#to get back into juggling. i am the messenger once again

[kath-artic]

i think i changed someone's life today

[becauseplot]

Touching Base

Just a little Roommates/Cellmates AU oneshot because they live in my head like how Cell lives in Felps' apartment: rent-free. (Also because I am procrastinating on bigger projects rn.) (What who said that.)

Takes place a couple years after the events of Miss Me? and Shared Living Space. Cell has officially started going by Cellbit, a relatively recent development. He still sleeps on the couch, but that's mainly because the second "bedroom" in the apartment is used for Felps' storage and both of them dread having to clear it out. He has a job and puts most of that money towards groceries, new clothes, and therapy. Felps---finally working at a station where his superiors don't hate his guts---covers pretty much everything else.

(TWs: discussions of killing/murder, light allusions to suicide in a joking manner (they're fine, someone's just being dramatic). they are having a conversation that is oh so very normal for two friends to have yesyes. tbh this was supposed to be way more light hearted but then the angst. the angst...)

Key ring dangling from his finger, Cellbit shoulders his way through the apartment door, juggling a box of redstone bulbs, a stack of spam mail, and the library book that doesn’t quite fit in his over-full messenger bag. “Felps?”

There's no verbal answer, but over the back of the couch, Cellbit sees a tired hand rise and wave. There’s a dull whump when it drops back down.

Cellbit, taking this and the fact that the TV isn't even on, raises an eyebrow. "Long day?" There's a muffled groan in response, and that's all Cellbit needs to hear to get the gist of it. He wiggles his keychain off his finger and into the dish before shutting the door behind him with his foot and heading to the table, where he dumps off his things. Hands free, he slips his bag off his shoulder and sits down to take off his work boots. Once he's got them off, he takes a moment to slump back in the chair, relief washing over his aching back and shoulder, before he picks himself up and heads over to see what the situation is.

The situation, it seems, is as follows: Felps is lying on his back on the couch, still wearing his uniform, with a pillow pressed into his face like he's trying very, very hard to smother himself with it.

Cellbit sits himself down on the floor with his side against the foot of the couch, right by Felps. He plants an elbow on the cushions and drops his chin into the heel of his hand. "So. Who do I need to kill?"

Felps groans again and shifts the pillow off his face just enough to free his mouth. "Me. Kill me, please. Kill me. Literally just kill me."

"Ehhh," Cellbit says. "You know, I did that once, and you didn't like me very much after that."

"Cellbit I am begging you. You'd be doing me a favor."

"Mm, no. I don't think so." He pokes one of the fingers Felps has dug into the cushion. "Now come on—a name, an address. Give me something to work with here, Felps."

Felps sighs and finally yanks the pillow off his face, flipping his hands around and throwing it into his lap. His hair is a complete, frazzled mess, though Cellbit supposes that's the least of his worries. "No one's getting killed. This isn't a problem you can fix by killing someone."

"Except for you?"

"Except for me."

"Okay. So what happened?"

Felps makes a pained noise and digs the heels of his palms into his eyes. At least he's not suffocating this time. "Davi," he mumbles.

Cellbit blinks. Usually, he has a hard time keeping all of the names of Felps' coworkers, friends, and acquaintances straight in his head since there's so many of them, but this one registers immediately. He takes this in, looks at Felps agonizing on the couch, thinks back onto what Felps told him the other day, does some rapid mental math, and comes to the conclusion that maybe the situation actually could be fixed by killing someone. Potentially.

But before that thought can properly start, Felps flicks him against the temple. "Hey, no plotting. I'm serious."

"Plotting?" Cellbit echoes, oh-so-perplexed. "I wasn't plotting. Who said anything about plotting?"

"Cellbit."

"Who said anything about plotting the murder of the hot guy at the train station who rejected your friend after he spent two weeks working up the courage to ask him out? I sure didn't."

"Cellbit," Felps says, insistent. Cellbit stops, but only because Felps wants him to, and only because he’s joking. Really. "It's fine. It's my fault anyway. I totally fucked it up. I got the timing all wrong, and—" Felps breaks off into another horrified sound, dragging his hands down his face. "God, it was so bad. I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright. Anything I can do? That doesn't involve killing you?"

Felps pauses. He peeks at Cellbit from behind his hands. "...Grab the remote for me?"

Cellbit snorts. "Sure." He gets up (swallows a grunt; fuck, his shoulder's being funny) and grabs the remote off the TV stand. When he comes back, Felps has managed to get his-wallowing-self into an upright position so Cellbit can collapse back into the sofa beside him.

Cellbit clicks on the TV. "What're we feeling?"

"Pain."

"I mean what do you feel like watching, dumbass."

"Literally anything," Felps says with a wave of his hand.

"Right… So if I put on Blood on the Taiga—"

"Parkour tag."

"Okay, parkour tag it is."

They start to chat a little as Cellbit flicks through the minigame channels, looking for one that's broadcasting parkour tag: ("How was work at the station?" "Were the docks busy today?" "Did that warrant finally get processed?" "Is your shoulder still bothering you?" "You should probably change out of your uniform." "You should probably take a shower." "In a bit, my back has to unbreak itself first.")

It doesn't take him long to find a channel, so they end up talking through part of the first round, swapping the work updates they usually provide each other. After that, they settle in, feet up on the coffee table, shoulders pressed together. Cellbit watches the teams trade off "runners" and "hunters." Felps usually roots for the team in the blue and green jerseys, but it doesn't seem like they're playing today. Still, these teams aren't half-bad. The tall one on the red-orange team is a good hunter, Cellbit idly notes. She's light on her feet.

It's at the start of the third round that Felps speaks up again.

"So. Hypothetical question for you."

Cellbit watches the good-hunter spring off a piston-platform. "Alright."

"And this is completely hypothetical. One hundred percent, utterly hypothetical."

"Okay."

"I'd never genuinely ask this of you."

"Sure."

The good-hunter drops down a ladder, missing a tag on a runner by a hair's breadth. The squeak of her sneakers echoes through the arena.

"...If I told you I needed you to kill someone for me, would you actually do it?"

Cellbit tilts his head. The good-hunter whirls around a corner and swings herself up onto another platform. "Yeah."

He feels more than sees Felps startle beside him. "...R...Really?"

"Yeah."

"Just like that?"

"Well, like I said earlier, I'd need, like, a name. An address if you can get it. At least a general location—"

"No, no, I mean..."

Felps falters, and Cellbit takes his eyes away from the game to look up at him. Felps is staring right back, a furrow in his brow.

"...You wouldn't even question it? Or hesitate?"

Ohhh. Cellbit understands now. The morals. He was asking about the morals. "Well," starts Cellbit. He pauses. Then, he drags his feet over to the edge of the couch, legs curled up, in front of his chest. The position makes his back ache, but the rest of him feels better this way. He hangs his arms over his knees. He stares at the TV, but he's not really sure who's hunting and who's running anymore.

He sighs. "...The way I see it—you would never ask me to kill someone unless they actually deserved it. I think it would take a lot for you to decide someone needs to die, then a lot more to tell me to kill them because...you know me. I'll get it done. And I won't half-ass it either."

And if they hurt you, Cellbit thinks, with a sudden, rising fury, I'll kill them dead. I'll make it hurt. Carve their throat out with my teeth. They'll be begging for the Void long before I'm through with them.

But he lets that one go on an exhale, lets it pass wordlessly between his lips, before it can get too far. He flexes his hands, loosening them. "But..." he continues, scraping together the courage to say the rest. "You also know I'm trying not to— You know I'm better about that now. Past it. Moving past it. And you're—" He falters. His tongue darts over his lip. He bites it. "You're generally helpful in that regard, so..."

"...You don't think I'd ask you to do something that would ruin your progress unless it was serious," Felps finishes.

"Yeah." Cellbit tilts his head to either side, cracking his neck, and flexes his hands again. God, his therapist would be so fucking proud of him.

"Okay." Felps clears his throat. "Sorry if that made you uncomfortable, I just—the thought wouldn't leave me alone, and..."

"No, no, it's—it's fine. It's a good question to ask. Making sure we're on the same page, and all that. Touching base. Getting caught up. Just like we always do."

"Right," Felps says. "Just like we always do."

A beat.

"But I wouldn't. Ask that of you, I mean. I'd never ask you to kill someone for me."

"I know," Cellbit replies easily. "I heard you the first time."

(And Cellbit trusts Felps to stick to his word. Honestly, he does. But the issue—or perhaps the best part, depending on how much he wants to disappoint his therapist—is that Felps wouldn't even have to ask. In no universe would Felps ever have to ask.)

"...Oh. Okay."

"Okay."

The conversation hangs in the air, gradually dissipating. Slowly, Cellbit manages to recenter his attention on the game of parkour tag. Round four. She's hunting again, though this is her last hunting round. After that, she'll be stuck as a runner for the rest of the tournament. Felps rests his head on Cellbit's shoulder as the alarm blares and the competitors are released from their chambers. Cellbit nestles his cheek in Felps' curls. The final hunt has begun.

[justjessame]

Babysitting Butcher Chapter 1

“Are you fucking joking?” My eyes were wide, and I normally held back the profanity while speaking to my supervisors, but for fuck’s sake, she had to be pulling a prank on me. Not that the tightly wound woman in front of me was known for her sense of humor, but this? This had to be a fucking joke.

Tight bun, so tight in fact that she looked like her face was taut from the pull of it, perfectly tailored suit, and heels that were functional and prim. She’d replaced Susan Raynor, our former deputy director after her untimely demise (is that what we were calling her being the first victim of the notorious head popper?). And, if I were being honest, which I also refrained from in front of this particular supervisor, she was falling short of the shoes she was supposed to fill. Luckily, she was ACTING deputy director, so she wasn’t necessarily a permanent annoyance.

Her lips were a thin line of clear irritation. Her eyes were flashing with the very obvious thought that she couldn’t believe that I would dare question her authority. Dear God, she was already letting her pseudo power run wild in her fucking head.

“I can assure you, Officer Taylor, I am NOT joking.” Her nostrils flared and I had to fight rolling my eyes. “Or do you prefer Dr. Taylor? I can never quite tell with you.”

“Either is fine,” I bit out, wondering if I could argue against the assignment all the way to the top. I nearly sighed when I realized that it probably came from the tipity fucking top. “Is this because of the report I complied when-”

“When they were considered domestic terrorists?” She sighed and sat down, gesturing to a chair in front of her desk for me to sit as well. “It made selecting you easier, yes.” I fucking knew it. “You were correct, after all, they weren’t in the wrong.” I know, and so did Raynor, the woman who had me dig through their pasts and prove that they weren’t who the world assumed they were, even if she died before we were both proven right. “Grace Mallory wants you for this role, Dr. Taylor.” She was testing out my real title, but it felt wrong to her as well, I could tell. “You know who that is correct?” I did roll my eyes at that. Everyone within the agency knew who Grace Mallory was. “She has a great deal of pull and she requested you, so-”

“I have no choice.” I muttered. “And I’ll be on babysitting duty for how long?”

She smiled at me, almost indulgently, almost. “Come now, Taylor, you’ll be in the new pride and joy that is the Office of Supe Affairs.” I sighed, and she shook her head. “I don’t know how long you’ll be their liaison,” ah, a new title that was supposed to appease me, I guessed. “I only know that you WILL be.” With that, I was handed a new keycard badge, a clutch of files, and a handful of contact information. “The office is located at the address on the top page, your office is ready and waiting, and I wish you well.” She refocused her attention on the other stacks of files on her desk and I knew I was dismissed. Fuck.

 As I drove to my new building, my new office, my new duties, I was remembering when Deputy Director Raynor had come to me for the first time. She wanted me to understand that what she was asking was something that could not be shared with anyone else in the agency until she felt it was time. Handing me the bare minimal information on the men at the root of a manhunt. Calling them terrorists, saying they were at fault for all manner of crimes, she told me to utilize the talents that had gotten me into the bureau, and ignore the obvious confirmation bias that would usually taint such an assignment.

I’d worked on it for hours, then days, finding out more about William Butcher, Marvin T. Milk, Serge, and the oddball out Hugh Campbell Jr. I learned of the losses suffered at the hands of supes in the cases of Butcher and Hughie. I found out about Mother’s Milk’s father’s attempt to hold Vought accountable and dying young. And as for Serge, otherwise known as Frenchie, his upbringing was more difficult to piece together, but what I found had painted a bleak picture. Vigilantes? Probably. Terrorists? Hardly. I wrote the report, not knowing that the four had added a fifth, not that the knowledge would have helped with what I already had, and then learned that Starlight, the newest member of the Seven was suspected as well.

After the death of Raynor, after the fall of Stormfront and the admission by Vought that she had been the culprit all along, The Boys, as they were being called, were vindicated. I knew that William Butcher had truly lost his wife in the quest for this, and I knew that would make him far more volatile than he ever had been. The others? I hadn’t had a moment to spare, knowing that the majority of this new “role” for me would be making sure that Butcher was reigned in. Kept on task and on the goals of the new “office”. And I knew I’d have my work cut out for me, if the file I’d composed was even halfway correct, William Butcher was an untamable horse. Or worse yet, a hurricane waiting to unleash itself on the entire supe race.

 The building was sparse, as all government buildings seemed to be. Since it was so new to the world, the “Office of Supe Affairs” seemed far more sparse than normal. Not a fucking ounce of character in the entire fucking structure. No landscaping, although to be honest I wasn’t sure how the building maintenance would even try it, concrete as far as the eye could see, coupled with one way glass that mirrored the street traffic and parking lot, depending on which side you came into it from.

Using my new keyfob badge to get into the parking area, and then again to get into the building, I smiled at the single receptionist at the high front desk.

“Dr. Taylor?” He asked. I nodded, and he came around to show me to my office, pointing out other areas I might need while at work. “Here we are,” he indicated the same security pad for me to fob myself in, and once I did, he opened the door. “You were given the office with the best view,” I could see that my ‘view’ was the back alley, but I imagined he meant the skyline when he mentioned my view. “Laptop, printer, phone.” He pointed them out as though I couldn’t give myself the fucking tour. “If you need anything, just hit ‘1’ on the phone and it’ll come straight to me. The other extensions are laid out in the book you’ll find in the top left desk drawer. By the way, I’m Anthony,” he extended his hand and I shook it after I juggled my far too heavy messenger bag and keyfob badge into my other hand. “Good luck.” And with that ominous offer, he shut the door behind himself and I let go of the loud dramatic sigh that I’d felt building since standing inside of our acting deputy director’s office.

 I was reading through the files when my desk phone rang. Absently picking it up, I answered with my standard greeting and heard Grace Mallory’s voice reply.

“Ah, good, you’re in already. I’ll be by in a few minutes, I think we should talk about what’s expected of you, Dr. Taylor.” I agreed, replacing the handset and thinking how easily the receptionist and Mallory had taken to the first title I’d earned in my life. No hesitation, no confusion, just ‘Dr. Taylor’. I wished everyone found it so simple.

Grace Mallory had full reign over the offices, as she proved when she keyed herself into mine. I looked up and smiled. The older woman, mentioned in my research on the others, was easy to read. She took one of the chairs in front of my new desk. I closed the file I’d been going over before she’d come in, and waited.

Rueful smile playing on her lips, eyes shrewd, she took her time studying me. “You’re not excited that I asked for you to be here.” I didn’t feel the need to answer, since it wasn’t a question. “I read what you compiled on them, I still have access to certain parts of the agency.” Again, not a question. “I wanted you to act as the liaison because you saw through it. The image that everyone else saw, or thought they saw with them.” Him, I could see she meant, the others were important certainly, but I was obviously here to reign in only one. “You don’t get intimidated easily, that I learned from YOUR file.” I was guessing she meant the few times I’d bucked up against what was clearly the wrong tactic or wrong idea being forced on me and my fellow officers by our superiors. “You’ve also done this before.” Damn it, fuck my experience with that fucking black ops group that I had to rehabilitate after their fall from grace in Bolivia. “I’m more than sure that you’re the best person for this job.”

She outlined it. I was the go between, since Raynor was no longer at the CIA to grease the wheels so to speak, I was to act as the person to keep the agency in the loop of progress or planned operations. And, before she left, she finally admitted that my REAL job was to make sure that William Butcher didn’t go off the rails to the point that the entire operation would go ass over tits.

“The appeal of having you oversee this, Dr. Taylor, isn’t simply that you did those profiles on them that was the first to question the validity of the charges against them, but that you have a background in-” She paused to consider what she wanted to say. “You’re a psychologist. That, coupled with your experience with the other team you pulled through, well you can see why I had to insist you fill this role.”

“I understand that you think I’m the logical choice,” I closed my eyes, wondering just how I could explain to her that I felt wrong for the work that she wanted me to undertake. “I just don’t think that I-”

“That you’re the person who can keep him even keeled?” Opening my eyes I saw that she was standing and smiling down at me. “Just because no one else seems capable, Dr. Taylor, doesn’t mean that no one is.” With that parting shot, she too wished me well, and then left my office.

Biting my lip, I reopened the file I’d left off on while Grace Mallory had given me her expectations. I hoped like hell that she was right, because there were times that William Butcher, and like dominoes his team, caused far more fucking chaos than they stopped.

[softjeon]

Jamais Vu

• Pairing: CamBoy!Yoongi x Jungkook • Genre: Smut | CamBoy!AU • Words: 14k | AO3 • Disclaimer: /

written with @cassiavioletblue

↳  Part 1 of ‘Nuit Inoubliable’ in which you will follow three different stories about your favorite Cam!Boys and their unforgettable nights. → Jamais Vu » Triple Plaisir »  Plaisir d'offrir

Jungkook bit his lip, shielding his eyes from the rain as he blinked up to read the name on the sign that was written in gold letters over the entrance. He got out a small piece of paper, where he had shakily written down the address and compared it once more. His heart did a somersault and picked up its pace. He quickly gulped down the nervousness, pulling his hood a little closer over his head to keep himself from getting drenched and walked closer. His hands were buried deep in the pockets of his leather jacket, the bag he carried filled with the stuff he needed for a one-night stay in a hotel. “Fuck,” Jungkook cursed silently, feeling himself hesitate to step in, his fist tightening around the piece of paper. He breathed in deeply, closing his eyes for a second and then opened the door. 

It had only been a week ago when Jungkook had been just as nervous, but if one would ask him now he’d definitely say this was way worse than clicking on the ‘Apply’ Button and waiting for a response. It was one of those nights: darkened room, his roommate was out and only the flickering lights of his laptop was illuminating the scene. His eyes fixated on the man that moved absolutely beautifully as his hands gripped his own cock, jerking himself off in a live-cam.

Suga. 

At least that was his artist name. Jungkook groaned, leaning his head back but quickly snapped back to not miss a thing from the cam. He could hear the man’s raspy voice. It was absolutely mad how he was turning Jungkook on just by what he said, riling him up so effectively that Jungkook had come so hard that night it only left him a shaky mess on his bed. He was breathing heavily, listening to his voice coming from his laptop with a faint, sated smile on his lips. Jungkook didn’t watch the screen anymore, just listening to Suga talking to the people that were chatting with him. Jungkook swore that it was better than any audiobook to fall asleep to, but something made him get up quickly instead of shutting his eyes this time.

“You guys want a partner show again?” Suga chuckled, successfully sending a shiver down Jungkook’s back by that sound alone. “You know you can apply right? Maybe I’ll chose one of you...do you want to be a moaning mess underneath me? Or do you want RM to come by?” The rest of what Suga said gotten lost because Jungkook had jumped up from his bed, cleaning himself up quickly and pulling his laptop on his lap again. And then he did it. Without thinking about it much further and only when he hit ‘send’ did he realize what he had done. 

“Welcome to the ‘Nuit Inoubliable’ how can I help you?” The low voice shook him out of his flashback and Jungkook looked up at the receptionists. He was a young man, not much older than him, with dark brown hair and just as dark eyes that were staring straight back at him. A big boxy grin on his face. He narrowed his eyes a little, trying to read his name tag. 

Kim Taehyung. Jungkook smiled at him, “Yeah, I...I got a room...on the name Jeon Jungkook?” While the receptionist was searching through his computer, Jungkook let his gaze wander over the lobby and the people around. The hotel was beautiful and modern, looking rather fancy and probably wouldn’t have been Jungkook’s first choice just because he couldn’t afford it. There were a few maids walking past them and people bringing their luggage up their rooms or leaving again. Jungkook’s gaze got stuck on a man at the other side of the lobby, who was leaning comfortably against the wall. His eyes wandered over the handsome man’s face and the way he stroke his hand through his hair, down to his tight jeans that were beautifully showing off his… 

“Thighs,” Jungkook choked out quietly, completely in awe but then a young man cut the view from him, leaving him pouting. He watched how they engulfed each other in a hug and a sweet kiss, only to disappear together somewhere deep in the hotel’s hallway. That younger man seemed familiar, but Jungkook couldn’t put his finger on it. So, he returned his attention to the front desk and smiled, as if he hadn’t had a black out over a stranger’s thighs for a second, taking the key from him quickly. “Thank you.” Jungkook waved awkwardly and turned to find his room. He had to get himself ready. 

... 

Yoongi wasn’t really nervous, he had met too many partners before to really get nerves bit there was still a pleasant anticipation running through him. It was always exciting to meet up with someone you didn’t know yet but you could end up having sex with about half an hour later. It had been a while since he’s had a cam together with someone else but he liked to keep things interesting and every new person brought different vibes or talents to his job so he enjoyed it a lot. 

He arrived a little early as he liked to observed when his ‘workdates’ come in, when they don’t know that he is there yet and are still their most true and honest selves. When he went up to the booth he normally used for meetups he saw that Jungkook had beaten him to it. He smiled. Someone must have had the same thought - or was a little too nervous for his own good and therefore over punctual.

Jungkook was biting his lip in an anxious matter, lacing his fingers together only to push them under his thighs seconds after. He leaned over to take in the straw, sipping on the coke as he looked over to the bar. There was the same boy again, the one from the reception. Apparently he was an all-around talent and now was helping out at the bar, throwing around bottles of alcohol as if it was nothing while pouring in drinks for the people around. Jungkook got out his phone to look at the time and sighed. He had been way too early, and it seemed like time was only slowing down instead of going faster, making him even more anxious. In a nervous habit he reached out for the little ‘reserved’ sign, playing around with it while watching the bar boy, whose name he remembered as Taehyung. He mindlessly tossed the little sign from one hand to the other, intrigued by the tricks Taehyung was doing – but because he was so nervous, Jungkook ended up throwing it a bit too far making it fall off the edge of the table and fall onto the ground with an awful loud sound. He apologized quietly (even though only a few turned their heads only to return their attention to their drinks) and reached down to grab the sign, when two pair of shoes stopped in front of his hand. Jungkook, halfway hanging over the edge of the booth seat, his head under the table, while his hand was holding onto the table to not fall over, slowly blinked up. With his doe-eyed look, he smiled up at the stranger, “I am sorry. I don’t think it’s broken but I will of course pay for it if I did.”

“That’s nice of you.” Yoongi grinned at the doe eyed beauty, “But I didn't came over because of the sign. I came here for you.” He sat down at the table to show that he wasn’t a waiter but the person Jungkook was supposed to meet. He could see the younger’s eyes widen when he realized that he was ‘Suga’. Of course he looked different when his body was hidden under clothes and his face visible, instead of the other way round. Though his masks were small they still helped a lot to hide his features. Also he changed his hair colors every once in a while, both for fun and anonymity. 

“Oh,” Jungkook gulped, before flashing him a shy smile, “Hey.” Jungkook internally slapped himself on the forehead. Oh? Hey? That was it? That was all he could think about. But the moment Yoongi said in front of him, he couldn’t say more. His eyes scanned him fast, the soft cheeks and button nose, the dark orbs that were his eyes and staring straight back at him. “You’re pretty early,” And once again, Jungkook would have loved to just slap himself but instead reached for his drink to take a sip. 

Yoongi chuckled. “Says the one who’s been sitting here before I even got there. What were you doing? Trying to get Tae’s attention? Or did you plan on learning to juggle?” Jungkook looked pretty nervous and now that he was closer to him he could see how soft his face was, how plush his lips. He looked pretty young. And stunningly beautiful. Of course he had seen a pic but he had thought that the other was just good at editing pictures or choosing filters. He was way too pretty to hide his face with a mask - and Yoongi felt strangely proud to know that if they clicked he would be the one who would get to see his face too on top of all the naked skin that would be shown on his cam. Maybe he should check the other’s ID first though, just to make sure.

“No, not really…I was just…nervous, a little.” He smiled, looking down at his hands to hide the light blush on his cheeks, “I hate not being on time and I couldn’t rest. It was only making me more nervous. Is it okay? I mean that I am nervous. Are other people nervous when they do this?” Jungkook rubbed the back of his neck shyly, “I’ve never done this and honestly, I didn’t think you’d take in my application anyway.”

Together with his boyish looks and cute shyness Jungkook’s statement had him listening up. “By ‘you’ve never done this’ do you mean sex or cams or hooking up with someone to be on a shared cam?” They had exchanged a few sentences via messenger but that was about it. You could lie way too easily when you were able to hide behind a laptop so he rather asked the real questions in person.

“Cams and hooking up,” Jungkook nodded. He wasn’t a virgin anymore, but neither did he have much experience. He was shy, not really out and partying a lot like his roommate did and therefore there were not really any opportunities to hook up. At college he just avoided everyone and quietly studied for himself, only hanging around his close friends. It had surprised himself even more when he just simply applied for a spot on Yoongi’s cam, but he had done it. ‘Suga’ felt more like someone he already knew than anyone he could meet in a bar and take home with for a one-night stand. Jungkook didn’t want that. But he had needs, too.  

Yoongi nodded, relieved that the other hadn’t told him that he’s never had sex before. Although there was of course nothing wrong with it, it would have been totally inappropriate for his cam. He didn’t feel comfortable with taking on the responsibility to ‘deflower’ someone he had just met on tape. “Then it is totally fine to be nervous. Just so you know I only do live cams with people I know a little better so you don’t have to feel pressured. You have full control and if you are uncomfortable we can stop at any time. We can edit it later, cut out things that are too private or censor it if you curse too much or say something that would reveal your identity. This is just a test, on both sides. You will get paid of course. But the decision to post this online is something we can make after the session. Which means there is nothing you need to be afraid of. Or is there anything you are particularly nervous about? We can talk it out. There are no ‘wrong’ things to say or stupid questions.”

Jungkook listened attentively, sighing in relief when he heard that it would be pre-recorded instead of a live-cam. He wasn’t sure if he could have done that, though he really enjoyed them when Suga invited some of his friends and did partner shows. “Yeah, I guess…just are we going to…figure out what we do…ehm, before?” Jungkook started playing with the reserved sign again, before he noticed his habit and placed it aside, “Do you want me to tell you what I want? Or what I prefer? Do we just…” He licked his lips nervously, blinking at Yoongi, “I only see the videos when they are done. So, you can just…lead me through it I guess.”

Jungkook was absolutely adorable and Yoongi found his nervous habit utterly endearing. He smiled softly at him. “Of course we talk beforehand. Not that we make a plan and then follow it every little step but we will set basic rules and guidelines to go by. We’ll discuss what you are willing to do and what you don’t like and for safety I also like new boys to choose a safeword or go with the street light system. Even if we don’t do anything extreme you might get overwhelmed and telling me ‘no’ might feel like too much and then it’s easier to just say your word or tell me ‘red’. I won’t get angry at you or shame you into doing anything. That’s not how I work and I expect you do show me the same respect. My limits are my limits and if I tell you no then you are supposed to stop immediately. Also I’d like you to sign some papers for the company before we start. Don’t worry it’s by no means a contract, it just states that you are fine with the cams being taken and uploaded on the company page and other legal stuff like that you are supposed to keep my identity a secret - and other boys if you meet them on your way up and that you won’t tell anyone where the cams are being taken. It’s not a normal hotel it is owned by the company so no one can recognize the rooms unless you have been in here for a cam.”

“Sure, of course I’ll sign that,” Jungkook rolled his shoulders back and leaned back. The more he was talking to Suga, the more relaxed he felt. He seemed just as kind as he was in his videos. Jungkook had noticed it a couple of times – how caring he was about each and every boy that he filmed with. That he made sure that they felt comfortable.

He loved that about him.

And it made Jungkook feel safe. 

“Great! If you don’t have any more basic questions then we can do the signing stuff at the reception and take the conversation upstairs. I feel like it’s more comfortable to take about sexual preferences and hard limits in private, don’t you think?” The ‘meeting in the restaurant’ was the first step of three and Jungkook had mastered it perfectly; he seemed nice, reliable and Yoongi had a good feeling about their cam. The next step would be talking about what they would do today on cam - but there had been only very few people that left or had to leave the room during this. And the last step was the actual filming. You could talk all you want there also needed to be a certain connection for it to look good on film. Yoongi couldn’t wait to see if they would have a connection on cam as well. 

Jungkook followed Yoongi to the reception quietly, taking the few papers for the contract as soon as they were pushed towards him. He read through them thoroughly, while Yoongi was talking to the receptionist, getting the key to his room. Jungkook had to concentrate, trying not to listen in on what they were saying. He loved Suga’s voice. He always had. And it was ten times better to hear him in real life. And so surreal at the same time. “Okay, done,” Jungkook said with a smile and gave the contract back to the receptionist. 

“Perfect. Then let’s go.” Yoongi reached out his hand for Jungkook to take. He wanted to initiate some casual physical contact for Jungkook to get used to him and to feel a bit more relaxed. When the other shyly took it he guided him along, up the broad main stairs with the thick red carpet which led to the first floor. There the carpet was more simple and it was mainly small visitor rooms for people who stayed overnight or storage room for equipment. And above that on the second floor were the cam rooms. He could practically feel Jungkook shaking from anticipation when they stopped in front of Yoongi’s room.

Jungkook jerked a little when there was a beep sound coming from the door when the card slid through the safety, the small lights lighting up green when Yoongi opened it. It wasn’t a loud sound, but it had startled him nonetheless. The moment they stepped in, Jungkook stood in awe. He could see the main room from here, where there was the bed, the couch and everything he had seen before in videos. Yoongi pulled him in a little further and where normally he let go of the boys’ hands, he could feel how Jungkook only tightened their hold as he gazed around. They passed a rather large bathroom (in comparison to his hotel room sized one) and another room, which looked like a small office. “Do you edit your videos yourself? That’s so cool. I actually study Visual & Media Arts and I love editing. If you ever need help-,” Jungkook giggled softly and turned to Yoongi, who had dragged him, further into the main room and away from his more private sections. For a moment he completely forgot about that he was about do porn. With a stranger, a cam star. Someone he only knew from his shows - which he paid for. And it only came back to him, when he saw the cameras on the table. 

“Oh, that‘s good to know. We could definitely about the editing afterwards then. If you choose to stay.” There were some who got overwhelmed by the whole experience and needed some time for themselves while others preferred to stay and ease out of it and he wasn‘t sure which type Jungkook was. He secretly hoped it was the latter because he loved staying in bed for a little longer after the cameras had been disconnected, to just bask in the warmth and intimacy and connectedness you could feel right after. And Jungkook’s hair looked like it would be really nice to brush it.

“Do you want to sit on the bed to talk? Get a little more comfortable?” It would be easier to go from talking to kissing if they were already relaxed and right where they were supposed to be. It also helped to ignore the cameras if they had been around them the whole time rather than seeing them for the first time when they would start with their „compatibility test“. Yoongi got out of his jacket and put it aside, leaving him in a thin white shirt and a pair of comfortable jeans that were soft enough to sit crossed legged on the bed with them. 

Jungkook was staring at Yoongi for a second too long, quickly realizing that his eyes had been fixated on the others chest, waist and then his hands. He always had loved Suga’s hands. They were the most beautiful one’s he had ever seen and he never had wanted to let go off them, but seeing him in that thin shirt now was definitely worth it. It was perfectly outlining his body. Yoongi was a bit smaller than him, but Jungkook didn’t mind. There was something about him that had always intrigued him, maybe his hands, or his voice or a combination of both and the way he always treated his partners as well as his own body. The porn Yoongi did was different from anything else you could find. It was intimate, personal and one could see how much Yoongi cared for each individual partner. When they asked them to kiss them, or soothe them, he was always right there. Jungkook loved that, it was something he wished for himself and knew he couldn’t find in any other stranger. He was too shy for flirting, leaving him be a stuttering mess all the time and Jungkook rather stayed home, working on his videos than going out to party. He could feel the excitement pool in the pit of his stomach, mixing with the anticipation and nervousness. 

Jungkook got rid of his jacket, pulling at his oversized sweatshirt nervously, that perfectly hid his own body and sat down next to Yoongi. He mimicked him, pulling in his legs. “You’re really handsome, Suga. I mean...I....knew you must be, but...without the mask you’re way prettier,” Jungkook mumbled shyly, the blush creeping up his cheeks and down his chest making him awfully hot, “I’m sorry. That just...came out of me. I mean it though. You are. I’m awful at flirting.” Jungkook hid his face behind his hands for a moment. “Probably one of the reasons why I did this. Me being bad at flirting,” Jungkook added and shrugged his shoulders, “Jimin told me about you guys. He’s done it before, but not with you. And...I actually am not subscribed to the others. Only to you. There’s just something about your videos…” The younger one bit his lip, keeping himself from babbling even more, trying not to give in to the urge to hide in shame.

Yoongi couldn't help but smile fondly. Jungkook was adorable and the longer they talked the more he liked him. He got a little closer so that he could take Jungkook's hand again as it had visibly calmed the younger before. “It's alright. I won't judge, you can talk openly. I'd rather have you being honest and open with a little awkwardness - which is quite endearing by the way - than someone giving me perfect socially expected phrases with no meaning behind them. I like you. Not despite your little nervous habits and shyness but because of them. You're cute. And it's just human to be nervous.“ His smile turned a little more daring as he started to trail his fingers up the inside of Jungkook's wrist and arm. “I'm flattered that I'm the only one you've been watching. Did you see anything that you liked in particular? Something you want me to do with you?”

Jungkook shivered, feeling the light touches of Yoongi sending sparks up his spine. “I…I mean, yeah. I guess. I don’t know. I like your hands...a lot,” Jungkook confessed and chuckled nervously, “Anything you do with them and your voice. When you whisper…” The younger blinked up at Yoongi, “It’s probably not the information you needed, ehm…,” He rubbed the back of his neck, before adding quietly, “You can be a little rougher to me. I am not sure about toys or anything alike...I don’t have much experience...but I like to be manhandled.” Jungkook blushed heavily.

“Oh.” That was a little surprising. With Jungkook's shyness and soft eyes he had thought that he would ask for something gentle - or maybe even compensate for his inexperience with dominance. So rough sex just with their roles reversed. It intrigued him, the way the younger talked about him and asked for something with that beautiful blush adorning his cheeks. “I can do that. Within reason of course. I'd like to be a little more careful with our first time. But if we both like it and you really enjoy it then I can get rougher as we go along.” He dropped his voice a little, making sure it was the kind of husky rasp Jungkook would enjoy “Let's see how you'll handle it when I'm having you on my terms.”

Jungkook was internally key smashing the moment Yoongi dropped his voice. He knew he was doing it on purpose and still it went right through his groin.

“Yes, of course. I’m not even sure what I like, yet. I’ve seen things you did that I loved. But seeing them and then actually doing them is still different, so I’d like that. We could go for just what feels right to us.” Jungkook nodded, shifting a little closer to Yoongi. “But I know I have limits. I don’t want to be choked, or anything too restraining. I don’t like getting degraded in any way.” He said, trying to sound as confident as he could, “People quickly assume that I am more the dominant part, because of my appearance, but...but I think I’m not I…never had anyone really to try it with me. But I’ve seen the way you are with your partners. I’d love to try it out. I like to be exhausted and pushed to my limits. In a safe way.” The blush on his cheeks turned even darker, “Is that okay?”

“Of course it is. Everything that we are both comfortable with is fine.” He wondered why the younger was so shy considering he had no obvious reason to be. He was extremely beautiful, fit, knew Jimin which meant he wasn’t completely secluded and was studying something he seemed to have a passion for... Yoongi would have loved to get more insight in Jungkook’s life. But he figured he could wait till after the sex when People tended to get more open. “No degradation, got it.” He was absolutely fine with that as he didn’t enjoy it himself and only did it when his partner was really, really into it.

“How about pet names then? Sweet stuff I could call you if I think you’ve been good for me.” He cocked his head a little, watching Jungkooks face closely. The way Jungkook described his idea of their encounter and himself in general made Yoongi feel like the younger was a perfectionist who wanted to be ‘good’ in every way. He was young but already so tense that he would probably enjoy it if someone made him feel like it was okay to let go and let someone else take over whatever burden he carried. No responsibility on his side, no worries or overthinking. Just pleasure. And the way he always checked to make sure he didn’t do anything ‘wrong’ gave Yoongi the idea to push it a little further. “Do you like being called baby? Or maybe even baby boy?” His voice was calm and collected, his face showing nothing but curiosity. He didn’t want Jungkook’s shyness keep him from something he wanted.

Jungkook giggled softly as an answer, “Yeah, I do actually. I like it more than anything else.” He brushed a hand through his already messy hair, “I think if you ever whisper that into my ear it would be the death of me.” He smiled genuinely, lacing their fingers together again, “Is there anything I need to be aware of? Any boundaries? I want you to feel good, too.”

“We’ll see.” At Jungkook's cute giggle he had a hard time to not try and do it right away just to see the other shiver. Jungkook’s eyes had darkened a little just from talking about what was about to come alone and it was the cutest thing ever. “Don’t worry, I’ve done a lot of things so as long as you treat me like a decent person I should be fine. I don’t like to be hit though I can handle it if you scratch my back. Don’t spit at me or do anything that would hurt me in a long term sense. I don’t think that’s what you’re into anyways so as I said; treat me properly and it’ll be fine. Also I don’t have a problem to tell you if I don’t like something during sex so if we run into something despite our precautions then I’ll just tell you and we can make sure it doesn’t happen again. Ah, yes, one thing: Please don’t run away. If you get cold feet or get embarrassed or feel like you need to get out of here please just tell me. I’ve had someone run out on me once and it’s really shitty to be left alone without a word. So please don’t do that. I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want and I can give you room and space to breathe. Just talk to me. We can figure everything out. Together.”

“You really care about the people,” Jungkook cocked his head to the side, “I like that…actually, I always liked that. You can feel and see it in your videos. I think that’s why so many people want to apply for you. I’ve seen so many on your twitter and…” Jungkook smiled, “I don’t know why but…still you chose me,” He leaned in a little closer, “I won’t run away, I promise.”

“Yeah, I do. Sex is always about trust in a way, even if you like it rough and are trying to get quick, mindless pleasure you still have to make yourself vulnerable in a way. So I want my partners to know that I’ll catch them - and in exchange I can trust them as well. Also it’s just easier and more enjoyable if you are open with each other. It minimises unpleasant surprises and the negative kind of awkwardness. So it’s best for anyone involved if you are attentive.” He smiled encouragingly at the other. “Oh I don’t know why I chose you either - until now. It was just a feeling and I have learned to trust my gut in this. And now after I met you I’m a hundred percent sure I made the right choice. We will work great together.” As a demonstration he leaned into Jungkook, hesitating for a split second for Jungkook to pull back if he wanted. But the younger stayed, no flinching, no tensing up. He trusted him. As soon as he had reassured himself of this he closed the last bit of distance between them, covering Jungkook’s lips with his. It was a gentle kiss, soft and warm and definitely too chaste for the camera. It wasn’t meant for watchers though but solely for Jungkook. The younger’s lips were deliciously plush and warm and Yoongi enjoyed kissing him. It felt natural, their mouths fitting together easily and with a gentle touch on Jungkook’s neck he pulled the other closer, deepening the kiss, just the tiniest bit.

Jungkook melted into Yoongi easily, his hands wandering up his chest when he pulled him in. The younger took it as an invitation to come even closer and place himself on his lap, while his lips weren’t separating from his once. Right now, Jungkook could forget about the whole ‘porn’ thing again. It was just him. And Yoongi. He sighed softly into the kiss, wrapping his arm a little closer around his shoulders, while mindlessly letting his hand rake through Yoongi’s hair. 

Yoongi liked how responsive the younger was and how easily he had decided to let him in. It felt good to have Jungkook in his arms and so he closed them around the other, gasping in surprise when he felt how tiny the younger’s waist was. In the oversized sweater with the long sleeves he had looked bigger than he apparently was.

“Woah, you’re tiny!” When Jungkook blinked in doe eyed confusion at him he chuckled. “I mean your waist. You honestly feel like a perfect camboy because it’ll make it really easy for me to hold you close. And it will look good in the video if you have a defined body. It’s all about angles.” He kissed Jungkook again, quick and sweet because he knew he had to let go of him for a little while. “I guess you should get ready now. I’ll show you the shower and when you come out I’ll be waiting for you here on the bed.”

Jungkook only hesitantly got up from his lap, a soft blush on his cheeks when Yoongi had so bluntly talked about his waist. He reached for his hand, pulling him up from the bed and let Yoongi show him the bathroom and the towel he had prepared for him. Only minutes later Jungkook stepped under the shower, letting the hot water run over his body to relax his nerves. He was starting to get nervous now, his heart picking up it’s pace, while he cleaned himself thoroughly and dried himself up after. Jungkook had wrapped the towel around his body and blow dried his hair (it wasn’t supposed to look like he just jumped out of the shower), before checking himself in the mirror. He could hear Yoongi roaming around in the room, probably setting up everything and it was making his heart jump. He was about to do porn. Real porn.

“Oh fuck,” Jungkook cursed to himself quietly, trying to ignore the lump in his throat and took a deep breath. But before he got out of the bathroom, he let his towel fall to the ground.

He wouldn’t need that anymore. 

Yoongi had been getting everything ready, rearranging the cameras, placing the remote within reach on the bed, fluffing up the pillows. Just when he placed the lube and condoms onto the bedside table did he hear the door opening and turned around. His jaw dropped. His shy new partner was completely naked. And he was absolutely stunning. It was obvious that he worked out a lot but it wasn't just that. His soft look and boyish expression together with his sharp angles made for an amazing contrast. His skin looked to die for, showing off honey undertones and a softness that Yoongi knew felt amazing under his touch. His tiny waist would be perfect for holding him in place or just hug him close and his hips... they were deliciously narrow, just how he liked it. He wanted to see Jungkook kneel, just once, to see if those muscular thighs could get any more tempting.

“Damn, you really are a sight!” The compliment came over his lips before he could stop himself so he quickly added, “I mean I like you that’s why I asked you to stay. It definitely won’t hurt that you look like my secret wet dreams personified though because you’ll get me hard in no time just by looking at you. Makes it easier you know.” He playfully winked at him.

The blush on Jungkook’s cheek reached down all the way to his chest, fumbling around with his hands nervously and averting his gaze. “Thank you,” He said quietly and walked over to Yoongi. “I can give that compliment right back to you,” His hands pulled at the hem of Yoongi’s shirt, “Although I saw it a couple of times before. I bet it’s different to touch you. Let me, please.”

“Sure. It’s all yours.” He quickly pulled the shirt over his head so Jungkook could touch him for real, taking it as an invitation to reach out for the younger in return. Jungkook had taken a warm shower so his skin was pleasantly warmed up and Yoongi kissed his shoulder because he just couldn’t hold himself back. “Okay, how do you want to do this?” They hadn’t talked about their position yet - and simply thinking about the many ways he could have that beautiful boy in front of him spiked up his heart rate. It sent a shiver down his spine and Jungkook let his hands wander over Yoongi’s soft skin and down his shoulders and back, stepping even closer. He nuzzled his face in the crook of his neck, kissing him there softly, “However you like. Just keep me close, because I like this.”

He really did.

The way Yoongi felt in his hold, his sweet, musky smell. He felt not even one bit like a stranger and it was easy to forget about the cameras Yoongi had put up, when Jungkook could stare into the dark orbs that were his eyes to feel safe again. 

Yoongi bit his lip, contemplating for a bit before suggesting: „You should definitely ride me some time as you have the thighs for it and it would be an amazing view – but we should keep that for a later cam. I guess it would be easier for you if I take control in this? Don‘t worry, we‘ll do something where I can see your face.“ He was an attentive partner so he would see it immediately if Jungkook would get overwhelmed or uncomfortable in case the younger couldn‘t really voice it himself.

„I was thinking we stick to the basics first so maybe you on your back? Depending on how flexible you are we can change the angle and see how deep you like it.“ Sinking deep into that beautiful body would be heaven „Or if you‘re really up for the intimate stuff right away I could take you on your side. It would be great for neck kisses and I could hug you if you like that. I could touch you a lot.“ He would definitely enjoy that too.

“All of that sounds good,” Jungkook giggled, hiding his face a little more because this way it was easier to talk about something so intimate with him. He began kissing Yoongi’s neck again, pushing his lips softly against his skin, licking and biting him there lightly as he moved up his jawline and towards his lips. Then he leaned in again, kissing him more passionate this time, pressing his body flush against him, while his hands were exploring Yoongi’s body. 

Yoongi had barely time to catch his breath before the younger downright went for it. If Jungkook knew that neck kisses had him weak from his previous performances in the website or if he had just guessed correctly he had no idea. Nonetheless it had a strong effect on him as his knees practically buckled and he landed on the bed. He tried to defend his own ego by telling him that Jungkook was heavier than him and therefore could have easily pushed him down but honestly the over enthusiastic way Jungkook latched onto him as if Yoongi was the sweetest treat to devour had him breathless. He tried really hard to keep his mind in the game and not drown in Jungkook’s sweetness. There was one question he hadn’t asked yet, then he would start the cams right after.

„Wait, Kook – baby, just a sec,“ Being that excited could mean that he was also easy to overexcited. Some of his former partners had been so quickly to rile up on their first time with him that it had helped to get them off first and start with the main part later. „How.. how‘s your refractory period? Can you come twice or do you get oversensitive quickly? Cause if you think that you‘ll come too quickly like this I could get you off before we start the cameras. Or you could show me what you like while you do it yourself, whatever you prefer.“ He wouldn‘t lie, getting his own private show from Jungkook sounded promising. Though the younger would probably die from embarrassment - and it also was a pity that he would need to keep his hands to himself then. „Do you want me to blow you?“

“I can come twice, don’t worry.” Jungkook just kept on kissing Yoongi in between the words, in no way wanting to separate from his lips. “If you keep calling me baby, I might come a third time.” He giggled softly, pushing Yoongi back onto the bed to lay down to attack his neck once more. Jungkook sucked on Yoongi’s neck lightly, kissing his way up to his lips, when his eyes fell onto the masks that were lying on the nightstand. His heart skipped a beat and the nervousness rushed back into his veins, making him shiver. “Will you put it on me, please?” Jungkook mumbled in between kisses, rather wanting to keep on devouring Yoongi than thinking about anything else, but he wanted to keep his privacy.

“Yeah, get over here.” He reached for the remote and pushed the buttons to activate the camera, almost losing the remote because he was simultaneously trying to reach the masks. He would cut out the part at the beginning with their faces during editing. He placed the mask against Jungkook’s cheekbones, sighing as it covered up half of his face. “Such a pity. You’ve got such a pretty face. At least I can still see your eyes. And kiss your lips.” He nipped at Jungkook’s bottom lip, just for a second to tease him before he tied the velveteen ribbon at the back of the younger’s head into a small bow. As he had his hands in Jungkook’s hair anyway he brushed his fingers through the isilky strand, scraping his nails gently along the boy’s scalp. Damn he was already enthralled by him.

Jungkook took the mask Yoongi usually wore from him and placed it on his face gently. “Well, it’s a pity now that I’ve seen how handsome you really are.” He whispered and tied it, before he let his hands fall down to his neck, his gaze wandering over his beautiful features. His fingers were drawing soft little patterns into Yoongi’s skin, as he shifted on his lap nervously, feeling the fabric of his pants that he still wore against his own naked skin. Jungkook leaned in, his voice turning into a whisper, “I…I am still nervous.”

Yoongi tightened the ribbon on his own head as Jungkook had tied it a little too loose, probably scared to hurt him before leaning in and whispering right into Jungkook’s ear, “And I still find it cute. You don’t have to be though. If you don’t want the video to be uploaded after you can still get paid - and I can keep it for my own private collection, filed under ‘the sweetest babyboy I fucked so good he almost cried’.”

An involuntarily whimper escaped Jungkook and he had to bite his lip to keep from making any sounds. Yoongi’s deep voice was sending a shiver down his spine and he held on a little tighter to his shoulders. So, Jungkook took another deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. “I want that,” He whispered back, placing a kiss right at the pulse point on Yoongi’s neck, “I really do.”

“And you’ll get it. Anything you want. Cause I’ve got anything I can dream of right now too, a beautiful boy, naked on top of me, willing to let me have him, ready to be taken apart…,” He turned them over, switching positions so that Jungkook was on his back, “Although I think I like you even better like this, on your back, looking up at me with those dark, pretty eyes…”

He stole another kiss from him before linking hands and placing Jungkook’s arms above the others head. He didn’t really restrain him or hold him by his wrist, he just kept their fingers linked and marvelled at all the expanse of skin and muscles that were yet to be explored by him. “Would you mind if I got to know your body a little better?” Exploring Jungkook with his mouth would be fun because he was pretty certain that Kook was sensitive enough to twitch if he attack his weak spots with his tongue. 

“It’s yours for the night,” Jungkook answered in a husky voice, his eyes following Yoongi’s every movement. They kissed again, hungrily exploring each other’s mouth, before he dipped deeper and down his neck, leaving Jungkook panting way too easily. There was something about the way Yoongi was kissing him, that absolutely drove Jungkook mad and he couldn’t get enough of it. Yoongi’s hands slowly let go off his, caressing down his wrists as he wandered down his neck towards his chest, sending shivers throughout his whole body. “Mhm, I like the sound of that..” Yoongi hummed contently, looking up at Jungkook through his lashes before giving him a seductive smirk, “And I also like your taste.” He teased Jungkook’s nipple with the tip of his tongue, wetting it slightly and when the younger’s breath visibly stuttered he knew he was on the right track. He switched sides, using his free hand to rub the one that he had already teased while he started to nibble on the other one. He wasn’t lying, he liked the silky texture of Jungkook’s skin against his tongue.

If it would be solely his call he could do this all night.

Jungkook was writhing underneath Yoongi’s touch. He couldn’t help it, he had always been awfully sensitive on his nipples and he had found his weak spot right away. Jungkook let out a soft moan, brushing through Yoongi’s hair. He could feel himself harden from Yoongi’s teasing alone, making him close his eyes and bite his lip to keep from moaning too much already. Yoongi dragged his thumb over Jungkook’s bottom lip to open up the other’s mouth. It was red and swollen from where Jungkook had bit down on it which made it look even more dirty. He dipped into the the sweet mouth that he would claim again later after he was finished with his current project (aka get Jungkook hard) keeping him effectively from hiding his moans. “Don’t do that baby. I wanna hear it when I drive you crazy.” A sharp nip on his nipple underline the statement. However he showed some mercy after, soothing over it once more before kissing down further. There was enough time and room to rile the other up further downwards.

“O-okay,” Jungkook mumbled, watching Yoongi closely as he dipped down. His nervousness mixing blissfully with the anticipation, leaving him a shivering mess. But before Yoongi could kiss down his hip bone, Jungkook propped himself up on his elbows, “C-can you still hold my hand…if you…I mean…”

“You want me too..?” Yoongi startled at the request but when he realized that Jungkook was serious he wordlessly reached out for him, intertwining their fingers like they had done before. It seemed to be Jungkook’s safety net, to have something to hold onto. And it was also a nice way for Yoongi to get feedback while his eyes would be closed: If Jungkook held onto his hand tighter it would mean that he had upped tension enough for the younger to need an outlet. He didn’t go there immediately though, taking his sweet time to nib a soft love bite into the delicate skin above the boy’s hip. Then he slid his palm up along his thigh, feeling it up before nudging it to the side.

“Open up, sweety. Let’s get to where you want to feel me most.”

Jungkook felt a lot better, more relaxed now holding onto Yoongi’s hand. He leaned back again, teeth pulling at his bottom lip as he opened up his legs for him to get in between. Yoongi was slowly kissing down his thigh, taking his sweet time, never letting go off his hand once. He was really thankful for it, that he hadn’t really questioned it but just did what felt good to him. Jungkook smiled, reaching out for Yoongi to cup his cheek. The other turned to him a little confused, but Jungkook simply leaned over and placed a kiss on his lip, a quiet thank you, and then laid back again fully relaxed, spreading his legs a little more to show off his flexibility. 

The way Jungkook easily opened up for Yoongi told him that would be able to take him comfortably on his back if they chose to switch to this position later. Still he wanted to enter him on his side, sweet and intimate. But first he needed to get him hard and aching so that Jungkook’s attention would be elsewhere while he prepped him. Without warning he pressed a kiss against the younger’s cock and smirked when he could feel Jungkook’s abs clenching hard. Yoongi had been told before that he was pretty good with his tongue and he used his skills to his full advantage while he got Jungkook fully hard, teasing the vein at the underside that he knew was sensitive, licking over the tip to make Jungkook’s breath stutter just to finally get him fully into his mouth. He had no problem with going down on him quick and dirty and although Jungkook must know it from watching his cams he definitely wasn’t prepared for how it would feel to have his mouth around him. It had him choke out a moan loudly as he arched his back. “F-fuck,” Jungkook cursed, gripping the bed sheets tight while with the other he was holding onto Yoongi’s. Yoongi’s skillful mouth left Jungkook gasping and whimpering in a matter of seconds. It felt absolutely dirty and he loved it, the way Yoongi was bobbing on his cock, his eyes locking with his own and Jungkook could see the smirk on his lips when he kissed the tip again, only to take him deep moments after. “S-suga, please…”

He pulled off with a pop, knowing that this was not what Jungkook had wanted just to ask him sweetly “Yes? Tell me what you are pleading for, pretty. Do you want me to take your cock back into my mouth, is that it? Or do you need something else?” While he let Jungkook time to decide he trailed his finger along the younger’s cock who stood proud and hard by now, rubbing gently along his ball and then lower, to get a feel of how sensitive the younger would be.

Jungkook twitched nervously, his blushed chest heaving heavily as he tried to think of an answer. “I…yes, please. I want you, please. Touch me.” He was pleading quietly, moaning when he was gently massaging his balls to tease him more, making Jungkook open up his legs a little wider. “Please. I want you so bad.”

“Touch you, hm?” He prodded against Jungkook’s hole, teasing the rim until the younger’s muscles clenched again. “You mean here?” He could have drawn it out a little longer but they were both turned on and ready to go for it so he decided to take it a step further and reached for the lube, squishing out a small amount that he could easily warm up before putting his fingers back where Jungkook wanted them. “Relax for me, please.” He warned him but instead of pushing in right away he just started massaging him a little more intensely, making sure the boy was used to his fingers and the way the rubbed against his skin, the easy slide over his perineum and around his balls and over everything else that had Jungkook restlessly moving against him.

Jungkook slowly turned it into sensual movements, circulating his hips against Yoongi’s fingers, sweet little moans escaping him whenever he was close enough but still too far away from working up Jungkook for real. The younger had reached for Yoongi’s hand the moment he wrapped it around his waist, pulling him in a little more while he was brushing against his rim with the other. He just needed it to ground himself and to feel the connection even more.

“Yes, there, please.”

When he deemed Jungkook ready he took a little more form the lube to make it wet and easy and then slowly pushed past the resistance of Jungkook’s muscles. While he kept still inside of him, giving Kook time to adjust he massaged soothing circles into his skin with the other around his waist. It didn’t take long for Jungkook to start moving his hips again and Yoongi took it as an invitation to add a second finger. He managed it easily and decided to start stretching the younger out, moving his fingers slow and deep in a pace that matched the sways of Kookie’s hips. He was about to ask if he still felt good when he stroked along the younger’s sweet point and a whole body shudder through him. “Oh. I guess I found what I’ve been looking for,“ He commented dryly and repeated the motion just to watch Jungkook shudder again. 

There was pure ecstasy rushing through his veins, making him feel dizzy and Jungkook gripped Yoongi’s hand tighter. It felt so good to be touched like that, to have someone adore his body like that and that feeling alone made him shiver. “Suga, please, please…I just want you.” He cried out, arching his back off the mattress, when he rubbed against his walls so sweetly, stretching him out so well, like no one had ever done it before. Jungkook pulled at Yoongi’s hand desperately, wanting him to be back over him, kiss him and make him his for the night. 

“You’re so pretty like this, all open and ready for me.” Yoongi absolutely wanted to give in to Jungkook’s pleas because every gasp and sigh the younger made heated him further up and it had gotten quite uncomfortable to still wear his pants.

Nonetheless he had no idea when he would see Jungkook like this again so he wanted to make the most of it. He kept his finger’s inside him, stroking and teasing him mercilessly before sinking back down on his cock, swallowing him whole in one single motion. Jungkook’s hips bucked and he couldn’t quite keep them down so he was forced to take Kook even deeper, swallowing reflexively around him and trying to breath evenly as best as he could. He was glad that he had practise with this or else he might have choked on the younger’s cock, embarrassing himself and driving Jungkook even more crazy than he must already feel. Jungkook let out a pathetic whimper, feeling Yoongi’s hot wet mouth around his cock was just heaven. “Fuck, please, Suga,” He moaned, letting his hips fall and Yoongi off his cock, who wiped over his mouth as if Jungkook had been the most delicious snack he had tasted. Jungkook could feel how Yoongi pulled his fingers out of him, wiping them clean at the sheet as a smirk placed itself on his lips.

The younger blinked up at him, watching his every move as he got up from the bed and unbuttoned his pants. Gulping heavily, Jungkook’s eyes flickered down to his pants and how easily Yoongi let them fall and with them his boxers. Jungkook dragged his thumb across his lip, shifting nervously on the bed when he could feel the mattress dip again. 

“Are you getting nervous again, babyboy?” He positioned himself behind Jungkook while he put on the condom. A low moan escaped him when he rolled it on, jerking himself off once or twice to give his neglected erection a tiny bit of attention before he would focus on Jungkook again. It was easy to turn the younger onto his side as he went willingly however Yoongi arranged him. “That’s my boy. Don’t stress yourself, you’ll feel so good with my cock inside you. I’m gonna make you feel every slide, every thrust. You are so pretty when you shiver so I’ll make sure to abuse your sweet spot as much as I can. You’ll come so hard, baby, you might take me with you over the edge. I love it when pretty little boys tighten around my cock right before they come. And you’re gonna be tight, aren’t you?” All his dirty talk showed that he was pretty excited himself but in contrast to Jungkook nothing of it was visible on his face. He hiked up Jungkook’s leg a little more so that he could nudge his cock against Kook’s entrance, sliding past it once just to tease him and get him a little more desperate before he couldn’t take the tension any longer himself. WIth a satisfied sigh he pushed in, slow and deep. The arm around Kook’s waist kept the younger in place, flush against Yoongi’s body so that he could feel every twitch and shudder as if it was his own.

In this position Jungkook was looking right at one of the cameras, but the sudden anxiousness was just as quickly gone as it came, when Yoongi pushed into him. It left him completely speechless. “Ah, Suga,“ Jungkook moaned out blissfully, his thighs shaking as he was getting used to the sudden fullness. He turned his head, to avoid the camera but also to kiss Yoongi again. He pulled him in by the back of his neck, feeling his hot breath fan over his lips as he began to move his hips, pushing even deeper into Jungkook, “Yes, so tight fo-for you.“ Yoongi kissed the words right from Jungkook’s lips with open mouthed kisses. He could feel Jungkook’s abs clench everytime did something as simple as shift and so he gently caressed over his front in a soothing gesture.

“Relax, pretty. I’ve got you. Just.. just let go. I’ll take care of your needs.” He kept his pace sensually slow while concentrating on relaxing Jungkook instead. When he placed his hand over Kook’s chest he could feel how hard and quick the other’s heart was beating against his palm, almost as if he was scared but his stuttered breaths and little gasps spoke a different language. Gently he caressed the free side of Kook’s neck, nipping at his jaw and kissing bruises into the soft skin below his ear until he could feel the tension seep out of ihm. “It feels so right to hold you in my arms. Like you belong there.” His whisper held a little too much truth for his liking and yet he couldn't help but confess. The younger whimpered quietly as an answer, pushing his ass back to meet Yoongi’s eagerly. The words soothing and urging him on at the same time. He was putty in his hands, absolutely pliant from the first touch - this is how good he was, Jungkook thought to himself, smiling against the open mouthed kisses. “M-more please,” Jungkook blinked his eyes open, gazing at Yoongi through the masks while he was pleading in pout, “I really want more.”

The little pout on Jungkook's lips had him looking so cute that Yoongi might have cooed over him if he wasn't just buried inside his sweet ass to the hilt. “More? Already? You're a greedy little thing aren't you?” He gripped Jungkook's cock tightly and jerked him once, just to have him gasping for him (because that pout might be his downfall) before he gave into the youngers request. With a steady hand on his hips he pulled Kook back against him as he started to push into him harder.

Jungkook cried out in pleasure, leaning his head back against Yoongi’s shoulders, giving him even more access to kiss and bite his beautiful skin there. He fitted perfectly into his hold, moving against his thrusts in eagerness, while he tried to hold onto Yoongi desperately, the harder he was pushing back into him. Jungkook closed his eyes, letting go of everything else and completely let Yoongi take over. He hooked up his leg a little, spreading his thighs so he could reach even deeper. Jungkook wanted Yoongi to feel good, to remember this and not just because of the videotape. He wanted Yoongi to think about how he felt, how tight and how eager he was to please him. His hands wandered over to Yoongi’s back, squeezing his bottom there lightly and urging him on to take him even harder. 

“You’re perfect, baby boy.”

It felt right to praise him already because Jungkook was a real pleasure to shoot with. Despite this being his first time being filmed he didn't try to hide or be a certain way for the camera, he just trusted him to do this right and showed all of his charms naturally. Yoongi could feel the desire run down his spine like molten heat the harder he pushed into the youngers sweet body, being rewarded with a little gasp or desperate whine whenever he moved just right. He was glad that Kook was flexible enough to turn a little so that they could still kiss and Yoongi made use of this, plundering the youngers mouth while fucking him good and hard.  

Jungkook smiled, a blush appearing on his cheeks. “O-only for you,” He mumbled into a kiss, reaching behind him so he could brush a hand through Yoongi’s hair. “Take me however you like, please. It feels so good.” Jungkook started circulating his hips a little, moving sensually against Yoongi. He let his hand fall down again, searching for Yoongi’s who was holding onto his waist, “I can take more, please, Suga, please.”

“You really want me to have you how I want?” His voice was daring, raspy but it was also a honest question for consent, “Because then I’m gonna keep you in place and fuck you hard while jerking you off. You would come in minutes and I’d have you ride out your orgasm on my cock before I pull out.” He nipped at Jungkook’s skin again, the spot at his neck where Jungkook would have beautifully blooming bruises later. He just couldn’t get enough of the boys silky skin. “And then I’d push you on your back where you can just lay back, all blissed out and I’d have you hard again until I come deep inside of you. You want me to take you like this?”

His answer was a whimper, a sweet sound that made Yoongi shiver. “Please, yes,” Jungkook added and sealed it with a deep kiss, not being able to get enough of him. Yoongi tasted like the sweetest treat to him, like honey and his voice was so rough from fucking him that it was turning Jungkook on even more. He wanted this. More than he’d like to admit and he didn’t even care about the millions of people that would be watching it later on. He would be one of them. He wanted to savor it forever.

“Take me apart, Suga.” Jungkook blinked up at him, feeling Yoongi’s rhythm falter for a second, slowing down before he would give it to him right, “I still want to feel you tomorrow.”

“Oh you will, Babyboy. I’ll make sure of that.” WIth Jungkook’s okay he didn’t try to hold back his strength any longer, using what his body had left to give it to him hard. Jungkook’s body was shaking with every thrust and just when he could feel that he had found the right angle to make Jungkook’s knees weak he held him there mercilessly. There was no way to get rid of the tension or ease off the intensity of the pleasure as he hit Jungkook’s sweet spot dead on. He could feel it in the tremble of Jungkook’s thighs and the hitch of the younger’s breath that he was utterly lost in this. If Yoongi hadn’t held him in place so tightly Jungkook would have collapsed from the onslaught of pleasure. 

Jungkook was grabbing the sheets tightly, trying to hold onto anything that gave him some kind of leverage. He reached out for Yoongi, pushing himself closer to the other, while he was abusing his spot over and over again, making Jungkook go crazy with the pleasure that was rippling through his body. He cried out his name, breathy little whimpers escaping him as he jerked forward with every deep thrust. It was exactly what he needed to let go.

Leaning his head back, Jungkook helplessly searched for Yoongi’s lips. Their kisses were messy and dirty, both too lost in their pleasure to care for technique or etiquette, they just needed to satisfy their need for reassurance, for connection, to feel the others breath against their lips and their heartbeats against each other. When he felt Jungkook getting close he reached for the lube again to slick up his fingers before he took a good hold of the youngers cock. The wet slide made it easy to jerk him off but Yoongi still started a torturously slow, loose rhythm to rile Jungkook up as much as he could before he would let him snap.

Jungkook was a whimpering mess, his whole body was jerking and tightening around Yoongi’s cock deliciously while he was crying out in pleasure-pain. “Suga,” He moaned, holding onto Yoongi’s waist to hold himself up or else he would have been already pushed over the edge of the bed with how hard he was going. He could feel every pull, every hit on his sweet spot. It was the sweetest torture. Each time Yoongi’s hips snapped forward, he jerked his cock at the same time and Jungkook swore he could see stars in front of his eyes. His thighs began to quiver, his fingers digging deep into Yoongi’s waist. 

Jungkook’s moans were music to Yoongi‘s ears, his whimpers so sweet and desperate that they were his own turn on. If he kept this up for too long he might just follow Jungkook into oblivion and come right now. He didn’t want it to be over so soon though, he wanted to have the younger on his back, to make him come again later when he was all pliant and fucked out with his eyes hazy and his smile sated. His grip around the youngers cock tightened and he stopped playing games, making the younger sob in half relief, half pleasure. Jungkook was easy to play with his body responsive and sensitized by his caresses.

He might love this a little too much.

Jungkook cried out, closing his eyes as the pleasure was rushing through his veins like ecstasy and his whole body began to shake. Yoongi kept fucking into him mercilessly, while he was falling apart right on his cock, feeling every thrust so deeply inside of him as he tightened around him. He choked on a moan, whimpering quietly while losing complete control over his body.

The younger fell apart beautifully and Yoongi could feel him clenching tight around him in a way that was absolutely maddeningly perfect. He fucked Kook through his high, let him ride out his pleasure on his hard cock and only when Jungkook stopped shaking did he slow down, gently easing out of him when the younger had caught his breath. The urge to push back into that perfect, velveteen heat was overwhelming but luckily he was pretty good at controlling himself so instead he soothed over Jungkook's side and brushed through his hair.

“Are you good? Do you need a minute to calm down a little? We could just make out a little until you feel like you’re up for the next round. Or do you want me to keep going right away?”

“Mh,” Jungkook hummed in response, feeling absolutely pliant, reaching for Yoongi to pull him a little closer. There was cum sticking onto his stomach but Jungkook didn’t mind. He smiled faintly, closing his eyes as he tried to calm down, feeling Yoongi’s hands soothe over his body.

“Hm’yeah,” The younger mumbled, “Kissing…fucking…just both.” He turned a little, nuzzling his face cutely into Yoongi’s neck and placed a kiss there. “Don’t leave,” Jungkook was still shaking, soft little aftershocks from his orgasms, “I need you still.”

“Don’t worry, pretty one, I won’t leave you out of my sight.” Jungkook had pretty much given him his answer with the way he was curling into him, searching for warmth and closeness, basking in the intimacy that this position provided. He was glad that he always placed everything he needed within reach before he started a session because it meant that he didn’t even had to let go of Kook to get what he needed. He stretched a little, fishing blindly to get hold of a wet tissue and grinning triumphantly when he got one without Kook even stirring or opening his eyes. “Fair warning, it might get a little cold while I clean you up now but I promise you’ll get all warm and fuzzy again soon.” 

Jungkook pouted when he could feel the cold tissue on his stomach, writhing his body away from Yoongi, “I’d rather feel dirty.” He giggled, his hands wandering down his neck and chest. “You feel so good inside of me, you really want me to wait even longer now? Or don’t you like your baby being dirty?” He cocked his head to the side, biting his lips.

“Are you getting sassy with me, sweetheart?” The tissue landed somewhere on the floor and Jungkook on his back as Yoongi rolled them over. “You think that’s a good idea while you’re all sensitive and fucked out? I’m still hard, baby. I can fuck you into oblivion again and again until you’re sobbing. Or do you think you got more stamina just because you sport all those pretty muscles?” He tweaked Kook’s nipple and revelled in the way the younger’s back arched off the bed. 

“Maybe, ah, that’s what I want,” Jungkook moaned, a shiver ran down his body whenever Yoongi teased his nipples even more. He propped himself up on his elbows, so Jungkook could reach Yoongi’s shoulders, leaving a wet trail of kisses up his neck. “Please, Suga, I’ll be good.” He opened up his legs a little more, letting Yoongi in, in between them, before caressing a hand down his body taking a swipe of the cum that was left on his stomach and sucked on his finger deliciously. He wasn’t sure where the sudden confidence came from and maybe it was only to rile Yoongi up further. “I want to have a lick of your taste.”

“Oh fuck,” He definitely hadn’t expected the younger to get so daring and dirty with him during sex but it was a nice surprise. However, it chipped away at his control immensely and so instead of teasing Kook like he had initially planned until the younger was begging to be filled up again he just held Kook’s thighs open and sank back into the delicious heat that swallowed him whole. He moaned, low and strung out because he was aching and moving against Jungkook’s hips brought enough relief to make it bearable. Still it wouldn’t be enough if he kept going like that. Jungkook had gasped loudly when Yoongi had pushed into him without a warning. He could feel the oversensitivity mixing with the feeling of being filled and it made him shiver.

Yoongi fished for a cushion, urging Kook on to cock his hips up so that he could push the cushion under his back, changing the angle a bit. It would be easy to get deep now and with him on top he had enough leverage to snap his hips into the younger as hard as he needed. He would have Jungkook hard and whimpering for him in no time. When Yoongi’s hips snapped forward, he screamed out, reaching out for his shoulders to hold onto something. Yoongi smirked, drawing back awfully slow, making Jungkook whimper in the process. Nonetheless Jungkook kept his eyes on Yoongi, each thrust tearing another quiet sound from him.

It wasn’t as soft and intimate as before but it nonetheless had its perk to fuck Jungkook on his back. The younger was bendy and could easily open his thighs for him so both of them were comfortably while Yongi could roll his hips into the younger hard and reckless. He could feel himself sinking deeper and he groaned, trying to find a rhythm that wouldn’t have him coming too fast.

“You feel fucking amazing!” A soothing kiss took the edge off his curse as he kept on rocking into him over and over again, “So tight and perfect...I want to come inside of you, baby. Make you feel how much I love fucking you like this.” 

Jungkook blushed, loving it how much Yoongi seemed to enjoy it as well. He held onto his waist, every thrust making him push deeper into the mattress and the cushion. It didn’t take long for Jungkook to get hard again, the pleasure pooling in his groin making him want even more. Eagerly, the younger pulled Yoongi down by his waist, roughly meeting his own. He was sure it would leave bruises tomorrow, but he didn’t mind.

He, now, just wanted to be fucked into oblivion.

“Ah, Suga,” Jungkook turned his head, whimpering and he could feel the bow of the mask he wore slightly loosen under the pressure and constant push and pull of his body. Jungkook took him well and willingly and considering that he had told him that he didn’t have that much experience Yoongi took it as a sign that there had good chemistry. He pretty much doubted that Jungkook would do this for about anyone. In a semblance of adoration and fondness he brushed Jungkook’s hair back, feeling how soft it was still despite Jungkook being all sweaty. “My pretty little baby.” The whisper was barely there, not meant for the cameras but Jungkook.

“You might just turn out to be my favourite boy.” 

The younger melted into his touch, kissing the palm of Yoongi’s hand the moment it caressed down and over his cheeks. He was so blissfully gone in the pleasure that he didn’t really hear what Yoongi was saying, the oversensitivity making him unaware of anything else but the pleasure he felt with each hard thrust inside of him. Jungkook wrapped his hand around Yoongi’s wrist, not giving him a chance to pull it back but instead kissed him there endlessly, taking his thumb into his mouth to suck on it deliciously giving Yoongi the most beautiful scene to watch as he blinked up at him. He closed his eyes, arching his back in pleasure as he moaned loudly, “I…can’t…it feels so good.” Jungkook almost sobbed when a particularly rough push into him made him snap his eyes open, “Fuck. Don’t stop, please.”

It was utterly cute how overwhelmed the younger had gotten and Yoongi smiled fondly at him, kissing his face wherever he could reach while Kook writhed in pleasure under him. He was close already, he could feel it in the pulsing of his cock and the tightening of his balls so he slowed down a little, dragging it out because he didn’t have enough of Kook yet. His perfect body, his breathy little gasps that he loved already, his little whimpers whenever he pushed in deep. And right now he pushed in hard and deep and merciless with every thrust, teasing sweet sounds out of Kook with every snap of his hips.

“N-no, no please,” He pursed his lips into a pout, letting go off Yoongi’s hand to reach for his waist instead, wanting to pull him closer and make him go faster. “Ah, please,” Jungkook sobbed, shaking his head cutely as he gazed back up at Yoongi, who was only smirking, enjoying the view, “But-but I’ve been good. I want you, pl-please.” He began to move his hips restlessly, circulating slowly and sensually against Yoongi, making the cushion under his bottom shift with the movements – but Jungkook didn’t care. He pulled Yoongi in by his neck, kissing him deeply, whimpering and whispering pleads in between each one of them. 

“So demanding, pretty.” Yoongi tried to tease him but his voice sounded a little too breathless for that. The way Jungkook moved his hips against him did things to him that got his knees weak and his thighs shaking. “I... I’m gonna come soon... but dont worry, I’ll get you off too… promise.” He leaned into Kook’s tight hug, trapping the younger’s cock between their bodies to stimulate him too but he’d probably finish before him. So maybe he would get to blow Kook fully tonight after all. There weren’t any words left in his mind as the tension pulled tighter and he let his control slip, taking Kook the way he needed to to finish off: quick and rough and as deep as he could.

Jungkook was holding onto Yoongi while wrapping his arms around him to keep him as close as possible. He closed his eyes, letting the pleasure take over and Yoongi be the one he could lean on. The way Yoongi was growling and shaking above him, told him that he was close and Jungkook spread his legs a little more, feeling how sore and tired his limbs already felt – but he loved it. The exhaustion was settling in his body, but the pleasure was making him feel so much ecstasy that he didn’t mind. Jungkook squeezed Yoongi’s bottom, feeling the firm flesh against the palm of his hands, while he placed open mouthed kisses on his shoulder and everywhere he could reach. The rhythm was faltering and Jungkook could feel himself tighten around Yoongi’s cock, heightening the pleasure for both of them. 

Yoongi got close, so close when Jungkook started touching him and when the younger tightened around him like he had before when he had come on his cock it was over. Yoongi’s muscles locked up as he moaned in purest pleasure, emptying himself in the condom (that he wished wasn’t there right now. He always used them but with Kook he would have actually prefered that he hadn’t right now). He collapsed on top of Kook afterwards, making sure he caught enough of his weight to not hurt him, considering Kook was still hard and his thighs spread but he needed a moment to come down from his high. He felt amazing, a mellow sort of bliss in his mind that made it a little hazy, his body a little harder to control. The urge to pull Kook in and just hold him all night was sudden an unexpected and he tried to get rid of his feelings by kissing the younger deeply and telling him softly how good he had been and how amazing it felt to have him.

Jungkook hummed against his kisses, dwelling in the attention Yoongi was giving him. He brushed through his hair, blushing from the sweet compliments he was giving him. He smiled in bliss, not even caring if he had gotten off the second time or not, but he was sure Yoongi wouldn’t let him go so easily. He wanted to exhaust him, Jungkook had especially asked for that. So, he didn’t move, when Yoongi propped himself up again and kissed him sweetly, moving down his neck. He made a show of going down on Kook. He trailed all the way down with kisses, giving Kook’s perky nipples extra attention just to hear him whimper again and then stopped to admire the bruises on the inside of Kooks thigh that he had given him before. “Wouldn’t it be a shame to leave you one sided?” The younger whined helplessly as he attacked the delicate skin on his other thigh but with the way he was twitching and how hard he was Yoongi kept it short and let go of it quickly. He dragged his thumb over the reddened tip right in front of his face, teasing the precum over the swollen head before finally closing his lips around it and swallowing him down.

Jungkook bucked his hips upwards involuntarily making Yoongi choke a little, but it didn’t keep him from blowing him for real. There was no chance for Jungkook to pull off, or his hips away from Yoongi. He was holding him down, swallowing around him so deliciously that he could feel his thighs starting to shake in a matter of seconds. “F-fuck, Suga, plea-,” Jungkook choked on the moan, crying out as he arched his back off the mattress. His whole body was shivering, thighs trembling as he came right into Yoongi’s mouth. He had his eyes closed, putting his arm over them, feeling the tears sting in his eyes. The pleasure was completely overwhelming him, every touch of Yoongi was like fuel to the fire only heightening the feeling. Jungkook came quick and hard and Yoongi swallowed it all down, licking Kook clean while the younger was close to sobbing from the overstimulation.

The way Jungkook just kept still after, sunken into the pillows and arm still over his eyes told Yoongi that it might have been a little much for him. As there was nothing to clean up this time he could lay down besides him right away, soothing him with light, careful touches and small kisses on his cheek. He didn’t take his arm away for him as he didn’t want the younger to feel pressured but he addressed it nonetheless. “Are you okay there, baby?” His voice was still husky from before but he put enough softness in it to hopefully soothe him. “Do you want me to stop the cameras? Then we can take the masks off and just relax for a bit. You’re a little sleepy right now, aren’t you?”

Jungkook didn’t open his eyes but he let his arm fall, turning over to where Yoongi was to snuggle closer to him. “I’m okay,” He mumbled, “Yes, take it off, please.” Jungkook could feel Yoongi hesitate for a moment, but he decided to just edit out the end and gently pull the mask of now. First his own, then Jungkooks. The younger pliantly leaned into his touch, shivering from the sudden cold. “Is…is it okay if we stay like this for a while, Suga?” He was starting to talk in pout again from how tired he was, his hand searching for Yoongi's to hold on to, caressing down his arm while he kept his eyes closed. 

Jungkook was so cute like this, leaning into him as if his closeness was all he wanted and Yoongi’s heart made a little leap that always lead to dangerous thing.

“Yoongi.” He answered, a secret whisper, only for Kook to know, “My name is Yoongi. And you can stay here as long as you need.” He kissed the boys pout as he laid there exhaustedly, apparently too tired to even open his eyes. Yoongi didn’t mind it, quite the opposite. It was his room so no one would throw them out and it would be really nice to fall asleep with someone in his arms - especially when this someone was a pretty little boy he’s just had sex with.

“Yoongi,” He whispered tiredly, cuddling even closer to his warmth. A soft giggle escaped him and he blinked up at him, “I really did that. With you. I hope they will like it.” Jungkook yawned, helplessly reaching for the blanket before giving up. “Your viewers. I hope they enjoy it…as much as I did,” His voice was quiet and one could hear how Jungkook was slowly drifting off, “I like you.” He leaned his head on Yoongi’s chest and closed his eyes again.

“I like you too, baby boy.” He chuckled low as the younger nosed along his jaw in a sleepy attempt to shift even closer before his body stilled and his breath deepened. Stretching a little he reached for the remote to turn off the cameras and pushed the button. A little click and a sirring sound told him that the cameras had just turned on. Confused he pushed the button again, effectively shutting the cameras off. He groaned as it dawned on him.

Jungkook had attacked him so passionately that he had barely watched what buttons he had pressed in the beginning - and apparently he hadn’t turned on the cameras at all, which meant they had just fucked each other for fun. He shook his head, glad that Kook was asleep and couldn’t see his embarrassment right now. Luckily he could take it lightly; he could still pay Kook and honestly it had been worth it. And if Kook still wanted to have an upload, well… then they would just have to fuck each other again soon.

A/N: Here we go! This is the first story to our little Series (3 Parts). Cat and I just wanted to try and write PWP and so this happened. You ready for your stay in the ‘Nuit Inoubliable’? Don’t forget to tell us how you liked it!! 

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[tinystrk]

“And I am Iron Man.”

Steve watched him powerless, he watched Tony, his husband, the love of his life, the man that gave him a home, a purpose to stay in the 21st century with the gauntlet and the 6 Infinity Stones on it ready to snap his fingers.

He watched him sacrifice himself because that’s what Tony does. And that’s one of the many reasons why Steve is irretrievably in love with him. He saved the world once again but at what costs ?

The light that the snap provokes made them blind for a few seconds, but when their vision came back, they saw that Thanos and all his army start to disappear. With a single snap the universe has been saved but for some people they just lost theirs.

Steve focuses his vision on Tony and saw him, he saw him fall on the ground. He saw Tony fall on the ground on multiples times but this time he knew that it would be impossible for him to stand up. His heart was pounding hard in his chest, it felt like a thumping noise in his ears, it was like someone was making knots with his stomach. He ran to Tony like he never ran before.

Peter was at his sides saying “Mr Stark. Mr Stark we won.”

Steve dropped on his knees, like his legs were abandoning him.

He took Tony’s face between his hands, a half of his body was burnt and he seemed barely conscious.

“Hey.” Steve managed to say despite the lump on his throat.

Tony’s gaze was focusing on nothing, then, he moves a little and was now looking at Steve.

“Hey baby.” His voice was hoarse and tired. He tried to lift a hand to caress Steve’s face, his hand was shaking and felt like weighted a ton.

Steve took his hand and placed it on his face. “We did it. We won.” He smiled and Steve wanted to cry, it was like drowning.

Steve didin’t know to say after that or maybe he knew but he couldn’t utter it so he just kissed him. A soft, chaste kiss, just a touch between theirs lips.

Both of them knew what was going to happen but none of them wanted to admit it out loud.

“I know you will but take her of Morgan.” Tony’s voice became more and more low and broken.

Steve didn’t want to cry in front on him so -because he knew he couldn’t contain himself any longer- he just hugged him, so tight. His hands were clutched on his neck, caressing it and ended up on his hair. Tony’s face was pressed against Steve’s shoulder and was breathing his smell, like it was his oxygen and it was.

Steve’s chin rested on Tony’s head and he thought that it was impossible that it was their last hug. After everything they’ve been through, after everything they’ve overcome.

Steve thought it was unfair, and it was. They had their little girl to raise, she needed her dads. But sometimes life’s a bitch even with the people the most devoted.

Steve felt Tony’s embrase was less and less present, his heart was beating faster but at the same time it was like it wasn’t beating no more.

He grabbed Tony and hugged him even harder to try to maintain him with him but deep down he knew but it was too late.

His sobs started to getting more and more audible as he heard -but he wasn’t even sure, it may be was an hallucination- “I love you both more than my life.”

“I love you so much, don’t dare you leaving me Tony. I will not allow it.” His body was shaking due to the sobs, and even if that’s not technically possible he’s sure that one part of time died at this moment.

———

Steve always hated funerals. No matter who was buried, acquaintances or not, he hated it.

So when he had to bury Peggy, it was already very hard for him and it reinforces his hate towards funerals. But today. Today was the most painful thing that he will have to do in his life. But he had to, je can’t let Morgan deal with the death of his father at only 5. Those things shouldn’t be possible. You shouldn’t have to bury your father at 5.

Tony had left a final message and seeing his face again only made Steve more awake than he really lost him.

It was painful, even more than that, he thought that no words exist to express what he felt like to assist at the funeral of the love of your life.

Steve has Morgan in his arms, while the jar of flowers was floating on the lake and was taking away by the water stream, and she was brave, very brave, just like her father.

After that, Steve knew that he still had that mission to complete, he knew that he will have to return the stones. That was clearly the last thing he wanted to do but still. If Tony was here, he would have said to him “No rest for the wicked.”

Morgan was still on his arms, she had her face buried in his neck, she hadn’t said a word in several minutes.

Steve hated the idea of letting her even if he knows that’s for her, it will just be 5 minutes and that she will be in good company but, still.

“Sweetheart.“ Steve said softly as he was gently rubbing her back. “Daddy has to go to work.”

She straightened up from his embrace, looking at him with her big eyes which looked a little confused.

“Where? How long will you be gone ? Can I come ?” Her voice was smooth but with a little bit of excitement, this made Steve smiles.

He kissed her on the cheek which he will be rewarded by a big smile from her daughter.

“I’m sorry honey, it’s very important but don’t worry I will be back soon I promise.” While saying that he thought of Tony’s words “And to not die trying would be nice.” and he felt a pinch in his heart.

Bruce might have overheard him because he heard on his back “Steve—”

Steve turned around and face him.

“Steve you just lost your hansband, that’s quite a lot. You don’t have to do that, I can if you want.” Bruce has always been very comprehensive, Steve is lucky to know such good people, he knows they will take care of Morgan.

He gave him a tired smile. “Thanks Bruce, I really appreciate but I feel like I have to do it. Alone.” He tried to emphasize the last word because— because he wanted to go back to give the stones, but, also to see Tony one last time. He knows that it’s selfish and he always hates selfish people, but he needs it.

For Morgan, it will be just 5 minutes, but for Steve it will be like a rebirth. Because without Tony, he’s nothing and he knows that if he does a proper goodbye, it will be easier for him to continue to live afterwards.

He thinks that Bruce understood because he faces him a gentle smile and a little nod.

Steve founds Bucky and Samy near the lack.

“Hey chip and dale.” Steve almost shouted which made them turn around in a hurry. “I have to get going so I’m leaving you this.” As he pronounced the last word, he putted Morgan in the arms of Bucky which she doesn’t seem to complain about.

“Get go�� Steve ?” Bucky looked at him with question marks in his eyes.

“Yes. The stones.” He said while scratching his neck nervously.

”After everything that has been going on ? Huh huh. You stay here with your little girl and someone else will go.” Sam replied with almost an aggressive ton but it’s because he was worried.

“Yes I know, but I really have to go. It will be just 5 minutes. I— I’ll be fine.“

“It’s not only because of the stones that you want to go..” Steve knows that Bucky knows so he looks at his feet a bit embarrassed.

Steve lifts up his head and faces Bucky, looking right in his eyes. ”I need it.” He tried to keep his voice neutral but there is definitely a broken note.

Bucky was about to open his mouth but just closes it and nods at him. “She’ll be in goods hands.”

Steve puts a hand around Bucky and hugs him while whispering a little ”Thank you.”

He didn’t even have the time to turn around to leave that Bucky grabs his arm and made him look at him. “Come back to us Steve. We need you.”

Bucky wasn’t his best friend for no reason, he knew why Steve wanted to go, and why he might be taunted to stay. But Steve knew his mission, knew what waited for him in 2023 and that he couldn’t stay in 2012 forever. So he just nods at Bucky, hugged him one last time, hugged Sam and kissed his daughter on the forehead, repeating her that he will be back so soon that she wouldn’t even have the time to notice that he was gone.

——

Giving the stones back wasn’t the thing that took him the more time.

When he saw Tony, it was like his heart started to work, almost as if he has never been fonctional before this moment.

He couldn’t wait so he took his courage, goes and explained to him the situation.

“So you’re Steve from the future ?“ Steve just nods at him. “You’re from 2023, year where you and I are married, year where we have a little girl and year where we won against the biggest threat of the galaxy and which led to...” Tony stopped talking, was juggling nervously with the screwdriver that he had in his hands because he was tinkering when Steve came in his workshop.

“Yes.“ Steve acquiesces with Tony’s thought and it hurts him. It hurts him because he came in this timeline, where they were all safe and were just starting to get along together to tell him that he will die. Like a cursed messenger.

Fortunately there was a chair nearby behind Tony, because otherwise he would have fell on the ground. He puts his elbows on his laps and hide his face in his hands.

“How does she looks like ?“ Steve knows that he heard well but is confused. This destabilized Steve who was waiting for others questions, but not this one.

“I came her to say that you will die in 11 years saving the world but the only question that you have is about our daughter ?”

Tony stretched his fingers which was covering his face which offers a glimpse of one of his eye. “What ? It’s that much crazy ?”

“I don’t know, I thought that you would have wanted to ask others questions.”

“How long since we’ve been married ?” Tony straightens up on his chair.

“Huh 4 years.” Steve said still confused.

“Who proposed ?”

“You.”

Tony seemed perplex about all these information.

He was about to ask something else when Steve anticipates on what he was going to say. ”Her name is Morgan. She’s 5. And she’s amazing.” When he said that, he promised that he saw Tony’s eyes brightened.

“Did we have her when she was a baby ?” Tony asked more focus than ever.

“Yes. That was an amazing day. We both were so stressed, even if you would showed it less than me. I think it was to help me to not breaking down.” They were both smiling. Steve because it would reminds him some of his most precious memories and Tony, well, because he always wanted to be a father.

���Our life seems amazing.” Tony was laughing of joy, Steve nearly forget his sound and it warms his heart.

“It definitely was.”

“Yes until—” He didn’t bother finish his sentence.

Steve just nods softly, with a tired smile on his face.

“So you can’t stay ?” Tony suddenly asks standing up from his chair.

“No sweetheart I can’t.” Neither him nor Tony pointed out the pet name.

Tony was standing a few inches from Steve, and he was contemplating him. Tony looked so much younger, his hair were so dark -even if he absolument loved the grey hair-, there was a lot less of shadows under his eyes. He looked tired but less.

Tony made one step further and couldn’t been more close of Steve, he could felt his breathing, his breathing which clashed on Steve’s neck which makes him shiver. He missed this so much.

“If you can’t stay, at least, kiss me goodbye.“

Tony nearly had time to finish his sentence that Steve’s lips were on his. It felt like breathing again for Steve, like he was apnea all this time. His lips tasted the same : coffee and mint.

It was so good to feel his lips again, to lick his bottom and upper lip, to taste his tongue. How will he manage to live without that ? 

If the lack of oxygen wasn’t present, they probably would never break apart.

“Damn Rogers, you’re a hell of a kisser. I look forward to kiss you in the future.”

This made Steve smiles, even if, everything that Tony says made him smile.

“Don’t wait too long baby, I’m pretty sure that there is a Steve Rogers upstairs that starts to catch feelings for you.” Steve remembers this, the time things were easier. The time, his only big problem was too not let show too much that he was attracted by Tony.

”Thanks for the tip.” Tony winked and smiled.

Steve was caressing his cheek, rubbing his hand thought his jet-black hair. Then, he pressed theirs foreheads and said “I really have to go now. I have to go take care of our daughter.”

Tony nods and pressed one last kiss on Steve’s lips, almost like a promise.

“You know, she looks more and more like you everyday.”

“Does she ?” This made Tony smiles softly. He lowers his head to look at the floor at he said those words, like when he’s embarrassed and that he doesn’t wants people to see it.

“Yes and that’s one of my favorite things about her.” Steve was getting ready to go back and it’s hard, really hard to leave him for the second time.

But at least, Tony’s alive, he still have his own Steve and that’s the most important, the fact that for now they have each other.

He had his helmet on and he saw that Tony watched him closely so he just said “You made this Tony. Never doubt your capacity of building things.” He was about to activate the time GPS but he just took one seconde to look at him, to look at him one last time, for the last time he admires him and just launched before going ”I love you 3000.” and he was gone.

Read of AO3

[writteninparables]

Eidolon: The End of the Olympians

Chapter 5: Acts of Forgiveness - Hermes

The pain was still there. Breath still felt difficult. And that weight, even greater weight sits upon my chest in these moments. Something about collecting two of the most coveted weapons in the Olympian dynasty will do such a thing to you. At least finding them may be easy.

It may have been long since I've played messenger to the gods, but that doesn't mean my calls don't still get answered. I found myself approaching the place where Poseidon told us to meet. Peculiar to say the least. The land was a mostly uninhabited island captured somewhere in the Atlantic. The few inhabitants it did have were intricate creatures—there were no creatures friendly to land that weren't equally as friendly to the sea, swinging straight from branches to dive under the water. There were many varieties of creatures, but not one I'd seen before.

I massaged my neck trying to forget the images of Phobos and Deimos. Meanwhile, my breastplate still sat uneven from Zeus' foot. I debated how I would address the situation or if I should at all. Poseidon hasn't been seen in ages, who is to say he will even care of Olympian affairs anymore? Though, that does not mean he does not care for the power. Taking that Trident is basically taking half of the man's livelihood. I am a fool to think he will be the slightest bit indifferent to its loss. Does he even know his brother is awake?

Well, I could wonder no more. The water swelled as Poseidon approached the surface. His demeanor was that of someone awaken from a peaceful sleep, one that should've fit his brother. I eyed his trident in his left hand, as he made his way to the shoreline. He twirled it in his hand. Loose, relaxed, immune to stress, it must be true what they say, no tension sits below the surface of water.

"It has been long, has it not?" Poseidon said with open arms.

I embraced him as I responded, finding comfort in his strength. "Yes, that it has been." Still, I had not figured the best way to tell him what I came for. I just know that his movements made me welcome, moreso at ease. As I juggled with many words in my head, he pinched the edges of my neck shaking my body slowly.

"You are tense. And if I may recall this stature looks quite familiar. My brother wasted no time getting reacquainted with you I see."

"So you know he walks among us again," I said.

Poseidon laughed, "You speak of him like he was a dead man. As much as you may have wished it, he was not."

"Never would I wish such a thing." At least never would I make the claim in times like these. "He asks something unnatural of me and the weight alone slows me in times like these."

I explained to him the situation as he stood in front of me and listened. His eyes never broke from me the whole time, holding as much sorrow as curiosity. The very mention of Ares gave him disgust. His brother, Zeus evoked something worse.

"Zeus moves differently now. And there is no need to take chances, not with you." Poseidon said. "Do what he asks, take this Trident with you. And when you see Hades, tell him to do the same, by my wishes. This is a matter among us three. We will speak to him." Poseidon walked back to the shoreline twirling his Trident once more in his hand. As he took a deep breath he stabbed it into the ground below him deep enough the waves couldn't shift the sands that held it. He stared at the ocean, somewhat nostalgic. This mixture of pride and pain. Guilt and angst. Love and more love.

Meanwhile, my gridlocked body stood there in jealousy. How, how could he really stand there so nonchalantly. You would think I asked him for him to do nothing more than make a wave in the ocean. I yearn to be him, I yearned to be—untroubled.

"Come here," Poseidon said waving me over, breaking me from my thoughts. "Take it." As I pulled the Trident out the sands, the ocean became clear as day. I could feel waves as the wind and the very air I breathe. Only when you can see the full depths of the ocean does the ground seem so high up. I could've fallen 27 stories, but it would never compare to the descent of me taking one dive anywhere in this vast sea.

Poseidon grabbed the Trident, snapping me out of my mesmerized state. We each held one hand on it, but he was guiding me. He pointed it out in front of us, not too far from this isle we sat. I finally saw what Poseidon was staring at. The pieces all fit together now. I turned to Poseidon. "They tell stories of Atlantis, still, 'til this day. I must tell them how little their stories uncover."

I looked at the country that it seems Atlantis has become. Vast cities, gracious towers, exquisite design. It was as if I uncovered the last marvel of the world, and yes the best is saved for last. I looked Poseidon in the eyes admiring him just as much as I feared for him now. "You've been here this whole time."

"Why after, all those years, did I find myself still stuck wanting more and more in this Pantheon?" His tone was regretful, spoken with pain. "When his sleep came I noticed just how unsatisfied I was. They spoke to me many times about taking Zeus' place after his sleep, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted his seat at the throne."

Poseidon's hand slowly coarse the length of the trident as he continued his story, "That is —until I noticed it wouldn't be mine. No matter how much time passed it still would've been Zeus' seat. A seat made for him, waiting for him. So I reclaimed my time, making a place I could call mine." He walked out slowly towards Atlantis as if the waves were pulling him in. "Here, I could be King and God. To a Pantheon of my own." I looked out still captured by the city, the empire that was Atlantis as his fingers fell off the tip of the Trident.

"Will you all be fine without this? Are they safe?" I asked.

"We will be fine, boy. You get to Hades before Zeus finds himself uptight."

Poseidon looked back at me, gave me a wink, and then jumped into the ocean—where he belonged. Where he belonged...

It's something we've all dreamt of. We still get jealous. Jealous of Zeus. Jealous of Prometheus. Even at times Hades. Even Hades has a land of his own. What do those humans say? 'It may not be much, but it's home.' And that it was. I ran over land and sea dragging Poseidon's Trident behind me. It was heavier than I expected. It hindered my movements as I made my way towards Persephone's Garden—making for a trip far longer than I wished. Persephone's Garden was, by far, my favorite way to enter the underworld, and for many of us, it is the way we must choose if we wish to speak to Hades. Persephone has saved many lives guarding that gate, turning us away on days Hades plays more like his Father in Tartarus—ready to snap on anyone at first sight.

I came to a halt just before reaching the garden. As one enters Persephone's Garden, it must never be done with haste. A blessed hand has touched all that has grown here and these days there is nothing that doesn't grow here.

The path she made was laid purposely, lovingly, patiently; berries, fig, sage and such—forcing the air to hold an aura, a beauty, a distinct scent so unknown. My steps were soft, as to not disrupt their growth around me. I dare not be a hindrance to their day. My breaths were deep, knowing that I couldn't pick from the garden so these whiffs must do.

After winding down this single path of the garden where the foliage limits all view except for these marble slabs and greenery, I find myself at the arching gate that welcomed you to where, at most times, Persephone lies. With her garden so close to Hades there is little reason for seasons of change. They've made their peace and she gained much of her freedom.

As I walked towards the lawn I was given a sight not many would be granted, even in delusion. There sat Persephone, berries in hand, under the same the shade of the tainted tree that grew the pomegranates that poisoned Zeus. And laying down in her lap was the Lord of the Underworld himself, "Hades."

My voice startled him and he proceeded to wipe the juices that leaked from the corner of his mouth. He was smiling. It is wrong to interrupt someone, but even moreso when in their sanctuary intoxicated and embellished. Who is this man before me, and "What are you doing up here?"

Hades slowly rose to his feet brushing himself off as if he could get dirty. With every brush, his black cloak of ash spewed smoke the source of which will be ever unknown. He rose his rigid head full of grey hair up to me, "Mad Gods and Dead Titans, my boy."

For some reason I played confused, even though I knew what he meant. The face was really just a response to his diction. "A dead Titan came to my doorstep looking for asylum from Tartarus." A long pause proceeded before he continued. "He told me much. But the gist was that the underworld would not be worth watching for much longer. So I decided to take my leave early, and it could not be better." Hades looked back and Persephone, who once stood behind him but now draped herself over him, continued to feed him once more.

"Gods don't die, especially not Titans."

"We used to live by rules. The lengths you must go through to kill a god. No one would dare. But times have changed."

More than tipsy, Hades was obviously drunk as I walked towards him. The lust lingered from the two as Hades now babbled towards Persephone. I was trying to find a place to interrupt, but not soon after he abruptly turned returned to our conversation.

"I see you have paid Poseidon a visit. Tell me how does Atlantis look?" I was surprised he even knew. "Atlanteans may live long, but even they must die. They are few, but they all speak so well. They tell such great stories about the city—well cities now, I guess. Have you heard of..."

"Hades!" I said tired of the stale conversation. "I have come for your scepter."

I was trying not to be rude, but every second here angered me. Zeus has gone mad, Titans are being killed, wars are gearing to be waged on the surface, and this was all he could talk about. So much insignificant matter. Everyone is just so relaxed—so comfortable.

Hades shifted his demeanor. Pushing Persephone off his shoulder, he leaned forward—eyes looking straight through me. I silently regretted my outburst but committed to it on the outside.

Hades' cloak smoked no more. He raised his left foot and stomped the ground, splitting the earth between around his very foot. Hades kneeled, reaching his arm down into the abyss, searching for something. As he rose, I saw the scepter rise with him, and suddenly I could breathe again. But the relief I felt quickly escaped as he brought that scepter straight to my throat.

I tried to speak, "It is Poseidon's wish..."

The specter pierced into my chin as he shut my mouth.

"This is not your time to speak." His voice seemed to come not just from in front of me, but beneath the earth. My knee shook as the vibrations moved up from my feet.

"You are too tense for days like these," he said, slowly lowering the scepter just enough to make it comfortable to swallow again. "That is the problem with you gods who have never seen war. Are you ready to die? Gods live and gods die, but in war we all die, and in the most gruesome ways. Man is still learning to maneuver like us."

Hades released the scepter from me and continued to speak.

"I know I must give you this, but are you ready for what comes next. I would recommend you relieve yourself, treat yourself, because this will be the last time life will be as you know it. Enjoy it, enjoy these last moment."

His voice faded as he walked away. Meanwhile, he let his scepter fall, not caring much where it fell or if I would catch it.

I stepped over the crease in the earth to pick up his scepter. I hesitated before I would touch it, contemplating his words.

"Is this how you think it all ends, Hades?" I asked.

"This is war. Whatever comes from it will be anew. What be the Olympians without Zeus, or all forbid, just Zeus? Nothing. Nothing the same as before." Hades said.

Hades was one of the oldest of his generation and his years surrounded by souls facing eternity has him embodying even more wisdom. With that being said, why would I not trust him?

I walked away from the scepter and sat with Hades and Persephone to simply forget about everything that was coming—for just one moment. Besides, the clock starts by my hand. I couldn't avoid it forever, but there was time for me to enjoy it all before it was lost. So together we drank, we laughed, and we ate—but only from the fruit that were overjoyed with the best juices. And as the sun set, my legs became too heavy to move, and my heart finally felt contentment. Tomorrow, tomorrow will be a much better day for it all.

[raylyn-md]

Covid 19 Pandemic exhausted me literally and figuratively speaking. It has taken all my energy much more than when I juggled intense morning endorsements, edematous rounds, ceaseless reportings and lectures, mountains of chart for discharge summary completion during residency and fellowship trainings combined.

Every night, I had to read lots of guidelines, journals and researches and tailor fit treatment for each individual patients. I had to check Viber and Messenger Group Chats for new updates from colleagues and their experiences on varied treatment modalities. We had even been discussing our hard cases like we were in a mortality and morbidity conferences.

I couldn't forget the tiring efforts putting on PPEs making sure that no tinge of any microorganisms can enter this self proclaimed immortal soul. I felt I had a taste of hell on earth while I am on this sultriest suit ever created.

Moreover, I think I had gotten fairer( no kojic soap needed) because I had to extensively rub my entire body to ensure that I am the cleaniest person on earth before I enter our house. I couldn't even recognize my self in the mirror, all I could see were mask traces in my face.

I became emotionally drained too. I fear I might contract the disease- the doctor is now the patient thing. I dreaded going home because I might be a covid carrier and might cause my family members to get sick. A slight throatpain, minimal cough and sneezing exagerrated me and I would want an RT PCR done to me inspite of the pain of getting it executed is making my heart pound intensely like when I hear the bell rang during a move system exam in Anatomy and Microbiology. Being cut off to see and be with relatives and friends is a struggle,  travels and adventures were likewise cancelled and forbidden.  But actually amidst the hardships and challenges during these trying times is a taste of heaven too. Every patient discharged home to be with family again, every intubated patient shifted to nasal cannula, every thank you's from family members, every smile from patients even if smiling in itself is truly an effort for them, the laughter of tired nurses and hospital staff, every day with healthy family members were considered blessings and remained my reasons to keep treating covid patients despite all the fears I had.

Our lives has almost come to halt and our goals have taken a backseat for the last 2 years. There maybe quite a lot of modifications in our definition of "normal" to some point that "Abnormal is the New Normal".  Yet, thankfully for the past few months, Covid cases dwindled and things are slowly going back to how it used to be.

Travel restrictions lifted, catching up with relatives and friends is happiness and I am back to binge watching korean dramas.

Speaking of which, I would like to share with you my pandemic lessons and realizations the korean drama series way.

1. "Dance like no one is watching. Love like you've never been hurt. Sing like no one is listening. Work like you don't need the money. Live life everyday as if it were your last"-  My Name Is Kim Sam Soon

Life is too short to be unhappy, you won’t get this life again, you won’t be getting the same time again, so enjoy each day and make every day count, be with your loved ones, say "I love you" to them as often as possible, be with someone who makes you happy, be with yourself and love yourself. If you are missing someone call or visit them them, if you feel sad then convey your emotions to someone reliable, if you want to meet someone then go and meet- don’t presume what will they feel, taking actions will make your life easy, assuming and thinking and doing nothing will only perplex your life.

Remember life is short, we only have one shot at it. Time passes swiftly. And once we use it up, we can't get it back. So, let's make the most out of it.

2. "You’re bound to meet unexpected situations in life. Even if you use an umbrella, you’ll end up getting drenched. Just put your hands up and welcome the rain.” – Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha

Life throws unexpected things at us all the time. Most of them are of minor importance, but sometimes, they are life shaking and nasty events causing difficulties, stress and problems. Acknowledge, learn and accept that unexpected events are part of life and are unavoidable. Life is always dynamic, never static. Create a positive attitude, sometimes what seems like a problem, or even a disaster, could be a blessing in disguise. Negative circumstances can enkindle ambition, motivation, and persistence which would lead to progress and success. A loss or failure can make you hunt for something better. Change is a part of life, learn to bend and just go with the flow.

3. You need to share your burdens in order to lighten them.” - Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo

Life is hard. In fact, living is the most arduous challenge a person will ever encounter. We go on throughout life to brave many challenges and dangers, although we do not face them alone. There are individuals who we can depend on and share our burdens. More often than not, the people we count on are our families whether it is innately or the ones we make ourselves. Without family and friends the load of life is easy to become formidable.

4. "There is always HOPE  even in the bleakest moments" - Its Okay, That's Love

Even in the darkest of times, there is always hope. Hope helps you to keep going when you feel like giving up. It pushes you past the agony and barriers on your way. Hope is unimaginable combination of optimism, faith and the somewhat inflexible belief that somehow things will work out. God sends miracles everyday anyway.

5."Everyone passes through a tunnel of darkness in life. A long tunnel that makes you think that you will never see light again. But there are no tunnels without exit, there is no eternal love or eternal pain in the world." -Hi! Bye Mama

There’s only one thing you can do when confronted with difficult times: Move forward!

6. "I lost in so many matches. I couldn’t let everyday be tragic just because I lost every time. Laughing makes it easier to forget. You have to forget to move on.”- Twenty Five Twenty One

Learning how to bargain with loss is one of the most salient life lessons, as loss is simply a vital part of our life experience. Losing give you the drive and motivation to GET UP and GO. It makes you want to attempt to be better and pull off what you previously couldn’t. Losing also compels you to learn how to evaluate yourself. The only way to make amendments and revamp is by looking in the mirror and rectify what doesn’t work. Don't be sad if you lose, laugh it out and the Universe will conspire with you sooner to achieve your desire.

I have more to scribble, more thoughts to share but a resident called- I have a baby catch at 3 am!

PS: Sometimes, I watch Korean dramas for these realizations but most of the time, it is to see the faces of my oppas and for the kilig feelings. Saranghae!

For BEVS.

[agl03]

Hope your family is okay! We all know you're not a writer. (If you were, we'd all be much more satisfied with the show).

Anonymous said: hey, hope ur doing okay. sending good thoughts ur way

ccshuy said: Best to you in dealing with the family emergency. In the end, AOS is “just a show”. Family is real life.

Anonymous said: I hope everything is okay with your family! And please ignore any negativity in your asks. We love you fandom mom!

twentyonejedi011 said: So sorry about your family emergency! I didn’t know. Praying for you and your family that everything’s okay. Take all the time you need. Hope everything’s alright.

a-wonderingmind said: Just wanted to say thank you for everything you do for the fandom being the fandom mum and helping us through the rollercoaster that was this season I’m sure I speak for us all when I say we are very grateful! ❤️

 Anonymous said: I’m sorry to hear people are sending you bad stuff right now. Thank you for all you do for this fandom ily

Anonymous said: Hi I just want to say that I love your blog and I am so sorry people have been sending you negative stuff and I really hope it doesn’t discouraged you. But at the same time please look after yourself and your mental health. Your well being comes before everything else. So if you need to take a break from this I and I’m sure many others will completely understand. Whatever you decide I really appreciate your role in the fandom and I hope you are ok and are able to enjoy your weekend x

dekefitzsimmonsshaw said: Sending good vibes your way! Have a good weekend!

agentnightjar said: I’m taking a break from tumblr and most things AoS related now, because I don’t have any energy to spare to obsess and be angry/upset/content/whatever with what happened and what it’ll lead to, but please look after yourself. Take a break if you need one. Watch some silly shows with the kids. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by all the asks and reactions. You are allowed to have a break from all of this, and no-one is entitled to anything from you that you don’t want to give!

Anonymous said: Sorry people are ‘shooting the messenger’ here, and I hope whatever family emergency you had resolved itself well. But if you need time in more positive environment, please do close your ask box. I was upset by the finale, too, and I can’t image juggling that and some real world crisis and some idiots who just want to take out their frustrations on a convenient target. So take what you need to get 'right side up’ again and don’t worry about anything else. We love your posts and will be back 

Anonymous said: Just want to thank you for everything you’ve done and the positivity you’ve managed to spread for the past few years. I’ve been religiously following your blog since season 3 and it’s helped me get through the best and the worst of times. You truly are amazing. It’s a dark time in the fandom right now and everyone is upset, but it’s kinda like Mack said: there’s hope. Things are really rough right now, but hopefully the fandom can come together, support one another, and move ahead. Thanks again!

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for the outpouring of love and support both in the ask box, to those who have sent me messages and gone to bat for me in posts and reblogs.  

Unfortunately, a side effect of what I do for the fandom also opens the door for a lot of anger and hate to go my way when something terrible and painful happens.  Some forget I’m also human and an emotionally invested fan myself that many times has the same reactions to something.   I need time to process and get my head on straight.  

I’m not 100% there but will go into more detail later in that once the writers saw the option on the table they couldn’t pass it up and took a massive gamble with renewal.  I own theories missed but in my heart of hearts I didn’t think they would go there in what could be the final episode, and in part that is why I feel so betrayed.  I have defended and put my faith in the writers and they pulled the rug out from under me. They said the only reason they did it was because they could, because they had a way of giving that emotional gut punch while not permanently losing such a beloved and popular character.  And its a prime example of just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

I have no control over what the show does, believe me I really wish I could.  You can voice your opinions on here, twitter, instagram, commenting on the show’s posts or reviews.  You can even send feedback to ABC using the form we were asking for renewal.  Those all have a better chance of being seen by the writers and other TPTB than yelling at me.  

Also the writers said they can’t even LOOK at story ideas fans sent in so it has to be feedback, not “This is how Season 6 Should go”

My family situation is better, well as best as it can be with the circumstances, but the kiddos are all okay.   I also haven’t and won’t let them watch the episode, they know what happens and kids being kids immediately consoled me saying don’t worry they’ll go get the other Fitz.  

We survived not knowing Fitz’s fate at the end of Season 1, Harold in Season 2, Space Rando in Season 3, Framework in Season 4, and now this Hades.  I see the potential for what could be a great story, this is Role Reversal on steroids.  Everyone take time to do what you need to do, I am, and we’ll get through this by supporting each other.  

[oh-star-how-the-mighty-fall]

Sanders Sides College AU

I’m trying out my hand at a Sanders Sides College AU because I’m having a bit of a writers block with my homeless!Virgil fic (I will try to work on it soon though, please bear with me). This is loosely based on my own experience in college, years ago. I might continue this? Not sure...

Characters: Platonic Moxiety, but Roman and Logan are in it too. (Well, Logan is just talked about)

Warnings: Mention of anxiety attacks

Patton had mixed feelings about college. Overall, he enjoyed it. Meeting new people, being on his own, it was exciting. But to say that he was thriving was a complete lie. He was struggling....a lot. He had never been an A+ student - that role was taken by his twin brother, Logan, who attended a university only a couple of miles away from Patton’s - but he had done decently in high school. Decently enough to get accepted into a private Catholic college with a good reputation such as this one. When asked about the academics, his tour guide had diplomatically admitted that it was definitely rigorous and challenging (”But Patton, it’s college; it’s supposed to be more challenging than high school. You have nothing to worry about. I’m sure you’ll do fine”, his mother had reassured him).

But man, was he in over his head. He was particularly struggling in two classes: one was a prerequisite for his declared major, Psychology, and the other was one of the Theology courses required for all students in order to graduate from the school. And his low grades were not due to his lack of trying. Quite the opposite, in fact. Patton worked very hard, but he just wasn’t earning the grades to show it. 

“Hi, Virge,” Patton sighed as he set his dining hall tray down next to his friend’s at lunchtime. 

Virgil looked up from his sandwich bread that he was spreading mustard onto, and his eyes widened with concern. “Pat, what’s wrong?”

“My grades. College is so much harder than I thought it’d be.” Patton stabbed his fork into a piece of chicken but made no move to pick it up, suddenly losing his appetite. “Are you struggling just as much as I am?”

“Uh...I think....I think I’m doing okay, grades-wise,” Virgil said slowly. He didn’t want to make his friend feel bad. “I mean, it’s really tough though. Especially the class participation. I hate how Humanities requires class participation, as a third of your grade. I’d much rather listen. I get so panicky when it’s my turn to talk. The only good thing about that is you get the moron jocks who don’t come in to class prepared and say the stupidest stuff just to get their participation points. That’s always pretty funny. But yeah, college is no joke.”

“I know. I work really hard and I’m consistently getting bad grades on my tests and papers. It doesn’t help that I had lunch with Logan yesterday and he hardly let me get a word in edgewise, he was going on and on about how great college is and all the stuff he gets to learn and how amazing his professors are and how much he loves it.” Patton groaned and leaned his elbow onto the table, putting his forehead in his hand. “Maybe I should transfer to an easier school.”

Virgil suddenly coughed, choking on his sandwich. Patton gasped and leapt up out of his chair to pound on his back. After taking a few gulps of water, Virgil cleared his throat and wiped his streaming eyes. “Don’t transfer! You can’t leave me! You’re pretty much my only friend here!”

“What about Thomas? You’re pretty friendly with him, right?” Patton said, referring to Virgil’s roommate. 

Virgil shrugged. “Yeah, he’s cool. But we hardly see each other except for bedtime. He’s involved in practically every club this school offers.”

“You should join some clubs too,” Patton suggested. Virgil just rolled his eyes, not bothering to explain why he couldn’t do that. Patton knew first hand how bad Virgil’s anxiety could get. “I would join clubs if I could juggle both that and my school work, but I’m barely keeping my head above water as it is.”

“What about getting a peer tutor?” Virgil suggested. He took another bite of his sandwich and gestured with his hand while he chewed. Patton waited patiently for him to swallow his food. “The academic center has work study jobs where you can tutor other students. Maybe one of them could help you. They have a tutor for every course offered here. Go on the school’s website, it’s all there. The academic center is also a pretty quiet place to do homework, or just....calm down when things are...overwhelming,” Virgil finished quietly, his cheeks tinging pink. He was always a bit self-conscious when talking about about his mental health state, despite the fact that Patton had once seen him in the throes of a pretty bad anxiety attack.

“I guess I could try that. Couldn’t hurt,” Patton agreed.

A few days later, Patton was sitting at a wooden square table in the back of the academic center, nervously tapping his pencil on his thigh. He had signed up for a tutor for his Theology class to start with. His peer tutor had emailed him that same evening to introduce himself and set up a time to meet. Patton let out a breath and looked around the room at the handful of students studying, some with a textbook and notebook, and others with a laptop. He wondered if they were struggling as much as he was. He bobbed his foot up and down, trying to quell his nervousness. He didn’t know why he was feeling so anxious. He felt like he was on a blind date, since he had no idea what his tutor looked like. He looked around again, and his eyes fell on a guy standing near the front of the room, scanning the tables. He was holding a Bible and a notebook...it had to be him. Their eyes met, and the guy gave Patton a questioning look, which Patton took to mean, “are you the kid I’m supposed to be tutoring right now?” Patton nodded and the guy broke out into a relieved smile as he began to make his way over.

“I’m sorry for that awkward display up there. It’s always difficult to find your tutee when you have no idea what they look like,” the boy said when he got within earshot. “Patton, right?”

“Yes,” Patton nodded and held out his hand. “You’re Roman?”

“That’s right.” Roman took a seat across from him and set his books down. “So, freshman, huh? Apart from this course, how’s your year going?”

“Well honestly, I can’t really focus on too much other than my awful Biblical Theology grade. And my grade in one of my Psych courses, too,” Patton admitted. “But I guess the rest of it’s fine.”

“Bib Theo is surprisingly challenging,” Roman nodded solemnly. “I’m a sophomore, so I took it last year. I liked it, but some of my classmates were also in your boat.”

“I guess they just couldn’t help the flood of disappointment in themselves for doing so poorly,” Patton joked.

Roman’s eyes lit up. “Did you....did you just make a pun about Noah’s Ark?!”

“Sure did,” Patton said with a grin. He could feel some of his tension melting away. Puns tended to do that to him.

“Holy......oh my God,” Roman muttered, grinning.

“Yes, that is exactly what I’m here to talk about.” Patton’s lip quirked.

Roman laughed, “I’ve never heard anyone make puns about religion like that. You’re gonna do just fine in this class, man.”

A couple of hours later, Roman put down his pencil and rolled his neck. “So? Are you ready to ace this course now, or what?”

“Um...I think I do understand this stuff a bit more than I did coming in here,” Patton answered. He looked down at his open notebook. “I mean, I’m not about to run off and transfer to a seminary, but I think I at least have better notes to study for my next exam that’s coming up in a week.”  

“That’s what I like to hear!” Roman grinned. He stretched his arms above his head, then checked his watch. “It’s a quarter to six. Do you have any plans after this?”

Patton swallowed. Was Roman about to ask him out? Could he handle a romantic relationship as well as his classes? Was he even ready for a boyfriend yet? He was only a freshman, after all. Still adjusting to college life. He had a lot on his plate already, not to mention he had just broken up with his high school boyfriend over the summer --

“Patton?” Roman snapped his fingers in front of his face. “You in there?”

“Sorry,” Patton shook his head. Maybe Virgil was rubbing off on him too much. “What?”

“I asked if you had any plans after this. We could get some dinner at Crofters and I could quiz you some more.”

Patton’s mouth watered at the mention of their campus’ small café, which had much better food than the dining hall. “Sure, that sounds great.”

The two boys grabbed their belongings and set off for the café. 

“Hey, Roman?”

“Hmm?”

“Thanks for tutoring me. It really helped.”

“Of course!” Roman answered. “Let me know if you need more sessions.”

“I will. Something tells me I may actually need them.” Patton adjusted his messenger bag on his shoulder. “Oh, and Roman?”

“Yeah?”

“How does Moses make his coffee?”

Roman squinted his eyes in thought. “Uh...I don’t know. How?”

“Hebrews it.”

Roman threw back his head with laughter. “You might just be, by far, my favorite tutee, Patton! Where do you come up with these jokes?”

“I don’t know, I guess I’m just blessed.”

[smile-smile-ichthys]

I Am Valid Too - Mystic Messenger Fic

Just one chapter of a 2 chapter fic. Inspired from a fan animation, The Moon Rises by Duo Cartoonist. All about feeling under appreciated. Enjoy I guess.

Three years had passed. Three entire years since saving Saeran and bringing Mint Eye down to the ground. Wasn’t exactly an easy task, I mean dismantling everything Rika had done, even with the help of Jumin, was extremely difficult. It plastered the news for months, so many followers who needed mental and physical help once we found them. Finding them was another issue in itself. But we never gave up. I had stuck by Saeyoung faithfully, despite also trying to juggle Searan’s rehabilitation from the drugs that were pumped into him, and his mental health. But, we got there, together. Saeran had made huge progress, he still had night terrors from time to time, but he could cope with them mostly on his own now. Mint Eye was no more, and the media had passed over it completely, Jumins influence...such a blessing! It was like it had never existed. Life was beginning to become what the average person would call it, normal.

I had been living with Saeyoung and Saeran for just under three years. Saeyoung suggested that I moved in when we both realised Saeran calmed down much quicker after attacks with me around. It certainly was a challenge to learn how to live with both of them, but we made it work. Saeran became a valuable member of the RFA, he even helped Yoosung with his own mental struggles since Rika was sent away for help of her own. She was easily going to be away for another good few years before the hospital even began to debate letting her come back. We were even planning new charity parties, myself being the one who is basically in charge of everything. From guests, to venue, all down to my final word. My pride had grown with each party we held. More guests attended, even more VIP guests began asking for invites. Each one a great success. My confidence had even been given a boost.

Life was...good. Calm. Happy. Until my own mental health began creeping into it’s own descent.

It started off small. Little comments which drew my attention, but I thought nothing off at first. It escalated to certain messages I had sent in the group chat being ignored, changes of subject. Again, I thought nothing of it. I mean, it could have all been in my head, and it probably was! It wasn’t until I realised the credit of the parties were being aimed at Saeyoung. Every success we had, every new VIP guest added to the list, every large donation...all thanks to Saeyoung. It stung. I was doing hard work too. Wasn’t I? Maybe I just needed to work harder.

I started to seriously notice it at one of post party drinks.

“Another successful party!” Zen said, raising his glass before downing his beer.

“I agree, the decision to change to a bigger venue was an excellent idea” Jumin said, turning to Saeyoung “Fantastic idea”

He was getting credit again?

“Ah well, it wasn’t just...” Saeyoung started.

“It’s big enough to keep expanding too, you’ll need to keep up with all that security” Jaehee pitched in.

They were all talking to Saeyoung. Not me. Sure, he was the face of things, being on the phone and laptop a lot, my messages on the chat were decreasing rapidly. I was hardly on it anymore. Saeyoung had taken it upon himself to tell the others about the progress being made, updating constantly with every decision made. I was almost being shoved into the background. I understood I wasn’t posting as much, then sure, naturally people do turn to those who are present, but...surely they knew the amount of effort I went through to make these parties happen.

“I’m sure I’ll be able to keep pace” Saeyoung smiled at Jaehee.

They laughed, joked, my presence not even registered. They had gotten bored of me. They must have.

A few days later, I felt as if I had shifted the horrible, looming feeling by crying it all out. How wrong was I? After pulling another all nighter in order to reply to all 451 email enquiries, and listening to all the voicemails on the RFA mobile, I was so ready for my bed. I passed Saeyoung’s work room and popped my head in. I may have been feeling down, but that didn’t mean I felt like ignoring the people I cared about. Even if they seemed to not care anymore.

“I’m gonna get some sleep, do you want any coffee before I go to bed?” I asked.

“No thanks, don’t forget the party tomorrow so don’t sleep too long” he replied. Of course I knew there was a party. This was an extremely special, one off, important party for a specific charity. I had just spent the entire night tying up loose ends. I’d hardly forget it.

I hummed a reply, so tired I couldn’t articulate a reply.

I didn’t sleep too much, I was awake and ready a good few hours before the party to help Jaehee set up. I knew for a fact Jaehee was under appreciated by Jumin, so I thought I’d open up to her a little about my feelings.

“Jaehee? How you cope with feeling...well under appreciated?” Thought I’d may as well just go straight in there.

“Huh? I don’t think I’ve truly felt it, to be honest, sure Mr Han glances over my hard work most of the time, however, he does show his appreciation very now and then” she explained.

“Ah, ok, thanks” she wasn’t going to be much help.

It wasn’t until the party that evening that my brain finally cracked. The guests just kept coming and coming. A few had come up to me and thanked me for their invite and tending to their needs. It felt good, and I smiled genuinely for the first time in a week. However, yet again, most guests went up to Saeyoung, shaking his hand, congratulating him on all he’s done. Not just for the party, but for his brother too. News spread fast and didn’t die down, not when it was that deep and twisted a story. These people lived on drama. They wouldn’t let it go for another few years yet.

But...had I not done anything? Was everything I had done for him and Saeran for nought? Was it all pointless? I thought my hard work was paying off, that I deserved a bit of credit for it. I knew the security of all of the guests was extremely important, I got that, 100%, but...that wasn’t everything, was it? Since I seemed to be becoming a shadow, I decided to hide there, in a corner away from everyone.

“He sure likes the spotlight” Saeran said.

“Course, he’s a show off, what do you expect?” I replied, not even shocked by his sudden presence. His voice almost like music to my ears, soothing to me.

“True, how you feeling?” He asked.

“Huh?”

“He’s getting a lot of the attention, but I’ve noticed you being shoved further and further back” he explained, tears beginning to form in my eyes, stinging slightly. He’d noticed too? The stinging of the tears kept building until they stopped when he took my hand “just know that I will forever appreciate what you did for me, please, even in your darkest times, never forget that”

I gently wiped my eyes, the tears fading and nodded. His hand released my own.

“And I don’t think he’s doing it on purpose” he said, looking to his brother.

Sure. Totally. Yeah, not loving all the attention as he smiled and laughed with everyone surrounding him, admiring him, loving him. Did I not deserve some love and admiration too? Just because I worked a lot on my own and in the dark, like he did years ago, didn’t mean my work was the lesser light.

“Saeran, you’re looking well, who’s the lovely lady?” A guest came up to us.

Saeran introduced me politely, but warily.

“I’m sure you remember emailing her” Saeran said plainly.

“Oh! You do the emails? Ah I thought Saeyoung did, I mean, he does it so well! You sure she deals with them?”

Saeran was about to say something I knew he’d regret, so I stopped him.

“It wasn’t me, it was Saeyoung, enjoy the rest of the party!” I grinned as best I could until he left.

“Why did you do that?” He asked.

“Best not damage Saeyoungs good name” I said simply.

No. I was done. I did deserve some praise.

I said goodbye to Saeran, saying I was turning in early. When I got back to the bunker I began my work. Not for a party though. No. This time, Saeyoung would be in the dark, not me. I’d waited long enough now. It was my time to shine. And Saeyoung would pay.

[likeabulletyoucanhurtme]

Do you put sugar on your Coco Krispies? No, but definitely on corn flakes, they're bland postkellogsgeneralmillsitsthecerealwar

If you had a pet anteater, what would you name it? Antubis, obviously

Do you prefer house phones or cell phones? I do not have a house phone. But tbh I hate talking on any phone and prefer using messenger

Don’t you just love it when guys sing to you? Only if they're on stage and holding a microphone and in a band

Are your nails long or short? Long enough to paint :)

Do you ever wear headbands? Nah.

Ever taken dance lessons? I don't dance, I headbang

What does your hair look like right now? increasingly greying

What is your favorite show to watch on Food Network? I don't watch anything on the food network

What type of mp3 player do you have? iTunes on my laptop but transportable music I've put on my phone

What is your favorite kind of cookie? Millies <3

What was the last compliment you received? Someone just messaged me saying "smile you are a very funny man" but its our first convo, I know they'll get bored of me eventually

What are your thoughts on destroying rainforests? It was the start of the end of our species and the only good thing is that when we are gone they will grow back :)

Are you a bookworm? Most definitley. If it wasn't for goodreads I'd forget everything

What did you have for dinner yesterday? mini sausage rolls and onion rings at dinner time, but then I also had salt and chili chickenballs at half 12

Who was the fifth person to call you today? No one has called me today. And I doubt five different people have ever tired to call me in the one day

Pick up a book. Open it to page 89. What does the first sentence say? "Always wanted one of those."

Can you play the saxophone? About as well as Homer Simpson can sax-i-ma-phonesax-i-ma-phone

Have you ever heard the song Can’t Be Saved, by Senses Fail? I have not, no but I'll add it to my list. Love their cover of institutionalised tho :) theysaytheyregonnafixmybrainalleviatemysufferingandpainbutbythetimetheyfixmyheadmentallyillbedead

What colour carpet is in your living room? Some kinda weird browny grey bland thing idk it was here when we moved in andnothecarpetdoesntmatchthedrapes

Ever eaten an entire can of whipped cream in one sitting? No I have not, and now I am wondering why I have never tried this. I think I could.

Do you like sunglasses? Not particularly no

Have you ever been sung to on your birthday in a restaurant? No I have not. And my life has been immeasurably better as a result. I'd probably leave or go to the toilet and hide for ten minutes

Do you have any gray hairs? More and more each day

Do you like black olives? I don’t like any olives

Do you own a pair of toe socks? I think I did and they were rainbow patterened but I don't know where they are I've not worn them for a while :(

How about a designer purse? No. Or a man bag either

What kind of camera do you have? Haweewee cameraphone

Do you love pancakes? They’re okay, but tbh when I was in florida I had them everyday for breakfast.

What about chips and dip? Not a big fan of dips. Or sauce either. Salt and chili seasoning tho mmmh iknowthiswasreallyaskingaboutcrispsbutimnotamericanalsoidontlikecrispswithdipeither

Did I get you hungry? Nope

What time is it? 22.14

Have you ever lived with a friend? Nah. A fiance and a baby mama but not a friend

What are a few of your favorite TV shows? I watch too much to have a favourite. Like my TV Time app says I've watched over 11 months of tele so how can I have favourites

What kind of socks do you like to wear? Knee high stripey socks are always the favourite, right now I have Iron Man ones though

Ever wear lipstick? At Halloween yes but not normally.

Do you have your own house key, and how often do you actually use it? I do, but we never really lock the door cause someones normally in

How often do you eat chocolate? Not that often, but I don't eat chocolate because I don't buy chocolate. If I ever have any its gone in minutes galaxycaramelislife

Have you ever only liked someone because you found out they liked you? My type has always been people that are into me first. I did ask someone out in high school but they nicely rejected me and I've decided that obviously I can't read signs and so will wait for you to show your intrest

Ever baked a pie? Never

How often do you wash dishes at your house? Once a week maybe? We have a lot of dishes so we don't need to do them everyday

Does spell-check on Word or Mac computers ever annoy you when it underlines the word? I turn it off for this exact reason

Do you know what time you were born, and what day of the week it was? 1.11am and it was a Saturday

What colors of nail polish do you like best? Black, obvii. I do also have a metallic purple though madgoffff

Like to take pictures on the Photobooth program on Macs? I don't like macs. And I don't think thats a thing anymore

What is a recurring thought on your mind today? Ow my ear is so sore ffs of all the places to get a cut/scab/spot the inside of my ear has to be one of the worst

Have you had any confrontations with anyone lately? nope. Probably building up to one

What was the last charity you donated to? I did the ice bucket challenge 6 years ago and donated to that charity

Would you say you have an infectious laugh? Not at all no

Shouldn’t you be doing something else right now? I should be sleeping or doing something productive

Do you have anything planned for the summer? I have gigs that were rescheduled to summer but will probably fail due to the 'rona isweartogodgreendaythisisthethirdtime

Are there any mountains nearby where you live? Nope wayuptonthemountainiseedownbelowlifecanbesuchagreatshow

Did you like to collect frogspawn as a kid? No I did not. That's a very American, and also very weird thing to do

Do you walk fast or slow? Fast. Like 8.47minutes/km on average this month, which is basically 4.4mph

Do you keep birthday cards or throw them out? I throw them out tbh

Does sitting in waiting rooms drive you insane? Nope. Boredom is an old acquaintance of mine alsoyoucantdrivemeinsanewhenimalreadythere

Do you ever put sticky notes around the place to remind yourself of things? Nah I just keep it in my phone, and then forget to look there

Are you easy to talk to? I can be but I'm not very approachable in the first place so most don't bother to try

Can you juggle with more than two items? I can't even juggle with two items

At airports do you ever worry your luggage won’t arrive? I've not been in an airport in 20yrs so not really

Do your parents ever call you ‘pet’ or ‘sweetheart’ etc? No, that would be weird

Do you like jalapenos? Not really. I ate like 5 of them in pizza hut in 2005 before they were big and they made me throw up

What other windows have you currently got opened? Facebook

What woke you up this morning? I woke myself up

Would you ever consider visiting Ireland? Maybe. I'd visit someone but that's too much effort for what would end up being an awkward walk around town again

Would you like to visit Venice? I would. Idk what id do there but it might be nice. Probably go on a gondola like a right tourist and then sit in my room the rest of the time

What is the largest body of water near your hometown? They clyde, but not like a major part of it just a small bit

Do you have any flags in your house? Nope

Are there any ‘Keep Off the Grass’ signs where you live? No, thank god

[kingtittykhamen-blog]

All I Need CH 1

Set November after the girls go off to college. Ali is still in school, making up for her absence, and the girls are all coming home for their thanksgiving break from school. _______________________________________ The big white house looked almost uninhibited. Not a sound could be heard from outside, and not a soul seemed to pass by the Windows. The two DiLaurentis children, now adults, were bound to their rooms. Jason was staying at home for thanksgiving which was only three days away. Their father was away at work, or God knows wherever. The family seldom interacted anymore, aside from a few family dinners. It didn’t bother Jason, as much as it did the youngest DiLaurentis child, but this year she had vowed to become more independent. Alison was sprawled on her bed, French textbook open but being ignored as she sifted through Instagram posts and wasted time on the various apps on her iPhone.

School was let out early due to the holiday, and rather than worrying about the physics test she just likely failed, Alison’s mind was elsewhere.

What was really looming of her was that the girls would be returning home after their first college thanksgiving break. Alison already knew that Spencer was home. The girl had stopped over briefly to say hello, catching her as she pulled into her driveway and the two had made plans to grab coffee before the week ended. The blonde couldn’t help but feel some joy at how far the two neighbors had come. Spencer felt like a sister to her, and after the ‘A’ drama had died, they were closer than ever.

Aria had also gotten home earlier this week, and texted Alison asking her availability for the duration of her break. She had always a good friend to the blonde as well. They texted frequently, and called every other week or so.

Her and Hannah on the other hand didn’t talk much aside from the occasional Facebook comment or in the group chat with the others. Alison had often wondered if things would be different between them, had she not been so cruel to her in the beginning of their friendship. Sure it was all in the past, but it felt like there would always be a comfort zone between her and the other blonde that neither of them dared to step out of.

After scrolling through Instagram for what felt like the thousandth time, Alison found herself clicking back to the messenger app. In the search bar she typed in the name of the friend who had been on her mind since she and all of the others had left. She had been dancing around texting the fourth girl in their group all day, and was getting impatient in hoping the brunette would make the first move.

“She was always the hardest one to leave behind,” but that day in summer when they all said their goodbyes made Alison feel left behind herself. And it sucked. As the days rode their course, Alison found herself wishing that her best friend could’ve stayed in Rosewood with her. It was completely selfish, and she knew it, but was it so wrong to miss her, and want her close? California sounded amazing, but did she have to choose a place that was so far away?

The blonde had realized a long time ago that for some reason, when it came to Emily, all of her insecurities seemed to surface. She couldn’t help but feel pathetic about always being the one to text first, or make the call. It felt like a bit of a role reversal. She had never been the one to make the most effort in their relationship.

It wasn’t even that Emily didn’t respond to her, once Alison would send that first text they would talk for hours. Emily would apologize for being busy, and Alison would remind her that there was no reason for it. She knew that Emily had a lot to juggle. It was her freshman year of college, and she was still adjusting to an “A” free life. Emily didn’t need to prioritize talking to Alison, she had more important things to do.

But then there were her insecurities, making her feel like she was being abandoned, forgotten. There would be times where they would go days without talking, and Alison would wait for Emily to send at least a hi, but for the most part she never did. The blonde would spend those days looking back at their old messages, smiling at Emily’s unintentional goofiness but all the while feeling melancholy. 'Am I that easy to forget?’

She let out a sigh. If Emily wasn’t gonna text her when she was coming home, then Alison had to. As needy as it made her feel. It was only Tuesday morning, but Emily was supposed to be off from school yesterday.

Swallowing her pride she types out a message. “Hey :) when r u getting home ?” Her mood immediately turned from annoyed to happy when she immediately saw the grey bubble indicating that Emily is typing. “At the airport now!! Boarding soon- Will b home around 5 (ur time)” A smile spread across Alison’s face and her fingers immediately started typing a response before her brain could think up one. “yay!! Any chance u can come by tonight?” She sent. She swallowed when she realized that she sent it before she could look it over. Was it too desperate sounding?? She quickly added “if ur not too tired ofc” “My mom and I are gonna have dinner after she picks me up from the airport, but I don’t c y I can’t meet u after :)” Alison felt as if her whole body had lit up with joy. Emily always sent little smiley faces that brightened her day. Now she would be seeing her smile in person. Something she had missed terribly. “Cool ! Just let me know :)” she replied, adding “safe flight <3” Emily responded with a “thanks <33” and Alison felt her cheeks go hot. After 4 months she was finally going to see her favorite person, and it filled her heart with warmth. It wasn’t the same feeling with the other girls, and the soft spot she had for Emily was hard to explain. She didn’t even fully know herself what made the girl so special. Rather than thinking about it, Ali chose to ignore it, and get back to her homework. Thinking about feelings felt more like a waste of time than anything.

After it was confirmed that she would be seeing the brunette, it was as if time had completely slowed down. Finally it was around 8 o'clock and she had received a text from Emily telling her that she just showered and would be over shortly. Alison stood in front of the mirror, practically counting down the minutes until the brunette arrived. She would never say it out loud, but having the girls all home again gave her life some interest. It had been quite boring without them. Their dynamic, though dramatic at times never failed to keep her entertained. Even though she liked to think she had matured since her days of being a queen bee, the mentality was certainly still in her. The students of Rosewood high were easier subjects to rule. She was older than the people in her class, and her story of running away, returning, and even being in jail captivated her peers. They even seemed to interest the whole town. People loved listening to her stories, and she obviously loved the attention. But her old group was a challenge. They were in the “A” mess alongside her, and by the end of it all it was safe to say they had a a bit of a rocky history. They had certainly been a challenging group, but there was nothing Alison DiLaurentis loved more than a challenge.

She smiled at her reflection. Her blonde hair was pinned out of her face, and curled perfectly. She always liked to look her best in front of the girls, especially Emily. She blamed it on the past, where it was so ingrained in her that she had to be superior. To convey the image of perfection. However, with Emily, it was different. She had always looked at Alison like she was art, with a great deal admiration. She never wanted her to stop looking at her like that.

“Going somewhere” Jason said popping his head in her room, gulping on a Sprite. It was the first time the blonde had seen him all day. “No, why ?” She responded, applying some mascara. “Well it’s past your bedtime and you’re not in your pajamas” He teased walking into the room and taking another swig of his sugary drink. Alison rolled her eyes. “Very funny” “Are you gonna answer my question?” She sighed. “No, I’m not going out, but Emily’s coming over.” She watched Jason’s eyes widen through his reflection in the mirror. “Oh!” He exclaimed, a smirk forming on his face. “Getting dolled up for your love?” Alison shot him a glare. “Don’t be gross Jason. We’re friends.” She said defensively. She looked back to herself. Her cheeks had turned a a dark red hue. This wasn’t the first time her brother had teased her about the nature of her relationship with Emily. It was a touchy subject for her and he knew it.

Her mind shot back to the times things with Emily were, well, more then friendly. Their first kiss in the library, Alison had let her guard down and let the moment take hold of her. But that was all. Then the barn after Alison had saved her. It was because she missed her. It was a gesture of love, for her friend of course. Her eyes dragged to the bed behind there. Oh, there was also the one night they had shared after she had returned to rosewood.

They had never talked about it. As a matter of fact they had both seemed to act as if it had never happened. It was just like any one night stand, Ali would tell herself. Things were different then.

The memory still lingered in Alison’s mind though. It was a memory that stuck in her head, and she couldn’t get rid of it. And of course it was one that she tried countless times to rationalize. Her and Emily had a deep emotional connection, that ignited what had transpired that night. But she couldn’t quite figure out if it was a definite sexual attraction. She likes boys, she’s only ever been into boys that way. She thought. Emily was Emily, but she liked boys.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock at the door, that snapped her out of her thoughts. “She’s here!” She said, unable to hide her excitement. “And, that’s my cue!” Jason responded. As he began to exit Ali’s room, the blonde almost knocked him down as she ran past him.

Alison took a deep breath, regaining her nonchalant stature. She opened the door with a confident but happy smile plastered on her face. But when her eyes met the person behind the door her jaw nearly dropped. It was Emily, but seeing her now make Alison realize just how longs it’s been since they’ve been face to face. Surely it wasn’t the longest period they’ve spent apart, but for some reason seeing her this close made her realize just how much she’d missed her. As if she hadn’t been aware of it before.

Emily had changed a little, her hair was dark again, her natural color. It reminded Ali of when they first met. The girl had appeared to have lost a little weight too. She wore a grey long sleeve shirt, and black skinny jeans.

Alison felt as if she forgot how to breathe. The brunette in front of her was practically glowing. Emily had always been pretty, extremely pretty. But the Emily in front of her was gorgeous, and hot, and standing so confidently. It was Emily like Alison had never seen her before.

“Alison, hi!!” Emily finally said with joy radiating off of her voice. Alison blinked twice, still in awe of the other girl.

'Wait, what the hell am I doing ?’ She thought, angry with herself for standing in front of her best friend dumbly.

With a quick shake of her head she smiled widely. “Em! H-how are you?” She said. She wanted to slam her head on the door as she heard the words leave her mouth. 'Did I just stutter?’

Emily laughed, not appearing to have noticed Ali’s small slip up. “I’m great! I-wow!” Taking The blonde by surprise, Emily stepped forward and pulled her into a warm embrace. “It’s so great to see you!”

Alison felt her skin burn against Emily’s touch. She hugged the brunette back lightly, as if she would disappear at the slightest touch. “It’s great to see you too!” Emily pulled away to look at Alison’s face with the same warmth in her eyes.

“You look great, as always.” She said caressing Alison’s shoulders.

“I look great?? You look, amazing!” Emily blushed slightly, making her look impossibly more beautiful and Alison, who would usually never be so eager to compliment someone couldn’t tear her eyes away. The two of them stood there for a few seconds just looking at each other.

Alison’s mind was unable to focus on anything but Emily, and she began to panic at her lack of control. She tore her eyes away from Emily’s brown ones and cleared her throat in attempts to regain composure. “Well, um, do you want to come in?” She said somewhat shyly. Emily nodded.

“I would love to!” She chuckled. Alison moved to the side, letting the girl walk past her and shutting the door behind her. She took a breath and followed her inside, smiling as she watched Emily saunter into her house as if she was right at home.

To Alison, having Emily back home made her feel more at home then she had felt in months. The quiet house suddenly felt alive the minute Emily stepped inside. God she didn’t know how to describe what she was feeling, she just knew she was happy to see her friend again.

“I missed the smell of your house” Emily sighed. She twirled to face the blonde, inhaling goofily and causing Alison to let out a chuckle. The brunette stretched her arms upwards. “Man I’m spent.”

Alison couldn’t help but let her eyes roam Emily’s toned body as she stretched her arms above her head, exposing her tan abs. Then her eyes darted to some black ink on the girls hip. The blonde’s eyes widened in confusion and shock. In cursive the name “Andrea” was ingrained in Emily’s skin. In permanent ink.

The girl, not noticing the distraught look on Alison’s face, turned back around and she began to walk in the direction of the DiLaurentis’ kitchen. “Can I grab a glass of water? I still feel kinda dehydrated from that flight.”

“Yea Em.” Ali answered, just above a mumble. If her thoughts weren’t already running amuck through her head, they certainly were now. Without saying another word, she followed her best friend into the kitchen.

[julystorms]

For the positivity hour! Which you reblogged way back oh dear: talk about your crush

Oh, you mean my husband?? ♥♥♥

Neal and I met on April 22nd, 2003. He sent me an e-mail to encourage me about a ‘fic I was writing at the time. Now he’ll say, “It wasn’t something I’d ever done before but for some reason I just went ahead and did it.” I still have a copy of that e-mail, which he re-read this year and said was 'creepy as hell.’ “Why did you even reply?”

(The truth is that teenage me was like, Oooh my goddd a Boy is Speaking to me.)

It wasn’t always wonderful or happy for us. We had some really high highs and some serious lows. But here’s a bit of our history.

I shared a computer for the longest time in the family room with my three siblings and my parents. My sister and I were the two big users of the Internet back in the day, so we oftentimes fought for computer time. Neal and I would spend hours chatting on Yahoo!Messenger, but I e-mailed him primarily from the computer lab at school, where I had several classes (and could basically do whatever I wanted, since I was on-call tech support for the school).

Eventually we grew quite close and I started to sneak online to talk to him late at night. I got caught once, Christmas night no less, and had to lie about how I knew the password to our Internet... (My brother and I put a keylogger on the computer to find out what it was. I think I lied and said I checked the “save password” button...)

We met in person for the first time in August 2004. My parents & sister came with me to Wisconsin. It was the only vacation my parents ever took while I was living with them. And it wasn’t even for them! We started dating, but broke up after a little while when the distance factor clearly wasn’t working (and I refused to let him move to Ohio for me, paranoid that he’d end up resenting me if things didn’t work out well and knowing my parents wouldn’t let him live with us).

Fast-forward a ways and we dated on and off a couple other times. Pretty much every time we broke up it was my doing; I was too overwhelmed by My Own Issues to put any of myself into a relationship. One time he wanted to come and see me for my birthday and the thought made me want to be dead because I’d have to clean my apartment and I could barely make myself do anything at all. The thought of thoroughly cleaning everything pushed me to actually break up because I was incapable of communicating my problems with him; I didn’t even understand them myself at the time. (Hint: I was incredibly depressed, in a lot of physical pain, and could not accept how I looked anymore.) We dated again for a while my first year in college but I broke it off because I couldn’t juggle my own existence + schoolwork + commuting to school + being in a financial pit. It seemed stupid to try and add more to the pile, especially making room for someone else when I felt I didn’t even have enough room in there for me.

Finally, during my last year of college I proposed trying again. He was always the person I felt closest to. We were both still single and I thought it’d be stupid if we didn’t both get to make a real go of it together. One last hurrah, so to speak. We talked about it, struggled along together learning how to communicate, and we realized early on that something had to give. We talked about our options: he could move to Ohio, I could move to Wisconsin, we could both move somewhere entirely separate... But Ohio is a hellpit in this economy and he already had a pretty steady job in Wisconsin. Why start over when we might fall on our faces? We settled on Wisconsin and I moved up January 1st 2016.

It’s been rough, not gonna lie. Between us we have eight cats and we’ve had to learn a lot about each other. We’ve never been physically very close due to distance and I’m not a very physical person so it was interesting to get used to being in physical proximity to someone else on a regular basis. To make it worse, he was laid off the instant I moved here so we spent our first few months together...in each other’s faces 24/7. What a way to start things out lmao!

We worked through things, tried to be more openly communicative, and we’re still going strong. 14 years to the day after he sent that first e-mail, we were married in a ‘lil backyard ceremony at his brother’s house. 

And look, it’s amazing that we’ve made it this far, but I don’t want people getting the wrong idea, thinking that just because we were married means all the other problems we have just fell away. They didn’t. They’re still here. We’re still trying to work through them. And you know what? That’s okay. There will always be problems, hurdles, the next big thing around the corner. We’re thinking about what it would mean for us to start a family. We’d like a bigger place to live in a couple of years. We have projects that need to be completed around the house and lack the time to actually complete them. In every relationship there’s always something to discuss, to think about, to consider.

I always felt he was special from that first e-mail. Yeah, teenage me was just excited a boy was speaking genuinely to me, but even when we lost contact for a while, when we reconnected it was always as if we’d grown somehow closer instead of further apart. Weird, but who am I to complain, huh?

Who would have thought that my shitty InuYasha fanfic would bring two people who otherwise would have never met together like this? Huh!

Anyway, he loves me even though I have no teeth and look like a gremlin. True love y’all.

Of course, now that the wedding’s over I chopped my hair off and the summer has made it a nice, lighter blonde. >:3c These are going to probably be the last pictures of me with longer hair in existence. Weird...!

[solivar]

WIP: Ghost Stories On Route 66

aka the one where Hanzo Shimada is an expatriate student of the Fine Arts, attending college in what he assumes to be a reasonably sedate corner of the American southwest. Jesse McCree is an occasionally leather-clad NPS ranger whose duties extend somewhat further than shooing lost tourists back onto the clearly marked hiking trails. Something weird is going on in the desert south of Santa Fe and their lives unexpectedly come together in the middle of it.

....In which Zenyatta is definitely the take-charge-in-a-crisis sort that this group needs right now.

“Hanzo.”

Zenyatta’s voice sounded as though it were coming from significantly further away than a distance of a few inches. The slender, elegant hand cupping his jaw felt more like the memory of touch than its actuality.

Hanzo. Now that was far, far closer -- echoing behind the eyes he didn’t remember closing, forcing them open again. Zenyatta’s eyes glowed a cool silver, like moonlight on dark water, held his own effortlessly, and again he spoke without sound. I know that it tempting right now to disassociate from your flesh, my friend, but you cannot. You must not. Your presence here may be all that protects your body from far worse than this. Please, do not let go.

Hanzo forced himself to take a breath, a shaky, painful breath, and then another, and by the third he croaked out, “I won’t -- I promise -- I -- “

“Good. Good. Breathe.” He did, and a few breaths later he could feel Genji’s deathgrip on his wrist again and a few after that he could hear Hana and Lucio urgently asking questions in low, tense voices. “Please, my friends. I will answer what I can in a moment. Genji, please pull his sleeve back down.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Genji juggle his phone enough to free a hand, and then he felt his arm being covered again. Somehow, that made the churning shock and horror tumbling around inside his head like a sack of rabid wolverines feel slightly less agitated and a tremor of relief ran through his body. Zenyatta saw, and risked a glance away of his own. “Lucio, do you still have that roll of duct tape in your bag?”

Lucio, as a matter of fact, looked as though he’d been hit in the head with a brick -- possibly, Hanzo was forced to admit, by a brick made out of psyche-damaging dread of the sort he hadn’t expected to encounter in the dining hall. Which wasn’t to say that the dining hall didn’t provide a frequent source of existential trauma, it just usually wasn’t the eyeballs where they shouldn’t be type.

“Wh -- what?” Hana elbowed him in the ribs with sanity-jostling force; something visibly clicked together behind his eyes. “Yeah -- yes, I do.”

He fished around in the stygian depths of his messenger bag of holding and came up with an almost untouched roll of tape. Zenyatta accepted it, smiled the sort of gently encouraging smile that would make world champion athletes set new personal best records, and released Hanzo’s chin. “Hana, may I borrow your Sharpie for a moment?”

Hana wordlessly unclipped her signature pink Sharpie from its place on her keyring and handed it over. Hanzo watched, from a delicate, incipient-emotional-breakdown shaded distance, as Zenyatta methodically tore off three strips of tape approximately six inches long and then wrote something on them in a script that resembled no alphabet with which he was familiar and which left vividly pink afterimages on the inside of his eyes when he blinked. “Hanzo, this may be...somewhat uncomfortable. Genji, I am going to need you to brace his arm while I do this.”

Genji propped the phone up against the stack of pizza boxes occupying the middle of the table and, yes, that was his Ranger looking worriedly out of the screen and from the way the image kept bouncing around it was fairly clear that he was in a vehicle and whoever was driving that vehicle had little to no concern for the limitations of either terrain or speed or possibly respect for human life. His brother slid close against his side and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, whispering something in his ear that his mind absolutely refused to process. The first piece of tape went around his wrist, positioned precisely between the cuff and the skin itself to keep the sleeve in place, and it sent a jolt of something not quite pain but at least a close cousin to it all the way from the tips of his fingers to his shoulder. The second went around his forearm just below the elbow and this time the jolt was much stronger and pain’s cousin gave him a call and Hanzo could feel something writhing beneath the surface of his skin. In retrospect, he was pretty glad that Zenyatta had the sense to make sure his sleeve was covering that because he was reasonably certain that, should he have to look at it, gibbering madness would likely be the only rational outcome. The third went around his bicep and this time the jolt was a nerve-sizzling sensation not entirely unlike that one time he’d accidentally grabbed the business end of a live shock baton in his bare hand with similar head explody inducing results. When he regained consciousness, probably only a few seconds later, his head was lolling in the curve between Genji’s neck and shoulder, Lucio and Hana were bustling around the table gathering up plates and cups and chattering back and forth in a state of pseudo-cheerful sassy action camouflage, and Zenyatta had his brother’s phone in hand, consulting in a low, even tones with the Ranger. His skull was still buzzing hard enough that not a single bit of anything he could hear made even the slightest trace of sense, not the soothing words his brother was whispering against his ear, not the friendly smack-talk going on between their roommates, nothing --

In the distance, he heard it: low, soft, barely above the ambient noise level, weaving through the senseless babble of human voices as though it were trying to hide among them. A howl, a reverberant, continuous ululation, modulating upward through a range of tones until it reached the deep-throated baying of a creature on the hunt.

At his back, Genji went tense, the arm around his shoulders and the hand still cradling his wrist tightening involuntarily. Lucio and Hana came to a complete halt and exchanged a glance, all the color draining out of Hana’s face as they did so. Zenyatta lifted his head and listened, his expression perfectly still.

“You heard that, didn’t you?” Hanzo asked, his voice a shaky rasp.

“Yes.” Genji replied, and that admission in his brother’s voice unlocked the uncontrollable full-body tremors that had been waiting for just that opportunity to come charging out.

“You need to go. You need to get as far from me as possible and I -- “ Hanzo stumbled to a halt at Zenyatta’s upraised hand.

“We are at the UNM main campus Student Union.” He said, calmly, evenly, and somehow that made Hanzo’s heart stop trying to pound its way out of his ribcage, slowed the tremors to the occasional rogue shiver. “Yes, I believe so. I will call you when we are secure.” He hung up and stood, slinging his messenger bag across his shoulder. “We must move. Quickly.”

For an instant, total physical and mental paralysis greeted those words from pretty much everyone -- even Genji, Man of Action, didn’t so much as twitch out of his seat, admittedly because he might have been pinned in place. Then, Genji kicked his chair back and bodily hauled Hanzo upright on unsteady legs, gathering up their bags and handing them off to Hana. Hana slung their bags over her shoulder and nudged Lucio into motion, his face still fixed in the most perfectly appalled expression Hanzo had ever seen him wear. He nonetheless took Hanzo’s other side as his legs persisted in their misbehavior and together helped haul him along in Zenyatta’s wake as he cut a path for them through the dining hall and out into the second floor mezzanine beyond.

“Where are we going?” Hana asked, loaded down with three bags not her own and apparently feeling much more secure for it.

“Luminaria Conference Room -- no windows, only one entrance, and it is not currently in use.” Zenyatta led the way to the stairwells and the elevator. “We should...probably not trap ourselves in a small box that can be made to stop moving.”

“Stairs it is!”

Hanzo’s legs perversely steadied as they climbed and by the time they reached Luminaria’s door he could stand on his own and insisted on doing so as Zenyatta used his faculty access pass to allow them entry. Once inside, he relocked the door and stepped aside as Genji, Lucio, and Hana proceeded to barricade it with a folding conference table and all the chairs that were gathered around that table. Zenyatta liberated the roll of duct tape from Lucio’s bag and methodically circled the room clockwise, pasting torn-off strips of tape to each wall and writing on them in that afterimage-inducing script. Hanzo followed him and aided as best he could, tearing strips of tape, pulling aside tables and chairs, helping Hana build a secondary barricade in the middle of the room out of two more tables and a selection of chairs. She shoved him down inside it without any discernable hesitation and Zenyatta finished what he was doing and all-but sat on him in order to keep him there.

“What are we waiting for?” She finally demanded, poking her head above the edge of the barricade.

“The ranger and several of his colleagues are on the way -- they should be here presently.” Zenyatta replied, serenely, the fingers of both hands woven together in that mudraish way he had.

“How presently?” Genji asked, his hands hanging loose at his sides, eyes slightly too bright, a little too iridescent.

The lights overhead flickered once, twice, and went out.

“Hopefully enough.”

[mobius2684]

Not so quick rundown of what I have been up to

Basically why I haven’t been doing much in the posting/content department, broken down by month. For the tl;dr crowd: skip the october 2016 entry unless you want to read about some drama, the rest of it has just been my adventures with unemployment and how it has affected me for the past 8 months.

July 2016: This month I had lost my job of 8 years due to the company completely closing nationwide. First time ever filing for unemployment as I wasn’t able to find another job in 3 months since said company announced their closures on April 1st of the same year. Was really upset with the store closing as I really was starting to feel like I had a job that I was decent at, had met some great people working there both employee and customer, and now I wouldn’t really have a chance to interact with them as much. Went to San Diego comic con as I had purchased tickets well in advance. Didn’t get to do most of what was on my list of things to do there, but did get to have a personalized sketch done by Yoji Shinkawa as well as sit in on a small q&a session with Hideo Kojima.

August 2016: With unemployment filed and completed, I was looking for all sorts of work. I collected a lot of possible work via etsy with requests for new destiny cloaks as well as preparing for the halloween season for my goddaughters’ costumes as they live in another state than me. End of the month I ended up with a job offer from the lady who works at the storage unit I rent from. The lady had injured herself at the end of the month by fracturing her right arm in 2 places, making it unbearable to do any of her bookkeeping tasks, and asked if I would like to help her with. I said yes as she’s 73 years old and nobody should have to deal with working through that kind of pain.

September 2016: I started to work for the storage unit place the day after labor day. It was an easy job, just somewhat boring as it was a fairly archaic setup. All bookkeeping was done by hand, including receipts, ledgers, etc. Only the key card system for the gate was done via a computer program. This job was to be temporary while she healed. When she was well enough to work, I would be let go as its a one person operation. Also to note, most storage unit places typically have a home/condo/apartment built into the office, as there is someone always on the premises. This was the case with this place, so I was able to take care of her in the beginning as well as do the tasks at hand. This was also a full time job.

 I started to get a bunch of early etsy orders for the holiday season as well as for halloween, so on top of having a full time job, I had to also work my etsy part time on top of the halloween costumes for my goddaughters. I had an old acquaintance contact me out of the blue around this time as well, where she told me that she was planning on visiting close to me to see some friends she met while playing Destiny. At the time I was happy for her and excited as I hadn’t seen her physically in about 10 years and figured this might be a great trip for her to show her around my hometown and the surrounding area and just catch up. More on her in October. Finished this month with a very last minute run to see Carpenter Brut in concert. Literally found out about the concert 2 hours before they went on so drove as quickly as I could to DNA lounge. Definitely was worth it, excellent show all around.

October 2016: This one is a long one. Skip to November if you don’t want an essay about old acquaintance. I’m needed for another month to work at the storage unit place. I have had to help her with things that I was not prepared for, mainly of the medical type. She is diabetic and has survived both lung cancer and colon cancer. I am becoming more of her in-home care person on top of taking care of the expected duties of the job, which was starting to put a strain on things as I would simply work my 8 hours a day for 6 days a week, most of that was taking care of her, going home, taking care of my grandparents, and sewing and working on etsy until I needed to sleep, rinse, repeat. I get the goddaughters costumes made and out to them, they love them, as well as another friend of mine wanted me to make matching dad and son costumes for his son’s first halloween.

 Made his son a pikachu costume and Dad an Ash jacket. Also near the end of this month I got to see Magic Sword in concert. It was a bit of a bummer as the venue was ill-equipped to handle a show like theirs so we didn’t get the whole experience with the lights and background, on top of the fact that the sound guy was doing a lousy job so they didn’t come out for an encore and simply stopped playing halfway through “In the face of Evil”. Hoping that they’ll come out to SF again or somewhere closeby so I can see a full show. *skip to november 2016 to avoid massive drama backstory essay

 Middle of the month is when my old friend was due to come out to visit. A little background on said friend: I met her back in 2005 when I was just starting to get into cosplay. We would chat about similar interests as well as cosplay related things, despite there being an age difference of about 6-7 years. She’s had a few hardships in 2006 that was of her own doing which led her down a path of co-dependence on others as well as manipulation and always playing the victim. Our communication was spotty, her only surfacing when she felt like it, always to unload her stories of woe and hardship.

 I had tried to help her on several occasions as best as I could despite being several states away. I’d send care packages when I could afford to, mainly of food as she would talk about not having money for it, work screwing her out of hours, etc. I would also send old clothes as she lived in a much colder part of the country now and she was ill prepared for the winter in her state. I had commissioned her for a costume just to help her pay bills despite said commission being extremely late for the event it was needed for, and practically unwearable due to poor construction. I had sent her money when she was in between relationships and had no job. Simply put, I was there for her as much as I could be, but she wasn’t really reciprocating that over the years and at the time I wasn’t really able to see it.

Fast forward to the week she is coming out here. She fails to tell me that her friend that she is visiting is more of a romantic interest. She’s in a 3 year relationship with a guy she’s living with. She has also been talking with another guy who she plays Destiny with in a romantic way, so basically she’s got 2 possible love interests and a boyfriend at home that she doesn’t want to work things out with, but also doesn’t want to break up with just yet as if she does then she won’t have a place to live. Trying not to judge but also not really liking said situation as its pretty scummy of her. The weekend before her trip, said friend she’s supposed to be visiting with for a week upsets her majorly and is now not a possible romantic connection in her mind, but is not known by him as she doesn’t tell him that she’s upset with him because she’s now too invested in this trip.

She comes out here and gets to stay with him at his parents place. She has a list of things she wants to do while out here, but wants to do them in a certain order so she has money for said things. Understandable, but makes it a bit difficult as she expects both myself and her host to take her places and keep her entertained. A lot of suggestions get shot down as she doesn’t like doing said things, but has to realize that there aren’t many free things to do during the weekdays. She gets increasingly frustrated by her host and his family for doing the most mundane things despite letting her stay there for free as well as feeding her, considering she is in the heart of wine country as well as the heart of dubious airbnb country where they could have easily charged her a premium for staying with them. She feels entitled to her friends money, as many times I would get a text from her complaining about him not paying for her part of their outing. She would also get upset with him when he would ask who she would be on the phone with, as she was in contact with said other guy who she liked from Destiny. This would irritate me as I felt as if she was ungrateful and somewhat disrespectful, on top of the fact that I was juggling a full time job, my etsy as a part time job, and taking care of both my grandparents and this lady at the storage unit.

 I take her out to SF so we can catch up and just have some girl time, despite really not having the time to do so, on top of it being an extremely busy weekend in SF as fleet week was happening. She didn’t really talk much with me on the trip unless it was to complain about her friend and to tell me how excited she was to talk with the new guy she liked. I would try to talk about what’s been going on with my life, only to be met with segues into something else completely different or just changing the subject. Not a lot of catching up, she spent a good chunk of her money on items for herself as to be expected, with snide remarks on how nobody really gets her gifts. This kinda pissed me off as I had spent at least 2 weeks on a knitted scarf for her as well as a small messenger bag that I sewed for her for this trip. I take her back to her friends parents place and go home.

 A few days after our outing, my grandpa had a stroke episode while I was home on my lunch break that scared both myself and my grandma. Had to rush him to the ER, had to contact work and let her know what’s going on and why I’m not back, work was supportive and just closed up early for the day for me as I wasn’t sure how long we would be in the ER. I’m getting texts from my friend of her complaining that this guy wasn’t paying for her outing once again. I simply texted her back stating “I am at the ER right now with my grandpa and grandma, grandpa had a stroke episode and we’re trying to see how severe it is”. I get no reply back from her for 2 hours. I simply chalk it up to her being busy, or one of us being in a dead zone or whatever. I didn’t have time to worry about that as I was worried about the condition my grandpa was in and just keeping my grandma calm. Thankfully it was a mild stroke, no major issues. We were at the hospital for 7 hours.

 I get my grandparents back home, call work to let her know how my grandpa is doing and that I will be in tomorrow for work. Said friend texts me to complain about how crummy her trip to the aquarium went. At this point, tensions were high, but I simply sent her a message saying “I’m guessing you didn’t receive my last message that said that I was in the ER with my grandpa who had a mild stroke. I had been in the ER for about 7 hours now”. Her response was “no”. Now, if you’ve made it this far into reading this whole thing, first off thank you and congrats. Secondly, you’re probably wondering “why does this whole mini essay about this chick matter?” or something to that extent. Well I don’t know about you good people here, but normally if a friend or loved one or just someone you kinda sorta know states that they were in the ER, and they don’t work in the medical field, most people’s reactions would be “what happened?”, “is everything ok?”, “are you ok?”, “is X person ok?”, etc. ad nauseum. There was no concern shown from her. NONE. No call to see if everything is ok, no text to ask if everything is ok, NOT A GODDAMN THING.

 Why is that such a big deal? Offering compassion does not cost you a damn dime. All I wanted from her was a simple act of compassion. I had not asked for much from her over the time we had been friends. Just the one time I really could use it, its just lost on her. She continues to text me to ask me if we’re still going to hang out before she leaves. I’m just left in just disbelief at the whole thing. I don’t really text her after that, stating I’m busy. She’s constantly bugging me about this, all while I’m telling her that I have family issues to tend to. I finally agree to see her again, despite wanting to rip her head off. I meet with her and the guy, and I simply tell them in person what’s going on and what happened at the ER. Her friend offered concern, all while she’s sitting there stuffing her face and changing the subject. I ask for the bag that she borrowed from me from our previous trip out, she gives it to me and I make an excuse to leave early. She still isn’t getting it, so I ask for her friends’ number. I say my goodbyes and she states that she wants to visit again sometime.

 The day she’s leaving, after she’s on the plane, I text the guy she’s been staying with. I tell him during this whole trip that she essentially used him, complained about him and his family the whole time to me, that the person she was being all secretive about on the phone was some guy she likes better than you, and that she’s in a relationship with someone back home and has been with said guy for 3 years and lives with him. He was not happy about this and rightfully so as he liked her. This of course led to them both arguing, and her contacting me via text about this and why I did it. I completely ignored everything. I felt that I owed her nothing after all of this. Her last message to me was “cool beans. we don’t have to be normal about it. But thanks for betraying my confidence and trust in the first place. You’re a shit friend and I hope you’re happy with yourself. Thanks for throwing our decade long friendship out the window”. She then proceeded to remove me from facebook and any other social media that we shared.

Am I really a shit friend? Am I really a horrible person for doing these things? Did I have to do what I did? Was it worth it? I will let you draw your own conclusions as yes I know that I didn’t have to do what I did and I could have been the one who takes the high road on this, but when you’re under a lot of stress due to work and deadlines and family issues, you tend to do shitty things. I grappled with the whole thing and felt awful for doing what I did, but at the same time I felt that no amount of talking would really get through to her about how much damage had been done. In some senses I do feel like a major weight was lifted from my shoulders as I really didn’t want to have a friend who didn’t understand basic concern for others.

November 2016: Still working at the storage unit place. The lady I’m working for has not been healing well due to not listening to her doctors orders. The maintenance man that the owner hired for the place injures himself horrifically, with what I assume his shin bone is jutting out of his skin. He tells us that he slipped down a ladder and that was about it. He’s rushed to the ER by ambulance. The owner then gets his son-in-law to work for him as maintenance man to replace the injured one. Son-in-law decides to have me start on a project for him, that requires me to make an excel spreadsheet of all the tenants who rent at the storage unit with all their info.

He tells me that the owner needs this info in digital form for insurance purposes and I agree to it since it does make sense, but it detracts from my other duties with caring for the lady I’m working for as well as the other office duties. I do this anyways as it seems like they might actually change the setup there so that its not all hand-written and a bit easier to keep track of as well as back up. Etsy orders are flooding in for the early holiday rush and I’m trying to keep on top of it all.

This marks the first thanksgiving where we don’t celebrate together as a family. My grandma simply just didn’t want to put up with all the fuss, my Mom and my nephew ended up going to Las Vegas for a football championship game for my nephew as he’s been in little league football all through the fall and his team had done really well and made it to the championship game. I couldn’t go with them as I had to watch the farm, as my Mom is a caretaker of a small school district owned farm and the animals need to eat everyday. My Uncle and Aunt both work demanding jobs that they aren’t able to get many days off so they weren’t able to come down for the holidays. My brother went up to his girlfriends parents place, so it was a bit odd and slightly depressing.

Only weird highlight was that I had a short convo with Dennis Wedin on instagram and I mentioned that I hope to send him and Jonatan some little handmade gifts when I get the chance to make them.

December 2016: Still working at the storage unit place. I end up getting sick near the beginning of the month with a cold/flu. I work through it like normal, just making sure to prepare myself as best as I can at work with plenty of fluids, a blanket, a heater, meds, tissue, etc.

 This time it gets interesting.  Storage unit place also houses cars, trucks, and RV parking spaces. Plenty of people rent these spaces, including one guy who states that he has an old Porsche and its been back there for 10+ years. He’s hoping to restore it for his kids despite none of them being super interested in it. Well with said spreadsheet work, I’m finding a ton of discrepancies as to whom is actually in the units and spaces that they say they are. Lots of calls have to be made, lots of running through the lot to check what is where, etc. Porsche guy is one of those discrepancies, and we ask for him to come down and confirm which space he’s in.

 Well apparently his Porsche is missing as it is nowhere to be found on the lot. He has his sister come down with him and she’s yelling at me and the lady I’m working for, accusing us of stealing his car. The sister then calls the cops to come down and question us. Now there’s no way in hell I or the old lady I’m working for has stolen his car. For one, I had no clue what he had until November when he came to pay his bill. For two, most of the cars that are stored at this particular storage unit place are not in running condition, his included. He had stated this back in November that it doesn’t run and needed a ton of work on it.

 One cop accuses myself and the old lady as well, despite what they need to do is run the VIN, and look at the records at the DMV as to who it had been registered to. For three, the Porsche guy hadn’t even checked on his car ever since he had parked it here for 10 years. No “hey I’ve been paying for this for 10+ years and if its so important to me I should at least check on it”. The guy hadn’t non-opted his vehicle and simply stopped paying any sort of registration on the vehicle. So now I’m a week away from christmas, still sick with whatever super cold/flu that is going around, I’ve been stressed due to busting my ass on getting etsy orders out in time for christmas, working 6 days a week in the office, and now I’m being accused of grand theft auto.

 After the cops finally decide to actually do some investigating, they found out that the car had been stolen in May 2012. Someone towed it off the lot that also rents at the storage unit, hence why they had access to the lot. Since he had rented the spot so long ago, the old lady didn’t remember or even know what he had back there. Since he hadn’t registered it in so long, the person who stole it got some sort of lein title for the car and fixed it to running condition as someone about 500 miles away is driving it around.

Christmas was rather uneventful as I was finally better from being sick and was trying to relax from everything. Got things for my mom and her bf as well as something for my nephew and a few friends of mine. For my birthday I went and watched Moana with my Mom. Ended up sick again as the next day I ended up throwing up. Whether it was the food or just round 2 of super cold/flu, I didn’t know but didn’t really care as I wanted it to be gone. Didn’t do much of anything for new years as I worked and so did a bunch of my friends, top it off with still being sick and not wanting to be around people and spread it around.

 If you’ve made it to the end of this, I truly do thank you as it was a long bunch of bullshit that you honestly didn’t have to read and I could have summed up a lot shorter but didn’t. I hope you enjoyed this small peak into my life. I will eventually update this with January 2017 and February 2017 or just simply make a second post if anyone cares to see the rest of this out. Thanks again.

[words-are-like-colors]

Title: Stuck Together {1} “Where did we go? What did we do? I think we made something entirely new.” AO3 Word Count: 11,389 words Rating:T Relationship: M/M Chapter: 1/? Tags: Edward Elric/Envy, Edvy, Edward Elric, Envy, AU, Modern AU, fake boyfriends, slow burn Summary:Airports are the bane of his existence– arriving late, TSA, canceled flight, baggage claim, etc. It was just another Christmas for Ed. Just another day when he forget the time for his flight and arrived late, or at least would've been late unless the flight was previously canceled. This is how he reached this predicament of tripping and falling at a stunning man's feet. Notes: Hello! If the title of this chapter seems familiar, you’re right. It comes from the song Something Entirely New by Rebecca Sugar. I’ll be using lyrics from that song for upcoming chapters as well. Also, thank you so much Magnosaurus for beta-ing my fic! It means a lot to me. THANK YOU!! Enjoy!

Additional notes at end due to spoilers

My thick soled boots pounded loudly on the sleek white tiles of the terminal floor as I weaved through the crowd of waiting passengers, my messenger bag and leather jacket bouncing against my body at each stride. So close! I zoomed around a group of people when I finally spotted my gate– E18. People surrounded the area around the sign and door. So I wasn’t late! Thank god! Just one more step… one more step onto my shoelace, sending me tumbling to the floor. THUMP!

“I made it!” I cheered still on the ground, ignoring the obvious glances and questioning looks from the crowd around me but what I didn’t expect was one to click their tongue at me and nudge me with their shoe.

“Get up. You are late. We all are.” The neon purple toe of the man’s sneaker poked at my side. “The floor is already dirty, even without an ant like you laying on it.”

“Eh? You callin’ me short?” I flashed a warning glare up in the man’s direction as I clambered onto my feet, straightening out my shirt before going back down to lace up my boots and tuck the jeans in.

A small chuckle came from the man. “I ain’t lying, just pointing out the truth.”

Rolling my eyes, I stood back up and looked at the man, and what I was met with was something I didn’t expect. The said man had an agitated look on his face. His sharp purple eyes matched his sneakers while his palm tree like green hair matched his… tight tank top, and a black cropped jacket stood out against the dark green. My eyes traced where his earbuds were feed up under the tank top; the top stuck to him perfectly, all the way down to his jeans where it was slightly bunched up by the blockage of his black belt. He looked kinda… good looking? In an odd way… wait what?

“A picture would last longer you know.” His snippy voice pulled me out of the trace. A blush instantly bounced up onto my cheeks at his words.

“N-no thank you.” I stuttered out. Shit shit shit! Not again! Last time I met a guy who was remotely hot (not saying that this guy is hot or anything… okay. I’m lying but that’s not my point) it turned into a mess in a quick few days. Roy was my ex’s name. We were together for a whole solid year, a year of happy smiles and kisses. I was about to move into a new apartment with him when I found him sucking a chick’s face off. A damn girl , yet he was dating me, a guy . After that, I had turned into a pile of crap. I skipped class, drank and even tried to hit it off with a few douchebags before I got over him.

The man smirked and shook his head. “Anyways. The flight was delayed for who knows how long. If you haven’t noticed, it’s pouring out and it’s snowing in Boston.” He stuck an earbud into his ear before I could reply and pressed the buttons on the earbuds, presumingly changing the song. I sighed as I watched him bend over and pick something off of the floor. “Hm? So your name is Edward Elric… pathetic.”

My wallet was tossed at me. Frowning, I noticed that a few of my things had fallen out of my pockets during the fall. Oops. I shoved everything into my bag and grimaced at my ticket; I had apparently crumpled it up when I had rushed during the TSA scanning, which explains why my boots were untied. “Well, what’s your name then? You got mine, so I should have yours.”

“I don’t hand my name out like candy, shrimp. I don’t need the whole world knowing it.” He huffed, fixing his backpack on his shoulder before wandering over to some empty seats farthest from the crowd of people demanding why they couldn’t leave for Boston now. He tossed his bag underneath the seat and flopped down. “Still following me?”

“Want do I need to do to get your name? And DON’T call me ‘shrimp’.” I put my hands on my hips in a definite manner to try and show that I hated being called that but that didn’t seem to work.

“Okay, shrimp . I guessing that you also want my number as well– seeing that you were staring at me for a minute and a half. Buy me something good to eat then we can talk. I’m starvin’.” The jerk stretched his arms out over his head before dropped down them into his lap while he crossed legs. A slick smirk appeared on his lips, it oddly made my heart flutter like a school girl’s would.

“Fine!” I pushed my golden hair out of my face as I started my quest to find this guy– no, I’ll call him Palm Tree because of his hair– a decent meal.

After looking around for a cheap but decent place to get food, I found Starbucks. Palm Tree must like Starbucks right? I cringed at the mile long line before stepping into it.

The ten minute wait soon ended and I bounced up to the counter. “Uh. Hi. Can I have a regular latte– cream and sugar–,” Hopefully Palm Tree will like the coffee. I don’t know his preference. After scanning the menu, I spotted my slice of heaven. Hot Cocoa and Chocolate Chunk Muffins. I don’t usually take pride in this but I’m a major chocoholic. “a large hot chocolate and two of those chocolate muffins.” I rambled off to the clerk without bothering to even look at them as I gave them my credit card; I was too obsessed with the thought of getting this hot guy's– not hot! Just a stinking palm tree– name.

Once I got the coffee and muffins, and after juggling the items for a minute, I managed to get back to Palm Tree without spilling either drink. “Hey. I’m back.” I announced as I stood in front of the guy. Palm Tree didn’t look up from his phone so I tried again. “Hey! I got you a coffee!”

No response.

So I kicked him, which turned out not to be a good idea. Due to not being able to keep my balance while kicking him and carrying the coffee and muffins, I ended up falling (once again) at this guy’s feet. Luckily, Palm Tree came out of his phone induced trance to catch a muffin and his coffee in the air. I, myself, managed to keep a hand on my hot chocolate but my poor beautiful muffin met its demise on the floor, chocolate chip side down.

Palm Tree laughed at my pain as I picked up my poor muffin. I sat down in the seat next to him and started to nibble on my muffin. “I hope you don’t mind the coffee choice, I didn’t know what you liked.”

“It’s fine.” He hummed and sipped at the coffee before unwrapping the Christmas themed paper from the muffin and taking a bite. “Although I was expecting a meal more than just a muffin.”

“I wasn’t hungry so I didn’t think of that. Sorry.” I mumbled into my muffin, nibbling off the chocolate chunks before the muffin part. I looked up to see Palm Tree laughing and grinned at me. “What?”

“Wow. You’re precise with your muffins eating skills.” He chuckled, his hand over his mouth to stop from laughing too hard.

“Oh come on. It’s not that funny– what’s your name?”

“Envy Alister, the man who eats muffins normally.” He stifled his laughs until they turned into light giggles.

I looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Envy? Isn’t that one of the seven deadly sins?” I hissed under my breath, normally you wouldn’t speak of these things out in public.

The grin vanished from his face at the hiss. “That’s exactly why I don’t hand my name out like candy. People ask questions. Will it make you feel better if I had a different name?” Envy brushed a loose strand of hair out of his face, huffing and sliding down into his seat more.

I quickly shook my head. The name was oddly appealing, it was strange yet interesting. Fuck it if his name is Envy, one of the ugliest sins, I liked it! “No! Envy is good.” A smile crawled up onto my face. “It's… cool.”

“Cool? Cool is what you think it is?! I think it’s a damn liability to carry such a name. You would be surprised how many speeches I get a day about how evil I am.” Envy angrily ate his muffin. I felt guilty for giving that poor chocolate chip muffin to him, the muffin doesn’t deserve to be eaten so harshly.

“S-sorry. I didn’t mean to anger you.” I mumbled, looking away. I really didn’t mean to upset him. I just thought the name was cool and unique, unlike my common boring one.

Envy just rolled his eyes and finished off his muffin before taking a sip of his coffee. “It’s fine.” He muttered into the cup.

I relaxed, relieved, and pulled my phone out of my pocket when it buzzed. “So… Why are you going to Boston?” I said, trying to make easy conversation. A message from Alphonse popped up on the screen.

Envy flicked out an earbud when he realized that I wanted to talk. “Family. They wanted me to go up there to help host a business Christmas ball or whatever.”

“Your family is rich?” I asked innocently, it makes sense; typically where you hear about fancy balls, it’s usually it’s hosted by rich families or businesses.

Envy raised an eyebrow at me. “Is that what’s you’re interested in? How rich I am?”

“N-no! I was just wondering.”

He shrugged with a light chuckle at my apology. “Yeah, my parents are. I went to college down here in Dallas to get away from them. Is that why you’re in Dallas too, shrimp?”

I bit my tongue from telling him off for calling me that so I answered. “No. I promised my brother I would go to the college I wanted to go to so I just chose a random art college and went there.”

“The Art Institute of Dallas?”

“How did you know?!” I exclaimed which received a few looks but I could care less.

“I go there too, for graphic design mostly.” Envy smirked at my enthusiasm.

“I go for photography.” I piped up but he seemed to ignore that when he asked. “Is that your brother there?” I followed Envy’s finger down where it was pointing at my phone screen.

“Huh?” I glanced down at the message I had opened but never actually looked at because Envy distracted him.

Al:

Envy smirked and sat back in his seat. “Ha! I can tell, you practically flew across the whole airport trying not to be late– then end up being late– to a cancelled flight.”

I shot a soft glare at him. “Last time I wanted to go up to them I was late for… reasons… and Al gave me hell for it.” The last time he had went to go up was when he was having trouble coping with Roy cheating and bad memories had resurfaced.

“Call him.”

“Huh?”

“He is your brother, is he not? Can’t he just come down here?” Envy asked, pulling off his black headband, letting his hair fall in front of his face for a moment before taking the hair tie off of his wrist. I knew it wasn’t the best moment to stop and stare while we were talking about my brother but wow, he’s beautiful. The dyed hair drifted in his face in long beautiful strands just before a few were quickly pulled back; his nimble fingers doing quick work of the hair band to put it up into a messy, but elegant bun.

What snapped me out of this mini trance of staring was Envy quickly snatching my phone out of my lap and taking a picture of himself. When I protested, he just rolled his brilliant eyes and said that I was staring too much.

“Hmm…” he hummed softly under his breath as he typed something onto my phone and plugged in his earbuds. He kept one for himself before tossing the phone back at me.

I shot him a weird look before glancing down at my phone to see that Envy had clicked the call button on the phone. Before I could cancel the call and tell Envy off for calling Al, said man answered. I quickly snatched up the earbud that was deposited into my lap and put it in my ear to hear.

“ Ed. You skipped your flight again. ” It was clear that Al was disappointed, his usual happy greeting of hello did come but it was instead replaced by a motherlike scolding. “I’ve told you many times to get ready the next day so this wouldn’t happen! You were probably messing around with your friends again.”

The palm tree shot me a slick smirk, hearing word for word what Al was saying. “Hi Al. I actually didn’t miss the flight this time, the flight missed me! It apparently got cancelled.” I tried to sound more optimistic than what I was really feeling. Personally, I’d rather miss the flight for some stupid reason than be sitting here in an airport full of waiting passengers, next to an annoying… hot person. “So I did good this time–”

Envy cut me off, pulling the phone closer to him so he could talk into it. “Little shrimpy here was a bit late to a flight that got cancel. We would’ve been already in the plane if it wasn’t for the weather.”

“ Ed, who’s that? ” Alphonse asked hesitatingly at first but then the questions started to barge in, eager to meet someone new. “ Is that your new friend? Boyfriend? Your last one was an ass so hopefully this one is better. You should’ve told me you were bring your new boyfriend. ”

I literally facepalmed– face, palm, and all, plus a deep blush. Why the hell does he have to embarrass me?! Envy isn’t even close to being a boyfriend– not even close enough to be considered an acquaintance.

I was about to retort when Envy stole the phone again. “Yep! We’re together. Your little bro and I are just smitten!” I nearly leapt into Envy’s lap to take to phone away from him, ignoring Al’s happy gasp and a new batch of questions. Envy managed to keep me at bay and talk at the same time. “Now, I assume Edward here hasn’t told you who I am yet so I’m open to any questions.”

“ Name? ”

“Envy Alister at your service.” He winked at me, making me pause for a moment from where I was trying to grab for the phone; Envy held it high over his head teasingly so I couldn’t reach it and stop the embarrassing call.

“ Whoa. That’s a cool name! Where did you two meet? ”

Envy laughed when I attempted to slap him and he dodged. The earbud in my ear slipped out so I couldn’t hear Al.

“ Oh, you know~ ” Envy ducked under my swinging arm. “He was just doing his thing and saw me. He thought it was a swell idea to take a picture of me and he was right. We turned out to be boyfriends!”

I couldn’t hear Al’s response but it probably mostly cooing of some kind on how that was just adorable or something sappy like that. “Envy! Stop. You ain’t my boyfriend!” I growled, ignoring the stares completely. I grabbed onto Envy’s arm and started to pull roughly, trying with all my might. “Come on, stop it already.”

“Nope! I won’t stop until you stop.” He said to me, jumping up from his seat and backing a few feet away from me. He spoke into the phone, “He’s embarrassed that I’m talkin’ to you. It’s so adorable!” Another devilish smirk crossed his face, purposefully teasing me.

I gave up at that point, hopeful that Envy would be true to his words and hand me the phone once I had calmed down. I ripped off my leather jacket and tossed it into the chair before flopping down on top of it. The small adrenaline rush still made me a little fidgety as I waited for Envy to come back over to the chairs.

The palm tree sighed and said to Al, “Aw, I have to give your pouty brother the phone. Can’t wait to see you~.”

I snatched the phone from Envy’s outstretched hand, failing to notice his painted black nails before ripping out and throwing the earbuds at the man. Huffing, I raised the phone to my ear only to hear loud squealing. “ Oh my god! Ed! He invited me up to his parent’s ball. He invited me because he felt bad for me having you as my brother. Haha! He’s a lot better than that Roy guy right? ”

I shot a glare at Envy before answering with a sigh. “Al, you know people are going to ask questions and stuff. You don’t want that happening do–”

“ I don’t care anymore, Ed. I’m not 10, I’m 18 ” Al said exasperatedly, annoyed that I worried over him. “ If the Alisters kick me out, they kick me out. I won’t blame them. ” I went to say something but Al continued. “ Brother, it’s fine. I’m used to people looking at me weirdly and such. I have automail, even I would stop and stare if someone else had it. You don’t see it everyday. I’m fine, Ed, I can explain for myself. ”

I frowned for a moment then spoke. “Oh, okay, Al. I understand. And by the way, Envy is not my boyfriend. He’s just lying to you to make fun.”

“ Oh, come on brother. You’re just embarrassed. ” Al giggled from the other side. His giggles were interrupted by a loud calling and a clang. “ Ah. I have to go Ed. Winry wants me to go eat dinner now. Please send me a picture of him. See ya later Ed! ”

“Wait! Al! He’s not my–” Al hung up the phone before I could even finish my sentence. Gritting my teeth, I shoved the phone into my pocket before half growling at Envy. “What the hell was that for?! You are not my boyfriend and will never be.”

Envy was still standing in front of me with a wide smirk across his face and hands on his hips. “Oh~ Ed~ you’ll never understand.” He jutted out a hip in sort of mocking manner which, obviously, annoyed me.

“I won’t understand until you tell me”

This seemed to peak the man’s interests which was clear from glitter that entered his striking eyes. “I’ll tell you somewhere else.” He grabbed my arm and tried to pull only for me yank it out of his grip with a small snarl.

“Whatever you want to say, tell it to me here.” I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly.

The palm tree sighed and rolled his eyes, “Do you really want other people to overhear this and get jealous? I’m freaking Envy, I know what people would get jealous over.”

Well, I couldn’t argue about that so I stood up and grabbed my things before letting Envy drag me away. He pulled me over to an empty corner by the big windows. The windows spanned from the clinging to the floor, making the already large room seem even larger. Normally when it was sunny outside, passengers can watch as their plane pulls up to the pick up stations; today, it was dark, windy, and pouring making this sight an impossible one to witness.

“Okay Envy, what do you so dearly want to tell me than you had to pull me away from our seats?” I rolled my eyes, still pissed off. Why couldn’t he just have told me when we were sitting?! Someone could take them!

The palm tree chuckled and grinned at me, flashing his bright white teeth. “You’re cute when pissed.”

“Shut up and get to the point!” I hissed, unable to beat down the faint blush that hovered over my cheeks at his words.

“Hm… this really should be obvious but I’ll outline it for you because your little bitty shrimpy brain can’t handle it.” He raised a hand to defect from my incoming outburst. “My o-so-rich family put a sine qua non on me saying that I have to get a boyfriend or girlfriend– thank god they don’t mind that I’m gay– while I’m in college or they’ll stop supporting me. So I’m asking you to–”

“But–”

“No buts Eddy boy (he ignored my growl of warning), you are coming as my boyfriend whether you like it or not. I know I could be a jerk about it and just force you to be my boyfriend but this comes with benefits. First, since this is a ball, you get everything for free from my parents; second, important people are going to be there so I can help get you a job or something, seeing that you’re a photographer, people will be pouring all over you; third, you can invite anyone you want, and we invited your brother already; and fourth, you can keep me as your boyfriend if you end up liking me.” He finished his monologue with a proud grin, brushing some loose hairs out of his face.

I huffed and crossed my arms, frowning down at the floor so not to met his eager eyes. It’s not like it was a bad offer, it was actually an amazing offer but… but what? There was no but. I had nothing else to combat with. Yes, it would be difficult getting used to being a boyfriend to some rich yet dark looking stranger but it’s not like he was disgusting or anything… “ Fine , but you have to keep up your offer and I’ll be the most goddamn perfect boyfriend you’ll ever have.”

I looked back up at him to see a wide, happy smile. “Thanks Ed.” Envy said gently, surprising me.

“W-welcome.” I blushed softly and pulled out my phone. As I tossed it to him, I said, “Text Al a picture of yourself. He’ll annoy me until he gets it.” The phone had already erupted into a texting mess from both Al and Winry asking about Envy – Al must have already told Winry that I have a “boyfriend”.

While the walking palm tree messed with my phone, I folded up my leather jacket and put it into my bag. After I slipped the messenger bag strap over my head and positioned it so it wouldn’t bounce around awkwardly, I checked on Envy who was staring at my phone with a weird look. “What’s up?”

“This?” He flipped the phone around so I could see what he was looking at. It was the contact photo for Al; the picture was from the time we went to D.C. to visit monuments and such. In the picture, Alphonse had his automail arm wrapped around my shoulders and was smiling at the camera, his green eyes were bright and happy, joyous even when this trip was so hard for him. It was hot that day, so Al had rolled up his sleeves, not caring that passersby looked at him. I can’t remember exactly where we had just came from before Winry had taken that picture but I can only assume that it was from a place with security because I looked disgruntled from telling the guys off for bothering Al.

I quickly explained that it was when we were on a trip when Envy interrupted me and told me to clarify why Al had automail.

“Oh…” I frowned and sighed. “We got into a car crash when I was 11– so Al was 7– which resulted in a dead mother, chopped-off-limbs brother, and a runaway father.” I said hotly, still bothered by the subject even when it was almost twelve years ago.

Envy have me an apologetic look then nodded. “So why did your dad run away?”

“He ‘couldn’t take that my mom died and went to find serenity’ or whatever the child services douche said. Father dumped me and a broken Alphonse at a friend’s house and took off.” I muttered out, not even knowing if Envy had heard me until he spoke up.

“Wow, he is an ass.” Envy smirked slightly yet it looked like it help a sad look behind it. “At least you have your beloved brother with you.”

I send him a confused look while asking cautiously incase this was a difficult subject for him. “Did something happen to your brother?”

I watched as he shrugged and turned to face the dark windows. Rain still battered heavily upon it, yet the sound of rain did not reach them like it normally would have. These windows were reinforced enough to keep out the sound of rain, and more importantly the deafening sound of aircraft engines. I glanced at him before taking my place next to his side to face the said windows. Envy spoke,

“I have six siblings. Yes, you could say that they are dead but they’re not. Its…” He sighed heavily and stuck his hands into his jean pockets. “They are sick– not ill, per say but money and power have taken over their minds and corrupt them. My one of my sisters, Lust, and my younger brother, Wrath, are not that bad. They are nice and considerate but it seems like they are still far away. You could probably guess which ones of us are the most sick, even their names reveals how hungry they are. Greed, Pride, and Gluttony are the worst. Sloth is… well, like a sloth, she could really care less.”

I nodded, understanding to the best of my abilities. It’s understandable on how someone can be so caught up in their riches that they can’t even see what right in front of them. “So, why aren’t you like them? Normally people are jealous of the rich aren’t they? Just saying.” I added the ending hurriedly.

Envy laughed slightly. “Very true little shrimpy. But have you ever thought about how the rich feel looking down upon the ones who aren’t as fortunate? Like, even when you have money and the resources to go do things with your friends, it’s still not the same as…” He paused, as if he couldn’t find the words to explain himself before continuing. “It’s not the same experience. I got jealous of other people’s relationships to each other and how strong they are. So, I decided not to just throw money around and to settle down in a college, get a job, and to do things the way I want to do them, not what other people want you to.”

“Oh…” I turned my gaze from the window and onto him. Envy was looking back at me but quickly looked away when our gaze met.

“So whatever. Don’t pity me and shit.” Envy said abruptly while grabbing my arm and pulling me away from the windows. I pleaded from him to let go of but it was all in vain because Envy ignored me and pulled me over to one of those mini airport gift shops.

“Stop doing that.” I huffed and brushed my golden bangs out of my face once he had let go of me. When I looked up to tell him off for constantly dragging me, he wasn’t there. “Envy?”

The few people in the shop mingled around the stands and around the cash register; unfortunately, they were all taller than me save for the little kid that bumped into my leg. I rose to my toes to try to see where Envy had run off to when I felt something wrap around my neck.

“Get the fuck off of– oh.” It was Envy who had apparently ran off, found something, and ran back in the matter of seconds. I hesitantly reached up to touch what Envy had put around my neck. “A flight pillow?” I shot him a confused look but he only grinned more and pulled my phone out of his pocket. “Hey! Give that back–”

One of his delicate fingers leapt up onto my lips to silence me. “Shh. You wanted me to send a photo to your brother right?” I raised an eyebrow so he continued. “So let’s make this believable right?”

“Uh… yes?”

Envy get this joyous look in his eyes which could only mean the worst as he draped an arm around my waist and pulled me close. “Envy?!” I yelped-whispered, not expecting him to pull me close like that so we were pressed up against each other’s sides.

“Don’t blush my little shrimpy~” he whispered into my ear before raising the phone and pressing a chaste kiss to my cheek.

Despite Envy’s small warning, I blushed a bright pink and pushed the man away but he kept a secure arm around me. “Get off of me.” I hissed darkly yet my heart was racing from that one small peck on the cheek. It wasn’t from surprise nor shock but from the closeness to the man– a few loose strands of his hair had prickled the side of my face for a fleeting moment.

“Aw~ I told you not to blush. Oh well, you’re cute blushing.” He cooed, a playful smirk on his lips.

“Shut up.” I managed to wriggle out of his grip, snatch up my phone, and rip the flight pillow off of my neck in a matter of seconds, not bothering to look at the photo nor pillow. The phone started to buzz as the expected texts from Al and Win started to pour in so I silenced it and shoved it into my pocket. “I said I would pretend to be your boyfriend, not be a tease toy.”

Envy’s arm that was stretched out from holding me dropped back down to his side. “But aren’t boyfriends suppose to take pictures like that?” He forged a sad pout at my obvious displeasure in the idea.

I relaxed once I was safe from his arm span. “I…” Well, he was right. Couples usually do that kind of stuff and me, myself, use to do that too; I liked keeping each picture like a memory, I treasured every one because it was proof I liked my partner. “Whatever, just don’t act weird or anything alright? We are just faking it.”

“Aw. But to fake it, something needs to be true to make it believable right?” He tipped his head to the side like he was thinking. “You have to make the lie a new truth if you want people to believe.”

There was no retort to his statement that I could think off so I just scuffed under my breath and crossed my arms. “Think what you want to think.” I swiftly turned on my heels and went to look around at the rest of the store.

Envy followed me as I looked about the small shop. He was mostly quiet except for the few comments about what things he thought were cool, pretty, or down right ugly. I completely ignored him except when he put his hand on my shoulder to direct me from a Popular Science magazine I was holding to something he was pulling off of a shelf. “What?”

The palm tree carefully lifted two delicate bracelets into the air to show me. “Friendship bracelets.” Before I could push him away, he had caught my wrist and snapped a bracelet onto me. The silver band glinted in the light, the crescent moon shaped charm dangled. The bracelet that Envy was wearing had an charm for the rest of the moon.

I groaned. “Really? Friendship bracelets .” I was about to rip it off of my wrist and throw it at the palm tree, but instead, he had grabbed my hand to keep it steady as he clicked the moons together. My hard expression couldn’t help but soften a bit as Envy clicked them together; the two moon swayed between our two hands like it showed that we are one.

A small chuckle make me look up from the whole moon and onto Envy. “Doesn’t look like you don’t like this, do you?” At this moment as the words left his grinning mouth, I suddenly became hyper-aware that I was pulled close to the man and that our hands were joined together. My eyes darted from his face and onto our holding hands then back onto his face as Envy spoke again, “Well, I take that as that you like it. I’ll buy it for you.”

“O-ok, Envy.” I had suddenly shelled out when he put the moon together. There was no real reason why I had stalled and just stared in disbelief but, like Envy just said, it looked like I liked it– at least I wasn’t pushing him off and accusing him of teasing me again.

Envy dropped my hand, my fingers had instinctively tried to pull his hand back but he unclipped the bracket from my wrist and pulled back. “You can stop blushing, ya know.” A smirk sprung up on his face as I clicked my tongue and looked away. I didn’t notice that I was blushing until he had pointed it out.

After buying a few items such as the bracelets, magazines, and quick snacks (Envy had darted back inside to get something but never let me see what it was) from the shop, we proceeded to go back to our seats only to find that they were taken by a sweet looking couple. Envy grumbled under his breath and turned to me only to point out the obvious. “I guess we have to find somewhere else to sit.”

See why I didn’t want to move?! I silently huffed while rolling my eyes. “And I doubt that there are any more open. Looks like everyone decided today was the right day to go out flying.”

“Well, it is almost Christmas. What else did you expect?”

I shrugged and looked around. It was, in fact, Christmas. Little LED lights blinked from where they were strung around poles or railings. The small airport shop was also sporting Christmas normalities; small boxes of candy canes and cheap last minute ornaments were put on display for ridiculous prices. Even the Starbucks where I had gotten the muffins was all cheered with the addition of hot cocoa to the menu and the snowman plushies sitting on the counter for purchase. I had failed to notice all of this earlier with the distractions of getting to the plane on time, meeting Envy, and the unexpected phone call to Al.

He was right about the fact that it was Christmas and that the airport was packed. “Let’s find somewhere to sit.” I didn’t care to look for an empty seat, I already knew that they were all filled, so instead I looked for a patch of carpet that looked soft.

After finding a good spot, I gestured for Envy to follow me as I lead the way over to the corner between the wall and the soundproof windows. We tossed down our bags before plopping down with Envy sitting closer to the window.

We sat in silence for a while, Envy had plugged his earbuds into ears and stared out of the window. I watched him for a moment, studying his high cheekbones and the way the loose bangs swayed in front of his face. I only looked away when Envy caught me from the corner of his eye and smiled.

After another awkward silent moment, I cleared my throat. “So… this boyfriend thing. Do we have to, you know, kiss and stuff?” I pointedly looked away from the man next to me, knowing that I must be blushing or something because I always get embarrassed over this stuff for some reason; Al always teased me over it and even now I was running my fingers through my bangs to try to find something to do with my hands.

I could feel his gaze on me as he answered. “I wasn’t going to be picky or anything about but since you asked, I’ll answer: everything.”

“E-everything? Like we have been dating for a while everything?” I whipped my head around to look at him with wide eyes only to meet his crisp violet ones.

He shrugged, then lifted a finger to trace devilishly down my jaw. “Only if you want that, Edward. I wouldn’t mind it~”

“Shut up.” I squeaked out and batted his finger away. “Just nothing too big, I still don’t know you.” And I still don’t know what I’m going here pretending to be your boyfriend. I could just go home right to my brother and have a normal holiday.

Envy mocked a frown then sighed. “I see what you mean but don’t shy away from anything in front of my parents.”

“Why not?” I asked confused, why would they want something from me?

“Hm… maybe because they expect me to have a solid boyfriend and I can’t disappoint them?”

I nodded and thunked my head against the wall behind me before closing my eyes for a moment. “Whatever Envy, just don’t be weird about it.”

“I’ll try not to.” His response came but I swore I could heard his everlasting smirk through his voice. “But at least get use to being close to me.” I cracked an eye open to see Envy holding up an earbud, offering it to share.

“I’ll try.” I muttered, taking the earbud and relaxing slightly now knowing that Envy wasn’t going to be pushy about being boyfriends. Gently, I leaned against his shoulder and the wall before closing my eyes and concentrating on the rock music– consequently, my favorite song was playing.

The shoulder shifted from underneath me and a finger poked at my ribs. “Yo, shrimp. Wake up.”

“I’m up.” I mumbled, pulling back from off of his side where I had slumped in my sleep. “Sorry ‘bout that. Didn’t realize I fell asleep.”

“Obviously.” He made sure that I was indeed awake before standing up and stretching by throwing his arms into the air to straighten out his back. I also got up but instead I clumsy throw my bag over my shoulder and rubbed at my eyes. Envy nudged me after also donning his own bag, “They are saying that the next flight is ready to take some of us, although it’s only a certain amount of people.” He gestured to the announcement desk with an agitated look on his face which could only mean that something was up.

“And?” He had started to walk over to the desk as I asked him to continue.

Envy flashed me a look from over his shoulder to respond. “ And only rows ten through twenty are allowed to get on. My ticket says that I’m row fifteen while yours is row twenty-two.”

“Eh? How did you…” I frantically searched my pockets for my ticket only to look up and see Envy holding it up.

“You’re a heavy sleeper.” He commented as I snatched the half crumbled ticket from his hands. “Let’s see if we can get your seat changed.”

We approached the counter where a kind looking lady stood at the computer. She looked up and asked, “Hi, can I help you?”

Envy grabbed my ticket from me again while I protested. “Is there any way to get his seat changed?” He jabbed his thumb in my direction and pushed the ticket over to her on the counter.

The lady frowned and looked over the information on the piece of paper. “Row twenty-two… I’m sorry, I don’t think we can…”

A voice sounded from behind me where a man had stepped in line. “Uh, excuse me?” The man stepped forward– he was one of the couple who had taken our seats. “We can trade tickets if you want. I came over to see if I can get the later flight so I could be with my wife.”

Envy and I exchanged a hopeful look. The desk lady sighed and shrugged. “I can’t say no. It’s not the best thing to do but if you truly want to, you can.” She left to call the first five rows onto the plane.

The kind man and I exchanged tickets before he bid farewell and headed back over to his wife. I turned back to Envy. “You know it would’ve been fine if we took separate planes.” I said yet it wasn’t fine with me. If we were going to pretend to be boyfriends, I would have to follow through with my half of the deal and anyways, it’s just easier to take the same plane so neither of us has to wait for the other.

The palm tree shook his head. “No it wouldn’t be, shrimpy . I want to be on the same flight as you.”

There was nothing to disagree about that so we waited by the front counter until our rows were called. Once called, both Envy and I were the first ones the scan our tickets and walk down the hallway to board. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Envy started to beam and skip down the hall. “Hm? You like flying.” I commented softly, I assumed that he didn’t hear me as he neared the airplane door but he turned around slightly and winked at me.

I caught up to him and took a step into the plane. An aircraft attendant smiled at the pair of us, her uniform looked untouched– there was no dust to be spotted on neither of her navy blue skirt or shirt, even her hair was put up in an elegant bun. This was all excepted however, aircraft attendants are suppose to look prim and proper, it’s their job to calm down any nervous passengers and to walk while flying. I would feel bad for her because this isn’t the most ideal job and that most would not want this job but she looked like she enjoyed it because her smile was genuine. She spoke up. “Welcome. You may take any seat that is available. Most people had canceled and changed flights early because of the weather.”

“Thank you!” Envy waved while I gave her a slight nod before starting down the aisle. I stuck to the palm tree’s back, not wanting to be separated and having to sit in a row next to some crying baby or smelly man. I looked up from where my eyes were fixated on his back when he let out a hum, then a small excited gasp. “I found two seats.”

We made our way to the midback of the plane. A teen, or it at least looked like a teen, was sitting on the outside of the row. She was jamming to some music, the sound was loud enough so that I could hear it. The girl looked up and slid off her headphones when I cleared my throat and waved. “Uh. Hi, is someone sitting there?”

She mutely shook her head and stood up for us. Envy took my messenger bag from me and put it up top in the storage bins for the beginning of the flight. He followed me into the row and sat between me and the girl. She slipped her cat eared headphones back on and went back to her music.

“You might want to check your messages, Alphonse might be having a fit that you haven’t replied yet.” Envy pointed out.

“Oh, yeah thanks.” I mumbled fishing my phone out of my back pocket and opening it up. Both Al and Winry had bombarded my phone with messages, thank god I’m on an unlimited plan or I would have run out of minutes.

Envy watched as I opened the messages.

Al: Holy shit Ed, he looked wild.

Al: I didn’t know that you were interested in people like that BUT JM SO HAPPY FOR YOU.

A few words were misspelled because of his excitement that just made me roll my eyes. Envy chuckled. He must be really happy because he even swore which he usually avoided doing.

Al: Good think I’m ot envious of you brother! Haha, sorry En.

Al: oh wow, Win looks like she’s about to destroy my phone. Lol.

Al: Brotherc she took out her wrench. WHY DO WE EVEN HAVE THOSE IN THE HOUSE?! I know why BUT ATILL.

Al: aw your not answering. Too shy brother?

I frowned at him and typed out. Me: I’ll text you on my computer once we get to altitude. They gave us free wifi. Then, I opened Winry’s.

Win: Alphonse just showed me the picture. Damn, good job Ed. I’m shocked you didn’t tell us.

Win: I’m gonna kill your brother. HE JUSR SAID YOUR BOYFRIEND IS HOT AND THAT HE WOULD KISS HIM TOO.

Win: Say Hi to Envy for me :)

Win: oh and, cute flight pillow by the way.

I texted her the same thing before sighing and turning my phone onto airplane mode.

“Oh. Am I that hot that even your little brother would kiss me?” Envy wriggled his eyebrows at me, causing me to look away and click my tongue in a mock defiant manner.

“He won’t. He’s not interested in guys for all that I know of. Al is just trying to mess with me.”

“Anyways, he sounds like a fun guy.” He stretched out his back before clicking his seat belt. “I’ll get out the bracelets once we get up in the air. I know you’re dying to put it back on.”

“Am not!” But yes, I was. I don’t know exactly why I liked wearing it so much, nor why I even more like the sight of seeing the moon full.

“Whatever you say, shrimpy.”

“It’s Edward, not shrimpy!”

Ding! The red seatbelt light flashed twice before going out, which was followed by several clicking of belts and rummaging as men and women got out of their seats. Envy and the cat eared girl followed in suit. My “boyfriend” carefully passed me my laptop before sitting back down with our bag of goodies.

While I quickly turned on my laptop and connected it to the wifi, Envy dug through the bag and pulled out the delicate bracelets and some snacks he bought. He stuffed the bag underneath the seat in front of him and lowered the tray table. He held up the bracelet and asked, “You want the smaller half right?”

I nodded and held my wrist for him. He went to clasp the bracelet on when I suddenly snapped back. He gave me a confused look then reached out for my hand again when I shook him head no. “Why?” He blatantly asked.

I stared at him for a second, trying to figure out exactly why I had pulled back when it tout de suite clicked. “Because it’s girly.” I muttered out, looking away.

I could feel his gaze on me as he let out a small laugh. “So? It’s just a bracelet. No one is going to make fun of you. If anyone was to, it would be me.”

Frowning, I held my hand out to him to where he joyously clicked it on. He did his as well before breaking out a snack to chew on.

The messages box popped up onto the screen with Al’s response on it. Since I had both an apple phone and laptop, I had it setup to receive and send messages from either device.

Al: When do you think you guys will be in Boston? I could come and pick you up.

Envy, who had been reading the question from over my shoulder, turned the laptop away from me and began to type.

Me: You don’t need to worry, metal boy. I already got someone picking us up. He’s spending the night at my place since we might be getting there late. He’ll see you tomorrow, don’t worry. ~ En

I read the message over then rolled my eyes. “Do I have to?” I whined, snatching the candy cane flavored gummies out of his hand and stole a few from his bag before tossing it back at him. I popped a few into my mouth as I watched Al’s message arrive.

Al: Aw, ok. TAKE CARE OF HIM. He has a hard time at sleeping in new places.

Me: NO I DON’T

Me: Yeah yeah, I got it. He’s going to be well rested when you see him. I’ll make sure that happens. ~En

I rolled my eyes and stuffed a few more candies into my mouth. It’s so annoying how it’s always difficult to get adjusted to a new place. I don’t know exactly why it bothers me so much– maybe because it’s such a new place and anything could happen?– but it does.

Envy was smirking at me which I pointedly ignored and opened up Pandora. “So…” He started when I pushed my earbuds into the computer and stuck the buds into my ears. “What do you want to do now?”

“I want to sleep.” I muttered, which was the truth. Now that we were above the storm clouds, it was clear as day that it was night. Stars were twinkling like little clear flakes of snow that were caught in the light as they fell.

“Then sleep, it’s not like there is much else to do.” Envy sighed and ate some of the candies, he gave me a few when I held my hand out. “ Or we can play a game.”

I raised an eyebrow as he turned the computer towards him again and typed in a web address. “Seriously?” He, a grown man, had typed in CoolMathGames.com.

“What? They have cool games.” He reasoned, which I couldn’t argue against, but…

“This website is for little kids.”

“Fine.” He grumbled and typed in a new web address: ArmorGames.com. Now that was better. I watched as he clicked through the website until he found the game that he wanted. “This Is The Only Level. I’m a champ at this.”

Basically, this game is about a blue elephant on one stage that is the only stage through the whole “level”. The only change is that the controls or path to get to the tunnel at the end of the stage is changed and the only hint you get at the change is by the title of the stage. I love this game. I’ve played or even completely nearly all of the creator’s of This Is The Only Level’s games.

“Let’s take turns. Whoever finishes the stage the fastest wins.” I quickly popped up another tab of the game so we could switch and play the same stage. “Whoever wins gets to make the other person do something of their likings or gets some of the candy.”

“Deal.”

He pushed the armrest between us up so we could sit closer together to reach the laptop. The lights above dimmed as if they were timed at when I unpaused the game to start.

Stage 1: Arrow Keys Required

This stage was pretty obvious, the first level of any game is always straightforward and easy. All I had to do was use the normal arrow keys configuration to jump onto the red button (that’s located in the middle of the stage which is used to open a little door leading to the ending tunnel) and go through the ending tunnel. I paused the game again and let Envy have a go.

He did the same as me but missed a ledge and fell; he had to get back up and waste a second of time.

I smiled triumphantly and stole a few more candy cane gummies.

Stage 2: Not Always Straightforward

At first, I tried the basic configuration of the arrow keys (up=jump, down=quicker descent down, right=go right, left=go left) but I found out quickly that they keys of right and left were switched; I began to run left into the wall while trying to go right. After falling and hitting spikes several times causing me to die, I finally got use to the controls and successfully made it to the end.

Envy’s turn was much more neat, no elephant bodies had laid upon the screen unlike mine were three had fallen on the same spike. He turned to me with a wide smirk.

I rolled my eyes. “You know you have an advantage, you get to see me figure it out before it’s your turn.”

“Oh well.” He shrugged then reached across me to pluck out an earbud. “I want to listen too, you know.”

Stage 3: Think Before Doing

This one was quite obvious by just looking at the map: the door that was needed to be opening the red button was already opened and all I had to do is run through the tunnel. And I did exactly that without faltering.

Envy though, he wasn’t as lucky. He had accidentally jumped onto the button out of pure habit and had to go back to start.

I teasingly poked him in the ribs which was returned with an exasperated eyeroll and smirk. “Hm… what should I make you do?” I glanced around before an idea struck me. “Give me your jacket, I want to try it on.”

He obeyed and peeled off the jacket, which ended up not being the best idea. While trying to take off the cropped jacket, his arm had flung out and hit me square in the face. Fortunately, Envy realized his fault quickly and decided to leave it on so not to hurt the Cat-Headphones next to us. I swore under my breath at him and started the next round.

Stage 4: Alternate Control Scheme

This stage wasn’t too bad and the both of us basically tied on this stage so I just went on to the next one.

Stage 5: FreeFloating

I have no idea why I continuously died on this stage. All I had to do was to click the right key at certain moments to land on the red button and platforms. The cause was probably the obvious presence of Envy sitting so close to me and practically breathing down my neck, whether he had scooched closer to me or not will be a mystery; it wasn’t like I didn’t like it, it was just distracting me.

Envy got to pick the prize at this level. I watched as he bit his lip and stared down at the laptop until his head popped up. A mischievous look entered his eyes as he turned to me and asked in a soft, impish whisper, “Can I have a kiss?”

“NO!” I squeaked out, loud enough that the person sitting in front of us had woken up from their nap and told us to shush. I pulled away from him slightly and sent a glare. “I still don’t know you,” I said quietly through my teeth.

He grimaced and looked away, deliberately not letting me see his face but not before I saw something that made my eyes widen. “I was only joking, don’t get mad at me. It’s too cramped in here to fight anyways.” He mumbled.

I opened my month to confront him but I took it back and looked at the laptop screen. The little blue elephant was dying over and over again, I had accidently left my hand on the keyboard.

Why did you look so eager?

We ended up continuing the game after the question. Envy had asked no other embarrassing or absurd things after Stage 5, yet what I saw during that stage still whirled around in my head, bumping and pushing each and every thought out of its way; why did his face soften, eyes widen, smirk slide into a smile after he asked that question and waited for my answer? So, I reasoned with that thought. There was obviously no way I could just push it into the back of my mind just for it to fester and grow into something dangerous.

“Ed, wake up.” Envy snapped his fingers in front of my face; I had unawarely zoned out into deep concentration while we waiting to get out of the plane.

“Uh.. yeah! I’m here.” Sighing, I inched forward in the line until we were able to reach the door. I gave the flight attendant a courteous nod before stepping out of the plane and onto the walkway which I went down at a quicken pace, Envy following closely behind.

I only stopped walking once we walked out of the hallway and got out of the way of the rest of the passengers. A great yawn and a stretch came from the palm tree which made me yawn as well no matter how much I wanted to suppress it. I quickly stole a glance at my phone for it to only make me feel more tired because it flashed 1:30 am up onto the screen.

After reporting the time to a writhing palm tree, I pulled on my leather jacket to hide from the cold. As we walked over to the escalators and climbed on, I asked, “Who’s picking us up? Al is probably still up and can pick us up. I don’t want to be waiting outside in the cold, especially when you’re not wearing much for a jacket.”

“Aw~ The shrimp cares about me.” He cooed which was only answered with a glare. “Anyways, we are getting a taxi. Unless you are so insistent on getting your brother to drive us.”

I did feel extremely guilty about asking Al to come pick us up but it was definitely a better alternative than taking a beat up taxi. “Yeah, I’ll tell him.” After quickly shooting a text to Al, we stepped off the escalator and started to make our way down to the drop off/pick up station.

We decided to stay inside while waiting. Envy had wandered off to get a drink while I yawned and flopped down onto a bench, gazing wearily at the ceiling as I listened to two soft thumps of cans dropping in the machine followed by a crack and fizzle of one of the drinks being opened.

“Is your brother close?” Envy asked as he walked over and tossed his bag onto the bench by my feet before dropping down by my head himself.

“Yeah, knowing him, he would’ve been waiting at the nearest cafe incase we needed a ride.” I took the drink he passed to me and broke the seal open. I had no energy left to sit up to drink without drowning myself so I put it onto the ground.

Envy nodded and rubbed his eyes. “Let’s hope he gets here quickly…” We lapsed into a silence, it was neither awkward nor comfortable, it was kinda like there was more that could be or needed to be talked about but both of us were too tired to talk any more. I dimly watched him stretch and cross his arms behind his head through my bangs, not bothering to brush them out of the way.

After maybe twenty minutes went by, not like we were counting, my pocket suddenly started buzzing, indicating that Al was outside. “Come’n Envy, time to go.” I groaned slightly, pulling myself out of the daze and off of the bench.

I glared at him as he gave a uncalled for comment that I sounded like an old man when getting up. We throw our bags over our shoulders before heading outside into the cold.

I hope I didn’t make the wrong decision.

Alphonse’s Extra:

“Envy! Stop pushing me. I know it’s cold outside,” was the first thing I heard my brother say as he tried to clamber into the car. Ed half launched himself into the back seats with his boyfriend following close behind and slamming the door close.

“We made it!” Ed’s boyfriend– Envy– said joyously before collapsing in both exhaustion and relief.

I couldn’t help but laugh and turn around in my seat to examine who I had just picked up. Edward, hair windswept and cheeks pink, was trying to nudge off a wild looking man off of him who had sprawled out across the whole back seat. Envy’s dark green dyed hair was slipping out of its bun and falling against Ed’s lap. I raised an eyebrow in Ed’s direction, although I really shouldn’t be questioning who he had found; Ed was always fond of those different and “darker” kinds of things. It’s not like I minded the painted black nails, dyed hair, or the crop jacket. They just weren’t the kind of things I were into.

“Hey Ed, Envy. You guys better buckle up if you want to go.” I said, smiling to myself absentmindedly as they muttered in agreement and buckled themselves up– I wasn’t about to be pulled over or have someone get hurt on my watch.

After introducing myself and getting the address from Envy, I turned back around in my seat and started to drive. Ed let out a soft complaint about how cold it was out so I raised the heat for him which was followed by a sleepy Envy muttering about that he was going to go to take a nap now. The car was mostly silent except of the lowered down music still humming throughout the car.

“Hey… Ed? You still up?” I hesitantly asked.

His response came, “Yeah, I’m here. Can’t we just go home? Isn’t that closer?”

“Come on Ed, he’s your boyfriend. At least stay the day at his place first. It isn’t Christmas yet so you can wait.”

“Ugh.” A soft thump sound, presumably he had hit his head on the window. I laughed slightly before he continued grumbling, “I don’t even have anything to change into in the morning. I assumed we would be going home.”

“Oh, I brought you stuff. I’m always prepared, brother, but you should’ve asked me.” I did, in fact, bring him a small duffle bag with a few essentials inside. It’s not surprising that he comes unprepared to important stuff like this. He really needs to make a list or calendar sometime.

“Thanks Al. Oh, on that note, I completely forgot to bring your present with me. It’s still in the dorm.”

“Of course you did.” I sighed out. If I wasn’t tired and trying to pay attention to the road, I would’ve probably smashed my automail hand into my face or lectured Ed on how to stop forgetting everything.

The back of the car went silent so I guessed that Ed had fell asleep as well. I couldn’t help but to sigh again as I flexed my automail fingers against the steering wheel. It’s been over ten years since I had lost my right arm and left leg. Luckily, one of my best friend’s grandmother and parents had helped in a project to develop a new kind of prosthetic– a prosthetic that sort of looked more real (as in the size and shape of a typically arm), can lift greater weights easily, and can operate directly from the nerves where the arm is also powered. The idea to set this new technology that was still in the making onto a child that had just lost some of the most important things he would ever had seemed cruel almost from an outsider’s perspective but I had chosen this on my own. Lucky, automail had already passed animal testing and had started testing on adults, children was all that was left to be tested on and I had stepped up. I’m not incredibly brave or anything, I was just acting out of selfishness to be honest, I had just lost my mother and father and was strained with my brother. At that age, I already knew the risks and was prepared to take them on. It wasn’t like getting the automail erased my memories, it was more or less of a reminder of what happened that day, but I can’t say I was disappointed with my decision.

My eyes widened as I pulled up to a gate. Just what did the Alisters do to get this money?! Just beyond the tall black gate was a huge black and white (or at least that’s the colors I could pick out between the snow and night sky) mansion. A few lights were on and two people’s silhouettes could be seen in the through on the the great windows.

I glanced back at Envy and Ed to check with either of them had woken up but both were still sleeping. I nervously rolled down the window and clicked the calling button on the mini number pad to open the gate. Before we had driven here, Envy had told me what to say but that doesn’t mean I’m still nervous about it.

A smooth feminine voice erupted from the speaker. “Hello?”

“Uh… Hi! I have Envy Alister and his boyfriend, Edward Elric here. I’m Alphonse, Ed’s brother.” I said, trying to keep my voice clear in case the speakers were bad at picking up noise.

“Oh. Okay, I’ll let you in. Just drive up to the front door.” The box let out a click as the woman’s voice vanished.

The gate clattered as it moved aside for me to pass through– which I did and drove up right up to the front door. By the time I parked, the two people I had seen in the windows had exited the mansion and walked up to the car.

“Ed, Envy. We’re here.” I called into the back of the car. The both of them seemed not to hear me and continued to sleep, Envy still sprawled out yet kept sitting up due to the seat beat and Ed looking dead against the window. I sighed and got out.

The woman approached me. “Thank you for bringing them here. They must have had a rough time if they were here so late.” The woman was dashing, her pitch black hair delectably rolled her purple scarf and coat. Her jacket looked like it was half rushed to be put on due to it being unbuttoned and accidentally revealing a stunning black dress. “I’m Lust by the way, the one annoying your brother over there is Wrath.”

The boy, Wrath, was tapping on the car window like the couple inside was a pair zoo animals.. He, I guess maybe 15 years old, let out a soft sound of glee as Ed snapped awake and looked around.

A small ruckus came from the car as Ed woke his boyfriend up and clambered out of the car. “Envy! Stop clinging onto me, you should’ve brought more clothes if it’s was going to be this cold out.” I could hear the grumbling of Ed as he half dragged, half lead, his boyfriend out of the car and into the snow.

“Aw~ If I hold onto you, you won’t be so cold either.” The two men walked around the car for all of us to see Envy with his arms wrapped around Ed’s waist. The man looked up. “Hey Lust, Wrath.”

Lust nodded and took the duffel bag from Ed because his hands were full from carrying his stuff and Envy’s bag. “Alphonse, you may stay the rest of the night if you want. It’s too late to go anywhere now.”

I raised a hand and shook my head. “No no, I can’t do that. My brother should enjoy his first day here without me.”

“Al! Don’t leave me.” Ed’s panicked whine came and he tried to pull away from Envy to get to me.

I laughed. “You’ll see me soon, you can survive.” Ed let out another whine but I disregarded that and thanked Lust again for the offer. “I’ll get going now. Goodnight.”

Additional Notes: This chapter is dedicated to Jester-Knyght. Thank you for being my partner for the Edvy-Alliance.

Disclosure: I do not own “This Is The Only Level” nor any other of the objects/games referenced by name.

The prompt: “It’s late, the airport’s closing, and our flight just got cancelled, I have never met you before but I guess we’re stuck together until the next flight”.