#trying really hard not to have opinions on how other people plan their weddings BUT

[midnight-els]

my friend told me it was really important to her that everyone was getting a +1 to her wedding but my invite doesn't have one so apparently I'm just so chronically, haplessly single that it's assumed I won't use it lmao thx 💀

[wh0reforcoriolanussnow]

What The Heart Wants || Young President!Coriolanus Snow x Reader

GIF by @aemondtargaryen divider by @firefly-graphics

Summary: This marriage was nothing but unhappiness. You always felt like you lived in the shadow of Lucy Gray. But you try to pretend, pretend that this marriage was everything you could have ever dreamed of.

Warnings: little detail of smut

Wc:

Coriolanus Snow Masterlist

Your fingers play with the ends of your dress that your mother insisted you wear. In your opinion, the dress was abit too tight, short, and the neckline a tad bit lower than what was deemed appropriate for a simple get together with the President, your fiancé.

“Smile Y/n, Smile.” Your mother urges with a forced smile as you roll your eyes. The door suddenly opens as your mother and father immediately stand up. You let out a huff before standing up as well as Coriolanus Snow in all his glory walks in.

He doesn’t even spare your parents a look or you for that matter. He just sits down on the armchair beside yours with a huff. You watch him as he rolls up his sleeves, he had yet to speak. “Lovely too see you again, Evangeline, Festus, and Y/n” He politely nods.

His voice was stern, cold. “Likewise, President Snow, likewise” You mother grins widely, her tone sickly sweet. “Please, call just call me Coryo. You are to be my in-laws soon. Best to cut the formality early on,” He voices out as he leans over and pops a grape in his mouth.

Your knees were crossed as you stare down at your hands. Snow turns his head, finally looking at you. You could feel his gaze from your peripheral vision. A sudden kick to your shin made you groan out loud as your mother gives you a death glare.

Clearing your throat, you face Coriolanus. “What colour do you plan to wear for the wedding day? So you know, I can match,” He stares hard at your face, studying every detail. “White.” Is all he said before facing your parents again as he starts conversation with them on a topic you couldn’t care less about.

~

Snow had always been cold towards you from the moment the two of you started courting each other. It wasn’t a marriage for love, it was arranged. Coming from a high born family in the Capitol, disciplined to be the perfect wife, you were a perfect candidate to become First Lady.

And not to forget how close your parents and his parents were before they died. Coriolanus had changed when he came back from exile. He was no longer the sweet boy you used to remember.

He was now driven with power and authority. You never asked him questions about the details of his exile as peacekeeper during the times you would spend together. He would merely brush it off and tell you never to ask him about it again.

You were never one to listen to Capitol gossip but there were whispers going around about how Snow was in a relationship with his tribute, Lucy Gray. And that she ran away from him just before he returned back. You remember seeing the two together on camera, there always seemed to be a certain chemistry between the two that not much people paid attention to. But you.

He seemed completely closed off when you first met him after his banishment. He was always drifting in and out of reality. You had a feeling he wasn’t over Lucy Gray. No matter how much she hurt him for leaving.

“Coryo,” Your voice was gentle as you place a hand on his arm. He was out of it again. “She asked what flavour cake you wish to have,” You slowly say as his eyes were stuck to the wall behind the woman sat across from them. “Whatever flavour you want.” He shrugs. Before you could open your mouth again, he beats you to it.

“Is this really necessary? I have other important things to be doing right now.” He snaps, unfolding his sleeves as he gets ready to get up. You furrow your eyebrows at him as the woman starts to pack up the papers on the table before you stop her.

“Coryo, you told me you cleared your schedule today.” You fold your arms as he buttons up his jacket, looking at you. “I’d rather be home than here.” And with that, he doesn’t spare you another look and walks away. You watch his figure disappear as you sit back down, defeated.

“Should I continue without President Snow?” Your eyes move to the lady awkwardly sitting there. “Yes, yes you can continue,” You sigh. This was the third time Coriolanus blew these meetings off. Both of you despised the idea of getting married, especially to one another. But it had to be done. For duty.

~

“Oh you look absolutely gorgeous, my love. You’re going to be the prettiest woman Coryo has ever laid eyes on.” You scoff, downing the liquid down as you get ready to walk down the aisle. “Remember, smile!” Your mother points to her smile as you roll your eyes and link arms with your father.

The doors opened and the crowd gasp. You looked ethereal. Perfect. Doll-like. You smiled like you were taught to do and walked with such elegance and poise. Snow’s back was turned to you, but the moment he turned around, you swore you couldn’t breathe for a second.

Coriolanus’ hands were cold against your warm hands. His piercing blue eyes studied your face as words around you drown out. “You may now kiss the bride.” Coriolanus leaned in as did you and your lips touched. The kiss was gentle and didn’t last long. You could tell he was reluctant to kiss you.

He then smiled brightly, turning to face the crowd and your mother’s words come rolling in. Smile. Pretend you’re happy. You both had to act like you were infatuated with one another for the rest of the day until you arrived at Snow’s mansion. Your new home.

The moment you walked through the doors, the façade was over. Coriolanus made a beeline to his study where he slammed the door shut as you stand alone in the hallway, still in your wedding dress. Exhaustion caught up to you so your heavy footsteps led you to your shared room with him.

You were helped out of the dress by servants. The silk slip soft on your skin as you let your hair loose. It was quiet. Too quiet for yo ur liking. You sat at the end of the bed for some time, thinking about everything and anything until the door abruptly opened revealing Snow.

He paused when he saw you, almost forgetting that you two were married now and were going to be sharing the same bed from now on. He sighs before closing the door behind him.

He starts taking his jacket and long sleeve off. “Why aren’t you asleep” He voices out, his back turned to you as you watch his back muscles flex. “I’m not tired,” You said, barely a whisper as Snow turns around, his eyes trained on you. “Suit yourself,” He said before entering the bathroom.

You decided to move up the bed and lean against the backboard of the humongous bed that you and Snow will be sharing. You played with your fingers the entire time Coriolanus was in the shower.

You hear the water jets stop and he steps out, towel hanging around his hips as he has another towel drying his platinum blonde hair. He gets dressed in just boxers before making his way to the bed. He turns off his bedside light and lays on his back. You were still leaned up on the backboard.

Coriolanus then leaned over you and turned your bedside light off before sleeping on his side, back towards you. You stared at the back of his head for a while. “Coryo…” You softly say. You knew he was awake. “Coryo.” You say once again, your hand gently on his shoulder as he sigh and turns to lay on his back. “Y/n. It’s been an exhausting day. Can this possibly wait until tomorrow” He snaps.

“No.” You say in a firm tone that was abit too loud. You took yourself by surprise as Snow raises an eyebrow at you. “We’re married now.” Your tone was bitter. You were becoming just as frustrated as he was with you. A long due reciprocation.

“I’m aware.” He flatly stated, his eyes shifting away from your body to the ceiling. You sensed his unsatisfactory behaviour towards you, and you felt, a feeling that you had become very familiar with recently. Vulnerable. Coriolanus did not want you one bit. You knew that.

But you wanted to atleast pretend that you were going to spend the rest of your life with someone who loved you. But he couldn’t. He just couldn’t do it. A part of you understood that this was obviously wasn’t ideal for either parties, but you couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, like you weren’t enough.

You were always hit on by other eligible males in the Capitol, but when it came to President Snow, you weren’t even remotely spared a glance. So, you decided that tonight, your honeymoon night, to pretend that there is as much passion as you needed to make you feel as though you were marrying the man of your dreams.

“Look at me.” You demanded, watching as Coriolanus beside you slowly tore his eyes away from the ceiling to bore into your face. “Coryo,” You began, moving from the backboard to get closer to him. You leant into him, foreheads touching. You could feel his breathing stagger, his breath began to tremble as if he was straining tears.

"Please," Your grabbed his face desperately, almost beginning to start sobbing yourself, as if your bodies being this close to one another transformed them into one big, contagious product of unfairness and agony—indulging in one another helplessly.

"Please, Coryo, pretend I'm her," you never once thought in your life you would have to beg for a man to worship you the way he did another—before courting the President of Panem, you would have ques of eligible men at your feet—not even having to raise a finger.

"What?" He mumbled back, an unconfident whimper, his eyebrows furrowed—casting a shadow over his vacant eyes, causing his piercing blue eyes to darken.

"I never though I'd have to say this, but " You breathed out, placing a gentle kiss on the tip of his nose, "Pretend I'm her, pretend I'm Lucy Gray Baird. Even if she broke you, atleast you felt something for her." Your voice cracked as the nonchalant popular girl of Panem facade you’d spent your entire life up keeping, having Snow as a publicity accessory, had shattered in his grip.

Coriolanus didn't know what to say. He had never seen you in this state. You didn't know, but he watched you all the time through the cameras around the mansion and around Panem. Snow barely knew how to express his emotions adequately himself, let alone watching you break down.

You were in pain. As if you were swallowing back acid. "I just want to feel loved," You trembled. This was all so new to you, expressing your feelings, confiding to someone. "Even if it takes you having to think about someone else to make me feel like it.l And so, Snow silently agreed.

He took the invitation of being allowed to think about Lucy Gray in his embrace if it made you feel better. Selfish to an extent, but technically, what you wanted from him was equally so. As long as he appreciated your body as if it were a relic, to make her feel something, he'd be able to fantasise about the one thing he'd usually feel guilty about thinking. Lucy Gray crushed his heart. His soul.

Yet he couldn't stop thinking about the girl who betrayed her. And so, you mollified into him as he embraces your frame, kissing you the same way he'd been musing about doing so with Lucy, if he were to ever get the chance again.

Both your tears were the supplement of real passion, the dampness on your faces resembling sweat as tears fell between each aggrieved, desperate kiss.

More desperate, more intimate. You knew what Coriolanus wanted, and you gave in. You allowed him to see Lucy Gray through your eyes. And although they were a completely different colour, Snow swore he saw her eyes gazing back at him for a millisecond; and that was motivating enough.

Now you were both in pieces, too bad puzzles aren't taught how to piece themselves back together.

[yanpotatowriter]

To Young morticia and Gomez I think possessivenes and over-protectiveness maybe? Since they come from very high status family and rich,they know they are untouchable. But their darling? So innocent and beautiful for this world, anything can harm them! They are ALWAYS watching, they wont share their chosen one with this world. They know they have the power to keep you. You are theirs and that is the end.

They fell for their darling at the same time. ( if u watched the addams family there is a scene where they say they met and married at same day etc, very yandere dont you think? I think this mindset is same for when they were young)

Oh absolutely, the entire Addams family is pretty much yandere in canon already with how much they are about love and doing illegal stuff in the name of love and yeah they would be overprotective and possessive about their darling, no one can taint their obsession and no one should interact with their obsession because they already staked their claim, and only they can say who can interact with their obsession. I can also see them courting their obsession with more obscure/gorey gifts because that is their idea of courting gifts but if they notice that it creeps their obsession out they will give them more mundane and normal courting gifts like jewellery and other expensive gifts that will slowly turn again towards their (Gomez and Moritica’s) version of courting gifts only now their obsession will be alright with it because they got eased into it. I can see Gomez and Mortica also already telling others that they are dating their darling before they actually are to absolutely make sure that no one else tries to ask their darling out, it will be a death sentence for the poor person who decided to ask out their darling. When they start dating their obsession is pretty much also the end of their darlings social life outside of Gomez and Mortica’s social circle, they will bring their obsession into the nightshades and make sure that the rest of the nightshades just accept the fact that their obsession is in it now and that if they have a problem with it, they know where the door is.

They definitely have already planned out their entire wedding when they start dating their obsession, the only adjustments that their wedding plan gets is the opinion of their darling and what they want to see at the wedding. I feel like they won’t expect their obsession to love them in the hardcore way that they love their obsession because they see their obsession as naive and innocent so instead of having the mentality that their love should kill for them, they have the mentality that their darling should live for them as Gomez and Mortica cannot live without their darling. They also absolutely use their wealth to make people disappear when they ask too many questions or when they try and interfere with their relationship. If they get pushed too hard I can see them removing their obsession's family from their obsession life, telling their obsession that there has been a tragic accident surrounding their family, and they will go with their obsession to the funeral consoling their obsession while their darling has no idea that Gomez and Mortica were behind it. They will also ease up their obsession to the idea of a family when the subject comes up and their obsession is slightly hesitant to become a parent, telling their obsession that while their worries and fears are valid they will never let them drown and that they will be a happy family and that kids could actually bring something positive in their life.

Mortica might suggest taking care of plants first if their obsessions main concern is that they are afraid that they might screw up on taking care of the kids if they were to have them later in life.

Gomez and Mortica are willing to endure their obsession wearing pastels if it really makes their obsession happy and in another way it makes them see how innocent their obsession is.

[realmadridfamily]

Last year was particularly significant for Israeli model Mishel Gerzig and her husband, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Last summer, they married in a prestigious secret wedding that was talked about around the world. Later, they both went through a difficult period after Tibo's leg injury - then came the war in Israel, which forced them to join the information campaign. But last week they announced some particularly happy news - their first pregnancy. In recent days, the pregnant Gerzig came for a short visit to Israel - and we caught her this morning (Sunday) on the set of Z-Sport, of which she is the main face. In the interview, Mishel talked about her role as an expectant mother and life in Spain in the shadow of the war in Israel.

Do you also do sports during this period? Of course, I have to. I think it's even more important during this period. I was practicing sports even before my pregnancy, now I just keep doing it.

How long did you come to Israel? 5 days. I spent a weekend in Eilat, in the sun, at the beach - now I'm fresh for a day of photo shoots.

How are you coping with this difficult time? It's hard to deal with this from a distance. We get updates from the phone, from messages, from friends and family, we're not actually here so it's very difficult. Together Tibo and I try to be as supportive as we can. Because I'm pregnant, I took everything very seriously and very sensitively. There were moments when I felt I needed a second breath. Basically, we try to be strong. We have no other choice.

Are you getting comments about all your support for Israel? Yes, I've been uploading videos about this situation since the beginning - and Tibo decided to upload it too at some point. We quickly found ourselves under fire from all sides, but we stand behind it with our heads held high. Tibo, who is not Israeli, is behind it anyway and that is truly amazing. There is nothing I can do, everyone knows that I am Israeli, everyone knows where I grew up and that I served in the army. I have always been proud of it - and I will continue to be proud of it. I will never hide it. If you don't like it, have a nice day.

Why did Tibo decide to take part? He is not Israeli, why would he participate in the information system? I think he now has a direct connection with this country - he visited Israel and now has friends and family from here. My family is his family, my friends are his friends, so he really feels more connected to this country, it hits him more personally. When it happened, it not only shocked him, but it really touched on a kind of point: "Hey, these are my people too." The hate and shocking wishes he has received, but he still stands behind it and has no interest in criticism. We started talking to people to explain the situation, it opens their eyes. His teammates came up to me and asked how I and my family were doing. There is a lot of support behind the scenes, but less in public.

Isn't there a fear that it will harm his professional career? I don't think something like this should happen in a place like this, and if it does, it's very sad. After all, everyone has their own opinion. But I think such a shocking situation should shock the whole world. Tibo talks about this to a lot of people and he's not shy - and I think what he's doing is a great advertisement.

First pregnancy, huh? What is the excitement meter? Wow, very high! Huge excitement, it's really a ray of light and great fun at the moment. We checked the test together, it was very exciting.

When will the baby come into the world? At spring.

How did Tibo's children react? They were so excited, they were so charming. It really warms the heart.

Do you intend to continue living in Spain? At the moment, yes. Tibo obviously has his rehab plan and training plan, and that's where we're at right now.

Just between you and me, how involved will Tibo be in raising the baby? Will he change diapers? Will he get up at night? Of course he will! And he will get up at night - he is much better than me at getting up at night.

Do you already have name ideas? We have some ideas. But we're still processing it.

What do you expect from your child? The future of a footballer or a model? Whatever he or she wants, but the most important thing is health.

Were you not afraid to come to Israel during the war, when you're pregnant? I think overall it stopped me from arriving early because I had suffered from anxiety attacks in the past and didn't know how it would affect me and had to keep my mind balanced. But in the end I decided to come and I am very happy with this decision.

[crystal-moon-101]

Name: Eldrigma Nickname: Shadow Man, The Mystery, Forgotten One, The Last Tacenscous Age: 4598 Gender: Male Birthday: ??? Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual Ethnicity/Specie: Tacenscous Personality: Cold, Quiet, Stern, Focused, Intelligent, Direct, Loyal, Protective, Private, Vindictive, Resourceful, Alert, Empathic. Hobbies: He’s not seen to have a lot of hobbies outside of his mission of revenge, mostly spending his free time training, reading spells and upgrading his tools, weapons and armour. However, he does seem to be into stargazing, and enjoys reading a book or two here. Family: 

??? - (Wife*Deceased*/While very little is known about him and his species, it is discovered that he did once have a family, with a loving wife that’s name has yet to be revealed. But it’s clear he loved her, as the metal bands around his horns are actually his species version of wedding rings. He has not taken them off since the day his family died, and has no urge to find another lover.)

??? - (Son *Deceased*/Similar to his wife, it’s been found he once had a son, who was a young child by the time he died. While still being rather private about his past, Eldrigma has mentioned to Vesper that his son suffered from a birth defect, and he always despised how people looked down on his own child. So it’s clear he was a loving and protective father.)

Friends: 

Vesper - (Ally/Friend?/Eldrigma came across Vesper after she had a brief fight with the Omni Squad kids, almost dying due to her condition. He ended up taking petty on her, sharing his own mana/magic to save her, and in return she now assists him on his path of revenge, as no one has shown her this kind of kindness with the state she was in. Their dynamic is rather complicated, starting off as strictly professional, planning to part ways once they achieved what they wanted. But as time passes, there’s signs they’re starting to care for each other, being two lost souls that might find peace in each other. But with Eldrigma always being so distant, and Vesper untrusting of people, it’s hard to say where it might go.)

Enemies: 

Jay Tennyson - (Enemies/Admitly, out of anyone in the Omni Squad, Eldrigma seems to not like fighting Jay the most. He sees the boy as a good person, one with ideals that wants people to follow, and appreciates the kind and forgiving person he is. But sadly they are always bound to fight, with Jay always wanting to get in the way, trying to learn more about Eldrigma, believing he can help. It’s a complicated villain vs hero dynamic, but not even Jay can make Eldrigma stop his path of vengeance.)

Thea Levin - (Enemies/While he doesn’t like fighting Thea, like the rest of the crew, he’s not particularly fond of her either. She’s loud, brash, and clearly doesn’t understand that things she says can sound more rude or hateful than she realises. Given Thea seems to have an issue of seeing things black and white, it sets Eldrigma off, reminding him too much of certain incidents in his past. Also doesn’t help that she is an anodite, another creature from his grim past.)

Malax Shard - (Enemies/He is rather conflicted with Malax, because on one hand her two alien sides he hates, having connections to his past. But on the other hand he knows she is not to be planned for what happened to him, and does take into account how good she is as a leader and person, respecting her choice to fight and protect. So he often stays quiet around her, unsure what to say to her.)

Rook Rilla - (Enemies/He interacts with her the least out of the team, but they still have their opinions on each other. While she can be standoffish, he can tell she is a caring person, given she is the team’s medic. He’s seen her throw herself in danger to protect people, often innocents around them, and that sometimes makes him hesitate. Unlike the others on the team, she can’t really fight him, so he never feels fair to get her involved. But if she chooses to, he can’t really stop her, as she too will get in his way.)

Vanessa - (Enemies/Like Thea, he doesn’t seem too fond of her. Both because of her heratidy and because of her actions and personality. She’s flighty, unsure, and sometimes pushes her luck, with him finding her childish at times. He can respect that she is willing to help out the group when they need it, but highly doubts she has what it takes to be the ruler of Ledgerdomain one day, not unless she cleans up her act.)

Many Alien Species - (Enemies/Whatever happened in his past seems to be connected to many alien species across the galaxy. Such as anodites, galvans, necrofriggins and so on. It’s unknown as to how many he has issues with, or what connects them, but it’s clear he’s out for revenge, and that they did something to him a long time ago. Something that seems to have been erased by history somehow, and it looks like he wants to put them through the same treatment. He sometimes loses his cool around these people, especially those in leadership positions, or old enough to know what might be going on.)

Representing Song: Conquest of Spaces - Woodkid

Skills: Natural Magic/Spell Casting, Enhanced Intelligence, Flight, Natural Strength/Endurance, Knowledgeable On Technology (Even from other races), Crafting/Creating, Minor Regeneration, Represents/Has Powers in Biology, Magic and Technology, Multilinguist, Marksmanship, The gems that grow in between his horns can be harvested to make talismans and runes, Prehensile Tail, Anti-Magic Cloak. Weakness/Flaws/Fears: He does seem to suffer from a form of PTSD and Depression, still dealing with grief and anger from his past. He can sometimes lose his cool around certain people, making him briefly lose control over himself. While he can regrow the gems in between his horns, if he loses them all his magic will struggle to work properly. He’s not good with connecting with people, even someone like Vesper, preferring to suffer silently, and never wants to choose another option that isn’t revenge.

[danse--macabre]

24, 26, 28!

24. What do your characters think about marriage? Are they for or against it?

Oh! This question! This question is juicy

Trying really hard not to derail this one with Tirazel/Wyll because I think his third romance scene would derail and escalate into a gigantic angsty argument about marriage

SUFFICE TO SAY, Tirazel & Astarion are absolutely not about the married + detached suburban home + 2.5 kids lifestyle. Good gods, no! They abhor the idea. In fact, they deliberately spend the first few months post-parasite travelling, a different city each week, a different roof under their heads, a different challenge and a different thing to relish (it is not the wildly indulgent rich party couple holiday they want it to be and it is hampered by many things, but that's a discussion for another time). But suffice to say: they are not getting married.

Tirazel has particularly strong feelings on this: she was raised to be a marriage candidate for Baldur's Gate's young (or not so young) patriars, to help consolidate her father's power within the city and fuel his need for 'legacy' and 'dynasty'. Marriage, in Tirazel's opinion, is a cage designed to entrap its participants, particularly wives. She spent as much of her adolescence and adulthood resisting this (foiling match-making attempts, developing a reputation as a particularly nasty and unlikeable young woman, running away to study magic, running off with a charlatan, running off with a warlock, studying death magic, etc.) and was punished severely for this. She is never, ever, ever getting married - especially not to a man.

Astarion is much more neutral, but thinks the concept is silly, is 'not really for the likes of his kind', and certainly isn't going to get Tirazel to do anything she dislikes so vehemently on principle anyway.

That said - they do in many ways act like a married couple. They're in a committed, long-term relationship and expect to be each other's forever. I think after Tirazel helped Astarion defeat Cazador (his abuser), and after Astarion helped Tirazel face her father/elder siblings (her abuser + enablers/potential heirs to that abusive position), there's a real sense of... I think they both feel like, wow, this is it, we're in it for life now, through thick and thin, through everything.

(Which, IMO, they should question a bit, they've only known each other for a few, intense months in a very abnormal situation - and I think later down the line they realise, oh. We don't need to be codependent. And shouldn't be, either. But that takes time. They were each other's saviour, which puts them in a strange position.)

Anyway. They're almost sickeningly couple-y by late Act 3 (hilarious given Act 1 Tirazel will say 'I like him because he's so obviously not sincere in the slightest <3', way to go with healthy relationships girl), but more so than that, I do think post-canon they do end up throwing this extravagant, wild anniversary parties every five to ten years that basically feel like a wedding in the sense that everyone gathers, they're meticulously planned, aesthetically glorious, feel and seem fabulously expensive (some favours are pulled...), involve a lot of dancing, and are often very emotional affairs where people get quite drunk and talk about how much they love each other? Also, usually guests end up hooking up with someone unexpected. They're wedding-esque romps.

26. Do any of them have bad habits that the other can't stand?

Tirazel is.... hmm, how to put this kindly? 'Tirazel is a bossy boots little princess' feels unfair but it is literally the exact situation. She's been raised as nouveau riche noble-to-be, the darling debutante used to having exact control over everything within certain parameters (but also complete lack of control outside of those parameters), and will boss people about without even thinking. Much of this is harmless and even well-meaning ('I will do this for Astarion because I am sure he'll like it') but also some of this majorly grinds against Astarion's need for his own autonomy, and this results in major fights until they can hash out clear boundaries and Tirazel learns to be far more conscientious of this, and learn to ask first consistently.

A good example of this is a debate they have about how Astarion dresses. They both have strong and educated feelings about fashion, and Tirazel disdains Astarion's taste off-hand as being hopelessly out-of-date and makes arrangements to get new, far more modern and fashionable clothes for them both (she does not throw anything away, she's not that clueless - just offers to get new things), but this leads to a major argument when this was done without his consultation (he also doesn't like the proposed tailor, he actually thinks his clothes are fine thanks, he wants to have complete freedom).

Honestly, if Tirazel wasn't so ready to admit fault when she did this, the relationship would be in tatters. As soon as Tirazel actually realises she's pushed him in this particular way, she tends to step back, apologise, and try to fix things, because I think she does respect his autonomy at core, she's just.... Tirazel was a person who was imprisoned in her own home for a long time and got used to people in her immediate orbit either being living servants, undead servants, or hostile threats, and no more. I think Tirazel wants to learn to be in a relationship between equals, I also think that she does learn to ask, even over the smallest of things -- and it becomes an established rule that they both stick to, even if it sounds quite silly to the outsider.

On Tirazel's end, she has no patience for hints of possession, even in casual language. None of the 'you're mine / I'm yours', none of the 'I belong to you', no 'I'll ruin you for others' or 'I'll make you mine and mine alone' that other people seem to adore with their vampire fantasies. Absolutely none of that. She's, similarly, got a fiercely independent streak, though Astarion tends to unwittingly cross that boundary with words rather than actions.

28. Are they affectionate in public? Is it too much?

I think it's too much most of the time! Tirazel is deeply, deeply affectionate in private but she's used to putting on a front. I also think she's not someone who touches others casually or easily in conversation. I think it's also.... she doesn't 'do jealousy', she's uninterested in trying to show off how she 'possess' Astarion (ew), she doesn't see the need most of the time?

If they were ever grossly affectionate in public, it was in the Act 1 stage where they were both playing to a script, Astarion was the perfect seducer and Tirazel was the perfect seductee, which they both thought was somewhat trite and silly, and they would be extremely open and gross about PDA just to annoy people. It was a game of chicken - how long can you sloppily make-out before other people start retching.

But after things became serious? No. That was just for them. Not for others.

So what you usually get in public between Tirazel and Astarion is usually lingering touches, intense eye contact, knowing smiles, and chaste little kisses. The word 'later; is something they learn to tap out, using code, gently onto each other's wrists, backs, shoulders, if they're looking for more afterwards.

Around friends, they're a lot more relaxed - they're no longer 'showing off' as they used to, but the touch-barrier dissipates then. Tbh, I think given both Tirazel and Astarion have a complex about being 'the pretty thing on display', it is a relief to tone it down (most of the time), though that doesn't stop Astarion occasionally egging Tirazel and asking if she wants to scandalise [important person] with their salacious ways.

[phoenixyfriend]

In defense of Eloise (the wedding movie)

--part of the miscarriage plot was that messy sister's ex blamed her for the miscarriage. No one told Eloise this.

--if my siblings spent the whole lead up to my wedding acting like they were forced to be there, I would also tell them not to come

--she is clearly stressed and trying to impress her future in-laws, and none of her family is helping with that

--while it's not messy sister's fault that the wife showed up, it does not change the fact that all of Eloise's future in-laws know she is related to someone who had an extramarital affair. Its also possible that they might think Eloise condoned the affair.

--her brother told her in-laws about his sex life and pissed on someone. I love my brother and I would still uninvite his ass if he pulled that shit.

--there are... uncomfortable implications about two white siblings banding together to ostracize their mixed-race siblings.

Your opinion is still valid. I just also think that Eloise is going through it and deserves some slack.

Context: this post

Oh yeah, definitely. I do get exactly where you're coming from, and a lot of stuff was revealed after the movie had already led us to forming some specific opinions. I do think Eloise still could have handled some things better, though; even after watching the full movie and having all the context for her behavior, I think that... god I can't remember the exact phrasing, but there was a moment at the start where she said something along the lines of "We've drifted apart, but I'm sure we'll all be best friends again in no time."

And that's... I think that colors a lot of my opinion on her in regards to Alice specifically and Paul by extension. There's that really strange disconnect where she seems so casually excited and not even considering that a really horrible situation might have had some strong feelings lingering about.

(Full disclosure, a lot of this is probably influenced by my own faults and foibles, and I don't want to go too deep into self-analysis because I don't have room in my schedule for that kind of self-loathing lmao.)

It's not really excusing the extent of Alice and Paul's behavior, and I don't fault her for telling them 'listen, just don't come, then,' after the whole Situation at the dinner party, but.. IDK I just can't get past that initial Bright Eyed Optimism where she seems to be shoving Last Summer under the bed and pretending it didn't happen. I can't imagine that she didn't notice that Alice was avoiding her, or how long it took her siblings to actually respond? I mean, I guess she could have just been caught up in wedding planning, but that shock she had at Alice being hurt, in the limo...

It's just... it's an ugly and complex intersection of situations, and it's hard to paint any of the main cast as a villain (since Henrique, Dom, and Jonathan are secondary or tertiary characters). The siblings and Mom are all just Going Through It at the same time and it's a bad, bad time because nobody's well enough to really help the others through their shit (except Alice and Paul doing their best for each other, which isn't great).

Nobody's the villain but I do have somewhat more pity for Alice than Eloise, just because of the known specifics (miscarriage+breakup vs medical realization) and their life circumstances (white collar working class vs inherited wealth), and... yeah, Alice is a dick. But Eloise is rich and, in a lot of scenes, seems more interested in going through the motions (holding Alice up while she pukes) and controlling the situation (yelling that this is her wedding) than in actually understanding why people are upset with her.

[itsclydebitches]

Totally agree with your take on The Blacklist “(…) I’m watching the stupidest plot-line man ever devised, or a character suddenly did a 180 with no explanation, and yeah that makes the meta-writing part of my brain seethe and bite her imaginary pillow to muffle screams of rage… but then the characters have A Moment™, or there’s an actually well done twist, or we get an action sequence that yeah, is pretty silly when all is said and done, but it’s fun and I remember why I want to watch this show through to the end.” is exactly how I feel when watching lol

You know, I'm two episodes from finishing Season Three and while killing time today my poor brain was trying to unpack the roller coaster that has been Liz's opinion of Red lately:

Grows quite close while on the run, to the point where she'll impulse hug him and seek comfort in other ways following traumatic situations (like almost being shot). Fantastic. Love to see it. Makes perfect sense given 2+ years of interactions, revelations, and Liz's current circumstances.

Gets her life back and immediately decides that she wants Red out. Okaaaay. I've never questioned the whole 'I want a normal life and you make that impossible' perspective, but you'd think that everything they'd gone through would change her stance a bit from what we've seen in Seasons One and Two.

They settle back into working together non-stop, but Liz simultaneously insists that she doesn't want him around, a contradictory desire that's been a problem since the show's start and is pretty much ignored instead of being resolved. (Which, given the show's premise that requires them working together, should be resolved by Liz changing her stance on what a 'normal' life means. Which is what I THOUGHT we'd accomplished post-fugitive plot-line).

We get a series of episodes where Liz is literally pushing him away in the first half and then, like, holding his hand in the second??

Is completely adamant that she can't have a kid because Red is in her life.

Decides to keep the kid in large part because Red insists she should have the child in her life.

'Omg, Red, you need to stay away you're not safe for my family!'

'Omg, Red, I'm so happy you came to the wedding! :D'

Has pretty normal (for them) interactions surrounding the wedding debacle, including quippy dialogue and making light of horrifying situations. We're on familiar ground.

Is, again, her normal self where she (understandably) is pissed about shit like giving birth in a night club, but ultimately caves to the insanity that is her life.

Takes a hard turn into full-blown fury. No, you can't hold my baby. Get out. Get away.

A few minutes later Liz is falling into a coma and holds Red's hand: "Oh, Raymond. I do love..." Use of 'love.' Use of 'do.' Use of the first name. Supposed last words. Blah-de-blah I'm about six years behind and fans have analyzed that scene way better than I ever could.

Okay so Liz has been conflicted in a lot of non-persuasive ways and yeah, so much of this is contradictory/nonsensical, BUT if we're charitable we can write a lot of it off as traumatic venting and when the chips are down these are her real feelings--

Psych! She apparently faked this whole thing to try and achieve her normal life.

(Don't even get me started on stuff like the long scenes of Tom grieving when, from what I understand, he was in on the plan the whole time? You should only show the audience moments of 'grief' when he's around other people so we can later understand it as an act! Showing the viewer private moments of him talking to Agnus when he has no reason to hide what he really knows/feels in that moment doesn't work!!)

So I'm quietly seething at the absurdity and lost potential, heading home all, "That's it. I've got better shows to watch. I'm finishing this ONE EPISODE and then we are done, Blacklist."

The episode:

[Aram is the cutest cutie to ever cute, adorably blundering his way through working with Tom]

[Cooper stands his ground and announces to friend and enemy alike that he'll never stop trying to get justice for Liz]

[Red pulls a legitimately impressive one-over on the bad guy du jour]

[Unexpected moment of relief when a background character nobody survives a bomb]

[Dembe exists]

"FINE. I'LL KEEP WATCHING. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?"

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

[countlessrealities]

@misstantabismuses​ sent:  ❤  (Jinx and Summer) Ultimate ship meme || Accepting !

Affectionate; Holding hands | Cheek kisses | Hugs from behind | Cuddling | Hand kiss | PDA | Spooning | Shared baths | Whispers | Affectionate texts | Caressing | Stroke hair | No displays of affection [[ I think that, if they got together, Summer would be as touchy-feely as Jinx would allow her to be. She’d hug her, hold her hands, kiss her, braid her hair and so on. Physical affection is something she had always lacked, so she’d jump on the chance of getting some. And I think it would work great, since Jinx too tend to be very “handsy” with the people she’s comfortable with. ]]

Sex; Shower sex | Wall sex | Neck bites | Oral | Morning sex | Drunk sex | Public sex | Backseat of car | BDSM | No sex

Dates; Picnic | Cinema | Restaurant | Sports game | Hike | Coffee | Museum | Club | Bar | Beach | No dates [[ Read “restaurants” and “coffee” as “(space) diners” and “drinks” xD Those are the two things and the “hikes” (or parkouring around the Undercity) are probably the most frequent types of dates Summer would invite Jinx on. Once allowed to bring her to her own or other dimensions, instead, she’d take her to have picnic in green areas of Earth or other planets, to the beach and to the movies. ]]

Would my character…

Marry them? Yes | No [[ Summer is more the type of person who’d share a house with her partner without marrying them. She doesn’t have the best opinion of marriage, thanks to her parents, so she enjoys going to other weddings, but she wouldn’t want to get married. Tbh, I’m not sure if marriage is a thing in Zaun, but she’d be fine without it in any case. ]]

Have sex on the first date? Yes | No [[ Definitely not. Summer tends to ease herself into a relationship, so she definitely wouldn’t jump to that on their official first date, also because (according to the timeline I’m using for us) Jinx is her first female big crush, so she wouldn’t even know how to go about it and it would take her a while to get used to it. ]]

Confess their attraction first? Yes? | No [[ This is very much up to how things go between them. Usually Summer isn’t too shy when it comes to flirt with the people she likes, but Jinx is a bit of an enigma and, especially, she’s a friend, so she would be hesitant because she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship. So, she’d probably try to show her interest through some gestures (like the Christmas present and the kiss on the cheek), to test the waters, and then she’ll probably sit Jinx down to tell her, if she gets the impression that her actions are welcomed. ]]

Have children/adopt? Yes | No [[ Summer isn’t really interested in having kids and they are both way too young to think about it. Besides, I don’t think she’d ever see Jinx as parent material either so, even if she had any kind of interest in adopting some, she would probably give up on it because she knows what it means to be brought up by parents who aren’t equipped to be parents and she wouldn’t put a kid through what she’s faced or worse. ]]

Die for your character? Yes | No [[At the point they are, it’s a no. Summer would take risks for Jinx, stand up for her, defend her, but saying that she’d die for her it’s asking too much. She considers her a good friend and she has a crush, but her feelings aren’t strong enough for her to sacrifice herself for Jinx. ]]

Cheat on your character? Yes | No [[ Absolutely no. One of her boyfriend sort of cheated on her, so Summer despises cheaters. Besides, she has trust issues, so she treasures others’ trust and she would never betray Jinx like that. Especially once she has grasped just how hard it is for Jinx to get close to people. ]]

Lie to them? Yes | No [[ Again, she’s too respectful of the trust she is given, so she wouldn’t lie, especially not about important things. She might if Rick asked her to or if she’s planning some sort of surprise and doesn’t want to spoil it before the time comes. ]]

Cuddle after sex? Yes | No [[ As I said, Summer is kinda affection starved, so whatever excuse for her to get some crumbles of it is good enough, and that goes for post-coital cuddles too, if Jinx is into that sort of things. Besides, for her, it’s also a way to show affection. ]]

[moonsong1027]

Summary: What happens when your fiancé sees you in a white dress for the first time before your wedding? They’re obviously entranced in how beautiful you look!

Pairings: Kenma, Suga, Kyotani

Warnings: fem!reader, tooth-rotting fluff

a/n: I came up with this idea while planning my own wedding, and I couldn’t just pick one character so I decided a multi-character drabble was the best idea! I also may or may not do an MHA version?

☽𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙼𝙰

Kenma had spent the entire day gaming seeing as he didn’t have any better plans since you would be out dress shopping all day. He was still a bit pouty that he couldn’t go with, but he knew you’d be okay having your mom and Hinata go with you for support. What he wasn’t expecting though, was a photo message from one of his closest friends, of you in an all white dress, it was simple, a few embellishments on the neckline, and the silhouette showed your body off wonderfully while still being tasteful. Atop your head laid your mothers old veil, your “something borrowed”, and the smile on your face was one he’d seen many times in moments that were so dear to him. Moments that left no doubt in his mind that the two of you were made for each other. Kenma felt like his heart would burst out of his chest, you looked breathtaking! He was hit with so many emotions from just a simple photo, he didn’t even realize he was beginning to tear up. It wasn’t too long after the photo was sent that Hinata sent another, “Don’t worry, this isn’t THE ONE, but it almost was ;)”

☽𝚂𝚄𝙶𝙰

Suga was one that was all about tradition. You wanted him to go with you dress shopping to at least get his opinion, but he still insisted on not going. So, instead, you brought Daichi and your brother, Asahi. Suga was perfectly content with this, he knew you’d have the utmost support while still getting trusted opinions. It was a free period for Suga, his students currently in art class, so he thought it would be nice to check in. He opened his messages to find a slew of photos of you in numerous, white dresses. Some lace, others with sparkles, and some with a bit of both. Some of the photos you were smiling in, others you looked confused, but in all of them he thought you looked stunning. The last photo was what really caught his attention though, Daichi and Asahi were cheesing away, you were behind them also smiling, but the rest of you body couldn’t be seen past your shoulders. Almost as if they were purposfully covering the rest of your body. The message accompanying the photos was from your brother. “Thought we’d show you the options we were presented with. And also, she said yes to the one she’s wearing in the last photo. Don’t worry, we’ll keep it a surprise.”

☽𝙺𝚈𝙾𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙸

Kyotani Kentaro was soft for 4 people in his life. His mother, grandmother, sister, and you. No one outside of his family had seen the man and his soft side, not even the day he proposed to you, because he was sure to keep it private with only his sister there to photograph the moment. He knew you had planned to try on dresses today, bringing the other three women in his life along with your own mother, and he was forever grateful that you wanted to include them. But to the rest of his team, he still looked like the rough and aggressive man they knew on the court. They were taking a break, so Kyo had checked his phone for any notifications,to which he was met with a million messages from his mother, gushing about how gorgeous you looked in everything you tried on, and two notifications from his sister. He opened the chat with his sister, only to be met with a photo of you, in a gorgeous white sparkly dress, hugging his mother who was undoubtedly in tears.”It’s not the dress she chose, but this was after she told us she wanted to try on Moms choice again before she actually said yes to it.” Was the message with the photo He didn’t realize that his hard exterior was letting up. A smile lighting up his now bright red face. The team had a feeling as to who was the reason behind such a reaction from their teammate, but they know he’d never own up to it.

© all works belong to MoonSong1027. please refrain from plagiarising any of my works and do not repost or copy onto any other sites.

[animeomegas]

Omega!Itachi Getting Married

Anon:  Helllooo!!! I was wonderin if u could write for omega itachi getting married. I'd really appreciate it :)

(Hello! Hello! This is the oldest request in my inbox, so I hope this ends up being worth the wait! Enjoy~ <3)

Warning: implied sexual activity

General headcanons - Non-massacre AU:

Itachi has always known that he would get married someday.

After all, it was his duty as clan heir.

But he never expected to actually love his mate. He was required to angle for a politically/socially advantageous match and he had made his peace with that.

If he had to marry someone to keep peace between clans, he would. If he had to marry someone his parents chose for him to keep conflict in the family down, he would.

Itachi’s fatal flaw is that he doesn’t see his comfort/happiness as important.

And while he looked forward to his future children, his future spouse was a neutral event. It would happen, whether he wanted it to or not, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Best case scenario, he might have a new friend, or at least someone he respects, to live with him.

Worst case scenario, he ends up in a horrible marriage. He tried not to think too much about this option.

He never expected there to be any love between him and his future spouse.

Until he met you.

He found a person who actually loved him. An alpha who was as dedicated to a future family as he was. A partner who respected him more than he had ever hoped.

And Itachi fell hard and fast.

So, when you proposed, he felt like everything he had never dared to hope for was coming true.

You went to get his parents’ permission first (and the permission of the clan by proxy) and did the proposal in front of them. It wasn’t ideal, you knew Itachi would be happier with a private proposal, but you also knew that Itachi wouldn’t believe that he had their approval unless he saw it first-hand.

Itachi and his family are very traditional, so you weren’t mated before you got married, instead, you mated on your wedding night.

Itachi is very happy to let his family dictate the wedding. He doesn’t care as long as he’s married to you at the end of the day.

(But he does have preferences that you can extract from him, but getting Itachi’s true opinion, can be like pulling teeth.)

Proposal:

You had known Itachi since you were both 18, two years now. You had been courting him officially for a year and a half before you proposed.

As I mentioned, you proposed in front of Itachi’s parents, to make sure that he knew that you had gained their approval.

Sasuke was also there, after years of bribery, finally accepting of you and Itachi’s relationship. You met Sasuke when he had just graduated from the academy, and he was not impressed by this new person stealing his brother from him when he wanted Itachi to train him ☹

For Itachi, it was a normal family dinner.

He definitely noticed that you were behaving nervously, but he knew his family could be stiff, overly traditional and a little intimidating, so he figured that was the cause of your discomfort.

Sasuke was also staring at you suspiciously the whole evening, but to be honest, sometimes Sasuke was just like that, so Itachi thought nothing of it.

You kept a hand on his knee for the entire meal, only letting go of him when you announced that you had brought dessert for everyone and would be happy to serve it.

Itachi smiled his gorgeous smile at you, so pleased to see you making an effort with his family (or perhaps he was smiling about the desert, Itachi’s sweet tooth is legendary after all. It was difficult to tell.)

Nervously clenching your hands, you walked over to the fridge, pulling out the plate of dango you had hidden in there earlier. It was Itachi’s favourite, and if there was anything to convince him to say yes to your proposal, it was a demonstration of how much dango you were willing to buy for him.

‘Don’t mess this up,’ you said to yourself, gingerly sliding the plate of dango out of the fridge. It was an elaborate platter that had cost far too much. There were seven different dango flavours with an assortment of dips and dressings, arranged artfully with fruit and dried flowers to decorate the plate.

You walked to back to the table and presented the plate with a dramatic flourish to hide your nerves.

Itachi’s face lit up. Despite your nerves, his obvious excitement put a smile on your face. He really was perfect.

And that’s why you can’t mess this up.

“There’s anko, green tea, sesame,” you pointed at each flavour as you listed them. “Hanami and…er… some other ones…?”

Sasuke scoffed at your embarrassing failure to recall the flavours, causing a red flush to creep up your neck. You didn’t even know that there was this many dango flavours before yesterday! Thankfully, he didn’t say anything, perhaps due to the sharp look Itachi had shot at him.

“I made sure to get enough for everyone, but there’s something I’d like to ask for in return.”

You could see Itachi trying to catch your eye, probably to ask what an earth you were doing, but you purposefully avoided looking in his direction.

“The only thing I ask,” you continued, nervously. “Is for a minute of your time before we eat dessert.”

Mikoto smiled at you and nodded for you to go ahead with a gentle wave of her hand. Sasuke simply raised an eyebrow at you but didn’t interrupt.

“Great,” you laughed nervously. “Um, so, er, Itachi.”

Itachi straightened under your sudden attention. He looked immensely uncomfortable and confused, he was probably panicking about you doing something in front of his family that you would regret. He always played liaison between you and his family to avoid conflict and was probably not comfortable with you doing this. Unfortunately, he would never believe that you had his parents’ approval if you didn’t propose in front of them.

“I’ve known you for two years now, Itachi,” you started, finally looking at Itachi in the eye. “And it sounds horribly cheesy, but I think that I fall in love with you more every day.”

A barely audible gasp left Itachi. He was a genius, after all, he had probably figured out where this was going. He looked torn between panicked and elated, seeming to settle somewhere around shell-shocked.

“I’ve come to realise recently that, a life without that love, without your love, isn’t a life that I want.”

You can just about see tears gathering in Itachi’s waterline. It doesn’t look like he’s breathing at all.

With one final rush of bravery, you pulled out the diamond ring that had been weighing down your pocket for months and knelt down onto the dining room floor.

“Will you marry me?”

Itachi’s head whips around to face his parents, most likely preparing some serious damage control. But when he sees his mother’s gentle smile and his father’s subtle nod, he slowly moves his gaze back to you. You’ve never seen him look so shocked before. It was almost amusing enough to distract you from your nerves. Almost.

“I-,” Itachi swallowed hard. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Just say what you want to say, Itachi,” his mother replies, trying to encourage him.

His mother’s words seemed to break him out of his stupor and Itachi breathes out a single word.

“Yes.”

You let out a delighted and relieved laugh, taking Itachi’s hand in yours and slipping the ring onto his finger, and even though his family were all watching you, you couldn’t help but pull him into an embrace.

“I love you so much,” you whispered to him. “I’ll read you my real proposal speech this evening.”

Itachi laughed into your shoulder. His laughter had a hysteric edge to it, his mind still clearly reeling at what you had just done.  

“Real speech?”

“You didn’t think I was going read my real proposal out in front of your parents, did you? No way. They still think we’re virgins and I didn’t want to spoil that illusion for them.”

Itachi quickly and efficiently jabbed you in the stomach and hit you with his infamous glare.

“Okay, I deserved that,” you winced, gingerly rubbing the sore spot.

Finally, you pulled away and moved to dish out the dango. And if Itachi got the biggest portion, well, no one mentioned it.

   Planning:

Itachi lets his clan take over the planning.

He doesn’t want to deal with the stress of having to combat his family at every turn and would much rather just let them do it. As long as you’re there with him, nothing else really matters.

But even when his clan leave the smaller decisions up to him, he’s hesitant to voice his opinions, wanting his alpha to make them as an apology for his family commandeering everything.

But if you pay attention to little signs and reactions that Itachi gives, you can figure out some of his wants and desires.

Overall, there isn’t much to say about the wedding planning, because Itachi doesn’t do much of it.

Things he wants (compromise available/no compromise allowed):

Sasuke as his groomsman and Shisui as his best man – Itachi doesn’t have many close friends or relatives. He has you, Sasuke, Shisui… er, he’d probably invite his old captain Kakashi and… well, you get the point. So, every person who is important to him needs to be by his side at his wedding, and who is more important than his best friend and little brother.

A traditional wedding – He isn’t actually that bothered by what type of wedding he has, but he knows his family and clan will insist on a traditional celebration and as I mentioned, he doesn’t want to fight. The elders will push the wedding to be held in the clan compound and Itachi would be told to wear a traditional Uchiha wedding garment.

A sweets cart – This is something that he won’t bring up, and therefore isn’t bolded, but it’s very easy to see his face light up when he sees this in a wedding catalogue. It’s a wooden cart with different jars of sweets with little scoops for people to help themselves to. Itachi loves sweet food, obviously, but he also thinks it would be something the children in the clan would adore. He kind of really wants one, but he won’t bring it up unless someone else does first.

An early wedding – He won’t fight you or his family about this, but ideally, he would like to get married in the morning, maybe around 8 or 9 AM. Itachi is definitely an early bird who prefers the ambience of the early morning which is part of the reason, but mainly he just wants the performative part of the wedding over and done with so he can start his honeymoon. He doesn’t find it appealing to spend all night pretending to tolerate the elders of his clan who will almost certainly spend their time berating him for his choice of partner and then telling him he needs to have as many children as possible because he’s a powerful ninja that will produce powerful children. He just doesn’t want to deal with it. Leaving at 6 PM with you to go on your honeymoon and finally, finally mate? That sounds much more fun.

To try and conceive on his honeymoon – Obviously, he’s not going to force anything if you aren’t ready, but he would really love to start trying to conceive straight away. He’s desperate to have his own children, firstly, but also, he knows this is his only ticket to retiring from being a ninja. He wants to retire so badly, and so if you’re both ready for children, he doesn’t want to wait.

 The wedding:

You don’t see Itachi for a day before the wedding, as is tradition. You see him for the first time that weekend when he’s walking down the hall towards you.

And as Fugaku walks Itachi down the aisle, you are completely breathless.

He looks stunning.

His hair had been intricately platted with flowers, some lose strands of hair left to frame his face.

He’s wearing a deep red, formal kimono just as you expected, but it looked so much more beautiful than you had imagined.

He looked like royalty.

The whole ceremony flew by, and before you knew it, it was time for you and Itachi to say goodbye and leave for your honeymoon.

Your honeymoon was to be had at a cabin held deep in the woods on the Uchiha compound. The rule was that married couples could not be disturbed for anything other than a life-or-death emergency, so you would be completely alone.

It might have been nice to go abroad, but the Uchiha clan didn’t want Itachi to be distracted by his honeymoon outside of Konoha where he might be attacked and his eyes stolen.

You both had already been by to drop off everything you would need for the week, including clothes, food, games and toiletries.

So, now, all that was left was for you two to get there yourself.

You and Itachi had decided to amble your way to the cabin, taking your time to enjoy each other’s company after a day of socialising with everyone but each other. Not to mention that neither of your outfits were particularly well designed for gallivanting through the forest. It would be rather embarrassing to have to end your self-imposed isolation to go to the hospital on day one, so walking slowly was probably a good idea.

You had been walking for about thirty minutes so the cabin should be… There! You were there!

“Wait!” you shot out a hand to stop Itachi from entering, startling him slightly. “Don’t go in yet.”

Itachi furrowed his brows, absently blowing a stray hair from his face that must have fallen down during the walk.

“I… want to carry you inside,” you admitted bashfully.

Itachi chuckled but stepped closer to let you do it. You beamed at him, pressing a kiss against his lips as a thank you. He looked a lot more tired than this morning; his hair was falling out of its elaborate placement and the makeup you were sure he was coerced into using was a little smudged.

He really was the most beautiful person you had ever met.

With his permission now gained, you placed an arm around his shoulders and another arm behind his knees, before gently lifting him off the ground. You nuzzled Itachi’s neck, enjoying his content scent and the way he sighed happily at your attention.

With your husband firmly in your grasp, you nudged open the front door with your foot and stepped safely over the threshold. You carried Itachi all the way to the bedroom and placed him down gently on the bed.

Itachi leant up to steal a kiss.

“Bringing me straight to the bedroom, you are incorrigible,” he teased, kicking off his shoes and making himself comfortable on the bed.

“I-I wasn’t, I didn’t mean that!” you sputtered, flushing under Itachi’s laughter. Silence fell over the room for a moment as the exhaustion from the day swept over you both.

“Would you mind helping me out of this kimono, please? I think it’s time for something a little more comfortable.”

It took a solid ten minutes to get Itachi out of his clothes and into some pyjamas. Ten minutes and a lot of swear words as every layer seemed to be hiding another one underneath.

“This wasn’t how I imagined undressing you on our wedding night, that felt a lot like pass the parcel but somehow more stressful.”

“Oh?” Itachi questioned, pulling you to sit down on the bed with him, finally free from the constraints of his wedding attire. “How did you imagine it?”

Rather than answer with words, you pressed wet kisses over Itachi’s neck, smirking against his skin as you felt his hand come up to grasp at your hair and a gentle moan escape from his lips.

This was definitely going to be the best part of the celebrations.

[madcatdaderpydrawer-blog]

Eclipse: I hate Moon. Sun: "Hate' is a strong word. Eclipse: I have strong opinions.

Lunar: Welcome to my very first vlog, in which I try different hair products! Lunar: *sprays hairspray in their mouth* Lunar: Well, right off the bat I can tell you this one is not very good.

Sun: Enough! How dare you mock me in such a manner!? Lunar: Well. How would you like me to mock you? I take requests.

Sun, near tears: Please, Eclipse, I don’t speak meme! I don't know what a 'yeet' is!

Sun: The stars are so beautiful... Moon: They're just giant balls of gas. Sun: You know what, if you're just going to ruin this, then- Moon: And yet none of them are as huge as my love for you. Sun: Oh...

(platonic dw)

Eclipse, dramatically: They called me a fool. Moon, sick of Eclipse's shit: They weren’t wrong.

Moon: Love makes people do stupid things. Lunar: I love everything! Moon: That explains a lot.

Lunar: Eclipse is playing hard to get. Lunar: Little do they know, I'm a master at playing hard to get rid of.

(platonic)

Sun, explaining why they are not allowed to cook: I put the noodles in the pot and put the pot on the stove and turned the burner on high. Turns out you don't put noodles in marijuana and I almost burnt the whole house down.

Moon: Okay, I’m going to get the wedding cake. Sun: Perfect, while you do that I’ll check on the ring bear. Moon: ... Moon: You mean ring bearER, right? Sun: ... Moon: Look me in the eyes and tell me you are not going to bring a dangerous wild animal to the wedding.

*Moon and Sun enter a dive bar* Moon: Look, I know you’re disappointed but could we at least have a drink. Sun, in a scuba diving suit: I would like leave, please.

Lunar: My gender is in a constant state of flux.

Lunar: *is visibly upset* Sun: Lunar, what happened? I haven't seen you like this since you found out candyland wasn't an actual country.

*While planning to break in somewhere* Moon: Hey, let's do "Get Help!" Sun: What? Moon: "Get Help." Sun: No. Moon: C'mon, you love it! Sun: I hate it. Moon: It's great! It works every time! Sun: It's humiliating. Moon: Do you have a better plan? Sun: No. Moon: We're doing it! Sun: We are not doing "Get Help!" *A Minute Later* Moon, carrying Sun: Get help! Please! They're dying! Help Them! *throws Sun at guards, knocking them out* Moon: Ahh, classic! Sun: *gets up* I still hate it. It's humiliating. Moon, laughing: Not for me, it's not.

Eclipse: So we're gathered here today for a very special reason and I think you'll all agree with me here. Eclipse: And if you don't well then fuck you. Eclipse: I'm looking at you, Moon, you jealous mop.

Eclipse: *on the phone* Just snap his kneecaps and he’ll talk, I’m at a parent teacher conference. Eclipse: Anyways, you said Lunar is enjoying finger painting! That's great.

Sun: Sometimes I drink milk straight from the container. Lunar: The cow?? Sun: What? Eclipse: Lunar, W H Y?

Eclipse: You think you're smarter than everyone else. Moon: I don't think I'm smarter than everyone else. I know I am.

Moon: I could kill you if I wanted. Lunar: Yeah? So could any other human being. So could a dog. So could a dedicated duck. You aren't special.

Eclipse: Did you buy eggs like I asked? Lunar: Even better! Eclipse: What the fuck did you- Lunar: *holding up a chicken* Her name is Fluffy.

Moon: Guess what number I’m thinking of. Lunar: 420? Moon: No, that’s really immature of you. Someone else guess, and please take this seriously. Sun: 69. Moon: Yeah it was 69.

[serrj215]

Sleep Well Everyone

"Napping is important!" Beast Boy was trying his best to sound official. "No I am not shi..kidding you. (Be a good example Beast Boy!) You see us super-people, (does that sound right? I am going to go with it.)" He asked looking away from the camera. "We need to be at our best. People make mistakes when they're tired, and well a lot of us can knock down buildings and fire lasers and stuff so when we're tired we can make really big mistakes." He cleared his throat "Yes, I am talking from experience, the Rhino at the wedding incident will never be forgotten."

Behind the camera, Cyborg was trying to hold back a snicker.  They were recording in the common room. Robin had come up with the brilliant idea of doing training videos for future Titans.  Beast Boy had come up with the brilliant idea to mess with Robin.

The Titan leader sat next to Cyborg with a clipboard watching Beast Boy’s presentation. While the other videos were going to be about tactics, planning, or stuff that belonged in a boy scout field manual. Beast Boy decided on something a little less mundane. After all Beast Boy couldn't teach someone how to shapeshift, and his trademark humor was a divine gift in his opinion. So when it came to teachable skills it was either napping or how to perfectly microwave a veggie burrito so it was warm the whole way through.  

"There are three types of naps." He stated his hands behind his back spine strait trying to do his best teacher impression. Beast Boy knew that Robin would never go for this but if he was going to make him do this ridiculous thing why not lean into it before it gets deleted. If anything this would make sure that Robin would not go to Beast Boy the next time something like this came up.  

"The restorative:" He started  "This is the nap that you need after hard training, long missions, Robin's lectures, and the crazy stuff that has you up for days!" He threw his arms up for effect. " First this isn’t a soft landing this is a controlled crash! You are going to be out as soon as you lay down, do yourself a favor shower first. You might not care how you smell when you fall asleep but you will when you get up. So will everyone else in the Tower. I recommend showering with someone else so you can hold each other up." A large smile formed on his face. "My favorite shower buddy is Raven.  If you don't have a significant other to help you get soapy before you collapse in bed together I highly recommend getting one."

At this point, Cyborg had gone from covering his mouth with his hand to biting it to keep from laughing. Robin sat there motionless making them both wonder how long he was going to let this go.

"The second type is opportunistic." Beast Boy began again. "These kinds of naps you get while the get tin's good."

Beast Boy stepped back and sat on the couch behind him. "Part of being a team means that it is not all on your shoulders." His voice softened trying to bring out his inner Mr. Rodgers.

"There are going to be times where you're not needed or you're just getting in the way." He took a deep breath. "Trust me there have been times where I am more useful taking a nap than helping with mystic rituals or setting up equipment. Take advantage, grab some rest while you can because they may not need you now but they're going to need you later. I guarantee you if you going to have some time in the T-car when you have nothing to do but stare at the window, grab some rest." For emphasis, Beast Boy shifted quickly into a short-haired cat. "If possible I like to barrow Raven's lap for these kinds of naps if it is available. Turning into a cat optional but highly recommended."

Beast Boy quickly shifted back and crossed his arms pointing in two different directions. "This also goes both ways. If you don’t think someone is not going to be needed for a while, tell them to get some sleep. Especially if you have a team member that does not know when to put a book down, and thinks tea can be a substitute for sleep."

Beast Boy then stretched out on the couch putting his arms behind his head. "The third is recreational." He said to the ceiling. "I know that some of you think sleeping is not fun, you are just not doing it right." He shifted a bit grabbing a nearby throw pillow for his head.  "The idea is that you are now someplace safe and comfortable, but not too quiet. You need a little noise, Cyborg cooking in the kitchen, Starfire humming to herself, someone sexy chanting a mantra as they do. I really do recommend the couch for this."  

Beast Boy turned his head toward the camera "It’s not just a matter of rest, it’s a matter of stress relief. What we do is going to stay with you long after the disaster, the mission, the apocalypses (Apocoli? I don’t know) the bad stuff has passed you need time to let your head wrap around it all." He shifted again to lie on his side. "It helps to know that the people that you care for are close by.  It helps even more if the person you care for is close by. " He pointed to the space on the couch in front of him. Rae loves being the little spoon. "  

At this point, Beast Boy rolled off the couch on bounded up to his feet. "In conclusion!  Get some rest everyone! Nite-nite!" He said taking a bow and trying to hold in his amusement, just waiting for their fearless leader to blow a gasket at this presentation Beast Boy just pulled out of his ass.

"Well okay. Cyborg let me get that uploaded,"  Robin said marking something off on his list and pulling the memory card from the camera.  

"WHAT?!"  Cyborg and Beast Boy said at once.

“What?! Cyborg asked in amazement. “You want to use that?!”  He gestured his arms wildly in Beast Boys’ direction.

"Beast Boy made some valid points. Also, many of the recruits are going to be young. Something light like this might be something to break up the more serious stuff. We don’t want to scare them off.   I am not sure how Raven is going to react when she sees this, but I think there is value to this. Sleep is important, and we do have to be at our best. Good job." Robin said as he walked off leaving the two.

After a few minutes, Beast Boy broke the stunned silence. "He is messing with us, right? I mean he isn't really going to upload that, right?"

Cyborg looked down at his friend. "Better question, how is Raven going to react after you have announced to all the future Titans that she is your favorite naptime accessory?" He could almost hear the rusted gears start to turn in Beast Boy's head. “You do realize that the training videos are going up on a YouTube channel and the internet never forgets?”

The color started to drain from Beast Boys’ face. "Yea…we need to get that memory card back."  He said before running after Robin.

“We?” Cyborg asked the empty room. “Try you, I am going to make some popcorn and watch the show. Dis gonna be good.”

++++++++

"In conclusion!  Get some rest everyone! Nite-nite!" came out of the phone speaker. Raven paused the video looking up from her phone at Robin sipping his coffee across the table.

“You knew he was messing with you right? And Cyborg was probably in on it.”

Robin put down his cup. “Of course I did, but in a couple of days I will be able to get them to do something serious later.”  

“And I am the only one that has this?”  She asked.

“Of course, Beast Boy might have a death wish but I don’t.” He took another sip from his cup as Raven scrolled back through a few sections of the video. After a few minutes. “You are not angry?” he asked in surprise.

“No,” she said quietly as she re-watched the section about the opportunistic naps the slightest smile on her face.

“Wow, you have got to love him.”  

Raven did not respond. She locked her screen and her phone disappeared in her cape.  She got up quietly and started walking away.

“Raven? Where are you going?” Robin asked after her.

“To take a nap.” pulling up her hood and walking out the door.

#####

Cross posted 3/13/2022 on AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/37717111

[jkstompers]

a royal engagement | jjk

pairing: jeon jungkook x female reader

summary: the rough ground against his clothed knee doesn’t matter anymore when he sees the sweetest smile on your face. everything is perfect.

genre: arranged marriage but they wanna do it right!, best friends to lovers, royalty!au, FLUFF, crown princess!oc, prince!jk, surprises!, jk believes in soulmates confirmed, oc is so in love, perhaps jk flexes how rich he is in this ~(˘▾˘~)

warnings: mentions of sex, sexual tension, more talk of exes (both jk and oc’s), they both talk about losing their virginity, mild jealousy, mentions of menstrual cycles, a little bit of lip locking action

word count: 11.1k

author’s note: ♡ happy jungkook day! ♡ this chapter spans over a week and a half-ish! also i made a little oopsies in the last chapter when i said that oc had only been back in raemor for a week… it’s actually been a month since she’s left the city. i’m sorry about that! i changed it on an arrangement already, but i just figured it out when i was editing this chapter. other than that, i’m so excited for this series and i hope u all enjoy!! pls lmk what u think! ღ'ᴗ'ღ 

banner pic creds here! <3

jungkook had the utmost faith in you.

there was something in him that always knew that the love the two of you had ran way deeper than a friendship— probably more than a relationship too. it was something like a soul tie. something the stars created before the earth was ever created. two beings that were always meant to be together, in every universe, in every time before and after this. jungkook held his hope in that. his trust that the love the two of you forged was strong enough to pull you out of your room and into his arms before the plane took off.

the war between your head and your heart ended in a stalemate. you were fighting against something that you knew in your heart you wanted. your brain couldn’t make any more excuses to go against it when jungkook laid his heart out on the floor for you. you’d already made your decision before you went to sleep— before you even left jungkook’s grasp. but you were one for the dramatics.

the sound of the plane landing woke you, you were afraid you were too late. thinking that you slept in during a moment that could decide the rest of your life, you ran. bare feet smacking against the cold floor of the castle, before you eventually made it out to the garden and then the royal runway.

the sound of your voice that morning set it in stone. that jungkook will never love another the way he does you.

“jungkook!” you called out.

he was just about to board the plane for fenutar, jungkook and his advisors huddled into a circle to talk about customs and special etiquette since it’s been a while since he’s last visited. your shout interrupted the conversation. jungkook turned around immediately at the familiar voice.

the sight of you running through the cold, wet grass in your sleep wear with a winter coat and no shoes on. it makes his heart swell, with both love and worry. more so worry. “princess? what are you doing out here?! it’s freezing and you’re not even wearing the right clothes—”

you cut him off as you crash into his body for a tight hug. it felt right, it always did. “am i too late?” you ask, face snuggled into his warm chest.

he shakes his head, a little laugh accompanying the words. “you’re just in time.”

now, jungkook and you lay in your bed, staring up at the ceiling together. since seven in the morning, the two of you have just been talking about everything and nothing. mostly just appreciating each others presence. time passed quickly and it was almost time for everyone to start getting ready for breakfast. “so... how should we tell everyone? over breakfast?” you asked, pulling yourself on his chest and resting your cheek against his ribs.

he smiles at you. “sure, i heard they’re serving waffles, donuts— you know, sweet stuff.”

“and wouldn’t our news be so sweet?” you grinned. he laughs and you can feel his chest rise and fall under your head, the sound of his laughter just up against your ear. “should we go now?”

you move to get up, but jungkook stops you, placing a hand on your waist. “let’s stay here for a little bit longer.” he suggests, moving his hand up to run through your hair. “aren’t you tired from your dramatic show of affection this morning?” laughing as his fingers card through the strands of your hair. he combats your glare with a tender massage to your scalp. remembering how you’d always fall asleep whenever he did, and it worked. your eyelids fell and you melt against jungkook as he continues to rub your scalp gently.

love wasn’t scary. times like this, when it’s just you and jungkook; no expectations, no titles, no responsibilities. it’s just love. it wasn’t terrifying, it’s not painful. well, maybe it is sometimes. like how your heart beats out of your chest whenever jungkook looks at you, eyes glistening with admiration. like when you smile at jungkook and he feels like he could burst at any second just from the sight of you. love is hard to explain. love is whatever you make it out to be. and right now, love is in the curve of jungkook’s lips when he smiles at you. love is in the palm of your hand when you reach out to hold him.

the sound of the knocks on the door doesn’t register until the second round of taps. “princess, it is time for breakfast.” you hear from behind the door.

you sit up. “i’ll be right out!” trying to get out of bed but jungkook pulls you back.

“uh-uh,” he tsks. “you’re not dressed.” you furrow your eyebrows before you look down at what you’re wearing. a slip dress, the one you wore to sleep to be specific. “i won’t look, don’t worry.” he laughs, scooting himself up on your bed and covering his face with one of your pillows. he ignores how nice it smells, just like that shampoo he really likes. you bought it back in the city, raemor doesn’t have shampoos that smell like this.

he hears you rustle around in your closet before he hears a faint zip. “wait— jungkook, how does this look?”

the pillow is pulled away from his face and his eyes lay on you. with a colorful sundress draped on your body. it flows and compliments your skin beautifully. you’re beautiful. god, you’re gorgeous. asking jungkook for his opinion wouldn’t help, he’s biased. you’re pretty in his eyes no matter what you wear. “that— yeah, it’s— you look great.” he stumbles over his words.

“cat’s got your tongue?” you tease. in retaliation, jungkook ruffles up your hair a bit, making you groan and spend another five minutes in front of the mirror to fix it. meanwhile, jungkook pulls himself off the bed and straightens his outfit out, opting to leave his jacket off since it was toasty in the castle. he still looks proper and handsome with his white button up and dress pants on. for the last touch, you dig through your jewelry box, knowing that it has to be somewhere in there.

then there it was, at the bottom, tangled with a necklace from your mother, was the friendship bracelet jungkook gave you when you were twelve at the lantern festival. a dainty gold chain with a flower embellishment on it, signifying the promise the two of you made. he watches from afar when you put it on, trying to hide his surprise. “you still have it?”

you nod, “you don’t?”

“i do.” he assures. “i just didn’t think you’d remember it after all this time.”

you scoff playfully, walking towards him. “of course i remember,” linking your arm with his. “i remember everything.”

with that, the two of you step out of your room and down to the dining hall. they were expecting you, but not jungkook. the shock on everyone’s faces was evident. your parents, clementine, your ladies, venus, even blue. it was a good surprise though. both of your parents had to hide their big smiles behind their napkins. the staff kindly added another chair next to you for jungkook to sit down in. no one spoke up about it, if they wanted to ask, they kept their mouths shut. the two of you enjoy a delicious breakfast without any interference from any of the advisors.

but someone had to say it, and you were happy that it was going to be you.

you let out a cough before standing up, holding a glass of water and clinking your knife against it gently to grab everyone's attention. it only took a few seconds for all eyes to land on you. “jungkook and i have come to the conclusion that we will marry.” you announce.

the hall is overjoyed. cheers coming from your parents, smiles being sent your way from blue and your ladies. even the advisors, the most stern and inexpressive people you know (except for venus) crack a little smile at the news. “but—” you begin. silence quickly takes over the room. “only on jungkook and i’s terms.”

there is a bit of confusion amongst the crowd. so clementine is quick to ask, “and what are those terms, your highness?”

one. “jungkook and i will wed next year, when spring begins.”

two. “both of us will plan the wedding, with help of others, but the main parts will be orchestrated by the two of us.”

three. “there will be no talk of an heir until we are ready.”

“deal!” both yours and jungkook’s parents say as soon as you’re done talking.

“then it is settled! prince jungkook and princess ___ will wed next spring!” clementine announces to the hall and cheers erupt through the room once more.

jungkook stands and gives you a tight hug. the moment is all too perfect, the joyous chatter of everyone around you and the warm embrace of the one you love wrapped around you. it’s something you’ve dreamed of. “i won’t let you down, princess.” he promises you, in your ear, only for you to hear.

“i’ll be the best husband this world has ever seen.”

a good husband has to be honest.

jungkook has something to tell you, and he isn’t sure how to word it. he’s scared you’ll be turned off by it. it is a pretty serious topic, so he needs to say it, or else he would feel the guilt start to build in his stomach. then before he knows it, it’ll spill all out. so it’s better to nip the bud. get it done before it becomes a bigger problem.

the two of you were having a sleepover tonight. it’s the first one you guys had since you’ve been back. jungkook brought all the fancy snacks that his mother packed along with some drinks, while you had your contraband: face masks and matching pajamas for the both of you.

he looks funny with his peel off mask drying on his face. you told him not to make any facial expressions or else it wouldn’t work. jungkook’s been pulling a straight face for ten minutes while watching elle woods destroy chutney in the courtroom.

he couldn’t have chosen a worse time to speak up about it, but it’s been eating at him for long enough. “i have to tell you something.” he says out of nowhere. you look at him, trying not to react with your face. his serious tone makes you want to burst out into laughter, it was just so out of place.

but he looks somber, like how he looks when something’s bothering him. you swallow the urge to laugh and just nod. “you can tell me while i peel this mask off your face, deal?” you ask, moving closer and picking at the edge of the mask.

you wait patiently until he spills whatever he needs to say, but he looks a little distracted by the feeling of the face mask being peeled off. he’s already nervous, he tells himself not to get side tracked. so he just spits it out. “i’m not a virgin.”

well. that was one way to start a conversation.

you try not to show your shock, but your eyebrows were already raised and now your facemask is stuck to itself. “oh— oh my god, jungkook,” you laugh, covering your mouth. “do you want a high-five or something?” you can’t hold back the laughter anymore. you raise your hand up and wait for him to reciprocate.

if you were being honest, it did make you a little jealous. you wondered who he lost it to. it was probably jieun. did he love her? enough to want to lose his virtue to her? while the questions run through your mind, he returns the high-five, taking you out of the downward spiral of queries. you weren’t angry at him. there wasn’t an agreement between the two of you that you’d take each other’s virginities. jealousy is unforgiving, because you knew there was no reason to be mad but you still felt the stupid pang in your heart.

you finish taking his mask off, expertly in one piece. jungkook waits for you as you throw it in the trash. he’s still silent, not really knowing what else to say. he was waiting for an argument, in all honesty. but you’re smiling, seemingly unaffected by his confession. “do you wanna help me take off mine?” you ask him, sitting back on the bed, facing him.

he nods, picking at the edge and trying to do exactly what you did. “you’re not upset?” he asks, pulling the mask off of your face. maybe you were, but you weren’t going to tell him. it’s in the past, what matters is now, and he’s here with you now. you couldn’t be too mad.

maybe you should be honest too. you shake your head, “of course not, i’m not a virgin either.” this conversation only proves that there was no need to hide when it came to jungkook. you admired him for speaking up about it first too, even though you aren’t exactly sure why.

jungkook successfully took your mask off in one piece as well, discarding it into the trash can. you tell him that the two of you have to wash your faces to get the tiny pieces off and he follows you into the bathroom. responding with a, “really?” and a raise of his eyebrows.

you turn the water on and splash him a little bit. “are you trying to say i’m too ugly to get laid, jeon?!” you glare.

jungkook backtracks, “no— no! you’re pretty— really pretty— i just— i didn’t know what to say.”

you roll your eyes playfully. rinsing your face with water and making sure your face is entirely clean from the mask before stepping aside and drying your face off, allowing jungkook to have his turn. “who’d you lose it to?” you asked. despite probably already knowing the answer, you just had to make sure.

“uh—” he starts, looking at you through the mirror. his eyes flicker back down to the stream of water when he answers, “jieun.”

of course. you let out a little laugh, stepping closer and nudging his side with your elbow. “congratulations, dude.” at least he told you, at least he was honest. that’s all that matters. jealousy can play it’s part later. after the sleepover.

“what about you?” jungkook asks when he finishes drying his face off. he wants to know, but at the same time he doesn’t. curiosity gets the best of everyone.

“my ex-boyfriend,” you answer nonchalantly. “min yoongi.”

“boyfriend…” he exaggerates. pursing his lips and nodding, the same jealousy you felt earlier coursing through his veins now. “that’s nice— congratulations.” he says, copying what you said. an awkward silence comes between the two of you, in turn, making the two of you laugh out loud. clutching your stomach type of laugh.

“why did you bring it up in the first place?” you question. curious as to why he would need to speak up about his sexual past.

“well, i just wanted to tell you because— i don’t know— when it happened, you were the first one i wanted to tell, and i know it’s too much information but we always talked about stuff like this— like remember when you told me when you got your first period?” he begins to ramble again. a cute habit of his.

you cringe at the mention, but you remember it so well. jungkook was so worried for you, he did all the research he could on menstrual cycles; asked his parents about it, looked online, asked his advisors, and even the doctors that come around the palace for check-ups. with all the advice he got, he showed up in front of your door with a big basket of your favorite sweets, literally every menstrual product ever produced (he wasn’t sure which one you used so he brought all), and other random things like flowers, just to be extra nice. you ended up crying in his arms because of how lovely the gesture was. it showed what kind of person jungkook was. meticulous, caring, and just so sweet.

“you’re right.” the trip down memory lane was delightful, as it always is whenever it comes to him. “but what… about us?” you asked. the question seemed random, but whenever you travel down memory lane with jungkook, you’re always reminded of the feelings that you had and still do have for jungkook. being on this topic makes you wonder: did he bring this up because he wants to have sex and wants to be transparent about how many partners he’s had?

“what do you mean? what about us?” he asks. his eyebrows are furrowed and you can tell he doesn’t understand.

the question shouldn’t have made you hesitate the way you did, but now you’re trying to find the words to backtrack. “i— um,” your smile fades a little. expecting you and jungkook to jump into a relationship was unrealistic, let alone having sex. “nothing.” you shake your head.

jungkook can somehow read your mind. he probably just picked up on context clues. “if you’re thinking about— you know— us, having sex,” he starts. “we don’t have to do anything of that sort, if you don’t want to.”

the thought is something that’s lingered in your mind for a while. same for jungkook. but neither of you will admit that. so the conversation comes to an awkward halt. you blush. “right! yeah— sure, of course.” you nod. every synonym of ‘okay’ leaves your mouth. it makes jungkook laugh, starting a domino effect and making you laugh. soon enough, the conversation was pushed aside and the two of you focused on whatever movie netflix decided to autoplay. it wasn’t long before the buzz of the tv lulled the two of you to sleep.

“jungkook! save me!” you shout from the doors of his palace, spotting him talking to his father in the foyer. you just ran from your castle to his in hopes to outrun your chaser. jungkook’s head turns at the sound of your voice, your figure coming closer and closer.

“what? what is it?” quickly placing the papers in his hand onto the table, he rushes towards you. his face was riddled with worry as he watched you run towards him.

taking you into his arms, you hold him tightly. “venus won’t stop asking me what color the table cloths for the guests should be— please… spare me, my prince.” you fake sob into his chest.

he lets out a relieved laugh, the stress lifting away when he realized that you were just being bombarded with wedding questions again. “shouldn’t they be white?” he asks.

you look up at him in his embrace, chin against his chest, near his throat. “that’s what i said! then she started asking about the details of the cloth— like if we wanted it to be a certain type of thread, if we wanted a different colored detail woven through it— i just— why does it matter?!”

“it matters because it’s going to be the wedding of the century! now tell me, ___, white with gold detail or—” venus finally finds you after asking the guards where you went. she approaches you hurriedly and tries to shove the samples in your face, but you hide in jungkook’s chest, refusing to look at them.

“the gold detail is beautiful, venus, thank you.” jungkook answers for you. you relax against him once again. venus looks satisfied, putting her cloth samples back into her bag and walking away. with venus finally out of your hair, jungkook rubs your back gently. “wanna stay the night?” jungkook asks in your ear.

“depends.” you act like you think about it. pulling away from his embrace, looking at him with a playful glare. “do they still make those strawberry tarts i used to love?”

jungkook smiles. “i’ll ask them to bake you some right now.”

“deal.” you pinch his cheek. “hello, your majesty!” you greet his dad when you turn around. jungkook moves over to the side and tells one of his assistants to ask the kitchen to make your strawberry tarts.

jungkook’s dad gives you a bright smile. “good evening, princess.” even bowing slightly.

“you know you don’t need to do that, papa, it’s just me.” you smiled, giving him a curtsy back for the courtesy

“yes, yes, i know.” he laughs. “i’m just so glad to see you home.” opening his arms for a hug. which you move for immediately, hugging him tightly.

jungkook’s parents were always amazing to you. never making you feel unwelcome or uncomfortable. “i missed you as well, you and mama jeon always make me feel at home whenever i’m here.” you express your gratitude to him.

he holds one of your hands in his. “it is your second home, ___.”

“thank you,” you grinned. when you look down, his hands are holding an entire stack of papers. it must be something important, you excuse yourself so that they could finish their business. “i’ll see you later, papa! jungkook! i’ll be in your room!”

jungkook only gives you a thumbs up as he takes his place back next to his dad. the two of them watch as you skip your way up the stairs. your figure receding as you make it to his room when jungkook’s dad speaks up once more. “she is something else, son.” patting his back with a light laugh.

jungkook laughs too. a big smile on his face when he says, “in the best way possible.”

“agreed.” he replicates the same smile that’s on his son’s face. “i’m happy for you.”

when he looks down, his father holds out the papers to verify the marriage arrangement for him to sign. your family had already signed and his parents did too, a while ago. jungkook told them that he’ll only sign after you did. then, just after breakfast when the two of you announced your agreement to the arrangement, you signed happily. it’s a little late because jungkook’s been super busy, but now, with excitement in his heart for your future together, he scribbles his signature on the line. “thanks, dad.” he says as he hands the papers back to him.

they settle the rest of their business and finish signing some more papers. after about ten minutes, jungkook is finished with all the reading and signatures. he makes his way to the kitchen and the chefs hand him a platter of strawberry tarts on the cutest serving plate. white with little red hearts that match the strawberries. a detail that jungkook knows you’ll appreciate.

with two waters in his hand and the tarts in the other, he makes his way up the stairs. hilariously, a problem arises when jungkook needs to open the door to his room. he doesn’t wanna put the stuff down and he figures that you probably can’t hear him if he knocks because the volume of the tv is leaking through the door. in the corner of his eye, jungkook can see a guard crossing the hallway. “psst!” he calls out, hoping to get his attention. the guard passes by without a second thought. a few seconds pass and he can hear the guard take a couple steps back.

soon enough, the guard pops his head into the hallway. “everything alright, your highness?” he asks.

“yes, but— do you mind opening the door for me?” he laughs awkwardly. the guard nods and rushes over, turning the knob and sliding the door open. “thanks, man, have a good night.” he smiles at the guard.

“of course— you too, your highness.” he bows before leaving him be.

when he enters the room, you’re nowhere to be seen. the tv is on and playing some scary movie from what he can tell, the background music is eerie and quite frankly creeping him out. he sets down the waters first onto his bedside table and you come out of his bathroom at the perfect time. “there you are.” he sighs. “how are you just going to play a scary movie and then make me come into an empty room?!” he cries.

you roll your eyes playfully. “my apologies, prince, i didn’t hear you come in!” sporting a hoodie and a pair of boxers stolen from jungkook’s closet, you jump into his bed and eye the beautifully plated tarts in his grasp.

jungkook tries not to get distracted by the way you look right now. so cute in his clothes. he wonders if you caught the way that he looked you up and down. when he realizes that you’ve been staring at the tarts, he refocuses and picks up one of the pastries, holding it close to your mouth “your tarts, your majesty.” when you open to take a bite, he snatches it back quickly and takes a bite himself. his face contorted in pleasure, the treat was perfect amounts sweet and sour.

“jungkook,” you deadpanned. your straight face breaks into laughter not even a second later when he holds the bitten pastry back up to your mouth. “you literally ate half of it!”

“then eat the rest of it!” he shoots back with a laugh. you roll your eyes, taking the rest of the pastry into your mouth. in turn, your lips slightly graze against his fingers. it wasn’t helping that your eyes were looking directly into jungkook’s. it was quite obvious that there was some tension here.

neither of you knew how to address moments like this.

most of the time the two of you just act like it never happened. but they’ve just been happening a little too often these days. like that one time you and jungkook almost kissed after he helped you put on a necklace. that time you and jungkook were hiding from blue; he held his hand over your mouth and the other arm tightly around your waist so you wouldn’t move or make a noise. then now, your sex eyes peering directly into his as your lips graze his fingers. yeah… it was a hard thing to talk about.

jungkook is just as confused as you when it comes to whatever the two of you were. just best friends? engaged but friends? dating? no, that wouldn’t be right. jungkook should ask you to be his girlfriend, er— fiancee, right? just because the two of you are arranged to be married doesn’t mean the two of you go from best friends to a pair of lovers just like that, even with requited feelings.

communication wasn’t a hard thing for the two of you. being best friends for twenty years does that to you. fights, the silent treatment, and even that one period of time where you swore that you’d never talk to jungkook ever again; you guys have been through it all.

it’s just that— neither of you really know how to go about it. this conversation was awkward. maybe it’s just not time to talk about it yet, jungkook thought. you were so busy these days. your advisors would pull you away from him before he even got a word in.

then when you two do get the time to spend with each other, the both of you are usually exhausted from the days you’ve had. even though the wedding was an entire year away, there was way more planning than either of you expected. everyone wants it to be perfect. which is nice in hindsight, but it does get annoying sometimes. like how venus was hounding you earlier for the choice of table cloths.

so the two of you just ignore it for now. maybe when it becomes more of a problem, you’ll talk about it with each other. but for now, it’s just something neither of you are ready to face. you chew and swallow the rest of the tart while jungkook moves into the bathroom to get ready for bed. giving the both of you enough time to calm down and gather your thoughts.

when he comes back out, you’ve eaten at least three more strawberry tarts and started a new movie. another scary one. jungkook doesn’t understand how you can watch these kinds of things before you go to sleep, it’s like you’re immune to nightmares or something.

but you weren’t immune to feeling tired. just before jungkook joins you in bed, you let out a yawn before stretching your limbs a little bit.

“tired?” jungkook asks, pulling the comforter over his legs.

you nod, “a little.”

he smiles. “it’s late,” he nods to the clock on his night stand. one in the morning. “sleep, you did a lot of work today.”

“i know,” you groan. “just one more bite.” trying to fit an entire strawberry tart into your mouth was a bad decision. the pastry crumbled into your throat and had you choking for a minute.

jungkook comes to the rescue with your glass of water and a hand rubbing circles against your back. “alright, alright.” he laughs. “no more tarts— go to sleep, princess.”

when you’ve come down from your coughing fit, you nod before you tell him that you’re going to call seungyeon and jimin. “let me just update them about the wedding planning— they’re gonna laugh about everything, i just know it!”

“it’s supposed to be a secret, princess.” jungkook shakes his head, watching as your hands pull out your phone at lightning speed.

“oh… really?” you pause, “i’ve been telling them everything since we’ve started.” jungkook only laughs. he could never be mad at that, why wouldn’t you wanna share something like this with your friends?

“just make sure your advisors don’t find out, okay?” he holds his pinky up for a classic promise, which you reciprocate.

the next fifteen minutes or so, jungkook acts like he isn’t listening to your conversation as he immerses himself into the storyline of this movie, it was interesting but not as interesting as the way you tell them about the wedding. you sound so excited, telling seungyeon that you’re gonna have to go dress shopping soon and that you want her to be there and everything. it makes jungkook smile. it’s more back and forth between the two of you, seungyeon saying of course she’ll be there and you saying that she better because you’re sending a jet to her. it was quite funny.

then seungyeon’s voice rings over the line, updating you about how jimin’s prepping for his big dance recital on saturday and how much they miss you.

you wish you could go to support him. jimin’s been dancing for as long as he’s lived. he’s so passionate about it and you admire him for it. he talked your ear off about how excited he was about this performance. that the crowd is going to be the biggest he’s ever performed for and how scouts will be in the audience. you wished you could go.

the way your voice shakes isn’t something you can hide very well. over the phone it may pass off as a breath you took too long to breathe in, but in person, jungkook can hear the way that your voice gives way to the tears building in your eyes. “tell him i wish him the best of luck.”

“of course,” she answers. “oh! and i was able to take some pictures when we went into the city, you remember all those hole-in-the-wall spots, right? turns out they’re great for photography!”

not long after, you received an email notification. containing the pictures that seungyeon took and they were beautiful. the city's night lights make everything look so cool, like a movie.

you miss the city. you miss your friends.

“they’re gorgeous,” you tell her. scrolling through picture after picture. seungyeon rambles more about a new restaurant they found that she hopes to bring you (and jungkook) to when they have the chance. jungkook could see the way that your energy changed. you’re sad now. he can feel it. he knows you miss the city. the way you slowly scroll through the pictures, longing to be there instead of having to look at a picture of it through a screen.

the gears in his head turn. a plan has already been set into motion for a date between the two of you. yugyeom, taehyung, and eunwoo have all been trying to pitch in, give him ideas as to where to go, what to do. but jungkook thinks he knows exactly what to do. he wanted to do this right.

so that next morning, jungkook makes an important phone call after retrieving the phone number from namjoon.

“hello, jimin? this is jungkook…”

it’s already been a week and a half since you and jungkook agreed to an arranged marriage. you’ve only been able to see him five out of the twelve days. busy was an understatement. venus said there is too much to do and that even a year isn’t enough time to get everything done. it seems like an exaggeration, in your opinion. sure, a wedding was a lot of work, but did you really need to be there to confirm everything?

maybe venus will let you have a break one of these days. you don’t suspect it to be anytime soon. today, you were told to wake up early (six in the morning type of early) and get dressed. no one told you exactly why, but you listened and once you were ready, made your way to the briefing room.

when you push the big doors open, venus eyes you suspiciously. “princess, what are you doing here? we are not wedding planning today.”

you furrow your eyebrows. “then what are we doing?”

“you are going on a plane, something about a political appearance.” she winks. walking your way and weaving her arm through yours to lead you out.

“already? mother said appearances weren’t for another month!” you groaned.

“sorry, princess.” she laughs. “your bags are being packed as we speak, just go freshen up and we’ll meet jungkook and blue at the royal runway.”

“got it.” you assure her. ah, such a good kid. venus thinks. you don’t even question the random political appearance and just accept it at face value. she knows you’ll be surprised. you don’t even suspect a thing!

after maybe ten minutes, you walk with venus down to the runway and meet up with the boys. jungkook seems a little nervous. he’s doing that thing where he shifts his weight on his feet. “you okay?” you ask him.

“yeah! yeah— why wouldn’t i be?” jungkook answers. a smile that’s way too bright is displayed on his face. you suspect it’s just nerves for the speech he’s probably gonna have to do.

“if you’re nervous, just remember i’ll be right there next to you, yeah?” you assure him. gently taking his hand into yours.

jungkook is suddenly reminded why he shouldn’t be so damn nervous. because it’s you. he gets to be with you. to marry you. of course, he wants it to be perfect, that’s why he keeps going over everything in his head, making sure he’s got everything down. but it’s you. his best friend. when he looks at you, his nerves are at ease. that burning feeling in his chest dies down and his throat no longer feels like closing in on itself.

he lets out a breath. “ready?”

you nod, “where are we going anyway? venus never told me.” stepping up into the aircraft and taking your seat, jungkook and blue follow suit.

“i think we’re going to gotia, right, blue?” jungkook answers, turning his head to namjoon. his face directly telling him to go along with it.

“yes, your highness, gotia.” namjoon smiles brightly.

your eyebrows knit together. they’re acting weird again. “alright…” you say, suspicious of them already. “wake me up when we’re there.”

apparently, you were exhausted. you slept through the entire plane ride and it was a fifteen hour plane ride. namjoon said you did this the last time too. only waking up to eat and talk briefly before falling asleep again. it was a great time for namjoon and jungkook to gather blackmail photos for themselves as your sleeping faces are unbeatable. even when you land, you don’t wake up. jungkook isn’t gonna be the one to wake you up, so he gently lifts you up, bridal style. you don’t even bother opening your eyes, you just cuddle into his further. jungkook was always so warm, and so strong. he carries you into a car and lets you continue sleeping there, with your head on his shoulder.

after about twenty minutes of traffic, you finally decide to open your eyes. suddenly conscious of the way that jungkook’s hand is intertwined with yours. you don’t mind, his hand felt nice in yours. with sleep-riddled eyes, you look outside the window to see city infrastructure; which is not very common in gotia. gotia is a green mountain country, known particularly for their abundance of livestock and green grass.

you give them the benefit of doubt, perhaps you guys were just going somewhere in gotia that you’ve never been before. so you ask, “where exactly in gotia are we going?”

jungkook smiles. a very mischievous smile. “you’ll see when we get there, princess, don’t worry.”

hm, suspicious. this time you sit up, the seat belt digging into your belly when you push forward to lean against the front seat. “blue, where are we going?” you ask your trusty body guard.

“i am just following directions, your highness.” he tells you with a tight grin.

you were already suspicious during the plane ride, and now since neither jungkook or namjoon want to tell you where you’re going; you’re starting to put the pieces together. they’re gonna make you play that game where blue drops you and jungkook off in a random location and the two of you have to figure out where to go from there. and from your own experience: it sucks! so you scoff. “you guys are kidnapping me! hand me my phone, i am calling my father.” holding your hand out with your palm facing up. both of them laugh, jungkook places his hand on yours instead of giving you your phone.

“just wait a little longer, princess.” jungkook tells you as he intertwines your fingers together.

another few minutes and you’re still unsure of where you are, the dark tint of the windows is only adding onto the difficulty to spot the exact location. blue stops abruptly and turns to the two of you, “i was told to let you off here.” he says. the street is empty, but somewhat familiar. you weren’t able to get another look before jungkook covered your eyes.

“it’s a surprise, close your eyes.” he says. out of habit, you close your eyes, giving your trust to jungkook. jungkook steps out of the car first and then the door to the left of you opens. you keep your eyes closed and scoot out of the car with jungkooks’ help. he helps you out and onto the ground where he leads you somewhere onto the sidewalk.

“can i open my eyes now?” you ask, still squeezing your eyes shut.

“in a sec,” jungkook promises. bringing you a little further, you can hear him open a door and feel him lead you inside. “you can open your eyes now, we have to go up some stairs first.” he tells you.

when you open your eyes, you’re in a staircase with carpeted floors and metal railings. it looks fancy. the two of you make it up the stairs and you still can’t tell where the hell you are before jungkook tells you to close your eyes again. he opens another door and leads you out, leading you through a curtain you can feel. now you can hear some noise, quiet bickers of a crowd of people. it had to be hundreds of people out there.

you hear jungkook sit down beside you before he speaks up once more, “okay, open.”

scared, you only open your right eye just a peek. from the image, there’s an entire crowd below you. you’re in a theater of some sort. no, wait— it’s not just some theater, it’s the theater. the one that jimin’s performing at! that’s when your eyes shoot open. you’re back in the city, with jungkook by your side, about to watch your best friends’ performance.

“no way.” you spoke quietly, facing jungkook. he only smiles at you, holding your hand in his. “did you really do this for me?” the two of you sat in the highest box seat, jimin called them ‘the rich people seats.’ no one can really see you from here and you had one of the best views; it was perfect.

it was just so thoughtful. he must have noticed how homesick you were feeling, how much you yearned to see your friends again. this is the best gift you could have ever received. you’re not even sure what to say, and jungkook understands. he doesn’t expect any thank you’s or a major display of affection. he’s just happy that you’re happy.

when the lights dim and the music begins to play, you can’t help but feel the tears start to build in your eyes. “thank you, jungkook, so much.” you pull yourself close to him, laying your head on his shoulder.

“of course, princess.” he tells you, wrapping his arm around your waist to pull you in closer. “anything for you.”

with that, a tear falls and the curtains are drawn. revealing jimin standing in position with a beautiful dark forest background, performing his black swan routine. one of his longest and most physically intensive choreography he’s ever made. but it’s so damn gorgeous. he performs flawlessly and receives a standing ovation. you couldn’t have been any happier for him.

during the extended applause, jungkook stands up pulls you along, through another carpeted hallway. “wait— where are we going?” you ask him. his other hand holds a bouquet that literally came out of nowhere. “and where did you get those flowers?!”

“we’re gonna see jimin!” he tells you as he maneuvers through the never ending hallways. “oh, and i hid these— so you could give them to jimin.”

the two of you stop just before another door, you pull him back gently. “what? people are going to see us, jungkook, we aren’t allowed to be outside of the kingdom without proper guards.”

“no one will see us, i promise, jimin will meet us here in this room.” he tells you. the both of you peek through the door window, it was an empty practice room. the door on the other side of the room opens and it’s the cue that it’s safe to come in. “ready?” he asks, holding the flowers out for you to take.

you start crying again, it was immediate. jungkook wipes the tears away quickly, “don’t cry, princess.” he places a sweet kiss on your forehead before he hands you the bouquet and opens the door for you.

then there in the middle of the room stands your best friend. his arms open for a hug and you run into them. crying even harder when you realize that jimin is crying too, you can hear the way he sniffles. “why are you crying?! you did amazing!” you sob.

“because you’re here and everything went perfectly— it’s just overwhelming.” he admits, pulling back from the hug. the two of you laugh at your crying faces.

“congratulations, jimin.” you tell him, holding out the flowers for him.

“thank you, ___.” he accepts them with a smile, wiping his tears and turning his attention to jungkook, who stands at the door as a lookout. “jungkook—! oh crap, wait— should i call him majesty or highness or something?” jimin’s quickly tries to correct himself, asking you for advice.

you can only laugh and shake your head. “you can just call him jungkook.”

“i was called?” jungkook stands just behind you, with a smile on his face.

“yeah, man— come here.” jimin embraces him in a hug and jungkook doesn’t object it.

rubbing his back, jungkook congratulates him as well. “you’re incredibly talented, jimin.” he smiles when he pulls away. “it’s great to finally meet you in person.”

“thank—”

“jimin! it’s curtain call!” a lady barges into the practice room. she stands speechless for a second, her eyes darting straight to jungkook. “wait, is that prince jungkook?!” all of you are wide eyed. jimin’s mouth is silently telling you two to ‘run!’ before you knew it, she was pulling out her phone, trying to take a picture.

jimin is quick to block the camera as he shouts. “go! hurry!” the two of you rush out of the door you came from. you and jungkook bolt back to the car, blue is a little startled when you both jump in, breathless.

“everything alrig—“

“drive!” you demanded.

“shit— alright!” blue complies and steps on the gas, getting you out of the parking spot behind the theater and now onto the streets of the city.

now that everyone’s calmed down. you just realized that you, again, have no idea where you were going. “now where are we off to? it’s about eleven o’clock, right?”

“go with the plan, blue.” jungkook tells him. with the creepy wording, you begin to feel more suspicion around the two of them. what more surprises could there be?

the three of you spent another fifteen or so minutes of driving, and quite frankly you were tired of looking for little landmarks to pinpoint where you were. just as you were about to ask again, blue stops the car and looks at jungkook.

“okay, another surprise— close your eyes.” jungkook says. you can’t help but admit this is kind of fun. sure, you were annoying the hell out of the boys for the past fifteen minutes asking when you were gonna get there and where you were going. but they love you either way.

you keep your eyes squeezed shut as jungkook helps you out of the car and onto another sidewalk. “just a little further.” he says, leading you closer to whatever it was. just before he speaks again, you hear a little jingle. “okay, open.”

when your eyes finally adjust to the city lights, you recognize the building entirely too well. a place that you lived for five years. “is this— are we— no way!” you stutter, purely out of surprise. you were sure that you weren’t going to see this place for at least another decade.

you stand there speechless, just like how you did at jimin’s recital, for a good minute or so. jungkook has to wave his hand in front of your face to break you out of the trance.

“so, are you gonna show me your apartment or not?” jungkook grins, holding up your cutely decorated keychain. you squeal in excitement as he hands you the keys and you drag him into the building. it’s only been about a month and a half since you’ve last seen it, but it feels so nostalgic. it feels special. you suspect it’s because of the man whose hand you’re holding right now.

up the elevator and to the left, the apartment labeled with a silver plated 101 beckons you inside. soon enough, you’re pulling jungkook through the door and giving him a detailed tour of your shoe closet that is right there when you walk in.

as the two of you walk around, it’s cleaner than you remember. venus must have gotten people to tidy the place up after you left. just as you finish the very short tour of your apartment, you remember that you’d left some things from jimin and seungyeon in your room. “make yourself at home, my prince, i’ll just be in my room, collecting some things.” you excuse yourself and let jungkook look around some more.

if jungkook were honest, he would have told you that he got a bit of whiplash from your tour. he was turning every two seconds because you were speaking so fast. you were just so excited, and jungkook couldn’t have been happier. everything was going exactly as planned. the clock was ticking and jungkook did have a schedule to be on, but there was nothing wrong with a little snooping around your apartment. he wanted to see the place that you called home for the past five years.

your couch looks cozy, blankets on one side with decorative pillows to adorn the piece of furniture. your coffee table is cute too. you’ve got good taste. everything just seems so you. so when jungkook turns toward the bookcase you mentioned earlier into your tour. it was crowded with books, photo albums, cd’s, and records. a specific photo album catches his eyes, a cute light blue album. on the spine it was labeled: ‘jjk’ and from what jungkook knows, it must be his initials.

it’s when he opens it is when he confirms. the album is full of pictures of the two of you when you were kids, at every festival, from infant to teens. flipping through the pages, both of your smiles never changed. over the years; in both of your eyes, the certain glimmer of love shines so brightly. he puts it back with a soft smile after he’s flipped through all the pages. another book catches his eyes, your favorite fairy tale story: hansel and gretel. while everyone made fun of your choice of story, jungkook thought it was cool. you were all about safety and stranger danger, therefore making hansel and gretel a good story for kids to read (in your opinion.) you always read it when you needed to make an important decision, you called it a comfort read. it helped you get into the right mindset, think about all the pros and especially the cons of the decision you were about to make.

jungkook was only going to look at it and flip through the pages mindlessly. but when he pulls it out of its place in the bookshelf, two envelopes fall out from between the pages. squatting down, he picks up the fallen pieces of paper and coincidentally, sees his name on one of the letters. the other is blank, just a plain envelope. if it was addressed to him, then it means it was meant for him, therefore, he could read it… right?

jungkook,

if you are reading this, then that means i’ve already left for the city.

first, i wanted to apologize: for everything. for not telling you that i would leave sooner, for leaving you, for not telling you how i felt.

i was scared terrified that i would ruin our friendship if i ever told you, but now, since i don’t know if i’ll ever come back. i need to get this off my chest.

i’ve wanted to tell you this for the longest time.

jeon jungkook, i am in love with you.

i’m sorry this is how you had to find out, i’m sorry i didn’t have the courage to tell you in person.

but i love you, and i think i always will.

i hope you will be happy, whoever you marry. i hope they love you the way you deserve.

i hope to be at your wedding when i hear the news.

i’m sorry again.

sincerely,

___

easily, his eyes gloss over. you’ve loved him all along. he should have known. how could he have not known? thoughts run through his mind at hundreds of miles an hour; what would have happened if you did give this to him when you left. he probably would have gotten on the next plane out and searched the city to find you. probably would have done the exact same thing he did recently, beg you to give the two of you a chance. he shakes his head, sliding the letter back into its envelope. reading the other letters wouldn’t hurt, right?

of course not, he tells himself. he was always so nosy. the blank envelope held multiple pieces of paper. most of them were unfinished confessions to him, smudged black ink with multiple sentences crossed off. from what he can count, you wanted to confess to him at least five times now.

jungkook isn’t sure how he feels, he just knows how in love he is. this feeling of being surrounded by warmth, it’s enough to make a tear slip out. he can’t help but smile either. this is the boost of confidence he needed for tonight. he was so nervous before, that everything would go terribly wrong, but now he’s just so… content, so happy. he wanted to hug you, kiss you, everything. so he puts the envelopes back into the book, places it back into the shelf and makes his way to your room. your body hovers over your vanity, digging through your jewelry box.

“my princess.” jungkook pouts even though you can’t see him. coming from behind, he hugs you tightly and rests his head against yours. he tries to hide the way that his tears began to tear up. you look up from your tangle of necklaces, turning and taking him into your arms.

“are you crying?” the single tear that rolls down his cheek grabs your attention. your hand immediately coming up to wipe it away. “what’s wrong? do you hate my little apartment that much?” you let out a laugh.

he laughs too, shaking his head with a smile. “your little apartment is perfect— i love it actually, i love you.”

“aw,” you mumble against his chest. “i love you too, even though you’re acting super weird.” the two of you stand there, swaying in a hug for a little longer.

“am not.” he rests his chin atop your head.

“whatever you say.” you hum, pulling him towards your prized possession— your queen sized bed. the two of you plop on top, your fluffy comforter proving to be one of the best purchases you have ever made in your entire life. the two of you lay there in silence for a little bit, you almost fall asleep due to how warm jungkook is.

“as much as i would love to cuddle and take a nap in your bed, we’re on a tight schedule— c’mon.” jungkook says as he stands from your bed, pulling you up.

“a schedule?” you quirk an eyebrow. “what else are we gonna do in the city? our faces are plastered all over the internet, not to mention you’re the most-thirsted-after prince in the entire world.” you ask as he tugs you through the hallway and back into the living room.

“can you show me the roof?” jungkook asks. a sly smile on his face, while you’re still completely clueless.

“of course!” you squeal, excited to show him the amazing view of the city the roof of your building has. the two of you exit your apartment and you pull him up another two flights of stairs. “usually it’s kind of dirty, so don’t mind the mess.” you warn before opening the heavy door.

but when you push it open, the roof is…clean. it’s decorated too. it’s not the same as you last saw it. “huh— would you look at that?” jungkook steps out onto the roof first, with his hands on his hips as he looks back at you. “it looks pretty clean— and look! it’s set up for dinner...?” he acts surprised. his eyebrows raised as the two of you walk towards the dinner table. he pulls out the chair for you to sit down and you can’t help but let out a little laugh.

“so this was your plan.” you snort. dinner was in the shape of cups of ice cream. it was adorable. “ice cream for dinner?”

jungkook nods, handing you a tiny spoon for the ice cream. “your favorite.”

he did all of this for me. you realize the effort. he must have gone through meticulous planning and conspiring all of this in secret. he’s good. really good. god, you could kiss him.

the two of you sit there in the ambiance of the late city night, eating ice cream and having a small conversation. whenever the conversation paused, you could hear some music playing quietly in the back.

jungkook really did deserve the mantle of prince charming. king of romance. ruler of your heart.

“do you hear that?” jungkook asks, holding a hand out next to his ear. a familiar tune playing from wherever the music was. standing up, he extends his grasp for you to take. “a dance, princess?”

“you know i have two left feet.” you try to decline him, remembering how taehyung teased you about the way that you tripped over his feet when the two of you danced at your welcome home party. but jungkook doesn’t mind. he loves dancing with you, always has. he loves the way that your feet crash into his, how focused you get when you try not to get the moves wrong. he wanted to waltz with you everywhere, even if you stood on his feet the entire time.

“just follow me, alright?” he smiles. giving in, you take his hand and the two of you make your way to the middle of the rooftop. the night sky bearing witness to one of the most romantic things you’ve ever received. you feel his hand wrap around your waist, guiding you to step where he does.

“sparks, huh?” you smile, finally putting a title on the song playing. “kind of a sad song to dance to.” following his moves, dancing does seem a little easier with jungkook there.

“i thought it was perfect.” he states, leading you in for a twirl and then back into his arms. “it explains exactly how i feel about you.

“yeah?” you look up to him. even in this faint lighting, the abandoned flickering light bulbs that hang from strings all across the rooftop from an old tenant party, he still shines so bright.

he nods. the two of you silently sway for another few beats of the song. you lay your head against his chest, the beat of his heart is as calming as the music in the back. maybe if you just leave your eyes closed, this moment could last forever.

meanwhile, jungkook is trying to amp himself up to get these words out. another confession and an important question sits heavy on his tongue. he knows you feel the same, knows that you’ll accept, but he’s still so nervous. what if you don’t say yes and he’s left there with his knee against the rough concrete floor? what if this was just too cheesy for you and you hate it?

jungkook tells himself there’s only one way to find out.

“i— can i tell you something?” he asks. you lift your head away and look in his eyes, they greet you with that sweet eye smile that hasn’t changed in all the days you’ve known him.

“of course.” you pull yourself back, holding his hands.  

“when you were gone...i was always afraid that i was romanticizing you— i had nothing but our memories and the small talks we would have sometimes through our parents,” he admits. “i was scared that i was in love with the idea of you, and not… you— you know?”

his confession makes you stop in your tracks, clear disbelief on your face as you drop his hands from your grasp. “what?! jungkook— why are you telling me this now?” you groan, folding your arms over your chest. you move to grab your phone to find a way to reverse this. “you know what— it’s not too late to cancel the engagement and call up the king of fenutar— i’m sure they’ll forgive you— yeah, let’s give them a call—”

he pulls you back gently, “princess, relax.” he laughs. “i was just getting started.”

your gaze softens, letting him finish his point as he restarts the sway. your feet move with his, slowly to the beat of the song playing in the back. it’s changed to something calmer, from what you could hear, it sounds like cigarettes after sex.

“this past month, ever since you came back—” he starts up once more. you attention falling back onto him instead of the music in the back. “i don’t know what it is, but i think i was wrong.” he says. you gently furrow your eyebrows. confused as to what he means. jungkook brings his hand up to your face, cupping your jaw before raising his thumb to soothe the creases in your forehead.

relaxing your muscles under his touch, he lowers his hands back down to hold your hands. he says the next words, staring straight into your eyes. “i love you, i always want to be around you, i wonder if you are alright— if you’re sad, because i want to be there for you, i want to take care of you.” your hands are pulled close to him, enough for him to be able to gently press a kiss against your knuckles. “i want to be by your side, against foes seen and unseen.”

“so—“ he lets go of your hand to pull a tiny white box out from his pocket and gets on one knee. “will you marry me?”

the rough ground against his clothed knee doesn’t matter anymore when he sees the sweetest smile on your face. everything is perfect.

you let out a little laugh, your smile going from ear to ear. “yes! of course— yes, yes!” tears collect in your eyes quickly. holding your arms out for him, jungkook comes up and collects your embrace. a tear slips out and he can hear your sniffle. gently, he wipes the tear away, and the two of you stare at each other just long enough. long enough to understand that this was the time.

you both lean forward and finally, let your lips connect. a kiss seals the fate of both hearts involved.

dreaming of this moment ever since you were fifteen has given you quite high expectations for it, but jungkook always exceeds expectations. even when you think he couldn’t be anymore perfect, he always has something up his sleeve. it shows in the way his kiss is gentle, but so passionate. transferring his love to you in the most efficient way possible.

jungkook is in dreamland almost. wonders if this is what being on drugs is like. pure euphoria. knows that this is what love stories are based off of. pure adoration. fears what he’ll do if he won’t be able to kiss you. the beginning of an addiction. your lips, they take him prisoner.

slowly, the two of you pull away and stare at each other like love sick puppies. jungkook holds your face in his hand as you lean into his grasp. the sound of confetti poppers startle you, flinching at the noise before looking to see what happened. through the rain of confetti, you can see all of them. seungyeon, jimin, blue, taehyung, eunwoo, and yugyeom. you didn’t think it could get any better. you were so happy.

“congratulations, your majesties.” blue moves forward after the confetti settles and hands the two of you a purple rose. the national flower of raemor and it was a common tradition to give engaged couples raemors for good luck all throughout their relationship and marriage. you thank blue with a hug and so does jungkook. jimin and seungyeon also congratulate you, seungyeon pulls out her camera and shows you the pictures she took while she was hidden with everyone behind the huge skylights.

eunwoo takes hold of your hand gently, raising the ring up for everyone to see. jimin and seungyeon also come close to get a better look, holding your arm still. “that rock is adorable, jungkook.” he pats him on the back. making slight fun of the stones size. everyone in the kingdom was used to huge gems, rings that would weigh down the finger of the wearer. you give eunwoo a light shove.

the ring was your style. it was actually really thoughtful too. there were conversations where you and jungkook would gossip about the adults sometimes, you knew everything back then. who was cheating on who, whose wives knew about the mistress, whose husbands knew about the paramour. then most of the time, they would solve it through money. buying bigger, more expensive material things to woo them, to make them forget the betrayals. you hated it. you specifically remember telling jungkook that you’d rather have a small ring and a great love, instead of a big ring and a loveless marriage.

so when you stare at the pretty gem laid on your ring finger, you realize it’s just more evidence that jungkook listens, and he takes your words into account. you couldn’t have been happier with the piece of jewelry. “i think it’s beautiful.” you pout in defense of the ring.

“it’s a red diamond.” namjoon tells them. “one of the rarest diamonds in the world.”

“how much is it?” yugyeom peers at the ring as well, he likes the way it sparkles even without the light.

“it doesn’t matter!” you groan, looking at jungkook for some help as four different people have your hand in their grasp.

“the diamond itself is roughly about five million— the rest of the ring, i can’t say.” namjoon shrugs nonchalantly.

jimin and seungyeon gasp at the same time, same pitch. both yugyeom and eunwoo’s eyes almost bulge out of their sockets. “sorry man— i thought it was a ruby.” eunwoo scratches the back of his head. jungkook only laughs at the conversation, not taking any of it to heart, along with taehyung (and chaeyoung!) who helped him customize the ring in the first place.

“five million?! are you serious?” you turn to him, about to scold him for wasting his money. just for an engagement ring too?!

he catches your hand before you can shove him like you did eunwoo. he brings it to his mouth, kissing your ring finger gently. before coming close to your ear, he whispers, “it’s worth way more than five million.”

“jungkook!”

taglist: @kookxin @fan-ati--c

[supernovafics]

𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑𝐒, 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒

pairing: chris evans x fem!reader

summary: in which you were about to get married to the guy you thought was the one for you, but a conversation with your longtime friend, chris, makes you question everything you thought was right

warnings: angst, angst, angst, explicit language, minor fluff at the end

word count: 3.8k words

author’s note: this started out as a very minor idea and then it turned into something bigger lmao anyway hope you enjoy!

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

This day should’ve been perfect, and everything should’ve felt right, but instead, it all was beginning to feel like a nightmare.

Maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but how else would you describe locking yourself in the bathroom of the hotel you were staying at, and being on the verge of a breakdown, two hours before your wedding was supposed to happen.

You paced around in the small space and tried your hardest to avoid looking in the mirror, not wanting to see yourself in the stunning white dress that your mom and bridesmaids helped you pick out on a day that now felt like a lifetime ago.

As vain as it may sound, you knew that you looked great in your dress, and the way that your makeup and hair had been styled only aided in your beauty. But, at that moment, you felt the farthest from great.

Your fiancé Tyler was perhaps one of the best people you had ever met, and from the moment he proposed to you, you truly felt like you wanted to spend the rest of your life with him. But now you were doubting absolutely everything.

All because of Chris.

An abrupt knock on the bathroom door slightly startled you.

“Y/N, please come out. We have to go take pictures soon.”

The simultaneous worried and confused voice on the other side of the door belonged to your good friend and maid of honor, Maria. She was amazing at reading almost any situation, one of the reasons why you liked her so much, at times it almost felt like she could read you like a book. However, this was one situation that had transpired so quickly, and she had no idea how to read it.

Everything started out fine that morning. You, her, and your other bridesmaids drove to the hotel in Connecticut that your wedding was happening at, you ordered breakfast room service to the room, and then you all started getting ready, laughing and smiling as you did so. You seemed happy, and you definitely seemed okay. But, then all of a sudden, things took a turn, and the next thing Maria knew, you were hiding out in the bathroom. And your wedding was starting in less than two hours.

Even though you knew your friend was waiting for some sort of a response to her previous statement, you stayed completely quiet. You really didn’t want to leave the bathroom anytime soon, especially not to take pictures. You knew that the doubt and uncertainty you were currently feeling would be clearly recognized in all of the photos.

“Y/N?” Maria said, speaking a bit louder to make sure you could hear her through the locked door.

An awkward silence began to linger, and you sighed, taking a seat on the closed toilet.

“Chris,” You finally said, responding in a way that only confused the girl on the other side of the door even more. “I need to see him.”

“Okay,” Maria answered tentatively, a curious tone in her voice. “Okay, I’ll go get him.”

You knew that your friend wanted to question you about what was happening, but she wasn’t going to at that moment. Not when time was of the essence and every minute mattered. Because each minute counted down to the time you would need to walk down the aisle and profess your love for your fiancé. It was something you were unsure if you wanted to do anymore.

If you weren’t about to bawl your eyes out, you think you would’ve laughed at how quickly everything managed to change. Before your conversation with Chris last night, everything was on the right path; it was almost like you could see your life with Tyler laid out in front of you. Marry him, travel for a bit before starting a family, start said family, etc., etc.

Now it was the first step that you were struggling with, and with that struggle, everything else slowly fell apart too.

What did it mean that a five-minute conversation with one of your best friends managed to completely change the trajectory of your entire life?

• • •

You were laughing, and it was a moment that you knew you’d remember forever. Not the exact thing you were laughing about, but instead, you would remember how you felt, which, in your opinion, was what mattered more.

“Glad to know I’m such a comedian,” Chris said, smiling at how happy you looked at that moment. The two of you were sitting on opposite ends of the couch in the living room of his Boston home, sharing a large throw blanket that was draped over you guys’ legs which were entangled in the middle. Chris could feel the blanket move with how much your body shook with happy laughter.  

“I swear I haven’t laughed this hard in forever.” Your statement was only partially a lie because you actually did remember the last time you laughed this hard, and it was with Chris three weeks ago.

It never surprised you how easily you could fall into some sort of happy comfort with Chris. The two of you had been friends since what now felt like forever; you couldn’t remember a time where you weren’t friends with him. In almost all of your fondest memories, he was always right there with you.

“Are you excited for tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I think so,” You answered Chris’s question after a brief moment of contemplation. Your mouth then turned upward in a smile. “Are you excited for tomorrow?”

“Excited to be a groomsman for a guy I barely know? Not really. But, I’m doing this for you, and that's all that really matters to me.”

Having Chris be one of Tyler’s groomsmen was one of your biggest and most important requests for the wedding. He was your best friend, and you wanted him to play some sort of part in the wedding that wasn’t just being a guest.

“You’re the best; you know that, right?” You were still smiling as you spoke, feeling nothing but honesty drip from your words.

In your mind, that was the wholehearted truth, but to Chris, it was nothing but a lie. Because if he really were “the best,” he would have been completely honest with you a long time ago. Honest about the fact that he didn’t think Tyler was the one for you. And he was unsure if he thought this for selfish reasons or because he knew that it was a thousand percent true.

“I don’t know if I am anymore,” Chris finally responded to your previous words. Your brows furrowed in confusion at what he meant by his statement, and you were quiet, silently signaling him to continue.

In the many years you had known Chris, you’d rarely ever seen him nervous around you; you both had always felt completely comfortable around each other, always.

However, apparently, there was a first time for everything because a look that you could only deem as nervous was taking over his features. He was quiet for what felt like forever, and now you were worried because you genuinely had no idea what he was going to say to you.

“You can’t marry Tyler.”

And there it was. He finally uttered the words that he had wanted to say right when you told him that you and Tyler were engaged. He knew, at that moment, it was the selfish part of him that had wanted to say that to you. However, now after carefully noticing some things about you over the past year as you planned the wedding, and even in some small moments from tonight, he finally realized how right he actually was.

Because if Tyler was the love of your life, the last time you laughed so hard shouldn’t have felt like forever ago; it should have been happening every day with him. And if he was truly the love of your life, when asked if you were excited for your wedding day, you wouldn’t have answered with a passive, “Yeah, I think so.”

“Chris…” Your voice trailed off because you had no idea what to say. You had no idea what to think. Actually, it wasn’t that you didn’t know what to think; it was that you didn’t want to think about what he just said, not at all. “Don’t, please.”

Chris barreled past your soft-spoken words. “I know you, Y/N. I know you so well, and I know that you’re not truly happy with him.”

You shook your head, trying your hardest not to fully think about what he was saying. You were afraid of what can of worms would open up if you did so. Instead, you fully committed to the fact that what Chris was saying was not the truth. So, you said, “You’re wrong. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You said you hadn’t laughed hard in forever. He should be making you laugh hard all the fucking time.” Suddenly, Chris wondered if Tyler had ever made you really laugh because if he had, he would know how beautiful you looked when you did, and he would definitely want to do it all the time.

“Stop, Chris, really,” You mumbled as you pushed the blanket off of you and detangled your legs from his, sitting up straight on the couch.

You needed to leave. The faster you did so, the quicker you could start attempting to make yourself forget everything that happened in the past five minutes. Because fucking hell Chris was right, and you really needed to forget that.

“I have to go. I can’t be here right now,” You stood up from the couch and started making your way toward the front door; you could feel Chris following right behind you.

“I’m sorry that I decided to tell you like this. But, I’m not sorry that I said it. It’s all the truth, and deep down, you know it, Y/N.”

You didn’t respond to him as you put your shoes on because there was nothing you could really say. Yes, he was right, but you were going to convince yourself otherwise. It was the only thing that you could do.

Before opening the door, you finally looked at Chris. He looked worried and confused, and you wondered how you looked in his eyes at that moment. As fucked up as you knew you were? “I hope I’ll still see you tomorrow.”

You closed the door behind you, but you didn’t move for a long moment. You sighed and shut your eyes and willed yourself not to cry. It was almost as if Chris could sense your presence still lingering outside the door because you could hear him start speaking again, and you knew his words were directed at you.

“I could love you more than he does. I already do love you more. So much more.”

As much as you wanted to say something in response, you didn’t. Instead of acknowledging his confession, you finally walked toward your car. His heartfelt statement was just another thing that you convinced yourself you would need to forget before tomorrow.

You couldn’t stop your tears once you were sitting in the driver’s seat.

• • •

Forgetting everything was actually pretty easy to do. Until it wasn’t.

You buried everything deep down inside and locked it all away in a small box that you knew would never be opened.

Everything was fine, and all morning, you kept convincing yourself of that fact. But then you put on your wedding dress, and suddenly you realized how wrong this all truly was.

The box was opened, and you couldn’t close it.

Chris’s words were true; you couldn’t marry Tyler. And not only was it that you couldn’t marry Tyler, but you also didn’t want to marry him.

It should have felt like a relief, realizing something that you’d eventually come to regret before you did the action. But, what you felt was the opposite of relief. Instead, it was intense dread weighing heavily on your chest, almost making it feel as if you couldn’t breathe.

That was what led you to the bathroom and kept you in there for as long as you had been.

Your family’s opinions and approval had always meant so much to you, and suddenly, you realized that you were doing all of this for them. They were the ones that had pushed you and Tyler together, your two families already having been close for many years. And you were happy with him, but not as happy as you could be. You hated that you were just now recognizing all of this.

And finally, you realized how distant and passive to the whole wedding planning process you had been. Case in point, your wedding was in fucking Connecticut, and you hated Connecticut.

The sounds of voices on the other side of the door pulled you out of your scattered thoughts.

“She’s in here,” Maria’s slightly muffled words were what you heard first, but you knew they weren’t directed at you. “Please try to talk her out of there. The rest of us are gonna go down and start with the pictures. I’ll try to stall the photographer for as long as I can.”

“Okay.” You heard Chris’s voice and your heart sped up a bit. It should not have felt like a surprise hearing him right then because you were the one that told Maria to get him, but you still felt startled. Now you weren’t even sure if you wanted to talk to him anymore.  

A soft knock was what you heard next, followed by Chris saying, “Y/N, it’s me.”

You didn’t respond. You were completely and utterly silent as fresh tears brimmed in your eyes for reasons you couldn’t even fully decipher anymore.

“Are you okay in there?” Chris asked after waiting a few moments to hear you say something, but you didn’t. There was a hint of worry in his tone.

You let out a small sigh. “No.”

“Do you wanna open the door?”

“Not really,” You told him as you began absentmindedly playing with the fabric of your dress. “I’m kinda spiraling in here, and I think it would be best if I kept it contained.”

“What happened?”

“What happened?” You scoffed out an incredulous laugh and blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill. “Last night is what fucking happened, Chris. You ruined everything, and I can’t stop thinking about it. My mind is a fucking mess because of what you said, and all I wanna do is bawl my eyes out right now. But, I can’t because that would ruin my makeup and I’m supposed to get married in, what is it, an hour now? God, I’m supposed to get married in an hour.”

You were rambling, and your voice was cracking because of the apple-sized lump forming in your throat. But, you had yet to start crying.

This time Chris was silent, and for a moment, you were sure that he had left, but then you heard his voice. “Please unlock the door.”

You were reluctant at first, but ultimately you stood from where you were sat on the closed toilet and went to unlock the door. Chris opened it a second later and entered the small space, a worried look was written across his features.

Seeing his face broke the dam, and all of a sudden, you were crying, no longer able to hold back your tears. Chris almost immediately circled his arms around you, and you accepted the embrace without a second thought.

“You’re right, and I hate it, but you’re right. I can’t marry him,” You spoke as tears streamed down your cheeks and onto Chris’s suit jacket that your face was pressed against. Your makeup was definitely a complete mess at that point, but right then, that became the least of your worries.  

“It’s okay. You don’t have to,” Chris told you, and that was when that intense dread hit you again like a wave.

“No, I do. I have to marry him,” You said, heart hammering hard in your chest as you realized it all. “Our families; they’re so close, and they’ve been expecting this for years. My family really wants this for me. I can’t ruin everything, not like this.”

“No offense, I know how much you love your family, and they’re great most of the time, but fuck what they want right now,” Chris said, and you were only mildly startled by his bluntness. “This is about you and the rest of your life. Do not do this if you don’t want to.”

You pulled away from the embrace the two of you were still in and then shook your head. “I really don’t want to.”

“Then don’t, please don’t. Your family will understand eventually.”

You considered his words and wondered how true they were. Maybe the first year would be pretty hard, you definitely wouldn’t be able to show face at any family barbeques or other events, but eventually, this would blow over; it had to. At least that was what you sincerely hoped.

You were silent for a beat longer and then finally said, “I won’t do it.”

The small smile that broke out on Chris’s face made your heart squeeze a bit; it let you know that what you were doing was the right thing. You gave him a small smile back.

• • •

“The first thing I wanna say is sorry. I’m really, really sorry, Ty,” Your voice sounded slightly nervous as you spoke into your phone, leaving Tyler a voicemail that you hoped he’d listen to later rather than sooner because you had no idea what his reaction would be.

You anxiously looked around the hotel parking lot, worried that someone you knew would notice you in the hotel parking lot, standing next to Chris’s car, and about to flee your own wedding. You looked normal now since you were changed out of your dress and back into the simple t-shirt and leggings combination you had arrived in at the hotel early that morning, but you were still on high alert. Honestly, that morning now felt like years ago to you.

“This is wrong,” You continued on, your voice still nervous, but at least you knew you were telling the truth. You really didn’t want to leave the voicemail, it all felt so embarrassing, but you knew that you owed Tyler at least some sort of explanation. And since you couldn’t muster up the courage to actually face him, you decided that a voicemail would suffice for now.

“And it took me so long to realize that, but I think deep down you know how wrong this is too. We’re good together, but we’re not great, and now that I really think about it, I realized that we’ve never been great.  And I think we both deserve to find that “great” person. If that makes sense. God, none of this probably makes sense, and I’m sorry for that too. I should probably stop rambling. I know you hate me, and that’s okay, but I do hope that one day you can understand why I had to do this.”

And with that final soft-spoken statement, you hung up the phone. You hesitated for a brief moment before taking a final breath and look at the hotel, and then you opened the passenger door of Chris’s car and sat in the empty seat; Chris was already sitting in the driver’s side.

He reached over and placed his hand atop yours and gave it a light squeeze. “You still okay?”

You took a moment to really think about his question. “I think I’m in that phase between freaking the fuck out and being completely okay with everything.”

Chris looked over at you for a brief moment. “I’m not entirely sure how to respond to that.”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything,” You told him honestly. The fact that he was with you at that moment truly said enough.

His hand was still on top of yours, and you shifted your hand so that it was laced with his instead. It was quiet in the car. Quiet, but it also felt like a million things were being said in that silence.

“It should be you.” You muttered out the words that you had never verbalized but they had almost always lingered in the back of your mind. “It always should’ve been you.”

Chris gave your hand another tight squeeze.

You turned to look at him, and he looked right back at you. His eyes were saying something that you couldn’t decipher, but the look made your heartbeat quicken all the same.

“It’ll always be you too,” Chris said softly as he pulled his hand away from yours and rested it on your cheek instead; you easily leaned into his touch. Those five words and his small action managed to melt you from the inside out.

Before you could respond or even fully process what was happening, Chris was leaning in, and you were following suit, and suddenly you were kissing.

It was uncomfortable, the turned position you were in with the center console pressed hard against your torso, but you wouldn’t change anything. Because with the way his lips pressed against yours, you knew exactly how right this all was. There wasn’t a hint of regret beginning to linger.

It was the first time in your long friendship that you two had kissed each other, but for some reason, his lips felt so familiar. They felt like home. You silently wondered if Chris was feeling the same thing, a part of you knew that he did.

“We should’ve done that sooner. We should’ve done that so much sooner,” Chris said when you both pulled back from the kiss. Your faces were still dangerously close to one another because neither of you wanted to part too far from one another.

You smiled at his statement and nodded your head, not verbally saying anything because you couldn’t form any cohesive sentences at that moment. Your brain was only full of thoughts of Chris and the fact that this all had been so obvious, but both of you had been so nervous and scared to pull the trigger.

“I love you.” The words were soft and quiet, barely above a whisper, but Chris heard them.

“I love you too,” He told you and smiled before pressing another kiss on your lips.

After lingering for a few more moments, he then put the car in drive and finally drove out of the hotel parking lot. You didn't know where exactly you were going, but you did know that it would be away from Connecticut.

No longer were you feeling dread, but instead, there was a small inkling of hope and excitement for the future starting to spread within you.

.· .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

let me know your thoughts<3

[gremlin-writes-angst]

Touch-starved

Levi Ackerman x GN!reader

This is pretty self-indulgent, Its a Levi x touch-starved reader. Modern AU. Hurt to comfort.

1.8k words

Trigger warning: None, there are no spoilers

Let me know if I missed a trigger or if you spot any spelling mistakes.

Feedback is encouraged  

Click here if you want to see more of my work and follow me for more!

Before you started dating Levi, everyone you knew, including himself warned you. They told you that a relationship with him wouldn't be normal, that it wouldn't fulfill your relationship needs. But you loved him and even though he wasn’t very affectionate you knew that he loved you too. Thought that wasn't clear right now. Currently, you were at the wedding of one of your friends, it was nice, too nice. It made you realize how much different your and Levi's relationships were. The biggest difference was how many other people in relationships touch each other. Before you met Levi you thought you could never be in a relationship without touching, but then you fell for him and learned that he was uncomfortable with touch. Which you respected, but sometimes you wished that you could have a reassuring handhold or a thank you kiss on the cheek, it didn't have to be PDA, just in private. Though you don't want to break your boyfriend’s boundaries. Your feelings only worsen every time someone starts hitting their glasses with silverware, trying to get the new couple to kiss, which they did, it made you jealous. Using this jealousy as the fuel you move your hand from the cup you were holding to Levi’s leg, reassuringly. Though it was quickly shoved off and hanging by the side of your body, you didn't have the motivation to move it. You repeat to yourself that he loves you, you try and remember the sweet moments in your relationship but none are coming up. You never ignited to yourself but you were touch starved, even before meeting Levi. You don't know how long you sat there, your body limp, your brain is overthinking. Half of your brain is trying to convince you that he does love you, while the other half was telling you that you deserved more from him. You were broken from your limp body and crazy thoughts from the clinking of glass and silverware and then cheering after the couple’s kiss. You watched as they kiss and hold on to another’s hand while sitting down, it hurt, you felt hatred inside you. You abruptly stood up and walked toward the doors, you couldn't leave, but you could at least get some fresh air. That was your plan anyway, but as soon as you got outside and out of sight of everyone, you broke down,  it just so much. You had the boyfriend but you didn't have the kisses, hand-holding, cuddles that you thought were a part of a relationship. For god’s sake, your love language was physical touch you should have known that a relationship with Levi would fail. 

"What's wrong brat?"

Levi turned the corner, and though his words were rude his voice was softer than normal. You breathed in trying to calm and hide your breakdown but Levi was pretty good at seeing through you. He ruffled your hair, that’s right he does give physical affection but pat or ruffling off your hair was the most, and he did that to everyone, it wasn’t the special relationship touches you wanted, you weren’t special. Your boyfriend slid down to the ground with you

“Why are you out here, sitting on the dirty ground?” 

As much as you hated the absence of physical touch in your relationship, you couldn’t tell him that, he had his boundaries and you’re supposed to respect that, so you held off on telling him.

“I don’t know I just wanted some air.”

You lied, and he saw through it.

“Why did you want fresh air?”

You were really tiring to hold back your thoughts and opinions of his boundaries but it had been building up for the past six months, and so it all came spilling out.

“Because I feel unloved. I mean I know you love me but you never physically express it. I feel like your repulsed by the idea of me and my body, I can’t even hold your hand. You just shove me away, and I just feel disgusting a guilty for even trying because I know you have boundaries and that I was warned that this would happen but I thought that I could handle it, but I can’t. I’m touch starved and the one person I feel comfortable enough to help me, to cuddle me, to love me, doesn’t want to, or they cant. And it makes me feel so guilty for feeling that way, and that just adds to the terrible feeling inside. I don’t think I can deal with it anymore, I thought that my love for you would fill that hole, the one missing physical touch, but the love just made it worse because I love you too much to break your boundaries. And-and, I think it would be better for my heart if we stopped. If if we we stopped our relationship.”

You were so emotional that you were stuttering some words, the tears that you stopped when Levi showed up had come back even worse. Sometime during your speech you stood up, Levi stayed on the ground leaning against the building, and at the end of your declaration, you speed-walked into the building and the restroom. You whipped your tears as well as you could. Walking out of the restroom you headed to the bar, you didn’t know what you were gonna order, you just knew you were going to need it. You reached the bar and tried to stutter out an order but you couldn’t name a drink and the bartender moved onto someone else. Dissociated you walked back to your seat, and once again the sound that backend the couple to kiss was being made. You sat in your chair dissociating for a while, the only thing you processed was the sound of silverware tapping glass that happened every so often, and that the chair next to you was still empty. He probably took the offer to leave you and this relationship, and even though you encouraged it, you still weren’t ready for it. You rested your elbows on the table and then your head in your hands. You started to cry again for so many reasons, realizing that you lost the few head pats and hair ruffling he would give you, realizing that you would probably be more touch starved now. Suddenly there was a weight on your back, and arms wrapped around your neck loosely like a hug. You didn’t have the energy to shove off whoever was responsible so you tried your best with words, feeling more anger than sadness all of the sudden.

“Whoever is touching me, stop.” 

The arms and weight stayed, and that small bit of anger changed back to sadness

“Just please, I can’t right now, please sto-”

Before you could finish your plea the person behind you spoke up

“It’s me”

Levi, his voice was softer than you ever heard, and you weren’t sure if you could believe it, both because of the voice and the hug he was giving you.

“Why?”

“I don’t want to lose you, can we talk outside?”

You nodded your head, then you felt him remove himself from you, you stood up and to your surprise, he grabbed your hand, you couldn’t tell if he was holding you in a possessive way, a caring way, or a loving way. What you did know was that it was tight and desperate. When you reached outside, your hand was still in his, his other hand was trapping you between him and the wall.

“I think you miss understand my boundaries, along with how much you matter to me.”

You still weren’t sure if he was just finalizing the break-up or trying to stop it from happening, you stayed silent to find out.

“I don’t like being touched, I don’t have a reason it just how I’ve been for a while, but I’m okay with touching others, it gives me control, the ability to stop if I’m uncomfortable without having to ask, if you want more physical contact I don’t mind giving you what you need, just let me be in control.”

It made some senses, but you wondered why he hadn’t been affectionate with you before if that was the case, so you question him

“Why haven’t you then, why haven’t you touched me, or held my hand.”

“ I wasn’t ready, and when I was I was, honestly scared.”

“Why?”

“As I said, I don’t know, I never really understand my emotions or where they come from. But I’m not scared now, I want to make you happy, I don’t want to be selfish anymore.”

You let out a breath that you were holding, finally allowing yourself to relax.

“ I don’t think you were selfish, and I’m sorry that I pushed you this far, and I don’t want to break up, I just wanted the pain to stop.”

Levi removed his hand from the wall and moved it behind your back pulling you into him.

“I am selfish but you need to stand up for yourself more, brat.” 

It was relieving to hear him call you that, it was like his way of saying that he loved you, that he would stay with you. It was his way of saying that he would be with you even if it was hard and that all you needed. 

A few weeks later and you can’t even remember what being touched starved felt like. You didn’t expect Levi to be so clingy, he’s almost always touching you.  At night he’s your big spoon, when he’s working he makes you sit on his lap, in public he either holds your hand or wraps his arm around your back or shoulder. There have been multiple occasions where he’ll whine, or as close as he can get to whining, for you to sit on his lap while he works

“Come here.”

“Baby I’m just as busy as you.”

“And, I said to come here, we can share the desk if you need to, just come here.”

You walk into his office just bringing him a cup of tea, but he pulls you into his lap before you can leave or protest.

“Thank you for the tea.”

“Are you going to let me go?”

“Of course not, you should know that by now.”

“Your right, I love you”

“ I love you too brat”

Of course, there are moments when you feel the need for his comforting touch but he feels uncomfortable, so you two compromised. Whenever this happens, he’ll allow you to play with the buttons on his shirt cuff, or put your hand in his jacket pocket. He feels guilty that he cant always give you the support you want, but you make sure to ensure him that he’s been doing more than enough.