#to stay awake so surely it can’t be all of us unless that is simply a clever ruse

[verytendou]

Not beating the caffeine makes me sleepy allegations

[writingseaslugs]

Ignihyde: When They're Sick

Broskis, do you know how hard it is to write about an advanced AI robot kid getting sick? I had to actually use my brain to figure out how it might work, but I’m proud of what I ended up with, so I guess it all ended well. Please do enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters in this series are aged up. For more information about my version of this world and the type of reader you can expect, please click the “Au Information” below!

Request Information | Masterlist | Au Information

Ignihyde: When They’re Sick

Oddly enough, when your diet consists of nothing but junk food, and you stay awake all night, it’s not uncommon to become sick. Idia knows this and tries to take somewhat decent care of himself, but it’s not going to stop him from eating noodles for every meal and sleeping after the sun has long since come up. In summary…Idia often finds himself sick from his own doing. This normally wasn't a problem since he could do online classes and had Ortho taking care of him, but when his beloved little brother happened to have gotten a virus somehow and was barely functioning. This meant Idia and Ortho were left to their own devices in trying to not die from a common illness and a computer virus.

Idia Shroud

Honestly Idia simply doesn’t care when he’s sick. Oh so he can’t sit on his computer all day without wanting to pass out? That’s fine, he has a handheld console and mobile games he needs to catch up on anyway. He isn’t the best at taking care of himself, which is why Ortho is normally the one to do it. When Ortho isn’t around…Lord help this man. He will be gaming even in death; health be damned. He will ignore all signs that his body is telling him to rest and continue to stay awake too late and chug energy drinks, even if he knows it’s going to make him worse.

How you found out he was sick without Ortho being there to inform you had to be some sort of magic. Idia is reluctant to even let you into the room, but he acknowledges the fact that you simply won’t leave and will bust down the door if he doesn’t; so he allows it. He’s going to be humiliated at the fact that you need to take care of him, and will constantly be saying that he’s gross and you shouldn’t get near or else you might get sick too. Ignore him and take care of the boy, he needs it. He can be scolded for self-deprecation when he’s all better, for now just assure him that he’s not gross and if you didn’t want to help him, you wouldn’t be there.

Honestly he doesn’t really need a whole lot of medication to make him feel better, the bare minimum is required. He might complain about it the entire time, but in the end he’ll take whatever you’ve brought. He swears up and down it won’t be very helpful, but after he starts feeling better he’s singing a different tune, but silently. He at least won’t complain when you hand him some pills anymore and take it without question. He’s going to call them stamina potions though to make himself feel better, saying he needs them to get rid of the sick buff he’s dealing with.

Unless you’re going to be chilling with him in his room for the entire time he’s sick, you’ll need to raid his bedroom and take away all the energy drinks, snacks, and instant noodles. They’re gonna make him feel worse but if he’s hungry and needs a boost of energy, he’s grabbing those when you’re not around. Thankfully he’s too ill and socially awkward to leave his room while he’s dying from a cold, so he won’t go out and grab things he doesn’t need. Leave him some healthy snacks and water bottles when you leave, and when you come to feed him make sure it actually has some nutritional value. His body might not know what to do with vegetables right away, but it’ll sort itself out in due time.

He doesn’t want to talk about it when he’s better; acting like it never happened is the best way to go about it. He will thank you a few times, and if you’re a gamer expect him to be sending you new skins for your characters, or dlc to your favorite games. He won’t say it’s for helping him while he’s sick, but you’ll know. He knows as well; and Ortho especially knows since the moment he’s back to normal he’s interrogating his brother about how he miraculously got better.

Ortho Shroud

Ortho isn’t going to be getting sick in the traditional way since he’s a robot, but something like a virus could cause some serious damage. Of course it doesn’t ever really happen, but sometimes things can’t be accounted for. One wrong site with the right kind of hacker and it’s over. Virus was installed and now Ortho is all out of sorts while Idia is trying to figure out how to get rid of it. If it’s a complex one…well it might take a day or two.

Ortho is still functioning to some degree, but his battery life keeps getting sapped and he’s constantly sitting on a charger and a little mopey that he can’t do what he normally does. It’s probably why he messaged you, since he can’t exactly assist his brother either. The moment you find out you better be over there to help out the little brother. The poor dear is going through it and doesn’t even know what’s wrong. For all he knows, it could infect his memory database and destroy everything he’s learned about you. So just sit there and help him out.

Laughter is the best medicine in this situation, so as long as you’re not bothering Idia, feel free to try and make Ortho feel more comfortable. Grab your phone and watch stupid cat videos, talk about something random that’s happened in your day, and play some multiplayer games on handheld devices. He’ll instantly be feeling lighter and more like himself, even if he does have to constantly reboot throughout the entire day.

While Ortho is rebooting or recharging and is offline, you might as well help Idia in any way you can. As long as that man is functioning, Ortho can be fixed. So maybe just bring him something to eat, maybe grab some water. It’s all for Ortho in the end anyway, and Idia will thank you for helping him. You might be asked to help him figure some simple things out, or check on Ortho as well.

Once the virus is cleared from his system he is going to be so energetic and asking to go and do things with you. He doesn’t even know how to begin repaying you for this, but he promises once he figures it out, he’ll let you know. He’ll be asking Idia for advice, but the poor man doesn’t have a single clue either. It’s the thought that counts, and just seeing Ortho being peppy and energetic again is all you really need, especially when you discover that nothing is permanently damaged in his hard drive. 

[wibble-wobbegong]

How do u want the first byler kiss to be

ok i think i’ve answered this before so i decided to write out a little ficlet. practice writing before i start spamming mike stuff as his birthday comes up

———————————————————————

2:30. Ish.

Mike lowered his watch back down from his face, arm bouncing against the mattress as it landed. Being woken up again like this is not what he was hoping for when they’re meant to be saving the world tomorrow, but he gets up anyway. If Will is awake, then so is he.

The door is barely left open every time he does this, but it’s more than enough for Mike to stick his fingers through and open it wide. He tries to do it quietly, but his door always squeaked after a certain point which seems to change every time he opens it. A little twinge from the hinges is all he needs to hear before he stops and starts sliding through the gap he’s made, trying hard not to wake up the other party members sleeping on his floor. After El had decided she wanted to be with the party too, they’d taken out Mike’s bed frame and put four different beds right next to each other on his floor for them to pile on. Not ideal, but none of them are denying the comfort it brings. Even if it does make him feel like baby bird waiting to get kicked out of the nest.

When Will leaves like this, that nest immediately feels emptier. It’s a sensation so thick it manages to wake Mike in his sleep, every single time. Tonight is the fifth time he’s done this since (almost) the whole party moved in.

There’s always a gentle wind that calls Mike out to the garage when he starts to follow, beckoning him to step closer and into the darkness of the house. The electricity was shut down last year when they stopped trying to save Hawkins and simply dubbed it a no-man’s land, quarantining the town and everything in it. They’re just lucky that El and Will are owed a lot by the government, meaning they get shipments of the supplies they need to stay alive and fight. Electricity can’t come on trucks, though. Not unless a few AA batteries count.

The house is always dark at night. Before, his mom would leave the light over the sink on. The lights from Lucas’ house and the neighbors across the street would reflect on the windows. He’s gotten used to the colorless hours of dusk to dawn.

When he makes it down to the garage and there’s a light coming from the other side of the barely open door, he stops feeling like a bird and more like a moth. No longer clumsy and daunted as everything in him comes together to push him there. There’s a craving that runs through him so intensely he almost doesn’t want to go. This light is not something that deserves to be devoured and torn. It deserves to be held close by warm hands, ones that’ll set it free when it asks. Hands he doesn’t have.

“Mike?” He blinks a few times, trying to reorient himself. Maybe standing in the doorway and staring at Will is his natural state because he doesn’t remember closing the gap.

The light is in Will’s lap. Nothing more than a battery powered lamp. Just a stupid hunk of plastic.

“Hey. Are you okay?” His feet move fast as he rushes to fill the space by Will’s side. He stretches his legs out in front of himself, not sure what to do with them and a little jealous of Will’s ability to curl so perfectly into a criss-cross.

Will stays quiet for a few moments, just looking down at the lamp. It flickered once. Twice. Then, “Do you..,” a sigh, “Do you really think we can win tomorrow? I mean— we’ve tried so many times and it never works, Mike. He always comes back. What are the odds that anything we do tomorrow actually works?”

Looking up to meet Mike’s eyes, Mike can see how they’ve gone glossy and desperate for an answer. It seems as though the gravity of tomorrow is pulling him down— the corners of his mouth, his eyes, his shoulders and back. All of Will is being dragged towards the ground, and Mike won’t let it happen. He’s been given wings by his friends, by this light, and he can use them for good.

“Well, I don’t see any world where we don’t win. Even if tomorrow goes to shit, it doesn’t matter. We’ll win. The good guys always win.”

“But that’s just in stories, Mike. Real life… it isn’t nearly as nice as those stories. Happy endings aren’t that easy.”

“Do you know who you sound like right now?” Will quirks his brow at the switch of tone.

“Who?”

“Frodo. You sound scared that you’re not gonna make it because everything keeps getting harder. It’ll get harder,” Mike takes a small, quivering breath before placing his hands on Will’s face so he can catch those tears he know will start falling, “But I think Sam was right. People tell stories with happy endings for a reason. If we really had no shot at beating Vecna… I don’t think we ever would’ve gotten you back, Will. We got you back for a reason. You beat that possession for a reason. There is a reason that people always talk about good guys winning. Even when the villains are big and scary and cruel, they never win. They don’t have what we have.”

Will is quiet, watching him. He hasn’t taken Mike’s hands off his face yet, so Mike pushes a little further and brings their foreheads together so he can look into Will’s eyes and see nothing else. He doesn’t want to see anything else and he doesn’t need to.

“Vecna is alone. He’s been alone for a long time. Not us, though. We have your family and my family and the party. We have the party. Hell, we even have Argyle,” Will let’s out a little laugh at that one, “And you know what else? We have you. You’re the hero this time, Will. And the heroes always win.” Will lets out a watery laugh and shakes his head, jostling Mike’s grip on him, so he lowers his hands. Will grabs them.

“I don’t know where you pulled that from, but I think you’re wrong. You’re the hero, Mike. You made me into one.” That hits Mike in a little piece of his heart that hasn’t been touched in a long time. It’s raw and tender and it hurts a little, but adrenaline rushes through his veins and his hands start to shake in Will’s. Just the tiniest bit.

“Well, Sam and Frodo were both the heroes, weren’t they?”

“Yeah. I guess they were. Frodo wouldn’t have made it out without Sam.”

“Sam never would’ve been anyone important at all if it hadn’t been for Frodo.”

They look at each other a moment longer, and Mike starts to lean back and give Will space when Will uses their hands to tug him back. Mike laughs a little, and he hates how wet it comes out but god Will’s hands are so warm in his and everything inside of him feels so alive, beating with a newfound light to fly towards.

When Will reaches both of his hands up to cradle the bottom of his head and tilt it forward, everything freezes. The lips across his forehead, over his hair, make all that life from before feel like nothing more than a planet in a universe. Everything inside him grows tenfold, and then again for every second Will holds him close and keeps his lips against his forehead. He can barely feel them over the thickness of his bangs, and he can’t deny that craving that’s kicked back to life.

Will is gentle, and he is sweet, but he is also so much stronger than anything else Mike has ever known. He lets that craving take over when he grabs Will by the shoulders and tilts his head up to kiss him properly.

[kybercrystals94]

Just a Good Cup of Caf

By KyberCrystals94

Read here on Ao3!

Whumptober 2023 | Day 26 | Prompt 26: Seeing Double | “You Look Awful.”

Rating: G

Words: 683

Summary: Hunter just wants a good cup of caf. Is that too much to ask??

The sound of the caf machine sputtering to life in the kitchen area makes Hunter sit up straight in the pilot’s chair where he has sat for the last thousand rotations...give or take. He just had to draw the short straw and get first watch after a 36 standard hour mission with no sleep. He could probably convince any of his brothers to start their shift early. They aren’t heartless monsters. But Hunter refuses to cut his shift short, no matter how many times he goes cross-eyed. Out of principle. And pride. Mostly pride.

Hunter tries to determine which of the members is already up. His first guess is Echo, who seems to struggle staying asleep for any length of time, although Tech is in that same category. He doesn’t bother to put Wrecker on the list, the odds of him being awake already and making caf would be a miracle. Crosshair does make the list, but settles at the bottom, able to sleep through almost anything when he puts his mind to it.

The next mental list Hunter creates is which one he would hope to be making caf. Each Batcher has a different method which results in vastly different flavors, despite using the same tin of grounds. Hunter, he even admits, does not make good caf. He can never get the proportions right.

Echo makes the strongest caf, brewed so dark one almost has to chew the stuff. Hunter shudders at the thought. He hopes Echo isn’t making caf.

Tech appreciates the idea of caf, but does not like the flavor, which means a weak brew with enough sweetener to rot bones. The Batch always teases him that it isn’t the caf that keeps him up, but the sugar. Tech adamantly disagrees.

Wrecker doesn’t make caf as a rule, simply because he somehow manages to always break the machine in some way, although none of them have figured out how he does it.

The golden child of making caf is Crosshair. Crosshair doesn’t even drink caf, only making it begrudgingly at the desperate request of his brothers who can all agree that his concoction is absolutely perfect. Not too strong or weak, and not burned. Please let it be Crosshair.

However, Hunter realizes dejectedly, unless Crosshair woke up early and is in a generous mood, the likelihood of getting a good cup of caf is practically nonexistent. It will either be sludge or dirty water. Though, as his vision doubles yet again, he pushes himself up to accept whichever fate might await him.

He treads lightly down the hall, stretching the stiff muscles in his back, shoulders and neck. When he turns into the kitchen, his weary heart lifts when he is met by Crosshair glaring at him over a steaming mug. “You look awful,” the sniper says.

“Thanks.” Hunter is too tired to roll his eyes. “You make caf?”

Crosshair grins wickedly. “No. Echo did.” He nods his head in the direction of the table.

Hunter’s eyes drift to where their fifth squad member sits with his own mug of the brewed liquid. “I made you a cup,” Echo says, “Crosshair was just about to bring it to you.”

“Out of the kindness of his heart, I’m sure,” Hunter grumbles, but he accepts the caf anyway.

“It was going to be a surprise,” Crosshair says.

Hunter narrows his eyes at his brother, doesn’t miss the subtle smirk as Crosshair ducks past him.

Echo chuckles from his corner. “Hunter. I didn’t make the caf. Cross did.”

“What?” Hunter’s exhausted mind can’t keep up. “But…”

“He told you it was me as a prank,” Echo explains patiently. “Thought it’d be funny to see the look on your face when you thought he made caf and it turned out it was me. Which, I will admit, was fairly entertaining — even though it was at my expense.” Echo takes a careful sip of his caf.

Hunter smiles and takes a long drink of the perfect, scalding beverage. Leave it to Cross to do something kind for a brother disguised as a mischievous act.

END

Author’s Note: I don’t think there is anything quite so trivially disappointing as going to a coffee shop, ordering a coffee, getting it, and taking that first wonderful sip…only for the shots to be burned, or it’s just not made “right.” **sigh**

Tag List: @isthereanechoinhere96 @followthepurrgil @amorfista @mooncommlink

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[shinsouskitten]

Hi, so I just read your Bakugou NSFW alphabet, and I was wondering could you do one for Karma Akabane? There's a lack of content for him on Tumblr in general compared to Bakugou and I'm THIRSTY.

ME TOO HONEY. love me some sadistic redhead moments

also sorry for this being like RLLY late 😔 i hope you're not too dehydrated

Warnings: nsfw, mdni, this one is dirty

---

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Okay hear me out. He’s kinda shit at aftercare. He tries, bless him, but he’s just not really a nice guy (I love the guy but c’mon). Likely the most you’ll get is half a glass of water he forgot was on his bedside table and a towel to clean yourself off. At least, that’s all you’ll get while you’re awake. Once you’re asleep he’ll clean you properly (as well as he can without waking you up) and make sure you’re lying comfortably so you don’t wake up too stiff

There’s been the occasional time when you’ve passed out from how hard you came and he’s just kinda stared at you for a moment before making sure you’re okay (and alive) then just lay there stroking your hair until you come (no pun intended) back to him

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and their partner’s)

He likes his hands, especially around your throat or gripping your hips like a vice as he completely ruins you. Something makes me think Karma is a neck guy, cause he can cover them with hickies that you can’t hope to hide unless you have some really good concealer. He’s a bit of a vampire

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Everywhere and anywhere. Karma loves to make a mess, and then constantly tell you how dirty you are and demand that you clean yourself up. One of his favorite moments is after he cums inside you, and warns you not to waste a single drop. If you do, oh boy, I guess he’ll just have to fill you up again

D = Dirty secret (pretty clear, a dirty secret of theirs)

Karma doesn’t really have any dirty secrets. If he wants to try something out, he’ll tell you. Really he’s shameless. He’s not gonna hide anything from you, even the darkest thoughts born from his deepest depravity

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Not many people would be able to go a night with Karma, cause he can get a little intense, so before you he’s not incredibly experienced. He’s not a virgin by any means, but he hasn’t had the chance to try out most of the crazy things he wants to try. So for the most part he knows what he’s doing, but when it gets to the really fun stuff… well it’ll be a learning curve for the both of you

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Karma doesn’t really have a favorite position, simply because you never stay in one for long enough

G = Goofy (how serious are they in the moment?)

If you whine, or beg, he will laugh at you (the low chuckle 😩). This dude just really enjoys mocking you, but he’s still very serious about pleasuring you

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Tbh he doesn’t really put too much effort into grooming. Mostly he’ll just try to keep it trimmed, and occasionally he’ll shave. Don’t worry tho, even though he doesn’t groom like crazy, he still keeps everything clean

I = Intimacy (how romantic are they in the moment?)

He’s a fucking sadist. Don’t expect him to kiss your forehead and shower you with rose petals cause that’s just not Karma. This man will fuck you until you’re drooling and shaking and unable to talk with absolutely no remorse

J = Jack off (what are their views on masturbation?)

Honestly likes it a little too much. Is there such a thing as a masturbation addiction, cause if so, Karma has it. He has an incredibly high drive, and you’re not always there (or able to keep up with him) so if the dick goes up, the hand goes down

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

He puts the S in BDSM

L = Location (favorite places to do the dance with no pants)

Once again, anywhere and everywhere. He’s also not shy about being caught

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going, etc)

When you talk back to him. Did someone say brat tamer?

N = No (turn offs, something they wouldn’t do)

He’ll try anything once, so don’t be shy to suggest something. This man is truly depraved, so anything you could think of, he’s thought of worse

O = Oral (do they prefer giving or receiving? how skilled are they?)

Receiving, 100% receiving. And he’s not gentle either. Get ready for a face fucking cause he will use you until he’s satisfied. If he’s going down on you, it’s because he wants to overstimulate you and see those pretty little tears run down your cheeks

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

He will break your back. ‘Nuff said

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies)

Karma looooooooves quickies, especially in public. There’s something about being so needy that you just can’t wait and the thrill and risk of being caught by unsuspecting onlookers

R = Risk (how risky are they willing to be?)

He once fucked you through a midnight showing of Fifty Shades of Gray, as a demonstration that that movie knows nothing about the real good stuff (his words). Surprisingly, no one in the cinema caught on to what was happening in the back seats, and even if they heard something, they most likely ignored it as part of the film. So yeah, he’s down for some risk

S = Stamina (how long do they last? how many rounds?)

It just doesn’t stop. Like- HOW CAN ONE PERSON HAVE SO MUCH STAMINA?! TF?! If you’re not literally shaking he’s not stopping (unless you ask him too of course, he may be an ass but he’s not a completely terrible person)

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them on a partner or themselves?)

Oh my. If it exists, he has it. And he’s not shy about trying toys on himself either. He’s very open to new things so it’s not uncommon that you come home to find three new boxes on the kitchen counter and Karma standing over them with a maniacal grin

U = Unfair (how much do they tease?)

Dude. It’s Karma

V = Volume (how they sound, how loud they are, etc)

A small groan here and there, but most of the volume coming from your bedroom will be your own screams. The neighbors know his name, they’ve heard it so much it’d be impossible not to. He uses a fair amount of dirty talk, but he keeps most of his own sounds quiet. He wants to hear your voice, not his own

W = Wild card (a random headcanon)

Now cause it’s not technically a dirty secret I left this one until now. One time he had a dream where you topped him and he woke up harder than he’s ever been in his life. He’s way too proud to ever admit wanting to see you take the lead, but if you surprise him and steal the reins, he may just protest a little less

X = X-ray (let’s have a looksee in those pants)

Mini Karma stands tall at a good 7 inches. He’s slightly leaner than average, but there’s a slight curve that has him drilling into your sweet spot with each and every thrust

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

You know Mt Everest? Yeah? Keep going up

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

With his stamina levels it’s highly unlikely he’d fall asleep before you. There’s been the occasional time when you’ve passed out from how hard you came and he’s just kinda stared at you for a moment before making sure you’re still alive

[evertidings]

✐ for rylan pretty please?

— “i’m so tired. sleep’s been stalking me for too long to remember. inevitable i suppose.”

Rylan doesn’t remember the last time they saw kindness. the world has been cruel to them, burdening them with problems that shouldn’t even be their own, but once in a while, they get something that shines a light in the darkness they live in.

right now, it’s you.

"you’re freezing,” you mutter. shaking your head, you grab another blanket from the pile and pass it over to them. Rylan takes it gratefully, draping it on their legs as they hold onto the one around their shoulders. their hair is soaked from the rain, their leather jacket on the couch somewhere damp with moisture. 

this is what they get for making the rooftops their home. when it begins to pour, they often have no place to go. they have their home of course, but oftentimes it’s so far from their location that they’re stuck.

luckily, your place was nearby. and for reasons unknown, you didn’t protest when Rylan knocked on your door and asked to crash for a couple of hours. or at least until the rain stopped and they could travel back.

“it’s karma, isn’t it?” Rylan laughs, but their words are caught in-between a shiver.

you frown. “i don’t have a fireplace so that’ll have to do. i have the heat turned up as high as i can tolerate it, but i really can’t do much else unless i want this place to turn into a sauna.”

“we should visit one,” Rylan suggests. they don’t actually intend to, nor do they think it’d be a desire to do so, but they make the joke simply to try and lighten the mood.

"god, i can’t imagine what IAOS would do if they found out we had conversations like this instead of me actually taking you in.”

“aren’t you happy you didn’t do it?”

you spare them a look. “that remains to be seen.”

Rylan cracks a smile. the answer is better than the past “i still might do it” or “you’re going to be handed in at the end.” your relationship has progressed over the months and they’re glad for it. 

hell, they’re in your apartment. they don’t know if you’re armed—probably not, considering you’re in pajamas—but they aren’t. in theory, they should be. they’re a bounty and you’re a hunter. they should be ready to defend themself at all costs against you, but instead, they’re cuddled up in your blankets.

it’s so comfortable here Rylan might fall asleep. 

sleep. what a foreign concept to them.

being one part vampire, Rylan doesn’t need sleep as much as the average human does, so they tend to skip the rest and go wandering instead. the most they’ve allowed themselves over the past couple of months naps during the day, but all have been done in the comfort of their own home.

anywhere else and they’ll be vulnerable.

but they’re so tired. sleep’s been stalking them for too long to remember. it’s inevitable, they suppose, but they don’t know if they want to do it here.

as if reading their mind, you suddenly say, “you should get some rest. the rain doesn’t look like it’s letting up anytime soon, so you can stay the night if you want.”

“your couch does look pretty comfortable,” Rylan teases. another joke. another thing they don’t actually meant to say.

you smirk. “it is. if you prefer the floor i can get out some sleeping bags but feel free to use the couch. the kitchen is free if you want any food.”

you get up to leave and Rylan watches you. they can’t explain the empty feeling in their chest, the disappointment rising as your figure recedes further into the distance. they’re about to let you go completely when suddenly they blurt out: “wait.”

you turn, eyebrow raised.

"did you want to talk for a bit? before we go to sleep?” they ask. 

they’re not hiding their emotions well, they know. you can read it on their face that they don’t want to go to sleep. that maybe they’re frightened of it. scared of the insomnia that will likely keep them awake and the nightmares that will shake them out of the rest that does eventually come too early.

“sure, i can stay for a little,” you concede. you walk over to the loveseat and sit yourself down, while Rylan climbs onto the couch and settles themself into the cushions. “what did you want to talk about?”

anything. everything.

you.

but Rylan is too tired for flirting. too tired to try and make you flush with heat at the suggestions they come up with. if they tried, they knew they’d simply end up saying the truth.

that no amount of jokes will be able to hide that they actually like you more than because it’s ‘fun’.

so instead, Rylan says, “have i ever told you about my love for leather jackets?”

[devildom-drabbles]

Snippet - Sleepovers with Beelzebub and Belphegor

(A fluffy headcanon in honor of Beel and Belphie's birthday. ❤️💜)

Just thinking about how Beelzebub and Belphegor would frequently invite MC/you to sleepovers in their room. The twins are always so excited when you’re available to spend the evening hanging out with them, and while they’re perfectly content with just winging it, they will have a few activities in mind beforehand. The only thing that’s 100% guaranteed to occur at each sleepover is having snacks. The Attic Club “Sandwich” group chat is where the three of you message what food you want for the upcoming sleepover, and then whichever one of you is in charge of picking up the snacks for that night (you all take turns) will be sure to get them. If Beel is assigned to get the food, he’ll give them to Belphie when he gets home so they can be hidden and stay safe until the sleepover. Most of the time you all enjoy store-bought food (plus popcorn, if you three plan to watch something), but sometimes you’ll make the treats together, like freshly-baked cookies or a trail mix with snacks all three of you like. Once everything is ready, you’ll bring the food to the twins’ bedroom to enjoy during your sleepover activities.

Other than getting the snacks ready, starting with a movie or TV show is the norm. On occasion, the three of you will have agreed on what to watch ahead of time, but it’s more common that you’ll browse the streaming services or physical DVD collection before deciding on something. Of course finishing a movie in one night is simple, but for a TV show, the three of you will watch at least a few episodes at a time and then continue it at another sleepover. Beel is content with just about anything, so it’s really only Belphie you may argue with when it comes to selecting what you’ll all watch--rock-paper-scissors games have been necessary for this sometimes, especially if Belphie is adamant on watching horror and you hate that genre.

Now that the movie/show is chosen, all that’s left is to get comfortable on one of the twins’ beds together and have some of those snacks you brought. (Well, the snacks are gone pretty quickly thanks to Beel, but he won’t touch yours or Belphie’s food until you both don’t want anymore.) The boys prefer that you sit between them so they can share you. By the time you’re done with the movie/show, Beel’s head will end up resting on top of yours while Belphie is snuggled up on your lap. Are there crumbs all over the bed? Probably. Does Belphie fall asleep at some point in the middle of the movie/show? Only if he loses interest in it. Still, each time he does fall asleep during it, it's apparently your fault for having such a comfortable lap. (Then don't lay there, you tell him. Nope, he refuses to move.)

Afterwards, the three of you will play a game together. It could be a board game, a card game, a video game--anything that sounds fun to all of you. Oh, but be careful with board games; Beel sometimes mistakes the pieces as leftover snacks and quickly swallows them whole. There have been a few times where you all make your own pillow and blanket forts and use them as shelter for a pillow fight, but somehow Mammon and Asmo always catch wind of it and crash the sleepover to join in. It becomes very chaotic from there, only ending when everyone is too tuckered out to move or Lucifer loses his patience from all the ruckus.

Pillow fights aside, unless you’re competitive, the games are fairly relaxed. In order to help himself stay awake, Belphie tends to be in charge of ensuring the rules of each game are followed properly. He also can usually sense what Beel is about to do next, which gives him an advantage most times. He can’t read you quite as well, so he’ll banter with you more in hopes you’ll give something away that will help him win (and simply because he gets a kick out of messing with you). Beel becomes very focused when he’s playing a game, fully intent on winning, but when it seems like you or Belphie are losing badly, he’ll ease up so that you both will have a better chance of winning. Otherwise, it’s just not as fun, in his opinion. Whenever you win, Beel will compliment you and offer you a high-five, which brings a radiant grin to his face if you accept it. Oh, and if either Beel or Belphie win a game, they secretly hope to hear your praise--Beel’s happiness will shine outward while Belphie does his best to keep it on the inside (but he can’t help smiling in response). Sometimes, the three of you will agree on penalties for losing games, which typically involve doing the winner’s chores the next day or texting something weird to one of the other brothers; however, if the twins are seeking your affection, then the penalties involve the losers having to do whatever the winner wants. In those instances, it suddenly becomes a lot harder to win against Beel or Belphie.

When you and Beel begin to yawn as often as Belphie does, that’s how you all know it’s time to go to sleep. After getting ready, the three of you will cozy up together in one of the beds--or, if you’re not comfortable with that, Beel will let you sleep in his bed while the twins share Belphie’s bed. If all of you are in one bed though, expect to be squished between the boys as they snuggle up to you. There’s plenty of room on the bed, so they will give you more space if you need it, but it’s likely that they’ll move closer to you again in their sleep. Since you’re almost always subjected to being in the middle, you get to decide how you want to cuddle with them. For example, you could lay on Beel’s chest, which will prompt Belphie to wrap his arms around your waist and bury his face into your back. Or perhaps you might choose to hold Belphie close to your chest, tucking his head under your chin, while Beel encircles his arms around both of you and settles his head on your shoulder. No matter how you all choose to sleep together, you can be sure that the twins will make you feel very loved and safe as you all drift off into a peaceful slumber.

[atlas-of-a-human-soul]

Draw your swords, pt. 8

Summary: Forced to face their feelings, neither the Darkling nor his wife dare to speak them out loud. Influenced by Genya’s words, Y/N starts to wonder about her husband’s past.

Warnings: angst, swearing, mentions of alcohol, sexual content

Part one // Part two // Part three // Part four // Part five // Part six // Part seven  

=================================

As a young girl, Y/N often daydreamed about her first time. She believed it would be with a kind man who’d move mountains to find her if she called his name. Reality was quite different – this man wasn’t kind, but he’d burn the world for her.

Whether he realized it, she saw through him easily. The Darkling is a symbol, the fear surrounding his name is all for show because he’s not evil. In fact, she’d go as far as say he’s redeemable. Anyone capable of love is capable of being saved and while she didn’t know what he needed saving from, her heart told her he’ll need her. And she knew he cared, she felt it in the way he held her in that tent, and again in the way he’d touch her when he had all the power just the night before.

Moving her head toward the other side of the bed, Y/N looked at her sleeping husband. His lashes are long, thick and dark, a beard that tickled her neck adorning his face. Asleep, his cheekbones were not as sharp, his face much more welcoming and relaxed. He didn’t seem as the formidable foe she imagined him to be.

Aleksander laid on his side, facing her. Pursing her lips, Y/N allowed her eyes to roam over him. His broad chest had a small area of dark, curling hair. His muscles are made large, shapely mounds. His arms are capped by a round, firm muscle. Biting her lower lip, her eyes continued down to his hard, flat stomach with faint lines forming separate areas of muscles, making her swallow thickly. It was only after a moment that her eyes went lower. What she saw did not seem so powerful as it felt the previous night, but as she watched, his manhood began to grow.

She gasped and her eyes flew back to his. He was awake, watching her intently with a smirk, his eyes growing darker by the moment. No longer was he the gentle man she had awakened to, but a man of passion, the general who showed her he was just as capable of leading a woman in the bed as he was of leading an army on the field.

Y/N tried to move away but Aleksander still held her trapped by her hair that strayed on his side, under his back. What was worse, she didn’t even want to fight him. Y/N recalled her plans for him clearly; but this was more than a plan she carelessly implemented. Everything was different now when she had the memory of his body and the pleasure he infused her with when he made love to her. Could that term even be applied to them, she wondered. Did he see it as making love or simply satisfying his needs?

“Stubborn wife,” he whispered and the tone of his voice made chills run along her arms. It’s more than the tone he used or the look of his dark eyes that had her insides turning, but the words he had spoken…it almost felt like a term of endearment coming from him.

Grimacing, she rolled her eyes at him, “Dreadful husband.”

Pursing his lips, he seemed amused rather than insulted.

She was right, their relationship has changed.

Irrevocably.

Last night she had thought she learned all there was to know about love between a man and a woman, but now she thought, perhaps she knew very, very little. There was much more to learn from this man and of this man and how to use that knowledge for her own gain, but right now? She just wanted to let herself go. She wanted to enjoy his company. For once, he was good-natured, playful even. She felt genuinely happy in their little bubble.

For a moment, Y/N wished to stay there. She wished he could always look at her as he is now.

She looked at him, his hair still a mess in the bright morning sunlight. She watched him intently, perplexed how he could look more handsome and more human than she’d ever seen him.

His eyes are nearly black as he pulls her to him again. He runs his tongue along her lips, touching the inner corners especially. She parted her teeth for him, desperate for a taste of him. He’s better than the richest honey; hot and cold, soft and firm. She explored his mouth as he had explored hers, no longer shy or reserved with him. How could she be when his fingers have delved lower, pushing inside her?

Gasping, she smiles against his lips. “Genya will be here soon”, she warns him.

"I don't fucking care", he insisted as he crashed into her, his arms wrapping around her like a cage she never wished to escape from. He brought his mouth on hers, inhaling her, "Do you even know what it feels like to be around you?! I can't", he paused as his arms drew away from her and she shuddered as he took the warmth they provided. With bruised lips, she watched as he ran his hand through what used to be perfectly tousled hair. Disheveled, he turns to her, "I can't breathe around you."

She chuckles at him, "Well, I am breathtakingly beautiful."

Rolling his eyes, the Darkling shakes his head, "Well, you're not unattractive. I'll concede on that."

She ran her hands over his back as he lowered his head to her neck, running his tongue along the pulsating beat of her carotid, the only friend he had in her – her pulse couldn’t hide how enamored or exhilarated he made her feel. Instinctively she leaned her head back, her breathing turning deeper, quicker.

When his lips and tongue touched her breasts, she nearly cried out. She thought perhaps she might die under such torture. Trying to pull his head back to her mouth failed as he gave a deep, guttural laugh that made her shiver, her insides turning with the sweet melody and her heart? Her heart felt warm, big and incredibly full.

Maybe he did own her.

A knock on the door had interrupted their bliss as Y/N stiffened, looking at the door in slight panic. If someone saw them right now, no one would doubt their marriage was a successful love match. They seemed happy, truly in love. That’s not how it was meant to be.

“Someone doesn’t value their life”, he grumbled under his breath. “GO AWAY!”

Clasping a hand over his mouth, she chuckled. “Who is it?!”

“General?” Ivan’s voice faded her smile instantly.

Even with Aleksander’s hands cupping her bottom, his body covering her and the door being shut, Y/N felt ashamed as if she was bare in front of the entire world.

“Unless the world is burning, leave me alone!” Pecking Y/N’s lips, he smirked, “I never get a peaceful morning anymore.”

Come to think of it, Y/N never found him in the bed when she woke up. This was the very first night they spent together and he stayed by her side. Considerate was never a word she’d use describing him before, but he is considerate, kind and incredibly cautious when it comes to her. It made her heart sink.

Hearing no word from Ivan, Aleksander’s hand moved. Caressing the inside of her thighs, he made her shake in desire. Holding her breath, she bit her lower lip. Still sore from the night before, she felt her stomach twist as he lined himself up with her entrance once more. Pushing himself inside, he captures her lips as she cries out. The pleasure is undeniable, but she couldn’t deny there was pain too. She clutched at him, her legs pressing around his waist as she rose to meet each thrust. Sweet torment he had inflicted felt as if it would split her in two - one Y/N to plot his demise and the other who’d never let him leave her bed.

Finally, when she was sure her heart would explode, she felt the pulsing throbs that released her and soon after, Y/N felt him speed up and his own release followed. Collapsing on top of her, Aleksander held her so close that she could hardly breathe. In that moment she didn’t really care if she ever did breathe again.

Aleksander didn’t move, still buried deep inside her as if she is his saving grace. It’s insane to think he could fuck her into submission and feelings. It was impossible to ignore the fact that she developed feelings for him, but that realization created doubts. Eventually, something will have to break – and the thought of hurting him suddenly felt too much to bear.

“Are you alright?” He moved her hair out of her face, remaining on top of her as if she’s a conquered territory he refused to leave.

Swallowing thickly, she nods. “Why aren’t you moving?”

Eyes widening, the Darkling felt heat rush to his face. He was trying to be sweet, to show her it was more than a quick fuck. It was indescribable for him – a dawn after a long night he’s lived in. No woman ever lessened the loneliness inside his heart and then she waltzed into his life. He couldn’t imagine living without her again. She was the northern star in his dark sky and he never wanted to leave.

“I should see Ivan about earlier”, he murmured, nearly wincing as he pulled out. She wrapped herself up in the sheets again, her eyes wide as she stared ahead, thinking about how badly she’s already failing her mission.

Frowning as she shifted, Y/N felt Aleksander’s semen leave her. She cleared her throat, her eyes watering. She felt disgusted with herself, like she needed her skin rubbed off with scalding hot water and peeled off if that didn’t work. She could feel him, smell him on every inch of her skin and the worst of it all? She loathed just how cold she felt when his arms weren’t wrapped around her. She absolutely detested how giddy her heart felt when she saw the shit-eating grin on his face as he brought her to climax.

“When will we visit the armies by the fold?” She asked, switching into the woman she is instead of the woman she’s molded into by his lips.

Impassive, he looked back at her as he worked on the buttons of his shirt. “Why? Don’t believe I’ve kept my word?”

It unnerved her just how cold his voice felt, how impersonal. Standing, she wrapped the nightgown around her body. Taking his kefta in her hands, she held it open for him to slip into.

His eyes flicker from the kefta to her, as if he’s confused as well. It felt odd not knowing their place now. Their previous dynamic was easy to settle into, bickering felt like second nature. Conversing without spewing venom brought unfamiliar discomfort mostly because they’d much rather return to the bed behind them. Leaving that room carried an unspoken possibility of their time together being nothing but a fluke – a onetime deal. The outside world carries responsibilities, the kind that places them on opposite sides of the war.

“Thank you”, he turns around, allowing her to help dress him. Wives do that, he realized. Loving wives help their husbands dress just as often as they help them undress. Husbands do the same for their wives – though he much preferred the undressing part.

He kissed her brow unexpectedly, eyes flickering to her trembling lips as they passed a surprised gasp. “I know you want to see the results on a field, but rest assured I’ve kept my word.” Licking his lips, he reached for a glass from behind her. Pouring himself a glass, he watched her gnaw on her lower lip. For once, the ice queen showed there are emotions inside her capable of more than just disdain.

Breaking out of her daze, she cleared her throat. “I prefer to have confirmation”, she remarked.

Snorting, he looks up in frustration. He wanted to grab her by the throat as he would with any other human who’d dare challenge him, question him. In his mind, he pinned her to the bed, his hands wrapped around her delicate little wrists. ‘Don’t play games with me’, he’d say, ‘Don’t ever think you’re capable of that.’ He wanted so badly to treat her the same, as an enemy, but she had done something to him. No matter how hard he wished he could fight it, something inside him came to life – his heart beats unburdened by the shadows, for her. It was always going to be her.

“I guess I’m asking you to trust me”, he looked at her with a softness he visibly struggled with. His hand griped the glass far too tightly for it to fool her. He was hurt by her insinuation and she didn’t know how to respond.

“Aleksander.” Calling him by his first name for the first time felt so natural, but terrifying as his eyes lit up when it crossed her lips.

He shuddered. “Say it again”, he commanded, his eyes darkened as he pressed his lips together.

The look on her face would surely haunt him for an eternity. She was shocked, maybe even frightened. She didn’t mean to call him by his name, she had made a mistake and he could read it on her face.

She spun, fleeing into the bathroom. She ran from him like he had come to steal her soul. He thought about chasing after her, but it would be futile. She would return on her own. She lost the game, she was his. He swallowed his whisky and smiled. Perhaps the way his heart fluttered at the sound of his true name passing her lips should have been a sign he lost the game too, but he didn’t give it a second thought.

She is his.

Once he left, she did exactly as she wished – she scrubbed herself clean of any remainders of him. He’ll walk around with her scent clinging to him, but she will not be branded his. Though her hips bear his markings, she felt satisfied they were easily covered with a kefta.

“You don’t have to say it”, Genya raised an eyebrow at the shadows of Kirigan’s fingertips across her friend’s hips.

“Say what?” Y/N narrowed her eyes, her heart picking up pace.

Smirking, Genya lowered her voice, “You enjoyed it, didn’t you?”

Rolling her eyes, Y/N, exhaled audibly through her nose. “It wasn’t terrible.”

“Ha!” Genya clapped her hands, “We are winning today!”

Raising her eyebrows, Y/N turned her undivided attention to an overly excited Genya. “Care to explain?”

“Well”, she shrugged innocently, “I may have found us a new ally.”

Stunned, Y/N sat on the edge of the bathtub. “Who?”

“David”, Genya exclaimed.

“Isn’t he Kirigan’s little…pet?”

Knitting her eyebrows, Genya huffed, “No! He’s a brilliant man and he believes in equality and a brighter future.”

“But can we trust him with the secret?”

Swallowing thickly, Genya paused. Inhaling deeply, she nods. “I’d vouch for him.”

“I need concrete proof”, Y/N sighs, “This isn’t going to end well for us if he decides to spill everything to Kirigan!”

Rubbing her temples, Y/N felt as if the pressure inside her head would cause her brain to burst. It’s pressing in, choking every good idea she’s ever had.

“What would happen if he did know?” Genya crouched before her. With her hands on Y/N’s knees, Genya sighed. “Maybe he’d be receptive too.”

Snorting, Y/N couldn’t believe how naïve Genya is. “No. He’d be too angry to see the big picture.”

It didn’t matter that he’s begun colonizing Y/N’s heart or that every inch of her skin craved the touch of his hand. It felt as if she were invincible when he stood beside her, as if he had made her fireproof. No scar hurt when he kissed her, no grief was too difficult to bear when he looked at her.

“Damn it”, Y/N covered her face, “I want to believe in him, I do.” She couldn’t help but wonder if her feelings are the aftermath of the night he saved her life or the night of ecstasy he had given her. Is it really genuine emotion or did her heart move to her vagina?

“So believe”, Genya encouraged. A sympathetic smile adorned her full lips, her eyes kinder than before.

“How can I ever trust him when he’s got a superiority complex regarding humans? He’s never going to willingly protect one!”

“He did with you”, Genya pressed her lips into a thin line. “You’re paranoid because you are afraid allowing yourself to see the good in him might actually make you love him.”

And she is. She’s afraid to love him or let him love her. What would be the point? In the end, they’re too different.

“Talk to David again”, Y/N stood, sniffling. “I’ll head to the library.”

Genya raised an eyebrow. “Library?”

The first casualty of war is innocence and Y/N had none left. She was once called ‘angel’ by her father, by her comrades in the army too. She was the epitome of a pure heart who would sacrifice itself for others. She didn’t feel like an angel anymore, but she will play the part. No one expects an angel to set the world on fire.

“Yeah”, Y/N breathes out. “I want to look for something.” Truth be told, she wanted to research Aleksander and his lineage.

If the dark heretic is from his bloodline, she needed to know everything about him, about the hearts of those he came from. If she’s ever going to consider her husband as an ally, she has to know him – all of him. If she asked, she worried he’d cover up the darkest parts of him. He’d deem her too human to understand, too fragile to know all the horrors that tie into who he’s become.

It was time to find out if she could trust Aleksander.

=============================

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Part 9

[butwhyduh]

Hi if you still do request could you do a There is only one bed with Tim maybe with some teasing?

Warning: smut

“So it’s not ideal,” you said with a little smile that you covered with your hand. Tim was exasperated. You could slum it. He was not used to this.

Admittedly the cabin was worse that what you remember. As a kid, your family had visited every fall to pick apples and hike. Marshmallows by the fireplace before telling ghost stories and all.

But that was over 10 years ago and not in midwinter. Now the windows were boarded and the fireplace was barely useable. Which was good, as it was literally freezing.

When Tim had said he needed a place to crash after a mission for you both, you offered this place. It was only a few miles north of your location. But it was also trash. The couch leg gave way as Tim sat down and he almost fell to the floor.

“So this is technically a cabin in the woods. But I’d rather burn it to the ground,” Tim said. “I’m going to the bathroom, unless it’s an outhouse or just a hole in the ground.”

“No no. Real bathroom,” you motioned to it. He went in the other room. You sat on the bed, the only functional piece of furniture besides a dodgy table. You were glad that you brought extra sheets and the plastic protector over the mattress. After scrubbing the cover and putting on the sheets, you sat down to pull off your boots. Ice was still clinging to the bottom. You put them near the front door and stood by the fire. Tim came out changed into thick sweats.

“You should change,” he said, motioning to your suit. You turned away from him.

“Can you?” You asked about the long zipper that went from the top of your neck to right above your ass.

“Oh, sure,” Tim said walking close. There had always been some kind of sexual tension between you both but neither had ever acted on it. He looked at your black leather suit lit up in the firelight. It clung perfectly to every curve.

He delicately pushed your hair from the back of your neck over your shoulder and grasped the zipper. Tim pulled it down almost painfully slowly. You felt your skin prickle as he slowly touched down your back. His fingers hesitated to move away from your back. Tim pulled away suddenly and cleared his throat.

“Done,” he said in a lower tone. You turned back to see him standing so close. He watched you. Tim wasn’t particularly tall, only a little more than you, or bulky, with lean muscles. But he was so pretty with thick dark eye lashes and silky hair.

“You should probably get dressed. You’re cold,” he said noting the way your forearms shivered as they held the front of your suit up. You nodded and grabbed your clothing before heading to the bathroom. It was even colder in there. Frost covered the window and you could see your breath. You quickly dressed into pajamas.

In the main room, Tim was sweeping the floor. “Not that it doesn’t need it or anything, but why are you sweeping?” You asked.

“One bed. The couch is shit. I’m sleeping on the floor,” Tim said. There was no way you’d let him. He’d freeze with the draft and limited blankets.

“No way. Just sleep in the bed,” you said. He gave you a look you couldn’t comprehend before shaking his head. “Tim, you could freeze to death down there. I won’t let you,” you said trying to sound authoritative.

“I’ll be fine,” he shrugged.

“I won’t bite. Get up here,” you said sitting on the bed.

“Sure about that?” He said with a sly smile.

“Only on Tuesdays,” you said with a little smirk. He chuckled. “I’m not letting you sleep down there. My house, my rules.”

“Ouch. I guess I can’t argue with that, hu?” Tim said putting the broom down. He carefully climbed in the other side of the bed without touching you despite being a small bed. Tim laid flat on his back with his arms tight to his body.

You slid under the covers shivering. “Okay, I hope you’re okay with me stealing body heat from you because I’m fucking freezing,” you said sliding your back against him. Tim shifted to his side and you pressed against his warm chest. “I don’t know how you aren’t cold.”

“I’m from Gotham. The weather is terrible year round,” he reminded you. Tim didn’t lay his arms across you or anything but let you spoon against him. He was carefully passive like a gentleman. After a few minutes, you shivering stopped and you finally warmed. The pull of sleep dragged you under and you slept for a few hours.

The crackle of fire and gentle rapping sound of snow falling was the only sounds you heard in the early morning. Tim’s breath on your neck and arms wrapped around you tightly were very distracting. You resisted the urge to shiver at the sensation. How many times had you wanted this?

You shifted a little to go back to sleep and Tim’s hands wrapped tighter. One hand snakes down to cup your breast in sleep, pulling you flush to his body. You inhaled quickly and was wide awake. How could you sleep when the guy you liked was holding your actual tit? You tried to stay still but your body made small adjustments.

Tim made a soft “hmmm” sound and you froze. That’s when you felt it, he was hard. You felt like you were going to burst. He was holding your tit and rubbing his dick against you in his sleep. It’s just biology. It means nothing, you told yourself.

But you needed to get out of his grip because your body was definitely reacting to him. You tried to scoot your hips forward but this arms around you were clinging too tightly. Tim groaned and rubbed his cheek in your hair.

“Tim,” you whispered a little too breathless. He hummed again. “Tim,” you said a little louder.

“Is too early. Go to sleep,” Tim mumbled. He didn’t moved. You thought about trying to sleep but Tim was very distracting.

“Tim,” you said in a regular voice. He huffed.

“What?”

“You... you’re, uh,” you said unsure how to tell him. Your penis is rubbing up against my ass? You’re feeling me up in your sleep? “Let me go, please.”

“I don’t have you,” he protested before waking up more. Tim moved his head and opened his eyes. You could feel him freeze as he took in the situation. Tim quickly let you go and pulled back to one side of the bed. His face was brick red and his hips were almost falling off the bed trying to make as much space as possible between you both.

“Sorry! Fuck, sorry! I didn’t mean- how long was I-“ he said halfway freaking out. You turned to face him.

“It’s okay. Relax,” you said calmly.

“I don’t control when it happens when I’m asleep, you know?” Tim said sitting up and clutching the sheets hiding his crotch. You sat up and grasped the sides of his face.

“It’s fine. I know how biology works,” you reassured him.

“And I didn’t mean to grab you. I was asleep,” he added. “I swear I didn’t-“

“Tim!” You said finally shutting him up. He stared at you and gulped. Your hands on his face didn’t exactly help his uhh... problem he was desperately trying to make go away.

“What?”

“You. Are. Fine. I cuddled with you, right? Not super surprising. It happens,” you said and he relaxed a little. “It was kinda nice laying with you,” you murmured. Tim glanced down at your lips before snapping back up to your eyes like he broke a rule. “You smell nice. And you’re warm,” you added. You stared at his lips obviously.

“I got to ask, are you hitting on me?” Tim asked warily.

You snorted and rolled your eyes. “Yeah, detective. I am. What are you gonna do about it?”

Tim smiled and grasped your face for a kiss. You pulled him down on top of you as you kissed. He inhaled quickly before adjusting to the change. His knees gently pushed between yours and you pressed your hips up against his and was rewarded with a groan.

You reached down to cup him in his pjs. Tim kissed down your neck and his hips pushed his cock in your hand with more pressure. His hand cupped your breast and squeezed.

“Do you want to?” He asked.

“Absolutely. Condoms are in the top zipper of my suitcase,” you said breathlessly. You’d be a fucking idiot to say no to the one chance to sleep with the guy you like.

“You came prepared?” He asked.

“They just stay in there,” you answered and he nodded before getting up to grab one. Tim turned around to blink a little as you were completely nude and staring up at him predatorily. He couldn’t say that it wasn’t hot.

“Eager,” he breathed climbing back over you, pulling off clothing. You shrugged. You took the condom from him to put it on.

“Do we need to-“

“Penis in vagina. I don’t need a ton of prep. I super appreciate the offer. Seriously, next time go nuts. But it’s like 5 degrees in here and I’m ready as hell,” you said and he almost laughed.

“Can do,” he said pulling the blankets over you both. He sunk in and you breathed out quickly. Tim wrapped his arms around you behind your back to kiss your chest and neck as he moved. It has you breathless. It was so intimate. He was completely pressed against you.

His lips found yours and he kissed you in pace with his hips rocking against yours. You bent your knees and you gasped as he was now rocking against a spot that had you seeing stars.

“There,” you breathed and Tim simply nodded. Fuck, it wasn’t going to take long at this pace. “Fuck fuck fuck,” you whimpered before clenching around him with his name on your tongue. Tim groaned and thrust through your high before finishing himself. He kissed up your collarbone and neck to your lips before pulling out to throw away the condom and pull on his pjs. You did the same in the chill.

He climbed back in bed and snuggled close. “Okay, yeah. It’s cold as hell,” Tim said with a little laugh. You laid your head on his chest and entwined your legs together with the blanket pulled tight and the cold was more bearable.

[jiminrings]

i just reread ll (after seeing that yoongi pic on twt..... loml) AND UGH IM SO MAD AT THAT FIGHT WHY DID HE SAY THAT AND OH MY GOD WHERE IS OC SLEEPING OMG DID SHE STAY THE NIGHT AT TAEHYUNGS (not like that ..... nasties 😑) WHATS GOING ON. WHAT IS JUNGKOOK GONNA DO WHEN YOONGI OR SEOKJIN FIND HIM WHAT IF YOONGI KILLS HIM OR SMTH

cold senior!y/n x stem major!koo masterlist :D

you leave jungkook alone in your dorm after a fight — but at the same time, he gets left alone with yoongi and jin, who still aren't sure what to think of him especially now

aka part two of the ll couple's first fight

"i think i'm gonna crash."

seokjin yawns and says out loud without the knowledge that he's speaking out loud, his hands fumbling for the dorm keys amongst the numerous keychains he has a knack for collecting

"you drank one cup of coffee, jin," yoongi snorts because as far as he recalls two hours ago, jin even made him drink his remaining coffee because he couldn't take any more

yeah well sCREW jin for trying to stay awake the whole day alright!!!! he made a roadtrip out of scouring each individual part he wanted to add to his fancy PC setup he's been saving a pretty penny for

he doesn't say it at all but yoongi carries immense happiness in tagging along with errands even if it serves him no purpose <3 sometimes he just likes being a keychain to his best friends and he's happy!!

"yeah, hot coffee — the worst," jin elaborates his dislike for hot coffee even if both you and yoongi heard it a hundred times before

he's noisily trying to find the right key and he's surprised you haven't woken up and just oPENED the door for them, but he's cluelessly and thoroughly entertaining yoongi aka the guy who hAS his own key yet refuses to use just so that he could see his friend suffering some more

at this point, your neighbors probably think you’re getting robbed but thankfully jin finally manages to put in the right key, a satisfactory sigh leaving him when it finally clicks and turns the right way

the dorm is dark and noT dim like what they’re used to, probably something to be blamed to the hellfire of rain that’s going on outside

jin’s carelessly removing his shoes by his own feet, only stopping when yoongi harshly pinches him on the side before he does it to himselF on the inside of his arm

“ow! what was-“

he soothes the sore spot on his side because yoongi can reallyyyyyy put his two fingers close without pinching and therefore make it hurt even more, eyes all around the place before it stops on a familiar figure

a familiar figure, sure. welcome? not exactly.

"huh. you're still here? are you staying the night?"

seokjin asks out loud to jungkook who’s standing by himself beside the couch with his hands bunched, worried eyes fixed on them

"where's y/n?"

yoongi asks and it’s made evident how the both of them have different intentions to acquire for, but they all boil down to you nonetheless

jungkook’s throat dries because it hasn’t even been an hour that he’s left alone in yoor dorm, not expecting it either that your two friends would come home this quick

"that's the thing,” he mumbles and yoongi picks it up first, slithering around jin to confirm if he’s really hearing jungkook

what does he mEAN that’s the thing???

"y/n left."

jungkook’s with the two of them now but oddly enough, he doesn’t feel cornered even if the two of them are positioned as if they’re trapping him

he feels more alone than he is cornered, fresh tears stinging at the back of his eyes that he doesn’t want to show yoongi nor jin

"what did you just say?" yoongi asks more in confusion than in disbelief, narrowing his eyes at your boyfriend

"why would she leave at this hour and at this weather? not to mention, leave you alone with us."

jin raises a valid point to put into everyone’s head how bizarre the situation is and not to spook jungkook out, but it sounds like the latter to him which is why he snorts at the startled look

"calm down, kid. we're not gonna rough you up if that's what you're thinking," he reminds him because they’re not tHAT unhinged when it comes to you, walking to the refrigerator to down the nearest water bottle, ".... not unless??"

he still carries a playful edge to him because as much as he’s worried about you, atleast one of the three of them in this room should be far from having a breakdown to level the others

yoongi’s not done with his questioning streak because he presses further, sitting at the couch in your exact seat that makes jungkook gulp

god it’s now just hitting him that you left

"why did she leave?"

"w-we fought."

there’s slight hesitance in his tone because he’s not exactly surE if he should be telling that he fought with you to your friends, but he sets aside the possible consequences because after all, it’s you that they’re conversing about

yoongi nods to himself, having a hunch that the both of you must’ve fought and when he looks up at him, he only belatedly realizes that your boyfriend’s now blonde

"what did you do?"

he goes straight for it, startling jungkook

he’s not necessarily offended that yoongi asked him what he did because if you ask him, this is really aLL his fault

"i-i'll get to that but uh shouldn't we look for y/n first?"

...

..... okay that was understandable

yoongi knows where he’s coming from, nodding to acknowledge him

"not the first time this happened," he admits quietly and that leaves jungkook speechless, watching him intently which is why it made sense that yoongi’s not out of his mind panicking just like he is, "y/n left the dorm when she and seokjin fought."

yoongi says it even quieter and jungkook gets why, because as low as his mumble went, seokjin still managed to hear it

it must’ve been a sore spot that jin doesn’t want to tell him all about, atleast right now, because he looks down to his feet as if he’s been burnt

"it was a serious fight, but it was long ago,” he mumbles under his breath and the reminder of their fight which he’s tried to bury in the back of his head throws him off his feet slightly, “she doesn't really leave when it's just a petty fight or something."

yoongi somberly smiles at jin as some sort of apology for bringing it up, not wanting to put salt on the wounds as he just redirects his attention to jungkook

"i'm asking you for the last time, jungkook — what did you do?"

there’s no direct pressure behind his words but the three of them know that it would drastically help if he just said so

there’s no moral compass that he tries to steer because he himself wants to tell yoongi and jin, even if it means having to put the little respect and love they have for him on the line

jungkook doesn’t sugarcoat and retells all the way from what happened with the hoseok situation until he finishes with what happened merely an hour ago, almost scared to look up at the both of them

jin humorlessly chuckles and shakes his head to himself, still perched against the kitchen counter

"low fucking blow, kid."

surprisingly, yoongi became the lenient one

jungkook’s head aches because the two of them switched attitudes in a matter of minutes!!!! jin is the one that sounds like he hates being in the same room as him and yoongi is the one that tolerates hin generally

he could oNLY assume that the retelling of the events must’ve hit jin one way or another, somehow connected to what the two of you fought about long ago

yoongi takes the liberty to speak after jin’s remark, nudging jungkook by the knee to sit beside him

"y/n's hurt, of course, because as much as she had flings and casual fucks and whatnot," he trails around but doesn’t look to jungkook who’s wide-eyed thy he’s even letting him sit beside him, “you're her first boyfriend."

...

....

...... what

“i am?”

jungkook asks in confusion and the regret creeps up to him not a second later, the ringing in his ears blocking out the rain and even jin’s announcement that he’ll call you

he nods and kook knows that he’s not only saying this to pull at his tail, simply because he’s aware that yoongi doesn’t joke around with him

with jin entering his room to call you, that leaves him alone with yoongi and it barely registers in his head that this is the first time it’s only the two of them after that time when he threatened to give him a knuckle sandwich and the sort

"was starting to entertain and like the idea of you in y/n's life — our lives, y'know?"

yoongi initiates conversation and kook gets startled even more, tripping over his words because he can’t grasp at the situation fully

"i'm sorry, yoongi. i-i really am."

"hate to say this but," he clicks the roof of his mouth with his tongue, fiddling with his bracelets, "i know you are."

???

jungkook’s confusion at your friend’s words is what distracts him from his remorse, not believing his ears

yoongi believes him??? he knOws that he actually feels sorry for having done what he did??

"y/n doesn't like being accused, i think no one really does," he starts off carefully, “it's not my story to tell but it's for you to understand that y/n, y'know...."

jungkook swallows the lump on his throat for whatever yoongi’s gonna say next, a furrow in his brow as he chooses his words

“she doesn't come from a past wherein assurance is at face value,” he clears his throat, "that's all i can tell you."

jungkook nods and he tries to contain his thoughts because he doesn’t want to assume. he’s only gonna take what you give and he’ll willingly wait for that time you tell him all about his past

he does have a clue about your family because he asked that one time if he’d be meeting your parents because you’re a senior and you’re graduating soon, but you only shaked your head no and said “yoongs and jin are enough” for your ceremony

yoongi feels sorry, but he’s not sure for who :(

all he knows is that his heart aches, even if it’s for the boy in front of him that he swore he’d hate, but is now unconsciously worming his way into his heart

he’s no stranger to what jungkook feels because he felt the same type of territoriality and the insecurity that came along with it — the one he used to have over you, in that platonic soulmate sense he didn’t realize at the time

"it's not my place to tell you either, but sooner or later, insecurity will consume you, jungkook."

the guy in question nods eagerly because yoongi manages to address the struggle he has in his mind, acknowledging the issue at-hand fully

"y/n can't baby you forever,” yoongi sighs, “but you can't be ditched whenever she feels like it either."

:O

did...

did yoongi just take his side.....

jungkook kNOWS in the back of his head that yoongi’s neutral, but it all just registers in his head that for the first time, yoongi’s on his side, even in a sense

"talk it out. just sleep in her room for the meantime. fix it in the morning,” he starts to gather himself to stand, pausing to look at jungkook in the eye, "i'd hate to see my soulmate hurting."

the thing is, jungkook knows that yoongi’s your soulmate :-)

you told him that once and as much as you explained that it was only platonic, jungkook quickly understood it, much to your surprise

he knows he doesn’t know the entirety of you, but he knows that when he looks at yoongi, he’s looking at you too :)

yoongi gives him the ghost of a smile, making jungkook blink twice

"sooner or later, the two of us need to talk."

jungkook’s contented with that, smiling back at him

"good night, yoongi."

"good night, jungkook."

( ♡ )

ok.,.,.

“don’t come home, it’s pouring. or go back to your dorm, whatever. i don’t care.”

okay you dO in fact care!!!

it’s been more or less two hours since you left the dorm and you know this because jungkook’s been texting you without fail, only stopping twenty minutes ago that makes you look at the time

it’s 11 o’clock :O

either he’s asleep like he usually would be at this time, or he walked home

in fact, you don’t even know if jungkook is still at your dorm

your phone rings all of a sudden that it makes you flinch, scrambling to see who it was and you don’t know if it’s disappointment or relief coating you when you saw that it was jin

"and where is my favorite girl at this time of the night?"

you could only chuckle as you share a glance with the person whose dorm you crashed in, sending an eager greeting with his mouth full

"i'm at taehyung's. we're eating brownies right now."

when you knocked on tae’s door just two hours ago, the only thing he greeted you with was with a towel!!

he didn’t ask why you’re practically soaked in front of his doorstep because for whatever it is, it must probably be in good reason

truth be told, you didn’t even knOw where you were supposed to go but then tae popped into your head as the only sane person you know that would let you in at this time of the night without prior notice

it was a simple “jungkook and i fought.” to which he only nodded to, turned on the tv for you, and started baking brownies

"mhmm. what kind?"

you chew on the chocolate fudge, slightly chuckling at what jin’s insinuating

"the kind that doesn't leave you disoriented."

he hums at that and you could picture him swiveling on his gaming chair he bought just a week ago, his phone tucked to his ear closely

"the same kind that makes you able enough to come home tonight?"

"yeah,” you breathlessly agree, fiddling with the matching bracelet you have with jungkook, “same kind."

you could only assume now that they've seen jungkook and he's still saying there, all alone but with them

your heart warms at the thought that indirectly, jin’s making you come home to reunite you with jungkook, knowing that there’s an impending conversation sooner or later

"want me to pick you up? you'll get a cold."

"i'll borrow tae's umbrella. i'll come home when we finish the brownies."

the both of you know that it’s code for you just wanting a little more time before you come back, and also because you really wanna dO finish the brownies that tae warmly made for yoy

"mkay," jin smiled at your response, "i'll lock the door but just send me a text and i'll open it for you."

"won't you be sleeping?"

"i'll stay up. i'm not sleepy."

jin replies just as quick, a complete 180 to what he said when he initially came home that he wanted to crash because of the hot coffee he drank

you wordlessly thank him and he acknowledges it, happy to atleast know that you heeded his concern for you to come home tonight

"get home safe. love you."

it’s not only minutes later than you thank taehyung immensely and promise to take him to the aquarium as your thanks, finding yourself in your dorm that seokjin ushers you into with a peck on your head

you rush to your room and you’re greeted with the airconditioning turned on, seeing a lump beneath your comforter that you automatically know it’s jungkook sleeping

you're still damp from the rain but you change quickly to the first set of clothes you can grab from your drawers, not wasting a second longer

you sneak into your own bed, the same one that’s carrying jungkook

his sleep hasn’t even been the deepest and the moment he feels a shuffle beside him, he’s woken up immediately

“i’m here.”

jungkook realizes it’s you with the way your voice is soft and the way you hold his arm when you climb into the covers, wordlessly embracing him from behind

"i'm sorry. it's all my fault,” he says sincerely as he turns his body so he could face you, caging you in with his arm

"i'm sorry i stormed out on you."

he feels you nuzzle to the crook of his neck and it calms him down, the familiar scent of you enough to make his eyes close without fear

it only hits you now that this is the first time the two of you cuddle, much less share a bed

"love you."

it’s barely audible but it leaves you nonetheless, not expecting a reply in return but you get one anyways from a sleepy yet overwhelmingly-content jungkook

"i love you the most."

.

.

.

as always, lmk what you think!! i love answering asks :D what do you want to see from the lunchbox lovers next? send them here <3

[feral-ella-flynn]

Paying the Toll, pt 2: M Troll x F Human, SFW (for now)

Part 1

Male Troll + Female Human

still SFW (so far)

2.5K/6.5K word draft

tagging @feralprose @monster-bait @apocalypticromantic666 @pre-schoolervengance @bresilienne-ami @soivebuiltupaworldofmagic @dont-call-me-a-faerie @kirmalight (comment to be tagged in updates!)

I bet no one expected this to be updated! Including me! This installment is definitely not as long as I intended, because I got really hung up on details--that’s why I’m posting anyway, to get some momentum so that hopefully the third part will be both longer and not so tardy. 

Escaping a goblin raid on your village leads you to a bridge, but you have nothing to offer the troll who guards it for a toll...except yourself

You wake in darkness.  At first you aren't sure you're awake at all--it's only by touching your own eyelids that you can feel sure they're open. It seems to make no difference between the thick, pressing dark around you either way.

“Mattie?” you whisper, your voice thin and hoarse. 

There’s no answer, and understanding comes crashing down on you, like floodwater overwhelming a dam. You are not in your cramped room under the eaves of the big house, Mathilde is not sleeping on the narrow bed an armspan away–if she’s lucky, perhaps she was able to hide in the cellars or the attics, somewhere that was safe enough until the goblin raiders felt they had run out of things to raze and ravish and moved on. Or perhaps help would come, from the regiment billeted outside the market town, or from rangers who might have been near enought to see the smoke. If Mattie was unlucky….

A sob catches in your dry throat, then turns to choking dry heaves that leave you shuddering. Bile burns on your tongue. You huddle into the nest of furs, remembering now where you are and how you came to be here, naked and alone in the pitch black.

Not alone. There is the hush of leather brushing against stone, a faint musky scent. 

“Brúsi?”

“Aye.” The troll’s gravel-rough voice is low and close–you almost reach out, ready to blunder once again into his arms rather than be alone with your fears.

The scrape of flint is loud enough in the silence to make you jump. Sparks illuminate the troll, kneeling at your side, and as he coaxes the tinder to unfurl into flame you hastily wrap a fur around your bare flesh. Whatever mood made you so bold before has been banished by your nightmares.

“Is it morning?”

The troll shrugs. “Near enough.”

“Shall I–shall I make breakfast for you?” Your fingers knead anxiously in the soft nap of the pelt that you clutch closed over your chest. “What do you like for breakfast?”

The troll–Brúsi–glances at you, his head tilted in the way that is already familiar. You think it means he’s just as bewildered by your contract, and by you, as you are yourself.

“Dried goat,” he says. “Morning meal, evening meal. Unless there is a new goat.”

“Oh. Where do the goats come from?”

He shrugs. “The bridge provides.”

Well. You take a deep breath, pushing the fear and panic of the last day, of the dark dreams, down into a tight ball at the bottom of your stomach, where you can ignore it for a little while. “Does the bridge ever provide eggs?”

And so you begin your month as housekeeper to a troll. 

Your clothes are badly stained, and chilly from being spread out on the stone floor, but they're dry and you dress in them anyway, trying to ignore the scrutiny of Brúsi’s dark blue eyes as he watches you. He seems fascinated by the layers as you lace your stays over your shift, tie the strings of your petticoat, and your cheeks burn with a blush as you finally button your gown. You do your best with the tangles in your hair--letting it hide your face until your heart stops thumping in your ears before you twist it into a hasty braid. 

There are no eggs. But you take a lantern the troll indicates and follow him into another cave that serves as a store room.

“There is goat,” he says, pointing at the considerable supply of dried meat, “and other goods, if tha wish them.” His gesture at the heaps of bags, crates, jars, casks, boxes–all jumbled together and shoved to one side–is dismissive, as if there is nothing of value to be found. You stare wide-eyed at a bolt of fine silk, at the glint of gold from a carelessly overturned casket with a broken lid.

“What is all this?”

“Payment for the toll, for when there were no goats.”

“You don’t do anything with the things paid for the toll? They just sit and rot?”

He shrugs. “I butcher the goats.”

You can only shake your head, but the practicality can’t be denied–gold and silk isn’t much use in a cave, and it’s with less wonder but more delight that you find flour, oil, and salt.

Breakfast is fried bread--and goat meat.

Once the meal is prepared and cleaned away, the troll vanishes up the dark tunnel. He takes no lantern with him. He also doesn't say a word to you before he leaves, and you stand in the cave for a while, expecting him to come back with instructions, or–well, something. But he doesn’t, and  you can only twist your hands in the skirt of your gown for so long. Eventually you pick up the lantern and explore. 

There is little enough to see. Other than what you noticed when you arrived, there is an alcove that must be where the troll sleeps, on piled furs that smell musky but not unpleasant. There is the storage cave, although it seems larger than it did at first, because you realize that you can’t see the far wall before the circle of light gives way to darkness.

And then there is the tunnel entrance, where your new employer disappeared, and which presumably leads out, to--your stomach lurches at the memory of being upside down from the sky–the underside of the bridge. But perhaps that had been an illusion, and the tunnel merely led out to an opening in the bank underneath the bridge? You had been half out of your mind with fear, after all. Maybe you dreamed that part.

Maybe…maybe you could simply walk out of this tunnel, out of the dark, and walk all the way home.

Except that you agreed to a contract. And the troll did say he wouldn’t eat you, wouldn���t even touch you, which was more than any of the men at the big house ever promised...none of them had touched you, but you knew that was because you had been careful, so careful, all the time, to be invisible. 

It had helped that Mattie made it easy to fade into the background. She flaunted her pretty curls and winsome dimples, and when she sometimes crept into your shared attic room well after midnight she always had a new length of fine fabric for a dress or a necklace of amber beads to show for it. You asked once if she wasn’t afraid of falling pregnant, but she just shrugged.

“I know to be careful,” she said, and hid the coins she’d gotten for selling her latest bauble away beneath her bed.

Thinking of Mattie makes your eyes sting with tears, and reminds you that probably there was no home to walk back to–and if you tried, there would likely be nothing to be done there except burying the dead. You leave the tunnel entrance alone, and busy yourself with organizing the heaped goods in the storage cave.

When Brúsi returns, he brings you eggs, freshly laid and nested in a straw packed basket. 

“They had no goat." He shrugs. 

Other than struggling to invent new ways of preparing goat meat, most of your time is spent sorting. You find all manner of things in the storage cave, from precious jewels to plain linen fabric. The gems and gold you store in caskets, and then can’t shift on your own–Brúsi laughs at you, and picks them up with one hand, arranging them neatly along one wall as you direct him. You stack bolts of fabric, folding shorter lengths neatly into a another chest, you line up swords with gold wrapped hilts, swords with elaborately carved scabbards, swords that are short, swords that are nearly as long as you are tall, and then there are maces and axes and other things you can’t name. There’s even a pair of pistols in a tooled leather box, their handles gleaming mother of pearl. It’s more treasure than you ever imagined, and you feel that you’re in a dragon’s den instead of a troll’s cave--except that Brúsi shows little interest in the goods, except for the goat meat.

“If you don't have a use for these things, why accept them?” you asked, after the third day of sorting boxes and bundles and barrels, and still not finding the back wall of the cave. You’d found a crown, heavy and lumpy, like something out of an ancient grave, and under it a belt of bronze scales that linked together.

The troll just shrugged. “They are the toll, for the bridge. There must be a toll.”

“Then…" you bite your lip, but blurt "can I use some things?”

“If tha hast a use for them, then mayhap the bridge meant them for tha to use.”

“You make it sound like the bridge is alive,” you murmur, running your fingers over the bolts of fabric, already imagining yourself in a dress made of such soft material.

“The bridge is the bridge,” Brúsi says.

“What does that mean?”

He just shrugs.

You sigh, picking up a bolt of wool–practical, and still finer than anything you’ve ever worn. “If the bridge provides, can I give it a list? I need thread, needles, scissors, buttons…I can’t keep wearing this dress,” you gesture down at yourself. “Not without something else to wear while I wash it, at least, but I can’t make anything without supplies. And for that matter I need soap–”

Brúsi tilts his head. “Tha may always ask the bridge, but it works slowly. Simpler for tha to go to a market.”

You stare at him, your mouth falling open. “I can? I mean, is that allowed? I thought…”

He stares at you, the intense blue of his eyes unblinking, and you finally shrug. “I just thought I couldn’t leave the cave.”

“Not for long, but art not bound to the bridge as I am. Come.” He scoops a handful of coins into a pouch and leads you into the tunnel.

The ground slopes upward under your feet, and after a time there is a door before you, swinging outward. Brúsi ducks under its arch, his broad form filling the opening. When he doesn't move to let you through, you realize that he's blocking the way deliberately. Unease spikes through you.

"Is something wrong?"

"The bridge made tha sick before," he says. “Tha shouldst close thine eyes.” You squint suspiciously up at him–is he laughing at you?–but obey. You hear the rattle of his bone-decorated belt as he steps toward you, but then he stops. “I must touch tha,” he says. “Just to lift tha over the topside.”

“All right,” you whisper. You stifle a gasp as his enormous hands circle your waist, lifting you easily off of your feet, and then after a blur of motion you feel stone under you again.

When you open your eyes, you’re on the narrow stone arch of the bridge.  Your lantern flame becomes suddenly pale compared to the warm sunlight that makes you blink and squint. There is no dark and shadowed forest hemming in the river. Instead there is a road, smooth hard dirt fringed with wildflowers on either side, and the rooftops of a village in the distance.

“Where…” You look down at the bridge under your bare feet. 

“The bridge is all bridges,” Brúsi says. He holds out the leather bag of coins, and you take it, staggering a bit at the weight. “Buy whatever tha need.”

You hesitate, glancing from the troll to the road. What is there to stop you from walking away and never returning, from making a life somewhere? The bag in your hand holds more money than you had ever expected to earn in your life. There would be nothing to hold you to the bridge…except your promise.

“Tha canst not escape the bridge.” Brúsi seems to be reading your thoughts, although he’s not even looking at you. He’s gazing down at the water. “Every bridge tha sets foot on will be this bridge, until the toll is paid.”

“Of course.” The bag of coins drags at your arms, and you fumble it open, taking out a handful. “I should be able to get everything I need with these–it would be dangerous to carry all the rest of this.”

The troll frowns, glancing from you to the distant rooftops. “Danger from other humans?”

“Only if I seem to have more money than I should,” you assure him hastily. “It would get attention from the wrong kind of humans. I'll be careful.”

 The coins bite into your palm as your fingers clench unconsciously. The frown creases his forehead, not smoothed away by your reassurances, and you half expect him to shake his head and pick you up under his arm again, ready to toss you back under the bridge. 

“Please?”

 You bite your lip too late to keep the word in, but there are lazy curls of smoke rising from the distant chimneys, and you can hear the lowing of cattle nearby, the friendly chime of chapel bells...and all you can think about is cheese. Cheese, and fruit to pair it with, or potatos, perhaps. Honeycakes. Your stomach rebels at the very thought of dried goat.

Brúsi jerks his chin toward the road. “Go, then. The bridge will be waiting for tha to return.”

You hand off the sack of coins–your shoulders more than grateful to be relieved of its weight–and the troll adds it to the other oddments that dangle from his belt among the bones. He folds his arms.

The handful of coins you kept are barely enough to make your pocket sag with their weight, but you can feel them as a reassuring lump under your skirts. You run anxious hands over your hair and stained gown, smoothing uselessly at wrinkles. 

“I wish I had been able to bathe properly,” you mutter. “I look like a ragamuffin.”

But your hands and face are clean, your hair neatly tied back, and dusk is not far off, so perhaps your bare feet will not be noticed. You step from the cool stone of the bridge to the warm hardpacked dirt of the road. 

"I'll be back s--" Your voice breaks off as you glance over your shoulder. The bridge behind you is a simple one of wooden logs, straddling a stream that a child could leap across. Gooseflesh prickles the back of your neck. You hurry down the road towards the village without looking back a second time.

[taechaos]

New Idea

pairing: Step-brother!Taehyung x Fem!Reader

warnings: non-con, bondage, pseudo-incest, sadism, smut, mentions of killing

synopsis: You wished to hang out with your brother Taehyung when he wasn't home, only to realize he was better off staying away.

word count: 3.2k

It was late at night. Rain flooded outside, drops trickled down your window and puddles formed on the roads as they reflected the neon lit storefront signs beautifully. The tears from the clouds splashed against the cement loudly, and you watched the empty streets in boredom. With your cheek leaning on your palm, elbow propped up on the round wooden table across your window, you miserably yearned to feel some sort of sugar rush with a deep frown on your face. Things have been mundane, repeating the same old routines as days quickly went by. You wondered what Taehyung had been up to in the time that he’d been gone. You knew he could resolve your boredom instantly had he been right beside you.

Taehyung – your step-brother who was the embodiment of adrenaline, and was most likely awake with you right now. The man never slept, always staying up at night brainstorming ideas for what to do during the day that was no doubt just as exciting as the day before. Bags adorned his eyes that somehow fit his wild persona that never needed asking for permission to do things that were illegal most of the time. It was especially daring when having strict parents, and the only reason he wasn’t locked up in a mental institution was because he was the pride of your family with excelling grades in college that he rarely ever attended. They never approved of anything he’d done, especially not the teal hair he was currently rocking. You on the other hand, looked up to him as a role model.

What you’d do to see him right now. Sometimes he tagged you along with his adventures, such as exploring abandoned buildings and getting matching tattoos on your forearms that he chose. Despite the rebellious acts he put you through, he always defended you against your parents and got away with everything with a light scolding from his smooth tongue. Admiration wouldn’t begin to describe the amount of respect you had for him, though he was rarely ever around. Unbeknownst to you however, he never failed to go a day without pecking your cheek while you were unconscious. 

He was everything you aspired to be: a carefree soul with a creative mind and a heart filled with exhilaration. The only thing he hadn’t done was probably murder. It was a shame that absence made the heart grow fonder, because throughout the time you’d known him since your early teens, he hadn’t changed one bit with his disappearances that could go on for days. 

Taehyung never changed.

Was this what they called depression? Feeling numb and hating your life for how ordinary it was? You didn’t know, but what you knew was that you really needed Taehyung right now. It was 3AM and your parents were sound asleep in the apartment while you moped over how much you missed your step-brother’s presence. Not a single moment was dull with him, while you were too much of a coward to go through with any of your desires.

And as if your prayers were answered, a pound came on the door. The loud knock instantly gave away the person behind the door; Taehyung, who never cared for how loud he was unless he was on a stealthy mission.

Your heart skipped a beat as the door swung open and the silhouette of your step-brother entered before it was slammed shut with a lock. “You’re awake?” he asked in a whisper without moving an inch when he noticed your seated form.

“Can’t sleep,” you breathed, unable to hide the joy you felt upon seeing him in your tone. He couldn’t have picked a better time to visit you.

“Why not?” he walked over to you before kneeling. There was a smile on his face that matched yours, instantly giving away he came to your room with purpose. It was expected, for he never approached you if not to tell you about one of his newer ideas. 

“Was bored.”

“So was I,” a mischievous smirk graced his face. The street lights outside illuminated his messy hair that your hand itched to ruffle. “But I found us a solution.”

Your eyes gleamed with hope, your grin never faltering. “Tell me,” you impatiently urged, your knees already bouncing up and down with excitement.

“I’ll give you a hint: we’ll both be having fun. But you need to listen to me,” he cautioned with a raised finger. You nodded frantically, willing to do whatever he needed you to do. “Okay, stand up.”

You obeyed him and only then noticed the bag slung over his shoulder once you stood before him. “Let me do all the work, yeah? You just stand still.”

“I really want to know what it is,” you whined and bounced on your feet. 

Taehyung held onto your tits that bounced with you and you quietly gasped. “Better not be acting like this with anyone other than me. Naughty,” he scolded before unzipping his small pouch. 

“I don’t go out without a bra,” you rolled your eyes playfully. Taehyung was notorious for doing and saying things without a filter, uncaring of the effect it had on others. This was simply him looking after you without any boundaries, because he never set any with you.

He pulled out a duct tape from the mystery bag. “Turn around and hold your hands behind you.” You complied without protest, the ripping of a duct tape resounding in the room as he tore it with his teeth. He taped your wrists together like cuffs before facing you again by the pull of your shoulder. 

Confusion washed over you, but not a trace of fear. “What’s this about?”

“Now go lie down,” he ignored you and nodded at your bed. You sat on the center, your sheets already rumpled from all the tossing and turning you’d done in an attempt to sleep. His figure loomed over you and your heart raced in anticipation. “Don’t move, okay?”

You silently watched him with piqued curiosity as he pushed you down. The soft mattress dipped under your weight and you didn’t move a muscle until you felt him tug at your flannel pajama pants. “Taehyung? What are you doing?”

“Just trust me,” he ignored you again and you furrowed your brows as he undressed you. “You’re going to like it.”

Without a single clue of his intentions, you expected him to change your pants after he took them off, but definitely didn’t expect him to aim at your panties next. The second he held onto the hems, you crawled away from him and repeated more firmly, “Taehyung, what are you doing?”

He yanked you back to him by your ankles. “Don’t you trust me? You said you’d listen to me.” 

“I don’t think I want to do this,” you strained and tried to pull your knees to your chest, but he tightened his grip on your ankles.

“It’ll be fun, just sit still,” he spoke airily, his tone unbothered compared to your worried one. “I would never do anything to hurt you.”

Once you felt somewhat reassured, you relaxed your legs and lied back down. The discomfort swallowed you whole when he undressed your bottom half completely. The chilly air hit your bare legs and left goosebumps in its wake.

“You shouldn’t be shy about being naked with me,” he chuckled and tapped your pussy carelessly. You yelped and bent your knees again. 

“Taehyung, this isn’t right,” you stressed and clenched your thighs together. You were growing wary about this ‘idea’ and you weren’t sure whether his pupils were dilated because of the dark anymore. He could be high. “Let’s try something else, please.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he scoffed and spread your thighs apart, hovering over your loins. “You’re going to love this, just calm it.” He grabbed the duct tape again and tore off a smaller piece before placing it on your mouth, making your efforts of leaning away fruitless. Your voice was muffled behind the sticky tape as you shook your head. “Don’t make me tape your legs too,” he warned as you tried pushing him away. He sat on your knees as he began unzipping his washed denim jeans, ignoring your babbling.

“Been watching a lot of porn lately,” he began casually as tears brimmed in your eyes. “I usually find it boring, but I came across a video that I couldn’t resist reenacting. Plus you were bored too,” he defended, “it’d be mean if I spared my little sister of this fun.” 

You didn’t know whether he was joking or not, but you were ready to start crying if he was actually doing what you were thinking. You sighed in relief when he reached for his pouch for a pair of scissors. It had to be a joke then–

Taehyung began cutting your shirt from the middle, and you whimpered when your tits were on full display. Your nipples hardened as a result of the exposure, and tears immediately began streaming down your face mixed with muffled sobs.

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad,” he exclaimed, “we’re not related by blood. It should be fine.”

When you continued crying, he said, “I’ll take off my shirt too, if it helps.” He heaved his t-shirt over his head, his firm chest hard to make out in the midnight dark. “I was thinking kissing would ease you into it, but only if you’re quiet.” Your cries grew louder instead. He sighed exasperatedly, “You can be such a crybaby sometimes.”

He started leaving open-mouthed kisses on your neck, and you whimpered at the feeling. You were ticklish and though you were completely terrified, the kisses were a bit soothing. “This is me being nice to you, because oh boy, that guy in the video was a fucking monster,” he laughed while going down the valley between your breasts. A finger flicked your nipple while his other hand rubbed over your folds. “Want me to eat you out first? You’re not wet enough.”

You shook your head in refusal, so he merely shrugged and began circling your clit instead, his fingers now pinching your nipple. His mouth latched onto your other nipple and he swirled his tongue around the areola, clashing pleasure with pain. The rain drowned out your involuntary moans but Taehyung caught them anyway; it wasn’t hard to miss when your arousal began coating his hand. He released your nipple with a pop and locked eyes with you. “You’re enjoying this? Not gonna lie, I was expecting you to cry longer but... you're a little slutty, aren't you?” He slapped your pussy experimentally and smiled when you moaned loudly. “Keep this up and I might just take off the tape.”

For a moment, he wondered if this was why people enjoyed sex so much; your moans were like music to his ears and your body was making his cock throb even more. He could really get used to this, he thought as he slapped your pussy over and over, the sound echoing in the room along with your high-pitched whines.

“Shit, I need to record this,” he mumbled before reaching for his phone on his back pocket. Your protests went to deaf ears as he began recording your pussy and spanked it, the microphone picking up all your sounds of pleasure. Once it reached the one-minute mark, he threw his phone on your pillow and took out his erect length from its restraints, giving it a few pumps as the tip oozed with pre-cum. “I never thought fucking you would be this easy. Thought about it every time I touched myself.”

You went quiet at the revelation and he smirked at your raised brows. “Why are you surprised? Whenever I’m home, you come hug me with your bare tits pressed up against me. Not that I’m complaining of course,” he chuckled hotly. “Want me to kiss you now?”

When you didn’t respond quickly enough, he ripped the tape off of your mouth without mercy and your eyes teared up at the pain with an ouch. He didn’t waste a second in enveloping his lips with yours as he cupped your pussy, smearing his pre-cum on your labia. He swallowed your moans as his mouth moved vigorously, tongue meeting yours as he explored your cavern. The smacking of your lips caused you to clench your hole, the sound arousing to your ears as you kissed him back.

“You going to stay quiet for me?” he murmured against your lips, his cock poking at your hole teasingly. You hesitated but nodded nonetheless. “Good girl,” he praised with a grin and lightly pecked you before properly positioning himself.

The reason why Taehyung was so eager to have sex with you wasn’t just because he was horny, but also because really wanted it to be your pussy that he fucked first, and maybe second, and third. He was a virgin who watched too much porn when he wasn’t outside, and now that you were 18, he thought it to be the perfect timing for you to lose your virginity to him like he’d imagined when he was 15. 

Due to his experience, he didn’t ease into your pussy and instead shoved his cock entirely. You screamed and he instantly put a hand over your mouth. “Too much?” he asked with a strained voice. His cock was just begging to be thrusted into you, but he couldn’t have you screaming and waking your parents. When you nodded with eyes shut in pain, he groaned to himself. He was twitching inside you, and after a few seconds, he began moving.

You were crying and bitching again, but he paid no mind to it as he pressed his hand onto your mouth while gently slamming his hips into you, his courtesy for now. You'd adjust sooner or later, but the stretch was excruciating; your walls stung and you started to bleed on him.

"Oh fuck," he giggled sadistically once he noticed the crimson fluid, "that didn't happen in the video." He gazed into your glossy eyes before quickening his pace, growing rougher. "You're crying again; what's new?"

Taehyung was laughing as he was moaning, but you couldn’t hear anything except for the ringing in your ears. Your heart pounded and you were struggling to breathe through your nose as he fucked you relentlessly. 

“I kind of feel bad for you,” he panted with a sinister smile. “Does it still hurt?” He took your sobs as a yes. “Poor baby,” he cooed with a pout before moving his free hand to your clit. “This might help.” You were struggling with your bound hands, but you couldn’t move your legs because of how much it hurt. Your fighting was useless, and your body was growing numb except for the thumb that made it less painful.

Taehyung removed his hand from your mouth to hear your moans clearly. Whether it was from pleasure or pain, he didn’t know, but he loved it. He wanted to be the only one to see you in this state. He’d gauge out any eyes that got to see you naked and stab any ears that got to hear your pretty sounds.

But it was a little difficult to savour it when he was reaching his climax so soon; damn inexperience and the low stamina that came with. He had enough self-control to pull out of you to finish himself off with his hand. He missed the warmth and tightness of your pussy and how it kept clenching down on him quickly, but it had to come at a cost – not cumming inside you.

“You fucking monster!” you yelled hoarsely, eyes blurred with tears and face covered in tears.

“Too loud,” he sighed and forced your mouth open to shove his length inside. “Try anything, and I’ll fucking kill you.” His cock was heavy on your tongue as you gagged on it every time he thrusted. It wasn’t long before he released in your mouth and you choked, swallowing his cum without a choice. Another loud moan erupted from him as his hips stuttered while gently slamming into you for the last time.

“Fuck,” he exhaled before collapsing on you with his palms holding up to not smother you completely. “Shit, you’re such a good fucking girl.”

When he raised his face from your shoulder, you spat on him. He laughed hysterically before wiping off your saliva from his cheek. “I’ll make it up to you, damn.”

“You’re the fucking worst Taehyung,” your voice wavered as you insulted him. “I hope you rot in hell. I always saw you as my role model, but now I understand why everyone fucking hates you.”

“Sheesh,” he snorted, “I told you I’d make it up to you, didn’t I? It might hurt now, but it’ll feel a lot better when we do it again.”

“If you try-” he cut you off by going down on you, taking his clit into your mouth and immediately emitting a moan out of you. “Stop, stop, stop,” you chanted in gasps, trapping his head with your thighs and contradicting your words. He chuckled against your swollen pussy, making it feel even better and yet worse. This euphoric sensation wasn’t what you needed after being traumatized by your own step-brother, but it was what your body wanted after getting a taste of his tongue. 

He was slurping up your juices and spitting on your folds before abusing your clit again. The bastard knew how to distract you from your newfound grudge, but you weren’t going to forgive him after your orgasm. Your hips moved against him on instinct as his tongue ran up and down your labia. A knot formed in your stomach, your tears long forgotten as you became more persistent in riding him in this awkward position. He heaved your thighs over his shoulder to take full control, and with his vigorous sucking and pulling, you came undone with a spasm.

“Feels good, right?” he asked rhetorically and fell limp next to you.

“I’ve never hated someone as much as you,” you seethed while recovering from your high.

“You’re going to tell me that wasn’t fun? No way,” he stared at you in disbelief.

“You hurt me,” you sniffled and covered your face.

"I'm sorry princess," the nickname felt foreign on his tongue as he held your arm. "I'll leave forever if you want me to."

He hummed when you stayed silent with a runny nose. "I'll clean you up and go, okay?"

"No," you huffed. "You become my slave for a whole month."

"You want me to stay home with you?"

You nodded while rubbing your eyes with your fists. "You can't do that and just leave, and I hate you but I miss you."

Taehyung resisted the urge to squeeze your cheek and coo. He knew you'd regret asking him to stay, but he wouldn't say no to spending time with you 24/7.

Chuckling through his nose, he said, "I miss you too." He traced the tattoo on your forearm, a minimalistic mockingbird with an arrow slicing through the middle. He picked it because it represented you; an innocent little thing who didn't even look down at her wound, only focused on flying back to Taehyung, a hawk that waited with open arms - ready for his meal.

If you wanted him to stay, then that's what Taehyung would do. You'd fallen for his trap twice, the third wouldn't be so bad. He'd make sure you enjoyed it this time.

[neonacity]

HYACINTHE | Chapter 1: Jaemin x Reader

Summary:

Na Jaemin is far from being your typical 20 year old. Instead of slaving through college, he wastes away his hours cracking safes. Weekends that should be spent partying with friends consist of illegal races on good days and small scale bombings on bad ones.

Na Jaemin is far from being average, unless you consider being a member of Seoul's top organized crime family normal.

There is no such thing as a sense of normality and peace in his trainwreck of a life, so when he met a barista who was brave enough to call out his dangerous taste in coffee, he was like a moth to the flame. Everything about her is normal, which means she is forbidden to him, in all sense of the word.

So why, then, does he always find himself in the front steps of her shop, breaking all his personal rules even if he wishes he could stay away?

A/N + Disclaimer: this is a side story to Black Daisies, my main mafia fic feat. 0T23. While the plot is based on the main story, this can also be read as a standalone fic. As usual, this is purely a work of fiction and in no way am I implying any member of NCT to behave the way I write them here. tw: crimes, heists, potential death, mentions of drugs and other illegal activities.

PAIRING: Jaemin x Reader

BLACK DAISIES MASTERLIST

___________________________________________________________

I've known him for almost a year and a half when it happened. 

The small bell of the cafe's back door dinged so hard, I thought it would get ripped off from the wall. I looked up, eyes wide with panic and hands still wrapped around the cold corners of a metal tray when a head of jet black hair appeared on the entrance. It took me half a second to register what I was seeing before I found myself flying to his side in a heartbeat. 

"Jaemin! Oh my god, what the hell is going on!"

My first thought was that he was injured. He was doubled over and I quickly hunched to his level so that I could peer at his face. He looked paler than usual, beads of sweat stuck on his forehead, eyes glazed with a slight look of panic as he tried to keep himself from falling over. I threw out my hands to hold him by the shoulders and that's when my gaze caught it; the small black package that he quickly tried to hide inside his bomber jacket before I could even fully see what it is. I didn't give it much attention back then—I was far too focused in trying to see if he was hurt anywhere to worry about anything else. When his gaze finally focused on me, I thought I saw guilt there.  

"I need your help. Sorry, I don't know where else to go."

My brows furrowed together. 

"What the hell is going on—"

He reached out for one of my hands helping him up and squeezed it tight. 

"Please don't ask me questions. Just—can you trust me?" 

"I don't understand—" my voice started to rise. Is he hurt? Bleeding? In pain? 

"Please."

My lips parted then pursed again. 

"Okay."

Jaemin tugged me closer to him and threw a panicked look outside. He then pulled me farther into the now closed cafe, back into the storage room, the location of which he shouldn't even know in the first place. 

"Let me hide here for a bit. Just a bit."

That encounter was my second mistake since meeting Na Jaemin. 

I should have asked questions. 

Lots of them. 

___________________________________________________________

The first mistake happened about a year and half ago. 

"Welcome to Brick and Beans, what would you like to have today?"

I plastered on my practiced smile and looked at the stranger in front of me without actually looking at him. Working in the service industry sure does things to your head once you get used to it. Despite having to deal with people all the time, you also get to develop a kind of numbness and detachment to human interaction. A face just becomes a face, a customer simply becomes just another passing responsibility. I tried to blink a few times to make myself seem more interested on the boy standing in front of my counter, patiently waiting for him to give me his order so we can go ahead and get on with both our business. 

"Uh… I'll have an iced americano. No water. Eight shots of espresso."

My lips parted and curled on the sides to give him my service smile. My hand automatically reached out for the plastic cups stacked on my side while my other whipped out the marker clipped on the pocket of my apron to scribble his order. 

"That's one iced americano, no water, eight—"

I stopped and blinked once. Twice. My gaze shot up at the customer in front of me again and really looked at him for the first time.

"I'm sorry, that's eight shots of espresso?"

He nodded, seemingly unbothered by my question. 

"No water?"

A slight shake of the head. 

"...eight shots. Of espresso."

"Eight shots, yes." 

For a moment we both just stared at each other. He was looking at me patiently, probably only slightly weirded out by my question while I gave him a look that's a mix of worry and disbelief. Working as a barista has exposed me to my own fair share of weird coffee requests, but this is by far the one that takes the cake. 

I softly cleared my throat and turned my attention back to the words I was scribbling on the cup. As strange as it is, I really am not in the position to judge a customer. 

"That'll be 4.50 dollars. Is that for here?"

"Make it to go." 

"Got it. I'll get you your order soon…"

"Jaem." 

I smiled and scribbled his name on the cup. 

Foot traffic was pretty slow on the cafe so I was able to quickly finish the order on autopilot. As I worked on mixing, I found myself humming softly to myself, my tune shifting into short whistles every time I would dunk an espresso shot down into that cup. I didn't even realize that the customer didn't bother taking a seat on one of the empty tables, opting to lean on the wall by the side instead, hands shoved in the pockets of his jogs as his eyes followed me. 

"One iced americano for Jaem," I called out and pushed the packed drink into his hand. He handed me his card and I quickly worked on swiping it. 

"You sure like your coffee explosive, huh?" I shot him a question for the sake of making small talk as I punched some buttons on my terminal. 

"It's the eight shots, isn't it?"

I answered by giving him a shrug and a smile.

"It's the first time I ever did one like it. I can only imagine how it tastes like."

His lips slightly quirked into a smile. A...really cute smile if I might add.  

"Is there anything wrong?"

"It's really good." 

"Sure, Jaem. I'm not here to judge," I gave him a wink before handing back his card and receipt. "Well, thank you for dropping by. We hope to see you here again." He took both wordlessly and slipped them on his wallet. 

I was waiting for him to walk off with his drink with the practiced polite smile plastered on my face again. He turned, coffee in hand, took about five steps, before turning to me again. I blinked in mild confusion as he placed his cup back on my counter. 

"Actually… I'll have it here." 

___________________________________________________________

"I'm not going to try your death coffee, Jaemin." 

I didn't look up from the page I was reading but I could feel it, that deadly pout and puppy eyes combo drilling onto the side of my head. I flipped a page of my textbook over and I heard a sigh come from the boy beside me. 

"I bought it for you. You said you need to finish a paper tonight."

"I do. That doesn't require me to be awake for the next week and a half," I answered back with a quirk of my lips as I finally looked up to meet his gaze. We were seated at one of the far tables of the cafe for my 15 minute break, away from the handful of customers scattered on the smattering of tables and high chairs. This has become quite a routine already… but how it started, I can't really explain.

Ever since that first order, Jaemin had made it his routine to drop by almost regularly. At first the banter started similar to how a regular customer and his favorite barista would have, but since he would always come and visit during slow hours, we would always have more time for longer conversations. Casual talk turned into light-hearted jokes, and finally into a kind of banter that comes with familiarity with each other. Slowly, I came to know the complexities of Na Jaemin, and boy, is he an enigma and a paradox rolled in one. 

You never really know what to expect with him. There are days when he would be a bursting ball of energy—most of the time when he would order his drink from hell—but there are also moments when he would be quiet and reserved. I found it odd at first, but slowly accepted it since it didn't really hurt me in the first place. In fact, if I am going to be completely honest, I find this kind of personality set working for me. Imagine gaining two friends, except they're only in one body. 

But that's not the only odd thing in our dynamic, too. If someone would ask me now to describe the kind of friendship I have with him, I wouldn't really know how to explain it. We joke together, laugh together, sometimes even tease the crap out of each other like we've known each other for years. We work well together, but at the same time… I know almost next to nothing about him. I don't know his address, who his other friends are, if he's going to school or not… hell, I don't even know what his number is. Outside of this cafe and his regular visits, I don't have anything to prove that he actually exists. He didn't share, and I also didn't ask. 

Until today.

"Fine. I'm just going to drink this then."

I gasped before shooting him a squinted glare. 

"You are going to burn a hole in your stomach, I swear to god—"

He simply shrugged and made a huge show of sipping the previously untouched tears of Lucifer. 

I reached out to tug at the hood of his jacket in an attempt to call him out when I noticed it. His hair was initially masking it at first but now I could see it in full view: a purple bruise just on the side of his eye, almost to his temple.

"Oh my god, Jaemin. What happened?" I asked in a hurry as I tried to take a closer look at it. His expression changed in a heartbeat as he realized what I saw and he quickly leaned back and pulled the hoodie again over his head. 

"That's—it's nothing." 

"It looks so bad. How did you get that?"

He didn't answer. His eyes avoided my own and his hand gripped the plastic cup between us a little bit tighter. 

"Did you get into a fight?" I pushed, gently this time. 

His gaze moved to meet mine again for a few seconds. It's obvious he was contemplating what and how to answer. 

"Yeah… I got into a bit of a tumble with some friends."

I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest as I leaned back on my seat. He threw me a look that silently asked what else I want from him.

"Look. You don't tell me shit but at least I know enough to be sure you are lying."

Jaemin looked away and started tapping his finger against the table. 

"Why are you… why do you even want to know?"

I looked at him incredulously for a few seconds before leaning over. 

"Because you're my friend and I want to make sure you are okay."

"I am okay."

"Your black eye says otherwise."

"Come on, don't push this. Can't we be friends without," he waved his hand between us. "This?"

"Jaemin, I don't even know who you are."

That made him stop. He stared at me for what felt like a full half minute and that's when I saw it for the first time. The dilemma in his eyes. 

"It was because of work…" 

The look of confusion I made must have been so intense that he quickly tried to jump over it.

"Work—why, what do you—"

"I'm sorry, but that's really all that I can tell you." 

The sound of desperation in his tone wasn't lost on me. He looked so torn that I felt almost guilty for pressing.

"Fine… I won't ask again… As long as you are sure you're fine."

He peered at me once more as if assessing if he was finally off the hook. 

"So...we're still friends?"

"Huh?"

"You and me… we're still friends?"

"Uh, yes…" 

The look of relief on his face made me smile despite myself. He caught it and he made it a point to answer it with his best eye roll. 

"Don't laugh at me. I don't know how to do friends."

"You're so cute~"

"Shut up."

And that was the exact day I decided—I'm never going to let Na Jaemin feel alone again. 

Chapter 2

[thr-333]

Just Another Class Trip :)

Part 1

No, no ignore the smily face i assure you it means nothing foreboding, nothing foreboding at all.

Next >

---------

“It’s suspicious,” Marinette glares as they leave customs.

“What would that be, Mari?” Chloe yawns, not bothering to dedicate her limited remaining brain power apparently.

“Lila,” She whispers back, “She’s been so quiet all the way here,”

“What about how she weaseled her way into first class?” Chloe yawns again, sleep mask resting on her head.

“Or tried to steal your bag,” Kagami says with venom, her having saved Marinette from that disaster.

“Accused you of giving her the wrong flight time,” Adrien adds, somehow being full awake even after their long flight.

“Slipped metal into your pocket so security would go off,” Chloe downright glares at Adrien, but would never admit to the bags under her eyes.

“Came by and woke you up every time you fell asleep,” Kagami looks at her pointedly, shadows under her eyes being her only give away.

“Too quite,” Marinette whispers, the list going largely ignored as they approach the security scan.

“Just relax Mari,”  Adrien pats her shoulder, not enough to break her concentration, “Lila will be so distracted by being in Gotham she won't have time for you,”

Adrien was wrong.

Of course he was wrong.

This is Lila they're talking about.

“Oh Marinette!” Lila all but yells as Marinette is placing her bag in a tray, “I’m so glad you didn’t go through with it,”

Marinette cringes, the security guards all looking her way as Lila dances off. She just sighs as she is escorted away by the airport security, to the protest of her friends and not much else.

“No sir I am not holding any firearms or weapons,” Marinette answers as monotone as possible, the security guard didn’t deserve her ire not matter how tiresome this was getting.

“We interview the source,” Oh no “Apparently you were discussing terrorist activities,”

“I was not sir, Lila must be mistaken,” Yep big mistake, I’m sure that's all it is , “I’m simply here for a class trip,”

“You’re wearing a bulletproof vest,”

Yeah probably should have left that one at home

“My parents are protective, they know how dangerous Gotham can be,” They were not fans of the horror stories Aunt Selina used to tell her from this city, “They insisted I have it as protection,”

While they most certainly wanted her to be safe the vest was more her idea. It was also more for enabling trouble than avoiding it. At least she was trying to be safe about secret crime fighting.

“Makes sense,” He sighs from across the table, checking through some paperwork, “You’re seventeen, here on a class trip right?”

“Yes sir,”

“Well if you’re here on a Wayne funded trip they probably did and extensive background check,” He pauses for a minute looking deep in thought, “Alright then, you can go,”

That seems kind of lax

“Are you sure?”

“We literally have super villains walking through here every other day,” True that, “You’re holding no weapons and have been endorsed by the Wayne's that's better than most people that have been in here,”

“Well if you’re sure,” Marinette stands awkwardly walking to the door as he waves her off, “Is there anything I need to sign, or…”

“Unless I want to fill out extra paperwork, no,” He seems so tired, Marinette wished she could get back at Lila for making his job harder.

“Have a good day then!” She smiles brightly, getting a small one in return.

She leaves, the security guards handing back her bag, fortunately not mentioning the miracle box or her Kwamis. She smiles brightly, even with Lila trying to ruin her trip she could still enjoy her time here in Gotham- and her phone buzzes with an Akuma alert.

With a sigh, Marinette ducks into the nearest bathroom, locking a stall behind her.

“Kaalki,” The Kwami zips out of her bag, “Tikki, Combine,”

With a flash of light followed by another she appears in Paris dropping Kaalki’s transformation.

She looks over the city, some Akuma attacking the Eiffel tower. At least they didn't seem to be the brainwashing type, she didn’t have Chat Noir there to help with crowd control.

With a flip she jumps, planning to kick the Akuma on the way down. They dodge and she lands in front of them instead.

“Well, well if it isn’t the bug,” The Akuma, in a horrible patch work costume mocks, a purple mask appearing over their face, “Hand over your miraculous!”

How about you come and make me Hawkmoth? I promise to stick that cane up your ass

Oh how she wishes she could say just that, but it wouldn't be very Ladybug of her. Why did the younger her have to have a stick up her butt?

“Not today Hawkmoth,” She says instead, making sure to put the practiced amount of enthusiasm into it, “Or any other day for that matter,”

“How are you going to save Paris without your little kitty cat?”

How are you going to beat me with that terrible fashion sense

Besides Chat Noir deserved a break. At least she hoped he was taking a break, he couldn’t tell because of secret identity reasons. It wasn't like she had any right to stop him, she was having a vacation in Gotham right now, and she was out all the time for work. She could manage without Chat for a while, he deserved that much.

“I will do whatever it takes to protect the people of Paris,” Ladybug remembers to answer the question.

“Hand over your miraculous now!” The Akuma lunges at her

I should have chosen a different persona

She dodges the beam of light that can’t mean anything good. Jumping back to get some distance.

Chat Noir had the right idea

She bites back the cutting remark on the tip of her tongue. Instead throw out her yo to wrap around their arm. The Akuma pulls it forward, sending her through the air. She leans into it swinging around to get a better vantage point, studying the monologuing Akuma below.

Maybe I can for Starling

She has created Starling as a vigilante identity to use in Gotham, if the class was ever in trouble. No not if, when . With a sigh she summons her lucky charm getting a table tennis paddle.

Although I’m only meant to use that identity as a disguise to protect the class

The only thing that stood out was the Akuma's hand, she'd have to gather more information before striking.

Maybe Starling can have a word or two with Lila, that could be fun

She drops down in front of the Akuma. They seemed to like monologuing, maybe all she had to do was probe a little bit.

“Why would you want to side with Hawkmoth?”

“This is my family's greatest heirloom it has been passed from generation to generation for centuries, some fool broke it and I was crushed having disappointed all my ancestors!” The Akuma holds up a broach type jewel, “But Hawkmoth- Hawkmoth brought it back and now my greatest and dearest treasure will forever be-”

Ladybug smacks it to the ground, crushing it underfoot.

The Akuma looks at her shocked, letting out a long drawn out gasp. Marinette does not meet their eye as she catches the Akuma. She throws the paddle she used to smack it out of their hand into the air to cast the cure.

I must be really jet lagged, I’m usually at least a little more creative than that, but it worked

She pretends not to see the reporters coming in for interviews, seeing the victim and their broach in one piece. She makes a speedy exit, needing to transport back to Gotham before the class get too ancy.

“I’m sorry the rented bus left a long time ago,” The attendant informed her, looking sorry for the dishevelled teen.

Marinette groaned, so much for running around the airport for thirty minutes with a dead phone. Thanking the attendant she sulks off to collect her bag instead, she’d have to figure another way to the hotel.

She spends another hour hunting down her bag. Chasing after leads of people who might have mistook it. Checking again with Airport security, who again pulled her aside for having a suspicious missing bag. Luckily the security guard before defended her, she brought him a coffee and two for herself.

“Maybe someone will return it?” Tikki whispers, her and Kaalki hidden in the folds of her scarf.

“It’s fine Tikki,” Marinette sighs, halfway through her first cup in under a minute, “I have replicas of all of them anyway, I’ll just grab some samples from the MDC fashion show,”

She’d have to stop by later, the outfits should have been transported last week along with most of her recent catalogue. The only problem was all the other necessities she lost. But that wasn’t a problem, she carried the miracle box in her backpack and that's all that really matters.

“And some of my… special outfits when we go back home,”

She had altered her current outfit to transform into her vigilante disguise. Her scarf pulled up and could be turned inside out into a mask. Her skirt could be transformed into a cape and hood combo. A zip down the middle of the skirt to split it for the cape and a zip up hood that lay flat along her skirt. She simply turned it inside out and wore it around her shoulders. Combined with a bullet proof vest it wasn't half bad, her belt full of weapons could always be hid under her skirt which was a big plus.

She sighs waiting for a taxi in the cold Gotham air, hating it more than most. Although she supposed superhuman strength was a fair exchange for extra cold fingers. Marinette fought to stay awake, she had also been holding Kaalki for so long she was starting to develop the ability to sleep standing up and would doze off randomly. Certainly helpful at times, but not right now.

“Hello,” Marinette is startled out of her drowsiness.

She looks at the hesitant young man before her, looking just as tired as she is.

“Hello?”

“Is something the matter?” Something sparks at the back of her mind, a feeling she often gets from Chloe whenever she is helpful.

Do I look that bad?

“Just a mix up with transportation,” She smiles, he clearly knows it’s fake.

“Do you need a ride?”

“No I’m-” She sighs, what could go wrong getting in the car of a random person in Gotham, “Yes, I do thank you,”

“Over here, I’m Tim by the way” He stifles a yawn, leading her towards a limousine, the door being opened by a driver.

“Marinette, here,” She hands over the extra coffee, “You look like you need it just as much as me,”

Tim looks at her like a god sent, taking the coffee as they reach the limo.

“Good call Alfred,” Tim whispers to the driver, slipping into the car.

“Hello miss, I am Alfred Pennyworth,” She shakes his hand, something stronger fires at the back of her mind, a true holder perhaps? But Chloe was a true holder right?

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” She smiles, trying to assess what miraculous would suit him.

“Best get inside Miss Dupain-Cheng,” She climbs inside at Alfred's behest, “Gotham is awfully cold for a Lady,”

She gets the feeling that is not chivalry.

“Where to Miss Dupain-Cheng?” Alfred asks, already in the driver's seat.

“Wayne hotel please,” She pulls her backpack onto her lap, still regarding Alfred suspiciously.

“Traveling alone?” Tim asks absentmindedly, still nursing his coffee cup.

“I’m here with my class, they left without-” No that's no good , “I got held up they went ahead,”

“Class… staying at the Wayne hotel…” Tim mumbles to himself.

“I believe what Master Tim is trying to ask is if you are part of the Martha Wayne foundation trip,” Alfred informs from the front seat.

“Yeah that,” Tim takes another scalding gulp of coffee.

“Yes I sent in the submission, I’m still surprised we got it,” Marinette had been thrilled at a trip to Gotham, it is where her Aunt Selina lives after all.

“You seem very responsibility Miss Dupain-Cheng,” Alfred complements, “Almost as if you could shoulder the weight of Paris,”

“I didn’t say where I was from,” Marinette tenses getting more than a little unsettled, he seemed to know something more.

“Not to worry, I have close connections with the Wayne's and was aware this years class was from Paris is all,”

“I see,” Marinette nods along, the possible meaning behind the comment still being concerning.

“We forgot your bags!!!” Tim suddenly yells, jumping up and making Marinette jump, they both curse in sync as they spill coffee on themselves.

“It’s alright!” luckily the coffee landed on her black tights, so no noticeable stains, “My bags were stolen,”

“Oh…” Tim relaxes back, “Wait… that's not alright at all!”

“It’s fine, I already have a plan to get some spare clothes and I just need to run to the store,”

“Right… to the Wayne hotel was it?” Marinette nods and Tim starts tapping away at his phone.

She fishes out some wet wipes from her bag, passing them to Tim, who looks confused until she points out the growing coffee stain. With a smile and a few more taps at the phone he takes them off her.

“Left behind and bags stolen, doesn't sound like your Lucky day,” Alfred presses, and he needs to stop, it could be chance, surely its just chance.

“I guess not,”

You don’t know the half of it.

“Well I hope the rest of your day is much better,” Tim bids as they pull up to the hotel.

“Thank you, and thank you so much for the ride,” Alfred opens the door for her to get out.

“Not a problem,” She waves them off, watching them disappear down the street.

They’re nice, probably wont ever get to see them again, thats a shame

“Dick! Holy fuck!” Tim kicks down the door of his brothers room, “I just met the nicest girl who's had the shittest day on earth,”

“First of all welcome back, how was your trip?” Dick greets hanging from the ceiling as Tim takes his desk chair, “Second, what are you talking about?”

“Met a girl at the Airport who didn’t have a ride, she gave me coffee,”

“That's enough to buy your loyalty,” Dick grins, Tim flips him off.

“Listen, she's part of that Martha Wayne Foundation trip and her class left her at the Airport!”

“What?!” Dick drops from the ceiling onto his bed, “Thats so dangerous, especially in Gotham,”

“Right?! She even had her luggage stolen!” Tim pushes the chair over to Dick, “And she was still so nice, even after an eight hour flight!”

“You said she was part of the Wayne foundation trip?” Dick asks, getting a nod from Tim, “Yeah, we are definitely seeing her again,”

[viastro]

catch me | lee jihoon

ミ★ synopsis: jihoon didn’t want any weaknesses, he couldn’t afford to have any. that’s why he ended your guys friendship. he couldn’t risk your life because of how dangerous his lifestyle is, but everything seems to crumble the moment he saves you for the first time.

ミ★ genre: best friends to strangers to lovers!au (kinda?), spiderman!woozi, action, angst, some suspense, some fluff, some humor

ミ★ warnings: since this is a superhero au, there will be violence in this oneshot as well as the mentions of some weapons (knives and guns). some suggestive jokes, minor character death

ミ★ word count: 13,787

ミ★ pairings: woozi x gender neutral reader

ミ★ notes: hi guys ! sorry this is so late, but here’s my 2,000 follower celebratory oneshot <33 i remembered how much you guys liked my spiderman!joshua oneshot, so i decided to write another one. i’d like to thank @thepixelelf​ for giving me the idea to make spiderman!woozi <33 i’m not very good at writing fighting scenes ?? and i feel like more could’ve been done, but this is the best i can do with my busy schedule ! sorry if it’s not up to par </333 this shit is long as fuck though holy shit why do i write so much helPBJEKSBRGKD anyways, make sure to give woozi lots of love ! thank you for 2,000 followers again, i’m so grateful to you all.

“You’ll never catch me!” You squeal, running around the playset as fast as your small legs will allow it. The similar sound of other children laughing and screaming from joy just by being at the playground ring in your ears. You turn back to see if your best friend is close behind you, only to let out a scream when you see him close enough to tag you.

“Uji! Go away!” You say with a laugh as you run under the slide, moving to sprint up the stairs. You’re only stopped once you feel Jihoon’s small hand grab onto your wrist, and you let out a whine. Turning your head, you see Jihoon standing behind you with a toothless smile. 

“I caught you, yn! I’ll always catch you, remember? You have to tag me now, we only have time for one more game because it looks like our moms are tired.” You pout at him, and he giggles, reaching out and patting down the flyaways of your hair. 

“But I hate being the tagger.” You whine, looking down at the ground to try and appeal to your best friend. Jihoon only smiles, shaking his head at you as he releases your hand from his grasp. He motions for you to cover your eyes, and you let out a sigh, before nodding your head.

“Count to ten. Okay, yn?” Jihoon asks you, and you find your lips morphing into a smile, nodding your head. You raise your hands up to your eyes, and Jihoon immediately begins to find a hiding spot. He turns his head to glance back at you as he runs, smiling when he hears you call out:

“One!”

You gasp awake, staring up at your dark ceiling. Your bedroom is silent, except for the quiet sound of your humidifier, a stark difference to that of the squeals from the playground. You roll over with a groan, reaching out and checking the time on your phone, just to let out a tired sigh. 

“Six in the morning? I don’t need to be awake until nine.” You whine, raising your hands up to cover your face. The remaining bittersweet feeling from the dream slowly drifts away as you feel your fatigue begin to take over. 

Before you drift off completely, you find yourself hoping that you’ll fall into the same dream again. For it’s the only place where you can speak to your ex-best friend, Lee Jihoon.

“Woozi, we have a quiz today! I can’t keep saving your ass from the professor.” Seungcheol says in exasperation as he attempts to keep up with his friend, internally wondering why no matter how hard he tries to match Jihoon’s pace, he’s unable to.

“Well you have to if you still want my mom’s kimchi! Please, I’ll make it up to you. Something came-”

“Something came up, I know, I know. Just text me when you get back to your apartment, okay? I’ll give you my notes later.” Jihoon quickly turns back to glance at his friend, letting out a grateful smile and nodding his head.

“Of course! I’ll see you later, Cheol.” Jihoon calls out in response, hurrying towards the exit of the university. Seungcheol just watches until that black head of hair disappears, before sighing and walking in the direction of their building. 

“Gonna make him buy me bbq this time, I swear to God.”

You tiredly enter the bank, needing to deposit cash from your recent tutoring job. Holding back a yawn, you walk over to the shortest line and step behind the last person. You pull out your phone and scroll through Twitter, beginning to question why you haven’t asked the parents if they could just pay you through Venmo. 

“Open the vault if you don’t want a bullet in your head!” Your eyes widen when you hear the loud voice boom in front of you. Glancing around, your heart falls into your stomach when you see a few of the other people who you presumed were also waiting to be helped by an employee, are now holding guns up towards innocent people. 

Your thumb moves on its own across your phone screen to call the police, but the cold sound of a click next to your ear makes you freeze. You don’t dare to move, staying frozen as you watch the other gunmen shove the innocent employees of the bank towards the corner. 

“I suggest you give me your phone and go join them if you don’t want your head blown to bits.” The man behind the gun says to you. Biting the inside of your cheek, you slowly move your phone in his direction, and he snatches it out of your hand. He nudges you with the butt of the gun, and you quickly make your way to the other people, sitting down beside one elderly man on the floor. 

“We’ll need to take all of your phones. For our safety, of course. I suppose for yours too, considering that if you call the cops then we’d have to kill you.” The man who pressed the gun against your head says with a smile, and you watch as everyone slowly reaches into their pockets or purses and holds it out. You presume he’s the leader when the other people in the group take the electronic devices and throw them into a box they stole. 

You look down at your trembling hands, intertwining your fingers together in an attempt to stop them from shaking, but to no avail. You sit in silence as you listen to the robbers discuss when their ride will get here, wondering how cold hearted they must be to not even care. 

“Someone. Please help us.” You quietly plead, feeling the elderly man begin to shake beside you as he holds back his own tears. 

“I don’t think that money belongs to you.” Your ears perk up at the sudden voice, looking up when you hear the sound of the front doors close. Your eyes widen when you see the familiar dark red and blue suited figure, the one you’ve seen on the news. 

“Spiderman.” You mutter, watching as the gunmen all turn towards him, guns aimed at the superhero’s head. The presumed leader of the group tilts his head with a laugh, still holding the backpack full of money in his hand. 

“And who are you to decide that?” The man asks, lazily switching off the safety of his gun as he holds it in Spiderman’s direction. You watch as the superhero shrugs his shoulders, looking like the definition of ease as he leans against the wall. 

“I pay my taxes.” Spiderman responds, and you bite back a laugh when you notice the twitch to the leader’s eye. The amusement almost immediately turns into fear when you watch the leader’s finger press on the trigger, and you unconsciously reach out towards the superhero. 

Everything moves faster than you can imagine.

Within seconds Spiderman has the leader’s hand trapped onto the wall with the spiderweb, and knocked the guns out of half of the robbers hands. You watch as he fights with a few of the other guys, and you hold back a scream when you hear the sound of a gun go off. Your eyes widen when you see one of the men fall to the ground, blood pooling around him. Your gaze trails over towards the leader, seeing him staring at the body with an indecipherable look on his face.

“We have to go while they’re distracted, come on.” You turn your head away from the sight and look up at the elderly man, watching as he holds his hand out towards you. You look around and see the other hostages speeding towards the exit, knowing that the superhero gave them the signal to run. 

You nod your head, reaching out and grabbing the elderly man’s hand. The two of you quickly walk towards the doors, the sound of grunts and fighting being heard from behind you. You’re about to reach the exit when you’re yanked backwards by the collar of your shirt, choking you in the process as an arm wraps around your neck. 

You almost let out a scream until you feel the familiar feeling of cool metal being placed on your temple, and your body immediately turns rigid in the hold of your captor. You flinch when you hear him whistle beside you, gaining the attention of the superhero. 

“Spiderboy! I suggest you don’t make any move to come closer unless you want a bullet in their head.” The familiar voice of the leader rings in your ear, and you clench your fist at your side. You take notice of the fact that Spiderman freezes the moment he looks in your direction, and you blink back tears when the head of the gun is pressed harder against your temple. 

“So you do listen to commands when someone’s life is at stake, good to know.” The man says, and Spiderman just stands there, staring at the two of you as the rest of the robbers lay on the floor. Either knocked out or held in place by the strong web that was shot at them. 

“Let them go.” Spiderman seethes, and your captor simply laughs, causing you to flinch. He tightens the grip he has around your neck, and you let out a squeak, causing the superhero to take a step forward. 

“Ah, ah, ah! Don’t want to lose an innocent life today, don’t we?” Spiderman halts his movements when the man turns off the safety of the gun. The tears slip past your eyes from the sound, and you look at the superhero, silently begging him for help. 

Spiderman tightens his fist at his side from the sight of your tears, before tearing his gaze away from you and looking at your captor. “What do you want?” 

“Let my men and I-”

“Me and a few of my men.” The captor pauses, tilting his head at the superhero, wondering if Spiderman really just corrected him on his grammar in this situation. You even have to hold back a snort, which is an odd thing to do considering that you’re on the verge of losing your life if you make one wrong move.

“Let me and a few of my men take a few bags of money and go. I’ll let this,” Noticing the red and blue flashing lights coming through the windows, the man wiggles his arm around your neck a bit, constricting your airway as you let out a gasp for air.  “This civilian, go.” 

The two stare each other down for a bit, before Spiderman loosens his fist, nodding his head. Your eyes widen at the superhero willing to protect your life by letting the money be stolen. Your captor lets out a chuckle, before releasing his hold on your neck. You immediately fall to your knees, gasping for air as the tears fall from your eyes onto the tiled floor. 

“No funny business, Spidey.” The leader says, grabbing two backpacks full of money and nudging a few of the guys until they wake up. Spiderman doesn’t respond, instead rushing over to you and grasping your face in his hands. 

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you badly?” The superhero asks in concern as he checks over your features, but you don’t respond. Instead you stare at him in silence, suddenly wondering why his voice sounds so familiar, and why he’s holding your face so tenderly. 

“Who are yo-” 

“Oh! Spiderboy.” The two of you glance over towards the leader and a few of his men, now holding quite a few bags full of stolen money. Your eyes widen when he raises the gun in your direction, and Spiderman sharply inhales when he realizes what’s about to happen. 

“Never trust a conman.” The leader states, before pulling the trigger. 

The loud echo of the gunshot rings around the room, along with the sound of the doors opening and closing as the robbers try to escape. Your eyes slowly open when you don’t feel any pain, and you realize that you’re being held in the arms of Spiderman, hanging high from the ceiling. 

He slowly lowers you both back to the floor, and he lets you go as soon as your feet touch the tile. You slide down onto your knees, feeling dazed as to what just occurred. 

“Don’t get yourself into trouble again.” Spiderman says in a soft tone, and you slowly look up at him. The two of you stare at each other in silence, and you wonder if he’s always this worried about other people he saves.

You open your mouth to respond, only for the doors to slam open. You freeze, fear crawling up your throat at the thought that it may be the robbers, only to relax when you see the police and FBI enter, already beginning to make arrests. 

“Are you okay? Someone get this person a blanket!” An FBI agent orders once they walk up to you. They help you up off the floor, and you turn your head to look for the red and blue suited superhero, only to see that he’s disappeared without a trace. 

“Thank you, Spiderman.” You mumble, before getting escorted out of the bank. 

“Fuck.” Jihoon cries as he limps towards Seungcheol’s apartment, hand clutching onto his thigh in an attempt to stop the bleeding. As soon as he left the bank, he realized he didn’t leave unscathed as he flew through the city. He changed once he got to the alley where he put his stuff, and made his way to Seungcheol’s. 

Once Jihoon reaches the door, he immediately slams his fist onto it, desperately needing his friend to help him. “Woozi, I already told you how my neighbors feel about you banging on my front door.” Seungcheol says with a grin as he opens the door, having not looked up at his friend yet. It’s only when Jihoon practically crumbles onto the door frame that Seungcheol realizes the state he’s in, and he immediately pulls him inside. 

“What the fuck did you do?!” Seungcheol asks as he practically carries Jihoon into the bathroom, placing him onto the toilet. The blonde scrambles through his drawers, searching for the first aid kit. While Jihoon just grimaces in pain, rolling up his pants with a shaky leg to reveal the gunshot wound on his thigh. Seungcheol’s eyes widen, the first aid kit falling from his hands at the sight. 

“You got shot?!” Seungcheol hisses, and Jihoon just lets out a tired laugh, beginning to feel a bit faint. 

“I’ll explain later, but I can’t go to the hospital. I know you’re only an intern right now, but you’re the only one I trust. Please.” Jihoon pleads, and Seungcheol bites the inside of his cheek harshly, before nodding his head. 

“I swear to God if you’re a drug dealer Jihoon-” 

“I’m not a drug dealer, you fucking buffoon.” 

“Oh my God.” Jihoon quietly eats the instant rice, letting Seungcheol go through the five stages of shock. He glances over at the blonde, finding him still staring down at the table with wide eyes.

“My best friend is Spiderman.” Seungcheol mutters, his hands going up and gripping his own hair as his eyes widen even more. Jihoon nods his head, reaching over and taking some kimchi, placing it into his mouth.

“That’s why he always left class at the most random times.” Seungcheol whispers, hands trailing down to cup his cheeks as all the pieces begin to come together. Jihoon continues to eat in silence as he lets his friend go through an existential crisis. He glances down at the stitches on his thigh, before looking back up at Seungcheol from across the table. 

“Thank you for stitching me up. The hospital would’ve asked a lot of questions and I couldn’t afford that.” Jihoon says, placing the empty bowl of rice on the table. Seungcheol finally looks up at his friend, and he runs a hand through his hair. 

“Is that why you suddenly got really strong in high school?” Seungcheol asks, completely missing the fact that Jihoon just thanked him. The black haired beauty nods his head in response, taking a sip of water. 

“Got bit by a weird spider on that field trip in junior year, and suddenly my hands were sticky and I could break sinks easily. It was a strange moment in my life.” Jihoon answers, and Seungcheol runs his hand through his hair again. Jihoon rolls his eyes, reaching out and slapping the blonde’s hand, making Seungcheol yelp. 

“You’re gonna go bald if you keep pulling your hair like that.” Seungcheol frowns, before leaning back in his seat and letting out a sigh. He glances over at Jihoon and raises an eyebrow when he finds him with a furrow to his brow. 

“Now you’re the one who looks like you’re going through an existential crisis. What’s on your mind?” Jihoon looks up from the table to find Seungcheol staring at him in concern, and he lets out a breath. Jihoon takes another sip of his water, before pursing his lips. 

“Yn was one of the hostages at the bank robbery today.” Seungcheol’s eyes widen at the mention of your name, having not heard Jihoon utter it since your guys’ falling out in high school. “I don’t know why the fuck the guy chose them to get to me, but he did.” 

“Is yn okay?” Seungcheol asks, and Jihoon nods his head. He looks off to the side, remembering the frantic look in your eyes as tears trailed down your cheeks. Biting his bottom lip, he stands up from the table and limps over to the couch. 

“Woozi.” 

“Yn’s fine, Cheol. I made sure of it. The stupid guys all got caught by the police and FBI outside anyways, I saw the blue and red lights. It’s the only reason I let them go. They can’t get to yn either, they don’t know shit about us.” Jihoon says with a sense of finality, laying down onto the couch and closing his eyes. Seungcheol nods his head, knowing better than to push his friend for more answers. 

“Spiderman doesn’t have any weaknesses that the public knows of. Yn’s safe.” Jihoon adds, soon falling asleep while clutching the throw pillow on his side. Seungcheol looks down at the table, wondering if Jihoon is saying that with confidence, 

Or in an attempt to convince himself.

You walk to your next class on campus, feeling self conscious from everyone’s stares as you do so. Reaching into your pocket, you turn up the volume on your earbuds, trying to block out everyone’s whispers. 

Everyone on campus knows of what occurred at the bank, and you’ve become a hot topic since you were saved by your friendly neighborhood Spiderman. The thought of his voice still lingers in your head, and the feeling of his hands cupping your face remains even if it’s been a week since the incident. 

Biting the inside of your cheek, you look down at the ground as you walk, attempting to pick up the pace so that you can get a seat in the back row of the auditorium. You’ve always been clumsy though, as you soon find yourself accidentally slamming into the shoulder of someone walking past you, making the person drop their books behind you. 

“I’m so sorry!” You exclaim, quickly pulling out your earbuds and bending down to pick up all the textbooks that fell onto the ground. Once you’ve grabbed all the books, you glance up, only to freeze when you look into those familiar brown eyes. Slowly you stand up from the ground, books in your arms as you and Jihoon stare at each other in silence, unsaid words being exchanged through your gazes.

“Jihoo-” The black haired beauty takes the books out of your grasp, and simply nods his head at you. 

“Thanks.” He mutters, before continuing on with his day, not another word or glance back at you as he does so. Your eyes trail after him for a moment, before you purse your lips, nodding your head at the sad reality that is, 

You and Jihoon aren’t best friends anymore.

You walk towards your apartment with the bag of takeout in your hand, feeling tired from the eventful day you had at university. Letting out a breath, you glance up at the sky for a moment as you walk, staring up at the cloudy skies. 

“When will the sun come back?” You mutter, wondering if a smidge of sunshine will be able to lift your spirits. Looking back down at the pavement, you freeze when you feel something sharp be pressed into the side of your stomach. 

“Give me all your money.” Tiredly, you turn your head, seeing a man with a black ski mask over his face as he stares at you. Glancing downwards, you find that he’s pressing a dull knife into your side, before boredly letting your eyes trail back up towards his face.

“Are you kidding me? Another robbery?” The robber tilts his head in confusion as to why you’re not afraid, watching as you look up towards the sky and send a middle finger towards the clouds. 

“God. You know that I’m a poor fucking college student, yet you continue to put me in these money stealing situations not once, but twice in the span a week?!” You shout, and the robber flinches slightly at the anger in your tone. Letting out a sigh, you turn back towards the masked man, staring at him for a moment. 

“I hope you can still have children after this, but then again, you shouldn’t be robbing people. Especially broke college students, have you even looked at my backpack? So you know what? Fuck you actually.”

“What?”

Without another word, you rest both hands on the robber’s shoulders, and with as much force as you can, knee him right in the crotch. The man lets out a shriek, falling to his knees, knife hitting the sidewalk as they clutch their poor genitals. 

“I fucking hate it here. My backpack literally has holes in it and I have a bag of takeout from the cheapest restaurant in town. Are you dumb? Why would you try to rob me?” You rant to yourself as you take the knife and chuck it down the alleyway. The man calls out to you, and you shoot him a glare, before turning around and walking away. 

“Sick and tired of this bullshit.” You grumble, about to turn the corner when you hear footsteps coming from behind you. Your eyes widen, fear taking over as you impulsively start to walk faster, wondering if the man already healed from the fact that you destroyed his chances of having children. 

You’re about to break into a full on sprint when you hear two bodies collide behind you, followed by a grunt of pain. Slowly you turn your head, just to find the robber hanging upside down in a web from the top of the streetlight, and your eyes slowly trail down to see the red and blue suited figure staring at you.

“Spiderman?”

“I thought I told you not to get into any trouble again.” The superhero states, walking towards you after making sure that the robber is unconscious. You raise an eyebrow, holding yourself back from rolling your eyes. “You think I’m trying to get robbed and murdered?”

Spiderman shrugs his shoulders, now standing directly in front of you. “Considering that this is the second time I’ve come to save you in a span of a week-”

“Are you complaining about your job to me right now, Spiderman?” You ask with a grin, and the superhero pauses, before letting out a sigh. You chuckle, tilting your head at the red and blue suited figure standing before you. 

“Just. Be safe, please.” He says in a softer tone, and you feel warmth flood your face slightly. You stare at him for a moment, wondering why he seems so familiar, and why he cares so much for you. 

Jihoon searches your eyes through the mask, somehow feeling both heartbroken and happy. Heartbroken because him being in the suit is the only reason he can speak to you right now. Happy because he’s able to see you, even if it’s only for a brief moment.

He nods his head before you can ask any questions, preparing to shoot a web to swing away, but you reach out and grasp his wrist. Jihoon sucks in a breath, turning back to glance at you, “Yes?”

“If I happen to be in a situation like this again-”

“Which you won’t.” Spiderman states, and you nod your head, but give him a small smile. 

“Will you come save me?” You ask, and the red and blue suited figure stares at you in silence for a second, before nodding his head. 

“Of course.” Spiderman mutters, and you bite the inside of your cheek, letting go of his arm so that he can swing away. You raise your hand up and wave at him with a smile on your face, 

“Bye, Spiderman.” 

Jihoon’s heart warms at the sight of your smile, sending you a wave as he shoots a web towards the top of the building. 

“Bye, yn.” You watch as Spiderman swings away from you, staring until he’s out of sight. Reaching into your pocket, you call the cops to make sure that the robber gets arrested, before walking in the direction of your apartment. 

It’s when you’re about to enter the building that you pause, turning back to glance behind you when you realize. 

“How does Spiderman know my name?”

“You said their NAME?!” Seungcheol yells from across the table, and Jihoon flinches back from the volume. He lets out a frustrated sigh, slapping his own face for his stupidity in the moment. 

“I didn’t mean to! I don’t even know why I said their name! It just slipped out when they waved at me with a smile on their face!” Jihoon responds, looking out the window as he recalls the warm look on your face as you stared at him. His expression morphs into a scowl, wondering why he let himself do that.

“As long as yn doesn’t get into trouble again, it should be fine. I won’t have to run into them anymore.” Jihoon mumbles, letting out a sigh as he rests his forehead down onto the table. Seungcheol watches as his friend’s shoulders slump forward in exhaustion, and he takes a sip of water. 

“If you ran into yn again as Spiderman, it’d be sus too. Enemies might look at them as your weakness if it happens too frequently, so hopefully yn getting into trouble was only a two time thing.” Seungcheol adds, and Jihoon glances down at his hands, remembering the harsh reality he has to live as a superhero.

“I hope so, or else the pain of ending our friendship would’ve been for nothing.”

“Cheol, do you know where Uji is? I’ve been trying to reach him for the last week but he hasn’t replied to my text or calls. I even went to his house multiple times but he won’t answer, and when I’d walk up to him during class he’d mutter an excuse and leave.” You explain, fumbling with your hands as you wonder why your best friend hasn’t contacted you. Seungcheol stares at you with a sad look to his eye, before pointing with his chin in the direction of the parking lot. 

“Jihoon just left to go to his car, he should probably still be there.” You nod your head, giving Seungcheol a grateful smile. 

“Thank you, Cheollie. I’ll text you later!” You call out as you run to the parking lot, and the black haired beauty simply watches until you turn the corner, now out of sight. He lets out a small breath, pursing his lips as he tilts his head to the side. Closing his locker, he looks back up in the direction you left in. 

“Woozi, why are you hurting yn like this?” 

You push open the front doors, and let out a hopeful smile when you see Jihoon’s car still in its parking space. You run towards the vehicle, tapping on the glass of the driver’s seat window when you make it. Your best friend turns his head to look at you, and you frown when you see a tired sigh leave his lips. Jihoon rolls down the window, looking up at you from his seat. 

“What?”

“Why have you been avoiding me? You’ve been missing out on our weekend movie nights and my mom’s been asking for you-”

“Yn, we’re about to be seniors and you’re this dependent on me? You expect me to free up my schedule all the time for you?” Your eyebrows furrow as you stare at Jihoon, curious as to why he’s being so cold. The black haired beauty sighs again, turning on the engine to his car. 

“I think it’s best for us to not be friends anymore. We’ll probably go to different universities anyways.” Jihoon states, taking one last glance at you before backing out of his parking spot. You clench your fists at your sides, heartbroken and angry at the complete bullshit you just heard. 

“Just like that? Ten years of friendship gone just like that?!” You yell out, and Jihoon glances at you. You suck in a breath at the iciness to his gaze, never having had that look directed towards you before. 

“I don’t care. You shouldn’t care anymore either.”Jihoon simply rolls up his window and drives out of the parking lot after his harsh words, leaving you standing there alone. Harshly biting the inside of your cheek to stop the tears from falling, you walk back towards the school, not sparing the vehicle another glance.

You lean back into your seat at the memory, wondering why your ex-best friend has been on your mind for the last couple weeks. Letting out a quiet sigh, you stare down at your notes for statistics, suddenly feeling a weight of exhaustion lay itself on your shoulders.

“I’ll take a small walk then.” You mumble, standing up from the table you’ve been occupying. Stretching your arms above your head, you begin to take a walk around the university library. Unconsciously, you head towards the manga section, wondering if you could possibly rent a sailor moon manga. 

You walk into an aisle and look around the assortment of manhwas you can choose from, and a bright smile forms on your face when you find the next volume of the sailor moon manga you wanted. You take a step forward and grasp it, only to freeze when you look up and lock eyes with those familiar brown eyes in the aisle in front of you. 

The two of you stare at each other in silence for a moment, before you look away first, grabbing the manga and walking out of the aisle. Clenching your fist at your side, you head back towards your table, now feeling more angry than exhausted.

Jihoon lets out a breath as he watches you sit down at your table, opening up the manhwa and beginning to read. He walks over to a table by the window, sitting down into the comfy seat and opening up his laptop. His eyes slowly trail up towards you again, and he curses to himself, looking down at his assignment. 

“Why’d I even come to the library to study when I have my own apartment?” Jihoon asks himself quietly, but he already knows the answer. He glances up in your direction again, finding you still reading the manga as your foot taps the carpeted floor beneath you. He lets out a soft smile when he catches you giggling quietly, his heart warm just from seeing you.

Jihoon just wants to protect you.

You stir slightly, your vision blurry as you blink your eyes, trying to remember where you are. You gaze around the room, before sucking in a breath when you realize that you’re at the library. The manga you were reading lays open in front of you, and you cringe at the small drool mark left on the table. 

Frowning as you inconspicuously wipe away your drool with a tissue, you recall the feeling of being poked. You glance up from the table, just to squint when you see a familiar figure walking towards the exit of the library. Your eyes widen when you realize who it is, and you quickly shove your stuff into your bag, rushing towards the exit to catch up to him. 

Jihoon steps out of the library, walking down the steps. He let you sleep for around half an hour until he received a text from Seungcheol letting him know of what seems to be a dangerous drug deal occurring near his apartment complex. 

On his way out, Jihoon carefully poked your shoulder until you began to stir, before exiting the library. He only stayed at the library for so long to keep an eye on you, as you have been a magnet for trouble recently. 

“Jihoon!” The black haired beauty’s eyes widen at the call of his name, refusing to turn around and instead continues to walk towards the crime scene he needs to go to. “Lee Jihoon!” He picks up the pace when he hears your footsteps draw nearer, only to stop when your hand grasps his shoulder. 

“I know you heard me.” You breathe out, and he slowly turns to look at you, trying to appear as uninterested as possible as he does so. Jihoon sighs, “Do you need something, yn? I’m busy right now.”

“Why did you stay at the library while I slept? Did you wake me up?” You ask, and your ex-best friend chuckles, shrugging your hand off his shoulder. Your arm awkwardly falls back to your side, and you clench your fist.

“It’s embarrassing to drool on the library table.” Jihoon answers, and you scoff, turning away from him to look up at the sky. The black haired beauty raises an eyebrow at your reaction, “What’s got you so annoyed?” 

“Why would you care about whether or not I was embarrassing myself?” Jihoon stares at you, unable to answer your question. Looking up at the cloudy sky, you let out a bitter laugh, before looking back down towards him. 

“You said you didn’t care about our friendship three years ago. You said you didn’t care about me, but your actions right now are fucking confusing me!” You shout in frustration, raising your hands up to your head as you stare at Jihoon. Tears fill your eyes the longer you look at him, and you bite your bottom lip when one escapes your left eye. Jihoon’s gaze follows the single tear, watching as it trails down your cheek.

“You ended our friendship without any remorse, acting as if ten years never mattered. You left me, Uji. You left me! You can’t just suddenly come back into my life and act like you care when you fucking left.” You hiss, stepping forward and poking his chest with each enunciation. Jihoon just stays quiet, feeling nothing but remorse as he watches the tears fall past your eyes. The pain is obvious in your gaze and your words, but he can’t tell you the truth. 

He can’t risk your life. 

“Fucking pick one. You either care about me or you don’t. If you choose the latter? Then fucking leave me alone, please. The pain is still too much to bear.” You state, before wiping away the tears from your face and turning around and walking away. Jihoon’s eyes follow after you, and he clenches his fist at his side once you turn the corner, now out of sight. 

Letting out a breath, the black haired beauty shakes his head as if it’ll clear his thoughts. He turns back in the direction of the drug deal going on and continues on his way, knowing damn well he’s already far too late. 

He somehow can’t bring himself to care right now, though.

Jihoon swings from building to building, heart still heavy from the conversation the two of you had a few days prior. 

Is it bad for a superhero to despise being one?

Jihoon never asked to be bitten by a radioactive spider and become your friendly neighborhood Spiderman. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want to lose you, one of the people he cares about most in this god forsaken world. 

Jihoon never asked for this. 

“Ah, but my morals won’t let me just not use this power for good.” Jihoon mutters to himself as he swings onto the top of an apartment complex, staring down at the streets as the stars shine brightly above him and the car lights shine from below. 

Removing the mask from his head, he pats down his hair, just looking out for any trouble going on from below him as he does so. He lets out a sigh, letting his legs dangle off the ledge as he stares out across the city, somehow feeling lonely. 

The sound of your voice from afar rings in his ear, and he looks down to find you waving off a guy. Reaching over and putting on his mask, he squints his eyes when the guy tries to grab your shoulder. 

“You’re really attractive, can you just give me your number?” You hold back from rolling your eyes, instead just shaking your head and giving him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I’m not interested.” 

“You don’t have to be a bitch. Just give me your fucking number-” You’re about to yell back when a flash of red and blue lands right in front of you, blocking you from the stranger’s advances. The guy’s eyes grow rather large, and you hold back a smirk of amusement as he takes a step back.

“They said they’re not interested. Did your parents teach you nothing about consent?” Spiderman asks coldly, and your eyebrows furrow. 

The man takes another step back, having suddenly lost all of his confidence as he shakes his head. The superhero gestures with his chin, waving the guy off. 

“Leave while I’m asking nicely.” Spiderman states in an icy tone. The creepy man doesn’t need to be told twice, as he practically sprints away, not sparing another glance back as he does so. The red and blue suited figure turns back towards you, tilting his head at the sight of your frown.

“Are you just a magnet for trouble or something? Why do you always-”

“Jihoon?” 

The two of you stare at each other in silence, you with wide eyes, and Jihoon with his mouth dropped open behind the mask. Your eyes trail over his physique, the pieces suddenly coming together as you realize Spiderman and Jihoon have the exact same body type. 

Why Spiderman was so stunned to see you at the bank, why his voice was so familiar, why he was so adamant on you being safe, why he’s always there when you’re in a bad situation. 

It’s all because it’s Jihoon.

Your ex-best friend is Spiderman. 

“Who?” Jihoon asks, trying to play off that he wasn’t shocked at all by the fact that you just uncovered his identity. You continue to stare at him in shock, and you raise a hand to your mouth that you didn’t make the connection sooner. 

“You’re fucking Spiderman?!” You whisper-shout, and the superhero runs his hand over the top of his mask. After a moment, Jihoon extends his hand towards you, and you raise an eyebrow at him. 

“Let’s talk about this somewhere else, yn.” Spiderman, no, Jihoon says. You stare at his hand for a second, before your eyes trail up towards his mask. Letting out a breath, you reach out and grasp his hand, and he pulls you closer so that your arms have to wrap around his waist. 

“You trust me?” Jihoon asks as he shoots a web towards the top of the building. 

“No, not since you left.” You answer, and your ex-best friend lets out a breath. He turns to glance at you, and you look back at him, aware of the close proximity between you two. 

“Hold on tight, yn. I won’t let you fall.” Jihoon tells you, and you slowly tighten your grip around his waist. His hold on you is strong as well, and before you know it, the two of you are flying up into the air, swinging around. 

“Oh my God!” You shout, holding Jihoon’s body even tighter as you close your eyes to the sight below you. Before you know it, the black haired beauty has landed the two of you on top of a building, but you keep your eyes shut. 

“Yn, you can let go now.” You hear him say, but you refuse to let go, still holding his waist as you keep your face in the crook of his neck. Jihoon’s aware of how fast his heart is beating from the fact that you’re basically hugging him right now, but all he can hope is that you don’t feel it. 

“Yn-” 

“Just. A few more seconds, please.” You plead, voice shaking slightly from the overwhelming emotions you feel as you hug your ex-best friend. Jihoon bites his bottom lip, nodding his head as he keeps one arm wrapped around you. 

After a moment, you pull away and stare at the masked figure. He lets out a breath, knowing how dangerous this is, but he was already caught red handed by you. Slowly, he reaches his hand up and takes his mask off, revealing that familiar face you’ve always known, just with his black hair sitting messily atop his head.

“We need to talk, Jihoon.” You state, and he nods his head, turning to look out towards the city. 

“Let’s talk then.” 

“So you ended our friendship to protect me, not because you suddenly decided to be an ass?” Jihoon purses his lips at the term, knowing that he did act like a bitch. Nodding his head, you turn back to look out towards the city, letting out a sigh.

It’s been almost an hour since you realized that Jihoon is Spiderman, and the two of you are currently sitting on the ledge of the building. He just told you everything that you didn’t know, and it gave you all the answers to the questions you’ve been asking yourself for the last three years. 

That doesn’t mean you’re not pissed off though.

“You could’ve just told me the truth.” You mutter, and the black haired beauty beside you immediately shakes his head, no. “No one knew I was Spiderman until the day I saved you the first time. I had to tell Cheol the truth because he was convinced I was a drug dealer when I collapsed into his apartment with a bullet hole in my thigh-”

“You got shot?!”

“So he was the first person to ever find out the truth after three years of me keeping my identity a secret. You were able to figure it out though.” Jihoon finishes, ignoring the fact that you’re staring at him with a shocked expression on your face, very concerned at the fact that he got shot. The superhero is fine though, it healed nicely.

“You really hurt me, ya know.” You state, turning to glance at Jihoon. He looks away from you, feeling ashamed for what he felt that he had to do. He nods his head, staring out at the lights in the city, watching them shine brightly. 

Jihoon thinks that they could never shine as bright as you, though.

“I know that my apology probably means nothing in comparison to what I destroyed and how much I hurt you, but I’m so fucking sorry, yn.” Jihoon says, the regret very clear in his tone. He doesn’t turn back towards you, but you understand. He’s never been good at being open about his feelings, let alone apologizing. 

“Thank you, I appreciate that.” You mutter, turning away to look out at the city alongside him. The two of you stare at the lights from the cars and buildings, seeing how alive Seoul is at night. 

“I missed you.” Jihoon whispers after a moment of the two of you just sitting in silence, and you hold back a smile from breaking out onto your features as you glance down at the busy street below the two of you. Nodding your head, you let out a sigh, looking up at the stars as your vision soon turns blurry. 

“I missed you too, Uji.” 

Seungcheol practically drags himself to his apartment door after the insistent knocking continues even though he originally ignored it. The blonde wipes his eyes as he opens the door in an attempt to wake himself up more, only for his mouth to drop open.

“Yn and Woozi?!” Seungcheol gapes, and you give him a smile, raising your arm up and waving at your old friend. “Hi Cheollie!” 

Seungcheol nods his head at you, mouth still dropped open as his gaze falls to Jihoon, who is just giving him a sheepish smile. The blonde steps to the side, allowing you and Jihoon to enter his apartment as he closes the front door. 

“Would you like any food, yn?” Seungcheol asks as he slowly walks over to the kitchen, and you nod your head as you look around your surroundings. “That would be great, thanks.” 

Seungcheol grins, before grabbing Jihoon’s wrist and yanking him into the kitchen without another word. You bite back a laugh, choosing to walk over towards Seungcheol’s couch and sitting down, allowing the two to catch up on what just transpired.

“Yn KNOWS?!” You glance over towards the kitchen when you hear Seungcheol’s voice ring out. Finally letting out a giggle when you hear him shout in indignation from what you presume was Jihoon’s slap. 

After a few more minutes pass, the two finally exit the kitchen with a fresh pot of ramen, which Seungcheol places on top of a potholder onto the coffee table. Jihoon hands you a bowl and chopsticks, to which you gratefully accept and begin to eat.

“So. You know.” Seungcheol begins, and you nod your head as you slurp up more noodles. The blonde nods his head back at you, looking away and eating some ramen himself. “Good for you, good for you.” 

The sounds of the three of you slurping up noodles fills the strange silence that has settled itself over Seungcheol’s apartment. You share a glance with Jihoon, who just looks both amused and annoyed, before sneaking a peek at Seungcheol, who still appears to be in a state of shock. 

The latter turns to look at you again, “You and Jihoon are friends again?” 

As you chew the noodles, you take a look at the black haired beauty, only to end up catching his gaze. You tilt your head at him, wondering the same thing, and he just gives you a close-lipped smile. Taking a sip of the soup, he gestures towards you with his hand. 

“I don’t think I have the right to decide that after what I did, not to make that sound like I don’t want us to be friends again. I missed you a lot, but it’s your decision on whether or not you want to be friends.” Jihoon explains, and Seungcheol nods his head in agreement. You poke your tongue into the inside of your cheek, having appreciated Jihoon’s response. 

Leaning onto the back of the couch, you reach your hand up and rub the back of your neck, shrugging your shoulders. The two look at you expectantly, waiting for your answer as you take a sip of water. 

Giving them both a small smile you say, “Yeah. Jihoon and I are friends.”

Jihoon smiles softly at your answer as he stares down at his ramen while Seungcheol lets out a cheer, beginning to happily catch up with you on everything the two of you haven’t been able to discuss. His eyes trail over to you, seeing the bright smile on your face as you converse with the blonde. While Jihoon is happy that you’re in his life again, deep down, he’s worried for your safety. 

For good reason.

Unbeknownst to the three of you, on the other side of the city, people are talking. 

“I think Spidey knew who they were, that’s why he let us go that day.” The man reports, sliding over the photo of you and Spiderman standing before each other from a few hours prior. The leader clicks his tongue as he easily recognizes you, surprised that you’re still alive even after he shot his gun in your direction.

“So the superhero does have a weakness.” The leader says, amusement written across his features as he stares at the photo of you and Spiderman for a second longer. Placing the picture down onto the table, he looks up towards his underling, giving him a smile.

“Do more research on that person and get back to me when you find out where they frequent.” He orders, softly stroking the photo as he tilts his head. Letting out a chuckle, he leans back into his seat, eyes trailing over towards the window, seeing the lit up Lotte World Tower shining back at him.

“Can’t let Spidey’s weakness just slip out of our fingers, can we?” 

Sitting on a blanket laid over the grass at the university forum, you type out your lab report on your laptop with the soft ost instrumental playing through your earbuds. As you do your assignment, you fail to realize that the sun that was shining on you has been blocked for a few minutes now. It’s only when you look away from your laptop to grab a grape to snack on that you notice the pair of sneakers standing right in front of your blanket.

Your eyes trail up the body until you lock eyes with Jihoon, and you let out a bright smile at the sight of him. Raising your hand up slightly, you wave at the pretty man. 

“How long have you been standing there? Come sit with me.” You say, scooting over on the blanket and grabbing the bag of grapes. Patting the space beside you, you look up at Jihoon expectantly, who grins softly down at you. He places his bag down and slips off his shoes before sitting down next to you on the blanket, taking a glance at your laptop screen.

“Studying?” You shrug your shoulders at the question, typing out the last sentence of your lab report. Shutting your laptop, you turn and send a wink towards the black haired beauty. “Not anymore, I just finished. Now I don’t have any bio homework for the rest of the day.” 

Jihoon turns away when you wink at him, feeling warmth flood his face at how cute you looked. Confusion and discomfort settles over him after a second, wondering why he felt so flustered when you winked at him. It’s nothing new, you always used to wink and act cute whenever you were excited or wanted something from him. 

So why is Jihoon’s heart racing right now? Why has it been racing every time he’s seen you recently? 

Oh my God, am I having a stroke?

“You’re having a stroke?!” You ask, sitting up onto your knees to check over Jihoon’s face. The latter’s mouth drops open slightly, having not realized he said that out loud. He immediately raises his hands up and shakes his head at you, “No! I’m fine, yn. Don’t worry.” 

You let out a breath of relief, plopping back down beside him. The two of you sit in a comfortable silence for a moment, just appreciating each other’s presence while the sun basks the both of you in warmth. 

It’s been a couple weeks since you realized that Jihoon was Spiderman, and the reason why he ended your guys’ friendship so abruptly. At first, he was too afraid to approach you, as he wasn’t sure what the protocol was now that you guys were friends again. However, the two of you quickly become comfortable, falling into a dynamic similar to what you once had three years ago. 

A similar dynamic, as the two of you have realized one thing incredibly different.

You unconsciously turn your head to take a peek at Jihoon, just to lock gazes with the pretty man. You’re about to look away, only to stop when you see the hint of a smile forming on his face. You tilt your head at him, wondering what he’s thinking as he lets out a breath, turning away from you. 

“Wanna go do something since you don’t have any more homework to do?” Jihoon suggests as he looks around the square, noticing all the couples that surround the two of you. Glancing down at your shut laptop, you nod your head, finding the idea of spending the day with Jihoon to be rather lovely. 

“What would we do though?” You ask as the two of you stand up from the blanket, packing all your things to bring back to your apartment. Jihoon places your laptop into your bag, before zipping it up and throwing it over his shoulder along with his own backpack. He gives you a grin, “I have an idea in mind.” 

Pursing your lips as the two of you begin to walk off the grass and onto the cobblestone pathway, you find yourself wondering what his plan is. 

“Sounds suspicious. I’m in.”

“I’m concerned at what your thought process was to come to that conclusion, yn.”

“Don’t worry about it, Spidey.” 

The sweet flavor of the ice cream hits your tongue, making you let out a happy sigh as you look up at the night sky. Jihoon turns to glance at you, grinning at how content you look while holding your ice cream cone. 

“Now that idea wasn’t bad, now was it?” You smile at the sentence, nodding your head as you remember the events of the day. 

Jihoon took you both to the movies, where you both thoroughly enjoyed the new Disney movie as you shared a bucket of popcorn. There were a few cliche moments where you would both reach for the popcorn and grab each other's hand, only to jerk away and just not attempt to get a handful of popcorn for a few minutes. 

After the movie ended, you went to go and get dinner where you both just joked around like old times. An argument ensued where the two of you fought over who’s paying the bill, only for Jihoon to sneak the waitress his card while you weren’t looking. This resulted in you almost going back to the waitress to request a refund so that you could pay for the meal (which isn’t how it works at all), only for the two of you to come to a compromise.

Now here you both are at 11 pm, walking along the street towards your apartment complex as you each eat ice cream that you paid for. 

“It was rather fun. It reminded me of our old movie nights.” You respond with a grin, turning to glance at Jihoon. He chuckles at the old memories of the two of you meeting at each other’s houses on Friday evenings to watch movies, and he nods his head in agreement. 

Jihoon opens his mouth to make a joke, only to pause when he realizes you’re no longer beside him. Turning around, he sees you standing a few feet behind him, a look of awe on your face as you look up at the sky, ice cream in your hand long forgotten. His eyes look over in the direction you’re staring in, and he lets out a soft smile when he sees the full moon surrounded by billions of stars.

“The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” You ask, voice barely above a whisper as your eyes sparkle happily upon the sight of it. 

Jihoon feels his breath get taken away when his gaze trails over to you, the light from the moon shining onto you, giving off an ethereal glow. His heart pounds against his chest, and he feels warmth flood his face when a smile forms on your face. Slowly, he looks back over towards the moon, swallowing the lump in his throat as he answers softly,

“The moon was always beautiful.”

“Jihoon! Stop banging on my door, I’m coming! Jesus Christ-” Seungcheol calls out as he walks over towards his door. The blonde is seriously contemplating just giving his friend a key to his place due to how often he comes over nowadays.

Seungcheol swings the door open, just to find his superhero best friend looking incredibly dazed and confused. He raises an eyebrow when Jihoon just walks inside the apartment without being let in, and he sighs. 

“Can I come in, Cheol? Yeah, of course I’ll let you in Woozi! Thanks for asking so nicely. Of course, you’re my best friend, Cheol! Oh really? You’re my best friend too, Woozi.” Seungcheol bitterly roleplays as he watches the black haired beauty walk over towards his fridge and grabs a can of cola. He tilts his head to the side, wondering what has his friend so distraught as Jihoon mindlessly drinks the battery acid in a can, before crushing it in his hand once he’s finished. 

The two stand in silence for a moment. With Seungcheol staying a few feet away for his own safety as he’s never seen Jihoon act like this, and Jihoon just staring absentmindedly down at the floor with wide eyes. 

“You good, Woozi?” Seungcheol asks after a second, and his friend finally looks up at him, making the blonde squint at the state Jihoon’s in. “Woozi-”

“I like yn.” 

The two stand across each other in another beat of silence. With Seungcheol gauging the incredibly out of the ordinary information that was just bestowed upon him, and Jihoon staring at him with wide eyes. 

Seungcheol gasps, raising his hands to his mouth after the confession suddenly hits him. He raises his hand up and points at Jihoon, and the latter winces slightly at what he knows is about to happen. 

“YOU LIKE YN?!”

“Stop squealing! You’re hurting my ears.” Jihoon grumbles, but the upwards tilt of the corner of his lips shows that he’s anything but angry at his friend. Seungcheol just lets out another squeal in response, and the black haired beauty sighs as he leans back while taking a sip of water.

Jihoon finally admitted the truth that he had been avoiding since the moment the two of you shared underneath the full moon.

He likes you.

Lee Jihoon likes you.

This could either be a very good thing or an incredibly terrible thing depending on what he decides to do. 

“You should confess!” Seungcheol exclaims, causing Jihoon to look at him with a look that says, are you crazy?! without actually saying it. The blonde runs a hand through his hair, opening his mouth to go on but Jihoon simply shakes his head again.

“No.”

“Hear me out, Woozi-”

“Absolutely not. I just got yn back in my life and you want me to quite possibly ruin our relationship a second time? I don’t even have the right to have feelings after what I did to them.” Jihoon snaps, gulping down more water to try and soothe his anger.

“But yn likes you back!” 

All the water is now on the table as Jihoon coughs rather violently from the news Seungcheol just delivered, while the blonde just sighs and walks over to the kitchen to grab paper towels. Jihoon punches his chest, inhaling deeply to try and calm down. 

“Yn what?” Jihoon asks once Seungcheol enters the living room again, wiping the water that the superhero coughed all over the table. He watches as his friend scratches the top of his head, giving him a smile.

“Okay, so yn may not have actually admitted that-” Jihoon stands up from the table and walks over to the front door to leave, only to halt when he hears Seungcheol shout out towards him. 

“But I can see it from the way they look at you!” His hand rests on the doorknob, waiting for Seungcheol to continue so that he can decide whether or not to leave the apartment and pretend this whole interaction never occurred. The blonde quickly throws away the used up paper towels and steps closer towards Jihoon, knowing that he only has a few seconds to explain what he meant.

“What you did to yn was awful, they know that, you know that, we all know that.” Seungcheol begins, and Jihoon purses his lips. “But you apologized and told yn the truth, and you know what? They forgave you. The two of you have been hanging out almost every time you’re not out there saving the city. I wish you could only see that the way you look at them, is also the same way they look at you when you’re not looking.” 

Jihoon stands by the door in silence for a moment, gauging the information that Seungcheol just dropped on him. He looks down at his socks, trying to remember the times he caught you staring at him when he wasn’t looking. Tilting his head, he begins to wonder if the sparkle he saw in your eye is only there when you look at him. 

Jihoon lifts his head up towards the ceiling and lets out a sigh. Seungcheol waits in anticipation, finally grinning in excitement when Jihoon turns to look at him with a furrow to his brows. 

“If you’re wrong, I’m going to stick you to the ceiling.”

“I know.” 

“Okay, good. Now help me figure out how to confess to yn in a cute way.”

You walk through campus, a smile on your face as you look up at the bright blue sky, feeling happy with the weather. You’ve always enjoyed the sunshine, it always automatically uplifts your mood.

Glancing over to the side, you see a familiar blonde head of hair walking while looking down at his phone, making you raise an eyebrow in amusement. Quietly, you sneak over to where he is and rest your hands on his shoulders as a means to make him look up at you. 

“Who the fuck-”

“Seungcheol!” You greet cheerfully when his eyes lock with yours, and you watch as his look of confusion melts into one of joy when he recognizes you. 

“Yn! Were you heading this way?” You shake your head, no, at his question. Seungcheol raises an eyebrow at you, and you just grin. “I just wanted to say hi before I head over to my next class. Have you seen Jihoon today?” 

Seungcheol bites his tongue to prevent himself from spoiling the whole surprise, and instead gives you a smile and a shrug of his shoulders. He looks off to the side, just to see the man in question heading over in your guys’ direction. 

“No not yet, why?” Seungcheol asks, and you purse your lips, wondering why you asked that question as well. When you open your mouth to respond, you jump up slightly when a hand softly rests on your shoulder, making you turn to see Jihoon smiling at you. 

“Uji! I was just asking about you.” 

“Mmm, talking shit?” 

“Of course.” You respond cheekily, making the black haired beauty roll his eyes as you let out a laugh. Seungcheol and Jihoon share a glance, to which the blonde shoots him a quick nod of his head. Seungcheol raises his arms above his head, and you look over to see him giving you a regretful smile. 

“While I would love to stay and hangout with you guys, I gotta go do my internship. See you two later!” You grin and wave at your friend, to which he waves back. Seungcheol pats Jihoon on the shoulder as he passes by him, and soon the two of you are left alone. 

“Are you busy later?” Jihoon asks you suddenly, and your eyes widen slightly. After a moment of thinking of any possible homework, you shake your head in response. “I haven’t been assigned any homework that’s due anytime soon, so I’ll be free. Why?” 

You squint when you notice the pink tinge on Jihoon’s cheeks, watching as he runs a hand through his black hair. While avoiding your inquisitive gaze, the superhero mutters something that you’re unable to decipher.

“Heh?” Jihoon almost lets out a sigh, feeling too shy to ask a second time, let alone a bit louder. He finally looks back into your eyes, and you feel your heart stutter within your chest at the warmth to his gaze. 

“Meet me at the ice cream shop we went to a couple weeks ago at around six. I have something to tell you.” Jihoon says, and you tilt your head to the side with a teasing smile on your face. You watch as he scowls at your expression, making you let out a giggle.

“What?”

“Why are you edging me?” Jihoon chokes on his saliva from your out of pocket question, causing you to laugh loudly and reassure him that you’re just joking when he doubles over. The black haired beauty looks back at you with a look of disbelief once he’s calmed down, but you smile when you see that all the traces of nervousness have disappeared from his face. 

“I forgot how out of pocket your lingo is, Jesus Christ.” Jihoon mutters, and you shrug your shoulders with a chuckle. Glancing down at your phone, you notice that it’s almost time for your lecture, and you let out a breath. 

“I have to go to class, but I’ll definitely meet you at six tonight!” You reassure, and Jihoon nods his head. Beaming, you walk past him to head to your class, his eyes following after you. He raises an eyebrow when he sees you stop a few feet away, watching as you turn around to face him again. 

The sun shines down on you, casting a pretty glow on your skin as you smile at him from afar. Your eyes sparkle prettily at him as you raise your hand up and wave at him, causing warmth to flood Jihoon’s face as he reaches up and waves back at you shyly.

“See you at six, Uji!” You call out with a wave, before turning back around and heading to your class. Jihoon sighs, feeling his heartbeat go back to normal once you’re out of sight. Running a hand through his hair, he goes back on his way towards his apartment, a soft smile forcing itself out onto his face at the thought of you.

Shoving your hands into your pockets, you walk towards the ice cream shop with a content smile on your face. The night air is warm this evening, adding onto the remains of your happy mood from earlier in the day. 

Tilting your head, you wonder what Jihoon has to tell you that he had to wait until the evening. You pause your movements, suddenly realizing how stupid you are. 

“Yn, he’s literally a superhero. He’s Spiderman! He has other priorities, that’s why he had to wait. Don’t be dumb.” You remind yourself, shaking your head as you continue on your way towards the ice cream shop again. Feeling your phone buzz in your pocket, you pull it out, seeing that Jihoon’s texted you.

uji: i’m here

want me to order your ice cream ?

You smile down at the message, seeing that he’s a few minutes early. Glancing up, you notice that you’re about a block away from the shop and nod your head. “Might as well order for me already.”

you: awe are you paying for me? <333

uji: sigh

i suppose....

you: AWE<3333

uji: are you almost here? i don’t wanna order your ic if you’re still far

you: i’m about a block away !

btw what did you wanna talk to me about?

uji: you’ll find out when you get here stinky

see you soon

you: booooo okay

see you soon <333

Grinning down at your phone, you place it back into your pocket. You look up to start walking faster towards the ice cream shop in order not to keep Jihoon waiting, only for everything to turn black.

Panicking, you reach up to try and remove the bag that’s over your face, only to let out a garbled scream when an arm gets wrapped around your neck. You’re pulled backwards, and you claw at the arm that’s wrapped around you, about to scream more when you hear the sound of a van door open behind you.

“Ah, ah, ah, sweetheart. I’d stay silent if you want to live.” Your blood runs cold at the familiar voice near your ear, making you halt your movements. You’re thrown into the van, and the bag gets yanked off your head once the door closes. 

You’re about to break through the window of the van when the familiar sound of a click resonates next to your ear, and you know that you’re fucked. Slowly, you glance over to your side, just to lock eyes with the leader of the failed bank heist. He lets out an amused smile, nudging your head with the gun.

“So I see that you know Spiderman?”

Jihoon panics as he walks around the block, raising his phone to his ear as he calls you for the upteenth time. 

You were only a block away. You told him that you were only a block away. 

An hour has passed and you’re nowhere to be found. 

“Yn, please. Please pickup the phone.” Jihoon begs as he crosses the street, trying to give himself excuses of what could’ve possibly made you late. He curses to himself when the call goes straight to voicemail, and he lowers the phone so that he can call you again. 

He’s about to press on the call button when his phone rings, and he lets out the biggest sigh of relief when he sees that it’s you calling him. Immediately, he presses the phone to his ear. 

“Yn! Where are yo-”

“Spidey! You’ve been calling yn’s phone so much I almost wanted to break it.” Jihoon’s blood runs cold at the voice, any sense of relief he felt now down the drain as he stares at the sidewalk with wide eyes. 

“Who the fuck are you and what have you done to yn?” Jihoon asks icily, looking around for any suspicious vehicles. The man on the other end lets out a shocked laugh, and the superhero squints his eyes.

“Now, now, Spiderboy. I’m a bit offended that you’ve forgotten me so quickly.” Jihoon’s mouth drops open when he hears the incorrect name, only having heard it from one person so far. He bites his lip harshly, anger running through his veins.

“You’re the guy from the bank. The conman.” Jihoon mutters, looking up and beginning to head towards his apartment so that he can change into his suit. “Ah, so you do remember.” 

“Yeah, thought you were in fucking jail. Guess the police couldn’t do their goddamn job right again.” The black haired beauty says angrily, already blaming himself for having left you alone. 

“True. You know, the police really aren’t all that great at catching us bad-” 

“Cut to the chase. Tell me where you’re holding yn and I’ll go there.” Jihoon cuts off, and the man on the other end lets out an amused chuckle. Tilting his head, the conman turns to glance back at you, smiling when he sees that you’re still passed out. 

“We’re at the top of the Lotte World Tower. Be here by 8:00 or else.” The man says with a smirk, and Jihoon clenches his fist at his side as he begins to sprint. “Got it.”

“See you soon, Spiderboy.”

Jihoon climbs to the top of Lotte World Tower, the only thing on his mind being that he has to get you out of here. He knows that the police and FBI are on their way, having called them while he was swinging over. Looking down at the busy street below him, Jihoon sees the flashing red and blue lights a few blocks over, and he purses his lips.

Jihoon’s about to pull himself onto the rooftop, only to pause when he overhears a conversation, staying where he is.

“Boss, don’t you remember how fast he was able to unarm us? There was double the number of our team at that bank heist than there is here. He’ll be able to-”

“Shut up, Doyoon. Remember your place.” 

Jihoon lets out a breath, before pulling himself onto the top of the building. He locks eyes with the leader of the group, who only smiles cheekily when he lays eyes on the superhero. The conman glances down at his watch, seeing that it’s 7:58 pm.

“You made it with two minutes to spare. Good job, Spidey.” He announces, voice laced with sarcasm. His four men all turn with their guns pointed towards Jihoon, and the superhero lets out a scoff.

“I let you guys go with your money and yet you’re calling me back here? Do you have a fucking deathwish?” Jihoon asks through clenched teeth, and he has half the mind to hold back his chuckle when he notices the worried glance two of the guys share. 

“Ah, ah, ah! Remember Spiderboy, I can push yn off this building at any given moment.” Jihoon’s gaze trails over to find you tied up in a chair close to the edge opposite of him, tears filling your eyes as you stare at him. 

“Yn.” Jihoon breathes out, about to take a step forward, and you shake your head at him. You bite your bottom lip, looking down at your lap to try and hold back your sobs. Jihoon clenches his fist at his side, before turning to look back at the leader.

“What do you want, whatever your fucking name is?” Jihoon asks, and the conman laughs loudly. He paces back and forth in his spot, grinning at the superhero. 

“My name is Kangdae.” He answers, and Jihoon sucks in a deep breath, beginning to run out of patience. 

“Well, that’s one question answered and that was the most useless one of the two. Now tell me what you want from me, I’m impatient.” Jihoon practically commands, eyes flitting over towards you after every beat. The conman, now Kangdae, simply lets out a sigh, shrugging his shoulders as he looks up at the night sky.

“I had everything planned for the day of the robbery. My men and I planned it for months, it was fool proof.” Kangdae begins, and Jihoon almost lets out a scoff, but holds himself back as he simply just calculates how to snatch all four guns at the same time. The conman chuckles darkly, “We never expected the supposed superhero of the city to appear, and I never expected for him to kill my brother either.”

Jihoon’s head snaps towards Kangdae, and the leader of the group smirks to himself. He looks down from the sky, locking eyes with the superhero behind his mask, silence passing between them.

Jihoon remembers someone getting shot that day, but he was never the one behind the trigger. 

“I didn’t kill your brot-”

“Bullshit!” Kangdae’s voice booms, staring at Jihoon like a rabid animal. He chuckles darkly, raising up his hand to scratch his head. “You were fighting him when it happened. There’s no other way my brother would’ve died except by your hands.” 

Jihoon just stands there, not knowing what to say as he knows it would arise a reaction from Kangdae either way. The man laughs as he stares at the superhero, before he hears a quiet cry from beside him. Jihoon’s eyes widen when he realizes that Kangdae has remembered that you’re sitting in the chair close to the edge. 

“I tried looking for any type of weakness from you, but there was nothing and no one I could find. Until my men discovered how often you saved yn, that I finally found your weakness.” Kangdae states, slowly looking up at Spiderman with bloodshot eyes. Jihoon glances over at you, seeing your eyes widen when the conman turns to look at you. 

“This will serve as a reminder to never have a weakness in this field.” Kangdae practically mutters, and Jihoon snaps his head to look at the man. The leader turns and grins at Spiderman, before motioning towards his men. “Kill him.” 

Kangdae turns back to face you and grabs your chair, tuning out the sounds of your screams and cries for help as he drags you closer to the ledge. You sob loudly, trying to stop the man from getting any closer as you try to plant your heels into the ground. 

Jihoon’s already moving, having unarmed the four men right away. His heart pounds loudly against his ears as he hears the sound of your screams, fighting the men with his instincts doing everything for him as he just blindly punches and kicks. 

“P-Please. Please don’t do this.” You beg, hiccuping as you let out another scream when you realize that you’re able to look down over the tower. After a moment of just listening to your hiccups, Kangdae tightens his grip on the back of your chair, before bending down and cutting the ties around your wrists and legs. You’re about to ask what he’s doing, feeling a sliver of hope rise in your throat. He grabs your arm tightly and pulls you up so that you’re standing.

All hope goes down the drain when he looks at you with sad eyes, “It’s what I have to do.” The conman mutters. Your eyes widen when he pushes you, and suddenly you’re falling.

“YN!” Jihoon yells when he sees you fall off the edge, finally knocking the last guy unconscious before sprinting over and shooting a web down to your body. You reach out towards it, feeling the web hit your stomach so that you’re no longer falling. Panicking, you look down, seeing how high up you are from the ground, and you hold on tightly to the web.

“Oh God. Oh my fucking God. I’m gonna hurl.” You whisper to yourself, looking up at Jihoon to give him a thumbs up that you’re okay.

Jihoon lets out a breath of relief, quickly tying his end of the web to the ledge. Right as he finishes, he’s shoved onto his side. His eyes widen when a sharp blade comes straight down towards his face, and he dodges it, immediately standing up to fight Kangdae properly. 

“You’re ruining my plan.”

“I didn’t kill your brother.” Jihoon mutters, eyes flickering over to the web to make sure that you’re still okay. Kangdae notices this, and he lets out a grin. “Yeah, and I didn’t kill yn.” 

Within a second, Jihoon is fighting for the knife from Kangdae. Knowing that if he doesn’t get the weapon away from him, then he won’t be able to protect you. Jihoon lets out a hiss of pain when he doesn’t dodge fast enough, the blade slicing a bit of his arm. 

“I don’t want to kill you.” Jihoon mutters as he continues to dodge all of his stab attempts. Kangdae chuckles darkly, staring at the superhero with hatred in his gaze. “You didn’t show my brother that mercy.” 

The two begin to fight again, with Jihoon simply dodging the knife as swiftly as he can with his wounded arm. He kicks Kangdae’s legs out from under him, making the man fall hard onto his back, letting out a wheeze. 

“Stop this, Kangdae.” Jihoon orders, staring down at the man below him. The conman simply chuckles, slowly standing back up as his eyes trail over to the web that’s tied to the edge of the rooftop. Kangdae looks back up towards the superhero, and lets out a smile.

“You’ll never catch yn.” 

Kangdae quickly steps over and slices the web, only for his mouth to drop open in horror when he loses his balance and begins to fall over the ledge himself. The superhero quickly shoots a web towards Kangdae’s foot, keeping him from falling to his death as Jihoon sprints and leaps off the building to catch you.

“YN!” 

“JIHOON!” You sob, reaching out towards him with your hand.

Jihoon positions himself to fall faster, panicking when he sees how he won’t make it to you in time. In a last ditch attempt, he shoots a web towards you, almost letting out a cry of relief when he sees you catch it. Jihoon pulls you up with the slim string, watching as you outstretch your arms towards him once he’s close enough.

Jihoon wraps his arms tightly around your body once you’re within grasp, before turning and reaching out his hand, shooting a web towards the top of the Lotte World Tower. Your bodies jerk when the string attaches itself to the ledge, and he swings the both of you towards the building beside it, the wind blowing against you as Jihoon safely lands the two of you onto the rooftop. 

Once your feet touch the ground, you cling to Jihoon’s body tightly, sobs wracking your body as you refuse to let go, even though you know you’re safe and sound. The superhero holds you just as tight, tears falling from his eyes at how close he was to losing you.

“I-I’m so sorry.” Jihoon mutters, his own body trembling as he reaches his hand up to cradle the back of your head as you continue to cry. You shake your head into the crook of his neck as a way to tell him it’s not his fault, unable to find any words at the moment as you just want to hold him. 

“I caught you.” Jihoon breathes out after a moment, tightening his hold around your waist as you sob loudly into his neck. You nod your head, letting out a wet laugh, hands still shaking as you hug Jihoon tightly. 

“You’ll always catch me, Uji.” You mumble. He closes his eyes, the feeling of relief flooding the both of you as you hold each other underneath the night sky.

“I caught you, yn.”

[vidalinav]

im so happy you’re accepting prompts!! just know that there’s no pressure at all, and that we love your writing🤍 prompt: cassian and nesta talk about whether they’d still inevitably end up together if they weren’t mates and just alot of fluffy sweet banter

I did yours first because I really appreciated you saying that there was no pressure in completing it. I felt that and I thought it was the nicest thing in the world.

BUT It came out really stupid sorry so... I'm not going to tag anyone. However I will own my shame so here you go.

It's banter in the form of pillow talk, where Cassian constantly keeps Nesta up by asking her questions. In my brain, he goes on tangents and Nesta is the pragmatic one. That's like... okay Cassian. But again. STUPID!!!!!

~

“Do you think it would have been me?” Cassian asks as he tries to count constellations in fresh paint. “If we didn’t have the bond... would it have been us? I guess the real question is did the bond choose us from the start--our relationship destined? Or did the bond see us... how we acted and felt about each other, and some cosmic force recognized our love?

Nesta shifts in the bed, her eyes blinking up at him slowly. “Cassian these are not the type of questions you ask right before bed.”

But he has to ask, he always has to ask. There’s something about the darkness that has these questions bubbling out of his throat. “But think about it Nesta, don’t you think we’re sort of... odd.”

Cassian thinks about it all the time. There's no one more perfect for him then her and yet, he sees the way people look at them. His hands will always be stained with blood and Nesta is more fitted for white gloves and lace. And he knows she can hold a sword and fight with the best of them, but Nesta can fit anywhere and Cassian can’t fit.

“I mean I understand opposites attract,” he rambles on, “and we do have similarities, but we mostly fought in the beginning and yet I still wanted you even then. Was my want for you a part of the bond? Or was the bond part of wanting you? And if it’s the first, in another universe, in another time, would it have been me? And if it’s the second what if you hadn’t wanted me, too.”

Cassian turns to face her, the bed creaking as he moves. He watches as she frowns, her lashes casting shadows on her cheek. “I promised we’d have that time, but I never considered that in another life it might not have been me at all.”

It's not the first time he keeps her awake with some question or another.

Usually, she merely sighs exhausted at what do you think the meaning of life is? Does time even exist if we really think about it... Do you ever think about how you can know a person you’re entire life and only scratch the surface of who they are? Does that mean you can never really know a person truly in the first place and if that’s the case aren’t we all living with practical strangers?

More often than not Nesta’s covering her ears with the pillow, groaning while Cassian tries to pull it from her face. They’ve had a hundred and one nights like this. He wants a million more.

Cassian tries to catch his breath, almost wishing she’d groan or sigh or roll her eyes, play it off like it’s a stupid question because it is. he knows it is.

“So tell me,” he says, his words a whisper of worry, “what do you think? Was it always going to be us?

Nesta's brows furrow quizzically and she purses her lips. “I don’t know if you can tell this about me Cassian, but I don’t like many people.”

Cassian frowns at the words, “Is that an answer?”

Nesta shrugs, “I find it hard to believe I would have loved anyone else.”

“So you’re with me... by process of elimination?”

“Or...” She offers, her gaze alight with mirth, “you’re the exception.”

Hmm.

Cassian needs to think on that one.

“But hypothetically, what would you have done if it wasn’t me?” he goads. “We only exist because you turned fae, what if you hadn’t? There may or may not be a bond but the relationship is impractical if you’re human and I’m fae. You’d just get married to some poor bloke who gives you this large diamond ring and you have 12 children?”

Nesta scoffs, “Twelve?”

“Whatever number,” Cassian dismisses.

Nesta raises her hands to stop him, “we are not having twelve children.”

“That’s... a topic for another day,” Cassian waves off.

“No,” Nesta sings, “that’s a topic I will resolve now. We are not having twelve kids.”

“But I want a big family,” Cassian pleads, grabbing her hands and giving her that look that he knows makes her take pity on him.

Nesta rolls her eyes. “You’re head is big enough to fill up the entire house. We have no room for that many people. No. No!”

“The House is four stories. What are we suppose to do with all those rooms?”

“Cassian unless you are birthing these babies yourself in which I will fully support you emotionally, spiritually, and financially, we are not having twelve children. End of discussion.”

Cassian only grumbles out a response.

“And regarding your other question, I don’t know what I would’ve done. That scenario doesn’t exist. I’m fae, you’re fae. That’s it and unless we plan on dying tomorrow, I don’t know if we’d end up together in the next life. I don’t know if the bond keeps us coming back to each other. I don’t care. I want this life with you. I chose you and you chose me and we’re here together. And I guess, if the bond, or what I deem as love, means I’m going to have to answer these questions every night, then I guess that’s what I’m going to do.”

Nesta reaches for him, and Cassian shifts to make room for her. She settles her head on his outstretched arm. It tickles at his skin, but he can’t believe she’s just satisfied enough with that answer.

“Would you have married someone else though?”

Nesta sighs, but Cassian waits for the answer. She groans, mumbling about not getting any sleep.

“Probably,” she says at last. “Yes. If you want that answer, then yes. But quite honestly knowing my character and knowing the males in my town, we probably wouldn’t have lasted long. I would have killed him long before we ever reached twelve.”

Cassian laughs and Nesta brightens at the sound.

“Or he might have run head first into a moving carriage on his own accord. I wouldn’t have judged him.”

“How would you kill him?”

Nesta smirks, her eyes maliciously bright. “Poison... knives... a trip down the stairs.”

“Make it look like an accident.”

“Of course,” Nesta beams.

“You’ve thought about this a lot,” Cassian says, noting his mate’s excitement.

Nesta sets her hand on his cheek, rubbing her thumb along the rough stubble of his chin. “Murder is always on my mind.”

“I should probably stop keeping you up with my questions, then.”

Her lips are impossibly close to his, and he can feel her breath on his skin. “Maybe you should. I’m sure the House knows how to hide a body.”

Cassian laughs, the sound bright in the shadowed room. He’s sure that’s true and her lips raise at his calm shrug of acceptance. His eyes dart to her mouth.

Cassian wants to kiss her, but he has to tell her first.

“I love you.”

“I know,” she says, her lips nearly touching his.

Being near her is a relief. But hearing her speak is something else entirely. Maybe he asks her these questions because he wants to hear her voice into the last moments of the day. At all hours of the night.

Nesta wraps her hand around his hair and tugs.

But another question forms in his mind. “Would you’re family have approved of me?”

Nesta rolls her eyes, pulling away from him. Cassian grasps her arms, pulling her back. “Hey, come on now. You’ve indulged me this far.”

Nesta pretends to think about her answer, and as he waits she looks to the ceiling as if she’s actually thinking about it. Cassian can practically hear crickets.

“It’s taking you this long!”

“Well... I’m trying to be accurate!” She throws up her hands. “You know maybe they wouldn’t, because you’re not... princely. No offense.”

“None taken,” He remarks. Because he knows all too well the differences between them. Cassian doesn’t mind. She’ll be his queen. He can be her guard. Her knight. Whatever keeps her next to him.

“But then again, maybe they would because you are rich--hey!”

Nesta catches the pillow he throws and she throws it back at him. He catches it easily before it hits his face.

“Who hits their mate upside the head?” She yells.

Cassian rolls his eyes, “You hit me all the time.”

“I smack your butt. That is not the same.”

Cassian scoffs, “You won’t let me smack your butt.”

“That’s because you try to do it in public places!”

“Oh, so you’re okay if I tap your ass in private. You trying to tell me something Nes? Who knew you'd like to be spanked?”

Her cheeks redden and Cassian shrugs, thinking about it. "Actually I should've known that."

“I change my mind," She announces, grabbing his pillow, "they’d hate you and you know what? I would marry that man and I’d have twelve beautiful children!”

Then Nesta simply turns away from him and pulls the blanket over her head.

Cassian tries to pull the blanket down, but she doesn't loosen her grip. “Take that back! Nesta, take that back. I’m serious.”

“Nesta!” He hisses. “Nes, I’m not going to stop bothering you. Nesta!”

But Cassian slumps as the lump of blankets stays still. Nesta doesn’t even make a sound. 

“How about I pretend you didn’t just tell me about one of your fantasies and I'll bring it back up later. I’ll even pretend I found it in one of your books."

He rubs at what he thinks is her ass and Nesta shoves down the blankets with a flourish. Her hair is a mess of tangles all over the pillow.

“I hate you,” she says.

Cassian grins, setting his palms on her reddened cheeks.

“I love you,” He says softly, lightly tracing her soft skin with his thumb. It’s a privilege to be near her, to touch her, to be loved by her. To laugh and laugh and laugh. It doesn’t matter how, when, what, or why. “I wouldn’t want anyone else but you.”

Cassian kisses her lightly, “I still think we should talk about those children though.”

He merely gets smacked in the face with a pillow.

~

Fin.

~

I keep reading this and I can't make it better, so.... you win some, you lose some, you know.