#to be fair it was quite loud where I am and it's hard to make assumptions about voices over the phone

[manhattan-gamestop]

Called tech support and they thought I was a grandparent.. girl I'm literally 23

[honestlywtfisgoingon]

GET A LITTLE LOUD. I DON’T MIND.

—WITH GOJO SATORU

REMEMBER: THE CLASSROOMS AT JUJUTSU HIGH AREN’T EXACTLY SOUNDPROOF…

content: teacher!gojo, teacher!reader, husband!gojo, smut, unprotected sex, p in v, semi-public sex, against the wall, over the desk, creampie, gagging, panty-theft, use of names slut and whore, not proofread

notes: i’m back this is crazyyyy!! i literally wrote every other day and thought about posting but i never finished anything and then all of a sudden it’s been years :O and im back w gojo brainrot. p.s. obi content is still coming but u just gotta be patient sorry i literally am so rusty

words: 3374

“toru! they’re gonna hear you, not me!” you worried your words wouldn’t get past the lewd sounds gojo was making as he rammed his dick in and out of your pussy. he did all this while holding you against the wall of the classroom— where anyone could come in.

“oh, i’m not worried about getting us caught” each of his words was let out between harsh moans, breath heavy as he kept his open mouth pressed against your neck. so he did hear your concern, it just made absolutely no difference to him. there wasn’t even a stutter in his pace, set hard and fast as soon as he slipped inside you only a bit ago.

“then why’re you covering my mouth?” one of his large hands smothered the entire bottom half of your face, but you managed to squeeze your words through the small sliver of space between gojos long fingers just like before.

“because i can actually stop myself from screaming. can you?” he was taunting you, sure, but the truth in it had you blushing. you were a little embarrassed of how easy it was to get a sound out of you. it was hard for you to keep everything in when you were naturally so vocal, and it only got harder the closer you were to coming. satoru always loved the moment he could see your conscious efforts to stay quiet become entirely abandoned in pleasure. once you couldn’t hold back, neither did he, fucking you as hard as he could, until he wrung out every little praise, and whimper, from your pretty throat. when you couldn’t help but shout his name for everyone to hear was his favorite, and he hated having to smother all the noises that always turned him into a horny teenager. he didn’t hold back his own grunts and groans though, letting them out freely in the classroom, which you didn’t think was very fair.

“that’s n-aah!” you couldn’t help but prove him right, a high-pitched moan jumping from your throat when he lifted you up, only to slam you back down where he was waiting to meet your hips a particularly eager thrust of his own.

“mhmm there it is.” he gave a smug little laugh that was always so familiar coming from him. satisfied that he had proven his point, he went back to making sure you kept quiet. instead of using his hands to muffle you this time, he smothered them with his own deep groan through a passionate kiss.

it didn’t help your case that your only response was an increasingly dazed look in your eyes. he clapped a large hand over your mouth again as you clung to him for dear life. your nails scraped at the back of his expensive dress shirt, feeling the muscles of his back react to the sensation. you raked them up to the softly shaved snow on his nape, pushing another groan out of him. only one of satoru’s hands were free, but he was doing the work for both of them. sometimes your husband was gentle and soft during sex— this was not one of those times. there was nothing sweet about how he groped your ass, gripping and kneading at the skin harshly. every so often one of his fingers brushed against your unoccupied hole while his palms spread your ass slightly.

gravity had you feeling like he was fucking his cock into you well past your pussy. you felt a pleasurable shock each time he hit that perfect spot, shooting up your body. how could it not feel that good with the way you met him with every bounce on his pretty cock. you both got closer and closer, but not quite there. you knew from the beginning that would be short, but you two couldn’t resist a quickie. honestly, you couldn’t resist any opportunity to fuck.

the truth is, he meant it when he said he really didn’t care about being caught from all the noise, but he also didn’t like that getting caught meant having to stop before he could make you finish.

even deeper than that desire, the one he didn’t want to admit just yet, was his possessive need. satoru wanted to keep those pretty little screams all to himself. he figured that he was the one helping you make them, he should be the one who decides that only he gets to hear them. people could still know just who was claiming you by his own pornographic professions of pleasure. Maybe he would let you cry out in the end to reward you, if only because he wanted to hear you say his name like you always did.

to get you there, he was going to have to go just a little harder to push you over the edge. chasing both of your highs, he used all that famous speed of his to switch positions and bend you over the desk. it all happened so fast that even if he slipped out, you didn’t feel it.

the new angle already allowed him to go deeper, but it also allowed you to arch your back. satoru didn’t moan, he whined at the sight. he always loved seeing just how far you’d bend for him— literally. it made his cock throb inside of you, the blood pulsing through the veins along his shaft that were making each drag against your walls take you closer to heaven.

still muting you but no longer having to hold you up, he used a free hand to bully your clit as well as your hole. there was so much sap dripping down from your pussy, making the noise that rang out everytime your ass and his hips met even more vulgar. he easily gathered up some of the wet mix of both your juice and his precum on two of his fingers removing his hand from your mouth only to shove his fingers in instead.

“mmm fuck baby, taste yourself. taste us.” you gagged on them, the choking sound canceling out the much louder whines you were about to make.

he desperately tore off his blindfold, shoving it in your mouth as a gag and telling you to play with your pussy. even before his hand could grip your hips though, you were already meeting his thrusts.

he gripped your hips with his large hands, squeezing your body beneath him, “oh shit. yeah yeah please. keep slamming that ass back on me princess. please please please.” he begged as if he was at your mercy, even though his inescapable grip was the only thing keeping you from falling limp. he grit his teeth, feeling you tighten around him. you went from throbbing to squeezing him like a vice as your orgasm suddenly shocked through you. you shook, your knees knocking a bit as you used your last bit of strength to push back on him, feeling as much of his cock as you could while you creamed on it. your eyes rolled back almost like they were compensating for the screams you couldn’t let out.

as sensitive as you were, satoru wasn’t done yet.

“so so close, hold out princess.”

the gag slipped from your slacked jaw, but you bit your lip to stop any noise that came from the sensitivity. you nodded and satoru petted your head and smiled. with just your lip to stop you from making noise and you so close to coming, satoru didn’t give a shit about volume anymore. you were about to let out some of the sluttiest moans like you always do when you come, and he wasn’t gonna miss them for anyone. “You know what? get a little loud. i don’t mind,” just before ramming in so hard that he knocked over the desk. the last of your moans morphed into a panicked scream, mingled with the crash and bang of the desk falling, along with all the objects on it. you were nearly one of those things if satoru hadn’t tightly gripped your hips and your neck, keeping you fused together. so much was happening, but he made sure that you were right where you needed to be for him to pour all his cum inside you. it seemed that after everything, your voice couldn’t handle much more than a little whimper when you felt all his hot, thick cum filling you up. you always tightened your legs out of instinct to hold it all in, and it also helped you keep standing as he shuddered, letting a long stream of broken groans and eventually whimpers just by your ear. he wanted so badly to take his time watching his cum drip out of your hole just to gather every drop not inside you on his fingers and shove it back in. you always begged for his cum huh? he’d be a bad husband if he didn’t give you all of it.

shit. his mind cleared he assessed the damage less than a moment after. even with all this clutter on the floor, at least he didn’t add his cum to it he thought. still, the biggest mess was between your legs, and he couldn’t help but feel a little proud about the two of you.

he immediately picked you up like a ragdoll and sat you down on a desk. you still felt your tongue threaten to loll out but you threw a leg over his shoulder out of instinct, giving him access between your legs to clean up the slick that covered your sex and thighs with his blindfold. it was already covered in spit anyway.

“fuck. someone definitely heard that” he murmured during his rushed clean up.

“who’s fault now huh—“ you were cut off by satoru’s reaction to hearing approaching steps he yanked you forward to button your shirt as you realized the person was running, very, very fast. you were both so relieved that you still had your skirt and he still had his pants on, leaving you one less thing to trip over. while he fumbled with your clothes you zipped up his pants and buckled his belt. gojo had just finished the very important task of checking to make sure no cum was leaking past your panties before yuuji came bursting through the door. you immediately hopped off the desk and smoothed down your hair and your skirt, while gojo tried to pass off his ruffled hair by acting like he’d been running his hand through it.

“hey, are you guys ok? we thought we heard something crash.” yuuji eyes darted to the desk on the floor, completely missing the raging blush on gojos face and the slight wobble in your knees. he opened his mouth to ask only to be shoved through the door when nobara came in hot behind him.

“hey! i thought we were all gonna check it out!” she scolded him with her whines.

“not my fault you’re slow!” he defended.

finally megumi strolled in, looking as nonchalant about the whole thing as he could be, in great contrast to his best friends.

“students!” you turned to satoru as he addressed them enthusiastically, “your teachers were just training and made a bit of a mess.” wow. that excuse just…well it sucks. you almost wanted to roll your eyes but had to do a double take. where did he get his glasses from? when did he put them on? leave it to gojo to keep his accessories on hand. it did help distract from how puffy and pink his lips were as he spoke.

“you were fighting in here?” yuuji tilted his head in question. combined with his big brown eyes, his actions had him looking like a puppy.

“it was impromptu.” you bolstered gojos excuse while trying not to cringe at how bad it was to begin with.

“ooh were you like couple fighting?” nobara jumped in with her question. it seemed she was way too intrigued by the prospect of drama to question how much sense it actually made, and you had absolutely no objections to that right now.

“wait things can get that heated to where you battle??” oh yuuji. he asked as if nobara knew all there was to know about the subject.

“no, no!” you waved your hands frantically, only to be completely tuned out once the two kids entered the mode of conspiracy. they talked lowly but didn’t whisper, as if you couldn’t hear them literally talking about you five feet away.

“i mean they totally look like they got into it.” nobaras chin was between her thumb and pointer finger while her eyes narrowed in inspection, yuuji mimicking her actions. after a second of tapping her cheek, she pointed directly at her sensei, making you and satoru almost jump a little bit. wow you had to get a hold of yourself. “no offense, but you should probably fix your hair.” nobara stated bluntly. gojo pouted. you thought he was adorable but also made a note to compliment his hair later.

megumi had been silent, not even really looking at you or the mess. his eyes just wandered the walls until it seemed like something clicked in his braim. his eyes darted back and forth between you and gojo. suddenly rolling his eyes letting out an exasperated “oh my god,” megumi just dragged a hand over his eyes and his face. he wasted no time turning around and walking away, seeming absolutely done with you two.

he caught nobaras curiosity and had her chasing him out the door and down the hall where you could hear her calling out “hey! hey, fushiguro come back!”

“hey wait what’s he talking about.” yuuji looked increasingly confused as he followed suit.

you almost slumped in relief you were so tired and you had to put effort into standing straight and not just falling into gojo. he looked at your relieved and tired face with a goofy smile. that smile. it disappeared as soon as you started slapping his arm.

“sa-to-ru!” a slap accompanied each syllable. “that was the worst excuse ever! there’s no way they’re not going to figure it out!” your hands kept slapping his bicep, but were just as quick to wrap around it right after. you pressed your cheek against the expensive cotton sleeve as you hugged his arm tightly and pouted just like he did as you looked up.

“c’mon let’s be real here, megumi would rather die than discuss our sex life with his friends. plus, we’re married, princess. i’m pretty sure a husband fucking his wife is like, the least surprising thing ever.” he rolled his eyes as he turned to wrap his arms around your waist, your hands resting on his chest.

“what about itadori? i’d hate for that kid to lose his innocence,”

“innocent? that kid is a self-proclaimed ass man.” taking advantage of the subject, one of satorus own hands came to rest on your ass. you quirked a brow but he pretended not to see your face and just continued, “i also saw a pinup poster in his room,”

“wait, really?” you stopped and shook your head a bit, like it would help you refocus on what you remembered you were talking about, “oh but still, toru, i know they know we have sex but—“

“but what?” he sighed, waiting for your most definitely poor reasoning.

“i don’t know, just” you started blushing and he knew that little embarrassed look. he knew you always liked to play the good girl, to hold on to your pride. if it didn’t make for such a fun game he’d say it’s a total waste of time knowing, without fail, he’d have you on his leash in minutes (literally or metaphorically depending on what your setting allowed). a single long finger tilted your chin up, his face suddenly so close to yours.

“oh you’re not worried about them finding out about my wife being fucked, you're worried about them finding out that she likes to be fucked like a slut.” such crude words came out in delicate breaths that fanned across your face.

“no!” your voice died out instantly when he pulled you a little closer again, your noses now touching instead of just your breath.

“hard enough for the desk to fall and loud enough to scream.” you had had sex minutes ago, and even worse, had almost gotten caught, and yet he was saying and doing everything to make your pussy throb all over again. you were always so easy for him to play with, never offering any real objections despite your attitude. “yeah? you don’t want them to know how desperate you are, how you just couldn’t keep your legs closed until we got home? because that’s all you want, isn’t it.” he whispered in your ear, your eyes fluttering back with chills. the sensation of him placing kisses on your neck brought you back to your senses once again.

“please, as if you didn’t run around the whole school just to say you needed ‘help’”

“and you’re suchhhh a good little helper for me, baby,”, he went to kiss you on the mouth you returned it, but as soon as he deepened it, you pushed him away and he had the audacity to look hurt. you were getting whiplash from having to repeatedly pull yourself together just to fall right into his hands again.

“you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. i swear we almost got caught there’s no way we can go another round. you’re insatiable gojo satoru.”

“mhmm, we both are, mrs. gojo satoru.” he tapped your nose before lowering his voice once again. “so, how bout i take these panties, and we go home when my cum is about to leak past your skirt, huh?”

“fine. deal.” you huffed, but spread your legs quickly. he went on one knee to pull your panties down, enjoying the picture of your pussy and leaving a kiss on your clit which made you hiss, before he had the fabric dropping to your ankles. you stepped out of them and he swiftly pocketed them.

“i love my wifey so much!” he stood up and kissed you with a cute smile as if he hadn’t just shove your panties down his pants.

“that’s good because love you too toru,” you said softly, hands clasped behind your back and rocking back and forth on your heels with a lovesick look like a schoolgirl. honestly, he never stopped making you feel like one.

“aww so sweet.” he tucked a hair behind your hair, sending butterflies past your stomach and to your whole body, but you just knew that wasn’t all. “who woulda thought you were such a whore?” ah, theres your satoru.

“only for you” you patted his cheek jokingly, but he just groaned with his whole body. he had to do things in the most dramatic way possible of course.

“ugh. baby, you can’t just say things like that and then—“

you pushed him off, leaving him, arms still stretched out reaching for you, even after you walked out the door. he looked at the clock before deciding it was max 30 minutes before you asked to go home. you came back in 10.

— bonus:

“well i mean the honeymoon stage is like that, although it’s annoying and gross.” nobara shrugged while still stirring her boba.

“they’ve been married for 7 years. dated for 10.” megumi responded quietly, nobara consequently spewing her drink.

“no way! they act all starry-eyed and all that stuff still.” yuujis own eyes opened wider in surprise

“yeah that’s what i thought too!” it helped nobara that even yuuji had the same idea too. “ugh now that i know they’re just like that it’s kinda gross.”

“wait megumi if they’ve dated for 10 years, you lived with both of them at the same time, right?” both of megumis friends leaned closer to him, eager to hear where yuujis question went, but he didn't even look at them.

“yeah what about it,” he said as nonchalantly as ever. this was a topic he had always made a point never to dwell on.

“so you had to have heard—“

“okay, that’s enough. we’re never talking about this again.” ideas like yuujis were the exact reason why megumi refused to feel his interest. ideas like yuujis made him want to die from remembering just how many times he accidentally heard the two of you…daily.

“yeah gross, good idea.”

“um yeah, you’re right, don’t answer that actually.”

[rafeyswrd]

HER ROYAL HIGHNESS | PROLOGUE

benedict bridgerton x princess reader — slight anthony x reader. slight colin x reader.

series summary. the princess is in desperate need to sponsor a successful season in order for freedom to come her way. and benedict bridgerton would do anything to please her highness.

WC. 500+ | warnings. none.

A/N. so sorry for being so late :( uni is so so hectic. i’ll update every friday from now on it’s only fair!! if you have any thoughts, etc, i’d love to know! i do have some requests i’m writing rn, but i love seeing them either way. enjoy!! and remember english is my second language, please be easy with the critique 😞😞.

“It is beyond unfair how stuck in life I am despite all I own, mama.” The princess whined, her hands fiddling with the ruffle that lay beneath her waist on her dress, jaw clenched in disdain.

Queen Charlotte’s eyes rolled, a sense of annoyance creeping into her. “You do not speak to me as such, I am your Queen.”

“You are also my mother!”

Silence traced through the walls of the dining hall; Lady Danbury’s awkward coughing did nothing to lessen the tension floating between the pair. Y/N’s hands were balled into fists, and the corset entwined into her dress was suffocating her beyond means.

“All I ask for is a chance to prove myself mama,” her voice was shaky, and she was unsure if the softening of her mother’s eyes were a part of her wild imagination. “I am not glass, and if you give me a sense of freedom, I will show you so!”

It was a momentary silence that had her heartbeat escalating, the gulp emitting her throat embarrassingly loud.

“Well.” Y/N’s eyes widened, her mother’s voice stern, yet a gentle trace followed through. “You may do as you please, your nagging does no good for your voice, it is also quite infuriating.”

“Well?”

“Well, if you insist, I suppose a deal could be made.”

Lady Danbury’s brows raised, and Y/N stood up from her chair, chest heaving from her previous rant. “Which is?”

Her mother leaned back, blinking once, twice, before speaking gradually. “Sponsor the upcoming season. I need a diamond as the people expect, and a successful one at that. I cannot be deemed faulty.”

The princess shook her head in disbelief, pushing her chair back and walking closer to where her mother smugly sat. “That is, it? After years of begging, that is all I am required to do?”

“Yes,” The queen swatted her hands in the air, to where her daughter stood, “Do not make me change my mind.”

Y/N smiled, a large gleaming smile. She clapped her hands enthusiastically, a soft, un lady-like giggle escaping her in a moment of excitement. “You underestimate me, mama. You shall have a happily wed diamond by the end of the season- if not before.”

The hurried noise of her steps gradually fainted as Y/N ran out, parts of her dress bunched up between her fists. Her smile was blinding, biting her bottom lip so hard she was sure it was bruising. She could not wait to tell her maid, Lydia, of it all, completely ignoring the warning signs blaring through her head on how her mother’s acceptance has come with incredible ease. Unlike before.

Lady Danbury’s face contorted to one of confusion, staring at the queen with a hesitant expression. “Not to question your decisions, your majesty, but I cannot help but wonder why you have come to agree this time, in comparison to the others?”

Queen Charlotte’s smirk was very faintly, yet visible enough to raise concern, “Do you think of me a fool, Lady Danbury? You are to be following her every move in hopes that it does not go the way she anticipates. Her coming of age does not take away her title as my youngest child, she is far too immature to be put out there in a serious manner.”

“If my goal is to ensure that her part of the deal fails, then it is what I will do, your majesty.”

Truly, It was beyond tragic how quickly news spread, and it was only a moment of running peace before Benedict Bridgeton has come to know of the princess’ role in the upcoming season. No longer was he a man whose eyes rolled at the thought of marriage. But a man who spent his days with an erratic heart, and fantasises of her royal highness plaguing his train thoughts.

TAGLIST. @easybrainrot34 @jkshxua @pinkpantheris

[withleeknow]

Helloooo! I’ve never done a request before so I hope this comes off okay :)

I love the song “flower line” by om shankar, it makes me smile every time. So, I was wondering if you could do a drabble based that.

If not, maybe the prompt: “real smooth, tripping over air”

If you take this request, thank you so much but if not I completely understand 🫶

call it what you want.

pairing: hyunjin x f!reader genre/warnings: strangers to lovers, college au, fluff; some light cursing, very unedited i am half asleep rn lol, italics indicate flashbacks word count: 1.4k note: hi anon! thank you for the request hehehhee. i decided to go with the prompt and also you didn't specify a member so i went with hyunjin, i hope that's okay :) happy reading <33

as always, i’d appreciate any thoughts or comments you may have, and please drop a like and/or reblog if you enjoy reading ♡

main masterlist / request masterlist / ko-fi

"real smooth, tripping over air."

hyunjin came back to the table and set down two coffees, the content of seungmin's plastic cup spilling over the rim just a little bit when hyunjin pushed the beverage toward him rather aggressively.

"shut up," hyunjin grumbled, covering his face with his hands as he wallowed in his misery. "literally shut the fuck up."

it was burnt into hyunjin's subconscious, the feeling of utter embarrassment when he had quite literally scrambled to stand up after you called out his order number and stumbled as he made his way over to the counter.

this was the fifth time that seungmin had been dragged to the campus cafe where you worked part-time as a barista, just to provide emotional support while hyunjin tried not to chicken out of chatting you up. every time, hyunjin swore today's the day, and every time, he went home with his tail between his legs and a brain that was wiped clean the very second you smiled at him.

seungmin only laughed despite losing a few drops of his coffee to hyunjin's dramatic ass. it was entertaining to see his friend like this, panties all twisted in a bunch over a crush on a cute girl whose number he couldn't even muster up the courage to ask for.

"you're such a pussy," seungmin tutted, shaking his head in disapproving amusement and taking a sip of americano as he looked at hyunjin who seemed like he could have a mental breakdown if even a gust of wind were to breeze past him right now. "it's not like you've never asked for a girl's number before. just do it."

"do you want to broadcast my shame to everyone here? keep your loud ass voice down." hyunjin removed his hands from his face and hunched forward to scold his friend in a half-whisper, even though the cafe was busy that day and it was almost impossible for you to hear him from all the way in the corner and over the lively chatter of the other students filtering in and out of the place. "you don't know what it's like. she might be the prettiest girl i've seen in my entire life. i go stupid every time i look at her."

"to be fair, you go stupid pretty often," seungmin said, which only earned him another murderous glare from across the table. "for real, why am i wasting my time here with you if you're just not gonna do anything? you're not even paying for my coffee. i could be in my room sleeping and saving money right now."

a pathetic whine slipped from hyunjin's lips before he sneaks a glance in your direction, where you were focused on writing down some guy's order by the register. "i don't know what to say!" he groaned, "it's so hard. ughhh."

he remembered the first time he saw you, and it wasn't in this cafe. it was at some lame party that he was forced to attend, where the drinks were shitty and the music was even shittier. he was sipping on cheap beer when he spotted you talking to another girl in the corner of the room, both of whom he'd never seen on campus before. what caught his attention was your easygoing smile and how your mere presence just seemed to pull him in despite the roomful of people separating you. he couldn't look away, and as if you could sense his stare on you, you'd turned your head and met his eyes. you'd sent that same charming smile his way, and hyunjin was enamored for the rest of that evening.

he lost sight of you soon after though, and none of his friends knew who you were. that was that; you were a pretty girl that he saw at a party once, whose name he didn't even know but whose smile he had memorized.

then three weeks later, as though the universe had given him a second chance, he saw you again when he came to the cafe for a quick bite before class. you'd smiled at him the same way you did at the party, and he was tongue tied.

fast forward another month and here he was, with his head in his hands as he agonized for the nth time over what to say to you other than "hi," "one iced americano please," and "thanks."

"just tell her you think she's cute and you'd like her number," seungmin said. "it literally doesn't get more straightforward than that. the worst thing she can say is no."

this was how their last four visits to the cafe went, the conversation always ending with hyunjin neglecting his friend's advice in favor of sneaky glances and a mouth shut tight when he failed to hype himself up enough to utter a few words to you.

"if you don't do it today, you're on your own," seungmin told him when he was only met with silence from hyunjin's end. "i'm not coming back with you again. the coffee isn't even good."

"wait, come on, dude. just... wait. i need to think."

"stop thinking. nothing in that brain of yours is going to help."

"hey!"

"are you gonna do it or not?"

"hold on, i need a plan."

seungmin rolled his eyes before he downed the remaining few sips of his coffee. "you know what? if you don't ask for her number, maybe i'll just do it myself." then he was already coolly standing up and heading in your direction without even looking to see if hyunjin heard him correctly.

"seungmin!" hyunjin called, hurriedly gathering his phone and wallet and scrambling to catch up with his friend in a panic. they both stopped in front of the register, where it was thankfully empty now and no one nearby had to watch hyunjin burn himself to a crisp with embarrassment.

"how can i help you?" you asked, looking at them curiously when hyunjin's eyes flit between you and seungmin in a panic.

"uhm... i.... uh..."

"this is hyunjin." seungmin was the coherent one between the two of them as he clasped a hand on his friend's shoulder with a sly grin. "he thinks you're cute and wants to get your number."

"the end," hyunjin says flatly. "the rest was history. you were there, you know what happened."

"come on, please?" you pout, tugging on his arm as you lean closer to nudge your nose against his cheek. "i've only ever heard it from seungmin and he doesn't tell it like you do."

he glances at you from the side. "what do you want me to tell you? that in that moment i considered running out the door and not stopping until i found the nearest ditch to fall into?"

you laugh, all light and airy and it still makes hyunjin as smitten as he was that afternoon in the cafe. "no, the other part."

"the part where i actually did kinda try to run away and bumped into someone and spilled coffee all over myself? and you had to take me to the backroom to let me borrow someone's shirt?"

this draws another giggle out of you as you recall the moment, when you had been so endeared by him that it was hard to let him go home afterward without your number saved in his phone. "yeah," you say, utter fondness dripping from your voice. "that part."

"that was the most embarrassing day of my life. i made a complete fool of myself."

"you were adorable. it's my core memory of you."

"i'm glad you found my humiliation entertaining."

you roll your eyes half-heartedly before pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek to appease his faux sulk. "we wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for your dramatic overthinking ass that day, would we? unless... you'd rather take it all back."

hyunjin softens in an instance, huffing out a breath as he mumbles bashfully, "i didn't say that..."

"you big baby," you tell him with your lips still ghosting the side of his face. you're so close like this, so tightly pressed up against each other on your couch that you can feel the warmth of his body and the thumps of his heart when you slide your hand over his chest. you give him another peck on the cheek, then you smile against his skin. "happy six-month anniversary."

there's a light blush that rises from his neck until it covers his face in the most beautiful rosy shade. a shy grin, his eyes turning into little crescent moons from the happiness that spreads from his head down to his toes, then hyunjin is smoothly turning over so he could pin you underneath him, where he presses his lips against yours so your smiles could meet.

"happy six months, baby."

all rights reserved © withleeknow. reposting, translating and/or modifying is not permitted by any means. [posted 24.05.2024]

[styxwanderer]

The Wrong Fake Identity | Twisted Wonderland [pt.2]

part 1 <part 2> Part 3 Part4 part 5 part 6 part 7

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙˚*

The lot of you decided to eat around the garden instead, all of them exhausted from all the running, not you of course, you are safe and secure in Jack’s beefy arms and the cushion of his abs. Although the mental panic and bashing of yours had left you sleepy and mentally drained. 

“I thought they are going to give a chase! I have never ran so fast in my entire life!” The orange head said sprawled in the grass.

“I second that! Vil is definitely going to kill me!” The purple haired boy said, sprawled as well near your feet. 

“Worse, riddle is definitely going to collar us like a dog and make us sleep in the flamingo cage! Erkk! The thought of it makes me shiver!” Deuce followed.

“If— if me, the great grim have to run like that again, i think i will just give up!!”

“Leona is going to make me run laps….” Jack more composed, still holding you in his lap.

“All of us could take sanctuary in ignihyde dormitory you know! I’m sure brother will take us in happily.”

“You! I can see through your pla—“Grim shouted

“I… i…”

“I .. i can’t believe it … i betrayed waka-sama, 

I BETRAYEDD WAKA-SAMAAA ARGHHH… how could i even repay this!! I have betrayed him! I am the unworthiest pawn in existence, ARGHHH…. What is wrong with mee. I beg for your forgiveness!!!! Kuuuuhuuu… please forgive this stupid lowly crocodileeee~.”

Sebek is curled up, hand gripping his hair tightly, crying his heart out and start to degrade himself. 

“D-damn… not so loud!” Grim grumbled

“Hey.. uhm.. don’t cry.”  deuce unsure how to console the green hair guy, sitting up. 

“Uwah.. he turns out to be quite a crybaby..”

You slide out of jack’s lap and hold, much to his disappointment, and crouched down in front of Sebek.

Sebek looked up at you, cheek wet from his teary eyes and mouth quivering. 

“Whaat…?” He whimpered lowly. 

Your plan to smack his head to the ground for being loud and hurting your newly enhanced ears, vanished as your eyes dilate into a full round. Then your self control broke.

“WHA—WHAAAA.”

Followed by a numerous “AAAA!!!!”

The lot of them froze from shock at your uncharacteristic behavior.

You had licked his wet cheek and the tears that is falling in his face. In a moment the red wet face of his had become a raging red as he hold the part where you licked him. 

“HUMANN! WHA—-…..are you trying to console me?”

You had your ears covered when he shout, bow that he is talking. Your sleepy brain went on over-drive and went full cat. You went to nuzzle your head to the crook of the aligator’s neck. 

Blushing even more Sebek then hug your waist as he scoop you to his lap. “OH HOW KINDDD! ill accept this with the greatest honor!” 

The sun shining on you had made you even sleepier, so you don’t mind getting a cuddle from the aligator man. Plus his toned abs and muscle had made a great cushion for you to sleep on. 

“HEY!! THATS NO FAIRRR!!!” Epel now snapped out of his trance stood up and point at the both of you.

“ you cheating scoundrel! I also want to hold themm!!” He continued.

“Yes not fair at all!!! Why does the one doing a half assed job get it all?” Ortho followed 

“Yeahh! Why do you have to be the one holding them..” deuce asked.

“We also deserved a rewards for saving her you knoww!” Ace said

“It should’ve been me the great Grim that they hold and pamper not you guys, i am the original so shooo! Find someone else!” 

“C’mon guys.. we can take turn.” Truth be said, Jack is disappointed that it is not him that you fall asleep on, but he is trying hard to save his dignity and so he chose to act mature as begrudgingly that is.

You had gone far from reality and off to the dream world. 

The lot of them decide to spend rest of the lunch break eating their food while also passing you around.

“Heyy.. heyy .. y/n.. its time for class.”

“Hnn.. what time is it?” 

You had woken up in deuce lap. Enjoying the plush of his thighs as pillow. You slowly wake up. Then your instinct told you to lick him and so you did.

“AA.. AA.. what ..”

“Oh sorry.. i didn’t realized  what im doing” you yawn.

“No no its alright!! you could do more if you want.” He mumbled the last part so you couldn’t quite hear it. The tip of his ears are now red.

Deuce has determined, he will never wash his face again.

Thankfully no one saw that action or the whole group is going to go for a whole banter show again. 

Then it’s time to separate to different class much to epel’s, sebek’s, jack’s, and ortho’s disappointment. 

“Ah.. i wish you are in my class y/n” epel said

“I double that!”

“Hehe.. too badd so sadd..”

“They belong with us.”

“Whomp whomp.” 

The trio idiots jeered making epel and the rest, veins popped out in frustration.

“Just ya wait ya bastards!”

Surprisingly even jack is quite annoyed as he let out a low growl.

Ortho is planning some mischievous prank to follow the trio. 

Sebek is hiding his jealousy although it is very apparent on his face how annoyed it is. 

Adeuce and grim are sneering at them like they had win something. 

Sulking the rest of them go to their respective classes.

▼△▼△▼△▼△▼

Finally the last class has rolled. Adeuce and grim not reallg excited to have to share you with the other four, and the other four anticipating your presence. You better prepare to say goodbye to your privacy time.

“Oh we dont have enough mushroom for this potion. We need to get more of it.” groaned grim your lab partner.

“Ooo..! Dont worry ill take it!” 

“Really?!! Thanks a lot y/n”

“No problem!” You hopped off your seat and begun to make an exit.

Into the glasshouse you go. 

▼△▼△▼△▼△▼

“This campus is too big im getting tiredddd..”

You groaned as you open the glasshouse. You begun to make your way to the garden-shed. 

A hand suddenly grip your ankle making to fall.. into a soft cushion?

Your hissing starts to quiet down as you slowly processing who just grab you.

Before you know it you are hold captive in the embrace of the great lazy lion. 

“Ohh.. look who is here, herbivore.” 

“Leona, you scared me.”

He chuckled in response. 

“Please let me go now.” You try to wiggle out.

“Why would i do that.”

“I need to go back to class before professor crewel kills me.”

“Hahaha, don’t worry you are safe within my arm.”

“But—“ 

Before u could continue your word Leona had rubbed the spot just behind your ears shutting you up. 

All of that human instinct thrown out the window.

Revert bacc to cats

You nudge your head toward his hand as you purr. 

“You like that don’t you.” he chuckled. 

He removed his hand away from that spot, craving for more you nudge your head to the crook of his neck.

“What should i do with you. Demanding a royalty to scratch your ears tsk tsk..”

“You better stick around with me you hear, after all who can protect you better if not me.” 

He lazily said

Leona’s sleepiness begun to affect you as you begun to feel comfortable in his hold. You decide the lion hair is messy you give it a lick.

“…”

“Ohhhh… sorry... i dont know why i did that…” you snapped

Leona held the back of your head and place your head to his chest. 

“Moving on too quickly on the relationship, are we? What an impatient and impudent herbivore of mine. I should teach you properly. but for now, let’s sleep”

Yawning He placed his arms and legs caged you and his tail intertwining with your new ones. He doubted anybody would disturb the sleeping lion, but this is you he is talking about. Everybody would do anything for you. Not taking any risk he draped over a tarp to cover the both of you, learning from experience that they are a good disguise material.

After all, the hunting game would start at the end of class, it will be an easy win for him, plus nobody could blame him or call him cheating, since technically you fall down to his arm and got caged. And on the extra side he wanted to see malleus dread angry face as he saw the both of you with burning jealousy.

▼△▼△▼△▼△▼

Meanwhile in class,

“Hey grim where is y/n?” Ace approach the doodling werebeast. 

“Oh they went to get more mushroom for the project. “ 

“Since when?” Deuce continued

“Around.. an hour ago..?” 

“GRIMM!!!” The both of them exclaimed

“Whatt.. i got distracted!!”

“The class is almost over noww!”

“And they are still not here!!”

“Ehem.. little pups, why are you making a fuzz over here?”

“Eeek!!!!” Trio idiots turn around finding crewel with the whipping. 

“One.. two.. three…, where is the other pup, or should i say kitten now?” 

“Uhmm you see proff, we ran out of mushroom.” Grim swallowed his saliva

“So they left to get some..” ace half mumbled.

A large heavy sigh escaped his mouth as he hold firm of his whipping stick.

“And they haven’t returned yet is that it?” The man tone getting lower.

“Eeek!! YES SIRE!” The three of them shrieked. 

“what am i to do with you, tch i know i should’ve prioritize that adoption paper sooner.” he whispered half of the part. 

“Well you better find them sooner— “

The bell has rung and in the same exact time the door flung open to reveal Epel, Jack, Ortho, and Sebek. 

“WHERE IS Y/N ?!!” Jack barged

“Geez you can’t wait can you.” Ace groaned.

“This is importantt!!” Ortho interjects

“It’s not thatt!! Its just—.” Epel word was cut off.

“THESE PUNY HUMANS ARE MAKING A HUNTING GAME OUT OF THEM!!” Sebek shouted. 

That is it, that is the breaking point for crewel. Fuck that bird brain crow, he is going to shave him bald. And for his naughty puppy, well lets just say disciplines awaits. 

“Is that so.” Slapping his whip to his hand creating a loud sound. 

“Oh goddd look he is emitting black aura! “ Ace shooks

“We are in trouble!!” Grim stammered.

There is a collective gulp throughout the classroom. 

“Well then what are you doing? FIND THEM!” 

“Yes, sire, yes!” The lot of them immediately jumped out of the door to find you. 

Soon news that you had gone missing spread throughout NRC.

Meanwhile in Heartslabyul,

“Where could they be? I hope those insolent fools haven’t broken any rules and trapped you!”Riddle hoped before he gave orders to his soldiers ,including ace and deuce, to find you. 

Riddle had thought that it is better for you in the care of heartslabyul since both he and trey have experience dealing with a cat beastman, hecc they can even invite Che’nya to help you adjust into your life as a new cat beastman, he just hoped che’nya won’t teach you anything wierd or questionable. 

Meanwhile in Octanaville,

“ oh my what a turn of event! My angel-cat fish is missing, i shall be the one to find her first. Jade, Floyd, our perfect plan can wait, for now its time to search them.” 

“Yes Azul.”

“Yes Azul~”

Meanwhile in Scarabia,

“Eh?!! They are missing?!! I hope they just got lost in the campus! Oh how scared must they be if they’re under the hands of one of the students.”

“Not now Kalim, we need to focus on finding them.”

Meanwhile in Pomefiore,

“Rook, did you manage to target the spell onto them?”

“ Non, I’m embarrassed to say but since they were covered by jacket belonging to jack howl I am unable to track them down.”

“Tch. where can they be… Rook change of strategy, it’s time for a different kind of hunt.

“Oui, Roi du Poisson, let your wisdom guide us through.

Vil shudders on the thought that any other dorm leader had gotten his hand on you, and most certainly he hoped it is not Leona. What a lazy lion could do to affect your beauty potential, keeps him up at night. 

Meanwhile in Ignihyde,

“ what ortho, y/n is missing, and just before the hunt. My luck could never be better.” Idia moaned. 

“I’m sorry brother.” The robotic voice of ortho can be heard through his tablet.

“Thats alright, you’ve done well. Now if you could scan all the campus and i will access all camera.”

“It will take about 30 min with the school slow internet.”

“Its good enough. Now leave it to you brother. Its going to be an eazy Peezy catch. LAWL.”

“Heheheh, of course brother!”

Meanwhile in Diasomnia, 

Once the news had reached the ears of Malleus Draconia, a loud thunder light had blasted through. 

“ calm down Malleus, it’s not like the hunt is over yet.” He chuckled.

“ you’re right lilia. I need to make haste to find them. Silver, come with me lets us play this game of hunt.”

“Yes, Malleus.” Silver anticipatingly answered. 

“Khufufufufu, they can hide all they want but it will be an easy game for us” 

Meanwhile in Savannaclaw,

“Ohhh? Y/n is missing? Shishishi…Leona might’ve captured his prey on record time afterall. Oh well, less work for me and I get the spoil too, Yeahh! Lucky!” Ruggie chuckled as he can’t seem to find Leona as well. 

[words 2318]

>> to be continued<<

.·:*¨༺ ❈ ༻¨*:·.

taglist: @agaygothicmushroom @feverish-dove

[woneuntonzz]

📞 ; “you’ll see me later near the flagpole, i’ll stand there and wave at you, wave back?”

𖹭 : player!seunghan x afab!reader

💭 you had no idea why seunghan seemed to be so indifferent towards you, especially when he had fooled around with half the girls in your circle.

⤷ contains: angst (it's quite bad i think), fluffy fluff, humor, cussing, indications of s/h, mentions and indications of self-exiting, mentions of smoking, drinking, suggestive scenarios, themes of insecurity, mention of other idol names for world building

⤷ wc: 9.8k !!

not proofread :>

Insecurity is something none of us are safe from. One might find themselves one gloomy evening after a long day, staring into the horrid pit they call ‘me’. 

It’s just so hard to love yourself when there’s no one to love you.

You’re not the prettiest, nor the smartest. You have a fair share of hobbies, but you’ve always thought you’re just mediocre in all of them. You’ve always thought it’s an internal error, nearly unfixable because you’ve been trying so hard your whole life but still weren’t able to reach a certain point of excellence. Perhaps it was the lack of encouragement, the lack of presence, your parents are the most insouciant they could be, and it hurts even more for being an only-child. 

You’d think having friends would help, but over time it would feel as if they were all keeping you around just for your accompaniment, like a pet —not even one they’d dote on, just one they’d have around so they wouldn’t make a fool of themselves blabbering on about whatever was going on in their lives. It’s been five years of their running mouths and pretty faces, and it’s getting harder and harder to care.

“Hong Seunghan? He's got the face for sure, but he’s a jerk.” 

“Does it matter? You two were so fucking loud last night.”

“Geez Y/n, sorry —but yeah, it’s just a shame. You can’t really expect anything else from that guy than a quick fuck.”

The first mention of his name flew over your head like a feather, you thought he was probably just another one of those guys, not really worth the thought.

At some point in time however, his circle of friends would merge into yours. Some would build friendships with the occasional make outs and doing the dirty deed whenever they felt like it, and some would actually end up dating, but they would be toxic at best. This deranged circle is definitely not desirable, but for a bunch of horny teenagers, it’s not really much of a shock. 

“Shit, Seunghan, why the hell would you just leave me like that?”

“I left you a towel —and you have hands, right? you were just using them with me—”

“Shut up!”

They were laughing after having done something so unholy with the presence of everyone just outside the room where they had dealt with their business. It was the norm now, having sex while everyone else was in the living room, shamelessly making the lewdest of sounds —it’s a house owned by one of your friends whose parents were seemingly as neglectful as yours, it just happens so that their son was a fucking narcissist.

“I can’t believe you wouldn’t want to fuck me.” 

“You have a girlfriend, Intak.”

“Y/n, she’s not around, and if you think about it you’re doing her a favor, taking care of me while she’s away—”

“You’re disgusting. She already said no.” —you never expected for Seunghan to suddenly butt in because no one really ever cared enough to save anyone from a situation such as this one.

“Look who’s speaking, you’re just as much of a fuckface as I am.” you could only watch with furrowed brows as the two went on. 

“Yeah? I don’t force myself into anyone, unlike you.” —really? for being the philanderer you are? —you’d think to yourself, keeping your eyes on Seunghan.

“Bud, she just said ‘you have a girlfriend’, I didn’t hear a ‘no’ or an ‘I don’t want you to make a total wreck of me’, did you?” you’d only roll your eyes, walking out of the room. “Hey, Y/n, wait up—”

“Just leave her alone dude. She doesn’t want you.”

You wish you could care less, but it would happen more often —some of your guy friends trying to get you to fuck, and him coincidentally being in the same room, reasoning with the other guy so you wouldn’t get trapped —if you already weren’t for being in their circle. 

You thought he was sick, what was his reason for stopping you from taking a hit when he bounced back and forth from your friends and probably girls outside of your scope. 

One night however, you’d make sure he wasn’t around, and finally, you’d give in. 

Feeling particularly lustful, you were in luck. Woojin was around, just as pent up —if not more— no longer able to keep his hands to himself. The skinship drew you in deeper, and soon you’d be whispering in his ear, “Let’s go up stairs.” —him giving you a hastened nod before taking you by the arm and dragging you to an empty room at the second storey. 

Everyone seemed to be surprised to see that it was you behind those risqué sounds. Still, you didn’t know how to act. Should you be embarrassed? proud? should you just be nonchalant about everything? you didn’t want things to get awkward for you and Woojin, and so you’d try your best to not show your flustered self to him.

“Is it really okay that I took your first time?”

“Y-yeah, don’t think much about it.”

You two were seated on the bleachers of the school gymnasium, the day after everything that went down. His chuckle, so sweet yet so subtle would only add to the heat on your face. 

“I just always thought you were so reserved, you know? I thought you’d want your first time to be with someone special, as far as I know, that’s not me —I’m your friend, your my friend.” he was calm, and soft, justifying his thoughts.

“I thought so too.” you shrugged at him. 

You looked out into the distance, to the basketball ring, and underneath it was Seunghan. The hell? —you’d say to yourself, seeing the boy beneath the ring shaking his head after making brief eye contact with you. 

What was his problem? Was it about you sleeping with Woojin? he was already there when you came down the stairs with Woojin, both of you equally as blown out as the other. When you saw him, he didn’t even seem to care, he even had his arms around one of your other friends nearly shoving his face against hers. So what was his problem?

“Maybe he wanted to fuck you before anyone did.” —now you were second guessing yourself, maybe you shouldn’t have told your pretty little best friends about it.

“I don’t think so. He hadn’t even touched me—”

“Oh right! it’s kinda funny.” their laughter filled your ears, so horrid.

“My God Jean, I don’t know why’d you even bring that idea up, Seunghan wouldn’t even look at Y/n for more than two minutes, be for real.” they tittered to each other, at that point anyone else who saw you would’ve never thought you were part of the initial conversation in the first place.

As harshed it sounded —especially coming from them— it was nothing but the truth. Not like he owed you anything, but you felt as if there must be something wrong with you for him to not be giving you as much attention as he would any other female. Not even only that, he didn’t even talk to you as much as he did with everyone else. The others would talk to you, some like Woojin more regularly than others. It just seemed like Seunghan was just so indifferent towards you, even after all those times he’s rejected your friends’ advances for you. 

It was enough for you to question your self-worth, your face, your body, your attitude. You’ve always been so compliant, other than those times you’ve rejected attempts of unruly hands getting into your pants, you had every right to do so anyway. These people you call your friends, they’re all so full of themselves, even them being vocal about their insecurities were all just pure complaints, like a broken car —they could get it ‘fixed’ as they pleased, with their parents’ consent or not they could do whatever they want, unlike you. As much as you wanted to get a higher nose bridge, fuller cheeks, a prettier eye shape, a more flattering body, you’re stuck with what you had. You didn’t have the money, the time, the energy, and most importantly, the motivation. 

Facing the mirror made you sick in the stomach, hideous —for a lack of a better word, was all you could think of whenever you saw the lump of patheticness, you. 

Everything started with Hong Seunghan, noticing how touchy he’d get with the other girls —and every other girl except you— how he smiled at them, and never at you. He didn’t ignore you entirely, but he wouldn’t be enthusiastic like he’d be with everybody, everybody except you of course. And soon enough, your doubts tripled from the backhanded assurances —if you could even call it that— feeling as if they resent you wouldn’t come as a question, not at all. They did a pretty good job of making you feel unwanted. 

“Unwanted? come on, we’re just here to have fun, none of that dramatic depression shit —anxiety or whatever lame excuse you have.” —and you still had no idea how to mend your pain. 

You stuck around, for as long as your dignity allowed you to. You would never be special like them. You were merely a filler, and you played your role well. For some time, Woojin was around, then he’s not. In a blink, he’d be your enemy too, just cause he got to fuck the more popular girls in your circle. How amusing. —suddenly he was like everyone else, never to swallow his pride. 

Everything at once became too much, way too much. You got into vices you swore you’d never get yourself into, drinking and smoking your spirits away. Wherever you’re headed in life, at that time it was blurry, hazy, unforeseeable. With every other senses blocked, all you could feel was the shot of liquid burning your throat as it slid down.

Your eyes shifted around, looking for a bright light that was never there, and you’d catch a glimpse of your reflection and for a while you were able to spur a thought out of your disarrayed mind —you’re a monster Y/n. You felt and looked dreadful, clearly in need of aid, but from who? you’d only feel the need to down more of the searing liquid, frustrated with yourself, with the world. You will never be enough for everyone, not even yourself.

Brain almost turned to mush, your vision doubling the images you’re able to decipher at the moment, you’d shuffle around the unfamiliar sheets, on a bed you’ve never laid on. 

“There’s some aspirin on the bedside table. I’ll be at class.” 

Of all people, it had to be his bed. You sat up, face buried in your hands as you tried to remember even the slightest bit of what happened that previous night. Nothing, your mind could only bring you to the void of nothingness. You’d feel yourself around, what if something happened with you and Seunghan that night? before you could ask him however, your eyes would meet his, and in them was a glint of something you weren’t able to pick up on given your very unkempt state. He’d leave you there, not another word leaving him. 

If you weren’t so thoughtful, you would’ve just left his room as it is, pocketing the aspirin —he may or may have not— left you, but you took your time tidying up his bed, not even giving the aspirin a second look before you headed out. You knew you needed the medicine, but you just couldn’t bear that thought that it was from him. He never cared —he shouldn’t care.

You still went to school earlier that day, not sparing anyone a minute of your time. You felt so defunct, so dead. On the way out of your last class for the day, you’d only subconsciously wipe your nose and blood was smeared across your face. You thanked yourself for being sober enough to rush to the comfort room and take care of it. By chance, you’d stumble into one of your friends. 

“What a sport, bet you could down five barrels.” —the last thing you wanted to hear was their distasteful guffaws.

You tried your best to let out something, anything in response, but a feeble smirk was all you could display, walking out of the comfort room in need of fresher air. You thought that was the end of it, but that night you’d go home, back to your parents. You never thought they’d even notice you didn’t go home that night, but to your surprise, one of them opened their mouth to you at the dinner table.

“You’re only in your junior year Y/n —highschool might I add, I hope you’re not wasting your life away.” you could only very subtly shake your head, suppressing the scoff threatening to leave your lips the moment your mom started talking. 

So what if you were wasting away? it’s not like they cared enough. They had barely given you an ounce of their affection, giving you money of the same value as convenient store student meals they considered the equivalent of a birthday celebration. Your last actual birthday was six years ago, before your parents had to ruin their relations with their own parents —your grandparents. 

The grounding of this whole mess started from when your parents had introduced one another to each other’s parents. Did not go well. For years, resentment was loud and clear, even as a kid you could see it, but for the sake of your parents you pretended not to. Your parents had you without getting married, still, your grandparents loved you wholly like you were their own child. Even after your birth, your grandparents from both sides still opposed the idea of marriage, hence your parents’ dismay. They’d cut ties with your grandparents so they could carry on with their wishes of being wedded, but till now, were still not able to do so, not earning enough to fulfill this desire. 

Love wins all they say, but their love was none you could see nor feel, so did abandoning their parents do anything for them at all? for their love that seemed to be so important that they’d continue to deprive you of your emotional needs? 

You refuse to be like them, you want to be better, to prove something to them, to yourself. Perhaps it’s time you got a grip. 

It wouldn’t be easy to stay out of the ‘friends’ that would be the foreground of your miserable life, but slowly you’d get the hang of giving absolutely no fucks for whatever they had to say. 

“You can’t be serious, you? studying? if you’re just gonna be out fucking some pathetic guy downing tequila like it’s water you—”

“I have a life, Rina. Maybe you should get one too?” you’d feel a little better, finally not letting them underdog you like they always have. 

You were a lot more vocal, and they didn’t like it. Soon you’d be the topic of discussion, behind your back, or when you just weren’t around. You knew, it was hard to say you didn’t care, it felt like fifty missiles coming at you at once, but what else could you do? tell them to stop? —as if they would.

“She’s such a fucking brat. What had gotten into that bitch?”

“Wait, who now?”

“Y/s/n Y/n.”

Upon hearing your name, he just couldn’t help but insert himself in the conversation, though he wasn’t meant to. “What’d she do?”

“Oh, I don’t know, be a bitch? she thinks she’s all that but she’d probably end up in a ditch somewhere.” laughing at such vile words is sickening. “Anyways, Han, please, please, please sleep with me tonight. I feel so stressed about the finals.”

He scoffed at her, loud enough for her to flinch. “Why don’t you study, freak? I’m going, I’m gonna study so I can at least continue to senior year.” 

“Do you hate me now, Han?”

“Never fucking liked you in the first place.”

He saw you leave that atrocious house for the last time, but he never knew it would be the last. He still waited for you, though none of your friends ever thought of it. 

Senior year flew by, and he noticed you never came back. He also noticed that you avoided him, and everyone else involved in that shitshow like you never knew them. 

They made sure you wouldn’t get away with it that easily. Within a span of weeks, your life was hell once again. You were labeled a slut, an alcoholic, a toxic gossip. It was tough to wake up the next day, to continue to breath under their condemnatory glares. The thought of who you were to them was so close to swallowing you whole, into obscurity, where you belonged.

“Y/s/n Y/n? please wake up.” —an unfamiliar voice, one you thought was from the heavens coming to retrieve you from the hell you lived in. 

She helped you sit up from the murky tiles of the school comfort room, assisting you with holding yourself up with a hand on the small of your back. 

“Y/n, please don’t do this again. If you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me. Tell me everything.” —Ahn Yujin, a girl from the pilot class, she’d heard about you, but everything she’s picked up so far contradicts your lifeless image. 

She figured you must've been a victim of such vindictive mouths. You could only tell your stories through messages, fearing if you did it anywhere else, someone might overhear and use it against you. 

“Don’t worry, it’s all going to be kept between you and I.” —back in school, Yujin stuck by you whenever she could. “I have a friend in another class, Ningning, you should join us for lunch!”

You felt dumb for doubting the luminance of her tone, bright as ever. This was the first time you’d had someone you felt comfortable enough to call your friend, and you were thinking, maybe, it’s just all out of pity, then it would be easy for them to just overlook your existence like everyone else does.

Your ambiguity would be lifted once you’ve received the first letter.

hey y/n, i know you’d probably think i have bad intentions, writing this and all, but i just wanted you to know that i’m really worried about you. i wish i could’ve done something to drive away those rumors, you didn’t deserve any of this. i was scared that you almost ended it all, i hope it doesn’t happen again. i wish i could give you a hug right now, but for now, this would have to do —with a cute little drawing of a bear with open arms. The artist was definitely not Van Gogh, but it was sweet nonetheless.

When you met Yujin and Ningning again that day, you would hesitantly come up to her with a warm embrace. She was a bit surprised, but happy you were finally showing signs of healthy vigor. “Hi Y/n!” she exclaimed whilst she hugged you back.

“I just wanted to say thank you, for everything —to you too Ningning. I literally wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you guys.” the two would engulf you in a big hug. 

“Life is tough and highschool is filled with monsters. Rina and her little girlfriends? they can rot in hell, I’ll tell you that!”  

“Shh! wait, Yunjin, people might hear!” a slight chuckle left your mouth, for the first time in a great while. “But I agree. No worries, you have us now, fuck those buffoons.”

Finally, sincerity, something you never thought you’d be met with ever again. If it weren’t for that letter though, you would’ve never figured out just how genuine Yujin and Ningning were with helping you out. Even at home, you’d be talking with them, sometimes on a call if you were feeling safe enough to make a slight noise in your home with your parents around. 

“My birthday is in two weeks, God, I don’t think I'd even make it by then because of this stupid physics assignment —and the thesis too! I hate, hate, hate Lee Woojin.” you laughed at Yujin’s mention of that pathetic fool’s name, immediately catching the attention of both girls in the call. 

“Y/n, is he one of those jerks?” Ningning would bring her face closer to her phone screen. 

“Yes, he is. He’s bad bad.” you laughed at their reactions, Ningning shaking her head with a smirk whilst Yujin slammed her hands against each other once, scoffing. 

“Of course he is, I swear to God, I will remove him from our thesis paper.” 

“Honestly, he’s really nice when you first meet him, but as time goes by… you realize he’s just a total perv, him, Seunghan, Dowoon, all the same!” 

You shouldn’t be surprised, but you couldn’t help but perk up hearing Seunghan’s name again after a while. His reputation, like everyone else in his friend group, was tainted —salvageable, yes, but still burnt a hole through his once admirable esteem. Girls were all over him then, the younger and older, but now, with news of him fooling around so often, he’d be nothing but a pretty playboy. 

But he was no longer your concern, boys like him are never worth it, destroying the little self-worth you had. For all you knew, he probably never cared for you. 

None of that would matter anymore, and for the second time, you’d receive another letter, the last one was shoved in the peephole of your locker, but this one was left under your desk. 

i hope you’re reading these —also hope you’re not throwing them away after, i don’t want to assume, but I see you’re holding yourself up pretty well? i’m really proud of you :3 

How could you throw such precious efforts away? you kept them all, and eventually made the decision to stick them to your personal journal that you haven’t touched for so long. Your day wouldn’t be complete without them, and you’d wordlessly thank Yujin and Ningning by being there for them like they always were for you. 

“Hey, Y/n, we should do a little something for Yujin’s birthday.” you and Ningning were huddled against each other, whispering in the cafeteria before Yujin could arrive. 

You quietly gasp, coming up with an idea. “Wait! I think I got it.”

And the rest of the six minutes was spent with the two of you suppressing giggles and trying to be as quiet as possible till Yujin got there. “What are you two up to?”

“Not much, just the—” you looked at Ningning as an attempt to seek help. “—group project for social studies.”

She’d just nod, slowly, eyeing the two of you with suspicious eyes, all in jest of course, and you were all laughing by the end of it.

your smile is so pretty, always smile, yeah? happy you’re happy, finally. —and another cute little sketch of a teddy bear.

You almost laughed at how ridiculously adorable it was, not meaning to sound harsh, but you really thought Yujin could draw better, but maybe she was in a rush when she made it. 

i haven’t told you this, have i? —anyways, you deserve all the happiness in the world. if i could, i would take all the pain away from you, i’d take it all for you. be happy always, lots of hugs and kisses (? —are kisses okay?) —another day, another letter. 

You couldn’t help but emit a soft chuckle, shaking your head at just how sweet these letters were. You made sure you paid back Yujin all the love you’ve been receiving, through her words, the smallest and biggest of gestures, and her letters. 

i see you reading through my letters, not being creepy though, i just can’t help but look because you’re so cute. i’m being for real too, your little giggle is everything, and again, your smile beats everyone else’s. i think i’ll only be going to school to see that sweet smile of yours :D —this would be the letter left under your desk on Yujin’s birthday. 

You can’t help but overthink the surprise you’ve prepared for her, because even on her birthday, she was still able to give you something that —for you— could never be topped by anything else in this world. To others, it’s ‘just words’, but these words were ones that encouraged you to be more motivated, to make an effort in getting ready for school everyday despite how hostile the environment could be. 

Later that day, you and Ningning would be extra busy, convincing Yujin to wear the blindfold you had prepared —you had to make sure it would be comfortable for her— leading her somewhere in the park just near your school. 

Two, three —“Surprise!”

You were both proud with the simplicity, yet incredibly pleasing to the eyes. A little picnic set up, with a cake you and Ningning split your budget for. 

“This is just —I, oh my God.” she had her hands covering her mouth, eyes watery from the fondness you and Ningning had drowned her in. 

You and Ningning would help her kneel down carefully on the blanket you’ve laid down. 

“We hope you like the cake, we weren’t so sure which one to pick.” Ningning says. 

“I love it, I— thank you guys.” Yujin hugs both of you once more. 

Once released from their snug grasp, you’d utter, “We wanted to make sure this day would be extra special, and I want to thank you again for helping me and being my best friend, and for the letters too.”

“I love you Y/n, I really do.” she beamed at you, the dearest smile you’ve ever received since your grandparents. “Oh, but, what letters were you talking about?”

You blinked once, was it not from her? “Letters? oh, did I say letters? I meant to say words, you’re words of encouragement and all.”

“You’re so sweet, thank you Y/n.” you’d give her the same smile she’d given you, holding her hand, but at the same time, your mind was going fuzzy and you’d just ask yourself —whose letters were they?

Perhaps it was Ningning? but she seemed to be just as perplexed as Yujin was, you were just thankful that they didn’t feel the need to question you further about it. 

You’d keep receiving the letters, but would still be clueless as to who this mystery sender might be. They seemed to be quite genuine, especially for hiding their identity. 

the workload is starting to get really hard to bear with, i hope you’re doing good. i really wish i could help you, but i hope this little hug can help. —and another drawing of a bear with open arms.

Are they a classmate of yours? you could only be certain they were also senior year because they were aware of the piling schoolwork everyone in your year had to endure. 

Even with the sender’s anonymity, their letters would still serve as a reason for you to withstand the storms of your life. You’d tell both Yujin and Ningning about it eventually, and they would be just as invested in them as you were, intrigued by this endearing mystery. 

“They seem really sweet, but I really can’t think of anyone.” —was all you could answer to your friends’ queries. 

“Hmm, whoever they are, I hope they’re just as good as they appear to be in these letters.” They were reading through the letters in your journal, smiling at certains points.

“Oh my God, what a flirt.” you’d rush next to Ningning, peaking at the page where they’d stopped. 

i want you to read this and not think i’m playing, because i saw you this morning and thought you looked really pretty —you’re pretty every single day, but this morning was something else, i don’t sound crazy, right? or creepy?

“You should totally write something back to them!” Ningning spoke, almost in a squeal. 

It was the letter from earlier that day, and it was the first time the letters would come off as more flirty like what Yujin had just said. You weren’t quite receptive with the thought of calling them your secret admirer, you’d pretty much prefer to call them your anonymous best friend.

who are you? —you left a little note above your desk before you left school that day, hoping they’d see it and respond to you.

college is nearing, i wish you all the luck in the world. i know you’ll get in a great university, and have great friends, be careful with friends, okay? also remember to always take care of yourself, no matter what. 

so i wrote this last night, but i added this just now, i see you’re curious, i never thought it would matter. truly, your smile is enough. i don’t want to be in the way of your thoughts, don’t think about it much, still i really don’t want you to think i’m just messing with you. i promise to see you before we graduate :))

Your smile would diminish by the end of the letter. Right, you were graduating already. With a sigh, you’d fold the letter into one of your notebooks. 

The letters never stopped, and soon, your journal was full. You got a new one, filling three more pages with their letters before graduation day. you’ll see me later near the flagpole, i’ll stand there and wave at you, wave back? hehe :3 —a note was stuck onto your designated chair during the ceremony.

Your heart pounded so quickly as time flew by, the awarding was barely in your mind anymore, all you could think of was seeing this mystery person, seeing an actual being behind those lovely and comforting words. Once everyone had their medals hanging from their necks, with smiles and faint laughter, there would be a speech left by the deans and the principal. All that’s left is to let that cap fly into the air, and look near the flagpole. 

With a smile on your face, you got a little closer at the stage, just enough to be at a reasonable distance from your anonymous best friend, still you weren’t able to spot them right away. After a while, the crowd would scatter, and you could finally look without many people in the way. 

You never thought you’d see his smile, a smile that called for the angels, the angel that you are. 

Before he could give you a wave, you’d disappear from his sight, like snow under the summer sun. His eyes would move down to the floor, perhaps he was too sure? Well, he didn’t exactly picture that you would run to him and wrap him with your warm embrace, but he thought you’d at least spare him a small smile, either way, he couldn’t blame you. He understood why you’d react that way. 

You didn’t know how to feel, was it really him? him out of all people? out of all people, him again? you wanted to believe he was just out of his mind, wanting to mess with you all over again, but then, if he really intended to, he could've done so without all the trouble of writing you all these letters every night waking up extra early just to leave them under your desk before you got there, all to get a smile out of you. 

This was not the Hong Seunghan you knew.

═══════════════════════════════════════

Getting into a decent university was your biggest concern all summer, not being able to think about anything else than your entrance exam results. SNU, Yonsei, and two more back ups, you just hoped you weren’t much of a fuck up during the interview, though you did stutter at multiple points —which almost crumbled you into pieces— you’d say you did a pretty good job, till you were coming up with better answers you could’ve said right after the interview finished. 

“Okay, okay. Let’s open our inbox.” you were on a call with your best friends, all equally excited, and anxious. 

“I will shit myself.”

You checked yours, you got four emails from all four universities you applied for. You only got into two, much to your luck, one of them was Yonsei. 

“Oh my God, we’re going to Yonsei together!” Yujin had her hands clasped together.

“I can’t wait to skip classes with you guys!” you both laugh at Ningning’s quip. 

“Maybe not that, but yey!”

Your life seems to be moving in the right direction, one where you’ll finally be able to reach a point of contentment, and pure bliss. 

You’d find yourself smiling at the ceiling, eyes closed, laying flat on your back. It felt so good to be out of the haphazards, just thinking about the future and what it held for you and the two of your favorite people. 

Relief coursed through your body, finally you could step out of that dismal household. Your parents promised to send you money regularly, but you were determined to get some sort of side job that could earn you enough so you could save up for something nice —you yet weren’t sure for what exactly, but you’d figure it out soon enough. 

Arriving at the dorms, you were thankful that it was spacious enough, not like you’d have a use for so much space, just that you hoped you could pre-establish some boundaries with your roommate, who —fortunately for you— was very nice and quite extroverted. 

“Hi! My name is Haewon!”

“Hi! I’m Y/n, nice to meet you!”

And she was nice enough to invite you and your friends to a little get-together they had. 

“There’s not many people, but I think Sunoo said he was bringing in a few friends, I'm not familiar with them either.” Haewon shrugged right as she spoke about her friend Sunoo. 

This was the circle of friends you thought you’d be in in highschool, but does that really matter anymore? you already had Yujin, Ningning, and now Haewon, and possibly a few more you hoped. 

You’d meet up with Yujin and Ningning before you got to the get-together, you were all just as nervous as the other, but were still anticipating something wonderful out of it. 

“I just hope they’re really as nice as they sound, I mean, meeting Haewon earlier, they probably are, but still!” Yujin spoke with haste, using a hand mirror to guide herself with fixing her hair. 

“We’ll be okay, tonight will be great.” you urged with pure excitement. 

You were a firm believer —just recently— that things would go well if you believed hard enough, and throughout the ride to the meeting place, you wore a smile, one that would only shine brighter once you were greeted by Haewon and two other girls. Soon enough you’d learn their names, Seeun and Sullyoon. However, Sunoo seemed to be running late.

“I wonder who he’s coming with, I hope they’re nice too.” Sullyoon kept her eyes on Haewon —who looked to be growing a bit annoyed— as she spoke.

After five counts of minutes, you’d hear a few pairs of feet approaching, and you’d turn yourself around to face them with a wee bit of hesitance. 

“Finally! Well, anyways, this is my roomate Y/n and her best friends, Yujin and Ningning.” 

“Is Haewonnie mad at me?”

“Don’t even get me started with that—”

“Yeah, okay, okay. I brought my roommate too, Seunghan, and his best friend Sohee.”

Him again. 

Everything was flashing back in your mind in one full swing, the letters, graduation day, the aspirin. It wouldn’t be as bad looking back at it, but he was right there. Perhaps you made a mistake on graduation day? maybe he was just in the way of your anonymous best friend who stood near the flagpole. But he was the only one there. —your thoughts would stray far from the conversation at play, but you wouldn’t let yourself get too lost in your head to shut everyone out. You tried shutting him out, but somehow your eyes were progressively becoming so drawn to his own. Why was he suddenly giving you this much attention? it should’ve been over the moment you had rejected the aspirin, the morning you woke up on his bed, but he was here again, and he’s different. 

It posed a question, what is it that could truly change somebody? an event? a place? another person? you could say, from that night alone you could observe that he’s changed as much as you did. A lot more smiley —like you, a bit timid, but still very open —like you, listened very carefully and very well, especially to you. You’d mind him the entire night, but made sure you were still being a functional friend and not just sitting there like an idiot thinking about this one guy that you suddenly couldn’t get off of your head —get out!

The moment would come where it was finally time to say goodbye. Everyone was so nice to you and your friends that nothing else came out of your other than small thank you’s whilst you gave them little waves, even him. He waved at you too, but he seemed too happy for his own good. 

That night however, while you got your stuff fixed, opening the bag you brought to the get-together for anything you would need for class the next day, you’d be met with a small piece of paper, folded in half.

good luck for tomorrow’s classes, it was really nice seeing you again. i missed you, y/n —there it was again, that stupidly cute bear that could easily be mistaken for a koala.

You really had nothing else left to do than to just wait for the sun to rise again, but not without giving everything an hour of your thought. You’re dazed with his sudden, and very unexpected appearance at that get-together, though you could never be sure, he didn’t seem to be the same Seunghan that bounced from girl to girl, ignoring you —something you so desperately wanted to get off your mind, but it was all coming back now. Because what could be the reason for him to write you all those letters? suddenly he was so concerned for you now? Was it because you almost lost your life? Was this just his pity getting the better of him? 

Whatever it may be, it was for sure driving you insane. 

“Good morning Y/n! I went down to get breakfast and I noticed you got mail, I fetched it for you if it’s alright, figured it might be from your family.” your eyes went wide at the envelope Haewon held up to your groggy face. 

It’s not from my family, they’d never, “Thank you.” —you had a hunch of whom it might be from.

And your hunch was right. 

good morning! i was hoping maybe you’d consider (you really don’t have to though) having lunch with me later today? and maybe we can talk for real, no pressure though! you really don’t have to show up (but please do?). i know you know who i am now, and i totally get why you’d react the way you did, i honestly would’ve reacted the same way (i really tried to draw some kind of emoticon with a bear, but i’m not exactly an artist).

You were already at the dining hall with Yunjin and Ningning when you read the letter. Though, with furrowed eyebrows, you wondered when and where exactly you’d be meeting him for lunch, other than that, your chortle by the end of reading it was very telling.

“Another letter? your secret admirer followed you to Yonsei?” your tittering escalated into a hearty laugh leaving Yujin wide-eyed. “Wait, do you already know who it is?”

“Yeah, I know him very well.” you replied, leaving them with a sheepish grin. 

“Him? Who is it?” both of them left their mouths agaped when you continued to chuckle at them.

“You’ll find out eventually.”

“And when exactly is ‘eventually’?” 

Lunch? you really didn’t know where else to go other than the dining hall, so you went there again for lunch time. You told your friends that you were waiting for this not so mysterious person, and they’d situate themselves at a table farther, but near enough to see whoever sits at your table.

Whilst you waited, you’d grab your lunch from the food queue. Once sat, your eyes would constantly shift from your food to the entrance, and you could only take tiny bites, not wanting to inhale your food entirely when your company was yet to arrive. You toyed with the single piece of vegetable on your plate using a steel spoon, did he stood me up? —at that point you had even received a text from Yujin that read, where the hell is that idiot?

He’s right there. By chance, more desirably by fate, glancing towards the entrance your eyes would stay there, locked with his. Both of you would shy away as he got closer, and when he was finally at your table he would softly utter, “I’m sorry, did I keep you waiting?”

Yes —you’d think to yourself, yet you’d shake your head at him at a staggered pace. For a moment you thought he’d sit next to you, walking to the empty seat next to you, but then he’d go full circle, sitting across from you. 

Right in front of you is a plastic bag, quite obviously food. “Oh, is this…”

“It’s chicken, you can save it for later if you want, it’d still taste good if you microwave it again, you have a microwave, right?” you almost laugh, he was just as comical as he was in his letters.

You wondered if this was what changed, or if this had been the Seunghan behind that playboy facade all along. “Yes, Seunghan, I have a microwave.”

Later that day, your friends just had to have a talk with you, it was the four of you in your dorm room, Haewon being included by chance. Firstly of course, you had to give your roommate a little summary of what had been of your highschool life, who you used to be, and him of course. 

With utter disbelief, gasps were evoked, one after another like chimes until Ningning spoke, “I still can’t believe that was the Hong Seunghan from highschool, I mean, he did seem a lot nicer at last night’s dinner, but who would’ve known?”

He’s changed for good, as he should —you thought, you were in college after all, it would only make sense for him to get himself together.

“But, if he’d been giving you those letters since highschool, do you think he'd have changed then?” The question came from Haewon who was very clearly immersed in your story.

“Maybe? I didn’t really see him as often, and, yeah, I kind of hated him then.” you mentioned it in your story too, how he used to be so apathetic towards you. 

“Oh, yeah. So how’d lunch go?” the three had their noses pointed towards you, trapping you against the headboard of your bed. 

“It was good.” really Y/n? —you’d question yourself, because everything you could recall from lunch that day was just the two of you shying away from each other’s eyes, seemingly waiting on each other to speak. 

“How good?” 

Fine would’ve been a better word. It was your first time having lunch with him, let alone spending time with him. You held your first actual conversation, and he was very unlike how you’d hear him talk to others back then. Most importantly, he was all eyes and ears for you. It was the very first instance where your eyes would gaze into each other long enough for you to feel something you had never felt before.

good morning! you know, i should’ve asked yesterday, but would it be okay if i got your number? just wondering hehe, also you can tell me if you want me to stop with the letters, maybe you’d be more accustomed to messages (okay, it looks like a bear, right? sohee told me it doesn’t, i got a little too paranoid about it.) 

Though feeling a little awful having to go to class again, today sparked a fire in you, a sort of motivation, a new objective if you will. 

This time, you’d approach him at that one class you shared. He’d freeze when he saw your figure taking wary steps towards him, anyways, shouldn’t he be the one approaching you?

You’d stand in front of him for a few seconds before very nonchalantly sticking a post-it near his chest, on his dress shirt. You’d give him a small smile before making your way out of the lecture hall. 

xxxx - xxx - xxxx, ttyl <3 —he thought he must’ve looked ridiculous wearing such a bashful grin, anyways he couldn’t care less, not at all when he had a conversation with you to look forward to at the end of the day. 

hi? sorry if i’m bothering you, i don’t know if you’re busy or not, personally, i’m not busy, not saying you can’t be busy. if you’re busy maybe we can talk when you’re not busy anymore heh

He writes letters over messages too? —you’d giggle to yourself, curling up into a ball as you messaged him back, not really busy, hi :))

OH

HELLO

so, yeah 

i just hope, idk

i’ve been contemplating

it’s ok han, go ahead

i just wanted to say i’m sorry for everything, from highschool and all that. it just didn’t feel right to just move on from everything knowing how much it affected you. 

i hope this isn’t overwhelming for you

i should’ve said this irl

but lowkey i’m kinda scared of confrontations

yea, i can tell lol

YOU CAN?

oh

yeah

i see why

i’m one idiot sandwich

You hummed quietly to yourself, biting your bottom lip as you typed, more like an idiot cupcake

a cupcake? 

yea

u were a jerk, but ur very sweet as it turns out

oh, sorry bout that hehe

u rlly don’t have to keep saying sorry

i’ve forgiven u a long time ago

really?

thank you, it really means a lot

like A LOT A LOT

thank you for also considering meeting me for lunch and talking to me n stuff and not ignoring me

and also, i hope u don’t think i’m playing you with those letters

i meant every word, all from the heart :3

that doesn’t sound too cheesy right? god i’m sweating right now

no han 😭

i think it’s very sweet

and really adorable

ur so adorable

Explode —he thought he’d explode right then and there. You were calling him adorable? he’d never foreseen this ever occurring, it seemed unreal at most.

seunghan?

yes

i’m alive :D —you’d think he was aware of how cute he was, but truly it was just the effect you had on him.

By that time, you thought the letters would stop coming, after all it’d be easier for him to message you. 

“Good morning Y/n! I grabbed your mail for you, it came with food, some melon bread, if I had to guess, this is from…” Haewon would eye you keenly, nodding at her, she’d only nod back in response, catching the signal.

good day! —wow, that sounded like a message from the dean, but anyways, good morning to you, miss lovely. i’d like to propose something, so you, me, your friends, my friends —lunch, sounds good?

It would be the five of you at lunch, talking about whatever was there to talk about —mostly professors you didn’t like, and students that caught your attention— talking, throwing a few jokes around and laughing altogether. It would all be harmless fun, well, that was until all you could see was each other. At first it would all be pure coincidence, but then after a few more coincidences, suddenly your eyes looked for each other. It was like playing tag, and your friends are all ‘it’. Eventually, your friends would catch up to you two, not outrightly saying it, but they could tell something was at play. 

“Y/n?” 

“Yes?”

What was I gonna say? “Oh, uh…”

“Seunghan?”

“Um, yeah. I’ll talk to you later.” —his smile was very sure, very eager for your heeding.

═══════════════════════════════════════

ur going to movie night?

i got the good shit 😎

i’m scared

fear not damsel

i’m sure ur gonna love it fr fr

who r u calling damsel 🤨

oh sorry

princess (?)

that better?

see u at sullyoon’s

bye shinchan •^•

see ya princess >:)

It’s been a while, a while nearing five months. What’s changed? nothing much, you got closer, more comfortable, though not face to face, through messages you just seemed to spew anything at each other displacing all worries that once floated around your mind. And of course, you still received the letters —one hundred and ninety-four letters, from the very first day till today.

FOR NARNIA! I AM excited :)) we’re watching EVERY movie in the franchise, you better pack your softest blanket, AND, also, i have a little gift for you. just a little something, i hope you love it as much as i do. —a drawing of a smiling bear, at some angles uncanny, making you laugh on the way back up to your dorm room after fetching his letter.

You gave a lot of thought on picking out pajamas for this one-night occasion, cozy or cute? Why not both?

“I knew it’d be so cute on you! I can’t wait for everyone else to see!” Haewon would coo at you, caressing the fuzz of your lion onesie. “Do the roar.”

“No.”

You and roommate would walk your way to Sullyoon’s dorm room —one she shared with Seeun— in your fuzzy and colorful onesies, with a few snacks and beverages at hand. And of course you wouldn’t forget your fluffy comforter. 

“Hi —Oh my God, that’s so cute!” like you expected, Yujin and Ningning would come cooing at you too, and soon Sullyoon and Seeun. 

Yujin gently squished your cheeks together. “Are you excited for the movie?” you’d asked through squished cheeks. 

“Of course cutie.” —and a slight poke to your left cheek. 

“FOR NARN—” Seunghan would stop in his tracks when he saw you all huddled up at one end of the ouch in your fuzzy lion onesie. “...nia.”

You’d perk up at the sound of his voice, giving him a peppy wave. “Hi!” you mouthed at him, and he’d happily wave back rushing beside you. 

In between the two of you were pillows and a few plushies. “I got us some turtle chips, don’t tell the others.” he’d whisper.

“Why not?”

“Limited supply, princess.”

Soon, everyone would settle down, snacks laid out where everyone could reach to take a handful, and of course, your beloved turtle chips would be hidden under a blanket laying on top of yours and Seunghan’s laps. The lights went dim, and the movie was on. 

“We should do Harry Potter next.” 

“Chill girly, we haven’t even gotten this one started.” —and laughter. 

The movie was fun, as far as you could tell. It was quite difficult to find any sense of focus for the movie when you could feel the warmth of his body, even being a few inches apart on the floor, both leaning against the edge of the couch. You’d use the turtle chips as an excuse to look anywhere near his direction at multiple points in the movie, reaching for some chips from the blanket —it was dark so you’d have to make extra effort anyway. The twelfth time you reached into that bag of chips you shared, the back of your hands would brush against each other, and you’d flinch, moving your hand away almost immediately. 

“Sorry.” he’d whisper. 

As the night went on, it would happen more often, and you would care less and less, until not at all. Either way, you were both just in for the snack, and maybe a little more. 

Three movies in, you’d glance beside you, seeing a drowsy Seeun next you with Ningning laying herself against Seeun’s side, already asleep. You looked up, Sohee seemed to actually be invested in the movie, and so was Sullyoon, Yujin and Sunoo? Well, they were awake, but they might just be watching something else. 

“Y/n?” you’d lower your head, almost jumping at the close proximity of your faces. 

“What is it Han?” you were able to utter quietly, subsiding your flustered state. 

He just stares for a while, taking in the colors on the tv screen reflecting on your glistening eyes. Breaking his trance, in a whisper, he’d ask, “You read my letter this morning, right?”

“Of course” I always do —you weren’t brave enough to tell him the rest just yet.

“Here’s my gift.” From behind him, he’d bring out a little teddy bear, one in your favorite color. “And also, I wanted to give you my letter for tomorrow in advance —I feel like this is pretty convenient timing.” Now, from under the blanket, he would bring out an envelope, colored a nice, light orange.

He hands it to you, and you’d very gently take it from his hand as you whispered again, “Thank you, Han.” 

The letter seemed to be a lot more decorated. The envelope was of somewhat higher quality —it was a lot thicker— and it had a few stickers here and there, you could tell he was trying to get a pattern of some sort. You were eager to read through it right then, but just as you opened the envelope, he brought his hand to lower yours that held the envelope, moving his body closer to yours in the process. “It’d be better if you read it tomorrow.”

Your sides were pressed onto each other, but none of you would budge. You’d just go back to the movie, or attempt to do so. With the fleeting time, you were already halfway into the last movie. When your yawn deflated, you’d feel some weight on your shoulder. You were, in all honesty, too sleepy to capture all of your emotions. And without second thought, you’d allow your head to fall on the one that lies on your shoulder. 

The letter —suddenly you were wide awake. You glanced to your side, seeing his alluring visage, closed lips and slight agape mouth, you chuckled, ever so quietly as to not wake him up. You would very carefully open the envelope, freeing the folded piece of paper. You gave yourself a few seconds to take in the tiny sketches of bears, Shinchan, stars, hearts and other whatnots. 

hey, i hope you have time to read everything, i'm very nervous writing this too. i just wanted to say that for the first time in my life i found something —no, someone i can never seem to move on from, someone i would never give up, not even for my own life. i know i was never the best person you could have around, and i have so much guilt in me for taking my chances for granted. i've liked you since october 12th 2020, it's been four years, we're also in college now. i hope you don't think i'm only saying this for my own sake, but i just wanted you to know that's it's been you since october 12th 2020. i was young and stupid, i cringe at this excuse but maybe it's true after all, but still it was so wrong. nothing was stopping me from pursuing you the moment i saw your beautiful face —your beautiful self, you're so beautiful, everything about you is beautiful. at that time i never knew you thought so badly of yourself, please don't ever think that again. if others can only see your flaws, all i see is how perfect you are, hoping this doesn't sound too cliche to the point where you'd think it's fake :(( it's true, i love you. we're like jack and rose —or maybe not, jack dies lol (i mean i'd die for you anyway), romeo and juliet? oh, no, they both die, so, noah and allie? ...no, NO. even better, seunghan and y/n, y/n and seunghan. hoping this love story is one where no one dies (at least not until we're, like, 90) and no one is forced to move places because your parents hate me and vice versa —anyways, i really love you, and i totally understand if you're doubting me, before i end this letter i just wanted to thank you for being so strong too, again, i love you.

The final movie ended with your watered eyes, but it wouldn’t be the movie that would evoke your emotions. With a few blinks, your tears would fall, and slowly, your hand would creep under the blanket, reaching —not for the chips, but for the hand of the very first you’d call your lover. 

Your touch would wake him from his slumber, and he’d look at you, head slightly hovering over your shoulder. “Are you okay? was the movie that sad?”

You’d chuckle softly, giving his hand a light squeeze. “I just —I love you too, Seunghan.”

“Wait, you read the letter?” eyes curious, but still evidently sleepy, you’d guide his head back on your shoulder. “Oh, you did.”

Silence took over, and soon light snores from your friends. You’d slowly shift yourself to a position where you were facing him, and he’d do the same. He was physically unable to hold back, lips planting a soft kiss on your forehead. You two figured your friends are already far off into dreamland, so you’d get comfortable, arms wrapped around each other. He has one arm under your head, hand drawing circles on your hair, his other arm was wrapped around your waist allowing his hand to settle on the end of your spine. You had both arms wrapped around his waist, snuggling into him with his gift teddy bear stuffed in between the two of you.

“I feel like it'd be better if you heard it from me directly.” He tried his best to be very quiet, but would end up earning a groan from one of your friends. 

“Just bring yourself closer, Han.” —he was more than happy to oblige, and now you could feel each other’s warm breath hitting the skin on your faces. 

“I love you Y/n.” —and of course, every happily ever after ends with a true love's kiss. 

End.

[ridingtorohan]

𓇻 ft. ezio auditore x civilian gn reader

𓇻 summary. There's just you, Ezio, and a slow, sleepy morning on a rooftop.

𓇻 content. platonic or pre-relationship. pre-Brotherhood.

𓇻 enjoy! feel free to like, reblog, or send in asks!

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Soft strands of sunlight crests over the city walls, dusting over the roof slates in a golden sheen. It’s beautiful and tranquil, the starlight fading overhead into hues of gentle light. Early dawn has you feeling cold, a little uncomfortable under the brisk air. Monteriggioni feels quiet beneath the sway of your feet, the small city silent with sleep. Ezio barely breathes - and when he does, it’s relaxed, the motion slow. He’s, somehow, not quite what you imagined and yet everything all at once. Quiet. For all the charismatic clamor you see him with, he watches over the city with a sense of calm that Claudia has never spoken of.

Aristocratic nose, fine cheekbones and firm jawline, Ezio was without a doubt a cut of the finest cloth. Boisterous. Loud. Everything you’ve heard spoken about him - and even seen him act. This is a tender side you didn’t know existed, hidden beneath swaths of fine armour and silky fabric. Looking at him as you do now, his presence almost muted beside you on the rooftop, he seems more man than myth. Gentler, almost, even with the garment of metal strapped to his wrists.

Despite all the armour he typically wears, the imposing and broad figure he cuts, he’s everything but. You’ve seen him out and about, moving along the rooftops and city walls, scrounging for feathers - you still didn’t quite understand that— and tending to mundane jobs. He’s even swept out an arm to guide children back to their feet after a tumble to the street. Which happens a fair bit, even to a young child from your extended family.

Thing is, while it happens a fair amount - Ezio is there to stop it. Always visiting, moving between houses and tending to the people with a spirit and jubilance that you haven’t even seen the Lord cherish the town with. He loves it like his own, a home far from his birthright.

You don’t know much about Ezio’s past, only gleaned some of it from gossip and from Claudia. Even that isn’t enough. Enough would be to hear it from his own lips, to have the man himself explain. But, the strange thing is, despite all the good tidings he gives to the town, when he’s alone with you like this, he grows somber. A million miles away, lost in a world you can’t comprehend.

Other days it’s good. He tends to you like every other townsperson in Monteriggioni, making sure you have everything you need. You’re not even sure how spending time with Ezio like this even happened - what you did to make him choose you. There are many ladies who express an interest in him, many soldiers who want privy into his skills. But he chooses you, takes you for strolls and stops first thing at your market stall when new produce is brought in.

Today is not one of those days.

“I am sorry,” he says then, voice hard in the growing daylight. Not because he’s harsh - never is— but because that’s just how his words sound. “My mind is … quite occupied today.”

“It’s okay,” you breathe out, because it is. It’s okay. You don’t question where his mind goes.

There’s a long moment of silence before Ezio quietly elaborates, “It is close to my Christening day.”

“Oh-” You pause and consider his tone. “I’m sorry.”

His expression twitches then, mirth dancing in his eyes, dark eyebrows knitting together. A small smile plays across his handsome face, fingers spreading across his thigh. “Thank you.” He laughs, an unused sound that rests deep in his throat. “Ah, I’m sure you’ve already heard of Claudia arranging a party, no?” Your pinched expression gives you away and his laugh deepens, eyes turning away.

“She wanted it to be a secret-” You stop yourself there by instinct. But Ezio doesn’t interrupt, he never has. He’s attentive that way, always listening to what you have to say, even if it’s about the soil or the worms in your garden. “You weren’t supposed to know about it.” “She always tries to make it a surprise,” Ezio responds, eyes tender as he looks at you.

“And yet you know of it anyway.” There’s a twitch of his scarred mouth when you speak.

“Mm.” He gives a slow nod of his head, leaning back, brown hair moving from his shoulder to spill over his back instead. Ezio closes his eyes, the hazy sunlight moving across his face as it climbs into the sky. “Has anyone invited you?”

“The whole town is going.”

“Yes, I imagine.” Ezio laughs slightly then. “I’m inviting you as my guest.” It feels like it should be a profound statement - something awe inspiring or an utterance to make you gasp. It doesn’t. Instead, all you feel is a low seeping warmth that touches the tip of your toes. You look down, swaying you feet over the edge of the roof. Ezio isn’t saying it to be polite - there’s something about the way he speaks and acts with you that makes you feel like he’s genuine.

“Thank you,” you say after a moment. “That’d be great.”

Ezio says nothing to that, though you can feel his eyes turn from you back towards the city at your feet. An emotional eclipse washes over you and you’re left feeling cold. Every moment with Ezio is like this - inviting, like summer days and fireflies. Like he sees who you are and accepts it.

There’s nothing for a long moment, just you and Ezio and the slow march of time. Dew glistens on the lower tiles, the rough texture cold beneath your palms. “Thank you for going,” he says - and the way he says it makes it feel more profound than it originally sounds. Like it matters to him, like your presence is something he basks in.

You look at him, at his battle worn features, weary lines smoothing into something almost peaceful. He needs moments like this, you realize. Needs it like you do - the companionship, the ease from everyday life. The slow, quiet mornings, the yawning pull of life. An insurmountable, insignificant second of life - every second that amounts to something more. Because he exists, you exist, and this moment exists.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” you promise, meaning every word of it. You enjoy these mornings with him just as much as he does.

[emlovslennon]

John was laying in bed after a long hard day of rehearsing for about 10 hours with his friends. Him, Paul, Stu, and Pete were all practicing until 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Needless to say, he was exhausted.

You were already asleep. You fell asleep about an hour before he was to come home. John decided to finally take off his glasses and pull the covers over himself, as he held your waist to get your body closer to him. Before he fell unconscious, however, he heard whimpering. Not a painful whimper, quite the opposite. He seemed taken aback at first, not realizing the problem was. That was until he felt you grind up against him and softly moan. You were having a wet dream.

“Birdie, hey, wake up sweet girl.” He whispered, lightly tapping your shoulder and placing his hand on your thigh.

“Mmh, john..” you said, half asleep.

“That’s it, love, Johnny’s here.” John cooed as his hand slithered up your inner thigh and started ti rub at your panties. You never wore shorts to bed, just felt more comfortable in nothing but just your underwear.

“J-john, your home?” You said groggy, rubbing your eyes and looking up at him.

“Mhm, just in time for my sweet girl to start thinking about me in her sleep. Ain’t that right, doll, hm? You were thinking about Johnny making you feel good?” John said teasingly, rubbing you faster. You bit your lip as you grabbed his arm.

“Yes, John, m want you so bad please.” You said, to be fair, you didn’t wanna fall back asleep cuz you were still extremely tired, fuck that. You’d rather be fucked.

“I know, baby. I heard all about it.” He chuckled, sliding your panties down your legs and throwing them to god knows where in his room. He spent no time shoving two fingers of his right hand inside you as he clasped your mouth shut with his left.

“Shhh, little girl. Don’t want mimi to hear us, now, do we?” He whispered, you nodded as you softly whimpered. John was a guitarist for a reason, he was immensely talented with his fingers. He reached spots you didn’t even think were possible to hit.

“Fuck, you’re soaked. You like it when I finger your little cunt, love? Hm? You like it when I touch you like this? John said, his voice deep and low. You nodded frantically, biting your lip so hard it would bleed.

“J-John, I need you so bad, please. I missed you so much.” You quietly cried out. John smiled as he kissed your head. He took off his boxers and revealed his hard member to you. He slowly lined himself up, looking into your eyes as he pushed in. Your eyes flew to the back of your head as you covered your mouth to let out a loud moan. You felt so stretched and full and you loved it.

“Fuck, so tight. I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself, love.” John grunted.

“Don’t, please, want it so bad.” You whimpered out, your legs spreading wider to give him more room. John used that as a perfect opportunity to start pounding into you whilst covering your mouth again. Can’t forget about mimi.

“You like this, little girl? You like when I’m fucking you rough? My cute little whore. My fucking whore.” John panted out. You could feel your insides getting hotter and hotter, you knew you were about to cum.

“John i-“

“You gonna cum, yea? Do it, sweet thing.” John moaned out. That’s what let you go, it took everything it had in you to not scream as your orgasm washed over you. Just seeing your fucked out expressions made John follow in suit with you, cumming deep inside of you.

You ached, but you knew it was going to be a long night.

-

Hi hello I got bored so here’s a thing im back yay fun.

[ikebo-simp]

Funniest SAGAU reverse isekai settings for them to pop into existence in:

1. Renaissance fair

2. Norway (Khaenri’ah is based off Norway so I think everyone would freak out)

3. Anime/Video game convention

4. New York City babey (or any major city) (like Enchanted but worse)

6. Haunted house

Nobody is having a good time, but it would be so funny.

I am so very sorry that it took me this long to write this, life kept throwing things at me and so I died before writing this

I haven't been to most of these places, but you are so correct, I'm mostly having them react to the places, and it's not necessarily focused on them searching for you

If it wasn't quite how you wanted, please ask again? I'll try my best

Renfaire:

Fischl, would fit perfectly in a Renfaire, overwelmed at first but slow grows to like more and more, before proudly proclaiming "I am the Prinzessin der Verurteilung" and all the people clap and bow down and respect her like a princess

What about Ayaka, joining in, changing into some of the clothes available and joining into the festivities, someplace where her responsibility don't weigh on her, somewhere the honor of her family doesn't follow her like a shadow

Both girls probably would this a blessing from 'Your Grace' a chance to relax and unwind in a place that welcomes them so warmly

Norway:

Dainsleif holds a bated breath as he looks around the place, familiar yet, unfamiliar. He torn on whether this is a gift from you or a curse, just what has he done to deserve this?

Zhongli feels his memories of the war coming back to him, flooding his thoughts, so many people... dead, why did you show him this place? Did you want to him something? Are you displeased with him?

Norway fills those who know about Khaenri'ah with a hidden dread, they misunderstand and think somethings changing, the world's getting overturned

Anime/Video Game Con

Nahida walks around the con glancing around, she understands that she's in a different world almost instantly, she's curious about the customs and world she just appeared in, does everyone try and imitate others? She does rather feel unnerved around the Dottore cosplayers

Collei immediately gets intimidated by all the loud sounds and the bumping bodies, although luckily several kind cosplayers took care of her and gently lead her away from the crowd, she honestly just very confusing and overstimulated

The con is a curious place for those who visit it and almost everyone who has trauma from Dottore wonder why there's so many Dottore clones all in one place

New York City:

Venti feels stifled, the air didn't have the same clean crispness of Teyvat, and although the sights are sounds of city are music to his ears, the air pushes on his chest like a heavy weight, making it hard for him to full enjoy his trip into the real world

Xinyan absolutely loves the city, the aesthetic, the feeling of expression, all kinds of music and styles, she wasn't getting weird stares or her style choice, she love her time in the city, her only problem? The how dirty the streets were

In New York City, it goes about as well as you'd expect, it's exciting to all the new sights, however... if it's extremely easy for one to get overstimulated

Haunted House:

Chongyun probably knocked out the first person that tried to scare him before realizing that it was just a normal person and not a evil spirit, he still gets his hopes up that he'll encounter a true ghost through

Hu Tao absolutely loves scaring the cast and guests, she'll find all the hiding spots and lay in wait for her next victim, honestly has a huge blast even though she's been transported into a different world

A/N Ahhhhh I posted it too early!!!!!!

Thanks for Reading

[pursuitseternal]

“Our Blood is Thicker: Into the Fire,” first sequel quest for the Ascendant and his Raven

Astarion x Cordehlia | E | 3.5 K of exposition and throne sex

🎨 by @marimosalad , co-parent creator

NSFW version on X 🍒🍆

Summary: A favor once given to ensure Ascension is finally owed in turn. Raphael arrives from Avernus to negotiate the aid of his much-adored Bone Picker on the front lines of the Blood War, but the Ascendant won’t let her go alone. With the thrill of another battle on the horizon, Astarion and his Raven steal a moment just for the two of them. Lust and bloodlust aren’t quite so diffent.

CW: another deal with the devil, hints of voyeurism, pre-battle sex, male receiving oral, assplay, rim job, romantic PiV throne sex, semi-public sex, possessive Astarion

Original Fic | Ao3 link | Masterlist

Chapter 1: “Where Two Raging Fires…”

🔥💞🔥💞🔥💞🔥💞🔥💞🔥💞🔥💞🔥💞🔥

Air had grown warmer in the palace, then the slight stink of sulphur. Astarion sat up from the back of his throne, glancing at Cordehlia who lounged against the arm of his massive chair, her favorite place.

At his literal right hand. That hand that usually toyed sneakily over her back or up her thigh when eyes weren’t watching too closely. Or even when they were.

This… this stung them both, made both their hearts rap faster in trepidation at the memories of those similar times.

Slowly, the cloud of shadow and fire dissipated, and an all-too-familiar face leered up at the royal couple from the floor beneath their dais. “They say… uneasy lies the head that wears the crown…” that deep velvet voice crooned, “but I suspect it is because of the crown now, you’re receiving head much more easily, isn’t that right, Lord Astarion…”

Astarion sneered, holding up Cordehlia’s hand in his, resting it on the arm of his throne. “What do you want Raphael?” he sneered. “And you can skip whatever questionable poetry you’ve rehearsed for the occasion.”

The devil looked at his nails, placing one foot on the bottom step of the dais. “Why else would I come back into this realm than to say it’s time to cash in on my favor to you, Lord Astarion, Vampire Ascendant, saviour of Baldur’s Gate and overthrower of his erstwhile master…” His deep set face drew into a smirk and he climbed right up to the throne, making a growl rumble in Astarion’s chest. His fangs bared as he watched the Cambion scoop up Cordehlia’s hand to press it in greeting to his lips. “The favor I ask, however is not for you to fulfill, mighty master. It is for your lovely and fearsome bride, for the Bone Picker.”

“I no longer answer to that title, devil,” she snipped, ripping her fingers from his burning touch. “I am my Lord’s Raven, now…”

“And bride,” Raphael smirked darkly. “You reek of him…. Somehow worse than before the fall of the Absolute.”

“You say that as if it’s a problem,” Astarion sneered deeply, hackles raised if he had them, as every muscle in his body wound tight to attack.

“Of course not, what’s yours you’ve won, fair and square, and so hard-earned as well. A victory with every advantage that was generously bestowed upon you.” Raphael straightened and withdrew a step. “I do require your Right Hand’s many talented skills in the hells, however. The Blood War reaches a pinnacle, and her ferocity should turn the tide in our favor.”

“That sounds like a devil of a problem…” Astarion smirked, placing his hand on Cordhelia’s thigh where it rested over the arm of his throne, softly teasing the leather of her breeches. An extra loud drag of his nail over its soft leather caught Raphael’s attention. “You should know, better than anyone, I won’t be letting my darling Raven out of my sights.” He gave a polite but toothy smile. “You will have to rethink your favor, then if you wish it to be satisfied.”

“Very well,” Raphael bowed his head in deference. “As the Vampire Ascendant, your efforts would go a long way as well in battle. I would be remiss not to have you join in the fray, beside your beloved of course.”

The way his dark eyes glinted made Cordehlia’s brow furrow, her chin jutted out a bit more in a vision of confidence, even as her mind ran over and over again through her suspicions. “Tell us more about the battle, the enemy, the terrain, before we consent to your request,” she hissed at the devil, the commanding voice and experience of the Bone Picker coming full force. “There is something you aren’t telling us, devil.”

And it made Raphael noticeably shiver. “I swear it’s just a bunch of pesky demons and imps. I’m sure you and your lover will make quick work of them while my forces decimate the bulk of their ranks.”

Astarion’s brows raised high. “My my, you must be desperate if you’re going to be fighting too.”

“I would hate to make a request of your illustrious selves I wouldn’t also… indulge in,” the devil grinned.

“Oh I’m sure there is much you would indulge in….” Astarion sneered. Then, his eyes looked up into Cordehlia’s, those matching crimson irises sparkling as they fell silent. Little expressions crossed their faces, their thoughts clearly unified, that fabled marriage bond between Sire and Bride clearly not stuff of legends only. A playful smirk dallied across her full lips before Astarion’s gaze returned to the devil at his feet. “Very well, you have our pledge of strength. We will leave…”

“Now,” Raphael interrupted. “We must go now, this instant. Or else all will fail.”

Cordehlia stood from the arm of his throne, blades already spinning in her palms. Testing their weight and grinning all the while. “We need an hour to prepare. You ready your portal to the hells, Raphael.”

As the devil bowed low, she let one dagger sing just over the top of his head before it embedded in the wall behind. His dark eyes stared in insulted, aroused fear as he instantly looked up.

Cordhelia only narrowed her glare more. “And if this proves more difficult of a favor than you paid us… if this poses a risk to me or my lord, I’ll have your cambion testicles brined as a trophy, do you understand?”

Raphael gave that well-practiced, wicked smile. “Of course, I wouldn’t let any harm befall my favorite legend or the new favorite of Mephistopheles… there would be literal hell to pay.”

“Oh…” Astarion sat up, hand splayed across the buckles of his jacket, “is that me? Am I the favorite?” He smirked, that one that was dripping with arrogance and self-conceit.

“I wont waste my breath spouting off your praises, Lord Astarion, for they are so well-sung. My humble additions would do nothing—”

“You’re wasting precious time to prepare, Raphael,” Cordehlia’s voice sliced through his oily accolades.

A slight twitch of the devil’s eye, a subtle raise of his mouth and a pause of his breath, and wordlessly, Raphael bowed. With that, the Ascendant and his Raven watched as he receded, both managing to perceive that sly little turn of his mouth as he left the throne room.

After a breath, Astarion looked up at his bride, eyes softer as he scanned her face. “I don’t like it,” he said coolly.

“Hmm,” Cordehlia shifted her legs around, sliding off the wide arc of his throne and settling herself on his lap in one fluid motion. “The only thing better than the devil you do know is if we rid ourselves of any lingering bargains, don’t you agree?” She met his gaze, his breath warm as he sighed, two-hundred years of betrayal, of abuse, years brimming with the pain of owing everything to others still shined in those faintly glowing depths. “I had nothing for so long, not even my own body…” he had once said. “You want freedom, my love,” she whispered, nuzzling against the pulse point of his neck to hear his heart racing, “we need to satisfy this last agreement, and then all of that is behind us.”

Closing his eyes, Astarion could see the memory of his Ascension from her hazy, venom-clouded sight. Memories were filled with her darkening gaze as she watch that red light bathing his pale skin, sad eyes glowing with Ascended power before her own closed almost for good. Her thoughts swirled inside her own head right now, thoughts racing with images and emotions to reach him down their tethered bond.

“I’d do it all again,” he whispered, stroking her flowing, fiery hair, “I’d give all that again, make the same decisions, just to have this moment with you, my darling. The chance to hold you on my lap again… to keep your soul in this realm and bind your heart to mine as my bride…” A sad smile tugged at the corner of his lips, “worth every sacrifice made.”

Cordehlia swallowed past the lump of tears in her throat. “Helps that you have me right on your cock…” she teased, ignoring the damp fluttering of her voice, “on a throne no less, you spoiled lordling.”

He gave a single laugh, damp on his breath with nearly-shed tears at the memory of almost losing her. “Where you belong for eternity now, my darling Cordehlia,” he rasped. His nose pressed into that soft skin behind her ear, breath hot as he whispered more. “Think your preparations will take the full hour, my Raven? Or is there some room for… indulgent activity before we leave for uncertain danger and battle again?”

“You know I don’t believe in any more what-if-we-die-today fucks,” she whispered, voice deep and needy in her throat as she turned her lips to brush his. “But if you’re asking just because… then say the word, my love, and I’ll have you right here on your throne.”

His warm lips suckled the bottom of her own pointed ear, making her squirm and soak her under things all at once. “Please,” he whispered, that gravely undertone in his voice. “Having you always gets me in the right frame of mind for a fight,” he goaded her, a little thrust of his hips to grind his hardening cock against her left thigh.

“Eager, aren’t we?” Cordehlia ran her hand beneath the hem of his jacket, sliding her cool touch to tease the buttons of his breaches, the supple velvet doing him no favors to hide his erection.

“Come now,” he purred in the same dulcet tones that still made shivers race down her spine, “we both know you want this too. Let me help you clear your head before we enter back into battle. He slipped the buttons of her tunic open to expose those voluptuous breasts of hers, “I’d hate to leave you wanting, to leave you stuck dreaming instead of doing.”

She arched her back, letting her tunic fall open for both of those hardening mounds to touch the air. A sigh on her lips escaped as his mouth closed around that pretty pink nipple to suck. “It’s a fine line between lust and bloodlust,” she rasped.

“Don’t we know it, my love,” he spoke, swiping his tongue through her bosom to capture the other aching nipple.

Fingers freeing his cock, she lovingly stroked him until every vein raised hard and its head flushed hot and pink with need.

A growl in his throat, and Astarion’s hands fussed for her own laces to her leathers. “Why couldn’t you wear the dresses I’ve bought you?” he hissed, chastising. “It would make this so much faster for both of us,” he grunted.

“Oh, poor baby, needing to work a little to get to the rewards of his labors,” she snickered, sweeping her thumb over his cock’s weeping slit. “I can’t spoil you too much or you would be positively insufferable.” She whispered into his ear, only to suck his earlobe into her mouth, jeweled earring and all. Warm precum seeped out over her hand as he shuddered beneath her.

“Are you my raven or are you a minx?” he rasped, breath forced from his lungs.

“Can’t I be both?” she murmured against the shell of his pointy ear, running the barest tip of her tongue up it just the once.

“You are both,” he corrected bluntly as he choked on his words. He spasmed against her, and Cordhelia laughed slowly, settling her body, fluid and smooth, to sit on the floor of their dais, nestled between his thighs. She fished out his balls too, widening that gap of his breeches and prying his thighs all the wider for her. Astarion shifted, a contented sigh in his throat. “Always the good soldier, aren’t you, my darling? Beginning with a proper weapons inspection?”

“Shhh,” she gave him a peeved, twisted smile. “Save your razor wit and authority for the battlefield.” Her thumb swept up and down that hardening length, but her rosy lips pressed in little suckles and licks over the loose skin of his balls. That hiss from between his fangs as she nipped that velvet skin with her own blunted teeth was music to her ears. Just a tease of danger, just a hint of dominance and threat to make him whimper. Her hand worked his marble-hard and vein-ridged shaft, her mouth easily sucked one ball between her cheeks to suckle and then the other.

“And to think, those hands of yours are about to tear their talons through some demonic forces,” he sighed, voice strained in his throat, hips bucking as he looked down at those bright, vermilion eyes glinting at him with adoring mischief.

Those hands tugged his trousers to his ankles, efficiently pulling off one boot before she had freed his leg completely. “Why don’t you let me pamper you, my lovely lordling, one more time before we face death and destruction again…” her voice was molten with desire, those lips barely off from sucking his cock.

He groaned his approval, never one to turn down being spoiled. Those lithe hands of her guided his leg up and over the arm of his throne. That touch pulled him closer to the edge of his throne. His cock throbbed from need, her lips having yet to close around it completely. But that tongue laved around his balls until, finger and mouth explored his tight hole at the back, suddenly making him ache with pleasure. Fists gripped the arms of his throne, and he was glad they were metal, not wood, that they would bend and not shatter under the force he now clutched them with. “Easy, Cordehlia,” he panted. “Do you want the devil to come back and give us an audience?”

“I think you can bite your tongue,” she chuckled against his sensitive flesh before diving in for a bit more.

Bite his tongue, he did. Or his knuckle rather. The copper of his own blood covered his teeth, his core flooding with heat and tightening with pleasure with every lick and teasing touch she made around his ass. “Love,” he croaked in a single breath. A warning as he approached his own climax so quickly.

Licking her lips, she sat back on her heels, her hands slowly undoing the laces to her black tunic, letting that deep collar open to reveal her breasts. His cock twitched, untouched, at the sight of their fullness, those rosy nipples just barely visible in the cloth’s gap.

“I might have been a touch aggressive, my love,” she purred as she slid her body up, dragging her breasts up over his weeping cock first, pausing to let it glide slightly between their warm curves. That length jolted at the contact, his back arching, his hands gripping subtly against the nape of her neck.

“Save your aggression,” he chided her back with a suck of his teeth. “I’d prefer your adoration, my darling,” he asked, voice soft with love and yet edged with need. Her brows raised, that look in his eyes the same as it had always been, centuries of longing never to be sated. A look of pure love that could never be given or reciprocated enough.

Her elven body moved with all its grace, climbing to rest in his lap, her forehead pressed to his. Even with her crimson eyes closed, she could see his smile, feel his warm breath on her own lips. His skilled fingers wove intricate patterns against her neck, teasing and spinning her coppery red hair.

“I could hold you like this forever,” he whispered, that sweet confession from his now-beating heart. “And even still, forever wouldn’t be enough.”

Cordehlia leaned just slightly, lips pressing the cool fullness against his own. “My eternal lover,” she whispered, “my husband and sire by blood, a blood thicker than time itself.”

“Tch,” he broke from the kiss with a taunting tone, “my fighter has a bit of the poetic bard inside her.”

Oh, that smirk on her pale face and that glint in her scarlet eyes, it made him gasp as she lined up his cock with her entrance and sank down on him at long last. “No, I only let insufferable elvish rogues inside me,” she replied in a voice of purest desire.

“Fuck, Cordehlia, you know what I meant,” he rasped against her grinning lips, hand still heavy at the nape of her neck as she slowly began to ride him.

One hand braced into the thick gold filigree of the throne’s back, the other caressed his cheek, keeping his forehead pressed tenderly against her own. Those now-crimson eyes closed, fluttered shut to savor the way his warm breath panted over her awaiting tongue. When she closed her eyes, it was as if no time had passed, as if his pulse thrummed in her veins, as if his breath carried life into her soul. This, this was when she felt whole, completed.

This was when she lost herself in the warmth of who he was, in his love and passion and power. A sigh on his lips against his own, and she dove her tongue in to taste him, that comforting feeling that transported her back centuries and leagues away to the very beginnings of their love.

This was no rough fuck, no bloodlust driven blind drive for release. A union of two souls, battered and bruised as they were, shared between one beating heart.

It was enough for her to slip her mind into his, to flood his every waking and subconscious thought with every moment shared between them. With ragged breath and aching legs, she rode him, his hands rocking her hips to bring her somehow even closer.

“Look at me, Cordehlia,” his lips whispered noiselessly against her gaping mouth.

Eyes wide, dark and dilated, his gaze flickered over her beautiful face. His reflection was mirrored almost infinitesimally in those vermillion eyes of his Bride. His gut twisted in a mix of grief as he missed those star-kissed silver ones and a mix of reassurance to see her made forever in his own image and under his eternal protection.

“Astarion,” her voice barely more than a breath. “Promise me, you won’t do anything stupid in battle…”

“Only if you make the same promise, my queen of battle and blood,” he rumbled in reply, lips barely breaking from the taste of her own. His hips rolled in perfect union with her, stealing her breath until all she could do was nod her assurance. “Good,” he grunted, eyes still locked into hers, hungry to watch her come apart for him one more time. “Now, I’m going to fill you so that when that devil comes sniffing after my Lady Corvus, he can’t help but scent me,” his voice rough and gravely in his throat.

She pushed herself harder, hand gripping her nails into the back of his neck too to keep his damp forehead pressed hard against hers, her tongue tangled in the warmth of his until her breath stopped as she came. Her taste flooded with the tang of her blood as he bit the corner of her lip accidentally. His own body was lost in the waves of pleasure she commanded as he came, hard and sudden and shaking as he filled her. Grunting, his fangs released her lip, tongue lapping the wound closed out of habit as his hips gave a few softer rolls until he finally stilled.

Fingers ran through her hair, one last kiss on her bloodied lips and he released her. She made quick work of her trousers again, and Astarion did the same, belts fastened not a moment too soon as the doors to the chambers opened again. Raphael entered, a smug sort of grin twisting his swarthy, deepest face. An armload of items, Raphael set them down in the center of the receiving chamber. A snap of his fingers, and salt began to pour along the floor in patterns, the arcs and points required for a portal into Avernus. Then he turned that sinister smirk on the two vampires, a blush covering both their pale cheeks. “I figured salt was a safer bet to use in place of blood in the presence of two ravenous vampires, but it smells like you’ve already sated your… appetites.”

Astarion gave that low, rolling chuckle, eyes watching as the devil started setting out items for the rite. “My house, my rules…” his voice dropped to an intimidating growl, “my consort.”

“Your house, indeed, and master of all that resides in it, I’m sure,” Raphael’s thick lips grinned over his shoulder. “As for me, I would never allow for such… relations… outside of my chambers, as Master of my house.”

“Well, how fortunate we are under my palatial roof where I am Master,” Astarion sneered with bold confidence. He stood, making his way with abject determination. “Now that necessities are taken care of,” he threw at Raphael as he passed, “a simple trip to our armory and we will be ready for whatever fresh hell awaits us.”

Even Cordehlia snickered at that one, shaking out her red hair and following in her lover’s wake.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

(I realized on the second or third read that this is quite heavy on the angst so fair warning)

"Am I heartless?"

The words echoed in Legend's mind as he stood in the bathroom staring at himself in the mirror. Sky's voice screamed in his head, loud and soft, accusatory and questioning, hurt and resigned.

The person staring back at Legend wasn't really someone he seemed to know anymore. Tired eyes, skinny face (when had he lost so much weight? Had he always been this thin?), dry hair. He'd finished an eight night work stretch and it showed. He wasn't hungry, but he knew he hadn't eaten in twenty-four hours. He'd only had an energy drink as his entire sustenance at work last night. He'd worked a code, magically healed someone's stubbed toe, dealt with a family member snapping at him for taking too long to get test results that he couldn't even control, cleaned up someone's excrement four times, treated someone's migraine, told a creep that he could hold use the urinal just fine without Legend's help, saved another nurse from getting hit on by yet another creep, taken care of two teenagers who were coming from an MVC, and told someone that she'd miscarried.

And then he'd gotten off shift, driven to Sky's place since his friend had offered him a quiet place to decompress, slept, woken up, and read a book like it was a normal day. And then that evening Sky had the gall to ask if he was heartless. As if Legend hadn't just spent the night grumbling and laughing and making jokes with Warriors, teasing Hyrule whenever he saw him, and making dark comments about the entire situation.

Legend had long since accepted he was an ass. He'd accepted he was bitter and hurt, he'd accepted that he coped through keeping everyone at arm's length and laughing at the darkness around him. It's how they all coped.

He'd accepted that he was heartless. He had to be.

Sky's insistence on that being untrue healed something in his heart he hadn't even known was broken. He wondered if his other coworkers felt similarly. It was hard to tell - emergency personnel often didn't talk about what bothered them. They just laughed at it.

Why did it matter, whether he could feel things or not? Why did it matter that work bothered him but didn't? Why did it matter that he could watch someone die and crack a joke that would make people's heads snap towards him within the same minute?

Just how broken was he? Was it worth fixing? Why could he be having a good day and then all it took was one idiot to sour his entire opinion on humanity? Why did he get so angry, so hurt, so bitter? Why did the mistakes, the idiocy of one person make him distrust all people? Why were people just awful?

Why was he like this?

Legend reached up to his face, his fingers finding his earlobe and messing with the little hole where an earring would usually sit. He remembered the small, delicate hands that pierced them, the smell of the sea and laughter in the wind, the music and the fun nights, and the times when he did actually have some joy in his life.

He remembered the sand mixed with blood, the taste of bitterness and regret, the heavy decisions made in a single day.

He remembered all the emergency departments he'd finished, the poor management, the overworked staff, the entitlement of some patients, the desperation of other patients, the fear over being able to afford getting basic life saving care, the anger at how broken the system was, the frustration that could only be taken out on healthcare staff. He remembered the cases of abuse he'd reported, the anger in Hyrule's eyes when he brought in a drunk woman who survived a crash that she'd caused while the young mother she'd hit had been killed, the assault victims he'd treated, the frequent flyers who would just come for a sandwich but would cause a scene if they had to sit in the waiting room while actually sick people were taken back, the anger and hurt and bitterness and why were people like this?!

But it wasn't always bad. It wasn't. So he shouldn't just focus on the bad. He shouldn't just remember the bad. Why was that all he fixated on?

"What's wrong with me?" he muttered, leaning his head against the cool mirror on the wall.

"Am I heartless?"

No. No, Sky wasn't heartless. Sky had gone through a war, had seen things he refused to talk about, and he still had a warmth to him that Legend couldn't even fathom. Legend hadn't fought in a war, and yet here he was, being bitter about life.

You've fought in a war and you damn well know it, he reminded himself. As if the emergency department wasn't a war zone in its own right, as if he hadn't seen things that people weren't meant to see.

Ravio's words echoed in his mind next, insisting in how he was a hero, how all healthcare workers were heroes. It wasn't a new sentiment - many said it. But it didn't sink in. He didn't feel much like a hero. He just felt broken.

Maybe Sky was right. Maybe Legend wasn't actually heartless. Maybe he was just heartbroken.

[punsmaster69]

28/MAR/20XX

"Are we all set, do you think?"

"pretty sure."

she pats the seat next to her and lifts up the blanket, prompting me to join her and frisk.

"Then we are just waiting on Flowey."

on cue, flowey wheels into the room dragging a bag of miscellaneous junk food behind him.

"oh, thanks for bringing me this."

i take the bag from him.

"HEY?!?"

"Give me that back, you smiling trashbag!!"

"come get it, bud."

"Sans..."

toriel starts.

a vine immediately shot forward to curl around my arm, and suddenly a very angry flower child was wrangling the bag out of my hand by force.

with my other hand, i grab the petalled assailant and hold him in the air. he has the bag in his mouth like an animal.

". . ."

"you got it back not-so-fair or square..."

"buuut, i guess you can keep it."

toriel holds out her hand for flowey to transfer onto.

"Pre-movie entertainment..."

frisk mumbles, pressing a button on the remote.

"E-nnoyance-ment, more like."

toriel makes a face.

"That."

"That is not even close to a word..."

"to be fair, you got what he meant by it. i'd say it works."

"I am not sure you should encourage an entirely false vocabulary."

"Why are you defending it. YOU are the E-nnoyance-ment, Sans."

"can't say no to coming up with gibberish."

"Even you admit that it is nonsense, then-"

hand in the air, frisk mashes the volume button until it's too loud to continue a conversation. once we're all silent, they turn it back down.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Now shut the heck up with the fighting. Watch the movie."

——

"Quit your damn crunching, boy."

poking flowey in the face.

he scowls and smacks their hand away.

"Language, Frisk."

"Sorry."

"But for the love of all that is holy, Flowey, shut up."

a few moments go by. a somewhat quiet scene begins in the movie, and flowey begins crunching on his snacks as loudly as possible once again.

"𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘺. Please."

frisk glares at him.

"I will literally deck you."

"Is simply allowing you to have snacks going to become an issue?"

flowey stops crunching.

"That only punishes me!!"

"Frisk had snacks too, did they not?"

they crinkled a bag of empty gummies.

"𝘿𝙞𝙙."

"wow."

"you guys are missing the entire scene."

"Shhhhhh."

toriel hushes them, and they listen for at least a little bit.

——

"To your room."

"This is Flowey's-!"

"DON'T BLAME IT ON ME!!!"

"You were 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 fighting equally."

"Go. I do not want to hear a peep from either of you until you have worked things out."

angry grumbling as the frisk and flowey respectively shuffle and wheel away.

"..."

"been a while since you had to do that."

frisk had started stealing some of flowey's snacks and whatnot, which he of course blew up over. and, uh. they escalated from there and got sent away.

"I understand if you do not want to stick around any longer."

"i would, but i kinda did promise paps i'd play a game with him when he got home."

"which, uhh..."

i check the time.

"means i've got about fifteen minutes."

"Oh!"

"Do not let me hold you, then."

"update me on 'em, okay?"

i gesture down the hall and she nods.

"Certainly. I am sure they will resolve things."

"seeya, lady."

"Goodbye, Sans."

lightly, i bonk my head against hers before disappearing behind her couch and stepping out in front of ours.

i toss myself onto the couch and wait for papyrus.

——

"OVER THAT?"

"yep."

"AGH. I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH FLOWERY ON CONFLICT RESOLVEMENT, TOO."

"resolution."

"HE WAS DOING SO WELL!!"

"hard to resolve a fight if you started it."

"I'LL... HAVE TO TALK WITH HIM ABOUT THAT AS WELL, I SUPPOSE."

papyrus clicks the buttons on his controller rhythmically as he works on building something.

" 'THAT'. WHAT WOULD YOU CALL IT?"

"probably incitement or something."

"THOUGHT AS MUCH."

"....."

he stares at his building on the screen.

"WHERE IS THE GOLD?"

"I CAN'T PROPERLY RECREATE MY BATTLE BODY WITHOUT IT."

"still by your previous self-statue, i think."

"INDEED IT IS!!"

"OH, AND THERE'S THE TOOL YOU WERE LOOKING FOR A WHILE AGO."

"oh, sick."

——

it's almost midnight, and i haven't heard a peep from tori until now.

all she sent was a photo of frisk and flowey asleep beside each other over some papers on the floor, with a lot of random doodles and words on the scattered pages.

dunno what happened there, but if whatever it was made 'em stop fighting for long enough to fall asleep then i'd say it worked.

[vampcubus]

h-have you seen those shots where they splash water in ur face and then slap u on tiktok? 😳 y-yeah… that with modern!kyojuro.

You hop onto the bar’s edge in front of the blond stranger that had drunkenly introduced himself as Kyojuro. You were nursing a plastic cup of water you were still hyping yourself up to splash into his face.

Kyojuro had all but talked your ear off from the other side of the bar as you mixed drinks, but he went dead silent when he saw you deliver a mighty slap to a man to his right. When questioned, you sheepishly explained that it was a unique type of drink customers could order.

He hid his interest behind flirtatious banter until he mustered up the courage to ask for one of these “slapshots” himself.

Which brings you back to your current predicament.

You test your hand against his cheek, preparing for the blow. You couldn’t help but crumple under his honey-colored gaze. He was looking up at you like a golden retriever would, smiling widely and eyes all shiny like there wasn’t a thought behind them. Like he was just happy to be there.

“I can’t hit you when you look at me like that,” you whined, leaning forward with a hand on his shoulder to gather yourself.

“Like what?” he asks, brows creased in concern and your heart squeezes even more.

“Like a puppy! how am I supposed to slap you?” Another part of it might have been the fact that this man was devastatingly gorgeous, and the thought of marring such a pretty face caused you physical pain.

“I assure you I can handle it!” he shouts, arms crossed over his chest proudly. He draws your hand back against his hot cheek. When did the blush get there? “So please, give me your best!”

You put on a determined face and wind back your open palm. Kyojuro resists the urge to squint his eyes shut, though his body tenses up in anticipation.

“You have to drink the shot first, Kyojuro.” you remind him with a chuckle.

“O-oh, right! Shot first then slap- alright I got it!” he downs the shot without a problem, and you do your best to ignore the way his Adam's apple bobs with the motion, already pitifully attracted to this beautiful stranger's enthusiasm.

You’d likely never see him again after all, and that thought alone wills you to suck in a breath and continue.

You release your breath at the same time you splash the water in his face and strike him so hard across the face your hand stings after, a loud resounding slap filling the crowded bar.

The force of the blow jerks his head to the side but his cock throbs in his pants, a confusing mix of pleasure and pain washing over him. He stares open-mouthed at nothing for a moment until soft fingers under his chin draw his gaze back to yours. It's a gentle touch you wouldn't spare for other customers, but nothing about this interaction was professional anymore, so why not?

Your cool fingertips smooth over the red welt forming where you struck him, a glance downward confirming your suspicions that he was sporting quite the tent in his pants.

"Even with a welt like that, you're stunning. It's really not fair." You don't mean to say that out loud, but the shiver you receive and the fluttering of his dewy blond eyelashes make it oh-so worth it.

He’s looking up at you with a dark blush and half-lidded golden eyes, that ring of carmine bleeding further into his iris as his pupils dilate.

His reaction makes you curious. Makes you wonder how else you could make him squirm, what pretty noises and faces he would make. Maybe he’d even let you slap him around some more as you bounced on his-

“Another!” He exclaims, startling you as he slaps a bill onto the counter.

[walkingstackofbooks]

Inquisition, but with added angst...

What if Sloan's objective in Inquisition wasn't to recruit Julian, but to break him so he'd sign away his rights and let himself be incarcerated. For the protection of the Federation of course.

And what could break our doctor more than believing he's responsible for killing one of his friends...?

--

Julian woke up in a cell so small that even sitting up, he didn’t quite fit on the bench. The Defiant’s brig. They must have rescued him from Weyoun… and then put him here? He struggled to put his last few flashes of memory together; the Vorta had tried to convince him he was a spy, which had made him realised that it was Sloan who was the real traitor. Then Jadzia, Kira and Worf had beamed in, and he’d gone to grab the Cardassian’s weapon and then… nothing. Until waking up here. He guessed he must have hit his head, or been shot, or something – but there was no lingering pain anywhere, no indication of what might have caused his unconsciousness.

It didn’t really matter. The important thing was to tell Captain Sisko as soon as possible about what had happened – that Sloan could not be trusted. Julian was well aware of how this must have looked to his captain, but Sisko was fair; he knew he would be heard out.

Someone was standing on guard, but had placed themselves just to the side of the forcefield, so it impossible for Julian to make out anything more about them than their presence. “Can you tell Captain Sisko I’m awake? Please. I need to speak to him,” he asked whoever it was.

They didn’t respond. Automatically, Julian rapped on the forcefield with his fists – and then pulled them away quickly with a stifled cry, rubbing them where they’d been stung. The forcefield shimmered and stuttered for a few seconds, but the guard either had not noticed, or did not care.

“Hello? Please, it’s really important that Captain Sisko hears this,” Julian tried again, loud and demanding. He needed to relay what he had learnt, and he allowed his righteous anger to seep into his words. “I am still his Chief Medical Officer, you have no right—”

He stopped, hearing the crewman activate their combadge. “Kira to Sisko,” she said. “He’s woken up.”

In the brief silence that followed, Julian’s mind raced. It was Kira? And she was just ignoring him? He really had thought that his friends, at least, would know he’d never betray them, even if Sisko had to weigh up all the options as captain. Did his situation look that suspicious?

Sisko’s voice filtered back through the badge. “I’ll speak to him after,” the captain said. Julian could hear the frown in his voice, and shivered at the coldness of it. “I’m needed here. Tell him whatever you think is necessary. Sisko out.”

“Nerys, you need to listen to me—” Julian stopped as she swung round to meet his gaze. Kira was smiling, but there was no warmth to it. Her eyes were alight with anger, and Julian stepped back in alarm.

“I need to listen to you?” Kira said, lips curling in disdain. “Doctor, I’m really not sure that I’d believe anything you’d say right now, so don’t waste your breath.”

Julian looked at her in astonishment. “Kira, I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m innocent!” he exclaimed. “You can’t just– I’ve been framed, Sloan’s the traitor, he’s working with them…”

Some sort of half-laugh broke out of Kira, and she spat on the ground in front of his cell. “Was it Sloan who shot Jadzia, Julian? Do remind me.”

Julian faltered for a moment, struggling to comprehend what Kira had said. “Jadzia was shot?” he replied, heart pounding, stumbling over his words. “Is she alright? I should be in the Medbay, with her – why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because youshot her, Doctor!” Kira said incredulously, as though it was a fact, and not some insane accusation. “Stop pretending you don’t know that you’re the reason she’s probably going to—” She broke off, punching the wall next to her in frustration. “Dammit, Nerys,” she whispered, low enough that Julian was sure he wasn’t meant to hear. “Don’t cry yet.” Turning away from him, she returned to where she’d previously been stood, out of Julian’s sight.

Terror flooded him. “Kira,” he said urgently, moving as close as he could to the forcefield. “Kira, please. Tell me Jadzia’s alright.”

“You shot her in the stomach, Julian,” came the quiet response. “A perfect shot, you got Dax, too. No, she’s not “alright”. You made sure of that.”

Julian couldn’t breathe. He stumbled back, legs bumping into the bench behind him, causing him to fall onto it. This was a nightmare, Jadzia couldn’t be dying, this couldn’t be happening.

Except it was.

“I-- I didn’t do it, Kira,” he said, desperately. “I don’t know what you saw, but I didn’t—you know I’d never hurt her—I didn’t shoot her, Nerys, I couldn’t, I didn’t.” Surely, surely, even if part of him was working for the Dominion, that was still true. He was a doctor, he was Jadzia’s friend, he didn’t go around murdering people.

Kira had snatched up a PADD from the monitoring station, and released the forcefield for a few seconds to shove it into Julian’s hands. It was displaying the security feed for the Medbay, and Julian could see Jadzia lying on a biobed: Worf was holding her hands on one side, Sisko stood rigid on the other.

“I wish I could believe you,” Kira said. “But I saw you tackle that Cardassian for his phaser; I saw you aim at Jadzia and I watched as you fired. Then Worf launched himself at you, tackled you to the ground, and we got out of there. There’s no uncertainty here, Julian. The person we put behind that forcefield is the same person who shot Jadzia.”

“Me,” whispered Julian. It still didn’t make sense, he still couldn’t remember anything; it was impossible to believe that he’d been broken, that he was suffering from “engrammatic dissociation”, that any of this was real. He’d been so certain that Sloan and Weyoun had been working together in some grand scheme against him.

But maybe the simpler explanation was true. He was a traitor.

His hands were shaking – no, his whole body was shaking – and his breaths were coming in short, sharp pants, faster and faster. “I-- I don’t remember,” he said, aching to be believed in this, at least. “I really don’t remember. Please, Major. I didn’t know. I didn’t, I—I swear…” He was clutching at the PADD as though it was a lifeline, although he could barely make out the figures on the screen, no matter how many tears he blinked away.

“I can’t do this,” he heard Kira say, followed by the tap of her combadge again. “Kira to Security. I need someone – no, two people – down at the brig.”

He didn’t bother trying to speak to her again as they waited for security to relieve her. What would be the point? Instead, he let the cell around him grow blurry and floaty and distant, trying to get as far away from his own thoughts as he could. But it didn’t take long for his new guards to arrive, and the sound of footsteps and voices brought him back to himself.

He had expected Kira to leave without another word to him, but as she neared the door, she turned back, looking at him fiercely.

“I should have listened when Starfleet told us you were dangerous,” she said bitterly. “If you’d been locked away a year ago…” Leaving the thought hanging there, she shook her head, and made her exit.

Julian could fill in the blanks. If I’d been locked away a year ago, Jadzia wouldn’t be dying. If I hadn’t fought so hard against Sloan, I wouldn’t have shot her. If I hadn’t been so arrogant, thinking I was the exception, a “good” augment, thinking that I could never be turned—

A faint, deep yell came through the corridors, and Julian’s eyes snapped to the PADD. Sisko was now holding Jadzia’s hand, his head bent low, whereas Worf was standing up, head thrown back as he bellowed to the heavens. The PADD dropped from Julian’s hands as he fell to his knees on the floor. His head knocked against the forcefield as he went down, but he didn’t care. No physical discomfort could ever compete with the hollow emptiness that consumed him in that instant, and he was lost to despair.

--

(Having said I wouldn't start working on anything that wasn't my Miles-keeps-dying fic [and yes, okay, I do love making Julian watch his friends die, shhh], I haven't been able to stop thinking about this since chatting with @fuzzyhairedfreak the other day - it's not quite what I had in mind then, but I blame your post for setting the brainworms in motion :P it's been very fun to write though, so thanks!)

[whumpycries]

One word prompt: whimpering

i am. so sorry. this is so late but hdskljfsd dsklj.

ANYWAY. this update brought to you by yours truly who dealt with back and knee pain for 4 days straight proceeding a thing where i'd had to kneel for about 25 mins.

anyway. prev part here.

cw: kneeling, slavery whump, kinda dehumanisation associated with slavery/loss of autonomy, i guess?

Rowan had been counting the minutes very diligently. 

All two of them.

“You know the amount of time you stay on your knees is exactly the amount of time I’ll take you outside for, don’t you?” 

“I know,” August snapped, before wincing and dropping his head. 

August knelt beside the chair Rowan was sitting on, pretending to read a book even as he kept his attention firmly on the squirming prince. Not even a full minute before he’d grown uncomfortable. He was on a rug. He tried to subtly lean his weight against the chair, but Rowan reached down to tug at his hair. 

He was gentle, of course. August knew resistance would mean the entire outing would be cancelled. No need to use force where it wasn’t needed. 

August straightened up at the first touch, flinching a little. He was biting down on his lips, his face strained with concentration, and Rowan couldn’t quite suppress his smile at that. He was trying so very hard. 

At the three minute mark, August lifted himself off his heels and shifted a bit, wiggling his toes, before sitting back down with a grimace. 

At four minutes, he asked, “How long has it been?” 

Rowan didn’t even try to keep the humour in as he told him it’d been less than five minutes. He watched as August’s shoulders slumped and he exhaled loudly, a thin whine escaping him before he quickly smothered it. 

“Can I...” August spoke up after a few moments, “Can I at least bring my hands to my front?” He was holding onto his left wrist behind his back, rotating his shoulders a little bit. 

“The amount of time you spend kneeling with your hands on your front will be halved when adding to time spent outside,” Rowan informed him, watching August’ face crumple with a strange mix of despair and anger. 

“It’s not fair,” he said, a little petulantly, and then promptly shut his mouth, as though realising how petulant it had truly sounded. 

Rowan chuckled, “I’m not trying to be.” 

August shifted again, lifting himself up and leaning his weight mostly on one knee for a few seconds before shifting to the other, creating a sort of sideways rocking motion. Rowan let him; he was kind like that. And either way, August stilled after almost an entire minute of that, slumping in place and putting his weight back onto his heels. 

Another minute passed before August started whimpering. Very low, small sounds, that he was very clearly trying not to make as his face screwed itself up with anger and pain. Then he started grinding his teeth, loud enough that Rowan couldn’t ignore the sound at all, and he reached down to flick August’s forehead. 

August looked at Rowan with such wide affronted eyes that Rowan’s annoyance at the teeth grinding evaporated. “What?” he asked, “I can’t even make noise now?” 

“You can,” Rowan said, putting his hand on August’s jaw. He could feel how tense he was as he slowly caressed it, “But from what I know, humans can’t regrow teeth after a certain age. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t grind yours to dust, as I assume you’ve outgrown the age where you could have gotten a new set if you damaged your current ones.” 

After a few slow blinks, where it looked like August couldn’t believe what he was hearing, he jerked his head away from Rowan’s touch, muttering, “What do you care?” 

“Why, of course I care, darling,” Rowan said, imbuing as much cheer into his voice as he could, which was a lot, considering how delighted that question had made him, “You’re mine, which means your body’s mine, which means your teeth are mine. You’re not damaging yourself, are you? You’re damaging something that belongs to me.” 

August stared at him for a moment, his eyes bright with tears, before he looked away, brought his hands out front, and almost flung himself across the rug, rolling over onto his back and kicking out his legs furiously. “I can’t do this, I can’t I can’t I can’t— don’t take me outside, I don’t care–” he said, words rushing into each other as he kept kicking his legs, probably trying to get feeling back in them. The chain around his ankle clinked and jingled at the movements.  

After a few moments he went limp, staring blankly up at the ceiling. 

“Well,” Rowan said, shutting his book and keeping it down onto the table beside him, “That was about ten minutes. Shall we?” 

--

taglist: @whumpsday @morning-star-whump @whumpy-writings @t0rture-me @octopus-reactivated @whump-queen @pigeonwhumps @whitehairandblood @d-cs @itsmyworld23 @scp-1296 @e-rattt @neverthelass @cuppa-cha

[luckyroll3]

Crimson Lights: Chapter 17

Masterlist

It has been a few days since Changbin confessed his romantic feelings. Later on that night, he’d sent me a message apologizing for his forwardness and for making me uncomfortable. He’d also asked to meet to talk some more. As I walk to the park a few blocks from my clinic, I feel a bit nervous about our encounter. I spot him at a picnic table under a large tree. “Hey,” I say as I slip onto the bench across from him. Our eyes lock as he gives me a tight lipped smile.

"Hi Kay," he starts, his voice rough like gravel. Then he gets right to it. "So what do we do about us?"

I exhale slowly, trying to steady the flutter in my chest. "This is dangerous territory, Changbin. You know that, right? If we navigate this wrong, we lose our friendship. I don’t want that." My fingers absently trace a carving in the wood table, seeking some type of distraction.

Changbin leans back, his broad shoulders shifting as he runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t either. I just needed you to know…and to know for myself if it was one-sided.”

I reach over the table to grab his hand in mine. “It’s not. The one thing that became clear is that there are some mutual feelings here that I hadn’t recognized. But what’s concerning me is what this will mean for Chris….and Lauren.”

He leans forward. “I can’t ignore what I feel.”

“I know and I’m not asking you to. But Lauren clearly likes you and you began a relationship with her because you like her too, right?” He nods in response. “And while Chris is fine with us exploring….whatever this is…I know that I am head over heels in love with him and I’m not interested in giving him up. And you’ve personally told me that you don’t like sharing with him. So what is this even going to look like? It’s not just about feelings. There are consequences we need to be worried about as well.”

He sighs before bringing my hand to his lips for a kiss. “I would reconsider for you. And Chan and I have navigated much worse.”

“What about Lauren?”

He pauses to think for a second. “I’m not sure how to deal with Lauren. You’re right, I do like her. I’m hesitant to end things with her because our relationship is new, but I also don’t want…..”

“To lead her on?” I finish for him.

“Yeah. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Okay. Well, that’s not fair to her. I think you need to figure that out for yourself and we need to take this slow.”

“Slow?” he echoes, as if the word was new.

“Yeah,” I affirm, my eyes searching his. “Low key. Just….getting to know each other outside of our friendship.”

“We can try.” He smiles broadly. “So how about a first date then? Something simple.”

“Okay. What do you have in mind?”

“Maybe a dive bar? A quiet, chill place where we can get a couple beers and see what’s here.”

“Alright. Sometime in the next week or so? I guess after this double date?”

“Perfect.” He kisses my hand again before standing up. He walks around the table to me and holds open his arms for a hug. I stand up and let him envelop me. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he whispers into my ear. I nod in response. I feel his lips on my neck, then he presses them to mine in a soft, tender kiss. It’s our first kiss, yet it feels familiar and right. I savor the taste of him as he slips his tongue into my mouth. It’s gentle, yet passionate, but quickly becomes deeper and I start to lose myself in him. I’m not sure why I’m so surprised at how good a kisser he is.

As things start to escalate, I feel his hands slide down my back towards my ass. His fingers start to slip under the waistband of my jeans. I’m not quite ready for all of this and I gently push him away. I disconnect from his lips to catch my breath. “Slow…” I say feeling slightly overwhelmed.

“Yeah, slow,” he chuckles softly as he steps back. “Sorry. This will be hard…trying to resist you.” He pops a quick kiss on my cheek before he says, “Bye,” and heads towards his car. I watch him stride away.

I hear a loud bark behind me and turn to see a large golden retriever running full speed in my direction. When she gets to me, she jumps around in excitement. I recognize her immediately, especially because of her signature pastel blue bandana around her neck. “Oh, hi Parker!” I say, as I squat down to bring myself to her level. “What are you doing here?” I playfully rub her face in my hands and pet her.

I look up to see her owner running towards us, desperately trying to catch up despite being out of breath. “Hey Dr. Miller,” she says as she bends over to catch herself. “Sorry about that. She saw you and just took off!”

I laugh. “It’s okay, Sam. Parker knows she’s my bestest friend,” I say as I run my hands up and down her belly.

“You know, she hated the last vet.” She sits down at the table. “Was that your boyfriend? He’s really good looking.” She nods in the direction that Changbin walked.

“He is good looking.” I say before looking at her. “But no, just a friend.”

“I don’t have friends who kiss me like that…”

—

I was strongly reconsidering agreeing to go on this double date with Changbin and Lauren. He and I were in such a weird place. And Lauren is the only one of the four of us unaware that there was something more at play. But apparently, she was super excited about it and the boys loved bowling.

As Chris pulls his SUV into a parking spot in front of the bowling alley, he looks at me and says, “You need to relax. If you’re this tense around her, she will suspect something is wrong.”

“But don’t you feel weird about it? About this double date?” I ask earnestly.

He thinks about the question for a second. “Not really. If anyone should feel weird it’s Binnie for leading her on.” He opens the car door and climbs out.

I follow suit, meeting him in front of the car. “I don’t think he’s leading her on. He actually likes her. But he doesn’t want to sacrifice her if this doesn’t pan out. She’s a failsafe.”

“That’s probably worse!” Chris says with a light chuckle. He grabs my hand and we walk towards the entrance. The bowling alley is equal parts bright and loud. We spot Changbin in a lane near the opposite end of the building. He’s telling Lauren a very animated story, and she looks to be enjoying every second of it.

Chris and I get our shoes and balls then head down towards them. Lauren sees us approach and waves excitedly. Changbin’s eyes meet mine for a split second, a flicker of uncertainty passing through them. As we reach their lane, Lauren rushes over to give me a hug. “Kay, I’m so happy you guys could make it! Isn’t this place awesome?” she gushes, her enthusiasm infectious.

I smile back at her, trying to match her energy. “Thanks for inviting us. This is Chris.” I nod in his direction.

“Chan,” Changbin calls out. I give Changbin a quick kiss hello on his cheek before quickly stepping away.

“Oh…” Lauren says as she walks over to Chris with her hand out. “So nice to meet you finally. He’s told me so much about you. Which name do you prefer?”

Chris shakes her outstretched hand. “Whichever you like. I answer to both. It’s nice to meet you too.” He gives her his million watt smile and I see her melt just a little when she catches sight of the dimples.

Changbin walks over and slaps Chris on the back. “You guys ready to bowl?”

Chris throws his arm around him with a grin. “Absolutely! Let’s see who the real champion is here,” he challenges.

I roll my eyes at them as I sit down to change my shoes. Lauren sits next to me. “They’re super competitive aren’t they?” she asks.

“Yeah. Too competitive,” I respond, tying my shoe. “I’ve once seen them race to tie their sneakers the fastest. How are your bowling skills? I’m shit!” I lower my voice to continue, “but neither of them know that and I’m not telling them.” I smirk.

Lauren giggles, covering her mouth with her hand. “I’m ok. But don’t worry, I won’t tell them your secret.”

“Thanks,” I say, tying my other shoe. “Let’s do this!” I say to the group as I stand up and clap my hands together.

Chris suggests we team up with our dates for the first round.

I watch everyone bowl as I wait my turn. I’m not surprised that both Chris and Binnie are basically professional bowlers. They each hit a strike in their first frame. Lauren’s also not too bad, although she leaves 3 pins standing. I insert my fingers into the ball and walk over to the lane, trying to copy their form. I hurl the ball towards the pins and am shocked when they all fall over.

“Yes babe!” I hear Chris shout behind me. I walk back to my seat and he gives me a high five.

Changbin steps up confidently for the second round, his competitive nature shining through as he focuses on the pins ahead. With a swift motion, he releases the ball, sending it rolling down the lane with precision. However, to everyone's surprise, a stray pin remains standing amidst the fallen ones. Changbin looks slightly taken aback by this unexpected outcome, but he quickly recovers with a grin and strides back to get another ball. He adjusts his position before using a very controlled motion to send the ball down the lane. When it hits the lone target, he does a silly dance to celebrate.

Lauren takes her turn next, and to my surprise, this time she manages to knock down all the pins with her smooth throw. She jumps up in excitement, clapping her hands as she turns towards us. "That's how it's done!" she cheers, clearly thrilled with her strike. Changbin joins in on her celebration, giving her a double high five before it's Chris’ turn again.

Chris gives me a quick wink before stepping up to take his turn. He lines up his shot, his tongue poking out slightly in concentration. He releases the ball smoothly and it rolls down the lane, hitting the pins perfectly for another strike. He points at Binnie and turns back to me with a grin. I can't help but laugh at his competitiveness. As I walk up to take my turn, he slaps my ass and says, “Let’s get em!”

I mimic exactly what I did before, and again earn a strike. “Yes,” I whisper to myself as I pump my fist. As I walk back, Chris looks pleased. He pulls me in for a side hug as he kisses me on the temple.

As the game progresses, Chris and Changbin are neck and neck in the lead, with Lauren and I trailing behind. My luck runs out in the next few frames, with several gutterballs or only one or two pins falling.

I walk back to my seat and grab my beer. Chris eyes me suspiciously before asking, “What was that? We had such a good lead.”

I shrug my shoulders as I take a sip, and try to avoid his eyes while hiding a smirk behind the cup. I see the realization start to dawn on him.

“You little faker!” he exclaims as he moves closer to me with a grin on his face.

I pretend to cower at his approach, my laughter bubbling up uncontrollably. “I’m sorry! I can’t bowl to save my life! Those first 2 strikes were a fluke,” I confess between giggles.

“And you let me choose you as a partner?!?” He pretends to be offended, but I can see the amusement in his eyes. He starts tickling me, causing me to squirm and laugh even harder. “I have a reputation to uphold!”

“Y’all are just so damn competitive!” I tease, as he laughs and hugs me from behind. “Who cares about bowling this much?!”

“Maybe I can convince Lauren to switch teams….” he whispers in my ear mischievously.

I scoff at this suggestion because I can’t tell if he’s serious or not. “Oh fuck you!” I say playfully as I try to shrug him off me.

He squeezes me tighter. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” He kisses me on the cheek. “Mostly…” I give him a look that makes him laugh.

Changbin saunters over after his turn, flexing his muscles and flashing a charming grin. Lauren scurries to retrieve her ball and head to the lane. “What’s going on over here?” he asks with a playful smirk.

“Did you know she hates bowling?” Chris asks him, one arm draped around my chest while his chin rests on the top of my head.

“I don’t hate bowling,” I say gazing up at Chris, annoyed but amused. “I’m just not good at it.”

Changbin chuckles at my confession, clearly entertained by the revelation. “Well, you had me fooled, at least in the beginning.”

“Now I have to carry this team to the win on my own!” Chris says when Lauren walks back from her turn.

As he walks past me to get his ball I slap his ass, “Yes, go earn your keep!”

Lauren sits next to me. “They found out?” she asks. She laughs as I nod.

As the game progresses, the friendly competition intensifies between Chris and Changbin, each of them trying to outdo the other. Changbin narrowly beats Chris by one point, and the two of them playfully argue about who has the better form.

We decide that the next round will be boys versus girls, but that the boys can’t use the “textbook bowler’s form”; they have to use two hands to throw the balls. Before we begin again, Lauren suggests we take a break to restock the pitcher and appetizers. Since Chris lost, this round is on him. As he and Lauren walk towards the bar to place the order, I head to the bathroom.

As I exit the bathroom a few minutes later, I see Changbin stepping out of the men’s room. “Hey,” he says when he notices me. “Are you avoiding me today?” He reaches for my hand tentatively and gently pulls me closer to him.

“Not avoiding,” I respond, attempting to keep some distance between us. “Just trying to be respectful of your date.”

“Hmmm,” he murmurs as his arms wrap around my waist to pull me in even closer. “I see. Well you look really nice today.” He leans in to kiss my neck.

“Thanks. But…” I bring my hands up to his chest and gently push back. “We can’t do this here.” I try to keep my voice steady. His lips are dangerously close to mine and I can’t help but think back to our kiss in the park.

“You know, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that kiss,” he says in a low voice, as if reading my mind.

My heart swirls in my chest as I battle conflicting emotions within me. I desperately want to give in to him, but this is not the right time nor place. And this is quite literally the opposite of “taking it slow”.

Before I can respond, I hear the sound of footsteps approaching us. Changbin quickly releases me, a sheepish expression crossing his face.

Chris rounds the corner, stopping when he sees us. He looks back and forth between the two of us. “Y’all good?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Changbin says as I nod in response.

“Ok,” Chris responds, sounding unconvinced. “Binnie, Lauren is looking for you. Also, this could have very easily been her walking up on you two.”

“Shit, yeah, I know. I’ll meet you guys back over there.” Binnie leaves us alone in the hallway.

Chris turns back to me, his eyes searching my face with concern. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks softly

“Yeah, just…” I sigh, not wanting to admit my discomfort to him. Binnie didn’t really make me uncomfortable; it was more the situation - I don’t like hurting people. “It’s not a huge deal.”

“Did he say something?”

“He wanted to know why I was avoiding him and he said I looked good.”

“He’s not wrong. You’ve been noticeably standoffish with him tonight. Lauren has never really seen you two together, but I’m very used to you and him being joined at the hip and brain. And I agree that you do look good.” Chris smirks, his full lips tugging up at the corners. “You’re looking like a snack tonight….” he says as he wraps his arms around my waist and looks down on me. “…and I want a bite.” He playfully nips at the top of my shoulder, causing me to smile.

“That can definitely be arranged,” I tease, pulling him in for a deep kiss. He presses me up against the hallway wall as our tongues fight against each other.

He pulls away and smirks, his breath warm against my cheek. “You know, I can think of a few things we could do in the next few minutes,” he whispers.

“I bet you could.” I return my lips to his as I feel his hands move tenderly up my back. We lose ourselves in the kiss for a moment and the sound of the bowling alley fades into the background. I also completely forget about the awkwardness of the situation with Changbin. All I can focus on is Chris. Being with him just always feels right; like coming home - safe and warm.

Just as things start to escalate, a loud cough startles us apart. Lauren stands a few feet away, an amused smirk playing on her lips and one eyebrow raised suggestively. “Sorry to interrupt, but are you two done devouring each other?” she teases.

We both pull away, breathing heavily and trying to regain our composure. Chris clears his throat, looking slightly flustered but grinning nonetheless. “Yep, yep. Just on my way to the bathroom.” He winks at me before slipping through the door.

“It’s your roll,” she says to me as we walk back towards the lane. “I wish Changbin kissed me like that! You two are really cute together,” she gushes. “How long have you been together?”

“Uhm, almost 3 months now, I think.”

“Wow. Really? You’re so comfortable with each other. It seems like you’ve been a couple for years.”

“I feel like I’ve known him for years. We connected from the moment we met.” I smile to myself at the thought of him. “I never really believed in love at first sight or soulmates and all that shit until I met him.” I take a mozzarella cheese stick from the platter and bite into the middle of it.

“Aww, that’s so sweet. He’s also really good looking. Both of them are.” She leans in conspiratorially. “I bet he’s incredible in bed,” she adds with a sly grin.

I can’t help but smirk back at her. “Oh trust me, I have no complaints.” I clean my hands with a napkin before taking a sip of beer. “You?”

“We’ve only been together a couple of times. All great. I don’t think I’ve ever had a guy cater to every single one of my needs in bed. He was amazing.” She pops a potato skin in her mouth. “I’m so excited. It’s been a while since I’ve had girl talk!”

I smile at her. “Me too.”

I grab my ball and shoot it down the lane, knocking over half the pins. I take my second shot, hitting 2 more. I return to my seat as we wait for the boys to get back.

“I’m not surprised that Binnie’s good in bed. He’s definitely a giver,” I say, continuing our conversation. She nods enthusiastically. “So, what’s the deal with you two? Are you getting serious?” I’m very interested in hearing how she feels about this relationship, especially since Changbin seems very unsure about what he wants.

“I hope so. I really like him. But…” She pauses and takes a quick look around before continuing. “Sometimes I feel like his mind is somewhere else.” I bring the cup to my lips and take a couple gulps of the beer. “Has he said anything to you?”

Shit! “Nothing really,” I say, trying to downplay what I know and my unwitting role in it. “I do know that they’ve had a lot going on at work. But he has told me that he really likes you too.” All mostly true. A large smile crosses her face when she hears that.

Changbin comes back with 4 large shots and we end the conversation. As he hands one to me and Lauren, Chris returns from the bathroom, receiving the last shot from Changbin. We all down the shots.

“You’re up, babe,” I say to Chris.

He’s the first to try out the two-handed technique. He looks ridiculous trying to figure out how to maneuver the ball with both hands, while Changbin can't contain his laughter at the sight. Chris ends up releasing the ball awkwardly, and it veers off to the side, only knocking down a couple of pins. Lauren and I cheer him on anyway, amused by his efforts.

Changbin steps up next, trying to mimic Chris's technique. He seems to have a bit more success in controlling the ball, but his aim is slightly off as well. The boys are lagging behind this time, hindered by the handicap we’ve assigned to them. Lauren and I kick their asses. We celebrate with another round of shots.

About an hour later, Lauren and I have abandoned bowling, choosing instead to just talk and drink, continuing to get to know each other. Meanwhile, Changbin and Chris play two more rounds to crown the ultimate winner, essentially ignoring us.

Lauren is clearly drunk and I’m not far behind her. We’ve started singing and dancing along to the songs playing over the speakers, the boys joining us when it’s not their turn.

As the bowling alley starts to empty out, we realize how late it has gotten. I look up at the scoreboard and Chris and Changbin are on their last frame. Chris wins this round.

“Yo,” I call over to them as they bicker about who’s the best. “I think we’re done.”

“Is it time to call it a night?” Chris asks, glancing at his watch. “This was fun; maybe we should continue this somewhere else. What are your plans for after this?” he asks Binnie.

"Ginger ale!" Lauren answers quickly while pointing at me accusingly for making her drink more than she can handle. Changbin and Chris start to laugh.

“Sorry!” I say joining in on the laughter. “But I hope you had fun?”

“I had such a great time with you guys tonight,” Lauren says smiling at me as she grabs her purse. “But I don’t think I’ll last much longer. I’m a lightweight!” She throws her arms around my neck for a hug.

“I had fun too.” I hug her back.

“We need to hang out again…without them,” she says when she pulls away.

I nod, “Definitely. Y’all get home safe. Bye Bin.”

“Bye,” Changbin says as he gives me a hug, lingering just a second too long. “I’ll see you tomorrow, hyung,” he says to Chris.

“Yup,” Chris responds. Changbin and Lauren head towards the door. We follow a few minutes later after I’ve used the bathroom. In the car, Chris asks, “So you and Lauren seemed extra friendly?”

“She’s a cool girl.” My gaze drifts out the window. “I can see why he likes her. Certainly makes things a bit more complicated though.”

He nods in understanding as he pulls out of the parking lot. “Ready to go home?” he asks while we wait at the red light, his fingers lightly tapping the steering wheel.

My mind immediately rebels against the idea of ending the night so soon. “Not really.” I lay my head back on the headrest and turn to face him. The red light illuminates his profile, casting shadows across his sharp features. He looks glorious. “Let’s go dancing. Take me somewhere.”

He turns to me with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “The last time we went dancing….”

I feel myself start to blush a bit. “I know…but no crazy threesomes tonight. Just you; just us.”

He smirks as he leans over to me. “Ok,” he says before kissing me slowly. I feel one of his hands wrap around my neck and squeeze gently. His other hand finds its way to my thigh. The light turns green and he pulls away to resume driving.

As he drives, Chris reaches over and intertwines his fingers with mine. I catch him stealing glances at me, and each time I smile. The city lights blur by outside the car windows, creating a mesmerizing backdrop to our silent communication. We arrive at another of their clubs and he parks in a reserved spot in front of the building. He turns off the ignition and we sit there for a moment, just looking at each other.

“Ready?” he asks, his voice low and intimate, his eyes locked onto mine.

My eyes flicker to his lips and I instinctively lick my own. I resist engaging him in a kiss again because I know we won’t leave the car. I bring my eyes back up to his and nod. We step out of the car. Chris takes my hand and we make our way towards the entrance to the club. As we walk past the line, Chris gives a quick nod to the bouncer who unhooks the rope to let us pass with a, “Hey boss.”

Inside, the music is loud, pulsating through the air and making the floor vibrate beneath our feet. Chris leads me through the dance floor, finding a spot for us to squeeze into. We start moving together, our bodies swaying in perfect rhythm. I press into him and one of his arms wraps around my waist, keeping me from losing my balance. There’s nothing else but us and the music, and the energy between us is electric. The music shifts to a slower tempo and Chris pulls me even closer to him. I relish in the feeling of his body rolling, his waist wining against mine. He's too good. “Who taught you how to dance like this?” I ask, whispering into his ear.

“Don’t you worry about that,” he whispers back with a sly grin. “Just enjoy it.” Our hips grind together slowly as he takes our bodies low, close to the ground, and then brings us back up.

I start to lose what little restraint I have left. I allow myself to surrender to the moment, letting my desire take control. I cup his cheeks and bring his lips to mine. Our kiss is passionate and explosive. Chris’ hands move over my back, pulling me impossibly closer.

Eventually, we break apart, breathless and wanting more. Chris' eyes are dark, his gaze filled with longing. He takes me in as my body keeps moving with the music. My eyes never leave his, a silent question lingering between us. Chris grabs my hand and leads me to a secluded corner where we can have some semblance of privacy.

He pulls me into his arms, his hands sliding down my back as his lips hungrily reclaim mine. He presses me against the wall, reminiscent of our moment earlier at the bowling alley. The heat from his body envelops me and there is nothing else but the sensation of his touch, the taste of his kiss. I thread my fingers through his air, trying to pull him even closer.

“Fuck,” he says, his voice filled with lust as he breaks the kiss to look at me again, as if he’s trying to make a decision.

He takes my hand again and I follow him down the dark hallway. He pushes open the third door to a surprisingly large and clean, but dimly lit, single toilet bathroom. “They hardly use this one,” he whispers as he locks the door behind us.

The bathroom feels oddly intimate as we stand there, our heavy breaths mingling in the small space. I can see the lust in Chris’ eyes, a primal need that mirrors my own. Without a word, he pushes me against the sink, his lips finding mine once more with a bruising kiss. He bites my bottom lip softly before pulling away, shifting focus to unbuttoning and unzipping my jeans. In one fluid motion, he pulls down my jeans and panties, then gently turns me around so that I’m now facing the sink.

We watch each other through our reflections in the mirror. He unbuttons his own pants and pulls out his already hard dick. With a light touch, he bends me over the sink. I grasp onto the edges to steady myself. The marble beneath me is cold against my skin, in sharp contrast to the warmth emanating from his body. Chris enters me from behind and I let out a contented sigh as his cock fills me up fully, the feeling so familiar and intoxicating. His hands gripping my hips are firm, strong, and confident as he starts pumping in and out, his breath heavy against my neck. I push back against him, savoring each thrust. Time seems to slow down, stretching out as our bodies move against each other enjoying the intense pleasure. My hand reaches back to pull his head closer to mine, turning my head to the side to find his lips. His tongue darts in and out of my mouth. He starts to pick up speed, his thrusts growing deeper, harder, and more urgent. His lips travel down my neck, leaving small bites and marks along the way. When he reaches my shoulder, he bites and pulls at the skin. I utter a small gasp. I can hear the rhythmic smacking of his skin against mine blending with the muffled music from the club.

He reaches a hand down to find my clit, rubbing it gently but firmly until I cry out in pleasure. He begins moving even faster, his teeth sinking into the side of my neck. I lean my head back into him, as it gets more difficult for me to catch my breath while Chris’ hips buck against me, pushing deeper inside. I feel an eruption happen inside me, as Chris’ hips jerk roughly, our bodies connecting in a joint climax so intense that it shakes us both. He groans as he cums inside me and I release a loud moan that matches it. Our sounds echo in the small room.

We stay locked together for what feels like forever, both of us in a daze, breathless, but smiling lazily at each other in the mirror. He leans heavily on me for support as we continue to catch our breaths, still holding on tight to each other. "Fuck," he pants into my neck, "You make me crazy." He kisses me again. Chris finally pulls out with a groan and zips himself up. “Don’t move. Let me clean you up.”

He reaches over me to grab a couple paper towels, as he turns on the faucet below me to moisten them. Then he squats and gently cleans between my legs. “Thanks,” I say softly, delighting in him catering to me, though I’m still having trouble breathing normally. He throws the soiled towels in the trash, then gently kisses my ass cheek. As he stands up, he pulls up my underwear and my jeans, reaching around me to zip my pants closed. I hold his arms in place around my waist and lean back into him, taking deep slow breaths.

"Don't want to let you go," he murmurs, his hot breath tickling my ear as he kisses my neck. His chest is still heaving.

“Then don’t,” I whisper back. “Ever.” We continue standing there against each other in the dim light of the bathroom. Our bodies instinctively start swaying to the music coming through the walls. We stay like this, watching each other in the mirror, dancing slowly, and peppering each other with soft kisses through four or five songs. Nothing else matters in this little bubble we’ve created for ourselves. It feels like heaven.

The music transitions to another song. "We should probably get out of here," he whispers in my ear. I nod.

He takes my hand in his, and leads me back to the main part of the club. We cross the dance floor and head straight for the door. As we walk out, the bouncer says, “Night boss.”

“See ya later man,” Chris calls over his shoulder. When we get to the car, he opens the door for me and helps me climb up into my seat. Seconds later, he’s in the driver's seat, his hand retaking mine. He opens all the windows and lets the cool night air envelop the car as he drives us home.