#this came to me in a vision after seeing a cursed image

[heirofnepeta]

Look at her.

Ugly as fuck, so quite accurate to life <3

[mangostarjam]

knot happening (part one) — bnha, alpha!bakugou katsuki x f!reader, aged up characters, established relationship, a/b/o dynamics, use of "brat" and "pipsqueak" as pet names, smut in the second part (coming soon), omegaverse!au for the spring fever collab run by @lorelune ! 1.2k words

your new company has some... interesting policies for employee heat cycles. you do your best to find a loophole.

"I can't do it."

"The hell d'ya mean, you can't do it?"

You give your Pro Hero boyfriend and resident alpha A Look. Bakugou Katsuki has the grace to shut his mouth, but he rolls his eyes and drapes a heavy arm over your shoulders, yanking you into him on the faded yellow couch you picked out together years ago.

"This is my first heat at this new job, and it's just... embarrassing. Do you know what they do, Katsuki?"

He raises a sharp blonde eyebrow in invitation.

"They..." your voice drops with horror, "they announce it to the whole company."

"Hah?" Katsuki sits up a little, strong thighs flexing beneath his gym shorts. He came in on the tail end of your mental breakdown, finding you pacing in the living room of your apartment with your hands tugging incessantly on your borrowed shirt. "What the fuck?"

"I know," you wail, "it's ridiculous! The president sends out a company wide email explaining your absence, and the HR team sends you a care basket, and the Sales team sets up a pre-heat drinking party! Do you know what's in the care basket, Katsuki?"

"Do I wanna know?"

"It's filled with sex toys, babe! SEX TOYS! From my company! They're branded!"

A spark lights up in Katsuki's otherwise vaguely concerned expression. "Don't they know you're mated?"

"Yes, of course, that was in my file," you wave him off, still seeing horror images of company branded sex toys floating in your mental vision. "I heard from Sasaki in Accounting that the toys are for when your mate needs a break. Y'know, from fucking."

Katsuki's derisive snort is loud and breaks you out of your personal hellhole. "What kinda fuckin' alpha needs a break when their mate needs 'em?"

"Well, not every alpha is a big strong Pro Hero like you," you point out, poking him on one annoyingly firm bicep. The familiar scent of caramel and smoke fills your nose. "And actually, maybe I should ask if they've got any onaholes for when you're the one in heat. Last time I needed another two days to recover."

"Hah?! There's no fucking way I'll use one of those!"

You peer up at your boyfriend reproachfully. "I like being able to walk, Katsuki."

"You don't need to fuckin' walk if I'm carryin' you everywhere, brat."

"Hmm, we'll see," you say. Katsuki's red eyes flash as you tap your bottom lip with your finger thoughtfully. "There's gotta be a way for me to take a week off work without telling them I'm going into heat."

"There's no way you'll be able to avoid it," Katsuki rumbles, leaning forward to catch your finger with his teeth. He nips at it lightly before leaning down more to capture your lips in a sweet kiss. That, more than anything, finally makes your anxiety simmer down. "You always smell so fucking good before it starts. Everyone's gonna notice."

"You're the only one who can do anything about it, though, so you'll have to keep it in your pants or quit picking me up after work."

"Not happening," Katsuki presses another kiss along your hairline and noses into the strands, sniffing deeply. It tickles, and you laugh, trying halfheartedly to shove him off of you. "What else do they give in these care packages?"

"Actually, besides the super cursed sex toys, they include really good snacks and electrolyte drinks to keep your energy up," you say, "and I'm really glad my company is so open about it all, but it's just so embarrassing!"

Katsuki hums, letting you vent out your worries. You look really pretty like this, dressed in one of his shirts and a pair of pajama shorts, some soft cotton thing that barely covers your perfect ass. He pulls your legs onto his lap and you flop backwards on the couch, moving on from your minor breakdown to sharing a funny story that happened to one of your new coworkers the other day. He had missed hearing about it then, stuck on overtime for a patrol, so he basks in your attention now as the two of you laze around on the couch.

The afternoon passes into evening. It's a rare lazy Monday together — your new job lets you have three day weekends in exchange for slightly longer work days, and Katsuki's patrol schedule happened to line up this week. You're digging into a pint of ice cream after polishing off a plate of his delicious (but spicy) curry and rice when it comes up again.

"What're you gonna do about your heat?"

"Well, I was thinking," you slide your spoon into the thick cream and wave it at him, "I'll still need to use my authorized heat cycle time off, since I want to save my vacation and comp time for real uses, so there's no avoiding the company finding out..."

Katsuki raises an eyebrow and accepts the spoonful of ice cream you're dangling in his face. His tongue pokes out to chase a bit of cream lingering on the edge of his lip and he grins, sharp, at the way your eyes track the movement. "But...?"

You have a feeling Katsuki hasn't fully thought through the horrors of corporate sponsored pleasure items, but you have, and the thought of everyone at your new company knowing you'll be getting fucked within an inch of your life makes you want to shrivel up and die. All companies have policies in place to protect time off for heat cycles, as society couldn't function otherwise, but this is the first place you've worked where impending heat cycles are declared company-wide. Normally it's just marked as time off.

"But they don't have to find out until after it starts, right? So as long as I can get through the pre-heat stuff without anyone noticing, I can avoid the cursed care package and company-wide email!"

"Ain't happening," Katsuki says flatly.

"We've been mated for sooo long now, babe," your gaze flicks up to meet his and you pout. Your boyfriend outright snorts when you start batting your eyelashes at him. "Surely you can resist the pre-heat symptoms this one time? I swear I'll get over my company's shenanigans once I see it happen to a few other people. It's really great how supportive they are, but I need some time, that's all."

"Your heat is in like. Two weeks," Katsuki says.

You pout up at him some more.

"During your last heat cycle we broke the mattress frame when I missed your first few pre-heat days."

"Yeah, but that was because you had that mission that went long," you say. If you could just... convince him... "C'mon, babe, this will be different! You're such a strong, powerful alpha — resisting me will be a piece of cake! Unless..." you pause and scoop another bite of ice cream into your mouth, "you're too weak to resist me."

"Are you callin' me weak?" Katsuki narrows his eyes. You wave your spoon casually and shrug.

"I mean... all you've gotta do is ignore my pre-heat. I'm just an itty bitty omega..."

Getting into a staring match with Pro Hero Dynamight is not on anyone's Top Ten Good Ideas list, but you match your boyfriend's red glare steadily.

"Alright, pipsqueak, you're on," Katsuki scoffs. "We'll see who's beggin' for who by the time your heat rolls around."

part two

[thatdeadaquarius]

Okay so-- i was reading some sagau posts and came across this one where the reader was an army vet and my brain just Did Its Thing--

So now I'm here to inflict this on to you--

Would guns be considered as catalysts. And would they only do Phys Damage.

Me reading this ask:

😶 😐 🤨 🧐 🧐 😰 🥲 😭😭😭 💀

STOP YOU'VE INFLICTED ME WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL DMG FROM THIS ASK 😭

(Also srry took so long to respond, when i didnt realize how short this was/was just sitting over here 😓)

^ For the sake of gun imagery being a lot/maybe staff might hate me for it,

we'll put this gay shit instead (i almost mispelled to "gay shot" lmao)

☆

Sun: Army Veteran Reader, Gender neutral Reader (you/they/them)

Orbit: SHORT Headcanons

Stars: everybody bc i think itd be funny

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: gun stuff, mild violence, mild cursing & Trigger Warnings: Gun fun everywhere

THIS ASK HAS ME GIGGLING TO MYSELF LIKE A MANIAC

You're out here having a whole gun they let you take for off-base

And u ofc have a license so u can conceal carry

(idk how non-american gun laws work, but tbh ours are so fucked idk how they work here either, just that an army guy i knew once could have his gun when he got back home)

And ofc ur just paranoid enough (more like it just makes u feel safe)

That when u get yoinked into a portal to a silly little brightly colored gacha game fantasy world, the gun comes with 💀

Id like to add in my silly little "ur in a video game, so video game rules" AU version of genshin so:

The only other gun (ish) wielder (Mika) has unlimited bolts

Sooo I'd think your gun would be the same jfc lol

NO BC YOUD SCARE THE ACTUAL SHIT OUT OF EVERYONE IN UR VICINITY IN A BATTLE

BC GUNSHOTS ARE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF LOUD

When u first stumble into abyss monsters/hostile creatures of the realm, u nearly scare off a Lawlachurl bc every shot's like thunder to these bitches😭

So not only the monsters but the vision holders think u fucking summoned lightning

OMG THE BULLETS ARE SO FAST THEYD PROBABLY NOT SEE IT

ESP BC DISTRACTED BY GUNSHOT LOUDNESS

SO U AIM THIS LITTLE BLACK CROSSBOW (???) AND THINGS JUST DIE (OR GET RIDDLED WITH HOLES) WITH NO CLEAR ARROW STICKING OUT

STOPP- you're becoming a witchy god or smth to all of Teyvat bc it just looks like hella high level magic atp to them LMAOOO

Rumors of you get out of hand and say u just point or snap ur fingers and things get wounded/just die on the spot 💀

Oh another difference between Teyvatians seeing ur gun vs. crossbow (what they know)

Is that guns are wayyyy more destructive

Like an arrow would get shot but it'd bounce off of things like rock or wood or metal, maybe dent a little depending on how close

But a bullet goes thru that shit so easy, and leaves a whole little explosion behind, once again depending on range

(I once saw a Mythbusters episode? of them proving bullets would definitely go thru car doors, like movies lied to u, this is why drive-bys acc work like for gangs)

Lmao, the image of you in like full armor with a Teyvat made automatic gun after showing it to blacksmiths

Makes u just more convincing as a god, esp bc military training

(Ppl like Gorou and Kokomi begging for military tactics/training ur world has done)

...

....Ok.

I'll address it.

But only so u dont think im stupid later.

Yes, the Fatui have guns.

No, this not the same as having a glock LMAO

End of story.

(Also, urs runs on bullets, whereas the Fatui rely on magic/delusions to power theirs, plus they dont seem as fast or destructive as urs, more "explosions aimed at you" than real bullets)

Which,,, u leave the managing of ppl copying ur gun to ppl like the Qixing or smth, but make sure to give them advice on good gun laws if teyvat accidentally revolutionizes bc of ur advanced gun that anybody can wield (non-vision users)

Thats the best ive got abt that

Oh, also enjoy being praised as a War god now.

:)

☆

... dammit i had smth i was gonna tell u guys-

Uh what tf was it, it was important

OH

Next post is the Eldritch God Oneshot! Look out for it :) !!

☆

Safe Travels Kid,

💀♒️

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks

If you wanna join a taglist, DM me what for! "Pspspsss, please tag me for [All SAGAU posts, Only SAGAU Language AUs, diff fandom, etc.]!"

(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/[specifically this AU/fandom] please!")

[spookyserenades]

Trouvaille - Chapter Six

Pairing(s); BTS OT7 x Reader

Genre/Themes; Hybrid!AU, themes of the supernatural and the occult, religious themes, violence, hurt/comfort, horror, romance

Rated; 18+ for swearing, violence/gore, future sexual themes. Reader discretion is advised.

Word Count; 20.9k

Trouvaille Masterlist

Trouvaille playlist

Updates on the 7th of each month

Happy June my darlings! This is an update I've been eager to share with you all for quite some time, and there's a lot that goes on in it. This chapter is tamer in respects to the paranormal, and delves more into interpersonal relationships between the hybrids and Y/N herself. There is indeed another scenting scene in this chapter, which is certainly heated, reader discretion advised! This chapter ends on a critical plot twist and cliffhanger, and I hope you all find it both shocking and entertaining. The taglist is open still (shoot me a message or comment to be added), and as always, I adore hearing back from readers; whether it be questions, reviews, theories, submissions, or gushing over the hybrids together <3 Enjoy, lovelies!

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Y/N’s vision only faded to black for mere seconds, feeling like she was floating and the only anchor tethering her to reality were the arms wrapped around her waist. Quivering as she came down from what she could only describe as blissful euphoria, she blinked, eyes focusing on a painting of pink peonies nailed to the wall above Seokjin’s dresser. At once, remembering where she was, she jolted on Seokjin’s warm thighs as he nuzzled his nose against the tender mark he had made, murmuring too quietly for her to make out the words– or was he purring? Y/N’s entire body flushing at her position, straddling the jaguar hybrid’s lap, her arms limply hanging off of his broad shoulders, she squirmed in his arms, his hands fisting in the material of her sweatshirt. 

“J-jin?” Y/N breathed, another shiver rolling through her body as Seokjin pressed his face further into the crook of her neck at the sound of his nickname. “Are you alright now?”

Humming in assent against her skin, Seokjin nodded, the damp strands of his blue-black waves tickling her cheek with the movement. Weakly, Y/N chuckled with relief; the image of him curled up on the floor moaning in pain when she returned home frankly scared the wits out of her. Unable to help herself, Y/N reached up to toy with Seokjin’s hair while he exhaled slowly into her neck, her fingers running through the silky waves and carefully avoiding his sensitive ears. 

Pulling away from the crook of her neck, Seokjin’s hands dropped from her waist down to her hips lightly, rearing his head back so he could dopily smile at Y/N with his teeth. Overwhelmed by both the action and viewing his gorgeous face from inches away, Y/N swallowed nervously, squeaking when Seokjin squeezed her hips playfully. 

“You probably want to shower after your long day out, hmm?” Seokjin mused, cocking his head to the side lazily as he scanned her flustered expression. Biting her lip, she returned his gaze suspiciously. 

“Is that you subtly trying to tell me I stink?” Y/N teased, shock settling over Seokjin’s beautiful face. 

A growl rumbled from the back of his throat, getting a better hold on her hips as he bent his knees and got to his feet, scooping her up in one graceful moment. Scrambling to get a hold around his muscular neck, Y/N cursed, instinctively hooking her legs around Seokjin’s waist as he began to walk out of his bedroom. Out of the corner of her eye and amongst the overwhelm, she caught her copy of Lord of the Rings laying open on his bed. 

“No, you could never stink,” Seokjin insisted, Y/N thankful that he couldn’t see her iron-hot face while he carried her down the stairs. “The water will soothe your marks,” Seokjin continued softly, Y/N not missing the way he had included Namjoon’s bite with his comment. 

Thinking of the wolf hybrid sent a strange shock of pain down her spine, Y/N was saddened by the fact that he hadn’t come out of his bedroom to say goodbye to her that morning. She considered the possibility that Namjoon was feeling embarrassed with how he came into her bedroom the previous night, though he had nothing to be bashful about in her book. Even as Seokjin passed by Namjoon’s bedroom door shut-tight, Y/N’s heart sank, somehow knowing he was locked away in there rather than enjoying the last of the sunny afternoon outside. 

Once reaching her bedroom, Seokjin gingerly lowered Y/N to her unsteady feet, seemingly reading her conflicted expression. Moving his hand to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, Seokjin offered her a half-smile. 

“You’re worried about Namjoon,” Seokjin murmured, his orange eyes flickering to the bruised spot on her neck the wolf hybrid had made, his thumb brushing across her cheekbone comfortingly. Leaning into the touch naturally, Y/N sighed, eyes downcast. 

“He’ll come around, don’t worry,” Seokjin encouraged, his voice dulcet as he dropped his hand from her cheek. 

Nodding, Y/N perked up a degree, not wanting to make Seokjin uncomfortable with her excess of worry. Perhaps he was right, maybe she was reading too much into Namjoon’s absence– he could have been absorbed in the books and his paranormal theories. 

“You’re right, it’s probably best to just leave him be for now,” Y/N agreed, subconsciously brushing her fingers over the wolf hybrid’s bite. To her surprise, the wound was painless, and she was desperate to change the subject under Seokjin’s scrutiny. 

“Jesus, it’s already Wednesday evening… I’ve done almost nothing to prepare for the cookout,” she lamented quickly, all at once recalling how her mother had badgered her about place settings earlier in the day. 

“We’ll all help out! Yoongi mentioned earlier that he wanted to talk to you about cooking the food, and even Taehyung has expressed some excitement about it out of the blue,” Seokjin grinned, Y/N completely taken aback by how quickly he had recovered from writhing on the floor in pain by simply biting her. 

“You guys are Godsends…” Y/N muttered under her breath, thankful that she’d have several pairs of hands to assist her in all of the tasks she had saved to the last minute. “Alright, I’ll wash up and come find you all in a bit. I know you wanted to watch more Masterchef today, so we can do that too.”

Smiling at her fondly at her remembrance, Seokjin nodded once, shyly heading towards her door with his rounded ears fluttering the whole way. Y/N didn’t know where his shyness was coming from all of a sudden, when he had just carried her down the stairs as if she were a sack of flour. Shutting the door behind him, Y/N hurried to the bathroom, steam filling the room as she prodded at both painless marks on her neck. 

Snorting at herself in the mirror as she mentally compared them to vampire bites, she thought to do a little more research on the act of scenting itself. At the very least, she could arm herself with information; about potential cues for when hybrids should scent before discomfort, primarily. Thinking back to the stupefying sensation that she felt after each bite, Y/N felt that she should read a forum about that, as well, considering she had no rational explanation as to why that sensation would occur. Stepping into the shower with haste, Y/N scrubbed at her skin harshly, eager to catch up with her hybrids after her day without them. 

By Thursday morning, Y/N was hoping that the panic she was experiencing wasn’t registering on her face and filling the room with negative energy. She had a mile-long grocery list after consulting with Yoongi the previous evening about the menu, unable to resist indulging his every whim as he came up with dish ideas. The staircase was still unfinished– Y/N worried it would get scuffed if guests wanted to explore the house and see her newest renovations of the second-floor bedrooms– she had to hit the liquor store for booze and pick out her outfit. Then there was the preparation of the backyard by stacking wood for the fire pit, dragging out chairs to put around it, and cleaning off the picnic table. Additionally, she had to take the hybrids to the mall, forgetting she had scheduled haircuts for them a while back, and she figured they could pick up outfits of their own while they were there. 

Stirring her coffee by the slider door in the kitchen, her eyes glazed over as she gazed out at the backyard, wondering why the hell she didn’t move the cookout to the following week after all that had happened recently. Y/N supposed that it was too late to cancel it, Ben already texting her about how eager he was to meet the hybrids in her group chat with him, Laura, and Alice– the other two reacting to his message with emphasized thumbs-ups. The hybrids themselves were practically bouncing off the walls as well, or at least the ones present in the kitchen. 

“Yoongi, you’ve been sharpening that knife for five minutes. I think it’s sharp enough now to cut through bone,” Hoseok complained from his seat on the barstool, rubbing his temples as he slumped over his coffee mug, drooped ears and all. Y/N noticed Hoseok wasn’t exactly a morning person over the past few days. 

Turning, Y/N watched Yoongi put the knife-sharpening steel down on the granite island, his upper lip curled up in a snarl at the fox hybrid’s comment. She knew Yoongi was secretly anticipating cooking for such a large amount of people; he had even got up early to make several soup stocks in large pots, the herbal concoctions simmering away on the stove. Jeongguk, lounging on the breakfast nook booth, was totally wrapped up in reading something on his phone, his feet kicked up on the seat so no one else could sit with him. 

“Yeah? Using a dull knife is a surefire way to A) do more work, and B) slice off a finger,” Yoongi calmly shot back, returning the knife back to the block by the stove. 

Hoseok grumbled something Y/N could not hear from her spot by the door, eyeing Jeongguk sideways to see if he was listening to the antics. One of his tapered ears flickered in her direction, though he did not tear his eyes from whatever was holding his attention on his phone. Swirling the remnants of her now-empty mug of coffee, Y/N slouched her way to the carafe, knowing that she’d need to be sufficiently caffeinated to get through her long day. 

In the middle of pouring another healthy mug of dark roast, Y/N caught movement from the entrance to the kitchen from the foyer, Taehyung shuffling into the room sleepily in his black hoodie, hands in his pocket and hood pulled over his head, mouth dropped open mid-yawn. Delighted to see him so early, Y/N pulled out an additional mug for the Kodiak hybrid, the one with Sailor Moon on it, filling it generously as Taehyung dragged his feet to her side. 

“Morning, Tae,” Y/N greeted gently, the knowledge that he liked the nickname she gave him so much tucked in her back pocket. Nudging her hip with his own, he accepted the mug quickly, adding cream to his coffee with a small smile on his lips. “How’d you sleep?”

“Slept well. You?” Taehyung’s sleep-thickened voice struck her like static shock, even while the sleeves of his sweatshirt were slipping over his hands as he sipped his coffee. 

“As well as I could, today is pretty packed so I was tossing and turning throughout the night,” Y/N answered truthfully, leaning against the coffee bar as her to-do list haunted her mental space. Humming throatily at her response, Taehyung bent down to face her, trying to get a good look at her face. 

“Don’t stress. You have help,” Taehyung replied simply, sending her a wink. Blushing, Y/N nodded, noting how often Taehyung seemed to get in her face these days.

After a drawn-out breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, Jimin and Seokjin joining her and the others in the kitchen eventually, Y/N waited by the front door for everyone to get ready to head to the mall. Her spirits were somewhat dampened, considering she had only caught glimpses of Namjoon the previous night sneaking into the kitchen for a package of chips and a water refill, wondering if he’d even bother coming along with her to the mall. Part of her wanted to march into his locked-up bedroom and demand to know what was going on with him, but the larger part of her was still very much intimidated by the wolf hybrid. The longer the stretch of time went on since he had scented her, the more awkward she felt about confronting him again. Still, she ached to see his face, to hear his deep, rich voice responding to her inquiries. 

It was another sunny day, the skylight bathing the foyer with dusty sunshine. The house was pretty warm, and Y/N remembered she could turn on the new A/C units since they had been installed the day she picked Namjoon up from the shelter, so she did so promptly to keep her hands busy as they all idled by the door. Adjusting her thin tee shirt uncomfortably, she scanned the grocery list in her other hand as she listened to Hoseok and Seokjin bicker by the stairs. 

“Jinnie, you’ve barely put a dent in that book even though you’ve been carrying it around everywhere. Are you trying to pick up girls at the mall?” Hoseok teased, staring pointedly at the copy of Lord of the Rings tucked under Seokjin’s arm. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Seokjin spit through his teeth, using his free hand to punch the fox hybrid on the bicep with enough force to send Hoseok stumbling back a step. “I told you to stop calling me ‘Jinnie’, are you becoming hard of hearing?” 

Jimin, from beside her, rolled his eyes so hard Y/N was worried they would fall out of his skull, waiting patiently for everyone to arrive by the door so they could leave. Taehyung, too, was leaning against the door with a bored look painted across his features, unimpressed by the noise coming from the two across the room. Jeongguk stomped down the stairs with a heavy tread, eyes still glued to his phone and almost missing the last step before catching himself on the wobbly banister. 

She was just waiting on Yoongi and Namjoon, the former bravely knocking on the wolf hybrid’s bedroom door and slipping inside, mentioning that he’d ask Namjoon if he was going to the mall for Y/N, which warmed her heart dangerously. After a few painstaking moments of burning a hole through Namjoon’s door, Yoongi emerged, the wolf hybrid reluctantly in tow. Finally getting a good look at him since he had scented her, Y/N choked on her intake of breath, Namjoon looking better than ever in light wash jeans and a navy tee shirt Y/N had ordered for him. 

Thankfully, Jimin had encouraged everyone to the car, Y/N stiffly sliding into the driver’s seat next to Namjoon, who was fastidiously ignoring her by sticking his face into the library copy of Wuthering Heights and his ears flat against his skull. Not exactly expecting such a chilly demeanor from the wolf hybrid, Y/N switched on the radio, doing her best to ignore him right back. It was difficult, an almost gravitational-like pull begging her to reach out and grab a hold of his hand resting on his thigh. Gritting her teeth, Y/N set her navigation for the mall a town over, feeling Taehyung from behind her fiddle with a lock of her hair through the gap of the headrest. She temporarily forgot about the wolf hybrid brooding beside her, Taehyung’s curious touch distracting her as she began to drive down the street. 

Forking over a fistful of cash at the Auntie Anne’s counter, Y/N shook her head with amusement as Hoseok noisily slurped a Salted Caramel Chocolate Frost beside her, his tail brushing her leg as it swished back and forth happily. The others were similarly enjoying pretzel dogs, nuggets, and large slushy drinks, clumped around a bench nearby the counter. Taking a bite of her own cinnamon-sugar dusted nuggets, Y/N sat beside Jeongguk on the bench. The elk hybrid had a bit of hot salsa cheese dip on the corner of his mouth, chewing his roasted garlic and parmesan pretzel quite ravenously. Giggling, Y/N wanted to wipe his face for him, but didn’t want to risk the possibility of him running away to the opposite end of the mall. 

The mall was fairly empty, considering it was a Thursday afternoon, much to Y/N’s relief. There was still some time before the haircut appointments, Y/N surveying the salon beside a Victoria’s Secret several yards away. Munching thoughtfully, Y/N considered buying some new undergarments while everyone was getting their hair done, but shivered at the thought of any of them catching her pick out panties. A hand snuck in between her and Jeongguk, a pinched-off piece of a classic pretzel being waved in her face. Craning her neck upwards, Seokjin offered her a goofy, affectionate grin as Y/N accepted the piece from his fingertips, trading it with one of her cinnamon-sugar nuggets. 

“So, your appointments are in about ten minutes, I suppose I should check you all in,” Y/N tossed her empty pretzel cup into a garbage can by the mall fountain, accidentally interrupting a conversation between Yoongi and Jimin while they sat on the ledge of the fountain. Both hybrid’s ears perked up at the sound of her voice cutely. “Where the hell did Namjoon go,” Y/N muttered, scanning the immediate area for the wolf hybrid. 

Tapping her shoulder lightly, Taehyung pointed a little ways away from the pretzel counter, Y/N spotting Namjoon reading the mall directory map while sipping on his lemonade. Without Y/N saying anything to him, Taehyung took off in Namjoon’s direction, and after several moments the wolf hybrid followed the former towards the salon with great distaste painting his features. Namjoon really seemed to dislike Taehyung, Y/N thought. The others trailing behind her into the humid salon like students to a teacher on a field trip, Y/N caught Hoseok sniffing the hairspray-scented air with a slightly nervous expression. 

The young woman working at the reception desk assessed the large number of people crowding her waiting area with poorly disguised shock, scrambling for the appointment book. 

“Good afternoon, I’m sorry… Did you make an online appointment? And for whom?” The woman pulled her eyebrows together, squinting at the appointment book with a flush settling over her cheeks. 

“Stacy, you have to start recording the online appointment requests in the book. It’s a good thing all of the stylists can check the online bookings too. These are the seven hybrid cuts, the appointment was made over the weekend,” A tough-looking woman came around the corner leading into the main part of a salon, her rockstar-style pixie cut dyed a vibrant purple. Spluttering, too busy staring at Taehyung beside Y/N unabashedly, Stacy didn’t seem to hear the other woman. 

“Mm-hmm. I’ll start doing that,” Stacy responded dreamily, moving on to ogle at Seokjin with equal admiration. 

Grinding her teeth, Y/N watched the woman with the purple hair, presumably a stylist judging by the apron tied around her waist, roll her eyes at Stacy. Y/N knew all of her hybrids were extremely handsome, but something about Stacy’s excessive coyness all of a sudden bothered her, even when she offered them all coffee sweetly. 

“Alright gentlemen. All of the stylists are ready, we scheduled a good block of time to do your cuts since we didn’t have too many details about styles on the form. Fault of the form, of course, not you, hun,” the purple-haired woman assured Y/N quickly. “We really need a new online system. I’m Karlie, by the way.”

“Karlie, nice to meet you. Is it alright if I mill around the mall while they’re here?” Y/N asked, not keen on cramming her ass into one of the stiff-looking plastic chairs in the waiting room for an extended period of time. She also had a side mission: looking around for gifts for both Jeongguk and Namjoon’s upcoming birthdays. 

“Go right ahead, we’ll send them on their way once they’re done and I’ll shoot you a text, since you’ve already paid for the cuts online beforehand. I’m sure they’ll be able to find you,” Karlie waved her hand, motioning for Jimin, who was closest to her, to shuffle into the main room of the salon. Jimin stalled, staring at Y/N with wide eyes. 

Each hybrid looked a tad bewildered that Y/N was leaving them there, Karlie and Stacy giving them a moment in the waiting room before their appointments. Even steely Namjoon had his jaw set in trepidation, looking entirely out of place in the flowery salon. 

“I’ll stay on the first floor, so you won’t have to worry about me straying too far from the salon here. It’ll be nice, I promise– they’re all trained to work with hybrid’s hair, you’ll feel fresh and relaxed after. I think they do hot towel treatments here, I read it online,” Y/N patted Jimin’s back gently, trying her best to comfort them all earnestly. “And afterwards you guys should pick out some clothes, too. I’m sure you’ve been wanting to get things in your own styles.”

“Ready, gentlemen?” Karlie popped her head around the corner, Y/N getting the feeling she was listening in the whole time. “You’re in good hands, several of the stylists themselves have hybrids at home.”

Still looking somewhat unconvinced, Y/N watched her seven hybrids disappear around the corner into the salon’s main room, Karlie attempting to make small talk with Jeongguk cheerily. Rocking on her heels, Y/N felt remorseful as an intrusive thought popped into her head– perhaps they thought she was going to ditch them at the salon and return home without them. Of course, that would never happen in a million years; Y/N already couldn’t picture her life and future without any of them in it. 

Circling the first floor a couple of times in search of a store to look for gifts, Y/N mumbled to herself, nothing quite striking her as uniquely Jeongguk or Namjoon. She put down the pack of sparkly silver earrings that caught her eye for Jeongguk in an accessory store, deciding they were a bit too flashy for him. Usually, she was quite good at picking out birthday gifts for her loved ones, but the two she was shopping for at the moment were tough nuts to crack. 

She found herself in a shoe store across from the salon, searching for a new pair of slippers for herself since her current pair had a hole by the big toe. Waiting for the sales clerk to ring up the pair she selected, Y/N checked her watch, not believing such a little amount of time had passed. It was startling how much she missed the hybrids even after less than a half hour, Y/N trying to peer into the large door of the salon as if she’d be able to catch a glimpse of them. All she saw was Stacy at the desk, talking on the phone and twirling a lock of glossy brunette hair around her finger. 

Swinging the bag with her slippers around in her hand, Y/N strolled into the bookstore one door down from the shoe store, hoping she could pick up something in there for Namjoon at the very least. Unsurprisingly, as she had zero impulse control in a bookstore, Y/N filled up her basket at lightning speed. Towards the back of the store, Y/N located the slim shelf with the occult books, sliding her finger along the spines as she read the titles. She had many of the books, but some of the titles were from new occult authors she had never heard of before. Scooping up a thin paperback of protection spells, Y/N promptly dropped it into her basket without much of a thought. She picked out a couple other occult books she thought Jeongguk and Namjoon might like– The Paranormal Investigative Field Guide and Spirits, Entities, and Cryptids: a Comprehensive Collection of the Supernatural. 

Inching towards the journals, Y/N spotted a beautiful black leather one sitting on the shelf, with carved filigree on the front and an elegant clasp to keep it shut. The paper was almost linen-like in texture, the whole journal practically screaming Jeongguk, whose current journal was looking a little worse for wear. Grinning to herself, Y/N selected a set of inky pens to go with it, happy with her choices so far. She was thinking about heading to the electronics store the following week for a video camera, thinking a whole “paranormal investigation” theme for the elk hybrid would be perfect for him. 

As for Namjoon, with just one book for him in her basket, Y/N knew she’d have to think about what else to get him for a few more days. She simply didn’t know enough about him yet, she concluded, with a pang of sadness. Part of her wanted to call her mother for any ideas, but didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of hearing Y/N admit she knew less about her hybrid than she did. The thought of her mother bragging about how wonderful the wolf hybrid was, or scolding Y/N for not being more observant of Namjoon’s interests, sent a shiver down her spine. 

After having the cashier carefully wrap up the books, Y/N lugged the heavy bag to her car, moving as quickly as she could from the parking lot back into the first floor of the mall, praying that none of them had been looking for her within the five minutes she had popped out. Settling a palm over her racing heart, Y/N checked her phone for any messages from Karlie, discovering nothing from the stylist, but instead a single text from Hoseok. 

Curiously, Y/N tapped on the notification, snorting loudly at the attached image the fox hybrid sent. It was a somewhat-blurry candid of Jeongguk, sitting grumpily in a styling chair with a cape velcroed around his neck, under a hair dryer with a shower cap stretched over his conditioner-caked hair. The shower cap had several holes cut into it to accommodate his antlers and ears, his eyes downcast as he stared at his phone with clear annoyance. Saving the image, Y/N sent Hoseok back several laughing emojis, amused that the hybrids were getting so pampered at the salon. It made her want to return to Stacy at the front desk to schedule a haircut for herself. 

Trying to find a comfortable place to sit for a bit, Y/N wandered by the food court, spotting a new boutique that must have opened recently, boasting an end-of-summer sale on a window sign. Intrigued, Y/N breezed into the store, the bright interior still holding a lingering paint smell in the air. Leafing through the sales rack, Y/N stopped at a beautiful lavender sundress marked half off. Pulling it off the rack, Y/N admired the simplicity of the patternless fabric. Likely falling mid-thigh, the waist fitted and skirt flared out, the dress was held up by spaghetti straps and had a sweetheart neckline with ruching and a bow holding the fabric across the bust together. Delighted, the tag reading that it was, in fact, her size, the material wispy and soft, Y/N knew she had found her outfit for the cookout, having the perfect sandals at home to go with the dress. 

With her outfit in hand, Y/N’s spirits were soaring, finally looking forward to having an opportunity to dress up and have fun with all of her friends. Perhaps she was being a little bit cynical earlier in the day dwelling on all of the things she had to accomplish before she could enjoy herself at the cookout, but as Taehyung had said, she now had help. 

Sitting at a large table in the food court by herself, Y/N gently set down the two trays of boba milk tea she was able to score from the counter that usually had a line wrapped around the food court. Again, part of her felt like she wasn’t really encouraging healthy choices as far as food and beverage, but she wanted to get the hybrids an extra treat for enduring such a lengthy appointment while she twirled around the mall by herself. 

Scrolling through her Twitter feed, Y/N hummed to herself, simultaneously stabbing the wide straw through her boba lid. Her phone buzzed in her hand while she watched some sort of mindless Tik Tok on kitchen organization, grumbling as she opened up the message. It was Karlie, letting her know that a couple of her hybrids were all set and on their way. Straightening up in her seat, Y/N scanned her surroundings, trying to remember what everyone was wearing as she squinted at a passing group of elderly women power walking in sneakers. As she drummed her fingers against the table, Y/N checked her watch– over an hour had passed since she had left them at the salon. She wondered if they’d return with highlights, with all that time. 

“Y/N, my darling! There you are, did you get me another sugary drink? Is this your way of apologizing for subjecting me to an hour of hairspray inhalation?” Hoseok’s loud voice came from her right, Y/N whipping her head around as he slid into the booth next to her with a wry grin on his face. 

His mahogany hair was neatly trimmed now, cropped in the back and around the sides in a sort of bowl-cut manner, his waves parted down the middle and gleaming brilliantly even under the unflattering fluorescent lighting of the mall. Her mouth had dropped open to accuse him of teasing her again, but her tongue turned to stone now that she could see his face so clearly. Winking at her speechlessness, Hoseok pried one of the boba cups out of the paper tray, diving in promptly. The metal screech of the chair across from her had her squeaking, tearing her eyes from Hoseok to land on Yoongi standing over them, eyes narrowed at Hoseok with peevishness. 

“Stop bitching. I was sure you were going to start moaning when they put that hot towel over your head, Foxy,” Yoongi countered, his silky black hair still long and beautiful, but the sides above his human set of ears were shaved neatly, offering a more edgy look than when it was entirely overgrown. 

“Are you picking a fight with me Yoongi?” Hoseok’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline, though didn’t seem particularly bothered by Yoongi’s comment. Hoseok, Y/N had noticed, tended to let things glide right off his shoulders. 

“I wouldn’t dare,” Yoongi scoffed, tilting his head contemplatively as he accepted a cup from Y/N. 

Y/N caught his eyes zeroing in on the sides of her neck as she leaned away from him, where the lilac bruises were watercoloring the skin where Namjoon and Seokjin had scented her. Flushing violently, Y/N tried to maintain eye contact with the leopard hybrid, his irises like a kaleidoscope of greens and golds, and it was hard to dissect the thoughts behind them. 

“So it went well? Any hiccups?” Y/N cleared her throat, breaking her eyes away from Yoongi’s feline stare with difficulty by swirling around the boba in her cup. 

“You mean, did anyone cause a scene? No,” Hoseok replied through a mouthful of tapioca pearls. 

“Come on, Hoseok, you’re putting words in my mouth,” Y/N nudged him with her shoulder softly, though he did see right through her pretty accurately. “I was wondering more along the lines of if anyone ended up with a shitty haircut.”

“I don’t know about that. Jeongguk got some weird shaved style, but I guess it’s all about preferences. My tastes are more classic,” Hoseok puffed out his chest, always taking an opportunity to make fun of the elk hybrid when he could. 

“Yeah, Foxy. The salad bowl cut is very classy,” Yoongi teased, crossing his arms over his hoodie-clad chest. Hoseok called Yoongi ‘Fabio’ under his breath, Y/N’s head spinning as she tried to keep up with the antics. 

“Oh, Seokjin is close by,” Hoseok perked up, chin tilted towards to the right as he gazed off into the distance. Brow cocked, Y/N tried to see whatever it was that he could, but only caught a glimpse of the elderly women lapping around the first floor again. 

“Jimin and Taehyung, too,” Yoongi added, his tone disinterested as he picked at his nails. 

“How do you kn–” Y/N began, Yoongi chuckling at her, making the words die on her tongue before she could finish. 

“Their scents, silly girl. How do you think we found you, in the first place?” Yoongi drawled, a smirk pulling the corner of his mouth. Appalled, Y/N gawked at Yoongi with disbelief, wondering when he had gotten so bold. She preferred when she made him flustered. 

“Stop teasing her, Yoongi, she got you a drink, after all,” Hoseok chided distractedly before waving his hands in the air enthusiastically, spotting Seokjin several feet away with Jimin and Taehyung in tow. Pot calling kettle, Y/N thought with minor amusement.

From where she was sitting, it appeared that Seokjin had gotten a very similar haircut to Hoseok, though his curls were tighter than the fox hybrid’s and his bangs were longer, skimming right under his eyebrows. He hurried over to the table once he saw Hoseok’s exaggerated arm flailing, Y/N placing the bag with her new sundress on the floor to clear the spot on her other side. Seokjin predictably slid into the booth as soon as it was vacated, bringing a light floral scent coming from his hair when he shook it out with a content sigh. 

Jimin was next to arrive at the table, Y/N hoping her eyes weren’t bugging out of her head when he smiled at her brightly, his honey-blonde hair cropped short neatly and styled in a slicked back way, a single strand falling on his forehead like Clark Kent. Nearly choking on a tapioca pearl, Y/N couldn’t believe how much Jimin looked like a model, the entirety of his sculpted face perfectly visible now. She felt Hoseok’s shoulders shaking with laughter next to her, which she actively ignored when Taehyung took his seat beside Yoongi. 

“What is this?” Taehyung asked curiously, inspecting the drink Yoongi passed to him warily. “What’s the stuff at the bottom?”

Taehyung cocked his head at Y/N, apparently speaking to her, his curly dark hair bouncy and trimmed now to frame his face, the bulk of it that clung around his neck shaved to expose the elegant column of it. Even his ears were more visible now, they were rounded and small, and it made her want to squeal upon seeing them. Y/N was completely overwhelmed; perhaps she should have just allowed the hybrids to walk around like mountain men now that she saw them with runway styles. 

“It’s milk tea. The stuff at the bottom is tapioca pearls, they’re soaked in a sweet syrup, I think you’ll like it,” Y/N answered as succinctly as she could, cringing as she watched him try to peel the plastic off the top of the cup. 

Rolling his eyes, Yoongi snatched the cup away again, stabbing a straw into the plastic lid for Taehyung before returning it like an impatient parent. The whole table watched the Kodiak hybrid take a tentative sip, his garnet eyes narrowing at the taste contemplatively. Y/N gave him a thumbs-up, which he returned after a moment, draining the cup about a quarter of the way– she thought it was safe to say he was enjoying it. 

“The other two are almost done, Miss Y/N. I think it was a little difficult for the stylist doing Jeongguk’s hair to navigate around his antlers and piercings,” Jimin volunteered helpfully after a few beats, leaning back in his chair comfortably. Hoseok nodded in agreement, a smirk ghosting his lips as he processed Jimin’s subtle condescending tone towards the elk hybrid. 

“Okay, as soon as they get here we’ll head up to the second floor. There’s a huge hybrid clothes store up there– so you all can pick out clothes for yourselves, you know, express your personalities and whatnot,” Y/N fiddled with her straw while she spoke, trying to conjure up images in her mind of what styles they might all gravitate to. 

“I already have more clothes than I’ve ever had,” Seokjin started to giggle from beside her, apparently making a joke. Trying not to react to another clue into Seokjin’s past, reminded of his time at the shitty circus company he had been sold to, Y/N shook her head sadly. 

“Jin, I’ll help you pick out some things. You definitely don’t strike me as someone with a developed fashion taste,” Hoseok reached behind Y/N’s back to pat Seokjin’s shoulder with excessive force, the jaguar hybrid grumbling with agitation. 

“Do they have shoes? I’m probably going to need some boots when I work outside…” Jimin traced a fingertip over his chin in thought, one of his sandy ears twitching. 

“They do, but if you don’t find anything you like, there are other shoe stores around,” Y/N replied, noticing that Yoongi’s ears had perked up in the same direction as Jimin’s. She had a feeling Namjoon and Jeongguk were due at the table at any moment. 

“Here come the gray clouds,” Yoongi muttered under his breath, Y/N resisting the urge to kick his shin from under the table. 

Y/N placed her hands on Hoseok’s arm to push him out of the booth so they could get a move on, keeping in mind that they still had to hit the grocery and liquor stores before they went home. Hoseok leaned into her touch, grinning cheekily as he hauled himself off the vinyl seat, Seokjin graciously handing Y/N her almost forgotten shopping bag containing her new sundress. 

As she turned around after thanking Seokjin, Y/N almost slammed face-first into a broad chest directly behind her, stumbling backwards to prevent the collision somewhat inelegantly. Reeling, Y/N registered Namjoon in front of her, his hands shoved into his jeans pockets. His ears were turned downwards against his skull, his silvery strands swept up to reveal his forehead for the first time with the shorter cut he had opted for. Dazzled, Y/N forgot all about how he had been ignoring her, a stupid smile stretching across her face as she took in how lovely the wolf hybrid was. 

“Hi Namjoon,” Y/N offered him one of the final milk teas with a cheerful expression, encouraged when he took it without hesitation, craning her neck to peer around his shoulder to greet Jeongguk. 

The elk hybrid, looking the most dramatically different compared to when he had arrived at the mall with a head of shoulder-length shaggy hair, appeared both a touch exasperated but mostly smug. The sides of his head were shaved into an undercut, the tops and back of the style maintaining some of the length of his chestnut locks. The style almost emphasized the way his antlers encircled his head like a crown, Y/N barely even recognizing him with the shiny gel holding the strands in place– he was holding a jar of gel in his hand that he had purchased from the salon. 

Holding out her bag with her sundress in it, Y/N urged Jeongguk to drop the jar inside of it, trying her best not to shrivel up under his cocky, confident expression directed right at her. Luckily, Jimin extended an olive branch by giving the elk hybrid the last milk tea, and they were all on their way to the second floor without much fuss. 

“My stylist was so nice. She told me she had a calico cat hybrid at home, named Ruby,” Seokjin, from his spot in front of her on the escalator, announced. “She said I had ‘pretty eyes’.”

Chuckling, stepping off of the escalator with care, Y/N took the chance to admire Seokjin’s vibrant orange eyes rimmed with thick black lashes in appreciation. His stylist wasn’t wrong. 

“Yeah, it was actually relaxing. I didn’t know what to expect, at first. I thought she was just going to shave my head,” Yoongi commented, his fingertips brushing Y/N’s wrist as she led the way to Hybrid Outfitters. “My old barber on the North End never listened to me. I always walked out of there with something crazy… he was like eighty, not like I could say anything to him.”

Reaching the front of the store, Y/N scratched her head, making sure everyone was present. Growing hot all over, she felt like she needed to check the original appointment booking to see if she had over generously tipped considering how beautiful all of their haircuts had turned out. Swallowing hard, Y/N shifted from one foot to another as they walked into the shop in one big huddle. Everyone was looking at her expectantly when she didn’t tell them to split up, her nerves getting the best of her as she revealed part of her inner monologue impulsively. 

“All I can say is… you all look very handsome,” Y/N blurted, half wanting to pay a compliment and half unable to hold herself back. “Go ahead and pick out anything you like, I’ll just hang out near the fitting rooms!” 

Cringing from her lack of a filter, she sped further into the store without waiting for the hybrid’s reactions to her comment. Thankful that none of them had chased after her, Y/N let out a ragged sigh as she sunk into the worn cushions of the sofa next to the fitting rooms. Gritting her teeth, she glued her eyes to her phone to temper her embarassment, trying to read the long thread of messages in the groupchat that she had missed. 

Ben Alpin: Just picked up the cupcakes. The boxes barely fit in the back of the Lexus

Alice Santos: Is it necessary to mention the fact that your car is a Lexus each time you’re in it

Ben Alpin: Yes, it’s in the manual

Laura Santos: I picked up some outdoor toys for Kai and Daisy today, bubbles and chalk mostly. Y/N, do you still have that kiddie pool in the garage? 

Ben Alpin: Laura, you’re an angel!

Alice Santos: That kiddie pool must be from WWI, didn’t we throw it out when we helped clear out your grandma’s hoard of old shit?

Ben Alpin: It has Barney on it, for Christ’s sake Al. It can’t be older than me

Y/N: I think it’s still in the garage, I’ll check when I’m back at home. Took the hybrids out for some new clothes, and to help with the grocery shopping

Alice Santos: Oh, so you haven’t been killed by the seven men living in your house?

Laura Santos: Al, tone it down!!!

Y/N: NO!! I told you, they’re sweethearts. See for yourself tomorrow. BTW – they heard the whole phone call from the other day :(

Ben Alpin: Did you guys have another Facetime without me

Alice Santos: Yes

Laura Santos: I’m sure they knew we were just concerned, Y/N! 

Y/N: That’s what I explained to one of them. He has a bit of a penchant for interrogation

Ben Alpin: We don’t even know their names yet, care to enlighten

Laura Santos: Or what TYPES of hybrids they are! Ben told me they were ‘exotics’ ?? 

Taking a deep breath and crossing her legs, Y/N tried her best to keep up with the constant stream of text messages rolling in, deciding it was only fair to give her friends a little bit of background instead of having them come to the cookout flying blind. 

Y/N: Ok, ok 

Alice Santos: ???

Y/N: There’s Seokjin, a jaguar hybrid, Taehyung who’s a Kodiak bear. Hoseok, a red fox, and Jimin is a coyote hybrid

Ben Alpin: Holy shit. Like those giant bears from Alaska???

Alice Santos: Which one has the ‘penchant for interrogation’

Y/N: That’s Namjoon, he’s a Northwestern wolf hybrid. 

Laura Santos: And the other two?

Y/N: The youngest, who’s about the same age as me and you girls, is Jeongguk. He’s an elk hybrid. The last is Yoongi and he’s a leopard hybrid… though I swear, I feel like I’ve met Yoongi before, it’s the strangest thing. He used to work at some bar under the table in Boston before I adopted him

Ben Alpin: Maybe you tried slipping him your number during a blackout bar-tour one Friday night in grad school. You DO love your cute bartenders

Laura Santos: LOL very possible for her

“Y/N? Does this look alright?” A quiet voice in front of her distracted Y/N from sending an expletive response to Ben’s dig at her. 

Looking up, Taehyung was standing next to a fitting room, trying on silky ruby colored short-sleeved button down and a pair of baggy black cargo pants, his fingertips tugging on the hemline of his shirt contemplatively. Clearing her throat awkwardly, Y/N got to her feet, approaching Taehyung, motioning with a finger to have him turn in a circle. He did so obediently, holding his arms out wide, a playful smile on his lips as Y/N assessed the look. 

“Looks very nice. Maybe tuck in the front of the shirt into your pants? Do the pants fit right, or are they too big?” Y/N tilted her head, wondering if they sold belts. 

  “No, they’re supposed to be loose. Should I wear this tomorrow?” Taehyung tucked in his shirt as she suggested, casting a look into one of the full-length mirrors behind him. 

“Yeah, why not? That shirt brings out the pretty red in your eyes,” Y/N replied, ignoring her phone buzzing a hole into the back pocket of her jean shorts. 

“Pretty!” Taehyung exclaimed, surprise coloring his features as he turned back to stare at Y/N with shock. “You’re bold today, aren’t you?”

Placing her hands on her hips, Y/N shook her head, unable to deny the accusation. 

“Just speaking my mind. It’s not like I can lie to you all, now that I know you can sniff it out,” Y/N teased, poking him on his shoulder with a smile. Taehyung was fun to tease; his cheeks flushed brilliantly and it was an opportunity to see his cute toothy smile. 

“That’s right. No more secret-keeping for you,” Taehyung leaned down to level his face with her’s, Y/N almost rearing back before Taehyung poked the fleshy apple of her cheek in retaliation. “I have a few more things to try on. You should help the wolf, he looks lost.”

Spluttering, she watched Taehyung’s shoulders shake as he turned and disappeared into his fitting room, shutting the door behind him and leaving Y/N to place a hand over where his fingertip had been. Remembering she was in public,Y/N frantically made sure no one was staring at her, spotting Hoseok holding up a thin sweater against Seokjin’s chest with a contemplative cocked brow towards the front of the store. Nearby, Jeongguk was sifting through a pile of black tee-shirts on a table. 

Trying to locate Namjoon, Y/N weaved her way further into the store, waving to Jimin and Yoongi by the jeans, finally finding the wolf hybrid by the sales racks at the back of the store. Humming, Y/N watched Namjoon’s ear twitch while his back was turned to her, Y/N running her fingertips over a caramel-colored crew neck sweater, the thread impossibly soft. Plucking it off the rack, Y/N held it up, noting that it was in Namjoon’s size. 

“This would look nice on you,” Y/N commented nonchalantly, watching the wolf hybrid’s shoulders stiffen out of the corner of her eye. 

At a glacial pace, he shuffled over to her, assessing the sweater with narrowed eyes. Reaching out to grasp one of the sleeves, he ran a thumb over the material, his eyebrows lifting in what Y/N perceived to be consideration. 

“It’s my size,” Namjoon mumbled, taking the sweater from her gingerly. “How did you know?”

“I pretty much have all of your sizes memorized. They were on your information sheets back at the shelter, and I wrote them down on my phone so I could place that online order of clothes over the weekend,” Y/N explained, brushing off the fact that Namjoon’s tone was on the side of accusatory. Namjoon grunted in response, returning to pawing through the section with his sizes, seemingly gravitating towards earth tones as he piled up a couple of items in his arm. 

Y/N suggested a few more items, and Namjoon surprisingly accepted each one, though he didn’t reply to her verbally any further. It was like she was back to having a one-sided conversation with him in the shelter while he was still shifted into wolf form, Y/N feeling remorse flood through her body. She thought she had been making progress with cracking through his tough exterior, but it seemed they had taken one step forward and two steps back. She missed his insightful responses to her questions, and most painfully of all, she noted that he took extra care to avoid physical contact with her– always standing a good two feet away from her proximity. 

After a while, Yoongi and Jimin sought her out after paying for their clothes, each with large bags swinging from the crooks of their elbows. Thankful to have two hybrids that actually wanted to speak to her, Y/N watched Namjoon make his escape to the checkout line, where all of the others were waiting to pay for their armfuls of clothing. 

“Did you find some boots Jimin?” Y/N asked the coyote hybrid, walking between him and Yoongi, to wait outside of the store for the others. Yoongi was so close to her, she could feel his body heat as the three of them leaned against the railing overlooking the first floor of the mall. 

“I did, they had some real nice ones, too. They’re not roper boots, but they’ll do,” Jimin shook one of his shopping bags lightly, his closed-lip smile making his eyes scrunch up into slits. 

“That’s good! And you both found some clothes, that makes me happy,” Y/N sighed, muscles melting into the metal railing they were leaning against. Her back was killing her, and her day wasn’t even halfway over. “Two more stops to make, the grocery and liquor stores. Then we can go home.”

Yoongi inched even closer to her, if that was even possible, as she spoke. Eyeing him, she watched him pick his nails again, noting he was particularly fidgety that afternoon, as well as sharper of tongue. Thinking that it would be wise to do her extensive research on scenting later, Y/N wondered if Yoongi was beginning to feel the discomfort of not doing so. Leaning her shoulder into his upper arm, Yoongi looked down at her curiously, a strand of his inky hair falling forward into his face. 

“Our piano lesson is tomorrow,” Y/N reminded him excitedly, enjoying the soft smile that bloomed across his face. “You think we’ll be able to squeeze it in between cooking and the actual cookout?” 

“For sure. I’ll just teach you some basics to get a foundation, after we get some of the prep done for the food. We’ll do the lesson earlier in the morning, after breakfast,” Yoongi replied after a few moments, drumming his fingertips along the metal banister of the railing. “I’m sure if you delegate certain tasks to the other guys, they’d be more than happy to help out. Hey Jimin, can you chop wood?”

Jimin made a choked noise, his reverie of watching a clump of young children race each other on the first floor interrupted, apparently not listening. 

“I can,” a voice from behind had the three leaning against the banner turn, Taehyung emerging from the store with his lengthy receipt and three shopping bags. “That was pretty much my whole job before I got here.”

“There you go. Taehyung, won’t you help Y/N with the firewood for that old firepit in the backyard?” Yoongi urged, Y/N shrinking in embarrassment against Yoongi’s arm as Taehyung’s eyes shifted from her to the leopard hybrid with confusion. 

“Of course,” Taehyung returned without hesitation, stiffening as Hoseok and Seokjin appeared, flanking his either side. 

Embarrassed to even ask for help in the first place, Y/N wanted to step on Yoongi’s foot when he asked Taehyung to perform a task for her, even though she knew the leopard hybrid was trying to get everything to run smoothly for the next day’s event. She refrained from stamping down on his toes as she stared at the floor, not wanting to risk him backing out of teaching her piano in the morning. Most of all, Y/N didn’t miss the way Taehyung had accidentally given her a clue into his past workplace, making her wonder when exactly she’d learn more intimate details.

When Jeongguk and Namjoon finally joined the rest of them, Y/N chatted with Jimin and Hoseok on the way back to the car about some of the guests they’d be meeting. She summed up the list of people as best she could, glaring at a middle-aged woman rudely gawking at the group of them in a judgemental manner in the parking lot. Catching the interaction, Hoseok gave her a gentle pat on the back, his lips pressed into a ‘what are you going to do?’ smile, opening her car door for her. 

Clambering in, she thanked Hoseok as he gently shut the door, starting up the car as everyone piled in. Once again, Namjoon returned to his book beside her, though Y/N could feel his eyes on her every so often as she drove to the grocery store. One step forward, two steps back. 

The rest of Thursday passed by in a whirlwind. Grocery shopping was a breeze with eight people to scatter around the store for specific items, and hauling crates of liquor into the house was even easier– no one allowed her to carry in a single bag, apart from a carton of eggs. Taehyung and Jimin immediately went to the backyard with the keys for the garage, milling back and forth with lawn furniture, wood from the woodshed, and axes.

After a while, Namjoon went outside to help with the furniture and hosing off the picnic table with Jimin to avoid too much contact with Taehyung, only after reading a large chunk of Wuthering Heights in the breakfast nook. To her great astonishment, Namjoon must have been listening to her talking about dragging the kiddie pool out from the garage on the way home, settling it on the grass and filling it with the hose. After Y/N watched them for a bit, Hoseok and Seokjin volunteered to help her with applying a quick-drying varnish to the staircase. She was hoping that it would dry before those who slept on the second floor went up to bed.

 Y/N spent the evening with most of the hybrids in the kitchen, eating leftovers, prepping vegetables with Yoongi and and to her great surprise, Jeongguk. Somewhat begrudgingly, the elk hybrid offered to scrub potatoes. Y/N was merry, enjoying her company while they listened to a playlist Hoseok created on the portable speaker she couldn’t locate earlier in the week; she found out he had it in the basement the whole time. Everything she was worried about that morning had pretty much been taken care of, Yoongi’s methodical approach to prepping and cooking leading her to believe they’d be enjoying themselves outside with the guests the next day sooner than she thought. 

On Friday morning, Y/N woke up with the sun. Nerves awoke her more than anything, but the promise of Yoongi’s piano lesson after breakfast brightened her mood significantly. After her shower, Y/N shimmied into her new sundress, shocked to see how good it looked on her in the full-length mirror as she did a little twirl. Taking some extra time to style her hair to cover the fading injury on her forehead and apply some makeup, Y/N grinned at herself in the mirror, barely recognizing the reflection staring back. It had been a while since she dolled herself up, between long hours at the veterinarian hospital and lazy weekends spent renovating. Slipping on her sandals clumsily while she fastened earrings into her lobes, Y/N gave herself a spritz with a light perfume before skipping out of her bedroom. 

Noises in the kitchen gave away the fact that she was not the first one up and about, even Namjoon’s bedroom door wide open and empty as she passed by. The cookout wasn’t until 12:30, but apparently the hybrids were keen on getting an early start, as Y/N heard Hoseok’s cheerful whistling from the kitchen. The third beautiful day– weather wise– in a row, Y/N enjoyed the light flooding into the house, following the scent of toasted everything bagels to the kitchen. 

To her great surprise, everyone was already in the kitchen still dressed in pajamas, the chaos of seven different male voices clashing at once. None of them seemed to notice her as she hesitated at the threshold of the kitchen, Seokjin and Hoseok arguing loudly by the toaster oven, Yoongi by the stove with Jimin lurking behind, and everyone else glued to their phones at the breakfast nook. 

“Morning!” Y/N waltzed into the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee bar.

Immediately, all noise ceased in the room, Y/N cringing as a loud clatter of a knife was dropped onto the granite countertop cut the sudden silence. Hand stilling against the coffee carafe, she turned abruptly, trying to make sure no one lobbed off a finger. Heart plummeting to her stomach, the blood drained from her face as Y/N was met with seven pairs of eyes boring holes into her in various expressions of astonishment, each hybrid frozen in space like they were carved from marble. As if she was transported back into high school, Y/N wondered if the skirt of her dress was tucked into her panties, her fingertips brushing the circumference of the hemline automatically. Clearly not the issue, as she felt the skirt flow freely against the tops of her thighs, Y/N chuckled nervously. 

“What?” She blurted, feeling extremely self-conscious that all seven of them were staring at her so intensely, tugging on the material of the sundress. “Oh fuck, is the dress hideous? I thought I had decent taste without Ben being there to help me, Jesus. I should have sent him a picture before I bought it.”

Scrambling for the dropped knife, Yoongi attempted to resume chopping the mound of peeled potatoes beside him, Hoseok hissing by the toaster oven as his hand landed on the hot grates of the rack. Several voices piped up at once in the meantime, frantically. 

“N-no, it’s pretty–” Jimin started hoarsely, fumbling with the potato peeler he was gripping with white knuckles. 

“Who’s Ben?” Came Taehyung’s voice urgently from the breakfast nook simultaneously. 

“You look beautiful,” Seokjin blurted from the toaster, all three responses taking her off-guard. 

Forgetting about the coffee, Y/N felt her confidence bump up exponentially, standing up a bit straighter. Namjoon’s library book was dropped clumsily by his feet, finally making widened eye-contact with her for the first time since the night he scented her, his mouth dropped open a fraction. Even Jeongguk’s dark eyes trailed her form from head to toe, not unlike when he had assessed her the day she had picked him up from the shelter. 

“Stop r-really– I mean, thank you,” Y/N corrected herself, reminded of her mother scolding her for not accepting compliments. “I guess I forgot to tell you about Ben, universe forgive me. He’s been my best friend since we were kids, and he’s actually the reason I came to adopt you all in the first place. I went with him and his fiance to adopt their daughter Daisy the night I found you guys at Gerry’s,” Y/N explained, attempting to pour herself coffee normally in order to distract herself from being watched so closely. 

Wanting to break up whatever energy that had manifested with her arrival in the kitchen, Y/N brought her coffee mug over to Yoongi’s free side, balking at all the work he had already done. It was still so early in the morning, but she felt like she had overslept, seeing that Yoongi had already made two vegetable sides and had a chili simmering away on the stove. 

“Yoongi, did you get up at three or something? I’m not going to have anything to do at this point!” Y/N complained, her lower lip jutting out as she realized the leopard hybrid had already made the salad dressing recipe she showed him on her phone the day before, the jar sitting on the island all sealed up. 

“I got up once I heard your shower running,” Clearing his throat roughly, Yoongi trained his eyes on the potato he was cutting, the knife shaking with his unsteady grip.

Nodding, Y/N bent low, trying to catch the leopard hybrid’s eyes to convey a sense of gratitude playfully, but he remained stonily focused on his task. Growing uncomfortable with the eerie silence in the kitchen, Y/N began to nervously hum to herself while starting on a fruit salad, picking up a strawberry draining in the colander in the sink and cutting it on a smaller board next to Yoongi. 

“Hoseok, is your hand alright, honey? Do you need some burn cream?” Y/N paused her strawberry-slicing, the fox hybrid looking like a deer in headlights as she addressed him. 

“Oh, uh no thanks, I’m fine,” Hoseok answered, his voice a pitch higher than normal as he inspected his left hand. 

“Okay, good. Why don’t you put that playlist back on, I really liked it,” Y/N scraped a pile of sliced strawberries into a large bowl with the flat of her knife, hoping that a bit of music would cut the tension. 

Maybe they didn’t like her perfume, or she had interrupted an important conversation by her arrival in the kitchen? Whatever it was, each and every one of them were behaving strangely; even Jeongguk, who had migrated from the breakfast nook to the barstool directly across from where she was slicing fruit, watching her with rapt interest. She perked up a degree as Hoseok switched on the speaker to a punchy 80’s song, grateful for the noise. 

To her great relief, Seokjin struck up a normal conversation with her from his spot next to Jeongguk as he munched on his bagel, asking all sorts of questions about her friendship with Ben. She didn’t mind filling Seokjin in on her childhood spent running around the backyard with Ben, seeing it as an opportunity to describe her best friend to the hybrids before they met the fiery lawyer that afternoon. Y/N knew Ben would have a bulleted list of queries for each hybrid when he got there, the thought making her bite down on her lip. She hoped Ben wouldn’t be too hard on them, worried that he’d meet his match when it was Namjoon’s turn to be grilled. 

Taehyung excused himself from the kitchen to shower and change shortly after she had finished mixing the fruit salad, only after the conversation about Ben turned into a discussion of Laura and Alice. Y/N wondered if she was losing it or if she had detected a jealous spark in his eyes when she was talking about her friends– or perhaps it was something else entirely, Taehyung could definitely be difficult to read at times. Shortly after Taehyung left, Hoseok, Namjoon, and Jimin cleared out similarly to get showered and dressed, each of them scrambling from the room like they saw the Babadook. 

“I think we’ve done everything we can until people arrive,” Yoongi announced, skimming a palm over the sparkling granite Y/N had finished wiping down, all of their hard work either chilling in the fridge or gently simmering away on the stove. “What’s everyone else bringing?” 

“My dad makes a ‘famous’ mac and cheese– it’s very good, but don’t say anything, it gets to his head. My parents will bring the meats and the black bean burgers for the grill, too. Laura and Alice have this family sangria recipe that they always make for the cookout, but I’m warning you now. Don’t have more than two glasses,” Y/N shook her finger at Seokjin, who definitely had a weakness for wine-based cocktails. “Sal’s family will bring some pizza or ziti, the neighbors usually bring wine. Oh, and Ben ordered a ton of cupcakes.”

“Okay, so nothing we already made… that’s good,” Yoongi leaned against the refrigerator, his face flushed. It must have been from standing over the stove for so long, laboring over a giant batch of the most delicious mashed potatoes Y/N ever tasted. 

“How long does this… thing usually last?” Jeongguk asked somewhat indelicately, pushing up the sleeves of his sleep shirt to his elbows, Y/N once again trying to make out the forms inked onto his skin. She wondered if she’d ever get the chance to look at them more closely. 

“Well, it goes on until nightfall, and for a while after that,” Y/N met Jeongguk’s dark eyes, the sweet rounded shape of them contradicting his entire demeanor. “You don’t have to be around for the entire thing, at all, you can hang out and watch movies in the parlor if you want. Just grab some food, and maybe say hi to a few people… I’m not going to force you to be out there all night or anything.”

Seokjin grimaced as she spoke, shooting the elk hybrid a reproachful look. At that point, Y/N was more than used to Jeongguk’s cynical way of speaking, truly unfazed by it, especially with the toothpaste stain he was sporting on his sleep shirt. Besides, Jeongguk’s question didn’t really bother her. The last thing Y/N wanted was any of the hybrids to feel pressured into doing something they didn’t want to, no matter what. Whether she could find the words to express that in a future conversation was another story entirely. 

“Okay… I guess I’ll just see how it goes,” Jeongguk muttered, pushing himself off of his barstool with a grunt, his forearms flexing as he used the granite countertop as a brace. “See you in a bit, then,” he added, a touch more gently as he locked eyes with Y/N a final time before he left the room. 

“Insufferable kid,” Seokjin ran a hand through his hair, one of his ears twitching in annoyance as he watched the elk hybrid slink away. “Every time he opens his mouth, I’m worried you’re going to start throwing punches, Yoongi.”

Darkly chuckling by the fridge, Yoongi used his shirtsleeve to dab at his dewy hairline, Y/N beginning to grow concerned that he was coming down with a fever with how pink his cheeks were. 

“The thought has crossed my mind,” Yoongi sighed, earning a snort of laughter from Seokjin as the latter began to get up from his seat. “It’s a shame, too. We’d match up pretty well in a fight.”

“I’d prefer if we kept the fighting to a minimum,” Y/N placed her hands on her hips as she walked the two hybrids to the staircase, Seokjin’s thick lower lip jutting out into a pout. “I’d hate to have to patch up those pretty faces of yours.”

“Y-you!” Seokjin choked, tripping over his own foot trying to ascend the first step, his tail going ramrod straight in surprise. “You–”

“I’d say the chances of an actual fight breaking out are slim to none, so you don’t have to worry about our ‘pretty faces’,” Yoongi cut Seokjin off abruptly, lightly shoving the jaguar hybrid up a few steps so he could ascend them as well. “Give me a half hour, and I’ll meet you at the piano, silly girl.”

Tutting at Yoongi’s preferred nickname for her, Y/N watched the two hybrids hurry up the stairs, Yoongi nudging the still-reeling Seokjin along with gritted teeth. The leopard hybrid was certainly feisty that morning, Y/N wondering if the late nights and early mornings were getting to him, or if anticipation for the cookout was setting him on edge– or as she had speculated at the mall the previous day, he was beginning to feel the discomfort of not yet scenting her. Worrying her lip with her teeth, Y/N tried not to read into it too much, remembering that Yoongi had promised her he’d tell her when he’d need to scent. Shaking her head, Y/N began to head upstairs herself so she could take a few moments to herself in the music room. 

Y/N spent some time organizing the chaos in the music room, sliding vinyls into a shelf neatly when she found them strewn around the table with the dusty record player. She discovered that Taehyung had made a trip to the garage to check out her uncle’s old records, after all– tucking a frayed Pink Floyd album into place with a small smile. From down the hall, she could hear Seokjin singing in the shower, his voice deep and sweet. 

Perching on the worn leather sofa by the record player, Y/N scrolled on her phone for a bit, deciding to take a few minutes to do some more investigating on scenting. This time, she went on a forum, those who posted on it being hybrid owners, experts, and researchers. Finding the drop-down menu, she scanned through multiple topics: predator hybrids, understanding behavior by species, scenting– bingo. A rather long post was pinned to the top of the page once she tapped on it, written by a person who studied hybrid behavior. 

Many new hybrid owners often ask the question: what exactly is scenting, and why do hybrids do it? The answer to the second query is not clear as of yet, though there have been several theories. Scenting itself is the act of a hybrid displaying a sense of ownership over their adoptive human. Depending on species, the hybrid will likely initiate the act of scenting within days, sometimes hours, within their adoption. In some cases, hybrids ignore their urges to scent their adoptive human for a multitude of reasons; the most common is the fear of being abandoned after the scenting process, as many hybrids are returned to shelters for not living up to expectations for people unfit to adopt hybrids in the first place. 

If a hybrid ignores the instinct to scent for too long, it will affect them physically. First, behavior becomes agitated, quick-tempered, and the hybrid will display jealousy towards others around their adoptive human. Other hybrids may become increasingly clingy, seeking out physical contact whenever possible. Second, the hybrid will begin to feel ill, the symptoms ranging from a feverish temperature, intense headache, and decreased control over their strength. It is important to monitor these kinds of reactions in your hybrid, as the discomfort can become dangerously overwhelming for them. 

The act of scenting allows the hybrid to “claim” their adoptive human. Hybrids have incredible olfactory senses, and will become extremely sensitive to their adoptive human’s scent. When the hybrid scents, they often search for a spot on their human where the scent is most concentrated– the neck and wrists, for example. The actual ritual includes a bite, usually painful for a moment, before it is soothed by an enzyme in the composition of the hybrid’s saliva and the mark will become painless almost immediately. 

Hybrid canine teeth coat themselves with yet another enzyme once the skin of the human is punctured, which enters the bloodstream, which is the true purpose of scenting. This particular enzyme will live in the bloodstream of the human for a certain amount of time, infusing the human’s scent with the hybrid’s. While the mark is soothed and healed by the enzyme in the saliva, the enzyme coating the hybrid’s teeth is the one that does the actual scenting. After soothed, the mark will become painless. After a stretch of time (length of time depends on species), the ritual will have to be repeated. 

Often, I receive questions about the sensation humans experience during the ritual of scenting. The sensation is most commonly described as euphoric, leaving the human giddy and their muscles becoming lax. The soothing enzymes in both the hybrid’s saliva and the coating of their teeth are both to blame for this. I am led to believe, based on my research of hybrids the past forty years, that the enzymes attempt to calm the human’s natural fight or flight instinct. It would only be natural for a human being to withdraw from such a ritual, so I believe that this is an evolutionary result in hybrids to set their humans at ease. The sensation is harmless, and wears off after several minutes. 

“What are you reading?” Yoongi’s gravelly voice frightened her enough to flinch upwards to her feet, dropping her phone on the leather couch with a flop. “Whatever it is, I’ve never seen you so concentrated.”

The leopard hybrid was leaning against the threshold into the room, eyeing her with mild interest, the damp strands of his long black hair neatly combed back. He was wearing a brand-new outfit; a satiny black button down patterned with red roses, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a pair of black slacks, and shiny, new black loafers. It was unbelievable how good he looked, Y/N getting the feeling he knew it, too, with the cocky arch to one of his brows. 

“Just some article!” Y/N blurted, smoothing the skirt of her dress down nervously, watching Yoongi stifle a chuckle as he made his way towards the grand piano, spotted tail curling languidly behind him.

As he got closer, Y/N noted that his cheeks still had a pinkish tint to them. She watched, rooted to her spot, as Yoongi placidly lifted the fallboard to reveal the sepia toned-keys on the ancient piano. His elegant fingertips skimmed the ivory with reverence,  Y/N almost feeling like she was intruding on a private moment. 

“Let’s get started,” Yoongi began, tucking a stray lock of his hair behind his ear that had fallen onto his cheek. “Come here, take a seat,” Yoongi motioned towards the piano bench with two fingers in a ‘come hither’ motion, settling himself on the edge of it. 

Shyly, Y/N joined him, trying to give him enough space on the bench as she sat beside him, the warmth of his leg through his pants as it pressed against hers sending goosebumps over the bare skin of her thigh. Apparently unaffected, Yoongi began to flip through pages of the beginner’s book he purchased at the music store, eyebrows pulled together in contemplation. Nervously, Y/N twiddled her thumbs in her lap, praying that she wouldn’t totally suck and let Yoongi down. 

“Here, we’ll do this one first,” Yoongi nestled the booklet on the shelf above the keys, Y/N curiously scanning the page before scoffing in disbelief. 

“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? Seriously?” Y/N whined, Yoongi snickering at her bewilderment. 

“What, did you think we were going to start with Chopin? I’ve gotta establish a baseline with you somehow,” Yoongi replied, his right hand moving to play the simple, short melody. 

“Fine, so how do I play it?” Y/N studied the way his fingers danced on the keys, trying to memorize the sequence at which he pressed down on them. Humming, Yoongi pointed to a particular key. 

“This is what we call ‘Middle C’. Think of it as the halfway point between the higher and lower notes on the piano. The song starts with two C notes. Go ahead and hit them,” Yoongi requested, an encouraging expression on his flushed face. 

Doing as she was told, Y/N cringed as her fingers plunked the key a little too harshly, making Yoongi flinch into her shoulder with a hiss. Shaking his head, Yoongi placed his hand over hers, using his index finger to apply the correct pressure to use. 

“The keys are weighted. The more pressure you apply, the louder the sound. You don’t have to hammer down onto the keys, unless the score calls for it,” Yoongi explained patiently, a tone of amusement coloring his raspy voice. 

“How will I be able to tell? Sheet music looks like hieroglyphics,” Y/N felt Yoongi draw his hand away, staring at him with exasperation. She didn’t expect to be such an impatient student, but Yoongi was a more than obliging teacher– he didn’t seem to mind her brattiness. 

“You’ll learn, not today though. If we can get through this melody, I’ll teach you some music theory next week,” Yoongi murmured, scanning the pout on her face thoughtfully. “Okay, let’s keep going. The next note is G.”

For about half an hour, forbearing Yoongi answered Y/N’s every question, demonstrated how to play the melody over and over, and even indulged her request to play a favorite tune of hers. Eventually, Y/N could play the melody all the way through, albeit a tad clumsily. The first time she finished the song without mistake, she was nearly vibrating with excitement, Yoongi passed his hand over her back with pride, squeezing her shoulder with a grin on his face. 

“Against all odds, I did it!” Y/N leaned into Yoongi, practically ready to throw her arms around him for being patient enough to teach her. 

“You did, I’m very proud of you. You’re an exemplary student,” Yoongi declared, Y/N clocking the sweat that began to dew around his hairline, and the way his arm had moved down to encircle her waist firmly. Feverish. Clingy. 

“Don’t butter me up too much, Yoongi. What if I get lazy and don’t practice enough because you’re too easy on me?” Y/N leveled her face close to the leopard hybrid’s, his pupils dilating from her proximity, throat bobbing as he swallowed thickly. Assessing him, she continued gently. “Yoongi… are you okay? You’ve been flushed all morning.”

He didn’t answer, holding intense eye contact as Y/N moved her hand to brush hair out of his face, using the back of her hand to press against his forehead to check his temperature. Exhaling through her teeth sharply, his flesh practically sizzled under her touch, Yoongi’s eyes fluttering shut at the sensation. In the back of her mind, she knew what was wrong with him, an animalistic noise beginning to rumble from the back of the leopard hybrid’s throat. Y/N was spellbound by how her touch affected him, the grip he had around her lower waist tightening as his fingertips wound themselves into the fabric of her sundress, appearing to make an attempt at controlling his breathing pattern. 

“I–” Yoongi’s hoarse voice shot a lightning bolt through her, his free hand reaching up to snatch her wrist before she could pull it away, his eyes snapping open. Freezing, Y/N felt her own eyes widen, his grip delicate but unyielding. “I know you know. You’ve been eyeing me like that all morning… yesterday, too.”

A light gasp escaped her lips as Yoongi adjusted his grip, closing his eyes once more to run the tip of his nose against the sensitive flesh of her inner wrist. He shuddered, pulling her flush into his arms as he inhaled deeply, Y/N’s wrist limp in his hand as she processed his words dripping with meaning. She practically melted in his embrace, something sounding close to a purr coming from Yoongi’s chest as she found herself bracing her uncaptured hand on his thigh. 

“You n-need to–” Y/N began, stiffening as she felt the soft petals of Yoongi’s lips brush over her pulse point, the skin tingling in response, unable to break away from his lidded gaze. 

“You smell so good,” Yoongi groaned softly, nuzzling her wrist against his face distractedly. Stomach flipping over, Y/N felt her knees turn to jelly, thankful that she was seated and supported upright in Yoongi’s arms. “Hell. ‘s driving me crazy.”

Her breath began to quicken, barely recognizing the dangerous look in Yoongi’s hazel eyes as his lips brushed her skin with every word. Gripping his thigh with urgency, Y/N pressed her wrist closer to his mouth eagerly, feeling utterly possessed as her heart hammered around in her chest. A dark chuckle coming from the leopard hybrid had a shiver rolling down her spine. 

“Yoongi,” Y/N heard herself whine as if she was a third party looking on, anticipation filling every cell of her body. At the sound of his name, Yoongi moved his hand from her waist to cradle her cheek, cooing at her.

“I know, sweetheart. It’ll only hurt for a second,” he whispered, Y/N leaning into his rough palm as she felt the hot brush of his tongue lave over her pulse, sending her heart rate galloping. 

Discovering it impossible to tear her eyes away from the leopard hybrid’s attention on her wrist, Y/N held her breath as Yoongi pressed an open-mouth kiss to the tender area, once again moving his hand away from her cheek and back to around her middle. It was almost all too much, his tail mindlessly curling around her lower back as he gently traced his incisors over her skin. Still, she was reeling from the pet name he used on her, even as he started to quiver with the heady concentration of her scent overwhelming his senses. 

As his sharp teeth pierced her skin, more gently than Namjoon or Seokjin had done so, Y/N still couldn’t stop the small yelp from escaping her lips at the sting. Protectively, both Yoongi’s arm and tail curled tighter around her waist. Y/N became completely boneless, her body sagging into Yoongi’s chest as the cloudy haze descended onto her. Dazedly, she watched a drop of her blood dribble down the length of her wrist, Yoongi pulling his teeth from her skin urgently to collect the trail of blood with a drag of his tongue. It was almost erotic, watching him shiver with relief as he soothed the aching bite with a series of soft kisses and small swipes of his tongue, Y/N trying her best to squash down the thought as best as she could while her head began to swim. 

Sighing dreamily, Y/N closed her eyes as Yoongi’s grip on her wrist softened, the feeling of either his eyelashes or the tips of his hair tickling the fresh, painless bite. With his slackened grip, Y/N felt herself free to move, curling herself further into Yoongi, loopily threading her arms around his waist once he freed her wrist, nuzzling her face into his collarbone. His chest vibrating with a soft purr, Yoongi allowed Y/N to hug him in her delirious state, using one hand to card through her hair fondly. 

“Take it easy for a minute to come down, sweetheart,” Yoongi murmured against her hair, Y/N giggling as she pressed her cheek into the satiny fabric of his button down. He smelled sweet, like vanilla and cloves. “I tried to be gentle… I don’t think you’ll bruise.”

“Hmm… that’s okay even if I do. You were gentle,” Y/N limply attempted to lift her head from her chest, not wanting to make the leopard hybrid uncomfortable with her prolonged clinging. 

Still feeling dizzy, Y/N used the piano as a brace, three clashing notes ringing out as her palm pressed into the keys, snapping Yoongi out of his reverie of twisting a lock of her hair around his index finger. He wasn’t flushed anymore, the crease between his eyebrows that had appeared 24 hours ago gone completely. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Y/N broke eye contact, pulling the cover over the piano keys to prevent herself from smashing any more keys in her slight stupor. 

“Come on, I’ll help you downstairs. There’s a few more things you wanted to do before people arrive, no?” Yoongi urged, getting to his feet with one of his hands stretched out towards her. Taking his hand shakily, Y/N allowed him to pull her up and support some of her weight with his arm slung around her upper back. 

“Mmm, yeah. Gotta set the table, start up the fire, turn on the backyard lights,” Y/N slurred, descending the stairs at a snail’s pace with Yoongi’s assistance. “But the cooking is done. Thank you for helping so much. You really are quite the chef.”

Yoongi belly laughed, his eyes scrunched up in half-moons as he led her down the last step, arm sliding from her body as she became more stable on her feet. Thankfully, she had regained feeling in her knees, though now that she had a clearer head, looking Yoongi in the eye was difficult. A wave of bashfulness washed over her, Yoongi seeming to sense it as he smiled at her softly, linking his pinky finger with hers to pull her to the kitchen. 

“Oh, what did you two get up to?” Hoseok was coming in from outside at the kitchen slider, the plastic wrapper of the tablecloth Y/N got at the grocery store crumpled up in one of his fists, his eyes narrowing at Yoongi. 

“Don’t ruin my good mood, Foxy. Did you put out that tablecloth?” Yoongi broke the link of their fingers, making his way to the glass slider to peer outside. Hoseok frowned at Yoongi, one of his ears twitching with agitation. 

Hoseok looked fantastic, somehow pulling off a colorful aquamarine Hawaiian short-sleeved button down and white shorts, his shirt hanging loose to reveal a white tank top under it. Almost immediately, his chocolatey eyes focused on Y/N’s wrist as she approached him to peek outside, Y/N pretending not to notice as the fox hybrid stared at Yoongi’s mark. 

Outside, Jimin and Namjoon were busy carefully placing cutlery on the long wooden picnic table, the string lights already illuminated. The grill was on, waves of heat coming off of it and tools placed on the side burner. And by the firepit, Taehyung in his outfit he picked out yesterday was prodding at the beginnings of a bonfire with an iron stake, adding a split log with practiced ease. 

“Wow, you guys did everything! What did I do to deserve you all, seriously,” Y/N exclaimed, genuinely taken aback with the sheer amount of work all of them did to help her host a party with many guests they hadn’t even met yet. “Ah, we’re going to have so much fun. I’m going to fill up that old tin basin out there with ice for the beer and seltzers.”

Both hybrids beside her had gone stoically silent with the first half of her statement, appearing a touch taken aback. Tearing her eyes from Jimin, clad in a pair of very well-fitting blue jeans, Y/N attempted to make haste to the freezer for the ice bags, Hoseok promptly catching the crook of her elbow. 

“Way ahead of you. I already took care of it,” Hoseok cocked his head, his dimples appearing cutely when he grinned at her. “You know, while you were tackling the complicated melody of Twinkle Twinkle.”

“Hey! I tried my best, Hoseok,” Y/N lightly shoved Hoseok with her hand on his forearm, finding it impossible to be insulted. She was beginning to think that Hoseok could read her mind, or at the very least he shared a brain cell with her. His humor was something she genuinely enjoyed, reminding her of Ben in many ways. “Thanks, by the way. I guess I should ask what else should be done, even though it seems you all have it under control.”

“What time is it, anyways?” Y/N wondered, checking her watch distractedly. Shit. “Christ almighty. We have like forty minutes!” “Relax, darling. Almost everything has been taken care of, we’re just waiting on the two still primping upstairs. Want a drink, or something?” Hoseok strolled over to the island, where someone had set up a sort of DIY cocktail bar. “How about a French 75? First cocktail I ever learned to make. Although, it might not match up to Yoongi’s bartending skills.”

Yoongi scoffed from beside Y/N, rolling his eyes peevishly. Giving Y/N a squeeze on her shoulder, Yoongi slid the glass door open to head outside, scooping a Budweiser out of the ice bucket on the patio before checking on the grill. Jumping as she heard the loud pop of Hoseok uncorking a champagne bottle, Y/N brushed it off as she skipped over to the fox hybrid.

“Okay, I’ll have one, but only if you have one too,” Y/N helpfully placed two fluted glasses in front of the fox hybrid, his shoulders shaking with amusement. “It’ll take the edge off. Don’t let my mother corner you tonight, I’m worried she’ll scare you away.”

Hoseok’s hands stilled while he was peeling a twist of lemon with a knife, staring at her incredulously. One of the traditions of the annual cookout was her mother pulling out tarot and oracle cards by the fire, guests able to get small readings from her if they wished. Y/N’s fear was that one of the hybrids would get trapped into a reading, especially if both their and her mother’s inhibitions would be lowered by the flowing alcohol. The last thing she wanted was her mother creeping them out with her startlingly accurate predictions. 

“Your mom is sweet,” Hoseok replied simply, vigorously shaking the metal cocktail shaker. “It’ll take a lot more than her telling me about your awkward teenage years to scare me away.”

“Hoseok! You enjoy teasing me, don’t you?” Y/N exclaimed, refraining from smacking him on the arm with a scowl as he strained the liquor into the flutes. 

“Just a little. You make it too easy,” Hoseok topped off each cocktail with champagne and his lemon twists, gently handing her one of the glasses with a sly smirk. “Cheers!”

Muttering, Y/N clinked her glass with his, watching him take a small sip with narrowed eyes. The drink was sweet and refreshing as it hit her taste buds; perfectly balanced. She found it easy to forgive his teasing. 

“Okay, let’s bring these outside. I’m going to set up the lawn games, unless that’s been taken care of too,” Y/N dragged Hoseok by the elbow to the slider, the fox hybrid playfully putting up a bit of resistance as she towed him to the door. 

The lawn games had not been set up yet by the hybrids, much to her relief. With a task she could finally accomplish on her own, Y/N let Hoseok and Jimin follow her into the rickety garage for the bin containing everything she’d need. Sneezing upon entry to the dusty building, Y/N fumbled her way through the darkness to yank on the metal chain attached to an ancient lightbulb, illuminating the space with amber glow. Distantly, she contemplated whether or not hybrids had some kind of night vision as many animals did, considering none of them bothered to turn on any lights while they dragged furniture out of the garage all day. 

The French 75 coursed through her bloodstream potently as she stacked hand-stitched bean bags beside a weathered cornhole board on the lawn, listening to a playlist she had sent Hoseok to stream onto the outdoor speakers. She was beginning to feel jittery knowing that people were going to be arriving any moment, even though everything was in place exactly how she pictured. Earlier in the week, she couldn’t have imagined that she’d be in such a good position; plagued by worries about the hybrids getting along, tasks being forgotten. Y/N didn’t know if her seven hybrids were putting on a front to help her out with the event or avoiding conflict between each other, but regardless she had never felt more excited to introduce them to the circle of her closest loved ones and friends. Truly, she believed the event would further loosen them up, and maybe break down some of the walls most of them had put up– not that she could blame them. 

“Are we the first ones here? Oh, Y/N, help Grandmother,” Y/N’s mother made her grand entrance from the backyard gate propped open by Taehyung, with her father and grandparents in tow. Her mother was in a whimsical, drapey maxi dress, her willowy elbow interlocked with Y/N’s grandmother’s. 

“Grandmother, I’m so happy you’re here,” Y/N rushed to the tiny elderly woman’s side, genuinely tearing up at the sight of her– in the backyard of the home she once commanded. 

Y/N hadn’t seen much of her grandparents for the past month, an uptick of emergencies at the animal hospital preventing her from making visitations with them at her parent’s house. Her grandmother, a woman of incredible wit and strength, was amongst Y/N’s favorite people. While she was quite old, age never dimmed her brilliance, her round eyes brimming with that probing all-knowing. Y/N could only assume that her mother had filled her grandparents in on her adoptions after their excursion at the shops on Wednesday, as neither of them seemed jarred at the sight of seven hybrids milling around the backyard awkwardly. 

Hooking her elbow with her grandmother’s, she happily received a kiss on her cheek from her easy-going grandfather, watching her mother and father hurry towards the kitchen slider with their bags full of provisions. Promptly, Jimin sprung into action, relieving her father of two bags as they stepped into the house. Her mother trailed behind more slowly, Seokjin approaching her hurriedly to grab her woven purse hanging from her wrist precariously. The jaguar hybrid looked positively heavenly, like a Jane Austen hero in his loose-fitting white button down and straight leg black slacks, grinning at her mother politely. 

“So, these are the hybrids you’ve adopted, my dear. All men?” Her grandmother murmured slowly, Y/N grimacing as she caught Namjoon’s eyes by the picnic table, his long fingers poised between leaflets of the pages of Wuthering Heights. 

“I’m sorry, Grandmother… I should have told you sooner,” Y/N felt her cheek burn in both shame and embarrassment, aware that her hybrids could hear every utterance. “It all happened so quickly, but I think you’ll like them all once you get to know them.”

Snickering throatily, her grandmother sat comfortably in a cushioned lawn chair with Y/N’s help, her spry grandfather wandered off nearby to check on his clump of rose bushes he had planted beneath Namjoon’s bedroom window decades ago. Pulling her light blue cardigan tightly around her body, her grandmother grasped Y/N’s hand with purpose.

“The house looks very nice. You’re caring for it well, my love,” her grandmother remarked, stroking the back of Y/N’s hand with a weathered thumb. “It’s about time all those bedrooms got some use again.”

“I agree. It’s been a long time since the house has been this lively,” Y/N smiled softly, smelling her grandfather’s minty aftershave as he settled into a chair beside her grandmother, his white handlebar mustache curling up when he grinned at her benignly. “Can I get you two a drink? The usual?” 

“WhistlePig?” Her grandfather brightened up, grasping a hold of her grandmother’s hand. 

“I picked some up yesterday,” Y/N winked, straightening up. “You haven’t met him yet, but one of the hybrids, Jimin, loved that bottle of Farmstock Rye you brought on the 4th. I got a few more bottles of it just for you two.”

“Very good, my dear. You send that Jimin my way, he sounds like an alright fellow,” her grandfather rasped in response, Y/N spiriting away to make her grandparents drinks quickly, knowing that more people would be arriving at any moment. 

“Now, Seokjin, dear… do you like to read? I host a book club with hybrids at the Boston Public Library bi-weekly! Sweet Namjoon has been a part of the club for a couple of months, so you’d already have someone you know there. The next meeting is on Monday, you’re more than welcome to join, We’ll be starting a new book the meeting after next,” her mother rambled while pouring a healthy glass of white wine for herself and the jaguar hybrid, while her father and Jimin nursed bottles of Budweiser as they slid packages of hamburgers into the fridge. 

“Yes, ma’am, I love reading. Is it really okay to join the book club? Will I be behind?” Seokjin replied somewhat timidly, gingerly accepting his glass of wine as he caught sight of Y/N standing nearby mixing up a gin martini. 

“Of course it’s alright, sweetheart. You won’t be behind at all! Our meeting Monday will be to discuss the book we finished, and you can get a feel for how the club is set up. If you enjoy yourself, you can check out a copy of the next book we’ll read for the following meeting and you can truly participate next time,” her mother explained, Y/N marveling at how much of a liking her mother had taken to Seokjin. Truthfully, Y/N thought the book club would be a good thing for Seokjin; an opportunity to make friends and perhaps get closer to Namjoon. 

“If you’re up to it, Jin, I’ll drive you into the city with Namjoon on Monday. The three of us could pick up dinner takeout afterwards,” Y/N added, her mother perking up with Y/N’s encouragement. Seokjin’s cheeks rounded out with his small grin, his tail curling around behind him in response to all of the attention. 

“Okay, that sounds nice,” Seokjin agreed shyly, sipping his wine with a pleased expression. He was really too sweet for his own good, Y/N thought. 

“Oh, you’re going to restore that old stable? I wish I had better carpentry skills, I could give you a hand, Jimin.” Y/N heard her father lament, the coyote hybrid shaking his head with his signature heart-stopping smile. 

“That’s quite alright, sir. I’ve done a fair share of work on stables before. Not much needs to be done in order to have it suitable for boarding,” Jimin leaned back on the countertop by the fridge, Y/N’s eye catching a bright glint from the gold belt buckle threaded through the loops of his blue jeans. 

He was wearing a simple sky blue fitted tee shirt, tucked into his jeans and showing off his lean figure. Trying not to stare, Y/N tore her eyes from the coyote hybrid’s form, balancing the two drinks in her hands. From outside, she heard her grandfather exclaim in delight, cutting off both of her parents' separate conversations with Jimin and Seokjin so they could peer out the window. Where her grandparents were seated by the firepit, Taehyung had added more wood to the dying bonfire, grinning ear to ear as her grandfather clapped with glee. 

Startled that Taehyung had taken it upon himself to introduce himself to her grandparents, as he was usually so avoidant when it came to speaking to people other than Y/N herself, Y/N made a beeline outside with the drinks so she could witness the spectacle. On her heels, Seokjin trailed after her, ditching Jimin in the kitchen with her parents. Y/N had the feeling the coyote hybrid could hold his own against them. 

Taehyung, kneeling beside her grandmother and poking the bonfire with an iron rod, was nodding along with something she was saying, Y/N unable to process the words as she approached the clump of chairs. Gingerly, she handed her grandfather his tumbler of whiskey, the large ice cube clinking around in the cup as he took it with a shaky hand. Placing her grandmother’s gin martini on the table beside her, Y/N cocked her head at Taehyung, who blinked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. 

“So you’ve met Taehyung,” Y/N raised her voice a decibel to accommodate her grandfather’s dim hearing, giving Seokjin an appreciative rub on his arm as he appeared at her side with an open can of vodka seltzer for her. “This is Seokjin!”

“What did you say? Tae-hyung? The young man introduced himself as Tae,” her grandfather croaked loudly, confusion coloring his face. Snorting, Y/N felt her insides warm, Taehyung looking at the ground bashfully as her grandfather repeated his nickname. “Nice to meet you, Seokjin, why don’t you take a seat, son.”

Cheeks red, Seokjin obediently plopped down in a chair beside her grandfather, tracing his fingertips over the condensation coating his wine glass. Taking a sip of her seltzer, Y/N scanned the immediate area, spotting Jeongguk at the edges of the untrimmed hedges smoking, his hair slicked back with the new gel and predictably dressed in all-black. Squinting, Y/N made out the material of the complicated pants he had on, straps circling his legs; was that leather? Thinking it was far too hot to be wearing leather, Y/N smirked, perching herself on the armrest of Seokjin’s chair. 

Hoseok was filling up a second basin with ice he had located in the garage by the picnic table, apparently having an urgent conversation with Yoongi as the leopard hybrid placidly handed him bottles of Corona from a box set on the table. Again, Y/N wondered where Namjoon had wound up, not able to locate him in the vicinity. 

Feeling Seokjin flinch behind her before actually hearing a familiar car honk, Y/N got to her feet, knowing it was Sal and his family, getting ready to haul trays of ziti into the house. 

“Dear, is that Sal? Was little Tony coming this year?” Her grandmother perked up, directing her attention to the gate into the backyard. 

“Yeah, he said he could make it. Though, he’s not little anymore, Grandmother, Tony’s in high school now. He’s on the football team,” Y/N explained, grasping Seokjin’s hand to drag him to the gate for assistance, motioning Taehyung to follow as well. 

Making a noise of surprise, Seokjin swiftly set his wine glass down before she could pull him away, adjusting his grip so he could intertwine his fingers with Y/N’s, the action triggering butterflies to flutter around in her stomach. His thumb skimmed Yoongi’s mark accidentally, a strange tingle shooting up from her wrist to her elbow. Taehyung unlatched the gate, Y/N inspecting the slightly excited expression that had appeared on his face. Y/N was hoping Taehyung could become friends with Anthony, considering he hadn’t quite warmed up to any of the other hybrids enough yet. 

“Oy, give us a hand here, Y/N?” Angie called, standing by the back of the van with a big stack of foil trays. Hurrying to her aid, Y/N let go of Seokjin with a touch of remorse. “Pretty dress, hun. So happy to be here.”

Angie made air-kissing sounds as Y/N took a couple of the trays from her, Y/N quickly introduced the two hybrids to Angie, Sal Jr., and Sal himself as they handed them tray after tray. The passenger door of the van swung open, Anthony hauling himself out while precariously balancing a large box of what Y/N presumed to be cannolis. 

“Hey Tae, man! How you doin’?” Anthony greeted the Kodiak hybrid, after he smoothly said hello to Y/N with a cute kiss on her cheek. “Sick outfit, bro.”

“Thanks, you too,” Taehyung replied, his tone on the side of unsure. Anthony always dressed well off the clock, though Y/N thought the kid took a little too much inspiration from The Sopranos with the colorful striped button downs. 

With equal excitement, Anthony began to introduce himself to Seokjin while the clump of people filed into the backyard, Y/N grateful that Anthony now had so many guys to chat with during the cookout. In years past, there were often a larger number of women at the cookout in comparison to young men, mostly her mother’s friends. 

After carting all of the food from Sal into the house, things had already become pretty noisy with the Italian family’s arrival. It set her at ease now that the attention wasn’t entirely focused on her own family, thankful that they had shown up and breathed life into the afternoon. Finally, she had located Namjoon: he was sitting in the grass under a large tree beside the picnic table, though hidden from view from others in the backyard. Breaking away from Taehyung and Seokjin for a few moments as they were preoccupied with whatever Anthony was explaining to them with wild hand gestures, Y/N made her way to the wolf hybrid once she had spotted the silvery fur of his tail beside the tree. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” Y/N blurted, as Namjoon immediately put his book down upon hearing her approach, his eyebrows raised in expectation. “Just checking on you. Here.”

Wordlessly, Namjoon accepted a Corona from her, Y/N purposefully picking out a lighter beer for the wolf hybrid. He looked impossibly handsome, with hunter green drawstring pants and a tan short-sleeved shirt with tortoiseshell buttons clasping them shut, his moonlight hair swept off his forehead and the sun reflecting the iridescence of the strands. Carefully, Y/N lowered herself down beside him, noting the way he stiffened a degree at her proximity, watching her peer down at the open book on his lap. He was almost finished with Wuthering Heights, Y/N registered as she took a sip of her seltzer. 

“What do you think about the book?” Y/N attempted to initiate conversation once more, quite frankly sick of not being able to speak with him like she could before. She could only pray that he responded, as he popped the cap off of the beer and sniffed it with mild interest. Several emotions played across his features, Y/N almost able to see him sorting through his thoughts.

“Hmm… I remember your mother saying it's one of your favorites, correct?” Namjoon murmured, bringing the bottle to his lips to take a sip contemplatively. 

“That’s right. You won’t offend me if you hate it, if that’s why you seem so torn,” Y/N giggled, biting her lip as she brushed off an inchworm that was mapping a path up Namjoon’s forearm. “I’ve been missing your insight on things.”

Y/N admitted the last part of her sentence nonchalantly, though she was surprised she was able to confess that so easily. Namjoon was startled, either by her words or the fact that she’d touched him, fiddling with the pages of the book as he processed.

“It’s not that I hate it. The characters, Cathy, Heathcliff, they’re all insufferable, sure. The whole time I’ve been reading it, I was struggling to understand why you like it so much,” Namjoon answered after a few moments, Y/N nearly fainting with relief that he was actually speaking to her with more than just a short, forced sentence. 

“Well, it’s just that. None of the characters are particularly likable, Nelly as the narrator is incredibly biased, following the timelines can be confusing especially because there are two Cathys. I think that for a young woman to write a book so vulgar and brutal all those years ago is an impressive feat. The inherent darkness of the story is what hooked me in the first place, and it keeps me coming back. I’ve probably read it five times over the years,” Y/N attempted to sum up her reasoning for loving Emily Bronte’s masterpiece, but found it difficult with Namjoon’s rapt attention on her face while she spoke. 

“So you like stories with darker subject matter,” Namjoon mused, seeming to recover from her earlier comment. “It’s beautifully written, I just didn’t expect so much moral corruption from the characters. I’ve read Jane Eyre by Emily’s sister, which has its fair shares of thematic shock and darkness, so I half-expected this novel to be similar. I was pleasantly surprised, I’ve never read anything like this.”

Delighted, Y/N gave Namjoon the brightest smile she could muster, thrilled to have someone she now lived with to discuss some of her favorite novels. Eyes widening a fracture at her enthused reaction to his words, Namjoon took a swig of his drink, diverting his eyes back to the pages. 

“They made a decent Jane Eyre movie adaptation back in 2011. We could watch it sometime, if you’re interested,” Y/N offered, beyond pleased that he was speaking to her again. 

It was like she had entered a little bubble with just her and Namjoon in it, the chaos of the cookout behind her temporarily forgotten. She was taken aback further when Namjoon nodded and chuckled airly, a dimple appearing in his cheek with her idea. Resisting the urge to poke the crater in his cheek, Y/N giggled with him, taking his response as agreement. A cool breeze rolled by, ruffling Namjoon’s silky hair and carrying the scent of honey with it. He stopped laughing when his bitten ear fluttered, leaning forward to look over Y/N’s shoulder curiously. 

“I think more of your guests have arrived,” He whispered due to his close proximity, Y/N able to feel the heat coming off of his body. 

Straightening up, Y/N could hear the babbling of a child’s voice from the driveway, suspecting Ben and his family were about to join them. Wobbly, she got to her feet, Namjoon peering up with her with an expression softer than he had afforded her in days. With a happy sigh, Y/N extended her hand to help Namjoon up, the wolf hybrid tentatively sliding his palm against her’s, standing up to his full height with ease. 

“Could you come with me and help out with getting all of the cupcake boxes out of Ben’s car please? You can go right back to reading after, promise,” Y/N asked, releasing his hand as soon as he had his footing.

“Sure. I think I’ll save the ending for tomorrow,” Namjoon acquiesced, his dimples still indenting his cheeks cutely. While Y/N was learning that Namjoon could be moody, she didn’t mind, especially if she got to see those dimples every now and again. 

“Jesus, Y/N. You really don’t realize what seven hybrids look like until you see them all clumped together back here,” Ben muttered in Y/N’s ear, setting a bag filled with children’s toys down on the grass by the kiddie pool. 

After a slightly awkward exchange between Ben, Namjoon and herself hauling boxes of cupcakes into the garage refrigerator, Ben assuming his stony lawyer disposition and Namjoon being his usual chilly self, Namjoon had escaped to get himself another beer while Y/N and Ben caught up for a moment. Roy, who had broken up the awkward tension a degree by parading Daisy around on his hip, was introducing the little rabbit hybrid to enthusiastic Hoseok and Jimin, the former who was talking to her in a silly voice. 

“Yeah, there’s quite a few of them, each of them special in their own ways,” Y/N leaned into Ben’s side, grateful that he seemed to be so tame that day. Tutting, Ben pointed across the yard at Jeongguk reading something in his journal, drinking from a Red Solo cup with a cigarette burning between the fingertips grasping the glass.

“I’ve never even seen an elk hybrid, who was that again? He looks like a manager at Hot Topic,” Ben remarked, a hand on his hip. 

“Hush, Ben, I don’t want you ticking any of them off,” Y/N managed, though it was incredibly difficult to stifle a laugh crawling up her throat. “That’s Jeongguk, the youngest.”

“Okay, well so far I like the two being nice to my daughter. That wolf hybrid was a little, uh. Unfriendly,” Ben scratched his close-cut red beard, squinting at Namjoon shuffling towards Yoongi for a word. 

“He’s not. They’ve all been through a lot, I think it’s only natural for them to have cautionary walls up,” Y/N reminded Ben, watching him swirl his cocktail around in his glass. 

“Look at you, Y/N! I feel like you’ve finally matured in a matter of a week, maybe this was a good thing for you, after all,” Ben snorted, used to Y/N’s petulant behavior when with him. 

“Wish I could say the same about you. Daisy looks so cute, by the way. I remember when you bought that sundress,” Y/N slowly circled towards the gate with Ben, watching her neighbors flood in, ushered by her mother and father. 

“She was so excited to come today. I actually stopped by Laura’s earlier this week to introduce her to Kai. They get along well, even though Daisy is a bit older. She couldn’t stop talking about the ‘hybrids from the gray place’ too, which I’m assuming are your guys,” Ben confessed, waving at Daisy chasing after Hoseok, who was running away from her slowly so she could catch him by his tail, laughing wildly. “Alright. I’m going to make my rounds. Don’t worry, I’ll keep the questioning to a minimum, I want to have a good time and that includes not pissing you or Roy off.”

Left by herself, Y/N watched Hoseok and Jimin joyfully play with Daisy, giving Roy a break to chat with her grandmother. Downing the rest of her second drink, Y/N fished out another seltzer from a nearby ice bucket, jumping in surprise once she stood up and registered Jeongguk in front of her, the scent of smoke coming off of him powerfully. 

“Hey, Jeongguk, how’s it going? Did you meet some new people?” Y/N pressed her free hand to her irregular heartbeat, Jeongguk adjusting the neckline of his new band tee shirt with The Cure on it. He really did look like a manager at Hot Topic, though it worked on him, Y/N thought. 

“I said hi to your parents, and the dude with the little bunny. Your mom started pulling out her tarot cards, she’s roping Yoongi into a reading,” Jeongguk replied, eyes on the open gate. “More people here than I thought, the jaguar seems a little overwhelmed.”

Making a noise of exclamation, Y/N scanned the backyard for Seokjin, finding him hanging back by the tree Namjoon had been earlier pulling at his shirtsleeves. Calling his name gently knowing that he could hear easily, she motioned for him to come to her, his ears flattened to his skull anxiously. Jeongguk, shockingly, stayed with her as Seokjin approached, a neutral expression on the elk hybrid’s face. She’d never tell him, but she thought it was pretty sweet of him to tell her about Seokjin’s unease. 

“You alright, honey?” Y/N asked, running her hand down his back soothingly. Seokjin’s broad shoulders sinking down a bit at her touch. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. I just have to get used to the crowd, sometimes I get a little overwhelmed,” Seokjin flashed her a little smile, ears perking up at some sound she could not hear. Jeongguk, too, was focused on a spot behind her. 

“If it gets to be too much, you can always go in the house and relax. I’ll sit with you for a bit, too, if that makes you feel b-better,” Y/N encouraged, stuttering when Seokjin pulled her in for a side-hug. 

“Thanks, sweets,” Seokjin’s voice was muffled by her hair, his lips pressed into it comfortingly. 

Blushing furiously once he released her, Seokjin smiled at someone behind her, a series of surprised gasps coming from the guests. Spinning on her heel, Y/N couldn’t stop the squeal coming from her lips, Alice strolling through the gate in bell-bottom jeans and a white ruched crop top, and a large bucket full of icy sangria in her arms. Close behind was Laura, her thick braids skimming her collarbones as she shifted Kai in her arms, his tiny fists full of the material of her green polka-dotted sundress, followed by her husband Tyler carrying a comically large box of Truly seltzers. 

Immediately dumping the sangria on the table with the ice bucket, Alice flung herself into Y/N’s arms, her caramel perfume wrapping her in a warm hug. Laura joined in on the embrace as soon as Tyler’s arms were free to hold Kai so he could bring him over to Daisy and Roy, all three girls squeezing the life out of each other. It had been far too long since she had seen them, Y/N thought tearfully, Laura stroking her hair gently as they pulled away. Jeongguk cleared his throat uncomfortably, Alice’s eyebrow shooting up into her hairline once she realized the two hybrids were standing there. 

“Oh shit. Sorry to keep you waiting, sir,” Alice quipped, Jeongguk turning pale at the title and taking a sip of his drink to hide it. Snorting into her hand, Y/N realized she probably should have warned the hybrids a bit more about the twins. “Let me guess. Jeongguk?”

“H-how? Did you know my–” Jeongguk choked on the sip of his drink, Seokjin’s shoulders shaking with laughter as Alice held up a finger. 

“Y/N debriefed us of all your names already, it was only fair,” Alice cut him off, eyeing the elk hybrid from head to toe. “Hmm… and you. You’re either Yoongi or Seokjin, kitty,” Alice redirected her attention to Seokjin, amusement vanishing from his face to be replaced with astonishment. 

“That’s Seokjin! Cool it, Al,” Y/N spoke around a gasp of laughter, trying not to enjoy the mortification washing over Jeongguk and Seokjin’s glazed-over eyes. 

“Nice to meet you boys, hope you’ve been nice to our Y/N,” Laura extended a hand, assuming her motherly tone of voice as Seokjin robotically took her hand to shake it. 

“Laura,” Y/N whined, cringing as Jeongguk shook her hand with white knuckles.

“Are the Santos twins here? Come here, my girls!” Y/N heard her father shout from the picnic table, bouncing Kai on his knee with glee. 

Giggling, Y/N felt herself get dragged to the table by Alice, Seokjin close behind as they left Jeongguk reeling by the gate. As she caught up with the twins and her father, Yoongi approached them, politely introducing himself to the twins, both of whom immediately took a liking to. Similarly, Jimin seated himself across from Y/N’s father, sipping on some whiskey as he joined the conversation. Between the group of them, it was pretty amicable, Y/N blushing when Yoongi pulled her close to brush an eyelash off of her face. 

Y/N kept a close eye on her mother doing readings by the fire, performing a couple on her neighbors before moving onto Anthony followed by Taehyung, who hadn’t left each other’s sides since the former’s arrival. After a while, Alice pulled Y/N away, asking if she could show her the cupcakes Ben had brought. 

Once they were in the dark garage, Alice began to laugh uncontrollably. Confused, Y/N shut the door to the fridge, staring at Alice with confusion. Alice pressed a hand to her stomach, trying to stop the onslaught of laughter rippling through her. 

“Okay, now I get it. They’re all hot,” Alice gasped, wiping a tear from her eye. Heart plummeting to her stomach, Y/N lobbed a cocktail napkin at Alice that was wrapped around her newest French 75 Hoseok delivered to her with pink cheeks from chasing Daisy around. 

“Alice! That is so not the reason why I adopted them! As a matter of fact, they were in their animal forms when I happened to find them at the shelter,” Y/N whisper-yelled, praying to the sky none of the hybrids could hear her between the walls of the garage, the music from the speakers outside, and the commotion from all of the guests. 

“Whatever! Regardless, you failed to mention they were so handsome. I like that one in the Hawaiian shirt, the fox hybrid… good with kids. Hoseok, I think?” Alice calmed down, watching Y/N’s face carefully. Y/N knew when Alice liked to read her expressions, though she had become a master at concealing them from her. 

“Yeah, Hoseok’s great. You two would really get along, both of you get off on making me squirm,” Y/N followed Alice back outside, her friend’s bouncy curls shaking with laughter as they stumbled back out into the bright sunshine. Several drinks in, and Y/N was already feeling a tad loopy. 

“You know Laura and I were just worried about you with all these guys in your house. Especially when we found out they were all men… but they seem like really sweet hybrids. Rough around the edges, but I think they found the right home,” Alice declared in a sobering tone of voice. 

Pulling Alice in for another hug with the relieving sensation of one of her closest friends approving of her hybrids, Y/N could hardly believe how different her life was compared to exactly a week ago. Then, she was preparing to eat a hummus wrap on her lunch break, thinking about her home renovation schedule, and was very much alone. Now, she was enjoying herself with friends and family on a beautiful August afternoon, with seven hybrids that would still be with her even when the party was over. 

Only a tad tipsy, Y/N hooked her elbow with Alice’s, ready to follow the path into the backyard from the garage with glee. She had been meaning to check on Seokjin, even though he seemed much more at ease since he had sat in a lawn chair beside her grandmother, striking up a conversation while they sipped their beverages together.

“Y/N, honey. Can I have a word?” Her mother interrupted Y/N’s inner monologue, Alice blowing both of them a kiss before skipping into Hoseok’s direction in the backyard. 

No idea how her mother had slipped away from the clumps of people waiting to get their cards read by her, Y/N presumed whatever she had to say was important. Hoping that it wasn’t an announcement that she had forgotten to prepare something for the cookout, Y/N allowed her mother to pull her closer to the driveway and completely out of earshot– Y/N could hardly even hear the playlist Hoseok had made for the cookout. 

“Honey, I received messages for you. I know you hate when I do this, but it's important,” her mother rushed out, taking a hold of Y/N’s forearms firmly, a serious glint in her eyes. “I was just reading cards for our guests, your hybrids, and I had a strong vision.”

Swallowing, Y/N began to sweat, more than well aware her mother’s visions came true ninety percent of the time. Possibilities raced through her mind’s eye as she registered her mother’s words; did she see an upcoming conflict, a new ‘love match’, or something darker– was the entity that Jeongguk and Namjoon banished still lurking? The way her mother’s face was pinched indicated that whatever it was, the message wasn’t pleasant. 

“Mom, what is it? You’re scaring me,” Y/N whispered, her mother’s hand curling around her forearm urgently. She appeared disturbingly conflicted, eyebrows pulled together and mouth twisted into a grimace. 

“Honey, I was just reading cards for Taehyung,” her mother began, her eyes unfocusing, Y/N recognized that she was receiving another vision. “Oh my G-!”

“Hey, hey! Oh, are you alright? What happened? Is Tae okay!?” Y/N steadied her mother, feeling ice-cold panic flood through her. Shuddering, her mother regained her strength after a few beats, Y/N biting her lip raw. Finally, she was able to articulate, her voice misty and eyes faraway. 

“Taehyung, you need to be careful around that man. Full of vengeance, bitterness, betrayal,” her mother dug her fingernails into the flesh of Y/N’s forearm desperately, Y/N getting the feeling it wasn’t entirely her mother alone speaking to her at the moment. Y/N could sense the presence of something else. “Though, I don’t think he’ll hurt you. But he has secrets.”

“What are you talking about?” Y/N pressed desperately, trying to pry off her mother’s ironlike grip on her forearms, her next response causing Y/N to still, frozen in utter horror. 

“That young man… Taehyung. He hides many things, shares with no one. The seven of swords, a knife. Always on the run, he’s found his place to hide. He’s killed before– he’s killed a man.”

Taglist; @blancflms @grazysf @sbromp @jaxavance @sunderlight @ot7nem @mageprincess7 @wittyreader @drenix004 @mayla548 @skyys-universe @ddaeng-angmoh @trtlthts @exfolitae @kalala22 @xiusmarshmallow @bangtans-momma @zae007live @paigetj @singukieee @serendididy @lilacdreams-00 @dreamerwasfound @ninjacups @osakis-gf @itwillbealways-d @xthefuckerysquaredx @momowantscats @molshole @gooooomz @uarmyhore @lopprhe @molshole

Please do not repost or translate my work. Thank you!

[multifandomfix]

Plague Of The Paramour — Anthony Bridgerton

Summary: You let yourself be seduced by Anthony, and with your reputation at stake, after your tryst, you make sure to steer clear of him. But Anthony Bridgerton is not an easy man to avoid.

Word Count: 589

Warnings: Fem!Reader, some angst, implied past sexual content

Any time the ton was brought together for an event, you made sure to avoid Anthony like the plague. Even catching a glimpse of him from across the way would bring to mind the images of that ill fated night you spent under his thrall.

Of course, Anthony wasn’t entirely to blame. He may have initiated your seduction, but you were no fool. You’d allowed yourself to be seduced, knowing full well what the consequences of such a thing could be. And now, you were regretting it.

The night in question was not the part you regretted, rather it was the implications it made towards your character and your chances to be wed. You understood that Anthony had not done what he’d done in preparation to make an honest woman of you. No, he’d only done what he always did, make a game out of women’s affections.

It seemed that tonight, despite the efforts made on your part, Anthony was always there, in the corners of your vision, as if he were deliberately trying to get your attention. Well, if that were the case, you surely weren’t about to make it easy for him.

In a valiant attempt to dodge the eldest Bridgerton, you filled up your dance card, leaving you precious little time to be alone during the evening, therefore giving him the smallest possible chance to steal you away. You didn’t want to speak to him. Hell, you didn’t even want to see him.

As the night progressed, you were sure your ingenuity had succeeded. Yet, when it came to the last dance of the night, your planned partner was conspicuously absent. As you searched the room for the man, it was Anthony who caught your eye, making his way towards you through the crowd. You silently cursed to yourself, knowing that running from him would only cause a scene, and that was something you definitely didn’t need.

“Lord Bridgerton,” you greeted as gracefully as you could manage.

“You are a difficult one to track down,” Anthony replied, a little out of breath from his relentless pursuit of you. “I’ve wished to speak with you all night.”

“How unfortunate that we haven’t crossed paths then,” you said, though you’d hardly meant it.

“Unfortunate indeed. I had something I wanted to ask of you.”

“If it’s a repeat performance, then you ought to look elsewhere,” you informed him. “I am not the type to make the same mistake twice.”

Your words appeared to have wounded him like a blade, as it took quite a bit of fortitude for him not to recoil at the venom in your voice. He doubted himself for a moment, but ultimately decided to continue. “I assure you that was not the question I’d intended. And though I do not have the utmost confidence in your answer, I shall ask you anyway, here and now. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

The question had truly shocked you and had stopped some of the action in the room from the nearest bystanders. They, and Anthony, awaited your answer. Certainly he couldn’t mean— Had you been found out? You looked in his eyes, desperately searching for the answer to your unspoken questions.

Anthony only looked back with pure adoration, something you hadn’t expected from him. That night may have been an error in judgement, but that didn’t mean there were no feelings between you. His question tonight clarified that much. And so, determining his feelings were earnest, you knew your answer. “Yes.”

For anon

Forever Tag: @baubeautyandthegeek, @ghostsunderstoodmysoul, @immyowndefender, @valencethefriendlychangeling, @crimsonwidow666, @rebelbossheart, @thedailyspiritualist, @orangeisnttheonlyfruit, @woman-simp, @aperol-with-izzy, @leonoralessoem, @ellepossum69, @lakita-fisher, @nclgsticore, @ayanthegreat28, @analuw, @luvlesavyy, @malfoyfeed, @aliciabrower, @bitchr-mkay, @sparrowspixie

Anthony Bridgerton: @retvenkos, @ladyrooster39, @riveranddoctorsong123, @theamazingworldofcarol, @esposamultifandom, @elorasfandomsandocs, @littlsstuff, @freyathehuntress, @m-rae23, @floresferae, @onlinecemetery, @bigbluegiants, @edit-me-prettyplease, @angelmenace, @foxherder, @bestfriend491, @astrogrande

[poisonlove]

Broken | j.o

this one-shot is very special as it belongs to an alternative Harry Potter universe.

I walked through the corridors of Hogwarts, tears streaming down my cheeks, my breath uneven, and my chest aching. My vision was blurred by the tears, and audible sobs escaped my lips. I just wanted to get out of that cursed place.

Still, I could vividly recall the image of her eyes widening in surprise, and that hurt so much.

Flashback:

With a smile on my face, I entered through the portrait of the Fat Lady, arriving in the Gryffindor common room. I had just finished Quidditch practice and had achieved excellent results. All I wanted to do now was to fall asleep in the arms of my girlfriend, Hermione. I smiled just at the thought of her name. I hurriedly climbed the stairs and walked toward my destination. When I reached our shared room, I noticed the door was slightly ajar. "That's strange... Hermione never leaves the door open." Instinctively, I reached for my wand and cautiously entered, ready to confront anyone who had entered without permission. I slowly closed the door behind me, and strange noises came from inside. The sounds grew louder and clearer. "What on earth is this?" I opened the door, and my world crumbled before my eyes. My body temperature plummeted, and I could hear the sound of my heart breaking into a thousand pieces. I still couldn't believe what I was seeing. Hermione was kissing Ron. The brunette had her arms around Ron's neck, pulling the redhead closer to her, their lips locked in a passionate kiss. My fingers loosened their grip on the wand, and it fell to the floor, drawing the attention of the two lovers. Hermione's eyes widened as she saw my tear-filled eyes, and she quickly pushed Ron away, covering herself hurriedly. "Love, it's not what it looks like." End of Flashback:

I stopped and realized I was standing in front of the Ravenclaw house. Unconsciously, I had arrived at Jenna Ortega's house, my best friend.

I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and bit my lip, trying to contain the hiccup that threatened to escape. I took a step forward and slipped through the door, which was opened by a student leaving at that moment.

I made my way toward the rooms, stopping abruptly when I heard noises coming from a corner of the Common Room.

Laughter could be heard in the distance near the sofas.

I headed toward the sound of laughter and spotted Jenna's characteristic raven-black hair in the distance. The young Ravenclaw was laughing, probably at some lousy jokes from Enid. My attention focused on Jenna's profile: her delicately upturned nose, her brown eyes shining as they turned toward her friends, and her heart-shaped lips forming a shy smile. I watched as a dimple formed on her cheek each time she raised the corners of her lips.

With subtlety, the raven-haired girl turned in my direction.

As soon as her eyes met mine, I couldn't hold back the tears, and I burst into tears. The warm smile on Jenna's face quickly faded, replaced by a look of deep concern. Without a second thought, Jenna got up from the couch and quickly walked toward me, leaving her friends and Enid somewhat incredulous.

My hands were trembling, and sobs escaped uncontrollably from my mouth.

Two arms wrapped around my waist, and I immediately returned the hug, crying into Jenna's neck. After what felt like endless seconds, Jenna broke the embrace and gently cupped my cheeks, wiping away the remaining tears with her thumbs. Brown eyes looked into mine with concern.

"What happened?" she asked timidly, taking my hands and stroking them to calm me. "Her... her... her..." I stammered, and she smiled at me, trying to reassure me. "Hermione," I finally said, and new tears welled up in my eyes. Jenna interlocked our fingers and quickly walked to her room, seeking privacy.

She was a prefect, so she had her own room.

We entered her room and walked over to her bed, sitting down on it. "What happened? Did you two have a fight?" Jenna asked absentmindedly, playing with my hands.

I stared intently at our intertwined hands, focusing on the gentle touch of my best friend. Jenna's nails traced slowly across the palm of my hand, as if trying to comfort me. A knot formed in my throat, and a soft hiccup escaped my lips. Tears welled up in my eyes.

"She... she..." I took a breath. "She cheated on me," I whispered the last part.

Jenna's eyes widened in surprise, and a flash of anger mixed in her dark irises. She clenched her jaw, and her knuckles turned white from the tight grip of her hands. "She what?" she whispered, utterly infuriated. "After practice, I went back to the room, and I found her with Ron," I said, feeling a pang in my chest."Am I not enough?" I asked with a broken tone, causing more tears to roll down my cheeks.

Her gaze softened.

"No, no, no, you're amazing," Jenna took my cheeks and made me look into her eyes, smiling at me. "You're beautiful, smart, and incredibly amazing... anyone would be lucky to have you... it's not your fault she didn't know how to appreciate you," she said, her eyes closing slightly after the last sentence, still angry at what Granger had done. The pressure in her jaw faded, and she looked at me with tenderness.

I'm not sure if it was because of my vulnerability and hurt at that moment, but I gently moved my face closer to hers and kissed her softly, a completely unexpected kiss. Jenna was stiff to the touch, totally taken aback by my action. I decided to pull away slowly, thinking that maybe I had made a mistake, but then, a gentle hand landed on the nape of my neck, pulling me toward her face, uniting us again in a passionate kiss.The raven-haired girl melted under my lips, and she started moving her lips softly, with a gentle and unhurried rhythm. My hands moved along her waist, slowly caressing her exposed skin. A smile formed on Jenna's lips as we continued kissing, and without realizing it, I smiled too. When I felt her tongue brushing against my lower lip, seeking a deeper kiss, I opened my eyes wide and quickly pulled away from her.

What did I do?

"I... oh my God, I'm sorry," I got up from the bed, looking ashamed at Jenna.

The raven-haired girl had trouble breathing, her cheeks were flushed, and her lips were slightly parted as she tried to calm her heavy breathing. Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes had a very different gleam from the usual. She forced a weak smile and got up from the bed.

"It was a mistake... I'm sorry," I admitted, looking at her with guilt. Jenna shook her head slowly, taking my hand. I felt terribly like shit when I saw her eyes glistening.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Y/N..." she whispered, caressing my hand. My eyes looked at her lips.

It's not fair... I just broke up with Hermione... I don't want to hurt Jenna.

"Jenna... it was something I didn't think through... it was spontaneous... I was hurt... angry..." I confessed, and I saw her eyes fill with tears. She blinked back the tears, clenching her jaw and breaking the contact between our hands.

"I'm sorry..." I added, moving closer.

"Y/N/N... you don't need to apologize," Jenna swallowed nervously, closing her eyes at the touch of my hand on her cheek. "I liked it," she said, her eyes closing slightly, still blushing, her lips partially open, trying to calm her heavy breathing.

"I am in love with you" Jenna confessed with a sigh.

I leaned forward and gave her a tender kiss on the forehead. Then, I stepped back, looking at her with a mix of emotions and confusion, trying to decipher my feelings and which path to take next.

For a long time, I wrestled internally with my feelings for Hermione and Jenna. I often tried to convince myself that Jenna was just a good friend and that my feelings for her were confusing. However, in the fifth year, everything changed when I saw her with another guy. At that moment, I felt a burning fire in my stomach and an uncontrollable wave of jealousy that made me realize there was something deeper.

I felt scared by those feelings. I didn't want to jeopardize our friendship, so I chose to bury my emotions and give Hermione a chance. I developed genuine feelings for the golden girl and fell in love with her, but deep down, I knew it would be challenging to leave behind my first love, especially when she was my best friend.I loved Hermione, but my feelings for Jenna still lingered, always present in my heart.

"Jen... it's just... not the right time," I looked at her, and I saw the shine in her eyes. I noticed she was clenching her jaw tightly, struggling not to break down in front of me.

"Can we discuss it another time?" I suggested, and she nodded slowly, accepting my proposal.I approached the door and opened the handle, stepping out of her room with a broken heart and many doubts.

(...)

I had just left my Arithmancy class, carrying the book under my arm with the intention of heading towards Jenna's room. For the past two weeks, I had been avoiding her, needing space and time to reflect on everything. However, I had to admit that I missed her a lot and was ready to address the topic I had been dreading.

The memory of the kiss kept replaying in my mind, even invading my dreams with the brown eyes of the dark-haired girl. Let's just say that while I hadn't seen her in person all this time, Ortega had been psychologically tormenting me.

I couldn't help but smile unconsciously.

My smile was immediately replaced by a look of disgust and sadness when I saw Granger walking towards me in the distance. Just by looking into her eyes, my heart broke even more. Her unmistakable hazel eyes were filled with tears.

"Y/N... I've been looking for you... we need to talk," she said, clenching her jaw, a single tear rolling down her cheek. She reached out and took my hand, gently holding my fingers. As if I had touched fire, I withdrew my hand and took a step back, shaking my head slowly.

"Don't touch me," I whispered with a broken voice. After days of crying, I had finally calmed down, but seeing Granger made a lump form in my throat. I didn't want to cry in front of the golden girl; I didn't want to show weakness.

I swallowed hard and lifted my chin, looking at her with detachment. "Please... we need to talk," she repeated, slightly hurt after my rejection. I clenched the book and walked forward, lightly bumping her shoulder with mine. "We have nothing to discuss."

Before I could walk away, a hand grabbed my wrist.

"Please... it was a mistake... I love you," Hermione said with a tone so sweet and wounded that I almost believed it.

Almost.

"How long?" I asked, clenching my jaw. "How long have you been cheating on me?" At this point, we were face to face, our breaths mingling. Her grip faltered, and she averted her gaze. "How long, Hermione?" I demanded, getting angrier, raising my voice.

"Two months," she confessed in a whisper, moving closer.

I pulled my hand away, looking at her with a mocking smile. "Six months of a relationship, and you cheated for two..." I shook my head in disappointment and disgust. "Goodbye, Hermione, don't look for me anymore," I told her coldly, and her eyes filled with tears.

She threw herself into my arms, preventing me from walking. I stiffened at the contact.

"Hermione... let me go," I said, my voice firm.

She broke the hug and looked at me with wounded eyes. I averted my gaze, trying not to fall into her trap.

"We need to talk," she whispered again.

"Haven't you understood, Granger?" someone intervened. I turned toward the voice and found two brown eyes. Jenna Ortega was looking at Hermione with anger.

"Mind your own business, Ortega," Hermione said venomously.

"Jenna..." I whispered.

Jenna locked her eyes with mine, showing a mix of hurt and happiness at seeing me. She gave me a weak smile.

The two girls glared at each other, their jaws clenched, restraining themselves from drawing their wands and hexing each other.

"Hermione... I don't want you to hurt each other... so I ask you to leave," I said, feeling a pang in my chest. Hermione looked at me with sadness for a split second, then took a step back and shook her head as she walked away from my sight.

It was just Jenna and me.

I approached the Ravenclaw, strangely nervous and with a racing heart. My palms were sweaty, and my legs trembled slightly. I was having the reaction of a teenager with her first love. I took a deep breath and looked at Jenna, who observed me curiously.

"Jenna, I..." I whispered, then took another breath. "To be honest, I've always felt something for you," I confessed, looking impassively at the dark-haired girl.

Jenna gave me a big smile.

"In these two weeks, I've thought a lot about you... and also about Hermione... I... I managed not to cry in front of her, you know," she took my hands, caressing them slowly. "I feel guilty for avoiding you," I admitted, and she shook her head, letting go of my hand and placing hers on my cheek.

"You needed space," she said, caressing my cheek, and I leaned into her touch.

Suddenly, her gaze became more serious, and she stood on tiptoe, bringing her face closer to mine. My heart was pounding, nervous about the proximity. Jenna's mouth was inches from mine, her warm breath brushing against my lips. She wrapped her hands around my neck and looked deeply into my eyes, searching for any sign of rejection that she didn't find. Then, she brought her face even closer to mine, and our lips brushed.

I swallowed hard, making Jenna smile.

"I'm not ready for a relationship... I... I'm scared," I confessed in a whisper, barely parting my lips from hers. Jenna's hand moved gently on my cheek, while the other wrapped determinedly around my neck. Instinctively, I placed my hands around her waist, making it easier for our contact due to the noticeable height difference between us.

"I'll take care of you," she whispered in response, closing the gap between our lips with tenderness. Our lips met in a soft and passionate kiss, sealing our complicated connection with affection and silent promises.

"Miss L/n! Ortega!" A sharp voice reprimanded with disapproval.

We immediately pulled away, my cheeks reddening quickly as we saw Professor McGonagall in front of us, with a stern expression that hinted at a touch of amusement.

"Uh... Professor McGonagall, we were just..." I stammered, trying to find an appropriate explanation as Jenna and I looked at each other in embarrassment.

Professor McGonagall observed us with a stern gaze before letting out a small smile. "Well, Miss Y/n, Miss Ortega, I hope your... conversation was interesting. Now, please, continue with your school activities in a proper manner."

We both apologized immediately, trying to redeem ourselves for our brief moment of affection in the halls of Hogwarts. With flushed faces, we nodded to Professor McGonagall and hurried to resume our school activities, aware that we had briefly interrupted the school's routine with our fleeting moment of passion.

I'm still broken... but I have faith that I can heal.

***

"Don't you think you're being unfair to Jenna?" I glanced at Enid out of the corner of my eye, raising my eyebrows in confusion at her question. "What do you mean?" I asked with perplexity, looking into the blue eyes of my Hufflepuff friend. "They've been at this for a month now," she murmured in a hushed tone near my ear, not wanting to draw curious glances.

After the kiss I shared with Jenna, I decided to give it a chance. With a lump in my throat, I proposed that we take things slow, without putting labels on what we had. The brunette made a face, but with sparkling eyes, she asked if kisses were included, to which I replied affirmatively, but only in private.

"She deserves something better... I'm just a wounded girl, afraid of relationships," I sighed in frustration, clenching my jaw and exhaling loudly through my nose.

"Jenna loves you," Enid gave me a reassuring smile and gently embraced me, wrapping one hand around my neck. "You love her too, right?" She asked curiously, and I nodded, glancing at her from the corner of my eye. "Then give her a chance... make it official," she urged me, and I sighed, seriously considering her words.

"And... what about Hermione?" Enid murmured, and I sighed in dismay. "We're still friends... well, not like before, but we've talked," I bit my lower lip and crossed my legs to find a more comfortable position. I rested my head against the tree behind me. "After a few days, we talked, and... we resolved it, at least I think," I whispered, and Enid looked at me curiously.

"Does Jenna know?" she asked, and I nodded distractedly. "Yes, she didn't take it very well... but when I told her I just wanted to be friends with Hermione because she was in love with Ron, she agreed... though not entirely convinced," I affirmed, then played with my fingers, reflecting on the events.

My eyes turned towards Jenna, who was meanwhile playing with her friends. With a lump in my throat, I watched as her coal-colored eyes met mine, looking at me as if I were the most beautiful artwork she had ever seen in her life.

Xavier took advantage of Jenna's distraction to throw a ball directly at her face. I unconsciously stood up and, with a smile, headed in her direction, trying to figure out if she was okay. I looked closely at her as I approached, concerned about her well-being after the impact of the ball.

"Sorry, Jen," Xavier mumbled weakly, looking at Jenna with concern as he picked up the ball. "Don't worry, keep playing," Jenna said, rubbing her head to relieve the pain and squinting from the hit.

"Are you okay?" I whispered when I reached the dark-haired girl, and her eyes roamed over my figure, smiling in affirmation. "Come on, get up," I extended my hand and invited her to take it to help her stand up. "Volleyball is a terrible game for Muggles," she murmured weakly, watching the rest of her friends play the game I had suggested they try. "Sorry, Jen, I read it in a book in the Muggle section, and it seemed fun," I confessed with a small smile.

Her fingers delicately touched mine, caressing me tenderly and without ulterior motives. Our gazes met, and I gave her a nervous smile, examining her face and every detail that composed it. Jenna bit her lower lip slightly, lost in thought and with her gaze fixed on a corner of my face, specifically my lips. I ran my tongue over my upper lip, suddenly feeling the dryness in my throat.

Our faces, as if they were magnets, drew closer to each other.

"Are you okay?" I murmured in a whisper near her lips as I leaned toward her face, pressing my lips against her forehead, kissing the bruised spot. Jenna let out a sigh of relief when she felt my lips descend and land on the tip of her nose and then on her cheeks, stopping especially on the right one, which still bore the mark of the ball.

"In reality..." she murmured, releasing her fingers from mine, placing her hand on my shoulder and intertwining her fingers around my neck, absentmindedly playing with the hairs that stood on end due to our recent proximity. "It hurts here..." her lips curved into a smile when her free hand rested on them.

Jenna's neck was tilted upwards, her eyes searching mine with longing.

"Then I'll have to help you," I murmured with a playful smile, catching Jenna by surprise as she didn't expect that response. I leaned even closer, and our lips met in a sweet kiss, feeling the sigh of relief that Jenna released upon contact with me.

My hand rested on her side, pushing Jenna closer to my body during the kiss, needing more contact. A soft moan escaped from her lips, and a fiery heat ignited in the pit of my stomach upon hearing that sound, feeling utterly satisfied to be the cause of her pleasure. Jenna pressed her body closer to mine, and our lips moved urgently against each other, her mischievous hands tangled in my hair, desiring to feel the sensation between her fingers.

The need for oxygen was immediately felt, and after seconds that seemed endless, we broke the contact between our lips, breathing heavily. Immediately, a smile spread across Jenna's lips, and I, unconsciously, did the same, resting my forehead against hers.

"Wow," she murmured, then chuckled softly, leaning forward and resting her head on my neck.

I smiled as I watched Jenna and her friends who continued playing, also noticing that our Hufflepuff friend had joined them.

I sighed contentedly at the warmth of Jenna's arms around my waist. "What does this mean?" Jenna murmured distractedly, her lips brushing my skin.

A shiver ran through my body at her gesture, and I sighed deeply, suppressing the moan that threatened to escape from my lips.

"I think it's time to make it official," I exclaimed, and Jenna Ortega quickly pulled away from my arms. I looked at her in confusion at her reaction, and I was alarmed to see tears welling up in her eyes.

"Is everything okay?" I asked with concern, and the ravenclaw nodded slowly, a smile on her lips.

"It's... wonderful," she smiled sincerely and absentmindedly played with my tie. "So... can I tell my friends? Even now?" she asked, not stopping her gaze from wandering over my tie, pausing at the emblem printed on my chest.

I nodded with a warm smile, touched by the tenderness of my now official girlfriend. Jenna's joy was so contagious that I felt like my heart was about to burst with happiness. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, and I couldn't help but be infected by her enthusiasm.

Jenna started jumping in place, her arms around me, radiating happiness and excitement. She hugged me tightly. "What you said earlier... it's true, right?" she asked with a trembling voice. I looked at her with a gentle smile. "Yes, it's absolutely true," I replied with a tender kiss.

Our lips parted with a soft sound, and Jenna smiled sweetly.

"Are we girlfriends?" she asked in a soft voice, her smile lighting up her face. Her eyes searched mine for confirmation.

Tenderness filled the air as I caressed her cheek and replied, "Yes, we're officially girlfriends." Jenna let out a sigh of happiness and hugged me tighter, sealing our new relationship with a sweet kiss.

Jenna pulled away and looked at me with a smile. "I'm going to tell my friends, Girlfriend," she said quickly with a triumphant smile. Her enthusiasm and happiness were contagious, and I couldn't help but smile as I watched her run towards her friends who were still playing volleyball.

"Guys! GUYS! I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND! I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!" Jenna shouted with excitement, and her friends smiled at her cuteness and joy. It was a moment of happiness and celebration shared by all.

As I watched Jenna and her friends, I couldn't help but think about how sometimes, even when you're afraid, love pushes you to take risks. Although there was still uncertainty on the horizon, I knew we were willing to face any challenges together because what we had was special and worth every moment.

Author: Guys… seriously, please… I put in a lot of effort to write, and I would really appreciate some comments from you… I'm not asking for much.

[georgeweasleyslostearhq]

REQUEST: So a girl named y/n is Steve’s best friend. But they are very attracted to each other. Steve once dreamed that he and Y/N had sex. So one evening, Steve comes to watch a movie at Y/N, they talk about the dream and then…the smut part. @safinkd

SHOW ME, STEVE

Steve woke up in sweat and out of breath, his mind filling with the imagine of you, and him, naked on his bed doing things that best friends shouldn't do

he sat up, leaning on one arm as he ran his other hand though his hair.

he looked down at his pants and cursed under his breath

"fuck"

he got up and groggily walked to his bedroom to clean himself

he didn't know why his unconscious state would come up with something so... freaky, especially with you.

Steve has had his fair share of wet dreams before, but it's never revolved around you, and it has never been that graphic before, it was almost as if it was a memory

he went back to his bed and looked at the clock that sat on his nightstand

6:39am it read

he shook his head at the time and groaned.

the image of you in his head was something he couldn't shake off, it was imprinted on his mind and it had no intention of leaving anytime soon

of course he's thought about it, there's no way that in the 14 years of knowing you, he was bound to think about it sooner or later

-

Steve heard the phone ring from downstairs and since his parents weren't home, he had to get it

he took his time going down the stairs and into the livingroom

he walked to the phone that hung on the wall and picked it up

"hi, harringto-" he stared grumpily, sick of saying the same thing over and over again when he picks up the phone

"steve!" he heard your voice

"who is this?" he joked, knowing you hate it when he does it

"oh shut up, Steve" he could practically hear the eyeroll "just checking in to see if we're still on for tonight"

Steve's mouth went dry, he had totally forgot about his plans with you to go to your house that night

how could he face you with the image of you both in his bed running in his mind, still not leaving

"Steve? you there?" you questioned

"yeah, yeah, I'm still coming over tonight" he spoke up after clearing his throat

"ok, good- and please, for the love of god pick a good movie, Steve. I'm sorry, but I don't know if I can handle watching vision quest again" you sighed

it was an understatement to say Steve liked the movie vision quest, he took you to see it in the theatre when it came out not too long ago and every time he would come over to watch a movie at yours he would rent out that movie that you've gotten sick of it

"so I rent out vision quest?" he asked, wanting to annoy you

"Steve i swear to god if you bring Vision quest again I'm not letting you into my house" you huffed

"you will"

"no I won't"

"you will but whatever, I gotta go now, I need to get ready for work" Steve argued

"alright, bye, have a terrible day" you yawned

"bye"

-

Steve knocked on your door, a copy of back to the future in the bag full of your favourite candies

you opened the door slightly, peeking your head out, glaring at him warily

"what movie did you rent?" you asked dully, not letting him in until you had an answer

"vision quest" Steve lied with a smirk on his face

you continued glaring at him "seriously?"

"no, back to the future" he replied, taking it out of the bag and showing it to you

"ok, I don't have a problem with that" you smiled, opening the door and letting him in

he looked at what you were wearing and almost flinched when he saw almost the exact outfit you were wearing in his dream

"c'mon, I'm hungry" you groaned, grabbing his arm before pulling him in, shutting the door behind him

you ran to your room as he chased you up.

you went to the phone on your table and looked at the list of numbers named with restaurants next to the digits

"pizza, chinese, what do you want?" you asked as he sat down on your bed

"pizza sounds good" Steve shrugged

you ordered the pizza and flopped onto the bed next to him, not noticing the way he tensed up

"how was your day?" you asked casually, sitting up and getting comfy in your bed next to him

"it was fine, work was boring" Steve took a deep breath, rubbing his hands on his jeans

it was boring, he barely got anything done and was distracted by you, even if you were there, you stayed in his mind the whole day, never leaving

"no hot girls in groups coming in to flirt with you?" you questioned, tilting your head

there was a few girls that tried to get his number by he paid them no attention, ignoring them completely, letting Robin take care of them, they seemed more her type anyway, even if she didn't care either

"I'll get the movie going" he said, getting the movie and putting it into the tv, getting the remote and putting it on while you waited for the pizza

around 10 minutes into the film you heard a faint buzz from the front door.

you ran down stairs with money your parents gave you and paid for it

you got back to your room and put the pizza on the bed

"dig in, Harrington" you grinned before crawling into your bed again, getting close to Steve as he took the first slice, the movie still playing as he didn't unpause it.

Steve looked over at you at some point in the movie and stared as you watched the movie, eating your favourite snacks he brought

"Y/n?" he spoke up making you raise your eyebrows, your eyes still on the film

"yeah?" you whispered

"do you ever have weird dreams?" he asked curiously

"depends on what you classify as weird" you took another slice of pizza

"about me" he hesitated

you looked at him with a tilted head, not quite following what he was saying

"Steve, what do you mean?" you smiled, confused by his words

"have you ever had a-" he paused, closing his eyes tightly "a sex dream?"

you sat next to him, stunned and frozen

"uhm- well uh- not that I remember, why? have you?" you answered

"what if I did?" Steve took a deep breath

Steve was never nervous around girls, especially you. but he didn't know what to think, he's never reacted to a wet dream like this before, but then again, it's never been about you, it made him confused and awkward around you.

you shrugged "I guess it's a normal thing to happen"

"yeah" Steve nodded vigorously, watching as you smiled tightly, going back to watching the movie

Steve shifted as your thigh brushed against his

"what if- what if it was about you?" he blurted out

your head whipped in his direction with wide eyes

"did you have a sex dream about me, Steve?" you wondered nervously

"yes"

it stayed silent for a bit, you just staring at him while he fiddled with his fingers under the blanket

you let out a light laugh as you found the situation funny

"what did we do?" you asked

Steve grew confused at your reaction but then all of the nervousness washed away did you like the idea of it?

"wouldn't you want to know?" he chuckled lowly

you sat up straight and turned to him

"I would actually, or would you prefer to show me?" Steve noticed you biting your lip slightly, you did like the idea of it

"really?" he moved back slightly, getting a good look at you

you slowly nodded your head, leaning towards him

"show me what we did, Steve" you mumbled, getting closer and closer

he leaned in and waited to make sure it was ok

you nodded again and he kissed your lips gently. he felt you kiss back and he smiled against your lips

he laid you down and put you in the middle of the bed, the kiss deepening as he held your cheek

he took his other hand and held your waist, his hand going up your shirt just a little and rubbed your skin with his thumb

he moved down to kiss your jaw and made his way down to your neck, letting it bruise as he sucked on the delicate skin of your sweet spot

he heard your breath hitch as you closed your eyes

soon enough, he had your shirt off as was staring at your chest, admiring the way they looked through your light baby pink laced bra

"where'd you get this?" he questioned, playing with the strap, pulling on it and letting it go, hearing the clap noise it made when it hit your soft skin

"Victoria's Secret" you sighed in content, looking up at him with soft eyes

"I don't think there's gonna be any secrets to tell after I take this off" Steve smirked

"well by this rate you're getting nothing, you're taking your sweet ass time" you teased

"is there something wrong with admiring the view? I'm just taking you all in"

"I thought I'm the one supposed to do that with you?" you smirked playfully, laughing at the face he made when he realised what you meant

he reached behind your back and unclipped it, letting it pop off.

he slid it up your arms and took a deep breath when he looked at your exposed chest

he took both of his thumbs, running them over both of the nipple

he leaned down and took one in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the bud while holding the other, giving your tit squeezes and pinches

you stopped him and took his shirt off, throwing it on the floor, not caring where it ended up

he smiled at you before kissing you down your stomach getting to the top of your jeans

he looked up at you from your torso and silently asked for approval

you bit your lip and nodded your head, watching as he unbuttoned your jeans, unzipped them and slid them off, chucking them off from the rest of your clothes

Steve felt himself become hard at the sight of your panties that matched the bra that was abandoned only a few moments ago

he gripped onto your leg and lifted it up before kissing on the inner thigh, getting closer and closer to your clothes heat with each kiss

you stopped him again and told him to get off his pants, he leaned up and rushed to get them off, he pulled them down and shook them off before going back to you

"hurry up" you whined "show me, Steve. show me what we did, Please"

that was all Steve needed to hear before he slipped your panties down, slowly, making you whine more

he felt his mouth water as the sigh of your fully bare body in front of him, desperate for his touch

he lifted his hand up and reached to touch it, looking at you to make sure you were ok

his index finger ran along your folds, that had grown wet at some point in the process of getting your clothes off

"steve" you sighed lightly

he sat up and took his boxers off, letting them go wherever

he leaned down and leveled with you, giving you a kiss, letting his head fall to your shoulder before he pushed himself in

you let out a painful moan- painful because of how long it took, how desperate you were

"you ok?" he asked

"perfect"

he started moving in and out, watching the way your eyebrows would furrow and how your mouth would open, the noises you made sounding exactly how they did in his dream

his pace quickened and he held your hand that started to harshly dig into his back

"oh, Steve. fucking hell" you moaned, arching your back as he hit all the right places

he felt you tug at his hair and pulled it back, making him look up at the ceiling

he wasn't a very vocal guy when it came to sex, but he couldn't help but groan and grunt at the feeling of him inside you

he never thought he would be in your room, both naked and pleasing each other, it was something that he would often find himself thinking about, but he never thought it would ever actually happen

"steve" he heard you moan quietly before you let out a squeal of surprise when he reached down at began to rub your clit

"yeah?" he replied, out of breath as he thrusted deep inside you, feeling every part of you

"I-" you paused, the feeling becoming too much "I'm gonna- I'm gonna"

"you can do it" Steve encouraged, feeling himself grow to the point of an orgasm as well

a few more deep thrust, it began to get sloppy and you let out a load, long moan as you squirmed in your spot, only staying still from his hand that held your hip

he held it in as he let you finish before pulling out, letting himself finish on his hand

"is that all we did?" you asked, trying to calm yourself and catch your breath

"that wasn't even the beginning"

-------------------------------

if you couldn't tell by the shit writing, I don't really enjoy writing smut because I'm shit in that area of writing

[totallynotlx]

Benefactor

A/N: In honor of my precious, beloved boys. You both deserved the world but they did you so wrong. Also yes, I hurt myself writing this thankssssss

Tags: Dad!Gojo Agenda, a bit of fluff I guess?, Hurt / No Comfort coz I am hurting rn

Word Count: 745

Benefactor 

It's the word that Megumi would always associate Gojo with. He wasn't particularly fond of the man, but he doesn't despise him either... not always anyway. He owes him that much, at least. The man had no business adopting two kids when he was just sixteen. But he did it. Sure, he wasn't the perfect role model, but he remembers how much he cared for them. 

He made the effort to celebrate his and Tsumiki's birthdays the first year he took them in. Christmas was extravagant, too. That's where Megumi discovered his disgusting addiction to sweets. The table was full of it. Some of which he and Tsumiki haven't tried before. Tsumiki was ecstatic, with bits of icing on her cheek as she ate, while Megumi was more content with the peppermint candy canes. He also made sure they had presents. 

When school came around, Gojo took care of everything. He was still too young to enter Jujutsu High, so he ensured they had a proper education. He made sure they had everything, from their needs to their wants. 

"He's weird. But he's not a bad adult." He remembers Tsumiki's words all those years ago after Gojo took them in. Megumi would argue that she shouldn't be too trusting since it may still be a political ploy, but it never happened. 

Gojo genuinely did care for them. He made Tsumiki laugh. When he found out they comforted him, he gave Megumi stuffed animals that resembled his curse techniques. He vaguely remembers him tucking them both to bed when they fell asleep on the couch. He made sure they had a roof over their heads. He ensured Megumi pursued his other interests that didn't revolve around jujutsu sorcery. And even though Megumi was mature for his age, he tried his best to give him a sense of a normal childhood. Even when he became such a rebellious teen, Gojo was there, always patient with the same stupid grin. He didn't reprimand him as Tsumiki did, but he tried to guide him in his own way. The training sessions would be longer, harder even, but he never shouted at him, was never mad at him, or was never frustrated with him. 

"You have the potential to be on par with me, Megumi." Gojo's words echoed in his mind, crystal clear. "So you gotta keep a level head."

Thoughts began to swirl endlessly in his clouded mind as the memory faded. It was like almost seeing a ghost, always flitting through, never materializing. Images came and went like his own shallow breathing. It was getting harder to breathe. His chest felt like it was getting constricted by some unknown force, and he felt hot all over.

He recognizes the sensation. Pain. 

Subconsciously, Megumi grits his teeth, his nails digging into the inside of his palm. The dull sensation becomes more and more apparent with each second. His head was throbbing, and his vision blurred for a moment.

Take a good look, brat.

The voice that invaded his mind was unwelcome and brash. Slowly, the darkness morphs into a blurry scenery, like his eyes are camera lenses trying to focus on a subject. And that subject is at his feet.

He can make out the gray concrete now, rough and cracked as someone laid down on it. 

Why is someone lying on the concrete?

Megumi hears a sharp intake of breath, eyes trying their best to focus on the source of the sound. Red liquid pooled on the ground. Blood. That's when he notices a familiar white tousled hair. Albeit he doesn't see it often, he grew up seeing him casually wearing his hair down around both of them siblings. His senses were sharper now. His vision finally focuses on the figure on the ground.

Benefactor. 

It's that one word that Megumi would always use to describe Gojo to everyone if asked about their relationship. But right now, he can barely remember the word.

"Gojo-sensei..?" His words were a mere whisper. Gojo only blinks away the tears in his eyes in response, eyes slowly losing their luminescent blue luster. Warm streaks drip down from Megumi's eyes. Tears. 

"Dad?" 

A faint smile appears on Gojo's lips, and with one final blink, he loses the life behind those signature blue eyes of his, and silence descends upon them both. It was a grief so great that Megumi could only stand there in silence, mourning the only father he ever knew.

Inspired by this tweet that shared this very hurtful tiktok :')

[the-raven-lady]

a gift for @men-want-me-fish-fear-me !! it told me about its mpreg AU and got me thinking about the complications that would have for someone like Konrad

this one's a bit heavy on body image issues so please be in a good state of mind for this!!

please read the warnings!!

Character: Konrad Curze

Song Inspiration: Real Men - Mitski [YouTube] [Spotify] "Real men don't need other people / And real men suck it in / Real men don't flinch or bleed in public / Oh, I think I'm a real man."

Warnings: mpreg, pregnancy symptoms, self image issues, self-inflicted gore, lamenting dark realities, implication of potential non-con, mentions of infanticide

Word Count: 643

Konrad groaned as the weight shift nearly threw him off balance and crashing into the stones below. Had the nausea not been enough? Blackened nails and coarse fingertips drag over the sensitive flesh of his aching abdomen, the skin taut against the growing life beneath. The Night Haunter loathed his natural urges. Being bound to a biological clock beyond his control was one of the many gifts of his father that he would rather have ripped out long ago.

As if he hadn’t already tried. 

It was easy enough for him to sink his clawed finger tips deep into the putrid skin of his belly. The iron tang of blood spilled had only served to spur him on, ripping and tearing and pulling as the offending organ until it was nothing but fleshy pink viscera on the floor. How miserable it had been when it had not even taken a week for the gland to revive itself. The regenerative nature of primarch biology seemed to leave him no choice in the matter.

Righting himself on his perch, Konrad elected to take a break from his prowling to calm the waves of nausea washing over him. He would never get used to it. A zing of electricity shot up from his tailbone when he sat against the stone ledge, drawing a gasp from him, then several curses. He gently rubs the base of his spine to soothe the ache.

Konrad felt delicate. Every little action that he would normally perform without effort could prove to be too much on his pregnant body. Perhaps he would be fine with it if he chose when the urges to breed took him, but his genealogy couldn’t even grant him that. Throne save the next helpless serf that wandered in his path when it kicked in, for Konrad knew their chances of survival were slim at best. This was a part of his father’s great vision? Bouncing on the cock of passers-by then birthing sons into a legion of murders and scum? It infuriated the primarch to no end. His only saving grace was that he never seemed to inflate to the size of his expecting brothers, remaining more gaunt and lithe.

Perhaps if he were Guilliman or Fulgrim, he could try to find an ounce of pride in bringing a new life into the world. Maybe then, he would see a purpose to all of the lost meals, cramping, and searing pain of the birthing process. Maybe then he wouldn’t hate the changes to his body, losing the ability to bend and contort as he wished. Maybe then he would want to hold the boys as they came out and coo at them as his brothers did.

His legion would never be grateful for the effort he put in for them. He would spare all of his blood children the mercy of ever having to integrate into the Night Lords with a quick snap to the neck if they weren’t always taken from him so quickly. Darling of his brothers to chain him down each and every time he neared emergence after they discovered the fates of the first several cycles. Fulgrim had been mortified hearing about how Konrad had disposed of the newborns like waste.

The Imperial Palace was always quiet at this time of night, nobles and Astartes alike turning in by this hour. Only Custodians remained, silent watchers they were (at least they could mind their own business), and his brothers would rarely come to check in on him. Konrad let out a weary sigh and tucked his legs the best he could against his swollen belly, protecting the fetus within. Emotions threatened to boil over in his chest, and Konrad Curze had to choke back a tired sob.

Things would be much easier if he didn’t still love each of his sons anyway.

[phantom-playdough]

MK, Mei, Wukong, Red Son, & Macaque x GN!Reader: Stressed Doggo

Requested by: @nightraveler2

Request Concept: Reader is a human, but transforms into a dog. They cannot do it on command and end up panicking when they do transform. How would the characters above react? Let's find out.

Side note: I ended up adding a detail. I imagined that the reader ended up getting cursed by a non-specified artifact and that is how they transform into a dog, as well as it takes a lot of focus to transform back into a human.

Side note #2: You can pick the dog breed you take the form of, I left it ambiguous.

Wukong:

I feel like he likely be outside of his hut picking peaches when he suddenly hears a loud shriek from inside. His first thought was that a demon had somehow come onto his island and was hurting you. So, with him boiling at the thought, he zoomed into his house. But he paused in shock when he saw his S/O running around in an absolute FRENZY... in the form of a dog. But Wukong had to push his own shock aside to help his S/O try and calm down.

So, he would slowly approach them, picking them up and holding them in his arms. At first, Y/n struggled in his grip, but then they realized it was just Wukong and started to relax in his hold. But they were still scared of course and were beginning to hyperventilate. Wukong hushed and shushed, speaking soft, reassuring words in their now more sensitive but soft ears.

Eventually, Y/n's breathing slowed down and their anxiety calmed down. Wukong took that time to ask, "Y/n, how did you turn into a dog?"

"I don't really know. I was just putting some stuff aside for you to throw out like you asked and I touched some weird looking artifact. Next thing I knew, it started glowing and I transformed into a dog."

Wukong paused as the gears in his head turned, before snapping into place. "Ohhhh, I know which one you're talking about. Welp! Luckily, it's pretty easy to fix. You just have to put a little focus into imagining your normal form and before you know it, you'll transform back!"

"I don't know..."

"Just trust me! C'mon, I know you can do it, Y/n!"

Y/n sighed and took in a deep breath. They then cleared their mind and focused on their human form. Suddenly, a flash of white covered their vision and they slowly opened their eyes to see their hands instead of paws.

They exhaled a breath they didn't know they were holding and hugged Wukong, still sitting sideways in his lap. Wukong laughed a little and wrapped an arm around their waist, kissing the top of their head.

Macaque:

Macaque and Y/n were at the marketplace, intent on spending the day to have fun window-shopping together. But while they were walking around, an odd-looking artifact caught Y/n's eyes. So, they paused their steps to take a closer look at it.

By the time Macaque realized Y/n was no longer by his side and turned around, he saw too late that they had picked up the artifact to hold in one of their hands.

"Y/n! Don't touch that!"

But it was too late, like I said. And the artifact glowed a bright green and by the time Macaque blinked once, Y/n was a dog. They immediately came to the same horrific conclusion and began to panic.

Macaque ran over, picking Y/n up and summoned a portal back to the dojo. Once the pair were back at the dojo, Macaque sat down and held Y/n in his arms.

"It's okay, Y/n. It's okay. Just breathe for me. Just breathe." Macaque said in a soothing voice. He inhaled a deep breath, Y/n following his example and taking a deep breath in as best as they could. After a minute or two of this, Y/n managed to calm down. But they started whining, making Macaque chuckle just a tad bit.

"Shh, shh, shh. Just focus on my voice. Clear your mind, imagine your face. Imagine your human form. Focus on that image. Okay?"

Y/n did as instructed and with a flash of light, they had transformed back into their human form.

After breathing a sigh of relief, they looked at Macaque, a curious expression on their face. "How did you know what to do for me to transform back?"

Macaque looked off to the side sheepishly. "I... may or may not have...experience with those kind of artifacts..."

Y/n paused for a moment. But they busted out into a small fit of laughter. "You ought to tell me that story sometime, Mac."

Macaque rolled his eyes with a poorly hidden smirk. "I don't think so."

"...Thanks."

Red Son:

Red Son had just recently acquired an artifact for a scheme or something for his father. Y/n wasn't sure what the scheme was, but they had to admit the artifact was quite beautiful. But, because it looked so stunning, they just couldn't resist touching it with a finger.

Within no more than a moment, a bright flash of light blinded them and they suddenly were a dog.

"RED!!!!" Y/n screamed. Red Son immediately busted into the lab and immediately froze to see Y/n in the form of a dog.

"Y/n, you peasant!! Why did you touch that artifact!?!" Red Son yelled, but immediately calmed down when he saw Y/n run around in circles because they were in a point of complete panic.

He took a breath and approached his table, grabbing a small screwdriver-looking device. He then walked over to Y/n and pressed the button on the device, making Y/n freeze and start glowing bright yellow. They shut their eyes, bracing themselves for God knows what would happen next.

But when they opened their eyes, Y/n was relieved to see their hands again. Y/n smiled, looking at Red Son before kissing his cheek.

"You're staying out of my lab for a while, you peasant."

MK:

Monkey King had sent MK out to get an artifact for him. MK wasn't really told what Monkey King needed this thing for, but he assumed it was for some scheme or something. Who knew with him, though?

So, Y/n and MK went out on a mission to find the artifact. Luckily, they got it without much issue. (Aside from Y/n almost falling off a cliff.) But while the pair were on their way back to Pigsy's Noodles, Y/n was marveling the artifact when they saw a gemstone set in the middle of the base. Y/n couldn't take their eyes off of it as much as they tried to focus on the street ahead of them.

But, Y/n finally cracked and pressed a single finger against the gemstone, caressing it softly. Suddenly, a blinding light was left piercing through the otherwise dark night sky. MK shielded their eyes from the light, waiting for it to fade. When it finally did, MK opened his eyes to see Y/n much shorter...and hairier than normal.

"Hey, MK...? How come you're suddenly so much taller now?" MK couldn't fight the cringe on his face if they tried. But they didn't have aa chance to explain the fact that their significant other was now a DOG because Y/n caught a reflection of themself in a trashcan.

Right on cue, they shrieked and began running around in circles from blind panic. MK thought quickly and picked Y/n up, before summoning his staff to launch himself over to Pigsy's Noodles. MK all but busted into the establishment to see Tang and Pigsy sitting at one of the booths.

"MK, where did ya get a dog? We aren't--"

"Mr.Tang! Y/n got transformed into a dog by some weird artifact!" MK sped over to Tang and shoved a hyperventilating Y/n Dog Edition into his face.

Tang immediately pulled out a book (Where was he keeping a book?!) and flipped through the pages. Meanwhile, MK was rocking Y/n back and forth in their arms in an attempt to console them. Finally, Tang landed on one page and explained the artifact cursed those who touched the gemstone on it with becoming a random animal.

Tang then explained that the fix was relatively simple. MK would just have to calm Y/n down and help them visualize their human form. MK decided to try just that. Calming them down was relatively easy because there was an explanation as to what was happening. But helping them visualize themselves was a bit more tricky for some reason.

So, MK decided to try a different approach. So, he grabbed his art supplies and began drawing at a neck-breaking pace. They ignored the confused look on Y/n's furry face. Finally, MK turned the page around and showed Y/n a drawing of their human form. They stared at the drawing for a moment or two, before they finally transformed back with another blinding flash of light.

Y/n slowly opened their eyes to only be crushed by MK in a hug.

"Thank you, Xiaotian. I owe you one."

Mei:

Mei set her fork down, looking across the table at her loving S/O eating their food. Y/n caught Mei's eye and swallowed their bite. "What? Do I have something stuck on my face?"

Mei brought a hand to her chin, thinking for a moment. "Yeah, you do. You have SEXY written all over your face!!"

Y/n laughed, not expecting that answer. Mei was the type to stare and not be ashamed for doing so. Not that Y/n minded.

"I actually have something for ya, Y/n." Mei said, pulling a gift bag out of seemingly nowhere.

"Aww! And here I thought we weren't going to get each other gifts."

"You deserve to be splurged! Now open it up, already!" Mei had such a strong amount of cheer that it was almost impossible to not be cheerful when around her.

Y/n peeked into the bag, pulling out a super shiny artifact. "Wow, Mei...where did you get this?! It wasn't too expensive, right?"

"Pssh! NOTHING is too expensive for you. Buuuuut, I found it while I was on an adventure with MK." Mei then immediately pulled her phone out and fired up her livestream. She zoomed around the other side of the table and showed the artifact and Y/n.

"THIS is yet another good look at the beautiful light in front of me. The artifact is nice too!"

"Oh, my God Mei!" Y/n shrieked with a cackle.

But suddenly, the artifact started glowing brightly. Y/n shieled their eyes with an arm while Mei dropped her phone to cover her eyes.

Once the light faded away into nothing, Mei opened her eyes to see a dog.

"M-Mei, why are you so tall?" The dog asked. It was only then that Mei realized that Y/n had turned into a dog.

"HOW DID YOU TURN INTO A DOG!?!?"

"I'M A DOG!?"

Mei's phone dinging at a near constant rate brought them out of her moment of panic.

'Mei, tell them to visualize their human form. That artifact probably was cursed and that can fix it.'

Mei immediately took Y/n into her arms and began rocking them back and forth. They wiggled around at first, but Mei shushed them and whispered, "Just think of your human form. You should transform back if you can picture it."

Y/n did as they were told and before they knew it, another bright light covered the area.

Once the light faded once more, Y/n looked down at their body to luckily see no fur or fluffy dog tail.

Y/n breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mei."

"No problem, babe."

[justme315]

Tiny Best Friend 5/5

Final Part

First part:

Previous part:

!warning!

angst, vore mention, vore scare, ¿abuse?, treating a person as an animal, vimioting, blood, curse words

--------------------------------------

When Jake began to regain consciousness, everything was different than before. His back and chest hurt terribly, he was also lying on something cold and hard, like... metal? He felt dizzy and had a hard time opening his eyes. He also had a bit of a gag reflex and the taste of blood in his mouth. Despite his sincere intentions, he was unable to sit down and see what was happening around him. He also heard ringing in his ears, but after a while the noise stopped and what he heard was... unusual. Someone was humming a tune. He recognized it, but couldn't remember where from. The voice seemed familiar to him too. He tried hard to open his eyes again. His vision was shrouded in black and blurred images showed through. How did this happen? How did he get there, wherever he was? He remembered that he was in the forest and... His headache blurred his vision of previous events. And the pain in his chest was becoming more and more unbearable. He felt like he was about to vomit his lungs and his entire arteriovenous system at once.

A sigh.

The borrower heard a sigh that sounded awfully familiar. Just like his - former - friend Lucas. Lucas. OH FUCK. Jake suddenly remembered what happened in the forest. He remembered meeting Lucas there. He remembered how Lucas had gone crazy, what he had said about "coming home", how he had shouted at him, how he had invaded his personal space, how he had grabbed him and... That was why Jake's chest was hurting so badly right now. Lucas squeezed him in his hands. He wanted to kill him. Lucas wanted to kill Jake. He turned into a monster. Jake had to get out of there, Lucas was near, he was going to kill him-

"Oh Jake, you're awake" Lucas' voice rang in the borrower's ears. It wasn't hard to hear the human's colossal footsteps. His voice was cold, showed no emotion, was different than usual. Jake tried to open his eyes, but his eyesight was still in poor condition. He could see only hazy shadows in front of him. Despite this, he rose to a standing position but quickly fell back down. He saw blurry shadows and colors moving in front of him - he knew it was Lucas. Jake's mouth filled with blood again and his vision slowly began to clear. He vomited in front of himself and it was almost all red, from what he could see, all blood.

“Oh, Jake… You look so pitiful when you're throwing up blood. I almost feel sorry for you" Lucas's voice mimicked to be concerned at first, but the sentence ended with a cold laugh. "I waited a long time before you woke up. A very long time. I thought you were dying or something. You scared me."

The borrower's vision finally cleared and what he saw made him wish he would still not be able to see. Or maybe even wish that he would have died in this forest.

Cage. He was in a cage.

Jake was in a small cage on Lucas' desk in his room. The cage was metal and impossible to open from the inside, let alone by someone as small as him. How was this possible? Did Lucas put him in a cage? Has he lost all his mind? The boy's body began to tremble more intensely, the vomiting reflex returned, and tears came to his eyes. He was terrified, devastated and furious. But mostly terrified. He wanted to look at Lucas, see what happened, believe it wasn't him at all, but he couldn't. He knew it was Lucas, but he wanted to hold on to a slender hope, he wanted to delude himself that it wasn't true.

"You know... I would feel stupid, even a little sad, if I killed you in that forest" the human voice sounded rough, but on some level also mocking and satirical "If you died there, you wouldn't see what I have prepared for you."

Jake lifted his head slightly and blood continued to drip from his mouth down his chin to the cages floor. His fear began to turn into anger, moreover rage. What right did someone who promised him support, care and safety in every situation have to now behave so recklessly? So terribly? So psychopathic? God only knew what possessed him, but whatever it was, it came from the deepest pits of hell.

"You have prepared something for me? Wow. First a broken rib and a kidnapping, and now another surprise? What a happy day for gifts from such monster." Jake's angry gaze finally reached the human, but he didn't seem bothered it. Besides, the words the borrower spoke didn't sound half as harsh as they were supposed to, because they were spoken by a creature the size of a mouse, locked in a cage, unable to stand on its own feet and spitting blood. Jake was pathetic at best.

"Are you that impatient to know what I'm going to do with you?" Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"It'd be nice to know what you're planning."

"Too bad. I haven't made a final decision yet. Fortunately, you're awake now and giving me more and more great ideas."

"What, are you going to lock me in this cage for the rest of my life and turn me into your little pet?" Jake spat blood "Or are you going to have bipolar disorder again and apologize and say you care about me?"

"You have very optimistic visions" Lucas smiled terrifyingly with teeth "Did you believe that I was really nice? Ha, you are even stupider than I thought. It was a farce, pretending so i could get you. Now you have no chance against me, I can take revenge for how you lied to me and left me. I can show you what the human you wanted so badly to pretend can do to a nothing like you."

Jake's eyes were filled with tears again, but he tried to suppress them.

"So that's how it must be. You were supposed to be a friend, but you turned out to be a monster. A wolf in sheep's clothing".

"You were supposed to be a friend, a human, but you turned out to be an edible animal. Who is really a wolf in sheep’s clothing here?" Lucas' words made Jake unable to hold back his tears anymore and he started shaking harder. The emphasis on the word 'edible' was obvious, and Jake knew it was a warning, maybe even a threat.

"Don't start this whole game of crying and begging for mercy. We both know you're below me in the food chain. You wanted to play "human", so now please, bear the consequences like a human. Maybe you want to fight? Settle it like men, like humans? But I can't promise that I won't crush you into flat with one move." Lucas spoke with a cold smile etched on his large face, looking at the tearful, shaking, terrified Jake with his ice-cold gaze.

Jake looked away from the giant, so as not to show how pathetically terrified he was of what was happening. His voice was shaking too much to speak and his body was hurting too much for him to think about how to get out of this hellish situation. For a moment he even wondered whether such a death would not be the best - quick, very painful, but quick. It was definitely better than what was supposed to happen.

"I even feel a kinda sorry for you" Lucas admitted "Nature hasn't equipped your species with a brain and survival instinct good enough to see through manipulation. But I must admit, you impressed me. When you pretended to be human, I was fooled. Too bad you didn't know back then how it would have ended for you, little creature."

Jake's heart began to beat much faster, his thoughts overwhelmed him, blood rushed to his mouth again, his entire body trembled with fear, and tears flowed mercilessly. The anger died in him. Every emotion but one died in him. He was completely consumed with fear.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Enough of this talk, it's boring".

The man opened the cage door and before Jake knew it, his hand reached out to grab him. The borrower backed out at the last minute. However, it did not help him much, because despite his great effort to avoid the hand of his former friend aka the monster in front of him, he failed to repeat it and saved his life only for a few more seconds. The hellish pain in his chest cut off his ability to escape, and Lucas grabbed him the second time and took him out of the cage without much effort. Jake struggled, trying to get out of the grip he was in. His heart was beating much too fast and too loud. His breathing was restricted. The pressure on his already damaged chest was piercing him completely and crushing him from the inside. He didn't want to die just yet.

However, the threat of death was not the worst. Jake always believed there had to be something after death, so maybe it wasn't the worst. And even if there was nothing there, it would mean that death would end his suffering and that was comforting in a way. What was much worse was that Lucas could have had every terrible way in the world to kill him. But even that wasn't the worst, no.

The worst thing would be that even though Lucas would kill him, he would still love him. He would still be his brother. In his heart, Lucas would still be the most important person to him.

"Remember when we talked about borrowers?" Lucas smirked and brought the hand that Jake was in closer to himself. Jake gulped.

"Remember how I talked about meals made of borrowers?" his devilish smirk grew "Remember how I said I would eat one while it was still alive? How I would swallow it while it was still alive just to feel it dying in my stomach?".

"I'm b-begging y-you Lucas" Jake sobbed between heavy breaths and tears "Spare m-me".

"Nah, i don't think i will, lil' creature" the human smiled with his sharp teeth, looking down at the scared being in his hands.

Before Jake knew it, the hand he was in moved closer to Lucas' mouth. The human licked his lips.

"Any last words, lil' creature?" Lucas laughed.

Jake began to fall into the large monster's mouth. In the last seconds before colliding with the giant fangs of death, he shouted: "Lucas, please don't! Please Lucas!"

"HEY"

Jake looked around himself. He was sitting on Lucas' bed, the boy was sitting next to him, they were both human sized, and Lucas looked terrified.

"W-what's g-going on h-here?!" Jake shouted in horror, looking around and then directly at the human.

"Calm down, dude, you were only daydreaming for a moment and you scared me" said the boy, showing his friend to breathe.

"W-what..?"

"Well, we were playing video games and you won, remember? Then you suggested we have a conversation, you wanted to talk about something. I was waiting for you to say what it was all about, but you started daydreaming, sat quietly and thought about something and didn't react to me at all for a good 15 minutes, until tears just started falling down your cheeks. That's why I raised my voice, I'm sorry, but you scared me" Lucas tried to explain the situation.

Jake's eyes widened and he rubbed his eyes, wiping away the tears "Sorry, I was a little lost in thought, I didn't want to scare you Lucas, you're my best friend."

Lucas smiled widely, "You're my best best friend too."

"So what did you want to talk about Jake?"

----------------------------------------

Thank you for reading! I hope you have enjoyed their story. Sorry for not posting for a long time, I hope new posts will make up for it❤️

[jaggedhorseteeth]

Better in the Morning // Ch. 5

MASTERLIST

Ouch. Sorry, guys.

Word count: 3017

CHAPTER WARNINGS: Language, drinking/severe alcoholism, vomiting, severe depression, panic attacks, anxiety, probably post-traumatic stress disorder on some level, a lot of talk about suicide/attempts, mentions of narcissism, manipulation, and emotional abuse

It was days like this I was grateful that Jake had given me a key to his house. Since that first night, I had only witnessed one other episode, and that was months ago. It was still difficult for him to open up during these times and reach out to me, when he was stuck so deep in his own head that all he could hear were those dark thoughts, but the warning signs were there: self-isolation, not answering texts or phone calls, and when he did talk it was mostly self-deprecating.

I had spoken to Josh to keep him in the loop and let him know I was on my way to check on his twin, assuring him I’d reach out if I needed him. I’m not sure how much he trusted me at this point, but he let me handle it.

It was still early in the evening when I arrived; the sun was just starting to go down. The house was dark and quiet as I’d expected. As I passed the kitchen, I noticed two empty whiskey bottles on the counter. The drinking was a little worrisome, but it wasn’t like he was constantly drunk, at least not on good days. During the bad days, though, it was as if he was trying to drown himself in it.

I expected to find him in his usual spot on the floor beside his bed, but he wasn’t there. The bathroom door was shut; I didn’t see any light coming from under it. I lightly tapped on the door, calling his name. When I got no answer, I tried to turn the doorknob. Locked. I knocked again and called out, louder this time. When all I received in response was silence, my heart dropped into my stomach. Memories from my childhood came rushing in, blurring my vision and putting a halt to the air I was trying to draw in. I was having a panic attack, something I hadn’t experienced in years. I was yelling and banging on the door, listening for any sign that he was okay. I tried to call his cell phone, praying to whatever gods I didn’t really believe in that he would answer, only to hear the vibrations from the bedside table.

I dialed Josh’s number, immediately launching into a blubbering mess when he answered, begging him to come. I don’t really remember what I said, or how much of it he understood through my cries, but he told me he was on the way and hung up.

I kept trying, even trying to force the door open or break the doorknob, but I wasn’t quite strong enough. I couldn’t catch my breath, and my heart was beating so fast I thought it might stop. My chest hurt and my hands were numb and already starting to bruise from banging on the door. I couldn’t push the images from my head of what I thought I might find, what I remembered. Blood. Why is there blood everywhere? Screaming. Is he alive? Is he breathing? Water all over the floor. He looks so pale. Why is there so much blood?

After what felt like hours (although it must have only been ten or fifteen minutes), I heard the front door slam and Josh running up the stairs. He took one look at my hysterical state and turned his attention to the bathroom door. He banged on it so loud it felt as though it shook the whole house. “Jake, if you don’t open this fucking door, I’m gonna break it down!”

When he got no response either, he cursed under his breath and told me to stand back while he slammed himself shoulder first into the door. That was going to hurt tomorrow. It took a few attempts before the sound of splintering wood echoed through the room and the door flew open. I couldn’t breathe; I felt suffocated, expecting the worst-case scenario.

There was no blood. I choked on my sobs as Josh rushed to his twin, who was slumped against the bathtub on the floor. Please, please be okay.

“He’s just passed the fuck out. Jesus, Jake.” Josh slapped his cheek a few times in an attempt to wake him up, but to no avail. The smell of liquor was strong and judging from the bottle that lay broken on the floor, plus the two in the kitchen, he’d polished off at least three. Josh then turned on the sink and cupped his hand to splash some cold water on his brother. Jake’s eyes fluttered open for a moment before closing again as he fell unconscious again. He’s alive. He’s going to be okay. He’s still here. I repeated the words inside my head like a mantra, trying to bring myself back down from my panicked state.

Josh sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face. “Can you help me get him into bed?”

We didn’t speak as we lifted him off the floor. He was basically dead weight, so it was a struggle to drag him over to the bed. I wanted so badly to stay with him, to hold him while he slept, but I was still wired, and I was starting to feel sick.

Josh got to work cleaning up the broken glass on the bathroom floor. I gently ran my hand through Jake’s hair before planting a kiss on his forehead and leaving the room.

It was so hot. Or maybe it was just me. I stepped outside the front door, welcoming the open air. I counted the cracks on the concrete. One. Two. Three. Four. My breath shuddered as I tried to control it, and my body was shaking. My eyes burned from crying and I’m sure they were bloodshot; I’m sure I looked like shit entirely. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and I suddenly felt very ill. I doubled over and emptied the contents of my stomach into the grass.

“Are you okay?”

I jumped at the sound of Josh’s voice. I didn’t hear him come outside. He stood there, looking at me with what was probably pity in his eyes.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m sorry. I got scared. I’m sorry I freaked out.” I was still breathing so heavily I’m shocked I didn’t pass out, too.

He bit his lip and extended his hand. “C’mon, let’s go inside. I’ll get you some water.”

I nodded and followed him back inside. I didn’t have the energy to speak as he handed me a glass of cold water. We sat in silence for a while; I was grateful for the chance to get my breathing under control and my head straight. But just as I was beginning to feel like myself again, Josh had to go run his mouth and get my blood boiling.

“I understand if you can’t handle this.”

Sighing, I rubbed my eyes and sat up to meet his. “And what do you mean by that, Joshua?”

“I’m just saying that this isn’t going to go away. If it’s too much, if you can’t stick around for the next one-“

I glared at him and cut him off before he could finish his sentence. “Are we really having this conversation again? I’ve already told you I’m not fucking going anywhere. I’m sorry that I got scared. What was I supposed to do?”

“He’s not going to off himself, Kya.”

“No, he might just drink himself to death. So fuck me for being worried about him.” He was avoiding my gaze and absentmindedly picking at his cuticles. “You don’t get it, do you?”

“Huh?”

I waited for him to lift his head so I could look him in the eyes when I spoke again. “He’s it for me, Josh. Do you think I’m bullshitting you when I tell you I love him more than anything? He is my everything. He’s my end game. I know things might not always be perfect or easy- what part of relationships is? We all have baggage, and I’m prepared to stand by him while he deals with his, no matter how bad it might get. I understand that you’re probably just trying to protect your brother, I get that, and maybe you don’t think I’m good enough for him or whatever, but for fuck’s sake stop trying to scare me off. Maybe man up and tell me what you’re fucking problem is so we can work through it like adults.”

I was absolutely fuming at this point. I had tried so hard to keep my cool with Josh, if only for Jake’s sake. I was so sick of him acting like he still couldn’t trust me after so long. It had been over a year- a year and three months to be exact. My frustration with him had only been building, and this was the icing on the cake, on top of all the stress tonight. His eyes started to well up with tears and I suddenly felt guilty.

“I’m sorry. You’re right.” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’ve been an asshole to you.” I waited, forcing myself to be patient as he searched for his next words. “The last time Jake fell in love, that girl ripped his fucking heart out. She treated him like shit, like he didn’t mean anything to her.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the mention of his ex. “I told you. I’m not her.”

“She seemed really sweet at first, we all liked her. But she didn’t love him, she loved the idea of him. He fell hard for her, though. She messed with his head; a manipulative narcissist is what Sam called her. The first time she witnessed one of his episodes, you know what she did? She told him to grow up or just kill himself. He never really said this, but I think she genuinely tried to convince him to do it.”

“What the actual fuck?” I almost couldn’t believe what he was telling me.

“Yeah. And then she cheated on him, rubbed it in his face by sending him a clip of the sex tape, and said a bunch more really fucked up things to him that I won’t repeat. She messed him up. That was the only time I ever worried he might actually hurt himself. He never did, but… you know.” He shrugged and fiddled with a frayed spot on his pants. “But then you came along, and he’s been so happy. When you guys fought that night at the bar, he was terrified he was going to lose you. I was pissed at you for being mad at him when he didn’t do anything wrong. I guess I got scared, too. I don’t want to see him get hurt again.”

“I didn’t know about any of that,” I whispered. “What a cunt.”

He snorted. “Ain’t that the truth.”

“He never talks about her.”

“I don’t figure he would want to.”

“It’s gonna be on sight if that bitch ever shows her face, you know.”

I didn’t intend it as a joke, but Josh chuckled. “Careful, your crazy is showing.” I shot him the bird and he grinned. “I think you’re nuts, but he loves you. Actually,” he looked down at his lap again, but I swear he smiled. “I think you’re it for him, too.”

My heart swelled at his admission. “I’m sorry for snapping at you.”

He shrugged and smiled sadly. “It’s okay. It’s been a rough night.”

“I’m sorry that I freaked out, too. It all just hit a little too close to home for me.” I hugged my knees to my chest as Josh cocked his head inquisitively at me. This is the part where I would typically shut my mouth and tell myself no one needed to hear about my trauma. There were only a handful of people who knew the story. Did I really want Josh to be in that circle when I had not even told my own boyfriend? But despite the wedge between us, Josh had this aura around him that was warm and inviting. I found myself in a strange position of wanting to open up to him, to give him an explanation of why I reacted the way I did tonight. So, I took a deep breath and that’s what I did.

“I had a brother. Luca. He was two years older than me. He had sporadic episodes, too, like Jake, except he did hurt himself. A lot.” I chewed on my bottom lip as the anxiety rose up in my chest. “Jake doesn’t know. I don’t know why I haven’t told him, I just…” I shook my head.

“What happened to him?” Josh’s voice was soft and gentle, letting me know he was listening.

I was already in the water, and it was too late to get out now. “He was my best friend. He was funny and sweet; he took care of me when our dad couldn’t. When he was at his best, he was all contagious smiles and laughter, the sun personified. But when he was at his lowest, he wasn’t my brother anymore. And I never knew which side of him I was going to get.” I sucked in a deep breath to fight off the tears threatening to spill. “He tried to end it a few times. I was 11 when he locked himself in the bathroom. They busted the door down and he had cut his wrists in the bathtub. I thought… I thought it was going to be Jake’s blood all over the tile when you opened that door.”

I didn’t notice that Josh had stood and walked over to the couch, sitting next to me and putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“He didn’t die that night. I sometimes wish he had.” I didn’t want to see the look Josh was surely giving me. I’m sure he was judging me. “I wish he had, because a few years later, I found him in the woods by our house with a gun to his head. He looked me dead in the eyes and pulled the trigger. He blew his fucking brains out right in front of me. I was 14. And sometimes I hate him for it.”

“Fucking hell,” Josh whispered. I was crying now, my head buried in my hands in a pathetic attempt to hide it, vaguely aware of him rubbing a hand up and down my back.

“I think maybe… I haven’t told Jake because I don’t want him to feel guilty. And… I know he isn’t Luca. Luca’s been gone for a long time, and right now, Jake’s the one that needs me. I’m gonna take care of him, because I love him. So much.”

Both of our heads shot up and the sound of a distinctive thump, followed by a cough. I stood and followed the sound, only to find Jake seated on the staircase, on one of the bottom steps, his head leaned up against the wall. Bloodshot and tear-filled eyes came up to meet mine, emphasized by dark circles. “Baby,” I sat next to him and pulled him into my arms. “How long have you been sitting here?”

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I scared you.”

I shushed him. “It’s okay, and you’re okay. That’s what matters.” I held onto him, listening to his uneven breaths. Josh peeked at us from around the corner, looking just as exhausted as I felt. “Jake, baby, you want to come lay on the couch with me?” Once seated on the couch, Josh handed him a glass of water, which he took a tiny sip of before abandoning on the coffee table. I coaxed him to lie down, his head in my lap. The overwhelming smell of liquor flooded my nostrils, but I’d drag him into the shower later. Right now, he needed rest, and probably some assurance that he was loved.

He fell asleep like that, spread across the couch, holding onto my hand like his life depended on it. Josh gently tossed a throw blanket on top of him and retreated to his spot on the recliner. I wasn’t in the most comfortable position, but I didn’t dare move Jake. I rested my free hand on his head, doing my best to smooth out his knotted hair. Josh dozed off next, curled up in the recliner.

I know I didn’t sleep much, but eventually I opened my eyes to the room lit by the early morning sun. Jake was still sleeping. The faint sound of a toilet flushing indicated that Josh was already up, and I realized I desperately needed to pee. I gently nudged Jake awake and he blinked at me sleepily. He mumbled an apology, which I brushed off, reassuring him he didn’t have a damn thing to apologize for.

After relieving myself and cleaning up a little, I returned to Jake, laid back down on the couch. He complained of a pounding headache; that made sense considering he was probably extremely hungover. The way his sad eyes avoided mine and his lack of interest in getting up from the couch was a clear sign that he hadn’t gotten out of his head yet. He was still suffering.

With some help from Josh, I managed to coax Jake into the shower. His energy was nonexistent. I stayed with him, taking the chance to shower myself. I helped him wash and comb out his matted hair; he seemed to enjoy it, and I didn’t mind taking the time to do it. I understand that caring for someone like that isn’t for everyone. It can be stressful and time consuming, but I didn’t regret making this decision. He was my everything, despite the bad nights and the fear that dwelled in my gut. When have I ever let fear control me, though?

I would do whatever he needed me to, whatever would make him understand that he wasn’t alone, and I was never going to let him deal with this alone. Whatever shit came for him, we’d face it together.

[liz-allyn]

sugar and vice, pt 2 [mob!tasm!peter x fem!reader]

summary: Peter makes a daring rescue to save Honey. Or is this a rescue at all? more shameless trope pining.

words: 5.5k

warnings: mob-typical violence. whump. hurt/comfort. bandaging wounds. ouchy hurt boo boo. lots of crying. references to assault. someone gets tortured. shameless forced proximity trope. imprisonment. slowest burn. a dash of questionable and/or morally grey intentions.

you're responsible for your own content consumption. but that being said, if you're too young to remember the ipod nano, this aint for you, chief.

Back to Part 1

Part 2

How many state capitals can you name?

Montgomery. Juneau. Phoenix. Little Rock.

She was running out of questions to distract herself. She’d already gone through listing all of Stephen King’s novels. All of the Presidents. All of the elements of the Periodic Table. She was running out of distractions.

Sacramento. Denver. Hartford. Dover.

She’d been to Delaware once for a funeral. The whole state was a graveyard. She was going to be killed and who would be at her funeral? Would her dark-eyed friend be the one to murder her?

Tampa. Atlanta. Honolulu. Fuck! Tallahassee, not Tampa… Montgomery. Juneau. Phoenix. Little Rock. Sacramento—

Would he make it quick? Would it be him or would it be one of the people from the car? Did he know the two men that took her from the train? Did he order them to take her? Then what was that gunfire? Why did it seem like they were running?

She didn’t know how much time had passed since she had been brought to a room, sat down, and left alone under the dark of the hood obscuring her vision. Heated but hushed voices echoed from the other side of a wall. They were too muffled to comprehend, but the frantic frustration was unmistakable.

She could barely make out the words.

“She’s a liability now, Parker! Where’s she gonna go?”

Her heart felt like it would burst from her chest. The conversation got quieter.

Montgomery. Juneau. Phoenix. Little Rock. Sacramento. Denver. 

The sound of a door lock startled her. Her body went rigid as a door opened wide. She swallowed hard, unable to get the image of the gun in Peter’s grip out of her mind. Heavy footsteps approached her. Her lip quivered beneath the hood. If the shot was coming, maybe it was better for it to come now. Maybe it was better if she didn’t see it coming.

The hood came off of her head, revealing a dark room only illuminated by a window. The night lights of the city skyline sparkled in the distance. She was on a sofa—a loveseat facing a desk. As far as she could tell, she was in some sort of office or study. And crouched down in front of her, was her dangerous friend.

Peter held his hands up in a placating manner, letting the hood drop to the floor. “Don’t cry, Honey. It’s just me.”

The sweetness of his voice made her heart beat faster. She cursed the treacherous bitch for allowing that to happen, after everything.

Just him. As if that was supposed to mean anything. Is he Peter, or is he Ben? Does it matter which one he’d tell her? And what other option did she have to respond, other than crying? Her mouth was still taped shut.

He studied her features in a way that made her squirm. His face was solemn as he considered her. He huffed a sigh. “I know you don’t have any reason to trust me,” he declared in an apologetic tone. His cocoa eyes glistened with regret. “You’re probably feelin’ angry with me right now. I get that. You’ve been nothin’ but sweet to me and I... I—” 

He stopped short of finishing the sentence as if his jaw locked up. A wrinkle creased his brow. He glanced down at the floor, then looked back up at her. “I’m gonna ask you to do somethin’ for me,” he began. “You don’t have any reason to owe me anything, I see that, I do. I don’t have the right to ask. But I’m still gonna ask.”

A hand came up to rub the back of his neck. The gesture made him seem more anxious, more boyish. Not the same man that marched into the garage holding a gun. Not the same man that ordered his man to blindfold her.

“You’ve always been patient with me,” he continued, dancing around a topic he didn’t want to address. “Even when I’m not my best. I need you to be patient with me now. Take a chance on me, Honey.”

Her heart skipped a beat. She really wished it wouldn’t do that.

He gazed at her, lowering his voice to an even more soothing tone. He emanated calm and control. “I’m gonna help you off the sofa, then we’re gonna leave this room,” he said. “We’re goin’ to the last door at the end of the hallway, okay? Nod if you understand.”

She stared at him like a deer in the crosshairs. After a moment, she nodded.

“Okay, good,” he replied. He reached for her. “Easy now.”

He put his hands around her upper arms and attempted to lift her weight from beneath her shoulders. A flash of pain erupted like her deltoids were on fire, and she winced and whimpered behind the tape.

Immediately, he pulled back his hands with a sour look. An edge of irritation returned to his eyes, in a way she’d remembered from the coffee shop when those goons showed up, except now they were alone and that look was rendered at her. Or so she thought.

Tears welling up again, she avoided his gaze. She sank further into the couch, as if that was even possible, and shook like a leaf. He stood before her wordlessly. She could only hear a heavy exhale through flared nostrils.

Seconds passed, then Peter bent at the waist, placing his hands on her hips. She shuddered at the pressure, the warmth and width of his hands on the crest of her hips. He held her in a steady grip, bringing her to her feet, this time with less pain. 

Upon standing, she looked up and locked eyes with him. It stilled his motion, and he stood with her pressed up against his chest, looking down at her with darkening eyes. His body was solid mass through his white dress shirt. It occurred to her that she’d never seen him without a coat before. Her heart was fluttering, and she wondered if he could feel it. She felt suddenly pliant, legs turning into rubber. 

Dizzy, she wavered a bit, blinking her eyes rapidly. It could’ve been the adrenaline spiking again, building pressure rising up beneath her skin. Perhaps it was her lack of real food since her distant lunch. Perhaps it was heat stroke, the way his gaze burned into hers.

He gripped her tighter. Swallowed hard.

Reluctantly, he released his hold, moving a hand to her lower back. “C’mon.”

She gulped. Hesitantly, she let him lead her to the door. Once they went through the doorway, he escorted her down the hall just as he had said. It was dark, but she could see light from beneath the closed door at the end of the hall.

Her boots felt heavy again. Her mind was screaming at her to run, but where would she go? 

“S’okay,” he stated softly, reading the slowing of her steps for what it was. “Almost there.”

He brought her to the solid door, twisting the handle and opening it. The only thing her brain could register was a massive king-sized bed in the middle of the room. She pushed back on his palm, attempting to wrench away from him. He grabbed her from behind, his arms holding her in place.

“Easy, easy, s’okay,” he tutted. 

But she was short-circuiting. Her mind was filled with violent images, clouding her sense of reason. A shriek crawled up her throat, desperately clawing at the adhesive of the duct tape over her mouth. 

“Hey, s’okay, it’s okay!”  He was holding her against the brick wall of his chest again. She shook her head desperately, struggling to break free to no avail. She could feel his heartbeat against her back. 

He pressed his cheek against her temple, his arms pulling her in with crushing strength that lifted her feet from the floor. “Enough!” he snapped, with a shockingly harsh tone. 

The simple admonishment made her go limp. She sobbed desperately.

His head fell backward and he let out a long sigh, frustration evident within him. He softened his grip, and instead of pinning her, it felt much more like an embrace. He bent his neck and his lips went to her temple again, his breath hot on her skin.

“I don’t wanna hurt you,” he breathed into her hair. She felt the slow rise and fall from his chest. The kindness had returned to his voice. He took another deep breath, and she felt it reverberate in her. “No one is gonna hurt you,” he declared, more authoritative this time. She matched her next breath to his. 

They stood in silence for another few seconds. Her gaze traveled from the bed to the expanse of the room. The dark colors and modern accents. The yellow source of tungsten light spilled from an open doorway. 

“Now we’re gonna walk forward. Into the bathroom.”

He began to walk forward, and her feet moved in accordance. After the first few concordant steps, he loosened his grip on her. She felt the absence of his body heat as they stepped onto a tiled floor, turning a corner to a grand bathroom bigger than her meager apartment bedroom.

It was stunning; a mix of classic beauty and masculinity. Adorned with black marble, gold fixtures, and subway tile. Her eyes soaked up the details with an unintentional gasp. Inappropriately, she wished for her phone to save the image to the Pinterest board of her bathroom dreams.

“It’s okay,” he gently reminded her. Hearing his voice pulled her back to her reality. Her eyes snapped over her shoulder, up to him, then back forward as they approached a freestanding clawfoot tub filled with steaming water.

Her feet got heavy again and he turned her to face him. She looked up at him with a face full of confusion and betrayal. It only seemed to sour him further.

“I need you to trust me, remember?” Peter said to her. “I’m gonna take off the tape, but I need you to get in the water first.”

She felt her head shaking. Tears streaming.

“It’s the tape,” he explained. “Your skin is already reacting to it. If I try to pull it off now, it’ll take your skin with it.” She quirked a brow up at him. “We’re gonna use the soapy water to soak the tape on your wrists. The stuff on your mouth, I have a solvent for.”

She blinked, looked at the water, and back up to him.

“You don’t have to undress or anything,” he answered, again reading her mind with stunning accuracy. “We can take off your boots and you can step right in if you don’t mind getting your clothes wet.” She watched the Adam’s apple bob in his throat. “I’m not gonna try anything,” he whispered quietly, “I swear.”

She lost herself in his eyes again. She studied the honey of his irises, a golden glow enhanced by the vanity lamps. She thought of caramel and chocolate and bourbon. And the tang of oranges, the smokey smell and flavor of an Old Fashioned she had three years ago at The Flatiron Room on an otherwise disappointing date—

“You with me?” he spoke so softly it could be a croon. Brought his hands up and she felt the rough pads of his thumbs brushing away her tears.

Her eyelashes fluttered closed at the sensation. That dizzy feeling hit her again, and she tried to swallow it down. When her eyes opened, she saw her friend staring back at her, the shadow of a smile adorning his face.

She spent too long gazing up at him like he was some sort of Prince Charming. Composing herself, she straightened and gave him a nod.

Having gathered her meaning, he responded with a subtle smirk, before putting it away. Slowly, he lowered himself to his knees in front of her, never breaking eye contact. The action made her stomach weak. Made her avert her eyes. He deftly began untying the laces of her boots and braced her lower back to pull off her shoes. 

Though he didn’t request it, she peeled her wool socks off next. She could have wet jeans and a wet shirt, but wet socks made her skin crawl. Once her bare feet were on the tiled floor, he came to a stand. He placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her as she stepped into the deep tub. 

The warm water felt instantly soothing as she lowered herself into it. Her hands prickled with the sensation of the hot water reheating her abused limbs. He was right about her skin—she hissed at an immediate sting where the tape was. The thought of ripping off the duct tape over her mouth as fast as possible seemed more unpleasant.

She sat down with arms bound behind her, looking up at him as he sat beside the tub.

“The soap’s gonna help dissolve the adhesive,” he explained, pulling up a tray within his reach. A mass of dry cotton balls, cotton swabs, and gauze was neatly organized on it, next to several bottles of solution. It was bizarrely efficient. It made her wonder how many times he’d done this before.

He went to work, rolling up the arms of his sleeves up to his elbows. She pulled her eyes away from the sight of his toned forearms. 

His fingers went to her face and she couldn’t help but flinch. He made note of it, lips pursed into a straight line, but said nothing. Slower, he reached for her hairline and a razor-sharp sting of her flesh reminded her that she had taken at least one good hit to the face. 

His burnt-auburn eyes were now focused, a line forming in his brow as he studied a blood-crusted cut she couldn’t see. 

“This one’s deep,” he said with a frown. “It’ll need liquid stitches. I’mma take care of this first before it gets worse.” His hands left her sensitive flesh as he came to a stand, moving across the bathroom into a medicine cabinet where more first-aid supplies were located. 

While his back was turned, she rolled her eyes in frustration. The tape on her mouth was clearly the more pressing issue. 

“Can you bear with me a couple of minutes before I take the tape off?” he asked perceptively. It was starting to get creepy. He sat down beside her again. “Just relax. It’ll be easier to do it now.” He dabbed a cotton ball with alcohol. “And it’ll be harder for you to bite me.”

Her eyes darted to his face, her body tensing. She had bitten one of her captors hard enough to draw blood. He busied himself with cleaning and dressing the wound while she pondered the possibility that Peter had been behind her kidnapping earlier in the evening.

That neck-less, ginger bastard – Katz? – dragged her off the train without any regard for whether or not she felt safe. Particularly right before he knocked her out. Did he work for Peter? She hadn’t seen his face since.

“Your heart’s racing,” he informed her, breaking her chain of thought. He swallowed hard, a solemn look plastered firmly on his face. “I wasn’t lying when I said no one was going to hurt you.” His eyes rested on the wound as he delicately pinched her flesh together. “Not again,” he sighed, disappointed.

A few seconds passed as he carefully coated the cut in the liquid stitch solution. He looked pained, increasingly irritated. “I’m sorry about all this,” he blurted out. “I-I never shoulda come back to see you. I... I-I’m sorry about everything. Never meant for any of this to happen.” His sad eyes found hers. “‘Sorry’ doesn’t mean much, I know. But I hope you believe me.”

She stared. Considering. Decided that she did. She had to. Tied up, sitting waist-deep in this strange man’s bathtub, she had nothing else but her hope.

He took a cotton swab and dipped it in a jar of pristine petroleum jelly. One hand delicately lifted her chin, angling her face upward toward him, as he took a corner of the tape at her mouth and began to work the petroleum beneath the strip. He meticulously followed that action with a warm, wet compress, and then a cotton ball of isopropyl alcohol. The tape hurt as it slowly gave way, but less than it could’ve. 

The peaceful silence gave her time for her brain to slow down. Time to think. Time to plan. Time to question those plans. Question her judgment.

“Alright, almost done,” he said, then gave a small tug on the tape. The moment her lips were unsealed she took a deep breath. She hadn’t realized how much her breathing had been restricted. 

Peter reached back for her with a square of medical-grade adhesive remover. 

“Don’t touch me,” she spat, jerking her head out of his reach. He froze immediately, lifting his hands away where she could see them. Behind her, she pulled and tugged on the duct tape, the glue now having partially dissolved. She winced as she pulled her wrists apart.

“I was gonna get to that—”

She bit down on a yelp at the burn of the tape ripping off, taking bits of hair and drops of blood with it. She pulled her arms in front of her, revealing angry red welts on her wrists. Her shoulders felt like a stretched-out rubber band, tender to each movement. 

“Okay,” he nodded bitterly, frustration poking through. “Tape’s off. You’re bleeding. Well done—”

“Stay away from me!” she barked. She scooted back as far as she could away from him in the bathtub. Her eyes were wide and wild, like she really could bite him at any moment. He sat back on his ankles, staring at her. Displeased. 

“Take it easy,” he softly ordered, cool as ever.

“I-I don’t know who you are or-or what you’re into,” she babbled frantically. “But you—you better lemme go!” She panted heavily, words flowing out of her mouth, “My-my boyfriend is a cop! He tracks my phone. He’ll know I didn’t come home and-and when he turns on the tracker, he’ll see that I’m here... and he’ll bring fifty cops with him!”

Peter stared at her flatly, raising a brow. It was clear by his reaction that he wasn’t impressed. “Fifty?” he repeated, deadpan. “That’s a lot. Where’re they gonna park?”

“I’m serious!” she growled.

“Oh, yea-yeah, I know,” Peter nodded, pulling himself into a crouch at the tub. “This boyfriend of yours,” he added, swallowing grit as he said it, “he got a name?”

She blinked. “Jefferson.”

“Jefferson?”

“Scott.”

“Is it Scott or is it Jefferson? Is it Jefferson Scott?”

His mocking tone filled her with a flash of anger. She seethed, swearing at herself not to cry again. “Let me go!” she demanded with a glare. “And I promise, he won’t kill you when he finds me!”

The humor evaporated from his eyes like a droplet of water in a frying pan. “A promise?” Peter repeated, his cocky smile fading. He went motionless. Eyes dark. A chill shot down her spine. “Where was ‘Jefferson’ when Fisk’s men grabbed you tonight?” She swallowed hard. Refused to blink. “Really coulda used his help,” he bit off.

Her heart was beating faster than before. Pounding like a kickdrum beneath her ribs. His blackened eyes narrowed on her. “Do you have any idea,” he questioned bitterly, “what they would’ve done t’ya? If I hadn’t gotten there first?” 

The calm tone of his overt implications made her queasy again. He cocked his head to the side, waiting for a reply. 

She gulped. Steadied her voice. “Who's to say they don’t work for you?” 

“They don’t work for me,” Peter declared, ice in his eyes. 

“You expect me to believe—”

“They don’t work for me,” he repeated, as serious as a heart attack, “because I don’t employ assholes who beat on women.” He leaned forward, his chest puffing up, his words coming out in a low hiss. “Because if I want something done, I do it myself. Especially when it comes to protecting what’s mine.” His eyes narrowed, “And we both know you don’t have a boyfriend.” 

She blinked at him, dumbstruck. Peter declared through gritted teeth, “You could send fifty cops or fifty-thousand. If someone took my girl, I’d get there first. And there’s not a damn thing you could say to keep me from rippin’ him apart.”

She shifted backward, arms wrapped tightly around her body, stunned by the switch in demeanor. He sat across from her, quietly glaring, chest heaving with pent-up rage. Her throat felt tight. Her pulse pounded in her neck.

Seconds passed as they gazed at each other in a stalemate. He was the first to look away, his breathing conscientiously slowing down. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, keeping his head turned away from her sight.

“Don’t lie to me,” Peter said, finally. “Ever.” He looked up at her, eyes a bit softer. “It’s very important that you never lie to me. When people lie to me, it puts me at a disadvantage. Makes it harder for me to protect the people I care about.” He sniffed, stowing his emotional baggage from earlier. “So please,” he gently requested, “don’t lie.”

He kept his eyes downward as if he was more interested in the state of the grout. She had witnessed him rear up like a cobra and now he was slinking away, sheepishly hiding from her gaze. 

There was that word again — protection. His focus is protecting the people he cares about. Protecting what’s his. She eyed him carefully, her muscles relaxing a bit. This was happening because she was a threat to him. Did that mean in some way, she had power over him? 

He wiped his nose with his forearm, still avoiding her eyes. “You hurt anywhere else?” She blinked up at him, confused. Her silence made him meet her gaze again, and this time the sympathy and remorse had returned. “Anywhere I can’t see?”

She stiffened once she caught his meaning. Breaking eye contact, she gazed down at the tiny bubbles coating the surface of the water. “Um... no.” She answered as honestly as she could. “I don’t... I don’t think so.” The statement felt like a lump in her throat. She felt her eyes burn again, and she angrily dared her body to defy her again. She couldn’t handle it.

“Okay,” he nodded. After a moment, he came to a quick stand. His orders flowed more formally. “There are towels over here. There’s a robe on the door. Cat’s gettin’ you some clothes. Should be here soon. Leave the wet stuff on the edge of the tub. When you’re done in here, come outside of the bedroom. I’ve got one more thing I need from you tonight, Honey.”

He turned on the leather sole of his heel and disappeared from her sight, as fast as ever. She sat in the rapidly cooling water of the tub, tenderly rubbing the swollen flesh of her wrists. She listened to his footsteps diminish. The door slammed, a bit too forcefully.

Alone, finally, she allowed herself to cry again.

About fifteen minutes after being left alone, she emerged from the main bedroom with a thick white terry robe blanketing her. With nothing but her thoughts and growing exhaustion, she decided not to keep Peter waiting too long. She’d completed each task on his list, as a good houseguest should. Or whatever she was.

She found him leaning back against the wall in the darkened hallway, hands in his pockets, musing quietly.  He turned to look at her with a much calmer mood. Both of them cooled off from their earlier spat, but an awkwardness remained. An elephant in the room neither of them wanted to address.

“C’mere,” Peter beckoned, jerking his head down the hall. “I wanna show you something.” He turned and approached a flight of stairs, descending it. She had no other option but to follow. 

They reached the main level of the residence where she took in the sight of an open-floor living room and kitchen surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows. Though it was night, this was the most well-lit area she had seen. It was spotless, and carried the same modern, refined-industrial aesthetic that she saw in the bathroom. 

She recognized the lanky teenager on the couch, sitting with arms crossed, head bobbing to music blaring out of over-the-ear headphones. Miles sat quietly in his own world, brow furrowed, as he focused on the beat of the music. 

Tapping away at her smartphone, the silver-haired woman from the car ride paced idly. She was even more gorgeous in person. Peter approached her, hands in his pockets, and nodded in Miles’ direction.

“What, is it time for a siesta?” Peter muttered disapprovingly.

The woman gave him a go-to-hell look. “Lay off, will ya? You know how he gets.”

“We need to keep our eyes open,” Peter responded grimly. “That means on alert, Felicia.”

“Jesus Christ, Parker,” she groaned with a petulant sigh. “Seriously?” The woman, Felicia, looked up incredulously at their houseguest, then back to her boss. “What happened to discretion? You wanna give her my social security number, too?”

“Where’s O’Hara?” Peter replied.

She rolled her eyes, dropping her arms. “Fuck it, then. In the basement with Brock. That’s Eddie Brock, if anyone here is taking notes for the FBI.” She turned, minding her phone again. “If you need me, I’ll be keepin’ my eyes open, with your credit card, waiting for the Postmates guy to deliver your lady friend a new wardrobe.” 

Peter rolled his eyes with a light scoff.

“And just for that, I’m buying myself my Christmas present from Fendi,” she called back, a deadpan tone. “Thanks, Boss. You really shouldn’t have.” 

Peter glanced over at his Honey, who was curiously watching the familial interaction in silence. He jerked his chin again, approaching a metal door frame near the foyer. “This way.”

He tapped a button on the wall, calling up an elevator. She shuffled uncomfortably on her bare feet, but then followed him into the tiny space. They stood together in silence as the elevator descended. 

Once it opened, they were in a dark, dingy, brick-laid fortress, a stark contrast from the exquisite rooms above. He stepped out of the elevator, and hesitantly, she followed, wishing she’d put on her boots. 

The space felt claustrophobic, littered with dust-covered junk. Mostly paper boxes. There was a table with an old computer that looked at least 30 years old, surrounded by glass beakers and antiquated lab equipment. She spotted a retro green chalkboard on castors, half-shrouded in a tarp. 

As much distance as she wanted to put between herself and Peter, she also crowded at his back. She felt cobwebs brushing her ankles, and the sensation made her want to fold herself up like origami.

They turned a corner and she froze. Mouth agape with horror. 

Bound and gagged in the middle of the basement was Katz. The man looked rough. Barely conscious. His face was bruised, bloodied, and jagged, the bones having been broken and rearranged. On either side, Miguel and another thick mass of man—Eddie Brock for anyone taking notes for the FBI—stood by. She watched Eddie anxiously as he wiped his hands with a blood-stained shop rag.

The sight of tortured man made her gag. Tears sprang to her eyes as she glanced away in terror.

“S’Okay,” Peter tutted, taking her by the shoulders and keeping her back to their tortured captive. She was grateful for that kindness, as it spared her the sight of the half-dead man.

“Remember I told you that you could trust me?” Peter asked, tilting his head towards her. She was gasping. Sucked in air, like a fish out of water. “Honey, look at me.” 

Her stomach quaked and she worried that she’d vomit. Despite this, she looked up at him. Once he had her attention, he went on. 

“This man works for somebody very dangerous,” he explained slowly. “He had direct orders to kidnap you and take you to one of his places. A mechanic’s shop near the docks on the Lower East Side that he uses for business. Once they had you there, he and a bunch of his friends were supposed to hurt you.”

Her chest heaved violently, tears flooding her vision. She shook her head and tried looking away. Felt faint. Like she was going to pass out. Gently, Peter hooked his fingertips beneath her chin, bringing her gaze to his.

“They were ordered to take pictures,” he softly added, more gentle with his choice of words, “and send them to me.” A heartbroken sob escaped her lips and he winced, as if the sound alone caused him physical pain. “Listen, listen, listen,” he cooed, shushing her. 

He dipped his head, leaning his forehead against hers. It was intimate. Too close for the relationship that they had, but at the same time, she was starving for it. The sensation of his warm skin against hers, the heat of his lungs ghosting on her face—they worked to ground her. She focused on what was happening and not what could have happened.

“I never got any pictures,” Peter explained tenderly. “He says they never got that far.” She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, her chin quivering. She leaned into the touch of his thumb gently stroking her jaw. When she could open her eyes again, she found his. His cocoa orbs gazing down at her compassionately. 

“Remember what I said about lies?” he asked with a kind voice. “Remember I asked you never to lie to me?”

Another quiet sob whimpered out. She nodded her head.

“Tell me the truth now, Honey,” he said. He lifted his forehead, gazing into her soul. “Is that the man that hit you?”

She shuddered at the memory. Terror gripping her. Heart pounding.

“Words, Honey,” he tutted gently. “I need you to say it. Tell me the truth.”

“Yes,” she whimpered in reply. She brought her hands up to cover her face, but he wouldn’t allow it. 

“Good girl,” he answered. “You don’t need to hide.”

The tears kept coming. “I can’t.... I can’t—”

“S’okay, we’re almost done,” he cooed, bringing a hand up to stroke her hair. “Now this part’s really important. I want you to think. I don’t want you to be afraid. Just think.” 

She cried even harder. Her body swayed. She felt like a lone tree being pummeled by a hurricane. As much as she wanted to collapse, he held her upright. “Please,” she begged, but she wasn’t sure what for. “I don’t want... I can’t...”

He wrapped his hands around her cheeks, his fingers reaching around her head. “Just look at me, Honey,” he replied. 

Sniffing hard, she complied. He looked at her with an expression she couldn’t decode. It was a blend of anger, sadness, and pain all at once. He swallowed hard, as if he was trying to steady himself.

“Tell me the truth,” he said with a voice void of its own breath. “Did this man, or any of the other men, hurt you?” She shook her head rapidly. “Did they touch you?”

“No,” she sobbed.

“Don’t lie—”

“No!” she shouted desperately. 

He exhaled slowly, letting out a breath he’d been holding. “Good,” he nodded, seeming to relax. His hands rubbed her arms, taking extra care around her shoulders. “That’s good.”

“Boss,” a voice called from behind them. She looked beyond Peter to see Miles standing anxiously near the elevator entrance. He wore a hollow expression. Breathed through his mouth only. “You think she could use some sleep?”

Peter gazed at the younger man, a mixture of grief and gratitude. “Yeah,” he nodded, blinking away tears that had begun to form at his lashes. “That’s a good idea. Take her upstairs, wouldya?”

Miles nodded once, and stepped forward. Hesitantly, Peter let go. Honey shot out of his arms like a spooked cat, clinging to Miles’ chest and burying her face there. Vicious sobs racked through her body. Miles placed a hand on her back and led her back out of the basement.

Peter watched her go sadly. Didn’t turn away until he heard the elevator doors close.

“So,” Eddie’s deep voice chimed in, fixing his grim blue-green eyes on Peter. “What now?”

Both Miguel and Eddie watched the tense curve of Peter’s shoulders. The balling of his fists. 

“Hammer,” he replied, voice as dark as night. Peter turned and stalked toward the captive. He snatched a bloodied hammer off a workbench nearby. Eyes widening with fear, Katz began to jerk in his seat, pulling desperately on his restraints. 

“You should be grateful, Nicky,” Peter sneered, acid in his voice. “This coulda gone another way.” He loomed over the captive, eyes blacker than oil, nostrils flaring. He gripped the handle so hard, it’s a wonder it didn’t snap in his hand.

“If I found out you were lyin’ to me,” Peter said, vengeance coating his voice, “I woulda gone for the pruning shears.”

Continue to Part 3

Back to Part 1.

A/N - Reblog to be tagged.

Every time you reblog, it supports free fandom writing. Thank you for your support!

[uchihaharlot]

FOR THE LIFE OF ME COULD NOT GET THIS TO LET ME EDIT IT??!!!! wtf tumblr!

Ok what the hell, this is so gosh darn wholesome and sweet. I am such an old soul (like seriously sorry these songs are so damn old). I included potential songs they would dance to below. Though I am more partial to Billie Holiday’s ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’ — ‘I don’t want to set the world on fire’ by The Ink Spots is really on par for an Uchiha. I know you said party, but this is now the festival of romance. Lol.

N/SFW(?? Super suggestive); pining; down bad simpy boy Shisui who can’t keep his eyes or hands off you.

• Ok so, my king. Shisui, is such a suave guy. Hears this girl laughing out with some friends at the spring Festival of Romance. He’s not entirely new to the scene, but the night has been overwhelming. Lots of grabby girls trying to capture one of Konoha’s most eligible bachelors. He’d really only came for the food and drinks.

• Target acquired, oops. Red spun pearls dial in when he hears this girl laugh before he actually sees her — it didn’t help that she was drop dead gorgeous either. It wasn’t even her looks that caught his attention first, it was the sweet little melodic wisp of her laugh/hum.

• Super down bad from the go. Basically is sharingan fucking her from a distance, respectfully, secretly. The man just likes what he sees, and he wants a before and after image of their first encounter. Sike, he’s just that shameless.

• Has no issue walking right up to her group of friends to address his desires. Shisui would say something extremely corny while still making it sound good, ‘You know what you'd look beautiful in? My arms.’

• Doesn’t even wait for the silly oneliner to register before he swoops her up to the dance floor, lol. Poor girl is just like system crash.exe.

• Doesn’t even need to try, this girl is besotted and honestly, a little caught off guard by his advances. Shisui normally thinks rationally, so he’ll apologize for stealing her so abruptly from her friends but, like, ‘If you let me borrow a kiss, I promise I'll give it right back.’

• 🫣🫠 She doesn’t even know how to respond to that, he is just so bold. Will turn her cheek shyly which just has Shisui smiling the full width of his mouth. She’s in just as deep as he is.

• But when she looks back up at him, oh man. His lips are a hairsbreadth away, and that’s when she is caught in his vision. Inoperable, he won’t coerce her, consent is king but if she closes her eyes.

• Shisui will feather his lips to hers and reel her a little closer. The music sounds muffled over the sound of her capillaries expanding and rushing blood through her ears. Ah fuck, when did his hand end up at that small of her back. He won’t overtly take advantage of the situation, but part of him really is tempted to.

• Shisui lovingly places his hands in all the right spots, appropriate for public, inappropriate for strangers. Wholly hot and scandalous.

• There are a plethora of people surrounding them, so Shisui will bring her closer than close, basically his mouth to her ear as she guides them across the dance floor. She’s incredibly sweet but quiet when they whisper between one another. They’ll end up spending majority of the night out dancing — probably the last people to leave. With her head on his shoulder, Shisui is blissed out by her presence.

• Shisui is a gentleman, he’ll offer to ‘walk’ her home. Surprise Shunshin before he even considers if she has a sensitive stomach. It will catch her off guard and surprisingly makes her curse, ‘fuck me’ out of exasperation under her breath.

• To which Shisui would quip, ‘don’t mind if I do.’

[targaryensluttt]

muse on fire (chapter two)

pairing: soft! aemond x fem!reader

warnings: some smut, (18+!) although I would consider this light. depictions of violence. reader has a panic attack. not proofread thoroughly, still testing out the waters.

Valyrian translations:

Vok ābra = perfect woman

ñuha vok ābra = my perfect woman

ozbāragon nyke= brand me

kessa= yes

notes: feedback would be much appreciated :)

chapter one

chapter three

chapter four

After sitting with the bedridden king this evening, studying him for the portrait you knew he would not be able to sit for long, you had expected to drift off into a heavy sleep. And you did, at first.

Leaving your rooms at night felt risky. As you weren’t part of the inner royal family, you were not afforded any official personal guards. The castle could be as dangerous as the walls outside the Red Keep, especially for a young lady wandering alone, as you knew too well. Although, that was not to say you were unprotected. You happened to have your own personal guard dog, with long silver hair and an eyepatch, and yes, he did bite. Especially when it comes to you. You had suspected for some time that he kept tabs on your whereabouts when he was indisposed or at night, but with nothing but a sly smile from him as confirmation when you asked, you still felt exposed walking around the drafty castle halls. You had not yet reached the point in your existence where you realized you could hold your head high at all hours of the night, daring someone to do you wrong. 

Especially now, you were terrified. The nightmare that had jolted you awake had been awful, and even though you knew it was a dream, it left you feeling nervous and cold to your very bones. It was not as if you consider yourself a seer, like your dear friend Helaena, but having visions of your very best friend slit from ear to ear bleeding out on the castle grounds, the eye that had been stolen from him so cruelly years ago as a child now robbed of it’s sapphire, eye socket empty and gaze soulless and dull, did not exactly leave you at ease. As you snuck down the halls with fat tears falling from your lashes, clad in nothing but your light sky blue colored nightgown and a thin black robe, you cursed your brain for making up those images. As if seeing it in your head could speak it into existence. After conjuring that in your troubled mind, you knew you could not wait until dawn to go see Aemond. As illogical as it was, you had to be sure of his safety, now. 

When you saw his door from down the hallway, you noticed that, once again, he had dismissed his guards for the night, and that did nothing to reassure you. 

“Let them try to come to our rooms.”  he laughed once, at a family dinner.

“I’ll cut them from throat to groin.” he added, totally serious. 

 Aemond was a private soul, and preferred to deal with all personal matters of him and his closest loved ones himself, if at all possible. Including theirs, and his, safety. He was an excellent swordsman, and he considered himself perfectly capable of the task. You were inclined to believe this is why he had not tried to force his mother, Queen Alicent, to assign you your own guards. Once, during one of the many afternoons you had spent together, you had remarked about a castle rumor that prowlers were sneaking into lower born and servants rooms at night. He had froze from swinging his sword into the straw filled dummy and turned around to stare at you intently. He slowly walked to you, taking your hand, leaned into your ear to whisper, and said with certainty:

“Do not fret. There is no one you can trust like me. There is no one that will keep you safe like me. They would not dare harm you, darling.” 

“I believe you.” You had told him softly, quite serious and truthfully as well.

His other hand that was not already in yours had been laid upon the side of your face when he began to speak, and when he pulled back, he drew it down slowly, so his fingers came to rest upon your lips. If his name had not been called so loudly by Sir Criston, which caused you to slightly startle and pull his hand off your face in fear of Sir Cole discovering you two like that, you had always wondered what he would have done next. Instead, he whirled around and gave the straw dummy a good thwack down its middle in frustration, spilling its straw guts everywhere.

But clearly, you were not worried about your own safety at the moment. Snapping back to the present, you realized you had made it to his door. Lifting your hand to the door, you had to stop yourself from frantically pounding on it. Taking a deep breath, you paused for a moment to try to collect yourself slightly. You looked down at what you were wearing and suddenly felt very self aware. Although the robe was loosely tied, it ballooned open loose around your breasts, revealing your curvy figure under your very thin nightgown. Your hair was loose, frizzy and undone from its normal intricate styles from sleep, and if you still had not been so frightened, you would have smoothed it out to look more presentable. But there was no time. Your anxiety spiked thinking about how you were worried about your appearance when the person you cared for the most in this world could be lying dead or injured in his bed, alone with no one to help him. At this thought, your hesitation ceased. 

Taking the flat of your palm to the wood before you, you pummeled it frantically. “Aemond! Aemond!” you half hissed, half shouted into the door.

At once, the door swung open and you almost fell to your knees before the quizzical looking man in front of you, had he not snaked his arm around your waist the second he registered it was you. The palms of your hands came to rest upon his chest and you looked up into his very much still alive gaze, and intact patch. 

“Thank the Gods. Thank the Gods.” you said.

Upon seeing your frantic state, he wildly grabbed your face, searching it and the rest of your body for the source of your distress.

“Y/N! Y/N! Look at me. Look at me!” he demanded.

You met his eye, and let out a sigh of relief. 

“I-I had to come to you. I had to make sure you were safe.”

“What do you speak of, sweet girl? What has happened? Are you well?”

You could have laughed with relief if you were not feeling quite so shaken still. Of course he was asking about you. About you, as if  you hadn’t just dreamt his death. Shaking your head you told him you were fine, and started to explain the nature of your disturbance, but sobs choked the words from your mouth. Remembering the sick blue pallor his skin had taken on after you dreamt his throat slit, you started to hyperventilate, and Aemond pulled you into his room and shut the door behind you two, and sat you on the nearest chaise that was situated by the fireplace, without letting go of your waist even for a moment. 

Realizing you were currently unable to speak, he held you close. You tucked your head in the crook of his neck, and threw your arms around his neck, dearly hoping you weren’t disgusting him with your tears and snot getting on him from crying so hard. His grip did not waver, though.If anything, he just held on to you tighter at feeling your distress. The settee was wide enough for him to hold the entire upper half of your body with both of you comfortably sitting next to each other. Cradling you, he began to stroke your hair, and rocked you both back and forth slowly in a soothing motion.

“Let it out, darling. You’re safe here.” he assured you.

 No one realized how tender the fearsome Prince really could be. This went on for what seemed like eternity to you at first, but as you slowly left your head and those horrible thoughts, and focused on where you were now, you felt your body and mind begin to calm down.

“That’s it, that’s it, that’s my girl, shhh, shhh, shhh” he said, when your sobs started to slow.

Lifting your head and tenderly brushing away the hair that was now plastered to your face with your own tears, he spoke again. 

“Now, do you think you can tell me what’s happened?”

Suddenly, you felt very foolish. You sheepishly wiped your nose, still hiccuping and attempting to speak though errant sobs broke through your sentences. 

“Well, I-I-had a dream.”

Aemond was never one to make you feel silly when you expressed things that were clearly impacting you deeply. He stayed silent and listened, scratching and rubbing the back of your head lightly while cradling your skull, your body tucked into his, trying to keep you focused on him, the present, and your story. 

“I thought- you said, and paused. I saw your death, Aemond. It felt so real. I was there. You were cold. They ripped off your patch and took your jewel. They slit your throat. You were so cold, you repeated. At this, you shuddered, and then continued on, I had to come here. I had to come to you. I had to make sure it was truly just a dream.”

Describing the brutal imagery in your head out loud had made it feel so real again, and the pace of your sobs picked back up.

Taking your hand, Aemond placed it over his heart so you could feel it beating. It was strong and consistent. 

“I am here, Y/N. I am safe. I am well, especially so with you here in my arms.” he said, holding his hand over yours that centered above his warm beating heart.“I desire you, Aemond. I desire your safety desperately, above all else,” you whispered softly, as if you were afraid of your own words. And truthfully, you were.

Despite the gestures, stolen glances and touches, nothing so bold had ever been admitted out loud between you two. 

At hearing these words leave her soft lips, Aemond felt a rush of warmth and affection spread throughout his body. The sensation was so physical, he felt lightheaded and dizzy, like when he first rode Vhagar and she took a deep dive to the sea below. He could only think of one thing to do to ground himself back to Earth again. 

He looked up from both of your hands intertwined on his chest, and met your eyes. Looking up to his elegant face, you saw the flames from the fire flicker and bounce off of it. 

Beautiful, you thought.

Though he felt guilty for relishing in your obvious distress, he was so touched how much you are affected by this, no one's ever cared for him so deeply before, and it sparks something in him.

Looking at you with such reverence, he slowly brought his face down to yours. You could feel his hot breath mixing with your own, and for a moment you both just looked at one another. So close together, you kept one hand locked with his own on his chest, and dragged your other one up his chest and shoulder, until you were grasping the back of his neck, and his eyes flickered shut. You followed suit, closing your lashes (still wet from crying) and it wasn’t but a second later that you felt his lips graze yours, closing the distance. 

When you kissed, it felt so inevitable. Natural.

You were both on fire, bound.

Inhaling through his nostrils, he deepened the kiss, and you felt the pressure of his lips increase against yours. Swiping your tongue against his lower lip, you demanded entrance, and he gladly let you in. You needed to feel him. You needed to feel his spark, and reassure yourself he was not fading away. He was here. He was not leaving this world. Leaving you. He had broken his hand out of your grip so he could grab the sides of your face. His tongue lapped into your mouth deeply, as if he were the ocean’s waves seeking the moon itself.

Tangling your hands into his fine silver hair. Tugging. Pulling. Wanting him, nothing but him, desperate. 

His hand moved from your face to your waist, pulling your body on top of his, so you were in his lap. He used his other hand to turn your face and you gasped for air, while he started to focus his attention to your neck, alternating between gently kissing the delicate skin there and peppering kisses up your jaw, until his lips met yours again. 

Lightly caressing your shoulder, you shivered, and your eyes met his, wanting. Keeping his eye on yours the whole time, his hand drifted lower, and his lips met your own again, and he gently palmed your breast through the flimsy nightgown. His hands were so big, fingers so long, and though you had ample bosom, his palm covered it fully without issue.

“Vok ābra.” 

“ñuha vok ābra” he said, praising you.

Licking into his mouth, you groaned at the feeling of his hand gripping your breast harder, and put your palm over his, urging him on. Still gripping his neck, you sighed in contentment, and set your hips down to roll over his. 

“Fuck, Y/N, fuck”

Now, you did not consider yourself naive. Your septas have taught you what goes on between a man and woman, but not in every detail. Your movements were as organic as the sunrise. Both of you were just listening to each other’s bodies, and doing what felt right. His nightshorts were very different from the thick leather he normally preferred to dawn, and through them, you could feel the tent in his pants straining more and more by the second. At this angle, on top of him, you could position yourself perfectly, so your core was settled right upon his dick. Continuing faster, you felt his dick hit your clit just right, and you gasped loudly. Sliding back and forth so the pressure alternated between your inner center and bundle of nerves, Neither he nor you could tell who was causing the wet spot that both of you felt growing between you two, but at the realization of it, he groaned loudly. Becoming frantic, you worked your body faster and faster until the pressure was ready to snap, and his hips thrusted up into yours. His grip had fallen to your thighs, and he was sucking and kissing on your neck, pausing every so often to kiss you deeply and swirl his tongue around yours, while you took and gave pleasure to you both. Panting in each other’s mouths, you told him, 

“ozbāragon nyke,” knowing a bit of the old Valyrian language yourself.

“So I will continue to feel you after tonight.” you explained.

You took both of his palms, and placed them back on your chest, wanting him to feel you too. Your breasts underneath your nightgown, and your racing heartbeat under them as well. 

The look he had in his eye made you want to explode. Intense beyond any look you had ever seen. Eye glimmering, it never left yours. Between the physical sensation of his body against yours, and seeing him like that, It felt as if you would indeed explode.

“kessa” he whispered against your neck, and sucked down hard, until you felt your blood break and begin to bloom under his lips. At this sensation, your hips began to stutter, and lose their rhythm.

Thrusting sloppily now, and although you did not have an exact idea of what was about to happen, you trusted him completely, and knew in your heart it was nothing to be fearful of. Nothing that felt this perfect and electric could be unholy. He was taking you somewhere, and you were letting him, without reservation. 

“Y/N, Y/N, Y/N” He repeated into your mouth as he came forcefully.

Between feeling the warm stickiness soak even more through his pants and into your panties, and the sensation of him sucking on your neck, you let go. You feel your whole body tense, and then relax. A warm sensation grew throughout your body, from your toes to your forehead.

“Aemond. Aemond.” you cried out, and grasped him desperately as you rode through your first high of this kind.

“I’ve got you, my love. I’ve got you.” he said, hugging you close.

And you knew, without a doubt, that he did.

Both too exhausted to discuss the events of the last two hours, you let your head rest against his chest while you were still sprawled on top of him. Both of you had been breathing so heavily, but now, your breaths had slowed back to normal.

You heard his heartbeat, felt his chest rise, and were assured of his strong life force.

Reassured, you closed your eyes, and let yourself fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

[askinkiskarma]

ᴋɪɴᴋᴛᴏʙᴇʀ ᴅᴀʏ ᴠɪɪ - ʙʟᴏᴡᴊᴏʙ

pairing: dilf!jake x omatikaya!reader

➽ words: 780 words

➽ a/n: I dedicate this to the anon that finds it astonishing that people like my smut, i added a few extra daddys just for you 😘 smooches 

➽ warnings: it goes without saying, but all of these works (kinktober-related) are smut and therefore minors should NOT interact with them. other warnings include: pet names (doll, kid)

➽ taglist (x) ➽ kinktober masterlist (x)

“Such a good girl, swallowing every last drop. Now let’s see you do the same with daddy’s cock down your throat.” 

In the time you’ve known Jake like this, there’s little you haven’t tried, little you haven’t allowed him to do to you, or for you. He loved control, and you loved giving it up. He loved owning you, and you loved being his, wholly, irredeemably his. Still, there was something addicting, obsessive, unholy about the way a great man like him came undone when you swirled your tongue around his pink, mushroomy tip, the way all his impressive, calculated self control vanished with the uncontrolled desire to fuck your mouth, to ruin you for his own selfish needs and you loved it. You needed it. 

Later, you knew he would do that, you know you’d come out of his tent panting and limping, but now… now it was your time to show him what he kept you around. Why you were worth it. 

“Yes, daddy.” You push him until he falls backwards, legs open, massive throbbing erection slapping against his abdomen, thick, heavy balls already itching to spill their load into you. But it can wait, he can wait - he knows you can make it worth his while. “Let me make you feel good, please. Let me show you what a good girl I can be.”

You kneel in between his legs, ears fallen flatly against your head and tail thrashing furiously, almost purring at the way his hands find your hair, petting you gently, allowing you to settle comfortably on your knees. 

“Fuck, kid. You’re gonna kill me one day, you know that, right? Gonna kill this old man with this perfect face, with that body and sweet little pussy. My best girl.” 

It almost feels wrong, how wet you are again, how needy to feel him filling you up to the brim just from a few words, just from a touch, just from the promise of after. But for now, you watch him as his head tilts back, mouth agape and eyes scrunched as your lips start trailing soft kisses all over the dotted bioluminescent freckles adorning his length, smiling to yourself at the way he twitched in your fisted hand, slowly pumping his base. His smell was intoxicating, musky and sweet, earthy and exotic, and you couldn’t help the need you felt for more, so, giving in to your wildest desires, you took as much of him in your mouth as you could, gagging slightly as his impressive girth was pressing against the back of your throat. 

“Fu-fuck! Relax for daddy… come on, baby..”

You did as you were told, closing your eyes and focusing on breathing through your nose, focusing on the image of him you couldn’t wait to see again, that you got to make happen, focusing on the reward that would follow if you were daddy’s good girl for a little while longer. Before long, your nose was just barely brushing his pelvis, your tongue flat as you licked the underside of his cock, determined to memorise every indentation and vein, determine to imprint it into your memory. 

“That’s right. Taking me so well, kid.” 

Your moan elicited curses and cries from the man beneath you, who bucked his hips into you at the new sensation, until you swore you could feel him in your stomach, until you swore you wanted to. You started a slow, purposeful bob of your head, removing him almost completely before going right back into it, revelling in the way his face contorted in pleasure, in the way his tanhi shone bright and diffuse through your blurred vision, endless tears flowing freely down your face as you tried to repress each gag as it came along. 

“So pretty.” he was humming almost to himself, thumb brushing the tears away from your cheeks before they had a chance to fall. “So pretty when you cry, so pretty when you take my cock in that gorgeous mouth.” 

“Mmm, daddy… am I making you feel good?” 

You smirked as you paid extra special attention to his balls, tongue swirling enthusiastically over them, capturing them gently in your mouth and sucking, while your hands worked vigorously to maintain the pace your mouth set, waiting patiently for the praise you knew he’d offer, the way he always did, the way that always spurred you on. The sharp inhale was enough validation for you, but nothing compared to the broken, hoarse words that followed. 

“S-shit. Yeah, baby, just like that. So, so good. Gonna be a good girl and swallow for daddy?” 

You have never said no to that, and Eywa knows you weren’t gonna start today. 

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