#their outfits are so good like hello???????

[ak4e7a]

𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦 (𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞) - 𝐩𝐬𝐡

𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧 / '𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲'𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦

synopsis: you were never one to take the high road... until you met someone who made your body burn like rubber on asphalt.

street racer! hoon x street racer!maneater! reader

wc: 16.9k holy fuck honestly this hoe might be a 3-parter lowk

a/n: hi sorry i disappeared... but enjoy LOL and happy one year to my blog! i met so many cool people over this past year. reblogs are appreciated and i will astral project into your room and hug you ≽ܫ≼

banner by @karinasbaby i love you this one's for you big dawg. year in the making, let's go

“Didn’t think you were going to grace us with your presence tonight, Miss Probation,” Jaeyun smirks as you get out of your car, swinging both of your legs out closed like a lady so as to not flash anyone with the black miniskirt you’re wearing. He greets you with an air-kiss to your cheek, to which you roll your eyes—although you bask in the way the other girls stare at the two of you. If only they knew how annoying your best friend actually was.

“It’s Jungwonie’s turn to race for us, so who am I to deprive my brother and the team of our good luck charm? We need all the luck we can get tonight,” you reply, taking a seat on the hood of your baby pink Supra. “We’re on a good win streak. Might even take this season’s cup without me.”

The other racers from different teams have started to arrive, many of them making their way over to say hello to you. You give your girls—Jimin, who races for Razor; Aeri, the beloved race girl; and Soyeon, a member of the AZ team—air-kisses from across the parking lot. You aren’t feeling like walking over to the groups they’re mingling with. (And because you don’t feel like being near Hwang Hyunjin right now.)

“Fair enough,” he acquiesces, sitting beside you when you pat the spot next to him. “But you know, Wonie is better than you think—”

“Hey, you never let me sit on your car,” Wonbin says, striding over to you with a smirk. You glance up at him, and he looks like he’s expecting you to either push Jaeyun off or scoot over yourself—either way, he wants a turn.

Basically everyone in your little racing scene does, but you think it’s more fun to work them like dogs than to give in to anyone. Especially not after what happened with— “You’re not even in Enigma, Wonbin. Privilege is for teammates only, get lost,” Jaeyun says condescendingly.

He looks at you again, like an expectant puppy—which only works if it’s Jaeyun doing it to you— waiting for you to reach into your purse. You sigh and reach in and feel around for a particular wrapper. “Here. Go away.”

The Australian snickers as Wonbin walks away dejectedly. “The grandma coffee candy, huh?”

“He was too cocky, that's all he deserves tonight. Even if he’s cute. He’s lucky I gave him anything at all.”

“What about me? I’m cuter,” Jaeyun asks, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear with his signature cheeky grin, batting his eyelashes at you the way you do to him. You’re used to flirting with him; it’s more of a way to keep both your skills and his sharp than anything romantic or suggestive. After all, you grew up with Jaeyun, and you know all his embarrassing secrets just like he knows yours. One time in high school, the two of you fake-dated for a week to get some girl too obsessed with him for her own good to leave him alone. It’s safe to say she didn’t buy it, not one bit. You and him bickered too much for it to be believable, and you accidentally screamed when he kissed you on the forehead. 

“Hmm…” Playfully, you pretend to be deep in thought, hand digging in your purse again. “Here.”

His face lights up in innocent delight, a huge contrast to his outfit of baggy cargo pants, oversized hoodie, and sneakers, complete with a thick, iced-out Cuban-link chain around his neck. “Ooh, yum! Grape Hi-Chew!”

You roll your eyes. “I only carry that for you, loser. Everyone knows the mango one is the best.”

“You just say that because grape was—”

“Hey, Y/N! Nice wrap,” Riki says, waving his long arms at you like he’s drowning. The tall, newly-turned 21-year-old bounds towards you before tackling you in a hug that sends you almost crashing into the ground, your hands flying to tug the hem of your skirt down lest your protective younger brother scold you about not dressing for the weather. It’s a cold spring night, as proven by Riki who’s in a loose, knitted navy blue sweater and destroyed light wash jeans.

“Jeez, Riki, I just saw you yesterday, no need to suffocate me,” you grumble affectionately, reaching up to muss his black-and-silver hair before sitting back down on the hood of your car. You’ve been fond of the boy since Jungwon brought him over one day, his first new friend since losing his best friend (and one of yours, honestly) in a betrayal that still hurts to speak of to this day. Riki clings onto you like you’re his older sister, too, and you reckon it probably has something to do with missing his own sister back home. “You saw me finish the wrap on the car, too, remember? Jimin and Soyeon were there.”

“Yeah, yeah, but it looks good even at night! Very professional. Maybe you can wrap the GTR next?” he says, to which you side-eye him, and he adds, “I can pay you.”

“You can pay for my meals every time we go out to eat for the next three months and I’ll call it even.”

He laughs. “Okay, deal. You eat less than Jungwon hyung, anyways.”

“Why are you talking shit about me to my sister again, freak?” your younger brother demands, making his way up to the small crowd that’s starting to form around you, Riki, and Jaeyun. He looks taller today, you think to yourself, and when he comes into full view, you see that he’s riding on the back of an unfamiliar person, a tall man with a sharp jawline and a pretty nose, whose bangs droop over his eyes. He’s wearing a white tank top and jeans, with a black and blue leather racing jacket covering his torso from the chilly Seoul air. 

“Well, did I fucking lie?” Riki snaps back, arms crossed. You hide your laugh in the crook of your arm, eyes locking with the man who’s got your brother draped over his broad shoulders like a backpack. He looks at you intensely, in a way that makes you feel like he’s got x-ray vision or something. You feel like your insides are turning into lava. What’s his deal?

“Whatever, cricket legs.” Jungwon jumps off the man’s back, shaking his hair out of his eyes. You notice that he’s yet again stolen one of your oversized hoodies. “Oh, hyung! This is my sister, by the way. Noona, this is Sunghoon hyung. He’s joining Enigma.”

He’s cute, pretty, even, and you like that. You’ve always preferred pretty boys. And up until about five seconds ago, you would have said that—even though your ex-boyfriend is a cheating bastard who deserves nothing but suffering—he was still the prettiest man you’ve come across. 

But this one, this one in front of you right now, this one takes the cake. He’s got full, thick brows that frame dark almond eyes, and his cheekbones flow into his jawline in a way that makes you think his face has probably stopped traffic at least once in his life. Before you stare at him for way too long, you reach into your purse and pull out one of your mango-flavored Hi-Chews (from your personal stash) to give him. 

“Hi, Sunghoon. Nice to meet you. Welcome to Enigma.”

He repeats his own version of your greeting a bit too curtly for your liking, but you don’t care either way, he’ll be under your thumb in no time, just like everyone else, just the way you like. Rolling the wrapped cube in his hand, he asks, “What’s this for?”

To which you reply, “Oh, nothing. I just like candy.”

“I feel like ‘like’ is an understatement,” Riki snorts, sticking his hand in your purse for something he can snack on. You sigh and hand him your purse for him to rummage around more freely. 

Sunghoon raises an eyebrow at that, but turns to you anyways. “Do you race, too? I don’t want to assume or anything.”

You give him a coy smile, translucent bubblegum-pink-manicured fingernails clicking against the hood of your car as you drum your fingers against it. “Yeah, I do. I’m banned from racing right now, though, until the end of the season at least.”

He cocks his head like a curious puppy, blinking slowly at you. Oh, no. He’s cute and probably doesn’t know it, but he’s definitely dressed like he knows he’s hot. “Why’s that?”

Your smile turns into a smug smirk as you answer, “Because I go too fast.”

“Fourth-gen Supra,” he muses, glancing between your bare legs at the titanium Toyota emblem on the hood that you’d had imported from Japan. For some reason, you have to resist the urge to squeeze your thighs together. “Cute.”

“Oh? And what’s your ride?”

“Beamer M8 Comp,” Sunghoon says, an air of nonchalance about the answer like it’s nothing special. It kind of pisses you off. You’re pretty certain he didn’t win that car by racing for the pink slip like you did with your Supra. Before you got that car, Jungwon’s 350Z was yours, and you’d only had it because you salvaged it from a junkyard and rebuilt the whole damn thing yourself when you weren’t working or sleeping.

If there’s one thing you might hate more in this life than cheaters, it’s people who come from money, people who didn’t understand or couldn’t comprehend that they were playing life on easy mode. People who never had to suffer, because, to you, they never learned anything.

Sure, you had a hard life. Sure, your parents kicked you and Jungwon to the curb when the both of you refused to take over the family business. Sure, you worked hundreds or, more likely, thousands of hours just to make ends meet and take care of your brother while the two of you finished school. Sure, you wished you could have enjoyed your youth more instead of having to worry about money.

But instead, you had to pay the price for your freedom. Part of you still wonders if it was all worth it. If you should have stayed in your hometown. If you should have just went along with the arranged marriage your parents were proposing with someone you didn’t even know instead of running away with your ex and dragging Jungwon to hell with you.

Okay, maybe it really pisses you off. 

“Ooh, rich boy,” you deadpan, your long nails preventing you from balling your hands into fists. You deny him the pleasure of seeing you roll your eyes back into your head. “Daddy must have spent a lot on you.”

“That’s not very welcoming to say,” he shoots back, although his voice is just as flat, his eyes narrowed at you.

You pout mockingly at him. “I’m just teasing our newest member—don’t worry, silver spoon. It’ll be over for you sooner if you decide to quit while you’re ahead.”

“You scared you won’t be the best racer on the team anymore or something, princess?”

“Just wait for me to get off probation and I’ll make you eat my brake dust, Daddy’s Money.”

“You’re already calling me daddy, even though we just met? Because it was my money that bought the car, for the record.”

You’re a little embarrassed and also slightly turned on, neither of which you would ever admit to even Jaeyun, and he knows you just about as well as he knows every single Fortnite map. “Tell someone who cares.”

The back-and-forth between the two of you is thankfully cut short as everyone hears the roar of a particular engine, marking the arrival of Enigma’s leader. You could just kiss him for his impeccable timing—if it weren’t for the fact that neither of you saw each other that way. You reckon both of you would rather eat a jean jacket than get more intimate than the platonic skinship that marks your friendship with him and the other Enigma boys.

People move aside as he puts the metallic, slime green Lamborghini Huracan in reverse and backs up into the parking spot next to you. The ostentatious exotic car belonging to Jay was gifted to him by one of his first clients, a filthy rich businessman who respected and admired Jay’s hard work and dedication to his job despite Jay being a corporate grunt in those days. During this period in your lives, Jay never once showed up late to a meeting with Mr. Big—even when his old Mitsubishi Lancer finally gave up on him after years of being pushed to its limit, even if it meant he had to wake up at three in the morning to start walking from his old apartment in Ahyeon-dong to Gangnam to make the scheduled 6 AM meetings—since the subways unfortunately didn’t operate until 5:30.

After Old Moneybags found out about Jay’s struggle, it was safe to say your best friend wasn’t on hard times for very long after that.

“Jay!” you call out, playing up your role as the only girl in Enigma just to assert dominance over the racer groupies in attendance tonight. You haven’t seen him since the last race, on account of the both of you being too busy with your work schedules to hang out properly. You immediately nudge past everyone—including Sunghoon, who you intentionally brush up against, your ass against his leg—to be the first to greet him.

“Hey, sweets, missed you,” he says, pulling you into a hug. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah, been just fine. You know me, I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself,” you assure him with a smile. He pinches your cheek. “What about you?”

“Oh, same shit, different day. Hoping I finally clutch this huge promotion at work. Head of an entire department,” he answers, protective hand on your waist as he guides you back to the rest of the Enigma boys. Along the way, he daps up some of the other racers who say hi to him, before giving Sunghoon, Jungwon, and Riki a dap and that weird side hug that guys who are close friends do. “Have you met Sunghoon yet?”

“Yeah, I have.” Your lips form into a slight pout, even though you know everyone but Riki is immune to your occasional petulance. “No one told me we were getting a new member. I thought we agreed to vote if it ever happened again? And… I thought it was never going to happen again?”

“You weren’t answering your phone when we voted, so Riki and Wonie took your vote,” Jaeyun snickers, shaking Jay’s hand and giving him the one-armed, “definitely not gay, bro” hug. “Think you had the group chat muted again.”

“Well, that was for good reason,” you argue crossly. While you loved your boys, that didn’t stop them from getting on your nerves at least once a day. “I was mad at you guys for not wanting to go get milk tea with me. And then you got it without me, clearly.”

“Didn’t we bring you some that night, though?” Jay retorts, ever the level-headed one when his temper wasn’t getting the best of him.

“Yeah… but I wanted to come! We live in the same building, for fuck’s sake!”

“It was a boys’ night, silly. Are you a boy?” Jaeyun pats your head and you swat his hand away, grumbling under your breath at him to not to touch you and to fuck off. 

Your attention veers to Jungwon as he turns to Sunghoon, who’s standing with his arms crossed, watching you bicker with the boys from a distance. “Don’t mind her, she’s always like this. You ready to race?”

“Always like what, Yang Jungwon?” you ask mirthlessly, hands on your hips.

“A brat!” Jaeyun and Jay answer on his behalf, tugging you away so as to allow the racers on tonight’s card to drive up to the starting line, and everyone else can get behind them.

That’s how your scene’s races have worked since you were tasked with changing the rules two years ago; two drivers from each team participating would race, while the others would drive behind them as pace cars. They would also be ready to distract the police at a moment’s notice and keep the roads clear of civillians. It was as ethical as you could make it, and, honestly, it worked and kept everyone safe.

On this night, you’ve been roped into Jaeyun’s metallic blue Mustang Shelby GT500, with glimmering white racing stripes you added on yourself, huffing and muttering to yourself about how the boys were being “mean” to you in front of Sunghoon to try and impress him. Jay has gone ahead to wait at the finish line. He’d refused—again—to not “put the Huracan anywhere near any of these morons with driver’s licenses,” and so he’s there to note down the order in which the racers arrive, armed with several precisely-calibrated stopwatches. 

You yourself have refused to ride with any other driver even though many of them offered to bring you along as their “passenger princess”. You will only ever ride with one of your boys. Riki is in his blacked out R35 Nissan GT-R, the other seats occupied with the life-sized plastic skeletons that he “borrowed” from his school’s anatomy lab. He’s cruising beside Jungwon, and behind you and Jaeyun; Sunghoon is in his own car beside you two.

“How’d you even meet that guy, anyways?” you groan to your best friend, trying to shield your eyes with the way Riki’s obnoxiously bright, blue underglow on his car is blinding you in your side mirror. Your hand dangles out of the open window, fingertips tapping idly on the outside of the door. “He’s so unfriendly.”

“Actually, he’s pretty cool when you get to know him. Riki and I met him at the gym a few weeks ago. He asked if one of us could spot him on the bench press—for three plates, that’s fucking sick! But, uh, yeah. We started working out together after that.”

You scoff. “Oh, great. Another meathead like you two.”

“Y/N, that’s not nice,” Jaeyun chides, glancing at you with the same affection of an older brother, even though you’re both 24 years old. “You’re not being very nice tonight.”

“Well, neither is he. He’s just some spoiled little rich boy who thinks he’s better than everyone.”

“Um… so am I, honestly… and so is Riki, honestly, but you don’t say anything about that, do you?”

You begin to reply, but you frown as Sunghoon speeds past the two of you in his pearly black BMW M8 Competition, the exhaust pipes screaming bloody murder, heading for the starting line just a hundred feet ahead. “Did he hear me say that about him?”

“Most likely.”

“Fuck.”

Part of you wants to apologize; maybe you’re being a little harsh on him, maybe you’re projecting your feelings towards this guy just because he reminds you of a certain someone, maybe you need to finally come to terms with what you’ve been denying for all these years.

Jaeyun pulls up to his spot behind the racers, right between Riki’s GT-R and Jungwon’s 350Z. You signal to the Nissan Boys, as you affectionately call your little brothers, to put their seatbelts on. They both pretend to sigh begrudgingly as they buckle themselves in.

The race girl is your good friend, Aeri, who every guy in your racing division is also obsessed with. Between the two of you, you think that she’s the truly adored one, because she is still as sweet as the day you met her—and you have an inclination to terrorize anyone of the opposite sex who rubs you the wrong way (due to your past). You can’t help it though, and, surprisingly, none of the boys who fall at your feet fault you for it.

But no one ever seemed to feel the need to prove you wrong, either, and that was your problem with them.

Aeri stands in between the middle two drivers, reaching under her top to unclip her bra. You take this as your cue to pull out the megaphone from where it sits waiting at your feet. Leaning out of the window, you announce, “First one to the base of Namsan Mountain wins! I expect a clean race, no funny business. Take no shit, but do no harm!”

“Isn’t that backwards?” Jaeyun whispers to you. You wave him off. He’s right, but you’re trying to emphasize your point about not dragging any innocent people into the racers’ mess.

You continue.“Tonight’s winner will receive the cash prize from me, personally, at a later time. Are we clear?”

A chorus of revved engines gives you your answer. “Alright. Aeri, count us down?”

She nods, pulling out her bra from her top and holding it up in the air. “‘Kay! You guys will go on 1! Ready? 3… 2… 1!” At the final number, she lets the hot pink satin garment drop to the ground, and everyone guns it, driving off in a flurry of exhaust smoke and burnt rubber.

“How much was the buy-in tonight, sweetie?” Jaeyun asks, using his own form of the sugar-derived nickname for you.

“Five million won apiece,” you answer. You scroll through Yun’s phone and play a song on his obnoxiously overpriced sound system. You’ve been joking to your friends that you’re in your “girl Future” era, citing your borderline toxic behavior towards the other racers who constantly slide in your DMs as proof that you’re literally the female version of the rapper. It doesn’t help that your coworker, Minjeong (who is also your self-appointed “work wife”), encourages you to torment men.

“‘I Serve the Base’? Really?” he snorts, leaning back in his seat. “You’re in a mood tonight, huh?”

“I dunno, it just fits the vibe,” you shrug. “Just quit yapping and drive, please.”

“Like I said, a mood.”

You sigh and physically turn away from him like a petulant girlfriend would—knees pointing towards the door and all—and stare out of the passenger window at the cars in front of you. You watch as Wonbin and Hyunjin duke it out on the road, trying to put each other in last place. The way they’re maneuvering their cars makes you a little uncomfortable, but also annoyed that they clearly didn’t listen to a word you said not two minutes ago. “Yunie, flash your high beams at them.”

“Say please.”

You look at him in confusion. Where’d he learn to say that?

“Sorry, Sunghoon does that to Riki and Jungwonie all the time.”

Yikes. Part of you hopes he doesn’t do it to girls, too… but you wouldn’t mind it if he were to do it to you. It’s high time someone really makes an effort to put you in your place, honestly. You reach behind you, to the back seat and grab the laptop you took from Riki, opening it up and typing furiously.

“What are you doing?”

“Accessing the street cameras,” you answer like it’s obvious. Being nefariously good at using the Internet was a perk that came with hanging out with your brother way too much. “I want to see what’s going on.”

“Well? Give me the rundown, then.”

“Jungwonie is in third place, it looks like. He’s gapped Hyunjin in front of us by at least a kilometer… and he’s approaching San and Wooyoung real quick. But—fuck, wait.” You click through a bunch of tabs, scanning the screen faster than when you’re reading twenty-six text message screenshots that Aeri sent you to dissect. “I can’t find Sunghoon anywhere.”

“What? What do you mean you can’t find him? Did he get pulled over or something?” he asks, lowering the volume of his speakers using the button on his steering wheel, eyes still trained on the road in front of him. He flashes his lights again, this time at just Wonbin to pick up the pace, urging him to pass Riki—who now has his underglow set to a stealthy dark red—up ahead.

“No… just… wait, give me a sec… oh, holy fuck.” You click through the camera footage, rewinding it and slowing down the playback. “Oh, my God.”

“Jesus Christ, what is it? You can’t just cliffhanger me like that!”

“I can’t see him because his lights are off.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I think he has a mod on his car—you literally can’t see him unless he drives under a streetlight.”

“Wait, that’s what Riki imported for him?!”

“What the—oh shut the fuck up, it was me who imported that light system! That fucker said it was for a friend when I asked him why he was buying new bulbs, ‘cause I knew he just got those halo LEDs!” You take a deep breath before sticking your hand in the pocket of Jaeyun’s pants.

“Yo! I thought we agreed not to fuck in the car! And especially not while I’m driving—but I guess I shouldn’t turn down some road head…”

“God, shut up, you perv! I need to get your phone and call Sunghoon!” you cry out. “He needs to turn his lights on, what if he gets hit by someone?!”

Jaeyun laughs. He laughs. At your misery, or your panic, or at you. “So you do like him.”

“Shut the fuck up, seriously, Yun, I just don’t want anyone getting hurt. We’re already on thin ice with the cops as it is!”

“Shoutout San, though,” he chuckles, shifting gears so he can close the gap between him and Wonbin, who is starting to approach Hyunjin again. 

Your friend Choi San, also a racer on the AZ team, is from a family of high-ranking Seoul Police Department officials; he’d gotten pretty much everyone off the hook more than once for various traffic violations. You keep a stash of mint chocolates in your purse for whenever he’s around—even if they remind you of your ex-best friend—as your way of thanking him for keeping everyone’s records clean. It also helps that he absolutely loves your attention. 

“You’re so annoying, Sim Jaeyun. Let me call Sunghoon, seriously.”

“Dude, chill, look at the cams again. The gap between everyone is getting smaller.”

You check the laptop screen again, and he’s right. You see Jungwon overtake both San and Wooyoung, and while you’re still holding your breath in worry over your baby brother, another part of your heart soars with pride at how good he’s gotten. You’d like to think that he got his driving skills from you, even though it was your stupid prick of an ex-boyfriend who first put him behind the wheel of a car.

But when you look up, you notice that Jaeyun is distracted trying to change the song playing on his phone. And there’s a sharp turn coming up ahead. You feel sick, adrenaline immediately rushing through your bloodstream.

Instead of screaming nonsense, you slam the laptop shut, tossing it on the floor and practically crawling across the center console to grab the wheel with one hand and the e-brake with the other. You drive your knee into Jaeyun’s leg to floor the accelerator, and at the same time, you deploy the e-brake and turn the steering wheel hard. The car drifts around the turn with ease, thanks to him immediately springing into action, tossing his phone somewhere in the cupholders and countersteering as he shifts gears.

“Pay attention next time,” you mutter in annoyance, as if the two of you almost crashing was a slight inconvenience and nothing more.

“Sorry, Mommy,” he snorts, downshifting back to his cruising speed. You give him the middle finger as you watch the cars change formation in front of you. Hyunjin cuts off Wooyoung at the junction between two roads, and Wooyoung swerves in the opposite direction to avoid hitting San to his left. Wonbin approaches from behind San, flashing his lights, trying to get one of them to move over, but they both downshift, forcing Wonbin to brake, fall back, and move over to try and find another opening.

And then it happens.

You hear a distinct 8-liter engine roaring furiously somewhere in the vicinity, but you see nothing. You think for a second that it could be the sound of a police helicopter overhead, but you doubt it, not if San tipped off his family that there would be a race tonight, and he always does, because you remind him to do it. You think that he pretends to forget just so you’re forced to text him and he’ll have an excuse to talk to you, but you don’t really care because he’s sweet and always earns himself the best of your candy stash—although you’ll reluctantly admit that Sunghoon has been the first to get the candy that you carry for yourself. 

Because you’re not allowed to smoke inside Jaeyun’s car, you unwrap another mango Hi-Chew and wonder if Sunghoon would taste like you if you kissed him. Sure, you don’t like him all that much so far, but he’s hot, so maybe you could just hook up with him and dip—

Oh, who are you kidding? You haven’t slept with anyone since your ex, even though everyone thinks otherwise. You’ve made out with San and Hyunjin a few times, much to the amusement of Jaeyun and Jay, but you never let it get past that. You just go home and use your vibrator to finish the job. Sex is too intimate, feels too much like baring your soul to someone else and you don’t want anyone to get too close like that any time soon.

Too close, too close, too close just like the sound of that engine, and it snaps you out of your thoughts. Sunghoon finally turns his lights on, and reveals his location for everyone to see. He’s at the front, way ahead of even Jungwon, who is currently trying to keep Hyunjin off his tail.

No one but Sunghoon ever had a chance to win.

The race ends before you can truly even register this fact, and everyone parks at the base of Namsan Mountain to congratulate the winner, who seems insanely put-off by all the attention.

“Jay,” you say, approaching the Huracan driver quietly, your shoes crunching the gravel beneath you.

He looks up from his phone at you, jawline illuminated by the screen. The way he slightly tilts his phone away from you signals that he’s texting Aeri. You laugh inwardly; he doesn’t know that you know about them secretly hooking up. “Mm?”

“What was Sunghoon’s time?” you ask. Your bottom lip is tucked under your teeth, and you don’t even realize how hard you’re biting down.

“Eight minutes, twenty three seconds.”

You gulp. Like actually, visibly gulp, as if you’re swallowing a hard-boiled egg whole like some cartoon character. “Oh. That’s—”

“Almost a whole minute faster than your record. He told me he took a detour somewhere at the halfway point.”

“He’s good,” you admit. “Just like—”

Jay interrupts you again, pocketing his phone. “Don’t say his name, sweets. They’re nothing alike.”

You turn to him, eyes searching for answers. He simply puts a hand on your shoulder before pulling you into the hug he knows you need right now. “It’s been two years,” you mutter into the fibers of his cashmere sweater, hoping that the knit is dense enough that it drowns out the sound of your voice. “Why do I still bring him up?”

“He was a big part of your life. And ours, too. It’s okay. You’re going to have to accept that none of it was your fault eventually.”

“And stop taking it out on anyone else that comes after him, huh?”

Jay pats you on the back. “Bingo.”

“Wait, no one ever gave me a real answer, but why do Jaeyun and Riki live together? And Jay and Jungwonie?” Sunghoon asks. He’s sitting across from you in the former pair’s living room, letting your younger brother lean against him as the alcohol takes over Jungwon’s weak tolerance.

You raise your glass like it’s an extension of your hand, leaning against the bottom of Jay’s leather couch where you sit beside him. “That was my idea, when I was moving out of my old apartment. I lived there with my ex, until I kicked him out. When my lease was ending, all of us decided to move to a new building—this one—and I figured that each of the two young ones should have a hyung to look after them. But also, I didn’t want anyone living with me.”

The last part leaves everyone silent, and you laugh, adding, “Why do you guys look surprised? I told you that when we were signing our leases.”

Sunghoon looks at Riki to his right, who is trying to make a soju bomb with more soju and less beer, and then across from Riki at Jaeyun, who is egging him on to just drink straight from the soju bottle, and back at Riki, who listens to the Australian intently, like he’s some sort of genius. “Are you sure that was a good idea?”

You wave him off. “Oh, yeah. They’re just off the clock right now. You know, can’t be serious all the time.” Oops, another dig at him.

Your phone chimes with notification after notification, and it’s not just updates from Candy Crush. It’s text messages, and not the good kind from Aeri or Soyeon telling you which racer they’ve gone home with tonight.

Before you can silence your phone, though, Jaeyun, who’s on your other side, picks up your phone, laughing exaggeratedly as he waves your glowing screen in the air. “Guys, look! I told you it was gonna happen!”

“What?” Sunghoon asks, eyebrows knitted together in confusion. You shake your head at him and mouth the words “don’t listen to him”.

But then Jay starts cackling, catching your phone over your head when Jaeyun throws it to him in order to read the messages out loud. You don’t even bother fighting their teasing anymore; in fact, you’re a little excited, because you know your boys are about to go in on whoever’s hitting you up. “Okay, let’s see what we’ve got here! From Wonbin: ‘it was nice seeing you tonight, do you want to hang out this week?’”

“Ewww, gross,” Jaeyun groans with a mouthful of fries. “He was literally trying to sit on the Supra when Y/N pulled up!”

His revelation is met with a chorus of laughs and jeers as your boys mock Wonbin for his transgression, for being so stupid and arrogant to think that you would have just given him a free pass. After all, that car is your baby. You suffered a lot for it, and not just anyone could come up and touch it. In fact, one time, Jungwon was banned from riding in your car for a month because he got his fingerprints on your side mirrors.

“Did San-hyung text noona?” Riki’s nosy ass asks, running up behind the couch and diving onto it to look over Jay’s shoulder. Jay pushes his head away. “Oh, shit, he did!”

Jungwon sighs, slumping further even against Sunghoon. “God, just read it and put me out of my misery. He’s so down bad for her, it’s disgusting.”

Jaeyun giggles, and kicks his sock-covered feet like a schoolgirl. “He’s probably gonna ask her on another date and make her bike along the Han River again.”

This makes you choke on your drink, and it almost comes out of your nose. “Hey, I thought we we agreed not to bring that up.”

“It’s not every day I open my Instagram and see your stupid ass fighting for your life getting hard-launched on his story,” he snorts. “Watching you trying to ride that bike gave me second-hand embarrassment.”

“Yeah, it’s like he didn’t even care that you looked stupid, he was really trying to let everyone know that he was out with you,” Jay adds. “Way to keep it lowkey, or whatever.” Your face burns hot with embarrassment as you realize that Yunie has taken out his own phone to pull up the screen recording of San’s Instagram story to show Sunghoon. Now you actually want to smack the phone out of his hand, but you figure it’s fine, you don’t care if he sees you like that. It shouldn’t matter, he’s just one of the guys now. He could join in the teasing for all you care.

Right?

“Yo, hold the fuck up, Y/N, I thought you and Hyunjin were done?” Jay says, scrolling through your notifications.

Your eyes flick up to Sunghoon, who is currently trying to busy himself with separating the perilla leaves—that no one has so much as breathed in the direction of tonight—as he seems to not pay attention to the video, or to what Jay is saying. Either that, or he really doesn’t find it funny. “Put it away, Yunie,” he says quietly, one hand gently pushing back Jaeyun’s phone towards him. “That’s too much. You’re embarrassing her.”

“I thought so, too,” you sigh at Jay, trying not to acknowledge the fact that Sunghoon may or may not have just stood up for you against your best friend. “He ignored my texts for, like, four days, and you guys know how much I absolutely hate that. I know I lag, too, but never that long. At least I’d tell you that I’m busy or whatever. Fuck’s sake.”

“What did Hyunjin hyung say?” Jungwon mumbles. He’s now using Sunghoon’s lap as a pillow, and the sight makes you feel a little soft. You love your younger brother to bits and pieces, and seeing him like this reminds you of the times he’d come home really tired from school and fall asleep at your dining table while you prepared dinner for the two of you. You often yearn for that period in your life, when things were much simpler and the only thing you were sad about was missing your family.

Now you have a new family, but another part of your heart is broken, and time hasn’t healed it—at least, not completely.

“He’s asking if she’s busy this week,” Riki answers. Part of you wants to drag him by the hair and put him on a one-way flight back to Japan. “Oh, Jay hyung is checking her calendar. Yikes, hyung… You’re still pushing that agenda?”

“What agenda?” Sunghoon pipes up after gulping down the last of his beer, his lips glossy from the liquor.

“Oh, he just thinks they’d be cute together,” the freakishly tall boy rambles, making a gesture out of Jay’s line of sight that signals to Sunghoon that Jay is crazy. The alcohol has made you basically nonverbal at this point, and you just let Riki explain your lore to the hot new member of your racing crew. Hopefully Sunghoon doesn’t remember any of it in the morning.“It’s kind of about time that noona gets a new boyfriend. Personally, though, me and Yunie-hyung are on Team San.”

“Isn’t that up to her though?” Sunghoon muses. “Like, why does it matter if she’s single or dating around?”

“Because she’s not that type of person who actually can do anything casual,” Jaeyun interjects, putting a hand over Riki’s mouth, only to pull away in disgust when Riki licks his palm. He wipes the drool off on Jay’s arm. “She just does it because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone who isn’t us. So it’s a vicious cycle. She says she’s healing, but she can’t fully heal the part of her that was wounded because she needs to be in a relationship with someone who will be patient with her and prove her wrong. Someone who will help her finally get over… him.”

“I figured, from what you told me before,” Sunghoon says quietly to your supposed best friend. He’s not really being much of a best friend now, you think, even though everything he’s said is both correct and true.

This piques your interest. Your index finger circles around the rim of the open bottle of soju that you’d confiscated from Riki. “What do you know?”

“Ey, Hoon, watch what you say, I don’t want her throwing her drink at me!”

You roll your eyes and look back at Sunghoon. “Don’t listen to him. Tell me what Jaeyunie told you, and I’ll decide if I throw it at him or not.”

“Well—”

“Hey, sorry to interrupt,” Jay says, setting down his now-empty glass of beer with a smug, victorious grin. “Well, actually, I’m not, but I texted Hyunjin back and said you’d meet him at that new fancy Italian restaurant in Gangnam on Wednesday at 7. And before you say anything, yes, you’re free that day. I checked your calendar and your emails.”

You flaked on your date with Hyunjin. To teach him a lesson, of course.

But you do start seeing more and more of Park Sunghoon as the weeks pass, what with him being a full-fledged, initiated member of Enigma now. And you hate to admit it, but he’s starting to grow on you, even though you still think he’s kind of stoic—mostly towards you. You can tell he’s softening a bit, though.

Because, truth be told, you’ve also observed him to be honest and kind and genuine, the latter the rarest thing you see amongst the racers involved in your second life who throw themselves at you like moths to a flame. He’s sincere, but he also doesn’t mince his words, so you have no choice but to take them at face value. You like watching him get along with the other boys in your life, the only ones you truly love, the ones who have done nothing but love you like a family could and couldn’t.

Riki, for one, loves to pester Sunghoon when he’s around and makes you sit and keep score for them while they play table tennis in the game room of your apartment complex. They’re both extremely competitive, and you think to yourself that Sunghoon is such a good sport even when Riki’s elaborate, well-choreographed victory dance gets too annoying even for you to tolerate. You’re pretty sure he adds a new move every single time he does it.

They go to the gym on days where Riki’s done with class early enough to beat rush-hour, and they bring you along for dinner afterwards if you feel like coming. Riki’s now got a debt to pay to you, on account of you wrapping his GT-R in a metallic oil-slick color. You and Sunghoon chose it together, because no one else was replying to you in the group chat. Sunghoon even helped you install it, if helping you meant feeding you dumplings from a takeout container because your hands were full with the heat gun in one and a felt-edge squeegee in the other. 

For an entire weekend, he sat in your garage with you quietly, making idle conversation when the white noise would get too much for even him. He asked you about yourself, and you told him about how you met Jake in third grade, when his family moved to your hometown all the way from Australia, and how you became friends with him only because you were the only one in your class who knew how to speak decent English. (You watched a lot of American TV shows on illegal streaming sites.) In turn, you asked him if he likes his job as an investment banker, and he tells you that he wanted to be an automotive engineer when he was younger, but every man in his family works in finance and expected him to do the same.

This admission prompts you to share that you were supposed to step up and run your family’s successful chain of restaurants, but you refused to do so, choosing instead to run away with your boyfriend at the time and follow him to Seoul for the two of you to go to college. Jungwon even came with you, and you let him. Sunghoon asks you if you regret it. You say no, because, really, you don’t. But you do still have trouble sometimes trying to understand why some of the people you loved the most in this life—your mother, your father, and later on, your boyfriend—did not care if you were happy. 

They only really cared that you did as you were told.

And Jay, much to your amusement, happens to be at the butt of most of Sunghoon’s teasing—whenever he’s in his extroverted mood, that is. They bicker much like Tom and Jerry, but you can tell that they get along just fine deep down. After all, Sunghoon’s been helping Jay decorate his and Jungwon’s apartment, listening (more like tolerating, if anyone were to ask you) to Jay ramble on and on about Herman Miller chairs and Noguchi lamps, and no one else can be in the same room as him when he gets like that, and that’s saying something because your apartment is also decorated in the mid-century modern style. 

Jungwon sometimes tags along with them to furniture showrooms, strictly on the condition that they treat him to a meal afterwards. Sunghoon, not so surprisingly, is always the one who invites you along with them as well, ever since that first night when you complained about the boys getting milk tea without you. You wonder if it’s a pity invite, but you don’t really care much if it is, because he doesn’t seem like the type who does things he doesn’t want to do.

There was this one time two weeks ago that you came along with them to go pick out a new rug—first mistake. Your second mistake was forgetting to eat before leaving your apartment. You sat on a chair clutching your stomach with one hand, scrolling through your phone looking at the drink menus of nearby cafes with the other. Little did you know that Sunghoon, who was standing right beside you, was nosily peeking over your shoulder while also on his phone, typing in the names of whatever menu item you would pause on.

He disappeared for a few minutes after telling you he forgot something in his car. This left you to decompose in your (very cushy) chair while you listened to Jay and Jungwon argue about low-pile versus high-pile rugs. You contemplated how long it would take for them to notice that you’d passed out from hypoglycemia. But then Sunghoon returned, holding a bag from the food delivery app you all like to use. He’d nonchalantly and wordlessly taken out a peach iced tea and a sandwich to hand to you, but you looked up at him like he was God coming down to earth to save you. You thanked him profusely and he actually smiled at you, eyes crinkling up at the corners and turning into pretty crescent moon shapes. 

If you didn’t already know that Jaeyun loves women, you’d think that he has a crush on Sunghoon. You seem to have lost your pet best friend to his new pet rich boy. Jaeyun loves to spend time with Sunghoon, even though he’s not at all very talkative. Regardless, every single time you come over to Yun’s apartment, Sunghoon is either already there or five or ten minutes away, depending on the day of the week and the time at which your best friend invites you over to his and Riki’s apartment. 

Then the three of you, with the occasional addition of any or all of the three other Enigma boys, will inevitably order some takeout delivery and watch a film—”Not a movie,” you insist—until you inevitably start crying at the plot and say you have to go home before the boys really start making fun of you. Sunghoon always walks you to your door, even though you live just down the hall. You always tell him he doesn’t have to, but he always brushes you off and tells you to get your things so you can leave. 

And one time, about a week ago, you heard him scold the other guys for being mean to you, reminding them that even though you’re technically one of the boys, you’re still a girl at heart, and they should make some effort to be nicer to you. You heard him really dig in to Jungwon in particular, and while you kind of felt the urge to come back into the room and defend him, Sunghoon told your brother to show some respect and think about all the things you’d done for him in the past seven years. So you stayed back, still in shock that Sunghoon had spoken up for you so vehemently.

Speaking of your younger brother, your precious baby all grown up, the only family you have left: Jungwon adores Sunghoon, viewing him as the older brother you wished you could have been for him. Yes, Jay and Jaeyun are literally right there, but you can tell that the connection between Jungwon and Sunghoon is different. Jaeyun is good for keeping both Jungwon and Riki out of your hair when you’re busy, and Jay indulges your brother, spoiling him every chance he can get, having no siblings of his own. 

Somehow Sunghoon has gotten through to your brother in terms of his life and his career; after all, he’s close to finishing college soon and doesn’t know what he wants to do just yet. You would kill for a chance to help Jungwon, but you reckon he hasn’t come to you because he doesn't want to add to your stress and you could cry at how considerate he can be when he isn’t teasing you. You promise yourself that one of these days you’ll thank Sunghoon for his help, maybe some time after you finally admit to yourself that you were wrong about him being a prick. And maybe you’ll apologize for making assumptions about him in the first place.

Yes, you’ve been observing the way Sunghoon gets along with everyone, and you’re happy, you really are, but something is gnawing at you. While the arrival of new racers in your scene is nothing new, Enigma itself hasn’t been disrupted since Jungwon met Riki and all of that other shit went down. 

More importantly, you haven't been disrupted for so long. Two years, to be exact. It’s been two years since you got your heart broken twice, and you’ve spent so long holding everyone at arm’s length away from you because you’re not too keen on ever experiencing that again. Sure, you date around, but like Jaeyun said, they don’t mean anything to you. You know what they want and it’s what you refuse to give them. And then this guy, this fucking guy with pretty brown eyes who is soft-spoken and quiet and has the most beautiful face you’ve ever seen in real life… this fucking guy comes in with the audacity to make you feel like he simultaneously likes you and wants nothing to do with you.

Although you think the latter is just a defense mechanism on your part. You’d tried to convince yourself that he only cares about you so that the boys don’t kick him out of Enigma, because if the two of you didn’t get along, there would be no way he could stay on the team. After all, you’re still their best racer, and more importantly, their best friend. But that can’t be all true, because you fight with the boys sometimes, sometimes real petty fights that end in everyone crying, and you’re still an Enigma member through and through. So telling yourself that Sunghoon secretly hates you because of your ways is a lie on your part.

Because right now, about three months after you’ve first met, when you’re at the club with the boys, there’s no way Sunghoon truly doesn’t like you. The rational part of your brain can recognize that; after all, you’ve watched him countless times coldly brush off the advances of random girls in public who see his credit card and try to take advantage of his generosity. 

And you saw with your own two eyes the way he looked at you when you’d asked him if what you were wearing (a white mesh mini dress with baby pink kitten heels) was actually “too much,” and if you should go change like the others had said. You heard with your own two ears when he told you, “It is a bit much, but you look good. If there’s any trouble, don’t worry, I got you.”

It’s a good thing your face was already pink from the makeup you’d dolled yourself up with.

You never have to pay for drinks when you go out. The boys know this. You always tell them to not waste their hard-earned money—or in Jungwon’s case, your hard-earned money—on you when you can get some rich loser to buy you a bottle of Clase Azul if you bat your eyelashes at them and say you want to ring the bell.

Tonight is different, though. Usually you can score some of the top shelf shit without so much as lifting a finger, but because Sunghoon went with you to the bar, you can sense that the men in the club are not willing to put your dirty Shirley Temple on their tab. He doesn’t even have his hand around your waist, but you assume it’s the malevolent energy radiating off him in waves of expensive cologne that have people socially distancing from you like you’ve got the plague.

“Something wrong, Hoon?” you ask him innocently, swapping cocktails with him as you’ve often found yourself doing whenever the two of you are out together. It’s been a running occurrence since you’ve started joining him and the boys on their hangouts. He’ll order whatever you want to try, be it pasta or a coffee, and you can order something else you like. You sip on his Jack and Coke before making a face and taking your tequila sunrise from him.

��Do you want to wear my jacket?” he says, leaning in close so that you can hear him over the thrum of the bass-boosted music. “These creeps are staring at you too hard. It’s freaking me out. Pissing me off, really.”

You shrug. The buzz is starting to really hit you, thanks to your pregaming session at Jaeyun’s before you left for the club. “Doesn’t bother me, I’m used to it. It’s not like any of them have a chance.” You reach over and brush off invisible lint off Sunghoon’s shoulder, lingering a little longer just to feel the hard muscles underneath his clothes. “You do, though.”

He looks at you with his lips pursed in a flat line, a look he often gives Jay when Jay won’t stop pestering him. Then he takes his jacket off and drapes it over you. “Just put this on. I’ll be right back, I have to take a call.” He shows you the glowing screen of his phone, and you can read the contact name. It’s one of his bosses, and you only know this from the time he invited you to have dinner with them (and they’d pestered Sunghoon into bringing a date, since all of them are married).

You nod in understanding and nestle yourself snugly in his leather jacket, the same black-blue-white combination that he’d worn the night you first met. Idly, you sip on your drink, watching the crowd of swaying bodies underneath the colored strobe lights. In the distance, you can spot Jaeyun’s freshly bleached head of wavy hair next to Jay and Wonie, and that’s only thanks to Riki’s freakishly tall frame standing out like a cell phone tower beside them. They’re dancing with a group of girls, and you try not to gag when you see your younger brother let a girl grind up against him.

“Hey, why don’t you take this off? It’s hot enough in here because of you,” someone yells out right beside you, trying to make himself heard over the music. You turn to him, already pissed off because who the fuck says that?

“No thanks,” you say flatly. “I’m good.”

Even if you are feeling a bit hot inside the packed club, there’s something in you that wants to respect Sunghoon’s wishes while he’s gone, because you know behind his cold exterior he means well and it’s his own roundabout way of looking out for you. Either that, or he’s possessive, your delusional brain thinks, catching a whiff of his cologne in the lining of it.

“Well—”

You’re not paying attention to the douchebag beside you. You look back to the crowd and your boys have disappeared, no giant, Oreo-haired Riki to mark where they are. Suddenly, your tequila sunrise threatens to show itself in your throat. You’ve been hit on before, of course, but not like this, not this insistently. You keep your poker face on, trying to figure out how to get away from him but also avoid getting sucked in and trampled on in the giant crowd that just seems to keep doubling in size.

“Is he bothering you, sweetheart?” another voice asks.

You look to your side and he’s there, he’s back, stone-faced and radiating what you would call actual bloodlust. You nod, giving him a look that you hope Sunghoon interprets as get him the fuck away from me.

“You heard her. You’re bothering the lady,” Sunghoon says flatly to the man beside you, in such a manner that leaves no room for argument. “And not just any lady, either. That’s my girl you’re bothering. Get lost.”

You yourself shiver at his tone. You’ve gotten used to seeing the icy but gentle side of him, so this shift startles you, making goosebumps raise on your back in fear and your core clench in need. You decide not to correct Sunghoon, either. The sooner you get out of this bust of a club, the better.

An hour later, you find yourself at one of your favorite restaurants, a little barbecue spot near your apartment building that serves the best marinated galbi you’ve ever had. You’ve taken the boys there countless times, enough for them to make a joke out of it. The place is supposed to be closed right now, on account of it being one-thirty in the morning but when you were in the taxi with Jay and Sunghoon, you overheard the latter on the phone, telling the other person on the line that he’d pay triple to have the place opened for three hours past closing time of midnight.

While Jungwon talks animatedly about the girl in his class who was at the club and how he somehow managed to get her number, Sunghoon serves you before everyone else, putting the strips of grilled meat on your plate. The other boys groan at him, telling him not to indulge you too much or you’ll get used to it and always expect it, just like you’ve done to them. They don’t really mean it, because you know them well enough that they—just like Sunghoon—don’t ever really do things they don’t want to do, but deep down you still hope he doesn’t take their words seriously.

“What’s so bad about that? Ladies first,” is all he replies to them, and you feel warm inside and it’s not just the double shot of peach soju making its way through your body.

“Okay, me next,” Jaeyun says. He’s still got sweat dripping down his forehead from chasing  tequila-drunk Riki and Jungwon down and dragging them both by the collars of their shirts into another taxi. 

Sunghoon looks at him before passing the tongs to him. “Do it yourself.”

“Jackass.”

This makes your smile widen, giggling to yourself uncontrollably. You take delight in messing with Jaeyun, and seeing the always-stone-faced Sunghoon take part in it brings a certain joy to you that’s both unfamiliar and welcomed. You catch his eye and he sends you a wink, so fast you wouldn’t have caught it if you didn’t have the habit of staring at him when you think he isn’t paying attention to you.

“Dickhead,” Sunghoon shoots back, bushy brows furrowed so cutely that you have the tipsy urge to kiss the peachy skin between them.

“Oh, well, at least if I liked a girl, I’d tell her, so I think that makes you the dickhead and not me.” Jaeyun rolls his eyes and takes a piece of meat out of your bowl, popping it into his mouth and seemingly swallowing it whole.

You frown. “What? Sunghoon likes someone? Is it Jimin? It’s Jimin, isn’t it?”

Jungwon and Riki groan. “Great, another idiot.”

Jay points his chopsticks at your younger brothers. “Shut up and eat your food already.”

“Yes, mother,” they say in unison, digging into their bowls of kimchi fried rice. You look down at your own plate, suddenly losing your appetite. You even consider going outside for a smoke break, but that’s how the boys disappeared at the club a while ago, and it’s too late for you to be going outside alone—at least, that’s what you’re very well aware that they’d argue. Your stomach hurts at the thought of Sunghoon liking another girl, and because you’re you, because you’re almost so self-aware to the point that it could put your therapist out of a job, you know it’s because you want him to like you, and only you.

And it’s not even because you want the same control over him that you have over the likes of San and Hyunjin and Wonbin and whoever else claims to be on your sad excuse of a “roster”. It’s because you like him, and it’s to the point that the only other being who knows this for a fact is your pet cat, because only she wouldn’t accidentally tell him the truth. She’s a cat, for fuck’s sake, a cat you unfortunately named after the girl you think Sunghoon might like.

Maybe the boys have noticed. But you doubt it, because if they did, they would have teased you so mercilessly about it that it would be considered bullying that could be punishable under law. It would be so severe that you’d have no choice but to leave the country if they knew.

What they actually do though, that you’ve picked up on in recent weeks, is their new nasty habit of dropping hints about how you should be with a guy who’s cold to everyone but you. Someone who’s both pragmatic yet thoughtful, someone who always tells the truth but can do so in a way that will spare your feelings because he makes an honest effort to not sound so harsh. Someone who can both protect you and yet also be able to get you to stop when you become… “irrational” was how they put it. Someone you’re attracted to, not just physically, but emotionally, as well.

You’re not stupid, no matter how often you think you are. You know they’re talking about Sunghoon. You know Jungwon and Riki will make plans with you and him and then flake at the last minute so that you two are forced to go out together, alone. They’ve done it enough times that you know it’s bullshit that they have a school assignment due at some random time in the evening. You know Jaeyun will loudly ask Sunghoon what he thinks of a certain girl when he knows you’re within earshot. It pleases you every time Sunghoon flatly replies “What about her? I don’t know her like that.” 

And you most definitely know Jay let Sunghoon take you on out to the racetrack to drive his Lamborghini for a few laps, under the guise that you’ve always wanted to go and Jay finally managed to get a slot booked on a day that he “isn’t able to make it” because of a “meeting”. Who the fuck even works on a Sunday? 

You fixate on this memory for a while. You can truthfully say it was one of the happiest days of your life.

“You’re telling me you’ve never used paddle shifters before?” Sunghoon asked with a lopsided grin, pulling into the paddock of the race track. Your leg bounces in your seat, not out of anxiety like usual, but out of impatience and excitement.

“I drive stick, why the hell would I use paddle shifters? Sorry not all of us drive M Comps,” you retort, rolling your eyes. “V8 bi-turbo headass. Can’t believe you run an automatic transmission.”

“I’m ignoring that. I’ll track it first.”

“What? No way, I’ve known Jay longer!”

“You’re going to drive it like it’s a city bus. I’m going to drive it like I stole it. You can sit there and look pretty first, then you can have a turn.”

“Sunghoon, if you’re just going to stare at me, you’re going to crash us into a wall.”

“Nah, my peripheral vision’s pretty good. Why, you don’t trust me?”

You sighed. You do trust him, that’s what bothers you.

Ultimately, the idea of Sunghoon liking another girl makes you a little… irritated. That’s actually a gross understatement, if you’re being honest. You can feel the dragon’s head of your jealous streak rise up from the ashes where it had once laid dormant, asleep. It wants to breathe fire. It wants to get a rise out of him. It wants to see his reaction.

Luckily, or unluckily, depending on whose side you’re on, your best friend knows you too well.

“Y/N, can you pass the salt?” Jaeyun, who is sitting to your left, asks. The salt pot is right next to Riki, who is sitting to your right.

Taking this as your opportunity, you look at him, tilting your head before you say the exact line that, by now, everyone knows that Sunghoon likes to use. “Say please.”

Jaeyun is too intoxicated to fight back, but he knows you well enough even in his inebriated state that he knows exactly what you’re doing. “Please?”

“Okay,” you answer, reaching across Riki’s plate to grab the salt. When you hand it to Jaeyun, his fingers linger on yours way too long to be respectable. There’s nothing there, of course. It just feels normal, no spark, no giddy, lovesick warmth. He’s just being outright obvious.

Picking up on your scheme, Jay chimes in, a malicious glint in his eye that only comes out after you can smell the alcohol on his breath. You see him elbow Jungwon at the end of the table—quite subtly, to his credit. “Ew, what are you two doing? That’s gross, get a room.”

Jaeyun rolls his eyes, giving Jay the middle finger. Oh, he’s playing up the dramatics of your ploy to see if Sunghoon cares or not. This is what being friends with him for pretty much your entire life is all about. “Can’t a guy and a girl be best friends? Chill, bro.”

“Guys and girls can’t just be best friends,” Jungwon adds, his mouth full of rice and barbecue. “That’s such a lie. You don’t see me with a girl best friend, because if I had one, I’d be fu—”

Sunghoon’s knee hits the bottom of the table, causing everyone to jump back in surprise. “Sorry, guys.” He looks at you, staring at him wide-eyed. “And lady. Leg cramp.” He gets up from the table and excuses himself to go pay the bill, talking with the older woman who runs the restaurant and who you know is madly in love with him (much to everyone’s amusement).

“Alright, what’s going on here?” Jay asks in a hushed tone, dropping his smirk and leaning forward. “What are we doing to him?”

“Forcing Sunghoon to confess,” Jaeyun answers back, switching to English so only the three of you can understand. 

You look at him quizzically, but you speak to him and Jay in English anyways. “Wait, what? I just wanted to make him jealous, what are you talking about—”

“Alright!” Sunghoon says loudly from behind you. “Time to go.”

Exchanging looks with your best friends, you collect your things from where they rest on the worn leather seats of the booth. “I’m gonna take a walk first,” you say. “Anyone wanna join?”

“Nah,” Jaeyun answers. “I’m beat. Gonna take the little ones home.”

“Whoooo the fuck are y-you… callin’ little,” Riki slurs, slumped over a sleepy Jungwon’s shoulder. You know your brother is in a food-and-alcohol-induced coma, since he says nothing about the drool Riki’s getting all over his unbuttoned shirt. “Fuckin’ Oompa Loompa.”

“Riks,” you sigh, getting up on your tip-toes to push his sweat-soaked hair from his face. “Be nice to your Yunie hyung.”

“S-sorry noona,” he hiccups, putting more of his weight on Jungwon, who yelps. “I’ll be nice.”

You shoot Jaeyun a warning look, telling him not to egg on the poor boy who looks like he might throw up in his sleep later. “You guys gonna be okay going home?”

“Yeah, bro, it’s only like a block away,” Jay interjects, prying Riki off of Jungwon and hoisting him onto his own back. Jaeyun takes your brother in his hold, grimacing at the skin-to-skin contact of Jungwon’s bare chest on his fingers. “Go take your little walk. Text us when you’re back.”

“Yes, mother, I promise.” You can feel Sunghoon looming over you like a skyscraper. Without turning to him, you ask, “Are you coming with me?”

“Well,” he answers, his huffed breath blowing over your head in cigarette smoke. “Obviously. I’m not letting you go alone.”

“Okay, I guess,” you mutter with the same tone, shivering to yourself. The air is surprisingly cold for the beginning of June, and you’re dejectedly starting to regret your outfit.

And of course, like clockwork, Park Sunghoon notices your discomfort and quietly puts his jacket over you for the second time that night.

“Thank you.” Your voice comes out in a whisper. He acknowledges you with a soft hum, matching your stride as you cross the empty road to the little park nestled behind the flowering trees.

You continue to walk, trying to think, but it’s difficult to burn off the rest of the alcohol and gain some clarity when the man you’re thinking about is right beside you. You would kill to read his mind. You could just ask him, straight up. It shouldn’t be too hard, right? What’s the worst thing he could say? That he doesn’t have feelings for you? That he sees you as a sister? That he actually does like Jimin like that?

Fuck.

You finally admit to yourself that you do like him. You do like him, you do want him, you do feel those things genuinely and not out of greed, not out of wanting to make him one of your trained dogs, not out of wanting to punish your ex through him. 

You… you fucking like him, and it pisses you off. Him, of all people. Liking Jaeyun seems less complicated than this. You know for a fact that Sunghoon is quite possibly the king of hard-to-get. Kazuha and Yunjin, the race girls from AZ, both made a move on him and ended up fighting over him for nothing (which your own girlfriends clowned on them mercilessly for, while you sat back and watched rather smugly). He didn’t even give them the time of day, let alone his phone number. 

Minjeong, your beloved work wife, wanted to test that theory and when you’d left them during dinner one time to go use the restroom, she tried to flirt with him. She ended up meeting you in the restroom with a smirk, telling you that he’s impossible to break. She’d even asked you if you considered the fact that maybe he likes men.

Intrigued, you’d “innocently” asked Jaeyun and Riki, of all people, to get you the answer. Eager to please, and glad that they had some new bullshit to do, they came back to you after three hours of pestering Sunghoon at the gym during their workout. They’d reported that they annoyed him so bad he left them at the gym, forcing them to take the train back home.

That night, he texted the group chat “Not gay. Waiting for my wife” and nothing else.

A big shock to the rest of you, to say the least. The boys were busy laughing at the first sentence, while you were fixated on the latter half of his text. His wife. What a strong choice of words, you’d thought. But it was a good thing, too, that he knows what he wants. At least one of you does. A wife. That’s more definite than just wishing to feel safe and secure around other people.

“Did you eat well?” Sunghoon pipes up, finally breaking the chilly silence between the two of you.

“I did,” you reply curtly, now doing your best to match his pace. It’s hard. His legs are so long, with equally long strides, but you push yourself in your heels anyways. “Did you?”

“Yeah. Why do you always flirt back?” Sunghoon asks. He sounds like he’s been holding that in for a while.

“What? Are you talking about Jaeyunie?”

He grimaces. “No. I know that was just him being him. I’m talking about the others. That Wonbin guy. San hyung. Hyunjin hyung. Whoever the fuck. Them.”

You stop walking, and so does he. He turns around to face you as you incredulously ask, “So suddenly? Why? Does it matter?”

Sunghoon rolls his eyes at you. That’s the first time you’ve ever elicited that reaction from him, and it hurts a little. “Yeah, it does. You’re making them think they have a chance with you.”

“Okay, so what?” you say harshly. Really, why does it matter to him? He likes Jimin, doesn’t he? Why is what you do any of his business?

“Well, do they?”

“No!” you snap, hands on your hips. The sound of your voice, echoing through the deserted metal playground, startles the both of you. “None of it is ever serious with them! Men are dogs, anyways!”

“Meow.”

You look at the tall man in disbelief. Under the glow of the lampposts, he looks both sinful and heavenly. Even if he’s pissing you off like never before. Blinking—too shocked to laugh—you ask, “Did you just meow at me, Park Sunghoon?”

“Yeah. Because I’m not a dog, and I’ll prove it to you,” he answers, thick arms crossed over his broad, sturdy chest.

“Why bother doing that? Why does my opinion of you matter to you? It’s none of your business what I think. So why?”

He scoffs. But he can’t seem to meet your eyes. “You’re a smart girl. You’ll figure it out.”

Oh, you’re so annoyed. Why now, of all times, can he not be direct with you? Or is this how he actually is? Has he been pretending to be genuine this whole time? No, that can’t be. People usually can’t keep a facade up for that long without slipping up in between, unless they're sociopaths, serial killers, or both. “No, tell me why. I want to hear it from you. You and your stupid… your stupid… stupid, pretty mouth.”

“Did you just call my mouth pretty?”

“Answer the question, Park Sunghoon!”

He glares at you, but it’s not menacing. After what seems like hours, he sighs, turning away. Then he quietly says, “I love the way you love.”

You realize now that the entire time you’ve been watching Sunghoon, he’s been watching you, too.

“What… what do you mean?”

“The way you care about them. The others… The way you look out for them. For Jungwonie and Riki, always making sure they’ve eaten and they rest enough for school, and that they’re on top of their studies. Jay, you always scold him for working too much. And Jaeyunie, you get worried when he’s not home by a certain time… I realize now that you might not have space in your heart for me. And I should accept that no matter what I do, I’ll always just be another one of your dogs.”

“Sunghoon, what—”

He shakes his head, which hangs low in something you think must be shame. His bangs cover his eyes, so you can’t get a read on him unless you brush them out of his face. And with what he’s just said, you don’t think that now is the best time to touch him. “No. We’re not going to talk about this tonight. Or ever again. I can promise you that. Now come on. I’ll walk you home and we can pretend like this never happened.”

Back in your apartment, you lay in bed, wishing that there was still enough alcohol in your system to put your restless mind to sleep. But there isn’t, not after you walked it all off with an awkwardly silent Sunghoon escorting you back to your apartment. You’d offered your couch for him to sleep on—not out of pity, you’d told him. Out of worry. The trains had stopped running and there were no taxis coming to your side of town anytime soon.

He looked like he really wanted to stay. But for whatever reason, he shook his head at you again, told you it was okay, and said he’d walk home.

You’d texted him to keep you updated on where he was. He didn’t reply. You just got a single notification that “Park Sunghoon has started sharing locations with you,” and that was that. No actual message from him. You share yours right back, telling yourself that it’s fine, all the other Enigma boys had your location, too. But you know the truth.

Sitting up, you reach for your phone and your purse, fishing out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, both of which you’d stolen from Jaeyun. He would steal them back from you very soon, anyways, what with him sharing one singular, pitiful peach blueberry ice-flavored vape between himself, Jungwon, and Riki.

Your cat follows you curiously as you walk into the living room and slide the glass door to the balcony open. She curls up in your lap when you sit down on the rocking chair, just as she always does when you come out to smoke.

“You know this is bad for you, right?” you joke quietly, scratching her head with the hand not holding a cigarette. “You should be inside, breathing the purified air I pay good money for.”

Mrrow.

“Yeah, yeah, I know I should stop. But you should be proud of me. I don’t even do it that often.” That’s actually the truth. You and the boys all say that drunk cigarettes don’t count, and you can’t call yourself a smoker if you only go through one pack every two weeks at the very least. By Seoul nightlife standards, your lungs are healthy. “You can hiss about it to your Jaeyunie-oppa.”

Meow.

“Okay, Jiji. Whatever you say.” You take a long drag before pulling away, flicking the ash onto the ceramic tray that Riki brought back for you as a souvenir the last time he went home to Japan. “Fuck, I really do like him. Sunghoon. Not Yunie, ew.”

Mah?

“Because… because… I just do. He’s so… he’s so not like… you know. Heeseung.”

Your cat stiffens on your lap at the mention of your ex’s name. You laugh to yourself, knowing that there’s no one in this world she despises more than him.

“He’s not… he actually cares about me. He doesn’t have to tell me; I don’t even have to ask him if he does. I see it now. And it’s different from how he cares about the boys. I know it’s not just because I’m the only girl. I’ve seen the way he treats other girls. So… he probably doesn’t like Jimin, huh?”

Jiji perks up at the mention of her full government name, but then looks at you as if to say, are you fucking stupid?

“Yeah, I am, haven’t you noticed? I talk to you all the fucking time.”

Aaow.

“No, I don’t just like him because I get preferential treatment. I just—he never does anything to stress me out. I know he considers my feelings, I mean, fuck, he always tells Jaeyunie and Jungwonie to stop making fun of me when we’re hanging out, and, like, he’s always doing shit for me without me having to ask him or even hint at it. He just… he does it because he wants to? And being around him makes me calm. And he’s strong. And he’s kind, and he doesn’t brag about all the nice fucking things he does for everyone, for me… And… and…”

You lose your momentum as your face begins to sting, tears welling up in your eyes. You can hear the pain in Sunghoon’s voice when he said he’d “always just be one of your dogs” echoing in your head. 

“And he doesn’t lie.”

Lying is something you’ve always had a hard time stomaching. As a child, you were taught that it was better to tell the truth and be punished once than to get caught in a lie and get punished twice. You don’t feel good when you lie. Not even when they’re little white lies, like the one you told Hyunjin about Jungwon being sick when you’d flaked on your date with him.

So when you’d found out that Kim Sunoo, Jungwon’s best friend since literal birth, had been helping Heeseung hide his secret relationship with Sunoo’s own cousin, Chaewon—and had been accepting money from Heeseung to help him keep that secret—you lost your fucking mind.

You’d been through everything with your boyfriend. You abandoned your family for him. You moved to a new city with him. You slept on the floor of a shitty apartment for months with him, while Jungwon was stuck in the dorms of his university with three other roommates. You took home leftovers from the restaurant you worked at all throughout college to feed yourself and your brother.

All of that which you endured, just to find out that everything was a lie.

Heeseung didn’t love you as much as he said he did. Because if he did, he would never have gone behind your back with someone else for months and had the nerve to kiss you with the same mouth he used to lie to you.

Sunghoon doesn’t lie, you tell yourself.

He’s not him, he’s not him, he’s not him.

And it’s a good thing. It’s a very good thing.

Sunghoon, for as long as you’ve known him, always keeps his promises. But you also hope that he breaks that last promise he made to you.

You don’t make any appearance at the next race, which is a week later. You purposefully ignore the group chat when they ask you where you are, if you’re coming to watch Riki beat Shotaro and get his revenge for the last time they’d raced against each other.

They get the message—or lack thereof—loud and clear, and leave you alone. You’re grateful that they don’t pry, although Jaeyun texts you separately to scold you about “making Hoonie sad”. You reply to him with the middle finger emoji, even though you know he’s right. For once, at least.

You get texts from Jimin, Soyeon, and Aeri in the racer girls’ group chat, all of them pouting about how you’re not going to see Jimin and Soyeon race against each other in their newly-modified cars. You apologize and wire Aeri a million Won, telling her to place a bet on your behalf for Riki to win in his race. You stop replying when Jimin and Soyeon get on your ass for not being able to choose between who between the two of them would win.

Minjeong had said something to you at work a couple days ago that made your stomach not be able to stop hurting since. Because she’s the most neutral-territory friend you have, you told her exactly what happened between you and Sunghoon, not sparing any detail—not even the thing he’d said to you that made you feel like a monster.

“You can’t build a new house with the bricks from the last one and expect it to be different.”

She’d said it so casually, like she’d read it off the subject line off the first email in her inbox, but it struck you so hard, hammering in what Jay told you the first night you met Sunghoon. To stop taking out your pain on every man that tried to come your way after Heeseung.

In your defense, again, it wasn’t like they were truly serious about you, anyways. Except Sunghoon, who refused to play your games and refused to flirt back with you whenever you’d try to make a pass at him.

It was your automatic distrust of him that brought you here, sulking at home, feeling helpless beyond your control. What made it worse was that Sunghoon definitely knew why you are the way you are, what with Jaeyun’s big fat ginormous mouth being unable to stop itself from spilling all the gory details of your past to him before you two had even met.

There’s a knock at your door. You find that odd; everyone should be out on the road right about now. You check your friends’ locations on your phone to see who could possibly be in your building right now.

You see Sunghoon’s contact photo right above the glowing blue dot that signifies where you are.

“Fuck,” you mutter.

“Y/N?” he calls out, muffled by the thick wood of your front door. You turn to Jji, who is looking at you curiously.

“Go, bedroom.”

Obediently, your cat runs to your room, and you can tell she uses her back legs to kick it shut behind her by the way it closes softly. It’s a trick that Jungwon and Riki spent an entire week of their summer vacation last year teaching her to do, and this is the first time it’s ever been useful.

You check yourself in the mirror in the entryway to make sure you look at least somewhat presentable. You’re wearing Aeri’s light pink sweatpants and a massive white t-shirt you’re pretty sure Riki left in your car once and completely forgot about. You shrug. It’ll have to do.

You open the door. Your voice comes out harsher than you intend it to. “What are you doing here, Sunghoon?”

The man flinches almost imperceptably, but the glimpse of it still has your heart twisting in your chest. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry I hurt you. It’s not a question of if I hurt you or not with what I said, because I know I did.”

You purse your lips, trying to process the fact that he’s apologizing to you without you having to prompt him for it. “Oh…”

He continues shakily. “I realized that I didn’t tell you the truth. The full truth. I like you, I really do. Like, not just as a friend, you know. I like you like… that. Fuck, sorry, I’ve never had to do this before.”

You smile at him softly, looking up at him. The light in the hallway illuminates the crown of his head like a halo, making him look more ethereal than he usually is. “Never?”

“Yeah, never. It’s usually the other way around, but I caved this time.” He sighs. “You’re a special girl. You don’t know what you’ve done to me.”

You shrug. “Oh, I think I have some idea.”

“Meaning?”

“I thawed you out, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you really did. So—”

“Just come in,” you say, stepping aside to make room for him. “Sorry, I don’t have anything to offer you besides water or strawberry milk, but we can go raid Jay’s fridge. I have a key.”

He laughs. “That’s okay. I can order takeout for us.”

“What’s behind your back?”

He holds up a bundle wrapped in clean white paper. “I brought these for you. They’re not, um… they’re not really ‘I’m sorry’ flowers so much as they are ‘will you go out on a date with me?’ flowers.”

“Roses,” you muse, taking the bouquet from him. The arrangement is simple yet stunning, with various shades of muted pink that you realize are quite similar to the color of your Supra. “How original.” You pause, your voice softening. “But thank you, though, really. They’re beautiful.”

Sunghoon chuckles. “I wanted to get you lilies, but I learned that they’re toxic to cats.”

You stare at him for a moment, dumbfounded. He’s so considerate, he even thought of that. Is there anything that he doesn’t think about? Is this what he does when he zones out? “Who told you that I have a cat?”

“You mentioned it a few times,” he answers softly, like he’s reminding you to breathe. “Like that one time Riki made us take him to the arcade and spent too much money trying to win the stuffed… whatever that was from the claw machine.”

“Hm. I did, huh?”

“Yeah... So can I see it?”

“My cat? That’s a little forward, don’t you think? Aren’t we moving too fast?”

“Your pet cat, you brat.” His grin is wide, though, as he looks down at you adoringly. 

“Oh! Oh, yeah, duh.” You take your phone out and swipe through your camera roll until you come across a picture of your white ragdoll cat, her pretty blue eyes staring at you much in the same manner that Sunghoon is right now. “This is her. Her name’s Jimin… erm, yeah, like the one we know… but I call her Jiji.”

“She’s cute… she kinda looks like you, hm? Is she not here right now?” he asks, scanning your living room. “Is she okay?”

“Oh, I sent her to my room before I answered the door—she doesn’t really like guys except for Wonie and Riki but I think it’s because she thinks they’re her servants. And, uh, also, I don't know if you're okay with cats.”

“Ah. I like cats, don’t worry. I’d love to meet her if that’s okay with you.”

“She might scratch you, though. Just a warning.”

“Yeah, that’s okay. You’d bandage me up, though, right?” When he smiles at you reassuringly, your heart thrums. You don't hear any innuendo in his voice, nothing that suggests that he expects something more from you. Turning away to hide your blushing face, you mumble a “yes” and make a beeline to your room to retrieve Jiji.

You get to the door and open it. She’s standing right in front of you, looking at you expectantly, as if she's asking you where Sunghoon is. 

“In the living room,” you answer. You’re talking to your fucking cat. What’s new? Jiji struts right past you, her tail flicking against your ankles, and trots to the living room. 

You follow her from a distance and watch as she pauses in front of Sunghoon, who extends a hand down for her to sniff at. 

“Hello, Jiji,” he says softly. “Nice to meet you.”

The cat chirps at him, and your eyes widen. Usually, she greets males (mostly your ex and his friend) other than your boys with something akin to a hiss that sounds like slicing someone’s tires open. Sometimes she swats at them, claws out and everything. But she hesitates for a second before butting her little head into Sunghoon’s palm, eyes closed and purring up a storm much like the way she does when she wants you to give her a treat. 

“Wow,” you remark. “She likes you. A lot.”

Sunghoon hums in agreement before saying, “Yeah. Wonder what her mommy thinks of me, though. And if she’ll go on a date with me.”

You blush yet again. He’s certainly dialing up the charm tonight. Mustering up the courage to flirt back, you reply, “I think… yeah, her mommy likes you too. And I think she will go out with you.”

“Mm.” He pets Jiji’s head, scratching between her ears which prompts your cat to roll over and expose her soft belly to him for him to rub. Whore, you think to yourself, as if you wouldn’t have done the same thing. “That’s good. I’m glad. Actually—scratch that. I’m relieved.”

By now you’re very well-acquainted to the way he speaks, straight to the point without very much embellishing in his sentences. At least it’s not hard to guess what he’s thinking. He doesn’t talk with the intent to deceive or play games, and, quite frankly, you adore that about him.

“I don’t just want you to care about me. I want you to let me care about you,” he says suddenly, looking up at you with round, sparkling eyes. He’s being forthcoming and earnest. Enthusiasm suits him well, you think. It makes his face look younger, softer, happier. “I want to earn your trust. I want you to feel safe with me.”

“I already do, though,” you reply, voice quiet as if you don’t want to jinx it somehow.

He gives you a nod of acknowledgement. “I know. But I want to be the one you come to for everything. For anything at all.”

“But—”

“You’d never be a burden to me,” he adds. “You couldn’t, even if you tried.”

There’s still enough time for you to go watch the final event of tonight’s race, the showdown between Riki and Shotaro. You hurriedly fix your hair and throw on a jacket, not caring about how your outfit looks because, frankly, you’re not interested in showing off tonight. You know for certain now that the only person whose attention you’ve wanted has been yours all along.

When you arrive, you can see that the Enigma boys are all circled around what you assume is Riki’s GT-R, only because you can see the underglow bouncing off everyone’s shoes. Leave it to your youngest to be annoying as usual.

You get out of Sunghoon’s car and head over to them, him following closely behind you. You pinch Jaeyun’s forearm and he immediately steps to the side to let you through so you can see what’s going on.

The engine hood is up, and you can see someone’s legs sticking out from under the car.

“What’s going on?” you ask no one in particular.

“Well… Riki fucking forgot to change his oil today, and the jack broke halfway, so none of us can fit under there… except Ning,” Jungwon answers.

“Ning?” you repeat.

“Yeah. The girl I’ve been seeing…” he mumbles. “You know, the one from school.”

Your heart drops at the idea that you’ve been so caught up in your own angst that you haven’t bothered to keep up with anyone else’s life, especially your own brother’s. “Oh. I see. She knows cars, huh?”

“Well,” Riki shrugs. “I guess. Jungwonie-hyung gave her the worst instructions on how to change this shitbox’s oil, and she’s doing it just fine, so she must be smart.”

Before Jungwon can even reach Riki, Sunghoon grabs him by the collar of his shirt, holding him back. “Chill out, bro.”

Jungwon glares at the taller man. “Hey, just because my sister thinks you’re hot doesn’t mean—”

“Good lord,” Jay groans. “Can we please have five minutes of peace so I can start this race? I want to go home already. I can feel my bed calling me.”

“Yeah,” Sunghoon snickers. “It’s calling you to wash the damn sheets, you slob.”

You bite your lip to keep yourself from laughing. Shaking your head, you approach Ning, who’s just rolled out from underneath the GT-R.

“Surprised you didn’t go blind in there,” you say, helping her up. “Riki’s lights are no joke.”

She smiles at you, shaking her head. “Actually, it helped, I could barely see anything down there, it was all covered in brake dust.”

This makes everyone burst out into laughter, mocking Riki for poorly maintaining his car. You roll your eyes, taking the wrench from Ning. You turn to Sunghoon.

“Hoon, can you help me with this? I think we’re gonna need more than an oil change to win tonight.”

“Hey!” Riki exclaims. “The fuck’s that supposed to mean?”

“Language, young man,” you snap back at him before looking at Sunghoon. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Headlight air intake?” he asks, a smile forming on his plush lips.

You grin. “Headlight air intake.”

“Oh, you guys are officially fucking crazy,” Jay whistles, admiring your handiwork when you’re done. With Sunghoon’s help, you’d removed one of Riki’s precious LED headlights to allow more airflow into the engine, enabling him to push the car harder without fear of overheating. “Poor Taro isn’t gonna know what hit him.”

“This is legitimately worse than the time Y/N Viper-swapped her Supra,” Jaeyun giggles, clapping his hands together in glee. “Ooh, everyone’s so fucked. They’re lucky she doesn’t drive with a missing headlight, too.”

“Don’t give her any ideas,” Sunghoon jokes. “She can barely see at night as it is.”

“Oh,” you flirt back, “Is that why I think you’re more handsome in the daytime?”

Riki and Jungwon fake gagging noises behind you, but you smile.

“We’re making it out of the hood tonight, boys!” Riki hollers from his position at the finish line. Jungwon is beside him, at the wheel of his 350z. To Jungwon’s other side is Shotaro, looking annoyed. You can see him glare a hole into the back of Riki’s head as he walks behind your brother and his friend.

“Since when was Itaewon considered the hood?” you call back at him. Everyone laughs.

You see Jaeyun whisper something into Jimin’s ear, and she giggles. Meanwhile, Jay, awkward as he can be sometimes, plants a kiss on Aeri’s forehead. “Is it fucking cuffing season or something?” you mutter under your breath, thinking it was low enough that no one hears your annoyance.

“Us next,” Sunghoon responds cooly from behind you, draping an arm over your shoulder. “How’s that sound?”

“Holy shit,” Riki gasps, dramatically putting a hand over his mouth. “Sunghoon-hyung’s—”

“Got some serious rizz,” Jungwon finishes. “And if it weren’t directed towards noona, I’d cheer him on.”

Jay rolls his eyes. “Shut up, Won, you act like you haven’t wanted them together since you first met him.”

Jungwon pouts cutely and shrugs. “Yeah, yeah. It’s more fun to pretend to be an opp, though.”

You glare at your brother. “Wanna see a real opp? I’ll tell Ning that you like to—”

“Don’t you fucking dare.” He turns to Sunghoon. “Hyung, did you know that noona sometimes drools in her sleep?”

“I do.”

“WHAT?” the boys chorus like they’re in a cartoon.

Sunghoon looks at them with pure curiosity. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I know? She fell asleep and drooled all over my arm when we watched Interstellar for the fifth time.”

“Sunghoon!” you squeal. “You’re not supposed to tell them that happened!”

“Wait, fifth?” Jaeyun asks, hands sassily placed on his hips. “We’ve only watched it four times.”

You and Sunghoon exchange a look, your face heating up. “Well, uh…”

“Nevermind that,” Jay interrupts, his arm around Aeri’s waist. “We know you two hang out without us. Jaeyunie’s just fucking with you.”

“Yeah,” Riki agrees. “In fact, we want you guys to hang out without us.”

You look at Ning, rolling your eyes. “See what you’re getting into?”

She gives you a warm smile. “I don’t mind.”

park sunghoon: We’re still on for our date tonight, yes?

you: yeah! what are we doing?? i can pick a spot if you don’t have anything in mind

park sunghoon: None of that from you, princess. Just be ready by 7, I’ll pick you up. Our reservation is at 7:30. I already made sure you’d like the restaurant and you can wear that black dress you bought last week.

… Princess?

you: how…?

park sunghoon: Well, I know what food you like because we’ve gone out to eat so many times. And also, I saw you post the dress on your story when you tried it on in the fitting room, so I figured you got it. 

park sunghoon: Before you get upset thinking I’m controlling what you wear, I’m not. I know you have a hard time choosing your outfits (even though they’re all very nice) and the dress looked lovely on you.

He’s trying to make your life easier. You smile to yourself, face going hot. You bite your knuckles to keep yourself from screaming at your desk.

you: oh… okay!

you: i’ll see you later hoon :)

park sunghoon: Can’t wait. Have a great day at work, beautiful.

God, you want to throw your phone across the office with how giddy you are. You finish work early by skipping your lunch break, and you go home at 2:30 in the afternoon, thanks to Minjeong excitedly whisper-yelling at you that she’ll cover for you and to “Go get some dick, girl!” and smacking your ass as you scurried to the elevator. When you arrive home, you immediately run to your bathroom and turn on the shower. You’ve got music blasting from your speaker while you wash your hair and shave and scrub down your entire body. You’re smiling at yourself in the mirror while you dry your hair and do your skincare routine, and you’ve still got a good four hours to get all dressed up for your first real, official date in years.

taglist: @enha-stars @karinasbaby @venomhee @lilifiedeans @sngleehee @hoonfr @seuomo @en-verse @starfallia @eloelooo @lhspeachie @idkdykilr @seochannnn @moon368 @capri-cuntz @p-d1ddy @xxbluestrifexx @p4ranormaluv @laurradoesloveu

[danieyells]

Upcoming cards!!

Yuri and Jiro "Pestilence"(? It's just shortened to 'pest') for Episode 14!

EPISODE 14 IS TODAY I'M SO EXCITED. And man. . .I'm really digging Jiro's card. . .and the outfits for these cards aaaa they appeal to me so much. . .also I can now confirm that episode 15 will be Hotarubi!

Anyway! Cards!! Stats at the end!

I think this is the first character card to have characters besides the focal character in it lol. Also DAMN THAT WARDING CARD. . .ALL UP ON HIM. . . .

Character Card: Plague Doctor(「黒死降る街の救い手」  "The Savior Of The City Where Black Death Rains Down") Skill: Thesis Presentation(「論文の発表」  "Thesis Presentation") Fully Awakened Skill: Mask Of Knowledge(「博識の裏側」  "The Other Side Of Extensive Knowledge") Warding Card: Human Experimentation(「人体実験」  "Human Experimentation")

Jiro's character card has me BARKIN' HELLO? HE'S BEING DRAGGED INTO THE DEPTHS?? WHAT A BADASS CARD????

Character Card: Mors Atra ("Black Death") (「晦冥の底に沈む」  "Sink To The Depths Of Darkness") Skill: Accurate Autopsy(「的確な検死」  "Accurate Autopsy") Fully Awakened Skill: Effective Treatment(「効率的な治療」  "Efficient Treatment") Warding Card: Logical Feedback(「真っ当なご指摘」  "Honest Feedback")

Cosmic Bond (I don't know what units will be in it, but presumably both of these obviously.)

The House Visit From Mortkranken(「モルトクランケンの往診」 "Mortkranken's House Call")

Episode 15 will be Hotarubi! Like last time they didn't put the episode title somewhere I could actually see it so we won't know until Episode 14 comes out tonight. In any case we know the outfits for the mission are called "yume yashiki" which I believe means "dream mansion"! Sounds like a Barbie play set-- And we'll also be getting casual outfit sprites for them!

As usual:

Gacha is gambling! Banners rerun! If you choose to spend on the gachas, be mindful of how much you spend and don't spend anything that you can't afford to lose! Remember that the banners will come back if you miss your chance at the card you want this time around! If you feel like your gacha spending is getting out of hand, please seek help from a gambling help service! There's never any shame in getting help for your struggles!

My Japanese isn't very good, so take those translations with a grain of salt.

Make sure you see your doctor at least once a year! Take your medication as prescribed--if the sideeffects are unbearable or they aren't effective, talk to your doctor! Take care of your body as best as you can, and let others take care of you too. Humans are pack animals and we can't go at anything alone.

Here are our unit stats! Grass physical Yuri and fire special Jiro.

Good luck on your pulls if you choose to make any!!

[hittmeandtellmeyouremine]

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙣𝙚 | 𝙣𝙤, 𝙞'𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨

pairing: bsf!rafe cameron x bear!reader

summary: with finals week finally over, you’re ready to enjoy summer, with rafe there to keep you company. as the day goes on, though, the feeling that's been looming starts to make its way to the surface.

warnings: swearing and suggestive content.

word count: 3.2k words

song: swim good - frank ocean

chapter one → socials chapter one →

©hittmeandtellmeyouremine | this is my only account across all social media platforms. please do not translate, copy, or repost any of my writing.

you felt the stress that had been looming over you for the past few weeks finally leave your body. it was finals week for college students, you included. this was your last final and your grade rode on this test.

you had been stressing about it all week, buried in your notes. you had gotten an A in every other class while this one was sitting at a B+. you vowed to make this final your bitch, you had to.

you woke up a few hours earlier to get in some extra hours of studying. you made sure to have a decent enough breakfast and some of an energy drink to really wake you up. one last test and then summer was all yours.

rafe drove you onto the mainland to take your test, your personal chauffeur. the whole drive there he reassured you that you were stressing way too much about this test, you had it in the bag. school was never really rafe's thing, he barely skimmed through college. but he knew how much it meant to you, sometimes he worried it meant too much.

it meant so much that he hadn't even seen you this past week because you were studying so much. he only saw you briefly when he brought you over food in an attempt to see you. that lasted all of twenty minutes before you kicked him out to get back to your studying.

this was part of the reason why he offered to drive you to and from your test, though he would've done it regardless.

you and rafe were close, super close. he was your best friend. back in middle school you and sarah had became friends, good friends. that somehow bled into rafe's life. the more you came around, the more time you spent with rafe. sarah started to do her own thing and where she started to fall short, rafe excelled. your relationship with him quickly became stronger than yours with sarah.

you became his favorite person and he became yours.

you pushed past the doors of the building, turning your phone back on and watching the previously silenced notifications load.

you looked up to see rafe leaning against his truck. you hadn't really paid much attention to him before your final, studying even on the way there. rafe kept telling you that you were gonna burn yourself out. you told him to shut up so you could focus. he shut up after that.

rafe cameron. he leaned back against his truck, arms crossed over his chest. he had on a white tee, black cargo pants, and black and white high top converse. that outfit was basically his uniform at this point. graphic or plain tee, cargos, and converse or sambas. oh, and a backwards hat, occasionally. he had one on today. you loved when he wore it backwards, having soft spot for when he did.

he stretched his arms, his shirt lifting up and letting you get a peek at his abs. it didn't help that his biceps looked like they were ready to bust out of the seams of his shirt any minute now. sometimes you thought he did this type of shit on purpose, he had to.

"you're not slick, you know" you said, rolling your eyes as you approached him.

"hello to you too, baby" he smirked, pushing off the truck and closing the distance between you two.

baby.

you don't remember when exactly that started but you know it was over the past year. you also remember your stomach doing a flip when it did. you didn't protest, so it just continued.

"how was it?" he asked.

"i got a 96" you confessed, a smile forming on your face.

"atta baby, i knew you had it in you" he smiled down at you.

"something like that" you mumbled, moving past him.

he chuckled but opened the passenger side door for you.

"what was that?" he smirked, watching you climb into the truck and toss your bag into the backseat.

"you heard me" you answered, he leaned against the door.

"such a smartass"

"you love it"

"mmm something like that" he teased.

"touché" you said, sucking your teeth.

he laughed, closing the door and walking around the drivers side.

you liked to joke around and call rafe your personal chauffeur because he basically was. did you have your license? yes. did he still drive you everywhere? also yes.

rafe liked to joke around and say it was because he didn't trust you on the road. you couldn't necessarily deny that claim, it was a valid reason. you cared more about blasting music and living your music video fantasy than paying attention to the road. that or you were a complete bundle of anxiety behind the wheel. there was no in between.

he let you drive his truck one time. you barely made it out of the cameron's driveway before he called it quits.

he's always driven ever since.

you guys had quite the drive back to the outer banks. in celebration of your accomplishment rafe let you blast whatever girl music you wanted to.

a frown formed on your face when the music paused and you saw topper's name pop up on the screen.

"give me a second" rafe said, pressing the "accept" button on his steering wheel.

"rafe cameron" topper dragged out.

"what's up, top?" rafe answered.

"where you at, you home?"

he was fishing for something.

"nah, i'm driving back to obx right now"

"so you're gonna be back in time for the party tonight?"

there it was. you looked over at rafe in confusion.

"yeah man, i gotchu" rafe confirmed.

"you bringing y/n with you?"

no.

"yeah, she's coming"

the hell you were. your eyes bulged out at rafe.

"no i'm not" you interrupted.

"oh, hi bear"

"hi topper" you focused your attention back at rafe, "you never said anything about a party, rafe"

"i tried to but you were busy studying. we're going, it's basically the summer kick off" he said, glancing over at you briefly before his eyes returned back to the road.

"you're 22, aren't you a little too old for summer kick offs???" you commented.

"okay, first of all, watch your mouth" he scoffed.

"don't tell me what to do" you scoffed right back, "i'm not going to a summer kick off. my summer doesn't start until the girls get here and that's tomorrow"

"okay, well my summer starts today and i want you there with me"

"your summer is all the time, you already graduated" you reminded.

"alright, yep. topper, we'll be there later" he said before reaching over and hanging up.

you honestly forgot topper was even on the phone, hearing all your bickering. your music resumed, not that you cared.

"rafe, i'm serious. i wanted to wait until they got here" you said, your tone approaching one that could be categorized as whiny.

"baby, i know you are but we'll only be there for a little while. plus, once your friends get here i'm gonna have to share you with them" he grimaced at the last part.

you debated it in your head.

your best friends we're finally coming back from college. anora, lina, parker and you together again. it was one of the parts of summer you were most excited for.

your group was literally inseparable in highschool. well, until you guys separated. lina went off to start her modeling career in new york, parker went to a fashion school in chicago, and nora was still close by but a decent drive. you actually both went to the same college but she stayed on campus while you didn't. with her spending the majority of her time on the mainland, you only saw her once a week if you were lucky.

you were dying to have them all at arms length again.

nora was packing up her stuff today and would be back tonight. fortunately parker and lina both flew in tomorrow. rafe knew this by heart because when he did actually hear from you this week, it was all you would talk about.

he was happy you were happy. it was bittersweet for him though because other than the weekly outing when he brought you to see nora, he had you all to himself for the last few months. and everyone knew rafe was not one for sharing.

rafe quickly realized how attached he had gotten, a long time ago. he spent more time with you than he did with anyone else. sometimes he even thought he spent more time with you than he did himself.

you wanted to go shopping? rafe let you drag him along. you wanted something sweet at 1 in the morning? rafe would take you in a heart beat (and pay). you were sat at your desk doing your assignments? rafe would lay in your bed and scroll on his phone until you were done. rafe was going golfing with the guys? he would drag you along to sit in the golf cart. rafe had some business deal where he needed to go somewhere further out? you were in the passenger seat of his range rover.

you two were inseparable.

he would never admit it to you but he was having a hard time processing the fact that that was going to change. he knew he shouldn't have been upset. these were your best friends and he did get along with them, despite the banter. but god did he like having you to himself.

"text nora, see if she's gonna be back in time and we can pick her up on the way there" he said, it was an olive branch to get you to agree.

he looked over at you to solidify his suggestion.

"topper's been asking about her anyway" he mumbled.

nora had a... thing with topper, if you could say that. he took her out on a few dates and decided she was the love of his life. she thought it was sweet, a little much but sweet. plus he had money and bought her things whenever she had the time to respond. not that she needed it, nora was an independent woman who had her shit together. but it was nice that he did anyways.

rafe was just glad topper had finally stopped bitching and moaning about his sister.

"okay, fine" you mumbled, opening up your messages with nora.

"that's my girl" rafe cooed, one of his hands going to your thigh. his thumb rubbed small, approving circles on it.

my girl.

another thing that you can't remember origin of but you knew you liked it. loved it, even.

you pretty much spent the rest of your car ride texting nora. it took the smallest bit of convincing but she was quick to agree. while you were occupied with that rafe took the opportunity to play his own music, rap seeping through the speakers.

when you finally looked back up from your phone you guys were already heading back into the outer banks, passing the 'welcome' sign.

"are we going to mine or yours?" you asked, looking over at him.

it was part of your routine. you always ended up at one of your houses. it was just a matter of who's.

you saw his jaw clench slightly, it was so faint that no one else would be able to tell. but you did.

"yours" he answered, "my dad's home today and i don't really feel like dealing with his shit right now"

his hand squeezed your thigh slightly before his thumb rubbed over the spot in a soothing manner.

"mkay"

"i need to get gas" he mumbled, turning into one of the town's gas stations.

his hand withdrew from your thigh as he turned the car off. he looked over at you for a moment. his blue eyes ran over your face, your eyes glued back to your phone as you typed away. your group chat with the girls was blowing up with speculation and a side of interrogation after the recent instagram posts. his hand reached over and gently grabbed ahold of your face to get you to look over at him.

"you want somethin'?" his thumb gently brushed against your cheek.

your stomach did another little flip.

"i'm thirsty" you nodded.

"yeah, from all that fighting me you did" he smirked, making you roll your eyes.

he got out of the truck, going to close the door behind him.

"i didn't even tell you what i wanted" you called after him.

"you don't need to, i already know" he answered as he walked into the gas station, waving you off.

he was right, he did know what you wanted. he handed you the bottle before he went to pump the gas. even if he hadn't handed you the right one, he bought a bag full of others for you later. he knew you like the back of his hand.

"what time is the party?" you asked when he got back in, driving to your place.

"kelce said it starts at nine, figured we'd get there around like ten?"

you nodded, mentally calculating when you would have to start getting ready.

as if he could read your mind, "start getting ready around eight, baby"

a smile crept onto your face as you looked over at him.

"i know you" he reassured, glancing over at you.

the rest of the ride to your house was filled with you singing along to whatever song rafe let you blast which just so opened to be a frank ocean song. windows down, wind in your hair, and the biggest smile on your face. rafe watched you, something he could quite pin stirred inside him.

you and rafe spent the rest of the afternoon in your bed, watching whatever show you had convinced him to watch. he wasn't really one for watching tv, he'd rather play video games or quite literally anything else. you were the opposite though, you loved a good show. and rafe would do anything to make you happy.

after ordering a pizza for you two to eat, he went home around seven to change.

the minute he left you felt... hollow almost. cold, even. it was a strange feeling you tried your best to ignore.

you filled the next hour with an everything shower and every pop princess you could think of. somewhere in the midst of your break between showering and actually getting ready you had switch over to your chill playlist. you switched over to your crash out playlist again as you started to get ready.

halfway through the process, in the midst of picking out your outfit and starting on your hair, nora texted you. you paused everything you were doing and sunk to the bathroom floor to respond.

your heart dropped when you read the message of her cancelling. she still hadn't finished packing and was gonna get in later than she expected. you understood, plus she was gonna drive you guys to get parker and lina tomorrow so she was gonna need her sleep.

but it changed the plan you fought to agree to earlier and you were too deep into it to cancel now.

you spent so long sitting there trying to mentally recover from the change of plans that you hadn't realized how late it had gotten until rafe texted you to let you know he was on his way.

that woke you right up and you began flying around your room to get ready. you rushed in so many things at once that you were practically on autopilot. you were snapped out of your trance once the doorbell rang.

you bare feet padded down the stairs of your house, rushing to open the door for him.

"hi, sorry. i'm almost ready. i just need to finish my hair and then we can go, i swear" you rambled, stepping to the side to allow him the space he needed to come inside.

it took rafe a second to catch up to what you were saying, his eyes too focused on what he was seeing to properly hear. the little black skirt you had on showed perfect off the thighs he had been struggling to keep his hands off of lately. then your top.

your fucking top.

it was one of those tops that looked like two pieces of fabric that tied in the front. you had been talking about them for the past few weeks, he remembered. calling them a "summer staple".

a flyaway top. yeah, that was it.

it showed off your cleavage perfectly. rafe had seen you in a bikini plenty of times, sure. a sports bra, a crop top, whatever. but this was different. he silently thanked god that you bought so many for the summer.

you were so frantic you didn't realized his gawking before turning and going back up towards your room. his pants felt slightly tighter than they were a minute ago. he swallowed and closed the door behind him before following you up.

you're still rambling when he follows you into your bedroom, leaning against the doorway of your bathroom. he watched as you stood at the sink counter, doing your hair. you hadn't given him enough time earlier to consider the jewelry you were wearing. you just got better and better.

"wait what?" he asked, his ears catching up to his brain.

"nora's not coming. she texted me saying that she was gonna get in late tonight and she wasn't up for it. i mean i get it, we have that drive tomorrow to get parker and lina but you know i hate when people cancel plans last minute" you explained, frowning.

rafe saw the anxiety set in quickly. he forced his eyes to tear away from your exposed skin. especially the tiny, cursive tattoo that was engraved on your side, making a slight appearance . god, wished it spelled out his name instead of what it really said.

"you look pretty" he said, you paused.

"thank you"

"i mean it, you're killing me" he said, eyes catching yours through the reflection of the mirror.

"rafe"

"i'm serious" he said, moving to stand behind you. his hands found their way to your hips. "if i was an insecure asshole, i'd tell you to go change"

your eyes stayed locked on his, finding it impossible to look away. not that you wanted to.

"but i'm not" he finished.

you were saved by the bell when his phone started to ring. he stepped back, taking the device out of his pocket and answering kelce's call. he still was close behind you as you finished up the last few touches.

he didn't do much to conceal his conversation which made it easy for you to make out most, if not all, of kelce's comments. one in particular you wanted to hang up and frame on the walls of your brain.

"you bringing your girl?"

"yeah, why wouldn't i be?"

the lines between your friendship and something more had been getting blurred for a while now, you both knew it, you both felt it. neither of you would come out and say anything about it though.

it didn't mean anything.

he finishes up his call with kelce as you finish getting ready.

you look pretty as ever. he almost regrets even inviting you, knowing guys would be eye fucking you the whole night. the good thing about being in the obx was that that's was all they would do, look. they knew better and if they didn't, they would sure learn better.

-

a/n: the first chapter ahhhh. what did you guys think??? i was fighting demons honestly not to make something happen right then and there. the parasite in me really, really wanted to but the writer in me said to make you guys wait a while longer. go read the social media chapter that ties into this because i think it's the funniest thing i've written!

chapter one → socials chapter one

masterlist

tag list: @princesspeaxhh

either comment or send me an ask to be added to the tag list!

[m-jelly]

Anything for my girls

Tension filled the room as impending doom dawned on the poor man kneeling in the dark office. He'd messed up for the last time and been caught as a rat. People had been watching him for a while, and he'd been given multiple chances, but the money was too good. Now, it was all over.

The room was large, but it felt so small at that moment. His hands were tied behind him while a guard firmly gripped his shoulder. The carpet felt uncomfortable under his knees, his throat was dry, and his body shook with fear. Ahead of him were two chairs angled a little as they faced the varnished desk. A computer sat to the side of it, and sitting at the head in a big leather chair with a look of murder was his boss.

The man believed his boss had gotten softer since he'd married and had a daughter, but he was deeply wrong. The iron fist that belonged to Levi Ackerman was harsher than ever when someone betrayed or put others at risk. Life was more precious than ever.

He flinched when Levi lifted his teacup and sipped a little as he listened to the guard's report, his boss's eyes never leaving him. Levi might have removed his blazer, but there was just something so commanding and imposing about his outfit. He wore a dark blue smart shirt with a tight black waistcoat. His guns rested in his over-the-shoulder holsters.

Levi placed his cup down, moved it so it was perfect and then parted his lips to speak. "Who the fuck do you think you are? I cleared your debts, I helped you with your family, I gave you a home, food, friends and money."

"S-Sir."

He slammed a knife into his desk. "I wasn't done talking." He turned the knife as he glared at the man. "I gave you a lot and my trust, yet you disrespect me like this?" He leaned across the desk. "In my own home?"

The man shook more as his bladder threatened to release. "I'm s-sorry!"

Levi rose to his feet and strolled around to the man pleading, bedding and sobbing on the floor. He yanked his knife free and took it with him. When he reached the front of the man, he came to a stop. Levi backed up a little to avoid getting spit on his shiny, smart shoes.

Levi tapped the bottom of his knife against the underside of the man's chin. "Tch, look at you. It's always I'm sorry. Sorry you were caught. Tell me the truth." He leaned down and spoke against his ear. "Would have continued fucking me over if I didn't catch you?"

"I-I-I."

The door of his office opened slowly. Levi was ready to shout at whoever it was, but then his heart filled with pure love and joy. His sweet little two-year-old girl, Lilly, had escaped you and come to see him. It was like second nature to everyone in the room. The guards dragged me man away, and Levi put his knife in its sheath above his bum.

Lilly gasped in delight, her pigtails bouncing as she ran over in her pink dress covered in bunnies. "Daddy!"

Levi felt panic for a moment; he still had his guns on him, and he needed to get rid of his weapons, but Lilly was rushing towards him. "Sweet little bunny!" He chuckled as she hugged his legs. "Hello." He ran his hand over her head before looking up at the most beautiful woman in the world, you. He lovingly said your name. "You look..."

You smiled as you walked over. "Thank you." You handed Lilly her bag and toy. "Go sit down while I help Daddy." You hugged Levi as soon as Lilly ran. "I'll get your guns and knife."

Levi growled at feeling your hands on him, your warm body against his, your hot breath on his ear, and your divine scent wrapping around him. "Fuck, you smell and feel good."

You kissed his cheek. "Down, boy." You pulled back with his things. "Go see your daughter. She has stickers for you."

He chuckled. "Stickers, huh? Exciting."

You winked. "Sorry we interrupted something."

"I'll take care of it later. You and Lilly are far more important." He scooped up Lilly, making her squeal with laughter. "Come here, trouble." He kissed her puffy cheek. "Mummy says you have stickers." He sat at his desk with Lilly on his lap. "What have you got for me?"

She patted her bag. "Here."

He opened it for her and pulled out a book of stickers. "Oh wow, so many bunnies."

She took one and stuck it on Levi's waistcoat over his pec. "Bunny."

"Yes, cute bunny." He flicked his gaze up as you perched on his desk.. "You look so tasty."

You smirked at him. "Thank you. You look incredible. The bunny sticker looks perfect on you. The more she adds, the better."

Levi chuckled. "I think so, too. She's even adding some to my desk."

"That man..." You reached over and moved some of his soft hair. "Was he the one you told me about?"

"Yes." He moved his teacup away from Lilly's reach. "I'll deal with it later."

You leaned over his desk, flashing him your cleavage. You lightly tapped a sticker on his chest. "With all these on you?"

"Makes me more intimidating." He looked down at Lilly. "Right?"

Lilly gasped at Levi before giggling. "Daddy."

He kissed the side of her head. "See?" He looked up at you. "Now, give me some sugar."

You leaned closer and kissed him. "Mm, love you."

"Love you, forever."

Tags under cut

@ladycheesington @levisbrat25 @nyxiieluna @li-anne @galactict3a @youre-ackermine @thebobaprincess @2moth-anon2 @cypidity @nbinairyn @bts-spnlvr12 @darkstarlight82 @emilyyyy-08 @levistealeaf @pelicanpizza @hideandgopeep @notgoodforlife @demonic-bird @searriously @dreamerofthewest @abiatackerman @minminroie

[moonydustx]

Hiiii!! I love your writing and was wondering if you’re still accepting requests? If so could I have one where reader is dressed in a similar outfit to Nami’s purple Zou outfit and there’s a big party happening and reader gets self conscious bc no ones talking to her during said party so she leaves to go back to her room that has a balcony and as she’s staring down at the party Law comes in to see why she left so she like tells him she feels ridiculous in her outfit and it turns out that Law was jealous that other people got to see her in such an outfit because he likes her so much that he was staring people down so no one would take her attention and he confesses how he feels under the stars on the balcony? and maybe there’s smut🤭🤭🤭 You can skip this request if you want!! I know i wrote a lot 😅

hello, anyone there?

Sorry for the delay in responding to your request and sort of answering your question, yes, I still accept requests, but I've been working kind of 10 hour days + responsibilities at home, which hasn't given me much time to write.

I made some small adjustments to your suggestion, I honestly hope you don't hate me.

•••

my reach

info: what sensations can a pirate life bring? After a victory, a celebration can mean many things.

warnings: text not proofread, will possibly have some errors as English isn't my first language. a kittle bit angst, F!reader have some insecurities, smut, doing in open skies, a little dirty talk.

For those who haven't reached Zou, this is the reference dress.

You didn't know what was echoing louder at that moment: the drunken voices, the singing or your thoughts. It was a party, you should have been happy or at least a little confident.

After so many fights and disputes, the alliance between the pirates had finally worked out and apparently you would finally have some time of peace. What didn't need many more reasons than this for Luffy, captain of one of the allied crews, to suggest a huge banquet, a party that would probably last for days and no one would question it. The good thing about having other crews together was that the reduced number of women - in the heart pirates it was the large number of two, you and Ikkaku - increased, even if not so radically, just enough to fill the fingers of one hand.

"You really didn't like it?" Nami turned you in front of a mirror, forcing you to look at yourself once more. "It suits you so much."

"I think it looks amazing." Robin added with a simple smile. "And it's a banquet between friends, there's nothing to worry about."

"I agree, but after being so stressed with so many events, I think we deserve a more dressed-up day." Nami added, adjusting one of the straps on your dress. "And also a little alcohol, a little flirting, seriously, being a pirate can't be just that and besides there are so many different people here."

"But don't you think it's a bit much?" Your voice wavered a little and you had to dodge the pillow Ikkaku threw in your direction.

"Don't listen to her. We've been underwater for so long and in our uniforms that I think she's lost her common sense."

"Don't talk nonsense." You shot back, laughing. "Okay, a little alcohol won't hurt." About the flirting part, you don't know how safe you would feel with that.

The main deck of the ship was something almost impossible to cross. Some people walked around each other, singing songs that were almost impossible to decipher, others toasted and competed over how many mugs they could down at once. You just went with the flow, keeping up with the others' hurried steps.

It wasn't long before a drink occupied your hand and you got lost in some almost frivolous conversations. The stress you had recently experienced seemed to prevent everyone from thinking about anything more serious and, to be honest, not even you wanted to get caught up in problems at that moment.

"Ladies." Sanji's voice came across the entire space, in his hand some appetizers and you tried hard to ignore the fact that he was almost drooling. "You are the most beautiful thing my eyes have ever seen, I would write poems about you..."

In a somewhat strange juggling act, you saw him try to balance the tray in one hand and, with the other, twist to alternate between your colleague's hands, placing a kiss on each of them. Except for you, to whom he just smiled in your direction and headed in the opposite direction. Even staring at the other women present, that seemed like a common situation so you allowed yourself to ignore it.

With an almost lame excuse, your feet took you to the other side of the ship, where you could see your captain's sullen face while being disturbed by other crewmates.

"A good victory." You raised your glass, toasting first to Shachi, then Penguin and finally Law, who seemed to be immersed in something inside his own mind.

"Look, I don't think we've ever seen you so..." Shachi couldn't finish speaking before getting elbowed by his crewmate.

"Are you enjoying the party?" Law asked as soon as the two left with some excuse that you didn't try to understand what it was about.

"Yes, as much as possible."

You even thought about commenting on how you had become an outcast, even though in the hours before you had been trying hard to achieve the exact opposite result. However, for a flash, you were sure that Law was analyzing you. From top to bottom, inch by inch.

"Is there a problem, Captain?" A smile filled your lips as you saw him startled as he was pulled out of his own mind.

"Dresses. You don't usually wear them." He seemed lost in his own words. "It looks..."

Beautiful? Interesting? God, the milliseconds of waiting before Law finished speaking seemed like a small infinity of possibilities in your mind. A place where he had a certain captive vacancy, but he wouldn't even dream of it.

"It looks different." He pointed out and you could only nod.

Different. Okay, it's not the worst answer but it's far from a good one. The relationship between the captain and the subordinate of the two of you was intrinsically... different. Strangely comfortable, uncomfortably distant. He would always prefer to discuss some decisions with you and to the jealousy filled with tantrums and laughter of some, he would insist that you were the best cook of the crew. On your side, you loved ask him for tips, from books to medicines, and whenever possible, you would insist on having him stitch you up after some battles. You hated scars and he was the only one who could prevent them. It was a different relationship, he occupied a somewhat different place in you, but that didn't need to be exposed.

Apparently, if the efforts to look even minimally pretty that night didn't affect him, it wouldn't make any difference anymore. With an almost invisible smile on your lips, you just nodded and left him there. You started talking to some, laughed with others, but it didn't seem to work. From the idea of ​​alcohol and flirting, apparently only the first part was working. Heavens, Brook hadn't even asked about the color of your panties.

Luckily, keeping the ships close to each other meant that it wasn't difficult for you to reach the empty deck of the Polar Tang. The sound of the party was getting a little more distant. The full moon illuminated the entire night and, in addition to reflecting on the sea, created an almost distorted shadow of your body. Was that what you were then? You let your hand run over your dress, analyzing every stitch. Nothing was out of place, nothing seemed wrong with the outfit. The problem must be you.

"I would invest a good amount of berries for your thoughts." Law's voice startled you, which made him laugh. "Did you need some time to breathe?"

"Yeah, I guess so." You leaned against the edge of the deck, drowning in your own frustrations.

"I still have some berries to invest." He tried to lighten the mood, leaning against your side. "I know my crew too well. What happened?"

"It's just... is that all there is to a pirate's life?" You turned around, frustrated. "Tonight I wanted to feel something different from all the stress we have. Something more interesting than the smell of gunpowder, than the sting of a blade."

"I think there's enough booze there for you to feel much more than that."

"It's not that, Law. Geez, I dressed in a way I've never dressed before. Makeup, heels, perfume and still, I'm an outcast." you said frustrated and saw a smirk escape his lips. "Man, this isn't funny. I mean, not even Brook cared about my panties?"

"About that..." he began, his fingers adjusting his hat that wasn't out of place, just like a nervous tic. "Maybe someone threatened to throw him into the sea before he could even speak."

"What do you mean?"

"And maybe I told Sanji that if he got close to you his balls would sink to the bottom of the sea too. And maybe I said something similar to Killer, but he's more rational so he didn't need that much of a threat. And I definitely punched Kid."

"You punched Kid?"

"He said some really disgusting things." Law spoke with a frighteningly ordinary naturalness.

However, for you none of that was ordinary. You just stood there, still, watching the little confessions that came out of Law's lips. So he had pushed you away from everyone? That wouldn't make any sense. Unless...

"Apparently I was brave enough to do all that, but I've been a coward in hiding what I feel. You don't look any different, you look beautiful and I can guarantee that I wasn't the only one who thought that."

"You just made sure I didn't know that, right?"

"Sorry." he commented still in a frustrated tone, but taking a few steps enough to stop in front of you. "I like you, I really do. It got to a point where I found myself reading more books just to know what to recommend to you, I found myself hating being a doctor because I have to stitch you up every time you get into a fight at the same time I wouldn't let anyone touch you for that." He sighed deeply. The short distance between the two of you made your fingers itch to hug him. "What you said makes sense, we're pirates, we shouldn't only feel war inside us."

"What else can we feel then?"

Your lips touched before his hands even reached your waist. It was hard to know what had given you goosebumps more: the cold wind against your bare skin, the way your body was leaning against the edge of the deck, making you imminent of falling, or the way he had advanced on you. Definitely the third option.

His tongue began to invade your space, tracing delicious routes through your mouth, a fight for space that you had no interest in winning. His hands traced your curves until they rested on your waist. Whoever invented the theory that two bodies occupied the same place would probably be a good spectator for the way the two of you snuggled together.

Law seemed to have no shortage of air since, when he gave you space to breathe, his lips simply slid to the hollow of your neck. Wet kisses mixed with small grunts that would be marked on your skin, drawn like a map just for him, just for Law.

His eyes met yours as his kisses continued towards the neckline of your dress. A loud request - but still silent - to explore you beyond where his lips could reach at that moment.

"We could go somewhere else." You suggested breathlessly and saw him bury his face in your breasts, sighing deeply. "I really don't plan on being naked here."

"Naked? Nah." Without even hesitating, he supported you on the edge of the deck, preventing you from falling towards the sea by slipping into the gap between your legs. "I've been looking at you in that dress for too long to want to see you without it now."

"You've been looking?"

"Tell me, wasn't that exactly why you put it on?" An involuntary sigh escaped your lips when one of his hands slid down the inside of your thigh. "You drive me insane normally, but this... do you want to know what I thought?"

The question was rhetorical since beyond the moonlight, lust illuminated the eyes of the man tied to you. A moan escaped your lips as his fingers trailed over the damp fabric between your legs.

"Shh, we need to be discreet, okay? Can you be a good girl and stay quiet?" His fingers intensified the pressure, small circles under the damp fabric sending your mind into a spiral. "I promise to take you inside, let you make all the noise you want. And then I'll leave you naked, have all my time just for you."

"What if I want to stay here?" The question sounded like a challenge and you could have sworn that behind the fabric of his pants something had pulsed. "You still haven't told me what you thought, about the dress."

"What I thought..." he gently pulled you down from the support and turned you back to him. Your body automatically leaned forward, seeking contact. "The first idea that came to mind was you like this, on my table. All beautiful ready for me."

His hands adjusted the fabric of your dress so that it was to the side. His nimble fingers traced an indecipherable pattern on the skin of your ass, outlining the thin fabric of your panties.

"May I..." He asked, still circling the piece and saw you nod. With a delicacy unfamiliar to you, you felt him pull the fabric aside.

"Fuck." The word came out of his lips involuntarily. The sight made him hungrier than any dish he had seen at the banquet.

"What else did you think?" You asked, hearing the sound of his zipper.

"You're smart, I believe you know very well what I thought."

Silent kisses ran down your exposed back. The cold night breeze made contact with your damp skin, causing shivers. The first touch of his cock against your pussy elicited a shy moan from you as his teeth scraped your skin, whispering a shh once more, even though thrusting inside you had forced him to press his face against the back of your neck. The almost inaudible sounds that escaped your lips were enough for Law to almost explode right there.

He should have stopped being a coward before. It was only the first time and he didn't know how he could consider staying without feeling you.

"I'm sorry." He said, moving slowly. "You deserved better than the deck of a submarine."

"We're under the stars. Do you want something even better?" You said breathlessly, stretching your hand to reach his dark strands of hair. Law practically put his head under your hand, sinking into your neck. "Law!"

"I told you princess, no noise." He thrust harder, watching you press your lips together and hold back another moan. "Such a good girl, my good girl."

"A p-princess, huh?"

"My princess, yes. All dressed up like that I couldn't think of anything better." You barely understood how he could form a coherent thought while he was thrusting torturously and deliciously inside you. "I could call it an angel too. The way this beautiful pussy is squeezing me is definitely divine." His laugh at your moan sounded almost devilish, however.

The thrusts began to intensify and you pulled his hand that was holding your torso to cover your mouth, vainly containing the moans that escaped. You could already be clawing at the stars when you felt him pulling out of you. An almost drastic fall from the sky you were in.

"I want to look at you, beautiful thing." He turned you around to face him, lifting you up again. "I want to see that beautiful face when you cum."

"Then come back here now." You locked your legs around him, feeling his delicious invasion of you.

His lips once again took yours, just as voracious - if not even more so - than the first time. His coming and going grew louder and louder as he felt your voice vibrate against his. Moans being censored by each other.

"Hold on to me." He pulled away just enough to ask and you readily complied.

The abyss was getting closer and closer, the knot in your belly getting tighter and tighter. You stuck your body to his at first for fear of falling, but each time it became even more of a need to merge. Your screams hid in the small gap between the two of you, your skin would surely be sore at the slightest since his teeth dug in there as he filled you with his seed.

"I think..." he supported you back, still holding your waist with one hand. With the other, he lifted the shirt he was wearing. Both your eyes and his were guided to where your bodies joined. "We made a bit of a mess."

"A bit?" Your finger caught some of your mixed cum, bringing it to your own lips. "Delicious mess."

"Keep it up and you won't be coming back to the party." A light laugh escaped him as he heard you grunt as he pulled out of you. "On second thought, we don't need to go back."

"Law, you're the captain of one of the crews that was more than essential to the conquest."

"Well, that's a good idea." He said as he adjusted his own clothes and then repeated the gesture with yours. "Some clueless people will be able to know that you are out of their reach."

"Am I?"

"If your captain says so, I believe you should agree." He pointed out.

Your hands comforted his cheeks, smoothing every inch you could touch. A calm, almost chaste kiss escaped you. Anyone who saw from afar would imagine it was just a simple kiss and would not even be able to consider what you were doing a short time ago.

"I - I mean, I really want to keep you out of their reach. Only within my reach." That was it, in so much time as captain and subordinate, you had never seen Law look so nervous.

"Sounds like a good plan to me, captain. However, I hope it is reciprocal." He nodded, stealing another kiss from you.

Going back to the party seemed different. As soon as Law led you back to the ship, you let go of each other's hands, a small agreement of secrecy silently negotiated between you. However, you could feel him in you, in unconventional - and delicious - ways. Occasionally, you could feel his gaze burning in your direction, with distant care.

"Can I talk to you?" Zoro's voice startled you before you even noticed his hand on your waist. "Would you like to have a drink somewhere more private?"

"I'm drinking..." You pointed to the mug in your hand, but it took you a few seconds to fully understand what he was saying. "Oh, no. I mean, thank you, but no. I'm accompanied."

"Accompanied? So your captain finally stopped being a wimp?" Zoro saw and glanced sideways, not surprised to see that whatever Robin was talking to Law about seemed like a distant subject. "Nami asked me to do this, to see if he would do something."

"Hey, swordsman." You could hear the irritation in Law's voice from afar and it was clear how unhappy he was at that moment. "Is there a problem with her?"

"No, Captain, everything's fine here." You smiled in his direction and waved at Zoro, who just ignored what Law had said and left.

"So..." You started, trying to give your best mischievous smile. Which was much easier after remembering everything. "My drink is gone and I think I'm tired. I'm thinking about going back to Polar Tang."

"Sure, I can accompany you." Law said in false modesty.

You could count on your fingers how many steps you took towards a more empty place before the starry night turned into a room you didn't usually visit. Your body soon found his bed, your dress turned into a pile of fabric on the floor. His kisses finally freed to explore every inch of your nudity.

"I think I need to make it even clearer that you're out of their reach."

[just-a-floofy-catt]

Hello!!!!!

Im so so sorry about such a late response, ive just been a bit busy and wanted to make sure i gave your writing the time and attention it deserves TwT

(And my response took a while to write and format lmao)

I think because i made art for the event, and am primarily an artist, for some reason i was subconsciously convinced that i would recieve art and not writing???

Which might be a little silly but i guess it just didn't cross my mind that it was equally as likely for me to recieve either.

So i cannot even EXPRESS how excited i was when i saw that you wrote something XD

5000 whole words????

5000??????????

For ME????????

AND THERES ACCOMPANYING ART TOO???????????

Im gonna be so real with you, i lowkey almost cried XD

Especially because it was based on one of my favourite fluffy headcanons.

I was so excited and happy

Thoughts i wrote whilst reading -

"They all had been happy after a little while when he had taken Sun to see them during one of their rehearsals, but that didn't mean that they were necessarily looking to spend more time with him. At least, that had been what he'd thought."

A SEQUEL???? OMG AAAAAAAAAAAAZTOXYOFOHF

" Sun was sweet, he was so good with the children, and he was adorable in the way that he saw the good in people. Moon had been so worried that after everything that had happened that Sun would hate him, but in the end it wasn't something that he'd had to worry about at all.  "

Aww baby 😭😭

Ough i always adore the portrayal of when Moon kind of sees himself atleast a little bit as the monster everyone says he is and thinks he doesnt deserve forgiveness or love, but is positively enamoured with Sun and believes hes way too good for him.

It tears my heart to shreds, but its always worth it to see Sunny show him that he IS loveable and IS worth his time and affection.

Im just gonna stop myself right here because i WILL go on for ages XD

" So instead he waited until Sun was busy and he was able to slip away to start making paper roses in the days leading up to what he had arranged.It was a little tricky hiding them from Sun, but it helped that sun couldn't climb the walls. He could hide them in the ceiling tiles, where Sun never checked. Moon definitely didn't have a secret stash of little trinkets and stolen things up there that he didn't want his counterpart to know about... His paper roses weren't very good in the beginning, and he definitely wished that he had Sun's patience as he crumpled attempt after attempt while following tutorials from the internet that he played over and over again in his head until he finally had some presentable ones. And then after some more tries, some good ones. "

MOON

YOU ARE SO FUCKING CUTE 😭😭😭😭

Just him putting in the effort to try and show Sun how much he cares about him and pushing past frustration and lack of patience to do it. I CANNTT MAN OMG 😭😭😭

Also hiding things in the ceiling like the little gremlin he is XD

" My Drop of Sun-shine, the roses aren't your only gift. You remember your outfit to meet the Glams? Put that on and meet me in the theater when you're ready, I have a surprise for you.

- Moon "

BRO IM GONNA PASS AWAY

IM SO EXCITED OMG

THIS IS GONNA BE SO CUTE

MOON YOURE SO SWEET 😭😭😭

" He wasn't dressed any differently than normal save for a bowtie that an assistant had brought him jokingly that had a magnet hot-glued to the back of it to stick to him. He wasn't sure that it wasn't too silly, but he was confident that Sun would get a kick out of it whether he genuinely liked it or it just made him laugh. "

BOWTIE

OH HIS LITTLE BOWTIE

Suns gonna absolutely adore the whimsy omg

" Sure enough Sun burst through the door with more enthusiasm than was strictly necessary, his grin wild and eyes bright. It turned the smile on Moon's face soft and fond to see him like that, there was just no way to avoid being absolutely enamored with his celestial mirror. "Hi," he greeted. "

DUDE THE FLUFF HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY NAILED OMG IM GONNA SOB

I love when theyre so in love 😭

" "Moonie! Did you make those flowers yourself? And the card?" Sun pulled back enough to look at him, and if they were human Moon would wonder if the grin stretched so wide on his face would hurt his cheeks. Luckily they weren't human, but Moon reached up to pinch a cheek on him anyway. Sun shook him off with a little laugh, then pulled back from him more. "Oh stars, are you wearing a tie?" His laugh grew, though he covered his mouth with one hand like that would muffle the sound. Like Moon would ever even want it to. "Where- where did you even get that?" "

Ough.... they just appreciate eachother so much.... 🥺

" He even managed to make himself fake shoulder pads like some of them had, and Moon suspected that there were more magnets being utilized to keep them in place since he didn't actually see a tie around his neck for them. "Strike a pose." Sun did, pretending to be caught mid guitar riff. "Perfect. Like a real Glamrock."

While Sun didn't say anything to that Moon could easily feel the breeze that accompanied the quick few spins of his rays, one of his cutest happy little tells. His small pleased smile that he tried to hide also helped to read how the compliment affected him. "

THE SHOULDER PADS 😭😭

Oh hes so so cute....

The little ray spins too!!!!!! AGH!!!

I love it when his rays do happy spins....

" But Sun and Moon both had ones in there, on top of the main crew that Sun so idolized. Moon wouldn’t be surprised if Sun had managed to keep one card of each of the main four for himself. "

HE SO WOULD!!!! 🥺🥺

He collects any and all merch of them he can get his hands on.

Which isnt much, since really theyre not allowed to have much of anything at all for themselves. Honestly that would just make him cherish it all the more though.

" The soft neon glow of the atrium was a welcome reprieve to Moon’s eyes after the harsh light of the daycare halls and the elevator, and in his opinion Sun positively glowed in the blues and purples. He might have been biased in thinking that blue looked good on him, though. "

OUGH

Moon just admiring him...

I cant

😭😭

And yes it may be a tad biased... but thats okay XD

" Expressions ranging from happy smiles to teasing grins greeted them back. Chica came up to the edge of the stage, mirroring Sun's enthusiasm. No one else seemed surprised that it was those two who were the ones practically jumping in place. "Hiya, Lemondrop!" Using the strap of her guitar to keep it steady she moved the instrument behind her so that she could comfortably crouch down to get closer to Sun's height. "We made an exception tonight. There was a special request." She looked over Sun's shoulder at Moon and gave him a very obvious wink. "

CHICA XDDD

Omg i love her and Sun as a duo so much

Theyre so underrated together

They bounce off eachothers positivity and energy so well XD

I absolutely adore her being so enthusiastic to see her new bestie again....

" It was hard not to laugh harder at that and he squeezed Sun's hands again but harder this time. "You say that, but they're waiting for you and you're dressed for the part." He grunted as Sun threw himself against him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders with an ecstatic cry. He stumbled back a step in surprise but recovered quickly enough and pressed his cheek against Sun's before nuzzling into him, enjoying the tickle of the mostly-retracted rays that accommodated his closeness. Sun was nearly vibrating against him with his excitement and that was just even more proof that Moon had made the right call in planning this for him for their Valentine's night. He looked up after a minute and after catching the looks that they were getting from the group he played an audio file of a throat clearing and tried to backoff a little, though Sun wasn't letting him go just yet. "

SOBBING

SOBBING

ON THE FLOOR SOBBING

OMG

😭😭😭

MOON YOU JUST MADE HIS ENTIRE YEAR

Again, theyre just so toothrottingly sweet 😭😭💙💛

" With very obvious reluctance Sun did eventually let go when Moon gave him a few pats on the back, but not before he left a kiss on Moon's cheek. "Just you wait until later, mister," he whispered just between the two of them. Then he was completely detached from Moon and bouncing up towards the stage. "

WAIT

SUNNY WHAT DO YOU HAVE PLANNED???? 👀👀👀👀

I'm so curious what hes got for Moon now XD

I imagine that no matter what it is he'll adore it though.

" He wondered if the Glams realized just how ecstatic he really was. Obviously he knew what every single twitch meant in his partner, but he would hope so given how much time they spent together and just how carefully Moon studied Sun when he was sure that Sun wasn't paying any attention. Even when he was sometimes, though Sun tended to fluster easily in those moments. "

They know eachother so well....

Its because really theyve been through the worst of the worst together and spent so much time so incredibly close.

But now it massively benefits their relationship and its just so so lovely.

And the fact Moon practically studies him????

Again, hes just so enamoured XD

Id bet Sun does the same thing sometimes, though.

I just love it when they care so much, man 😭😭

" To say that Moon was enraptured by the performance wouldn’t do it justice. Sun was visibly a little nervous but happy up there on stage with the eyes of his heroes and his partner on him but the longer the first song went on the more he came out of his shell. After the first song Monty came up to clap him on his shoulder pad and shouted encouragement while Chica played the opening riff to their next song. Sun looked like he would have been absolutely breathless if they had needed to breathe, Moon was sure that his fans had to be working in overdrive to keep him cool and not just from the heat of the lights. "

EVERYTHING

JUST

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS

The glams being so encouraging, Moon being so smitten and invested, Sunny having the time of his life

AAAAAAA

" By the time they had worked most of the way through the list that Moon had made, Sun was hamming it up on stage like he had an audience, like he’d been made for this. Perhaps it was a bit of their old theater programming and personality pieces that hadn’t been completely deleted or suppressed. Dressed as he was and floating between the multicolored stage lights as he was, he looked completely in his element and confident in a way that he sometimes lacked. It didn’t appear that he was brave enough to get too close to the Glamrocks but there were times when he approached them, stood back-to-back with Chica without coming into contact, half-faced Freddy who mirrored the pose while they sang together. Nothing at all could have made Moon happier than seeing Sun have so much fun up there with his idols. "

I can literally SEE this in my head and ITS DRIVING ME INSANE

IM HYPED

IM SO HAPPY THEYRE HAVING SUCH A GOOD TIME

Sun actually feeling confident when its often something he struggles with from always being put down and pushed to the side is ENDING me omg

Its so so real

" "Really, though. You were great up there, you should sing more in the daycare even if it’s just after hours.”

”I could say the same to you! You have a great voice, you should let more people hear you sing!” Sun put his hands on his hips and leaned forward into Moon’s personal bubble. "

DUET DUET DUET DUET!!!!!

They should totally do a sweet little romantic duet in the future....

Sun, youre so right though, Moon needs to get his ass on that stage, his voice is beautiful. AND HE DESERVES TO BE PRAISED FOR IT!!! >:3

" "Aw, I didn't know you sang for the kids! That's adorable, I bet it puts them out like a light, you seem like you'd have a good crooner voice."

Moon was never more tempted to pull his hat down to hide his face in his life.

"He does!" Sun piped up in the absence of Moon saying anything. "He tries to say that he's not really built for singing and that it's his music box-" Chica's beak moved to incredulously mouth 'music box' with a glint in her eyes after Sun without interrupting him- "but he can sing to it, so he's definitely just being modest." "

YESSS BURY HIM IN COMPLIMENTS!!!!! XD

Moon not being able to handle compliments or praise and getting flustered over it is something i always like to see. Idk it just feels right to me.

Poor guy has TERRIBLE self esteem even if he doesnt always show it

" The trip back was quiet but it was a very comfortable and content brand of quiet. It was something that neither of them felt the need to break until they were all the way back into their room, just basking in each other's company while the ambient music of the 'plex gave them a soundtrack to the walk back. Their hands stayed joined the entire time just as they had been on the way there, a tender mirroring to wrap their evening up. "

This is so so simple but fills me with so much joy

Just them enjoying eachothers prescence

" He laughed, checking to see if Sun was ready for him to turn around before he did so and pulled him into a hug. "It's not a competition, Sunny. I wanted to make you happy, and I love what you did for me. That's what matters, right?"

The look that Sun gave him was one of someone who was melting under the sweetness of the moment but still wasn't entirely mollified. "... Fine. But you better be ready. Next year I'm going to knock your socks off."

"Good luck, I don't wear any." Moon snickered at the blustering annoyance that he was hit with for that and managed to pin Sun's arms to his sides when he started to struggle in his hold. "C'mon, bedtime. You were getting close to falling asleep in front of your heroes again."

So sweet and oh so silly TwT 💛💙

Moon better start wearing some socks...

"Sun shuddered and breathed out a quick "jerk" before he relaxed back against Moon. "Will you sing for me for a little while? Just until I fall asleep?" "

PLEASEEEE OMG 😭😭

" The question was just too sweet, Moon never stood a chance in being able to refuse it. He chuckled and shuffled around so that he was half sitting up and could hold Sun against his chest. "Of course, just for you." When he leaned to press a kiss to the top of Sun's head he was intercepted, instead meeting Sun's lips. He melted instantly, holding the gentle kiss for as long as Sun let him before Sun slowly put a small amount of distance between them. It was a disgustingly domestic moment of intimacy, staring at Sun after that simple, treasured kiss. There was nothing on this world that Moon would have traded it for. "

DISGUSTINGLY DOMESTIC IS RIGHT

XD

But its absolutely perfect

" He didn't bother to pay any attention to how long they stayed like that until Sun settled against his chest and this time allowed Moon to press an affectionate kiss to the top of his faceplate without interruption. "Will you sing my favorite one?" he asked sleepily.

"As if you had to ask, morning star." "

OH THATS JUST THE PERFECT ENDING 😭😭🥺🥺💛💙💛💙

My favourite sillies in love....

Oh i enjoyed this so SO much

Its everything i couldve wanted and more TwT

Its domestic, fluffy and sweet, and all the little details in their behaviours are so lovely.

And the art is so so wonderful too!!

He looks so adorable in his lil glamrock fit :3

Im IMMENSELY greatful to have recieved this and will in fact be coming back to read it every so often

Thank you so much !!!!!

(And i do have an ao3 but i prefer to keep it separate to everything else. But feel free to post it there still ^^ if you really want to, you can just mention my tumblr, but i dont mind at all)

Center Stage

@just-a-floofy-catt I was your secret valentine! so sorry for the wait, I loved the idea of your glamrock adoring sun so I hope that I did the au justice! (do you have an ao3 handle? I can add it there too)

SunxMoon Word count: 5035

Moon expected that there would be a lot moregoing into this arrangement for Sun.

In the end, it was actually pretty simple: his discussion with the Glamrocks in private while he was out on a patrol one night was very fruitful, everyone seemed to like the idea.

That hadn't been something that Moon had expected, really. They all had been happy after a little while when he had taken Sun to see them during one of their rehearsals, but that didn't mean that they were necessarily looking to spend more time with him. At least, that had been what he'd thought.

He was perfectly aware of the reputation that both he and Sun had around the 'plex. He was scary, creepy, and painted into such a cartoonish monster who was cranky and libel to snap that he was just unapproachable in general, and Sun was said to be an anxious, loud, and overbearing mess. Neither of those were the case at all, but that didn't mean that people saw that.

Sun was sweet, he was so good with the children, and he was adorable in the way that he saw the good in people. Moon had been so worried that after everything that had happened that Sun would hate him, but in the end it wasn't something that he'd had to worry about at all. 

Sure, there was a lot for them to talk about, and there were conversations that they still sometimes had to have to address what had happened the night the little kid had been running around the pizzaplex with many of the animatronics, himself included, out for blood. It was hard, getting over these things, but Sun- with his almost infinite patience and understanding- was always there when Moon's progress in coming back from all that reached a snag that almost set him back a few steps.

He'd had to shake off that thinking after having his talk, though. That wasn't what he needed to concentrate on, what he wanted to. He was going to do something for his Sunny, something that was going to have him on cloud nine for ages to come, he hoped. He deserved it.

And it was the season to express one's love, after all.

There wasn't anything that either of them could do with chocolates, seeing as they didn't have the function to eat like Chica did, and Moon briefly considered flowers before he came to the realization that he didn't really have a way to get ahold of any; it wasn't like he could ask one of the daycare assistants or night guards to pay for and bring him something to get for Sun on top of what he had planned, to sweeten the deal.

So instead he waited until Sun was busy and he was able to slip away to start making paper roses in the days leading up to what he had arranged.It was a little tricky hiding them from Sun, but it helped that sun couldn't climb the walls. He could hide them in the ceiling tiles, where Sun never checked. Moon definitely didn't have a secret stash of little trinkets and stolen things up there that he didn't want his counterpart to know about... His paper roses weren't very good in the beginning, and he definitely wished that he had Sun's patience as he crumpled attempt after attempt while following tutorials from the internet that he played over and over again in his head until he finally had some presentable ones. And then after some more tries, some good ones.

So he was confident that Sun would like the ones that he left waiting in a giant bundle alongside a handmade card on the table in their room, along with a little paper of words that he didn't want to include on the card that he already knew Sun would save. He was sentimental that way.

My Drop of Sun-shine, the roses aren't your only gift. You remember your outfit to meet the Glams? Put that on and meet me in the theater when you're ready, I have a surprise for you. - Moon

Moon ducked out of their room and crawled along the ceiling- purely because he could and he liked to for the fun of it- and let himself out of their hidden door to skitter his way to the floor outside of it. He wasn't dressed any differently than normal save for a bowtie that an assistant had brought him jokingly that had a magnet hot-glued to the back of it to stick to him. He wasn't sure that it wasn't too silly, but he was confident that Sun would get a kick out of it whether he genuinely liked it or it just made him laugh.

He waited patiently slouched against the wall for his Other, aware that Sun would already have been up in their room by now with the cleaning done. That and even if he wasn't aware of how much time he had to wait just from Sun's routine, the heavily muffled sound when Sun found the yellow and blue paper roses definitely gave away that he'd found the little spread on the table. Moon snickered quietly to himself and hummed a low and slow tune while he gave Sun time to read the card, possibly fawn over it a little, and then read the small note to the side and hurry off to get himself changed.

When he heard excited footsteps approaching down the long L-shaped hall he stood up in an actual straight posture instead of his normal slouch outside of the radius of the door so that when it was thrown open he was in no danger of being hit.

Sure enough Sun burst through the door with more enthusiasm than was strictly necessary, his grin wild and eyes bright. It turned the smile on Moon's face soft and fond to see him like that, there was just no way to avoid being absolutely enamored with his celestial mirror. "Hi," he greeted.

Arms were around his neck and a chest crashed into his before he had a chance to dodge the oncoming hug, even if only just to pull back enough to soften the momentum. He didn't actually mind. Sun held him tight and Moon could feel the way that he was practically giddy with excitement. As always with Sun, it was nearly palpable. Moon hugged him back with arms wrapped low on his torso.

"Moonie! Did you make those flowers yourself? And the card?" Sun pulled back enough to look at him, and if they were human Moon would wonder if the grin stretched so wide on his face would hurt his cheeks. Luckily they weren't human, but Moon reached up to pinch a cheek on him anyway. Sun shook him off with a little laugh, then pulled back from him more. "Oh stars, are you wearing a tie?" His laugh grew, though he covered his mouth with one hand like that would muffle the sound. Like Moon would ever even want it to. "Where- where did you even get that?"

"Does it matter?" He reached up to straighten it after the assault on his person and tried to put up a playful air of dignity that a smirk he couldn't fight definitely ruined. "I happen to think I look handsome."

"You do! I didn't say that you didn't!" Sun's giggles calmed as he reached up to gently brush Moon's fingers aside so that he could actually get the bow straight and Moon tried hard to pretend that even the little touch affected him. He was never over those small moments of contact, let alone the large ones like that hug. "How do I look?"

Moon made a circular motion with one finger and Sun did a slow twirl for him as silently directed. He was dressed in pants other than their usual poofy attire with shoes to match the more 'rock star' look, with various other things he'd seen that the Glams had, like studded bands and piercings that were magnetic for him, since his rays were not actually pierced and neither of them wanted to do that. 

He even managed to make himself fake shoulder pads like some of them had, and Moon suspected that there were more magnets being utilized to keep them in place since he didn't actually see a tie around his neck for them. "Strike a pose." Sun did, pretending to be caught mid guitar riff. "Perfect. Like a real Glamrock."

While Sun didn't say anything to that Moon could easily feel the breeze that accompanied the quick few spins of his rays, one of his cutest happy little tells. His small pleased smile that he tried to hide also helped to read how the compliment affected him.

"Come on, are you ready for your surprise?" Moon held his hand out and squeezed gently at the fingers that eagerly laced with his.

"Of course!" Sun fell in step beside him as Moon started to lead the two of them out of the theater and towards the main atrium elevator outside of the daycare area. "But you really didn't have to do anything else for me besides the roses, Moonpie. Those and the card were more than enough."

Never one to resist a chance to tease him, he smiled cheekily. "Oh, so we can turn around and go cuddle up while we charge until my rounds?"

Sun's hold on his hand tightened. "No, no, no! I mean, there's no need to waste the surprise that you went to the trouble to set up!"

He chuckled, a deep rumble that he knew Sun liked when they were up close to each other. "Then I guess I really did have to, didn't I?" It was going to be worth it, he was so sure of it.

Idle chit-chat about the day with the kids filled the time that it took to get to the atrium from there. While he had been there for a lot of it, though usually with a different bunch of the kids than Sun, he still listened to him go on about the games that they played and the Valentine’s cards and candies that had been exchanged between their charges that day. Of course Sun also had little cards for them that he completed on the sly after the last child was checked in so he had a complete mental roster for names; just the cheap and brand-appropriate kind like the kid’s Parents bought from big stores by the box load. But Sun and Moon both had ones in there, on top of the main crew that Sun so idolized. Moon wouldn’t be surprised if Sun had managed to keep one card of each of the main four for himself.

The soft neon glow of the atrium was a welcome reprieve to Moon’s eyes after the harsh light of the daycare halls and the elevator, and in his opinion Sun positively glowed in the blues and purples. He might have been biased in thinking that blue looked good on him, though. Sun’s attention flitted around them at the colors and sounds of the space and all the different decor. It seemed that the novelty of it was yet to wear off, but that was fair given that he had been stuck inside the daycare without system permissions to leave for so long. Everything about the rest of the giant ‘plex was bound to stay new and exciting for a while and Moon couldn’t blame him one bit. He would have gone stir crazy being trapped in their space, it was a wonder to him that Sun never had. He always actually seemed nervous and a few hairs short of overwhelmed as he was getting used to it, really.

At the end of the giant open hall they started their approach to the stage and Moon could feel the moment that Sun realized that the Glamrocks were standing up there, instruments in hand for those who played, by the way that he started to pull on their joined hands as his pace increased and there was a swinging little skip to his step. Moon stifled his laughter and allowed himself to be hurried along. It was adorable to see that his counterpart was so quietly excited, or at least he was quiet about it up until they were within earshot of the stars of the 'plex.

"Hi!" He greeted loudly as he tugged Moon to jog the last few steps to get close to the base of the stage, who grumbled good-naturedly at the treatment. "What are you all doing? I thought that there weren't any practices happening today!"

Expressions ranging from happy smiles to teasing grins greeted them back. Chica came up to the edge of the stage, mirroring Sun's enthusiasm. No one else seemed surprised that it was those two who were the ones practically jumping in place. "Hiya, Lemondrop!" Using the strap of her guitar to keep it steady she moved the instrument behind her so that she could comfortably crouch down to get closer to Sun's height. "We made an exception tonight. There was a special request." She looked over Sun's shoulder at Moon and gave him a very obvious wink.

He rolled his eyes in return with a very theatrical open-mouthed scowl. "Subtle," he muttered, though Chica would hear him this close up— their audio processors were built well enough that despite the loud music that blasted them daily, they could hear far better than a human could. She just giggled at him without an ounce of remorse.

In that time that Moon had been watching her Sun had turned around and was looking at him with a slightly confused look, his head tilted a little to the side. He could almost see an added shine to them, like Sun was some sort of puppy trying his hardest to root out what the obvious thing meant. Moon's fake annoyance melted and he pulled Sun closer to him by their joined hands. "Surprise."

Sun glanced back over his shoulder at the Glamrocks, of which only Freddy was pretending to do something other than watch them interact. Chica had her chin in both of her hands while she listened to them and watched them closely, Roxy was next to Monty while the both of them didn't look particularly entertained, yet their attention didn't waver despite their act. None of them gave him any indication about what Moon was talking about though, so he was left turning back to Moon just as his other hand was taken so that Moon was gently holding onto the both of them.

"You asked them to perform on their night off?" he guessed.

That made Moon chuckle. "No. Well, yes." He knew that his expression was softer than he was generally comfortable with other people seeing on him as he looked at the sunny animatronic. He had a reputation to uphold, after all, but he was happy to let that go in moments like this for his Sun. "They're not the only ones that are going to put on a show."

That only made Sun look even more puzzled and Moon laughed. "Happy Valentine's day. Get up there."

"Wha-?" He looked back over at the Glamrocks and then incredulously at Moon. "No, you didn't."

It was hard not to laugh harder at that and he squeezed Sun's hands again but harder this time. "You say that, but they're waiting for you and you're dressed for the part." He grunted as Sun threw himself against him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders with an ecstatic cry. He stumbled back a step in surprise but recovered quickly enough and pressed his cheek against Sun's before nuzzling into him, enjoying the tickle of the mostly-retracted rays that accommodated his closeness. Sun was nearly vibrating against him with his excitement and that was just even more proof that Moon had made the right call in planning this for him for their Valentine's night. He looked up after a minute and after catching the looks that they were getting from the group he played an audio file of a throat clearing and tried to backoff a little, though Sun wasn't letting him go just yet.

"I think he likes the idea." He tried to play off.

Monty snorted in amusement and Roxy barked a laugh, meanwhile Chica was still watching them without having moved, though her expression was far more fond now. With very obvious reluctance Sun did eventually let go when Moon gave him a few pats on the back, but not before he left a kiss on Moon's cheek. "Just you wait until later, mister," he whispered just between the two of them. Then he was completely detached from Moon and bouncing up towards the stage.

Chica offered him a hand straight away and as she stood up she brought Sun up onto the stage with her without much effort on her part. Sun dusted himself off nervously once he was up with them and did his best to hide the excitement that Moon could see pouring off of him in waves. He wondered if the Glams realized just how ecstatic he really was. Obviously he knew what every single twitch meant in his partner, but he would hope so given how much time they spent together and just how carefully Moon studied Sun when he was sure that Sun wasn't paying any attention. Even when he was sometimes, though Sun tended to fluster easily in those moments.

He backed off to the actual viewing area of the stage while Sun teetered forwards and back from his heels to the balls of his feet and back again and talked with his idols. When he had first floated this request for help to make Sun's night extra special they had all already discussed what songs Sun would know to be able to perform with them. He didn't play any instruments, so he wouldn't be any help there, but Moon was happy to know that he'd get to hear him sing. They did so often enough in the daycare, Moon during naptime and at night when it was just the two of them, and Sun sometimes while they got the daycare back in order and cleaned down with different approved sanitizing agents, besides his silly preprogrammed clean up songs he taught the kids to build good habits both there and at home.

Moon wasn’t quite as fond of those as he was the others.

The lights around the stage dimmed even further at some invisible signal from one of the band mates- perhaps Freddy or one of the others could ping the system to activate certain preset routines- and the lights above and below it started as the music for one of the songs he had listed for them started playing. They must have decided on an order for a few of them while they were talking, which Moon was happy for. It made things less awkward and flow smoother with a partial plan already in place, he was sure. It also allowed them to get the music needed into the systems of the instrument players and a drum track that played in the background- why was there no drummer in a band?- all set up. Freddy passed Sun a mic as the two of them stood front and center on stage, though Freddy did stand a couple steps back to really let Sun have the literal spotlight.

To say that Moon was enraptured by the performance wouldn’t do it justice. Sun was visibly a little nervous but happy up there on stage with the eyes of his heroes and his partner on him but the longer the first song went on the more he came out of his shell. After the first song Monty came up to clap him on his shoulder pad and shouted encouragement while Chica played the opening riff to their next song. Sun looked like he would have been absolutely breathless if they had needed to breathe, Moon was sure that his fans had to be working in overdrive to keep him cool and not just from the heat of the lights.

By the time they had worked most of the way through the list that Moon had made, Sun was hamming it up on stage like he had an audience, like he’d been made for this. Perhaps it was a bit of their old theater programming and personality pieces that hadn’t been completely deleted or suppressed. Dressed as he was and floating between the multicolored stage lights as he was, he looked completely in his element and confident in a way that he sometimes lacked. It didn’t appear that he was brave enough to get too close to the Glamrocks but there were times when he approached them, stood back-to-back with Chica without coming into contact, half-faced Freddy who mirrored the pose while they sang together. Nothing at all could have made Moon happier than seeing Sun have so much fun up there with his idols.

Like all good things, though, it eventually came to an end. Sun jumped nimbly down from the stage after passing his mic back off to Freddy and ran up to Moon, who was already walking to meet him.

”Well? What did you think?” Sun asked excitedly, though Moon could tell that he’d tired himself out by the way that he wasn’t really bouncing or otherwise moving in place. His battery might be getting a little low after that performance, especially since he could hear the way that his fans were whirling inside his casing.

”You looked like a natural up there,” he assured. “Like you were always meant to be part of the band.” He couldn’t help but lay it on a little thick while it was just the two of them, the way that it flustered Sun was just too endearing. He smirked at him and chuckled when Sun pushed him for teasing him. “Really, though. You were great up there, you should sing more in the daycare even if it’s just after hours.”

”I could say the same to you! You have a great voice, you should let more people hear you sing!” Sun put his hands on his hips and leaned forward into Moon’s personal bubble.

”Who needs to sing? Should I get my guitar back out?” Without Moon having noticed Chica had come up behind Sun, who straightened with a squeak and whirled around.

”Oh, uh… Moon has a very nice voice when he sings to the kids at nap time. I was just saying that he should try singing more often too!” Sun wrapped an arm around one of Moon’s and brought him closer as Moon spluttered out his own rising embarrassment at now being under Chica’s attention.

For all that people tended to consider Chica a bit of an air head, from what Moon heard when people forgot that he was creeping around on his patrols, she adeptly picked up that he wasn't really comfortable with the idea. At least not for the moment. "Aw, I didn't know you sang for the kids! That's adorable, I bet it puts them out like a light, you seem like you'd have a good crooner voice."

Moon was never more tempted to pull his hat down to hide his face in his life.

"He does!" Sun piped up in the absence of Moon saying anything. "He tries to say that he's not really built for singing and that it's his music box-" Chica's beak moved to incredulously mouth 'music box' with a glint in her eyes after Sun without interrupting him- "but he can sing to it, so he's definitely just being modest."

Luckily the chicken seemed to be in the mood to take mercy on Moon. "Next time, okay Gumdrop? Just one song, pleeeease?"

Moon couldn't look at her when his fans audibly clicked into a higher gear to contend with the heat of his embarrassment. If he could blush there was little doubt in his mind that his entire face would be changing color. "I'll think about it."

His non-committal didn't at all phase her as she pumped an arm excitedly. It was easy to tell who was going to be the easiest of the four of them for Sun to befriend when she acted like this. "That's not a no!" And then she laughed in the face of his grumbling like Sun usually did when it was all just playful. A few more minutes were spent winding down from the performance while she and Sun talked about what a great surprise it had been and how well he'd done up on stage.

After a while Moon noticed Sun leaning more into him and letting Chica carry the conversation a little more. From his peripheral he watched him while allowing Chica to finish going down her current topic of discussion to check on him. Sun got like this when he was really starting to fade. He did have a softer happy look than what he'd been sporting this entire time, his energy level was definitely coming down.

"Alright," he interrupted before a new topic could take hold and keep them any longer. "I think I need to take him back to our room and get him charged up after a full day and then all that."

Sun made a whining sound and stood back up straight but otherwise didn't fight him on that assertion at all. "Can we come to another rehearsal night soon?"

The attention of the other bandmates was called for as they settled on a good night for the next one so that he and Sun could plan to attend, and then there were a chorus of goodbyes and encouraging words to Sun with echoes of goodnights to Moon. He was sure that he would see one or two of them when he went out later on his rounds, but he didn't bother to say as much and wished the Glams a good evening themselves before he started to herd Sun back towards the daycare.

The trip back was quiet but it was a very comfortable and content brand of quiet. It was something that neither of them felt the need to break until they were all the way back into their room, just basking in each other's company while the ambient music of the 'plex gave them a soundtrack to the walk back. Their hands stayed joined the entire time just as they had been on the way there, a tender mirroring to wrap their evening up.

"I feel bad. I didn't get anything like this for you at all," Sun said when both doors leading to their room were closed before he started to shuck off the bits of his Glamrock outfit.

"You made me a card and got your hands on some soft lights for our room." It was silly to keep his back turned to give Sun some privacy to get back into his normal attire but Moon did it all the same, smacking the magnetic bowtie to the door of the fuse box taking up space on their wall. When Sun complained about it, he just laughed and assured him that it wasn't dangerous and they might as well take advantage of the space.

"Yeah," Sun argued once they were back on topic again though he still sounded disgruntled, "but you got me time to be on stage with the Glamrocks. The Glamrocks, Moon."

He laughed, checking to see if Sun was ready for him to turn around before he did so and pulled him into a hug. "It's not a competition, Sunny. I wanted to make you happy, and I love what you did for me. That's what matters, right?"

The look that Sun gave him was one of someone who was melting under the sweetness of the moment but still wasn't entirely mollified. "... Fine. But you better be ready. Next year I'm going to knock your socks off."

"Good luck, I don't wear any." Moon snickered at the blustering annoyance that he was hit with for that and managed to pin Sun's arms to his sides when he started to struggle in his hold. "C'mon, bedtime. You were getting close to falling asleep in front of your heroes again."

"I was not!" Regardless of his huff of annoyance, and embarrassment, he still let Moon walk him over to their makeshift bed and allowed himself to be fussed over as Moon made sure that he laid himself down comfortably to rest. "Can I make one more request for the night?"

Moon was in the midst of getting himself situated beside Sun among the pillows and the plushies and a couple pilfered blankets that weren't 'quite up to his standards anymore' to be allowed down for the kids during naptime, and had definitely not been an excuse to bring them up to the tower. "Of course you can. Whether or not you get it..." He smirked at Sun's unamused look and used the distraction to get the jump on Sun by suddenly plugging their charging cord into its port on Sun's back.

Sun shuddered and breathed out a quick "jerk" before he relaxed back against Moon. "Will you sing for me for a little while? Just until I fall asleep?"

The question was just too sweet, Moon never stood a chance in being able to refuse it. He chuckled and shuffled around so that he was half sitting up and could hold Sun against his chest. "Of course, just for you." When he leaned to press a kiss to the top of Sun's head he was intercepted, instead meeting Sun's lips. He melted instantly, holding the gentle kiss for as long as Sun let him before Sun slowly put a small amount of distance between them. It was a disgustingly domestic moment of intimacy, staring at Sun after that simple, treasured kiss. There was nothing on this world that Moon would have traded it for.

He didn't bother to pay any attention to how long they stayed like that until Sun settled against his chest and this time allowed Moon to press an affectionate kiss to the top of his faceplate without interruption. "Will you sing my favorite one?" he asked sleepily.

"As if you had to ask, morning star."

[tekablade-chronicles-3]

putting gallica in outfits volume 1 : classic heroes

as you can see i may like putting characters in outfits a bit too much

[xxplastic-cubexx]

dumbass supreme says 'yeah ill play a quick game of rivals before lunch why not' and gets mvp more at 1

[berlinini]

Victorious indeed 🤩

[plugnuts]

I just remembered that in HG/SS we see Ethan in a Team Rocket fit and now I feel robbed because we never got to see Gold in the Team Rocket uniform in pokespe

[starleska]

oh my godddd why do Christmas movies always have the most impeccable, stylish bad guys!!!! i haven't seen Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey yet, but taking one look at Keegan Michael-Key as Gustafson shows i need to remedy that ASAP 😳😳

[kuroko-no-cuties]

BWAAHHHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAH

You can find out the story behind this beautiful picture on grimmfeather’s website translating the 3DS game DLC Events

[camellcat]

look. either you get it, or you don't. I'm not gonna explain The Vision to you, you just have to see it.

[transannabeth]

if we're being so for real, i was a goner on the winter soldier storyline in the mcu the second they cast sebastian stan as james "bucky" buchanan barnes because i was watching once upon a time season 1 episode 17 hat trick when it aired on march 25, 2012 and became deeply enamored with jefferson's tragic backstory, manic moments, fun little kidnapping habit, and deeply deeply sad eyes

[myst1xx]

appreciation post for live action frankie’s wardrobe

[somelazyassartist]

I hate having really pretty visually interesting dreams because I know I'll wake up and forget it and even if I try to draw them before I forget I won't be able to recreate the style :(