#to let daisy upstairs so she gets into trouble

[licially]

Frepper - Follow Suit

// I got no idea how this came into fruition, I've only completely wrote this out before I realised what I was doing. Anyways enjoy this tiny fic I wrote for myself and/or anyone else who are enjoying the awkward dynamic between these two.

The evening flaunted itself with a merrier than usual crowd down at Lackadaisy, and most opted to swing by the stage and dance to their heart’s content between stanzas, sung by a backup singer for the night as the jazz band winds down for the week ahead. Within the crowded mess, only messier given the fact that it is littered with alcoholics, some more drunk than others, and the music proved exacerbating to both him and his mental state. It was overwhelming, yet he had to persevere, as he waddled his way through everyone. 

He wanted to find Ivy here, after she invited him back to another night at Lackadaisy just a few weeks after she gave him the pin of clubs. A message, written in a note, found Calvin on the day just before the night. It sat in the mailbox in front of his house, and it stood out to him since most mail that was directed to the household doesn't normally have a daisy flower pinned onto it. Reluctantly, he picked up the letter for himself, yet he’d never want to explain the true meaning of this letter to his mother.

He took a precarious approach into the household; he didn’t want to be perceived by his mother after the incident down Route 94, which essentially made him in even more trouble than his cousin. Through the front door, he quickly ran down towards the bench near the kitchen. Nina had been upstairs, but even she heard Calvin’s attempt thanks to the creaky wooden floor from their house. 

“Calvin! Is ever’thin’ alright?” She screamed, from atop the stairs.

“Yes mom- everything is fine!” He replied, with a shrill in his voice from the initial jump scare of his mother’s scream. After he’s done putting his mother’s mail on the kitchen bench, he quickly ran upstairs and into his room where he gently tore off the envelope of the letter that was meant for him. It wasn’t entirely heavy, save for the daisy, and the message inside also proved to be even tinier on his paws: 

McMurray,

I hope this note finds you before your mother does, but you should come back to Lackadaisy, I need to talk to you about something just between the two of us privately. Rocky won’t be there, I promise.  Bring the pin I gave you, just in case. Horatio tends to check for the pins for the newcomers, but for the most part he knows you well enough. to let you in.

See you there!

Ivy Pepper

Surprised, he set out for any fancy suits in his closet. When he first stepped into the speakeasy, there were patrons with more grandeur and complicated suits than the simple bow tie that he was so accustomed to wearing. Rarely had he put together an actual tuxedo for the occasion, given his last one was just Sunday church service, yet he feels that any suit would do fine for this place. After all, he wasn’t bound for formalities, but fitted himself with whatever was necessary. Albeit it made him uncomfortable at times, he squeaked through.

Usually, tuxedos are worn by combining a waistcoat, laid over a bright white shirt, with a jacket’s lapel distinguishing the features of someone who would wear such an outfit, but he didn’t know any better. Fact of the matter is that he hid himself trying to get the note towards his room, and now he had to justify the choice of clothing he chooses to wear on a Wednesday night to go somewhere even more discreet. This time, his cousin won’t back him out into the wilderness.

As the day soon turned into the afternoon, and into night, Calvin mustered up little to no courage to talk to Nina about the night that was ahead. His chores really put him out of commission from even talking, from mowing the lawn again to trimming the hedges to spring cleaning the household. Every task was grueling, not just towards his physical health but his mental. Every moment he had the chance to talk to her about the night, it was instead interrupted by the workload that each of his jobs offered, or she was too busy minding her own business, and that he didn’t want to interrupt given her temperament.

At the dinner table that night, they both slowly enjoyed a pork roast, with baked potatoes and carrots and peas, a mishmash of gravy, and a glass of water on the side. During the silent clash of silverware, they both chewed silently with Calvin dwelling on his thoughts just as much as he did with his food. Chewing through his thoughts, again, was that letter’s contents; What did she want from him so much that it needed his attention? And why Lackadaisy specifically, instead of anywhere else? Why did she mention the fact that Rocky will not be there? What happened to him? Is he hurt that badly again, to the point where he’s not able to be there? Questions, comments, and possible theories demonized and dominated his headspace, since he had worried Rocky would end up hurt again. He may have been kicked out of the house, but still doesn’t mean that he could entirely dismiss him.

His thoughts soon kind of took him out of his headspace, as Nina quietly catched on. She hoped that this was just poor Freckle being burned out by today, but her realization struck as much as the gravy did, as the food on his fork slid off and onto his shirt, staining it with… that lukewarm gross stuff. Surprised, she called out for his name, with no answer to boot. As Calvin dangerously, and mindlessly, and slowly, raised his empty fork towards his mouth, Nina raised her voice at him.

“...Calvin. CALVIN.” Nina’s screaming proved effective, as he immediately snapped away from his mindless acting, and set down the fork towards the table of food. The lukewarm sensation down his shirt finally reached him, as he stood up to let the food fall towards the floor, he stood there in absolute disgust, and faced that same disgust from his mother, who now stood up with a revolting and confused look on her face. It reflected in her words too, mixed in with anger after all of the cleaning that she didn’t even do.

“You’re going to clean that up, finish your food, and go to sleep immediately. Understood?” She hissed out, strutting past him and into a closet with all of their cleaning equipment. He stood there, still wondering if he should really tell her about it or just not go. He heaved a sigh, as Nina came back with brooms and mops, to a slightly more distraught Calvin, who reluctantly cleaned up his mess. With that, he ended the night on a sour note. The dinner was the thing he did look forward to, after the day went from bad to worse, with nothing in between that made him any better about himself.

That night, as he laid on his bed, he had a final decision. Either he sat at home, and explained to Ivy later that he couldn’t commit himself because of his strict mother. Or he needed to find a way to sneak out of the household, and finally meet up with her without the other interruption that was always in his ears. He had always wanted to get back at Ivy for her sudden moves with him, especially secretive and behind Rocky’s back. He figured this was a good reason to confront her about it.

So, he set out that night. Being the same as the last time he did it the first time to get to Lackadaisy, this time carrying a suit on him to be extra cautious about: the jacket has wide satin peaked lapels with the point of the lapel pointing upward, with large and rather solid shoulder pads and curved sleeves, a single button closure and four button cuffs. 

The jacket has a breast pocket and a jetted pocket at either side and is lined in black satin fabric on the body and white satin in the sleeves, and a black bowtie to finish off. To him, this had been the first time this suit had ever been worn outside of formal events, and it still had some dust on it as he silently creeped out of the room and down the stairs. Finally, as he stepped outside towards greener grass, he walked slowly towards the city center, and soon caught a taxi towards the Little Daisy Cafe.

The slow, yet endearing tune whistled its way to his lover, as he weaved towards Ivy in the distance. It didn’t seem like he knew about this whole place being this packed, as he did hope for the place to be less packed as it was, but it seemed all the more busy than usual. Horatio even mentioned briefly that “Wick’s party showed up again. Pardon the loud noise.” He quietly, yet deeply regrets not heeding to his advice, holding his hand towards his ears as he found himself surrounded by the constant loud music, the equally as loud chatter from everyone, and the-

“Found you!” A familiar voice caught him off guard, as he felt a hand on his shoulders that complimented the voice of surprise.

Behind him stood Ivy Pepper, who was dressed for the occasion from head to tail. A feather that was essentially in her hair, a necklace of pearls that accompanied the orange-ish dress that covered itself scarlet form the lighting of the place. Ivy smiled at Freckle, now holding his hands as she got closer and closer, Ivy being the most energetic to the confusion of Calvin.

“Uhh- hi?” He said, a slight smile across his face.

“You finally made it!” Ivy heartily said, her smile full of glitz and glamor as her dress. “Oh wait- the music’s about to start!” 

As the two held each other, hand to hand, shoulder to shoulder, they danced onwards and to the slow lover’s tune that resonated with most. Calvin steered himself quietly towards a  slow dance, something Ivy taught Calvin before. To Calvin, it felt more new and oftentimes he’d stumble between steps, accidentally hold Ivy’s hands a little too hard and/or soft, but Ivy withstood the clumsiness. She’s been used to more stubborn people, one of such notoriety is Rocky, yet Calvin’s case is different. He had put in efforts to do whatever she had asked him to do, albeit nervously, but he was capable of doing so with determination. 

The two kept at it, often exchanging positions, and occasionally twirling one another around with an added awkwardness to it. To him, this felt like traversing through this unknown terrain, but to her it’s improv practice. It makes sense, only to her, that he was just playing around with Ivy to get her to come up with newer ideas. As the music faded, the two hastily finished up the last movement to the dance, before mellowing it out towards a standstill.

Face to face, where the two suits of clubs met, they stood at the wooden floor of the dance floor in front. They didn’t wanna move from the spot, at least for a bit, because the night’s sting finally caught up to them. Maybe the dancer’s reprise could bring them both back, but for now they held each other, a moment in time where they exchanged both looks and smiles.

“I… have been meaning to ask you something.” Freckle stuttered, finally wanting to address the elephant in the room.

“What is it, McMurray?” She curiously asked, in a fit of tiredness.

“Why did you bring me here? Alongside Rocky… I mean. Why did you give me the pin?”

“Well… I’ve already told you, have I not? It’s for your own sake.” Ivy replied, seemingly covering something up. “You wanted to get away from your mom, right?”

“I–” He stuttered, a bit confused. On how exactly she read his mind like that.

Ivy giggled, slightly gesturing towards Calvin’s face. “That’s my guess, I might be wrong, you know?”

As the three of clubs brought himself forwards at the request of Ivy, soon one away from the four of clubs. Ivy sighed. She didn’t have an ounce of clue on how he felt, but judging from his soon flustered face, she hit a soft spot in Calvin somehow. Some way. She leaned closer and closer towards him as well, as they spoke to each other, almost following suit of what they had said before.

“My hands aren’t shaky anymore.” She teased, even though it was just shaky, but not enough for Calvin to notice.

“I… I mean, now I know how to kiss.” He laughed back, awkwardly.

“And you still have that mortal terror on that face of yours, McMurray.” She smiled, now they were only an inch away from each other.

Soon, they converged on each other, and finally delivered the kiss on the dance floor.A kiss that left the fourth mark on his suit, as they both embraced it like the last time around, in much better conditions than that pig truck, and in a much better place than that confrontation with Fish and Wes. Slowly, they pulled themselves a tad bit apart, as they both shared one more look between each other. 

“This is when you should say ‘I love you’, Calvin. I’d thought I’d let you know.” 

[simslegacy5083]

Not So Berry (Straud Descendants) Gen 9

Today's (9/23/2024) Episode: The Error of His Ways

Before he could make things even worse, Luigi fled into the gaming center, where he realized that he’d missed a text from his family.

Apparently, they’d found a quiet corner to play some board games on the second floor, and he started heading their way with a heavy heart.

He knew Noemi would be disappointed in what he’d done. How would this look to the public and his Project Daisy backers? He was positive it wouldn’t be long before the whole sad story saw the light of day, and he had no-one to blame but himself.

When he spotted his family upstairs the idea facing them made his stomach churn. He detoured to the restroom, barely making it into a stall before throwing up the remains of his breakfast. His embarrassment increased when he heard someone behind him ask “hey man, are you OK?”

Turning he found the fan who’d distracted him and Noemi from Skye at the start of their outing. He made a weak gesture of acknowledgement, and the stranger gave him a sympathetic look. “That was a crazy show you put on out there. Maybe next time just let it go man, it ain’t worth it.”

With no excuse to delay any longer Luigi settled at the small table where Noemi and Steven were enjoying a game of Don’t Wake the Llama while Skye played with a toy nearby. “How’d it go?” Noemi immediately asked, “Was she willing to negotiate?”

Luigi found himself having trouble forming his reply, finally grinding out “No, not exactly.” He then proceed to tell them the whole sordid tale.

“I know I screwed up.” he finished. “I was trying to protect you but as usual I made a mess of things. Its this stupid temper of mine. Something comes over me when someone tries to hurt the sims I care about and I stop thinking. I know you’re disappointed, and you have every right to be. I’m sorry.”

Little Skye, who had heard the whole thing, responded before his momma. “Don’t be sad. Daddy a big bad, you made the mean lady go away.”

Luigi felt his cheeks flush red with shame. Their little boy already had a habit of trying to solve his problems with violence, and now he’d gone and reinforced that bad behavior even if he hadn’t meant to. He was better than that and he had to start acting like it!

“No Skye” he replied “Daddy is sad, because he made a big mistake. Mommy and I don’t want you to act like that, its not OK to solve your problems by being mean to others.” Skye frowned but didn’t say anymore as he turned back to his toy.

Next Luigi focused on his grandfather. “I’m sorry to cut our outing short, but we really should go. I don’t think its wise for us to be out in public right now, and we need to get home and get ready for the awards ceremony tonight. Thank you for inviting us, hopefully next time it won’t end so poorly.”

Rising Steven said “I understand. I wish it hadn’t come to a fight but thank you for trying to get the photos away from those prying busybodies.”

Luigi nodded “you’re welcome” and allowed himself to be wrapped up in a big hug before gathering his family and heading on his way.

Back at home, Noemi pulled her husband aside for a chat. "I'm glad you understand that what happened today wasn't OK." she began "But like you said, that understanding doesn't help you in the heat of the moment. I think it's time you see a professional about managing your anger.“

Luigi could only nod "You're right, as usual. I need to record an apology video too." He shuddered "Those things are so cringe, but it has to be done.”

“Cullen texted while we were in transit, and the fight is already trending on SimTube. He said if it was anyone other than the Paparazzi, or any week other than right after the Pancakes incident, I’d be cooked… but it's still not good. Entering therapy for anger management will help sell my sincerity."

"Thank you" he went on "For being you. You inspire me to do better, be better. Today was terrible, but it was also the first fight I've had in a long time and that's largely due to your influence. I'd be lost without you, or maybe behind bars." 

Noemi smiled. “I much prefer being the only one who puts you in cuffs. Now let's find our baby and get ready to mingle with the stars. I'm crossing my fingers that after tonight you'll get to add "Starlight Accolade Award Winner" to your resume!"

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[flowersbane]

YESSSSS THANK YOU!!! I read your Joshua x Jote fic and I love the flower festival idea!! PLEASE GIVE THAT BOY SOME SLEEP AND ROSES!!! (*≧∀≦*) I’m glad I could inspire you and can’t wait for pt. 2! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

you are most welcome!! thank YOU for your request, i had so much fun writing it! thank you for your patience & i hope you enjoy part 2!

(=´∀｀)人(´∀｀=)

Stop & Smell the Roses, pt. 2

Joshua Rosfield x Jote

Joshua and Jote spend some time at the festival. Joshua's eager interest for the festival may have been a bit more than Jote had expected.

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 2.2k

Tags: Flower Festival, Jote Worries And Joshua Scurries (Off Somewhere), Festival Shenanigans, Fluff, Cutesy, Sweet Words And Sweeter Declarations, Jote Appreciation, The More Carefree Half Of The Story, Unedited

You can read part 1 here!

The following morning, Jote woke before Joshua. She pulled on her cloak and gloves, careful not to wake the sleeping Phoenix. He looked so much younger in his sleep. She could almost imagine him as an ordinary boy, not bound by prophecy or duty or his unyielding ailments. She would’ve liked to see a world where Joshua Rosfield was unburdened. But this was not that world.

She pulled on her boots before quietly exiting the room. The downstairs tavern was mostly empty, save for a few stragglers who were still passed out at various tables. She approached the bar and ordered two plates of breakfast. After paying, she took the plates upstairs. She had to place one of them down in order to open the door. She kept note of which it was to ensure that it was not the one she would serve His Grace.

Joshua was awake when she re-entered the room, but it looked as though he had only just awoken. “Jote,” he got up to help her, holding the door and softly closing it behind her.

“Good morning. I hope I did not wake you.”

“No, you didn’t.”

Jote offered him the first plate. He nodded his thanks. 

The two sat in silence for a few moments as they began to eat. After several minutes had passed, Joshua spoke again. “The markets will open soon. Once we are finished eating, we should make our way outside to begin our search.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Breakfast was as uneventful and peaceful as it was most mornings. The day was young and the hour was too early for trouble to find them. Joshua slid his sword into its sheath and pulled his hood over his head. He led the way downstairs and out, onto the streets that were slowly beginning to crowd. He glanced from side to side before settling on a direction.

The streets were lined with floral decorum and eager merchants. They focused on Jote as she passed, no doubt finding her much more approachable than the cloaked man she walked with.

“Fresh preserves, come get your fresh preserves!”

“We have the sweetest honey you’ll ever find!”

“Buy a bouquet for your wife! Steal her heart all over again!”

“You there, young lass, you look like you know how to appreciate a fine bottle of wine!”

Jote looked away from the merchants. From what she could see, Joshua seemed completely unbothered by them. He was walking at a moderate pace, head directed forward, when suddenly his path was cut off by a small child.

“Fresh flower crowns, milord, I’m selling fresh flower crowns! Only three gil a piece!” She was carrying a basket of flowers and looked to be around five or six years old. Her round cheeks were flushed and her reddish brown hair was tied into two pigtails on either side of her head.

Jote stepped forward to guide the child out of their path, but Joshua raised a hand to stop her. “Lord Margrace?”

He crouched down, allowing the hood to fall from his head. “Let’s see what you have then, shall we?”

The little girl’s face lit up. She shuffled around her flower crowns until she found one that was on the thinner side. A circle of daisies was lined by greenery, bound together by a white ribbon in the back. “I think this one would suit you best,” she said.

He allowed her to place the crown on his head. He turned to look up at Jote. “Well? What do you think?”

She did her best to ignore the quickened beating of her heart. “It’s lovely, my lord.”

Joshua turned back to the girl. “I would like to buy this piece, please, along with something for my friend here.”

The girl’s grin widened and she nodded. She took out a second crown for Jote and presented it to her. This one was thick with deep emerald leaves and violet flowers. “For you, milady.”

“Thank you.” Jote handled the piece with gentle fingers. She glanced at Joshua. He gave her an encouraging nod. Her face still warmed as she placed the crown on her head.

The girl held out an open palm to Joshua. “That will be 10 gil!” she declared.

Joshua raised his brows, but he did not sound at all offended when he asked, “10 gil?”

“3 for each crown, 2 for each consultation.” She sounded like she was struggling with that last word, still too unpracticed in language to gracefully speak it.

Joshua chuckled. He paid her exorbitant fees and the girl dashed off. Jote took a step closer as Joshua got to his feet. “Your Grace…” she said in a low voice.

“It’s alright, Jote. We have the funds to spare.”

Her doubtful look remained. Joshua only smiled and continued their path through the merchants’ stalls. He kept his hood down, which unnerved Jote, but she saw the look on his face. The small joy. She couldn’t bring herself to interrupt it. Just for today, she told herself.

They eventually crossed a stall manned by an old woman. It was cloaked in squares of dark fabric, but through its opening, Jote could see that the inside glowed with candlelight. “Ah, you two, lovebirds,” the woman called.

Jote blushed at her obscene accusation. Joshua only grinned and approached. “This is quite the setup you have here,” he said.

Hardly. Jote kept her disagreements to herself. If this is meant to be a fortune teller’s tent, she has everything all wrong. 

“You look as if you have traveled much, milord. No doubt there is much you have yet to discover. I could help you get a step ahead. For a fair price, of course.”

There was no way His Grace would– 

“Why not? Sounds interesting.”

Jote gawked at him, mouth fallen ajar. “Lord Margrace,” she attempted to caution.

He only glanced over his shoulder and shrugged, as though he was just as helpless as she was. She hesitantly followed him into the woman’s tent. Joshua sat on the bench closest to the entrance while Jote stood just behind him and to his left. The woman took the seat across from him.

“I do things a little differently from other tellers,” the woman explained.

You don’t say. Jote tried and failed to keep her cynicism from her face.

“I use flowers to see into the otherworld. They communicate things to me known only by the land.”

Jote crossed her arms over her chest. If that were true, why waste your time selling fortunes on the side of a road? 

The woman’s attention suddenly turned to Jote. “Oh, please, dear, take a seat too. You are also part of this journey, are you not?”

Jote stalled, refusing to move from her spot near the exit until Joshua turned to look at her. He patted the empty spot on the small, wooden bench next to him. She gave him a look. Are you serious, Your Grace? He returned it with one of his false pleas. Please, Jote. She sighed and crossed the small, empty space between them. There was barely enough room for two people. When she sat beside him, there was no way to keep their legs from touching. He didn’t seem to mind so Jote tried to ignore the contact.

“Please,” Joshua invited the woman to begin.

The supposed-teller spread out a variety of flowers onto the deep purple tablecloth. She ran her fingertips over the petals, closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath. “Your travels have not been easy,” she said. Jote was unimpressed. The woman continued, “for they have come with a heavy burden. Not one easily seen.” Jote stirred a little in her seat. It was still too vague to mean anything, but she didn’t like the idea that the woman would guess anything correct about them. “The good thing is, the two of you have each other.”

Now Jote’s face was warming up. Joshua flashed her an affectionate smile, but the best she could do was a quiet hum, small nod, and an awkward, upwards twitch of the corners of her lips. He seemed satisfied with that as he turned his smile back to the woman. Her gaze was locked on Jote. It startled her for a moment, eyes widening when they met the old woman, but there was nothing to be alarmed about in the woman’s face.

“He is very dear to you.” Her heartbeat quickened. “You are the winter to his summer, the thunder of his lightning, the shadow of his flame.” She tried to keep still in her seat, but it just made her posture frigid. “The flowers say the two of you have been together for a long time, and you have longer, still, to be by each other’s side.”

Joshua was still entirely unconcerned. “That’s good to hear, isn’t it?”

She gave him a worried look, but his expression only made her sigh. “Yes, my lord.”

The fortune teller continued to make general, open-ended statements for a few more minutes. Once she was done, Joshua paid her fee and the two stepped back outside.

“That was intriguing, wouldn’t you say?”

“You cannot truly believe she had the ability to speak to the planet through flowers–”

But he was already several yards away; scanning the area for the next extortion he could become the victim of, no doubt. Jote sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day, and quickened her pace to catch up with him.

She was glad he was taking the time to enjoy the festival, but she wondered if she had relaxed too much. By the time the sun was beginning its descent across the sky, they were down a couple hundred gil and still nowhere near completing their task at hand. Of course, all of the merchants with useful wares were located at the end of the street. Joshua purchased more supplies for travel. After some convincing, he also bought more supplies for medicine.

Jote relaxed over the stretch of the day. How could she not? The Phoenix’s joy was as catching as his flames. She had thought she had wanted him to take time to rest, but seeing his smile, seeing the curiosity that sparked in his crystalline eyes every time they crossed something new, she knew this had been what she wanted all along. Even if it could only last a short amount of time, he would be Joshua today. Not the Phoenix, not an archduke or the leader of the Undying, just Joshua.

They were nearing the end of the market when the voice of a middle-aged man with dark hair and a short beard reached them.

“Fresh roses,” he called. “Good for decor, freshness, and softening your lover’s heart.”

Joshua tossed a playful grin in her direction as he pivoted his steps to head towards the rose stall instead. “I’d like to buy one,” he told the florist.

“Ah, of course, my travel-worn friend, please, select whichever you’d like.”

It didn’t take long for Joshua to make his decision. The florist wrapped the stem in thick, brown paper and Joshua paid him. As he and Jote continued their walk, he held the flower out to her.

“My lord…” Receiving a gift from him felt like diving into a deep pool from a cliffside edge that was almost too high to trust. She did not immediately reach to take it from him. Instead, her hand lingered by her chest, fingers in the proper formation to hold the stem.

“It’s a gift, Jote. Take it. Please.”

She reached for it, handling it like it was made from the thinnest glass. “Thank you, Your Grace.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but he heard it.

He tipped his head upwards, face met with the golden, afternoon rays. “You were right to have us stop here,” he said. “You would think by now I would have learned that I need not doubt you. For if I know one thing in this world, it is that you will always act with my best interest at heart.”

Jote could not look away from him. Her mind told her that she was staring, that she should say something, but her heart had seized every muscle in her body. He had seized every part of her. The last thing she wanted was for him to let go.

When she remained silent, he eventually laughed. It was an affectionate, kind sound. She did not need to say anything. He knew. He extended his arm, holding out his hand with his palm facing upwards. “Come. Let us return to the inn. We will find something to eat along the way.”

It would be improper of her to hold his hand. But it would also be improper of her to refuse him. She passed the rose into her right hand and took his in her left.

“Always,” she whispered.

“Hm?”

She lifted her gaze to meet his. “I will always remain by your side.” She spoke louder this time, but only just so he could catch her words.

His smile was natural. Because he knew. He didn’t need to say anything. Because she knew too. She’d known for a very long time. They both had.

“And I will treasure every second of it,” he swore.

[picsofsannyas]

BELOVED OSHO, I AM JUST CURIOUS. HAVE YOU READ THE BOOK ZORBA THE GREEK BY KAZANTZAKIS? I LOVE IT SO MUCH. IS NOT ZORBA EXACTLY THE WAY YOU WANT US TO BE? AT LEAST THAT IS HOW I UNDERSTAND YOUR TEACHING.

I have been Zorba the Greek for many lives. I need not read the book; that is my autobiography. And that's what I would like you to be. Take life joyfully, take life easily, take life relaxedly, don't create unnecessary problems. Ninety-nine percent of your problems are created by you because you take life seriously. Seriousness is the root cause of problems. Be playful, and you will not miss anything -- because life is God. Forget about God; just be alive, be abundantly alive. Live each moment as if this is the last moment. Live it intensely; let your torch burn from both sides together. Even if it is only for one moment, that is enough. One moment of intense totality is enough to give you the taste of God. You can live in a lukewarm way, the bourgeois way, the middle-class way. You can go on living, dragging yourself for millions of years -- you will only collect dust from the roads and nothing else. One moment of clarity, totality, spontaneity, and you burn like a flame. Just one moment is enough! One moment will make you eternal; you will enter from that moment into eternity. That's my whole message for my sannyasins: live it in such way that you need not repent, ever.

A friend has sent me a paper-cutting.

An old woman, eighty-five years old, was asked by a journalist that if she had to live again, how would she live?

The old woman said -- there is a great insight in it, remember it -- "If I had my life to live over, I would dare to make more mistakes next time. I would relax, I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would take more trips. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I would have fewer imaginary ones.

"You see, I am one of those people who lived sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I have had my moments, and if I had it to do over again I would have more of them. In fact, I would try to have nothing else -- just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I have been one of those persons who never go anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat and a parachute. If I had to do it again I would travel lighter than I have.

"If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring, and stay that way later into the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies."

And that's my vision of a sannyasin too. Live this moment as totally as possible. Don't be too sane, because too much sanity leads to insanity. Let a little craziness exist in you. That gives zest to life, that makes life juicy. Let a little irrationality always be there. That makes you capable of playing, being playful; that helps you to relax. A sane person is utterly hung up in the head, he cannot get down from there. He lives upstairs. Live all over the place, this is your house! Upstairs, good, the ground floor, perfectly good -- and the basement is beautiful too. Live all over the place, this is your house. And don't wait for next time, I would like to tell this old woman, because the next time never comes.

Not that you will not be born again; you will be born again, but then you will forget. Then you will start again from ABC. This old woman has been here before. She must have been here millions of times before. And I can say to you that each time, nearabout the age of eighty-five, she would have decided the same way: "Next time I'm going to do it differently." But next time you don't remember -- that's the problem. You lose all memory of the past life. Then again you start from ABC and the same thing happens.

So I would not say to you to wait for the next time. Take hold of this moment! This is the only time there is, there is no other time. Even if you are eighty-five you can start living. And what is there to lose when you are eighty-five? If you go barefoot on the beach in the spring, if you collect daisies -- even if you die in that, nothing is wrong. To die barefoot on the beach is the right way to die. To die collecting daisies is the right way to die. Whether you are eighty-five or fifteen doesn't matter. Take hold of this moment. Be a Zorba. You ask: "I am just curious. Have you read the book Zorba the Greek? I love it so much."

Only loving it won't help. Be it! Sometimes it happens that you love the opposite of what you are. You enjoy the opposite of what you are -- because it releases fantasies in you. It gives you a vision of how you would like to be: that's the appeal of a Zorba.

But loving the book will not help. That's what people have been doing down the ages. People love the Bible, and don't become Jesus, and they love the Heart Sutra -- they repeat it, they chant it every day. Millions of people in the East repeat the Heart Sutra five times a day -- in China, in Japan, in Korea, in Vietnam -- they go on repeating it. It is a small sutra; it can be repeated within minutes. They love it, but they don't become it!

Be a Zorba. Remember it: loving books is not going to help, only being helps.

"I love it so much. Is not Zorba exactly the way you want us to be?" Not exactly, because I would not like many Zorbas in the world. Not exactly, because that would be ugly and monotonous and boring. You be a Zorba in your own way -- not exactly.

Never try to imitate anybody, never be an imitator; that is suicide. Then you will never be able to enjoy. You will always remain a carbon copy, you will never be the original. And all that happens in life -- truth, beauty, good, liberation, meditation, love -- happens to the original, never to the carbon copy. Beware -- not exactly; that is dangerous. If you simply start following Zorba and start doing things as he is doing them you will get into trouble. That's how people have done it.

Look at the Christians, look at the Hindus: they have been trying to do it exactly. Nobody can be a Buddha again! God does not permit any repetition! God does not allow secondhand people, he loves firsthand people. He loved Buddha. He loved so much that it is finished. Now there is no need for Buddha. It would not be a love affair anymore. It would be like going to the same movie that you have seen before, it would be like reading the same book that you have read many times before. God is not dull and stupid, he never allows anybody to repeat anybody else: Christ only once, Buddha only once -- and so are you only once! And you are alone, there is nobody else like you. Only you are you. This I call reverence for life. This is really self-respect.

Learn from Zorba, learn the secret, but never try to imitate. Learn the climate, appreciate, go into it, sympathize with it, participate with Zorba, and then go on your own. Then be yourself.

Osho.

The Heart Sutra Chapter #6 Chapter title: Don't Be Too Sane

[mwcowan]

A Whole New Chapter

Happy Birthday Max (and Ripley, Olaf, and Daisy)!

June 28th was Max’s 4th birthday (and all of his 8 siblings, though we only know Ripley, Olaf, and Daisy). He celebrated with a special birthday crown, and by devouring a HUGE liver and rice pupcake that Georgia made for him. He had trouble blowing out the candle though.

One thing Max hasn’t acclimated well to are the storms, with their heavy rain, lightning, and thunder. He’s always been shy about loud noises, and here, even the rains get loud. I’ve described the intense lightning and thunder before, but just to remind you it’s LOUD! This is all made worse by the fact that we live outside most of the time, often hanging out in our upstairs open-air foyer; even if we’re indoors we almost always have the windows open. We've read that some dogs deal with loud noises better if they wear earmuffs so we experimented. Here’s Max’s first “boom boom” helmet:

This seemed to help so we’ve since upgraded this to a commercial model that just slips over his ears. We’re not sure if it really muffles the noise or if it just distracts him having something wrapped around his head. He also seems to deal with thunder fairly well by retreating to a ‘sanctuary’, usually underneath my desk in the main room, or Georgia’s desk in our bedroom. We hope he gets used to it quickly – now that we’re in the rainy season we get a thunderstorm almost every afternoon. He’ll get plenty of practice at least!

And Happy 60th Birthday Noel!

Continuing to celebrate birthdays, last weekend we went to Manila to attend the birthday party of our dear friend Noel. Michelle had planned a fun 80’s themed (just my thing!) night, with DJ, dancing, and of course food and drink. We saw many friends there and – small world time – even met two of our neighbors from Kawayan Cove that we hadn’t met before. Here’s Noel with more than his share of lovely ladies.

On the Road Again

One of Georgia’s friends, way back from her McDonald’s days in the early 80’s, has a vacation house on Lake Caliraya, which is just south of the biggest lake on Luzon, Laguna de Bay. The friend had offered for us to use it anytime we wanted. Although she wasn’t there, we took the drive and spent a couple nights at the lake.

The lake is manmade, its dam constructed in 1939 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for one of the first hydroelectric power projects in the Philippines. The dam was blown up by retreating American troops in 1942 to keep it from being useful to the Japanese, who quickly repaired it. The Japanese in turn destroyed the dam in 1945 when they retreated. It was rebuilt in 1953 by the Philippines National Power Corporation and since no one has blown it up since, it's still generating hydroelectric power. In addition to power, this large lake (about 3 x 8km/2 x 5mi, with a convoluted 157km/98 mi shoreline) provides many recreational opportunities and supposedly the best largemouth bass fishing in the Philippines (we tried but didn’t catch any…).

Even without catching anything we enjoyed our time on this very quiet and serene lake.

The only downside of Lake Caliraya, for us anyway, was the journey. From Kawayan Cove it’s about 160km each way which shouldn’t be that bad, about 2 hours or so, right? It’s not that bad at all for the first 40km or so, where we have nice, uncrowded highways to Tagaytay/Lake Taal. Past that though, with the exception of less than 10km on the SLEX expressway, it’s a slog along crowded, narrow, surface streets, making in all a pretty stressful 5-hour drive. The last 20km or so, when the route takes you up into the mountains and to the lake, finally let me relax a bit on a twisty but uncrowded mountain road. Reaching the subdivision entrance we continued for a bit on a normal 2-lane road… which abruptly turns into a single lane composed of two narrow strips of concrete. In some places there were drop-offs to the sides of the strips so you had to be very careful to stay centered, and MOST places there was absolutely no room for two cars to pass. Not sure what we would’ve done but luckily we didn’t meet another car either going in or out.

Here's the 'road' as it goes by the lake house, one of the few wide spots where two cars could pass.

Although the drive was somewhat stressful, it was a good chance to get to know our new car. Yes! I got my Fortuner! We had to wait about a month after we ordered it (waiting for that special Platinum White Mica Pearl paint), and took delivery the day before our trip. Having a brand-new car probably added to my stress, but overall it’s a joy to drive. The Innova, which is now Georgia's mom's car, served us well, and though it’s officially not a minivan it drives like one. The Fortuner (sharing the chassis and diesel engine with the Innova and the Hilux pickup) is much sportier to drive, especially on the twisty roads. Now we have a mini-SUV and a full-size SUV!

It's a Jungle Out There

The other day our caretakers pointed out a snake that had roosted in a vine near our pool deck, in fact right above my favorite spot to sit and read. It turned out to be a reticulated python, common all over Southeast Asia. These are the longest snakes in the world – the longest one ever captured was 33 feet (9.9m)! One of our neighbors is quite fearful of snakes and warned us to get rid of it as it will kill and eat dogs and cats, cattle, carabao… and you! Well, maybe the big ones, but this guy (less than 3’ / 1m) would only strike fear into you if you were one of the frogs that used to hang out in that spot.

While we’re talking reptiles, yesterday when I opened our pool umbrella I was surprised by this friendly looking tuko who had taken up residence inside. A large (this one was about 10" / 25cm) and colorful member of the gecko family, these creatures are plentiful here but are very shy and you rarely see them, only hearing their loud “tu-ko, tu-ko, tu-ko” calls in the morning and evening.

And Back to the Friendly Skies

Tomorrow we’re starting our journey back to the states, for about a 5-week visit. Check on the house, visit friends and family, go to the dentist, that sort of stuff. Max will stay here with caretaker Vima, with whom he’s become very good friends. We’ll be coming back to Manila right before Danny, Ben and Lachlan arrive for a visit in late August, which we’re excitedly looking forward to!

So that wraps up this chapter. I’ll probably be back in September.

Until then, leaving you with a couple of nice sunsets. Take care everyone!

[simsmontgomerylegacy]

River on the other hand longs for freedom in life. He heard rumors about the mysterious Moonwood Mill and the beasts that crawl out on the full moon and he is more than intrigued. He's always been an adventurous and independent kid, so he decides to check it out for himself. He meets the Leader of the Wildfangs, a group of Werewolves all about enjoying life and living on the wild side.

Meanwhile, there's trouble in paradise with Ella and August. Ella has aged into a young adult and is ready to move on from her teen years and date older men. She breaks it off with August while going for a swim and he's pretty devastated. He shakes it off though by pouring himself into his schoolwork.

Daisy and Ariel decide to renovate the farm to cute sulani-inspired home, more of their style and color scheme. They also create an upstairs area just for August and River's rooms and a gaming den. That way their teenage ruckus can stay far away, and with more space on the lot, they can expand their farm.

River continues to go to Moonwood Mill after school. telling his moms that he's hanging out with his friend (not technically a lie). The 3rd time he visits he meets a new recruit and let's just say ... he's instantly in love. She's super chill and laid back and really passionate about the pack as well. They exchange numbers to chat werewolves further and this begins a constant text chain between them.

Being so distracted by Moonwood Mill, River has barely thought about his future. Ariel expects him to be like August and go off to college to get a distinguished degree but River can't help but feel like his life is already set for him. He's constantly lived in his perfect brother's shadow and becoming a werewolf is the only thing he feels can just be his. At career day, he can't help but daydream about his new life in the Wildfang pack.

[birchkillchronicles]

Getting to Marigold

Chapter Eleven

Icy-Pink, Mint, Almond Cream

“Oopsie-daisy!” cried Jeanie. “Spot the mom!”

The elderly man had slipped and fallen on an icy patch on the city sidewalk in front of Lindy Styre’s house. 

“Are you okay?” Jeanie enquired, offering a friendly hand-up.

“Fine!” snapped the man, ignoring her help to stagger to his feet under his own power.  “Now—bug off!”  Brushing the ice crystals from his knees, the old grouch limped away.

Jeanie let Mr. Boor go without further comment.  The world has gotten less and less courteous over the last few years, she frowned to herself.  Thank goodness that Chuckie and Dolores made sure to teach Tara her p’s and q’s…

Turning on her heel to resume her walk down to the convenience store post office with her bag full of Christmas cards, Jeanie skidded sideways just a little bit.

“Watch out for that icy patch, Jeanie,” came Lindy’s voice.  “You don’t want to fall like that other guy did.”

“Maybe you should throw some salt on it,” muttered Jeanie.

“Sorry?” said Lindy from her open front door.  “What did you say?”

“I said, may-be—” over-enunciated Jeanie, “—you should—”

“Ms. Jeanie!”  Warmly wrapped in the icy-pink lamb’s wool coat that Jeanie had purchased on their last shopping expedition to complement the child’s Deep Winter complexion, Tara came running up the sidewalk to where she stood. “I said I was coming with you!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, kidlet,” said Jeanie, completely changing her tone to address the little girl. “I thought you were searching for something upstairs with your daddy.”

“My new winter boots, Ms. Jeanie!  Daddy put them in a bag inside my wardrobe, instead of in the mudroom where they belong!”

“That was very silly of your daddy,” readily agreed Jeanie.  “It only takes a moment to sort things into their proper spots—”

“That’s what I told him!” nodded Tara.  “But he always just laughs or makes a dumb joke.”  The seven-year-old sighed at the foibles of her elders.  “Boots go on the boot mat, I told him—even if they’re brand new from the store—!”

“Tara?” called Lindy, still hovering in her open door.  “Can you take a script from me to your dad?”

“Sure, Ms. Lindy!  But first I have to help Ms. Jeanie post her Christmas cards at the store.  She always sends hand-signed cards to her West Coast relatives on the first Saturday in December.  But I’ll pick up whatever you want on my way home.”

“Thanks, Tara,” called Lindy, disappearing inside her house.

Jeanie and Tara made quick work of their mission and were soon ringing the doorbell at Lindy’s place. 

“Hi, guys,” said Lindy, as she opened the door. “I’m having some trouble getting my printer to work.  Do you two want to come in and wait for a minute or so?  It shouldn’t take much longer.”

“Okay,” replied Tara, readily stepping into the front vestibule and unzipping her coat.  Scenting an opportunity—at long last—to buttonhole the playwright about her Reunion skit, Jeanie followed suit.  For a moment, the pair stood quietly with their boots dripping onto the scruffy red linoleum floor.

“Lindy?  Have we got company?” came a masculine voice from the hall and then Malcolm stuck his head around the vestibule door.  Spotting Jeanie, his tone soured.  “Oh, it’s you,” he said, coolly.

“It’s me too!” piped up Tara, as she slid from behind her companion into his line of vision.

Malcolm’s face lightened and his voice warmed.  “Oh, hi there, Bugsy—”

“Mr. Malcolm.”  Tara’s eyes narrowed accusingly.

“I mean, Miss Tara, of course.  Please come inside...”  And Malcolm gave them a royal wave into Lindy’s home.

Slipping off their boots, Tara and Jeanie hung their coats on hooks and, crossing the hall, seated themselves in the shabby living room where, as far as Jeanie could see—despite her perceptive comments in August—nothing had changed at all.

“Would you like a hot chocolate or a soda pop?” Malcolm asked Tara very pleasantly.  Then, losing his smile, “Drink?” he enquired of Jeanie.

“Thanks, Mr. Malcolm,” replied Tara, politely. “I don’t drink soda pop, but I do like mint hot chocolate.  Do you have any of that?”

“I’ll check the larder immediately,” said Malcolm, with a serious nod.  “But—if we don’t have mint—will regular do?”

“I think so,” said Tara, equally seriously. “As long as you add plenty of whole milk or table cream.”

“I’m on it,” guaranteed Malcolm, heading for the kitchen but, at the doorway, he paused and turned to ask Jeanie, in a slightly kinder voice, “Tea?  Coffee?  Soda?”

Again, mindful of where the coffee had come from the first time she’d been there, Jeanie requested black tea, with no milk or sugar, “Thanks very much...”

Malcolm nodded and disappeared.

Left alone, Jeanie and Tara settled into an amiable silence that was only broken by the entrance from the dining room of a beautiful silver-grey cat.

“Phyllis…!” called Tara, lightly twiddling her fingers toward the feline.

Phyllis sat down on the rug well out of range of the little girl’s reach and licked a velvet paw.  Why should she bother having her fur ruffled by a miniature intruder who clearly admired her a lot?

Tara sighed.  “She never lets me pet her unless Ms. Lindy makes her sit on my lap.  Why do you suppose that is, Ms. Jeanie?”

“Cats are pretty contrary creatures,” replied Jeanie, but her mind was on something else.  “So—have you been here often?” she asked the little girl.

“Pretty often,” said Tara, still trying to get Phyllis to come over to her by wriggling one of the pompom tassels that dangled from the edge of her tunic top.  “One time, Daddy brought me to a table reading when he couldn’t get a sitter.  And a couple more times when Ms. Lindy was having a party.  But I see her and Mr. Malcolm a lot more when Mommy drops me off at the parks or at the playhouse when it’s time to go to Daddy’s place.” 

“We did have mint hot chocolate, Miss Tara!” announced Malcolm, triumphantly, as he brought four mugs into the living room on the plastic Hawaiian tray and placed it on the coffee table.  “That’s yours, and yours, and mine,” he said handing them around.  “Lindy should be here in a minute.  She says the paper ran out—scat, Phyllis!” he growled, when—the very second he sat down—the cat sidled over to rub her furry body against his leg.

“She won’t ever come to see me,” lamented Tara and took a cautious sip from her mug.  “This is perfect, thank you, Mr. Malcolm,” was the considered verdict once she’d swallowed a mouthful.  “Not everyone puts in the correct amount of milk.”

Malcolm smiled.  “That’s high praise from you, Tara.  Thank you very much.”  He drank some coffee and then gave Jeanie a quizzical look.  “Did you just happen to be wandering around with Tara or were you—?”

Jeanie took a delicate sip of her tea and smiled as sweetly as she could.  “No, no.  Tara and I were posting Christmas cards and Lindy invited us in to give Tara a script for Chuckie.  That’s all…”

 “Posting Christmas cards?  I didn’t realize that anyone did that anymore.”

“Oh, I know.  E-mail’s easier.  But I think it’s important to reach out in a more personal manner.  That’s why I’m trying to put together a Family Reunion for next summer—all in the old-fashioned way.  I’m sending snail-mail invitations and including postal reply cards and envelopes—"

“Sounds expensive.”

“A little, I guess.  But people spend way too much time—and a whole lot of money—on their devices.  You know, phones and computers and tablets—”

“Skyping has kept me a lot closer to my daughter and grandson in Calgary than handwritten letters ever could—”

“Okay—I’m not saying that—”

“It’s finally done.”  Lindy came in through the hallway carrying a folder of paper which she tossed on the coffee table as she flopped into an ancient armchair.  “I guess I could have just e-mailed it to him but then he’d have to print it out anyway so he could use it for rehearsals—”

“But then Chuckie would have paid for the printing, Lindy—”

“Oh, quit being such a Scrooge, Malcolm!” chuckled the playwright.  “It’s practically Christmas, and he obviously has other places to stick his cash.  Thanks for the tea.”  She took a swig from her mug.  “So—what were you all talking about?” she asked Malcolm.

“Oh, one of your favourite subjects,” he replied.  “Phones and computers versus old-fashioned contacts with folks.  You know, sending actual Christmas cards and invitations through the mail...”

Lindy took another sip and shrugged. “Nobody does that anymore.”

“I do,” said Jeanie, while Tara faithfully echoed, “She does…”

“Really?  Oh but, of course, you told me that you hate phones—”

“Those and the other devices.  Which is why I want to put on an Olde Fashioned Family Reunion with a Roaring Twenties theme—”

“Yeah, you said—”

“—but I can’t send the invitations until I know your schedule.”

“Jeanie,” sighed Lindy, “I already told you that I don’t want to accept your ‘deal.’  I’m comfortable with my house the way it is.  So, you might as well set any date you want—”

“I can’t do that until you tell me when—!”

“I haven’t got a clue when—!"

“But there won’t be a Grand Finale to our Reunion Week if you won’t be reasonable about writing the skit—!”

“For the last time, Jeanie, I don’t write skits—!”

“LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!” interrupted Tara.  She’d put her hands over her ears to block out the racket.

Both Lindy and Jeanie came to a screeching halt.

“Tara—?” enquired Malcolm, with a worried look.

“I hate it when people argue about stuff I don’t understand,” moaned the child, hands still guarding her ears.  “Mommy and Tío Mark are always doing it—and sometimes Mommy and Daddy too!  I wish everybody would just stop!”

“Sorry, kidlet,” said Jeanie, contritely.  “You didn’t need to hear us bicker.”

“Yes, that was very rude of us, Tara,” added Lindy. “We ought to discuss matters more quietly.”

“Okay,” said the little girl, slowly lowering her hands.  “But I really hate it when the people that I like fight with each other.”

“You’re quite right, Tara,” said Malcolm, scooping up Phyllis and handing her over for a petting. “Those are always the most painful words to hear.”

Tara nodded, holding the cat gently but firmly on her lap.  “I worry that sometime it will get so bad that they’ll just give up and never talk to each other again.  And then where will I be?  Maybe all by myself ’cause they can’t agree…”  She ducked her head to give Phyllis a kiss between her ears to hide her trembling lips from the grown ups, but it was clear to them all that she was definitely on the brink of tears. 

“Well—maybe we can work something out,” mumbled Lindy to Jeanie.

“I’d appreciate that,” replied Jeanie, softly.

“Now, I’m not crazy about the idea of turning A Tale into a skit.  But perhaps I could write a short one-acter set in the nineteen-twenties anyway.”

“That would be good.”

“But you’re going to have to pay me a stipend.  And I don’t want you messing with my house.”

“Okay,” nodded Jeanie. “I understand.” 

Although she didn’t. 

In Jeanie’s opinion, Lindy’s house was as dark and cluttered a hole as Bernie’s bedroom.  About as liveable as a hollow stump.  Which something as simple as applying a coat of almond cream paint to the scruffy wooden trim and a soft brandied-pear colour on the walls would instantly lighten and brighten—but—

Jeanie didn’t have to live there. 

And a win was a win. 

And Tara, diligently stroking purring Phyllis, had begun to smile. 

So, everything was working out fine.  She could call it a victory for rationality—and a huge step forward for her plans.

Now Jeanie could finally pick the dates, fill in the blanks and get those invitations into the mail.  Swiftly, the RSVPs would start flowing in, and the Olde-Fashioned Dinmont-Todd Family Reunion would be really and truly an upcoming event.

The Event of the Summer.

The Event of a Lifetime!

And, then, every other family reunion would be green with envy. 

Because Jeanie was going to make this The Greatest Family Reunion in The World—no!—The Greatest Family Reunion in the History of the Universe!

As Sylvie would have said, ‘Just watch this space…’

[ofbullterriers]

boyjadzia reblogged your photoset “He unimpressed”

#I love the little bruises they get on their snoots from pushing things around I love them ahhh

that’s his ‘I can open the baby gate that I’m not supposed to’ snoot bruise! A talented but mischievous snoot, that one :>

[whereisten]

Stupid Cupid

A Taeyong fic that’s a part of our Halloween Series!

Summary: Cupid, also known as Taeyong, has never experienced real love. But when he meets you, he may finally have a chance.

Pairing: Cupid! Taeyong x female reader

Genre: romance, angst, fluff, smut, fantasy

Word Count: 13k

Warnings: oral (male receiving), penetration, breast fondling, cursing, alcohol use

(A/N: thank you guys so much for being so sweet and understanding and patient. I’ve always believed Halloween should be a celebration for multiple months out of the year and since the Halloween series is ongoing, it works 💀. Anyways, I’m so excited to share this with y’all. ❤️ One of my favorite songs is “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran. And the music video features Cupid so I was inspired. 👍🏼 I hope you guys enjoy it! I also was inspired by “The Consequences of Cursing Cupid” by @by-moonflower). I loved it!)

...

Cupid was one of God’s most prized pupils. He was also one of His most beautiful creations. His hair had the shades of pink you’d see at sunset and warm brown eyes that could claim the heart of almost anyone. His tan skin glowed, bringing a piece of heaven’s glow down to earth with him. His body was slender, elegant, and muscular. His true appearance was known to few mortals but overtime, historians were able to conclude that Cupid was as beautiful as any of the archangels.

God entrusted his son to bring love and hope to the world one couple at a time. With his bow and arrow, he was able to give people love every day. As the years have passed, though, the population of the world expanded and Cupid only had so much time in the day to bring couples together. God and Cupid carefully handpicked Cupid fledglings throughout the years. Cupid wasn’t alone in his work anymore and he could afford some downtime every few centuries. It was 2020 and it was time for Cupid, or, as he was known by his earthly name, Lee Taeyong, to take a vacation.

Taeyong arrived in the sunny coastal town of Isla one Sunday morning. He would stay here for a few months. Taeyong would’ve kept working if he hadn't been forced by his coworkers to take a leave of absence. He’d always been a huge workaholic and quite the perfectionist. He was the type of guy who liked to get things done by himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his team. He just had a fixation with doing things his own way, which caused many clashes over the years.

This time, God had to intervene and force Taeyong to step down so that newly realized Cupids like Haechan and Yangyang could step up in his absence. Taeyong moved into a beach house right by the beach. A whole mansion to himself, he grimaced. What the hell was he supposed to do in such an expansive and luxurious place all by himself? Well, he had some ideas.

As much of a workaholic Taeyong was....when he let loose, he really let loose. It was like there was an on/off switch in his brain when it came to his rebellion and since he was out of work for the foreseeable future, it was time to turn the switch on. All work and no play for so many years made him act out in rebellion, which was why God sent Cupids Sicheng and Kun to watch out for Taeyong this time around.

Taeyong heard a knock on the door of his beach house. He frowned in confusion.  

“Knock knock,” Kun said as he brought in suitcases and carried a backpack over his shoulder. Sicheng followed him in with his own bags as well.

Taeyong frowned. “What are you guys doing here?”

Sicheng beamed. “We’re here to make sure you don’t start up another orgy and anger many significant others…”

Kun nodded. “You’ll barely know we’re here.”

Taeyong brought out his angelic smile. “Is that so?”

…

Even with Kun and Sicheng on his tail, Taeyong was able to throw a massive party at the beach house the next night. A pretty face like Taeyong’s and a few likes on Instagram could attract many followers. And with followers, there was a great party. Celebrities even caught wind of the festivities. Taeyong was able to hire caterers and event planners to make the beach house a Hawaiian paradise. Tiki torches were lit all around the house. People lounged in the lagoon-shaped pool. There were party games in every room in the mansion.

Your friends convinced you to come with them to the hot new bachelor’s party. You could use a night out after working another six day work week at the local Isla Humane Animal Shelter. You wanted to let loose and dance with your friends. If only for a little while. Hopefully, you didn’t think about him now that you were able to relax.

Taeyong was having the time of his immortal life, dancing with one girl...one boy...after another. He was already hooking up with people on the dance floor in the backyard that overlooked the beach. He would grind behind one girl while another boy grinded against him from behind. Taeyong was in nothing but red swim trunks. His abs glistened with sweat and-

Your friend Jisoo said, “y/n, ask him to dance.”

You’d spent the last few minutes staring at the dancefloor. You couldn’t help but watch the pretty boy who stood at the center. You quickly gulped down your drink and shook your head. “Pass.”

Jisoo sucked her teeth. “Y/n, you’ve been staring at him for five minutes now.”

You rolled your eyes. “I like to observe my surroundings...It’s nothing.”

“You should ask the pretty boy to dance. It won’t hurt.”

“Nope. I’m fine right here, drinking my free pina colada...Not a care in the world.”

Jisoo replied, “Y/n, it’s been five months...”

You met Jisoo’s eyes. “Yeah, and I’m doing a lot better. You know this. My family knows it. All of the people who should be sorry to follow me on any social media know this.”

Jaehyun joined you two. “She's talking about how she’s over...him?”

Jisoo nodded. “And she clearly wants to dance with The Bachelor over there.”

Jaehyun watched him, also. “Well, for starters, he’s way cuter than that bastard but she should stay away from him. He’s trouble.”

Jisoo scoffed. “Who are you? Her father?”

Relieved that Jaehyun was on your side, you said, “Thank you, Jay! Now don’t worry about me, Jisoo...I’m great! I’m out of the house. I’m cutting a rug.”

Jisoo eyed you. “Okay…”

Now you had to admit that you thought about throwing caution to the wind and dancing close to the man, making ‘come hither’ eyes at him, kissing him in a closet, and calling it a night. The idea made you wet just thinking about it. But you knew yourself. You were the type to fall hard. And you fell hard once and it left you broken to this day.

Anyway, Pretty Boy seemed kind of busy so you turned the other way to join a game of poker in the living room.

Every human that spent an intimate moment with dear old Cupid was guaranteed the best orgasm of their lives. In Taeyong’s hands, his lover would feel treasured and adored and spoiled. Taeyong, a bringer of love, could bring paradise to anyone.

Now in his human form, Taeyong still had some of those divine powers. However, in a human body, he had limitations.

Like his alcohol tolerance, which, unfortunately for him, had never been good.

Before he could take anyone to paradise like he’d longed to do since he came to the Earthly plane, he was outside in his front lawn, vomiting all of the alcohol he downed in the past two hours.

Taeyong felt woozy. He wasn’t all there the moment when you first approached him. He looked awful. Pale and sweaty from puking so much.

Your concern outweighed your fear of talking to him so you approached him. You handed him a bottle of room temperature water and a wet towel from his kitchen so he could clean himself up.

Taeyong uncapped the water bottle and drank. He managed to say, “Thank you.”

You sighed, relieved to see that he was responsive. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am...Thanks…What’s your-”

“Y/n! Time to go,” Jaehyun started. Jaehyun promised to take you home. You were supposed to go into the shelter tomorrow to finalize an adoption.

You shouted back, “Coming!” You turned to your friend. Taeyong couldn’t see your face now. You did smell heavenly, though. Like fresh berries and daisies.

You turned back to Taeyong and smiled. Even if he was a wreck, he was still the most gorgeous male you’d ever seen. “Great party. Take care of yourself.”

Taeyong was still trying to sober up but he was able to meet your eyes, the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen on this planet. In any realm, actually. “You, too…”

You left him there, curious about you. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to ponder further as he threw up again. Maybe these parties were getting old. He always found himself like this whenever he visited good ol’ planet Earth...

…

[One Month Later]

Taeyong continued to indulge in his debauchery, throwing parties every night. Part of him hoped you would return so he could properly thank you for your kindness.

Your eyes were sultry and your scent was intoxicating. He wished he could remember you.

Every night that he spent time with a different partner, he thought of you.

Without any hidden agenda to get in bed with him, you absolutely fascinated him. His clouded judgment that night only made him remember your eyes. That was all he had to go on. He couldn’t explain the need to see you again.

The need grew stronger and stronger.

He certainly couldn’t ask his coworkers or the big man upstairs for help. Surely, they’d misinterpret his actions. He simply wanted to see you again.

In the process, Taeyong slowly began to reevaluate his time on Earth. Like Gatsby before him, he threw even more parties in hopes of you showing up. But he had no idea about your hectic work schedule. The parties continued and Taeyong quickly grew bored. Maybe he needed to get out and explore the city if he ever hoped to see you again.

In the daytime, Taeyong found himself waking up earlier and sending his partners on their merry way. He took up a couple of hobbies at home, as well. Baking and playing games on his Nintendo Switch. For his outings, he’d go to the mall, the grocery store, the amusement park, and more. Everywhere he could think of. But you weren’t there. He had the ability to feel your presence but you were never within his radar and it frustrated him.

Taeyong finished swimming a couple of laps in the pool and went into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. Kun was making dinner and Sicheng was setting the table.

“Penny for your thoughts, boss?” Sicheng inquired.

Taeyong sighed. “I’m just wondering when you two will finally leave me be.”

Kun turned off the stove and let the stir fry cool. “When your sexual appetite ceases.”

Taeyong frowned. “Have you no shame to comment on my activities?”

Sicheng and Kun looked at each other and looked back at Taeyong. “No.”

Taeyong sighed. “If you must know, the parties will cease tonight. I have given up.”

“Given up on what?” Sicheng asked.

They couldn’t know about Taeyong’s true motive with his parties. “Parties, of course.”

“Really?” Kun asked as he washed his hands.

Taeyong sighed. “Yes. Now let’s eat.”

A few hours later, Taeyong went to the beach to get some sun. A few girls asked for his number and he simply pretended not to know English. He spoke Japanese and spoke broken English to throw them off. He was in no mood to frolick. He was frustrated.

It was because of you. He couldn’t explain it but he desperately wanted to see you. Wanted to know you. Wanted to feel you come alive under him as he pleased you. And he had no leads.

Maybe he should just throw in the towel. It was dangerous for him to entertain the idea of seeing someone as more than just a fling. Knowing his one night stand’s name was more information than he needed.

Perhaps you weren’t real. Oh, heavens. He knew you were real but maybe he should convince himself of the contrary so he could give up on you.

Meanwhile, you’d been busy non-stop. You couldn’t go out and unwind because of your extremely-packed schedule, which was just how you liked it. Whatever free time you had was spent at home curled up in bed before bedtime. It was how you preferred it, though. It helped you get over your ex much more quickly. Or so you thought, anyway.

One of your co-workers at the shelter was an adoption counselor who had a family event she needed to attend. So she asked you for a favor. You came in for the afternoon shift to help pair up families with pets.

You loved working at the shelter, helping animals find their forever homes. It broke your heart to see so many of them, neglected and homeless. You always knew you wanted to work with animals, though. In high school, you started at the shelter as a volunteer. Now, you were one of the managers. You helped with fundraisers and outreach events to get the shelter animals’ faces out there.

You went to check on the dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, and other residents of the shelter, like you always did. Then, you finished adopting out an Australian Shepherd. His new family already adored him. The shelter’s adoption process was strict so if a family really wanted to commit to a pet, they had to commit to the process to prove it. So you had high hopes that this adoption would be permanent.

On the off chance it wouldn’t, these animals always had a home here. You wouldn’t cease until you did everything you could to get a home for each animal that walked through the shelter’s front doors.

You took a picture of the happy family to post on the shelter’s social media. You sent them off. You felt like you were being watched so you turned to the front window where you recognized Jaehyun and the pink-haired man from the Hawaiian paradise party. They were talking like they knew each other.

You frowned and walked outside to greet them. “Jaehyun?”

The men faced you. Jaehyun beamed, “Y/n! I was passing through and I ran into Taeyong here who is looking to volunteer at the shelter.” Taeyong was about to cut in when Jaehyun continued. “Is there a volunteer orientation today?”

You shook your head. “It’s tomorrow, Jay.”

Taeyong just looked at you, not saying a word.

You tilted your head in confusion. “But...If you’re free, Taeyong, we’d love to have you.”

Jaehyun answered for him. “Of course he is. There’s no other place he’d rather be!”

Taeyong shot Jaehyun a look but his face softened as he looked at you. “Yeah...He’s right about that.”

Still confused, you smiled. “Okay, tomorrow it is.”

Taeyong headed home after his confrontation with the meddlesome Jaehyun. Just who was he to you, he wondered. How dare he cross a god?

Sure, Jaehyun was a beautiful specimen but he was not at his level, Taeyong thought to himself.

[A Few Hours Ago]

After his time at the beach, Taeyong took another stroll through the town, exploring small businesses and stumbling upon an animal shelter.

Through the front window, he saw a family with their Australian Shepherd. And that’s when his radar switched on. His heart squeezed and his breathing faltered. You were here. You greeted the family inside. They posed for a family photo together with their dog. They held a sign that read “Furrever Home” on it. The family thanked you and you sent them off.

You were exquisite. Your smile. The glimmer of hope in your eyes. Your laugh. You were out of breath from running around so much and from the excitement, he could tell. Even though you were stressed and tired, you were happy at that moment. You turned toward his direction and he read your name on your name tag: y/n.

Taeyong wanted to rush in and call for your name but his feet were planted to the ground.

“Hey, I remember you,” someone called out to him.

Taeyong snapped out of his daze and turned to find a handsome young man with black hair frowning at him. Taeyong started. “I’m sorry. I don’t-“

“You’re Taeyong. You throw parties at that beach house and you’re the city’s most eligible bachelor. It’s all over social media.”

“Yes, and?”

The stranger glared as he nodded at you through the window. “You’ve been watching her, haven't you?”

Taeyong smirked. “And what about it?”

The man looked down at Taeyong’s pants where his member betrayed him. Jaehyun lifted his eyebrows.

Taeyong shrugged. “It’s rude to stare at a stranger’s crotch.”

He laughed. “You’re pretty easy to read, Taeyong. But I gotta warn you: don’t waste her time if you’re not fully committed.”

Taeyong laughed. “And who are you to tell me this?”

“Someone who refuses to see his friend’s heart broken again.”

Again, Taeyong wondered. “Well, I have no plans to let it get that far.”

He rolled his eyes. “Right.”

“Jaehyun?” You started.

Then, the conniving Jaehyun set Taeyong up to be a volunteer at the animal shelter without his consent. Well, Taeyong could’ve said no at any time but he didn’t want to disappoint you. Besides, this would be an opportunity to get to know you. Jaehyun may not be so bad, after all, Taeyong mused.

Jaehyun left Taeyong with these parting words. He grinned, showing his dimples. “If you hurt her, I will run you out of this town.”

Taeyong smiled. “I’d like to see you try.”

To anyone else, it would’ve seemed like two friends were parting ways but in reality, it was more like a declaration of war.

Your friend Jaehyun was very protective of you, Taeyong realized. He wondered if Jaehyun was enamored with you. And your nickname of “Jay” for him made Taeyong’s stomach turn.

Who was he to you? And why was he butting in on Taeyong’s pursuit of you? And what did Jaehyun mean by you getting your heart broken again? Who broke your heart? And why was he still breathing, unless Jaehyun failed to mention your ex’s funeral?

Taeyong wasn’t going to break your heart. He wasn’t that stupid. He spent enough time on this planet to set boundaries and never fall in too deep with a human.

It didn’t matter if you made him feel different than any other human has after twenty seconds of an interaction.

…

[The Next Day]

Taeyong wasn’t sure how he would feel about working with animals because he’s never interacted with them before. He envied any family who had a pet, though.

It was a kind of love he didn’t get to see frequently. His job was primarily focused on romantic love so it always fascinated him to see familial love, love between friends, and now love between man and man’s best friend.

You led the volunteer orientation. It was a relatively full house. You gave the new recruits the rundown on maintenance, walking the dogs, socializing with the animals, feeding, laundry, and safety. Taeyong was so impressed by how skilled and informative you were at work. You were a no-nonsense girl when you needed to be.

When the orientation ended, Taeyong lingered behind in the staff meeting room. You had to admit that seeing Taeyong again made your heart do weird things. You’d dreamed of him for a few nights and part of you wished you could’ve gone to another one of his parties. Your friends told you he’d thrown so many this past month that they lost count. So you were shocked to see this wealthy party boy at an animal shelter of all places. You did notice as you gave your talk that his eyes never strayed from yours.

After the orientation, you began, “Hey, Taeyong. How did you like the orientation?”

He smiled. “You were brilliant.”

Your face heated up. “Thanks.”

He asked, “I was wondering if you were free tonight to-“

A volunteer popped in. “Y/n, code leash with Ruby!” Code leash meant a dog was loose in the shelter without a leash on.

You started. “Oh, God. Sorry, Taeyong, I have to help catch one of our dogs.”

You looked distressed so Taeyong decided to help. He didn’t know where this altruism came from but it was there. “I can help.”

“Thank you. I have to warn you, though. She’s not friendly with most people. So be careful.”

You and Taeyong teamed up to catch Ruby while some of the other volunteers also teamed up elsewhere. Ruby had hidden under one of the benches near the cat corner of the shelter.

Ruby was a Papillon, also known as a Continental Toy Spaniel. She was a reserved dog. She was adopted as a puppy but when she was a year old, her owners gave her up for adoption when they were expecting a baby. With the betrayal she’d experienced, she closed herself off from most people and most animals. It took a few weeks for her to warm up to you.

Ruby had cute ears that resembled a butterfly’s, which explained the name of her breed, the Papillon.

With her leash in your hands, you crouched down to greet her. “Hi, Ruby…”

She surprised you by running over to Taeyong, who froze in his tracks. Ruby jumped against his legs and cried. She wanted his attention.

You looked at them in shock. Ruby had never taken so quickly to someone before. You were impressed.

Taeyong’s eyes doubled in size as he slowly backed up. Ruby continued to jump against his legs, regardless. “What’s happening? Is she trying to kill me?”

You fought back a laugh. “No...She wants you to hold her.”

He looked mystified. “Uh...I’ve never…”

“You’ve never…?”

For the first time, he looked shy. “I’ve never held a dog before…”

You approached them and called Ruby again. “Ruby, I’ll help you.”

You picked Ruby up and guided Taeyong. “Just raise your arms and cradle her. It’s okay.”

You handed Ruby to Taeyong and he was shocked at this new feeling he felt in his chest. It was this overwhelming joy and worry and affection he’d never felt. He would die for this dog.

Well, if he could die, he would.

So this is what familial love must be like.

Ruby licked him all over his face and he giggled like a little boy.

You were overjoyed to see Ruby with another person. This was promising. “She really likes you. It took me weeks to get her to warm up to me.”

Taeyong stared at you. “Really? I can’t imagine that…”

“You saved the day, Taeyong. Not bad for your first day as a volunteer.” You laughed.

You led him and Ruby back into her room. You stepped into her small room where she resided alone. She had a big fluffy bed and toys to play with. Even so, it could definitely get cramped in there after a few hours. You would take her for a walk later.

Taeyong asked, concerned. “She lives by herself? She must be so lonely.”

You told Taeyong her story and he understood her circumstances. He was furious at Ruby’s previous owners and he finally understood why places like this shelter existed.

You said, “She needs someone who will remain faithful to her all of their life. I hope she finds them soon.”

Taeyong rubbed Ruby’s belly. “So do I.”

“I have to get back to work. You’re not on the schedule until tomorrow but you are more than welcome to spend some time with the dogs…”

Taeyong was in his own bubble with Ruby.

You giggled. “Or maybe just Ruby.”

You left them be and got back to work.

Taeyong spent the next hour playing with Ruby, taking her for a walk, taking pictures of her, and cradling her to sleep. He hoped to catch up with you later but he couldn’t let go of his attachment to this dog now.

There was something about this town that made him attached to others. First, it was you. Then, it was Ruby.

It was unusual.

Ruby fell asleep and Taeyong checked his phone. He received a text over half an hour ago.

Where are you? Kun says you’re not home :( -Yooa

Crap, he’d forgotten all about Yooa. His “date”.

Taeyong realized he’d be getting earful from Kun later. He texted Yooa he was on his way.

…

[2 Weeks Later]

The first few days were rough for Taeyong because he’d never done manual labor in his life. He was willing to try and with your and other volunteers’ guidance, he was able to pick up on everything quickly. Everyone thought Taeyong was as strange as he was beautiful. They thought he was a sheltered rich boy who was learning how to care for someone else for the first time. Well, they weren’t far off from the truth.

Taeyong volunteered almost everyday at the shelter. He did everything he could possibly do as a volunteer and still had the energy to take the dogs on more walks than required. He was a god, after all. His energy on Earth was higher than that of any normal human’s. He hoped to impress you, too. He tried to ask you out or even for your phone number but you were always busy with shelter tasks. It was very hard to tell if there was a connection between you two.

At the end of each shift, Taeyong always left Ruby for last because she was his favorite shelter animal. “Alright Ruby, today is the day I finally ask y/n out.”

Ruby snoozed in response. Taeyong sighed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

You were the last person to leave the shelter and lock up. Everyone had already left an hour ago but you were finishing up some emails. You found Taeyong waiting outside the door. “Taeyong!”

He waved and smiled, not looking disheveled at all after a full-day shift.

You, on the other hand, could use a shower. “Everything okay?”

Taeyong asked, “Are you free?”

“Uh...”

“I was wondering if you…”

Your eyes as you watched him left Taeyong in nearly almost a trance. The way your hair fell over your eyes when you adjusted your work bag. The breeze caused your perfume to creep into his nose and he had to catch his breath. Even your little yawn after a long day was cute. Damn it.

You started, “Taeyong?”

Taeyong tried to say something but his throat went dry. Why wasn’t he able to say words? He was prepared to say. Come away with me tonight. I’ll take us to dinner and then...Well, it’s your call, y/n.

And here he was, his palms sweaty. His cheeks were red. He was so close to trembling from the new anxiety that crept up on him.

You asked, “Are you okay?”

Taeyong shook his head to shove his fears away. “Are you free?”

He invited you over to his house for dinner as a thank you for showing him the ropes around the shelter. You felt bad for assuming that he was asking you out. It appeared that he wanted to keep this platonic and you were relieved.

You’re a chicken, Taeyong thought to himself. The ball was in his court and he missed his shot to take things further with you. Even so, you’d said yes so all in all, you two were headed somewhere.

You followed Taeyong in your car over to his place. You entered the extravagant beach house, which was surprisingly neat and homey. The furniture looked comfortable, like you could easily fall asleep on it. The lighting was at a low, almost romantic setting. The house was tranquil and all you could hear was the crash of waves in the distance.

Taeyong said, “Please take a seat. Make yourself comfortable. Can I offer you some wine?”

“Yes, please. Thank you.”

Taeyong smiled warmly at you before he departed for the kitchen.

Another young man appeared as he came down the stairs, calling out. “Sicheng and I will be back in a few days. Our Lord needs us in Beijing for an emergency match-up.” He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and merely stared at you. “Seriously, another ‘appointment’?”

Taeyong darted out of the kitchen. “Kun.”

You got up and waved. “Uh, hi. I’m Taeyong’s friend, y/n. From the animal shelter?”

Sicheng joined the group. “Friend?”

Kun’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re just friends with him?”

You looked at everyone around the living room. “Yes…”

Although you had to wonder what Kun meant by “appointment”. If you had to guess, you weren’t the first girl Taeyong brought home. This week.

You knew Taeyong was a player from the first night you met him. But you were attracted to him so the possibility of a one night stand with him didn’t repel you. You weren’t about to ask for it, though. You were already going out of your comfort zone, coming over to his house for dinner.

And then...Taeyong’s personality surprised you these past few weeks. He was warm and hard-working and kind. You had to admit you had a little crush on him. You wouldn’t let that truth see the light of day, though. A player was a player, no matter what.

Sicheng smiled as he greeted you, “Y/n, welcome to our home. I’m Sicheng. Our rude friend right here is Kun. We are Taeyong’s coworkers and roommates.”

“It’s nice to meet you. What is it that you guys do? You mentioned a match-up?”

Taeyong eyed his friends. “They...”

Kun continued, “We...are dating gurus!”

You replied, “I see. So you’re headed to Beijing? That’s exciting!”

The boys told you they worked for a dating website for high-profile people and traveled to countries like China and South Korea to counsel them on dating. It was unheard of and unusual. At least for you, anyway. But it was kind of fascinating. Kun and Sicheng told you that Taeyong had been working nonstop for years now as a dating guru so now he was taking some time off. They excused themselves and headed off to the airport.

You accompanied Taeyong to the kitchen as he cooked some New York strips for the two of you. He refused your help and wanted you to sit down and relax. “I didn’t know you were a dating guru.”

He chuckled nervously. “I don’t really like to talk about it.”

“Oh, well, we don’t have to…We could always talk about something else. Like where you’re from?”

Taeyong chopped some vegetables as he mulled over his answer, avoiding your eyes. How was he going to say he came from Heaven? First of all, it would be ludicrous to you. And second, it sounded like a pickup line that would only stroke his ego. There was no way to win by telling the truth. “Abroad.”

You sipped your glass of wine. He was so vague. “Abroad? Where?”

“My Lor-...father traveled all the time when I was growing up so we always moved. And once I got to work with the dating website, the traveling continued.” Nice save, he thought to himself.

“Oh? Wow, that’s sad, isn’t it?”

Taeyong looked at you. “Sad?”

“I mean, maybe it wasn’t...What I meant was that it must have been difficult getting uprooted all the time. Having to get accustomed to a new place...Only to have to start over somewhere else.”

You had no idea, Taeyong thought. You read him like a book so he had to ask. “How did you know?”

You understood his situation very well. “My dad is a lieutenant general. We’ve moved around a lot until I was eighteen. Come to think of it...Are your parents in the military?”

Taeyong knew he had to come up with something. Quick, he told himself, think of something believable. The first thought that came into his mind was Jurassic Park after he watched it last night. “No...He’s a...paleontologist.”

That was an uncommon job but you were impressed. After all, Jurassic Park was one of your favorite movies. You asked him about the places his dad took him, what dinosaur bones his dad uncovered, and more. Taeyong had to get creative and being dumb about the subject didn’t hinder his case. He claimed that remembering the names of species was impossible for him. You were riveted, regardless. You spent most of the time talking about Jurassic Park, anyway. You told him about Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure and a Jurassic Park feature located at the park. You suggested you two could go together sometime and Taeyong’s eyes lit up, then. His doe eyes caught you off-guard.

You continued talking about your interests and your pasts. Well, you did. Taeyong had to get a little creative when topics such as his “childhood” and “family” came into conversation. But other than that, he enjoyed having you in his home. You were full of warmth and generosity. You laughed at his jokes and asked him about how he was doing. It left him speechless. He wasn’t sure what you were really thinking or if you were even interested. You were equally unsure and found yourself considering what you’d been fighting since the moment you first laid eyes on him.

Taeyong served dinner. His cooking was incredible. The steak and baked potato were paradise on your taste buds. “Taeyong, oh my God, this is incredible. You should be a five-star chef and open a restaurant.”

Taeyong chuckled. “Thank you, y/n but I’m more of a pastry chef than anything else.”

“What’s your price for a batch of chocolate cupcakes?” You teased.

He smiled. “Free of charge.”

“But?”

“Well, if you were free to watch Jurassic Park 2 with me this week, then I would consider it.”

“I’ll take it.”

Taeyong was excited that you two would see each other outside of work again. Taeyong served you cookie dough ice cream with fudge.

You ate your ice cream. “Thank you so much for inviting me over. I haven’t been able to hang out with friends in a while so this means a lot.”

Friends. Taeyong was a little hurt at your label of him. He thought there was something between you. Maybe this wasn’t the right time to make a move so he forced a smile. “I’m glad we’re friends, too.”

…

[2 months later]

Taeyong continued to volunteer at the shelter. His ego took a nice, deserving blow after you told him you were just friends. He was still happy that he got to spend time with you. You became so close that you spent most of your time with him outside of work. You played video games and watched movies. You also fostered some animals together on the weekends.

Taeyong hadn’t thrown a party or gone to one since he started spending time with you. His phone started lighting up a lot less as the weeks passed. The truth was Taeyong had stopped hooking up with anyone else. He was focused on you. Getting to know you.  

You even told him about your ex Jaemin. You and Jaemin were going strong for 11 months. The biggest player at your university, Jaemin worked hard to get you to say yes to dating him. The romance started off beautifully and ended abruptly when Jaemin said he didn’t want to be unfair to you. The day after the breakup you saw him out with another girl like it was nothing. And a month later, they were engaged to be married. Now, they were married and expecting a child together. It seemed that he genuinely loved his wife. The way he looked at her with such affection the day after he broke up with you. It broke you because that was how you used to look at him. You thought he was the one and up to a certain point, he told you you were the one for him. You wondered how he moved on so quickly to this day.

Since then, you didn’t want to date anyone, much less a playboy. Hook-ups were something you would’ve considered but you were still hurting. Taeyong had been the first boy you looked at in five months but you still weren’t ready. However, now that you two were getting to know each other...Maybe, just maybe…

Taeyong wanted to track down Jaemin and destroy him, break up his family, and kill him. Well, maybe not to that extreme. But he wanted to avenge you for how Jaemin could’ve been so swift in hurting you and moving on like nothing. He had to wonder…

If maybe one of his coworkers had something to do with it. He’d never had a hand in pairing up a Na Jaemin with anyone. If that were the case, he would’ve never forgiven himself for pursuing you.

He finally understood that you were guarding your heart and he didn’t want to push you. He would wait for as long as it takes to…Well, he wasn’t sure...Kiss you? Take you out on a date? He wasn’t sure how romance or courting worked.

It took some convincing but Taeyong finally decided to foster Ruby for the week. He didn’t refuse before because he didn’t want Ruby. He was scared of being ill-prepared for taking care of her or that his house had some hazards for the little dog.

You drove Taeyong and Ruby back to his house. The three of you stood outside his front door. He had Ruby on a leash.

Taeyong started. “Are you sure, y/n? What if Ruby falls in the pool when I go take a shower? What if she chews at my phone charger and gets electrocuted?”

You laughed. “Taeyong, how is she going to get in the backyard? Are her paws going to magically turn into hands so that she can turn the doorknob to the back door?”

“No…”

“So long as you keep her active and give her toys and activities, she will have no reason to chew at your charger or go on an online shopping spree while you’re asleep.”

Taeyong frowned, knowing that you were mocking him now. “Fine. But if anything happens, I’m taking you down with me.”

Your eyes danced. “Fine with me.”

You three went to the beach and Ruby was having fun playing on the shoreline. Taeyong giggled like a little boy as he played fetch with her. You watched them and smiled. It was beyond you why Taeyong wouldn’t adopt Ruby. They clearly loved each other very much. Maybe today you could finally convince him.

You returned to the beach house as you ate ice cream cones from the boardwalk ice cream shop. Ruby ran back inside to drink from her water bowl. You and Taeyong lingered on the outside deck by the pool and watched the sunset. Taeyong’s chocolate ice cream cone was melting at the sides and you regretted not buying chocolate so without thinking, you licked his melting ice cream. Taeyong was caught by surprise and you looked up at him before getting back to your ice cream cone.

The innocent but teasing glint in your eye made him shocked and aroused. He paid a little too much attention to your tongue. As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. And he longed for it to worship his body.

You winked. “Sorry. You’re a slow eater and it was melting…” You handed him your vanilla ice cream cone. “You can have some of mine.”

He snapped out of it and licked the cone as suggestively as he could to try and get a reaction out of you. And that he did. His big brown eyes had a mischievous glint to them. He smirked. You avoided his eyes completely. “Y/n.”

You bent down and pretended to tie your shoe and realized you weren’t wearing sneakers but sandals. You got back up, embarrassed and still looking away from him. “Yeah?”

“I like you.”

You looked back up at him. “Taeyong-”

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I just wanted to say it. At least once.” He liked you for a long time now. The more time he spent with you and went out of his way to be with you every moment he could made him realize that maybe what he longed for with you wasn’t simply one night of pleasure.

He wanted more. He didn’t know exactly what that meant. But he just liked to be with you. Your kindness, your wit, your sense of humor, everything about you made Taeyong feel that heaven could be found in another person.

He didn’t want to push you, not at all. He did wonder about what things would be like if you gave into each other. But he would still wait for as long as it took for you to consider him.

You admitted, “Taeyong, I like you, too.”

He sighed in relief. “Oh, thank heavens. Let’s go out on Friday.” Hundreds of plans were running through his mind of how he wanted to spoil you for your first date. He’d been doing research on where he could take you in the city and debated whether or not a road trip to Universal Studios would be too much.

You smiled in spite of yourself. “That’s so sweet…”

“But?”

“I don’t know if I’m ready...Or if I can trust you...You’re very…experienced.”

Taeyong looked at you in confusion as he finished his ice cream cone. “What do you mean? I’ve never dated.”

“I mean...Sexually…” You muttered the last word. Your face was hot and Taeyong only looked at you like you’d said the sky was blue.

“Taeyong, before we met, you were partying every night and sleeping with multiple people. Are you going to tell me that you’re not that person anymore? Because you know what happened with Jaemin...I don’t want that again. If we are going to take this any further, you have to be honest with me. When you want to end it, show me your heart. Don’t leave me wondering what I did wrong...” He could see your eyes get bigger and redder. They were welling up. Your voice broke and it broke him to hear it.

He hated seeing you unhappy. You didn’t deserve to be burned the way you had. He wrapped his arms around you, then. For the first time. “I would never do that to you. I would never-”

You hugged him back. “Please don’t make promises you can’t keep. Let’s just take this slow...Okay?”

He never felt as close and vulnerable with someone. Then you came along and he was ready to do what he could to be with you. To at least try. “Okay.”

He caressed your face and pulled you in for a kiss. He lifted you off the ground and sat you on a ledge as he leaned down to kiss you deeper. His tongue intertwined with yours. You both tasted like ice cream and it made you both crazy with longing. You were the first to stop the kiss and reminded him, “Slow.”

He kissed your forehead. “Slow.”

…

[4 Months Later]

You and Taeyong took your new relationship slow. It drove you both crazy that you put off sleeping together for so long. You wanted to get to know Taeyong better. So did he. Even if this was the longest dry spell Taeyong had undergone, it was worth it.

“What’s got you so happy, boss?” Sicheng asked, visiting from New York. Sicheng and Kun moved out months ago when they saw that Taeyong wasn’t causing any trouble. Sicheng held Ruby in his lap. Taeyong adopted Ruby not too long after you two agreed to date.

Taeyong was worried, though. Just how far could he take things with you before he was summoned back by God? It could be five years or fifty years before He called him back to Heaven. Taeyong had to tell someone what was eating at him and Sicheng was one of his closest friends. “I need to tell you something.”

After Taeyong told Sicheng about you and what transpired all this time, Sicheng sighed, “Taeyong, this is trouble. We are not supposed to get involved with humans.”

“Sex is okay but dating and marriage are out of the question? How does that make sense?”

Sicheng frowned, reminding Taeyong of Kun at that moment. “Sex was never okay. In moderation and with zero strings attached? Sure...But you’ve crossed several lines...You’re playing with fire by pursuing y/n.”

Taeyong sighed in frustration. “I know but Sicheng, I’m falling…”

Sicheng watched Taeyong that night and witnessed how he changed after he met you. He put a hand on Taeyong’s shoulder. “I know. You’ve fallen since that first night. Five seconds.”

It took Taeyong five seconds to fall in love with you.

Taeyong continued, “I want to make this work. Let our Lord find out from me.”

“But-” Sicheng started.

“I appreciate you for not ratting me out to our Father, Sicheng. You’re a good friend.”

Later that night, Taeyong picked you up from your apartment and wanted to surprise you. He blindfolded you as you sat in the passenger seat of his car. Taeyong whispered into your ear. “Can you hear me?”

You laughed and bit your lip. “Taeyong, it’s a blindfold. Not ear plugs. Why are you whispering?”

He whispered even lower and the warmth of his breath made you fidget and press your thighs harder together. “It’s fun. That’s all.”

He could tell you were aroused. He could see your nipples through your black dress and he had to control his cock from making an early appearance. It was a good thing he blindfolded you.

Taeyong drove you two in silence and his giggles made you laugh. You held hands. It didn’t take too long to reach your destination. He escorted you out of the car and removed your blindfold.

“Surprise!”

You were at the Isla Central Marina and you stood before the entrance of a yacht named Cupid’s Bow. The boat was decorated with white Christmas lights.

“Taeyong, what is all this…”

He smiled as he led you onto the boat. “It’s where we’re having dinner tonight.”

You sat down at the table set at the center of the yacht. It was decorated with white daisies. Taeyong chose white daisies because their scent reminded him of you. And for their significance.

He sat you down at your seat and squeezed your shoulders.

You looked around in wonder. The night sky was clear as the full moon shone down on you both. “This is amazing. I can’t believe you did this for me.”

Taeyong sat across from you and smiled brightly. “I want to give you the world, y/n. If you let me, I will.”

Your face felt flushed and you stared down at your lap. “You’re so corny.”

He asked for your hand and you gave it to him. He kissed it and looked at you with what could be described as bedroom eyes. He tried to seduce you a couple of times now because he loved to tease you. You’d tease him back and pretend to consider sleeping with him. Fair’s fair.

But tonight? The teasing would stop.

Someone else cleared their throat. “Welcome to Cupid’s Bow. Thank you for dining with us tonight. I will be your server, Kun.”

You gasped and laughed. “Kun, what are you doing here?”

Dressed as a waiter, Kun said, “Taeyong needed a hand for tonight. And our friend Sicheng will be maneuvering this vessel.”

You turned to Sicheng as he waved from the steering wheel. He was wearing a captain’s outfit. You fought back a laugh. They were a cheesy group of guys.

Kun started you guys off with drinks as the boat departed the marina. You sailed around the bay that connected to the ocean. The bay led into downtown Isla where the city lights shone brightly. It was a beautiful modern-day fairytale.

Taeyong started up a playlist from his Bluetooth speakers and asked you to dance. “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran played.

Taeyong was a great dancer. He must have been classically trained for years. He spun you in circles and dipped you, pretending he was about to drop you to tease you. He pulled you close and hummed along to the lyrics. You laughed and held him tightly.

The songs continued as you and Taeyong watched the view. He held you from behind. The night was perfect.

“Y/n,” he said into your ear softly.

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

You turned back to him and smiled. “I love you, too.” You kissed him.

You liked Taeyong ever since that night you met. But you started falling in love after you saw how he was with Ruby. He carried a lot of love and loyalty in his heart that it left you in awe every time you were with him. There was more to him than the wealthy bachelor persona he emitted. That wasn’t who he was. He was a man who loved fiercely. He was your best friend. And now you wanted him to be your lover.

You sat down together and ate Italian cuisine. Kun was an incredible chef. You and Taeyong share lasagna and chicken Alfredo. It was delicious. For dessert, you two fed each other gelato.

When Cupid’s Bow returned to the dock, you and Taeyong sat in the car, awkward.

Taeyong waited for you to tell him to take you home but it never came. You wanted him to suffer for a few more seconds.

You started. “Thank you for tonight.”

He cleared his throat. “I had the best time.”

“Can I stay the night?” You asked softly.

Taeyong was hearing things. “I’m sorry?”

“Let’s spend the night together.”

Taeyong was about to jump out of the driver’s seat and scream. He played it cool and his face was unreadable as he said, “Okay.”

You giggled. Taeyong was an enigma but you could see the blush creeping onto his cheeks.

You returned to the beach house and darted to the pool. Taeyong ran after you. You removed your dress and turned to him, biting your lip because you knew he loved it.

You were down to your black and red lingerie and Taeyong was so close to salivating. He longed to worship your body. He stood there, unable to move. He watched you slowly descend the steps into the pool and wait for him.

He walked slowly over to you, like a tiger about to pounce on his prey. He wanted you. You could see the desire in his gaze. He unbuttoned his shirt and you could see his abs glisten against the reflection of the pool. He smirked again, knowing it drove you crazy when he did that. He slowly unbuckled his belt and you could see his bulge better as he pulled down his pants.

“Wow,” you said.

“Hmm?”

Taeyong was down to his briefs. He pulled them down and chucked them away. His physique was like that of a statue of a Greek god. He was rock solid. You swam into the deep end, waiting for him to follow you in.

Taeyong got into the pool and dove down. You couldn’t see him now.

You were waiting for him to surprise you but time passed and you wondered if something was wrong.

“Yong?” You started. “Yong!”

He crept up behind you then, pulling your panties down in the process. “Boo.”

You smacked him. “Jerk. I thought you were dying.”

Taeyong chuckled. “I wasn’t down there for that long.”

“You’re kidding, right? I counted. It was at least a minute.”

Maybe he crossed the line with his immortal abilities, then. He sighed. “What can I say? I have incredible lung capacity.”

You rolled your eyes. “Why don’t we put that to the test?” You put your arms around him and kissed him deeply.

Taeyong’s heart skipped a beat. Your soaked body got him harder. You got onto his lap and he kissed your cleavage. His kisses were everything. You had been thinking about your first night with him for a long time now.

Taeyong lowered the strap of your bra and kissed your shoulder, silently asking if he could unclasp your bra. You nodded. He adored your breasts, biting and sucking at them.

You lowered your hand to his pelvic region and felt his large cock. He grunted as you clasped it. You kissed his neck and nipped at his ears.

You both loved teasing each other so now that you were spending the night together, neither of you was going down without a fight.

After a few minutes, Taeyong carried you out of the pool. You looked up at him, admiring his flawless profile. He dried you off and he took your hand and led you upstairs to his shower.

He started up the shower and you looked up at him. He took your face into his hands and gave you a peck on the lips. He smiled.

He started washing you with his body wash. It was Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin. It smelled just like Taeyong and you wished you could smell like this all the time. He carefully navigated your body like you were a fragile vase and kissed you all over. He saved your chest for the end and could feel your heartbeat against his palm. He looked up at you through hooded eyes and you kissed his nose.

You washed him and teased him as you washed around his crotch, lightly tracing it with your fingers. His skin was soft while his body was muscular. He was the most beautiful contradiction in the world.

Taeyong pulled you in for another kiss and you wrapped your arms around each other. He turned the shower off. You both dried off.

He scooped you up, making you giggle. He laid you down gently. You stretched your body against the mattress and Taeyong admired all of your angles.

“I’m going to fuck you until the sunrise, y/n,” Taeyong said as he looked down at your body. Your eyes lock on him. They were no longer doe-like.

“I bet you are,” you said, feeling a little nervous now.

He straddled you and kissed you. His cock teased its entrance into your folds. “My stars, you are the most gorgeous creature,” he said as his face was mere centimeters from yours.

You pulled him closer and you kissed again, running your hands over his back. He traced his fingers around your folds, teasing your entrance. You whimpered as you held him tightly.

You pushed him off of you and laid him back as you gripped his cock and pumped. “You think you’re the only who’s been dying for this moment?”

Taeyong gaped at you. You were the first partner to take charge. His other lovers usually let him take the lead. He didn’t mind it much but to see you cater to his needs made him dizzy.

You took his cock into your mouth and your throat burned from the contact. You couldn’t take all of him in so you had to love the rest of him with your hand. You started bobbing your head back and forth, licking the veins of his throbbing member. Taeyong grunted. “Fuck, y/n.”

You looked up at him and his heart nearly stopped again. He gripped your hair. He came into your mouth and you swallowed his seed.

“You taste better than I imagined,” you said as you wiped your mouth.

You were generous in all aspects of life but in the bedroom? Taeyong was floored. “Allow me to pamper you.”

He laid you against his bed frame and brought out handcuffs.

“Well, you came prepared. Are those new?” You hoped they were.

“Yes. They came in yesterday…Good timing, wouldn’t you say?”

You nodded as he unlocked the cuffs. “Lift your arms up, y/n.”

You obeyed and he cuffed you. Your breasts were raised beautifully and Taeyong sighed. “Breathtaking.”

You averted your gaze and Taeyong shook his head. He took your chin and turned your face to him. “No, no...Don’t get shy on me now...Not when you fucked me with that pretty little mouth of yours.”

You loved how low his voice became and you felt your pussy tremble underneath him. He fondled your breasts, squeezing your nipples and biting them. He kissed around your folds. He traced his tongue at your entrance and breathed against it, making you whimper. He started whispering sweet nothings in multiple languages. He spoke in almost ten languages and you wondered who this man really was. You came once he spoke dirty French into your ear.

You were already soaked and Taeyong wanted to indulge in torturing you for a few minutes before he entered you. He started by slipping one finger into your entrance and carefully avoided your G-spot to rile you up.

“Taeyong, please,” you cried.

He stopped and kissed your forehead. “We have all night, y/n.”

You pouted. “You’re too good at torturing me.”

He smiled. “Am I torturing you? I didn’t think so.”

You wrapped your legs harder around his abdomen. “Get inside me. Now.”

He sighed. “You seem to forget that I’m calling the shots, y/n.”

You licked your lips. “Are you?”

He frowned and slipped his fingers out of your folds. “Do you not like it?”

You shook your head. “I do. I do. I do.”

He smirked. “Then, let me work.”

He continued to fingerfuck you until you cried. “Yong, please…”

“I love when you call me Yong. It destroys me,” he said as he finally entered you.

You cried out loud as his cock entered and hit you in the right places. You could feel him go deeper and could feel his cock twitching in your belly. You climaxed quickly and Taeyong quickly pulled out and came right after.

Taeyong cleaned you both up, not removing you from the cuffs just yet.

“Uh, Taeyong?”

“Yes, darling?”

“You forgot something?” You looked up at the cuffs.

“Oh, you’re right. I did forget something.” He kissed your forehead. “I love you.”

He walked out of the room.

Your arms started to hurt from having been raised for so long. “You are so funny!”

He returned with a tray that had two glasses of water and a bowl of strawberries and whipped cream.

“Are you hungry?” Taeyong asked, acting oblivious.

“Taeyong, I think it’s your turn to try on the cuffs…”

He beamed. “Exactly what I was thinking, y/n.”

“Okay, great. Now if you can get these off of me, the chances of me choking you to death will be lower.”

He laughed. “You’re so funny.”

He sat next to you in bed. And fed you a strawberry with whipped cream on top, popping it into your mouth. He carefully slipped his finger out and licked his finger. “Mmm.”

He took the whipped cream and drew out shapes onto your body, tracing his tongue over the shapes and eating the whipped cream. It drove you crazy.

“Now that I’ve had my dessert. It’s only fair that you enjoy yours.” He uncuffed you.

You cuffed him and had your way with him. You even took it a step further and pulled out another set of handcuffs from the drawer. “I see you got an extra pair.”

He smiled. “Can never be too prepared.”

You returned his smile. “Let’s kick it up a notch. Shall we?”

You cuffed his ankles, as well. He laid in bed and waited for you to get to work on him but you decided to get the bowl of strawberries and whipped cream and eat a couple slowly. You even fed a couple to Taeyong.

You started, “This is nice.”

Taeyong grumbled in Korean.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. I’m just waiting here. Patient.”

“Like the good boy that you are,” you cooed.

Your voice made him harder. You took the whipped cream and traced it over your collar bone. “Lick,” you commanded.

He licked across your collarbone. Then, you drew shapes onto his body, drawing a heart around his pelvic region. You saved it for last and slowly licked around it. You kissed his tip. He groaned. You straddled him and kissed him passionately.

You teased each other like that all night and made love for hours. You fell asleep in each other’s arms, holding each other tightly. The sun had risen a few hours ago. You woke up first and found Taeyong holding you tightly to his chest. He felt your movement in his sleep and he held you tighter. The sun lit up his features. He looked like an angel.

You kissed his cheek and his eyes opened slowly. “Good morning.”

You smiled. “Hi.”

He stretched and held you again. “I need to check on Ruby.”

You shook your head. “I’ll take care of her. You sleep.”

He whined. “It’s okay. You rest.”

You giggled. “It’s okay.”

You and Taeyong got cleaned up. You borrowed some of Taeyong’s clothes. You took Ruby for a walk around the neighborhood. You spent a quiet day together, living in utter bliss.

…

[1 Week Later]

Taeyong was on cloud nine. Having you in his life made him complete. He can’t imagine it getting better than this. You were at work and Taeyong was preparing dinner for you as you were sleeping over later. He was going to ask you to move in.

He finished his homemade pepperoni pizza and put it in the oven. He heard the doorbell ring. Ruby barked and he joined her to see who was at the door. It couldn’t be you. It was too early. He opened the door to find Mark at the door.

“Mark!” Taeyong smiled and hugged him. Mark was another one of his coworkers and close friends. Taeyong regarded him as a little brother.

“Taeyong, it’s great to see you…Wow, you are glowing.” Mark eyed him carefully.

He smiled, thinking about you. “Yeah...I guess I am. Come in!”

After they sat down and caught up with each other, Mark said, “I’ll cut to the chase...I’m here in Isla for my next pairing session.”

“Is that so?”

He nodded. The usually lighthearted boy looked serious. “I know about y/n.”

Taeyong’s smile faded. Ruby snuggled tighter to Taeyong as she rested on his lap. “Who-“

He shook his head. “I found out myself. Y/n is my next assignment.”

Taeyong felt his world crashing down onto him. “No…”

Mark sighed. “I expected one of the fledglings to get into this mess but you? Our mentor? It’s absurd.”

“Mark-“

“Father doesn’t know…Imagine his disappointment when he finds out. He doesn’t have to. If you end it now.”

Taeyong’s chest was on fire. Tears were threatening to fall. “No.”

Mark frowned. “What?”

“You heard me, Mark. I’m not leaving her.”

Mark sighed. “Once I strike the arrows at her and her partner, it’ll be over.”

Taeyong shook his head. “Mark, please.”

Mark hurt for his friend but his duty as a Cupid came first. “I’m sorry, Taeyong. This is how our world works. You’re the one who told me so.”

Taeyong hated this. He hated the world he knew before you. How could he go  back to a world of bringing love to others and have no love himself? He couldn’t. Not after meeting you. You’d been burned before. No doubt by one of the Cupids interfering. He wasn’t about to let that happen again.

“Taeyong, if you interfere with y/n’s pairing...There’s no telling what the consequences will be.”

“I’ll be the one to deal with that, Mark. But I won’t let you come between us.”

After their exchange, Mark left. Taeyong retired to the kitchen to check on the pizza. It was ready.

“What is he saying, Taeyong?” You started.

“Y/n?!” Taeyong jumped as he found you waiting for him at the kitchen island. 

You’d snuck in earlier to surprise him with sweet potatoes you bought from the farmer’s market. You wanted to scare him because it was a bit of yours. You snuck through the back door with your own set of keys he gave you.

You were about to duck your head into the living room when you heard Taeyong say he wouldn’t leave you. Your heart sank.

He wanted to hold you. “Y/n…”

You crossed your arms. “What is going on? Who is Mark? And who exactly is your father? What exactly is your job, Taeyong? Because I’m beginning to suspect you’re not a dating guru.”

Taeyong sighed. “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

“Try me.”

Taeyong checked the schedules of the fledglings at work in Isla. The best way for him to prove his identity to you was to show you how Cupids worked. “Come with me.”

He drove you to an amusement park. You turned to him. “You are not taking me on a date right now.”

He shook his head. “I’m not. Just follow me.”

He led you into the park and you sat down on a bench by the haunted house.

Taeyong started. “See that guy in the leather jacket? That’s my coworker Shotaro.”

“I don’t see him…” There was no one by that description where Taeyong was pointing.

“Y/n, hold my hand.”

“Taeyong, now’s not the time.”

“Please. Just do it.”

You gave in and held his hand and suddenly, a young man in a leather jacket appeared. Shotaro was carrying a bow and a bag of arrows. He prepared his arrow to shoot at someone leaving the haunted house.

“Taeyong, what is he doing?!” You yelled.

Taeyong shushed. “Y/n, just watch.”

You put a hand over your mouth and you were about to run over and stop this madness. Taeyong held you back.

Shotaro released the arrow and hit the young woman first. She looked at her best friend and kissed her cheek. Shotaro then shot another arrow at the best friend. She kissed the first young woman on the lips, then. The arrows vanished just as quickly as they pierced both women. It was as if they were never struck. Shotaro noticed Taeyong and waved before he faded away.

You rubbed your eyes. “Taeyong?”

“Yeah?”

“What the hell was that?”

“More like what the heaven was that…”

“Explain.”

Taeyong explained everything to you. How he was Cupid. How there were Cupids all over the world bringing people together. Taeyong was the original Cupid and he was on vacation. You took it all in and a lot of things started to make sense. Why he never spoke about his family or his job. How a lot of things were so new to him. It wasn’t because he was a sheltered rich boy. He wasn’t even human. He was a god.

This also meant that your concept of love was completely wrong. Cupids had their hand in romance all over the world. Which made you realize...

“So…When Jaemin broke up with me, it was because of you guys?”

Frustrated that you brought up Jaemin, Taeyong managed to say, “Yes…”

Tears fell from your eyes. “And you were never going to tell me?”

“It wasn’t my place to-“

“Oh, hell, if it’s not...How long were you going to play me like this? You were going to leave, anyway. What was the plan? Lead me on and then dump me like Jaemin did?”

Stabbed by your words, he begged, “Stop saying his name.”

“Well? How long were you planning to lead me on for? I’m sure you have a carefully crafted schedule for your next victim ready.”

Taeyong shook his head. “You don’t mean that.”

Tears fell onto your lap. “Taeyong, I loved you. Did you ever love me?”

The past tense killed him to hear. “Y/n, I love you. I’ve never loved anyone in all my years. You’re the only one for me.”

“Taeyong, you’re going to leave me.” You sobbed.

He shook his head. “I won’t leave you. I’ll fight for us.”

You hugged him tightly and he shushed you. He bought you a funnel cake with a large cup of lemonade to share. You both ate in silence for a few minutes.

You broke the silence.“When Mark said I had a pairing session, that means that I’m being matched with someone. Someone that isn’t you…”

“Yes…”

“Taeyong, I don’t want to be matched with someone else. What are we going to do?”

“I have a plan.”

You sighed. “I’m being selfish.” “What? No...Why would you think that?”

You took a sip of the lemonade. “The consequences of you disobeying...God, I still can’t believe it....I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Taeyong replied, “Let me deal with that, y/n. I will fight for us. It’ll take some convincing but after all of my years with Father, he has to listen to me.”

…

[The Next Day]

Tonight was the animal shelter’s fundraising gala in downtown Isla. It was held at the lavish Sun and Moon Hotel’s ballroom. Your potential partner would be in attendance tonight but you didn’t care. All you cared about was Taeyong and what he had up his sleeve. Mark was mingling with the other guests. He didn’t know that you were in on his plans with you. He met your eyes and smiled, playing the part of the oblivious but charming young man.

As far as Mark knew, you and Taeyong broke up last night so you had to look miserable. And frankly, you felt miserable not knowing what was about to happen with Taeyong. There was a chance you could lose him forever tonight. But you held onto the chance of remaining with him.

You forced a smile and continued to mingle with the guests. Meanwhile, Taeyong disguised himself and kept an eye on Mark. Mark may have been a well-established Cupid by now but he was not at Taeyong’s level. He was off by a few centuries.

The shelter had received a lot of donations from many local businesses and celebrities. You gave a thank you speech to all the attendees for their generosity and raised your glass to them. The uncertainty was killing you underneath it all.

Taeyong watched Mark prepare his arrow, then. Mark was no longer seen by humans. You realized Mark and Taeyong were missing, which meant it was time. Taeyong prepared his arrows. He stabbed himself with his own arrow as he watched you. Right before Mark shot his arrow, Taeyong shot at you. You turned to him, then, finally able to see him. Mark realized too late what he had done.

Mark yelled. “What have you-”

Taeyong and Mark vanished.

…

[5 Years Later]

The year you spent with Taeyong had vanished from your memory. The night of the gala after Taeyong and Mark disappeared, you continued on with your life. Living with an inexplicable hole in your heart. You thought it was because you were being dramatic. Seeing a lot of your friends get married and have kids didn’t help your case either. Meanwhile, you were alone. Working hard and thriving, sure. But emotionally, you weren’t all there.

None of your friends or family remembered Taeyong either. It was as if he never existed to any of you. One day, Jisoo introduced you to one of her friends from her gym. You two hooked up not too long afterwards. The night was fun. It was a one-time thing.

However, that one-time thing ended up in your pregnancy. The father wanted nothing to do with your child so he skipped town. You didn’t hold it against him. The child was unplanned and you decided to carry on with the pregnancy on your own. Your friends and family were very supportive. You gave birth to a baby girl named Daisy.

The emptiness in your heart was filled by your love for Daisy. She was your world. She was your partner in crime. You wanted to give her everything good the world had to offer. Maybe someday you could give her a father.

After dropping her off at pre-school, you stopped by the post office to send out a letter to your pen pal. Isla recently started up a pen pal program for its citizens to send each other letters and gifts. You were paired up with someone who shared a lot of the same interests as you: favorite movies, foods, and animals.

You were paired up with a man named Lee Taeyong.

Dear Taeyong,

I’m sending you a copy of my favorite movie of all time, Jurassic Park. Please let me know if you like it. If you do, there’s a bunch of stickers in it for you. I hope you have safe travels to Munich and Budapest.

Warmly,

y/n

Taeyong had faced serious consequences for interfering with your pairing session. The work that had to be put in to pair up y/n’s original partner, Nakamoto Yuta, with someone else put everyone into a frenzy. Thankfully, the damage was repaired.

However, the Lord was pissed. Taeyong disobeyed him. Even though God adored him, he knew he had to be punished. For every second it took for Taeyong to fall in love with you, it would take a year for you two to reunite.

God relieved Taeyong of his Cupid duties and wished him a wonderful life as a human. He looked forward to Taeyong returning to him again one day.

Taeyong returned to Isla with an established job as a pilot. Ruby remained with him. His friends Sicheng and Kun would look after her while Taeyong was away now and then. He loved traveling the world but he loved coming home to Ruby most of all. He tried dating a couple of times but it never clicked with anyone. And hook-ups were a thing of the past. He wanted something serious. He hoped to find someone to call his person someday.

He recently sent his pen pal a letter before departing for his flight to Paris.

Dear y/n,

I loved Jurassic Park. I can’t believe I wasted so many years of my life not knowing this movie. Don’t hold back on the stickers. I’m sending you a copy of one of my favorite movies. It’s called Train to Busan. Try not to swoon too hard over Gong Yoo or I might get a little jealous.

Warmly,

Taeyong

You two exchanged letters frequently and after a few more months, you decided to meet up at the cafe right next to the shelter. Taeyong walked past the shelter, arriving early for your meet-up. He was thrilled to meet you and finally put a face to your name. He looked at the windows where adoptions were currently underway.

That was when he saw you.

And just like that everything flooded back to him. How you two already knew each other once. How you became friends and grew together. How you fell in love.

He ran into the shelter and called your name. “Y/n!”

You were answering a volunteer’s question when you heard someone call your name. When you turned to the person who called you, it all came rushing back to you. All of the memories. All of the love for him that you carried in your heart. 

“Taeyong…” Your eyes welled up.

You ran towards each other. You jumped into his arms, then. You laughed and cried together. You took a ten minute break to sit outside with Taeyong.

“I can’t believe it’s you…” He cried.

“Me neither...It’s been five years…”

“Five years...A year for every second it took for me to fall in love with you…” Geez, he thought, God was so unfair and so corny at the same time.

Five years without each other was too much for either of you to bear. You caught up on each other’s lives. Taeyong was shocked to find out you have a daughter. You were shocked that Taeyong was a human now.

But now this meant that you two could grow old together. Daisy could finally have a father. And you couldn’t wait to hold Ruby again.

…

[1 Year Later]

After a year of dating and getting to know each other again, you and Taeyong got married. Daisy and Taeyong adored each other. Ruby was happy to see you again and more than happy to welcome Daisy into her life. It was a beautiful union.

All of your friends were in attendance. Jisoo was weeping so hard. Jaehyun and his boyfriend Johnny were in attendance. Taeyong was shocked that it hadn’t been Jaehyun who claimed your heart after all this time. It turned out that Jaehyun was just a concerned friend. They became good friends.

You got married at the beach. You wore a stunning mermaid white gown. You walked down the aisle with a train decorated with white daisies. The white daisies translated to: “I love you truly.” Sicheng, a violinist, played his rendition of “All My Life” by K-Ci & JoJo. It was yours and Taeyong’s song.

Taeyong donned a black tuxedo. A daisy decorated his lapel. He nearly broke down in tears at how lovely you looked. You couldn’t help the huge smile on your face.

You recite your vows to each other. You started, “Taeyong, from the moment we first met...My life became tinted in shades of pinks and oranges again. I could see that the world could be beautiful. You helped me find happiness again. A happiness I didn’t know I needed until I met you. I adore you and will adore you even into the afterlife. Whatever happens, I will always be here for you. You have my heart. My everything. I cannot wait to spend our lives together with Daisy, Ruby, and our future children. I love you.”

Taeyong replied, “Y/n, you are my world. I found love in you. You are the light of my life. You made me a better person and you made me want to live and enjoy life. The world is beautiful because of you. I love you with all of my heart. I promise you that we will always be together. No matter what life...and the after life...will throw at us. I am yours. I will always be with you. My love. My darling y/n...I love our family. Daisy and Ruby, we love you so much. I cannot wait to raise our family together, y/n. I love you.”

Officiant Kun continued, “By the power vested in me by the State of Sweetwater, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Taeyong scooped you up and kissed you, earning applause from your friends and family.

A magical day of many. You two lived happily ever after.

Fin.

[sweetkingdomstarlight-blog]

Hey! For the prompt ask. How about...

22. “Good thing I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

With...Lee. 😏

Pairings - Lee Bodecker  x Female Reader, small mention of Charles Blackwood x Reader

Words - 958

Warnings - none except a little swear word

a/n- Thanks for the prompt! I hope you enjoy this ❤️ this hasn’t been beta’d so all the mistakes you see belong to me.

You were looking after the McGregor kids for the day, they weren’t your favourites but their parents paid you well enough and it meant you got to sit in their big garden most of the day sunbathing. It was a win win for you.

Lounging in the sun and reading your book you could feel a pair of eyes on you, you knew it was him, he never left you alone when you were there “don’t you think that bathing suit is a little revealing?” You look up from your book, check the kids were still happy playing and stand up. 

Walking over to him and swinging your hips on purpose, you watch him closely as he licks his lips looking you up and down, stopping at your breasts and making a sound from the back of his throat. You know he wants you, you know he’s single too but tormenting him was much more fun than giving in.

You stand in front of him and twirl on the spot “which part is too revealing?” running your fingers over your chest “is it here?” Moving them lower down your sides they rest on your hips “is it here?” You turn around and wiggle your butt for him “or is it here?” He growls and stomps off into his home and you go back to your book, happy to have tormented him for another day.

Almost a week later and you were back, this time it was an evening, you would be getting paid to sit on their sofa and eat their food while the kids slept. You had invited the new guy in town to come over, wearing your prettiest dress, the white one with yellow daisies on it, you had your hair curled perfectly and were excited to see him again. He had caught your eye in town earlier that week, smiling at you and kissing the back of your hand when you introduced yourself. You had talked for hours about the time he lived in Italy and all the places he’d love to show you.

Pulling up in his bright red car, you quickly opened the front door to usher him in quietly, not wanting to wake the kids up the only problem was his car brought Lee out of his house to inspect the noise “Well well well do they know you’re having company over tonight while you’re supposed to be looking after the kids?” You shake your head at him and tell Charles to go in and make himself comfortable while you deal with the town busybody. 

He closes the front door and you turn to Lee whisper shouting at him “why are you always here? Do you enjoy talking to me like I’m a child?” He smirks at you and shakes his head, taking a good look at you for the first time since you came outside “you’re too good for him, he’s trouble I can tell. Give me the word and i’ll get rid of him then me and you can share that beer I know you probably got stashed somewhere” You look at him frustrated and shake your head “its a good thing I didn’t ask for your opinion Lee, I can look after myself thank you very much” with that you walk back inside, shaking your head at him one more time before closing the door behind you and joining Charles on the sofa.

Twenty minutes, thats all you get, twenty minutes before Sally walks back through the door with her husband. “Is everything ok? I wasn’t expecting you back for hours?” She doesn’t answer, instead running upstairs to check on the boys. You look at her husband confused and he asks what happened? Someone rang the restaurant saying they saw sirens outside the house and that they should come straight home. Staring at him confused, Charles makes his excuses and leaves promising to call by and see you tomorrow. It takes you another a few moments to realise what’s happened, he walks through the door, a cocksure look on his face and winks at you. You groan internally and roll your eyes assuring the parents that nothing is wrong and that they should enjoy the rest of their night, you’d be happy to stay for them.

“I’ll stick around, make sure nothing happens” Lee says, ushering them back out the door and sitting on the sofa with his legs spread smiling at you. He pats the seat next to him and you throw yourself down with a huff “I told you he wasn’t good enough for you. He ran away at the first sign of trouble, he probably only wanted what was between your legs anyway.” You slap him hard across the cheek and wince at the pain in your hand, shaking it off and glaring at him, he frustrates you even more by smiling at you and leaning in close so he can whisper in your ear “you need a real man sweetie, let me take you out and show you what you’ve been missing.” Confused, you turn to look at him and are shocked when he places a soft, delicate kiss on your lips before pulling back and holding your chin between his thumb and forefinger. 

You look deep in his eyes and kiss him again, cheering yourself on the inside that you manage to surprise him this time “one date Bodecker and you better not take me to that shitty diner on main.” He shakes his head and grabs the drink, taking a sip before answering “only the best for my girl” before throwing his arm over your shoulder and pulling you in close, kissing you on the top of your head and smiling to himself.

[lizadale]

here, have another 3000 words of nonsense. now with 100% more bats

[]

You end up staying in your room instead of going to dinner.

You sit out in the rain until the storm passes, and you can’t believe you almost didn’t do this. Sitting on your rooftop during a downpour was one of those things you did for comfort while the Chaos Heart was dragging you, so you’d started associating it with sickness. Dimentio had originally seen it that way as well, and said it as many times when he first noticed you doing it, describing it as ‘something sick animals do.’ Apparently he doesn’t think that way anymore, only that sitting in the rain is a thing you’ve always done since he’s known you, and he doesn’t see any reason for you to have stopped.

You wish you could pocket the rain here. It’s relaxing and much warmer than the rain that falls in your forest. Because you’re in one of the suites on the top floor, you can lean back against the railing and watch the clouds ripple over the island, and once it lets up a little Dimentio crawls out and sits against you. He seems content just to quietly take up space with you, and you couldn’t be happier about it.

When it stops, you pick him up and force him to drink some water from the tap to combat the alcohol, and then you manhandle him into the shower. He doesn’t fight you at all, except to insist you turn the water all the way to the hottest setting, which you refuse to do in case it irritates his burn (and any other burns besides the one on his foot, which you may have missed).

“There’s a jacuzzi upstairs where the pool is,” you tell him. He still doesn’t complain even when you join him sitting in the tub and start scrubbing all the loose sand out of his hair. “I bet you’d like it. You don’t have to ever put your head under.”

He seems to be mulling over the idea. He lets you wash his hair, and you learn that he secretly does like having it played with, despite him declining Mimi’s offer to do so almost constantly. You’re a huge fan of the way he hums in pleasure when you ease out the tangles or scrub behind his ears.

“Leave it down,” you plead as you’re drying him off.

“Whatever,” he says. “It will be humid out, though.”

That’s when you text your brother asking him to just bring you something when he goes out with Peach. You can see the telltale signs of Dimentio starting to nurse a headache, and you don’t much feel like going anywhere else tonight. The message shows up ‘Read’ but Mario never responds, which usually means an affirmative.

Daisy has texted you several times. Initially they’re short messages of her bitching about her chancellor, ‘no fun allowed!!’, etc—the more recent messages are just an array of frowning emojis. She sends another one once she sees you’ve read them, this one with a picture of said chancellor with his back turned to the camera but judging by his posture he’s actively bossing people around the palace. It comes with the caption, “photos taken 10 secs before i break faces w/ a baseball bat.”

“Don’t do that. You’ll get stuck there for the funeral,” you message her back. “And also probably arrested.”

“i’d love to go out on the lam tbh. easier than princessing. you like to house convicts right”

You snicker. You knew Daisy would have trouble getting away from her duties on such short notice, but you’re anxious for her chancellor to lighten up and let her visit.

You put your shoes on and leave for a moment to go fill up the ice tray, and when you come back you pause at the door, feeling the hair on the back of your neck stand up. You didn’t notice before, but after leaving the space and returning there’s the distinct notion of more than one presence in your room.

Hotel Delfino is haunted; you already knew that the moment you approached it. A group of boos hang around in the casino area on the bottom level, there’s an old couple that haunts one of the rooms on the third floor, and there’s an elusive spirit whose presence frequently dips in and out of the lobby (you haven’t met them yet, but they feel neutral). The boos are only mischievous and like to cheat people in the casino (which is why the hotel staff was leery seeing you come in; they’re probably afraid you’ll try to kick the boos out and lose them money) and you’ve met the old couple already. But this feeling is neither a boo nor the ghosts in room 309.

No, you think you didn’t notice this presence because you’re so used to feeling it come and go in your house. You’re only shaken that you missed it somehow, despite spending a good three hours in the room now.

You go in and shove some ice water at Dimentio, and then you grab his travel bag from the foot of the bed.

“Can I help you?” he drawls, as you rummage through his belongings.

You turn the bag over and give it a strong shake. Some clothes and a couple books fall out, followed by an annoyed, screeping bat.

Dimentio jumps three feet off the bed and stays in the air, startled. “Ex-excuse me?!” he hisses. “I did not pack you!”

“I packed me,” Antasma supplies, shaking himself out and giving you a nasty look for outing him. “Because I knew you vouldn’t.”

You glare right back at him. This isn’t a welcome surprise, and you want to make sure he knows it.

“Why are you here,” Dimentio demands. “I do not believe this room allows for pets.”

“Vell, I saw the two of you packing,” Antasma says, flapping over to hang upside-down on the curtain rod. “But I missed either of you talking about it, and I didn’t know vhere you vere going or how long it vould be before you returned…”

“What,” you say, “were you going to be lonely without us?”

To be fair, Antasma has exclusively been hanging around Evershade since he followed you home from Pil’lo Isle—and King Boo isn’t what you’d call stellar company. The ghost and the bat tolerate each other, but they regularly butt heads because of moral differences.

“No,” the bat says flatly. “I vas going to be hungry.”

Dimentio is indignant. “You could not have simply flown into Toad Town and preyed on dreams there?”

“They vould notice. And I feared the princess might send somevone after me. Then I heard her voice not long ago, so I suppose that fear vas unfounded. Vhoops.”

“Whoops,” Dimentio repeats angrily, pinching the bridge of his nose and finally landing back on the bed. “In any case, if you are going to snack on everyone in the immediate vicinity, do so outside of our room. Is nothing sacred? …The tap here is—” He swivels the cup of water, unamused.

“Yeah, I know, I know,” you say quickly, glad to derail the conversation. “The tap here sucks. I’ll find you some bottled.”

“And an ibuprofen.”

“And an ibuprofen,” you agree.

His buzz never outlasts the fallout; you really wish alcohol didn’t move through him like water. It might be more energy-effective for you to just get him another cocktail, but if you bring him another you think he might make you sleep on the floor.

You slide open the balcony door again, and snatch Antasma from the curtain rod on your way out. He automatically sinks his teeth into your forearm, shallow enough to be considered a warning but still deep enough to make you hiss in pain. You close the glass door and jump over the edge of the balcony into the still-damp garden below, spooking the vender at the stall closest to the hotel.

“Bottled water?” you request.

The noki at the stall quickly slams a six pack of pricey-looking artesian water on the counter and shoves it toward you, looking afraid for her life.

You wave your wallet placatingly. “I’m not robbing you!”

“You jumped off of the roof!” she accuses.

“I’m sorry! I was in a hurry!”

“It vas the fifth floor, anyvay,” Anatasma corrects her, finally dislodging his fangs from your arm.

The poor girl looks like she might faint seeing the large, talking bat, so you just take the pack and leave some money on the counter and hope it’s enough to cover her therapy.

You settle on one of the benches in the garden, glad that the area is mostly deserted because of the lingering wetness. “Ok. So.” You glare down at the blood on your arm. It’s not bleeding badly, just slowly approaching the surface of your skin. Antasma is nothing if not very precise and controlled with his fangs, but that doesn’t make it less painful.

The bat moves to perch on your shoulder. His claws dig in a little, and you scratch irritably at the needle-point holes in your arm. “I am assuming, since you vanted me out of the room so badly, that you still haven’t told him I have been living off his dreams.”

“No, uh. It hasn’t really…come up?” you try.

Mostly because if Dimentio is going to go back on his word and murder you for any reason, it would be finding out that Antasma has been using him as a food source, and that you’ve known it’s been going on for months and never said anything. Up to this point, you’ve let Dimentio formulate the assumption that Antasma’s been feeding off of you—in reality, the bat can’t eat your dreams because they’re ‘too potent’ and ‘make him sick.’ So the idea was: Antasma can do what he wants as long as he never says anything about it.

If you’d said something at the start, it wouldn’t be so bad. But Dimentio finding out you’ve been withholding someone using him for so long…well. It might ruin the mood of your trip a little.

“I can’t believe you hid in his luggage,” you sigh. “I mean, it was really funny, but also what the heck, Antasma?”

“It vas an impulse,” the bat huffs. “He’s been out of the house for vork a lot, and then he vas packing and I may have panicked.”

“Ok, well—”

“He’s not dumb. He probably already knows. Vhere is this, by the vay? Not close enough to fly back, I suppose.”

“Uh, yeah, we’re on an island miles away from mainland. If you just—”

“I vasn’t planning on staying in the room all day. I am not interested in voyeurism. You came back suddenly, and I missed my chance to leave.”

Your face colors.

“If this is a vacation spot, I can find plenty of dreams here,” he says. “But call me back before you—”

“It’s not a big deal!” you snip, because really if he leaves the hotel entirely it would be more suspicious, and you don’t like the idea of it. “Do what you want. I’ll leave the balcony door cracked, just don’t crowd us. And if you could stop literally stalking my boyfriend so you can chew on his psyche, that would be great.”

Antasma is right, anyway; Dimentio isn’t stupid, and you’re almost positive he already knows. To some degree, at least. But that doesn’t mean Dimentio doesn’t mind, and you don’t like the situation where Antasma feels like he has to follow the two of you around lest he starve to death.

You know Antasma is just trying to get his strength back. He was already incredibly weak when you found him hiding in your attic, and just as he was starting to recover you involved him in your Chaos Heart woes and knocked him back down to square one. The only reason he was starting to recover in the first place is that, according to the bat, Dimentio’s dreams are a coveted source of energy.

“He is Ancient,” he had told you. “His mind is almost as active asleep as it is avake. And he doesn’t remember dreaming anyvay, so I’m not hurting anything. It’s not affecting him. It’s a vin-vin.”

Maybe Dimentio never remembers his dreams, let alone feel it when they disappear. You don’t think that necessarily means they’re up for grabs. Despite that, you let Antasma do as he pleased because he was helping you out at the same time. It’s only now, after all the terrible trials are over, that you feel extremely guilty about it.

“Ibuprofen,” Antasma reminds you in your ear, like some kind of consolation for your trouble. He of course doesn’t even remark on your accusation that he’s a stalker, nor does he seem the least bit apologetic. He genuinely doesn’t see anything wrong with his approach.

“Yeah. Right.” You pull out your phone, disillusioned with your whole thought process, and text your brother, “Do you have any painkillers?” It takes a moment for a response. Texting Peach would be quicker, but she likes to talk, and you’re not up for it.

“first aid kit in my bag” Mario replies. “balcony door unlocked”

Well, that’s good news. Since Dimentio wouldn’t let you have any card keys because they would apparently mean he would no longer serve a purpose for you, it’ll probably look weird if you’re caught in the hall taking apart the lock mechanism with a screwdriver.

You walk around to the east of the building, where the room Mario and Peach are staying in is located. They’re on the same floor as you are, just on the opposite side of the hall. It’s easy to tell which one you’re aiming for since Mario has left his swim trunks out to dry on the balcony railing.

“Are you serious,” Antasma says.

“I don’t need your commentary. Don’t make me call animal control.”

You back up several paces so you can get a running start and hope that the people on the third floor don’t see you kick off the corner molding near their window and call the cops. You come up a little short and have to grab the rail with one hand, throwing the pack of waters over so you can pull yourself up. You flinch at the loud impact of the package rolling over the floor.

“If you had just left the vater on the ground—”

“I’m going to lock you in their bathroom if you don’t shut up. You’ll have to explain to Peach why you’re in her room.”

“I personally von’t have a problem telling her I’m stalking your boyfriend because his dreams are delicious.”

Antasma’s conniving methods are a different flavor from Dimentio’s. You hate him.

The sliding door is, as promised, unlocked. You tuck the waters back under your arm and swat Antasma away when he tries to fly past you.

“I’m still mad at you,” you tell him. “Go away.”

He snorts in amusement but complies anyway, flapping out into the dark blue sky and heading up toward the roof.

You grab the bottle of ibuprofen from the first aid kit, casually steal one from each pair of Mario’s socks from his suitcase, and cross the hallway back to your own room before realizing you still don’t have any key cards and your door is locked. You really don’t want to parkour back into your room from the outside. Even without Antasma laughing at your methods, you just don’t have the energy for it.

By way of knocking, you let your forehead fall heavily against the number plate on the door. Half a second later, you stumble across the small entryway of the room as you’re teleported inside, feeling like you somehow phased straight through the door like a ghost.

“What the hell took so long?” Dimentio groans. He’s still on the bed, sitting up against all of the pillows he could find, and flipping idly through the channels on the TV even though he doesn’t stop for long enough to even register what he’s looking at. “And where is Antasma? Did you drown him in the ocean? Tell me you drowned him in the ocean.”

“I didn’t drown him in the ocean,” you admit. "But only because I didn't think of it."

Dimentio scowls, disappointed. You hand him the bottle of ibuprofen. He catches sight of your arm and his scowl deepens. “Where is he,” he repeats, voice low and dangerous.

“I told him to fuck off for a while,” he say, moving your arm out of view. “That’s kind of my fault, I grabbed him with no warning. I would’ve bitten me, too.”

“I don’t care,” he says, dropping the bottle beside him on the bed, forgotten. “Wash that and then come here.”

He seems unwilling to do anything else until you do what you’re told, so you go to the bathroom and hastily run water over the bite. Come to think of it, you should’ve probably gotten some more things from the first aid kit for yourself while you were over there, but now you’re locked out of Mario’s room again until he returns. Oops.

“Here,” he says, aggressively patting the bed beside him when you come back. He has a roll of medical tape in his hands. You recognize it as the stuff he used to wrap his ankles and feet with, back when that was a habit. You sit perfectly still on the bed and let Dimentio wrap the wound. He’s definitely only doing it because he can’t stand seeing you marked by someone other than himself, but you marvel at the domestic nature of the action anyway.

After he ties off the ends, you hand him one of the waters. Then you get up and start snooping around in his bag again.

“Checking for more wildlife, are we?” he asks. Honestly, you were expecting him to throw more of a fit for getting in his stuff.

“Making sure I don’t find any ghosts in here, too.”

“This place is decent,” he warns, “but if you pull King Boo out of there, I am leaving.”

You grimace emphatically. Now THAT would ruin your vacation.

“Seriously, though, what are you doing?”

“I,” you say, finally extracting a hairbrush from somewhere near the bottom of the bag, “am going to brush your hair. And you’re going to enjoy it.”

“You somehow made that sound mildly threatening,” he says, sitting up a little. (You know from experience now that Dimentio is oddly attracted to being threatened by you. Sometimes it’s a little concerning.) “Why should I let you have your way?” He pauses to take a pill and a drink of the water you gave him, and then he stops and looks thoughtful for a moment. “This water is actually very good. Very well!” he declares, scooting forward so you can sit behind him. “I will allow it!”

“Thank Jaydes,” you say dramatically, “I didn’t wanna have to hurt you.”

[daisylore-au]

5/5 — TOMMY INTERROGATION [end]

part seven (?) !!!! final part of this whole event !! out of 28 votes, 25 of you voted to let tommy see dream (and this will be a side event in the future), so that’s the option we go with here !! after this, there will be a few days break between events, where i plan the next one and answer general asks and sort out the summary/story-so-far for this blog. i rlly hope you enjoyed, and tysm for sticking with this !! <3

Henry takes a deep breath. This might be a bad idea, but hey, she’s full of bad ideas. It runs in her blood. “Yeah, I think he’d like to see you,” she says, and watches something like hope and fear flicker over her brother’s face, “he likes seeing new people. You might even help him remember!”

Tommy swallows. He doesn’t look like he’d expected that answer. “Like he’d want to remember his death.”

“Prob’ly not,” Henry admits easily, “but maybe you’ll remind him of his life more.”

There’s a long silence for a while, where Henry yawns and Tommy looks pensive, like he’s thinking about something he’s never dared consider before.

“Okay.” He sounds a little strangled when he speaks. “Okay, I might go to him, I might go see him. At some point. I... Yeah.” He clears his throat roughly. “Flower fields, yeah?”

“Yup.”

“Right.” Silence falls again, and Henry thinks the conversation had gone well. Better than well! She’s surprised at how nice talking to Tommy like this had been: she’d been worried it would be a lot harder. And her brother looks more at ease too — troubled, deep in thought, but less burdened, somehow. Like he’s got a second chance at something.

And then she yawns again, and their quiet little moment is broken when Tommy shoots her an offended look.

“You’re bored of me,” he whines, and Henry smirks at him, “you’re yawning because you’re bored of me, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Henry answers plainly, “yes, you’re boring. You’re having a big main character moment and I’m just sat here. You’re gonna make me fall asleep.”

Tommy yelps, faking offence, but he’s grinning. “What the fuck? I’m literally going through character growth, and you’re being mean to me. That’s not on.”

Henry gets to her feet, shooting her brother a grin. “Well, have fun having growth,” she sings, picking up the book and handing it to Tommy with care, “I’m gonna go to bed. And you’re old, so you should too. ‘Cause being tired will make you wrinkly.”

“I’m not old!”

“Well,” Henry allows, “not as old as—”

“Philza Minecraft.” Both of them say in unison, grinning, and all feels right in the world as Tommy stands too with a snort.

“Okay, yeah, I’ll get to bed too, then. I’ll clean all this up in the morning. Come on, you.”

They reach the door, and Tommy switches the light out — Henry takes a dramatic moment to look back at the axe and whisper goodnight, my beloved to make her brother laugh before following him upstairs, feeling satisfied. That had been probably the best outcome: and maybe Tommy would visit Dream! She’d have to tell the others, but Tommy is cooler than the other guardians anyway, and they all know it, so she’s sure they’ll be fine with it.

Probably, anyway.

“Night,” she says brightly to Tommy, opening her room door, “sleep tight.”

“Don’t let the bed bugs bite,” Tommy answers with an eye roll, but he’s smiling, and Henry takes it as a win as she climbs into bed, eyes heavy, exhausted after her late night.

She dreams of cliff fights that change to building a structure with a friend and shrieking with laughter at his jokes, the sun setting on them both as they work. She’ll forget the name Church Prime in the morning — it’s long since been torn down, but in her dreams, she helps build it, and feels like her happiness will never end.

(In his own room, Tommy stares at the photos on his bed, eyes red-rimmed and throat tight. There’s a photo of the original eight server members, from Sapnap to George to Callahan to Alyssa, all of them grinning from ear to ear and looking delighted to be there. In the middle is Tommy, perched atop Dream’s shoulders with a shit-eating smirk, while the man below him looks equal parts amused and disgruntled. Tommy’s heart aches, and he tucks the photos back under his mattress, choosing to deal with them another night.

Because the more he looks, the more his old mentor and friend and brother figure’s eyes look like Daisy’s green one, and it hurts too much to think about right now.)

[beetlegoose01]

first hero (one shot)

AN: Snippets of Draco as a father, and one as a grandfather. :)

Before Scorpius was born, Draco had no experience with babies or small children. He was raised an only child, and had no knowledge of what to do. His own father was never one for comforting hugs or piggy back rides or teaching him how to properly play Quidditch without falling off his broom. He wasn't a terrible father, but he was definitely not a doting one.

He would do better. Draco vowed the second he discovered Astoria was expecting, that he would. He would do everything he could for this child. Resting his hand to her ever growing bump, whispering 'I love yous' and soft French lullabies.

"Is that-?" Draco uttered, eyes sparkling with wonder.

She laughed. "A little kick, yes."

"Does it hurt?"

"No, silly. Like a baby bird fluttering about."

Astoria's health was declining. Her body was already weakening from her curse and the pregnancy seemed to exhaust her further, day by day.

"If I don't see them grow," She whispered one night, caressing his cheek. "Please watch out for them, Draco. Promise me, you will."

His heart ached at her painfully true words. "I don't want to make that promise. Maybe there's some hope...some positivity?"

"It's the truth." She shrugged. "I can't change that, Draco. You know it, even if you won't say. Promise me?"

"...I promise."

Their son was born just a few days before Christmas. He had been intended to be born after the New Year, but his early arrival was welcomed nevertheless.

"He's...so tiny." Draco whispered, staring at the swaddled infant laying against his mother's chest. He didn't dare touch the blond fuzz, like dandelion fluff on their little one's head. He was so premature, so fragile.

"Hello Scorpius," Astoria murmured, exhausted and blotchy from childbirth, but still had a twinkle in her eyes. The tiny boy yawned, nestling closer to her. "Would you like to hold him?"

Draco nodded firmly, though he was positively terrified of dropping the boy. Astoria placed him gently in his arms, and he melted as the infant squirmed and squeaked.

"Hello, little fellow." He said, careful not to shift too much. "I'm your papa, Scorpius. Scorpius..." He thought for a moment. "Have we decided on a middle name?"

Astoria shook her head. "Are you sure you don't want to do Lucius?"

"Positive." He said, watching as their son's eyes fluttered open. They were bright and blue, like his mother's. Then, it dawned on him. "Hyperion."

"Like my father?"

Draco sat beside her, kissing Scorpius' head, then Astoria's rosy cheeks. "A man worthy of his name being carried on by our boy."

"Scorpius Hyperion," She repeated, smiling. "I like it."

~•~

Scorpius proved to be a shy, but precocious child, always fascinated in anything and everything. Though he had little contact with any other children his own age, he was best friends with his parents, and even occasionally visited his maternal cousins- though by visiting really he sat in the corner, staring at a picture book instead of interacting with them. He was quiet, remarkably quiet with his cousins.

Not that they didn't encourage him to talk to them.

"How about you join them, Scorpius?" Astoria asked, laying on the picnic blanket beside her husband and son. Her nieces, Constance and Cordelia were loudly playing gobstones while Daphne supervised them. "Gobstones is fun, I'm sure they'll teach you."

Scorpius simply shook his head, pointing at his book.

"Alright." She kissed his head fondly. "What would you like to do pumpkin?"

"Braid your hair, mummy." He whispered, giggling.

"My hair's already braided, silly. But...daddy's isn't." She smirked.

"Yeah!' Scorpius chirped, popping his thumb out of his mouth. "Flowers too?"

"Ooh that's a brilliant idea!"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "What are you suggesting?"

"Your hair is so long and pretty. Perfect for braiding." Astoria said, eyes crinkling as she laughed.

So Draco stood as still as he possibly could as his son and wife braided daisies and other flowers in his platinum hair, all while holding back chuckles as Scorpius stumbled around looking for various flowers to put in his hair.

"No, no Scorpius' that's a weed-" He started, but Scorpius didn't hear him, and continued braiding, singing a made up song to himself as he worked.

~•~

"Dad?" Scorpius asked one afternoon, while Draco was brooding by the fireplace. Astoria was resting upstairs after a particularly bad morning of sickness.

"Yes, son?"

"I um," He stared at his shoes, growing anxious. "I finished all the books in mum's library."

"Reading them?" Draco asked, puzzled, though not surprised. Though he was only nine, he devoured books like sweets. Instead of playing, he would read in a cushy armchair, reading books bigger than his head. Fantasy books, muggle literature, textbooks, non fiction, spell books- anything he could get his hands on. He especially loved ones with facts.

"Almost all of them." He corrected softly. "There's the ones you have locked up."

"Ah." Draco hummed. "You wouldn't be interested in that...it's all very grim. They're all about the War."

"Please, can I?" Scorpius begged. "I barely know anything about that and I'm so curious."

"How about we read it together? There are some things you need to know that ...you won't be happy to hear."

They read the old book together, and Scorpius was silent the entire time. When they finished a chapter about the list of Death Eaters, he looked distraught.

"I'm sorry, son." He murmured, but Scorpius didn't answer. Instead, he curled up beside his dad.

"Do you still have it?" He asked finally. "The mark?"

"...Yes."

"So we were evil?" The question was so innocent, but it still hurt.

"It's ...complicated. This mark serves as a constant reminder of my wrongdoings. With your mother's help, I became a better man. At least, I think so."

Scorpius dimpled. "You are." He yawned sleepily, resting his head on Draco. "I love you."

"I love you too, Scorpius."

~•~

"Ready?" Astoria asked, fixing Scorpius' black tie. "Oh, you look so grown up." She cooed.

"Mum!" Scorpius whined. "The train is going to leave soon!"

"I know, I know. One more hug and a kiss?" She asked, and he happily obliged. Thankfully at the age of eleven, he was still young enough to not be embarrassed by hugs. Especially Astoria hugs. She kissed the top of his hair.

"I'll miss you." He whimpered.

"Be good." Draco added, patting his shoulder. "Don't cause too much trouble."

"I won't, dad. I'll miss you too." He said glumly. "Suppose I don't make any friends?"

"You will."

"Don't forget your sweets." Astoria passed the bag to her son. "To help you make friends. Remember?" She winked. "Everyone will want to be your friend if you share."

"Friendly bribery." Draco joked. "But also because of your charming personality."

Scorpius laughed nervously as the train whistled. "I should go then."

"Write to us as soon as you can," Astoria said. "We love you, sweet boy."

"I love you too." He gave them a watery smile. "Bye then." He reluctantly walked towards the train, the trunk already put away so he only had his cat carrier to hold.

Watching him slip away made Astoria's lip quiver.

"He'll be alright, Toria." Draco assured her.

"I hope the other children will be nice." She said. "I don't want his light to dim."

Draco said nothing. It was true, Scorpius was the embodiment of sunshine and love, the idea of putting him with other children who most likely knew of the rumor was not comforting. He had wanted to homeschool Scorpius, but Astoria had insisted he needed to interact with others his age. Sending him to Hogwarts still felt like bringing a unicorn foal to a Chimera den.

"He will be alright." He repeated to himself.

School was harder than they had predicted. Scorpius had made one friend, Albus Potter of all people, who was sorted in Slytherin with him. Still, judging by his letters, he was happy. The other students teased them, but they had each other.

Which was enough.

~•~

It was a grey, cold summer's day. Scorpius curled up by the windowsill, silently watching the raindrops drip down the window. Everything felt bleak and dim. Not even the birds nearby chirped their beautiful songs.

"Be brave, Scorpius." His mum smiled, her strength weakening. "I love you."

"I love you too, mum."

He had held her hand as she passed away into the night.

"Scorpius..." Draco said, voice shaky. "Please let me in."

Scorpius hadn't heard him. He continued to watch the rain fall.

~•~

They were drifting apart. Draco could sense it. He had tried desperately to reach out to his son, but nothing worked.

Astoria would have known what to do. And now...well it was up to Draco to help his deeply distraught son.

After Scorpius' reappearance, he had hoped their relationship would rekindle somehow. It hadn't, despite his stress over losing him and the brief reunion that they shared was awkward. His son was back at school and that was that. Draco wished they could have spent a longer time together, especially after he had been missing for some time.

He stirred his tea thoughtfully. At least Scorpius was at Hogwarts with Albus and his professors. Still, the idea of /why/ he ran away was perplexing.

The manor chimney moved slightly. Placing his tea down, he watched as his lanky son tumbled out in a puff of soot and floo powder.

"Scorpius?" Draco asked, rushing to his side. "What are you doing here?"

Scorpius lifted his head, collapsing into his father's arms. "I came to see you."

It had been a while since they had hugged, but Draco didn't reject it. He held onto his son, his sweet son and let him weep into his chest like he was a little boy again.

"It's Albus." He gulped, voice cracking. "He won't speak to me. Dad, everything is wrong- he avoids me, all of our classes have been changed so we aren't in anything together." His eyes were glassy with tears. "I know for some reason he's in Gryffindor now, but he doesn't even ...acknowledge I exist. It's like he hates me."

"No...no...he doesn't hate you. We'll sort this all out." He paused. "And the other kids, have they been unkind?"

Scorpius stared at him in disbelief. "They've always been unkind, Dad! I'm the son of Voldemort, remember?" He snapped, tears rolling down his cheeks. "You don't know half of the things they do. Every day. Every day they hex me, belittle me, tease me. They make me feel...worthless."

Draco felt his heart break as Scorpius' face crumpled.

"School was fine with classes and such and when I had Al with me to make everything bearable. Now I don't even have him. I'm all alone. I don't want to be alone, Dad. I don't want to go back to school. I hate it there." He took a shaky breath. "I hate it so, so much."

"Scorpius I..."

"I miss mum."

"I know."

He had to make things right.

~•~

His son had come out as bisexual the following year after his little 'adventure' with Albus. Draco hadn't understood the term at first. He had to do extensive research to fully comprehend the meanings, alongside other sexualities that were included. Sexualities and gender were confusing, even Scorpius admitted it.

He didn't understand at first. But he listened to Scorpius explain tearfully, and hugged him as tight as possible when he mentioned he was dating Albus Potter.

"I love him." Scorpius said quietly. "That's what matters the most. Not my labels...nor his."

"I'm so proud of you."

~•~

His son was married.

His son was married, and he couldn't be happier.

Watching Scorpius embrace Albus at their wedding was everything Draco could have wanted. Seeing his son love someone, and look at him with such adoration made his heart soar.

He could see Astoria's bright smile in Scorpius' eyes as he laughed, leaning against his new husband. They were both glowing with genuine happiness. 

‘All was well.’ He thought, wondering if Astoria was proud of him too. 

~~~~~

Draco was much more confident holding his newborn granddaughter. At least, more confident than when he held Scorpius for the first time. She too, was early and had the same expression of curiosity in her eyes. He chuckled fondly as she reached her tiny hand to grab a hold of his pinky finger. She was precious as a doll, with fuzzy blonde hair and curious turquoise eyes. What a wonder, being that small and innocent. 

“She’s beautiful.” He murmured. “What is her name?” 

Albus grinned, pride evident in his voice. “Astoria Ginevra.”

[ithinkilikeit-reactions]

Young (Jung Jaehyun/Smut)

This was lowkey inspired by Lana Del Rey’s “Lolita” lowkey just lowkey. Been listening to that a lot

tags: Virgin reader, oral male and female recieving and giving, age difference (nothing illegal), teasing, best friend’s little sister, underage drinking, taking virginity, corruption kink etc a whole bunch of dirty fun 

Word count: 8090 (she’s long)

Summer was supposed to be memorable, especially when you’re young. The things you did with your friends, the people you meet, the things you do with people you love it was all supposed to leave a mark on your life, positive or negative. 

Back in his home town for the first time since college started, your brother was enjoying the familiar sights. The parties were lined up, the excursions with high school friends were planned and his friend from college was staying with him. Your brother was riding a high, high that came from the good life. 

“Thanks again for letting me stay at your place this summer.” Jaehyun said and looked at your brother from the passenger seat. “It’s really no problem man. Just hope you can enjoy yourself here.” You brother said as he pulled into his street. “With all the stuff we have planned, I don’t that I will.” He said and laughed, thinking about all the parties and stuff lined up. It only helped that your parents were leaving the next day to go on vacation. It was really going to be a perfect summer. 

Jaehyun moved to grab his bags from the truck after your brother pulled into the driveway. Your brother gestured for him to come inside and Jaehyun took a deep breath. He wasn’t nervous when it came to meeting new people, but he’d be staying in your house it was just different. 

“I hope the drive wasn’t too long.” Your mother doted, holding onto her son’s arm. She was happy to have him home. Jaehyun took a quick look around, scanning the house and taking in his home for the next coming weeks. “I’m so glad you decided to stay here for the summer and Jaehyun we are glad to have you.” Your mom said and stroked Jaehyun’s cheek with a loving smile. Your mom was just glad to have a house full of people, even if they were leaving the next day. It was a comfort to know you wouldn’t be alone all summer. “Where’s Y/N?” Your brother asked looking around the house for his baby sister. 

“She’s in the yard, I’ll call her.” You father said and moved to what Jaehyun presumed was the back door. Opening it, your father called out. “Y/N, your brother’s home!” 

Jaehyun looked towards your brother, with a cocked brow. “I didn’t know you had a sister.” He said and your brother shrugged. “Never came up. Oh my god.” Your brother panicked as your ran in, hugging him tightly. 

Jaehyun only caught a quick glimpse of you before you were tucked in your brother’s arms, but he was intrigued. Your short yellow sundress was covered in daisies, you were wearing beat up converse and you had blush coating your cheeks and nose. When you pulled away from your brother, he could see soft pink lipgloss coating your lips and the sparkles in your eyes. He knew he was in trouble. 

“Welcome home brother.” You said with a sweet voice as you smiled at him. “Good to be back loser.” He said and ruffled your hair, making you back away slightly and stick out your tongue. An innocent act. 

You weren’t oblivious to the other male standing there, your parents told you he was coming with a friend. You just weren’t anticipating that friend to look like that.

“This is Jaehyun, he’s gonna stay here this summer with us.” He said and you extended your hand to Jaehyun. He grabbed your hand, noting how small and soft it was in comparison to his. “Welcome home, Jaehyun.” You said and took your bottom lip between your teeth as you looked at the man. 

That night, you had a family meal and your brother and his best friend were telling college stories. You had nothing interesting to share, your junior year in highschool being hardly anything interesting. You just did what you were supposed to until you didn’t have to anymore. It was summer and you could finally let go. 

“Now we’ll be gone before you kids wake up. So be good.” Your father said, standing in front of all of you as you sat on the couch. There was a movie playing behind them but none of you were paying attention. You were sat in an armchair as your brother and Jaehyun occupied the couch and Jaehyun was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of you. 

“Take care of your sister, too. She stresses us out sometimes.” Your mother added, making you sigh and cross your arms. “Hey!” You said and pouted making Jaehyun chuckle to himself a little. DId he feel a little guilty that he was attracted to you so fast? Yeah. Was he going to act on it? He wasn’t planning on it at first. 

“Will do, we’re in charge loser.” Your brother said and you tossed a pillow at him with a laugh. “I’m 18, I can take care of myself.” You said and your parents shook their heads. “Just behave.” Your father said and kissed your forehead before going upstairs, your mother following suit after. Jaehyun and your brother exchanged looks before stretching out on the couch with satisfied smiles. “Ah, the kingdom to ourselves as of tomorrow.” Your brother sighed, placing his feet on the coffee table. 

“Yeah and there’s that party at one of your friends’ house tomorrow too.” You said, tucking your knees under your chin and looking at them. “How do you know about that?” Your brother asked, his calm expression turning to a stressed one. “Almost all the seniors were invited, that includes me.” You said, your smile being sickly sweet as you did. You loved teasing your brother, it was just so satisfying joining in on his “college fun”. “I’m not babysitting you tomorrow.” He snapped and you shrugged. “You don’t have to, I have my own friends. You have yours,  just take me there and that’s it.” You said and pushed yourself out of your chair. 

Jaehyun swallowed thickly noticing how high your dress had ridden up, that coupled with your pink cheeks and lips, he felt hungry for you. 

You instantly noticed him staring at you, the second he met you his eyes were glued to you. You weren’t dumb and you weren’t going to lie and say Jung Jaehyun wasn’t attractive. He had dark trusting eyes, dimples when he smiled and a relaxed aura to him. Definitely a beautiful man. 

“Anyways, I’m going to bed. Long night tomorrow night.” You teased and walked away. Jaehyun watched, cocking a brow as he stared at your thighs. A sharp smack to his chest snapped him out of it. “Dude are you thirsting over my sister?” He asked and Jaehyun’s eyes went wide. “No man some light reflection caught my eye. Sister’s are off limits.” Jaehyun clarified before swallowing the lump in his throat. “Good, we tease eachother but that’s still my baby sister.” You brother said and Jaehyun felt guilt in his chest. 

-

“Hurry up man, we’re already late.” Your brother yelled at you from the bottom of the stairs. “Just give me a minute!” You yelled back, looking in the mirror at your little short sleeved, blue cardigan that was left open. You buttoned the top 2 buttons and then quickly pulled on your shorts and sneakers. Admitedly, it was a little relieving but at the same time, it was your summer. You leaned forward and applied some pink lip gloss before shutting off the lights and running downstairs. 

“I’m ready, don’t have a cow.” You said and brushed past Jaehyun. He noticed, he instantly noticed that the only thing that was keeping your chest concealed from the world was 2 buttons but he couldn’t deny how good you looked. Your outfit was nice but he loved your makeup, soft pink eyeshadow on your lids and the same blush and gloss from the day before. You looked so flushed, you looked so fucked out and you hadn’t even been touched. 

 “You look nice.” Jaehyun said and you slipped your hands into your shorts pockets. “Thank you, you do too.” You said, smiling up at him and Jaehyun’s eyes flickered to your lips. Jaehyun was wearing a simple black shirt, with a plaid button up over top and black ripped skinny jeans to match. It was simple but he looked good and you couldn’t deny that.

The second you got to the party you spotted your friends and ditched Jaehyun and your brother. Jaehyun watched as you walked away, taking a seat on the arm of a couch next to a boy. He watched as the boy wrapped an arm around you, slipping his hand under your little top and kissing your forehead. He didn’t have a right to feel jealous but he did and that boy didn’t look right with you. 

You sat down, feeling Taeyong’s hand slip under your shirt as you did so. “Hey baby.” He said and you smiled at him. Taeyong wasn’t your boyfriend, but you had done things together. It was an unspoken unofficial thing and you could tell Jaehyun didn’t like it. Especially when you locked eyes with him from across the full room. 

Your brother ushered Jaehyun around the room before finding the person he was looking for, his girlfriend. “Jaehyun, you want the car tonight?” Your brother asked as he kissed his girlfriends cheek. “Why you askin?” Jaehyun asked as he sipped his beer that was given to him. “Because I have a feeling I’m not coming home tonight.” He answered and his girlfriend blushed. “Fair. Yeah give me the keys.” Jaehyun said and caught the car keys your brother threw at him. “If you see anyone feel free to take them home if you want. If not make sure Y/N gets home.” He added on and Jaehyun saluted. What if he wanted to take you home?

Jaehyun felt the pda between your brother and his girlfriend becoming a bit too much to be partner to and set off through the house. He knew no one there, this wasn’t his town and he felt out of place. He was expecting your brother to introduce him to people, but he understood how he got so sidetracked. Jaehyun would be too if he hadn’t seen his girlfriend in a while. 

You saw Jaehyun aimlessly walk around and settle for leaning against the snack table. “I’ll be back in a second.” You told your friends, Taeyong’s hand leaving your body as you walked towards the older male. “Hey. Having a good time?” You asked him, your hands in your pockets as you got closer. “Yeah, you’re brother just met up with his girlfriend and-” “Ditched you?” You cut him off and he laughed. “Yeah, but I get it. I’d probably do the same. But don’t worry about me. Go back to your boyfriend.” He said gesturing towards Taeyong who was watching you both. You giggled, covering your mouth as you did so before leaning in closer. “He’s not my boyfriend.” You said and Jaehyun cracked a smile. “If he’s not your boyfriend why is he touching you like that?” Jaehyun asked with a dark tone to his voice. It made you shiver slightly and you were about to answer when you felt cold beer spill all over your back. 

Jaehyun tried pulling you out of the way, his hand grabbing your waist and tugging you into his chest but it was too late. The back of your top was drenched with beer and all you could do was laugh. You pressed your forehead into his chest as you laughed and shivered at the cold. “Sorry Y/N!” The culprit said and you just shrugged it off. “It’s fine. Just cold.” You said and stepped away from Jaehyun again. He couldn’t help but find it adorable, the way you lost yourself in laughter in bad situation. 

“Man this is really cold and wet.” You said and looked at you with concern. He shrugged his plaid button up off of his shoulders, revealing his toned arms as he did so. “Here, take that wet stuff off and wear this. At least it’s dry.” You felt a heat in your chest at his words as he held up the item of clothing. Taking it from his hands, you waved it slightly. “I’ll be back.” You said and disappeared to the bathroom. 

The button up came down to your thighs, covering your shorts completely and you decided to leave the top 3 buttons open. Jaehyun took note of this when you returned to him. He almost couldn’t get the image of you in his clothes out of his mind after that. 

“That looks good on you.” Jaehyun said as you moved to sit on the table. “But I’m almost convinced you look good in anything.” He said softly before moving infront of you. His hands on either side of your body on the table. “Haven’t you found a girl to take home with you?” You asked, grabbing his beer and taking a sip. He chuckled before pulling the car keys out of his pocket. “Let me know when you’re ready to go home.”  He said, his response being incredibly bold and teasing to you. So you weren’t wrong about the looks from the night before. 

Jaehyun kissed your cheek before grabbing his beer from your hands. You watched him walk away, to go outside where other people were hanging out and you took a deep breath. A rush of nerves entered your body along with a rush of guilt. He was your brother’s best friend and you were shamelessly flirting with him. But maybe you weren’t completely in the wrong, he was flirting back and you couldn’t deny the looks he was giving you. 

You pushed yourself back off the table and walked back over to your friends, settling into Taeyong’s lap as you did so. “Don’t overthink it.” You thought to yourself and threw yourself into the party. Needing a distraction from your thoughts. 

The party came to lul and that was when you decided you were ready to go home and you attempted to find Jaehyun. You were admittedly alot more drunk than the last time you talked you to him and stumbling around. Walking outside, you saw Jaehyun sitting on a chair and talking to college guys from your area. He saw you enter the yard and perked up slightly, waving you over to him. You were a bit wobbly as you maneuvered through people before standing in front of him. You greeted the others as you knew they went to highschool with your brother. 

“You drunk babydoll?” Jaehyun asked, looking up at you and your hazy eyes. His nickname caught you incredibly off guard and made you feel small almost. “A little.” You mumbled and yawned. Jaehyun pushed himself off of his chair. He was having a hard time denying how cute you looked, with tired eyes and a little pout on your face. “Let’s go home then.” Jaehyun said and wrapped an arm around your shoulders. You looked so innocent to him in that moment, he wanted to remember it. 

When Jaehyun came down stairs the next morning, he was surprised with an empty house. Your brother hadn’t come home, presumably still at his girlfriend’s house and you, well you were in the yard. He looked out of the back window and spotted you laying on the grass, on your stomach. It was really nice outside and it seemed you were taking advantage of it. His ran his hands through his hair as you sat up, stretching out your upper body. Your back was facing him and you were horribly unaware of his stares. 

Your little sundresses and innocent demeanor would honestly be the death of him, especially when you turned around on the grass and your eyes locked. You waved slightly as you noticed him and he bit his bottom lip. Jaehyun disappeared back into the house and you pouted, laying down on the grass completely now and staring up at the blue sky. 

“Here, don’t want to get grass stains on your dress.” His deep voice filled your ears as he blocked your vision of the sky. You propped yourself up on your elbows to see he was holding a blanket. Jaehyun noticed the pencil and sketchbook lying on the grass next to you before laying the blanket down. 

Jaehyun plopped down on the blanket, patting the spot next to him as he grabbed your sketchbook. You moved into the spot he chose for you and watched silently as he flipped through your drawings. You suddenly felt insecure, like a little girl waiting for her test to be graded. A smile pulled over Jaehyun’s face before he looked to yours, noticing the nerves on your face. 

“These are great. Going to art school after this or?” He asked and you shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about it.” You told him and adjusted your dress slightly. “You know our college has great art department, you’d fit right in.” He said and flipped even further. “I can help you put a portfolio together if you want.” Jaehyun suggested and you looked at him with doe eyes. You had considered art school and a portfolio wouldn’t hurt. It was about time you really started getting focussed on these things anyways. 

“Alright, I’ll go grab my drawings.” You said and pushed off of the ground. He didn’t mean to look, or maybe a part of him did, he wasn’t sure. But he caught glimpse of your sweet little lacy panties, noticing the fact that they had embroidered flowers on them as you skipped away. 

Your drawings were spread out over the blanket as you tried figuring out which ones to chose for your portfolio. “I’m leaning more towards that one instead of this one.” You said, turning your head to look at Jaehyun. “I like them both, they both work.” He said and got more comfortable, laying on his side propped up on his elbow mimicing the way you were laid down.

It was beautiful outside, the wind blowing lightly making the fabric of your dress move. Your sleeve slipped down, revealing your shoulder and collar bones (not that you noticed) and Jaehyun caught a glimpse. He took his bottom lip between his teeth, his hand coming up to lift your sleeve again. You felt his hand, turning to look at him again with a deep blush setting on your cheeks. Jaehyun lifted the fabric and watched you swallow thickly at his actions.

Your neck was just so horribly inviting and the way you were leaning into him was too much for him. Jaehyun pushed all of his morals to the side, pressing his lips to your shoulder lightly. You let out a little gasp at the feeling, especially as his lips moved closer and closer to your neck and left little kisses in their wake. His other hand came up, holding your chin as he kissed your neck. Jaehyun felt the way you relaxed into his touch, a small moan coming out of your mouth as his kisses got more intense. He loved the sounds more than he thought he would. You could feel him nip the skin, going to leave a mark behind and your whimpers got progressively louder. “You sound beautiful babydoll.” He mumbled against your skin before pulling away, admiring his work on your neck.

You looked at Jaehyun with hazy eyes. Sure you had been kissed on the neck before, but not like this. This was dangerous.

His hand was still under your chin as you looked at him and you were wondering if he was finally going to kiss your lips. Jaehyun swiped his tongue over his lips and you took a deep breath, finally tearing your eyes away from him.

“There you two are. I couldn’t find you guys.” And with those words from your brother entering your yard, his hands left you flushed and frustrated. “Yeah man, it’s great outside today.” Jaehyun said and waved your brother over. You squeezed your thighs together, feeling horribly worked up and wonder how Jaehyun was keeping a straight face. 

“I suggested to help Y/N with a portfolio for college. She’s crazy talented man.” Jaehyun complimented and you looked away, face to flush to look at anyone. “See mom would be proud that you’re being productive. Anyways, I’m just here to grab some clothes and I’m gone again. My girlfriend’s parents are out of town.” Your brother said and you looked at him. “Nice, you have a good time man.” Jaehyun said and they did that thing that good guy friends do with their hands. You thought it was odd that your brother was technically leaving his best friend in your care or was it the other way around?

“I think I have enough for my portfolio, thanks Jaehyun.” You said, gathering your drawing and practically running inside. How was Jaehyun playing it so cool? You felt like you were going to melt. 

It seemed Jaehyun and your brother had left the house, you having not seen them since you went inside after Jaehyun had marked you. They were gone for hours and you had simply hung around the house, bored and left to think about what had happened on the blanket outside. It was around dinner time when you heard your brother’s car pull up again. 

You barely looked up from your phone as they entered the house, being immersed in your texts with Taeyong as you sucked on a lolipop. “If they would both leave me without warning, they didn’t deserve my time of day.” You said, feeling particularly salty over the situation. You were sat on the counter in the kitchen, being too caught up in you conversation to move from your position. 

“Who you texting?” Jaehyun asked as he entered the kitchen. He leaned against the counter opposite to you and you barely looked up from your phone. “Taeyong.” You said and wet your lips with your tongue. You could barely look Jaehyun in the eye after that morning. 

Jaehyun watched as your tongue swirled over the lolipop as you held the stick with one hand, texting with the other. He could see the mark he left on your neck, smiling to himself with pride. Watching you, it took a while but you finally looked up from your phone and locked eyes with him. You placed the phone on the counter and crossed your arms over your chest. 

“Can I ask you something?” Jaehyun asked, eyes still locked with yours. You pulled the lolipop from your mouth, holding it against your lips as you nodded. There was thick tension in the kitchen, thick enough to cut with a knife. “How far have you and Taeyong gone?” He asked and you looked at him with confused eyes. “You mean sex?” You asked, your voice shaking lightly. “Yeah, I mean sex.” He clarified and you crossed your legs, feeling a sudden need for pressure between your thighs. 

“We’ve never had sex. I’ve never had sex.” You confessed, your voice faltering as you admitted to being a virgin. Jaehyun watched that blush he loved creep onto your cheeks. “We’ve messed around a bit though.” You added, your eyes meeting his once more. For some reason, this conversation wasn’t making you feel awkward. if anyone else would have asked, you would have dismissed it almost instantly. But all you could really think about was Jaehyun’s lips on your neck and it was clouding your judgement. 

“Messed around? You sucked him off, he finger fucked you, ate you out?” Jaehyun asked, his tone becoming a bit more intense. You squeezed your thighs as you looked at him. “Well one of those.” You said and looked away, the lolipop still between your lips. 

Jaehyun was surprised, you gave but never recieved. That hardly seemed fair. 

He pushed off of the counter and got closer to you. “So you’re telling me you gave and never recieved. Did he even offer?” Jaehyun advanced, his hands now on your waist as he settled between your legs. You shook your head “No” and he tutted. “What an ass.” Jaehyun mumbled and for the second time that day, his lips were attached to your neck. 

He nipped at the skin he had marked earlier, moving down further and kissing new skin. You could feel his teeth against your skin, making you sigh at the feeling. How could neck kisses be this addictive? Jaehyun was aiming to leave more marks, wondering what you’d look like covered in memories of him. He moved down gradually, his lips stopping at the top of your dress before pulling away again. You whimpered at the loss of his touch, making a cocky smile stretch over his lips. How could you be so fucked out already?

Jaehyun harshly tugged on your hips, moving you to the edge of the counter before sinking down to his knees. You gasped in surprise, feeling shy at the fact that he was practically eye to eye with your core. You took the lolipop out of your mouth, dropping it in the sink next to you as Jaehyun tugged your dress up. It bunched at your hips and you swallowed thickly as your eyes locked with his. His finger tracing the little embroidered flowers on your panties. “Cute.” He complimented quietly, listening to your breathing as he pet you through your panties.  

You moved your hips forward, on instinct almost. You felt so desperate. He chuckled, hooking his fingers under your panties and tugging them down your legs. You watched as Jaehyun tucked them into his back pocket before spreading your thighs. You didn’t need him to tell you, you definitely knew you were absolutely dripping. 

 “Fuck.” He groaned, his hands holding your hips tightly. You had nowhere to go, not that you wanted too and he leaned forward. Pressing a small kiss to your clit, you let out a shaky sigh and let your head fall back. Jaehyun’s eyes were open, watching your reaction as he wrapped his arms around your thighs. You tasted sweet and innocent, it was addictive and he wanted to taste all of you. 

Your back arched and your fingers tangled into his hair, a great feeling starting in the pit of your stomach. Jaehyun moved your legs over his shoulders, getting closer as if it was even possible. The moans coming out your mouth were music to his ears as he ran his tongue over you. “Jaehyun, fuck.” You tugged his hair harshly. Jaehyun hummed against you, pressing your hips down to keep you in place and revelling at the feeling of your thighs clamping down on his head. 

“I’m gonna cum.” You whimpered, looking down at him. Jaehyun gripped your thighs tighter, not allowing you to go anywhere as he brought you to the edge. A small scream tore from your mouth as he threw you over the edge, his tongue working over you to make sure he rode out your orgasm as long as he could. 

Your thighs shook around his head and your fingers dug into the edge of the counter top. He pulled away from you, allowing his fingers to move from your hips down your thighs. He looked up at you and took a mental picture. God you looked so beautiful, so fucking innocent and sweet. 

Jaehyun came up to your face, not wavering at all before smashing his lips onto yours. “Finally.” You mumbled against his lips, making him laugh as he pulled your chest flush against his. His hands gripped your thighs, rolling his hips against your core. “Did that feel good, baby doll?” He asked, pressing his forehead to yours. “Did you know you taste so sweet?” He added on and you swallowed thickly, you felt shy. 

Your hands reached down to the front of his jeans before moving off the counter and dropping down to your knees. You felt the need to return the favor. 

Jaehyun chuckled, moving your hands away and cupping your face. “So eager. Not tonight babydoll.” Jaehyun said and looked down at your wide eyes. The way you looked up at him was enough for him to want to take you right then and there. You took your bottom lip between your teeth and he leaned down to your level. “I’m taking care of you tonight.” He said and kissed your lips softly. You felt so cherished, so little it made you nervous. You weren’t normally this shy when it came down to things like this. 

He pulled you up onto your feet, your legs shaking slightly. He didn’t feel guilt anymore, he felt pride and caring looking at you and he really didn’t care if your brother found out. 

You tucked your face into his chest, wanting to hide for a second and he wrapped his arms around you. His hand petting your hair. “You alright, doll?” He asked you and you hid your blush in his chest. “Just thinking. But I’m alright.” You said softly. Jaehyun’s voice was deep and comforting, you felt safe. 

“Thinking about the fact that my panties are still in your back pocket and what my brother would think if he knew this happened.” You said with a soft smile and he laughed at your words. He didn’t want to think about any repercussions, not just yet. “Go put on something comfy, I’ll order some food and we can watch a movie or something. And as far as the panties go, I’ll be keeping those.” Jaehyun said with a soft smirk, you smacked his chest lightly and hid your face in your hands. “Oh how embarrassing.” You mumbled and walked away to go change. 

Your brother had come home later that night. “Fucking fight.” His words as he entered the house. You and Jaehyun had pulled apart, his arms no longer wrapped around you and a big distance between you both on the couch as your brother stomped in. 

“She’s mad at me for no reason.” Your brother said and sat inbetween you two. He was completely oblivious to the fact he had interrupted something. Did you feel bad that your brother’s girlfriend was mad at him? Yeah. Were you annoyed that he had come home? For sure. 

You watched Jaehyun pat his back before looking at you with sorry eyes. You seemed to have a permanent pout on your face as you redirected your engy to the movie playing. “I’m sorry man.” Jaehyun told him and your brother sighed. “It’s fine. Should be alright by tomorrow, but right now I just wanna get shitfaced drunk. Come on, let’s go. An old friend of mine is having a party tonight.” Your brother said and you bit your lip in frustration. You shouldn’t have felt jealous, afterall Jaehyun was your brothers’ friend first.

“Now?” Jaehyun asked and your brother nodded. “Yeah now. It beats sitting at home and watching a movie.”  You sighed and pushed yourself off of the couch. “In that case, I’m going to go to bed. You two have fun at the party.” You said and smiled at Jaehyun. He seemed apologetic, knowing that you were enjoying the time with and he was enjoying the time with you. But to avoid suspiscions, he went along with your brother. 

“We need to get you laid man.” Your brother said as you were about to leave the room and you bit your bottom lip to refrain from saying anything. You didn’t own Jaehyun, he wasn’t your boyfriend. Fuck, you met him that week and he was your brother’s best friend. He didn’t owe you anything, if he wanted to get laid with another girl that was his choice and you knew that. You were just scared you got played. He didn’t make you any promises. 

Jaehyun felt bad when you walked away but he felt even worse at the party your brother had dragged him too. He wasn’t looking to fuck some random girl at a party, even if that might have been the plan when they planned their summer. 

And as pretty as the girl was that your brother introduced him too, he wasn’t into it. He was too lost in the way you tasted earlier that day to have his mind on anything else, he didn’t even feel like drinking much. Jaehyun pursed his lips at his thoughts before pushing his hair back slightly. “You haven’t heard a word I have said, have you?” The girl in front of him said, snapping Jaehyun out of his thoughts. “What?” He said in response and the girl stood up, watching away in annoyance. “Jerk.” She muttered under her breath and he shook his head in response. 

Your brother witnessed the exchange, letting his girlfriend go to approach his friend. “I’ve never seen you strike out like that.” Your brother said and Jaehyun laughed. “Yeah man, just kind of out of it.” He explained and your brother nodded his head. “If you wanna go home man, here are the keys. Me and her made up anyways.” Your brother gestured to his girlfriend and she waved at them slightly. “You sure? You really wanted to go out earlier.” Jaehyun sounded almost too enthousiastic. “Yeah I’m sure man. There are plenty of parties to go to later man.” Your brother tossed him the keys and stood up. “Can you do me a favor though? Check in on Y/N for me, she seemed upset earlier.” Your brother asked and Jaehyun smiled to himself. “No problem.” 

Jaehyun had an internal debate as he walked up the stairs. He could either just bypass your room and go to bed, or he could see if you were awake. There was a slim chance considering how late it was, but when he saw the light under your door, he was encouraged. 

Knocking lightly, Jaehyun took a deep breath. “Hey, Y/N it’s me.” Jaehyun’s voice filled your ears. You were half asleep when you heard the knock and his voice. “Hmm, come in.” You mumbled, cuddling your pillow. Your door opened and he stepped in. “Oh you were sleeping. I’ll leave.” He said and reached for the door again. “No, stay.” You said, perking up and sitting up in your bed. He walked up to your bed and you looked him up and down. You pat your bed, moving to the side to make room for him. 

“My clothes smell like beer. You don’t want that in your bed.” He chuckled and you fumbled with your blankets. “Then take them off.” You said softly and he smiled. Leaning down, he crouched next to your bed and looked you in the eyes. Jaehyun’s hand came up to cup your chin and thumb swiped over your bottom lip. “What was that babydoll?” He asked, wanting to here you say it again. Confidence was incredibly sexy on you. “I said, then take them off.” You repeated and watched him stand up again. Heat was definitely pooling between your legs as you cuddled further under the blankets. 

Jaehyun’s hands moved to the bottom of his shirt before pulling it off completely. He was very fit, harsh lines being over his abdomen and that pretty v disappearing into his jeans. You took your bottom lip between your teeth as you watched his hand move down to the button on his jeans and then he stopped. “You know what, why don’t you do that for me?” Jaehyun said and looked at you. A blush rose onto your cheeks but you hardly hesitated. Pushing the blankets back, you got out of bed and dropped down to your knees. 

Your doe eyes locked with his as your hands undid the button of his jeans and dragged his zipper down slowly. Your fingers grazing over his hard on, making him swallow thickly. He had been teasing you all day, it was your turn now. You pulled his jeans down slowly and moved to his briefs. You didn’t know what to do when it came to recieving but you had been in this situation before and had a surge of confidence running through you. 

You ran your index finger of the outline of his cock, making him hiss slightly. Jaehyun didn’t like to be teased, but seeing you confident in front of him like this made him accept it more. Pulling his boxer’s down, you ran your tongue over your lips and he chuckled. “You’re going to drive me crazy.” He said softly while watching you. Your hand guided him to your lips, kissing the tip gently and locking your eyes with his again. 

Your lips wrapped around him fully and you took him as far as you could. Your tongue flattening against the under side of his cock. Jaehyun slipped his finger’s into your hair and you hummed slightly. He was taking so many mental images as he forced you to take a little more into your mouth. Your eyes slightly watering, your pink cheeks and your lips wrapped around him. What a sight. 

“Babydoll, you’re doing so good.” He praised, making you moan around him. He moved your head, making you take him a little more and he felt oh so good hitting the back of your throat. “So good.” He said again, moaning slightly. You loved the praise so much, you almost had to slip your hand down your panties. But your finger tips only made it to the waist band. 

“Does my babydoll like praise so much?” Jaehyun asked, noticing your hand. “Use your words doll.” He said and pulled your mouth off of his cock. “Yes. I love it when you compliment me.” You said, catching your breath. He loved it, you ate up his words, you trusted them. There was a pause as you looked at eachother and you sat up, moving to sit on the edge of your bed. “Fuck me.” You said, being incredibly sure in your choice to lose your virginity to him. 

Your words took him back, they were so bold and sure. “Are you sure?” He asked, moving forward to cup your chin again. “Very sure.” You said, his eyes searching yours for any doubt. When he didn’t find any, his lips slammed into yours. Stepping out of pants and boxers, Jaehyun moved to pull your sleep shirt off of your body. His lips seperated from yours as your shirt was pulled over your head and he let out a groan. You couldn’t think of one girl that wore a bra to sleep so there you were, completely bare aside from your panties. 

You swallowed thickly before moving further up your bed to lay down. Jaehyun watched you and followed, making sure to grab a condom from his wallet before doing so. “You’re beautiful.” He mumbled before pressed a soft kiss to your lips and quickly moving down to lace kisses down your chest. More marks had bloomed from his attack earlier that day and he took a moment to admire them. “So sweet babydoll, for letting me mark you.” He whispered against your skin and bit down. A small gasp left your mouth and he smiled before moving down further and taking your nipple into his mouth. Your fingers gripped his hair in response as swiped his tongue over the bud. 

You could feel his hand graze over your panties as he sucked on your nipple and he rubbed your clit slowly. You were in sensory overload and he had barely done anything. “Jaehyun, please.” You moaned, wanting him badly and being done with his teasing. “Babydoll I have to prep you, don’t want you to hurt tomorrow.” He said and you could feel him pull your panties to the side. His eyes were on yours as he slipped a finger into you, curling slightly. Something about the way your eyes fluttered shut made him smile, your actions were just so endearing. 

He added another finger, making your fingers grip his hair tightly as he curled them both. Jaehyun hissed at the feeling of you tugging his hair and you giggled slightly, only for that giggle to turn into a moan. You could feel yourself already being close from having been worked up for so long. 

Jaehyun pulled away and you whimpered, eyes opening again to see him rolling the condom over his cock. You felt nervous, it was your first time after all. You only acted confident with the things you knew.  

He looked at you reading the nerves on your face. “You still want to do this right?” He asked looking at you. “Yeah, I’m just a little nervous.” You admitted and he settled inbetween your legs, wrapping them around his waist. “I’ll take care of you, I promise. If you want to stop, just tell me.” Jaehyun said, his forehead pressing against yours. “Alright, I trust you.” You said and felt him tug at your panties. He moved them off of your legs and wrapped your legs around his waist again. 

You could feel him press into you slowly and you looked down at where your bodies were connecting. “You wanna watch?” He asked, noticing your gaze down. You nodded slowly, completely fascinated with the fact that he would be fitting inside of you. He chuckled and adjusted his position and angled your hips upwards more. 

Slowly he slid into you further, watching you watch yourself. Something about that view was egging him on alot. The stretch was uncomfortable, but not painfull, not like some people had told you before. You were too distracted by the way he fit inside of you to really feel much discomfort anyways. He kept his hips still, waiting for your sign to start moving and you looked up at him.

“Please move.” You said and the way it sounded was more like a whine. Jaehyun abided, needing to take a minute to not just start pounding into you as much as he wanted to. He rolled his hips gently, admiring the small moan that came out of you as he did so. God you were so tight around him he could barely control himself. 

“God, Jaehyun.” You moaned and he pressed his forehead to yours. “Does that feel good, babydoll?” He asked, his hands gripping your thighs. “Yes, please go faster.” You choked out and he could barely believe your words. You were constantly surprising him. He pushed your thighs towards your chest and picked up the pace, hitting that spot deep inside of you. Your nails scraped down his back, as you felt yourself getting close. Jaehyun could tell too, especially the way you clamped down around him. 

“You feel so good, babydoll. You make me feel so good.” He complimented only to feel you clench around him at your words, making him chuckle. His hand moved to your clit, rubbing circles on it to bring you to the edge. “Come on, cum for me. Show me how good you are.”  He said and if it wasn’t for the way he was making you feel, his words were enough to bring you there. 

“Fuck.” You moaned, your legs wrapping around him as you came. Jaehyun fell forward, his face tucking into the crook of your neck as he came as well, letting out some of the most beautiful noises you had ever heard. 

He stopped moving, just resting for a moment on top of you and you played with the hair on the back of his neck. Your legs were trembling slightly as you held him, your breathing heavy as you both calmed down. “You okay?” He asked, kissing the skin of your neck lightly. “Yeah, I’m fantastic.” You hummed and he chuckled. Rolling off of you, Jaehyun took off the condom and tossed it in the trash. 

You turned to your side, resting your head on his chest. He wrapped an arm around you and chuckled slightly. he quickly kissed your forehead. “You’re so sweet for me babydoll.” He whispered and you blushed. You just had sex with the man but the compliments still made you shy. “I’m going to grab something and clean us up, alright?” Jaehyun asked and you nodded slowly. You felt so soft and cared for, even if he wasn’t there in that moment. 

He came back with a washcloth, wiping you off gently and kissing the little marks he had made on your body. Jaehyun had grabbed a new pair of boxers from his room and pulled them on. “Where’s your underwear?” He asked and you laughed slightly as he looked at your closet in confusion. It was cute, the big dominant energy he had before now changed into caring mode and it was a sweet switch. “Over there.”  You said pointing to the drawer. “Ahh.” He said softly and moved over, grabbing a random pair and handing it to you. Picking his shirt up off the ground, he handed it to you to wear too. 

“I can wear my own pj’s you know.” You said, pulling the underwear and shirt on. “i know, but I like you in my clothes. Just like at that party.” He explained, crawling into bed with you. You hid your smile slightly, not wanting him to see how soft he had actually made you.

Jaehyun tilted your chin to make you look at him, your lips swollen from the kisses and your cheeks completely flushed. “You’re so damn beautiful you know.” He said and you laughed out loud before laying down on your pillow. “I’m not lying.” Jaehyun said and laughed down next to you, face to face with you. “You’re handsome.” You said, allowing your hand to move up to his face. Your finger traced his jaw and then his lips as you saved his features into your mental hard drive. 

“Let’s go to sleep babydoll.” He said softly, hands stroked the skin of your thighs lightly as you curled into him more. Jaehyun held you close, feeling an incredibly large wave of emotional attachment as you slowly started falling asleep. Oh how the guilt started to set in. 

-

You woke up to a cold, empty bed and yelling coming from downstairs. You couldn’t make out the words being said, but boy could you hear it. You felt wobbly, kind of out of it as you left your bed and room. A dull ache between your legs from last nights events. You slowly made your way down the stairs, pausing when you heard what was being said. 

“You fucked my sister.”  Your brother yelled and you felt your heart stop. “You fucked my sister, for what? Because she was there and because she was available?” Your brother sounded so angry, you had never heard him sound like that before. You were absolutely frozen, scared to take another step down the stairs. 

“It’s not like that man. I wouldn’t do that.” Jaehyun said and he sounded apologetic. “But you did! You fucked my little sister!” Your brother said again, his tone making you cringe. “I said it’s not like that man. It just happened. I really like her.” His words made you blush and gave you a little bit of courage. You left the staircase and entered the room. They both looked at you with surprise and you felt a lump in your throat. 

“Y/N, go back upstairs while I deal with this.” Your brother said and you furrowed your brows. “No, this involves me. I’m going to take part in this conversation.” You said and your brother looked at you with disbelief. “He manipulated you into sleeping with him.” Your brother claimed, pointing at Jaehyun. Jaehyun looked hurt, like a kicked puppy and you felt small again, not in the way you liked. 

“He didn’t manipulate me into anything. I made a choice, I chose to sleep with him. Jaehyun didn’t manipulate me into doing anything.” You said and you see Jaehyun getting closer to you slightly. “Look, you don’t like this and I understand. But don’t get pissed at him for choices we both made.” You added on and your brother looked at you both in silence. You couldn’t read his expression anymore, it seemed that he was going through multiple at the same time. 

“Don’t fuck when I’m in the house.” Your brother said and walked toward you both. “And you. Don’t get her pregnant because I will seriously damage you.”

A/N: The end is kind of a cop out and it jumps around a lot. But I am kinda proud of this. Anyways I would love feedback. I love you guys. I’m going to bed now. 

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Friday 13 February 1835

7 10

11 5

No kiss rainy morning and F42° at 8 5 tho’ it had been fine before - Breakfast at 8 ¼ - then read from page 73 to 97 Philip on Indigestion - then moved my papers from the bureau drawers in the little dining room to the drawers (Marian let me have in exchange) in the Low kitchen chamber - then some while talking to Marian - then with A- and a minute or 2 with my aunt till 12 ¼ - then rain prevented my going out immediately after breakfast - Joseph Gill (whom Pickells went after yesterday) called to speak to me about 10 am but declined seeing him - had Throp’s son for a minute or 2 about whether the sycamores were right set out at the top of the bank - out at 12 25 - or rather Marian called me to consult me about her journey to Market Weghton about Mrs. Inman who it seems is now quite insane again and Sarah was miserable the last holidays at home but Mr. Inman cannot live long and then all may be right told Marian she had best console Sarah as well as she could and let things quietly take their course in talking and in one way or other all the morning frittered away - out at 1 ½ - the gardeners (Throp junior and 1 man) had planted the 5 more sycamores at the top of the bank - met Pickells the magistrates could not grant him a summons for the people on horseback who passed thro’ Whiskum bar on Wednesday without paying their penny a piece - it was a case at Common law - met Holt going to the drift - will come after dinner on Wednesday - sure I can stop the Spiggs colliery without hurting Walker pit - out with A- at 2 - down the old bank to Halifax - we went to Leylands to inquire about completing A-‘s set of Lodges’s portraits - then left A- at Whitely while I went to Mr. Parker’s office - saw him on the subject of the hunters - desired him to consult with Mr Adams and do what was best against the people who passed thro’ the bar without paying - to write to each whom Pickells’ wife could swear to viz. Mr. Jeremiah Dyson, John Clark the huntsman, ---- Dawson of Halley Hill, John Peel the butcher and Mr. John Carr, Innkeeper, to say an action would be commenced against them if they did not pay the bar and the expense of Mr. Parker’s letter - then read sentence from Mrs. Sutherland’s last letter to A- respecting Pattersons’ s bond - he not prepared to pay it off - mentioned A-‘s intention to have a division of the property and pushing it forward and hope of completing it in 6 months - and meaning to employ some law man at a distance for fear of being thought to be favoured by Mr. Parker – SW- now busy about the valuation – Mr. P- strongly for A-‘s getting the business done at home or there would be great expense and trouble in sending the deeds to a stranger - it might be done (the law part) for £150 - thought Pattersons’ bond had better stand over and be taken by whomsoever got the Baily hall estate - would divide the Halifax property - but not Golcar - liked the plan of dividing partly according to contiguity to the entailed estates and partly by lot - thought the division would be for the welfare of both sides - 40 minutes with Mr. P- then rejoined A- at Whitley’s - went to Miss Hebdens’ about mechlin lace to know if some  A-lately bought there was really mechlin - yes! bought by Miss Hebden in Paris for such - returned up the new bank home at 4 20 left A- in the house and from 4 ½ to 5 55 out with John Booth and Pickells setting out 4 more sycamores in John Oates’s field and 8 at the top of George R-‘s daisy bank - changed my dress - dinner at 6 20 - coffee - came upstairs at 8 5 and wrote all but the 1st 7 lines of today - Note from Mr Bradley to say he will be here at 10 am tomorrow - Marian’s young friend here so wished my father good night on our coming in from Halifax - got the first 18 fasciculi of Quains’ anatomy from Booths’ this morning - read the 1st fasciculus this evening then  ½ hour with my aunt till 10 10 at which hour F46 ½° damp day - highish wind towards night and wind more or less all the day -  

 SH:7/ML/E/17/0163

 then in 25 minutes wrote 2 pages to M- dated Saturday morning anxious about herself and poor Percy - taken with her - account of Easton and King’s Weston - her excursionizing admirable - A- much pleased with her (M-‘s) perspective will return the book with many thanks in 2 or 3 weeks - thanks to good Mrs Duff for the excellent short bread she put into my carriage on leaving Lawton - hope Martha has gone on well - ‘I write with considerable pain from a tight bandage and compress on my right wrist which I badly sprained about 10 days ago and was told I must not expect anything like a cure under a month - How are you yourself? I shall be very anxious for good tidings - Ever very affectionately and especially yours A.L.’ - had just written so far at 9 40 pm - 20 minutes with my aunt till 10 at which hour F45° - driving rain in the morning and haze and small rain from about 4 ½ for the rest of the afternoon and evening - pretty fair while A- and I were out.

[everyones-internet-little-sis]

Just watched the new Downton trailer and I have Thoughts:

- Just want to say here that I am endlessly pleased about the Edith and Bertie content we've got. They are adorable.

- Same thing with the Bates family. Good lord that's clip of the three of them together made my heart burst

- Really happy that we're going into Violet's past. In the series she always seemed like a woman who's seen pretty much everything (despite how often she's scandalized by the others) and that's a big well to get water from, why fellows hasn't really touched it until now is beyond me

- I'm not sure how I feel about the two plots. Something about physically separating the upstairs plot from the downstairs plot rubs me the wrong way. I think some of my favorite interactions in the series came from the family interacting with the staff, I'm worried that we'll lose that when the family goes to France

- That being said, the idea of a movie being filmed at Downton is an interesting one, and I'm always excited to see Hugh Dancy

- This show really has no idea what to do with Thomas, does it? Let him have a happy relationship!! And I swear, if I don't get to see him really be friends with Baxter in this might just lose my mind.

- Please, for the love of god. Do not make this film about Mary's love life. I'm getting nervous about the conversation between her and Dancy's character. I love Mary so much, but I can't sit through even more Mary Crawley relationship drama. She has a daughter, I like her with Henry, and so much of the original series was about all of the men who wanted to be with her. I just don't have the patience for Mary's "trouble in paradise"

- There's not much for me to say about Tom. It's never going to feel right for me to see him with anyone other than Sybil, but I guess I'll just have to get used to it

- As always, Isobel and Violet's friendship is fantastic, I love seeing them together <3

- Actually, just getting to see characters interact when I haven't seen them in so long was so nice. Daisy and Mrs. Patmore's relationship will forever be the heart of downstairs for me, and I'm glad to see Daisy hasn't lost any of her wide-eyed enthusiasm.

- Someone has to say it: the tans that some of the cast members have that prove that they've been filming in the sun before filming at Downton are very obvious, I'm surprised that was overlooked