dropped against the wall on the opposite side of the room, then suddenly stopped, and turned to look back at you.

You instantly tensed up and stammered, “Do you prefer this side of the bed?”

He looked down and turned away, kneeling to search for something inside his bag. “No.”

You pressed your lips as your heart started racing inside your chest. You were hyperaware of the t-shirt and shorts you had on, of the softness of the sheets you were lying on, and of what else you could potentially feel once he joined you in bed. Of course, you were no longer a teenager, but he was still… attractive and off-putting and…

He found a t-shirt and kept rummaging for something else while you swallowed dryly. He was just a hot guy you once pinned after. That was a long time ago.

He pulled a pair of shorts out and got up with the clothes in his hands, and you spoke without thinking, “I can turn around if you want.”

He blinked at you, but you were already turning to give him privacy. Instantly, your whole body heated up like crazy. Why would he change here? You were here; that would be weird. And now it would be embarrassing in any case, whether he stayed or left to change somewhere else.

You berated yourself in your head for being stupid. You should have been asleep instead of saying—

A muffled sound reached your ears, making you feel even hotter. You could imagine his cargo pants hitting the floor or his tank top, and something thrummed under your skin, making you rub your thighs together. For a second, you closed your eyes. You still remembered what it was like to be around him during high school. The way he laughed or held the door open for you. You were good friends, although for you, he was so much more.

The bed dipped behind you, and you burned. A wave of heat scorched your spine up to your neck as Hoseok settled behind you, and you could barely breathe.

He whispered, “Can I turn off the light?”

“Wait.”

Your breath hitched with your plea, and your cheeks flushed. You didn’t know your voice could sound like that, and you could only pray that he didn’t notice.

You turned back around to face him and found him looking at you with a raised eyebrow, arm stretched out to the light switch on the wall.

“I…” Your voice trailed off as you looked down. He was under the sheet, right there, an arm's length away. You cleared your voice. “Do you need a blanket?”

He observed your whole face for a second before answering, “No, do you?”

You shook your head. “I think I’ll be too hot.”

Your heart skipped a beat, and you realized you said it out loud. He didn’t even blink, but your cheeks were burning. Suddenly, you felt like breathing was impossible while he looked at you like that.

At least until he turned off the light. “Yeah, I get that.”

You didn’t know why you were reacting this way. If anything, he turned off the lights, so it had to mean he was done for the night. No more talking, looking at each other, and certainly no touching or wondering or—

You pushed a tense breath through your gritted teeth. You weren’t making any sense.

You turned your head to his side in the dark. He hadn’t moved next to you, which meant you were both just staring at the ceiling, awkward and stiff next to each other.

“Okay, listen,” you croaked out once more. “I know this is awkward, but it’s just sleeping. Can we agree to be normal and just get through this?”

“Are you saying I’m not normal?”

“N— No, I’m just—” You struggled to find words, especially because everything pointed to you not being the normal one. “I just meant that we could cooperate since we’re in this situation.”

“Am I not cooperating?”

“You are, I’m just saying that— Gosh, just—” The more you stumbled all over your words, the more you had no idea what you even meant anymore. “You can trust me, that’s all.”

You looked at him in the dark again, wondering if he’d have a snarky remark or if he’d call you out for blushing and acting weird, unlike him. You braced yourself for it, thinking what excuse you could give, and as you waited, the silence stretched. You frowned; maybe he had fallen asleep?

But eventually, he whispered, “Okay.”

You woke up slowly, so warm and snuggly, you didn’t want to move or open your eyes. You were hugging the most wonderful pillow, warm and soft, with an earthy, citrusy masculine scent that had you dreaming of walking through sun-warmed soil and citrus groves. You buried your nose a bit more, wondering why the fabric was soft but the pillow itself was so sturdy—

Your eyes snapped open, and you pulled back, gasping mutely before your hand covered your mouth. Your heart raced inside your chest as you realized you were spooning Hoseok, burying your face in his back, and getting crazed by his cologne. Your eyes widened impossibly; how crazy were you?! Yet before you could understand what the heck happened, Hoseok’s arm moved and felt the space behind him. Your stomach twisted as you slid further away from his reach, your heart about to come out of your mouth with how fast it was racing. 

Whatever he thought was missing was not enough to wake him up or make him turn around. Thinking you stood a chance, you pulled the sheet closer to his back before sliding away and putting your legs out of the bed. You hugged your chest for a moment, willing yourself to calm down before getting up, grabbing your things, and rushing to the bathroom. It looked like you were the first one up, and maybe that was a good thing, because you needed to do some serious soul-searching to figure yourself out.

It was just Hoseok. You didn’t even like him, hadn’t for many years. Hadn’t since he misled you, broke your heart, hurt you, making you angrier than you had ever felt. And humiliated and blindsided and—

You clenched your teeth as you washed your face. Right. That Hoseok. You weren’t seventeen anymore, but it didn’t hurt to remember what happened. Maybe your attraction to him was undeniable, but he still didn’t deserve a second of your attention, let alone whatever was happening to you. You were there to help Jin and Hyeonseo, nothing more.

When you got downstairs, you were glad to find the happy couple scrambling to prepare whatever was left for breakfast and brewing coffee. It gave you a moment to sit down, chill, and wait for Hoseok to wake up. 

Five minutes later, Hoseok was already downstairs and ready to have coffee, so you finished yours in an instant to get to work.

Hoseok's calling halted you in your tracks. “Wait, let’s decide what our morning looks like first.” You pressed your lips and nodded, rejoining the three of them in the kitchen. He turned to the couple. “Have you decided on the lights you want?”

“Yeah, we stayed up last night deciding,” Hyeonseo beamed, and Jin grabbed his phone to show what they had picked.

You didn’t have much to say; their options were modern and seamless, easily blending in with their aesthetic.

“Okay, so the plan is the same,” Hoseok concluded, glancing at you. “You go with Hyeonseo to get the stove, the lights you selected, and the stain remover. Meanwhile, we’ll get the closets started. We should take care of the sockets and light switches before we prep for painting. Also, you need to get covers for the floor.”

“We saved cardboard boxes to use them as protection,” Hyeonseo shared with a smile, nudging you.

“Good idea,” Hoseok agreed, and your lips twitched in the hint of a smile. Of course it was.

Everyone agreed on what to do, so you went ahead upstairs. Now you were paranoid that there could be more rot you hadn’t found, so the quicker you were sure the built-in closets were fine, the better.

You grabbed your toolbox and got started in your room, removing the doors, drawers, and shelves from the closet, and laying them on the floor out of the way in a corner of the room. The two shelves that had rotted were placed to one side, and fortunately, everything else seemed to be in good condition. You tapped everywhere extra times and felt each surface to make extra sure everything was fine. Once you were certain, you moved to the master bedroom and repeated the same process there.

Fortunately, no rot there, but the front of the sliding doors had dark blue stains on the flower carvings. Once everything was dismantled, you knelt and felt the paint splashes with your finger, and that was how Hoseok found you.

“Need help?”

“No, it’s okay. The ones with the rot are in our room,” you told him, stopping what you were doing to show them to him.

Once there, you let him evaluate them himself as you discussed how you’d like them cut and fixed.

“Okay, so about five centimeters more?” he asked, and you nodded. “Do you want me to measure them and cut the new wood to size?”

“Yeah, I’ll glue them then,” you agreed, already thinking about what you had to do there while he helped with that.

He nodded. “You got it.”

You glanced at him as he left with the shelves to be cut, but didn’t notice his expression. You assumed you could trust him, given his experience, and weren’t shy about letting him do it. You had a long day ahead of you anyway.

You started getting the metal shelf pins off the closet, then unscrewed the handles of the drawers and the drawer frames. Despite the age of the wood and the carelessness with whatever liquid had rotted the shelves, the closet was at least relatively well-preserved. 

When you looked up, you frowned. You were a bit short, but that closet rod was really up high. Even Hyeonseo would have difficulties using it. You should probably lower it a bit once you were done.

You jumped a few times to try to get the closet rod to come off, but it was screwed in. So your next step was to search for a ladder downstairs. You grabbed the first one you could find that was truly just a two-step folding ladder and got back to it. You had to get on your tippy toes with your screwdriver to reach the bracket and try to unscrew it, all while the metal step moaned under your feet.

Gritting through it, you smiled when the bracket came loose. However, as soon as it did, you realized it was a terrible idea to support your weight on the rod itself. As soon as it loosened, it gave way under your weight, and you fell forward.

Except a pair of hands grabbed you by the waist before you could fall inside the closet. A ruckus echoed all around you, and you cowered, covering your ears. The rod clattered inside the closet below your feet as wood shelves were tossed to the side on the floor.

Seeing them made you realize you were pressed firmly to someone’s chest. Someone who stepped on the ladder and steadied you firmly.

“Are you okay?”

You shuddered and looked over your shoulder. Hoseok was so close, letting you down slowly as your legs gave in. He supported your weight until your feet were safely on the floor. You turned to him, the adrenaline making you tremble. And yet he kept his hands firmly on your waist, making you blush even more as you tried to calm down.

“What were you doing?” he asked, and you finally saw the tension in his shoulders. “Why are you using the short ladder if you can't reach it?”

“Because— I—” you stammered, losing yourself in his eyes for a second. “Because I thought you’d need the big one.”

“I was cutting the wood pieces outside,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, well, for the…lights.”

He huffed and gave you a look, and you pressed your lips. Right as you did and realized it was unlikely your heart would stop racing for as long as his hands stayed on your waist, you heard the sound of racing footsteps up the stairs.

“Is everything okay?!” Hyeonseo shouted, but it was Jin who showed up first.

“We heard—”

He stumbled on his feet and words at the sight of Hoseok dropping his hands at your sides. Jin’s eyes were comically widened when his fiancé entered the room, looking spooked.

You cleared your throat. “It’s okay. It was just noise; nothing serious happened. Thanks for the help,” you added, looking at Hoseok for a moment. “I still need to take the rod from the other closet as well, so…”

“I’ll do it,” he offered, and you frowned.

“No, I will do it.”

He sighed. “Just let me do it.”

“No!” You squinted. “I can perfectly do it myself!”

“You won’t reach it.”

You scoffed. “I can definitely reach it!”

“It’s not safe.”

“Guys—”

“Well, then help me.”

Hyeonseo called your name, and you both finally turned to her. “Should we get the other ladder?”

Jin was already exiting the room when you said, “There’s no need. This one is already here,” you remarked, with your eyes on Hoseok. You were blatantly going against his advice, but it didn’t feel like an argument. It felt like something else.

“Be reasonable,” he breathed, and you leaned toward him.

“I am. I’ll do it, and you’ll help me.”

Hyeonseo looked at Jin while you folded the two-step ladder and exited the room with Hoseok not far behind you.

“Well, we’ll go get the stove then,” Jin announced, not getting much of a response. Hyeonseo patted his shoulder, then grabbed his hand to drag him downstairs.

You didn’t see his face of disbelief because you were busy setting the ladder in front of the built-in closet in the master bedroom.

“How should I help you?”

“Stabilize the ladder.”

You stepped on it, screwdriver in hand, and he huffed. “It’s not enough,” he complained, and you smiled, already on your tiptoes to get the bracket uncrewed.

“Then stabilize me.”

He circled the ladder to get in front of you, settling his firm hands on your waist. You had a smug smile as you got the rod, but it vanished when you looked down. Hoseok was at your chest level, looking at you with dark eyes. It made your knees weak, and he was quick to grab you and put you down on the floor again.

This time, he removed his hands quickly, pushing you out of your haze. You swallowed dryly. “Thanks. See? Reached it very well,” you told him. He nodded, and you set the rod aside. “So, the shelves. We need to glue the pieces together.”

You weren’t even surprised he helped you, but you were thankful. It went faster as you applied the glue and set the pieces in position while he tightened the bar clamps to keep everything locked tight.

“There,” he said, once everything was done. You left everything drying in the hallway so the rooms wouldn’t smell. “Now you can move on to the stairs and handle the closets tomorrow.”

You shook your head. “First, the sockets and light switches.”

“I can handle that,” he suggested as you both went down the stairs.

“No, it’s faster like this. This way, if they need to buy extra, we can call them while they’re at the store.”

Hoseok turned to you when you both got to the ground floor and nodded. “Thank you.”

You weren’t supposed to have fun with Hoseok, but you wouldn’t deny it happened. You made it a competition to check every socket and light switch as fast as possible, and it was super tight. You won, checking your half first, but Hoseok dismissed it by saying he had caught two broken sockets. He had to call Jin and Hyeonseo to ask them to buy new sockets, explaining what type was needed, and you grinned. It was still a win in your book.

When the couple returned, you were quick to say you’d fix those sockets while Hoseok installed the stove. While he took the time to prepare, you noticed he kept an eye on you. You couldn’t help a smug smile while you connected the three cables in the correct color code, housed properly in the backbox, before you screwed the faceplate over it. You did it in record time, and when you got up to move to the other one, you saw him turning away with a smile on his face. You didn’t know why, but impressing him made you really fuzzy for some reason.

After that, you evaluated the stairs more seriously. You knew that even if the stains weren’t extensive, you had to do it properly — every stair tread multiple times. You weren’t even sure a whole afternoon would be enough.

You huffed and turned away, grabbing painter’s tape to start prepping alongside Jin and Hyeonseo. You even got on the high ladder to protect the fire alarm on the ceiling and noticed Hoseok glancing at you every now and then.

Hoseok and Jin installed the bedroom and bathroom lights after that, and you decided that helping with lunch was more efficient than just hanging around. It gave you more time to talk to Hyeonseo and ensure everyone got an early lunch.

“How's your shop coming along?” she asked you as she cooked and you chopped vegetables.

“You mean my online store?” you asked, and she nodded. “I have enough commissions on Etsy and other platforms to do nothing else. Working on those items means I have content to upload on social media, and I have enough views that I make some money from that already.”

“Can you believe that? Remember when restoring things was just a hobby you did in your parents' living room?”

You nodded, giving her the chopped onions. “And now I have a room in my apartment that’s my workshop.”

She took them and kept cooking. “Maybe one day you’ll have a physical store!”

You crinkled your nose and grabbed plates and chopsticks to set the table. “Not sure it will ever be worth it, especially in Seoul.”

“Seoul?” You turned around to Hoseok and Jin, now seemingly done with the lights. For now. “You live in Seoul?”

“Yeah.”

“Where?” Hoseok asked, grabbing the glasses and water jar. Jin passed behind him and you to help his fiancée.

“Seocho-gu…”

“Seocho-gu??” Hoseok almost choked as he placed what he was carrying on the dining table, same as you. “I live there! Where?”

“Nambusunhwan-ro, in a street that leads to the Daehang Hospital.”

“That’s so close to where I live! Woah, the world is small!”

You pressed your lips and nodded slowly while setting the table alongside him. “And you work there too?”

“Not there, I teach in Hongdae.”

“You’re also a teacher?”

“Oh, you’re a teacher?”

You shook your head as Jin and Hyeonseo carried the many side dishes to the table. “Like Hyeonseo, I mean,” you clarified, working with everyone to finish everything and start eating.

It gave Hyeonseo the opportunity to talk about her school and kids, and finally sigh, “I’m happy I teach kids before they become teens.”

“Yeah, I teach adults. It’s much better,” Hoseok acknowledged before turning to you. “But you don’t teach.”

“No, I restore old items like furniture and chandeliers and sell them online.”

“Ohhhh.” Hoseok nodded. “That explains it.”

You raised an eyebrow. “What do you teach?”

“I’m a dance instructor.”

You didn’t hide your surprise. “So you don’t work with your dad?”

“Fuck no,” he grumbled.

The conversation evolved in another direction, but you stayed behind, wondering if you ever knew Hoseok at all. You were friends for a year in high school; good friends, you’d say. You remembered him talking about his parents' divorce, for example, but not about the time he spent with his dad. You knew he enjoyed dancing, but you never knew he took it seriously. You realized after that you probably didn’t know him well, if he could blindside you like that, but now you were realizing you never knew him at all.

Everyone helped clean up, and while Jin put on music to cheer up the place, you couldn’t help but chuckle. He had pulled Hyeonseo to the middle of the room to dance while you and Hoseok handled the dirty dishes, and it was a sight to see. 

“It’s our song!” she laughed as Jin swung her around. To call it dancing would probably be too much, but the song did say ‘shut up and dance with me’ multiple times.

You glanced at Hoseok, who was quietly next to you, just looking at them with a soft expression, and you guessed he remembered it too. Jin and Hyeonseo were always like this, all the way back in high school. They were the living proof that young love could grow and evolve into something beautiful.

Once you finished with the kitchen, you let Hoseok handle the painting with the couple while you turned to the stairs. You were already dreading the amount of time it would take and the stinky smell, but it was for a good cause.

You opened the windows up and downstairs, put on gloves, and then prepared the gel that would remove the paint. You decided to do two steps at a time, tread and riser, top to bottom, so that while one set had the solvent, you could already scrape the previous and not get burned. Grabbing your brush, you glanced at Hoseok, who was starting to paint the kitchen ceiling after they had spent some time protecting the cupboards and surfaces. He didn’t say anything about the stairs, and you sighed. Even he didn’t want to get involved.

You covered the first two steps with the gel and stepped away to breathe normal air for a second. After fifteen minutes, you started scraping the gel and paint with a spatula, and Hyeonseo clapped behind you.

“It’s working!!”

You glanced at her, then sighed. “This is going to take a while.”

“And now?” Hyeonseo asked behind you. 

You sighed and turned to her, shutting off your electric sander and wiping the sweat off your brow with your shirt. She was clearly worried about you, and you didn’t have the energy to react whatsoever.

It had been seven hours since you started with the stairs, and you could feel Hyeonseo’s discomfort every time she checked up on you. First, she thought it would go really fast—until she realized you had to apply the solvent, wait twenty minutes, scrape it off, and clean the grime at least twice from every tread and riser. All fourteen steps.

You touched the diluent with your forearm, so that got you a small burn mark that she freaked out about. When you tried assuring her it wouldn’t happen again, she assumed it was because you were done. But you still had to sand everything multiple times.

So you had been using your electric sander for the past couple of hours. First with heavy grit, then medium grit, then fine grit. Hyeonseo had checked on you a couple of times, but she didn’t understand that you couldn’t stop. If you did, you wouldn’t be able to lift a finger anymore.

You put the electric sander down and passed your hand on the last step. “It’s going well.”

“Are you done?”

You chuckled. “No.”

“It’s almost eight… we were thinking of going out for dinner and checking out the festival.”

You suppressed a laugh. “Sure. Not sure I can survive that, but sure.”

Hyeonseo sighed while the men kept painting, now in the bathroom, you believed. “You’re not supposed to kill yourself doing this.”

You rolled your eyes. “Don’t exaggerate.”

You grabbed a pot of wood filler that matched the Korean pine wood color of the stairs and a putty knife, and climbed up the stairs again.

Hyeonseo’s eyes widened. “What are you doing now?!”

“Fixing your stairs,” you informed, getting to work filling every crack and hole you saw.

“But— The paint is gone, so—”

“Stop worrying,” you told her. “Let me do my thing.”

She sighed.

You opened your eyes and instantly groaned — shit, everything hurt.

Raising your head from the pillow, you looked around the dark room with a frown. You had fallen asleep. Shit.

Your eyes drifted to the closed door. What was that noise?

You got up from bed, feeling even more dead than when you lay down just for a minute to rest your eyes. That was a terrible idea, you mused as you got out of the bedroom and followed the noise. 

What you found made you stagger atop the stairs. Hoseok was sitting on the second step of the stairs, counting from the bottom, using a delta sander to get the corners perfectly, judging by his gentle and precise technique.

You shook your head. “Wait,” you said, going down the stairs, and he stopped to look at you. “The filler has to dry.”

“And it did,” he agreed, grabbing a sheet of sandpaper to sand the nosing of the step.

You were baffled. “How long did I sleep?”

He glanced at his wristwatch. “About three hours.”

You cursed vilely. “And nobody woke me up?!”

“You needed the rest.”

“And you didn’t?!”

“Everybody took a nap,” he told you with a light smile, and your eyes widened.

“You too?”

He nodded. “You didn’t flinch when I lay down or when I got up.” You rubbed your eyes, slightly embarrassed, and he continued, “Jin and Hyeonseo are getting ready for dinner, and then it’s our turn.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Dinner?”

“We’re going to a barbecue place,” he said casually, basically telling you not to worry, and you deflated. As long as you weren’t ruining anyone’s plans.

“What do you think?” you asked, kneeling to feel the texture of the stairs.

“You did a wonderful job,” he complimented, and you looked at him as he analyzed the details. “Stains are gone, every surface is smooth and balanced. You even picked the right color for the filler. A second sanding and it will basically become invisible.”

“It’s already pretty good,” you commented, scrutinizing the bigger patches you had fixed that were barely noticeable after Hoseok sanded once.

“Indeed.”

You felt the nosing of the step you were on and pressed your lips. “Thanks for the help.”

He got up, and you did the same, towering over him ever so slightly. 

“Not a problem.”

Your eyes locked on his, and you didn’t know what to say. For the first time in years, you were actually fine with him. Anger and frustration were no longer bubbling under your skin, making you believe you had moved on from what happened. Though the more your heart beat, the more you questioned how he drew you in like this.

“You were right, you know,” you whispered, and his eyes lowered to your lips. It likely didn’t mean anything, but your heart skipped a beat or two. “I should have started last night. I wouldn’t have been able to do anything properly so far without your help. And I’ve only started the closets and the stairs,” you remarked with a sigh. ”I don’t know how I’m going to do the doors as well.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he instantly reassured you, raising his eyes to yours again. His tone was warm and intimate, and it made you shudder. “I’ll sand them tomorrow, and they can paint them later. They’re pros at it now.”

He said it jokingly, and you chuckled, letting that warmth envelop you.

He licked his lips. “I know how exhausting it can be, and we don’t have much time. So don’t worry about anything. Whatever you need, you can ask me.”

You searched his eyes and saw nothing but honesty, and your heart was unrestrained. Logically, you knew exactly what he was saying, but your stupid heart was still racing. You observed his features, both gentle and sharp, as he looked at you. You could swear his eyes had as much intensity as yours, but you had to doubt yourself. Were you still pining after Hoseok? Were you really over him if all it took was a few whispers for him to steal your heart again, even after so many years?

“Oh, you woke up!” Jin exclaimed from the top of the stairs, and you turned around. “You can go ahead and shower.”

You pressed your lips and eyed Hoseok before climbing up the stairs again.

You didn’t know how you got here.

“Come on!” Hoseok insisted with a lopsided smile and a glint in his eyes. 

He held your hand and you blushed, stammering, “I can't…”

“Oh, come on!” he insisted. “I’ve already heard you snore. There are no secrets between us.”

You heard Jin and Hyeonseo laugh behind you, and let Hoseok drag you closer to the crowd of people dancing.

Thinking again, you knew how you got there. You all ate barbecue and had a few drinks, and now you were tipsy with a dance instructor insisting you should embarrass yourself in front of your friends. And what was worse, you didn’t mind.

He turned to you and grabbed your hand, spinning you once to loosen you up. “Just relax.”

You tried moving side to side along to the music, but you were no good. You couldn’t even look at him, your eyes were nailed to the floor as he tried to get you to follow his lead with your hand. Suffice it to say it wasn’t working.

“It’s no use,” you told him, unable to meet his eyes. “I’m just no good.”

“Nonsense,” he breathed, pulling you close. The music shifted to something more commercial that you recognised, but didn’t pay much mind to. “Just hold onto me.”

He wrapped your arms around him, then wrapped his around your middle. Your heart skipped a beat, and you had to look away, afraid your red cheeks would be too obvious. So you hugged his chest and let him swing you both to the song’s rhythm.

You closed your eyes, breathing in the earthy citrusy cologne while his firm chest acted as a pillow. Little by little, you relaxed, letting the moment sway you and take you. The lyrics spoke of running away and young love, and your mind blanked as he guided you ever so gently. His hips were moving to the beat, and although he wasn’t forcing you to match him, you found yourself doing it. Your hips had a mind of their own and swiveled to match his, and his posture changed.

You looked up at him, flushed and slightly embarrassed. You weren’t really just dancing with the way you were glued together. His body was firm, warm, relentless, pressed to you, never once leaving you behind. On the contrary, his hips responded to yours the same way his hands brushed up and down your body in feather-like touches, covering you with goosebumps all over.

What were you two doing?

“That’s it,” he murmured, and you looked up at him. He raised his fingers to brush your hair out of your face. “You’re doing so well.”

A familiar burn spread through your whole body, making you swallow dryly and lose sight of reality for a second. You wanted him. Your fingers curled around his neck, and his weren’t shy about pressing your waist. In another world, you would have kissed him already. You were burning, breathlessly swivelling your hips with him in a crowd, gushing between your legs, and eager to jump him. There was no way you felt all that without him feeling something. And on top of that, his eyes were fixed on you. He wasn’t looking away, or eager for it to be over. He was pressing you closer, guiding your bodies, breathing at the same tempo as you, licking his lips as though he wanted to taste you.

The music halted for a moment, and a message was broadcast through the speakers, but you weren’t paying attention. Hoseok hadn’t let you go; neither of you had moved. 

While you pondered over what you could say, a voice from behind you snapped you back to reality.

“Woah! You’ll have to teach us how to dance like that for our wedding!”

Hoseok let go of you slowly, and you let him, loosening your grip as well. You wondered if his eyes held a question before they turned to your best friend.

“I will, don’t worry!” Hoseok replied with a grin. “Anyone can feel the rhythm. It’s easy to achieve this, I do it all the time,” he answered, seemingly proud of himself, and you felt the flame inside you wither until it was snuffed out.

“Really?” Hyeonseo asked with a teasing tone, but you were no longer listening.

“Excuse me.”

You spun around, letting your feet take you as far away as possible. You frowned as you walked, confused about the feeling twisting your guts. So what if Hoseok was a good teacher and bragged about it? Why was that making you so furious?

Sitting on a street bench while the crowds passed you by, you took a deep breath. You knew why, even if it was hard to admit. You thought you two had something special. There was tension and want, and you believed you weren’t the only one feeling it. But you were. Again.

Suddenly, there were tears in your eyes. You felt seventeen again, crying and wondering where you went wrong. What you did wrong, what you interpreted wrong. But you were twenty three now, and you refused to go through the same shit for the same guy. Fuck that!

You didn't want to worry Hyeonseo, so you made your way back. You found them chatting in a way that made you think they were waiting for you to get back. You lied about going to the bathroom, and before you could reveal your intentions to leave, Hoseok grabbed your hand.

“Come on, let’s teach them together,” he proposed with a sparkly smile.

You pulled your hand free. “I don’t feel like it. I’m sure you can find someone else here to do that.” You turned to Jin and Hyeonseo with a small smile. “I’m going home. I’m really tired.”

Hyeonseo looked at Jin, who nodded. “Sure, we can all go—”

“No, I’ll go ahead. I already called a taxi.” You bit your tongue; since when did you lie so much? “You guys should enjoy yourselves a bit longer.”

You said your goodbyes quickly and were thankful Hyeonseo knew you well enough not to insist. She told you she’d text you the code to get inside the house, and you were on your way.

Growing up in Gwangju meant you knew exactly where the taxi street of the festival was, and you headed there without a second thought. Once there, you got in line — it was almost three am, so many people were already leaving.

Not even a minute later, you heard someone calling your name, and you turned, surprised. Hoseok was making his way to you in between people, and for a moment, your breath hitched. He looked dazzling in jeans and a leather jacket, his firm body framed perfectly. To think you were pressed to his firm chest, wrapped in those arms… 

You could almost forget he made you feel like an idiot. Almost.

You were ready to ignore him, but he reached you quickly, bowing to the other people waiting in line.

“I almost lost you,” he complained, clearing his throat, and you raised an eyebrow.

“Why did you follow me?”

“Because I wanted to talk to you. I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” he said. Seeing you remained skeptical, he continued, “I didn’t mean you were easy or something.” He scratched the back of his head. “When I said I do it all the time—”

“You just meant that you can teach anyone,” you interjected stoically, and he paused.

He dropped his hand as the queue moved forward. “Right. So then, why are you upset? It’s why you’re leaving, right?”

Your lips twitched. “I’m not upset. I was just reminded of why we never got along in the first place.”

He frowned. “Never? That’s not even true.”

You rolled your eyes as you became the first in line. “Whatever.”

You could see out of the corner of your eyes the way he clenched his jaw and looked away before turning to you again. “Well, what is it? Maybe if we talked about it—”

“I don’t need to talk about it. And I don’t want to. I know everything I need to know.”

He huffed and shifted his weight from one foot to the other constantly as though his frustration was physical. “Doesn’t sound like you do,” he commented with a hint of bitterness. “Maybe if we talked you’d be able to form sound opinions instead of just assuming shit and acting like you know everything.”

Your eyes widened. “Assuming?! You literally just said it!”

“You’re making up whatever story in your head,” he insisted, eying you harshly. “You hear what you want to hear.”

You scoffed before you could help it. “Yeah, right!”

A taxi stopped in front of you right on time. You spun on your heels and got in, and Hoseok grabbed the door when you reached to close it.

Instantly, your eyes were locked in a mute argument. You even expected him to shut the door behind you, seeing as he was just as annoyed as you. Instead, he was preventing you from closing it.

“Miss?”

You couldn’t even turn to look at the driver; you couldn’t lose.

Hoseok stepped closer to the car and muttered, “Don’t be like this. Let me go with you.”

You gritted your teeth and seriously pondered kicking him in the shin and closing the door, leaving him there. It was only the thought of how Jin and Hyeonseo would have been disappointed that made you roll your eyes and swallow a grumble before letting go of the door and moving along in the backseat of the car.

You told the driver the address, and Hoseok rode in the taxi with you. Why was he even there? Surely not to make sure you made it safely. Although he might have promised that to Jin and Hyeonseo so they’d stay at the festival and enjoy themselves. He was likely just tired…but you’d be damned if you cared.

As soon as you entered Jin and Hyeonseo’s place, you stormed your way to the bedroom you were sharing. You changed clothes hastily, turned off the lights, and threw yourself over the bed diagonally, spreading the pillows around you and hugging a few. You’d be damned if you wouldn’t sleep properly tonight.

You couldn’t fall asleep. Hoseok entered the room not ten minutes later and you could feel the air thickening around you. By the time he hit your foot with his knee, the lights were back on and he was pissed.

“Move.”

You ignored him, and he bumped your foot with his knee multiple times. 

“Move, I want to sleep.”

“Not my problem,” you grumbled, and he scoffed.

“Indeed, but you’re mine. Get out of the way.”

“No,” you grumbled again, muffled. “I’m withdrawing the invitation; you can sleep somewhere else.”

You could almost hear the way he was fuming. “You’re fucking unbelieveable, you know that?! First, you get angry and don’t want to talk about it. Then, you withdraw your invitation? Fuck! I can trust you my ass! You’re so two-faced!”

By the time he was done, you were sitting up in bed, baffled and angry. “What?!”

He had no issues facing you head-on. “You heard me. You extend an olive branch one second and shit all over people the next. I’ve never met anyone as two-faced as you.”

“How fucking dare you!” you screeched as you kicked the sheets to get up from bed. “You’re the one who plays people, pretending to be all vulnerable and hurt, only to use them and throw them away like trash! Who the fuck are you to call me two-faced?!”

His anger was visible on his clenched jaw and flared nostrils as you shouted at him. He frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”

You scoffed. “As if you don’t know.”

He threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “I won’t know until you tell me! Stop assuming shit!”

“Stop playing dumb!”

“When did I?” he asked you to your face, and you crossed your arms over your chest.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to fall for it again.”

Hoseok groaned and pressed his palms to his eyes. “Fuck, you’re just like back then! The second I think I can trust you, you flip a switch and turn into someone else completely!”

“What?”

“Hyeonseo said I had you all wrong, that it was all a misunderstanding, but she’s wrong,” he told you, facing you head-on again. His eyes were harsh, and his tone accusatory. “This is just who you are. It’s bad enough our paths crossed twice; let’s not do it again.”

He grabbed his bag from the floor and stormed off with you hot on his tail.

“What are you talking about?!”

You chased him all the way downstairs, then stood frozen as he went outside to his pickup to get a blanket. When he started to make a makeshift place to sleep in the corner of the living room, you lost it.

“Argh, you’re fucking impossible!” you exploded, gripping your hair by the roots. “I flipped a switch?! I literally go to the bathroom, and the next thing I know, you’re kissing someone! Right after telling me you were so heartbroken you couldn’t stand the thought of being with someone! Are you serious?!”

He had taken off his jacket and thrown it on the blanket. He snickered. “Next thing you know? My, do you have selective amnesia or something?”

Your brow furrowed. “What?”

“You didn’t go to the bathroom, did you?”

You were stunned. “What?”

“I heard you!” he accused, all signs of mockery morphed into anger. “I followed you to suggest holding your drink, only to hear you giggling with your friends about how pathetic I was.”

You paled but instantly shook your head. “I never said that.”

“Your friends did, and you just laughed! Two-faced,” he underlined.

You gaped, frowning as you tried to remember what he was talking about. “I was— I don't know, I— Maybe they did say that, I don’t remember. But I wouldn’t have.”

He scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, and you bristled. He was so sure of himself, but what did it matter?

“What does that have to do with anything? I didn’t ‘flip a switch,’” you insisted. “They called you that, not me. So what does that have to do with what you did?”

“You thought I was so pathetic, and I just—” His expression soothed as his voice quieted. “I didn’t want to be.”

“You never were.”

He scoffed derisively, and you rubbed your eyes for a second, wanting to kick yourself.

“Listen, they just—even I, we were just…mean,” you explained with regret. You weren’t proud of who you were in high school. “Young and stupid and mean.”

Hoseok listened with harsh yet glistening eyes. “I opened my heart to you and you ran to tell them.”

“That is not true.”

You stiffened, and he instantly retorted, “Yeah, right.”

“I don’t care what you heard, that is not true,” you stated resolutely. “I never told anyone a word of what you told me. I might not have refuted them when they called you that, I might have played along, but I’d never break your trust.”

He had a painful smile, holding back a snicker as you spoke, until he blew up, “Oh, come on! You expect me to believe that?”

“It’s the truth.”

“So you mean to tell me you went along with them and still never told them the things I told you when I believed we were friends.” You nodded, and he insisted, “You went along with them saying those things about me, but were still actually my friend.” You nodded again, and he threw his hands up in the air. “Does that even make sense?!”

“It’s the truth,” you repeated.

“Why would I believe you?”

Your breath hitched as you realized the answer to what he was asking. He was angry and maybe hurt; you could see it in his face. You, on the other hand, didn’t know how to feel. You were talking, actually talking, for the first time in years. But you never expected it would mean you’d have to tell him this.

But then again, it didn’t matter anymore. It was a long time ago.

You pressed your lips to hide a sad smile. “Because it’s the truth. Not just because you had told me things as friends that I would never repeat to someone else, but because I didn’t want them to look at you twice, I…had this big fat crush on you and didn’t want any of them to get any ideas.”

He wasn’t just stupefied, you could see in his wide eyes that his thought process was completely busted. “What??”

It made you blush and rub your eyes again before you blurted, “We became closer friends when you opened up about your ex, and I… I didn’t want to make a move because it would have been too soon, and I didn’t want to be a rebound, but I was hoping we could… I don’t know,” you sighed, looking away, embarrassed. “But then you invited me to prom, so I thought maybe you were over her, so I thought what the hell, why not? I was so excited that night, just waiting for the right moment to say something, but then I saw you kissing whoever that was and I just—I was fucking pissed ‘cause that wasn’t even a rejection, that was… Why invite me to prom if you wanted to be with someone else? It just—”

You stopped yourself, feeling the anger bubbling up in your chest once more. You rubbed your eyes and sighed, calming down. He looked befuddled; he probably didn’t remember any of it.

“I didn’t,” he blurted out, and you looked at him. “That girl, I… I didn’t want to be with her; I didn’t even like her. I was just pissed after hearing you and your friends saying I was pathetic for being heartbroken over my ex and…I felt betrayed. You were literally the only girl I trusted at the time, who I thought…Who I wanted to spend time with. And then you said those things and I just…I didn’t want to be pathetic,” he admitted, heaving a deep breath. “That girl caught me alone and confessed, and when she kissed me, I felt…validated. Like I was not worthless. Of course, I told her I didn’t feel the same way, and she was cool about it. Otherwise, I would have felt pretty shity about it.”

“You were never worthless, much less because you had feelings. I’m glad she made you feel good about yourself.” You looked down, a frown on your lips. She did what you couldn’t. “Regardless of what they said, you were never pathetic. They were allergic to vulnerability and needed to be bitches about it, that’s all. Hell, me too. I’m sorry about that.”

He nodded with his shiny eyes focused on you. “Even if I know now how you felt at the time…I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do with all of this information.”

You shrugged. “You don’t have to do anything, it’s in the past. Though…about today,” you started, then heaved a deep breath as you rubbed your pink cheeks. “I’m not gonna lie, it felt just like back then. There I am, thinking something special is happening, only for you to dismiss it like it’s nothing. It’s easy to achieve this, I do it all the time,” you mimicked his voice, and he groaned.

“No, I knew it was bullshit as soon as I said it,” he confessed, scratching the back of his head. “Even Hyeonseo called me out for it.”

“‘Cause you realized it wasn’t that good to begin with, ‘cause I’m a terrible dancer?”

You spoke really fast, and he chuckled, “No, because it just isn’t true. The way we danced, especially when you’re not comfortable with it, is not easy. At all. Even seasoned dancers need months to be that smooth, sometimes even couples can’t do it, and you just— No, that was all us. I don’t do that all the time, it’s not something easy to teach.”

You frowned. “Dancing?”

“Chemistry.”

Your breath hitched as you stared at him. You couldn’t help the confusion or the way your heart raced. “I thought…” you croaked, “it wasn’t real.”

His eyes were locked with yours. “I think we can agree that it is.”

Your breath deepened as a familiar burn climbed up your chest. The air was thickening again as you stared at each other, but you stayed in place. Even if you both agreed that there was chemistry between you, you weren’t sure what to do with it. You weren’t sure you wanted to follow through…or that he did.

When he stalked slowly in your direction, you stood at attention. Your skin tingled under his eyes, roaming over your legs, past your pajama shorts and t-shirt to your eyes. By then, he was already in front of you, less than an arm away, and you struggled. You were almost dizzy with want, pushing your nails into your palms to hold yourself back. When he took another step closer, the faint scent of his cologne made you sigh and look up. You were radiating heat at that point, keeping your desire in check while wanting nothing but for him to grab you.

He seemed to be waiting for something, so you closed the distance between your bodies. Your stomach pressed to his, and your curiosity got the best of you. You looked down, wondering if you’d get to feel—

His hand raised your chin to make you look up at him. Instantly, the fire you were trying to contain reared its ugly head. Your hands found their way to his shirt, clutching it as though you were containing a visceral need to pull it off, all while you looked into his eyes. Your core ached for something to clench around and you almost begged him to fuck that crisp tension out of you.

Your lips parted as he leaned in, covering you with a shudder as his free hand palmed your waist, pulling you to him by the arch of your back. But then, all too fast, you both blinked.

The sound of car doors slamming closed hit you, and time didn’t stop to let you two figure it out together. Instead, Hoseok’s eyes flickered to your lips, but you weren’t able to say anything. By the time the first key was pressed into the front door lock pad, he had already lowered his hands and released you. 

You couldn’t protest because in a second, Jin was opening the front door with Hyeonseo not far behind him.

“Oh, hey guys,” Jin said with a smile, then closed the door behind his fiancée. “We thought you’d be sleeping already.”

“Is everything okay?” Hyeonseo asked, eying you as she took off her jacket. 

“Yes,” you croaked.

“We were just heading to bed,” Hoseok told them, then gave you a fleeting look before going ahead. “Good night!”

You offered Hyeonseo a small smile to reassure her and waved at Jin before following Hoseok upstairs. You closed the bedroom door behind you, and seeing the mess of pillows and sheets you had left behind, you were a little embarrassed.

“Sorry,” you muttered, getting on the bed to align the pillows and pull the sheet to lie stretched and proper. “I wasn’t thinking. I was just pissed.”

For a second, he frowned, but then he seemed to remember. “If you want me to sleep downstairs—”

“I don’t,” you cut in, sitting on your side of the bed. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “It’s okay, I shouldn’t have… assumed the worst.”

“That I’m two-faced?”

He hummed as he neared the bed. 

“So you…also assume things?”

Your tease made him chuckle. “I guess I’m at fault, too.”

You smiled and got under the sheet comfortably. Only then did you notice he was just standing there. “What’s wrong?”

“I left my bag downstairs.”

You raised an eyebrow, imagining Hyeonseo’s questions if she saw Hoseok with his bag. “And you don’t want to go grab it?”

“Not really.”

He stepped out of his shoes, then sighed, putting one knee on the bed, and you stopped him. “Get them off.”

He raised an eyebrow, and you looked at his jeans.

“You shouldn’t get in bed with outside clothes.”

He looked down at your legs under the sheets, then back at you, and you simply held his gaze. Now that you had found common ground, you were confident that teasing him a little wouldn’t hurt.

It helped that Hoseok was precisely the kind of man who made your knees weak. You asked, and so he got rid of his jeans in a flash, casually tossing them and his t-shirt back before getting into bed with you just in boxers. As if his chiseled abs wouldn’t have you drooling. As if he weren’t half-hard. As if he didn’t know you’d eat him with your eyes. As if he didn’t want you to.

You both lay back on your pillows, and your eyelids became heavy. The light was still on, but you were comfortable and warm, and all of a sudden, it was hard to keep your eyes open. You still wanted Hoseok, but you were so tired, you were getting dizzy.

You felt his eyes on you and turned to him with a sheepish smile. “I’m really tired,” you confessed, and he nodded.

“Same, I’m hanging on by a thread.”

You smiled and licked your lips. “Can I…?”

“Hug me to sleep?” 

He raised an eyebrow and your eyes widened as you gasped. Did he know about last night?!

He simply smirked. “Yeah, come here. Oh, wait,” he told you before reaching the light switch on the wall. Then he settled back and grabbed your hand over the sheet, pulling you closer. You snuggled up to him, then sighed comfortably, and he held you close.

You woke up snuggly and warm, with a citrusy perfume near your nose and your legs tangled with someone else’s. You didn’t question it, stretching lazily before pulling away slightly. You slept like a rock, but still felt the exhaustion from the previous day. Just thinking you had another day like it ahead of you made you groan under your breath.

Hoseok turned around to face you, and it made you blink a bit more awake. He looked raw and vulnerable, with his hair disheveled and eyes barely open. Instantly, it made you feel a little breathless, a little hot, and a little exposed.

“Hey,” he whispered, and your cheeks warmed.

“Hey,” you rasped back, covering your face with your hands. “I must look horrible.”

He chuckled. “You look the same as always.”

You peeked between your fingers. “So I always look terrible?”

He was caught off guard and laughed quietly. “No, you never do.”

You lowered your hands and stayed like that, just observing one another, until you asked quietly. “We were friends… How come you never told me about your dad?”

“What do you mean?”

“You talked about the divorce, your sister, your mom, your ex… but not about your dad.”

He looked down for a moment before answering, “I just… didn’t want to talk about him. Our relationship was always…complicated. He left my mom, and then he would insist on taking me to construction sites for long weekends and vacations so I could learn the trade. He refused to listen to what I wanted. Meanwhile, my mom worked two jobs to support my dreams of becoming a dancer. She pushed me to go to Seoul and supported me while my dad all but threatened to disown me if I followed my dreams.” His expression hinted at bitterness before he looked at you again. “You can imagine I didn’t want to talk about him.”

You nodded. “And now?”

“He’s changed,” Hoseok acknowledged softly. “I think he accepted that it’s up to me to do what I want to do and that I’m good enough to do it. So we’re okay now. I see him a couple of times a year.” You nodded, and he quieted. “What about you? I remember your mom was sick five years ago.”

“She was, she’s been in remission for three years. My parents moved to Jeju Island to have a peaceful life there, and I’m hoping that will help.”

“You must miss them.”

“I do… Feels like everyone is super far away now.”

“But as it turns out, we live in the same neighbourhood,” he reminded you, and you raised a corner of your mouth.

“So it seems.”

“You can call me, you know,” he offered. “If you need anything.”

Your face was warm. “Thank you.”

“You can also call me just… Just because. If you want to.”

You weren’t used to seeing Hoseok hesitate, and yet, somehow, it made you relax. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?” he asked, as though he couldn’t believe your answer, and you grinned.

“Maybe,” you teased, and he smirked. You felt warm again, seeing that smile, but also incredibly at ease.

His eyes returned to yours with a sharper edge to them, and you were instantly stirred up.

“You had a crush on me?”

“Yeah.”

His eyes roamed your features for a brief moment. “I wish the timing were different.”

“I don’t,” you admitted. “I was not the greatest person back then.”

“And now?” He raised an eyebrow, and you chuckled.

“Still a work in progress.”

He nodded, smiling too. “I wasn't great back then either. I was insecure. Thought my world was ending when my ex left, and that I had to be in a relationship to mean something.”

You nodded slowly. “Was that why you dated so many people afterwards?”

“It’s also the way people act. I don’t know about you, but my friends are constantly dating someone.”

You shrugged. “If you call that dating. I don’t get the obsession with saying you’re dating when you know it’s going to last a couple of weeks tops.”

“It has to be serious enough to avoid a stigma, but not serious enough ‘cause a relationship takes too much work.”

You raised your eyebrows. “Wow, exactly. Well said!”

“Thanks. It’s my conclusion after years of therapy to process how my parents’ divorce made me link my self-worth to my relationship status.”

Your chin dropped. “Woah!”

He smiled. “Once I realized I was following a pattern, I thought therapy would help. I had internalized that being alone meant I was less, without realizing that I didn’t even want to be with some of those people. I just said yes so I wouldn’t be alone.”

You pressed your lips. “And now?”

“I’ve been single for two years, and it’s nice.” He smiled, stretching a bit before asking, “And you?”

“I haven’t really thought much about dating,” you admitted, shrugging. “I’ve been developing my business for a year, and it takes most of my time.”

“That makes sense,” he said, adjusting the pillow under his head.

“Some pillow talk we’re having,” you joked, and he cleared his throat.

“Sorry, did I make things weird?”

“No, not at all. It reminds me of when we were friends.”

You remembered all the breaks you would spend just the two of you talking at the back of the school or in some park.

“Maybe that’s why it's so easy to talk to you,” he mused, observing your expression.

“You mean you don’t talk about this with every girl you get in bed?”

“No,” he stated, then joined you in laughing quietly. “Also, you got me in bed.”

“That’s true. Had to take charge,” you confessed with mock modesty. “Now, I have you right where I want you.”

“Do you?”

Your smile dissipated when you realized what you had said and how he was looking at you. Instantly, heat spread from your cheeks down your neck, and you had to swallow. “I—I mean, not that I’d force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

“You mean besides forcing me to strip before getting into bed?”

You almost choked. “I didn’t mean it like that!”

“I know.” He smiled, and his hand moved near yours over the sheet, but he didn’t touch you. “If last night was an isolated thing, that’s okay. It’s cool, I promise.”

You instantly remembered the way his hand pressed you, arching your back and hitching your breath. “It wasn’t…I mean, it wasn’t alcohol or anything like that,” you said, your voice more and more quiet as the tension spread down your neck. “If anything, it feels like whenever we’re together, we…”

“Have chemistry?”

You hummed.

“Was it like this in high school? And I was just blind to it?” he asked in disbelief.

“It wasn’t like this… Wanting to kiss you and wanting you are two different things,” you explained, despite feeling like you were dipping into dangerous waters.

“So you want me?” he asked, and you felt almost assaulted by his dark, meaningful eyes. Your core clenched around nothing at the thought of being under this man. The way he turned you on was wild.

“I do…” As soon as the admission was out of your lips, he moved closer, and you had to put your hands on his chest to stop him. “But we’re not alone.”

Your tone was firm, more to tame your desires than to stop him, but he still halted. He was close enough that you could see the moles on his face, but he had yet to touch you. 

He eyed you intently. “And if we were?”

“We’re not…”

“But if we were?” he insisted. 

You swallowed, rubbing your legs together. “I already told you I want you.”

His lips curved in a tease. “I want to hear what else you want.”

You raised your chin. “You haven’t told me what you want yet.”

“I’ll tell you, then,” he whispered, making you shudder from head to toe. He got up on his elbow, and you rolled to face up. “I want to look at you. I want you to take your clothes off for me.”

You couldn’t help but smile. “If only you had asked before…”

“I still can.”

You hummed, unashamedly running your eyes down his exposed torso. He didn’t have the broadest shoulders, but every piece of him was defined and soft, like a taunt for you to scratch and bite. It was torture to see all that flesh but not touch it.

“I want you to touch me,” he spoke again, drawing your gaze up. “I want you to touch me and grab me with the same hunger you have in your eyes right now.”

You let out a small, tense breath as you eyed his chest again, unabashedly taking advantage. “And then?”

“Are you sure you want to know?”

You chuckled. “I might need ideas to spice up my shower.”

He groaned mutely, then gently tucked the sheet to frame your silhouette without touching you. It made your body temperature surge as you let him find his way to seeing your form without stripping you. The more he observed and wondered, the more sensual and wanted you felt. You didn’t know if you wanted to rub your legs together or spread them open for him.

“I want to touch you,” he breathed, then looked at you. “Lick and feel every curve until I know you by heart. I want to eat you out. I want to know how you taste, wet like that for me.”

Your eyebrow quirked, but you stayed quiet, letting his words burn you a bit more intensely than his presence alone did.

“I want your hips on me again. Need to appreciate the way they match mine.” His eyes caught you opening your legs under the sheets, but you didn’t close them. “And I want to fuck you. I can’t hide it,” he whispered, adjusting his posture as though he was eager to get in between your legs, if only you let him. “I need to know what you look like when I fuck all sense out of you.”

“Wouldn’t that be something,” you breathed, sneaking your hands down your stomach.

“You—”

A bang interrupted him and covered you with goosebumps from head to toe.

Neither of you breathed as you waited patiently for the sound of a car engine to roar to life, and then for it to move away from the driveway.

Your eyes were locked, both surely thinking the exact same thing — Jin and Hyeonseo were likely gone to grab breakfast. You were alone.

“Tell me what you want,” he rasped, his muscles flexing as he stayed in place.

“You.”

“Don’t just say that,” he scolded lightly, adjusting himself on his knees.

“It’s what I want,” you insisted, more than aching for him. “I want everything you said.” You leaned in a bit. “Make me scream your name.”

He ripped the sheet from over you and froze. You bit your lip but couldn’t find it in you to look innocent. Not when your hand was buried in your sex.

“I can’t believe you,” he breathed before throwing the sheet to the end of the bed.

“You never said I couldn’t,” you argued, giving up on solo pleasure when you could have him. 

He caught your wrist as he settled between your legs. “I said I want you.”

“And I want you, too. Hey,” you called, letting your voice register lower. “I’d let you watch.”

He shook his head and forced your wrist to the mattress next to your head as he covered your body with his to reach your lips. His mouth wasn’t soft at the dawn of a first kiss; it was rough and helpless with want. Your free hand instantly gripped his hair, keeping him close as your bodies adjusted to each other, and in a second, your world was overturned.

He didn’t just take two seconds to push his tongue inside you; he took two seconds to melt you to a liquid state. In a split second, he was kissing you like he owned you, matching every whimper and sigh with more. If you needed to breathe, he bit your lip. If you needed to moan, he swallowed it. 

He wasn’t shy about pressing his cock to your thigh, nor about palming your curves as he said he would. You could only shudder and whimper with the way he touched and squeezed you, especially when he grabbed your ass. He even parted your mouths to hide in the crook of your neck and have both hands free to squeeze your asscheeks, pressing you to him.

You had to moan, swiveling your hips to get friction.

“You and your perfect ass,” he grumbled, giving it a few more squeezes. “On the ladder, the stairs, last night… Fucking tease.”

“Didn’t know you were staring,” you breathed, and he raised his head.

“Didn’t you?”

“No. No, trust me.” You smiled, gyrating your hips as you cradled his cheeks. “Or I would have made it much worse.”

He let his mouth crash to yours harshly before pulling away. “You fucking tease… I’ll take my time with you—”

“No,” you cut in, holding his head so he’d look at you. “We don’t know how long we have.” You could see Hoseok’s gears turning, so you insisted, “You have to fuck me. I need to feel you. I need you to fuck this tension out of me.” He groaned, and you didn’t give up. “Need you to make me scream your name while creaming your cock. It will be therapeutic,” you promised, earning a smirk. “Please.”

It took Hoseok one second to ponder your request. The next, he was already on his knees.

“Take them off.”

“What?” 

“Take them off,” he repeated, glancing at your shorts. His hands dipped inside his boxers to stroke himself, and you almost melted at the sight.

Instead, you swallowed. “We don't have much time.”

“Get your clothes off before I rip them off.”

Heat flushed through you as you gushed between your legs, and you scrambled to as he asked. Normally, you’d like that moment to be sensual, but all you could think of was Hoseok between your legs.

He clearly was thinking of that too, because as you got rid of your pajama t-shirt and shorts and underwear, he kept stroking himself in front of you. He wasn’t shy about grunting, licking his lips, cursing, or spreading the precum on the tip of his dick right under your hungry eyes. Especially when you leaned back down and spread your legs for him.

“Holy shit,” he almost choked, falling to his elbows on the bed right before pressing his face to your wet cunt.

Your moan echoed in the empty room as you clenched from the surprise. Your hands gripped his hair firmly, and you cursed yourself, bucking your hips against his starving mouth. You watched him eating you out, groaning into you as he drooled all over your slicked folds. That was such a power trip for some reason. Like you knew you were his kryptonite, like you knew he should have been fucking for years, like you knew he wouldn’t be able to resist you as soon as he tasted you.

But the past didn’t matter; you need him now.

“Fuck, Hoseok, wait,” you breathed between moans, finding it hard to not press his face to your sopping pussy.

He hummed, and you tried sorting out your thoughts.

“We don’t know how long we have,” you reminded him, cursing him when his tongue started drumming on your clit. “Fuck! You either fuck me now, or—!”

You keened desperately when three digits pushed through your warm walls, stretching you with a few pumps. Looking at him, his eyes were almost wicked as he saw you trying not to writhe in pleasure.

“So bossy…” he commented, licking his lips. “Lucky we’re in a hurry.”

You whimpered and curled your toes with the way he fucked you with his fingers, but stayed otherwise quiet because he grabbed his hard cock in his other hand.

“It’s a shame, really,” you breathed, and he surely thought you were teasing him, because he quickly leaned in to nip a nipple, making you jolt. “I also didn’t get to touch you and grab you.”

“Can still make it happen,” he told you, sitting back between your legs with his cock still in his hand.

You smiled. “That sounds good,” you breathed, reaching out to meet his busy hand. 

While he looked down at your hand taking over from his, stroking him gently, you observed his reactions. The way his eyes hooded, or his lip raised, containing a moan when you squeezed a little more. He enjoyed watching what you were doing, and you enjoyed watching him. Even when his fingers inside you lost focus, you were set on that one goal — to see him fall apart.

“So hard,” you whispered, licking your lips. “Come on,” you coaxed, slowly pulling him by his dick to close the gap between you.

He followed your lead, removing his fingers from your sopping pussy to replace them with the tip of his cock. He moaned quietly then, as he rubbed his shaft on your slick, hungrily passing a heavy hand up your stomach to your chest. He pinched a nipple just to tease you, then pressed the head of his cock through your entrance.

You couldn’t even catch your breath, whimpering uninterruptedly as your core hugged the head of his cock. You cursed him, feeling your legs trembling as you spread them as much as you could. Your core throbbed wildly with the stretch, and you thought that was the peak for you, but then he topped it off with his fingers on your clit.

You finally let go and arched your back, so completely overturned by pleasure, you felt like you were in a tempestuous sea. You couldn’t suppress your moans, hold back the way you gripped the sheets or moved to sink further down his cock. Instead, you mumbled incoherently, begging him to poke your insides, but he smiled and kept fucking you exactly like this.

“I don’t know,” he taunted, but you could see the sweat trickling down his temple as he held back. “I think you can cum just with the tip.”

“Fuck, I can— But I want you whole— I didn’t say make me cum,” you pointed out a bit more firmly than your previous moans. “I said, make me scream your name.”

He growled your name, then gripped your hips and fell over you, sinking as far inside you as he could, bottoming out with a groan. You could only scream and throw your head back, letting the pain mix with the delight of having him tucked to the base inside you. It was so good, your nails were piercing the sheets as you clenched like a vice around him.

Looking at him, you knew you had a victorious look on your face. He smirked. “Got what you wanted all along, huh?”

“Not yet,” you breathed, then locked your legs behind him. “Fuck me, Hoseok. Please—”

He grabbed your legs further up around his waist, then finally gave in and gave you exactly what you wanted. Everything heightened your senses so much that you were speechless, finally rid of all your thoughts and judgments. The way he breathed heavily into your neck, stealing nips and licks while hearing you moan attentively. The way he gripped your asscheeks to fuck you as deeply as possible, groaning mutely against your skin. He wanted you, craved you, just like you craved him. The slap of skins, the sloppy mess between your bodies, the citrus cologne as you bit his shoulder — that was what dreams were made of. 

You knew you wouldn’t hold for long, but you didn’t expect to last minutes. You were in the zone, matching your hips to his, when he bit your neck hard. Your hands instantly darted to grab him, your nails sinking into the skin of his shoulders, but still, he didn’t release you. Instead, he rutted into you like he needed to fuck you. Like he was in too deep to stop. Like he knew you needed to take his cock just once more before you’d fall apart.

You wanted to scream his name, and it was the first thing out of your mouth as soon as the wildfire spread through you in waves. You were surprised when his hand darted to cover your mouth, but he didn’t stop pounding into you, and so if anything, you came even harder. His mouth replaced his hand once you became breathless, gently kissing you and coaxing the last quakes out of you, until you stilled.

Your senses returned to you slowly, and two things were immediately clear to you: one, Hoseok was still hard as fuck inside you, and two, you were no longer alone.

“Fuckin hell,” he cursed, moving ever so gently inside you, and your hands darted to his asscheeks to stop him.

“They’re here?!” you whispered, suddenly so anxious your chest felt tight. You could hear faint noises from downstairs.

“You didn’t hear them coming in?” he asked, surprised. You were clearly spooked, so he reassured you, brushing your cheek gently, “The door slammed like seconds into your orgasm. I didn’t want to ruin it for you, so I didn’t stop.”

You gasped. “What if they heard?!”

“They didn’t.” You gave him a look, and he kept reassuring you, “They didn’t. I covered your mouth, I promise you they didn’t hear a thing.” You heaved a breath, hugging him, and he nuzzled your hair. “But I did… you sounded so fucking hot, I almost burst. Fuckin hell,” he groaned, moving once tentatively inside you. “Fuckin heaven, rather,” he corrected himself, then pulled away to look at you. “But I know you’ll want to stop—”

Your hands darted to his ass again, this time to prevent him from pulling out, at the same time your phone buzzed on the floor next to the bed. You didn’t even glance away; your eyes locked with his as they were. You couldn’t help it; you couldn’t explain.

“What?” he asked, eying you curiously.

Your phone buzzed again, and you whispered, “If they can’t hear it…”

Your voice trailed off as you bit your lip, and he chuckled darkly, leaning back in to nuzzle you. “Then what?”

“Then why stop?”

He laughed a bit more, quietly dragging his nose down your neck. “You naughty girl… I love that idea,” he whispered, withdrawing his hips for a moment before sinking into you again.

You had to curl your toes and bite your lip, but suddenly, you were exhilarated. You felt dirty, but it was so good to have him fucking you slowly while you tried your best not to make a sound. Your eyes stayed locked, spreading a hellish fire down your chest because he saw you. He saw you taking his cock, fighting the urge to moan and let the world know how good he felt. He knew how turned on you were from fucking under people’s noses like this. And all it did was make him fuck you harder, wanting to spill all his cum inside a little whore like you—

You could swear a second orgasm was right within your grasp when you heard voices talking loudly downstairs. Hoseok halted this time, looking at you while he listened attentively. Then, your phone buzzed again, and this time, you didn’t ignore it. 

Hoseok almost slipped out of you as you contorted yourself to reach the bloody thing on the floor. Then you gasped.

Hyeonseo had texted you multiple times: 

[Are you okay?] 2:43

[Are you hungover? I can make soup.] 9:12

[We got breakfast.] 9:39

[You can come down.] 10:01

[Are you okay? You’re still not up yet.] 10:03

You heard steps on the stairs and hurried to type:

[I’m fine, gonna shower first. Hoseok is still asleep.] 10:04

You looked at him with eyes like saucers, and he didn’t react. He stayed still, listening to Hyeonseo turning back down the stairs and telling Jin something.

“I told her I’d shower first and that you’re still asleep,” you informed him, rubbing your eyes. What the hell were you thinking?

“Okay, good,” he breathed, then pressed a kiss to your lips.

His hips instantly moved again, slowly but breathtakingly, and you knitted your eyebrows to keep quiet. You grabbed onto him while he fucked you, snapping his hips to yours with such precision, you started seeing stars. You were so turned on, the sloppy, gushing sounds where your bodies met thrilled you even more.

“I wonder if she had called you,” he whispered before licking up the column of your neck to reach your ear. “Wonder how you would have reacted, trying to talk to her while I fuck you like this.”

You licked your lips, eyes closed, shuddering from head to toe at the thought. “Maybe next time,” you said, though your voice broke apart.

Hoseok smiled at you and pressed his lips to yours firmly, halting his thrusts completely. You sighed into the kiss, imagining he’d continue, but he pulled out and away, getting up from bed.

You sulked instantly. Usually, you were very uptight about your privacy and behavior, but right now, you wanted to finish what you both had started.

You were about to open your mouth when Hoseok said, “Let’s get you in the shower.”

You turned to him, eyes wide. “What?”

He was already back in his boxers, his hand out for you to grab. “Don’t argue with me.”

You sulked further. You thought he was done, and it soured your mood.

So you put your hand in his and let him pull you up to your feet with a huge pout. It just didn’t feel right to—

Hoseok stole a kiss from you, then grabbed a folded towel nearby and wrapped it around you, making you raise an eyebrow while he smirked. “Stay quiet.”

You tucked the towel more firmly around you as he led you out of the room. Once out, you could hear Jin and Hyeonseo cooking while music played in the background, likely from one of their phones.

Hoseok pulled you by the hand to the bathroom and, to your surprise, closed and locked the door behind him. Then, he gently pushed you into the walk-in shower. You stumbled back, eyes fixed on his, wondering what he was up to.

In a flash, his hand grabbed your towel and maneuvered you against the sidewall of the shower. Your back hit the cold tiles while he caged you in, making your knees weak in anticipation. All he had to do was stretch his arm and start the shower, and you were both unleashed.

You gasped as the water spray barely caught your leg, but you had no time to think about it because he kissed you. You dared to breathe more heavily and even to whimper when he pulled your towel loose, his hands instantly grabbing your tits to pinch your nipples. He swallowed your cries, ever so mindful, and it made you gush even more. This was a man who wanted to be with you, was willing to be risqué, but still took your limits as a priority. You just wanted him even more.

As his hands trailed your sides, his mouth followed, licking every inch of skin within reach. It made you close your eyes as you leaned back against the wall, letting every touch send shivers down your spine. He kneeled in front of you, licking and nibbling, then he looked up at you before reaching your sex. Made you clench right in front of him before his lips ever touched yours. You even blushed at how much you wanted him to do crazy things to you.

As though he had heard your thoughts, he smirked and tilted your body to show him your side. Instantly, he bit your round hip, making you bite your own fist not to make a sound. The pain mixed with a pleasurable sting stunned you so much that you were nimble in his hands as he turned you around. Then, he spread your legs and asscheeks, pulling you to him, and in a second, your moan echoed in the bathroom.

He pulled his mouth away from your dripping folds. “You have to be quiet,” he warned you, and you nodded, covering your mouth as he dove in again.

His mouth on your slit was something sinful. The way he grabbed your hips to fall back on his face, and the way your hips urged you to follow, was demented. You could barely spare a thought for how important it was to keep your mouth shut. 

He must have realized it, because soon after, he got up behind you, covering your arched back with his chest to reach your ear. “Something for next time,” he suggested, biting your earlobe. “Want you to touch yourself at the same time and come, but I think you’ll be too loud.”

You could only catch your breath and look at him over your shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey,” he cooed, turning your chin slightly to meet his eyes. “Don’t say sorry. I like the thought of doing this again.”

You looked at him, blushing even more if that was possible, while he just smiled at you. 

Then, you felt his fingers gently rubbing your clit. “Can I?”

You nodded instantly, kissing him to stifle your whimpers as he kept caressing you. You were dazed, at the mercy of his wishes, and when he pressed the tip of his cock to your core, you easily groaned in bliss.

You pressed your hips flush to his, making him take a deep breath near your ear as you appreciated being full again.

“Fuckin heaven,” he muttured to your ear before grabbing your hips.

For a second, you thought you’d lose all sense of reason, but you were sensible enough to put your hand on the wall and press your mouth to it as Hoseok slammed his cock into you again and again. At times, you pressed your forehead instead, but the way he pushed inside you made it almost impossible to hold back your cries. It was everything, both in its entirety and in the details. The way he was holding his breath while pouding into you as though your cunt was the best he had ever fucked. Or maybe the way he grabbed you, muttering how your ass was perfect and your wet pussy was heaven. And then, perhaps it was the way he tried not to cum, pressing you flat to the wall as he kissed your face. As he made it personal by making you cream his cock thoroughly as he slowed his thrusts.

“Can you cum again?” he almost groaned, swiveling his hips.

“Yeah,” you breathed.

“How?”

“Fingers.”

He licked and nipped down your neck, and you weren’t sure he heard you. But surely enough, his fingers found your clit and rubbed in circles.

“Good?”

“Up and down,” you stammered as you shuddered, your nails looking for something on the wall to hold onto, but there was nothing.

As soon as his hand moved as you requested, you tensed from head to toe.

“Fuck,” he groaned behind you, pushing himself even further inside you. He was so deep, you could feel him in your throat. “You feel so good,” he grunted. “Close? I won’t last long.”

“Just—” You could barely breathe. You let your head fall back to his shoulder. “Just undo me.”

He kissed your neck before supporting himself on the wall with his free hand, and the way he moved was just different. He wasn’t trying to fuck you as quick and hard as possible, it was something else. His fingers were attentive to move as you had asked, bringing you so close with a simple rub that your toes were curling. But it was also the way he covered you like a cape, moved his hips with you to deepen the feeling, making you constantly feel like all you breathed, tasted, and felt was him. To the point that all you needed was a little push, so you moved closer to the wall, exposing your neck while you tried to grab his hand taking support there. 

He didn’t get it at first, thinking you wanted him to cover your mouth for your orgasm. So you had to pull on his hand until you tucked it snugly around your throat, and then he got it. He pressed you by the neck to him, and you were finally tucked in. Exposed and vulnerable, while safe and thoroughly fucked.

In that position and with his hands all over you, you didn’t need much to cum. The fire building between your legs was uncontrollable, and the way he poked your insides, bliss. A few thrusts deep inside you, making you moan desperately, and you unravelled. You had a mind to cover your mouth to stifle the cries, greedily meeting him thrust for thrust to make the climax last as much as possible.

Because of this, you almost prevented him from pulling out. He had to hold your waist so you wouldn’t fall back on his dick, making him cum inside you. You looked at him as you felt him cumming over your ass and in your fucked out daze, you thought he was wonderful. Just very fucking wonderful as he groaned and shuddered, spurting ropes of cum on your skin.

When he opened his eyes to meet yours, you smiled, and he kissed you. Not once, not twice, just so many gentle kisses, you forgot about the world.

“Are you okay?” he asked the moment he pulled away to look at you.

“Perfect, you?”

He chuckled and brushed your cheek. “You could say that.”

You wouldn’t complain about having his lips on yours again, but you still gasped when you felt the water touch your arm. It shouldn’t have surprised you, you knew the shower was running next to you, but still. You were too much in your daze.

“Shower, remember?” he whispered, and you sighed, shifting to stand under the stream fully. You wiped the water out of your eyes as he turned you around, stealing another kiss. “I’ll see you after?”

“Absolutely,” you breathed, and stood there as you watched him leave the bathroom.

You weren’t exactly sure how, but you were just getting started. You were just with him, and all you could think about was being with him again. This time, in your apartment, with nothing but neighbours whom you didn’t give a shit about to feel inconvenienced by you fucking him without restrictions. All day, all night, until you got that horny bug out of you. If ever.

“Okay, but won’t you listen to me?” you asked Jin with a huff as you dragged your luggage outside.

“How about you come and do that some other weekend? Before the wedding, preferably,” Jin suggested, and you shook your head in disbelief.

Yet before you could say anything, Hoseok tapped your shoulder. “May I?”

You looked at him, and he tapped you again. “Oh, right,” you agreed, giving him your backpack, which he proceeded to load into his pickup along with your luggage. You turned back to Jin. “It’s unlikely that I will be able to.”

“And if Hobi does it?” Hyeonseo suggested, coming outside with a few snacks for you to take on your trip back.

“I might not have the time, so listen to her,” Hoseok shouted from his pickup, and Jin sighed.

Once more, you thoroughly explained how to apply the finish on the stairs; only the most essential step. “Do it as soon as you can before stepping on it damages the surface. I’d say as soon as you get your couch tomorrow. It takes a few days, but then you have beautiful stairs for a lifetime.”

Jin mumbled something you didn’t get, and Hyeonseo patted his shoulder. “We’ll do it, don’t worry. That’s all that’s left, right?”

“Yup, the closets are done. The stairs almost,” you said with a bit of a grimace. “The doors…”

“Sanded, you guys can paint them tomorrow,” Hoseok said, joining you. “All the lights, the stove, and the ceilings are done. Now you can paint what is left, you will be done tomorrow for sure.”

“Did you add the silicone sealant in the shower downstairs?” you asked, remembering suddenly, and he nodded.

“Yup, all done.”

Hyeonseo had tears in her eyes. “Thank you so much, guys, you’ve done so much for us!”

“Now, make sure to take care of the place,” Hoseok teased Jin with a look.

“Maybe we’ll invite you over once a year. Just to catch up,” Jin suggested angelically, and Hyeonseo elbowed him. Everyone chuckled. “You two seem to be getting along much better now,” Jin noted, scratching his chin. “So tell me: did Hobi ever promise not to bite you?”

“Jin!” Hyeonseo gasped.

“It does help to settle boundaries from the start.”

They started bickering, and you subtly closed your jacket lapels a bit more. You weren’t sure that was an innocent comment, given that you had a few marks around your neck.

“Don’t listen to him,” Hyeonseo sighed, then turned to you and Hoseok again. “You sure it’s okay to take her to the bus station?”

“Of course! Not a problem at all,” Hoseok reassured her with a smile. “Should we get going? I still plan on returning to Seoul tonight.”

You nodded and hugged Hyeonseo. “Thank you for dinner and for everything. See you soon!”

You also hugged Jin, ignoring his quips, then made your way to Hoseok’s pickup. You sat shotgun and instantly let it sink in: Hyeonseo and Jin were waving at you as Hoseok got into the driver's seat next to you. You glanced at him, your heart skipping a beat all so easily. You, sitting there, pretending you tolerated a man you not only had balls deep inside you earlier this morning, but intended to have again as soon as possible.

“You good?” he asked as he prepared everything, including the temperature, GPS, and music. You nodded, ready, and he glanced at you. “You know, we live in the same neighbourhood in Seoul. If you want, I can take you. I just have to drop off the pickup at my dad’s and get my car.” You stayed quiet as he buckled his seatbelt. Then, he looked at you. “If you’re comfortable.”

“You want to be with me inside a car for three hours?”

You raised an eyebrow teasingly, and he chuckled. “Actually, close to four with the detour. But there are worse things. I enjoy the company.”

You nodded and waved again at the couple while Hoseok drove you out of the driveway and away.

At the house, Hyeonseo and Jin waved until your car disappeared.

Then Hyeonseo asked, “Did we succeed?”

Jin nodded. “Yes, we did!”

Hyeonseo raised her hand, and Jin instantly high-fived her. “Mission accomplished.”

[revelboo]

Saw this awesome costume on Twitter and it reminded me of ur new tfa waspinator story :>

What would readers costume be like? Love your content btw :33

Oh, my goodness that’s so cool! I figure reader has an antenna head band, a foam thorax with a stinger attached with a belt and iridescent wings with backpack style straps and face paint- nothing this elaborate 🤣

Shitpost incoming: 🔞 mass displaced mech 🌶️ CW: fem reader, physical pregancy, bugnancy, ugly puppy royally screwed up

Mistakes

Waspinator x Reader

• Face tipped up into the spray of the little shower the Autobots had rigged up for you as you scrub honey scented shampoo into your hair, you’re rocked forward as Waspinator joins you and wraps his arms around you from behind and you feel the heat of his spike against the middle of your back. Clingier than normal ever since he’d tried to ‘spark’ you and it had backfired on him. You still haven’t quite come to terms with the fact that he’s weird, alien energy pregnant. Better him than you, though. Can’t believe he’d tried to spark you without actually talking about it. Well. Actually, you can. He’s not really much in the way of impulse control.

• Clawed hands palming your belly to pull you back into him, his mandibles tease your damp hair. And when you turn, he catches your chin and kisses you, glossa stealing inside to make your scent shift for him as your breathing hitches and the soft hands that were about to push him away draw him closer instead. Feels guilty for taking advantage of the way you react to him when he does this to you, but you’re slicker, uninhibited and needy when he kisses you. Cupping your butt and helping you hoist yourself up, legs wrapping around his waist and the sides of your soft feet sliding against the top of his thorax as he pins you and lines himself up. “Little mate,” he groans, sinking into you.

• He freaking drugged you again, know it even as you cup his face and your mouth crashes against his. Feeling like you’re nothing but heat and need as he moves inside you and it’s addictive. Head falling back against the back of the shower as he thrusts urgently inside you, your shoulders and head sliding against the wall with every deep drive. “Just like that,” you moan, that tide building inside you with shocking quickness as you buck against him, squirming restlessly. “Don’t stop.” Gasping when you come apart and he keeps going, hips rocking until he hisses and drives deep. Feel the heat of him overloading inside you. And his plating shifts, spark snaring you as you climax again. Tangled in him and confused as something pulls and his mouth is on yours again. And you give in to the pull, shivering as he overloads again with a groan.

• Everything becomes a haze of need as he hauls you out of your little wash rack and to your shared berth. Mouth on yours again as you laugh against him while he’s trying to mound pillows for you, pulling out only long enough to lay you down on your belly, hips propped up and then he’s inside you again, rutting into your silken heat. Thinking about sparking you again. Needing it. You’d sparked him the last time he’d tried and the time before, it hadn’t taken. Thought it had, then couldn’t sense the sparkling. Wants you with his young, to see you cradling a sparkling. Hips pumping as you push back to meet him with urgent gasps and whimpers, he’s moving faster against you, wings flaring out.

• Fingers clawing at the blankets as he overloads again, hips grinding against you before he’s hissing and pulling out. “Wasp,” you whine in protest, trembling and needing more. The aphrodisiac in his saliva stringing you tight. Turning you into an addict for the feel of him inside you. And when he’s pressing back inside you, something’s different. He’s thicker, feel the faint burn of him stretching you and he’s barely moving inside you, feeling like you’re almost being dragged and pushed by his shallow thrusts. “What?” You slur, wanting to ask what he’s doing as he bends so his back brushes yours and he’s snaring you again, his spark pulling you under as his hips keep moving in slow, hard surges that press you into the pillows under you. Hear him groaning, hissing and pressure. Feeling something push into you. And again as his warmth and heat sink into you, cocoon you in him. Again and you relax into the weird sensation.

• Growling, wings flicking as he fills you, he drapes himself against you, coaxing urgently and feeling your confused alarm. His own confusion tangling with yours. Because he’s not entirely sure what he just did, only that he needed to. Pulling free to make you whimper, the loss when he severs the connection with his spark aches through him. Staring at your spread thighs as you tremble and he realizes what he did. Tensing because he knows you’re going to be upset. And you’re unresisting, sprawled on your belly, thighs shivering and slick with his release. Antenna tucking back when you don’t yell at him. “Did you just fucking lay eggs in me?” You ask, voice soft and even more terrifying than if you’d been yelling.

• “I’m not even religious,” Ratchet growls staring at the readout on his scanner. “And I’m deeply offended by this blasphemy.” When Waspinator had run into Medbay with his naked mate dripping his slick and freaking out that he’d laid eggs inside his little human, Ratchet was fairly certain it couldn’t get worse. How could it? After scanning the human, though, he stands corrected. “You’re sparked.” He says, head lifting to glower at Waspinator. Who’d backed up the wall and now has his aft wedged in a corner on the ceiling. “You’re also sparked,” he adds and the human doesn’t react, staring at absolutely nothing. “I’m not sure how that’s going to interact with your human pregnancy.” And your head turns to just stare at him. ‘I’m not pregnant. I haven’t been with anyone but him,’ you say slowly. How? How is this mess now his problem and how has that little idiot managed to impregnate you with a hybrid when it shouldn’t be possible? Venting raggedly, he stares at the scanner and considers throwing it. Resigning as CMO and letting someone else deal with this. “Those eggs are apparently viable, as well.” Flinching when you just start laughing, the sound high and hysterical, tears running down your face as Waspinator whines and cowers on the ceiling. He’s not getting compensated enough for this idiocy. “Congratulations?”

[enwoso]

Can you write one about Lovie saying those 3 words to Leah and Leah being a sap about it 🤣

eight letters | alessia russo x leah williamson x child!reader

just a lil quick one, but i’m trying my best to get through as many requests as i can over the weekend. as i feel i’ve been a little dry on the fics lately.. (mb life’s been hectic!)

grumpy masterlist

"have you got your water bottle tiny?" leah asks as you nod pointing to alessia who has your water bottle in her hand as you hold the other. the two of you waiting for leah to finish locking up the car so you can go into the school gates.

usually it would just be your mummy who would drop you off at school, as she would do it on the way to training but before getting there alessia would pick leah up on the way. but for the past few weeks leah has been staying at alessia's home a long more frequently.

leah catches the two of you up, as your mummy tried to get you a little more excited for the day but you were still half asleep, you hadn't uttered more than five words since you woke up and that was telling your mummy what you wanted for your breakfast.

as you walked further into the school gates and you began to see more of your friends you perked up a little, sending each one a little wave as you mummy fixed your coat on your shoulders.

"mummy will be back later to pick you up, okay?" alessia smiled placing a kiss to your cheek as she helped you put your backpack on your shoulders as leah watched on with adoration, you were growing up so quick.

"have a good day, i love you" alessia smiled as she stood back up, next to leah as you waved, "i love you mummy" before you began to pick up the pace and run to catch up your friends. leah and alessia watching until you went into the building.

but just before you got to your friends you stopped and instead spun on your heal and ran back towards the two. a flash of confusion flashing over alessia as she looked around both herself and leah incase you had forgotten something, "why is- did she get her water bottle?" alessia mumbled as leah hummed nodding.

"then why is-"

"i love you le" you said in a hurry as you bundled into leah's leg hugging the side of her leg tight as she quickly got her words out trying to stay in one and not let her emotions rush over her, "i love you too, tiny" tapping you a few times on the head before you rushed back off towards your friends in the line as they were just about to go into the school building, your backpack swinging from side to side.

alessia watched the whole interaction, her heart swelling with a rush of warmth. she knew you had been wanting to tell leah that, cause whenever leah wasn't around and it was just the two of you, you would always be asking your mummy about leah especially since you now knew about her being your mummy's special friend.

alessia wrapped her arm around her girlfriends shoulders, as leah looked to her with tears in her eyes. it wasn't even past ten o'clock yet and the defender was already a wreck. hearing you tell leah those eight letters made her feel so welcomed into your little family dynamic and while it was only eight letters, it was the meaning that got to leah.

"she means that le, i promise." alessia told leah as the two walked back towards the car, hand in hand. leah nodding as she still felt overwhelmed with all the things she was feeling, she couldn't even begin to process them. this was a big step.

"anytime your not around, she always finds a way to bring you up" alessia admitted, as leah's eyebrows rose in sense of shock but also confusion.

“why?” leah thinks out loud, as alessia stops by leah’s car door giving the girl a look as if the answer wasn’t obvious.

“cause she loves you, you fool. i see the way you care about her the way i do. you love her as if she was your own and that makes me love you even more than i already do” alessia lets out a content sigh as leah stands in front of her, listening to every word that comes from her lips.

alessia leaning up to place a slow kiss to her lips as leah almost melts into it, her hands naturally find there way to alessia’s hips. breaking the kiss as leah places a few more pecks to alessia’s lips staying mere inches away from alessia’s face.

“i’m so happy your both in my life and i don’t think i can ever stop loving either of you” leah confesses as she tucks the loose strand of hair behind alessia’s ear as she grins.

“good, cause your stuck with us now”

“i wouldn’t have it any other way, baby”

[empressdede]

Never Ending - 2

This was originally supposed to be a two shot, but then I kept writing so…😭 maybe a four part mini series 🤣🫶🏾

Previous Next

Ciera was halfway through taking her notes in Chemistry when the words group project came out of Mr. Langston’s mouth. She didn’t flinch, didn’t groan like the rest of the class. She simply clicked her pen, already bracing for whatever random partner fate would assign her.

She wasn’t prepared for him.

“Jonathan Fatu and Ciera Monroe,” Mr. Langston read off.

Her head snapped up.

Jon looked back over his shoulder at her, eyes narrowing like he was trying not to grin. “Hey, partner.”

Ciera blinked slowly. “I’m switching seats.”

“Nope,” Mr. Langston said without looking up. “No trades. Sit next to your partner, Fatu.”

Jon slung his backpack over one shoulder and strolled over like he owned the world. His hair had gotten longer since middle school, always tied back in a loose bun, and he wore that same cocky smirk like it was stitched into his DNA.

He flopped down beside her. “Miss me?”

“Like I miss extra homework.”

He chuckled. “Still quick with the comebacks.”

Ciera angled her body away just slightly. “Still allergic to taking anything seriously?”

“Only things that don’t involve you.”

She shot him a look. “Do you even know what the project is?”

“Something about acids and bases,” he said, waving vaguely toward the board. “I figured you’d do the smart stuff and I’d carry the supplies.”

“That’s not how this is gonna work.”

He leaned closer, voice dipping into that teasing tone that always made her ears heat. “You sure? ’Cause I remember you used to love bossing me around.”

Ciera stiffened.

It had been almost two years since they’d really talked. Since that slow dance in eighth grade, interrupted too soon. Since Sadé pulled her away, and Jon just grinned like he didn’t care. And then high school happened. Jon joined the football team, got louder, funnier, became everybody’s favorite. Ciera drifted into AP classes, study groups, a quiet lane of her own making.

They’d passed each other in halls—shared a few classes. The teasing never stopped. But the closeness? That had faded.

Until now.

“You gonna write anything down?” she asked, opening her notebook.

He pulled out a pencil from behind his ear. “Depends. You gonna yell at me if I mess it up?”

“Depends. You planning to try?”

He grinned. “There she is.”

They started working—sort of. Ciera outlined the hypothesis, while Jon fiddled with the pH strips like they were toy swords.

“Jon,” she warned, “you’re gonna contaminate the samples.”

“Relax, Doc Monroe. I know what I’m doing.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Since when?”

“Since always. I just let you think you were the brains.”

She smirked. “You let me?”

“Mmhmm.”

She shook her head and focused on the worksheet. For a moment, the silence settled—but not comfortably. Not yet.

Then Jon said, casually, “Remember that science fair in sixth grade?”

Ciera blinked. “The one where you tried to make a volcano and it exploded on the principal?”

He laughed, head thrown back. “Hey, I maintain that was a successful reaction.”

“You nearly blinded Ms. Carter.”

“She shouldn’t have been that close.”

“You put vinegar in the wrong chamber.”

“You still remember all that?” he asked, tone softer.

Ciera looked at him. “I remember a lot of things.”

He tilted his head, studying her. “Yeah… me too.”

The words lingered, heavier than she expected.

She cleared her throat, going back to the paper. “So we need three acids and three bases to test with litmus. You wanna grab the materials?”

“You asking me to do actual work?”

“I’m asking you to do your share.”

Jon stood, mock saluting. “Yes, ma’am.”

As he walked away, Ciera let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. He hadn’t changed much—not really. Still charming, still annoying. Still able to make her smile when she didn’t want to.

He returned with the samples, sliding back into his seat like he hadn’t just made her heart beat too fast.

“All right, scientist,” he said. “Let’s make some color magic.”

Ciera dipped the first strip. “You ever think about that dance?”

He blinked. “What?”

“Eighth grade. Middle school dance. You asked me to come.”

Jon leaned back in his chair, arms folded. “You came.”

“You asked.”

“Barely.”

“You asked,” she said again, watching his face carefully.

He grinned. “Okay, maybe I did. But you were the one staring at me the whole night.”

“Was not.”

“Were too.”

“You’re delusional.”

“You were about to kiss me.”

“You leaned in first!”

“I was being polite!”

“Oh my God, polite?” she laughed.

“Yeah,” he said, eyes sparkling. “Didn’t want to catch a slap if I misread.”

Ciera smiled despite herself. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Jon sat forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Real talk… you think we would’ve worked?”

Ciera blinked. The question came out of nowhere. “Back then?”

He nodded.

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “We were kids.”

He shrugged. “Yeah… but we had something. Didn’t we?”

Her eyes searched his face. “Maybe. Maybe we still do.”

Jon leaned a little closer. “You saying you still like me, Monroe?”

She rolled her eyes, but her cheeks burned. “I’m saying… I remember what it felt like when we danced.”

His grin softened. “I remember too.”

They sat in the stillness of that moment, the rest of the classroom fading into background noise.

Then she spoke again, quieter this time. “What happened to us?”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Life. You went one way. I went another.”

“You got popular.”

“You got serious.”

“We drifted,” she said.

“But we didn’t forget.”

Their eyes met again—this time, with something older and deeper between them.

Then, of course, Jon broke the tension.

“So you gonna admit you liked me first or what?”

Ciera scoffed. “Me? Please. You were obsessed with me in seventh grade.”

“Says the girl who used to write my name in her notebook.”

She gasped. “Lies!”

“I saw it. Big heart around it and everything.”

“Jon!”

He laughed, full and unbothered. “You really used to blush every time I sat near you.”

“And you used to throw spitballs at me in homeroom.”

“Because I liked you!”

“Oh my God,” she groaned, covering her face.

Jon reached out and gently tugged her hand away. “I still like you, you know.”

She froze.

He said it so easily, so confidently. No joke behind it. Just words, plain and simple.

“I don’t know if you still like me,” he added, “but if you do… I’d want to find out what that looks like. For real.”

Ciera stared at him, heart pounding.

This wasn’t middle school anymore. They weren’t dancing in a decorated gym with streamers and slow songs. They were older, messier, still figuring it out.

But maybe, just maybe, they still had that spark.

“You’re not just saying that because you don’t wanna fail Chemistry, right?” she teased, voice trembling slightly.

He laughed, shaking his head. “I mean… that’s a bonus.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t pull away when his fingers brushed hers again.

“Wanna finish this project first,” she said, “before we plan our wedding?”

Jon grinned. “So that’s a yes?”

She didn’t answer—not directly. Just dipped the next strip in the solution and smiled when it turned a bright blue.

“Looks like a strong base,” she said.

Jon looked at her, amused. “Like your flirting game?”

“Like your chances if you keep running your mouth.”

He leaned back, satisfied. “God, I missed this.”

Ciera finally looked at him, soft and open. “Yeah. Me too.”

⸻⸻

The final bell echoed through the school like a sigh of relief.

Ciera was one of the few students who didn’t rush the hallways like a prison break. Instead, she moved with quiet precision, slipping down the corridor past the main exit, toward her locker. Her backpack was heavier than usual—Mr. Langston’s chemistry project meant hauling a textbook the size of a microwave, and there was no way she was lugging that home.

She rounded the corner and reached her locker, the metal cool beneath her fingertips. Twisting the combination, she popped it open and began sorting through her books.

A small part of her—okay, maybe a medium part—kept replaying the project period with Jon.

The way he looked at her. How his voice had gone soft when he said, “I still like you.”

She hadn’t expected that. Not from Jonathan Fatu—the boy who used to dunk paper balls in her hair and laugh when she got detention for talking back. The boy who danced with her in eighth grade and almost kissed her under the glow of cafeteria fairy lights.

Now here he was again. Same mischief in his eyes, but older. Bolder. And, apparently, still interested.

She shook her head. Don’t read into it. He’s always joking.

Just as she placed her Chemistry book on the top shelf, a voice slid into her ear like silk.

“So… did you miss me already?”

She flinched, spinning around. Jon leaned against the neighboring locker like a scene out of some teenage rom-com—arms folded, hair pulled back, grin in place.

“Do you practice being this annoying or does it just come naturally?” she asked, hand over her chest.

“I’ve been gifted since birth.”

Ciera rolled her eyes, stuffing a notebook into the locker. “What do you want, Jon?”

He raised his eyebrows, playful. “Straight to the point. I like that.”

“Because I have a life outside of entertaining you.”

“Ouch.” He clutched his heart. “That one actually hurt.”

She gave him a smirk and shut her locker. “Then I’m doing it right.”

But Jon didn’t flinch. Didn’t take the bait and leave like he usually did after a round of back-and-forth.

Instead, he stayed.

Leaned in just a bit.

“Actually,” he said, his voice a little quieter, “I wanted to ask you something.”

Ciera tilted her head. “Oh?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I was thinking about what I said earlier… maybe it’s time I finally take you out.”

She blinked.

“On a real date,” he added. “Like dinner or something. Not just projects and playful insults.”

For a second, she didn’t say anything. Her fingers curled around her bag strap, mind racing. Part of her had waited for this. The other part? Terrified to ruin the rhythm they had—this teasing, electric pull that always hovered between friendship and something more.

“Wow,” she said slowly. “You’re actually asking me out?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

Ciera raised an eyebrow. “No jokes? No double-dare from your friends? You sure this isn’t some kind of bet?”

He chuckled. “You think I need a dare to ask you out?”

“Considering the last time you tried, we were thirteen and you ran off before Sadé could roast you—yes.”

Jon laughed, shaking his head. “Nah. I’m serious this time.”

Ciera leaned back against the row of lockers, arms crossing loosely. “That’s new.”

“I figured if I kept waiting, someone else might get to you first.”

“Now that’s more like you—territorial and late.”

“But honest,” he said, stepping closer.

She looked up at him, the teasing slowly slipping from her features, replaced with something gentler. “I’ll think about it.”

Jon blinked. “You’ll think about it?”

“Mmhmm.”

“You’re breaking my heart, Monroe.”

“Good. Builds character.”

He exhaled, leaning in until they were barely a foot apart. “Okay, fine. I’ll make you a deal.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Oh God.”

“Relax,” he laughed. “Just this: I’ll call you tonight. You answer me then.”

Ciera tilted her head. “Call me?”

“You do still have a phone, right? Or did you evolve into one of those people who only communicates through passive-aggressive glances?”

“You’re one to talk,” she muttered.

“So is that a yes?” he asked, smiling. “You’ll pick up?”

She paused, lips tugging upward. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“Depends on how annoying your voicemail is.”

He laughed again, louder this time. “So that’s a yes. You’ll answer.”

She slung her bag over her shoulder. “Don’t get cocky, Fatu.”

Jon stood straighter, brushing imaginary dust off his hoodie. “Too late. I’ve already planned our wedding.”

Ciera rolled her eyes so hard it might’ve given her a headache. “You’re ridiculous.”

“But you like me anyway.”

She started to walk off, throwing over her shoulder, “I’ll deny it in court.”

He called after her, “I’ll have witnesses!”

And just like that, they slipped back into their rhythm. But underneath it—woven between every joke and jab—was something undeniable.

A pull.

She was halfway down the hall, smiling despite herself, when a familiar voice called out.

“Ciera!”

She turned to see Sadé jogging toward her, her braids bouncing as she waved. “Girl, wait up!”

Ciera slowed her pace as her best friend caught up, slightly out of breath.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Sadé said. “What took you so long?”

“Locker run,” Ciera replied. “Had to ditch Langston’s chemistry brick.”

Sadé wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. That man needs to stop assigning group projects like we don’t already have lives.”

Ciera smirked. “Mine got interesting.”

Sadé side-eyed her. “Why do you sound smug?”

“No reason.”

“Don’t lie to me, Monroe. Spill.”

Ciera glanced behind her—Jon was still by the lockers, pretending not to watch, but failing miserably.

Sadé followed her gaze, and her mouth dropped open.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“He finally asked?”

“Mmhmm.”

“And??”

“I told him I’d think about it.”

Sadé gasped, grabbing Ciera’s arm. “Girl, what?! You’ve had a thing for him since like—forever!”

“Yeah, well, forever is complicated.”

“Not if he’s asking you out.”

Ciera smiled, a little breathless herself. “He said he’s gonna call me tonight.”

Sadé squealed, practically vibrating. “You better answer that phone.”

“I might.”

“No. No ‘might.’ You will.”

Ciera laughed. “We’ll see.”

They walked side by side, Sadé still talking a mile a minute, but Ciera’s mind drifted again. Back to Jon’s voice, the way he looked at her like she was the only person in the hallway. Like maybe—just maybe—this thing between them was real. Always had been.

She didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. But tonight?

Tonight, she’d answer.

The house was quiet except for the faint hum of the AC and the soft buzz of crickets outside the window.

Ciera stood in the middle of her room, arms folded, glaring at the phone on her nightstand like it had personally offended her.

It was 7:57 p.m.

Three minutes until the imaginary deadline she’d given Jonathan to call.

You don’t care, she told herself, marching over to her desk. She picked up her chemistry notebook, flipped to a random page, and tried to focus. Something about ions. Something about valence electrons. Something that wasn’t Jon’s voice in her head saying, I want to take you out.

She bit her lip and underlined the same sentence twice without realizing it.

At 8:01, her phone vibrated.

She jumped.

Unknown Number.

She stared at it for a half second too long.

“Girl, answer the damn phone,” she muttered, snatching it up.

“Hello?”

There was a pause—only a breath—before that familiar voice slipped through.

“Hey.”

Ciera swallowed, hoping her voice didn’t crack. “Hey.”

“You sound surprised.”

“I’m not.”

“Then why’d you hesitate?”

“I was busy.”

Jon laughed. “Doing what? Watching the phone from across the room?”

She could hear the grin in his voice, and somehow that made her entire chest flutter.

“Please. I forgot you were even supposed to call.”

“Oh, so now I’m forgettable?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You implied it.”

“I imply a lot of things,” she replied coolly, walking to sit on the edge of her bed. “Doesn’t mean I mean them.”

Jon whistled low. “Damn. Still sharp, huh?”

“Did you call just to get roasted or was there a point?”

“Can’t I miss you a little first?”

Ciera’s heart thumped a little too hard.

She cleared her throat. “Miss me? You saw me like five hours ago.”

“Yeah, but that’s like thirty in Jonathan Fatu hours.”

She couldn’t help the laugh that slipped out. “You’re so corny.”

“And yet… here you are. Still on the line.”

“I was raised to be polite.”

“I’ll make a note. Politeness is the new flirting.”

Ciera smiled down at her lap. “Is that what this is? You flirting?”

Jon paused for just a second. “Maybe. Or maybe it’s just what I’ve always done with you.”

Something in his voice shifted—less playful, more honest. Ciera’s teasing tone faded too.

“You always did have a way of getting on my nerves,” she murmured.

“And under your skin.”

She exhaled through her nose, the air in her room suddenly warmer. “Is this why you called?”

“No,” he said. “I called because I meant what I said earlier.”

Ciera lay back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. “About wanting to take me out?”

“Yeah.”

She let the silence stretch for a beat. “Why now, Jon?”

He didn’t answer right away.

“I don’t know,” he said eventually. “I guess… I got tired of pretending I didn’t care. Like, we joke around, we talk trash, but you and I both know there’s always been more to it than that.”

Her chest tightened.

“Maybe,” she said softly. “But you never really said anything before.”

“I was stupid.”

“No argument here.”

He chuckled. “Fair. I just… you know how it was after middle school. I got caught up. Football, friends, all the attention. I didn’t know how to be real with someone back then.”

“And you think you do now?”

“I’m trying,” he said. “With you, I wanna try.”

Ciera’s throat felt a little tight. She sat up again, suddenly restless, the ceiling too heavy to stare at.

“I noticed you pulling away,” she admitted. “Like, the more popular you got, the less we talked. But I never said anything. I figured it was just… what happens.”

“Yeah,” Jon murmured. “I noticed it too. I just didn’t know how to fix it.”

“You could’ve started with a text.”

“Scary stuff,” he joked. “But you’re right. I should’ve.”

Ciera hugged one knee to her chest, the phone pressed close to her ear.

“I always wondered if I made that night up, you know?” she said quietly.

“What night?”

“The dance. Eighth grade.”

“Oh, I think about that night all the time.”

Her breath caught.

“You do?”

Jon’s voice dipped, softer now. “Of course. You were the only thing I could think about after. We almost kissed, remember?”

“I remember,” she whispered. “And then Sadé came outta nowhere.”

“I was this close,” he said with a smirk in his voice. “And she just—”

“Ruined everything.”

He laughed. “Exactly.”

Ciera bit her lip. “If she hadn’t interrupted, would you have actually done it?”

“Kissed you?”

“Yeah.”

There was no hesitation this time. “Absolutely.”

Her stomach flipped.

They were quiet for a few seconds, the weight of their unspoken history stretching out between them. Every memory—every laugh, tease, and almost-kiss—suddenly felt brand new.

“So,” Jon said eventually, his voice teasing again, “are you ready to stop pretending you don’t like me?”

Ciera groaned, burying her face in her pillow. “God, you’re annoying.”

“But cute.”

She muffled her laugh. “Debatable.”

“Please. You used to write my name in your notebook.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Sadé told me.”

“She’s dead to me.”

Jon’s laugh filled her ear again. “So… you gonna go out with me or not?”

Ciera exhaled, heart fluttering like a damn hummingbird. “You’re really not gonna drop this, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

She bit the inside of her cheek, debating. She’d spent years watching him from a distance, wondering if he still thought about her. And now, here he was, asking for her time—her attention—like he finally saw what they could’ve been all along.

“Alright,” she said at last. “One date.”

“One?”

“Don’t push it.”

“Can I pick you up Friday?”

She blinked. “You already had a day in mind?”

“Girl, I’ve had this planned since eighth grade.”

Ciera laughed, leaning back again, letting herself sink into the moment.

“Friday’s fine,” she said.

There was a pause on his end—like even he couldn’t believe she said yes.

“I’m holding you to that.”

“You better.”

They talked a while longer, about stupid things—teachers they couldn’t stand, Sadé’s loud laugh, how Joshua always tried to outshine him. But underneath every word was that same electricity, that same easy connection that never really left.

Eventually, her mom knocked and told her to get ready for bed. They said goodnight reluctantly.

“Sleep good,” he said.

“You too, Fatu.”

He hesitated before hanging up. “Hey, Ciera?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m really glad you picked up.”

She smiled. “Me too.”

And when she finally lay down to sleep, her phone still warm in her hand, she knew something had changed.

For real this time.

VIP TAGLIST : @wrestlingprincess80 @whatdoeseverybodywant @pr0tost4r @paigereeder @alyyaanna @raya-hunter01 @mzv11 @trippinsorrows @partypoison00 @isabella-2025 @jstarr86 @chrisevanswife0405 @fearlesschimera @cyberdejos2 @whowrotethenote @potatosackk @ajaxcleaningsupplies @sayyestoheav3nn @chasssssworld @christinabae @glittergirl7 @itskii01 @fame-ass-ers @li-da-savage @ashykneee @kianaleani @holisticcoach @pittieprincess22 @sabrina-carpenter-stan-account @amandairene88 @luvrsluxe @venusesworld @norababora @callmekayd @chrissyxcxox @keyera-jackson @wabi-sabi1090 @psiloveyOu @baybehkay @nybearsworld @transparentphantomface @sassginaswanmills @fafomama @wooahmiri @mackfinstathrowitback @ariiaeltheedonn @bratzzzdoll @m00nlitnight

[staying-elive]

Look at that majestic wingspan.

How does it all fold into that little backpack?

For science...

Where's Redwing fit in that?

I want a full schematic breakdown immediately, Marvel. Don't give me nano tech this or that. Where is it!? 🤣

[didalexiabreakupwitholgaisback]

https://x.com/barcafem/status/1940830591727161700?s=46

Why does it looks like alexia is telling Kika she’s not mad, just disappointed while Kika is trying to explain it’s not her fault 🤣🤣

kika: "but...but...barça said it was okay if i play" 🥺😨🫨

alexia: "no playing without the medical green light, young lady" 😐😒

bonus: alexia and her giant backpack has entered the stadium 🤭

[heartfullofleeches]

Hey how about Everglades darling x Raccoon yandere 🦝🦝🦝

The trash panda fell in love when the Everglades darling fed them So they wouldn't have eat out of the garbage 🥰🤣😆🦝

Raccoon Hybrid Yan still digs through their trash, but now they do it to locate the precious artifacts Everglades Reader throws away-

-

Equiped with your phone and a backpack full of whatever you might need during your exploration, you step out the front door for another exciting day in your never ending search of the evasive beast known as the twenty foot python. Marching down the steps, loud banging catches your ear from the side of your house where you normally leave your trash bins.

Not again-

Pocketing your phone, you race down the short flight to locate the souce of the banging before they're able to run off. Rotten fish and discarded trash crunch and squelch beneath your feet as the grass of your lawn parts way to the gravel of your driveway. You hate to waste the gifts you've received from those you met in the swamp, but the smell from your kitchen was starting to act like a beacon to your house.

"Hey!"

"Shit-" Dangling legs desperately kick at the sides of your trashcan, puffy tail thrashing as they wipe at the air searching for ground. Wrapping your arms around their waist, you lift them over the side of the bin - releasing them as the smell of decay assaults your nostrils.

Pinching your shirt over the bridge of your nose, you peal a chip bag from their ear. "If you're hungry you can just knock on my front door. What happened to all the food I gave you two nights ago?"

"Oh, that's back at my tent! Don't worry, I'll ration it! I'm not looking for food this time, just things you don't need anymore that you won't mind me taking!"

Looking at their clothing, you notice something familiar about the stains on their shirt.

"Is that the shirt i threw out last night? I've been using it as a rag for weeks."

"Yeah....But since you threw it out I can keep it, right?"

"Get inside the house. We're getting you a bath and some new clothes. Might also need to invest in some locks for my trashcans."

[alexbkrieger13]

📸: Jada

[tremendouscreationperson]

Logan x Reader pt.4

So some of y'all are gonna not like this part but it's necessary 🤌🏻 hope it's okay I wrote it whilst bleaching/dying my hair 🤣🤣

I have also put some very rough sketches of the X-Men I did on holiday so you can get the vibes on the super suit/costume

<< Part 3 Part 5 >> Masterlist

He was gone, you waited for a moment just in case, but no, he was gone. It was okay, you'd had more time with him than you'd thought possible. The hours were a blessing.

“He isn't going to come back.” Cassandra spoke to your right. “You missed your chance.” She matched over to Pyro and slapped him awake.

You shook your head, she was right. Why were you just staring into space? You had to get a move on.

Quickly picking up Laura's discarded backpack - now full to the brim with Deadpool comics - you moved past them. Better to leave when she's distracted, if you hung on any longer she might remember you all came here to bargain with/kill her.

You looked down from the socket, drained. Using your powers was mentally taxing and, without the help of adrenaline, you didn't know if you could even make yourself a disc to descend. Instead you skidded downwards, holding the skull to climb and landed on your feet. The texture was like bricks. Was that really how a skull felt?

You swivelled to see your family. Laura sprinted as soon as her eyes landed on you, crushing you in a hug. “You stayed.”

“Of course I did.” Your arms held her tighter. “I’d have missed you all too much.”

She pulled back from the hug only to gaze into your eyes with her own glassy ones. “We couldn't see who jumped, did they make it? I thought you'd been eaten.”

“No, I'm here.” You assured her with a teary smile. "They did make it. They're gone."

She quickly burrowed back into your neck as you noticed El make her way towards you both and joined the hug. “That was intense.”

Gambit was next picking you all up as he squeezed tight. “Le’s never do tha’ again.”

Blade had hung back but Laura extended her hand to him and gestured until he held it. He wasn't one for ‘lovey dovey’ displays but he did love you all. He never thought it possible, not after he landed in the Void, but here he was. Clutching Laura's hand and thanking any deity that would listen.

“We better go.” Blade instructed. “Let's see if they got any wheels we can borrow.”

They did in fact have some wheels you could borrow. The five of you all sat in a beaten down Ghost Rider vehicle. It was an old fashioned Chevy and the boot space was perfect for the looted goods you all scrambled to swipe under Cassandra’s nose.

The drive back was strange. Obviously you were no longer in the boot with Logan but even if he was here you'd thought it was odd. You all survived.

There were no casualties.

Not that you were complaining, gosh no, but you were feeling a sense of unease. As though it had all been too easy.

Laura sat between you and Gambit, holding one hand from each of you as she dozed. Blade was driving and El sharpened her sais.

This was so ordinary. Well, your version of ordinary. But seeing actual civilization had thrown you. Because no this wasn't ordinary. This was fucking batshit.

You took a breath and tried to calm the fuck down because yes this was crazy and it wasn't what life should be but it was what it was.

You had to make peace with it.

You'd let Logan and Wade leap into a real life.

If they came back good. If they didn't… well, you were fine with it.

~~

A week later, once word had gotten out that Cassandra Nova had left, the Void seemed calmer. There were less riots - still a large amount - and people seemed to go it alone more. There wasn't the threat of ‘join or die’ so people made peace with scavenging and surviving.

Your group had still tried to help if people needed it but you mostly stayed out of sight. Without a ‘big bad’ to fight there was no longer an ultimate goal which was good but at the same time it made life boring.

You were playing a game of Uno, having found it in a rotting classroom, when an orange rectangle opened behind you. The others were quick to draw their weapons and you craned your neck to see a woman step out.

She had an air of authority with a kind face.

“Y/N L/N, Laura Kinney, Remy Lebeau, Eric Brooks, Elektra Natchios, I am B-15.” She informed you with a pleasant smile. The fact that her name was a letter and a number wasn't lost on you but you were still reeling over the fact that you're fairly sure Blade was called Eric. “I oversee the TVA and we are here on business.”

“TVA?” Gambit raised an eyebrow, lowering his powered up deck.

“The Time Variant Authority. We are the overseers of timelines. Our job is to watch them, nurture them, keep them safe.”

Elektra straightened but didn't hide her weapons. “If you 'oversee our timelines', why are we here?” Her tone was accusatory.

B-15 looked a little embarrassed. “One of our managers, Paradox, had accelerated the time frame on your dying timelines. He is the reason you are here. I am sorry for that but I am here to make amends, we have been in discussions with Wade Wilson and Logan Howlett about your recovery.”

Well, fuck me, he was coming back. You'd practically lost hope after the third day.

“Dying timelines?” Elektra's eyes flickered to Gambit. She knew he didn't remember a time before being here like the rest of you did.

“Timelines, like many organic things do, decay and die. Sometimes it is natural, sometimes it is fabricated and sometimes their 'Anchor Being' dies and they slowly rot.”

“But our timelines, our universes, are dead?” Blade questioned.

“Yes. But we can house you in another. We need to go through the proper paperwork and screenings but I do believe you can all be happy there.”

“People we knew-” You started. “Our friends- I've seen multiple versions of the same person. Our friends won't know us?”

“I can safely say in this universe there is no version of each of you. You would be entering as yourself and, yes, you will have to create friendships and relationships again but I'm sure each of you is up to the task.”

The feeling that this was too good to be true crept up your spine again. “What's the catch?”

“There isn't a catch.” She clasped her hands. “You don't have to come, it's an offer but I won't ask twice.”

The room that had previously been full of laughter and frustrated yelling was now dead silent, each of you considering her words.

“Do you want to go?” You asked Laura.

Her face betrayed no emotions. “I will if you want to.”

“It might be very different then this, then what you grew up with. You might not like it.” You didn't want to steer her any way but you wanted her to be sure.

“As long as we're together.” Her eyes flashed around the table.

El nodded. “I'm game.”

“Are there blood suckers in that world?” Blade asked B-15.

“There are Vampires, yes. There are also a few Lycans.”

That baffled you. No fucking way was there Vampires. “Then I'm ready to kick some Vamp ass.”

“I dunno.” Gambit shook his head. “I feel like I wa’ born ‘ere. Wha’ if there no room for me there?”

“Of course there's room.” El placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don't stay here, this place is horrid.”

He gave an uneasy look but did eventually nod.

“Right.” B-15 smiled. “Let's go.”

She gave you five minutes to collect your things and meet her at the rectangle. It was a little sad to realise five years worth of memories could be boiled down to a water bottle, Uno cards, a few knives, some art you and the girls created and your photo of you and your husband.

There was no point taking your clothes, they were tattered and stained, you weren't even sure the super suit you currently had on was clean enough for the 'new universe'.

B-15 walked through the portal when you all agreed it was time and Blade followed. Laura and you were next and finally El led Gambit.

You were struck by nostalgia. Walking through from a hot country to an airconned airport slapped you in the face. Memories of your honeymoon dancing across your mind. Was this wrong?

Was being with him insulting his memory?

You scanned the room. It was a tacky beige corridor with a set of brown doors, each door had a friendly face waiting with a clipboard.

“Right, so this is the boring part.” B-15 tried to joke. “I will need you all to partner up and answer some questions.”

“Wait’re minute.” Gambit ceased Elektra’s movements. “Wha’ if they kill us?”

“We won't kill you.” B-15 made a face.

“You are separating us.” El folded her arms.

B-15 sighed and plastered the professional smile back on. “If we wanted you dead we would've left you in the Void. This is part of the process, unfortunately it involves asking a lot of questions and to save time we thought to free up some extra agents, who are all very busy, mind you.”

Laura was the first to move, she gave a curt nod, pulled her backpack tighter against her spine and strode right to the end of the corridor. The lady she met was small and unassuming but she greeted Laura with a friendly hello.

You were next, always following after her, and found yourself beside a man. He was tall and waved awkwardly.

The man led you into what was clearly an interrogation room. There was a definitely double sided mirror on the wall reflecting the dark oak table and chairs that sat directly in the centre.

“Right,” the man said, taking a seat. “I am here to fill you in on this universe and fill out this questionnaire to determine whether or not you are fit to join it.”

You eyed his clipboard. “How long will this take?”

“Time works differently in the TVA.” He shrugged and began the explanation, which felt as though it lasted three whole days.

This universe was much the same as yours except the X-Men hadn't picked you up. There was a Jean and a Charles and a Rogue, etc however their version of Logan died which was beginning to kill off the timeline. Paradox had offered Wade the opportunity to hop over and he learnt the truth causing everything that had happened to happen. In order to secure all five of your places the TVA had to create some ‘micro-adjustments’ to certain parts of this universe. This was completely new territory so it did take some time to set up events and try to create anchor spots.

The X-Men were formed however they were now operational in the year 2024 and they worked side by side with the Avengers. There were many names and many dates and many places that Y-23 told you and you could barely catch up.

“So there's Avengers and Guardians and X-Men and there's still villains? Isn't it overkill?” You finished your lemonade, placing the plastic cup on the table by your messy notepad. You'd created a mini conspiracy board, trying to piece together all the information he was throwing at you.

“There are more heroes than you could ever imagine but that just brings the threat of violence higher.” He shrugged.

“And B-15 said that there were Vampires and Lycans.”

“In a world full of Mutants are you really surprised?”

“But a mutation is different from a species of Vampire, no?”

Y-23 thought about it but shook his head. “No it isn't. It's simple evolution.”

This was starting to feel like a Charles Xavier lecture.

“This universe isn't a part of what was once called the Sacred Timeline, this is a wild, thriving, new and exciting thing. This has never been done before.” He tried to reassure you.

"Meaning it's an experiment.” You muttered. “I'm game for it, I'm just scared.”

“Well, you have answered all of my questions swimmingly.” He gave you two thumbs up.

“You haven't asked any questions.”

“The questions are more for me than for you.”

This was starting to feel like a really bad idea. “I'm confused.”

“Don't be, the next step is wardrobe. Can't have you going to a new universe in…" He looked you up and down. "..that.”

~~

You stepped out of the tailors with a spring in your step. They had provided actual clothes but being in a brand new suit was bliss. They'd even provided weapons! The suit was beautiful. It was mainly purple, with a purple ‘x’ on your chest on top of black fabric. The black fabric was angular, causing a triangle shape underneath the ‘x’ and then carrying on down from your armpits to your ankles. The purple was on the front and the back connecting from your chest via the ‘x’ to your shoulders. Your spine had a delicately placed holster for two knives.

This was quite possibly the most powerful you had felt, despite being unable to actually conjure your forcefields. Y-23 had told you there was no magic in the TVA and that got you both into a large debate on whether or not you had magic. You were a mutant, you weren't magic! Gambit toed the line between mutant and magic better than anyone so you wondered how he was doing.

El and Blade were in the main room you were being led to. The room consisted of more brown furniture - desks and chairs - but had many old-school TVs on the far wall. Each screen held either a series of lines or a person. You were quick to zero in on Iron-Man, his iconic suit was blasting at several enemies. He was one of the biggest heroes in your world and the most recognised. You literally couldn't imagine Tony in another suit, another mask. He wouldn't look right even in a different colour, say green for example.

“That's Punisher.” El pointed to a gruff man, with a dusty white skull on his chest. He was mean looking but you had the feeling he was probably good as gold when needed.

“Whistler.” Blade nodded to another gruff man. He was older and definitely played by his own rules.

You watched the row of moving heroes. “So we have to just drop in and say hi, we know you in another universe?”

“H-1 told me I would say what I wanted.” El gave you a confused shrug. “that doesn't exactly clarify anything, what if I tell Matt and Frank and they don't- what if that means they don't want anything to do with me?”

“Precisely.” Blade agreed as Gambit walked into the room. “I will need Whistler's help. I can't fuck that up.”

“A’least I can' destroy wha’ weren't there.” Gambit smugly grinned, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. “We all look ‘mazing by’t’way.”

Yes. You all did. Blade was wearing all black. A protective vest on top of a long sleeve and leather trousers. His outfit was swallowed by his leather coat. Weapons were under and over the coat, you could see all sorts of knives and daggers and even a crucifix dangled from his belt. He had a new pair of sunglasses, which he seemed very pleased about.

Elektra was wearing a bright red outfit, you assumed her Void outfit started off as this colour but she stained it to be safer. Her chest was now unexposed and she had gloves on. Her trousers were still there but on top she had an overlaying split skirt. The material was softer than the bodysuit, it matched the scarf which covered the lower part of her face.

Gambit looked much the same. His outfit was perfect. The only thing different about this one was there were no knicks and dents. He also wielded a staff.

Laura was yet to show her face. Something that didn't worry you but didn't not worry you.

“So where are we living?” You questioned. “I used to live in the X-Mansion but Y-23 said Charles was around but he now operates in 2024. So in my head he must be very different.”

“It seems like that's true for all our friends.” Blade’s eyes hadn't left the screens.

Gambit strode to the screens and gazed intently at each person. “Surely, they couldn' be too different. If it's the same person an’all.”

“Different circumstances, different upbringings.” El countered.

“That's Magneto.” You pointed to Erik. He was talking to Charles, drinking a cup of tea. It was infuriating because they were this civilised as enemies so you couldn't even tell if they were friends. “He was a concentration camp survivor. If he's about now, did that happen? Is he evil?”

“He looks pretty friendly with Charles.” Elektra cocked her head.

“They always were.” You huffed. “This will be really difficult won't it?”

Blade’s head swivelled in your direction. “Adjusting always is.”

Fuck how was he just effortless cool?

The door reopened, B-15 and Laura came through. She was gorgeous. They had dressed her in a yellow suit, with black trim much like yours. The suit had gloves and shoes which had special slots for her claws. But the icing on the cake was her cowl. She wore the famous Wolverine cowl and she looked glorious.

“Woah!” Gambit cheered. “You look li’ him!”

She did. She really looked like Logan.

“You look amazing, sweetie.” El grinned wide as Laura held one elbow in embarrassment.

“Thank you.” She wore a shy smile.

Blade clapped her back and couldn't help but nod.

“I can't believe it. You really- you look like- you look good.” You stuttered through the sentence.

She, thankfully, waved you off and turned to the screens. “Who are they?”

“Heroes in the 'new universe'.” Blade smirked. “They'll need our help.”

B-15 cleared her throat and you all looked over. She was standing in front of a freshly opened ‘timedoor’. “This is it.” She stepped to the right. “Through here is a collection of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. They will greet and assess you.”

Oh great, more assessment.

Laura, again, was the first of you to make a move. She confidently marched through the door, ready for this to be over with.

El was next, followed by Gambit, Blade and finally you.

You entered a white room. It was grand and outlandishly ‘modern’ - sparse. There were walls that were made entirely by window planes and the sunlight shone warmly. There was a silver, angular table and six beings were seated at it.

These were the ‘illuminati’. Y-23 had explained that a member of each super team created the illuminati, an omnipotent organisation. They controlled the world.

Iron-Man was there, creasing a ridiculously expensive suit, as well as Doctor Strange - the Sorcerer Supreme - Mr Fantastic - the smartest man alive - Namor - the King of Atlantis - Blackbolt - the Ruler of Attilan - and… oh my god. That was Charles!

The negotiation wasn't long. Charles took a look into each of your minds and declared that you and B-15 were all telling the truth. Then they revealed a set of apartments that they had brought for you to settle into normality in. You were allowed to leave them once you had settled and you had to come back every month for therapy "monitoring".

Stark handed you all a bank card and told you there was a limit to them. They also informed you that if you were needed to defend Earth they would call upon you.

Blade was under extra surveillance as he was a Daywalker. Reed had been able to recreate Whistler's serum to suppress the bloodlust but they were still taking precautions.

Doctor Strange placed a spell on each of you to track your whereabouts but other than that they let you go.

“The idiots are outside.” Stark used a thumb to point over his shoulder. Blackbolt smiled, his shoulders shaking in a silent chuckle.

“They haven't stopped pestering.” Namor rolled his eyes. “You must be integral.”

“We are just ourselves. We were cursed to live in that Void for years, for no apparent reason other than a cocky bastard's ego.” Elektra held her head high, watching the men she addressed like a hawk.

Charles adjusted his chair and gave you a sincere grin. “You may venture out, we do hope you find solace here.”

.

Part 5

.

@geeksareunique @lovelyvaderx @melissa-ashe @st1nkabutt @maximumchilddreamland @ravenmedows @vulgarfuckinvirgo77

.

The sketches, be kind pls

[biteofcherry]

I'm going on a trip to the mountains soon, which of course made me think of babes going with you on a hike.

Steve - is excited and prepared, has studied maps of all the trails, makes sure your backpacks are full of necessary stuff and will hold your hand the whole hike

Ari - starts the morning so lazy and slow you have to cut your hikes shorter, but he's a positive, happy companion who packed lots of chocolate

Curtis - goes wherever you want, kinda scares off some of the other hikers with his glower, his favorite part is stopping at mountain hostel for a hot, hearty meal

Andy - no high peaks with him (but he makes up for it with giving you other peaks), but a long easy trail is more than fine, many stops to take pictures

Bucky - is moderately excited, prefers less frequented trails, prepared all the snacks and asks you three times if you have spare pair of warm socks;

Jake - definitely prepared, but a bit chaotic on the trail, mostly excited about the animals you get to see, also invents a game of "what shape is this mountain" (it's always boob shape)

Lloyd - teases you that you can barely keep up with his long strides, but always helps you over some steeper terrain (usually by gripping your butt), has all the sharp alpine equipment even though you're not rock climbing

Ransom - NOPE 🤣

[kilojulietsierra]

The first time Garcia goes to Sophie’s class room she is APPALLED at state of the first aid kit. She immediately goes out and gets every sort of bandage and colorful Band-Aid because “kids are little drunk people but should have fun bandaids”

She eventually makes her a little go bag like a Jack and Sam have.

But when Garcia has a day off and is invited to Sophie’s class for a show and tell, Garcia gets even more warm fuzzies like ‘I can see us having a family’

—

P.S. Jack would make a stupid comment to Emory like “ I need you to find a man soon, it’s starting to look like you all are sister wives” 

Bro, I had the same exact thought with the sister wives thing 🤣 get out of my head! But also thank you so much for this, it’s adorable! 🥰 💚

~~~~

- Sophie had got the wild hair to rearrange her classroom over the long weekend and Yolanda was happy to help.

- “Oh my god the chairs are so tiny!” Yolanda went straight to the kidney bean shaped table and sat in one of the chairs laughing hysterically

- It’s a little weird for Sophie, In the best way, to see her girlfriend who spent her workdays with her hands literally inside people, covered in blood, move through her brightly colored and eclectic preschool classroom. Stapling up colorful paper and hanging up the bubble shaped letters and glitter covered projects.

- “Motherfucker” Sophie laughed because yeah, there she is lol “do you have bandaids somewhere? Hate to bleed on Santa Clause”

- When Yolanda picked up the dingy white, plastic case she scowled at it. Like it might give her tetanus. “What’s this.” “First aid kit. Aren’t you supposed to be a doctor” “Sophie, this thing is older than I am” Yolanda opens the one remaining latch, “it might be older than abbot”

- That night Garcia gets on Amazon and shops around but she doesn’t find what she’s really looking for. So, she decides to take matters into her own hands.

- Is it a toolbox? Yes? But it’s practical and she orders a literal shit ton of doctor themed stickers for the kids to decorate it.

- Does it actually have everything Sophie could ever possibly need in it? Absofuckinglutely. Does she text abbot with a little twist in her stomach to ask what kind of tourniquet to buy that fits children? Yes. Does he respond with a link right away? Of course he does.

- Does she spend the next half hour adding every box of colorful, sparkly, themed bandaids she can to cheer herself up? Also yes. Captain America, SpongeBob, Batman, bluey, strawberry shortcake, Care Bears, paw patrol, hot wheels, camo, Pink camo, rainbows, teenage mutant ninja turtles and ghostbusters. Some characters she doesn’t even recognize but they seem popular so she adds them too.

- Sophie tears up a little bit when she gives it to her which kind of scares the shit out of Yolanda. Sophie just laughs, “good tears babe, good tears” and pulls her into a hug.

- She gets a picture the next Monday of the results of a dozen 4 year olds let loose with stickers and free will. The medical kit is COVERED in little stethoscopes and red crosses, smiley faces and painful faces, ekg lines, ambulances, wheelchairs and crutches, all of it.

- Garcia also decides to put together a little go bag. Just in case. The bag itself (a LV Montsouris) may cost more than all of the gear in it but she justifies it because she got it slightly used.

- Sophie is too scared to just leave it in her car though, after a weekend of arguing about how much it cost to begin with, so they compromise. (Look at them go!) they put the fear in a regular old backpack that does stay in her car, She keeps the bag and uses it for work, which is still scary with all the little kid fingers, but Yolanda insists they’re made to be used. It still has a small first aid pouch inside put together by Garcia of course.

- Emery nearly chokes on her cafeteria salad when she finds out Yolanda dropped $3k on a bag for a girlfriend she’s had for like two months. Yolanda just shrugs and sips her water, “so?”

- Emery likes to take the overnight on call for the overtime. She occasionally spends more time in the ER than she does on the surgery floor because she gets bored.

- She’s currently sitting in one of empty chairs behind the nurses station while Jack stares at the board. “So you don’t think this is concerning?” Jack scratches his eyebrow “I don’t know, she’s a grown up, she can do what she wants.” “Two months Jack. Two months” he turns to face her finally arms crossed “maybe that’s all it takes”

- Em rolls her eyes “you and Sam don’t count, that’s like creepy divine intervention level shit.” Jack snorts out a laugh “normal people like the rest of us, two months is not enough” “they’re not getting married.” “Yet”

- Jack gives her a long hard look. The one she hates cuz it’s like he can read her fucking mind “this is not about my divorce” he shrugs again and picks up his coffee “did I say it was?” “It’s not” “okay” “it’s not!” “I said okay”

- There’s six women on his couch when Jack gets off a Friday night shift. All of them in leggings and sweaters with blankets and coffee a box of pastries and other assorted snacks on the coffee table. Jack scans the room cautiously, “good morning”.

- They chorus different variations of “good morning” and Sam weaves her way around to give him a hug and a kiss. “What did I miss?” Sam looks over her shoulder to Ellis clicking through the tv menu “Parker saw this show on TikTok we have to watch” Jack looks over his wife’s shoulder as “unholy” by Sam smith blares through the surround sound over the shows intro. “Is this something I have to be included in?” Sam laughs and kisses him again “it is not” “thank god” he kisses her one more time, I’m goin’ to go work out”

- When Jack came back in from the garage he stopped in the kitchen and made a bottle of electrolytes. He watched from the kitchen as all the girls were locked on the show, faces in varying and amusing looks of shock, awe and disgust.

- He didn’t mean to walk into the living room but he still leaned against the couch behind Sam “the fuck is this?”

- “A train wreck” “the best show ever” “something I’m going to have to talk about in therapy next week” “I feel so normal right now.” “It’s an abomination” “careful you’ll get sucked in, save yourself”

- Parker stans the skip into button to get to the third episode faster.

- Jack looked around the living room again at the women that have made themselves at home on his couch, apparently for the rest of the day from the look of it.

- “Walsh, I’m goin’ to need you to find a man soon.” His eyes strayed back to the tv, scowling. Em turned to scowl “why?” Still staring at the tv Jack forced himself to turn to leave “because otherwise people are gonna get the wrong fucking idea” he leaned down to kiss Sam “I’m going to bed. Love you”

- He was halfway down the hall towards the bedroom when the girls all erupted in laughter. Finally catching on to his joke.

~~~~~

This one was a fun way to start my day! 🤣 thank you so much. You may have noticed, I skipped the “show and tell” portion of your request… because it got a mind of its own and so a tiny little fic it shall be! I’m sorry please don’t be mad lol

As always be sure to see my master list for other fics and blurbs for this universe!! 💚

[imaginedreamwrite]

Soft dark John Price

He commands his own criminal enterprise, similar to Simon

Instead of Gaz being a hitman, I raise you: he’s Price’s second in command

Price’s reader has a little sister. Their parents died and she assumed full custody.

The little sister drops one of her hairbows and John picks it up

Or if the sister is a little older, she could have been trying to pick pocket John🤣

When reader locks eyes with price, yea he was doomed to be obsessed from the start

An alternative option for this Gaz where he’s Price’s right hand man? I like it!

“I know this is really difficult, I know you’re struggling and I’m sorry. Han, I’m so sorry-” he runs his finger along the silky hair bow in his hands while he listens to the conversation taking place only feet from him.

John was an observant man, and he was even better at reading people. Hell, that is partially why he had such a strong hold on this city, on these counties, because he was smart and observant. When he had first seen the little girl, no older than 5 years old wearing a school uniform heading toward the Tube, he was puzzled.

Until he saw a similarly looking woman trailing after the little girl carrying a backpack, keys, water bottle, jacket the girl didn’t want to wear, and an umbrella. John wondered if maybe the little girl was this woman’s daughter but no—this woman was too young.

He followed them to the Tube, streaming in through the flow of traffic, watching the girl skipping ahead. Every step she took, the woman took, only she struggled to take everything. And then, as the crowd started to dissipate, John saw them stop.

The little girl was upset, huddled by the wall because she lost on one her favourite hairbows. She needed the hairbow, it was her first day of kindergarten, she needed to look pretty for her first day.

The hairbow that John had picked up off the ground, belonged to her.

“Han, I’m trying my best, mom and dad are gone, and I’m-” John watched you both, observing you as you spoke with your sister.

“Y’alright love?” John approached the quiet corner you were both in, stopping a few feet away. “Noticed it on the ground, thought she might need it.”

You turned your head in his direction, looking up at him while crouched before your sister. She was fussing over the backpack, one that looked like it had seen better days, trying to get the straps right. You were trying to balance everything in your arms and deal with your sister, of which you clearly had guardianship over.

“My bow!” Your sister, John assumed her name was Hannah, had exclaimed with excitement as she reached for the bow and secured it back above one of her pigtails.

“Hannah that was rude.” You scolded her and sighed, slowly standing again, finding your balance while she adjusted the bow’s position. “Thank you.”

When you thanked John in your sister’s place, he smiled small and cordially. Externally he was a picture of a sophisticated and well dressed man, you’d of thought he was a business man, and he was of sorts—just not how one would imagine.

“No problem, love.” He slips a hand into his pocket, reaching for his phone while the rests on his hip. “First day of school, nervous?”

“I’m in kindergarten at St. Catherine’s!” Your sister had no concept of danger, no understanding of how telling someone that information could be harmful.

“Han, we talked about this,” but once again, you were right on top of it, “you can’t tell people where you go to school because-”

“-stranger danger. Sorry, I forget.” The little girl frowned and scuffed her shoe against the ground, kicking a small stone away.

“Lot of dangerous people out there,” John removed his phone and began typing on his phone, sending a message to his second in command to find out as much about you as possible.

“Are you a bad person, mister?” She asked innocently, a till of her head and her innocent eyes drawing a natural chuckle from John.

“Hannah! We don’t ask questions like that!” You scold her again, gently yet firmly, and take her hand once the train you’re waiting for arrives.

“Depends on who you ask, eh?” John grins and winks at your sister, making the young girl giggle regardless of the caution you feel for John Price.

“This is our train, Han. We have to go.” You gather your things once more, playing a balancing act while trying to keep track of Hannah. “Thanks for finding the bow-“

“John Price,” he flashes you one of those smiles that can disarm almost anyone, waiting for one pivotal moment in this conversation, “and you are-”

“Y/N L/N!” Your sister chirps up, giving him exactly what he needs. “By mister!”

Your sister tugs on your hand and you follow quickly, taking off after her. John waits until you’re on the train, until the doors shut, and then he finishes his message to Gaz.

Find everything you can about these two, I want all records. No one touches them, if they do it’ll be their death warrant

John always wanted a family of his own, and he knows he’d be a damn good step daddy for your sister.

And he’s sure your sister will be over the moon to have a baby brother or sister on the way.

[francoise333]

Boudoir session in Madrid

Thank you to all my followers .

In a few days i will stop all activity on social medias for an unknown period of time .It was a lot of fun but it’s time to unplug from the virtual world and start to explore new horizons. I will switch to backpack ,walking shoes and compass and sailing i hope so no room for high heels lingerie and make up 🤣.This is my last posting for now and sorry if i do not answer your comments anymore.

To all my sisters and consoeurs , love and admiration 💝

Be a good gurl !

Françoise 💋💋💋