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j0kers-light · 1 year ago

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His Lighthouse: Like I Want You (LedgerJoker x f!reader)

Like I Want You

series summary:

Y/n is an aspiring writer living in Gotham City and struggling to find her next muse. Her recent novel is getting all the buzz, earning her far more attention than she signed up for. But when a chance encounter results in her nursing The Joker back to health, will she find the time to write another best seller or will her own story become front page of the Gotham Gazette?

chapter summary:

Joker feared nothing in life except you. No matter if you said your warning in a fit of hysterics they hold meaning. Will you hold him accountable or will Joker have a chance to start over and finally learn more about his Light?

author's note:

Hello darkness my old friend!! I promise I’m not dead! I’m back with a long chapter to make up for the long wait! Fun fact it was even longer… hehe don’t you just love editing? The chapter was dragging on and it didn’t flow properly so I had to cut it. It’ll be included in the next chapter I promise kinda like a 'pick up where we left off' type deal.

Once again thank you all so much for waiting 😫😭😭 I don't deserve this much love and support!! Also please listen to Like I Want You by Givēon to enjoy this chapter to its fullest! I hope you enjoy!

A TRIGGER WARNING IS INCLUDED IN THIS CHAPTER REGARDING Y/N'S PAST WITH **** PLEASE SKIP IF THIS AFFECTS YOU!

taglist:

@blackreaderatrisk @twinkledinkle @clemdango04 @l3ejm @what-an-angel @darthjokerisyourfather @thatsnoteii @dollster @cheetahspy @kaidennnnn @urdariingdoll @motivation-idontknowher @ins0mniac-whack @spaghettificationandpretzels @reneisance @alittlesmartcookie @ninacutebee16 @carydorse

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

Last Chapter | Next Chapter

Sarai was the first one to react after your mini episode.

You were still not yourself and the meds she administered weren't helping things, however; your warning was heard loud and clear.

'You hurt my friends.. and I'll never.. forgive you.'

It was a bold statement, one that the dark clown wasn't handling very well.

Sarai glanced over at Joker who had yet to say anything. He was watching you sleep while you were completely unaware to the fact that you just flipped his world upside down. It was unnerving to see him at a loss for words.

Sarai cleared her throat and tapped your IV drip hanging from the bedpost. "This'll be empty in two hours. Call me when it does."

Joker remained unresponsive so she sighed and focused her attention on your friend in the room. If Sarai remembered correctly, her name was Morgana but just in case she heard it wrong, she didn't call it out directly.

"It's my day off 'n the Fashion District is just round the way. You come with me." She zipped her bag close and waved for Morgana to follow her.

It didn't take a cryogenist to know that Joker needed some time alone with you. His thoughts were plentiful and they weighed on him heavily. However Morgana didn't read the room. She eyed the doctor sideways and stood her ground.

She promised your mother she would watch over you. "I'm not going anywhere. Y/n needs me!"

Sarai was already at the door but turned on her heel to address Morgana.

"She's sedated and I doubt she'll need anything for a few hours. Now, grab ya shoes and ya purse, we're dropping a band. Is my payment ready? Joker?"

Sarai called his name two more times yet he didn't respond.

He was still frozen like a statue, still trying to process your words. It was only after Sarai walked up to him that he blinked out of his fog and glared at her. His body language was defensive and ready to maim. He was back to normal after all.

"My payment?" Sarai dragged out.

Joker waved Sarai off like a pest. "The usual."

She faced Morgana with a wide grin, "We rich! If you need me, send for me!" Sarai shouted over her shoulder at Joker.

She pulled Morgana out of the bedroom and eventually the apartment despite the florist pitching a fit the entire way. Then, Joker was finally alone with you.

So much had transpired during the week apart he felt like he was back to square one with you.

The weekend he spent with you in Martha's Vineyard felt like a dream and so far from reality. He could never forget your beautiful smile or your soft, hesitant touch making him feel like a man reborn. He'd seen the light and experienced its power and now that same light had been snuffed out.

It was disheartening and Joker would not let it stand.

Joker believed you were somewhere buried underneath the pain and trauma of your past.

His Light, an educated bookworm who stuttered under pressure yet quick to raise her voice if someone was in the wrong. That had to be your Blüdhaven upbringing at play. You were a little spitfire in hiding.

He longed for that Y/n, the one that was slowly coming out of her introverted shell. The version of you whom he had inevitably grown to love. Suddenly, a weight lifted from his chest.

Joker could say it now. Love. He loves you.

The very meaning of the word made him feel as if he was underwater fighting against a current.Saying the word up until now made him choke up.

For so long Joker wondered, how could a person blindly love another? To willingly sacrifice everything, their very life, all to please their beloved? It didn't make any sense to him. Then Joker met you and it was sooo easy to risk it all, he questioned how he didn't believe sooner.

He thought people were stupid when they said, 'I found my person.'

He'd been around the world and seen the worst of humanity, but when he looked at you, he was humbled beyond words. If Joker was evil incarnate, then you were a goddess walking on Earth.

And woe, to whoever caused you this pain.

Your Dark Prince would burn cities in your honor. You need not worry about the misdeeds that Joker committed in order to keep you happy. All you needed to do was enjoy the spoils of war.

If keeping you in the dark kept you by his side, then so be it. It didn't soothe his conscience though. Joker thought his shady actions were just but you and your naïve view of the world, would not see things his way.

He would always be the villain in your story even if he paraded around in the sheep's clothing.

Joker could lie till the sun turned blue, but in this moment while you slept blissfully unaware, he would show his hand. Only then would he have the strength to deceive you and remain by your side. But first he needed proof that you were sound asleep.

Joker leaned forward to run his fingers down your cheek. You didn't move a muscle.

Color was coming back to your complexion in the short amount of time that Sarai administered fluids. Your body was struggling to keep up with your emotional outbursts and Joker knew that this was only the beginning to a long process of healing.

He knew you had your demons but you were so secretive about them.

Anytime your past was brought up in conversation, you found a way to dodge the subject. It was frustrating but it piqued his interest.

He deserved to know every aspect of you since he was fully invested now.

Joker felt like he should be the only one mentally unstable in this relationship. He accepted that his mind was ruined a loooong time ago but you? You didn't deserve this. You were a beacon of light, a motivation to so many, (Joker included) and without that natural source of light, he felt off kilter.

Slowly but surely, you and your inner light was changing Joker for the better and he was feeling the side effects now that you were temporarily out of commission. He didn't want to go back to the life he led before meeting you. Life had no meaning, no spark. He was just an empty shell of destruction searching for something worthwhile.

Joker couldn't go back to that. He needed his Light back.

Sarai stated it would take two hours for your IV bag to empty. That gave Joker plenty of time to confess.

He grabbed one of the accent chairs from the fireplace area and brought it over to the side of the bed. He settled into it with a sigh while his eyes roamed over your slumbing form. Morgana had tucked you back under the covers before Sarai all but dragged her out of the apartment.

Joker made a mental note to wire the doctor more funds.

The woman was a nuisance but she proved herself useful time and time again. Joker was glad to have someone like her on his payroll. She acknowledged that he needed time alone with you and got Morgana to leave the premises without drawing attention to his dilemma.

Speaking of which...

Joker cleared his throat. He had so much to say and not a lot of time left to say it in.

"I've done so much that I'll never uhh, atone for but your words Bunny.. They haunt me. I think I already broke my promise to ya, doll." He looked at your closed eyelids.

You looked so peaceful fast asleep; he felt like a coward for speaking on deaf ears. Yet his conscience would be clear if he got this off his chest.

"I-I didn't mean to but.. Florence she's.." Joker swallowed thickly.

You were asleep but in a way, he felt ashamed for what he'd done. Deep down Joker knew you would never forgive him. This would be a confession he'd take to the grave.

"I did it because I had to, Y/n. I'll do any-thing to keep you safe. To keep us safe. That's all I want. Us. T-Together. But I fear if—" Joker stopped and snorted to himself.

"No. My bunny is smart. There's no if. I fear when you find out about all the horrors I've done and uh, will do– you'll leave me. And I... I can't have thaT. Not when I just got ya."

Joker looked down at his hands and grimaced at the invisible blood staining them.

How could you stand them?

You swore up and down that you loved Joker's hands and more importantly, his touch, but the level of trust you willingly gave away troubled him. Everything Joker touched, he destroyed. How were you any different? He left nothing but pain in his wake and he didn't want to hurt you again.

You were a delicate creature in his eyes, a goddess gracing him with just your mere presence. He had no right to touch something so pure.

His hands were forever dirty. Joker's palms were calloused and he had flecks of red and white makeup near his fingers. Joker noticed his nails were getting a bit long and smirked.

If you were awake and in better spirits, you would attack them with nail clippers, making them pretty and worthy to hold, but even then, Joker still didn't see what you saw every time you reached out to hold them.

What made him worthy of your affection?

You would hold his hands as if they were precious gems and kiss each finger with the faintest brush of your lips, that it stole Joker's breath every time.

He didn't deserve such reverence on such tools of mass destruction and especially not from someone like you.

The feeling of your delicate hands slotting into his much rougher ones should be illegal but you would simply scoff at J's tsundere ways and hold them whenever you had the chance. In your eyes, you were the one unworthy to touch him.

You were the only person that touched him without a shred of malicious intent.

A literal angel came down from above with the sole purpose to torture his wicked soul with love and kindness. Joker could never fathom a way to repay you but he could guarantee that he would break your heart.

It was the kind of person he was. History always repeats itself.

He could only hope you would look past his many, many flaws and remain by his side for he would do the same for you.

So what if he was being selfish? Joker knew you were way out of his league but that wouldn't stop him from wanting you all for himself. He would do anything to change fate's design to keep the girl and live happily ever after.

As if such a thing were possible for a corrupted man like him. Did he even deserve a happy ending with the life he lived? No harm in finding out.

Joker reached out and held your hand with one of his own.

He dropped his unique speech pattern and spoke straight from the heart. He leaned down so his words could fall straight into your ear.

"Florence threatened to expose us both and they would have taken you from me. I couldn't bear being separated from you so I..." Joker squeezed your hand tighter.

It was right on the tip of his tongue yet he could say it aloud. Perhaps speaking it into existence made it real and he wasn't ready for you to know the truth just yet. J dropped his head with a bitter smile.

"You may think me a monster and that's okay. I am. But know this. No matter how much you hate me, no matter how hard you try to leave— in the end, this monster will always be by your side because.. I-I have nowhere else to go. You own me my Light. You've won."

Joker scanned your face for a flicker of alertness, but you stayed asleep. His smile was bittersweet before he kissed you softly. A monster kissing his sleeping beauty.

And oh how the mighty have fallen.

Your IV bag was half empty but Joker would wait until you opened your eyes to talk to you then. There was no other place he'd rather be so he settled in and took vigil, protecting his Light.

Joker heard you whimper just shy of the two hour mark. He set down his journal and waited for you to stir awake but much to his disappointment, nothing happened so he returned to his work.

He was underlining a great idea for a heist when you whimpered again. Joker looked over and saw that a heavy weight had settled on your brow that wasn't there before.

He watched you shift under the covers and thought maybe you were waking up but instead you mumbled something inaudible and flinched away from an unknown entity. It took him a minute but Joker knew all too well what was happening. You were having a nightmare and watching it unfold tore him apart.

He tossed his work down and reached over to shake you awake.

"Y/n. Hey, hey... bunny." His efforts proved to be counterproductive since you openly sobbed and curled into a fetal position.

As a result, your IV line stretched too far and pulled taunt on your forearm. Joker was worried that the needle would come out so he tried to help you lie back down but you had other plans. Whatever nightmare you were experiencing was traumatic and you reacted accordingly.

It came out of nowhere. One minute you were curled up like a ball, the next, you were fighting him with all your might.

Joker had to admit– you had hands, but you were causing more harm to yourself than him and somehow you were still asleep during the scuffle. He had to put an end to this.

"Wake up Y/n!" Joker shouted as he dodged your fists.

He grunted when your knee collided with his groin. Joker's pain tolerance was high but he was still a man. He grimaced through the pain and missed your eyes flying open in a state of panic.

Your head was still foggy from the pain meds but you quickly acknowledged that a male was pinning you down.

You couldn't tell what was real and what was just your nightmare; the only thing you could do was react the same way you did well over a year ago.

"G-Get off of me, Ty! Stop it!"

Joker froze the moment you yelled another man's name.

He quickly flipped the two of you over so you were the one in control but he didn't let you go.

He couldn't let you fight this alone. Although he didn't know what to do, he decided that talking you through it was somewhat of a good idea.

"Shhh shhh doll. Hey, uh.. do ya remember when I took you to the uh beach? You wanted to err— 'hear the dark ocean waves crashing onto the shore and feel the stillness of the night embrace you.' Buh-lieve me, it sounded wayy better comin' from you. I thoughT you were crazy for wanting to go at nighT but you madeit sound so.. normal. I wanted to experience something normal with you."

Joker noticed that you stopped fighting him so he kept going.

"You were uh, happy just dancing in the moonlight, so carefree and beautiful. I never took my eyes off ya and how could I? You're perfect, my light in the darkness, my.. everything. I'd do anything for you, don't ya know that doll? Say the woo~oord and it's yours, remember?"

Joker cradled the back of your head and you could hear his heartbeat while lying on his chest. He was just as nervous as you were. You clung to Joker's shirt tighter and whimpered.

Joker saw that he was winning you over and took things a step further.

"I'm gonna rub your back in uhh, circular motions��mkay? Tell me to stop and I will."

You were afraid that Joker would make fun of your fragile situation but instead he took the time to alert you of his intentions. That had to count for something yet the doubt still lingered.

You squeezed your eyes shut and tried to clear them away. This was Joker, he wouldn't hurt you.. right? There were so many unknowns floating inside your head but Joker called out your name in that unique tone of his dragged you out of the fray.

His hands gently landed on your back, making you tense on reflex. "This okay?" He asked.

A man who never asked for permission a day in his life, offered you that courtesy. With a shaky nod, you allowed it.

"Yeah? All-rightY then. I'll go slow buT... ya gotta talk to me. What's goin' on in that pretty head of yours, bun?"

He left a kiss on the crown of your head and rubbed your back in soothing figure eights. The rhythm made your eyes fall half mast but Joker stopped before you could fall under.

He drummed his fingers against your spine and it startled you awake. "Use your words, pretty girl. Tell me."

"Please, don't make me relive that." You begged.

The finger drumming stopped and you risked a peek at Joker. His shriveled up heart tore into two seeing a river of diamonds running down your bronze cheeks.

Someone hurt his Light and they would pay but first he would do his best to dry your tears. He can't bear it whenever you cry. Your tears would be his undoing.

"Relive what, Y/n? I never know what's going on with you. Who's this Ty person, hmm? I can kill him for you.."

You froze. You couldn't believe that you uttered that name for J to hear. Maybe if you backtracked Joker would forget and move on.

"N-No one. Just forge—"

"Stop. Dodging. The. Question! Morgana told me what happ-ened last night and now you're reacting like this?! You can't hide from me anymore. I neeeeeeeeed to know what happened.."

Joker shifted a bit so he could catch one of your tears with his index finger. There was genuine concern etched on his face that left you speechless. You never wanted Joker to know but he wasn't going to let this go. He was just as stubborn as you are.

He started to list off your drawbacks.

"You fear a man's touch. You have anxiety and social triggers. You run away from anything stressful, and d__n it Y/n! Just tell me what happened. I won't jud—"

"NO!"

Joker arched an eyebrow at your sudden outcry. He'd only known you a few months but you weren't a person to raise your voice at others.

"Nooo no no... no, you'll h-hate me if I told you!" You choked out a sob and Joker was quick to pull you back into a hug. His warm embrace was the perfect remedy despite the circumstances at hand.

"I could never hate you! What makes you think that Y/n?" He vowed while squeezing you tighter.

Joker had his suspicions on what happened to you but he kept it to himself. Morgana offered to spill the beans but he felt he should hear the truth directly from you. For so long Joker questioned your odd tics and mannerisms and today they finally held meaning.

You created some space from him with a sigh and Joker knew whatever you were about to say would change everything. You couldn't look him in the eye anymore.

With tears dotting your lashes, you finally broke down and told Joker about your past.

"Because why would you want someone's leftovers?"

"Uh leftovers?" J echoed. You sat up in Joker's lap and sniffled.

You never told anyone what truly happened that fateful night– not even when your parents begged you to make a police report, but the moment you started talking, you just couldn't stop. The truth was finally coming out and you felt indifferent to it all.

You wrapped your arms around yourself and began.

"His birthday was coming up and I didn't want him to be more upset with me. He was already mad because I didn't get him anything so we decided last minute on a movie. Some trashy romance flick that I couldn't tell you the title of to save my life. In hindsight, I realize that he practically threatened me to go. He knew what he wanted from me."

"The movie was fine until he got handsy halfway through. I said no. I said no all night... He slapped me, called me a f__king cocktease when I refused to suck him off– so I left. It should've been simple.. Give Ty a day or two to cool off but he always apologizes. He had a temper but he never meant to take it out on me. He always apologized because he... loved me. Or so I thought." You shivered.

"That night was different though. He was so angry that I made a scene walking out and we had already fought the day before about me moving to Gotham to kick off my writing career. He wanted me to be a stay at home wife. Heh, marriage was never brought up in a conversation he just... assumed that I would be with him forever. If only I had known just how controlling he really was. By the time he showed me his true colors—"

You chuckled while blinking back your tears. Joker wanted to reach out and wipe them away, do anything really to comfort you, but your next sentence stopped him in his tracks.

[ Do NOT read further if sexual assault/rape affects you. The end of this section is marked if you wish to skip it.]

*** TRIGGER WARNING STARTS NOW ***

"He followed me out into the alley behind the theater. I made it to the sidewalk, but he grabbed my hair and dragged me back into the darkness. He s-slammed my head so hard into the brick wall, I lost consciousness. I came to and scratched at his face so he broke my arm. And the b-broken jaw was because I-I was too loud. If I had kept my mouth shut like a good girlfriend, he wouldn't have to be so rough, he said. It still aches when it rains, which is all the time, but it's whatever I guess."

Joker's gaze fell to your jaw as if he could find evidence to your assault well over a year later. He did notice on heavy rainy days that you would rub your jaw in pain.

He thought nothing of it until now.

It also explained why you were so quiet during sex. You were punished for being too loud then and feared making a sound now.

The puzzle pieces were slowly snapping into place and Joker felt sick to his stomach for being so blind.

"W-When you love someone, you trust them not to h-hurt you." You didn't see Joker's guilt torn face as you said that. You carried on unawares. "He broke that trust so I made the decision to escape from the pain he was inflicting."

"You dissociated while he..." Joker whispered.

How long had you bottled this up? Months? Years? Joker didn't want to know the answer.

He inflicted pain on others simply because it was amusing; nothing bothered him, but hearing the accounts of a traumatic assault from an innocent creature like you, it truly broke his heart.

Now he understood why you always ran when things got too dicey. It was your coping mechanism. Running kept you safe and you couldn't break old habits.

Joker regretted asking you about the past. Some things were best left in the dark.

"I'll never get his voice out of my head. He praised me for being so tight. I was choking on my own blood and b-bleeding internally from each agonizing thrust, and he.. thanked.. me for being... He knew I loved praise and used it against me! I lost a piece of myself that I'll never get back all because he thanked me. C-Can you even call it rape if you cum? How could my own body betray me and enjoy something so barbaric?"

You fought back tears and furiously wiped away any that emerged. When you felt strong enough, you continued.

"It took months to physically mend myself back together but my mental wounds will never heal. I tried to move on and start dating again but..... he was always there. Every date, every hookup, every attempt at sex, was ruined with the thought of him and his touch. Eventually I stopped trying. I accepted the fact I was broken and focused on my work and nothing else. I lost friends but I didn't care. I moved to Gotham City to start anew and haven't looked back. I was existing but not living– that is until you came along."

*** TRIGGER WARNING HAS ENDED ***

Joker looked up in shock. He had been quiet for the most part but hearing his name during your story was a shock. "M-Me?" He pointed to himself.

You exhaled sharply and grabbed Joker's hand.

He watched as you played with his calloused fingers and frowned when you noticed the length of his nails. You picked at a jagged edge as you replied.

"Yeah.. you. You aren't normal and after what I've been through, I craved your um.. brand of different I guess? You don't care that I'm someone else's leftovers— a girl who's afraid of being touched. When I'm with you.. I-I can be the Y/n I was before I was r-r.. um assaulted."

You intertwined your fingers with Joker's and glanced up at him. He immediately returned your stare. "Please tell me you won't leave m-me. N-Now that you know."

Now Joker knew where your separation anxiety originated from.

So many fools before him left you high and dry while you were trying to heal and they unknowingly scarred you further. Joker saw the sheer desperation in your e/c eyes and vowed to be different.

He would not make the same mistake they did.

Joker didn't say a word as he leaned forward to grab a hold of your face.

You jumped at the unexpected contact but his eyes are what scared you the most. They weren't filled with pity or disgust; Joker's vivid green eyes glowed with nothing but acceptance.

Joker's clown makeup took away from the sight but his genuine smile was still a sight for sore eyes. It made yours widen in shock.

"Where else would I go, hmm?" Then he heard his favorite sound in the world. Your laugh.

It wasn't the light and airy bell like tone he was used to, but it'll do given the circumstances. You leaned into Joker's calloused hand that cradled your face with a half smile.

"There she issssss, there's my Light! You thought that would scare me off? Nah, that's nothing. Pfft. I've done far worse sweetheart." Joker thought the joke came out well but he felt the moment you tensed up.

He wanted to kick himself when you leaned away. "What?"

Joker's brain was working in overdrive on how to retract that statement.

In your fragile state, the last thing you needed was to discover just how much of a monster Joker truly was. Thankfully the sound of your stomach growling saved the day. He sighed in relief when you became flustered and covered your belly.

The last thing you ate was a plate of sweets and now your body was craving real food. You filed Joker's eerie words away for later to focus on your body's needs.

"I doubt Dick left any food but it won't hurt to check." You flung the covers away to stand but you were literally yanked back by your IV line.

You glared at it in shock. It was then you noticed that you were tied to the bedpost.

You prayed that you were just reading too much into things. There was no way that Joker would deliberately tie you to the bed. He had no reason to yet your heart started to race when he remained silent.

'I've done far worse sweetheart.' Was this Joker's way of showing you his true colors?

"J, what the..."

He smacked his lips and began the tedious task of untying your line from the headboard.

He tried to ignore your bugged out eyes watching his every move. You had just finished explaining that your rapist ex was controlling only to find out your current lover tied you to the bed.

He'd kill Sarai for her dumb idea. Who ties a medical IV bag to a bedpost anyways?!

It didn't matter who was truly at fault, in your eyes, Joker was to blame. He was making mistake after mistake and really setting himself up for a trip to the doggie house or worse. You just might kick him out of your life for good.

Once the line was loose, he focused on removing the IV needle. Sarai advised him to call her but Joker wanted as much privacy with you as possible. He just hoped he was removing it correctly. At least it didn't bleed as much when he took out the needle. You grimaced more from his touch than the removal process.

He wondered how long it would take for you to trust him again. He missed touching you so freely already.

Joker slapped a band-aid that matched your skin tone on the entry point and stood up.

"You're uh wel-come to join me in the errr kitchen. Do ya need help gettin' there?" Joker ideally wanted to carry you to the kitchen or at least spot you along the way but you were still wary of him.

He would be stuck asking for your permission and doing frequent check-ins for the unforeseeable future.

Not that he minded but it would become repetitious after a while. Just because you and Joker were on the same page again didn't mean he was out of the neck of the woods. He didn't want to overstep any boundaries and risk starting things over from the beginning.

It took too long for Joker to craft the trust he formed with you and he would not let your ex ruin his hard work.

Maybe some food would do you some good. The fluids and pain meds could only do so much to get you back healthy. Although Joker now knew that your mental health was an issue there was no way he could help you there.

"N-No. I think I'll be fine. Um, can you fix me a plate while I'm in the bathroom?" You weren't quite sure why you turned down Joker's assistance but watching his shoulders deflate made you feel ten times more guilty.

Joker was trying to help in the only way he knew how.

You didn't move from the bed and Joker got the message. You wanted some privacy and so with a mute nod, he made himself scarce.

You waited until Joker left the bedroom to breathe a sigh of relief. You quite literally got something off your chest. You'd been bottling your trauma for a year now and parading around like everything was fine was not good for your mental health.

Joker was the only soul who knew the severity of your assault and he didn't leave like so many partners did before him.

He was okay with you being a mess and that alone made you crack a smile that quickly faded away. Being a mess was not something to celebrate. You were tired of pretending. Maybe it was high time to stop joking about it and actually schedule a therapy appointment.

Your mother was probably giving Him all the Glory if she knew you were serious about seeking professional help this time.

If you remembered correctly, Mom gave you a list of psychologists from Blüdhaven and another list that practiced here in Gotham City after you moved. You nodded to yourself and set about getting up so you could go to your room to search for it. Then you could make a quick stop in the bathroom on the trip back.

The covers were still flung back so you swung your legs over the bed and stood up, only to stagger back onto the bed when your balance failed you.

Perhaps you should've taken Joker's offer to help. You'd been bed ridden all day and your equilibrium was completely out of whack but you suffered through worse.

You toughened through it and walked down the hallway to your bedroom, quickly closing the door behind you.

Joker heard the door echo in the apartment and sighed. It was a distinct sound that rattled his nerves. You were in your room and there was no telling if you would emerge.

For now, all he could do was prepare a plate of food and hope you joined him in the kitchen.

In the meantime, he called Mac and Frost and took care of some business. You walked into the kitchen right as he was finishing up a phone call with Mac.

"I don'T care. Follow her so we don't have another repeat occurrence. Uhh she's with Sarai, find her on your own."

Joker spotted you hesitating in the archway and hurried Mac off the phone. "Yeah yeah just do your job and have fun."

Joker hung up and grabbed a small pot off the stove. He pointed at the island counter and you obeyed the silent request.

Your kitchen remained the same as you remembered it but now Joker was buzzing around it and doing a great job of fixing you a plate. He found your causal china from the cupboard and loaded a plate up with a generous helping of baked beans, a generous slice of Dad's BBQ meat, and he was currently raking some warmed up greens onto the plate. You doubted you'd eat all of it but the gesture was there.

Joker was concerned about you.

He set the pot back on the stove before pushing the plate across the island counter towards you. "Eat." He spun around to yank the silverware drawer open. "Uh hold on.."

A fork was presented to you along with a napkin or two.

You arched an eyebrow at Joker being so at ease in your kitchen but dug into your food with gusto. The flavors had time to set overnight and it was a literal party in your mouth. You felt the energy recharging your body and you did a small happy dance in your seat.

You looked up when you heard Joker snort.

He was leaning back on the sink with his arms crossed, staring at you. There was a softness in his eyes that you never seen before. He looked like a lovesick puppy and sported a dopey smile on his lips.

It sent butterflies stirring in your stomach but you pushed down the feeling and slowly ate under his watch. You were blowing on a forkful of food when he suddenly spoke.

"We should go out."

The beans on your fork dripped back onto your plate. Surely he was kidding. You downplayed the obvious. "Out? Like o-outside on the balcony?"

Joker fixed you with a deadpan glare. He grabbed a fork of his own and stole a bite of your greens. You looked on in disbelief at the amount he took and definitely not at the juices running down his chin provocatively.

He was making a show of chewing them, "Mmm that's good but uhh.. no. Out as in... I take ya out on a date." He smirked at your jaw dropping open. He felt cheeky so he scooped up some beans and fed them to you.

You jumped back last minute and had no other choice but to chew them as Joker spoke.

"Lemme spoil my Light rotten so you can see what I see. A beautiful goddess walkin' amongst us. Whaddya say pretty girl? Wanna go on a date with me?" Joker flashed you a smile.

"I.. but you.." You stuttered. Joker played along with your lack of excuses.

He twirled his hands in a circle, "But whaT, Bunny?"

"You seem to forget you're a wanted criminal with the entire city on the hunt for you! We can't just go out! I mean... what if you get caught or um.." You stared at the concrete poured countertops as if they held the answers you needed.

Joker laughed and propped his elbow up on the surface. He was glad to know your only reservations were about his safety and not about being in a foul mood to go out.

He drummed his fingers on the counter and shrugged his shoulders.

"So? I wanna take my girl out. That's a uhh, risk, I'm willin to take. If you don't wanna go just say so. Orrrr is it something else holding you back? Don't wanna be seen with me? Is that it?"

You were quick to deny, "NO! That's not it! I-I.. it's the other way round! I'm not worth all the fuss, Joker."

Joker growled and smacked his hands down, causing the plate and other items on the counter to rattle briefly. You flinched when he rounded the counter to tip your chin back.

Joker knew you were still skittish with physical touch but he couldn't help himself. He brushed his lips against yours so you could feel the honesty dripping from his lips.

"An author I know once penned. 'Let it be known all across Greece, that I, a lowly human, cherish and bow before the feet of a goddess. Should she smite me here and now, I will undoubtedly perish as a satisfied man.'"

Hearing Joker quote your books was like a shot of tequila without a lime.

It spoke to how much he valued you as a person and as an author while still paying homage to his burning desire for you.

His shaky sigh fanned over your face and you closed your eyes from the intimate contact. Your instincts were screaming at you to run run run, however you were a woman and a very attractive man was declaring his devotion to you. You stayed rooted in place.

Your heart skipped and you licked your lips, unknowingly swiping Joker's.

"Happy." Joker was confused until you finished your sentence by correcting the book quote. "Sebastian said he'd perish a happy man, not satisfied."

You panted in the space between Joker's mouth and yours. He was so close it hurt.

"Same thing." Joker shortened the distance and captured your lips with a groan. How long had he starved himself of this pleasure? A week too long.

You tasted so sweet and felt so soft– a literal treat for a man touch starved. He couldn't stop himself from grabbing you by the waist and hoisting you up on the counter. Joker didn't part for air and you clung to him tighter.

Your legs naturally parted to allow Joker room to step in between them and you wrapped your arms around his neck to deepen the kiss.

Where everyone else was closed off, somehow it felt right to let Joker in. Despite your fears and unresolved trauma, you could trust Joker with your body.

You could tell he was holding back (you swooned at his self-restraint) and a part of you was grateful when he pulled back. It was too much too soon.

He leveled his breathing and rested his forehead against yours, "Y/n, you're worth everything. Let me do this, hm?"

You gazed into Joker's eyes. This meant a lot to him although your current level of confidence couldn't grasp why. You just had to blindly trust that Joker had your best interests at heart.

"Okay."

"Okay... what?" He pressed. He never broke eye contact with you which didn't help you think straight. You could drown in his sea of moss green.

"Um, y-yes I wanna go on a d-date with.. with you."

Joker looked like a kid in a candy store. He couldn't stop smiling and almost kissed you again but backed away at the last minute. He saw you breathe a sigh of relief and knew he made the right decision.

"Ya won't regret it. Now! Let's spoil my Bunny rotten shall we?" Joker bopped you on the nose.

Just what did you sign up for?

It was impossible for someone with your skin color to truly blush but you could feel your skin boiling with all the attention Joker bestowed you.

He encouraged you to wash up and change into something that was easy to get in and out of before ushering you out of the apartment. You ended up in a pair of beat up sweats and one of his shirts. You were giving bum city realness and felt like it too.

Joker also changed to blend in better– if being disguised as a sexy mafia boss was his definition of 'blending in.'

Every female in a fifty mile radius eyed Joker like the piece of meat he was. The sad part, he knew he looked fine and fed off the energy.

He wore another delicious all black suit with gold cufflinks and a matching watch on his arm. He walked with a purpose and kept you safely tucked in the crook of his arm.

Male and females glared at you in envy as this mysterious male guided you into Gotham City's elite boutique. You were embarrassed to say the least.

You only been in here once to browse around for your American GreatRead's award dress before Cindy hooked you up with a custom designer.

Only celebrities and the upper echelon of Gotham City dared to step foot into Tashio and Joker dragged you in here in your beat up house clothes.

You and Joker hadn't made it a foot into the store when a woman with beautiful ebony skin strutted over. "May I help you two?"

Joker took off his shades to inspect her more closely. He was forced to keep his mask on lest everyone see his scars but his presence still commanded respect. You were amazed at how he slicked his hair back so the green streaks didn't show. It was slowly fading and he didn't bother dying it back since he knew you loved his natural hair color.

Just another way he was changing himself for you.

"Yes. My girl and I are going out tonight. Black tie. There's no limit and don't listen to her suggestions, she's errr modest." He nudged you forward so the saleswoman could take a look at you.

You almost snapped your neck to glare at Joker.

"What's that supposed to mean?" You gritted.

The woman got straight to business. "Understood. Any preference of designers sir and will the two of you be matching? Oh, and what's your size?" She spoke to you directly at the end but Joker replied on your behalf. "No, yessss, and she's a...."

Joker paused to look you over. You bashfully looked away as his eyes roamed over your curves.

If anyone else stared at you in such a way you'd be disgusted, but Joker's lustful gaze made you feel desired and a touch confident. He locked eyes with you as he spoke.

"She's a (insert dress size)." You knew he was smiling underneath his face mask. The cocky clown was right..

"Will you be staying for the fitting? Sir?" The saleswoman cleared her throat to get his attention. "Excuse me sir?"

J's gaze was still on you when he replied, "Mhm." He didn't catch the saleswoman's smile.

"Very well.. Please, come with me." She waved the two of you further into the store and asked for your name. You complimented her bantu knots and her striking blue eyeliner and she in turn admired your work in literature.

And of course that launched a discussion about your novels. You could talk for hours about your work.

By the time the three of you reached the actual showroom, you were perfectly at ease. Joker noted how your demeanor mellowed out around women and decided to fall back to give you some space.

You hardly noticed his absence. You still had no clue where Joker was taking you tonight except that it was a black tie event.

Kendra, your styling consultant, sat you down and asked you questions while her assistant ran around to stock a private room with the choices that you unknowingly made so far.

You ruled out anything short and in your least favorite color and Kendra listened attentively while making mental notes of your preferences based on your answers.

You were surprised by how seamless the whole process was especially when Kendra informed you she already had some ensembles picked out for you to try on. You passed by a gorgeous pair of shoes on the way to the fitting room and she assured you that she would also assist in picking out any accessories and shoes to go with your final selection.

Joker was making due on his promise to spoil you.

Speaking of the clown, you finally acknowledged that he wasn't with you. He must've disappeared while you weren't looking. Hopefully he stayed out of trouble while you shopped around.

Kendra was explaining the store's wide collection of designers when a commotion on the floor gained her attention.

"Sir! Can you please return that to its original display?!"

Both you and Kendra turned to spot a redhead running behind Joker, who was carrying an entire mannequin over his shoulder like it was a normal occurrence.

You facepalmed as Kendra chuckled at the sight. She waved her co-worker off. The redhead was miffed but stormed off with a grumble under her breath. This is why she liked when men left the store.

Joker set the mannequin down once he reached your side. "I li-ke this one." He said.

Kendra didn't have the heart to tell the man this design was a display only. Her fingers were crossed that they had your size still in stock.

"Good choice sir, she'll look amazing in Valentino. Would you like to try it on, Y/n?"

You glared at Joker for his lack of manners and studied the gown. You were worried about your chest behaving, or rather, not in the off the shoulder gown.

"Uh it's beautiful but.."

Joker hummed and tugged the material down. You gasped the same time Kendra fixed her mouth to scold him.

"It has a built-in bra Bunny. The uh.. girls won't go anywhere you don't want em' to." He let go of the gown and shooed you towards your private room. "Go try it on."

Your ears were redder than the dress and Kendra did her best to stifle her laugh while following you back to the fitting room. She excused herself to go check inventory (thank the gods they had your size left!) and returned to help you in it.

Just like Joker said, your cleavage wasn't a problem. You stared at your reflection in the mirror and twirled absentmindedly.

"Your boyfriend has good taste."

You stopped twirling to stare at Kendra. She was smiling and didn't know the weight of her words.

"Not many partners stay for the fittings let alone make good selections. He's a keeper." She fixed the seam around your arm as you stared off in thought.

Is that what you and Joker looked like to outsiders? Like a couple? You bit your lip to stop your smile.

"He's not my boyfriend." You denied. Kendra scoffed.

"With the way he looks at you? The devil is a lie and denial is a river in Africa. You may be delulu, but that man is down bad for you. You look good girl. Do you want to show him this one?"

You were most definitely in denial. There was no way that Joker would commit to anyone let alone you— especially now since he knew about your past, but you begrudgingly nodded at Kendra.

However a knock on the door interrupted you. The same redhead from before poked her head through the door.

"Sorry Kendra but your client asked me to send these two in. Said something about his goddess needed to try them on. He's not feeling the red anymore." She rolled her eyes before handing your consultant two more gowns for you to try.

It's like Joker read your mind; you were a bit indecisive and needed more options.

Kendra thanked her colleague and unzipped the dress bag open to reveal a high collar teal gown. It was a pencil silhouette and looked very chic on the hanger.

You were hesitant but stepped into the dress only to turn your nose up as the fabric accented your curves a little too much.

You saw Joker's vision here but you weren't feeling confident in it. Kendra noticed your displeasure and didn't bother fastening the buttons near the neck. "Let's try the next one shall we?" She politely deflected.

She knew you too well for someone you just met. You let out a heavy sigh and stripped to your bra and panties again.

Joker meant well but what if you didn't find anything to wear to his surprise date? You probably tried on a dozen gowns, each one more gorgeous than the last, but none of them felt right.

Kendra carefully held a deep indigo number for you to step into. The second it glided over your skin, you broke out in goosebumps. The rich color looked divine on your darker skin and once Kendra zipped it up and you saw the dramatic ruffles, you knew.

She had a feeling this was the one too and smiled as she smoothed and tucked the gown a certain way to earn your approval.

You had yet to stop smiling at your reflection in the mirror. It was dramatic and elegant and you felt glamorous while wearing it. It would stand up perfectly with Joker's dark suit tonight.

"I-I wanna show him this one." You murmured. Kendra agreed and gave you a pair of sample heels to walk in.

The door opened and you walked down the short hallway and turned the corner to find Joker sitting on a couch, fiddling with his watch. He was blowing a raspberry but felt a presence in the room. His jade eyes immediately locked on you and then his heart stopped.

He was utterly speechless. You played with your fingers before clearing your throat.

"D-Do you like it, J?" Nervous was an understatement as Joker stood up without a word.

He came to a stop in front you and pulled his mask down far enough to kiss you right there on the showroom floor.

You jumped at the initial contact but let his lips dance across yours. Joker's lips were like satin to the touch despite his scars and you firmly believed he kissed you differently every time you lips met his.

You forgot you were in public when he licked the root of your mouth with his tongue.

You shoved him away none too gently. "J, stop!" You hid your shaking hands behind your back and glanced around.

Kendra had her back turned– pretending to straighten a display dress on its hanger better and no one else was in the nearby vicinity. Joker pulled you right back in his embrace. He felt you trembling but pursued his goal.

"So? Let them.." He kissed your cheek, "Mmm, let them see.. just how much.. you're wanted." He said in between pecking your face.

It was light and innocent, nothing heavy to rattle your nerves but you still grimaced each time Joker's lips came in contact with your skin. You hated how quickly your mood changed.

Joker was always mindful of your body language and pulled away to fix his mask back over his mouth.

You didn't shy away from Joker as a person per se, but rather at the fact he was wasting his passion on damaged goods. You still felt lesser than. That would change by the end of the night.

Joker sighed to himself before waving Kendra and her assistant over. If they saw anything, their poker faces were stone cold.

Joker shoved his fists into his pockets and nodded over at you.

"Get my Light some uh proper heels to wear and drown her in jewels. Gold she uhh, looks the best in gold.."

Joker watched you rub the back of your neck. "I want her hair and makeup done too. Uh, I'll be back."

Once Joker issued his requests, he stepped away, leaving you with a smug Kendra and a clueless assistant calling the inhouse hair and makeup crew so they could expect your arrival.

Kendra offered you a napkin to wipe your face. Did the man have to slobber all over it? At least he wasn't wearing his clown makeup.

"I thought he wasn't your boyfriend Y/n?" Kendra snickered.

You snatched the napkin out of her hands. "Oh shut up." The both of you shared a laugh.

Joker stepped outside to make some calls to ensure his plans for the night went off without a hitch.

It was a bit of a risk to be out in public– especially where he was taking you, yet one he was willing to take if it helped boost your confidence. Your self esteem was at an all time low and you were having thoughts that weren't befitting the new nickname he wanted to test out.

He wasn't lying when he said you were a goddess meant to be cherished and worshipped.

Tonight would be a mere glimpse of what he would do for the rest of your life— if you'll have him.

He lit up a few cigs in between calls and before he knew it, time had gotten away from him. Joker stepped back inside to check on you.

A lady on the showroom floor said you were finishing up with makeup so he took care of the bill while he waited. You wouldn't let him hear the end of it if he didn't actually pay.

He was eyeing a display case of designer handbags when an employee cleared her throat to get his attention. Joker sent her a sharp glare over his shoulder.

Something about those abnormally green eyes frightened her. "Ahh uh.. she's.. your date is ready s-sir."

He loved scaring people, that would never change no matter how closely he embraced the light.

Joker followed the associate to a waiting room although he didn't have to wait for long, you were already walking in like the ethereal deity you are.

The dress by itself was stunning but in his absence you donned a pair of drop earrings, your wrist was adorned with gold, and the hair team did a phenomenal job in taming your curls. Your hair was beautiful on a normal day but they combed out any knots and let it cascade down in its natural curl pattern. It was elegantly styled but pinned back to allow your jewelry and natural beauty to be the main focus.

If you wore makeup they did an outstanding job highlighting your natural features.

If you preferred a more natural approach, Joker smirked at the subtle lip gloss on your plump lips. He wanted to kiss it off but all in good time. The next time he claimed your lips he wanted you to be a willing participant.

You declined a handbag since you left the penthouse with only your keys and phone in hand and Joker was currently carrying both for you. Imagine your surprise when you discovered your evening gown had pockets. It was a blessing from above that it was the one for you.

All in all, you looked breathtaking and you had an ounce of confidence to yourself.

You walked over, smiling faintly at Joker. He was ever the gentleman, bowing at the waist and kissing the back of your hand before offering you his arm.

The employees who were gathered looked on in awe. It was something out of a fairy tale, the two of you looked so perfect together! If only they knew it was the infamous Joker who was spoiling you and not some average guy.

As if you wanted a normal man after being with Joker.

You giggled to yourself as J escorted you out of Tashio's and towards a car waiting on the curb.

A driver held the door open and you slid inside with Joker following behind you. "Are ya hungry, Bunny?" He asked as you got settled.

You urged him to put his seatbelt on and he did so with a dramatic roll of his eyes. The things he did for you.. First he legally pays for a service, the next he wears a seatbelt. Would you somehow convince him to file his taxes next?

If you asked, he'd consider it.

A few hours had passed since leaving the apartment and it was nearing dinner time. You had worked up an appetite after shopping and then sitting in a hair stylist chair for so long.

"Yeah dinner sounds good."

Joker played with your chain bracelet as the car drove off to his plans for the night. His special surprise burned inside of his pocket but he would wait until a better time arose to present it to you. He didn't like your prolonged silence though.

He hoped you weren't thinking negatively and digging yourself into a funk. "Hey," Joker called your name.

You tore your eyes from the traffic outside the window and met endless pools of green "Hm?"

"You ok?" He asked.

You grabbed Joker's hand, intertwining it with your own and admired the color contrast. Joker didn't care that his tan skin clashed with your darker brown, he was too busy celebrating this mini victory.

You initiated physical contact with him. He was overjoyed when he kissed your hand and you didn't flinch.

"I will be." 'Now that I have you.' You thought the last bit to yourself.

His gaze never left your face until the driver announced the two of you had arrived. You were curious and excited to see why Joker had you all dressed up. He stepped out of the car first and turned around to help you out.

Your heels clicked as they settled on the sideway in front of a tall stone building alit from within.

Then it all made sense why you were dressed to the nines.

You heard about the place but never knew where it was located. Another Michelin star restaurant hidden in the heart of The Bowery district with a ridiculously long wait list and allegedly, a menu well worth the wait.

You had no doubt that Joker threatened someone, (or worse) to get a table on such short notice.

Joker watched your eyes sparkle in awe as he guided you inside the restaurant. He stopped at the hostess booth to whisper something in their ear but you were distracted by the ambiance.

You were quick to notice that the space used to be an old ballroom but was converted over time into a restaurant.

The ceiling still had its picturesque artwork and elaborate crown molding but the pièces de résistance was the live tree growing in the middle of the room. Its branches provided a much needed element of greenery amidst all the glamor and acted as a natural privacy divider for the surrounding tables.

It defied all logic by thriving amongst marble and stone and a massive two story chandelier hung above it, casting an ethereal glow on the healthy leaves and the people seated below it. The place was filled with magic.

You turned your head when a male appeared and addressed you and Joker.

"Ahem, your table is waiting."

He patiently waited for you and J to follow him. On the far side of the room, a giant spiral staircase winded up so close to the chandelier, you could reach out and touch the glass beads. Joker grabbed your wrist before you could.

He didn't want you reaching too far over the railing and risk hurting yourself. You were way too clumsy for your own good.

The second story of the ballroom overlooked the restaurant below and you were stunned by the more intimate seating available up here.

Unlike downstairs, each table was spread further out from the others by vine dividers, giving a guest the feeling of a space all to themselves. Joker made sure his table was well off from the others so he could remove his mask in peace.

Not like anyone could see him with the soft candlelight casting shadows everywhere but he wasn't about to take any chances.

The waiter presented the private area with a flourish of his arms. The tablecloth was stark white and fine china sat overtop along with candles, fresh flora, and silverware– ready to enjoy. There was a perfect blend of elegance and greenery that matched the restaurant's overall aesthetic.

Joker glared at the waiter who tried to hold a chair out for you. Joker waited until he was gone before removing his mask. Then you finally got to see his scarred lips tugging up in a smile.

You sat down and let Joker push you towards the table however; you jumped when he left a kiss on the back of your neck. Joker mumbled out a sorry right as another water approached the table with a pitcher of water.

He poured you a glass and handed you and Joker menus, "Welcome to Eden. I will be your only server tonight."

He nodded at Joker and you surmised that J paid him off.

Not many people could stomach seeing Joker and his scars or turn a blind eye to a known fugitive being out in public. The NDA check must be huge.

You opened the menu and scanned it over. Everything sounded delicious but you couldn't decide what to get even after the waiter walked off to give you some time.

You glanced over the top of your menu at Joker. He had yet to look at tonight's selection. He couldn't take his eyes off of you and sent a lazy smile your way when you caught him staring.

Your ears were burning with how much he made you flustered. You fiddled with your earrings and focused back on the menu until Joker spoke up.

"Get whatever ya want, Bunny. If you don't li-ke it.. I'll uhh, give it to your security." You tilted your head in confusion so he elaborated. "You can't see them but four men are guarding us right now sooooo order whatever you wanT."

You shifted in your seat and coyly glanced around the room.

No one looked out of place in the posh atmosphere but you knew Joker wouldn't lie about something so serious. You hadn't forgotten about that mysterious envelope from the beach house.

Someone had Joker spooked and he wasn't about to mess around with your safety. It meant everything to him. Unfortunately it was another thing to worry about. As if you needed more stress on your plate.

You shook your head and read a promising entree but your attention was distracted by Joker's fingers playfully walking around the white tablecloth getting closer and closer to you.

You bit back a smile and glanced at J who was having a grand time playing around. The candlelight cast a glow on his tanned skin that made him more handsome than usual. You rested your hand on the table and he wasted no time brushing his pinky finger against yours.

Joker's jade eyes darted up to your e/c eyes. "Whatcha gettin?"

"Huh?" You were expecting him to ask you something else, not that. "Oh.. uh I don't know yet."

In seconds, Joker snatched your hand up into his hold and fixed you with a heated stare. "Need some help, doll?"

How was his hand so warm or maybe why were yours so cold? You barely nodded but you saw Joker grin. Nothing got past his perceptive eye.

He leaned over and pointed out some good choices and really sold you on what to order.

For all you knew, Joker was the head chef with how he explained each entree and he painted a clear picture of what you'd get if you ordered it. You decided on an appetizer while your main course cooked and Joker ordered something you couldn't even pronounce with a glass of dark liquor.

You didn't know Joker drank but he polished off the glass– not once letting go of your hand.

He never let go, even when the first course arrived. Joker surprised you yet again by dragging your chair closer to his.

"This okay?" He asked after seeing you tense up in your seat.

You were fine being across from Joker but now you sat side by side. Your bare leg brushed up against his suit and it made goosebumps break out over your skin. This was Joker, not your ex. You had to trust J and give him a chance. He didn't deserve to be iced out for someone else's mistakes.

That was the mantra you told yourself as the waiter returned to refill the glasses with water.

You and Joker shared the appetizer over light banter and he caught you up on what he did for the last few days. He was leading up to his trip to the jewelers and what he purchased, when the main entree arrived at the table.

You missed Joker's irritated growl but the night was still young. He had plenty of time to show off the gift he bought you.

You were about to start eating but Joker took your utensils and cut up your main entree for you. It was an odd gesture but Joker wasn't deterred by your confusion. He just patiently waited until you opened your mouth to feed you.

"How does it taste?" He asked in between bites with that raspy tone you knew all too well.

It stirred up butterflies in your stomach and made you feel wanted but it was neither the time nor the place for such emotions.

The food lived up to its coveted reviews. No wonder people waited months to a year for a reservation. Each morsel melted in your mouth and had you craving for more.

You didn't know how Joker fed you and still had the time to eat himself but he was not playing around with his whole, spoil you rotten agenda.

Who knew being fed could be so hot? If anyone else tried such a thing, you would be insulted but because Joker was the one doing it, it was sensual and thrilling. He watched your lips each time you accepted a bite and the little hums you made were driving him insane.

And when he (purposefully) missed and got a bit of sauce on your face, he groaned watching your tongue dart out to lick it clean.

He wanted to do that but he didn't know if he was allowed to.

You let him hold your hand all night but there was still a wary gleam lingering in your eye. He kissed you back at your apartment with no issues but when he kissed the back of your neck at the dinner table, you jumped. Your mood changed like the wind. Joker honestly didn't know how to approach you after discovering the truth.

He didn't want to scare you but he wanted you so bad. How could he seduce you when you were hardly in the mood?

"J? D-Did you hear me? I asked if I could order dessert." you called his name again to get his attention.

He must've lost track of time while thinking. You were gazing up into his candlelit emeralds waiting for an answer. All the plates were clear of food and Joker wondered how he failed to notice such a crucial detail..

You said his name again and squeezed his hand. J was quick to reply. "Uh yeah. Do ya know–"

You cut him off, "I want the Gotham City style cheesecake with a raspberry compote and um c-can you get the tiramisu? I wanna try it and.. the macaroons." If only you were this decisive when it came to picking dinner.

He chuckled to himself but flagged down the waiter to put in the order. "Say the woo~ord and it's yours, Goddess."

The new nickname punched you straight in the gut.

Joker was distracted but you still stared at him in disbelief. He didn't use a nickname that he didn't think was befitting of you and that fact made you tear up. Even after knowing the truth, he still held you in such high regard.

Joker was finishing up ordering your trio of desserts when he heard the one sound that could bring him to his knees. The sound of you crying.

The candlelight highlighted a tear rolling down your cheek and he quickly wiped it away to preserve your beauty. He was about to ask what was bothering you when you spoke up.

"D-Don't say it if you don't m-mean it.." You shook your head. "I can't take it if you don't mean it."

So you heard his new nickname for you. Joker felt now was the right time as any.

Joker kept silent as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. It was wrapped in your favorite color with a big white bow on top.

"What... is this for me?"

Joker nodded mutely and pushed it closer to you.

He wasn't giving you anything to go on so you were left to grab the box and tear it open. An official Jacob and Co. box was inside and you popped open the lid only to gasp seeing the custom jewelry inside.

"J..." You marveled at the tiny gold lighthouse with a real diamond serving as the beam of light cushioned on black velvet. You were going to read out the inscription along the base but Joker beat you to it.

"My Light in a sea of darkness.' You can doubt all you want but there's no mistaking what you are to me. You're my Light, my goddess. What more could I ever need?"

You were at a loss for words, staring into Joker's sincere gaze. He didn't stumble or stress any syllables; his words were raw and meant to soothe your soul with their honesty.

His smile was faint when he stood up to fasten your new necklace on. It was cold at first but it settled perfectly on the swallow of your collarbone. He nodded to himself seeing it on you and his fond grin caused more tears to form.

You probably looked ridiculous crying in the middle of a ritzy restaurant but it was all you could do after such a declaration.

Right as you were parting your lips to speak, an orchestra on the main floor let a few test notes float through the air. The last thing you were expecting was live music and Joker smirked at your bewildered face.

"Would ya like to dance?" Joker asked, changing the subject.

It took you a few seconds to recover. "I-I... I didn't see a dance floor."

The orchestra began playing a sultry instrumental and you noticed a few couples making their way down to the main floor to dance. You were cross on if you wanted to go although Joker was already reaching for his mask to cover back up.

"Sweetheart, we're in a ballroom you can dance anywhere buuut my question is.... Do you want to?" He stood up and straightened his suit. Who was this dapper man? It couldn't be the same Joker that terrorized Gotham City daily.

Joker really transformed into a different person when he was with you. You were the only soul who would see him this way. He put so much trust in you; it was high time you returned the favor.

Your dessert was soon forgotten as you placed your hand in Joker's.

He guided you down the stairs towards the main floor where a designated area was cleared away. The musicians were mid song when Joker led you into the crowd.

You stumbled in your heels as Joker swept you up into his embrace. You were nearly eye level with the madman with the added height and Joker loved the newfound connection more than anything. However there was a mischievous gleam in his eye that gave you pause.

A new song began, one you quickly recognized. Your head shot up to stare at the musicians playing. There was a mixture of ethnicities so it was plausible they were current with various genres and artists but still..

It wouldn't be hard for Joker to put in a request when you weren't looking.

Joker paid you no mind as he swayed you gently in between the other couples. You were speechless when Joker began to hum the lyrics with confidence.

You didn't know that Joker could sing. He didn't look the type yet he constantly surprised you. His voice reminded you of the old crooners that your uncle used to play on his record when you used to visit.

"They don't make music like this no mo Y/n/n!" Uncle Cedrick obviously never heard Givēon before. New artists were making classic tunes sound more and more popular these days.

Somewhere in between the intro and the first verse, Joker decided to sing along and let the lyrics take hold. He looked so sure of himself yet he stumbled on a line when he noticed that you were staring.

He spun you further away from the crowd so you could hear him serenade you better. His voice floated into your ear like honey.

But I can't make a scene, but I can't make it seem

Like I want you...

Even if it's true...

Even if it's true.

You panicked when Joker let out a shaky sigh and dropped his head in the crook of your neck. There was no way you were mistaken here. "Joker?"

"Shhh. Just..." He moved your hand to rest above his heart. More tears blurred your vision when you felt Joker's heartbeat.

It was beating like a drum.

Sometimes he wished you knew but he could disguise the truth for as long as it takes. Were you really so blind to Joker's feelings? And you called yourself a romance writer. Your radar was supposed to be impeccable on picking up love!

The chandelier overhead twinkled down on the two of you like diamonds and it felt as if no one else was in the room except you and Joker.

You were broken, damaged goods and Joker originally believed he was incapable of love, yet he found the will when it came to you. He waited so long for something good to come his way and finally– he had it.

You might think otherwise but Joker knew you were absolute perfection in his eyes. You were worth the wait. In time you would open up and love him unconditionally. He knew that now.

It was selfish and wrong of him to pressure you into anything. If he did then he'd be no better than your ex. The last thing you needed was history to repeat itself. What you needed was time and space to heal.

Joker nodded to himself and regrettably let you go. You were confused when he stopped dancing and looked away.

"Mm, your dessert is probably at the uh table. Let's head back."

He was shutting you out and that would not do. You put your foot down and tugged on Joker's wrist. He looked at you with an arched brow.

You didn't care that you were in the middle of the ballroom.

You were tired of Joker changing the subject at the drop of a hat! You were tired of being sheltered from your pain. It was time you accepted it and finally moved on– moved onto someone better. You were not going to let Joker walk away.

It was time you threw caution to the wind. The song was ending and your heart echoed the lyrics Givēon sang.

But if you really love me, say it now.

You shortened the distance and cupped Joker's face. He hated that he shied away from your touch. He didn't want to get his hopes up if you were just reacting to mend his hurt feelings. He wanted you to be sincere with your affection.

"T-Take me home, tell me in the space we created– but. Please don't give up on me when I need you more than ever. I-I.. I need you, J. I do."

You clung onto the back of his neck and urged him to bend down. You couldn't rest your forehead against his until he leaned down to your height. He did and you locked eyes with him right there on the ballroom floor.

Your eyes pleaded with Joker. They spoke a thousand words you were so afraid to speak aloud. He searched your colored eyes for a glimmer of hope and found so much more.

It was then you had the pleasure of seeing a man like Joker break.

His eyes fluttered closed and it took everything in his power not to fall to his knees in front of all these people. All in due time, but first he had to get you home.

He made an odd motion with his hands and in seconds, he was whisking you towards the exit. You squeaked in shock and you barely kept up with Joker's long strides.

"J, w-what about the bill?! M-My dessert!"

He growled and pushed the restaurant doors open. The temperature had dropped the past hour or two that you and Joker were indoors and your bare arms shivered once exposed to the elements.

Joker shrugged off his suit jacket and gave it to you. He had a crazed look in his eyes as he waited on the curb.

"Don't care. I'm takin' ya home." He shot you a heated glare, "You'll get your dessert, Princess."

You couldn't recall the last time he used that nickname but it made a smile break out over your face and a liquid fire seep into your core.

It had been too long since you felt a burning desire spread all over. You couldn't lie. You were a little scared but this was Joker. He wouldn't do anything you didn't want. And you wanted him.

A black unmarked car screeched to a halt near the curb. It was hardly in park when Joker yanked the door open for you. "Get in, Bunny."

You knew once you got inside there would be no turning back. You could do this and so with a deep breath, you embraced the unknown.

There was enough sexual tension brewing in the elevator to fuel a bomb.

Surprisingly, Joker behaved himself during the ride back to your apartment yet he practically chased you to the main elevator the second the car arrived at the lobby drop off.

You could only run so fast in heels yet you beat Joker inside.

You broke out into a smile as the elevator doors began to trap you inside with the clown. He tossed a lecherous grin your way and was seconds away from jumping your bones, when the doors slid back open and one of your neighbors walked in.

She did a double take at Joker but quickly recovered to smile at you. Her eyes widened even more after taking in your elegant ball gown.

"Oh wow Y/n! That dress looked stunning on you! I hope you enjoyed your night."

She mashed the button for the ninth floor and brought attention to the time glowing on the panel. It was nearing eleven pm. You hardly noticed that it was so late.

The elevator lights glinted against your jewelry and caught her eye. "Aww that's so cute! It's a little lighthouse. Do you like the beach or something?" She gestured to your necklace.

You laughed awkwardly, "Oh I've only been once but I loved it."

Joker chuckled under his breath and gained your neighbor's attention.

She eyed him up and down but kept her thots to herself. She'd never seen you around with a partner before but sheesh, you knew how to pick em. The man was so fine, he should be illegal.

She dragged her eyes away from Joker and back over to you. "Really? Just once? What was your favorite part? I love sunbathing myself."

Of all the neighbors in the building, why did miss blabbermouth known for her lengthy mindless chats have to board the elevator tonight?

You knew Joker was probably thinking a million and one ways to kill the poor lady. Hopefully he could steady his hands for a few more levels.

You thought back to her question and frowned. You couldn't remember anything remarkable about the beach. You loved it for different reasons.

Mainly the way Joker took you so passionately in the sand or how the light from the rotating coastal structure illuminated his raw beauty for only you to see. You couldn't tell her you didn't visit the beach during the day like a normal person.

Your visit to the beach was memorable because of your carnal escapade with Joker under the stars.

Joker declared you as his Light, the same namesake that now proudly hung from your neck. You couldn't tell her any of that so you made something up on the spot.

"I um, I liked the heat? It was... hot. Sweltering."

Joker failed to stifle his laughter and your neighbor glared at the both of you sideways. Such an odd answer..

Thankfully the lift arrived at the ninth floor and she ended the idle chat. "Alright then, well enjoy the rest of your night, Y/n. Oh and don't forget! We have the next tenant meeting coming up this week! Bring your friend."

She winked at Joker but he could care less. His eyes were glued on you.

The elevator doors closed and resumed its ascent to your private floor. It was so quiet in the metal box, you could hear your uneven breathing.

You glanced at Joker out of the corner of your eye but he was frozen like a statue. You honestly expected him to jump you the second your neighbor was gone but since when was Joker predictable?

Your focus was on the floor indicator as it displayed the tenth floor. Almost there..

Joker waited until you least expected it to make his move.

It was concerning yet electrifying to know you were alone with Joker, completely at his mercy. The lift was passing the maintenance floor when Joker stepped behind you to inhale your unique scent.

His nose faintly brushed the sensitive skin along the nape of your neck and you shivered. Then his hot exhale disturbed the hairs on your neck. He was doing all of this on purpose.

He wanted to torture you, it was the only explanation for the tumultuous tease that was Joker kissing you right where the clasp of your necklace met your skin. You swore his teeth tugged the chain a bit, when the doors dinged open.

The air was getting way too stuffy so you stumbled out as quickly as you could.

Joker's chuckle echoed in the short hallway to your front door. He took his time strolling behind you like a predator and patiently waited as you fumbled with the keys. He lost count how many times you dropped them or missed the keyhole entirely.

Eventually you unlocked the door, however you didn't venture inside. There was an unspoken command in the air not to. Joker was glad that you heeded the warning.

Joker's hand covered yours atop the doorknob. You were frozen in place as he bent down to whisper in your ear.

"When you walk through that door.. you're mine. There's. No. Going. Back. Anything you want, I'll give it to ya but you have to ask for it. If it's uh, too much, say the woo~oord and I'll give you more. Tonight's about you, only you.. buT, I gotta warn ya. I will be selfish and take and take... and take."

You whimpered when Joker nipped the curve of your ear.

The sting was nothing compared to the heat pooling in your core. You surprised yourself with how aroused you were and Joker had yet to begin. It was as if he could tell just how antsy you were. His sudden burst of laughter was strained by his lust.

"Are ya ready for that Y/n? I won't hold back. I uh... well I don't think I can." He pressed you further into the door with his body and you felt his erection dig into your lower back.

"Do you want me?" He asked while kissing your shoulder.

You could do this. All you had to do was open the door.

No more pretending, no more running away when things got too intense. You had to fully participate this time and not drift off into a headspace. Tonight you would give all of yourself over to a man known for his maddening greed. It was scary; however, you were oddly enthusiastic.

You wanted him to have it all. To have you.

You turned the doorknob and walked into your foyer with a madman hot on your heels.

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voidwritesstuff · 1 year ago

Text

Savior of lost hope AU.

->chapter 5. End.

Cw: mentions of stabbing, needles,violence and guns.

Summary: after hearing the warning of his shadow form, Lucas realizes he has little time to save his best friend and those he loves.

--Hey Rose! Im getting groceries-- Said Jerico, grabbing her Wallet.

--Kay! Be carefull kid-- said rosemary, checking to see if the solution she was working on was actually being processed by the machine.-- the serum should be done when you come back

She doesnt see jeri enter the room where the rest were,unconcious-- are you sure that Will work?

-- 99.99% sure!-- she replied.

The 00.01% that it didnt work wasnt much per se but it didnt calm jeri. When Rose turns to take a break, she sees Jerico wearing Lucas' lucky flannel. Its deep green and it smells like him.-- look I know this looks weird- I miss him okay? Its been like three days now

Rosemary smiles and shakes her head-- I dont care, im sure he would want you to have it. You look good

--Thanks-- she says meekly, shoving her hands on the pocket of the flannel, that hung Open, showing off a yellow tube top-- im gonna go now

--Go, then-- Rose leaned back and closed her eyes.

--Will do! Bye rose!-- she walks out of the cabin,leaving the scientist alone.

The chill in the air bites at her skin, leaves fall on the ground Gently with the breeze. She underestimated just how cold it was. She holds on to the flannel and sighs.

"How long Will they take to get back?" She thinks,her feet dragging across the beaten path towards the actual town. "I hope hes okay"

Once at the supermaket, she goes through the list Rose gave her. She puts the things in the shopping Cart, humming along to a l

Mindless tune. Distracted and in her own little world, its nice.

As she continues her little sidequest, her hands dig into the pocket to pull out the list again, and she notices that theres another piece of paper on one of the pockets.

Its crumpled, and it looks like a scrap piece of paper but she unfolds it just in case. Theres a short letter written there, and she recognizes the handwriting, its Lucas'.

Jerico hesitates for a moment,should she read it?was this intruding?

Curiosity picked at the back of her mind. So,with a sigh she goes somewhere quiet in the supermaket before Reading it.

"The doc always said its good to Keep a Journal of sorts,write down whats bothering you to help you Express it or 'get it out'.

Well, this is my attempt.

I met a girl the other day, she was- just so pretty, she was also very funny and sweet.

She had these big green eyes (my favorite color) and such a bright smile.

It slipped past me to ask her for a number or an email, damn my brain.

I,of course, was so awkward. Like Jesus fucking christ,Lucas cole. When was the last time I spoke to a woman?

Thank GOD she found it endearing, I dont know what I wouldve done if she looked at me weird.

But I dont think shes into me, I mean I have my looks yes but c'mon, would she really go out with me?

Christ, that sounds so cheesy. What am I, a highschooler?

Fuck this note. Im throwing it away".

Jeri giggled,her cheeks dusted pink. She folds the note carefully and puts it back in the pocket. -- dont worry Lucas, im so into you-- she murmurs before resuming what she was doing.

After dropping off the groceries, she goes by the lighthouse to check in on zoe, Allens adoptive sister. She knocks on the door as the Sky starts to cloud, the greyish light makes the world seem a little dull.

--Oh, jer. Hi-- Said Zoe,opening the door of Allen's house.

--Hey Z, how are you?

--Im uh...okay-- she replied-- just a lil paranoid.

-- did something happen?

Zoe looks around, a little afraid-- I think im seeing men in suits around- like the ones Allen saw. I think they are looking for him.

--Oh crap-- she murmurs-- wanna come over to the cabin im babysitting?

--Allen told me about the cabin yeah. He actually knows the owner I think. Lucas is it?

Jeri smiles-- yeup. Lucas

Zoe nodds-- ill - ill go get some stuff

She waits for a few minutes until her friend is done. The shore Ebbs and flows, seagulls fly past the lighthouse and out of view in the greying Sky, the wind picks up a little.

Jerico cant help but get her eyes lost on the sea, coming and going from the shore, its peacefull. Honestly,things have been a little boring, shes been doing university assigments while she waits with rosemary, on some days she sits by Lucas and just draws him, maybe its a little creepy but she meant well.

--There,all set-- Says zoe, gripping her fluffy dark blue jacket.

--Is that Allens?--Jeri asked as both walked-- I mean you have pretty similar styles but I think it looks like it fits Allen more

The other woman shrugs--We share it. But It smells like him-- both walk back to the cabin in quiet, comfortable chatter.

Meanwhile, rosemary finishes with the solution. She puts the four vials on a stand, away from the sun, she sips from her coffee and looks at the radio equipment. -- How Much of this shit do you have, cole?-- she asks to herself.

Then she hears steps, but she pays them no mind-- hey kid! Did you bring zoe along?

Crash! Comes down the wooden door, before rosemary can do anything theres at least four guys with guns come over. She barely has any time to throw one of the spare hand held radios out a nearby Window,she hoping to god it doesnt break.

--Doctor Rosemary James-- Say one of the men, tall and muscly, Brown hair and eyes hid behind thick framed sunglasses.

--Seargeant Mark White. -- she growls out, rsching for the main radio, and trying her best turn it off by flipping the on/off button without being noticed. Thankfully, she isnt noticed.

-- Thought we Killed you

--Yeah well, I got better-- she raises her hands.

--It was that hippie wasnt it? He saved your ass and helped Max escape from where we had him

--Guilty-- she replied with a smirk-- youre going to kill me now?

Mark chuckled-- im going to do something worse, im going to wait until your little troop wakes up and take 'em to a lab. You mightve found a way to explore people's subconcious.

--Using my research without credit? Typical of you mayer cunts-- she bit back.

--If it aint broke...-- Mark snarked-- now stay very still -- he takes her cup of coffee and drinks it-- hm,not bad

Rosemary wished that coffee had cyanide in it. She sits back with her hands up and growls a sigh, now they were in big fucking trouble.

--You know...-- she grinned-- for working on a pharmaceutical company you sure dont like needless

The seargeant tenses-- Rosemary...-- he warns.

--What is it? The pain or the sight of the needle in your arm?-- she leaned with malice.

--Stop that right now!-- he yelled,body stiff and hands Clammy.

--fucking idiot-- she whispers-- ill kill you with a needle one of these days.

Jerico and zoe come across some suspicious looking vehicles. -- Military vehicles -- jeri says.

--Howd you know?

-- Well..I always loved military stuff. After my date with Lucas I took an even bigger interest in it. But what the hell are they doing here? -- she asks-- I think its better if we go behind the cabin. I dont trust it

--A-Alright--zoe replied,following her friend alone as both sneak around the cabin, squatting down past any and all Windows.

They come across the radio on the floor, jeri sighs and slowly picks it up, walking back to the forest and out of sight with Z.

-- Do you see anything?-- jerico asked at Zoe, who had binoculars, originally she was supposed to use them for bird watching, not looking for goverment agents.

--Uh..yeah-- zoe replied,not too enthusiastically-- I see four guys, one of them is talking to a woman with glasses

--Rosemary -- the other woman whispered-- oh god of course,thats why the radio was where it was...

Jer turns on the radio, fiddling with the turning until she finds the frequency they were using to communicate with the Group in desmonds head.

--Radioman! Radioman do you read?!-- Came the voice from Lucas' radio, he sighs in relief.

--Ten-four Sunflower. Whats your stat?!-- he asked.

--Safe, outside the cabin. Four men are in though, they have rosemary

"Oh shit oh crap oh shit" he thinks-- Sunflower is this frequency compromised?

--Negative. Z tells me the main radio equipment is Turned off.

--Oh thank god-- Lucas exclaimed,before becoming extremely serious-- jerico, you need to hear me. Stay out of the cabin and out of sight. Do not engage.

--But Rose-- she protested.

--Rose- Angel has this covered im sure, you two need to stay safe,Mayer does not fuck around with things like this. We barely survived retriving Max from where he was locked up. Do not engage, you heard me?--She hesistates, she doesnt reply-- Sierra-Foxtrot, you hear me?

She sighs-- ten-four. Over and out

The line cuts and Lucas has to trie his best not to blow his lid off. --Goddamn motherfuckers! They have rosemary! Those mayer cunts! -- he kicks the round table at the centre of the room.

--Woah easy!-- says Allen, holding back Lucas-- we gotta concentrate on this okay? We get desmond out of here and we can help the others

The ex soldier breathes in deep, trying to calm himself before he breaks something. -- yer right, lets get this damn thing over with

The four of them walk back to the Office, bracing for the worst. That ink demon Agent Rainbow wont like this at all, too bad.

Once at the Office, Lucas steps infront of the Group and calls out-- Desmond! Where are ya buddy?

Wings flap heavily, desmond comes from behind one of the bookshelves-- oh Lucas,hello everyone. Did you make yourselves at home?-- he lands on the floor silently, he clasps his arms behind his back.

--Something like that-- the ex soldier replied-- we uh...found something, virge?

Virginia nodds and approaches desmond,showing Him the magenta key. They see a long magenta chain come from his right wrist up to the ceiling where it gets lost in the mild darkness.

--I think we can set you free with this! -- she squealed.

They see their therapist hesistate, but Tonia nuzzles his hand where the chain comes from and purrs.

--Will it hurt?-- is all he asks while approaching her.

--Ill try for it not to-- she replied as he offered his hand. The shackle starts at his wrist, it looks heavy-- alright...here it goes-- she slides the key into the keyhole and turns.

The shackle opens with a soft click and falls to the ground,shattering like glass-- I dont feel any dif-- desmond says before the eyes in his mask go wide, he stumbles and barely catches himself.

"Virginia Ruhl, 25. My patient...but- she died didnt she?" Memories come flowing to him,his sessions with her, her diagnosis.

--You were supposed to be dead-- he starts, grabbing her hands-- but how- why?

Virginia smiles-- I got rushed into the hospital and survived by the skin of my teeth. Im better now,see?-- she lowers her turtleneck where a big scar spanned across her neck.-- did it hurt?

Desmond shakes his head and takes a Seat on his desk, his wings fold and rest on the surface of the desk.-- Do you want to Keep going?-- asked Allen, key in hand.

--Alright-- says the other Man, seeing the Next shackle on the same arm the previous was on. But this New one, a deep blue, grips his bicep.

Allen Is carefull through the whole process, humming softly to try and calm his friend. The shackle falls and melts like wax under the sun.

Desmond braces himself for the memories that come flooding like a feral tide. "Allen shore- 33. He was comatose-- burnt"

--The Fire-- he says-- are you okay?

Allen shrugs with a smile-- Im fine doc, just some scars. I made a full recovery-- he shakes off his jacket and shows his scarred arm.-- kinda knargly but kinda cool.

The therapist chuckles-- Hmm, I agree.

Max feels unconfortable as it was his turn, he walks awkwardly towards the Man and takes his wrist-- uh hi doc

-- Hello Max-- he sounds very warm and happy to see him.

The shackle is an angry red, warm to the touch. Hes not very gentle but efficent, he unlocks the shackle that burns off and hits the desk but it doesnt hurt anybody.

Once again,the memories come "Max nygaard. 40s. He dissapeared- didnt he?"

--You didnt come to our last appointment-- desmond recalls.

Max sighs,scratching the back of his neck-- mayer locked me up, the hippie- Lucas broke me out with rosemary

--No scar to show for it?-- des Joked which defuses the tension a little.

--sadly, no-- he admits with a chuckle.

Then,comes Lucas who looks very on edge and anxious, desmond looks at him-- dont worry doc -- he lies-- just anxious thats all

The other Man doesnt Belive him but makes no complaints as the last shackle,a forest green, is unlocked. Its gone in a flash of light.

"Lucas Cole, 55. Ex soldier"

--What has you so nervous, Lucas?--Asked desmond.

--We gotta get you out of here, Rosemary is in danger and--He looks away.

--You can tell me anything,lucas-- Des reminded him Gently.

The ex soldier sighs audibly-- Jerico might be in danger... please try and make an effort doc. I couldndt forgive myself if anything happened to her...or Rose

Desmond looks confused-- did I miss something?

Lucas goes beet red --I took her out on a date- I have a crush on her

--Thats wonderfull. Lucas-- says the other Man.-- ill try my best for you two

--Well..I think its time for your key,doc--Says Allen-- where can it be?

They hear a crash as tonia knocks down the record player and a white key comes falling from it. The cat carries it to her owner and drops it on his lap.

--Can you do it?-- Asks Lucas.

--I-I think so

Desmond grips the key tight, around his neck is a Pristine white shackle, and with shaky hands he unlocks it. The shackle seems to break by bits, each peice falling like a feather Being shed by a bird,when the "feathers" lake contact with anything they burn and turn black,to then become dust that blows away without any breeze.

And so,the memories flod in, he remembers who he is,how he got here,the struggles and battles he had, the grief of what happened to tonia, how his wife had left him.

For a moment it overwhelms him, tears fall down his masked face. The eyes on the mask turn grey.

Virginia goes to hug desmond, but notices theres a clasp on the mask. She Gently unclasps it and sets it on the desk.

His face is just as they all remember, but stained with rainbow colored oil. Virginia hugs him as his tears wash away the stains which seem to fade out of existence.

Allen comes Next and hugs him tight, cooing and trying to calm him down. He also watches as tonia takes the white key from her owner,she opens a cabinet on the desk and she pulls it back with her snout.

--Here,doc-- said Lucas, as he grabs his iconic round glasses and hands it over.

The embrace gets broken as with a shaky sigh, desmond graba them and puts it on.

--Looking good!-- Complimented Virginia with a smile,patting her back.

Lucas nodds in agreement-- not to be insensible,doc. But do you remember how you got here? Is there anyway to get out?

--Well...-- Des starts,trying to regain his composture-- I was battling with my shadow, then-- I thought I won but my Real body was so weak I had enough strength to Keep me alive, not even fully awake. I guess at some point he-- he got a hold on me and I was so weak I couldnt fight back

Its obvious its a struggle for him to talk, his voice breaks, he stumbles over his words and his body shakes. Virginia tries to sooth him by stroking his back and encouraging him to talk.

--As to how to get out...--A gravelly voice comes from behind desmond. The great library behind the desk goes pitch black, two red eyes appear in the darkness-- theres no way out...I doubt Desmond has any strength to battle me...too bad.

Allen grips his fists and for the first time everyone sees just how angry he could get. He grabs the mask and chucks it at one of the eyes-- You GODDAMN asshole! Leave that Man alone! Hes the greatest Man ive met! Hes kind and good hearted! You have nothing on him!

The mask hits one of the eyes and the voice growls a painfull screech. Then out of the darkness two goopy hands Grab the side of a materializing face of agent rainbow. The hands hold him back as he tries to attack Allen.

--What the hell-- said agent rainbow-- How did you- youre his shadow ,dimwit! You shouldnt help him! kill him!

Allen sees for a sliver of a moment as his shadow form simply smiles at his counterpart. Virginia seems to catch on and she steps in-- Yeah! Allen is right! Desmond has always tried his best to help us all! He didnt fail! Hes tried to help everyone! Its about time somebody helps him.

Another set of hands come from the other side of the face, purple and glimmering like broken glass, lines span across the clawy fingers and arms. Forcing Open one of Agent Rainbow's eyes.

Then,comes Max,who steps infront of his two companions and his therapist-- If theres something I know from the doc here is that he was able to help even with the toughest of cases! You May think of yourself all high n mighty! But youre not! Youre just another goverment Spook!

Fiery hands Open the other eye, they hear the rumbling of an engine. Max feels very proud of himself.

And then,theres Lucas.

With rage in his eyes, losing his calm and collected cover, he stands by Max with anger in his eyes, grief is in his heart as he remembers all the things hes lost, his best friend, himself. And then comes the happiness, New Friends, a New home and someone to love.

--desmond Will never be alone,hes one of us-- he makes a pause-- I think its time you see what shadow you cast!-- he yells.

His own shadow grows and grows to be at eye level with Agent Rainbow. And from the centre of the head theres a Giant light that burns right into the red eyes, desmond's shadow form screams in agony,shattering the Windows.

In a flash of bright white light their enemy is gone, now Turned into feathers that are blown away with the wind.

Desmond hisses as his own wings burn off, he was back to normal.

And where Agent Rainbow was, the bookshelves turn into a Giant door with warm sunlight coming from it.

Tonia purrs as she returns to a normal sized cat. She jumps on desmonds lap and he pets her--Ill miss you,old friend.

But noticing how nervous Lucas was, he sets the cat down and they all walk to the door, led by tonia,of course.

--They do say cats were protectors-- Virginia Recalled with a smile. The cat seems to agree as it nodds and purrs.

They let desmond go into the door first, and then,they follow suit.

Meanwhile....

Jerico gasps as Mark slaps rosemary across the face, she hears him yell something about what the serum was for.

--Shit! The serum!.-- she gasps,trying to turn on the radio-- Radioman! This is sunflower. Whats your situation.--Theres a brief silence, and then garbled words--Lucas! I cant hear you!

--Savior acquired. I repeat Delta Whiskey acquired-- require- eVac--

--oh shit oh shit--She murmurs.-- we gotta wake em up

Zoe looks at the binoculars-- one of the guys is coming this way...

Jeri looks up and sees it-- he has no helmet...if I can hit him with a rock we can take him out.-- her eyes look around for any big rock. It takes her a few seconds to find one-- alright then... please please PLEASE I hope Lucas aim rubbed off on me.

She takes a deep shaky breath and chucks it at the suit before zoe can say anything. The rock flies like a missile and hits the soldier square in the forehead. He falls with a quiet thud that was probably drowned by marks screaming at rosemary.

--jesus!--zoe exclaims-- a heads up???

--Sorry...-- she says meekly-- lets see what he has-- she offers-- we cant leave rosemary there

--But Lucas said-- she starts.

--I know. Hes not gonna like it-- her eyes turn to see rosemary grabbing the serum and being forced to wake up the others. Mark screams something about how rosemary Turned off the main radio-- shit- I think they heard Lucas' evac request-- she turns to her friend-- you can stay but im going

Zoe looks at her friend and shakes her head, mustering all the courage she had-- Allens in there! If Allen went to save those in SS thanatos then I can help him!

--Atta girl--jerico says, And both sneak to the unconcious soldier. She grabs his combat Knife, its heavy and sharp.

--What about the gun?-- zoe asked.

-- you know how to Fire em?

--No clue,you?

She shakes his head-- throw it away, just in case he wakes up.

Z looks at the purple bruise in the guys forehead-- right between the eyes, I dont think hes waking up for a while-- still, she carefully grabs the gun and throws it away

Both sneak near the cabin, anotjer of the guys comes out,probably to check on his buddy. Once hes lut of the cabin, he looks around.

As quiet as she can be, jeri slashes across the back of his knee,making Him fall. Zoe muffled him with her big jacket And holds it until hes passed out.-- sorry!--both mumble.

Then, into the cabin they go. They go down the Hall to where Rose's lab was, the livingroom.

--Looks like the commander dude is outside?--jeri whispers in zoes ear.

--Maybe he doesnt like needles?

--Hurry up rosemary!--Mark yelled, looking at the radio.

--if the needle breaks they die!--Rosemary shouted.

Jerico takes a deep breath, slowly sneaking behind Mark, shes about to stab his back when the Man hears a thud from the room rosemary and the rest of the guys where.

Rosemary first injected the serum to Lucas,who "happened" to be the one closes to her. Then once she had given the serum to almost all of them, she says.

--Hey, can you illuminate here? Youre blocking the light-- she asked

The soldier noticed he was blocking the light, so he pulls out his flashlight and once Rose is done,she stabs the guy with the empty needle,right in the neck. The guy holds his neck and falls back.

The thud makes mark turn and see jerico. He grabs her with ease,disarms her and pulls her to the room with rosemary, she raises her hands with fear in her eyes. Hes about to strike when--

--if ya touch one hair on 'er purdy hair-- Lucas yells, gun in hand. Mark notices its the service weapon of the soldier that rosemary took out. He steps infront of Jerico, hes still a little woozy but his aim was impecable.

Mark steps back as the other Man stares at him with solid,unfiltered rage. -- well played-- he grumbles.

Lucas noticed zoe standing there,frozen-- Kiddo, cuff this fucker

Zoe steps to Mark and grabs his cuffs, doing her best as Rose steps in and unarms the seargeant. Only once Rose knocks Mark out does the ex soldier Lower the gun.

--Did it work?-- Rose asked before hearing desmond grumble and Allen and Max helping Him stand up-- ill go check on him-- she makes eye contact with her radioman friend. She looks serious as if she was urging him to do something.

Lucas only nodds as rosemary runs past him to help desmond. He leaves the gun on a table nearby and before jerico can say anything, he grabs her by the neck of his- her flannel and kisses her with all the strength his body allowed.

She kisses back,tugging at his tanktop and smiling. His arms go around her waist and hers around his neck.

--i told you nothing would hurt you while I was around. Awake or otherwise

Jeri smiles and presses her forehead against his, closing her eyes-- that you did. Welcome back-- he hugs her tight, stroking the shaven back of her neck.

--'m here honey. 'M here-- he whispers as she melts against him. His breath is shaky-- desmonds here too

They turn to the room and see their Friends smiling, then they cheer and Holler at them.

--Thats it hippie!--Max yelled,smugly.

--Thats It!the ship has reached shore!--Allen yelled clapping.

--Love wins! Long live the happy couple-- Virginia hollers.

Rosemary meets the ex soldiers eyes and chuckles-- guess youre right, cole. You never miss a shot

Jerico hid her face on Lucas' chest while he chuckles-- leave the young thing alone, lets make sure the docs alright

For the Next few hours they dispose of the soldiers (meaning they tie them up and throw them on the back of their vehicles for the police to find). Mark would wake up with one note on his chest"try anything and youll see what a war veteran can do. I never miss a shot".

Rosemary and Allen tend to Desmond,Max has left to see maddie and Virginia is talking with zoe,calming her down and telling her what happened.

Lucas takes jerico to the makeshift balcony on his roof. He holds her to his chest in silence, she hugs him like her life depends on it-- stay the night tonight -- he says.

--sounds good-- she agrees.

--I didnt forget about our date-- he reminds her with a smile-- im gonna getcha all the plushies ya want -- he pulls back a little and strokes her cheek.

--I look forward to it-- she admitted. Then she goes quiet and after a bit she adds-- you know theyll come for us,especially since they know Rose made an antidote

Lucas squeezed her-- I know. But were a team now, and we'll take mayer down. No harm Will come to you as Long as im around

She nodds and both enjoy the falling leaves and the breeze. Finally calm settles within them all, and that night they sit and have dinner under the stars.

Zoe and maddie make bracelets with Allen, desmond plays the guitar as Lucas accompanies him with his drums. Max simply looks at his daughter with joy and pride.

Rose has jerico laying her head on her lap-- you did great today -- the scientist said.

--Thanks. I hated it

Both laugh and rosemary adds-- you make Lucas happy, and he makes you happy. You both Will go a long way

-- I hope so. Im afraid of mayer though

Rosemary shrugs-- I think their pride is wounded. I dont think theyll make a move so fast. 'Sides we'll worry about it later -- he sees Lucas waves at her and she adds-- Lucas wants you on the vocals

Jerico nodds and stands up, walking towards Lucas and desmond, grabbing the mic the ex soldier had set up. The music starts and the others look at the source of it.

And so, she starts singing-- Don't look to me, I ain't right

And I don't know enough, but how much do I want to know?

It's perfectly clear, I'm where I should be, yeah

Off the wall and back to reality, dare I say

Oh, my thoughts are burning

And I like how warm the fire can be

Oh, oh is my body turning?

And my legs seem to move without me

Oh, here comes the savior

Who can break these thoughts away from me?

Oh, no more bad behavior

Screw my head on right for a moderate fee

#in sound mind #ism lucas #ism #ism allen #ism desmond #ism virginia #lucas cole #ism max #allen shore #virginia ruhl #max nyaagard #lucas #ism lucas cole #oc: the blaze/the ember ism #ism rosemary #rosemary james

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mikecardenunofficial · 2 months ago

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now that i've had time to sit with the ending of Veilguard I've got some thoughts

under a cut for obvious endgame spoilers

I loved this game so much. I love that the lore that we learn in the earlier games is handled with "wait that weird Southern dude? Huh his shit's kinda outdated isnt it?". It's a good way to show how different Northern and Southern Thedas are from one another.

Not a Super Big Fan of the woobification of Solas and the bastardization of Mythal I've been seeing though. Both have their flaws but Mythal is painted as being abusive, outright in some cases. It's one of the things I think the game handled well, along with Solas' whole motivation being wrapped up in grief and the idea that he never really processed or moved on from his grief.

I saw the betrayal around Elger'nan coming, sadly. Same with Varric being dead. It's only believable if you don't pay attention to the smallest details. That's not to say it wasn't impactful as fuck! It was! I cried for like an hour after that final scene with Varric.

My Rook really wanted to punch Solas and I got the good/mythal ending so like. that didn't happen. but maybe next run!

It has its flaws, no doubt. But what they did well stands out so beautifully. I love Dragon Age so much and 2 is still my favorite story wise (it's a perfectly told tragedy in all ways) it's a close runner up. Reluctant Hero tropes are always some of my favorites.

I will say I didn't LOVE Taash. They're a well written story for an immigrant and nonbinary story but I'm also in my 30s and Taash is very much meant to be in their late teens early twenties and brash as hell with it. It's a very clear story and a well written one (that scene with her mom for dinner at the Lighthouse was so reminiscent of convos I've had with my own parents I had to yeet myself out of the room to play it out) but it got on my nerves at one point.

Lucanis doesn't have the most scenes or fleshed out lines in the romance options but honestly?? Being told he'd kill a god for me??? was so romantic?! and yeah ALL the romances feel lacking compared to Inquisition imo. but his is one of devotion and acceptance. truly beautiful.

all in all, it's one of my favorite games of the year, for sure. I'm gonna replay the fuck out of it once I get done with class for the semester

#dragon age veilguard spoilers #veilguard spoilers #dragon age #veilguard

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orleans-jester · 1 year ago

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“Wouldn’t be that embarassing. Whoever sees us would just assume that we had some crazy good sex,” Thomas said, a proud little smirk on his face. “Which we do, of course.”

“Now that’s an idea,” He chuckled, though apart from maybe Pokemon and Sailor Moon, he didn’t know much about anime. He could start. “Or I’ll just trim my hair a bit and look like one of the thousands of guys in a boy band. They all had the spiked up hair.”

“If you see any on the way, let me know,” Thomas agreed willingly enough. Camping under the northern lights sounded a lot more romantic, anyhow. Fuck the law and all that, he might be able to get a sympathetic Irish cop who would understand the enchantment of such a thing. Trespassing didn’t always mean a bad thing. “Even just sleeping bags, I’ll keep you warm, love.”

“All of it,” He grinned. “Whether we sleep on the cold hard ground or in the softest bed, I’m only happy if it’s with you.” And he meant that, even though he was grinning, glad of his own little joke. He thankfully hadn’t had to spend many nights on the ground, he wasn’t Bastien who was used to dirty floors and newspaper blankets. But he could tough it out, he was sure of that. The wolf knew the ground more intimately than himself. “Never any shrinkage around you.”

“It’s the idea of there always being a light to bring you back home, no matter how far out into the dark you might adventure at times,” He said, giving his own perspective about lighthouses. “If you’re lost, you will be found and that sort of thing. I also remember hearing about lighthouse keepers. The kind that were dropped off on a small island somewhere for months at a time, having only each other for company. Could be the kind of thing that makes a person go mad but - I kind of fancy that life sometimes. You and me - a small island, staying cozy, really getting to know one another, each and every habit, and love growing from that.” He spoke like he was in a reverie as his eyes watched the road. “Yeah. I wouldn’t mind that for a while. But I wouldn’t give up our lives right now for all the lighthouses in the world.”

He started to laugh again, finding it charming that it was that memory that Flotsam associated with his ass. The time that he had gotten on a bike and Jetsam had jumped on, nearly making him lose his balance. Those had been some good days. He though of Jetsam ever once in a while, missed him even. “Cause they are real - we live many, many lives through those stories.”

He nodded as Flotsam told him about the hotel room. “Good to have options - and a kettle for my morning tea,” He smiled. Coffee was never his speed. Did he carry around a small tin of his own, with loose tealeaves for steeping just in case? Course he did - that might be appreciated here more since they were closer to England. The weather here in Ireland, the Emerald Isle because it fuckin’ rained all the time, was perfect for a good cuppa.

“Ahh, great, I’ll be able to put this fine ass in the same chair as the stars,” He chuckled to himself. He let the car fall into silence as Flotsam fell asleep. That was fine with him. His warmth was enough to make Thomas not feel lonely during the long drive, occasionally putting his hand on Flotsam’s leg or rubbing it calmingly as they went.

He would let Flotsam sleep until they got in close to the northernmost edge of Europe. He rolled the window down a touch and that familiar Ocean air was breezing through. Some people might hate it, but Thomas liked the salty smell. He thought of the Oceans as whole other worlds - full of strange creatures and endless depths. Depths so far below that no matter how much equipment people wore, the pressure would kill them before they got anywhere close to reaching the bottom. Terrifying, yes, but intriguing.

He could have stopped by the inn, had a rest, but he was feeling proper awake right now. It was starting to get late but he wanted to see the place at night before they turned around. The amount of stars out there tonight. He turned off the car, and then he lightly shook Flotsam. “Wake up, love, you’re going to want to see this.”

Flotsam noticed the Scout-doo Thomas was sporting and taming back into shape as they first drove away.

"It'll settle long before we get there, love. Don't worry. Always does. Wouldn't letcha embarrass yerself." He said as he reached over and gave comb through of his own fingers over and around his ear as he often did once settled in the car unable to quit touching the man.

"Although you know we have anime styles on lock if we really wanted for any costumed event." He teased. "We could both be mad styling."

He'd nod his head about the hotels. "Good idea."

Then he had a second thought. "Or camping store?"

He had no idea if people were allowed to hang around Malin Head over night considering how watched over Skellig was, but it was an idea. He'd look that up too momentarily not that he was always a rule follower, but he liked to know what he was getting himself into before he began.

"Exactly. You get me." Thomas seemed to understand right what Flotsam was trying to explain so all was right with the world. But, then he really started laughing.

"You, me, camping, or a good hotel bed? In more other words famous words of Jimi Hendrix. Are You Experienced? Fuck yeah I am and I know what happens in both situations. Aint gonna be no shrinkage here."

Then Flotsam contemplated lighthouses being romantic.

"Hmm. Never really thought about it. I heard Willem say that before, calls it his candle on the water, and I mostly just figured he was high and liked the ocean like me since he's a seafaring type guy. I do see artists always trying to paint them like it's some kind of symbolism. I've always gotten the ships and the anchors. People get those as tatts endlessly. I think what bothered me about lighthouses was it was the sign of trying to get back to land or reality while I was always trying to make it to the ocean or like get out of my head when it felt so far out of reach and reality sucked. I'm a poetic guy like that. Even Kuzco has a thing about lighthouses I noticed. Not entirely sure the story there except for his estate is also ocean side. I figure it correlates somehow. Willem's about it. Kuzco's about it. Even Sparky lived in one. She said it and I never went there out of spite of her family outside of riding some duck boats. It was on the river Mississip, not the ocean. Now you said it. That's it. I have to investigate this. We have to go up the lighthouse and see what all the fuss is about."

Flotsam loved Thomas was getting to do all the things he wasn't allowed if wanted to. That was golden. He wanted to be that for Thomas. Flotsam read somewhere most toy sales were from adults buying toys for themselves not children and that made him smile somewhere in his heart. People were allowing themselves to play more and not be so serious. When Harry Potter was mentioned Thomas said the most perfect thing. "That's it. You nailed it. That's exactly it. That's one of the many reasons I love your fine ass. Excuse me while I picture it on a bicycle again with Jetsam on the back because that booty fine. You're willing to do that with me. Everyone got boring and uptight. When we read a story, the words become a movie in my head. I see our movie everywhere. It becomes real."

Bilbo and Frodo indeed.

"I'm ready for our next adventure now."

If Flotsam was a video game his happiness meter would be rising to full.

"Okay, so I just booked us a hotel room in Donegal County not too far away to keep our options open. Also, luckily unlike Skellig this place does have actual toilets and coffee within human range since it's a peninsula not a remote tiny island. So, we're open to wing it and go with the flow do this however to our heart's content. Even a pub. Apparently the one all the Star Wars' actors hung out in since it was so close."

Flotsam leaned against the edge of his seat as the drive went on. Poor Thomas. Flotsam was going to get a snooze in before they got there and he wasn't.

#ThomasxFlotsam

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huenjin · 4 years ago

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just wanna be loved.

pairing: hyunjin x reader | bff2l!au, pornstar!au, lawyer!au

word count: 4.512 words.

tw: pornstar!hyunjin, mentions of alcohol, nsfw content — dick piercing!hyunjin, dom!hyunjin, porn shooting [mutual masturbation, blow job], making out, office sex, blow job, hand job, mouth fucking, deep throating, a lil ball play, just a lil, facial, fingering, clitoral stimulation. establishment of fwb relationship !! reader is super heartless !! and hyunjin must be protected at all costs !!!

music rec: can you hold me | nf

note: pt ii. of the pornstar!hyunjin series. read pt i. here. it's finally here and it has a plot. thank you for convincing me to make this into a series, i'm grateful and i hope you enjoy this as much as i did writing. unedited, like every other work of mine.

hyunjin swears to god that he has been at the very brim of snapping at the next person he sees.

see, hyunjin is a very patient person, usually. very very patient. but with how you are ignoring his calls blatantly, his head spirals out of control. it is the pent up frustration of being forgotten even temporarily by you that gets him on the verge to snap.

and not even his hands moving frantically up and down his dick before the woman in front of him as she touches herself to the sight of a naked man masturbating — lights hitting off the piercings to make the angles sharper as the camera pans out from his hands wrapped around his cock to the scene before them — is enough to get this anger to fuel down.

how dare you ignore him after everything that went down? after him saying he doesn't want to lose his friendship, after him saying you're the one person in his life that he cherishes the most?

his hand moves quicker and the woman crawls forward. her hand is still covering her core as her fingers plunge deep into her, the squelching sounds so loud to hyunjin's ears. she sticks her tongue out only to lick small stripes at the head of his cock, her tongue circling around his piercings.

hwang hyunjin is usually a calm person but the very thought of this woman not being you, is more than enough to anger him today.

the black hair he now dons is slick with sweat and sticks to his forehead. you should have noticed that. he storied it on instagram, for fuck's sake, just to get your attention and what does he get in return? nothing. usually, you would tease him over his poor scalp, or tell him that he looked good. this time, however, he gets dirty silence and he knows he is to be blamed.

hyunjin rubs his cock from the base as the woman wraps her lips around the head, tongue lapping every single drop of precum from that oozes out from him. not that porn ever subjected him to fantasise about the woman before him, his mind automatically shifts to you.

and god, were you beautiful that night under him. it's your breasts that come into his head first, the way your hands trailed over them and played with them before him. the way you begged for him. the way you were his even if it were just a night.

and that's enough to bring him close. you are enough to break down hyunjin completely and leave him defenseless. he ruts into his hand and the woman moves further down, taking hyunjin more as he gasps.

hyunjin signals at the director and he calls for a cut. the woman takes him out from his mouth and he comes undone in his hand. he spills all over his hand messily, spilling it on to his stomach and his thigh. the staff members rush into the scene — to help hyunjin clean himself up and to his co-star with a good amount of fake cum lube that she fills her mouth with for the next take.

maybe hyunjin did ruin a friendship. he should bear the consequences rightfully.

but not until he hears it from you. hyunjin needs to hear it directly from you.

that is what leads hyunjin to your law office — kim and chang — right after his shoot. the sun has set and he knows you would be done with work for the day hopefully, unless you took up even more pro bono cases to keep yourself busy. at least this is what hyunjin keeps saying in his head to justify you ignoring him.

he has been here before and he knows exactly where your office is. hyunjin used to brag once upon a time about being a very level headed person, about how he wants what he wants. that's what made him take this whole pornstar path as he studies law at the same time. he wants to work here in seoul's biggest law firm, with you. the path to that, however, is a tough one (and an expensive one) and he knows. but if there is one thing hyunjin knows, it is that time is a bitch.

and time is such a huge bitch that hwang hyunjin walks in to your office exactly when seo changbin, your boyfriend, breaks up with you.

(not that he wasn't expecting it. just that he hoped it were already done and that it was you dumping seo's shitty arse.)

"we can't do this anymore, y/n. you and i," he sighs, "we're not compatible. you're broken and—"

"hate to break in between," hyunjin clutches the wooden door of your office room tightly, anger seething through him as soon as he heard the word you and broken in the same sentence. "but, don't pin your inefficiency on the girl, man."

"excuse me?" seo changbin looks like he got slapped on his face. hyunjin's eyes flickers momentarily towards you — your delicate figure holding the wooden edges of your table in disbelief, and he knows you — you who would normally do a good job defending as a lawyer, would do a pathetic job right now defending your honour because you loved seo changbin once upon a time and your heart could never set you upto that again.

"i said what i said, dude," hyunjin walks in to the office completely. he leaves the door open, wider than before almost as if he is signaling changbin to walk out, that this is not his place for him to walk and do what he wants, that you are your own individual and you deserved so much better — someone who would love you for the most perfect being you are in his eyes (albeit that being not him as much as he wishes it could be).

changbin drifts his gaze from the man to you and asks, "were you dating someone else while you were with me?"

"hyunjin is not someone else, binnie," you bite your lower lip. "and no, i was not. this breakup involves just the two of us. we don't need a third person involved to ruin what we had. the two of us were enough to burn it down into ashes."

"i'll see you tomorrow then," changbin shuffles the balance on his feet, looking uncomfortably at you and shooting hyunjin a look filled with disgust. "are you looking at some pro bono cases and staying overtime? i told you—"

"you don't have a tag anymore to tell me anything, changbin. so drop it. i'll do what i have to do." your voice is ice cold and even hyunjin, a third person in this whole scene, feels the shudder run down his spine.

changbin drops his shoulders in defeat and merely mumbles, "let's get along well, y/n. we are colleagues after all," before leaving your office. you take a step back, chest steadily rising and falling and you lean against your office table, your grip on it strong.

and if there is one thing that can make him forget everything — his emotions, his well being, his sanity — it is you. the very sight of you hurting with all the built up emotions from what just happened makes hyunjin forget the anger of being forgotten.

all he wants to do at this point is be there for you.

he looks at your quivering figure, head down and he knows your eyes are probably brimming with the tears you are trying to hold back. your knuckles are pale at how hard you are holding the table and hyunjin hates how another man just hurt you right before him.

hyunjin carefully takes a step forward, mumbling, "do you want a hug?"

you nod, your head down and your gaze on your feet firm on the tiled floors of your office. you can hear the soft foot steps of your best friend getting louder with every millisecond before his arms wrap around your figure and he is pulling you into his warm chest, humming the tune you are so familiar with from him. his embrace is warm, and his big, strong arms seemed very protective when wrapped around your frail body. the world around you melts away as you squeezed him back, not wanting the moment to end.

and you sob. soft coughed up sobs that you tried so hard to hold it in but it was all useless. the minute hyunjin's arms wrapped around you, you let lose and unhinged. it was always like that.

because hyunjin was like an anchor to you. he was the anchor to steady your capsized boat in the storms. he didn't necessarily have to also be the lighthouse but for you, hyunjin being the anchor was more than enough right now.

"i'm not going to apologise for ignoring you, hwang," you mumble into his chest as hyunjin pats your head gently. you pull away after a second more and lean back against the table. you look down for a short while before turning back and grabbing the green bottle of soju, half empty, and chugging it down your esophagus.

hyunjin's eyes widen and he's about to stop you when you're all done and have slammed the bottle down on the table, cheeks heating up in the effect of what hyunjin would seem is the trick of the light.

hyunjin has seen you twice in the span of two weeks and both the times you were drunk, not to the level of passing out and waking up with a hangover — the two of you were not kids anymore for that — but still intoxicated enough to magnify every intense emotion you felt within you.

and if it were lust and validation the last time, this time it was the angst of putting up with a man trashy enough to now have the tag of your ex.

"can you get me—"

"use me."

"what?"

hyunjin bites his lower lip before tugging away at the dead skin in nervousness. he runs a hand through his black hair, on which your eyes unhelpfully linger for a second more than usual. he takes a step forward and repeats with strong affirmation, "use me, y/n. you're good at it. you're good at using people. that's what makes you an insanely good lawyer. you know who to keep close, who to get attached to and what to get from them. so i insist, use me as anything as you want. i'll be your best friend, your punch bag, your comfort, your drinking buddy, your anything. just—" he gulps, before locking his gaze with yours, eyes almost shining as if they held stars behind his irises. "just use me."

there is a small part in you that is deeply offended by the words that come from his mouth; by the words he so carelessly managed to throw around without bothering to think about how it would affect him. but the magnified, intense emotion to want to stop thinking, have the oxygen supply to your brain cut off for just a while to rid you of all the thoughts is higher.

"i—"

"do you not want to? of course i do understand—"

"shut up," you groan and the next thing your body prompts you to do is grab his wrist, pull him closer, turn around and pin him against your office desk as you kiss him, lips crashing against his and moving as if he was exactly what you needed after a rough day.

hyunjin doesn't exactly remember when and where things started going down the hill. you were his best friend. you are his best friend and yet best friends don't kiss. best friends don't fuck and for sure, best friends don't tell the other to use them only for them to knock the living lights out of them with a kiss that slips consciousness out of him.

hell be damned, he wasn't even sure if he was dreaming right now, but there was a raw emotion in the way you kissed him and in the way you leaned upwards slightly to curl your fingers in his hair and tug at it as you angled the kiss, lips moving against his in a separate emotion altogether.

best friends definitely do not do this.

you part your lips and feel hyunjin washing over like a wave of warmth, curling your toes, unfurling all your senses as the taste of him nearly silenced all thoughts. exactly as you wanted him and if his taste was what blocked everything, you needed more.

your whole body tingled, the feel of his frame leaning on yours further as his arms wrapped around yours feels nearly forbidden. you pull back, breath uneasy and gaze wavering at your best friend and you know he's what he is — insatiable as fuck. hyunjin pulls you in, claiming your mouth again, hungry and intense, until your knees almost give in. by the time you are aware of your own fingers, they had already slipped under his shirt, his skin smooth and radiating heat.

you pull back, chest rising frantically and you grip his white shirt tightly, yout hand soaking in the warmth of his body as you let go of his shirt and your fingers play with the edges of his pants.

"fuck my mouth," you say quickly, before kneeling down, unbuttoning his pants, looking upwards for a sign of approval and hyunjin's breath hitches. what ever would the porn he stars in account to when you are a whole fucking porn on legs?

"are you sure? i mean, i could give you an or—"

"later. stop overthinking everything," you sigh. "we'll do that later together. now can i or should i stop?"

hyunjin's hand moves down messily to unzip his pants and your lips curve upwards as you look at the man being reckless. he pulls his pants down in a rush along with his boxers only for his half erect cock to hit his stomach slightly before presenting itself to you.

when hyunjin fantasised about having your mouth wrapped around his cock earlier that day, he definitely didn't expect it this soon. but here you were, before him on your knees, taking his hardened dick in your hands as you spit on his shaft and move your hands over it slightly. it is probably the emotions and the feelings he holds for you that get him to harden and grow further in your grip and your eyes widen before you look away.

your thumb rubs against the frenum piercings — three consecutively to make a small ladder arrangement and you gasp. this must feel insane when he fucks your mouth — just as good as it did when he fucked you hard weeks back.

you look back up at him, hand moving around his shaft a little more rigidly and you tell him, "the black hair suits you better. fuck, you look like sex with that so, keep it," and you take his head into your mouth before hyunjin could say anything. he stutters, hand gripping the table tightly as you hollow your mouth and take him, tongue rolling against the metal balls on the underside of his cock.

"f-fuck," hyunjin gasps, head rolling back as you take more of him into your mouth, sucking on it lewdly. "your mouth feels so good, y/n, oh my—" and he moans so loud that you find yourself dampening your panties with your own arousal. hyunjin has pretty, pretty moans. it's deep, guttaral and makes you want to emit more of those from his pretty lips.

you take him out of your mouth, kissing the head, sucking at it with just your lips. you kiss him down his shaft, tongue lapping against the frenum piercings a little longer than you should and hyunjin knows by now for sure — you love his piercings.

"wow, you're getting harder," you gasp as you lick the precum from the head of his shaft before licking up from the base of his cock to the very top. you suck a little more of just his head, so delectable and angry, and hyunjin groans, hand finally leaving the table to hold your hair strongly.

"don't tease, y/n," and his voice is so strong that you can't help yourself but take him finally into your mouth, hollowing as much as you can as you slowly take him completely in your mouth and hyunjin releases a series of swear words laced with your name in the middle.

it's the sight of you in your formal shirt and pencil skirt, so prim and proper and yet you are taking him in your mouth, emitting such lewd sounds that it's pornographic. it's the way he feels you taking him in as deep as you can to get used to his length and girth. it's the way he see you slip your fingers secretly into your panties to rub your clit. it's the way you occasionally look at him from below, with tears in your eyes as you take him as deep as you can, choking on his cock.

if he were to pinpoint one, hyunjin could never. he would hold every single reason responsible for him to grip harder on your head and to thrust into your mouth just as you asked from him.

"you wanted this, right?" he groans, harshly, voice octaves deeper. "wanted my big fucking cock down your throat just to make you dumb and make you forget about everything. you wanted me to fuck your mouth so hard and to shoot my cum down your throat."

hyunjin's cock is heavy and warm on your tongue. he thrusts into your mouth and your right hand shovestwo fingers deep into your sopping core at the exact same time, trying to match his pace. the tears stream down from your face and all you can think is how good you feel being fucked like this, to have hyunjin's cock in your mouth. your jaw begins to ache from the constant task of fitting his fat girth into your mouth, but the feeling of him sliding against your tastebuds — the metal balls dragging against your wet tongue — and battering the back of your throat makes your eyes roll into the back of your head. hyunjin's grip on your hair is stronger to position your face and yet you release another moan, the vibrations rolling against his cock as his hips snaps forward to push his cock deeper.

the gags that leave your mouth is loud, the wet drippings leaking along with the sputtering afters of precum from the side of your mouth and staining your white shirt. your panties are soiled with how hard and fast you plunge your fingers in to bring you close.

"oh god," hyunjin's grip loosens on your hair for a bit before he continues thrusting into your mouth lightly. "god, i could fuck your mouth all night long and then fuck your cunt even harder." he grabs a fist full of your hair to hold you down before he goes back to thrusting harder into your mouth.

"eyes on me, baby. i'm going to shove my dick down your throat, okay?" he says. you quickly nod, your thumb rubbing your clit harshly and then he shoves you down his length and holds you still. you can feel his dick at the very back of your mouth as you choke on it, tears spilling messily down your face and ruining your makeup. hyunjin counts slowly, "five. four. three. two," and he slowly lets go, "one."

you gasp, breathing in as much air as you can as he takes his dick out, "that's my good girl. so good for me. now let me fuck your mouth again, oh good lord."

he holds your jaw with his other hand, pressing slightly in an attempt not to hurt you more as he holds your hair with the other. hyunjin angles your face up to look at him. your eyes are watery, makeup ruined and may the fury of the hells be with him, but he would sin and fornicate a twenty times more if this is the sight before him. you've ruined hyunjin for every other girl now and you don't even realise it.

hyunjin's hips begin to stutter soon, losing their tempo has he chased his orgasm. how ironic that he asked you to use him and yet here you were letting him use you in turn. his grip on your hair tightens as he feels it tightening in him. the room is filled with nothing but the sound of his balls slapping against your chin, muffled moans coming from your stuffed mouth and rapid panting from him.

hyunjin's breathing hitches and you remove your fingers from your cunt. it is sticky and coated with your arousal as you reach out to use the same hand to hold his balls. hyunjin gasps, holding your head a little stronger as you play with it when he fucks your mouth.

"fucking killing me," he grunts. "you're fucking killing me, y/n." you press your tongue flat as hyunjin finally drags his cock out. you gasp heavily, mouth sore and aching and vision blurry. however, all you can think is of rolling your numb tongue against his metal piercings and you do the very same, tugging at it occasionally.

“fuck, y/n!” he grunts out, trying to hold out a loud moan. his hips still surges forward to hit the bridge of your nose. you wrap your hands around his cock, feeling him become even more rigid in your grip. your rub his length as quick as you can till his dick quivers and hyunjin repeats under his breath, "i'm going to come, i'm going to come, i'm goi— fuck!"

hyunjin comes undone on your face. white spurts leaving his cock and coating your cheeks and your chin only to drop down onto your blouse and stain it further and it is a sight to behold. seeing you covered in his cum, almost like he was marking you, is enough to make him go hard again. your eyes are wide as he spurts his release on your face and the side of your neck and it's all so messy and hot that it has you leaving your mouth open unknowingly.

his brown eyes take in the sight of your swollen pink lips, cheeks tinged red and covered in tears and spit, and now his cum. hyunjin feels his cock twitch slightly as a pang of arousal shoots through his body again. but he has to ignore that. you are worn out and he needs to attend to your needs now that he knows you just gave him one mind blowing orgasm and in return hasn't had any.

hyunjin is about to lift you up when you hold his wrist, tongue jutting out to lick all the cum by the side of your lips, taking in as much as you can with your tongue and hyunjin gulps at the sight, his adam's apple bobbing oh so visibly.

"i have a proposition," you say. your voice almost sounds like something grating against the sand paper and hyunjin can't help but feel proud (as worried as he is). he listens to you as he squats down to maintain eye contact with you.

"oh?" he raises his eyebrows at you and you nod. hyunjin is trying his best to focus on you and your words and not how his come is on your face, marking you up to him as his.

"let's be friends with benefits."

and that was enough for him to focus back on your words. his feet is firm on the floor as he asks, "what?"

"it's a win-win situation, clearly. i need you for many reasons." you lift your hand up to count. "a) you're my best friend and i value this friendship a lot." hyunjin scoffs and you choose to ignore it as you continue, lifting another finger up, "b) you're the only one who has made me come and i need orgasms and validation. you give me both. we'll be exclusive and the minute you want to date someone, we break this off."

hyunjin feels his chest heavy. why are you making this so much harder? why are you jeopardizing everything? he doesn't know if this arrangement would be for the better or for the worse but after giving him the best orgasm he has had in a while and with all the oxytocin streaming in his blood veins, he knows his decision could account for all his miseries turning from unrequited love to rejection.

"and?"

"c) i haven't been able to explore much sexually, changbin being my first and everything and i want you to teach me as much as you know with your experience," you lift the third finger before closing them all and looking at him with nothing but hope.

"come again?"

"that's the plan," you laugh at your own joke to calm the uneasy tension in the room. "but it's true. that was the first time a guy has fucked my mouth or deep throated me and i fucking loved it."

hyunjin gulps visibly, his dick hardening and you look down at it. "you know you can say yes," you mumble as you desperately shift your gaze back at your best friend. "please? you could teach me how to come on my own."

"what's in it for me, y/n? every single point you said benefits you more than it does for me." hyunjin sits down, bringing his knees closer to him as he wraps his arms around it.

"you told me to use you. isn't that the whole point of using someone? i'll be benefited more than you will ever be. you can't go back on your words now."

hyunjin thinks the word heartless and yet again you were not. the proposition was seemingly harmless, but it sounded all like a big hazard signal to him because he has feelings for you that you are so clearly not aware of.

the thing with being so whipped for a person, to be so wrapped around their finger that all one can think of is them? you do anything for them, anything to make them happy. that's how stupid love makes one. that's how crazy love has made hyunjin, because as much as he is at a disadvantage, he can't help.

"alright. let's be friends with benefits."

and hyunjin knows that it is his heart that will break in the end. but at the very least, it will only be his.

#hyunjin smut #stray kids smut #skz smut #hwang hyunjin smut #kpop smut #hwang hyunjin #stray kids #skz #hyunjin x reader #hyunjin fic #hyunjin scenarios #hyunjin imagines #skz imagines #skz scenarios #stray kids imagines #stray kids scenarios #writings.rue

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cobaincreates · 4 years ago

Text

the fuck is a touron?

warnings: language, smut (wrap it you’re smart), 18+

count: 7k+

hehehehehe ;)

part two!

gif cred

— — —

“i was one hundred percent trying to teach him a lesson, but he’s too stupid to realize that you’re not supposed to lend one of my t-shirts to a random girl. god, he’s so dumb.” liza shook her head in frustration, her thumb absentmindedly scrolling along her phone screen.

“didn’t you guys used to be friends?” you asked, picturing the girl in mind. you could’ve sworn you’d seen liza with her at some point.

liza made a noise and bit her lip. “maybe he’s just trying to get back at me for something. i can’t think of anything i did though.”

“maybe they’re just messing with you. you know, because you did sleep with both of them.” liza made another dismissing noise. you took a sip from a glass she had given you from her kitchen. it was just beyond the doors behind you from where you sat on her massive deck.

you had taken it upon yourself to visit your friend before the last few weeks of summer ended. you’d see her back at school anyways, but she had asked you several times to make the trip out to see her. you’d been enjoying the ocean breeze and the hospitality of liza and her dad. it had only been a few days since you arrived; you hardly thought about leaving.

so far you had been biking around with liza through small sections of her neighborhood. she pointed out a few of her favorite spots, mostly trying to pass the days with you here, but also to make you feel welcome. she had taken you shopping off the island today, which resulted in a thousand more steps recorded on your phone and a new bathing suit to wear. you had also found a little lighthouse souvenir figure that you planned to put somewhere in your room once you got back home. you had dinner at a restaurant that liza said was one of her favorites, then you took the ferry back at sunset and now here you were, sharing a whole box of wine.

you snuggled further into your sweatshirt and pulled a pillow onto your lap. you stared out at the ocean in liza’s backyard and imagined how insane it was that she lived right on the beach. a small fire sat in front of you, warming your legs. liza put her phone down and took a large sip of her wine.

“anyone cute here? think i’d be into some east coast beach boy.” you mentioned, squinting your eyes playfully as you looked over at her.

she shrugged with her head on the back of the couch. “i mean there’s a few i went to school with, but you don’t want to mess with them.”

“how come?”

“they’re practically heartless. they’d totally leave you in the dirt.” she said. “well, sand.”

you snorted. “are you speaking from experience? because if so, i’m more than willing to get into a fight in your honor.”

“shut up.” she laughed. “you don’t want anyone from here, trust me.”

“no, trust me when i tell you that i do. i haven’t gotten laid in months and i’m crawling out of my skin.” you admitted as much as you didn’t want to. it had been a simple thought before getting on the plane to visit and you didn’t think you’d bring it up, but you couldn’t stop thinking about it. even while shopping you were mostly on the prowl. they should’ve had a store to buy a one-night stand. you were on vacation, you deserved to indulge.

“i have so much pent-up frustration. i need someone to sex me right now.” you continued, drinking the rest of the wine just to add to your tipsy rambling.

“jesus.” liza stared at you.

“i don’t want to tell you this but i was literally fantasizing about your dad earlier.”

“ew!”

“i’m sorry!” you laughed. “i mean, he’s single so it’s fair game.”

“absolutely not!” she looked at you like you were crazy, and you couldn’t stop laughing as she got up to get more wine, taking your glass too.

back home, there wasn’t anybody you wanted to sleep with. you didn’t really make any friends in high school that you kept into college and it was hard when most of your friends lived in different states. sure, there were apps for hookups and for you to meet new people around you, but you had a thing about technology tracking that made your skin crawl.

liza came back less disgusted with you, handing you your glass. you sipped on it and stared at the fire, not feeling tired in the slightest from how much you walked. beside you, liza picked up her phone again and scrolled, tapped.

“i don’t know why i’m doing this, but there is someone i might be able to set you up with.” she said minutes later.

you perked up with optimism and shifted on the couch. “mhm, give me more.”

“his name’s topper.” she said, her phone illuminating her face with a white light.

“you’re kidding.” you deadpanned, your eyebrows furrowing. you figured she was joking, slipping in a harmless pun.

“i’m not.” she bit her lips together, glancing at you to gauge your reaction.

“what kind of name is that?”

“could not tell you, but he’s super chill and i’m pretty sure he’s newly single.” she said, tapping a few times on her phone’s screen. “he was dating someone from his college for months, but i think they broke up since he doesn’t post pictures with her anymore.”

“i just want to fuck him. what does he look like?”

liza tapped a few more times before shining her phone at you. you squinted from the brightness before your eyes adjusted, took in the photo she was showing you. he was in front of a sunset and you could faintly pick out the dirty blonde locks. liza picked a different one that gave you a better view of him.

you let out a delighted hum, smiling slightly. “he looks like an asshole, but fun.”

“i have his number,” she said, turning the phone back to herself. you leaned your side into the couch, readjusting to keep the warmth. the fire cracked as one of the logs shifted.

“text him.” you prompted liza and scooted closer to her to watch her type on her phone. she found his contact and moved her thumbs along the screen.

hey so weird question but would u be interested in hooking up w/ my friend?

the friend in question is not me i swear

“smooth,” you said as she sent the texts.

“i can’t believe i’m helping you with this.” she locked her phone and dropped it into her lap. you shrugged and sipped from the glass, staring into the fire.

you slipped into a regular conversation with liza while she waited for a text. you weren’t giddy for a reply or asking her to check every ten seconds. it didn’t really matter that much to you if you didn’t hookup with anyone or not, you just thought you’d put it out there.

liza had you cracking up, bent over the couch and nearly falling to the floor when her father came outside onto the porch. you settled as you looked up at him, listening to him ask you both if you were doing okay and needed anything. liza was quick to shut his offer down when you gave her a look, jokingly wiggling your eyebrows at her. her dad noticed, looking between you two as you belted out laughing again, this time landing on the wooden deck. liza tried to keep her laughter in, telling her dad that you were fine and that you both were just a little drunk. he nodded and left you two alone.

“god, you suck.” she said once he was out of earshot.

you were now crying from laughter as you sat up. you wiped your eyes and climbed up onto the sofa, taking your glass from the floor. “i’m glad you invited me,” you giggled as you pulled the pillow back onto your lap. you both continued to shake with the aftershock of amusement.

“he texted me.” liza said suddenly as her phone was back in her hands.

“and?” you asked, leaning your side against the cushions. you propped your elbow on top of them and held your head against your hand.

“all he said was ‘pic’.”

“send him one.”

“okay.” she said and turned toward you, opening her camera on her phone.

“should i pose? how does my hair look?” you asked, brushing the back of it just in case it had gotten messy from falling to the floor.

“do something before i send a blurry one.” liza commanded.

you put your hand back against the side of your face and smiled lightly. liza took the photo without the flash, the fire bright enough. she set her phone down again and hit send as you watched her thumb. you watched her screen for a second then looked away, tilting the glass against your lips.

“he said ‘give her my number’.”

“fuck yes.” you said. you reached behind you for your phone, feeling around for a couple seconds before finding it. “okay, what is it?”

liza read his number aloud as you typed it in. you opened your camera and took a selfie, holding the wine glass to your lips and crossing your eyes. you typed, hiii, and hit send.

after having not touched your phone in the past few hours, you moved out of the conversation with him and replied back to a few of your friends. it wasn’t long before he texted back. you opened the message to find a photo sent back to you, tapping on it with an intrigued smile. he took his own selfie, balancing a beer bottle on his head with his own fire lighting up his face in an orange glow. you saw someone’s back behind him, your eyes trailing down to the drawstrings against his chest at the bottom of the photo.

impressive, you sent.

what’s your name?

y/n! what kind of name is topper?

rich people

thought so, you joked. are you sporting salmon shorts and sperry’s with that sweatshirt?

liza was in her own world as you texted topper. you glanced at her, finding her glass propped on her chest so she could slowly sip it. she was texting like a speed racer.

you looked back down at topper’s new message and laughed.

gray sweats and sandals

socks?

thank god

you watched the bubbles pop up almost immediately. they disappeared with no message then came back.

liza said u wanted to hook up?

you weren’t sure what to say back. your thumbs floated above your screen for several seconds before you decided just to be honest with him. what’s the worst that could happen?

long story short i’m needy & haven’t been laid in a while

you down?

sure when’s good for you?

“i’m going to get some ice cream.” liza said as she moved off the couch, throwing her phone down on the cushions. “you want any?”

“sure.” you said before typing.

think we’re going to the beach tomorrow so how about sometime in the afternoon? i’ll text you

sounds good, looking forward to it

“oh my god.” you said loudly, dropping your phone.

“what?” liza called from the open door. you could hear her clinking around the kitchen.

“he just sent an eggplant emoji.”

suddenly the clinking of dishes was drowned out as she laughed louder than before. you covered your face and laughed too.

—

the next morning you woke up already feeling too warm. you winced as you felt the heat radiating through your body and you peeled your eyes open. you were still on the couch outside and the sun was happily beating down on the deck. you moaned and pulled a pillow over your head. you remembered that you had finished the boxed wine with liza last night along with ice cream and decided to just sleep outside. with the alcohol and walking, your legs were not prepared to function that late at night.

you lay there for a few minutes until liza’s foot appeared and knocked right into your nose. you flinched and held it as it throbbed, sitting up to throw the pillow at her.

she jerked awake and grimaced at you and the sun. “what?”

“you just kicked me.” you said nasally. you sniffed and checked your nose as it continued to pulse. liza yawned, stretching and sitting up to look around like she forgot where she was.

“today’s going to be a good beach day if it’s this fucking hot.” she grumbled. her hair was wild atop her head, sticking out in every direction. she looked over at you as she yawned again. “breakfast and then beach?”

you nodded, your hand back in your lap as the throbbing subsided. you picked up your dirty dishes and phone and followed liza inside to eat. her dad was already cooking when you two came inside and your mouth watered at the sight of food on the counter. he provided a whole display of drinks, fruit, bread, and eggs that had you contemplating about never leaving.

liza told her dad of your plans for the day while you ate. you kept quiet as you cleared your plate, normally taking at least an hour to fully wake up in the morning. liza seemed almost too chipper in the mornings from what you witnessed. once you finished up and put your plate in the sink at liza’s dad’s request, you went to her room to fish out your new bathing suit. you changed in the bathroom and brushed your teeth along with the rest of your morning routine. you pulled on a t-shirt and shorts over your suit and tied your hair up just as liza knocked to see if you were done.

thirty minutes later, you were on your way to the beach. you held liza’s tote bag in your lap, full of snacks, waters, a speaker to connect to her phone, and towels. you were anticipating the beach, wanting to just run into the water and swim all day.

which is what you did for the next few hours. you munched on some pretzels, drank a ton of water that you had to pee several times, listened to music, and laid out in the sun. you soaked up more sunscreen than you could imagine, reapplying at least ten times. the water felt good whenever you swam to the sandbar with liza and back to the shore.

liza was on her stomach now, her hair still damp. she closed her eyes against the sun while you sat beside her and people-watched.

“when are you going to text topper?” she mumbled against her arm.

you watched an elderly couple read their respective books while sitting beside each other in folding chairs. they sat under a green umbrella, the one reading a james patterson novel with their toes poking out of the sand and the other reading a paperback of some sort with the cover twisted back and wearing a large sun hat.

“i guess i could text him now.” you said, hearing her question.

“i’ll probably head out whenever he gets here. let you two be alone.” she drawled.

you shoved at her shoulder and reached for your phone. you found topper’s conversation and typed quickly to tell him which beach you were at.

you want me to head over there?

you weren’t expecting him to text right away, but you replied back just as quickly.

yes

you put your phone back down under your shirt and lay on your stomach so you could keep an eye out for him. you looked at where the parking lot was, a large area of gravel and tall grass. people were pouring in and out of the beach, little kids in thick foam flip flops kicking up sand while older adults with mass amounts of luggage followed after them.

liza sat up, looking in the same direction and drinking from her water bottle. you flipped over onto your back and closed your eyes, listening to the crunch of sand, the distant chatter, the hush of waves.

“that’s him.” liza said beside you. you couldn’t tell how long it had been. you leaned up onto your elbows and looked behind you, seeing topper walking down the small crest in a white t-shirt and bathing suit bottoms.

“do i look okay?” you asked her as she watched him under her sunglasses. her head turned to you and you didn’t need her glasses off her face to know the look she was giving you.

“i don’t think you should be worrying about that if you’re just going to end up taking your clothes off in front of him.”

“just say yes and move on.” you said, exasperated.

liza laughed to herself and lifted her hand to wave topper over. you watched as he put his phone back into his pocket, lowering his gaze to his sandals as he walked along the sand. you pushed yourself to stand with liza, trying your best to not fix your appearance.

“hey,” liza said easily as topper came closer.

“hey, how’s it going?”

“good. this is y/n, as you already know.” liza gestured to you.

“hi,” you said and gave an awkward wave. it was only awkward with liza there, but you knew she’d be leaving shortly.

“hey.” he said and slipped his hands into his pockets.

it made you smile when you saw his eyes traveling over you for a split second. liza saw it too. you let your own eyes wander as liza said something; you weren’t paying attention to listen.

“well, i’m going to head out.” liza said as she bent to roll up her towel. you crossed your arms loosely as you watched her. she picked up her bag and turned to you. “let me know if you need me to pick you up.”

you gave her a nod and watched her take a few steps. she turned slightly to point at topper. “be nice to her.” she warned, making you laugh like she was a parent trying to threaten a boy.

once she was out of sight, you sat down on half of the towel so topper could have the other side. he followed you, propping his legs in front of him as you stretched yours out.

“so, are you just here for the weekend?” topper asked after a few moments. you were trying not to let it become awkward, but he had beaten you to it.

“until next saturday.” you said, glancing at him as you leaned back on your hands. you could feel a shell under your palm, so you moved it to a different spot. “liza wanted me to visit before we go back to school.”

topper nodded, his elbows atop his knees. he glanced at a beach ball rolling by, a little kid chasing after it. “are you guys close?”

“you could say that. you went to high school together?”

“yeah, we kind of had the same friends so we hung out at the same places.”

you hummed as you looked toward the shore. you saw a couple kites over the water, their tails whipping in the wind. “it’s nice here.”

“yeah, kitty hawk is nice. i like to paddle board over at kill devil hills.” you turned your eyes to him, finding him already looking at you.

you smiled lightly and squinted at him. “i’ve never been paddle boarding.”

“really? it’s fun. what about surfing?”

“i tried, but i split my lip. i’m sure if i tried again i’d get the hang of it.”

topper nodded with an identical smile, looking at you a little longer. ten seconds later, your heart lurched as topper reached back and took his shirt off. you glanced away with a slight blush, an inkling of a thought about public sex creeping into your mind. topper then stood and reached a hand to you.

“come on, come in the water with me.” he promoted. you felt your heart settle as you took his hand and he pulled you up.

you spent the next fifteen minutes in the water. you glided your hands along the surface as the waves rolled and topper talked animatedly with you. you were enjoying this part as much as you didn’t want to admit, seeing as that all you were looking for was a hookup. but he was so talkative and curious and hardly ever broke the eye contact. you played with the sand under your feet while he dunked himself under the surface then wiped a hand over his face.

when you got out and dried yourself off with liza’s towel, you wiped your face and looked over the soft fibers at topper. you held the towel out to him, dripping onto the sand. you were partially dry for now and itching under your skin. you looked away as he dried himself off but found yourself looking back as he bent over to wipe down his legs. when he stood tall again, you couldn’t help the way your eyes lingered over his glistening stomach, admiring.

“can we get out of here?” you asked.

topper nodded and handed you the towel. he took it back from you after pulling his shirt on so you could do the same. your bottoms were still wet so you left your shorts off for the time being and grabbed the rest of your things. topper fiddled with his keys, brushing the sand off them as he led you to the car lot. the gravel poked at your bare feet, some pebbles sharp enough to make you wince, but you endured it the whole way to a jeep that topper brought you to. it unlocked with a beep and before you climbed in, you put the towel over the seat and brushed your feet off, not wanting to track sand, dirt, or rocks into his shiny vehicle. it felt too high up for you, like you were sitting on the roof rather than inside it, but you closed the door gently.

—

“oh...wow.”

it kind of looked like a forty-year-old woman threw up. and it was all over the house. every room seemed overly decorated, a bunch of different script fonts with those cheesy sayings plastered everywhere. the house had high ceilings and the paint was pristine. it was very bright due to all of the windows and you wondered if there were any dark spots at all inside the house.

even topper’s room had a hint of a forty-year-old woman in it when you walked in.

“i think your mom went overboard at pottery barn.” you joked. “your dad couldn’t monitor her credit card uses?”

topper closed the door behind you as you wandered in, hands clasped gently in front of you. he tossed his keys onto a dark dresser beside the entryway and paused there at your remark.

“i don’t know my dad.” he said.

you turned then from staring at the light blue walls adorned with framed potted plant prints. “oh.” you said, your stomach aching like you’d been kicked. you knew it wasn’t exactly the nicest thing to say, no matter how you said it. normally you could get away with saying things like that, but you had to remind yourself that you didn’t know topper.

“my dad has a habit of canceling a lot of my mom’s outstanding online purchases so i just thought— i’m sorry.” you shifted on your feet, moving your hands to your sides.

topper only shrugged as you went back to scoping out the room. you tapped your thighs awkwardly as a discarded pair of socks seemed pretty interesting to you. when you looked back at topper, you relaxed since he didn’t come off as uncomfortable. you decided to just forget it and push it out of your head as you crossed your arms and reached for the hem of your shirt.

you left it somewhere on the floor before taking a few timid steps to topper. he stayed where he was against the dresser, watching you closely as you came to him. you leaned in close, bringing your hand to the back of his neck while his hands fell easily to your hips. glancing over his features quickly and landing on his mouth, you smiled softly and asked, “is this okay?”

the tension left your body as topper nodded, staring at your own mouth, before you finally gave him a kiss. another had him opening his mouth wider, and another was a little deeper. you smiled against him.

“what?” he asked, his fingertips poking at your sides, his face close.

“i can taste your toothpaste.”

topper’s cheeks tinged a light pink and he pulled you closer against his body, licking into the next kiss and surprising you. you moaned delightedly and brushed your fingers into his damp hair.

you let your hands wander down his neck, shoulders, and chest. he felt firm in all of those places and his shirt soft. you enjoyed the touch of his hands on your face, exploring a new territory, and holding you close. every cell in your body was cheering with delight, like you’d just chugged a liter of water after a sweltering day. a slight buzz started under your fingertips as a familiar tingling grew in your bathing suit bottoms. every touch had you anticipating the end result.

topper’s skin was warm and taut as you slipped a hand under his shirt and played with the waistband of his bottoms. his tongue was fighting with yours while you were fighting with yourself about whether or not to take his shirt or bottoms off first. you couldn’t decide if you wanted to get it over with or to build up to finally having him inside of you. a moan slipped out at the thought. your finger hooked between his lower stomach and his bottoms when he pulled away abruptly at your noise and reached behind him to tug the shirt off.

as it fell to the floor, his hands returned to your hips to tug you flush against him. you could slightly feel him through his bottoms, the want to stick your hand inside now greater than ever. but he had a tight grip on your hips that showed no signs of letting up.

your breath was heavy with his as he turned the both of you so you were the one pressed against the dresser now. his hips brushed into yours slowly as the edge of the dresser dug into your lower back and you let your head fall as another moan came out.

“shit.” you whispered to yourself, your eyes closing at how good it felt. something so subtle that had your knees growing weak.

topper dragged a hand up to your jaw and pulled your lips back to his as he rolled his hips, this time a little firmer. to only add to the pleasure you were feeling, his hand slipped down to your chest where he groped you gently. he massaged a few strokes as you licked at his lip, begging for entrance. he granted it while he fingers flexed over your breast. you gladly let them wander to your back where he pulled at the strings, the damp silky fabric peeling off like those fake tattoo papers you put on when you were younger.

you pushed your now bare chest against topper’s, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and rubbing the heel of your foot into his calf. he turned you around, his hands rubbing down to your ass as he moved to the bed. you crawled backwards at the same pace he crawled over you, faces still close that you could feel his breath growing heavy.

“stop teasing.” you said through clenched teeth as topper nipped at your neck and rolled his hips into yours.

“where’s the fun in that?” he smiled to himself as he skimmed his nose along your neck.

you wanted to kick him, but instead you settled for pulling him back against your lips while letting your hand rest on his shorts again. his hips seemed to sink lower to you at the feeling and you hadn’t even touched him yet.

your ears perked up at a small noise from somewhere while topper went unfazed and slipped his tongue back into your mouth. you ignored the small disruption and focused on him and your hand, now creeping your fingers along his abdomen. just as you barely got a knuckle deep into his bottoms a sliding door opened and banged. topper must’ve been so lost in where your hand was going that he still didn’t move away from you.

“did you hear that?” you pulled away.

“what?” he breathed.

a chorus of shouts and hollers came through the closed bedroom door. topper stilled and closed his eyes. “fuck,” he said before he pushed himself up and crawled away from you.

your eyebrows furrowed as you watched him get a footing and leave the room. you stared at the open door, partially annoyed at the interruption and the fact that you were left; naked.

groaning, you got up and pulled on your shirt again so you could follow topper. you went down the hall and found him in what you assumed to be the living room, a large tv on one wall and a white couch placed in front of it. the sliding door you heard led out onto a large deck, where you saw a group of guys all standing. topper’s bare back was facing you as he was in the middle of talking to someone, his shoulders tense.

the moment you stepped on the threshold, your bare feet against the cool metal, all eyes were on you. the guy topper had been talking to looked over his shoulder, instant curiosity on already stimulated features. he had topper’s hand in his, his opposite on his shoulder like he was giving him a pep talk.

“who’s this?” he asked, a sick smile appearing like you’d drop down onto your knees in front of him.

you grimaced very noticeably and spoke for yourself. “someone who’s trying to get laid. who the hell are you?”

a few low whistles rang out and you sent glares to the guys behind the one you were originally looking at. topper looked at you over his shoulder and gave you an apologetic look. you were glad he didn’t ask you to leave or wait for him, because you would’ve gladly left. you were starting to feel the irritation bubble and soon you would be leaving.

“got yourself a nice touron, huh, top?” the friend said, his arm looping around topper’s shoulders as he jostled him. his eyes were blown wide and not just from surprise. you grimaced deeper. they all looked like entitled, pretentious asshats and you were starting not to want anything to do with them. liza was totally right.

“rafe, come on, just leave. i’ll text you later.” topper was saying while you seethed at the door.

“don’t be pussy-whipped, topper. just drop the bitch and come try my new stash.”

“excuse me?” you pushed yourself off the doorway and stepped onto the warm deck. topper stopped you, turning out of rafe’s arm to plant his hands on your shoulders.

“woah, woah,” topper said as you sent daggers at his friend. he just laughed cockily at you and rubbed his chin. “can i text you later?”

your eyes snapped to topper’s pensive face in front of you. “are you kidding?” his hands dropped like you singed him. “don’t even bother.”

topper opened his mouth to call after you as you turned and walked away into the house. you shook your head to yourself and muttered as if anyone was listening. you should’ve known better or you should’ve expected less than for someone to put your needs before their own, much less a total stranger.

you wanted to slam a door behind you in annoyance as you went back to topper’s room to get your shoes. you also wanted to yell in frustration when you remembered your phone was still in his truck; you had wanted zero distractions. his keys were atop his dresser and you debated for a second whether or not to take them— you’d just be getting your things and liza’s towel.

just as you snatched your shoes and bathing suit top from the floor, topper slid into the room behind you and blocked the door. “please don’t leave,” he said quickly.

“unlock your car so i can get my stuff.”

“come on, please stay. i want you to stay.” he took a step closer to you, his pleading expression prominent.

“i don’t want to be here with your shitty friends pretending that we might get along when one of them just called me a bitch for no reason.” you countered and took a step to get by him, only to be caught around the waist. he turned you gently, his expression still the same.

“they’re leaving right now, i swear.”

“i don’t believe you.”

“i swear!” he pleaded. “you can go look yourself or you can take my word for it and we can pick up where we left off.”

you held your steely glare, trying not to show that you were reconsidering. you just really wanted to get laid and the situation only added to that frustration.

instead of smacking him with a sandal, you dropped everything in a heap and attached yourself to him again. his fingers worked quickly to pull your shirt back off, running along your sides and planting themselves on your hips. you nipped at his lip, silently begging him to move faster. he seemed to have the right idea as he turned you and pushed you back to the bed. you landed softly, your legs dangling off the edge, as you watched topper stand tall in front of you. his chest grew bigger as he took a breath and bent down to push his bottoms off. you pulled your lip between your teeth, not hiding the way your eyes flickered down to catch a glimpse. your ears grew hot and your skin pricked at topper’s semi-erection, the tip of him glistening. you wondered what he tasted like.

your gaze broke as topper moved to the side of the bed, rifling through his nightstand. you took that opportunity to take your bottoms off, flicking them somewhere in the room with your foot. you flipped over onto your stomach, grinning to yourself at the full view of topper’s butt. taking a nail between your teeth, you bit it anxiously and watched as he found a condom. you couldn’t help but giggle as he looked over the packaging, reading the date. your feet kicked in the air playfully.

when topper went back to the foot of the bed, you looked over your shoulder as he rubbed himself before rolling the condom on. he combed a hand through his hair, pushing it off his forehead.

“good to go?” you smiled.

he breathed in and nodded. “you want it like this?” he gestured to the way you were on your stomach.

you hummed, nodding your head, and moved a little further down the bed so your hips were at the very edge. topper’s hands fell to your thighs and he spread your knees apart, his skin ghosting against yours as he stepped closer. you took a shaky breath in as the anticipation rose higher— god, you couldn’t wait. deep down, you hoped that it didn’t suck. he had worked you up so much that you were sure you’d feel silly if it wasn’t satisfying.

you tried not to show just how desperate you were as the tip of him teased your folds. you licked your lips, biting down on the bottom one and lay flat on the mattress. his hand gripped your hip now while the other guided himself to your entrance. a high-pitched moan bubbled from your chest and slipped past your lips as topper slowly moved himself inside of you. you let out a lower, satisfied moan when he was fully inside, flush against you. your feet knocked into his back as you adjusted to the size of him. topper tried to control his panting behind you, staring down at your ass and himself fully sheathed by you.

“jesus christ,” he said more so to himself, marveling at the way you fit around him. he imagined it would’ve been so much better without a condom, but this was just as good.

just as you were about to ask him to move, he pulled out of you inch by inch. it felt uncomfortable at the empty feeling, but he came back a little quicker with a low noise of his own.

topper kept a steady rhythm, his hold tight on the skin over your hips and his breath blowing across your back each time he thrusted into you. you reveled in his noises, enjoying the low grunts and the occasional moans to mix with yours and the sounds your bodies were making. his skin started to smack against yours, building as your hands tightened over the comforter. there wasn’t much conversation or dirty talk, which you didn’t mind at the moment since you weren’t looking to lengthen this experience out. you just wanted him to give you what you needed. so far, he was doing a pretty good job.

the bed dipped beside your shoulder as topper’s hips still moved. his body moved closer to yours, the heat from his chest seeping into the skin on your back and giving you a pleasant wave of goosebumps. you opened your eyes to find his fist planted beside you, just as his other hand gripped your shoulder. you pushed yourself up to your elbows, stretching your head backwards. topper followed your movements and bent over you, planting a wet kiss to your lips. he continued to move in you, the hand on your shoulder moving to your neck, his fingertips settling on the sides. you breathed heavily into his mouth at the new sensation as a slew of curses rang out in your mind.

topper licked into your mouth, teasing you and playing with your tongue as his fingertips pressed a little more into your skin. you moaned lowly and broke apart from him. he stayed close, reaching down to your ear and nipping at your earlobe. your mouth opened, eyes screwing shut again as you became aware that you were close to your end. maybe if he just squeezed a little more around your neck, you’d go over the edge.

“topper, i’m going to come.” you breathed, feeling your head knock into his shoulder as he still moved. just then his hips snapped forward, hitting you a little deeper, a little harder. his lips moved off your ear, his breath hitting it now. you tightened yourself around him, not knowing that it brought him even closer while you came over him. you held on to the blanket, knuckles turning white while the same thing happened behind your eyelids. your face screwed up in ecstasy as topper pumped into you deliciously, his movements eventually faltering and stopping as he found his own climax. he groaned loudly into your ear, his breath hot, his grip not too tight, and his come feeling warm even through the condom. if only you’d actually felt it.

topper let go of your neck and you lay flat again, finding your breath with a heaving chest. topper watched the side of your face through hooded eyelids as he stayed hovering over you for a moment. the heels of your feet rested against his back; your thighs no longer tight against his thighs as you relaxed now.

your eye lazily opened as the air in the room met your back, topper moving away from you. you could see him out of the corner of your eye as he carefully touched your side and pulled himself out of you. you made a small noise, almost one of disappointment that he didn’t stay there longer. he disappeared from your sight and your legs promptly closed, your feet still in the air even though you ached from staying like that for a while.

when topper came back, condom gone and thrown away and holding a washcloth, he tapped your lower back. you pushed yourself up slowly, wincing at tired joints and muscles, and thanked him before finding your way to the bathroom. you cleaned yourself up inside, peeing quickly and washing your hands. topper was stepping into his shorts when you came back.

“the fuck is a touron?” you asked as you reached for your bathing suit bottoms almost under his dresser.

topper laughed behind you. “it’s a tourist.”

you made a face and pulled your bathing suit top over your head, tying it in the back. “east coast people are weird.”

topper smiled to himself, glancing at you as you pulled your t-shirt on. he was dressed and ready to go when you were, grabbing his keys and letting you lead the way.

once he pulled into liza’s ridiculously long driveway, you thanked him and jumped out, not wanting to make it awkward. liza was in her kitchen when you walked in, hair a little messy but dry.

she looked up at you from cutting some fruit. a curious smile came onto her lips. her eyebrows rose. “how was it?”

you lifted yourself into one of the chairs at the island counter and reached over for a small piece. “i don’t like his friends so i can see why you warned me but i’m letting it go.” you said, popping the fruit into your mouth.

liza blinked at you, not totally understanding but becoming uncomfortable with how chilled you were compared to the other days you’d been her guest. “wow,” she said. “you really had a whole ass iceberg of frustration, huh?”

“i told you.” you shrugged and laughed once you stared at each other for a moment.

you ate dinner that night with liza and her dad, hearing a few stories and sharing your own over wine and lobster. just after you helped clean up the dishes and the kitchen, you felt your phone vibrate in your sweatshirt pocket. pulling it out, you read texts from a number you hadn’t saved.

i enjoyed today

let me know if you’re ever visiting again😉

⭐️taglist of beauties & babes!⭐️

@tovvaa @fttayla @dontjinx-it @moniamaybank @drewstarkeygf @cheshirecat107 @jjmaybankzz @obxcunt @honeyyhemmings @dvakat @macey730

#topper thornton #topper thornton x reader #outer banks #topper thornton obx #topper thornton x fem!reader #topper thornton smut #topper thornton imagine #topper thornton oneshot

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blouisparadise · 4 years ago

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Upon request, here is a rec list of bottom Louis fics with everyone’s favorite trope - sharing a bed! We hope you enjoy this list. Happy reading!

1) Just Like Live Wires | Explicit | 5427 words

Harry climbs into Louis' bed when he's cold. Louis pines.

2) Been Gone Way Too Long | Explicit | 8836 words

“This can’t be happening,” Louis says, banging his hand against the window. “This seriously can’t be happening right now.”

Things like this only happen in the movies. Things like this don’t happen in real life. There’s no way that he’s seriously been snowed in. There’s no way that the heating is broken. There’s no way that it’s going to take upwards of twenty-four hours and probably a lot longer for the storm to break and someone to come and rescue them.

“Just sit down, Louis,” Harry sighs from somewhere behind him. He sounds miserable, like he’s already feeling the cold.

Louis whirls around and points a finger at him. “Did you plan this?” he demands a little hysterically. He regrets the question as soon as it’s out of his mouth, but he thinks he’s got a valid point. It’s not like this storm just came out of nowhere - it has to have been on the news for a couple of days, at least. Plenty of time for Harry to have canceled this excursion.

3) I'm Trying Not To Make A Sound | Explicit | 10452 words

Louis thinks he could die right there. He can’t feel anything but the tingling sensation all over his skin. He’s throwing away all his past thoughts on trying to be straight and denying his reactions towards other men, he just wants more of this numbing feeling. Everything else is a long lost memory, can’t think of anything else besides, wow, this feels incredible.

4) Enjoy The Ride | Not Rated | 11103 words

The one where Louis, an omega more than tired of being treated as lesser than alphas, is forced on a road trip by his beta besties only to meet Harry who might just be the alpha he never knew he wanted.

5) Cuffed | Not Rated | 15254 words

What would you do if you were handcuffed to your enemy for 48 hours?

6) Up For It | Explicit | 18223 words

The one where Liam is Mr Organised, Zayn is too perceptive for his own good, Niall is a compulsive matchmaker, and Harry and Louis might just have the surprise to shock them all.

7) Holiday Greetings (And Gay Happy Meetings) | Not Rated | 18417 words | Sequel

Note: This fic has no smut, but it has omega Louis. The sequel has smut.

The one where Niall's dead car and and a foot of snow conspire to force Louis into spending time with an alpha he hates.... or does he?

8) The Aurora Zone | Explicit | 19633 words

The one where Harry is busy crossing off his bucket list while Louis is busy falling for the guy he's supposed to hate.

9) I Wanna Be More Than Friends | Not Rated | 20721 words

The one where Harry’s an alpha with no sense of smell, Louis’ an omega who isn’t allowed to scent his best friend, and that’s all they’ll ever be. Obviously.

10) Etched In Salt (Is A Cathedral Of The World) | Explicit | 24417 words

Note: This fic has BH mentions. It is also locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

Louis asks for very few things in life, and they are: to solve cases, to keep bad people from doing their bad things, to get good coffee, to go home to a spacious apartment with nobody else in it, and to manage his stupid telempathy powers with minimal interference. And now he's stuck in a tiny cabin in a snowstorm in the middle of god-awful-nowhere with Harry Styles. Because of course he is.

11) Like A Siren In The Night | Explicit | 25868 words

“There is an infestation in my home,” Louis hisses, righting himself quickly and pushing his way past Harry, heading directly for the kitchen. He’s rather haphazardly dressed himself, a coat thrown on over a loose flannel shirt and black pants, slippers on his feet.

Harry resists the urge to sigh, closing the door and trailing behind him slowly. “What kind of infestation?”

For all he knows, Louis is going to claim that there’s a ghost infestation. Harry has no idea what the end game is here – all he knows is that Louis has found at least three complaints a week to bring up since he’s been living on Harry’s property, and he’s been living here for six months.

It’s way too many fucking complaints, is what Harry is saying. Especially when most of them are ridiculous to start with.

12) Always Come Back To You | Explicit | 28682 words

“I’ll do it,” Harry offers brightly. No one even blinks. “I’ll do it?”

Louis sighs irritably. “Shut up,” he orders, tossing a pillow in the general direction of Harry’s face. This is a terrible time for jokes, especially Harry’s lame, old people ones.

Not that it was an old people joke. Just that most of the time Harry’s jokes consist of knock-knocks or terrible puns. The type of jokes old people like, Louis’ pretty sure. His nan always finds them hilarious when Harry tells her one.

Harry bats the pillow out of the air without even blinking. “Be reasonable, Lou,” he says in his most reasonable voice.

Louis is perfectly reasonable, thank you very much, and he’s also frustrated and upset and tired and he really wants to punch something. Maybe he should have held on to that pillow a little longer.

“You’re not gonna fucking do it,” he snaps. “That’s the last thing I need.”

13) We’re Not Who We Used To Be | Explicit | 30611 words

“Harry…” Louis’ voice catches in his throat, thick with tears threatening to fall out, so he coughs to clear it before trying again. “Harry is Liam’s best man?” “You didn’t know?” Harry is standing at the entrance of the garage, mouth slightly open and face pulled together. He sets his bag on the ground and puts his hands on his hips. When he does that, he looks just like the Harry that Louis remembers (and loves, he thinks with an aching heart). “I’m sure I mentioned it,” Liam says, but Louis can tell he’s lying by the way he chews on his lower lip and twists his fingers together. “You’re all a bunch of dick heads, I’m getting in the car.” Louis isn’t sure if he’s being unreasonable. He has no idea what the protocol is when your ex-boyfriend shows up after three years and nobody bothered to give you a heads up. He’s pretty sure he’s allowed to be upset about it, even if it’s only for a bit.

14) Blind From This Sweet, Sweet Craving | Explicit | 31170 words

"So, I guess we'll go?" Louis asks later, when Harry has calmed down and eaten his weight in Chinese food. He plays with this chopsticks, spearing another piece of chicken and pops it in his mouth. "I mean, I wouldn't mind. We could make it an adventure."

Harry observes him, watches him seated across from him on their old living room carpet, with a container of food on his lap. He's fidgeting, avoiding meeting Harry's gaze–he probably knows that Harry's mad at him for ruining the one chance they had to get out of this situation. And he's not wrong, Harry is definitely very mad. Harry wants to strangle him and castrate him and smack him upside the head.

But he's also Harry's best friend, and despite everything, despite all the fuck-ups and the plot twists and everything just not playing out the way it should, he'd still rather be stuck in this situation with Louis than any of the other boys. He's got Harry's back, and in a weird, abstract way, he knows they'll be able to get out of this situation, together.

Harry sighs. "We're going," he says resignedly, his shoulders slumping.

Oh well. There are definitely worse ways to spend the weekend than pretending to be engaged to his best friend.

15) Welcome Back From The Friend Zone | Mature | 32584 words

The one where an idea to create a fake wedding with the sole intent to receive gifts from billionaires took a turn no one, but also everyone, saw coming.

16) Let Me Feel Your Heartbeat | Explicit | 34572 words

Harry is 98% sure Louis hates him. So he feels like his bewilderment is justified when the omega offers to help him through his rut.

17) Close To Nowhere | Explicit | 34589 words

Louis and Harry are psychics who kind of hate each other. They go to Tennessee to investigate a haunting.

18) Playing To Win | Explicit | 36732 words

Big Brother UK alumni Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles are selected for the UK vs Australia All Stars series with a massive one million dollar prize in the offing. They’re both fit and smart and would make a great alliance... if only they can stop their feelings from getting in the way.

19) If I Stay | Mature | 37226 words

Harry and Louis agree to a temporary arrangement that Harry can't seem to walk away from no matter how many times he tries.

20) The Space Between | Explicit | 39917 words

Harry Styles is the alpha rockstar who can’t sleep and doesn’t know why.

Louis Tomlinson is the omega PhD student who helps him figure it out.

21) Strangers In Love | Explicit | 42207 words

Louis wakes up to find himself in a marriage with the last man he thought he'd ever end up with.

22) Tangled Up In You | Explicit | 45152 words

Harry blinks once. And blinks again. And says, his voice dangerous: “Niall, did you get me a mail-order bride?”

Because what the actual fuck. It kind of looks like Niall’s just purchased a person. For Harry.

Niall blinks back at him for a few moments, before throwing his head back and howling with laughter. Harry throws a pillow at him. Hard. “No, what the fuck, Harry.”

“A prostitute then?” Harry also doesn't want a prostitute.

“Of course not!”

“A stripper?”

“No!”

Damn, he’s running out of ideas. He settles for launching another pillow at Niall’s head. Niall bats it away easily, still laughing. “Stop!”

“What did you get me, then?!” Niall must hear the tinge of hysteria in his voice, because he’s pulling himself together, trying to stop himself from laughing.

There’s still a big grin on his face, though, when he says, “I got you a professional cuddler.”

A professional…what. “What?”

23) No Going Back | Explicit | 56102 words

Sales reps Harry and Louis are bored with their jobs and their lives. After meeting at a conference in Cardiff they hook up, have a few too many drinks, and jokingly apply to become remote lighthouse keepers. Six months, just the two of them, looking after the southernmost lighthouse off the bottom of Australia. It’s not like their applications will be accepted. Right?

This is the story of how one choice - a left instead of a right, a go instead of a stop, a yes instead of a no - can change the future forever and that sometimes, taking that leap of faith, is worth the risk.

24) Waiting For The Tides To Meet | Explicit | 59873 words

Soulmate AU. Everyone is born with heterochromia — one eye is their own eye colour, while the other is the colour of their soulmate's. It's only when they meet their soulmate for the first time that their own eyes match properly. After a hazy night at a frat party, Louis wakes up to blue eyes and the shocking realization that he had met his soulmate, without any sober recollection. Seven years pass where Louis comes to terms with the fact that he'll never know who his soulmate is. Then one fated summer, a beautiful green-eyed photographer arrives at Louis' workplace, with promises of endless laughter and a familiar feeling in Louis' heart.

25) Swallow The Knife | Explicit | 76158 words

“You came,” Louis says, still breathless, clinging to Harry, uncaring that his sweat is getting all over Harry’s presumably clean dad shirt, or that he’s making Harry hold up all of his weight.

“Of course I came,” Harry says. He shifts, one arm curled underneath Louis’ arse, the other spreading wide in the middle of Louis’ back. “If I ignored you every time you pissed me off we would have stopped being friends a long time ago.”

Louis already knows that, of course. It doesn’t do anything to stop the pleased squirm in his belly every time Harry proves it, though. They fight like nobody’s business, both of them too stubborn to pull their punches when they’re arguing, and it used to get them in trouble, but they always make up.

Adrenaline makes Louis loose-lipped, and they both know it. He tightens his arms around Harry’s neck, buries his face in his hair. “I missed you,” he confesses, quiet. “Doesn’t feel the same up there by myself.”

26) Waiting On You | Explicit | 76584 words

“Vampires,” Louis says with disgust, glaring over at the vampire who is noisily slurping from the woman’s neck nearby.

Zayn gives the neat fang marks on Louis’ neck a meaningful look.

“Can’t live with them, can’t live without them,” Louis finishes, ignoring Zayn when he rolls his eyes.

Louis takes a long sip of his milkshake, presses his fingers against the marks on his neck, and definitely doesn’t think about the vampire who left them there.

27) Perfect Storm | Explicit | 80230 words

What do you do when your best friend asks you and your (now) ex to be the best men at his destination wedding? You can either tell him the truth, tell him you’re not together anymore, and deal with the consequences, or you can pretend you’re still together and roll with it, just pray you don’t spiral. Fake it ‘til you make it. You know, for the sake of the wedding.

Harry and Louis choose the latter.

28) Nothing Worsens, Nothing Grows | Mature | 102528 words

Another roadtrip AU featuring Harry as the misunderstood hipster, Louis as the bitter psych major, Liam as the one with the secret boyfriend, and Niall as the one who just wants everyone to be happy.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

#bottom louis #top harry #larry #fic recs #sharing a bed #blp #blp fic recs

226 notes · View notes

fandomdaydreamer · 3 years ago

Text

The Lighthouse and The Ocean

Pt 11

Dilemma

Pairing: Pedro Pascal/OFC

Warnings: some mildly dubious consent, r-word, (but nobody is getting r*, chill)

Summary: What was the plan with these pictures? Pedro will have to make an unpleasant deal if he wants them back.

Notes: Also find this fic on Ao3 -here- or the series' Masterlist -here-

Author's note: The original draft turned out to be 12k long and I had to divide it into two parts. So, the next chapter shouldn't take as long to update!

PS: To all the men in show biz who have dealt with #metoo. Trigger warnings apply accordingly. Let's hate the character, not the author.

Length: 6.2k

Dilemma

His nostrils flared at the sight. There were several pictures exposing their unofficial liaison behind the curtains, both figuratively and literally. They showed Pedro caressing Nini's body and roaming his hands up her skirt and under her top while she was tugging at his clothes and clinging onto him with such insatiable greed. They held tightly on to one another while practically eating each others faces and the both of them were clearly enjoying it. It looked heated and raunchy, leaving nothing to the imagination and even suggesting more than there had truly been. The angle at which the pictures had been taken made it look like they were caught in the act. The lovers thought they had hidden away, yes, but from sight? Apparently, not so much.

Pedro's throat started to close up and he couldn't look at the woman in fear he would start yelling uncontrollably at her if he did. He wanted the tear the pictures up, throw them away and burn them to ashes. His fingers gripped the edges tightly enough to wrinkle the material.

His gaze snapped up at her when she spoke. "Oh, this is just a copy, by the way," Sharon mentioned with a spark of malice in her nasal voice. She stood in front of him in this dark and enclosed room, arms crossed and defensive. "The only other file in existence is safe with me, of course."

Pedro stared at her in a mixture of disbelief and anger and couldn't believe he was led here to be tricked into... what was it exactly? He could imagine a few reasons why she was doing this and blackmail was the most likely one of them. He wasn't stupid. "What is this?" He held back the threatening tone in his voice to the best of his abilities.

He knew he shouldn't have come down here but Pedro had heard a cry for help and had found a helpless Sharon trying to lift a heavy roll of fabric twice her size into this basement. The room was big enough to store plenty of spare materials, broken props, screens and apparently, secrets as well. He realised her struggle had just been a ruse to get him to be alone with her.

Pedro smiled ironically, thinking the designer chose the wrong profession. She would have made a great actress. Sharon had looked so desperate, about to collapse under its weight and though Pedro liked to stay as far away from this woman as possible, he couldn't just let her deal with it on her own, not when the set was about to close up for the day and everyone was meeting up to travel back to their hotels.

You didn't follow untrustworthy people into dark basements. Rule number one in literally every horror movie.

Sharon was testing his patience while she simply smiled at him like she was feeding on his anger. His mind raced a million miles per hour, imagining the scandal she would trigger. It really was a worst-case scenario and he could picture it ever so clearly, even against his better judgement. It didn't make any sense. "Answer me," Pedro glowered.

"Well, what does it look like, sugar?" The arrogance in her voice was remarkable as she asked him a question in return and traced a finger along his jawline to the tip of his chin. He evaded her touch and looked away. Sharon was the kind of imperturbable person who was usually easy to ignore but she had come on too strong a few times too often. Normally, he was able to deal with her and forget it after he had brushed off her advances with a polite decline. A simple 'no' should have been enough to remind her of the fact that he still wasn't interested. The first couple of times, it had still been amusing. After a while, he had gotten easily irritable in her presence.

"Funny, you and me in a dark and private room again. Anything could happen, really." Sharon mentioned when he had already turned his back on her.

"Sure." He replied tightly. Pedro had only wanted to help her push the fabric up against the wall and take his leave again but Sharon called him back to reveal what was inside her envelope then. She had shown him these pictures, right out of the blue.

She smiled at him. "Cute, aren't they?" She said like she kicked puppies for a living.

He pushed them back at her, pointing out the flaw in her plan. "You can't publish them, it's not legal." "Yeah, that's what we assume right now." Sharon didn't agree. She carried such a confident air about herself it would have been comical if Pedro hadn't found himself in such a gravely ill situation. Her smile would have been sweet if it would have only reached her eyes.

She couldn't leak them. There was no way. "I don't think you understand. There will be consequences if you publish pictures that reveal confidential information about the movie or violate the actors' privacy." He spoke calmly like he was explaining something to a mildly problematic toddler. "Do I have to remind you of the non-disclosure contract you signed so you could work here?" Either she carried a plan or she was just plain stupid. Never mind he knew the latter was also true, he wished for this simpler explanation.

Sharon studied the pictures in an absent-minded way like she had to recalculate their value. "Oh, we'll see. One could always find a way and accidents happen, like, all the time you know? You and I are the only people who know I have these, actually." she intervened and giggled at his expression. "For now." She sealed the envelope back together. "But I kinda wonder what Van Fleet would have to say about these. I guess she'd really want those pictures back, why don't you?"

"Try to do the smart thing for once and stay away from her." He warned Sharon and scoffed. "And I'm not playing your stupid game." He was ready to leave her here and climb the first stair when Sharon's next words stopped him in his tracks.

"You know, Leonie dealt with the one or other scandal and I would watch what I was doing if I was her." She spoke somewhere behind him and he took one careful exhale. Rage bubbled up inside him as he whisked around and took brisk steps towards her. "Careful." He warned her, pointing a finger at her.

She backed up against the nearest pillar with a sly smile on her lips, giddy almost at the proximity. "People will definitely look past your flaws quickly but to her, this would be some sort of a final strike that could really harm her career, if not... end it." She bit her lip excitedly at the thought of causing Nini harm. It made him sick. "Unfair, if you think about it. Nothing a popular man does could harm his career in an equal manner. The blame will be all hers."

He thought entirely too long about her hypothetical equasion. Sharon was right about this, of course. One tiny leak and they would all be in big trouble but Nini would be struck the hardest. She would be devastated. Could he risk ignoring Sharon if there was even the slightest possibility of these pictures leaking? He took a step back, letting out an aggravated sigh.

Sharon beamed at this newly found sign of weakness behind his eyes and walked around him until she playfully leaned her chin against his shoulder and cooed as she pitied them for the situation she caused. "Hm, tricky." The redhead batted her long, fake eyelashes at him.

He didn't want her that close. She had tried to flirt with him for weeks, first only hint her interest in him and then bluntly offered sex but she just couldn't take a hint. She even mentioned running a fan blog dedicated to him and though she didn't always act the part, she was obsessed with him. She was the lunatic kind of fan and she was only tolerated because Pedro didn't want to be the reason why people who were great at their job got fired, even if they were completely crazy. He had made a quick change of mind. Bothering him was one thing, threatening Nini another.

He walked away from her, circled the room and ran his hand across his face. "Okay, what do you want? Is it money? I'll pay you. Just don't harm her."

"Oh, honey-" she began. "Pedro, I would never harm anyone. I'm on your side. Though, I don't know what she did to lure you in and wrap you around her finger. I hate to be the one to tell you that she'll get bored of you one day but someone has to." She pouted when he glared at her. "You'll only get your heart broken."

He shook his head. "You don't know one single thing about her."

"I know you need a loyal woman. A real woman." He glanced the other way in annoyance before he could muster the patience to look at her again, her sharp perfume stinging in his nose as he took a deep breath to try and control his temper. "Like you, I suppose. Not if we were the last people on earth."

She took offence in his words, face twisting into an ugly sneer. "I guess I never had a chance 'cause you fuck women almost twenty years younger than you now, huh?" she insulted him by bringing up Nini's and his age difference.

He stared icily at her, mentally counting to ten. "Your pictures, Sharon..." he reminded her to focus, pushing away the thought in the back of his mind that she had a point. It felt very much like something that should be a serious issue but he had simply elected to look past it and don't care about age.

"I was about to give them to you. For free."

Nothing she'd offer would be free. His contempt for her actions was evident on his face. "What's the catch? Shouldn't you tie me up in your evil lair and explain your plan to me in detail?"

"Ouch." She squinted her eyes at him, leaning back. "It's really simple. I'll give them to you and the original file for... a night?"

He couldn't believe her right now. "Fuck you." Pedro brushed past her and knocked into her shoulder, not seriously considering this more than dubious way out.

"A kiss then." She called after him.

He chuckled bitterly. "Not even that." It was a game of poker, really. She had a good set in her hands, admittedly and he had to start bluffing. "I certainly won't consent to anything and you won't publish these either because you know Nini and I will sue you if you do. So, keep your fucking pictures. Your hands are tied and I'm not interested, never have been, never will."

"Great, alright. Suit yourself." Sharon cut him off on his way out and climbed the stairs towards the door herself. She looked back down at him when she reached the top. "Too bad you chose the hard way to do things." She commented before she shut the door.

Pedro heard a klick and a shuffle behind it. "What the fuck?" He cursed and rushed towards the door but when he turned the knob, he realised she had locked him up.

"Sharon, open the damn door!" He bellowed and slammed the palm of his hand onto the heavy metal. He turned to check the dimly lit room and cursed when he noticed it didn't have any windows.

"Hello? Is somebody out there?" He tried to call for help but nobody answered. "Fuck!" He kicked against the door and stalked the room like a mad man. He ran his hand through his hair, cursing the fact that his phone couldn't get a signal in here. He looked around for something that could possibly get him out... like a crowbar. There was nothing helpful in a room full of useless props and garbage.

'The hard way', he mentally repeated. What was Sharon going to do, what would she do to Nini and how the hell was he going to stop her when he was trapped in here?

~~~

Pedro's body slacked against the metal and he rested the back of his head against it. "Hello?" He complained weakly, for the millionth time. Why wasn't anybody working in this part of this damn location?

"Is somebody in there?" A tiny voice outside questioned and Pedro's eyes snapped open. He recognised the voice that belonged to Jim's assistant. "Laura, is that you?" He shuffled onto his feet. "Mr Pascal?" She asked in surprise and he would have told her again that calling him by his first name was just fine if he wasn't in such a hurry. "Open the door, please!" He yelled, relieved. He heard her try to turn the knob but she failed as well. "There is no key, I am sorry. But for standard lock, I have a hairpin!" She replied with a heavy German accent.

"Fantastic, thanks." Pedro let out a breath of laughter. "Where did you learn how to pick locks?" "Girl scouts." "You deserve a raise, scout girl."

"Don't worry about it." She replied while the lock was being picked. She twisted her hairpins inside the keyhole, the metallic noise snapping and scratching at the lock.

Pedro tried to see anything she was doing but the corridor outside was too dark. "Listen, I need you to call security and find Leonie. It's Sharon, that designer. She's gone mad." Pedro spoke through the keyhole.

"Oh, I know her. She is not very nice." The lock snapped and the door opened. "No, she isn't." Pedro rushed out to find the tall girl with thick glasses. He was already hurrying down the corridor towards the stairs but turned back mid-run. "Do you know where Leonie is?" "Miss Van Fleet is in her makeup trailer!"

"Danke sehr, Laura. I owe you one!" He shouted as he ran outside the building into the darkness and across the dry earth towards the makeup trailers that surrounded each other like the circus was in town. He cursed on his way, hoping he was still on time to prevent a disaster.

Pedro heard Nini's voice arguing with Sharon before he had even reached her trailer.

He ripped the door open and finally noticed he was out of breath from the run. He was sweating and trying to regain his composure. "You! Don't touch her!" He pointed at Sharon, who had an iron grip wrapped around Nini's wrist. His command was rough and left no chance for denying his request.

"Pedro?" Nini asked when she saw him, eyes wide in surprise.

All eyes were on him when he stomped up to the three women, one of them in particular who needed some serious support.

"I thought I asked you to stay away from her." He reminded Sharon with a dignified amount of patience in his voice as he put his body between her and Nini. His hand found hers subconsciously and manoeuvred her behind him.

"You leave me no choice!" Sharon protested, looking at him in such a pathetic way as if Nini had just hit her across the face, like he couldn't tell real tears apart from those of a crocodile. Nini scoffed as she stepped next to him again. "Choice?"

"It's hard, you know. Working your ass off for movie productions and serving you people who've got it all sorted out for them with your endless opportunities, like, especially those born with a golden spoon in their mouths!" She spat out her words, targeting them at Nini especially.

Nini's jaw dropped and the other woman standing somewhere behind them sighed. "Silver spoon," she corrected her in annoyance but Sharon ignored her. "Like, they throw away the sets you build with so much love and devotion and then they tear it off again and you spoiled Hollywood brats are always so mean and unappreciative."

Mean? It would have never occurred to Pedro to connect this description to the gentle girl next to him. Maybe she used crude language sometimes, she was certainly stubborn and right now, furious... but never mean. She would never even insult anyone.

"Oh, you're really taking the piss right now." Nini snarked, her use of British slang taking over when she got really angry.

Pedro took back his former statement.

She gave her a smile full of irony, dropped it and stuck up two fingers into the air afterwards, looking less a Hollywood brat and more like the kind of woman ready to throw hands with someone outside a bar or cut a bitch.

Sharon simply sneered at her.

"Have you seen these?" The woman in a dark business suit addressed Pedro and waved the pictures at him in an accusing manner. She was a rather impressively authoritative presence and even though he didn't know why it was her business or who she was to Nini, he nodded. He sensed she was on their side. She clicked her tongue but then eyed Sharon like one look could throw her stone dead. "Like publishing these wouldn't end in you losing a law case. And bitch, quit the crying. Save it for the day you'll have to compensate them."

Nini closed her eyes. "Thank you, Olivia."

"Who said anything about publishing?" Sharon threw her hand to her chest and acted shocked. She was touching Pedro's arm again as if he would protect her.

"There's no way you'd be able to anyway so why did you take them?" Pedro asked, mustering the very last of his patience when he pried her hand off his shoulder.

Sharon was too calm for his liking. She shrugged her shoulders. "I thought they must be good for something, right? I have nothing to lose, whereas for you it's..." She looked at Nini. "Uh, let's call it a real disaster."

He uncrossed his arms to block Sharon's way before she could approach Nini any further. "You're only doing this because I rejected you." He said lowly.

"Is that it?" Nini ducked under his arm and stood up to Sharon, the shorter woman suddenly twice as intimidating. "You can't take a no for an answer and now you're trying to destroy what you can't have by selling these to some kind of magazine." Sharon took a step back and opened her mouth to interrupt but Nini didn't let her. "Why can't you accept he doesn't want anything from you?"

"Again, I'm not selling them. I'm gonna keep them while you guys know they're in unsafe hands." She contradicted herself and lounged into the chair on the opposite side of the room, propping her feet onto the table.

Pedro clenched his fists. "Where are the copies?"

"Oh, you're looking for this?" She pulled a USB stick out of her cleavage, acted like she had found an easter egg and pushed it back down. So that's where they were. "I'm sure you'll get them back once we figured something out that's to all of our advantages."

"So you're blackmailing us," Nini spoke up, voice hollow. Pedro wanted to pull her aside, reassure her that they would be fine.

"Blackmail? No, call it a business arrangement." Sharon said, ignoring the way Nini glared at her like she wanted to break her spine over her knee like an uncooked noodle.

Olivia spoke up next. "I think we still don't understand what you want them to do."

"What do you want? Money? My firstborn? Get stuffed." Nini dismissed her, not willing to play a part while Sharon was having her villain moment. Pedro almost smiled at her, rememering how he had mentioned a different kind villain trope to Sharon. They had a way of thinking the same things sometimes.

"I don't want your money. There are things more valuable." She glanced over to Olivia and the pictures. "Like influence." She suggested and got very excited out of sudden. She jumped up and clapped into her hands. "I made it, baby, I was discovered!" Sharon flounced around until she stood in front of the mirror to admire herself, pull her top lower and inspect her waistline. "The Hanley gallery wants to show my work to the world, I'm going to be the next big thing in the American art scene!" She squealed out a sound of happiness and self-content and turned around, her vain smile freezing at the sight of their unamused faces. "Listen, I don't want to harm myself, Pedro or... your already damaged reputation but I see this as a fantastic opportunity to gain publicity."

She grazed Nini with her air, speaking near her ear. "I know you have, like, a lot of friends... rich and influential friends, puppet." she widened her eyes dramatically while Nini's narrowed. "I'm happy about this outcome 'cause my career as a set designer was going, like, nowhere. So, I'm getting fired and leave with a big bang. My designs aren't appreciated anyway and I 'am' an artist. With your help, I could rise in the world of fame like the morning star and sell my art for thousands of dollars once you tell all your little friends about my genius and show your pretty face at the vernissage."

Nini was laughing without an ounce of amusement in her voice. "That's what you want? A career starter? Do you have any fucking idea how simple it would have been to just ask me like a normal person would? But no, you've got to threaten us first." She blushed in anger. "So yeah, I'll promote your stupid art if that's all you want. Don't think for one second that I wouldn't do anything to protect him! I'll stop at nothing." She yelled out the last part while pointing at Pedro.

Pedro was stressed out too but affection grew inside his chest at the way his little songbird had transformed into a lioness to try and keep him safe and think about him first. They thought alike in that department. He was doing the same thing.

She had gotten up to Sharon rather fast, almost standing on her toes. "Listen, I'm gonna-" Pedro could imagine her just punching Sharon in the face and yank the memory device out from between her tits. As much as he wanted to see that, he had to try and keep her out of a fight. He couldn't risk her getting hurt. He put his hand on her back and just like that, she stopped. Tongue-tied, she lowered her finger. "Please. Calm down." Pedro tried to soothe her temper but she already had. It was the effect he had on her.

"I knew you won't do shit because there's one more thing I want, more than that and I'm always getting what I want," Sharon whispered harshly.

Her eyes drew to the side towards Pedro and he tensed up. He was starting to grow tired of her. "And you know exactly what it is." She purred, backing Nini off.

He was about to reply when the door opened again. This time, revealing two security men and Jim. "You're fired." The director gestured at her, first hand, without been given any context.

"Please, could you give us a moment?" Pedro stopped them with one raised hand before he could utter another word. The tall man with storm white hair scorned each of them with a strict glance but took his leave again after realising they had everything under control. Only Olivia decided to join them outside and leave the three of them. "I have to make a few calls." She sighed and slapped the photographs onto Sharon's chest.

Pedro squeezed Nini's shoulder. "Babe," he tried to persuade her it would be better if she didn't have to watch this. This was between Sharon and him. "I'm not leaving you with her." She replied, stubbornly and he saw there was no use in arguing with her as well.

"Sharon, just... don't do this. Please." He tried to persuade her one last time.

"Then there's no deal. Van Fleet will keep up her end of the deal to get the pictures back... after a successful exhibition. Until then, the pictures stay with me... unless?" "Pedro, what is she talking about?" Nini asked, pulling him closer. He still didn't answer. "What's your deal with him?" "Why don't you tell her?" Sharon replied, still expectantly looking at him.

"A kiss for an immediate exchange." Pedro finally explained and raised his voice again. "As an alternative to fucking whoring myself out."

He spied at Nini and saw her flushed cheeks pale in comparison to the white blouse she wore when she looked up at him. The anger inside her had come to a halt and her fury froze in the eye of the storm. The devastation in her eyes felt akin to cold waves of a big ocean crashing against a cliff.

She gaped at Sharon and cried out in disbelief. "You dirty bitch."

Sharon offered the pictures to Pedro and he frowned at them, exhaled slowly and gave her this empty look full of disgust and loathing. "You're a horrible person."

"I'm an opportunist."

Pedro put danger into his voice. "You can't make me." "Then I'm going to keep the stick but I can see that doesn't sit right with you or your little girlfriend either, right?" He said nothing. "Oh, oh... darling. I told you, you can have it. I just want you to kiss me like I'm her." She flicked her head in Nini's direction.

"You could never match her, ever come close to what she is or what she means to me." "I bet you can make me believe it." She gritted her teeth. "And you'll make her watch too." The evilness in her was a bottomless pit and he was nothing but sad at the reality that people like her existed, people without an ounce of decency or civility. He pitied her.

"What's your fucking problem?" Nini's voice had gone weak. "You!" Sharon all but screamed at her and made her jump at the sudden attack as she finally snapped. "You're my problem! What's your secret, huh? Why does everyone like you so much?"

"For starters, I don't blackmail people or try to rape them!"

Pedro was quick to interrupt them before they could start cutting each others throats. "Enough!" They stopped arguing and silence spread between them. "And if I did it, you would give them back, all of the original data and leave us alone?"

Nini pleaded next to him, tugging him slightly away from her. "Pedro, no. You don't have to do this. It's sexual harassment." Sharon rolled her eyes. "Such a harsh word. It's like a trade, nothing more. What's the big deal? You kiss people all the time as an actor."

Pedro scoffed. "That's different." Sharon took her time while she walked towards the door. "You can make the audience believe it's real. If this is all I would ever get, I would take it but I see, there's no reason why I should stay."

He saw her reach for the handle. "Wait." He heard himself say and she stopped, interested in what he would do next.

"Angel." Nini tried to remind him that he didn't have to consent. She palmed his face tenderly and he held her softly in return. Tears welled up in her eyes. "She can't do this to you, it's cruel and wrong and you know it. Let her keep them." She whispered to him.

"You're not the only one who would do anything to protect the other." He argued, giving her a gentle look, tugging at her chin as he had done earlier. "We can't risk it. I don't want her to have that kind of power over us. It's just a kiss. It's easy. I'm okay, I got this." It sounded like it was no big deal but the sense of betrayal gnawed at his consciousness and would leave an ugly stain on her trust in him, he feared.

Nini's eyes were simply fixed onto him and emptiness poured into her gaze when she realised it wasn't for her to decide the outcome of this.

"I know," she needed time to process the situation. She leaned against his chest as he tipped his head down to rest it against her forehead. He shut his eyes.

He knew she wanted to lash out and protect him but he had already made up his mind. He tried to convey the message into their silent exchange and eventually, she gave him a weak nod, eyes fixed onto the floor when he let her go unwillingly. Guilt trapping him as soon as he had turned his back on her.

He looked at Sharon in disgust. She won. "Deal," Pedro replied, defeated and ready to get it over with as soon as possible.

She seemed surprised. Pedro ignored her smugness as she looked at him expectantly and pushed her hair behind her ear, licking her lips. "See, I knew you'd come around." She told him in sickeningly sweet triumph. He hated her for this exercise of power that subjected him and forced him to do this in front of his girl.

She let him come to her. Pedro had no desire to kiss anyone else. He wished Nini wouldn't be here to watch, wished he had gotten it over with back in that basement, wished had any idea what would happen if he refused. He knew what to do and nevertheless, it took him some time to prepare mentally. He sighed once when he stood in front of her, taking in her pug face and the excited sparkle in her eyes.

He flexed his jaw, leaned in and saw Sharon's eyes close as their faces approached each other. It felt cold, mechanical. Though he pressed his lips onto hers, he didn't touch her anywhere else. A few seconds and then it was over. He hated every single one of them.

"Pathetic. You didn't even try." Sharon mused, disappointed. "No, that won't do. I know you can do better."

He turned his head to see Nini standing there, murder written on her face before she raised a full bottle of wine, first to him and then to her lips. Pedro wondered where she had produced it from and if she would share it later. She swallowed when she returned Sharon's stare. "What, you wanna kiss me too? I'll fucking do it, you twat."

Pedro laughed, actually laughed at her words but the other woman tried to get his attention back and he remembered his task with a sense of dread.

He cleared his throat and clenched his fists, Nini was right. It had to be done. This was an acting job. He had kissed multiple people before for the cameras, people he didn't necessarily have any feelings for but none of which had been nearly as unpleasant as Sharon.

Though Sharon wasn't considered unattractive by social standards, she was a person of horrible character and thus as ugly and revolting to him as you could possibly become.

He needed to dissociate. Maybe if he did treat this as an acting job, it wouldn't be that bad and the woman would be satisfied after he had treated her like a scene partner. He skipped his memory for a character who wouldn't have a problem performing an act to get what they wanted. Maybe Maxwell Lord... too flamboyant. He thought again. He eventually settled for Javier Peña instead. He stopped being Pedro then, regarding it as easier for him to channel the character and forget everything else.

He grabbed her waist before kissing her again, surprising her with the eagerness he had faked many times before.

He moved his mouth against hers and didn't pull back when she parted her lips and gave him access to slip in a little tongue. He pressed in harder, giving Sharon a kiss she would never forget, all or nothing. His hands came up to frame her face so he could deepen their connection and turn it into something bruising and demanding. A simple pause for breath became the end of it.

Sharon tipped forward, losing a little of her balance. She seemed like she was in a daze, brain emptied from her vile intentions after experiencing the simplicity of carnal desires. She had been kissed into hazy mindlessness but it had been all but a taste, a fake glimpse.

"Happy?" Pedro asked and stepped away, wiping his mouth as he turned to face Nini. She looked sad, for him, he guessed and he felt ashamed, dirty and taken advantage of. What little aggravated last sliver of control he had had, he had poured into that passionate kiss a man like Javier only reserved for someone who would take the edge off at the end of the day.

He silently reached out for her wine bottle and felt it connect with his palm while he stared ahead.

Sharon dared to walk up to Nini and push the stick into her hand. Pedro didn't have to witness it to feel the tension.

"The invitation to my vernissage still stands, doll," she mentioned. "Yeah, go fuck yourself," Nini answered with a laugh.

He took a deep swig while the woman made her exit and was immediately flanked by security.

"Vieze kutwijf." Nini mumbled and Pedro hummed in agreement, even though he didn't know what the words meant. They were accurate.

They climbed down the trailer and she groaned out in fury as they watched them walk away and disappear. "Are you okay? What can I- what do you need, do you need space? I can-" She touched Pedro's arm but drew back, unsure if he was open for physical contact at all.

"No, mi amor, not from you. Not ever." Because he understood why she was hesitant, he drew her in for a hug himself and she sighed in relief.

"Let's destroy it." He buried his face into her hair and breathed her in until he felt comforted. She nodded and smiled bitterly but she also fought a grin and rolled her eyes at Olivia when she came back to join them. The woman crossed her arms at their familiarity. "Shut up," Nini mumbled at her.

Her smooth voice rang through the dark. "I didn't say anything." "I can feel the judgement."

Olivia sighed in disapproval but mustered a crooked smile. "You're not going to her art thing, right?" She asked Nini while Pedro was still holding her close with one arm. "I think I'd rather deep throat a cactus," she replied and Pedro choked out a laugh between a swig of wine.

"Vernissage..." Olivia muttered, unimpressed. "That attitude will give her only vanity sale gallery deals in the future."

"Pedro, this is Olivia Hunter, my agent. Olivia, Pedro." She introduced them, Olivia being the one who extended her hand to him first. The white of her eyes lit up in contrast to everything else that was dark about her. She had a strong facial bone structure and heavy braids piled up on her head.

Pedro shook her hand. "Nice meeting you, Olivia." She hummed sceptically in return and he put extra effort into his inviting smile, trying to win her over like he would if he was meeting Nini's relatives. He couldn't hold up the façade for long. "You don't happen to carry a lighter?" He asked, seriously once again.

"Give me that," Nini demanded the lighter Olivia silently held out to them. She jumped back into the trailer and emerged with the photos. She was giving them to him. "Would you do me the honour?" After she had ignited the cheap plastic lighter, Pedro tipped the corner into the flame, letting the fire lick its way up the paper until the edges curled and lit up. They watched them waste away until he had to drop them into the dust. Pedro observed the last of their kiss light up in fire and frowned at the feeling of regret in his heart for not keeping them for himself. What was wrong with him?

The memory stick was tossed onto the hard desert earth next and found its end under the heel of Nini's boot. She grunted angrily and stomped until it cracked, was crushed into bits and ruined forever. "I think it's dead." He tried to gently persuade her to stop and Nini huffed out with one last aggressive stomp. She flicked her head back gracefully afterwards and blew a strand of hair out of her face. The three of them broke out into snorts of laughter. "Proost." Nini took another swig and offered the bottle to Olivia.

Olivia tutted and went to leave. "You better go ahead and get some sleep, Nini." She instructed her.

"Yes, mum." "I didn't hear that." She was given a smile that revealed a secret fondness for Nini's rebellious nature. Pedro on the other hand earned one last strict glance. "Now you take good care of her or I'll make sure you'll live to regret it." She didn't have to remind Pedro. "Of course, ma'am." He replied before she turned around and left them at the trailer.

Nini gently rubbed his back and Pedro let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Don't worry," Nini said. "That means she likes you."

Part 12

Translation notes:

(ger): danke sehr - (eng): thank you very much

(dut): vieze kutwijf - (eng): dirty cunt(woman)

(dut): proost - (eng): cheers

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funky-boat-zone · 3 years ago

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can this be a “pilot episode” if it’s a fic—

(the first fic for my salty’s lighthouse au is finally done! enjoy (or don’t). also it’s not going on ao3 because there’s no tag for this show and i don’t wanna clog the tugs tag.)

It was 6:30 in the morning, with the sun just starting to cast its light over Snugboat Harbor. All twelve tugs (plus Grampus) waited in front of Captain Star’s window for their orders. No one knew what they were waiting for besides the fact that Star had specifically asked the Zero Fleet to wait at her window instead of his.

Ten Cents yawned. “Why’d Captain bring the Zeroes here instead of just waiting for Zero to come to work?”

“What, do you have a problem with us staying at your dock?” Zorran snapped, Zug glancing apologetically at Ten Cents on his behalf.

Ten Cents sputtered in irritation. “No, of course not! Sheesh, are you sure you’re not the one with a prob—“

“Have some respect! If she called all of us over, it must be something serious!” Top Hat protested.

“D’ya think somebody sunk?” ZB tactlessly wondered aloud to Zak, earning him a few horrified looks from his fellow tugs.

“Well if the Coast Guard’s not here, it probably wasn’t someone that important.” Zak replied, only to spot Zorran glaring at him. “… What?”

“Shh, here she comes!” Hercules ordered, which promptly stopped the boats’ chatter.. for the time being, anyway.

Sure enough, a blue and white-striped megaphone popped out of the window. “Star Fleet, Zeroes, Boomer’s owner wants to know if Snugboat Harbor has the right kind of jobs for him and he’s coming to assist you all with work today! Whether or not he decides to stay, I expect you all to be on your best behavior!” With that, she returned to her office, closing the window on the way and leaving the tugs to talk amongst themselves until Boomer inevitably arrived.

Ten Cents groaned. “Oh no, what’d we do?”

“What do ya mean?” Zip asked.

“He’s jinxed! Cursed! No reasonable captain would make their tugs work with Boomer unless it was some kind of punishment!” Big Stack cried.

Ten Cents’ sighed. “I remember when he wanted to ‘help us out’ with a liner.”

“How’d that go?” Sunshine asked, although she quickly realized her mistake when she saw how Ten Cents’ face fell. “… Too soon?”

“Lighten up everyone, it’s not like he means to bring bad luck.” Warrior chided.

“And it’s not like Sunshine means to run bow-first into other tugs because she can’t take two seconds to look where she’s going, what’s your point?” Zorran argued, ignoring Sunshine’s cry of “Hey!” from across the jetty.

“Can’t we at least try to be nice to him?” Sunshine suggested. “Who knows? Maybe his luck will turn if we stop acting like everything he does is bad luck, just saying.”

The dead silence from both fleets indicated that they weren’t feeling inclined to take her suggestion.

—

Roughly an hour later, ZB spotted a tug in an orange worker’s cap and matching livery entering the harbor. What stood out to him the most was the tape and bandages covering the vessel, no doubt covering the cracks, dents, and holes from his countless accidents. “Must be Boomer.” He thought aloud to himself, pulling his barges out of the way so he could pass by. From how far away the other tug was, there was almost no way Boomer would actually hit the barges, but better safe than sorry, right?

Almost as soon as the tug in the orange cap was out of sight, ZB heard Zero cry “Watch the dock, watch the dock— I said *watch the dock!*”, which was in turn followed by a loud thunk and Zero lamenting the damage to his newly-repaired dock.

“Yep, has to be Boomer.” ZB corrected himself.

—

Much to the dismay of everyone, including the captains, Boomer’s first job for the day involved helping Warrior and Big Stack transport explosives. Both fleets were ordered to give them plenty of room, which they gladly did, excessively so: Not just because it was captain’s orders, but because no one wanted to be hit with flying shrapnel in case this job went wrong.

“C’mon, I’m pretty sure we don’t need to give them that much room.” Hercules sighed, noticing how both fleets were stationed almost a liner’s length apart from each other. Despite his reassurance, no one made a move to get closer.

“Well, I may end up in a museum someday, but that day will not be today and my exhibit will not be one on shipwrecks!” Top Hat argued, earning a few eye-rolls from the rest of his fleet.

“Really, you guys need to stop assuming the worst of him! He’s not even the one towing the explosives, there’s no possible way he could—!“ Hercules was interrupted by an explosion, followed quickly by Big Stack proclaiming “I’m okay!” in the distance. He looked to his horrified fleet. “O-Okay, that was just a fluke! Besides, it doesn’t sound like all the barges exploded—!” As if on cue, there was another explosion.. And another. And another. Warrior, Big Stack, and Boomer met up with their fleet and were thankfully all still afloat and intact, albeit covered in soot and understandably shaken.

“… Did you manage to save any of the barges?” Top Hat squeaked out, looking at the smoke rapidly rising in the distance.

“Some of them! Well, I don’t know how much good they’ll be, since they’re.. kinda-sorta—well, very much on fire now.” Boomer stammered. “But we tried!” Almost immediately after Boomer stopped speaking, there was a bright orange light in the distance, with all the tugs recognizing it as a fire.

Sunshine winced as her fleet scattered and passed her to find the Fire Chief. Ten Cents sighed.

At the very least, the blaze was only the second worst fire he’d ever seen in port.

—

“Who needs the Star Fleet? Zero’s been looking for another tug anyway.” Zorran noted as Boomer and the rest of the Zero Fleet prepared to pull down a group of old buildings. “Now, all you have to do is secure your line to these buildings, sound your whistle to make sure everyone gets clear, and pull them down.” There’s no possible way Boomer could mess this up, it’s so easy that even Zip and Zug can do it!

Boomer did as he was instructed, sounding his whistle as soon as he got his line on the building’s superstructure. The rest of the Zero Fleet stayed back, shut their eyes, and waited for the sound of the building to come down.

… And waited. And waited.

“I’m not hearing any…” Zug stammered to try and find the right word before settling for just poorly imitating the sound of a building falling down. “Y’know, any of that.”

“Zorran?” Boomer called. “It’s— Uh, the building’s not coming down!”

“… What?” Zorran asked incredulously.

“I think I made myself pretty clear, I’ve been—“ Boomer stopped to catch his breath, “I’ve been at it for at least a few minutes and it hasn’t budged.”

Zorran steamed over to where Boomer was struggling, wondering how he could fail such a simple task. “Move over and let me see that!”

ZB cringed as soon as he saw his boss head toward Boomer. “D’ya think the building’s gonna collapse if he—“

Zak quickly wrapped his line around ZB’s towbitts, making sure he stayed put. “Nah, let Zorran figure that out for himself.” He said. ZB stayed out, failing to notice the smirk on Zak’s face.

Zorran approached the building, having pushed Boomer out of the way. “I don’t see any reason why it hasn’t fallen yet—OH NO!” Shrapnel and dust flew everywhere as the building finally collapsed as the Zeroes had hoped.. right on top of Zorran, who sunk to the bottom with a terrified yelp.

Once the dust cleared, the rest of the Zero Fleet hesitantly steamed over to check if Zorran was okay. Thankfully, he wasn’t fully sunk, since the water near the abandoned buildings was too shallow to let that happen. In fact, he seemed relatively fine for a tug who’d just had a small building collapse on top of him.

“You—“ ZB coughed, “You okay?” he asked nervously, turning carefully to avoid hitting the debris in the water and coughing from the still-lingering dust.

Zorran just shook his wheelhouse resignedly, his eyes unfocused. “At this rate, those kids will go blind if they keep talking to that lighthouse.” He muttered.

The Zeroes exchanged a nervous glance with each other.

“I’ll get him to Lucky’s.” Zak sighed.

—

Zorran returned from Lucky’s good as new, although he looked just as irritated as usual. With the Zero Fleet done with their jobs for the day, he planned to meet up with them near a set of old docks, hoping the Star Fleet wouldn’t come by. “So, who do you think is going to be the oh-so-lucky fleet who gets stuck with Boomer?”

“Probably the Star Fleet, I’m calling it now.” Zak said. “They’ll take anything! I mean, look at Grampus! What’s Captain Star gonna do with a submarine, make him check the docks for barnacles?”

“Hey, he could check boats for barnacles too!”

“Not my point, Zug.”

“Sorry.”

—

Unbeknownst to the Zeroes, the Star Fleet were having a near-identical argument at their own dock.

“I don’t wanna say I don’t want him around—“ Sunshine began.

“I do.” Top Hat said snootily, causing the rest of the Stars at the dock to glare at him.

Sunshine ignored Top Hat and went on. “—But Captain just got Grampus, and I didn’t hear her talking about buying another tug.”

“Ah, so Zero wants him, then.” Big Stack sighed. “Never thought I’d say this, but I feel bad for the Zero fleet.”

—

Both the Stars and the Zeroes apparently had the same idea, because Warrior, Big Stack, and Zorran all found themselves gathered in front of the Star Dock in hopes that they’d get Captain Star to change her mind.

“What’s the problem, Star Fleet.. and Zorran?”

“Well, it’s not that we don’t like Boomer..” Warrior began, only for his brother to cut him off.

“We just hate working with him! I keep telling you, every time someone works with him, they end up crashing, sinking, or getting set on fire! Unless you put something into place to keep this from happening, he can work alone!”

Zorran cut in. “Or at least get someone more expendable to—“

“Zorran!” Both brothers snapped, prompting the Zero Fleet’s leader to shut up.

Captain Star sighed. “I guess now’s a good time to tell you that Boomer likely won’t be working with either of your fleets. Zero and I have thought it over and talked it out, and he doesn’t need a new harbor tug and the Star Fleet has plenty of tugs as is.”

“… Oh.” Big Stack and Warrior responded awkwardly. As much as they didn’t like working with Boomer, it wasn’t as if they wanted to drive him out of the harbor.

“Yes!” Zorran cheered quietly, though not quietly enough to keep Warrior from hearing him and shooting him a disapproving glance.

Captain Star ignored the tugs’ reactions and continued. “Star Fleet, I’d like you to say goodbye to him once you’re all done with work. Snugboat Harbor wasn’t the right fit for him, but let’s wish him luck.”

“Aye aye!” The Star Fleeters agreed before leaving to help the rest of their fleet finish work for the day. Zorran just turned around, headed for his own dock, and prepared to go to sleep.

—

The sun was just beginning to fall as the Stars and the Zeroes gathered to say goodbye to Boomer. The Zeroes arrived twenty minutes late, because Zorran refused to leave his dock and it took the rest of his fleet to drag him to the meeting spot.

“Goodbye Boomer! We wish you the best of luck!” Sunshine cheered.

The Zero Fleet looked to Zorran, only to realize he was falling asleep where he was floating. Hoping Boomer wouldn’t notice, ZB bumped his leader, jolting him awake.

“Uh— what she said!” Zorran shouted as his fleet sighed disappointedly behind him.

Thankfully, Boomer took no notice. “Thanks guys! I’ll be sure to write or visit or something once I find my new job!” He shouted before sailing off toward the horizon.. But not before accidentally sinking a buoy on his way out.

“Should we tell—“ Otis wondered aloud before Hercules cut him off.

“Nah, Captain doesn’t have to know.” Hercules said, wanting to just enjoy the moment.

But once Boomer passed under Snugboat Harbor’s bridge, a small piece of infrastructure came loose and crashed down onto his bow. While it wasn’t enough to collapse the bridge, it was certainly enough for Boomer to notice as he yelped in pain.

The Star Fleet froze in horror, wondering if they should go and help before Boomer’s voice broke the silence. “I’m okay!”

Realizing the rest of his fleet was staring at him with an expression that could best be described as “We told you so”, Hercules sighed and turned around to head to his dock. “I know, I know, I’ll go tell Captain.”

#saltys lighthouse #fic tag #untitled sl au

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magebastard · 4 years ago

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(ok thank you so much @possumsunshine for making this big fat wayhaven detective questionnaire i had FUN doing it)

QUICK READ OF YOUR DETECTIVE

Name: lane m. wheatley

Pronouns: she/they

Sexuality: bisexual

Love interest: mason

Best friend: unit bravo all of them

Main skill: people

Secondary skill: science

Main personality trait: genuine

Secondary personality trait: easygoing

Why did they join the Wayhaven PD?: wants to protect people

Relationship with Rebecca: bad so bad laughably bad

Relationship with Bobby: ex

Verda or Tina?: verda

Murphy bite?: neck

Murphy’s fate?: captured

Rescue LI or Rescue Sanja?: mason she panicked

GENERAL

Name: lane marshall wheatley

Nickname: detective (affectionate)

Birthday: december 8th

Age: 27

Pronouns: she/they

Sexuality: bisexual

Hair color: honey blonde

Eye color: dark brown

Height: 5’1

Piercings: a few holes in her ears and her septum but she very rarely wears the septum ring

Tattoos: a rat on her left thigh, a stick and poke that says dunkin donuts on the inside of her left ankle

Clothing Style: smart. blazers and slacks. very shiny loafers. big bulky wristwatch. christopher moltisanti from the sopranos.

Apartment Style: dark. but fully furnished by bulk trash day

STATS

Personality:

Charming | Intimidating

Impulsive | Cautious

Sarcastic | Genuine

Friendly | Stoic

Easygoing | Stubborn

Traits:

Heart | Mind

Optimist | Pessimist

Team Player | Independent

Skills:

Main Skill: people

Second Skill: science/technology

By the Book | Bend the Rules

KEY DECISIONS

Reason for joining the Wayhaven PD: wants to protect people

Murphy bite: Wrist | Neck | None

Murphy’s Fate: Captured | Escaped

Rescued: Love Interest | Sanja

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP

Love Interest: mason

Why them?: ok time to be A Bit Much™️ but she immediately identifies herself in mason. like felix and nate are open and kind which she tries to embody, and adam respects her so long as she does her job which she understands and appreciates. she doesn’t understand or relate to any of them in a romantic sense. with mason she sees that ‘oh, he likes to hook up and flirt. he’s kind of grumpy but that’s fine i also pretty much exclusively only hook up and flirt. so that could happen.’

Bold, shy, or mixed?: bold

What were their first impressions of each other?: for lane, mason immediately pissed her off. she was very stressed out by the case and rebecca’s sudden appearance and adam’s attitude, so her patience was so thin and she just didn’t care about much beyond solving the mystery of the murder. she thought he might have seen her in a weak spot and pointedly ribbed her because of it so she was like “i literally just need to learn to ignore this man.”

for mason, it was a weird mixed bag, because he could pick up on lane’s reluctance to work with a team—especially rebecca’s team. with that impression in mind, he sees her cast all of her personal feelings aside for the sake of solving the case and protecting the town, and he relates to that instinct. other than that, he was generally annoyed that they had to work with her

What do they find attractive about each other, mentally or physically?: everything for sure but specifically their favorite features -

for lane: mason’s freckles and his long nose and hands. mentally, it’s his honesty and sense of humor

for mason: lane’s eyes, cheeks when she smiles, legs. mentally, it’s her open mindedness and protective nature

What do they do to spend time together?: they go on walks, lane tries to find mason’s favorite music, they watch movies, they go on long drives, they sit at the lighthouse, they watch sunsets together, they stare at the moon

What is their favorite memory together?: they make a lot! the first time they quietly sit together on the roof of the warehouse becomes especially important to them both over time

What are their love languages?: touch, quality time, lane is half in/half out on words of affirmation

How do they handle being apart from one another?: ok deep romance mason feels the brunt of hypersensitivity with also the ache of loss so he mostly sulks and sticks to his room. lane kind of walks around on autopilot. not really realizing it, but definitely experiencing heavy brain fog and going home and berating herself for being needy but also crying

Do they argue? How do they handle arguments and disagreements? How do they make up?: they don’t really argue! mason doesn’t really think not to speak his mind and lane is very communicative and easygoing. they bicker when one of them ends up in avoidable danger, but it usually ends with a quiet “i need you to stay safe.” something w that sentiment

What does their future look like?: traveling and a lake house. staying with unit bravo through thick and thin. lane turns when she’s 29, and they stay in wayhaven until she turns about 45 and eyebrows start to raise.

Anything else you’d like to share: they do get married. it’s a very small and very private ceremony that doesn’t really matter much to either of them but conceptually being husband and wife feels very funny and novel and also just makes sense

BEST FRIEND RELATIONSHIP

Best friend: i cannot choose but for this instance i will go with nate

Why them?: they talk a lot about literature and food and music and lane bids on antique furniture for nate because he doesn’t know how to use ebay. it’s a very precious friendship for them both

What were their first impressions of each other?: lane is weary of nate because he’s so charming that she worries that maybe he’s TOO confident. it passes when he gives that exasperated vibe off over felix being overtly outgoing in like a “oh he’s the parent” kind of way. he also has this comforting presence and she worries that he assumes she needs to be comforted. nate is weary of lane because while he’d never assume that someone is incapable at first glance, lane looks like a stiff wind would blow her over and that she hasn’t slept in a year. also his first genuine sight and impression of her is this tiny person taking a coffee pot apart piece by piece and grumbling very angrily to herself.

What do they do to spend time together?: nate purchases period piece luxury furniture and sometimes it is not in the best condition so lane and nate restore old furniture together. they debate about shakespeare and different genres of music. sometimes they play together. they swap recipes and while nate doesn’t gossip much, he always listens to station drama over tea/coffee.

Anything else you’d like to share: nate is the first person lane talks to about becoming a vampire. she knows he has his own reservations and she needs to hear them. also lane, nate and felix paint each other’s nails every few weeks. adam has an open invitation that he cashes in maybe twice a year.

OTHER RELATIONSHIPS (Feel free to go in depth!)

Relationship with Rebecca: bad! they are strangers to each other and also very sad reflections of one another. rebecca makes lane feel so small without even trying

Relationship with Rook: rook was as beloved in wayhaven as lane is now, if not more so. she hears about him in stories that every adult in town seem to know. he’s her hero and she’s always a bit devastated that she never got to know him. lane had a crisis of identity in her sophomore year of college and suddenly the stories she’d always heard felt like a calling to try to be good like rook. this ends up being why she declared her major in forensic science and started working towards becoming a detective like he was

Relationship with Bobby: it’s pretty much fine. neither of them were great when they were together and lane feels a bit bad now because she definitely used him. he did the same, for a few reasons. they’re okay now, but lane kind of feels kind of weird about the 8 months they dated.

Relationship with Verda: they are science best friends. they drink wine on the porch on summer nights, and lane babysits the kids when sol and eric need a night off

Relationship with Tina: very close. your best coworker friend who you start spending time with outside of work and then you realize that you are almost spending all of your time together with them actually. lane’s spent the last two years worth of holidays with the ponames

Relationship with the Mayor: not great! she’s very ‘by the book’ but always takes the chance to snark him. used to egg his house as a teen

Relationship with Capt. Sung: she sees him as a weird general manager at work and can be fine with small and idle chatting when they run into each other at town functions

Relationship with Haley: haley and lane hooked up a lot when lane and bobby broke up. they were band kids in high school together and it’s a very important friendship for lane

Relationship with Elidor: she is so comforted by this fae man. they talk science, they chat about personal dreams, huge hugs.

Relationship with Tapeesa/Vieno: lane has a friendly relationship with vieno! they call her buddy and she internally is like “i am! i am your buddy!”

Relationship with Unit Alpha: dunks on maaka for making fun of nate and adam. they’re pretty blunt and open and she likes that energy a lot

Relationship with the Maa-alused: a lot of guilt over them losing their home. lane gets the vibe that falk was flirting but she didn’t want to assume but also she was into it. devastated by the fact that she could have saved sanja if she hadn’t let her feelings cloud her sense of logic.

Do they have any other important relationships, past or present? (Relatives, friends, etc.?):

this is. a lot. (CW death and vehicular trauma) there was a boy who lane grew up with, who lived in the house across the street from her childhood home. by far, her best friend. they started dating freshman year of high school, and ended up in the same university, still together. lane was a comm major until her sophomore year and the two of them started a band in high school that became the band that lane was in for years.

in their sophomore yr of college, he proposed and lane said yes, of course, they had NO plan or any idea outside of the band of what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives. that same year, they ended up in a car crash and he did not make it. this is what triggered lane to kind of lose a lot of her sense of identity. she found comfort in stories about rook and decided that—with no direction, who would be better to emulate than her hero? her partner’s name was david, they were soulmates and ya she still misses him

other than that, the two other guys that were in the band who she has not seen since the funeral. i have this idea in my head of writing the scene where they visit and meet unti bravo which would be entirely for me and my own little rat brain

PERSONAL BIO

Describe their personality: very laid back and open/honest. easygoing

Strengths: very detail oriented, can spot the faintest whiff of a pattern and connect dots with sparse evidence. emotionally driven to the point that she pushes herself beyond her limits to do a job well. very technologically savvy

Weaknesses: emotionally driven lmao cannot separate herself from a case once she’s started, feels personally responsible for everyone she could not save. bottles up her anger until she has no choice but to deal w it via crying.

Where in the world is their Wayhaven?: somewhere on the east coast. near a wawa

What is their personal history?: lane is a town stray. she had her house with nannies and agency babysitters who weren’t invested in her emotional growth and well-being, so her defacto family is uh all of wayhaven. neighbors, mailmen, friends parents, shop owners. she connects as much as she can with everyone in town. she drifts a lot between them, and after the accident she realizes that she would do anything to protect these people

If they weren’t a detective, what would their dream job be?: if rook were never a detective, lane would have probably leaned less on stories of his heroism. she probably would have stuck closer to her friends and tried to commit to making music her full time job

Anything else you’d like to share: she picked up smoking very young and it’s genuinely surprising to people that she has never questioned why she does it or that she’s never had any intention of quitting ever

RANDOM FACTS

Zodiac sign: sagittarius

Hobbies: furniture restoration, making music, walking, cooking/baking

Likes: a funky little bass line, marlboro menthols, giving piggy back rides, painting walls, being a lab tech and assistant for verda, sitting on the kitchen counter in the middle of the night

Dislikes: arguing, loud noises, when it gets too hot outside, when it gets too cold outside, when she catches someone in a lie and they continue to deny it

Drink of choice: black coffee w a little cinnamon mixed in the grounds

Starbucks order: 6 shot latte w soy

Favorite food: grilled eggplant

Favorite color: this color is called black bean it’s this

Favorite music: not to be annoying but truly all of it there is something she can enjoy in every genre but early 2000’s rnb and hard core punk probably

Favorite genre (and favorite movie/book/etc): she loves a rom com but also thrillers. her favorite movies are muppets treasure island and ratatouille

Favorite season: spring!

Anything else you’d like to share: her car’s name is Hank

#c: lane wheatley #not gonna put this in tags because it is mostly for me #smoking cw #food cw #drink cw #twc #aaaaaa thank u again for making this #cw death mention #cw vehicular trauma #alcohol ment #why am i nervous about posting this lmao

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pixelgrotto · 3 years ago

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Saltmarsh stories

One more Dungeons & Dragons campaign comes to completion! For over a year and a half, I’ve been running Ghosts of Saltmarsh for my girlfriend and her best friend, and the pair of them finally finished last Saturday after 23 sessions and nearly 100 hours of playtime. We started playing in person December 2019 and had to move online in March due to COVID, and eventually my gf’s best friend moved out of town and then out of the country. But in spite of global transitions and pandemics, we still surmounted the odds and finished without missing a single month.

Since Ghosts of Saltmarsh was my gf’s introduction to D&D (minus a few games she played as a child), it took up quite a bit of space in my crusty Dungeon Master mental cave of planning. Luckily, I found it to be a very enjoyable campaign to run, mostly because as an anthology of classic adventures, it lacks the overly convoluted storyline that plagues a lot of other D&D fifth edition campaigns I’ve either played through or DMed, like Tomb of Annihilation, Out of the Abyss and Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.

Ghosts of Saltmarsh contains eight adventures united by their seaside themes. Three of them are updated versions of the classic U1-U3 Saltmarsh modules, which were among the first British D&D products produced from 1981 to ‘83. These three tales revolve around the players befriending local villagers and helping a lizardfolk tribe fight off invading sauhaugin, and they’re good, mostly as an example of early D&D material that required players to treat so-called “monstrous races” with diplomacy rather than violence. The other adventures are from old issues of Dungeon magazine, and run the gamut from a decent lighthouse dungeon crawl (Isle of the Abbey, from Dungeon #34) to a nifty survival horror-style ship romp (Salvage Operation, from Dungeon #123). Additionally, Ghosts of Saltmarsh contains rules for ship battles, which are good enough considering that D&D isn’t a naval combat simulator, and the book also devotes its first chapter to describing a great new version of the town of Saltmarsh to serve as a central hub.

I think Ghosts of Saltmarsh’s anthology format is my preferred style of D&D hardcover book at this point. Just give me a main town that I can detail and populate with my own NPCs, a bunch of adventures taking place around the vicinity that I can hack as necessary for my players, and I’m good. This format is also reflective of D&D’s early roots, where campaigns weren’t 250-page books with save-the-world plots, but short modules focused on building clout in a certain region and establishing a base. I think it’s also a very newbie-friendly format, since beginning players can really become invested in one central location and the people residing in it.

Since I was only running this game for two people, I had plenty of time to help the girls grow attached to Saltmarsh and its denizens. These consisted of several faces from my other games, including the very first D&D character I played as - a ranger who settled down in Saltmarsh as the head of the city guard and served as mentor for the next generation of adventurers. Other NPCs evolved depending on what I thought might make my gf and her friend laugh. For instance, Oceanus the sea elf, a Saltmarsh mascot since the '80s, started out as a surfer bro but eventually morphed into a douchebag/dingbat a la Schmidt from New Girl, which I started watching with my gf sometime over the course of 2020. And Captain Xendros, the tiefling owner of the local magic item store, was only supposed to be a minor shopkeeper until her sassy banter stole everyone’s heart, winning her a place as a major character by the end of the game.

I also gave the girls their very own house to decorate and return to in between missions, which was another fun ode to the older D&D roots that Ghosts of Saltmarsh embraces, but also a chance to insert Animal Crossing-style interior decoration into our campaign. My girlfriend clocked a staggering 300+ hours into Animal Crossing: New Horizons at the start of the pandemic, and seeing her and her friend derive great pleasure from using Roll20′s wonky drawing tools to sketch out every room of the house (and create a shrine in the bathroom with random bits of gold on the floor, no less) was stellar.

Aside from a house, the gals also received two animal companions - a pseudodragon and a shadow mastiff. The pseudodragon appears as a familiar that can be found after Ghosts of Saltmarsh’s first adventure, The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, but the shadow mastiff was an inclusion of my own because my girlfriend really wanted a dog for the longest time, and I figured I would give her one in-game before we got one in real life. (Yup, we now have one in real life.) Generally, I’m a huge fan of injecting a little Pokémon into my games with animal buddies, but in this case the pets also served as valuable fighting companions that helped balance Ghosts of Saltmarsh’s combat encounters, which are meant for four people.

On the topic of inclusions, I stuck a bit closer to the content in Ghosts of Saltmarsh than I usually do when running a campaign based on an official D&D hardcover, probably because the book in question was just more usable this time around. The final split was maybe 60% book material and 40% my own stuff. The end of the campaign was nearly all me, since I couldn’t quite formulate a way to include the final two adventures in the book, Tammeraut's Fate and The Styes. So instead, I gutted them for concepts and created an overarching story that tied Saltmarsh’s threats to H.P. Lovecraft’s Esoteric Order of Dagon. There’s a ton of Lovecraft influence in The Styes, after all, and Dagon was included as a demon lord in third and fourth edition D&D, not to mention Pathfinder. I drew inspiration from all of those versions, along with the stats included in Sandy Peterson’s Cthulhu Mythos book for fifth edition.

Ultimately, it all made for an entertaining story that scaled mightily. At level 2, Thea the tiefling rogue (played by my gf) and Zora the half-elf bard (played by her best friend) were utterly outclassed by smugglers in a haunted house and had to use a door as a shield to escape. At level 12, the pair defeated a demon lord and closed a portal to the Abyss. (To be fair, both accomplishments are pretty epic. The door escape was one of the most creative D&D moments I’ve ever seen, and we’re still talking about it today.)

While I wish we could’ve rolled physical dice together for a little longer, I’m glad Roll20 was available to keep our game going through a period of global strife. In the midst of it all, there was always D&D to fall back on. And hopefully, there will be more to come. I’ve got Candlekeep Mysteries on my shelf, another anthology of D&D short adventures...and it’s just waiting for me to formulate a plot to tie ‘em all together!

#pixel grotto #musings #tabletop games #dungeons & dragons #d&d #ghosts of saltmarsh

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xjoonchildx · 5 years ago

Text

house of cards | knj x reader chapter three: now

summary: you already know how this is going to end. that’s not going to stop you from doing it anyway. pairing: namjoon/reader word count: 7.2K rating: 18+ genre: smut with feelings| idol!namjoon warnings: slow burn, angst, pining (a lot of pining OKAY), sweet to start, smutty to finish

Chapter 01 | 02 | 03

*****************************

A week after Namjoon’s out-of-the-blue text message, he sends another. It’s laundry day, and you’re busy folding clothes at the laundromat down the street from your tiny apartment in Seoul when you see his name come up on your phone. You drop the shirt you’re folding and immediately pull up the text.

can you meet me in two days? [ 2:07 PM ]

Two days? You have a thousand questions you want to ask, but you exercise enough self-control to keep your response short and straightforward.

you: yes [ 2:09 PM ]

His response is immediate.

not in seoul. out of the country [ 2:09 PM ]

You assumed he was talking about getting together for coffee or maybe a drink. You didn’t expect him to ask you to get on a flight and to where? You sigh out loud to no one in the empty laundromat. The truth is, every fiber of you wants to see him and you’d be willing to fly anywhere. No use in denying it.

you: where? [ 2:10 PM ]

It takes a few minutes for him to respond.

i need to get back to you [ 2:10 PM ]

you: okay [ 2:11 PM ]

You stare at the clothes tumbling in the dryer for a moment, in a daze. He’s still thinking of you. Knowing that alone is enough to make your heart pound, but this? Him asking you to meet him out of the country in secret? That makes you so nervous you start to sweat.

*****************************

You’ve had a lot of time in these past few weeks to think about what you want to say when you’re alone with Namjoon. Without a job to occupy you, without friends to distract you, you’ve managed to get ridiculously inside your head over this entire debacle.

Those thoughts all fly out the window the minute you see him again.

He’s seated in a private room in the back of this very small restaurant, wearing an oversized sweater and black rimmed glasses. He looks up from the menu as you walk in, stands when he sees you and looks as though he’s just walked off the page of a magazine. It takes you a moment to realize you’re holding your breath.

“Hi,” he says, mouth curving into a small, apprehensive smile. You answer with a reassuring smile of your own. “Hi.”

He motions for you to take a seat and helps you settle in. From this side of your table, you can take in the large window behind him, the picturesque view of this rocky island. It’s cold outside and the wind is whipping waves against the coastline. If he looks like a magazine spread, the view outside is the postcard. Both are just a little too perfect and you feel a little out of place.

“Thank you for coming,” he says quietly. You nod, stomach in knots.

“How did you manage this?” you ask. It couldn’t have been that simple for him to get away from so many prying eyes. It’s a miracle he made it out of Korea alone, without handlers.

Namjoon says nothing for a moment, waits for the server who is quietly filling your water glasses to finish and move on. He waits until she is entirely out of the room before speaking.

“It’s a long story. Only one person knows,” he admits, grabbing a bottle of wine from chilled carafe at the end of your table.

“Yoongi?”

He quirks an affirmative eyebrow at you and smiles as he pours you both a glass. “Yoongi. Though Jin is the one who told me about this place. He came here to fish one time and said it’s the most privacy he’s had in years.”

He looks as though he wants to say more, but the server enters this tiny private space again to ask if you’re ready to hear the food presentation. You don’t miss how Namjoon’s body tenses, how he sits quietly, politely, never looking her in the eye as he asks for a few more minutes. Your chest tightens when you think of how much personal risk he is taking being here with you right now. Any stranger with a smartphone and a social media account could expose him, expose you both and embarrass him and the group.

He waits for her to clear the room again before speaking.

“They knew about our…” he pauses to choose the right word, “friendship early on. Someone saw me coming to your room one night.”

You swallow a lump in your throat and straighten your shoulders. “Oh.”

“I only found out about that later,” he says, meeting your eyes with his. “I had no idea at the time. Please believe me.”

You nod slowly. Just talking about your firing rehashes the anxiety of that day you had to face Bang PD and hear those words. You take a deep breath in and out.

“I do.”

“I made mistakes,” he continues. “I was not as -- careful -- as I should have been. And...and I’m so sorry,” he finishes.

You blow out a breath. It feels like you’re both at fault and somehow not at fault at all. Nothing ever happened.

“I knew what could happen,” you say carefully.

“And besides, what’s done is done.”

Namjoon says nothing for a moment, works his fingers back and forth on the stem of his wine glass. An awkward silence stretches for just a beat too long.

“So…” you start, “You asked me to come here to...apologize.”

You wish you didn’t feel a dull pang of disappointment at the idea that his guilt is what brought him all this way to see you. You could almost laugh at the stupid hope that you’d allowed to blossom in your chest, at the idea that he wanted more from you than closure and the assurance that you didn’t blame him for blowing up the incredible opportunity you had. You pick up your wine and take a drink, just to give your nervous hands something to do.

“Yes,” Namjoon admits, ”But I also…”

He stops short as your server enters the room again, this time with food. You watch, numb, as she places two beautifully plated salads down and quietly slips back out of the room. She’s clearly figured out that you both want privacy, and is doing her best not to be intrusive. You stare down at the food, aware that you haven’t eaten in hours at this point, but suddenly feeling as though you have no appetite.

“Yes,” he starts again, once she leaves. “I wanted to apologize. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about what happened to you and,” he sighs, “I feel responsible.” The look on his face is hard to read. Regret and guilt and something you can’t quite put your finger on.

“Well, you’re not,” you say, more sharply than you’d intended. You’re a big girl, you made your own decisions, actions have consequences. You open your mouth to say just that, but he cuts you off.

“-- I wanted to see you.”

Your stomach flips. He sits back, scrubs a hand across his mouth and meets your eyes with his.

“One time, Hoseok really like this girl that came to work for us. She really liked him, too...and then one day, she was just gone.” He picks up his wine glass, takes a drink, shakes his head at the memory. “He was furious. Telling me he was sick of not being able to have normal relationships. Telling me he was sick of having to keep secrets,” he sighs. “And I was there listening, but acting the part of the leader. Telling him that this is the way we have to live right now. That we have to follow the rules or one of us is going to slip and do something that hurts the entire group.”

You nod sympathetically, heart aching for Hoseok and for Namjoon and for them all. The kind of pressure they’re living under could break even the most disciplined person.

“But now,” he says, looking directly into your eyes, “I know that some things are easier said than done.”

Your cheeks heat. You want to ask him to elaborate, to be clear about whatever it is he’s trying to say, but your tongue feels thick and all you can do is stare back.

Namjoon clears his throat, looks down at his plate. “We should eat,” he says. “Wine hits me harder than beer.”

*************************

You’re glad for your warm sweater and coat tonight, because the breeze coming off the water is this close to freezing. The sun had set by the time the two of you finished dinner and Namjoon suggested you could walk along the shoreline for a bit. You’d tried not to let your mind wander to thoughts about how this night might end.

He’d booked you both rooms at a nearby bed and breakfast within walking distance of the restaurant. At this hour, the island looked deserted, with only a handful of lights coming from homes along the coast and a few boats on the water. You could almost believe the two of you were alone out here. You wish that were actually the case.

You spend a few minutes walking in relative silence, letting the air hang thick and heavy between you. It feels like there’s so much he wants to say and doesn’t. You feel a wave of frustration building inside you the longer the silence stretches on.

You walk ahead of Namjoon when you spot a cluster of rocks large enough to climb. He stays on solid ground while you maneuver your way to the top and only smiles and shakes his head while you try to wave him up with your hands.. The moon is high and bright tonight -- so even without the sun you can see past a row of docked boats and into the open water. You have a clear view of a lighthouse towering over the coast across the way.

“You should come up here,” you call down. “The view is better.”

“The view I have right now is pretty great,” he teases, looking up at you. Your breath catches in your throat and you look down at where he stands with hands in his pockets, a soft, dimpled smile on his face.

It should have been endearing, that tiny flirtation. It should have made you smile.

Instead it makes you furious.

Your patience cracks as months of tension and frustration come to a head. Whatever this is, you’re sick of it. You’re tired of hovering between sentences and trying to decode innuendo and all of a sudden you’re fed up with this entire situation.

“Don’t say that,” you say icily, standing to get down from your perch.

Namjoon holds out a hand to help you down, but you refuse it. “I’m sorry,” he says as you wrap your arms around yourself and walk away. He follows. “I’m not trying to upset you.”

You go faster, to where you’re not exactly sure, but at this rate your blood is boiling and you need to walk it off. You can see him following out of the corner of your eye.

“Wait --” he calls out.

You round on him, eyes flashing with outrage. “Stop talking. I’m tired of it,” you seethe, and his eyes grow round with surprise. You can’t blame him for being taken aback by your sudden anger, but now you’ve started pouring out your frustration and it feels like you can’t stop. “Don’t say what you think I want to hear and don’t say things you don’t mean.” The hostility in your voice takes him by surprise. If you weren’t so angry, you’d have to laugh at the confused look on his face.

“I d--”

“Why am I here tonight?”

“I wanted to see you,” he says, defensively. “And you said you felt the same.”

“Why do you talk like you want something from me and never come out and say it, huh? Why do you make it seem like you want me and never act on it?” You turn away from him, start to walk ahead of him on the shore again. He follows close behind.

You stop suddenly, whirl back on him again.

“Why have you never kissed me?” you demand. “You look at me like you want to kiss me and you never do,” you stop yourself for a moment, take a deep, steadying breath. When you hear your voice again, you’re glad that it sounds more calm.

“Why are you doing this?”

You gesture around at this beach, at this place you’ve agreed to meet him.

Namjoon stares off into the water for a moment, purses his lips like he’s debating how much he’s willing to share with you. You shake your head in disgust and turn to leave.

“Wait.”

You stop. He makes up the distance between you in a few long strides and gets close -- so close to you that you stop breathing for a moment. He leans over you, body towering and near enough for you to feel his warmth.

Here, in the dark, he reaches out his hand and tips your chin upwards with his fingers. He forces you to look him in the eye.

“I want to kiss you,” he says, voice low and dangerous. A shiver spreads across your back. “But if I start, I don’t think I can stop.” His fingers stay firm under your jaw and you feel your breathing start to get erratic as he pins you with his gaze.

“And that’s not going to be enough for me. Because I’m going to start kissing you. And then I’m going to ask you to come back to my room,” he refuses to break eye contact. You swallow thickly as his words trickle over you.

“And then I’m going to spend the next 8 hours doing everything I’ve fantasized about doing to you for the past six months.”

The jolt of arousal that shoots straight up your spine is so strong your knees nearly buckle. He licks his lips nervously and looks away from you, into the water.

“And you’re going to hate me after that. Because this is all I can offer you.”

You stand stunned, staring. Because he’s right, and you know he’s right. There is no scenario that plays out with a happy ending. There is no way he can be all the things you want him to be. His honesty is simultaneously reassuring and disappointing.

“I know that,” you say softly.

He looks back at you.

“Now you don’t say things you don’t mean,” he says tightly, throwing your words back at you. You tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear with shaking fingers.

“I’m a big girl, Namjoon. I understand what you’re saying,” you say quietly. “I understand this isn’t going anywhere.”

He rubs a hand across the back of his neck, looks a bit pained at hearing you spell out the situation so plainly. But at this point, there’s nothing to do but call a spade a spade.

“And I want you to kiss me anyway,” you finish.

The look in his eyes when he turns back to face you steals your breath. Whatever he’s been holding back these past months, whatever thin grasp of control he’s maintained around you is gone. He takes your hand firmly in his large grasp.

“Let’s go.”

**********************************

The walk to his room is a blur.

You have the presence of mind to put one foot in front of the other, but that’s about it. Between the wine pulsing through your veins and the thoughts running through your mind, you couldn’t testify in court as to how you got here.

The space is perfectly cozy, tastefully decorated, and you are glad for the fire burning in the hearth at the center of the bedroom. Namjoon doesn’t bother with the lamps -- there’s enough heat and glow coming off the flames to make up for the lost light.

He hasn’t let go of your hand since you walked together off the beach. Your hand feels small and cold inside his warm grip and the tiny part of your brain that’s still functioning properly is working overtime to commit the feeling of his skin on yours to memory, afraid to let this moment come and go too quickly. The moment the door latches securely behind you, Namjoon leads you to a massive, ornate four-poster bed.

He drops down, sitting on the edge of the plush mattress and pulls you in close with his hands. You stay on your feet, watching the firelight dance across his body, heart pounding so violently you can feel it pulsing at the base of your throat. You wonder if he can tell how nervous you are.

He brushes a piece of hair out of your face, lets his fingertips linger for a moment before tipping his head up to touch his lips to yours.

You stop breathing.

Never in your life have you waited this long to kiss someone, never have you anticipated a kiss more than the one you’re getting right now. His full, soft lips are even better than your imagination — his woodsy, clean scent intoxicating. You can taste wine on his tongue as he wraps his arms around you and uses his hands against your back to pull you even closer.

“Take this off,” he urges against your mouth, tugging at the bottom of your sweater. You shudder at his quiet command but comply instantly, pulling the garment over your head. The moment you’re left in just a bra and jeans, he pulls back, assessing you with a heavy-lidded gaze. You step closer, slotting your knee in between his thighs and reach behind yourself to take apart the closure of your bra.

The warmth of the fire can’t stop the shiver that courses through you when he runs his palms up and down your back, burying his face in the soft skin between your breasts. He trails hot, open-mouthed kisses up that path, and you let your head drop back at the sensation.

“I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” he murmurs against your skin, nuzzling your breast before taking one aching nipple into his mouth. Your hips jerk at the sensation and his hands come back down to your waist to keep you steady.

You thread your fingers into his hair, sighing out your satisfaction as he takes his time about tasting you. You can’t help the soft whine that escapes your throat when he turns his attention to your other nipple.

“You don’t know,” you gasp as his teeth drag gently over the sensitized bud, “how long I’ve wanted you to do this. How many times I’ve thought about this.”

You feel rather than see his answering smile against the swell of your breast. From where you stand, anchored against him, you can also feel his answering hardness in his jeans. He groans when you lean forward to push against it.

“You need to take off some clothes, too,” you say.

“I do,” he admits, dragging himself away from you long enough to pull his own sweater and undershirt overhead. Your breath gets caught in your throat at the sight of his strong, muscled chest and you lean forward to run your hands across the defined planes.

“You are so beautiful,” you sigh, leaning closer to kiss him again. His hands slip down to the button of your jeans to start working them off.

“You keep stealing all my words,” he laughs, pushing your jeans down your hips and watching as you kick them off.

Under other circumstances -- with other men -- you’d be feeling self-conscious right about now. But not with Namjoon. He rubs his fingers across his mouth and leans back to take in the view. The way he’s looking at you, drinking you in, tells you everything you need to know about what he’s thinking right now.

“You’re still wearing too many clothes,” you say finally, interrupting the too-long silence.

Namjoon’s eyes snap up to your face like he’s just come out of a trance and he immediately gets to work. He leaves his boxers on, cock straining heavily against the expensive cotton and you consider complaining but in the next moment he’s pulling you down on the bed, covering you with his large, warm body and all other thoughts evaporate.

He overwhelms you from this angle, weighty and firm on top of you, his scent on you, his breath in your ear. You slowly draw your hands up his back, enjoying the play of his muscles underneath your fingertips. You admire the corded strength in his arms as he braces himself just above you and drops his face into the crook of your neck. His teeth gently tease the sensitive skin there, lips and tongue moving into the dip of your collarbone as his hands skim down your sides.

His thumbs hook into the band of your panties and he pulls gently but doesn’t take them off.

“Is this okay?” he asks, mouth warm against the shell of your ear. You want to laugh at the absurdity. The promise of his hands on you, inside you is the only thing tethering you to sanity right now. You exhale a shaky breath, and manage a thin “God, yes.”

He slips the flimsy fabric down your legs, pressing kisses down your torso and abdomen -- so close to where you are aching for him -- wet between the legs and throbbing for his touch. He sucks a gentle bruise into the soft skin just above your mound.

“This is all I can think about right now,” he murmurs, moving lower. “Tasting you here -- “ he says, gently pushing one of his fingers inside your heat. You can only moan your reply, nerves shot at the feeling of this welcome invasion. You know how wet you must be right now, could feel the slippery mess between your thighs before he even made contact. He sinks his mouth down onto your center as he licks a thorough and unhurried stripe directly over your slit. Your hips buck involuntarily and he uses those impossibly large hands and long fingers to keep you still — to keep you from shying away from the sharp pleasure.

“Better than I imagined,” he whispers against your thigh before turning back to bury his face in your wet warmth again.

You are mewling now, uttering nonsense and he seems satisfied with your response, sucking and licking harder -- spurred on by the nonsensical praise falling from your lips.

“Please don’t stop,” you beg, twisting the fingers of one hand into his hair while the other claws uselessly at the sheets.

He groans, using both his hands to firmly cup under your ass and drag you closer to his mouth. You cry out at the change in the angle and open unfocused eyes to look down at him. He’s savoring you like you are a rare delicacy, and you very nearly come apart at the sight of his beautiful face between your thighs.

“No one here but us. Let me hear you,“ he murmurs, purposely bumping your clit with his nose and using the flat of his tongue to soothe the sensitive nub directly afterwards. You stop trying to muffle your cries and your hips seem to move of their own volition, rolling against Namjoon’s tongue in a desperate search for relief. You can’t help the strangled moans you’re making, can’t stop the thrum of pleasure pulsing heavy in your core.

“Please, Namjoon,” you whimper, “I’m so close.”

“I’m not going to stop,” he soothes, slipping two fingers back into your warm heat. You keen from the stimulation inside and out. “I’m not going to stop until you come for me.”

The throb between your thighs sharpens to a point and then shatters. Your back arches off the bed as your orgasm starts to detonate, and you hear him whispering praise as he licks you through it, not stopping the tortuous slide of his tongue and lips until he’s certain he’s wrung every last drop of pleasure.

“Oh my God,” you whisper when the roaring in your ears starts to subside, and you smile at his answering laugh.

You are sedated — utterly loose-limbed as he makes his way back up your body and immediately sets his teeth to the lobe of your ear. You let your eyes fall closed for a moment just to enjoy the warmth of his body on yours, the feeling of his mouth in the crook of your neck. You realize that at some point, he’s shed his boxers and now his cock is hard and insistent against your leg. You reach for him.

He releases a long breath when you wrap your hand around him and give him an experimental stroke. You watch him watching you with heavy-lidded eyes as you work your hand up and down his length for a moment, enjoying the answering pulse of his excitement under your grip and the way his eyes fall shut.

“I want to make you feel as good as you just made me feel,” you whisper.

You want to taste him so badly, want to know his flavor and feel the weight of him on your tongue — but the moment you start to move in that direction he grabs your hand to stop you.

“You can’t”, he groans. “I’m going to come before I ever get inside you if you don’t stop.”

The thought stills you because stupidly, you haven’t even thought about protection.

“Namjoon, I don’t have anything,” you say quietly. He quirks an eyebrow at you, missing your meaning.

“A condom.”

He rolls over on his side and produces a packet from the drawer of the ornate wooden bedside table.

Thank God one of you has your head on straight.

You gaze at him as he gets up on his knees, cock rigid and straining into the air. Flickering light from the fire dances across his chest and thighs and you have the presence of mind to commit the image to memory because you’ve never seen anything more beautiful in your entire life.

“I want you,” you breathe, “So badly.”

If you weren’t already ridiculously turned on — already alarmingly aroused — the look that passes over his face would have been your undoing.

But you’re well past that point by now.

He slips the condom on and moves to cover your body with his once again and you welcome the pressure of his weight hovering over yours. You feel the head of his cock nudge your entrance and your entire body tenses in anticipation.

”I’ve been driving myself crazy for months,” he says, dipping down to steal a kiss. “Thinking about you like this. Fantasizing about having you.”

You lift your hips, desperate to connect the part of you that’s aching to the part of him that can relieve the ache. “Don’t think about it anymore,” you challenge. “Do it.”

He exhales something that sounds like a half-laugh, half-groan and sinks into you agonizingly slow. You can’t help the whimper that escapes at the deep stretch. He feels huge and the fullness and friction are almost too much given how sensitive you are from your orgasm. He pauses for a moment when he’s fully seated inside.

”Are you alright?” he whispers into the shell of your ear and you feel a shudder run the length of your body at the onslaught of sensations.

“Yes,” you whimper. “So good. Please -- “

You don’t have to finish that plea because he’s moving now, and what starts a few careful, experimental nudges quickly changes to deep, driving thrusts. Some desperate sound inside you escapes each time he bottoms out and you bring both your hands up to grip the tight muscles of his arms as though the contact can somehow steady you.

“Shit,” he groans, brow knit in absolute concentration. “You’re so tight, I -- “

You swallow his next words with a kiss -- a desperate, messy meeting of tongues and lips and teeth. You push your hips up to meet his each time he grinds back into you, savoring the pressure against your clit. Namjoon’s arms stay locked around yours, caging you in, but his head drops into the crook of your neck again. He is whispering frantically in Korean, blessings or curses you can’t be sure, but you can damned near hear the steady build of his orgasm in the tremor of his voice.

“Fuck, I’m going to come,” he groans, like it’s a bad thing, like he’ll somehow disappoint you for losing control so fast. Your hands reach up to his back, palms flat against the undulating muscle covered in a sheen of sweat. You can feel the strain as he tries to hold himself back, teetering on the verge of explosion and you want so badly to give him the release he’s craving.

You squeeze your inner muscles tight, buck harder to meet his now sloppy thrusts.

“Stop holding back. Come for me right now, “ you command, arousal bleeding through each tight word. “I need to feel you.”

The words are barely out of your mouth when you feel him start to come on a particularly deep snap of his hips. The whispers in your ears build into shouts as his orgasm explodes, body shuddering with stimulation. You talk him through his release, whispering into his ear about how good he feels, how you’ve never wanted anyone else this badly.

He kisses the words off your lips as the steady pump of his hips slows to a stop.

You wait for him to sag against you, but instead your eyes pop open when you feel his weight lift off of you entirely.

“Wait --” you start, disoriented by the sudden parting.

Namjoon surprises you by immediately moving back down your body, dropping his head back to the space between your thighs. Any protest you were about to make dies in your throat when he wraps his full lips around your clit once again. The release you were certain had dissipated in the final moments of intercourse starts stirring again.

“Namjoon, I don’t think -- fuck,” you fail to complete a single coherent sentence as he feverishly works his lips and tongue back over your aching clit. You’ve never had back-to-back orgasms, you probably can’t come again so soon, and you want to tell him so but your mouth isn’t working.

“Yes you can,” he soothes, tongue insistent and hot against you. “And you will.”

You whine at the onslaught, too trapped in your own head to surrender to the sensations. Namjoon seems to sense it.

“Stop thinking.”

He growls the words into your core. The vibration from his low tone causes a ripple effect that jolts you out of your head and back into the moment.

“You’re so close I can feel it.”

Holy hell, this man.

His long fingers wrap possessively around your thighs, fighting back against your unconscious attempt to close your legs and escape the overstimulation. He holds you open, raw and senseless and doesn’t let you pull away from what he’s giving you.

There’s no slow, delicious build to this orgasm. It hits you like a bullet and your hands fumble through his hair as you soundlessly succumb to the sharp pleasure. Your body seizes as the release works its way from your core through every nerve ending. For a moment, you lose focus -- but your surroundings sharpen when you hear rather than see Namjoon stand up from the end of the bed to tie and toss the condom away.

You are wide-eyed, panting into the air when his weight dips the bed again and you feel him settle at your side.

You laugh.

Not a delicate giggle, not a sweet peal of laughter -- but a full-on, chest-heaving laugh. He’s silent for a moment before chucking himself.

“You okay?”

“I don’t know,” you admit, chest rising and falling rapidly. “What did you just do to me?”

You feel his answering smile against your skin when he drops his face into the crook of your neck for a kiss.

“Did it feel good?”

“No,” you tease. “I’m looking for a word that’s much better than good, but I can’t think straight. I’m going to have to get back to you later on that.”

He pulls you closer, skin on skin and you settle your head on his chest. You can hear the steady beat of his heart under your ear as your breathing calms. Your bodies are both slick with sweat and you shudder with a sudden chill as you start to feel the cool air inside this room. He reaches down and pulls the covers over your bodies. You both relax in the quiet, hearing the occasional pop from the flames in the fireplace.

“Namjoon?”

“Mmm?”

“Where are the people who work here?”

“I asked them to take the night off,” he admits, nosing your hair and inhaling deeply.

“So you...paid the staff to leave and made sure to have condoms on hand? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you planned to get me into bed tonight.”

He chuckles.

“I would have been...very stupid not to prepare for that possibility. I didn’t want to take the chance.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” you whisper into his chest, fingers drawing lazy circles across his skin.

There’s so much more you want to say, about how you feel and this entire situation but you’re afraid to ruin the delicate silence with an untimely reality check. You settle for quiet.

Minutes later, body limp with wine and exertion, your eyes fall closed.

*********************************************

You wake to the sensation of Namjoon’s nails running up and down your back.

“What time is it?” you ask, voice thick with sleep.

“There’s time,” he says, a non-answer. But you’ll take it. You pull away from him, stretch your sore limbs.

“Did you sleep?”

A tired smile passes over his face.

“No. I’ll get some sleep on the plane.”

The plane. You don’t want to think about that right now, don’t want to dwell on the fact that in a few short hours you’ll both be boarding flights to opposite sides of the globe. You shut your eyes and ward off the sad throb that sounds in your chest at the thought.

“Shower with me,” you say, climbing out of the massive bed. You take part of the sheet with you, wrapping yourself modestly as if this man hasn’t seen and touched every part of you intimately already. You hold a hand out in invitation and he accepts.

This picturesque bed and breakfast was once an old home. Instead of modern stone and high-end furnishings, the space is adorned with refinished hardwoods and tastefully selected antiques. The wood motif extends into the bathroom, where a spacious shower awaits.

Namjoon lets the water run for a moment until he’s certain it’s warm enough and you join him under the hot stream.

He doesn’t hesitate in backing you against the tile, pinning you against the shower wall with one knee as he blocks much of the falling water with his back and kisses you deeply. Droplets fall from his hair as he licks into you, hands roaming down to your waist and then lower. This time, you’re the one to reach out and still his hands when you feel his fingers warm and probing on your wetness.

“No,” you say against his lips, wrapping your hand around his and pushing him back. He pulls away from you, breathless.

“Let me touch you,” you murmur. “Let me take care of you.”

You go up on your toes to kiss the slow smile that comes over him.

“I can do that,” he breathes.

You grab for the soap and he bends down to allow you to lather his hair. You run your nails lightly against his scalp and enjoy the groan you earn as you massage his head in earnest. Then you take your time about lathering his body, reveling in the way his skin feels under your fingertips. His muscles twitch in response as you work your hands down his broad chest, across his back, down to the firm roundness of his ass. He leans his body toward the shower wall, locking his arms to keep upright and caging you in.

You fill your hands with soap again and then steal a kiss when you wrap one searching hand around his cock, already hard and throbbing. You finally have a chance to appreciate how firm and large he feels under your fingertips, and your core throbs at the memory of him inside you. He hums his appreciation into your mouth as you work your hand up and down the rigid length, your enjoyment coming from watching his.

“You are like a statue,” you whisper. “Like a work of art, but the real thing. Just --” you pause for a moment to look down and take in the sight of your fingers working up and down his cock, “ -- incredible,” you manage to finish.

You sink down to your knees, use your hands to rinse him off and peer up against the falling water to steal a look at his face. His eyes are heavy, lips parted as you tentatively touch your tongue against him. They fall completely shut when you slip the head of his cock into your mouth.

His thighs tense under your palms as you pull him in deeper.

“Shit.”

You can barely hear his groan over the sound of the falling water, but something about his tone sends a shiver down your spine. Your knees are starting to protest against the hard shower floor but you can’t be bothered to consider them when you take him down as far as you can go. Namjoon makes a broken sound deep in his chest when you pull off of him, breathless.

“That feels so good,” he croaks, arms still braced against the shower wall.

His praise motivates you to work harder -- when you sink your mouth back down on his cock this time, you use your hands to stroke any part of him you can’t reach. Your mouth and hands fall into rhythm, working him with your fingers and tongue until you can see the muscles in his legs and thighs twitching.

“I’m close,” he groans, head hanging low between his shoulder blades as you pull your mouth away again to get a good look at him. Both of your hands work his cock in the absence of your mouth, stroking and cupping him and keeping him right at the precipice because you know he’s close. He looks ready to burst.

You wait for him to open his eyes, then meet his hot gaze with one of your own.

“Let me taste you,” you say, immediately taking him back down as deep as you can go. You can feel the tension in his hips, sense that he’s dying to rock into your mouth even further but he’s holding back. You cup his ass with your hands and give him a gentle push, silent permission to let go and surge into you. The moment he realizes you’re asking him to give more -- to lose a little bit of control -- he does, thrusting gingerly into your mouth. It only takes a few more thrusts for his rhythm to falter, for his hips to stutter and you brace for his release.

“Fuck, I -- “ his words are choked as he tries to pull away from the inviting wet warmth of your mouth, but your hands grip harder on his ass, refusing to let him off the hook. He is panting, body taut with tension when he finally stops resisting and the groan that starts deep in his chest when he starts to come is the single sexiest sound you have ever heard in your life. His hips jerk and you struggle to remain upright the moment you start to taste his release on your tongue, hot and thick.

You can’t take all of him, not with the water pouring down on you at the same time. You need to breathe. You pull away and sag against the shower wall.

Namjoon falls to his knees in front of you, pulling you roughly into his chest and kissing you so hard you’re forced to break away for air again.

“I can’t breathe,” you laugh against his mouth.

“Neither can I,” he smirks.

You sit together on the shower floor like that for a while, chests heaving and skin to skin.

“I still need to get clean,” you say after a moment. “We’ve wasted enough water as it is.”

He stands then, offering his hand to help you to your feet and then he returns the favor — lathering and massaging you from head to toe and helping you rinse off when he’s done.

When you both slip back under the sheets you are clean, bodies warm and sated. And this time, you both get some sleep.

*****************************

You jam your bag into the overhead compartment before settling heavily into your seat. Thankfully, this flight is damned near deserted and you’re not having to arm wrestle some stranger for your personal space. You pop your earbuds in but don’t turn any music on, just let your eyes fall shut for a moment of silence.

This is the first time you’ve been completely alone with your thoughts since you said goodbye. He’d fucked you once more just as the sun was starting to stream in through the cracks in the curtains, so tender and slow it brought tears to your eyes. You’d laid in bed as long as you could, silent and thinking -- until it was no longer possible to avoid the inevitable.

Of course, you’d walked into this arrangement with eyes wide open, but that didn’t mean the thought of him on a plane back to Seoul right now didn’t make your chest ache. That didn’t dull the sting of the realization that you’d never see him again.

When the flight attendant passes by, you order a mimosa. You’d really prefer something a bit stronger but it’s before noon and you think asking for the vodka tonic you really want could earn you a look at this hour of the day. Alongside the booze, you add distraction to your list of coping mechanisms and splurge on in-flight wifi. You refuse to be left alone to your own devices -- to simmer in your self-pity. Instead, you’ll marinate in champagne and orange juice and scroll mindlessly through apps and websites.

You’re three mimosas deep when your eyes start to droop. There’s no one in the seat behind you, so you feel comfortable leaning back in full recline. You angle a few pillows for comfort, pull a blanket over your chest and shut your eyes.

You’re in that hazy space between awake and asleep when you feel your phone buzz at your side.

Instantly, you’re alert again when you read the message on your lockscreen.

i need to see you again [ 12:47 PM ]

please [ 12:47 PM ]

#namjoonsmut #namjoon x reader #namjoon angst #rm bts #rm x reader #btssmut #bts fanfic #bts

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