#which I’m more than willing to show you if you decide you want a dinner date instead~

[whotookmysenbon]

Can I just gaze at your face, counting each and every freckle while feeding you dango? Maybe some head scratches. Is that alright with you?

Hmmm…. Counter offer, you take me on a regular dango date and then we head to my place for tea? 10:30 tomorrow morning at that little shop on the corner of the marketplace, I’ll be waiting~ ;)

[charliemwrites]

Sooooo I learned a valuable lesson last night. Which is not to draft things in tumblr. Because I wrote almost all of this in drafts, was like 15 minutes from posting. And then the app glitched when I changed the song I was listening to and lost everything.

I’m not entirely sure I wrote this version half as well as the original, which is maddening. But please enjoy this next part to the Mister(s) Steal Your Girl (poly 141) series.

Content:Safe/Sane/Consensual Intimacy

You honestly didn’t expect to speak to Kyle again after the bookshop encounter. Sure, you exchanged numbers and he seemed so sincere, but your faith in reading people has been a bit shaken as of late.

That said, you wouldn’t have held it against him if you didn’t. You’d had a wonderful time meeting someone new, even if just for a moment. He seemed like a busy man in a high-stress job, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he looked at your open-relationship-with-a-fiance situation and decided it was too much drama.

But the very next day after meeting him, he sends you a text. Repeating that he had a great time and asking if you’ve already started any of the books you bought.

You try (and probably fail) not to giggle like a schoolgirl every time he texts you. He’s as sweet through the phone as he was in person. Throughout the week, he checks on you (more messages than you’ve gotten from your fiance in a month) asking after your days and nights and generally chatting.

On Thursday at lunch, you ask if he’d like to meet up again, heart clenching anxiously. Nearly throw your phone across the break room when his name pops up as an incoming call.

When you answer, he doesn’t even waste time on a greeting.

“I’d like to take you on a date, luv,” he specifies, voice silky and amused in your ear.

Date one is a nice dinner. He shows up at the door with flowers. You have to take a second to blink away the mist in your eyes.

“Sorry, sorry,” you hurry to say, summoning a smile. “Just no one’s ever bought me flowers. Thank you, they’re wonderful.”

And then you realize that probably sounds pathetic and quickly turn away to deposit them in a vase. (Miss the baffled and almost offended frown on Kyle’s face as that processes.)

At dinner, the two of you toast by tapping your appetizers together. He feeds you bites of his meal from his own fork, and you let him try your wine, giggling at the faces he makes.

The night ends (after dessert, a walk in the park, and a nightcap at a quiet bar) at your front door. Kyle fits a big, warm hand on your waist, pulls you in… and drops a chaste kiss to your cheek.

You try not to let your disappointment show, but he must catch it because he chuckles and gently nudges your face back into position. Graces you with another kiss at the corner of your mouth.

“I want to, darling,” he admits, so close you’re sharing air. “Trust me, I want to. But I need you to know I’m doing this for the right reasons too.”

Touched and a little choked up, you hug him tight, cheek pressed to his chest. His breath stutters. And then his strong arms are curling around you, tucking you in, his whole body becoming a warm haven.

“Can we… can we do this again?” you ask hopefully.

“Darling, I’d take you out tomorrow if you’d let me.”

Date two is bowling, which you find Kyle is actually terrible at, despite being a sniper. You laugh and joke through three games, trouncing him each time. He doesn’t seem to mind losing in the slightest, and even takes you out for a victory ice cream afterwards. You hold hands while you lick at the cone.

Date three, you invite him to a wine and paint night. He seems willing, though unsure. By the end, though, the two of you are giggling and tipsy, paint on your hands and faces. He kisses you against the passenger door of his car, lips soft and gentle. Moans when the tip of his tongue skims your bottom lip.

On date four, you sing to the radio in the car. Blush when you catch him sneaking glances at you, but also notice that he goes around the same block twice. Tease that you’re going to be late if he keeps stalling.

At the end of the night, he sweeps you in close on the dance floor.

“Come home with me?” he asks in your ear.

Your heart stumbles as you nod, cheeks hot.

He barely gets you in the door before pressing you back against it. Fingers in your hair, body one firm line pressed flush to yours. Kissing earnest but not rough, flicking at your bottom lip until you open for him with a soft sigh. He tastes like heaven, like the drinks you shared before this. Your fingers curl into his Henley, tugging him closer, arching your back.

The desire he’s been steadily building in your gut bursts into an inferno. You’re burning all over, can barely breathe. Dizzy with his cologne.

You break the kiss with a squeak when he scoops up beneath the thighs.

“I-I’m too heavy!” you gasp, clinging tight.

“Like hell you are,” he scoffs. “Come back here, I’m not done kissing you.”

You hesitate, taking stock. But he doesn’t feel like he’s straining; didn’t even make that mortifying grunt noise. Feel secure enough to lean back just a bit to check his expression.

There’s not an ounce of effort there. Just liquid dark eyes focused on your swollen lips, tilting his chin to coax you back. You go with a little thrill in your stomach, messier this time, teeth scraping.

He bumps you against the wall on his way to the bedroom. It doesn’t hurt but it makes you laugh against his cheek.

“Love your laugh,” he murmurs into your neck. “Could listen to it all day.”

Somehow that makes you flush more than the hard bulge pressing against your ass. So you shove your tongue in his mouth again to shut him up, breathless at his tongue curling against yours.

You squeal when he drops you on the bed with a little bounce, a brilliant, cheeky smile your reward. Then he tugs his shirt off and your mind goes utterly blank.

He’s a monument of strength and discipline, power in every plane of hard-earned muscle. There are glossy scars peppering his skin, and you’re fascinated as much as you are sad for his pain. He looks like a young god. You’ve seen marble statues half as beautiful as him.

“You’re bloody gorgeous,” you whisper, crawling to the edge of the bed.

He shivers and leans into your palms as they explore up his toned stomach, across the defined lines of his chest and shoulders, down his arms. Leave open-mouthed kisses against long-healed wounds and patches of smooth skin alike, appreciating every part of him.

He uses your interlocked fingers to draw you away, bending to meet you halfway. Speckles kisses over your cheeks and jaw, down to a tender spot beneath your ear that makes you hum. You could melt into him and just float.

He pauses there, breathes you in. “Can I take this off?” he asks, plucking at your shirt. You hesitate, just for a beat — but it’s enough to have Kyle pulling back a little.

“We can stop here,” he offers. “Or we can just keep doing this. Whatever you want, luv, I’m not fussed.”

You duck your head, but he doesn’t let you escape for long, gently guiding your gaze up by the chin.

“Talk to me?” he asks.

“I-I want to keep going,” you say, “I’m just… and you’re so…”

He shakes his head, kisses you quiet. “I’m not anything but a man that wants to make his girl happy. In whatever way she’s okay with, yeah?”

You have to blink away another sting of inopportune tears. Then reach for your shirt and pull it off yourself.

“Bloody hell,” he murmurs, eyes going big.

You flush as he nudges you back, spread out amongst the neat sheets and pillows. His eyes trace every inch of you over and over, hands quick to follow. The contrast of his rough palms on your skin makes you squirm and sigh. He touches you like you’re something special, like he wants to savor you.

He nibbles kisses into your collarbones, lavishes your breasts with tongue and gentle teeth. Works his way down your stomach and stops again.

“Can I take the rest off?” he asks.

You don’t hesitate this time, shifting to give him access to the zipper. His hands fumble a bit when he notices the embarrassing wet patch on your underwear, thumbing at your slit through the fabric.

“Please let me eat you out,” he breathes.

You press your thighs together, nervous. “Y-you don’t have to…”

“I want to, luv,” he answers, eyes barely flickering away. “Fuck do I want to.”

Words desert you, so all you can manage is a jerky nod. For the first time, his patience seems to fray as he tugs your underwear off. Barely gets them down to one ankle before diving between your legs.

He laces sweet kisses along your thighs and hips, slowing as he gets closer and closer to where you want him most. His tongue dips into your slit, just skims your throbbing and sensitive clit. You moan softly. The next swipe of his tongue is bolder, curling at your soaked entrance. He groans into you, deep and animal from his chest and makes you shudder.

“That’s it, baby,” he whispers. “Just enjoy.”

It’s impossible not to when he pampers your cunt so thoroughly. Never rough, never too fast. Like he could spend all night between your thighs. Sucking gently at your clit, thrusting his tongue inside, lapping in perfect, even strokes. You didn’t think you enjoyed oral from the few times you’ve experienced it — but Kyle makes it heavenly.

One of his hands, squeezing absently at your hip, travels down. He presses a finger at your entrance, playing in your slick but not going further. Waiting. You murmur a soft “please” that nearly has him growling.

Even just one finger feels like so much. His hands are bigger than yours. And so deliciously clever. It’s not long before you’re babbling for another, crying out softly when he provides. Two fingers curling and rubbing against your slick, sensitive walls and his tongue swirling around your needy clit — it’s so much. Overwhelming and perfect.

“K-Kyle, ‘m gonna…” you keen, shocked by how quickly it’s building.

Then he hums an encouragement and that little extra bit of stimulation sends you hurtling over the edge. You clench around his hand, hips twitching, grinding against his willing mouth through wave after wave. Not even aware of the noises you’re making until they fade off into soft whimpers of overstimulation.

Kyle eases his fingers from you, drops one last kiss to your hip. The lower half of his face is glistening. If you weren’t still somewhere in the stratosphere, you’d be embarrassed. But right now all you can manage is a quiet, needy noise, reaching for him.

He smiles and crawls over you, the warmth of his body soothing your shivery muscles, easing you through aftershocks. You wipe absently at his chin as you exchange lazy, sloppy kisses. Surprised to find that you don’t mind the taste of yourself; not much different than jizz.

“Give me… another second…” you mumble, head falling back as you catch your breath. “I’ll return the favor.”

Against your leg, you can feel him twitch through his jeans. He feels big. Your stomach clenches with want.

“That sounds bloody amazing, don’t get me wrong,” he answers, voice husky in your ear. “But if you’re up for it, I’d like to feel you cumming ‘round my cock.”

You gasp, not sure if you’re scandalized or even more turned on than before. Both?

“Wait, but I already…”

“I know, I was there,” he teases, kissing your temple. “But I wanna see it again. Feel it proper this time.”

You pause, blinking up at him as you trace your fingers along his ribs. “But isn’t that… I dunno, unfair?”

“Fuck no,” he answers. “I’d spend all night just making you cum if you let me.”

You huff and swat at him. “I think you’d kill me.”

“What a way to go, though, eh?” he chuckles, arching his eyebrows.

You groan, but there’s no hiding your grin. He brushes hair back from your face, cups your cheek.

“What do you say, baby? Let me fuck you good and proper.”

You snort, turn to nip his thumb in relation, but chirp, “yes, please!”

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Masterlist

[fanfics-i-find-here]

Do I know You? Part 3

Jason Todd x Reader (no reader character this chapter)

Synopsis: Jason's family is far too nosey for their own good.

Notes: This chapter is a little different. I wanted to try Jason's POV and add the rest of the family. If any of them seem out of character, you’re probably right. Again, this was just an attempt to add a little drama to move the story forward and please enjoy.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Jason had experienced a lot of things in life, but he really hated family dinners. It’s not that he hated his family (only sometimes). It's that it always felt awkward. His guard was constantly up. He had wronged just about everyone in the room one way or another. Not that they ever physically showed repulsion towards him, he didn’t believe that they had forgiven him, not in the slightest. He just thinks they have all collectively decided if we don’t talk about things, they didn’t happen.  Which was fine with him, but it apparently made himself less intimidating to them, considering how Dick was currently draped over his shoulder, yammering on about something that happened in Bludhaven.

“and then I said ‘That’s not a very nice thing-‘” Jason cuts him off.

“No offense, Dickwad, I don’t know what you're talking about.” He says gruffly, crossing his arms in front of him. He had been led into a trap he thinks. Dick had texted him and told him dinner would be at 5:30 tonight instead of the usual 6. He should have seen it as the red flag it was since Alfred usually calls him about family dinners. Dick promptly pouts and dramatically lays himself across the couch beside Jason.

“that’s so mean, little wing, I’m trying to tell you a story.”

“Yeah, a story you’ve told everyone, like, five times” Tim jumps into the conversation where he sits upside down on the couch with Steph playing an old-school Gameboy.

“TT, I agree with Drake and Todd. If you tell this story again, Grayson, I may choose physical violence against you.” Damian adds from where he sketches a charcoal drawing of Titus and Cass. Jason chuckles at the fact that both Damian and Tim agree with him, but his body stays tense, he takes periodic looks in the direction of the kitchen, willing Alfred to move quicker. He contemplates just going to help Alfred instead of staying here when he tunes back into the conversation.

“-no one else around,” Steph says not looking up from her phone in her upside-down position.

“you guys are no fun” Dick continues to pout as he sits back up, clearly not having gained an ounce of sympathy in his pose. He turns to Jason with a look in his eye that worries him.

“So, Barbara says you’ve stopped by Aparo Park a lot on your patrols. What's that about?”

Jason didn’t know his body could tense more than it already was. You lived two blocks from Aparo Park, and he had made a routine as of the last two weeks to check if you were home safe. Tonight was the first time he wouldn’t be stopping by. It's why he went to see you at the coffee shop and walked you home, to make sure you got there. He forgot that Oracle tracks everyone during patrol and silently curses her for sharing that information with Dick of all people.

“Changing up patrol” he answers casually and that should be enough. They all constantly change their patrol routes so it's harder for anyone to track their movements. Apparently, it's not enough because Steph perks up from her seat.

“Are you sure about that?” She questions with a smirk. Oh, she knows something.  Dick had looked like he was going to drop it but at Steph’s comment, he leans back in.

“Not Patrol, then?” He looks at Jason expectantly and Jason pointedly ignores him to glare at Steph to keep her mouth shut. She just shrugs like she's not an instigator in this conversation. When Jason doesn’t speak up, Tim does.

“No, he's been seeing a girl.”

Jason seriously contemplates if it would be bad if he chose to beat Tim up again and drag him back to Titans Tower to make it real reminiscent of the old days when Jason was trying to kill everyone.

“A girl?” Duke interjected. He had been blissfully silent during the entire conversation, and Jason was hoping to keep him as a sibling he liked. Apparently, it would be just Cass and Damian who sat quietly as Damian sketched.

“Yeah, she's real pretty and she's a waitress at a bookshop,” Steph adds like Jason isn’t there.

“She's also not from Gotham, moved here like three years ago over some family drama,” Tim says, and Jason again resists the urge to strangle him.

“You’ve been Stalking her,” Jason states. So much for you only having one ‘Stalker’.

“So, it is a girl!” Jason turns to see Dick grinning widely. “I'm so proud of you little wing!” Dick looks like he's going to dive in for a hug, so Jason stands and ignores the “Oof” of Dick hitting the couch. He points a finger at Steph and Tim.

“Stop stalking her and don’t tell Dick anything.” He points at Duke, who hides a grin behind his hand. “You were doing so well man; you were on my favorite sibling list.” He drops his hand. “I'm going to help Alfred.” He turns and walks through a door and heads for the kitchen. As the door closes, he hears Dick screech, “You have a favorite Sibling list!”

He shakes his head as he walks down the hallway. So much for having a personal life. He doubts Steph had done any stalking, but he knows Tim tells her just about everything and she tells Cass everything, so Cass is definitely in the know too. But Cass also knows when to play the right cards. He was anxious to see when that would be. With Dick, you give him an inch and he’ll take a mile. There’s no doubt he's in there pestering Tim about the Details.  Thank God Damian couldn’t care less about this stuff. He continues his way towards the kitchen when he meets Bruce in the hallway.

“Bruce” Jason says formally

“Jason” Bruce says in a similar manner. He pauses and then says “Your early”

“Yeah, well, that’s what happens with a manipulative family.” It comes out harsher than he means it to, but he's still peeved with his siblings. Bruce says nothing so Jason adds “I'm going to help Alfred.”

He doesn’t wait for Bruce to say anything as he continues to the kitchen. Part of him wants to kick himself for letting his emotions get the better of him. While he was tense with the family, things had been getting better and he didn’t want to break that good record because he got emotional over you. He just wanted something good (You) to be just his. But apparently, that was too much to ask.

As he entered the kitchen, the aroma of toasted tomatoes, warm cheese, cooked pasta, and basil overtook his senses. An undertone of melted chocolate and oven-baked cookies hidden underneath it.

“Master Jason, What pleasant surprise, you're early.” The soft tone of the older man draws Jason in. Apparently, Dick didn’t share his scheming with everyone. First Bruce and now Alfred. He wonders for a moment if they think he's trying to reach out or something, but he pushes down the thought.

“Dick’s fault.” He muttered. The way he says Dick’s name implies that he’s not using his actual name.

“Ah, Master Dick does like his way of things. Would you mind stirring the tomato sauce for me while I finish these Cookies?” Alfred asks. Jason moves to the stove. He knows it’s a simple task and one that could have waited until Alfred was done with the cookies but as always Alfred can read Jason in a way the rest of his family sometimes can't.

He stirs it quietly as Alfred works at the island. For a moment he’s reminded of a time before everything went sour. Back when he was Robin and it was just him, Bruce, and Alfred at the Manor, Dick was off doing his own thing. On days he didn’t have school, but Bruce still had to work he would shadow Alfred. The kitchen became its own sanctuary from the hero-ing lifestyle, (Since Bruce was banned from the kitchen after a microwave incident). He would sit at the counter and help stir whatever it was Alfred needed, always giggling as he stole licks and bites here and there. Looking back, he's sure Alfred was intentionally oblivious. The old man had a sharp eye, and he definitely knew. But Jason had been small, malnourished from his time living on the streets. Alfred always gave him what he thought was too large a portion.

“Are you alright?” Alfred’s voice shakes him from his thoughts.

“I’ll be fine.” He huffs out and then backtracks, turning to face Alfred. “I'm just a little upset. My siblings don’t know anything about privacy.”

“I presume this is in reference to your friend.”

Of course, Alfred knows. Jason rolls his eyes but responds quietly, “Yeah”

Alfred is silent before he responds.

“it's only because they care. You’ve come a long way, Master Jason, but you still have lengths to go, as do we all.” He says as he turns back to the cookie tray and places it into the oven. “I do hope, when you're ready, I will meet this girl.”

“Course, Alfred,” Jason says easily. Out of everyone in his family, Alfred would be the person he wants you to meet. Not that you two were anywhere close to that or heading in said direction. He’d barely had a number of short conversations with you, but he couldn't help but hope. There was just something about you that drew him in, and it had grown ten times when your life had been on the line.

Over the next ten minutes, he helped set the table and the food out, thankfully avoiding his siblings. But peace doesn’t last forever. One by one they slowly straggle into the dining room. In the time he had been gone, Barbara had gotten there. He’s almost prepared to share a few choice words with her but his conversation with Alfred stops him from saying anything out loud. It doesn't stop him from thinking it though.

Jason is thankful when Cass takes the seat next to him, but it lasts only so long as Dick takes the one on the other side. He waits expectantly for Dick to say something to him but is surprised when it's Cass that talks to him first.

“She would be good for you,” she says quietly and pats him on the arm. “You need to get her first.” And just like that the conversation is over as she starts dishing up her plate. Out of everything he had expected out of Cass, that wasn’t it. He stares shocked for a moment before Dick interrupts the moment.

“Am I on your favorite sibling list?”

“No”

“Why not?”

“Take a guess.” He answers as he serves himself some food.

Dick silents as the clattering of everyone getting food fills the space, along with the sounds of other personal conversations. After a moment Dick speaks up again more serious than before.

“I’m sorry, Jay. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot earlier, just wanted to check in with my baby brother.”

Jason lets out a sigh, “Alright, Dick, your forgiven. Besides you’re not the one stalking her.” He pointedly glares at Tim who only glances at him before going back to talking to Bruce.

“Now drop it.”

To Dick’s merit, he doesn’t say anything finally content with silence. The rest of dinner goes on without any more incidents. Bruce does his normal check-ins running down the line. Dick’s been chasing down a drug trafficking ring showing face in Bludhaven, Tim was planning a new mission with the Titans, Cass, Steph, and Barbara were planning a girl's day out with some of the other Birds of Prey, Duke had had a few slow weeks of day time patrol, and Damain went into a myriad of reasons on why he shouldn’t have to go to school. It was nice to just listen to everyone, living their own lives. When it came to Jason’s turn, he gave a quick rundown of the last three outlaw missions he’d dealt with. Nobody else commented on you, something he was truly grateful for.

At the end of the night, as everyone went their separate ways, Bruce pulled him to the side. He waited nervously to be berated about something. He couldn’t remember killing anyone recently, so it wouldn’t be that type of conversation. Bruce stared him down before setting a firm hand on his shoulder.

“I heard something about a girl.” Jason rolled his eyes. Of course, Tim told Bruce, the whole household knew now. Before Jason could speak Bruce continued.

“Don’t worry. I'm not here to pry. I just want to say I'm proud and I hope to meet her someday.” Bruce squeezed his shoulder before dropping his hand.

 “Get home safe and we’ll see you on patrol.” With that, Bruce left him in the foyer. Jason stood shocked for a moment before making his way to his bike. Who knew his family could care and be so invasive at the same time.

Additional Note: Thank you to everyone who reads! I'm currently figuring out where I want this story to go in terms of plot because it feels like it should be going somewhere. This chapter was an attempt to get more characters and again if they feel out of character, they most likely are. I know more about fanon versions than canon versions. Thank you, Thank you, everyone! Someone did request a tag list, so I am creating one. You can ask to be added but if you have commented in the past I will just be adding you. If you would like to be removed please let me know!

Tag list: @little-miss-naill, @nikilolo787, @joonunivrs

[kanpaeki]

Can you do where dominic and the reader have an argument and give each other silent treatment even though they really wanna talk to each other but they’re being petty

i changed it a little bit but i hope this is close enough to what you wanted, i got writer's block like 3 times trying to write this lmao

x

“how many times do i have to say i’m sorry? i couldn’t fucking be there, i don’t know what else to say.”  dominic’s fed up by now, clearly done with the conversation if the flushed face and disgruntled expression is anything to show for.

“are you not getting this? that’s not the problem! but you should’ve talked to me!” and just like him, you're beyond frustrated. he's usually more communicative with you but you had an event that you really wanted him to go with you to and he straight up stood you up, no call, no text, no nothing. and you were furious. he didn't want to talk about it, claiming he was just was busy and with friends and lost track of time but you weren't having it. he needed to understand that he couldn't do that.

"i'm not doing this anymore." he abruptly stands up from his chair at the kitchen table and heads towards the doorway to what you assume is his makeshift home studio.

"where are you going?!" you shout, eyebrows furrowed in anger, "you're not doing what anymore?!"

no answer. he's retreating to the studio.

"dominic david fike."

he pauses.

but then he continues. and he's out of your sight within the next second. you hear the door slam.

you groan, running your hands through your hair. you don't think you've ever fought this bad. he was usually better at letting you know where he was or if he was going to be late, you don't understand why he all of a sudden stopped. it didn't make sense. something was weird. but at this rate, you were never going to find out why. you just wanted to talk to him, you don't even understand how it became a screaming match. sighing, you shake your head. maybe some time would be best for you both.

so you continue the day as normal, given there is quite a heavy and dark rain cloud looming over your head for the remainder of the evening, but you try your best. you get your work done, which was a nice distraction but the second you were done, your mind went back to dominic. so you tried to make dinner. you weren't the best cook but he seemed to enjoy it, especially when you make that one dish he really likes. he might even view it as a peace offering.

“dom? babe?” you call out, “dinner’s ready!” you plate the food at the stove, carrying them to the table. you wait for the telltale sound of a door opening and feet slapping the floor. it never comes.

“dom?” your heart starts to deflate. so maybe this issue was bigger than you thought. you stand there beside the table, watching the steam rise from the two plates. trying not to panic, you wring your hands together. maybe he’s just got his headphones on.

you think about texting him for a minute but you decide just to go knock on the door. if he's got headphones on, he probably won't hear his phone anyway. so up the stairs you go, putting your tail between your legs and knocking on the door. "dommy, dinner's ready. if you want to eat." pressing your lips together, you wait for the door to open.

nothing.

yeah, maybe this was worse than you thought. you give it another knock but still, no answer. resting your forehead on the cool wood, you exhale. usually after an argument, some time apart was all he needed. but it seems like this was going to take a little bit more than you anticipated.

"well, i'll be downstairs if you want to talk about it. i'll put your plate in the fridge." with that, you head back downstairs, thoughts racing through your mind. reaching the table, you just sit there. you don't even feel like eating anymore. you just pick at your food with the fork, frustrated more than anything. you know your feelings were valid, if anything, you should be the one giving him the silent treatment. you were willing to put everything behind you. why wasn't he? god, boys are so infuriating.

you stand up and just decide to wrap your plates and put them in the fridge. you didn't have it in you to eat right now and you're sure he'll be down to eat the second you leave the kitchen and shut yourself in the bedroom. and that you do. without even changing into pajamas, you just slide into the sheets in the darkness, left alone with your thoughts. you hated this silence. usually he was singing, showing you what he made, watching a movie with you, you guys even liked to online shop together. you loved his sense of style. you missed his nose. his cute button nose. you don't even realize you're crying until the feeling of something warm and wet on your nose bothers you enough to wipe it away.

you're half asleep when you hear padding around in the kitchen, socks shuffling on the floor and the sounds of the fridge opening. there's a sigh and muttering. more scuffling. and then it gets closer. you pretend to be asleep right as the door opens.

he seems to pause at the door but then there's a weight shift at the end of the bed as he sits on it. you carefully blink your eyes open, looking at him as he sits by your feet. his elbows rest on his knees and his hands are in his hair. you want to speak up, he looks frustrated but you don't know if you trust your voice after having cried yourself to sleep.

he takes a deep breath before he sits up, "i'm sorry." is all he says before he looks at you with an expression you've never really seen before. "i was trippin', i shouldn't shut down like that. i could've moved things around, i could've been there. i know how important it was to you and i'm sorry. it won't happen again."

you take a deep breath before sitting up, facing him. "i'm sorry i lost my temper. i know your schedule gets unpredictable. but you're right, it meant a lot to me." he nods and leans forward, resting his head on your chest. you run your hands through his messy curls.

"i love you." he murmurs into your chest, kissing you through your shirt. "will you eat with me please?" he looks up at you with shiny eyes and you just nod, smoothing the stray hair away from his cheeks.

he stands up first and you grab his hand as he outstretches it, taking his lead as he heads back to the kitchen. rarely did you ever eat without each other. maybe that's why you lost your appetite before. but sitting at the table with him now, smiling as you eat your dinner's together, all feels right again.

[mrsevans90]

Puppy Love

Captain Syverson x OFC Emma Miller Part 17

Summary: Austin Syverson has returned to Texas after retiring from the military and starts his own contracting business. Syverson is used to being alone and thinks he prefers it that way. While at work he stumbles upon an injured and abused puppy. When he meets the new veterinarian in town, Emma Miller, he is immediately smitten with her. It turns out Emma has some baggage of her own. Will they be able to make it work? Or is it just a case of fleeting puppy love?

Pairing: Henry Cavill as Captain Austin Syverson x OFC Emma Miller 

Warnings: Fluff. Smut. Oral (F receiving), fingering, squirting, P in V intercourse, innuendos, language, romantic love making.

MINORS DNI! Must be 18+

I do not authorize any copying/pasting, stealing of my work, or using my words as your own. 

This story is not beta’d. All mistakes are my own.

A/N: I am an imperfect person who makes mistakes. All that I ask is to please be kind and if you enjoy it then please comment and REPOST! I appreciate any love, comments, and reposts more than you could know. Thank you for reading!

Part 16

After spending the day on the beach and in the ocean, I was getting mentally prepared for the big proposal tonight. I had no idea what I’m going to say to Emma, as verbal confessions of love were a bit of a struggle for me. I know without a doubt how I feel about her, but I just suck at putting all of the words together. I tend to show her how I feel, rather than say it which hasn’t steered me wrong yet but I wanted to make this perfect for her.

I told Emma that I had booked us a dinner tonight at sunset so to get all gussied up and be ready for a fancy meal. Emma showered first saying she wanted to do all sorts of shaving and exfoliating and needed some room. I trimmed up my beard before she was wrapped in the hotel’s bathrobe as she began drying her hair. I went to shower next and spent most of my shower trying to come up with the right combinations of words in my head but being distracted as Emma bent over and flipped her hair from side to side as she dried it. My cock twitched every time she did it because I could only think about how she does something similar when I’m taking her from behind. I willed my dick to calm down, hoping that we’d have an engagement to celebrate later tonight that I needed him to wait for. I tried my best to refocus on my upcoming declaration of love and said a prayer everything would go smoothly. We still had an hour until dinner so I laid down on the bed in my underwear and decided to check in with my grandparents and let them know that we had arrived safely and make sure Mills and Aika were behaving. Nana was so excited about having the dogs spend the week with them, that I swear she might try and keep them. 

“Hello?”

“Hey Nana. How’s it going?”

“Oh, I’m so glad you called! I was wondering if y’all made it safely. How is it there?”

“It’s really nice. Very fancy and we’re having a great time so far. How are y’all doing?”

“We are just fine. These dogs are just a delight, Son. I don’t want to give them back.”

“Maybe I’ll let them come over more often if you don’t spoil them rotten.”

“Well, that’s my job until you give me some human babies to spoil. Maybe you should start working on that. Have you proposed yet?”

“Not yet. I’ve got a dinner booked tonight but I don’t want to say much else. Em’s in the bathroom getting ready.”

“Okay, but you better let me know what she says. Are you nervous?”

“Nah.” I said, but I don’t know why I even bother putting up a front with her. She can read my voice like a book from across the world.

“Don’t be nervous. Just say how you feel, from your heart. You knew right away that she was different and you need to tell her how much you care for her.”

“I’m going try. You know I’ve never been the best with words.”

“You’re better than you think you are, honey.” 

“Thanks. I’m gonna let you go, but I just wanted to check in. Don’t feed my dogs too many treats.”

“Too late! They love Nana’s house the best!” She chuckles.

“Love you.”

“Love you too! Good luck even though you don’t need it.” 

I hang up with Nana and listen to Emma softly singing some pop song while getting ready and decide I better get myself dressed as well. I put on my “church clothes” as my mama always called it and discreetly pocket the ring in my pants pocket. I’ve organized for a photographer to hang back out of sight and photograph the proposal which was the only stipulation that Emma’s mom had when I asked for her hand. I wanted to make the trip to Alabama to ask in person but there was no way I could do that without Emma finding out or getting suspicious. I think back to that nervous phone call.

*Flashback*

I had arranged to speak with Emma’s parents via facetime while she was at work one day and I was nervous as hell to make the call. 

“Hi Austin!” Diana and James greeted when they accepted the call.

“Hey there. How are y’all doing today?”

“Good, probably not nearly as nervous as you.” James said and Diana smacked his arm with a shake of her head and I couldn’t help but chuckle because they were right.

“You wanted to talk to us about Emma?” Diana prompts.

“Well, I know we haven’t been together terribly long, but we are so good together and I have never been so sure about someone before. I have fallen deeply in love with her and I would love nothing more to ask her to marry me, with your blessing of course.” I ramble out probably too quickly. 

Diana and James look at each other with a smile before responding.

“We had a feeling this is what you wanted to ask us because we saw the way you both looked at each other and gravitated around each other when we came to visit. Emma has really opened up since we met you and I have never seen her so, herself. It’s like she finally stopped worrying about every step she took and allowed herself to just be happy.” Diana said and I couldn’t help but smile.

“The answer to your question is yes, you have our blessing as long as you promise to love her and take care of her and treat her with the utmost respect. She may be grown and not need us, but she’s always been my little princess.” James said with an almost sad smile.

“I swear to you both, that Emma is the love of my life and I will do anything and everything to provide for her and give her everything she could ever want.” 

“I’ve seen how you both are together that weekend we came to stay and knew it was the real deal. I’ve never seen her so happy or so in love before and we would be proud to have you as a son-in-law. You’re a good man.”

“Thank you, sir. You don’t realize how much that means to me. Becoming a part of your family would be a blessing. I’m just hoping she’ll say yes. Do y’all want to see the ring?”

“Of course, sweetheart!” Diana responded while clapping her hands as I carefully opened the box and tilted it towards the camera.

“Oh, it’s beautiful, Austin!” Diana coos and I feel proud that her mom is so sure she will like it.

“I’m relieved you think so. I was a little out of my depth but I just felt like it was something I could see her wearing every day. It’s a 2 carat round diamond, with something called baguette diamonds on each side on a platinum band. I plan to ask her when we go to Jamaica in two weeks. I still haven’t figured out exactly where, but I think she’d like it if I proposed near the beach.”

“It’s perfect. I just know she’ll say yes! Could you do us a favor? Could you have a photographer take pictures for us to see? I know she would cherish them as well.” 

“Yes ma’am.” I make a mental note to call the resort and see if I can hire someone to take pictures. I hadn’t thought of anything like that, so I’m glad her mom mentioned it.

“Well, we’re proud to have you join the family son. I appreciate you asking us and letting us in on it. I know she’ll be blown away.” James says.

“Thank you both so much.” 

I swear, I almost cried after we got off of the phone call. The only man that I ever looked up to was my PawPaw since my dad split and started a new family. I felt lucky to have PawPaw but always wondered why I wasn’t good enough for my dad to stay. Having Emma’s family accept me into their own so willingly, really caught me by surprise. I didn’t expect those old feelings to come back up, especially at my age. I guess you never grow out of wanting a father that actually wants you.

*Present*

I think I’ve got an idea of what I’m going to say to her but when she enters the bedroom all thoughts leave my brain. Emma is stunning in a full length royal blue dress and heels with her long hair in soft curls over her shoulders. The dress is simple with thin straps on her shoulders that cross in the back and a cut up to her knee which gives me a peek of her perfect legs when she walks. I’m literally stunned speechless.

“I’m ready. Don’t you look handsome.” She says with a smile as she makes her way to me.

“God damn, Sugar. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life.” I tell her honestly and her cheeks blush as she gives me her shy smile. I wrap my arms around her, angling the ring box away from her body and inhale her perfume. 

“Thank you, baby.” 

“I’m tempted to keep you here all to myself but you look so stunning it would be a shame not to show you off.” I whisper in her ear and she giggles.

“Let’s take a picture since we are all dressed up?” She asks and holds her phone out for a selfie. She giggles in the first picture as I kiss her cheek before she makes me smile for a real photo of us together. 

“Perfect.” She says as she reviews the photos on her phone.

“Hungry?” I ask and her tummy responds with a little growl which makes me chuckle.

“Let’s go get that fancy shmancy dinner. If their portions suck, just know I’m going to come back here and order a burger from room service.” I joke as Emma wraps her arm through mine and intertwines our fingers. She seems a bit surprised when I lead her towards the ocean rather than one of the big restaurants on the property until she spots the gazebo covered in twinkle lights at the end of the pier. There’s a man there holding a bottle of red wine near a table covered in flowers and candles atop a white tablecloth and I hear Emma whisper “holy shit” to herself as I lead her towards our dinner location. The water gently crashes against the shore around us and the sunset has cast an array of different colors into the sky, mostly orange and pink which even I can admit is gorgeous. I take a peek at my watch and see that we have about 40 minutes until the sun is officially set. Damn, I did better than I thought with setting this up. I can only hope the photographer I hired has set up somewhere and will be able to get pictures. 

“Oh my god, Austin.” Emma says with large eyes filled with surprise at our dinner location.

“Wanted to spoil my girl.” Is the only excuse I offer, hoping it will be enough for now.

“This is beyond stunning! Thank you, baby.” She says as she looks around and begins eating her meal. I had to order for us in advance since we aren’t in an actual restaurant, and I chose filet mignon, seasoned vegetables, small potatoes and bread. I planned to propose after she ate so we talked about how amazing the vacation has been so far, and if there were any excursions she would like to go on. She decided she would like to stay around the resort and get a couple’s massage tomorrow. I’ve never had a professional massage, but am not opposed to the idea especially if Emma is with me.

Before I knew it, the waiter had left to retrieve our dessert and we were both finished eating the main meal. It was time for me to propose. I was nervous as hell but after a large gulp of wine and a deep breath, I began. I reached across the table and took her hand in mine.

“Em, I couldn’t be happier that we took this trip together and even more so that we officially get to go back home together since I somehow sweet-talked you into moving in with me. I know I’m not the best with words, tending to rely more on my actions to show you how I feel but I’m trying to get better about that. You deserve every single day to be told how incredible you are. I want…I wanted to tell you how deeply I love you. I’ve never felt like this before and I truly didn’t think this type of love and connection would exist in my universe. You are an incredible veterinarian and the best mama to Aika and Mills. I know that you will be the most amazing mother to our future kids one day and it makes me so excited about the future. You are the most beautiful, loving, generous, stubborn and funny woman wrapped all into one and I consider myself the luckiest man in the world to have you as mine. That being said, I would love to have you become mine in every way. Would you do me the honor of marrying me, Sugar?” While I was speaking, I moved around the table and got down on my good knee while holding her left hand. I pull the ring box from my pocket and open it up to reveal the ring that I got her.

“Holy crap! Really?” Emma says with wide but tear filled eyes and jumps from her seat.

“Really, Darlin’” I answer with a nervous chuckle.

“Austin, oh my god! YES!” She squeals with a little excited jump as tears pour down her cheeks. I pull the ring from the box but before I can even slide it on her finger, Emma is suddenly on her knees nearly choking me in a tight hug before her lips find mine. She kisses me passionately and I feel the wetness from her tears against my cheek as she kisses me deeply. 

“I love you so much and I can’t wait to marry you.” She says against my lips.

“I love you too, Sugar. Can’t wait for you to be my wife.” I say and I pull back and slide the ring on her finger before wiping her eyes.

Emma holds out her hand to admire the ring. “We can get something else if that isn’t what you had in mind.” I tell her, hoping she’ll be honest with me.

“Oh, Austin, this is more beautiful than I could have imagined! I love it baby.” She says with another kiss before I help her up off of the pier. I smile when the photographer that I hired, Joseph, walks down the pier and introduces himself before congratulating us and asking to take a few more photos before the sun sets. We take several photos before sitting down to eat the dessert brought by our waiter that’s covered in chocolate and drink the champagne that he brought along with it.

All I can think about is the fact that she said yes and was going to become my wife. Emma is smiling from ear to ear and she’s absolutely radiant as she looks down at the ring weighing on her finger.

“How did you know my size?” She asks.

“I took the ring your grandma gave you while you were at work. I know you don’t wear it there since it’s hard to put on with gloves, so I had them measure it at the jeweler.” 

“Brilliant. Thank you for having someone take photos. I can’t wait to see them!”

“Ah, that was a request from your mama and I’m glad she made it because I didn’t think anything about it.”

“You talked to my mom?”

“Of course, and your dad. Had to get their permission and show them the ring.” I tell her and she giggles with a beaming smile.

She wanted to facetime her parents so while we were there, she called them and proudly announced that she said yes and we were getting married. They spoke for only a few minutes with endless congratulations and excitement before she wanted to call my Nana and PawPaw and tell them as well. After that call where we had to practically hang up on my Nana who I imagined was flitting around the room with her excitement, we took a stroll along the moonlit beach hand in hand.

“You’re going to be the most beautiful bride, Sugar.”

“I can’t believe we are getting married! This is everything that I ever wanted and more. You are everything I could have wanted, Austin Daniel Syverson.” She says and kisses me.

“Mmm…” I grunt and she licks into my mouth and presses her body against mine. 

“Fuck, Mrs. Emma Syverson sounds so good.” I tell her and she moans as I kiss near her ear.

“Take me to bed, future husband.”

“My pleasure.” I grunt as I reluctantly peel my body from hers so that we can go back to our room. 

Once we arrived, I’m pleased to see that the staff went above and beyond for us. Filling the large tub with bubble and flowers, champagne chilling on ice, and rose petals carefully arranged across the perfectly made bed to spell out, CONGRATS. Candles have been lit and are placed throughout the room giving it such a romantic feel.

I walk up behind Emma who was admiring the romantic setup and pressed my body against her back.

She quickly turned around and kissed me hungrily.

“I love you so much, Darlin’.” I whisper in her ear as she starts unbuttoning my shirt.

“I love you more, baby.” She says as she pushes the dress shirt from my shoulders.

“Not possible.” I turn her around and find the zipper to her dress and push the straps off of her shoulders to reveal that she was wearing a lacy black bra and matching thong set under that dress. I bite my lip and push away my desire to be rough with her. Tonight, I’m going to make this as romantic as I can. Slow and sensual.

I pick her up and place her gently on her back on the rose covered bed before stripping myself down to my navy boxers. 

“Austin, I need you.” She moans as her hands roam up and down her body in an attempt to ease her need.

“I’m gonna take my time with you tonight, Sugar. Want to show you how much I love you. Gonna make love to you, angel.” I tell her before kissing her deeply. I kiss all over her, removing the strapless bra first on my journey down her body, before removing her panties and spreading her legs to fit my wide shoulders. I kiss along her hip bones before finding my place at the apex of her thighs. Gently sliding my finger across her sensitive skin, I spread her wetness before gently guiding one finger, and then another inside of her before licking, sucking and kissing her folds. Focusing on her clit, I glance up to see the reflection of her engagement ring shining in the candlelight as she reaches up to grasp her breast and I instinctively rut against the mattress. Fuck, this is my fiancé. I’m going to marry this woman falling apart underneath me. I groan against her pussy. Emma moans and gasps soft, ‘oh fuck’ or ‘yes baby, right there!’ as I work to pleasure her. I focus even harder to get her to her climax and before I realize it, Emma is squirting her release across my fingers and chin. I lick and slurp her arousal before gently removing my fingers and caressing her thighs. Emma is positively wrecked above me as she tries to come down from reaching her peak. I use this opportunity to dry my fingers on my boxers which are wet with precum before I slide them off and lean back over Emma to kiss her. 

“You’re so beautiful.” I tell her and she gives me her shy smile.

“Never seen anything more gorgeous than you coming apart for me, Sugar.” I continue before she wraps her arms around my neck.

“Make love to me, Sy.” She tells me as she reaches down between us and guides my cock into her tight wet channel. I groan as I fill her up inch by inch with me. God, she feels so good. Will this ever stop being so amazing? I really don’t think it will.

“Baby, you feel so good.” Emma says as I start to thrust into her. She starts kissing on my neck and moaning in my ear and I swear I’m biting my lip to keep from coming before her. Her legs wrapped tightly around my waist as I intertwine our hands above her head and rut into her.

I continue to thrust into her as we share heated kisses, our tongues dancing against each other and gentle nips at each other’s lips. I gently tug on her nipples and grope her breasts as we find our highs together and I release my seed into her warmth.

I roll over beside her as we are coming down from our orgasms. Every muscle in my body is now fully relaxed since she said yes to my proposal. I was more nervous than I even admitted to myself and now, my body felt almost jello-like as I felt the relief surge through me. I reached down and brought Emma’s hand to my lips as I kissed her engagement ring and she rolled over on top of me.

“Thank you for making all of my dreams come true.” She whispers.

“Thank you for doing the same, Sugar.” I smile at her and kiss her forehead. A few moments later, I can feel us getting sleepy so I pick her up bridal style and place her in the bathtub that was set up for us before following her in. We relax against each other as she sleepily but excitedly recounts her thoughts of the dinner and my proposal and I smile the entire time she talks. Emma is so happy and I feel a surge of pride as though I had successfully made this as romantic as I possibly could have for her.

Emma is asleep against my chest roughly forty-five minutes later and I gently rouse her so that I can dry her off and get her ready for bed. She wants her makeup off so I help her wipe her face with her makeup wipes before we brush our teeth and climb into the pristine bed still covered in rose petals now in disarray.

Emma is wrapped around me like usual with her head against my chest as I gently stroke through the soft curls of her hair.

Thinking she’s already asleep, I admire the ring on her little hand and smile knowing that she’s agreed to forever with me.

“Goodnight, fiancé. I love you.” She whispers and I smile before kissing the top of her head.

“Goodnight, my bride. I love you too.” 

Part 18

Taglist: @shellyshellshell, @henryownsme, @caramariehurst, @beck07990, @mollymal, @kingliam2019, @syversonswife, @identity2212, @starfirewildheart, @hannah9921, @wa-ni, @kneelforloki, @cutedoxie, @enchantedbytomandhenry, @foxyjwls007, @geralts-yenn, @courtlynwriter, @corrie1013, @squeezyvalkyrie, @summersong69, @livisss, @mayloma, @uunotheangel, @warriormirkwood, @sofiebstar, @wetzilly

A/N:

This is how I felt while writing the proposal! Sorry y'all will have to wait a little bit on the balcony smut, but I wanted to keep this one romantic 🥰❤️ Hope y'all liked it!

[amore-reads16]

Part four

Overview- Y/N has a big decision to make after learning of something that will change life as she knows it. Liam finally is able to explain himself but will Y/N decide to help or betray him. the ball is officially in your court...

Note- I know this has taken a while so I apologise for everyone that’s been following along! I hope you enjoy! Let me know if you are liking where the story is going… I have a few more parts left in me so stay tuned for that 🫶🏼

“You’ve been ignoring me” Liam says cornering you just outside the dining room before dinner. You had managed to go the whole day without running into him somehow, but of course he would find you eventually.

“Have I?” You ask tilting your head to the side in a playful way. You had spent all last night trying to decide what to do. What your best move would be. And you decided if you wanted to learn Xaden’s plans then shutting Liam out would get you no where. So like he used you you would use him. Or perhaps that was just an excuse to give in to what your heart actually wanted but convincing yourself that seducing Liam solely for information was much easier.

“Tell me why” he isn’t just asking but demanding. He looks worried.

“I- I just needed time to think” you reply stepping backwards slightly. He follows your movements.

“Think” he repeats your words this time sounding even more worried than before.

You take in a breath ignoring the guilt that builds in your stomach making your throat go dry “yeah think… I’ve decided that I’m willing to hear your explanation”

Liam stands there in shock for a long moment before a wide smile grows on his face. He takes your arms in his hands pulling you closer. The guilt of what you are doing is now overwhelming. How are you meant to use this boy in front of you when he looks at you like that? With so much hope and love.

“You do?” He asks like an excited puppy.

“Yes” you gulp.

“Okay, well where do I even start? I wasn’t expecting you to want you talk to me. I thought you regretted what we did last night and when you said talk I thought you meant talk about how much you loathed me for taking advantage and how you hated every moment-“ the boy in front of you rambles so much you have to cut him of by placing your finger on his mouth.

“Liam stop. I don’t regret anything. I’d never regret anything like that. Not when it’s with you okay?” You say and perhaps this will be the only truth you tell him tonight you think.

“You don’t?” He asks.

“No. Never”

He grins wide taking your hand and placing it to his lips. “Let’s go to my room and we can talk?” He asks.

“Okay” you whisper and much like last night you follow him to his room but this time for a much different experience.

When you get to his room memories from last night flare up like a rash. You can still feel his hands in your hair, his lips on your neck, his body pressed on top of your own. Liam guides you to his bed where you both sit down and he starts talking.

“First I want you to know how sorry I am. I never wanted to hurt you but Xaden is a brother to me and he’s done so much for me, hells he took a lashing for all of us, and I owe him my life. I’d do anything for him and him me. So when he asked me to get close to you, to learn more about you, I had to do it. So I befriended you, started showing an interest in who you are, what you liked, what you disliked, your hobbies, your family, everything I could know I made it my mission to find out. And it was easy because the more time I spent with you the more I saw how incredible you are. At it was just meant to be friendly it was never my intention to fall for you but I did. And gods did I fall hard.” He takes a deep breath in reading your face which is to stunned to move. Hearing this was more overwhelming than you could have imagined.

He carries on “I still remember that night in the rain when we first kissed. How you looked, how you smelt, how you felt. You were like a drug to me and I knew I was about to be easily addicted to that feeling. The feeling of being with you, having you as my own. And I took advantage of that, I know, I knew it was wrong and that I’d built our relationship on this lie, this plot to learn your secrets. But I couldn’t stop. Once I had a taste of you I was done in for. So, selfishly, I carried on. I carried on kissing you, fucking you, making love to you. Xaden warned me that I’d gone too far, that I’d gone further than he’d ever intended but I didn’t care. As long as I had you and you didn’t know the truth everything would be okay. Until it wasn’t. That day you found out was the worst day of my life. And I was such a dick about it, pretending that I didn’t care for you, for your life, when that’s all I ever think about. I was torn. Between you, the woman I love, and Xaden, my brother who gave his life for me. If there was ever a way I could have had both I would have taken it in a heart beat but there wasn’t so I…” suddenly Liam stops talking so you finish the sentence for him.

“Chose Xaden”

Liam sighs putting his hands in his head in defeat “it’s not just Xaden it’s so much bigger than that”

“So tell me. Tell me what was so important to you that you jeopardised everything between us and kept me in the dark” the tears that roll down your face aren’t fake. They are very much real.

“I-“ he starts but can’t finish his sentence as you let your emotions run wild letting everything you’ve wanted to say for the last few weeks spill out of your mouth.

“What was so important that you lied to me, betrayed me and stabbed me in the back. How could you pretend that you loved me for all that time? What made you use me like I was a means to an end. Please I need to know what could be so important that you shattered me into pieces?” You sob unable to control your emotions any longer. He doesn’t even look at you as you spiral out of control. But you don’t let him get away that easy and you stand up walking around the bed to kneel in front of him removing his hands from his head

“Look at me” you whisper picking his chin up so that his face is level with yours.

“I didn’t pretend to love you” he gulps “I did love you and I wanted you to love me too so I kept what I had done a secret. I’ve been selfish, hell I’m still selfish for wanting you back despite knowing how much this is killing you, but I just can’t let you go. And if there is anything I can do to earn your trust back then I will do it” he pleads picking up your arms bringing you closer to him. “Please just tell me what I can do”

This was it. This was your opening to learn everything. And you needed to take it.

“You need to tell me the complete truth. There is a reason why Xaden wanted to know what my signet was. And there is a reason why he wanted me dead after I found out about your secret meeting. You want my trust back? You tell me everything.” You demand, unwavering in what you need to hear from him.

He thinks for a moment debating whether to give in and tell you everything or keep his promise to Xaden. You can see the battle in his eyes and almost feel guilty for forcing him into telling you. But then you remember what he did, how it made you feel, how it still makes you feel and any guilt you held disappeared. Liam gives in. He tells you everything. The revolution. Their plans. The wyvern and vernin that roam our skies. The threat that is knocking on the doors of your world as you knew it. Aretia. Smuggling weapons to fliers. And for once in your life you are too stunned to speak. Liam looks at you not knowing what you are thinking but desperately wanting you to tell him. And it stays like this for a while. You staring at him in shock and him staring at you in desperation. Tears well in both your eyes.

Liam has been holding all of this in? All the anxiety and worry about the future, a future he has been working so hard to keep from destruction and doom. He has had such a heavy weight on his shoulders and you had been making the situation so much worse. Shutting him out. Telling him how much you hated him. How you never wanted to speak to him. God how could you have not seen how much he was coping with. Did that make you a bad person? Was this plan for revenge petty in the grand scheme of things? Did this make it easier to forgive him?

There were too many questions running rampant in your head that you didn’t know what to do, what to say.

“Please say something” he begs. It’s rare that Liam begs.

“I don’t get where I tie into all of this?” You ask in a low voice. It may be selfish that the first thing you say about the shit load of daunting information you had just been told was about you, but if you were going to trust him again you needed to know your part in all of this. Maybe then you might know how to feel.

“Your signet, Aetos’ signet, they are weapons to Basgiath. Weapons against the revolution. We needed to assess how much of a threat you were going to be to us” he responds

“And then what?” You ask

“I don’t know” he whispers “I don’t know what they wanted to do with you but please know this. I would have fought them to my last breath if they ever tried to lay a finger on you. I promise you this”

“Everything I have done since the moment I knew I was falling in love with you has all been for you. To keep you safe. I thought keeping you in the dark was the best way to do that. I thought if you didn’t know anything then I could keep you away from the danger away from Xaden. But I was wrong. I should have given you the choice to decide what to do and not tried to clip your wings before they even formed and had chance to spread. And for that I will forever be sorry”

Taking a deep, needed, breath in you take his hands in yours looking at him deeply “promise me this is all true. This is everything I need to know”

“I promise” he nods his head cradling your hands in his.

“Promise me you’ll never lie to me again”

“I promise”

You nod your head gulping back the knot that has formed in your throat. You realise now that the revenge that you seek, it’s not against Liam, or hells even Xaden despite him being a complete ass, it’s against Basgiath. Against the people in leadership who know about the threat but choose to ignore it and let innocents die. They are the enemy not the boy in front of you or his friends. You had been childish before. You had given into your raw emotions letting them lead you to a path of unchecked resent. You would no longer be that child. There was a bigger game out there to be played and toying with Xaden Riorson to get justice for yourself would get you no where. Exposing Xaden’s plans would bring down the revolution and would bring down any chance of a safe life. This was so much bigger than you and your petty emotions.

“Then I’m with you.” You finally say “wholly and completely I am with you. What’s mine is yours and I will do everything in my power to aid you and your cause. Its the right thing to do and I-“ you stop for a minute to process the words you are about to say “and I love you”

He sucks in a quick breath taken back by your words “you love me? After everything you love me still?” He asks.

“I don’t love what you did. I don’t love that you thought I wouldn’t choose you and the revolution. I don’t love that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me this when you first knew you were falling for me. I don’t love that you made me feel like a fool. But I do love you and I understand the burden you have had to keep. There is no point in me holding you against something that is much bigger than the both of us. We must move forward now together. No lies, no secrets and no more betrayals okay? It’s me and you now” you say presetting your forehead against his and your hand on his face caressing it slowly.

“Me and you yeah?” He asks as if he needs confirmation that this is all real. That you are in front of him willing to forgive and forget. You are willing to move on.

“I need to tell you something” you blurt.

Now he’s the one that looks frightened “okay go ahead…”

“Xaden warned me last night when I left your room to stay away from you. He told me that if I didn’t then our deal is off. So basically I’ll be dead and so will my brother” you say slowly unsure on how Liam would take the information and by the looks of it he was fuming.

“That motherfucker-“ he starts but you cut him off to try and diffuse his anger.

“I guess it’s understandable with so much as stake. But we can’t let him know about us” you try to reason. Xaden may not be your most liked person but Liam loved him and you would not be the thing that destroyed that bond.

“So there is an us” Liam says his anger fading as he grabs a strand of your hair to play with needing to touch you in some way.

“Yes Liam there is an us” you smile watching his hands get tangled in your hair.

“God I love you” he responds drawing you in to a short sweet kiss filled with compassion.

“Okay no distractions this is serious” you say pulling away putting a little space between the pair of you “ Xaden won’t understand why you’ve told me all of this. And he certainly won’t accept me into your circle. You know he doesn’t trust me and if I’m honest Liam I don’t trust him either.” You say head low at the impossible situation you now stand in.

“I know” he agrees.

“But I still want to help in anyway that I can. So this is what I’m thinking, I’ll find out the information that you need and only I can get. I’ll report back to you and then you can tell Xaden and the revolution. Then when the time comes we can tell Xaden together how much I’ve been helping and perhaps then he’ll accept this and I don’t be dead” you try to laugh at the end to pass the severity of the situation as a joke but Liam doesn’t find it too funny.

“This is ridiculous” he complains rubbing his brows together with one hand.

“Well this is where we are Liam” you reply moving closer taking his hand away from his forehead looking in his eyes to let him know that this is okay and you are willing to do this.

“Okay, let’s see how this goes and then we can re-asses. I don’t like lying to him like this, but you are right he doesn’t and won’t trust you, maybe ever, perhaps it would be best if we show him that he can trust you but without him knowing that’s what we are doing” he pauses for a moment before looking at you seriously “And as for us? What will we do about that?” He asks.

“We keep us a secret. In the corridors I’ll act like I have been doing, like I hate you, despise the ground you walk on” you answer.

“And in private?” He smirks slowly in a deviously cruel way.

“Well I’ll love you and we can be… us” you whisper looking down playing with his fingers too shy to look at his face. It was less than 24 hours ago that you were planning the destruction of Xaden Riorson and now you are willing to help the bastard and aid a revolution.

“I don’t think I’ll ever not love hearing you say that” Liam grins watching you as you mess with his fingers.

“What?” You ask finally gathering the courage to look him in the eye.

“That you love me. That’s there’s an us” he says making your heart melt. This boy will be the death of you.

“There’s always been an us we just were to stubborn to see that” you reply

His smile slowly fades of his face and is replaced by a worried expression making your stomach drop “We will get through this won’t we?”

“I really hope so Liam”

[dawnisdreamlanding]

CHAPTER 3

Ghost x Reader x Konig

Neighbor!au and Roommate!au

About me | Masterlist |

Author's note: Hey hey hey! It's been a while hahahs I actually have chapter 4 and chapter 5 planned out but i havent got the energy to write them :') All i can say is that everything in this story has been going too well right now... >:)

(Also if you have any fanfic ideas/ asks feel free to send an ask or dm me :D)

You’re waiting once again for Simon to pick you up from work. It’s now become an almost daily thing for a month now, the two of you. You’d finish work, Simon would show up in his pickup truck and occasionally the two of you would eat dinner together.

Okay, you do partially feel as if you’re cheating on Konig in some way by having dinner with your neighbor (Konig said he had a work emergency and he was going to be gone for a month or two), but your roommate wasn’t here to keep you company anymore and you weren’t willing to eat dinner alone after being so accustomed to the company you had.

Today, the atmosphere in the car seems a little different than the rest. Just a little, though. You decide not to comment on it and buckle your seatbelt before he starts driving. “How was work?” Simon would ask the usual question. “Fine,” you would reply tiredly with a sigh. The two of you would fall into a domestic routine in such a short time, yet neither of you ever really questioned it.

The patter of rain provided a relaxing white noise as the two of you sit in comfortable silence, waiting for the traffic light to turn green. The streetlamps glisten and you turn to see Simon in his balaclava that he wears only when going on missions.

“I’m going to be deployed. Tonight.” He finally breaks it to you. “Oh.” You reply, but you can’t be sure if it sounded sad or understanding. Maybe both. “Do you know when you’re coming back?” He shrugs, eyes still fixated on the road. “I’m thinkin’ 2 months at least.”

There’s another silence that follows, but this time around it’s filled with a lot of unsaid words waiting to be spoken into existence. Simon turns to look at you. God, he wishes he didn’t because the red from the traffic light paints your features in the best way, and he doesn’t think he could forget this moment anytime soon. “You’ll be fine without me yeah?” Simon finally asks. You feel like there’s a secret message lying hidden somewhere in the question by the way he looks at you, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

---

You spend your days without Simon and Konig counting. Counting how many days it’s been since they’ve been gone, and the times you accidentally cook food for two. Today marks the 2 month mark, and to be honest, you still haven’t gotten used to your apartment engulfed in darkness when you get back from work. You sigh.

---

Simon spends his days counting unconsciously. He takes another long drag from his cigarette and watches the smoke slowly disappear into the night sky outside of a bar the team decided to celebrate their victory at. It’s a little chilly. Winter is approaching, and he hopes you’re warm and tucked into your apartment right about now. Soap stands beside him, accompanying him. “You goin’ home for Christmas, L.T?” he says. Soap expects Ghost to say no, or to say something along the lines of spending the holiday alone.

Ghost gazes at the stars which is something he doesn’t really do since he was a kid and god, he swears he still sees your face as the stars twinkle. He hums. “Got a Christmas gift for someone. Gotta give it to ‘em somehow.” Soap’s taken aback at his answer but chooses not to pry too much into his private life. Not this time at least. Suddenly the bar cheers with happiness and the clinking of beer bottles. “Happy for ya, L.T.” Soap says as a small knowing smile spreads on his lips.

---

Ghost spends the time taken for the trip back to his civilian life decompressing and when he reaches home, he wants nothing more than the dinners the two of you had before he left for the mission. But he decides the moment his duffel bag hits the floor, that he really, really needs to sleep first. That doesn’t stop him from thinking about you though, cause he dreams of the moment when he picked you up from work in his pickup truck.

You’re ecstatic when Simon tells you he’s back. You prepare dinner, finally making food for two (or three, with how much this guy eats). And you’re basically skipping when Simon knocks on your door.

Dinner with Simon is calm yet filled with excitement and happiness. You both catch up on each other’s lives, and you tell him about everything he’s missed out on since he left. You tell him about the stray orange cat that found its way into your apartment once (you still have no clue how) and has now become a visitor occasionally — you leave out the part where you subconsciously named it after him.

You’re washing the dishes and Simon’s keeping the leftovers for your lunch tomorrow when the topic of long distance relationships get brought up. “I mean, it must be hard to maintain relationships, right? Especially since you don’t get to see each other for ages.” Ghost hums in agreement, a sign that you’ve learnt to understand that he’s listening to you intently. “I can’t imagine working in the military is any easier. Hell, I felt a little sad when you left too, I can’t imagine what your girlfriend would be feeling.”

“Don’t have one.” He says. And you smile a little. “Yeah, but imagine if you did. It’ll be like one of those old war movies.” You giggle at the thought and Simon joins you in washing the dishes. “Oh, my darling,” you say in an exaggerated voice of a lover. “I don’t think I could love you anymore. The pain is too much to bear!”

Your theatrics tugs the corner of Simon’s lips upwards and he looks at you softly, arching his brow. “Y’ love me?” his voice rumbles, and it sounds something akin to the taste of vanilla ice cream with caramel drizzled on top which is weird, because you’ve never really liked the taste of caramel. Well, not until now.

There’s a certain softness in this moment, you tell yourself. There’s this feeling that you don’t think you could forget this look on his face. You blink and he’s taken the soapy cutlery from your hand and starts to wash the soap off them. “I forget how much I miss my soft bed when I come back. And being able to sleep in a little longer.” He sighs and it’s your turn to hum along. “And I missed your cooking.” He says a little softer this time, eyes focusing on the bubbles as they get washed away from the water. I missed this, you think.

Taglist: @gojo-mochi

[woongisi]

Freudian Slips // Kim Taerae

switch!Kim Taerae x switch!fem!Reader // SMUT, some angst & fluff

WC// 5.9k

Synopsis// Taerae tried to stay respectful and ignore the fact he wanted his cock down your throat. Sometimes, his own thoughts betray him.

Warnings// angst, name calling, yelling, pussy eating, porn w/ (some) plot, "good girl", nipple play, marking, cumming in pants, blowjob, best friends to lovers

------------

"Tae, I'm getting hungryyyyy."

The two of you had been on the floor in front of the couch, compromising comfort in many regards. Your head had been resting on Taerae’s lap for some number of hours while he watched whatever shows graced the food channels of the tv. You didn't mind, it was quiet sans the occasional chit chatting or his gentle humming when he decided it was a bit too silent.

Truthfully, Taerae’s focus on the tv was less out of interest and more out of necessity. Sure, he loved watching the guys in the shows travel the world to try new restaurants and making notes of ones he would likely never visit. Unfortunately for him, the proximity of your face to his groin and the gradation of light across your face bothered him more than he was willing to admit to himself. He couldn't look at you long enough for his mind to begin to wander or he knew he'd risk making you uncomfortable. Had he done that, Taerae would've left, screamed into his pillow, and dedicated his life to solitude.

“Dude, you have to quit watching these before I’ve had dinner.” You groaned and pulled yourself to an upright position much to Taerae’s simultaneous relief and disappointment. “I feel like I’m gonna die.”

“Well what have you been into lately?”

You pondered for a moment, beginning to spout off all the dishes you'd made and places you'd been that really hit the spot. Unintentionally egging on a discussion of the world’s many varieties of food for the next 10 minutes.

Once your stomach twisted again, you slammed your fist against the coach and shushed him. “Ok. Enough. My stomach is digesting itself. So… what's for dinner? I'm down for whatever.”

“You.”

Taerae had spoken without a single prior thought, far too lost in the depths of his brain filled with food and… lust.

The confused and conflicted face you hit him with was enough to bring realization to what he'd just said. The poor boy’s heart dropped with his face red hot in embarrassment.

“I- I meant… I meant you can decide! I'm… I'm also down for whatever…!” He was already preparing to get up and leave on the assumption you'd want him to.

“Taerae. What the fuck is wrong with you?” Your initial reaction was to snap at him. “Seriously, ask yourself if that was appropriate, at all. Are you really just as sex depraved as every other guy?” You shoved your face into your hands. “Jesus Christ, dude.”

You almost caught yourself off guard with your own reaction. First and foremost you'd felt violated and angry… which hadn't yet begun to subside.

“I'm sorry- Really, I didn't mean-” Guilt sat heavy on Taerae’s mind, hurt, but feeling the reaction was what he deserved after all.

“Shut up. Just… just quit. All you men are the same. Forgive me for even trying. Or.. or wasting my time. Or yours. Whatever the hell we've been doing! Half a decade with you for this?” Deep down you knew you were being too harsh. You just weren't willing to get hurt again. A history of shitty men catcalling you, all your male friends ending up just wanting you for sex, just overall sleaze left you defensive.

Taerae remained silent, unable to form any words with sharp tears pricking at his eyes. By now he'd already backed up and moved to his knees, beginning to stand up.

“It's embarrassing, honestly. For you. I truly can't wait for the day I’m more than a damn hole to people.” You continued your rant, yet to notice the fat tears that had started rolling down Taerae's cheeks. “Quit thinking with your dick! I didn't think you were like that. It's just fucking disgusting. Why do I try anymore, Taerae you- you…”

Your eyebrows furrowed in surprise when his shame was no longer capable of being ignored. He slumped back to his knees in defeat, choking back cries, something that often failed and led to a weak sob. “I'll go… maybe you're right. I- I'm sorry again. I just…. just… never mind. You can block my number if you want…” Nearly every other word was interrupted with a sniffle or painfully restricted heave of his chest.

Your gaze fell more softly upon him. You hated to admit he… kinda looked pretty like this. “No,” you huffed and frowned with the awful knowing feeling that set deep in your chest, reaching to rest a hand on his knee. “I'm the one that should-”

Taerae cut you off sharply, “No!” He flinched back from your touch as if even coming in contact with you would kill him. “It's my fault I-”

“God, shut up!” Your voice raised again which did, indeed, shut him up.

You'd known Taerae for a number of years now. You'd just graduated college together, and had met him when he transferred to your high school in your senior year.

Back then you didn't see him for at least two weeks but you always heard murmurs about some new kid. You shared no classes, but word spread fast. A new kid is a new kid, your graduating class hadn't had one in years. Rumors were pretty mild compared to the usual gossip. The new kid was too quiet, the new kid came from overseas, the new kid was kinda hot but not really their type. Too nice and too passive. You knew from the start you wanted to meet him one day.

During the first fire drill of the year, you did. An unfamiliar face caught your eye in the grouping adjacent to yours. He was looking straight to the ground, fidgeting with the silver ring on his left pinky. It seemed like it spun. Most of the other kids were on their phones or talking, the teachers had given up on quieting them down pretty quickly.

You had snuck into his group, greeted a couple classmates you know alright, and placed yourself right in front of him.

“Hey, are you the new kid? Tae… Taetae? Raerae…?”

He had looked up from the ground with a small startle and nodded shyly. “Uh… Taerae… yeah.” He looked off to the side. “Why do you ask…?”

“Oh, I was just curious. I’d heard people talking about you and wanted to know what was up. I'm y/n by the way.” You cocked your head to the side to teasingly meet his gaze.

He was, as the other girls described, kinda hot. But… maybe he was your type? His dark brown hair hung across his forehead, straight and well kept. His deep brown eyes weren't eager to meet yours but you were glad to meet his. Neither of you knew just how pivotal that fire drill would be.

The teachers had signaled the all clear and just like that you were gone, yelling back that you liked his glasses and that he should come find you at lunch.

And find you at lunch he did. He had decided in the hours between that you couldn't be so bad. You didn't ridicule him for being so quiet, you didn't treat him like an animal to be oohed and ahhed at. Within a few weeks he'd developed a crush on you but pushed it to the recesses of his brain. You were his only friend at the school and he had studying to focus on. You, he thought, were too good for him anyways.

In the following years you grew to be attached at the hip. Always berated with questions as to if the two of you were dating, you both answered in equal shock with “Ewww!!!” and “I would never”... which had bothered him a little more than he liked to admit.

You spent lunch together. You spent time between classes together. Occasionally, you skipped class together. You spent your whole summer inseparable until the day you started your final year of college. And when that ended, you threw your graduation parties together. You had learned so much during those years. He had learned everything about you. Your dreams, your fears, your rocky history with men, what made you angry, what food you loved and hated, your favorite spots in town… everything.

The years that flash across your mind in only seconds snapped you back to the present situation.

In that short time, your mind had switched from the hurt you felt with others to fear. Fear that you were about to lose the best thing you ever had. Your best friend.

“Taerae. Taerae, come here…” You crawled over to him and, despite his protests, wrapped your arms around him. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I… I know you didn't mean to upset me.”

The boy’s tears had begun to flow openly and he was sobbing into the crook of your neck and shoulder. Sputtering apologies for getting tears and snot all over your shirt, pressing into your form.

“You've always been so sweet to me, even when I was messing with you and even when I didn't deserve it.” Every sentence you spoke drove him to be a complete and utter mess. You squeezed him tightly, securely, apologetically. “It was too much. The way I just yelled at you… It just struck a chord. I'm sorry. Nobody's ever treated me like you do.”

You said nothing more. Taerae had never seemed so small beneath your hold. You ran your hands through his wavy hair, hair that he recently had lightened to a lovely golden brown hue. With no lack of effort on your end, you managed to get his glasses off of his face and placed them on the carpeted floor beside you. You wanted to cry too. You wanted to cry and just say you were sorry over and over again. You resisted it even if only barely. The two of you never fought. Never.

When he calmed down enough, you let him go and gave his shoulder a tiny nudge. “Come on. Look at me.” Reluctantly he did.

His pretty brown eyes were puffy, blown wide, and glistening as he looked to you. “You… you don't hate me now?” Taerae's voice was meek in a way you hadn't seen since his last breakup. “I understand if you do…”

You spoke slowly, deliberately, and carefully to avoid revealing the extent in which he was breaking your heart right now. “Please. Hush.” You wiped the tears from his eyes with the knuckle of your finger. “I know you too well… I could never hate you. You're too kind, too gentle, too…”

Your next words came out in unison.

“Pathetic.”

“Perfect.”

Taerae's shocked expression was hardly repressed. “Perfect…? No. No no no, I'm anything but that. I'm nothing. Not compared to you.”

“Please don't make me tell you to shut up again. Hey… you're wearing the same sweater you were wearing when we met.”

“You remember that…?”

“I couldn't forget it if I tried to. You changed my life. We've done practically everything together for 5 years. If I lost you I don't think I'd ever be the same. Besides, it just looks so cute on you.”

Silence hung heavy in the air except for the background noise of Guy Fieri leaking from the television. All you two could do was stare at each other in a confusing meld of emotions. You fumbled for the remote, placing the tv on mute before you spoke.

“Hey.”

“Yeah, y/n…?”

“Would it be weird if I told you I'm in love with you?”

At that very moment Taerae felt like he had to be delusional. Maybe dead. Whatever he felt, there was no way you just said that to him.

“What…?”

It was your turn to shy away from his gaze.

“D- Do you mean it? Please don't toy with me like this. I can't take it. Please please don't do this to me. Don't break my heart.”

“You know I mean it, Tae. Do I lie to you?”

Taerae’s heart was stuck in his throat. Tears that never truly stopped had started once more. This time, accompanied by his smile that always extended ear to ear.

“Oh my god. Oh my god!” Taerae was absolutely beaming, giggling like a little kid. “I've dreamt about this day. I've liked you for years. I always pushed it away, thinking you'd never like me like that. You were seriously out of my league. Still are.”

Suddenly, you were pulled into a tight hug. You could feel his heart hammering in his chest. You'd be able to feel him crying too, if it weren't for the fabric of your shirt already being soaked.

“Oh, y/n. You were the first person in this city to treat me like I mattered. I've never truly been able to ignore my feelings, but… when you were laying there. So peaceful. So at ease with your head secure in my lap. I just wanted to love you.”

He paused only long enough to take a deep breath.

“I've always loved you but I wanted to love you. I wanted you to be mine and only mine. To hold you, to comfort you, protect you. Your pretty little face putting so much trust in me. I shouldn't be speaking like it was in the past. I want to. Present tense. I want to fall asleep with you and then every morning I want to wake up with you.”

Taerae’s next words were considered carefully.

“If we're bearing it all, I should admit this too. Earlier… it was a slip of the mouth but I meant it in a way. It wasn't some filthy joke to try and get under your skin or in your pants. But… I do want you that way. I guess… sexually… I just didn't want you to find out in such a way and I needed you to hear that I really care for you and wasn't just riled up because your face was near my bits.”

“Alright, that's enough.” You bit your lip and grabbed his left hand. The one he wore the spinning ring on way back then. “I want to kiss you. I can't talk anymore. I need you to feel that I love you. So, please. Can I kiss you?”

Taerae groaned in relief and giggled. “I've waited 5 years for this. God. You know my ex from last year? She was pretty and all but through all that I only wanted you. All that just to say… kiss me. I'm almost begging you to.”

The first connection of your lips was eager but soft, and sent shockwaves through your bodies. This is what you'd been missing. This is what he'd been missing. No amount of hot flings could've ever prepared you for how it was to kiss Taerae.

“Thank you.” You whispered against him. It only took a moment's time for your lips to clash again, this time more passionately. He tasted faintly of caramel and dark brewed coffee. The scent you caught from the collar of his shirt was new and sickeningly intoxicating. You were used to his natural scent by now and had always enjoyed it, but smelling it now with the velvety rich perfume was an entirely different sensation.

You weren't sure how experienced your dear friend was, but you were sure he'd never kissed anyone like this. His lips were pillowy and unexpectedly soft. Contradicting his generally unassertive nature, Taerae had decided there was enough surface level kissing. The surprise of him attempting to push his tongue into your mouth caught you off guard, causing you to yield easily. A soft whine rose from your throat, egging Taerae on.

“Having fun, yeah?” He chided at you, his typical humor coming back to him.

“Having fun, yeah?” You mocked. “Just keep kissing me, pretty boy.”

There were no complaints to be had on that command. One hand firmly on your back and the other holding the side of your face, Taerae's presence was domineering. The way his hands spread so far across you had you acutely aware of just how large they really are. You desperately wanted to know what those hands could do, but patience was a virtue you had to exercise.

“You taste so good, Tae~” Your face was red hot, almost humiliatingly so. Each time you pulled away from each other, saliva hung between you in heavy strands. You hadn't expected to be kissing your best friend, nor had you expected you'd be on the floor if it ever were to happen. Taerae leaned forward, guiding you carefully to rest your back against the front of the couch.

Taerae broke the kiss, both of your lips growing red. You let out a whine of dismay which was quickly silenced by him latching on to your neck, just below your ear. Taerae's warm breath against your skin made you shiver and you moved to grab on to the sleeve of his sweater.

“Shit- Tae, don't, I have to work tomorrow.” Despite your protests, you'd subconsciously craned your neck to grant him easy access.

“Hm?” He nipped lightly at your flesh. “Waited all this time but you want me to stop now?

“Fine, but if anyone says a word to me you'll never hear the end of it.”

“Hm. I can live with that.”

His onslaught against your neck was relentless, moving his way down toward your collarbones. Red and purple hues were now flowering on the expanse of your skin in deliberately placed blotches.

“Hey, switch it up.” You tapped his arm to get his attention, your message conveyed easily enough. Adjusting your respective positions and climbing onto the couch, you were now straddling Taerae’s hips. You cupped his face, lightly caressing his cheeks with your thumb. Your eyes fell upon him with adoration, taking in the views of his furrowed brows, glossy eyes, and blushing cheeks. With a loving sigh, you granted a small kiss to his cheek before taking his lips into yours once more.

You grasped one of his hands, guiding it to hover just above your chest. Between kisses you assured him it was alright for him to touch you, which he was happy to accept. Your breath hitched once he took your breast into his large hand and brushed his thumb across your nipple. The days in which you bothered to wear a bra around him had passed a couple years ago. Normally such a simple action wouldn't have brought much of a reaction, but this situation was far from ordinary. His massaging of your flesh was slow, almost hesitant, and he was clearly relishing it.

The kisses you exchanged were growing increasingly sloppy and desperate. Softly moaning and whimpering into each other's mouths, teeth occasionally scraping, tongue intertwining. Taerae was becoming increasingly excited, not only evidenced by his less coordinated movements but the growing bulge in his jeans as well. You took note of this and gave your hips an experimental roll. Taerae's brow twitched and he hissed, a small involuntary buck of his hips meeting.

“O-oh my god, y/n, hell.” He was hit with a sudden worry and shook his head slightly, now maintaining eye contact. “First. I know I want this… but are you sure you do? Really really sure? It's so sudden I… I don't want to pressure you into anything. I’d never forgive myself.”

“Idiot,” You chuckled. “I promise if I wasn't sure then I'd have stopped this by now. I want to be close to you, I want to feel you.”

Taerae flashed you a brilliant grin and settled his hands on your waist. You draped your arms over his shoulders, wrapping around to the back of his neck, and nestled your face against the crook of his neck. You swore you could almost feel his heart kiss a beat at the feeling of you licking a small stripe down the side of it.

“Just revenge.” You quipped, proceeding to suck circles into the delicate flesh and biting down gently.

“You gotta be trying to kill me, woman.” You granted him no audible reply.

You again started to move your hips against him, the friction of your panties and thin shorts against the rough denim sending a shock straight to your core. He was already becoming putty in your hands, pliant and gradually losing the dominant facade he'd earlier displayed. His hips came up to meet yours with breathy moans emitting from the two of you. Deciding you'd abused his poor neck enough, you pulled away from his neck. One hand now resting on his side, the other slipped under the thick sweater fabric but still above the white button up he donned beneath.

“Bet your ex never did this to you, hm?” Taerae about jumped out of his skin when your index and pointer finger pressed down on his nipple, rolling the sensitive bud beneath them.

He tossed his head back with a pathetic drawn out whimper. “Damnit, didn't know they were so fucking sensitive. You're right… but I’m so fucking glad you are now.” He swallowed his next breath hard and spoke shyly. “P-please, I like it, don't stop.”

Who were you to deny?

Your continued ministrations were of course pleasurable to you but nothing was quite as satisfying as the way Taerae was coming completely unraveled beneath you. His erection was straining painfully against his jeans now, every buck of his hips driving him just a bit more crazy, short noises of “ah, ah” falling loosely from his lips whenever you applied pressure to him again.

The grip your partner had on you was becoming almost painful but pleasantly so. Arousal filled eyes looking up admirably at you, his mind was spinning.

“Wait, wait, I'm close- so close.” Taerae warned but groaned at the sudden loss of friction when you stilled your hips.

“What's wrong? You wouldn't wanna be done already would you?” It was your turn to tease.

He shook his head and you pressed your forehead against his.

“I've got a question , Tae. You ever wondered what I taste like?”

“God, yes, s-so many times.”

“Right, then I've got an idea. Taerae. Do you wanna eat me out?”

“Fuck. Yes. Is that even a question?”

Taerae took his position back on the floor, legs folded neatly beneath him. You were lounging against the back of the couch with legs open wide to grant him access. Taerae ran his hands along your thighs. He'd seen them many times before, years of ignoring how much he wondered how they'd feel.

“Come on,” You whined, “not to be all impatient but I really would love some relief right about now.”

Taerae hooked his fingers beneath the waistband of your shorts, urging you to lift your hips, and pulled them off of you. He swore his mouth watered at the sight of you. Your underwear were simple, your typical bikini style. They were sky blue, ribbed cotton, with a tiny white bow right on the middle of the waistband.

“Ah, cute.” Taerae laughed lightly and leaned in, placing a kiss on your inner thigh. “Never took you for someone to wear anything but skin tone panties.”

“You've… thought about it?” You looked to the side shyly as if he was looking at your face anyways.

“Mhm. Thought about a lot of things.”

Taerae left sloppy open-mouthed kisses along the inside of your thighs, pulling at the skin softly with his teeth. He took in every little twitch of your muscles and every little noise you made.

“Alright alright, I'll stop teasing.”

Taerae removed your panties, biting his bottom lip harshly. You squirmed, self conscious under the intensity of his gaze.

“Fuckin’ beautiful…” He muttered under his breath and gave your clit a playful lick which made you jump. Arms situated on either side of your hips, Taerae delved into you eagerly, coating the lower half of his face in your juices in little time. “Baby, you're so wet, shit.”

You ran one hand through his fluffy hair, assuring that it was all because of him, all for him. He granted you a sloppy lick along the entirety of your cunt eagerly. He nuzzled into you, tongue delving into your core. Every movement felt electric to you, drowning in the sensation of his nose bumping into your clit, losing yourself more and more when you focused in on the sounds of his mouth against you and the way he panted whenever he paused to catch his breath. One of your hands was pressed against your mouth to stifle your moans while the other grabbed at Taerae’s hair.

You yanked at the locks unintentionally harsh when Taerae’s lips latched onto your clit, sucking eagerly with his tongue pressing against it lightly. The sting of his scalp solicited a choked groan deep from his throat. You took note of it, realizing there was definitely a reason he enjoyed it so much when you played with his hair all the time. Cute.

Taerae had yet to notice the fact he was rutting his hips against the couch, far too focused on eating you out as if he'd never get the chance again. For all he knew, he wouldn't. He removed his right hand from your leg and dipped two fingers into your opening, plunging them in and out progressively deeper as they were coated with your wetness. You'd given up on keeping quiet by now, the hand previously over your mouth now pinching your nipple through your shirt.

“Feels so good,” You gasped out. Taerae curled his fingers, eventually locating the spot that made you cry out. You felt him smile, narrowing in on it and using his free hand to lightly press his palm flat over your pubic bone.

“There you go, just like that.” He purred, picking up his pace. Your chest was heaving, your mind reeling and leaving you wondering where he learnt this and how the hell he got so good at it. His ex crossed your mind but you couldn't be bothered to feel jealous at the moment. Not when the callused pads of his fingers were abusing your g-spot.

“Tae, I'm gonna- Please please just don't stop!” You begged incoherently to him. Taerae’s hips stuttered against the couch, not realizing just how close he was until it was too late. He grunted, desperately chasing his high until he pushed over the edge, his seed spilling out to ruin the expensive denim of his jeans. His moans reverberated through your nerves, bringing you to ecstasy moments after he came. Your thighs shook and clamped around his skull which only encouraged him to ride through both of your orgasms.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you-” Taerae soaked in your praises, freeing himself from the grasp of your legs once you had calmed down.

“Good god, you're good.” You took deep breaths, trying to regain composure. Taerae stood up and leaned over you so he could kiss your forehead and hold your cheek.

“Thank you, love,” Taerae avoided eye contact and scratched his arm. “I, uhm, I may have finished… I’m really sorry.”

“Trade me places. Don’t apologize. Don't worry. I'll clean you up real nice.” You smirked.

If his situation didn't feel real before, it did now. You were looking up at Taerae, fumbling to undo his belt until you could remove it and toss it to the side. You handed him his glasses with the insistence he should be able to see you perfectly.

Taerae considered his words carefully. “This is crazy, all of this. I… think we're past the point of hiding anything. I've stayed up so many nights buried deep in a toy, pretending and wishing so badly that it was you. Now you're here, unzipping my pants…”

His statements made your ears hot while you instructed him to help you out, pulling his pants down to his ankles. He was just in his sweater and underwear now, navy blue plaid boxers complete with a sizable wet patch at the front.

“What else did you think about? Don't be shy. I wanna know.” You lightly squeezed the form of his dick with a mumble. “Such a mess you've made.”

“Well, I-” Taerae’s voice caught in his throat when you started to palm at his groin, agonizingly slow and deliberate. “You remember all those times some freak wouldn't leave you alone so you grabbed my hand and declared how you were taken?”

You placed a kiss just below his navel, right on his happy trail. “Of course I was happy to help you out before all else… but at night I’d always think about how small your hands felt around mine.”

You pulled his boxers down, enough for his dick to spring out and land against his stomach with a wet slap. A drawn out groan filled the room.

“Oh my- has anyone ever told you that your cock is beautiful?” It really was. He wasn't the longest, sitting at what you guessed was 6 inches, but he was girthy. His dick curved upward pleasantly, adorned with a couple prominent veins and a pale pink head. Everything was amplified by the thick white liquid coating the length of it.

You rested your head against his thigh, lazily stroking up and down, taking in the view, and smiling a little at the feeling of Taerae petting your hair. The moment was tender, uncharacteristically quiet. He looked at you like you were his whole world, whispering praises of how pretty you are, soaking in the sensations.

“Alright, I did say I’d clean you up, yeah?”

You licked a long stripe up the underside of Taerae's dick, gathering some amount of his seed on your tongue as you did so. You swallowed it eagerly and stuck out your tongue with an “ahh” to let him see there was nothing remaining. You continued your job with excitement, leaving small licks across the skin until the only residue left was your saliva.

You wrapped a hand around the base of his cock and took the tip into your mouth. You tongued at his slit, noting the way he shuddered. Neglecting to give any meaningful warning, you took a deep breath through your nose and pushed yourself down on his length, gagging a bit when the head touched the back of your throat.

“Fuck!” Taerae’s hand grabbed a fistful of your hair. “Where'd you learn to do that? Ngh- actually, don't tell me. I can't stand to t-think about your lips on anybody but me.”

You pulled your head off of him with a pop and looked up with pleading eyes.

“Please, I want you… in me.” You couldn't understand how you felt so bashful with Taerae considering how long you'd known him. You mulled over it for a moment, deciding it was reasonable enough to feel embarrassed to be begging any man for anything.

Something switched on within Taerae’s mind. “Alright, up.” He patted his thigh, guiding you to straddle him with the head of his cock brushing against your entrance.

“You sure, baby?” You nodded. “Ready? Promise? I want to hear you say it.”

“I promise, need you.”

“Good girl.”

Taerae used his hand to slide his cock between your folds, using the other to urge you to sink your hips down.

“A-ah, Taerae!” You cried and pressed your head into his neck. He swore he could've cum on the spot. You'd used his full name before. Plenty of times, really. Normally you were just calling for him across the room. Maybe scolding him for saying something dumb, or even yelling at him as you had done not even an hour prior. This was… different.

“Come on,” He gently pried you from his body. His eyes sparkling, looking at you like you were his entire world, pride swelling in his chest. “Hold on tight.”

You flung your arms around him happily, regaining your position by his throat. Taerae's hands grabbed firmly at your hips as he started to thrust in to you.

“Good god, so tight.” Taerae growled. The stretch was incredible, your walls clenching around him. The initial sting was soothed quickly. You could've sworn Taerae was made for you in every way. His personality, his care, the way your bodies slotted together, how satisfyingly he filled your cunt.

Both of you swore up and down you usually lasted longer but between the surges of emotion longing, you were reaching your peaks quite rapidly.

Taerae was basking in how you begged for him to speed up, unknowingly stroking his ego. He smirked with satisfaction, you were finally his… and he needed to hear it out loud.

“You want more?” His voice was low and velvety in your ears. “Right. Then tell me who's wrecking you? Who do you belong to?”

“You, Tae-” His nails dug into your sides with his thrusts intensifying swiftly. “Belong to you, don't want anyone else. Just Taerae-”

His hips snapped roughly upward, letting himself set a brutal pace.

“That's right, y/n. Mine. Don't need anybody else.”

Your ramblings had devolved to moans with the occasional coherent utterance of Taerae's name, thanks, and praises.

“Getting close, hon?” Taerae's breath was shaky and hot, his mind clouding with the pleasure that washed over him in waves.

You nodded fervently, pleading with him to keep going, to let you finish. Granting him permission to cum inside before he had even asked. With a series of high moans, your orgasm hit you like a semi, clamping your teeth down on the side of Taerae’s neck hard.

“Fuck!” Taerae yelped and planted himself firmly within you, pushed to his limit by the way you desperately rutted your hips against his in an attempt to drag out your high. His cum covered your walls in white hot ropes with every twitch of his cock, filling you up until it began to seep out of you and down to his balls.

For a few moments, everything was quiet other than both of your exhausted pants. You clung to him like he wasn't corporeal, like he was going to disappear if you let him go, feeling his heart beating forcefully beneath his sweater. You pulled off of him, mourning the loss of his cock and the sticky liquid that flowed freely from your hole.

Coming back to reality, insecurity grabbed hold of you cruelly and you held back tears.

“T-Taerae…?”

His hand rubbed your back reassuringly.

“Yes?”

“Do you still love me?”

“What kind of silly question- Nevermind.” Taerae squeezed you into a hug and wiggled back and forth. “Of course I do. Sure you just took me to another planet but I told you that's not the only reason I love you. I promise.”

Your stomach growled in the silence, reminding you of what had gotten you to this situation in the first place.

“I'm sorry again, Tae. I love you so so so much…”

Taerae made a noise of acknowledgement. “I love you too. Hey, you still hungry?”

“God damn I almost forgot. Can we get chinese?”

“What? You just had korean! But, if that's what you want then I guess so…”

“Oh, shut up!” You laughed and pinched Taerae wherever you could grab.

Taerae removed you from his arms, peppering tiny kisses all over your face and hands.

“Get up so we can clean up, alright? Then I’ll call in the order and you can take a nap. I'll wake you up when it gets here.”

You nodded happily, following him to the bathroom while he switched on the showerhead. You both tossed your shirts to the side and hopped under the hot water, embracing each other once again.

“Thanks for pissing me off, Tae.”

“Yeah. Thanks for not killing me on the spot.”

[emilyssky]

Chapter 12: The Mess We Made

PAIRING: Lee Know! X fem!reader

GENRE(S): college au, smut, angst

WARNINGS: Mentions of violence and abuse, depression, self harm, eating disorders etc.. mentions of blood, swearing, smoking, smut [ dirty talk, oral; giving and receiving, choking, spanking, praising, degradation, pet names, sometimes Minho is a dick :)

SUMMARY: "Do you remember what you told me the first time we met?"  

"What?"

"You said; Always leave people a little better than you found them" he looked at the floor with a small smile for a few seconds and then his eyes found mine. "You really annoyed me when we first met. I envied your optimism and excitement for life. But each time I saw you, I felt a certain thrill. You made me angry, you made me laugh., you made me feel everything. Something about you made me feel a little more alive each time. I know I fucked up and I know I'm an asshole but I'm also brutally in love with you."    

One year ago today Chan was running around my apartment, anxiously changing from a variety of dress shirts and pants. I remember how big this event was for him and how nervous he was about going for the first time, since back then he only knew the boys just a couple of months. This year things are different.

To say that I was anxious about going is an understatement and thank fucking god that Emma let me borrow one of her dresses cause I probably wouldn't have gone otherwise. Emma grew up in a quite wealthy family, she attended one of the best private schools in the area, and that involved many fancy parties and proms. So she has a good amount of nice, long dresses.

Unlike Emma, I was invited last minute and not by the person I would like, either way, I'm happy that Jeongin invited me the night we hang out. In Seungmin's family apparently, it's a tradition to host a Christmas Eve dinner party, and was a massive deal for him growing up. His nights before Christmas were filled with fancy dresses and suits, people drinking a shit tone of champagne, and 5-star catering employees walking around with plates of foods too small to be that expensive while classical Christmas music played in the background. During the last few years that he's been living on his own, he decided to carry on his family tradition and this year is no exception. I was kind of excited, I have to admit, it's not every day that I get to wear a fancy-ass dress and act like I'm not a broke college student that can barely keep her shit together. The one thing that I was stressing about was the fact that you had to bring a date. Of course, Seungmin told me that it would be completely okay if I show up alone but honestly, it will feel a little pathetic going solo, especially since he's going to be there. A small part of me wanted him to ask me that night. I waited and waited until the second I got out of his car but he never did. Moments from yesterday have been playing through my mind on repeat, like a film from an old movie, bits and pieces of the way he look at me and how the way his smile made the night sky a little brighter. I didn't expect him to call or text but still, since I woke up every time a notification would pop up a part of me hoped it was him. I'm both scared and curious to see how he's gonna act tonight but I know that if he acts like nothing happen it's gonna hurt just a little more this time.

Chan, Hyunjin, and Felix offered to be my dates yet I said no to all three of them. Everyone knows that we're friends and if I showed up with one of them as my date it would mean that I wasn't able to find someone else. Which is true, finding someone who's willing to come as your date to a nice Christmas Eve party is harder than I thought. When Kai offered to be my date after overhearing me complain to Hyunjin about not having one I was extremely reviled. I like Kai, he's pretty chill and I feel like he's going to be a great date, plus everyone knows him. Emma is going with Seungmin obviously, while Chan, Hyunjin, and Felix are all going solo, probably in hopes of getting laid.

I smoothen the front of my dress as we step into the elevator. The dress Emma gave me is breathtaking. It's a deep, dark shade of red that contrasts with the paleness of my skin perfectly and the satin fabric falls loose around my body yet tight enough in the right places in order to hug my curves perfectly. The straps are thin, not offering much support to my breasts, but thankfully Emma and I have similar chests so the cups of the dress are enough. My whole back is bare, the fabric starting from the top of my ass and hitting the ground while the big cut that's starting from the middle of my thigh, exposed almost my whole leg. I kept my makeup natural, letting the dress and the deep red that painted my lips do all the work. On any other occasion, I would've perfectly straightened my hair, but his compliment from last night tickled the side of my brain, so I let my long, thick brown curls fall all over my shoulders and down my back.

I bounced my right leg up and down, the sound of my heels clicking against the floor of the large elevator filling the small space.

"Can't you just relax?" Emma touched up the sides of her nude, glossy lips with the tip of her finger in the elevator mirror. She is dressed in a white, tight, strapless dress that makes her figure look almost fake. The way her boobs are pushed upwards and the way the fabric of the dress is so tight around her waist make her body look incredible, offering her an hourglass shape.

"Yeah, you've been fidgeting the whole way here." Kai adds, leaning against the wall with hands in his pockets. He's wearing a simple black suit with a dark red tie to match my dress, which I find really thoughtful and cute. His dirty blond hair is messily styled, yet somehow he managed to look like a runway model.

"I've never been in anything like this before." I mumble but in reality, that's not the reason I've been on edge since I woke up. It's not the people that are gonna be there, it's not the fancy setting or the nice clothes. It's him. It's the fact that he's going to be there, and the irritating feeling deep inside me that he's not going to be alone.

Kai pushes himself off the wall just as the elevator doors over. "You look stunning, relax." He leans in my way, his tone just a little lower than before.

I exhale, forming a small smile and we exit the elevator.

"It's going to be so much fun!" Emma squeals, fastening her step down the hall. "I'm so excited!"

We reach their door and Emma rings the doorbell. I feel my palms sweating already, my fingers playing with each other nervously. Kai shoots me a glance before resting his hand on my lower back, his fingers brushing my hip.

The door opens.

Seungmin's eyes go wide, the rest of his face staying completely still. "You're kidding." His gaze travels along her body.

Her smile goes wide, her whole face blushing. "You like it?"

He clears his throat. "There are people here." His tone drops so that only we are able to hear him. "So I can't really express myself properly. "

I hold my laugh. They're so freaking cute.

He opens the door further. "Please, come in."

The apartment is brighter than ever, with beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, crystals reflecting the light perfectly down on the crowd of people talking and slow dancing in the middle of the massive living room. All the furniture has been removed, the couch, the armchairs, the tables, everything, leaving the space empty and open. I can count almost 30 people here, and I can't help but let my eyes stare in awe at all the beautiful dresses and outfits. It's like a ball straight out of a movie, with slow music playing in the background, the food, the drinks, and the people, it's incredible.

"Oh, my god baby..." Emma whispers, wrapping her arm around Seungmin as we walk further into the apartment.

"Don't worry, " He says, sensing how nervous all 3 of us suddenly are. "Everyone here is in my inner circle, just close friends and family. All the guys are already here, as well."

Em's feet freeze. "Family?"

A soft smile overtakes Seungmin's lips. "Come with me."

We watch as he drags her further into the crowd, disappearing.

"Well," Kai turns to me. "Shall we go find the others?"

"I'm gonna need a drink first." I chuckle nervously.

Kai looks around, locking eyes with one of the waiters walking slowly between the people, offering them a glass of champagne, and motions for him politely to come our way.

"Champagne?" The blond waiter offers with a sweet smile.

I curl my fingers around a glass, lifting it off his tray. "Thank you."

He nods politely and walks away.

"I see them," Kai says close to my ear. "Let's go."

He takes my hand in his, leading the way to the end of the living room, near the massive windows, that offered an incredible view of the night city. All of them are standing there in a circle talking amongst themselves. Chan's eyes spot us and I can't help but smile at his expression.

"No way." He shakes his head, not believing his eyes. His comment makes everyone's head snap in our direction.

"Holy shit!" Hyunjin's eyes go wide, the glass of champagne freezing inches away from his mouth.

"What can I say?" Kai lifts his free hand, shrugging with a smug expression. " I might have the hottest date in the whole party."

"Shut up." I roll my eyes, his comment making heat spread all over my face.

Chan inches forward, looking at me from head to toe. "You look unreal." He takes my hand, pulling me away from Kai's grip and spinning me into a circle. "Wow."

I can't help but giggle a little.

"No seriously," Hyunjin moves to stand next to Chan. "You look hot as fuck."

"Thank you guys." I nod at both of them, appreciating the way they always go out of their way to make me feel good about myself. "You don't look but yourselves."

Chan adjusts his black tie, making it a little tighter around his neck before rolling up the sleeves of his perfectly straight, white dress shirt, that I ironed a few hours ago after much begging from his part. With black dress pants, black boots, and his dark, messy curls styled just enough to look good but not preppy, he looks shockingly different. Hyunjin wears a similar outfit to Chan and with a face like his and the way his long, blonde hair falls just above his shoulders, he looks like a prince. I move my gaze behind them, noticing Jisung, Jeongin, and Changbin with Lia, who's apparently the only one with a date. I quickly realize that Minho and Felix are missing.

"Where's Felix and Minho?" I ask them as casually as I can.

I notice the small glance that they exchange before Hyunjin speaks up. "Smoke break." I simply nod and move to greet the rest of them.

"Oh, my gosh you look stunning!" I give her a quick hug.

She tugs her hair behind her ear, shyly. "Thank you, you look amazing too."

"Green?" I lift my eyebrow at Changbin's dark green suit.

"I don't like boring outfits." He smirks. "The room is full of them."

"Shut up, Shrek." Jisung rolls his eyes at his friend, pulling me into a hug.

"Hey," I mumble with a soft smile in the small space between his shoulder and his neck.

"I was waiting for you." He says.

"Too many people?"

He scoffs a laugh. "Too many fancy, important people and not enough alcohol to get me though. There are some people connected to my family here as well and let's say that I would rather not talk to them at all. " He explains.

I remember when Minho explained to me everything about Jisung's past and how he and Seungmin are connected but I mask my face and pretended not to know anything. "Really?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you another time."

"Okay." I touch his shoulder sympathetically.

"Hello, gorgeous." Jeongin pulls me in a small, side hug, his cologne hitting my nose immediately.

"Hi." I smile at his compliment.

"So you found a date?" He nods Kai's way, who's chatting with Chan and Hyunjin.

"More like the date found me." I shrug.

He takes a sip of his champagne. "Bummer."

"Bummer?" I lift my eyebrows. "Why?"

"I would've asked you if I knew you were available." He boldly states, his face natural and his eyes confident.

"What made you think I wasn't available when you told me about the party?" I reply, mirroring his confidence.

His face breaks into a smile, dropping his head a little lower. "Were you?"

His question almost feels challenging and makes me wonder if he knows anything about me and Minho.

I look away, into the crowd. "Jeongin, if you had asked me, I would've said yes." I reply instead.

I feel him taking a step forward. "Well, I'll remember that moving forward."

I don't know what to do or say besides simply smiling at him, his forceful approach taking me by surprise.

He lifts his half-empty glass of champagne towards me and I do the same, before drowning the remains of the bubbly liquid.

"May I steal her for a few minutes?" I feel Kai's hand resting on my back.

Jeongin brings his lips into a tight smile. "Of course, she's your date after all."

I let Kai lead me to the dance floor where a good amount of couples are slow dancing to a beautiful melody coming from the speakers. I place my hand comfortably on his shoulder and wrap the other one around his before we start swinging to the music.

"So," He drags the word. "You're switching to one of his best friends?"

I look at him confused. "What?"

"I thought Minho was the one you were going after." He lets go of my waist, spinning me 2 times before settling back into our previous position.

"I'm not 'going after' anyone." I straighten my back. "And to answer your question; no. Minho wasn't one."

"And Jeongin is?" He presses but not at all in a rude or angry way. His tone is light and conversational.

"Can't a girl just have fun?" I almost whine out loud.

"Oh, trust me you can have fun." He chuckles charmingly. "If having 3 guys running after you is your idea of fun."

Now it's my turn to chuckle. "That's not true."

He clears his throat. "You're right, 4."

I narrow my eyes at his hint of a smile. " I know I'm not your type."

He tightens his grip, pulling a little closer, my body pressing onto his. "No, you're not. But I would never say no to you."

That, I've known for a while. Chan had told me that Kai was interested in me months ago, yet despite him being breathtakingly handsome and a really nice guy, I wasn't ready to move on. I wasn't ready to hook up or mess around cause if I would have gotten involved with him, that's all our relationship would be.

"Ah," He purrs near my ear. "And that's the reason you would say no, to both me and Jeongin." I feel his head nod in the opposite direction, his words making my body freeze on his hands. "Don't look, it will make it too obvious."

I wanna look. I wanna look so bad. The desire to simply see him is so intense that it scares me and makes me feel like an addict wanting desperately to get his hit.

"Is he looking?" I whisper in his ear, even though I know Minho can't possibly hear me, and even though I somehow can feel his eyes burning at my exposed back.

"Yep. Intensely, may I add."

I don't move a muscle. "Is he alone?" I asked the question that's been eating me alive.

"Nope."

I exhale, and I try to stay relaxed, I try to keep dancing, pretending to be unbothered by his presence and honestly, my curiosity would have gotten the best of me if Seungmin's voice didn't echo through the speaker, interrupting the music and dancing.

"First of all, I would like to thank each and every one of you that decided to spend Christmas Eve here." He says into the mic, standing on top of the first few steps of their huge staircase, getting everyone's attention. Kai forces our movements to a halt but still keeps a hand on my waist as we stand, facing Seungmin just like everyone.

"This gathering means so much to me, and I'm really happy that I get to host my own version of my family's tradition along with all the people that matter most to me."

It's eating me up inside, an uncontrollable craving and a tightness in my chest. Just a look, a tiny little glance to satisfy my curiosity.

"To my bandmates, to my friends, to my family, and to my lovely girl." He lifts his glass and the whole room does the same. Emma stands in front of him, smiling like I've never seen her before.

Just a peek.

I turn my head to the right, slightly and carefully, with my glass lifted towards Seungmin but the rest of his speech fades into background noise the minute my eyes lock with his. I swear to god, if Kai wasn't holding my waist, my knees would have bugled.

There he was, standing a few meters away, looking simply breathtaking. And already looking at me. Looking at me with a spark in his eyes, a force, a look so dark that made my throat dry, and I couldn't look away, I couldn't take my eyes off him. He looks, unlike anything I've seen him before. He's dressed in black dress pants that make his thighs look mouthwatering and a simple black dress shirt with the first few buttons open, exposing his wide chest. His hair, for the first time ever, is styled, with the left side slightly pushed back while the right front part of his hair falls perfectly over his eye. He looks so magnetizing that I almost didn't notice the petite blonde clinging to his side, under his arm. Dressed in a black, skintight, long-sleeve dress, with a full face of makeup and full red lips.

He smirks, lifting his glass my way with a challenging nod.

"So please enjoy yourselves tonight, and let's welcome Christmas in the best way possible." I snap my eyes back to Seungmin, finally able to breathe. Everyone starts cheering and clapping and when the music started playing again, everyone went back to either dancing or talking almost themselves while enjoying the incredible food and drinks, but I can't move. Not when my mind is glued to the image of her next to him. Who is she? I've never seen her before.

"Do you want another drink?" Kai asks. "Maybe a stronger one?"

"Yes, please." I breathe, wanting nothing more than to be dragged away from the dance floor, and enjoy a strong gin tonic in the corner, where I can't even see him. I let Kai lead the way, with his hand placed on my lower back. We reach the bar, and spot Felix and Hyunjin talking.

"Y/n!" Felix's eyes widen. "You look incredible." He wraps his arms around my waist, lifting my feet off the ground.

A series of giggles escape me. "Put me down! You're drawing attention."

"Are you enjoying the party?" Hyunjin questions with a lift of his eyebrows and a small knowing smile.

Instead of answering, I lean into the counter closer to the bartender making the drinks. "One gin tonic, please. Strong."

Felix lets out a low whistle. "We'll take that as a no."

"I was enjoying my night just fine." I cross my hands, looking into the distance. They're still on the dance floor, her hands loose around his neck and his holding her waist, like they've never held mine. They move slowly to the music as they chat casually. It's hard to stop my eyes from narrowing at the way his face looks almost relaxed, with a light smile as he speaks.

"Staring at him won't work." Hyunjin jokes, copying my position, arms crossed, back leaning into the table.

Felix lets out a laugh.

"Your drink miss." The bartender pushes the glass my way and I take it in my hands, taking a sip immediately.

"Is something going on that I don't know about?" Felix gives me a look.

"Nope." I shake my head, continuing to sip my drink, not taking my eyes off them.

"Something is definitely going on." Kai copies my position as well.

"You can tell us." Hyunjin adds.

"Nothing's going on." I've drank almost half of my drink already. "And even if there was, I wouldn't tell any of you."

"Excuse me?" Felix says, giving me a glare from head to toe while Hyunjin places a hand over his heart.

"Oh, please!" I roll my eyes at their reactions. "You would run to Chan and give him a full presentation of what I'd said, and you know it."

"That's a lie." Felix points his finger at me. "Your secrets are always safe with us princess."

"Exactly." Hyunjin nods. "Even if it's about fucking one of Chan's best friends"

"It's not like that!" Hyunjin's words make my tone rise, feeling a sudden need to explain myself but they simply laugh. "And besides, Chan's my-" Speaking of the devil Chan makes his way toward us, with his hands casually in his pockets, walking through the crowd like he's 7 feet tall.

"Chan!" I greet him. "Hi."

"Hello, pretty lady." He offers me a broad smile, before turning his attention to Felix and Hyunjin. "I need some help."

"Why? What happened?"

"Seungmin's having some trouble with the cakes." He scratches the back of his neck, a habit of his. "For some reason, they couldn't be delivered here, so someone has to go and get them from the bakery, which closes in approximately," He checks his watch. "19 minutes."

"I'll come. " Felix offers immediately.

"Oh, my god, thanks man." Chan sighs in relief.

"No, problem." He sets his half-empty glass on the table. "We'll finish the conversation later." He sends me a wink.

"What conversation?"

Felix pushes Chan towards the door, chuckling. "Nothing mate, come on let's go."

. . . . . . . . .

I tried sneaking glances as much as I could, whether he was dancing with her, going to get a drink at the bar, or absolutely devouring the mini burgers, and he didn't find my eyes once. Even when he was talking with the rest of the boys and I stood only a few feet away, fully involved in the conversation as well, he never once addressed me. In fact, he didn't even look my way. At all. All night. He smiled and talked, and acted like nothing was going on, like he was fully comfortable with me being almost right next to him. Like nothing had happened. He was simply ignoring me the whole night, so successfully that it made pure rage grow inside me. At the fact that it was so each for him to do so, when I couldn't even breathe properly when he was near, at the way he smiled and talked and danced with her, and most importantly at the way he looked absolutely ravishing. Simply stunning.

My anger was growing and growing each second, each minute, each hour passing and I found myself at the bar more often than I should. The party was beautiful. The decorations, the music, the elegantly dressed people, everything. Kai did dance with me numerous times, and I also danced with Hyunjin and Jisung but at times like these when Kai is somewhere talking or smoking with the boys and Emma is busy playing hostess with Seungmin, I give myself a second to simply do some people watching, and fully take in this beautiful scene unraveling in front of me. Everyone is having a great time, Emma and Seungmin along with Changbin and Lia are currently on the dance floor, and the rest of the boys are chatting and laughing. Every single person in here, has a smile on their face, enjoying the moment, something I can't bring myself to do. Hell, even Minho has a hint of a smile on his face.

I drown my 4th glass of gin and tonic.

"Easy there tiger." Jisung takes the now-empty glass from my hand. "Someone's clearly not having fun."

"I am having fun." I scoff. "In fact, I'm having a great time, this party is amazing." I wave my hand around.

"Yes, it is." He smiles, focusing his eyes on me. "Are you okay, kid?"

It's weird how Jisung can always realize when something's wrong, but then again I don't think that I'm making a good job of hiding it.

"Can I ask you a question?" I ask back.

"Sure."

"Do you smoke?"

He blinks at my straightforward question. "Occasionally, yes. Why?"

"Can I have one?"

He blinks again. "Um," Another blink. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Please." I press in a high-pitched tone when he appears to be looking around, probably for Hyunjin.

He sighs but reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes.

"For an occasional smoker, you sure are prepared." I tease.

He rolls his eyes at me with a smile. "Do you want it or not?" He holds a cigarette between his fingers.

My eyes light up and I immediately take it. "Yes please."

"I'd suggest you go somewhere else to smoke it." He lets his eyes trail around the room once again as if we're dealing right in front of 30 people, placing a lighter in my hands as well.

"Yes, I know." I hide the cigarette inside my palm. "Thanks, Jisung."

He gives me a short nod with a hint of hesitation in his big brown eyes and lets me walk away from him. My legs drag me up the stairs, making a turn to the only room I've ever been in this house. I open the big, glass door and exit the room, walking into the massive balcony. This time I don't climb the stairs to the roof, I walk further into the balcony until I reach the railing. It's a lovely night, perfect for Christmas Eve, the stars and moon lighting up the night sky and blending perfectly with the chilly atmosphere. I shiver, my bare shoulders moving inwards mechanically in an attempt to protect my body from the cold yet I don't wrap my arms around it, instead, I welcome the cold and let it lift the little hairs on my arms and spread goosebumps across my skin. Something about the cold air hitting me, this shivering feeling tingling my back, calms me down. It's like reality showering you in the best way possible, grounding you. I take the cigarette between my teeth, the red of my lips staining the edge and I circle my hand around it, lighting it up. The first inhale hits me hard, reminding me just how much I've missed it; the feeling of the sudden numbness in your brain unraveling and spreading everywhere in your body, and how suddenly with each inhale you feel more and more separated from the world around you. I let the moment sink in in my intoxicated mind, appreciating where I am right now and saving it. I know that my moment is gone when I hear the noise, the footsteps, and the door slamming, and even though I stay still, facing the night sky, hands resting on the railing, it doesn't take longer than 5 seconds to realize that it's him. Maybe it was his sweet vanilla scent mixed with a hint of cigarettes, that filled the air immediately or the way his light, slightly audible breathing sounded somewhat familiar, but I knew.

"Hello, Angel."

"Minho," I simply acknowledge him.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo on your back." He spoke in a low, controlled tone.

The corners of my mouth lift. "I have 5." I stay facing forward, pausing to take another drag of the cigarette and taking my time to exhale the smoke. "And there are many things you don't know about me."

"Like?" He starts walking my way, and I know that he has his hands in his pockets and a small smile is dancing on those beautiful lips, without having to look.

"You'll find out if you stop ignoring me."

My comment forced a chuckle out of him and suddenly he appears to my right with his back resting on the railing, facing me. When I move my eyes from the night sky to look at him, regret showers me from head to toe. I was right about the small smile but definitely not prepared for the way he looks at me through his long lashes. Having not made eye contact for most of the night, being here, and being looked at by him feels like the highlight of my night. And I hate it, almost as much as I hate the way my heart starts beating just a little bit faster.

His fingers come up, snatching the cigarette from between my own in such a swift movement, bringing it to his mouth. "Smoking doesn't look good on you, angel."

I admire how he moves the cigarette to his other hand, the one away from me, taking a drag of it midway and exhaling, and it's honestly crazy how attractive it is to me. "I don't care." I reply, trying to appear unbothered.

"Are you enjoying the dance?" He asks and if I didn't know any better, I would think that he actually cared but I recognize the irony in his voice.

"Of course, I am," I play along. "It's wonderful."

He drops his eyes to the floor. "I think I'm getting pretty good at realizing when you're lying."

My body stiffens. "I'm not lying." The party is wonderful...

"Well, I think you are." His words mix with the smoke as he exhales.

"And what makes you think that?" I further ask, holding eye contact for just a few seconds.

He shrugs. "Maybe it was the quite visible stiffness of your body the whole time, the constant frown that was plastered on those red lips, or the way too much drinking out of discomfort and nervousness. But I think it was probably the fact that you danced only up to 30% of your abilities thanks to that lame excuse of a partner you choose to drag along with you as a date." A small smile threatens to spread on his face, but he contains it.

"None of what you've just said is true," I try to brush him off, forcing myself to act like his words didn't affect me or how it scared me that everything he just said is in fact true. It makes me feel like I can't possibly hide from him, as if he can read me like an open book without even trying. "And don't talk shit about Kai, he's a great date and someone I actually know and have fun with."

His smile widened into a smirk. "Anna and I know each other for quite some time."

I stare into the sky again. "I didn't ask and I don't care."

"You didn't have to, I can see how it's been eating you up inside since you laid eyes on us." The confidence that laces his teasing tone makes me tense up and I feel his gaze on me as he continues.

Us...

"I saw the way you roamed your eyes from her head to her toes every chance you got, probably analyzing everything about her." He blows the last bit of the smoke before pressing the edge of the remaining cigarette on the railing and throwing it away. "It was easy to guess what was going through your mind, " He pushes himself off the railing and moves slowly, almost like a cat, circling around me and leaning closer and closer. "Questions, questions, so many questions, and doubts. I could almost feel you comparing every little thing about her to you." He stops behind me, his chest nearly touching my back yet still knocking the air out of my chest. I swallow hard, feeling his head moving to the side of my face, just above my shoulder.

"And honestly, I don't know what felt more entertaining to me; the fact that I could smell the jealousy out of you or the fact that you actually thought that she stands a chance next to you." He whispers, lips brushing against the cell of my ear and I'm on fire, from head to toe. He's suddenly close, so close, his scent hitting my nose, intoxicating my brain even more and memories of his hands on me and his body pressing against mine begin to dance around my head.

"Minho.." I try my best to sound stable, but my words come out breathy.

He pushes his face further into the curve of my neck, his lips traveling all around, brushing my skin. "What do you want angel?"

Such a dangerous question to ask when I feel like he has my body wrap around his finger without even touching it. "S-stop it. You can't do that."

His low chuckle against my skin sends a wave of vibrations all the way down to my core. "Can't?"

"Yes." I somehow find the strength to push my body away from his and turn to face him, resting my back against the railing for much-needed support. "You've been ignoring me the whole night, and now you wanna come and play games with me? That's not how it works." I cross my arms.

His face is now stripped of any playfulness, his features turning hard as he looks down at me. A moment of silence passes until he decides to speak. "I wasn't ignoring you."

I chuckle lightly. " Yes, you were. Completely."

He bites his bottom lip softly, eyes moving up and down my body fast. "I wasn't ignoring you, " He repeats. "I was trying to contain myself. There's a difference."

I feel my breath shaking at his words, and all I can do is stare at him, no words coming out.

He looks up, inhaling, tongue running over his bottom teeth as he steps forward. "You look fucking exquisite." He drawls. His hands grip the railing tight, trapping me. "My breath was yours the minute I laid eyes on you."

I can only hear my heart drumming against my chest, his words making me freeze. "I don't-"

A noise escapes him, almost like a growl. His nose bumps against mine gently, and his cigarette breath fills the small space between us. "You think I was enjoying watching him have his hands all over you?"

"It sure looked like it. " I whisper, looking up at him.

His eyes are dark, moving everywhere around my face before settling on my lips. "That was the point."

"Why is everything a game to you?" I can't help but whine.

He doesn't answer instead he brushes his lips against mine, taking my words and breath, and flashes me a look. His eyes warning me and asking me at the same time, and in a split second his lips are on mine. His mouth moved with so much power, so much force that it made my grip on the railing tighten as my knees almost gave up. It didn't take long before my mind caught up, making my own lips move against his with the same hunger and he hummed in response, satisfied. His cold hands cupped my jaw as his tongue began brushing aggressively against mine, demanding complete access which I was more than happy to provide. Our mouths danced together in a way that felt almost like a war, biting and sucking, nibbling and pulling, his hand traveled to my hair, grabbing a handful of my dark curls and forcing my head to tilt upwards, breaking the kiss with a choked moan. His mouth traveled to my jaw and down to my neck, leaving wet spots behind and marking my skin softly.

"You have no idea how hard it was for me to contain myself all night,"  He breaths out. "when all I wanted to do was bend you over and admire how hot the back of that dress would look as I fuck you from behind. "

A sound so desperate and needy ripped through my throat at his words, my body in shock and melting in his hands as he continues to devour my neck and chest, his mouth going everywhere.

"Minho.." I find the strength to whisper.

"Yeah, I know.." He groans against my skin.

"Someone could see us." I add.

He drags his lips from my neck back to my jaw, until his mouth is ghosting over mine again "I know," His eyes are hungry and wild. "don't care though."

I laugh under my breath. "We both know that's a lie."

"A lie?"

"Minho, you don't wanna be seen with me." I shake my head lightly. "Every time we're around people you act like a completely different person."

"It's not that angel." He exhales against my lips, brushing his nose against mine. His hands move slowly, from my jaw down my chest, his rough fingers toy with the thin straps of my dress before traveling down to my exposed cleavage. His eyes meet mine as he drags his fingers in between my breasts, making my nipples harden, the shape of them visible through the thin satin material. His mouth twists when he notices, his lips coming together hard. I feel my breath tremble as his hand passes from my stomach and doesn't stop. I switch my gaze from his hand to his eyes nervously while he stays focused on his movement, with eyebrows frowned. When his fingers brush over my core, I inhale sharply, holding my breath.

"God, it would be so satisfying to see just how wet you are for me right now." He lets out a low groan, smiling.

"I'm not." I swallow, tightening my jaw, looking at him dead in the eye.

His smile turns into a smirk, dark and wicked, that shakes me to my core and awakes a hunger deep inside me, making me wetter than I already was. "Let's check then shall we?"

Before I have any time to protest or do anything, he knocks my left foot with his, making my legs open enough for his hand to creep in from the opening of the dress that exposed my leg from my hip bone all the way down to my ankle.

"Minho!" My voice comes out more like a whine, the end of his name dying in my throat as his fingers waste no time, pulling my underwear to the side.

"Ah, shit." He hums in approval closing his eyes when his finger opens my folds, gently rubbing my clit and letting my wetness soak it. His smile grows as his teeth capture his bottom lip between them. "You're dripping baby."

I place my hands on his chest. "Please, s-stop."

"I don't think you want me to stop. Not when I can so easily do," His middle finger slides inside me, effortlessly. "This."

A moan leaves my lips, my head falling back at the unexpected pleasure.

His finger starts moving, fast and hard, making wet, sinful sounds mixed with my embarrassing whimpering fill the air.

"That's it, baby." He drags the words, in a low tone, attaching his lips once again against my jaw.

"Oh my god," I brokenly say, fisting his shirt. He slides another finger in with absolutely no warning, keeping the same brutally pleasurable pace and I feel my stomach tightening, the pleasure building and building. Everything has faded again, an effect that only he has on me, suddenly it's just me and him and I find myself not caring about where we are or who can see us as I let myself fall apart on his fingers.

His lips find mine, swallowing my gasps, in a sloppy kiss. "You feel so good around my fingers angel." His free hand comes up to cup my jaw, forcing my eyes to him, foreheads touching. "You think you can come for me? Huh?"

The way he speaks, so cockily and confidently, is challenging me and I hate how much the way he teases and handles my body, pushes me closer to the edge. This back-and-forth thing between us, this feeling, this rush of adrenaline that consumes me every time he's around is getting addictive and I want more and more. I want him more and more.

His fingers curled inside me, effortlessly finding that spot, and hitting it repeatedly. "S-shit."

"Found it." He says proudly in my ear, gently biting my earlobe, and if I wasn't currently on the verge of having an orgasm at a balcony, during Seunming's Christmas Eve party, I would have slapped that smirk off his face.

The knot in my stomach tightens, my legs begin to shake, and I feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest, heat rising to my face. His thumb finds my clit, rubbing circles over it and the second he applies just the tiniest amount of pressure, I feel the pleasure creeping in.

"Minho, I'm g-gonna.." My orgasm hits me like a wave, my whole body going numb, gasps and moans of his name fall from my lips.

"There we go baby," He groans, connecting his forehead to mine again. "Ride it out." All of his digits move perfectly together, not slowing down even a tiny bit, as I make a mess of them. My eyes stay shut, still unable to breathe while the remains of my high still linger, the bliss still tingling my insides.

When he feels me relax, he pulls his fingers out, letting some of my release wet my inner thighs. I open my eyes slowly meeting his. He's grinning like a satisfied child, that got what he wanted.

"Well," He lifts an eyebrow, bringing his two fingers to his mouth and wrapping his full, pink lips around them, sucking them clean while holding eye contact. "That was lovely."

I blink and I swallow hard, and then blink again. Staring up at him, not really knowing what to say, my mind completely blank. "I- uhm.." I stutter, and it could be my head trying to wrap itself around what just happened or how the moonlight falls on his face perfectly, lighting up his big, brown eyes, but I struggle to form a sentence. His hair, a little messed up, probably from my hands, and his whole face, glowing, making me wish I could take a photo of him in this moment.

"I-I-uhm," He mocks, eyes moving all over my face. "Not knowing what to say; that's the 'Minho effect'. " He shrugs.

His words snap me out of my haze. "God, you're so arrogant." I push at his chest, making him stubble just a step, his shoulders shaking with laughter. I cross my arms, shaking my head at the boy in front of me. It's the second time, I've heard him laugh.

He bounces back to his previous spot, lowering his head a bit to catch my gaze, his eyes dark and beautiful. "Are you obsessed with me yet or should I try harder?"

I roll my eyes, fighting back a small smile, this playful and flirty side of his might be my favorite. It's making me wish we could stay like this forever. So close to each other, so open and relaxed. But sadly the nature of our relationship is nothing like that.

I open my mouth to answer but the shout of my name ripping through the air, makes me freeze.

Hyunjin.

He steps into the balcony, chest rising and falling so hard that he's visibly struggling to breathe. His face is covered with a thin layer of sweat and his hair is messily falling over his face as if he was repeatedly running his hands over them.

"Hyunjin?" My head snaps to him, but it's the look on his face, the panic in his eyes that makes my blood run cold, and my feet to take a step forward.

"We have a problem." He breaths out, hard.

"What is it?" Minhos takes a step forward as well, his body and face shifting completely, hardening, alarmed.

"It's Chan and Felix."

[emberfrostlovesloki]

Life Can Be Terrible, but at Least You're In It [Hotch x Reader]

Prompt: This is a mix of two of @imagining-in-the-margins Meet Cute writing challenge dialogue prompts. I’ve mixed the two prompts: “Do you believe in Fate” and “This was way too cliched” to write this fic. 

Category: Angst/Comfort/Smut

Word Count: 9.2K

Content Warnings: Canon typical violence, U.S. police, hatred/violence against a religious group, light drinking, mention of self-harm (cutting - healed scars and one instance of open scars in the past), brief mention of childhood abuse, sex (oral -- fem and masc receiving, p in v). 

A/N: Oh boy, I have lots to say. To start, this is another @imagining-in-the-margins inspired fic for her Meet Cute writing challenge. Moving on from that: first off, this is an 18+ story, minors DNI. I love engagement, but if you’re a minor this is not for you. Thank you for respecting this boundary. Second, this turned into a bit of trauma dumping for me. I’ve been having some thoughts about my past choices and decided to write them out with Hotch as a character (you know he’s a great listener.) Third, this is my first time posting smut, if it’s not great, please forgive me. I hope to get better at it as I keep writing for Aaron. Last, this turned out wayyyyy longer than I anticipated. As I’ve stated before, I find it hard to characterize Hotch if I’m not writing a ton which is evidenced here. 

Please, please, please read the content warnings. If reading about scars and past self-harm might trigger you, please pass this one by. If you are thinking about engaging in self-harm, please reach out to a loved one or someone you trust. You deserve support. If all else fails, here is a support number you can call to get some help: Self Harm Crisis Line. 

On a more positive note, If you enjoy this fic, likes, reblogs, and comments are appreciated. I hope you all have a great night. 

List with all stories 

y/n = your name 

y/b/f = your best friend 

y/f/a = your favorite author 

y/f/f = your favorite flower 

f/c = your favorite color

Aaron was nervous about tonight. It was the first time that y/n was coming over to his place before a date. Normally he would offer to meet her at her apartment and they they would go out from there, or just hang out around the warm space doing something relaxing like cooking dinner or watching one of their favorite movies or TV shows. But last Thursday she had shown an interest in seeing his place and honestly, he didn’t have a valid excuse for why she shouldn’t come over. He kept his space neat and clean, he just thought that it didn’t have that much personality, but it would have to do and he knew she wouldn’t judge him if his taste was metrosexual. y/n had given her care and affection to him, not his apartment. 

He hadn’t meant to have feelings for his newest agent. In fact, he made it a point to not fall in love with any of his agents or the women at the bureau as the idea of mixing work and pleasure felt all too unsure. If something went bad, or the relationship faltered, the fallout to the team would be immense, and he didn’t want to risk his own career for the sake of his team. However, when y/n had hastily been added on after a case that required a domestic terrorist and cult specialist, y/n had joined the team for what Aaron had assumed would be just the one case. He was hesitant to add someone new, but Strauss had him cornered on the issue and he agreed because he didn’t have a choice. He was weary of y/n -- not willing to trust someone he hadn’t vetted or already knew. However, y/n had sat back and didn’t assume a commanding role at all during the case.

She paid attention to the facts and then looked at them from her lens of expertise. When she needed help she had asked JJ or Emily, and one time when it had only been him and y/n at the precinct, he had asked, “How are you feeling?” y/n had looked up and faced the intensity of his gaze and said, “I’m a bit lost, to be honest. I didn’t know it was going to be like this, but I think I’ve found some things that match the preliminary profile that would confirm the unsub was the leader of a religious cult with white Nationalist ideologies.” Hotch nodded. He might have been weary of y/n but at least she was honest and hadn’t done anything foolish or detrimental to the team yet.

He pulled his eyes away from her gaze and moved closer to her saying, “Show me what you have?” He could see her physically relax as if she was expecting a reprimand instead of him wanting to listen to her, and he wondered if this was the natural response he got from most people who didn’t know him. At this, his internal monologue answered, “How can people get to know you, Aaron? You don’t open up.” Hotch pushed the thought aside and nodded that he was ready to hear what she had. 

y/n observations had been instrumental in finding the unsubs and his compound's location. y/n just didn’t know how to slip her information in with the current profile. When the case was finished, Aaron sincerely extended a hand and said, “Thank you for your help, y/n, your insight was needed in solving this case. I may call on you again if another case like this comes to our team.” y/n had taken his hand and given in a firm shake, slightly awed by what she assumed was praise coming from someone as important and well-known as Agent Hotchner. She had replied, “It would be my honor, Sir.” With that he let the woman leave the tarmac.

Once y/n was inside the bullpen, she checked to make sure Agent Hotchner wasn’t nearby, and she approached Emily, who was packing to go home. Emily looked at her and smiled, asking, “What’s up y/n?” y/n faltered for a second before saying, “Is Agent Hotchner always that, intense?” Emily smiled softly and replied, “Yeah, pretty much.” The brunette added, possibly because she was working through her own feelings for the team's enigmatic leader, “But he’s a good man and a good leader. In the end, he puts this team above everything else.” y/n blushed, realizing this was more than just a simple observation about Agent Hotchner. At this point, Aaron returned to the bullpen after calling Hailey to let her know that he was back and would be home that evening. He nodded at Emily and when she nodded back, y/n couldn't help but turn and see who Emily was looking at. Once she realized it was Agent Hotchner she snapped back to looking the other way; something Aaron hadn’t missed. 

Aaron had called y/n for two more cases over the next three and a half months. y/n was a quick learner and during the next case, she was more prepared and tried to participate with the team more, willing to offer a comment that she thought would be useful. She still stood in the background most of the time, but it was clear she had improved from the first time she was on the team. When y/n and Derek were standing by the coffee pot at the local precinct, Morgan said, “y/n, I notice you’re a lot more on top of things this time. You’re doing a good job, that’s not always easy on a team like this.”

y/n smiled and replied, “Well I did sort of research the team after the first case. You know not like stalking you or anything, I just read over a few of the previous major cases and stuff.” Derek nodded his approval and said, “Well it looks like the work is paying off.” While y/n thanked Derek, Aaron was standing a few feet away in the hallway and had heard the entire conversation. It wasn’t uncommon for people who spent a brief time on the team to do this. He got emails all the time from those who had had their brief stint on a case asking for a transfer. He also got emails from agents that had never set foot in the bullpen and to those he sent an automatically generated reply and then he would delete the email.

Those who had worked for the team before might come back for a case, but rarely did he find them improved. Aaron realized that this felt callous maybe, but it was his job to have a cohesive team. A team that worked together in the worst possible circumstances and he wasn’t going to throw that away just because someone wanted to work with him or the team. However, Derek was right and he took a moment to look over at y/n wondering if just once, he was going to be proven wrong. 

The third case Aaron called y/n into was a bad one. A group of domestic terrorists were kidnapping, torturing, and killing men from Middle Eastern countries, particularly those that were influential in the Islamic religion. The police were stumped, but y/n immediately said, “This is probably extremism based off of post-9/11 sentiments. The two-year anniversary is coming up and this could easily be someone affected on the ground or someone that got sent back from Iraq during Desert Storm.” The New York Police had a lot of opposition to the idea, but Aaron was aware that they would be very biased in their opinions on the matter as it was so close to home. He assuaged their fears, but later he pulled y/n and Spencer aside and told both of them to keep running with y/n’s initial theory.

As it turned out the call was coming from inside the house, or rather the police station as the unsub was one of the officers on staff at the station. He had spiraled quickly as the team got closer and closer to finding him. As a last desperate act, the officer, Monroe, had found another victim and pulled them to the station, threatening to bomb a religious building in the city and shoot the innocent victim if the BAU didn’t find someone else to blame for his crimes in an hour. y/n had been in the lady's room as this unfolded in the main lobby, but she heard the gunfire and quickly and quietly moved closer. She overheard the last of the unsubs plan. As Spencer tried to talk the man down, y/n had slipped her sidearm out of its holster and removed the safety.

She looked into the mirror that showed the main room to pinpoint the location of Officer Monroe. For a moment before she made the final move into the open space, she looked to the side and caught Hotch’s eye. He gave her a minuscule nod, telling her to go ahead. Aaron jumped and pulled Spencer to the ground and the millisecond they were both in the clear before the unsub could figure out what was happening, y/n shot the man’s right hand which was holding his sanctioned firearm, and then y/n shot his shoulder, fully incapacitating officer Monroe. When this was done, Derek rushed forward and pulled the unsub away from the victim. Emily and JJ moved toward the victim and after she had re-engaged the safety and put her gun away, y/n helped Hotch and Spencer to their feet. 

Aaron looked over y/n for signs of shock or distress given that she had just been in a highly dangerous position and that she had just shot a man twice. He didn’t see any of those signs in her as she let go of Spencer's hand and moved toward JJ and Emily to provide some help with the victim who was now in hysterics. Instead, Aaron saw a steely calm resolve in y/n’s demeanor, indicating that this was hardly the first time she had been put under this kind of pressure. As Hotch moved toward the cuffed unsub he noticed the clean shot to the hand and shoulder, not meant to kill but incapacitate the unsub. Officer Monroe was screaming a stream of obscenities and racial epitaphs at anyone in earshot but mostly directed at the victim and y/n. Aaron and Derek roughly grabbed the man’s arms and moved him to another room. As they walked, Aaron turned to the man and said, “Shut up, or I’ll wait to call the paramedics until it’s too late to save your hand. 

A few hours later after the unsub had been transferred to the hospital in custody he overheard some of the officers speaking negatively of the team, and particularly of y/n who had been the one to originally spot the ‘bad apple’ among their ranks. Aaron was overly familiar with the police and justice system and he knew that the police unions and members were a big boys club where they would do almost anything to protect their paychecks, reputation, and each other. Bitterly he thought, 'Well if you’re so concerned, maybe stop perpetrating injustice.’ As Aaron entered the room with the officers he realized that y/n was in the same room speaking with JJ.

The officers had been speaking just loudly enough for y/n to overhear their comments. Something in Aaron twitched uncomfortably. Maybe it was the fact that y/n wasn’t even a real member of the team and was being villainized, or the fact that there was nothing he could do to stop the officers from their conversation. When he passed by the men he frowned at them, and for a moment they grew silent as he passed. As he approached the two women, they made space for him to stand, and he turned his gaze to y/n saying, “Good shooting today. Especially given the fact that you only had that mirror to guess your angles and distance. A lot of innocent people would be dead if it hadn’t been for you.” As much as Agent Hotchner’s complement burned her insides in a pleasant way, she replied in a controlled manner, saying, “I was just doing my job, Sir.”

Aaron nodded slightly and he intentionally caught her gaze and when he was sure he had it, he looked over to the men who had been making vitriolic statements toward her. y/n followed his eyes and when he was looking at her again she just gave a small shrug of the shoulders, as if saying, ‘Yeah, I heard, but what can you do?” This response tugged a small smile from him, and he cleared his throat and turned to JJ to ask her a question about the media response. Although y/n and even Aaron might not realize it, y/n had passed most of his internal tests for the Agents he allowed on his team. 

When y/n received an email from Hotch asking her to meet him at his office two days from now, she worried that something had happened. That she had made some kind of error. y/n arrived at the Bureau at the designated time and knocked on the door that was slightly ajar. Hotch called her in and said, “Take a seat, Agent y/n.” y/n did as asked and felt an uncomfortable churning in her stomach. After a moment of silence, y/n couldn’t take the anticipation anymore, making the first rash move she had while being around the BAU team and Agent Hotchner in general. She asked, “Have I done something wrong Agent Hotchner?”

Again there was a lingering silence that felt like it lasted ages before Aaron replied, “If I sent you a transfer request to the BAU to join my team, would you accept?” The words took a moment to register, and y/n’s eyes went wide. It took all her strength from not letting her jaw drop at the very suggestion. Needing another moment to let the words process, she gave the throw-away comment, “Sir?” Aaron knew she had heard him and if there was one thing about him, it was that he didn’t repeat himself if he knew the other party had heard him. Even for someone as new as y/n. There was yet another silence and finally, y/n had the brain function to say, “Well if that transfer request were to happen, then I would have to have the sad and uncomfortable conversation with my own unit chief and let them know that I would be accepting a new position in the Bureau.”

Hotch caught onto y/n’s hypothetical language but could see in her eyes that she would accept his offer. He cleared his throat and pulled an unnecessary piece of paper in front of him for some reason, moving his eyes to the random form in front of him. He looked back up and there was that kind of shocked look that people got around him sometimes. It was odd for him to see this one y/n’s face, but he couldn’t blame her. Offers like his came once in a lifetime. Less than that really. He gave her one last look before stating, “You’ll receive an email from me on Monday.” 

The transition from the terrorism unit to the BAU was good for the team as a whole. Having a new set of eyes on the cases and a new dynamic shook up the team in a way that reinvigorated their brains. y/n wasn’t perfect. She made mistakes and she owned up to them. Hotch reprimanded her like he would any old or new member of the team. With time she became an integral part of the unit. And in that time Hotch couldn’t help but be drawn to her. It wasn’t like a magnet or love at first sight; he was far too cynical to believe in things like that, but Hotch had paid attention to her in a way that he hadn’t with the other team members. Maybe it was because he hadn’t needed to train and mentor a new member of the team since Emily had joined and he had told himself, ‘There isn’t a valid reason for you to not pay closer attention to y/n.’ As it would turn out, this would be a recurrent theme with him and his thoughts toward y/n. 

The first time Aaron knew he was in trouble in regard to y/n was after she had been with the team for a few months. She had started to do this ritual where after each case when each member of the team had gotten home, she would text them all individually simply asking, “Are you doing okay?” Or some variation of that simple, yet loaded question. The first time Aaron had received that message he was confused for a second, but simply responded, “I’m fine.” To which y/n had simply replied, “Good.”

The second time it had happened Aaron realized that she was being very intentional with this message, both in its simplicity and when she was sending it. Often after a case, even up until the team had arrived back at the emotions and adrenaline ran high, either because of the excitement or sheer rush of feelings that could overwhelm someone when dealing with such difficult circumstances. But getting a message like that after a few hours, after getting to a safe space and the real underlying emotions had a chance to set in allowed the team members to give an honest response - not one based off of heightened states. Similarly, the simply worded message allowed for a range of responses from a two-word sentence to full-fledged conversations if wanted or needed. After two more cases, Aaron indulged in the possibility of opening up. 

Haley had recently left him and y/n was the only one who seemed, even if not directly relating to his recent separation, to provide a space for him to open up. He replied, “I’m home safe. I have some conflicting feelings about the outcome of this case. I don’t feel the closure that I sometimes do when we finish with a case.” Aaron sent the message and wondered if this sounded desperate? If his own personal experience was on clear display, and if it was, how _y/n_ was going to respond. He didn’t have to wait long as his phone pinged and he read y/n’s reply “It’s good to know your home. Would you like to talk about the case?

It was a rough one, even by the team's standards.” Aaron slumped down onto his couch letting out a long breath. If y/n had read deeper into his personal life, she hadn’t highlighted it and was still providing space for him to continue talking either about what this was really about, or the case itself. Aaron realized that he needed to take a deeper look at himself if a case and Hailey leaving was having such a profound impact on him. He realized that y/n’s checking in was very likely a way that she coped with the horrors she saw on the job, and he didn’t want to burden her with his personal problems along with the darkness that their work included.

He typed out, “No. Not really,” and sent that message out to the ether. Aaron closed his eyes as he waited for a response. It came in a few minutes, and he looked at his phone. The message from y/n read, “Okay. Take care of yourself, please.” Hotch’s heart gave a tiny tug that she would say something so candid and caring toward him. He typed out, “Thank you, y/n,” and his thumb ghosted over the send button before he changed his mind and deleted the message and typed out instead, “See you on Monday, y/n.” Aaron realized that if he sent the other message the hint of feelings that he was just becoming aware of might bubble up bigger than the tiny drip they were at now might emerge. Hotch stood and undid his tie and the buttons on his shirt.

A last ping of his phone made him look at it one last time with tired, blurry eyes. The response read, “See you Monday, Hotch.” Aaron clicked his phone off as he pulled off his shirt to go and take a hot shower. Again there was that nagging tug at his heart because in her letting him go for the night, she was also trying to give him what he wanted, space. 

But texting wasn’t the reason that he was now straightening the pillows on his couch and, God knows why, moving into his bedroom and smoothing the sheet and comforter on his bed. He didn’t expect them to end up there at the end of the night, in fact, he expected that y/n would go back to her place and he would stay here, missing her. Anyway, he did it just in case. As he reflected back to the moment that had really made him start having serious feelings for y/n was when she called him and used his first name for the first time. It had been a bad case. A case involving kids being killed and manipulated by the unsub. After not taking the deal with Foyett, Aaron’s brain constantly swirled with thoughts of his son, and any case involving kids made him tense up and made him question his choices.

Anytime he had interacted with the children who had been affected and traumatized by the unsub he saw Jack’s face there. He was overwhelmed with emotions, anger, fear, and sadness. It was all too much for him. When the team arrived home after the case and he had made his way to his apartment he fell into bed exhausted. He had forgotten that y/n would text and he was even more surprised when he was woken by his phone ringing. He clicked answer and pulled it to his ear. With a gentle voice, y/n had said, “Hotch, Aaron. Are you going to be okay?”

Hotch’s sleep-addled brain took a moment to register his first name on y/n’s lips, but the feeling it provoked was still surprising. Not that he was unaware of his growing feelings for her, just that he had been suppressing them; holding them tight to his chest in his innermost being. He realized after a moment that he hadn’t responded to y/n’s question and finally, he said groggily, “Sorry, I was just taking a nap.” There was a pause and then y/n replied, “No, I’m sorry. I can let you go.” Without even thinking Hotch with a note of desperation said, “No, please. I, I’d like to talk. 

Hotch couldn’t see it, but on the other end of the line, y/n moved to her couch and sat down, doing her best to be present with Aaron through the phone. She could tell that this was different. He was being real with her. This wasn’t, Agent Hotchner, leader of the most important team in the FBI, this was just Aaron. She took a moment to think of what to say. She knew what this was all about and decided to share honest thoughts and said, “Hotch, you’re a good father.” 

Hotch blinked surprisingly at y/n’s choice of words, and the honesty in them. Incredulously he replied, “On who’s authority?” There was a sigh on the other end of the line and he wanted to hear what y/n was going to say. Her response was, “I mean, I’m not a parent. Maybe it’s not my place to comment on parenting, but I see how you interact with Jack. When you’re with him you give him everything that’s in you. You don’t even notice that you’re doing it Hotch. And yeah, nobody’s perfect, not even you, but when you’re with him -- it’s all I can see. You’re doing the best with what you have, financially and emotionally and that’s all anyone can ask for. People like to say that you can give a hundred and ten, a hundred and twenty percent to people and relationships, but I just don’t think that’s possible with people. And in our line of work, it’s hard to give seventy percent to anything other than the job. But, Jack, Jack always gets a hundred percent from you.”

y/n realized that she was being highly personal with her words, to her boss. She stopped what might have been a rambling mess of words and bit the inside of her lip. Maybe she would get a real reprimand from Hotch for this. He had corrected her before in his stern authoritative manner, but he had never really been mad at her. She also tried hard not to think about the fact that she wanted to give him a hundred percent too. She knew she couldn’t have that. She could never have that. 

In the lingering silence between y/n’s comments, Aaron closed his eyes and tried to see it from her point of view. Was she really looking at him that closely so that she could catch all of these things? He knew she was speaking honestly, she really spoke from a place of untruth, and she did that only when she had to on cases. He wondered if people ever threw her honesty in her face. As someone so closed off, it was hard for him to believe her in a way. With a hint of hesitation, he asked, “Do you really think so?” A second later, y/n said, “Of course. Of course I do, Aaron.” He relaxed further in the bed as she used his first name again. It sounded so lovely coming from her. They spent another half hour talking, more about the case than his parenting, and when Aaron hung up, he felt decidedly lighter than he had when he had originally come here. 

The next Monday, when Aaron found a quiet moment in the office where the rest of the team wasn’t paying attention, he moved to y/n’s desk and she looked up at him with a smile. Aaron clenched his hand before releasing the final tension he felt in what he was about to do. He raised his hand and placed it on her shoulder. That familiar warmth they both felt when they came into close contact seeped through both of them. All Aaron said was, “Thank you, y/n.” With that, he removed his hands and walked up to his office. He knew that his actions weren't profoundly romantic or anything. He hadn’t swooped down and kissed y/n and pulled her body close to his, but in his actions, he had opened the floodgates for what might come. 

It happened slowly, like most things in his life. Both because y/n and Aaron needed to be cautious for work's sake, but also because neither of them could really believe it was actually happening after so long. The first almost date had been when she got two tickets to see her favorite author do a reading with her best friend. Unfortunately y/b/f had to cancel two days before. y/n was really bummed about it and Aaron could tell. He had approached her and said, “Would you like me to come with you? I don’t really know anything about _y/f/a_, but I can tell that it’s important to you.”

Her eyes glistened at the idea and she said, “You’d do that?” Aaron let out a laugh and said, “Of course if you want me to.” y/n had beamed at him and for a moment he felt stunned at how beautiful she looked when she was this happy. He wished he could see her like this more. The reading was great, y/n had cried and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, letting her feel her emotions. They had gotten coffee after and as he walked y/n back to her apartment, she stopped at her door and turned. y/n went out on a limb and stepped closer to him. She was close enough to feel the heat emanate from his body. With a last moment of deliberation, she closed the gap and wrapped her arms around him, tucking her head into his chest. Aaron tensed for a moment before he let his body naturally respond. He gently wrapped his arms around his form and held her close to him. 

Oh God, it felt so good to have her that near to him, to be able to actually hold her. Surprisingly it had been Derek who had encouraged him to make the leap of making y/n a more permanent fixture in his life. The team had all been at Rossi’s for dinner and y/n and Emily were at the wine bar pouring themselves another glass of red. Aaron was unknowingly looking at y/n longingly and Derek sat down next to him with a shot in his hand. The younger man said, “Are you ever going to tell her how you feel?”

Aaron was pulled from his thoughts and looked over to Derek saying, “Sorry, what was that?” Derek chuckled and said, “Hotch, you deserve to be happy after everything you’ve been through.” At this Aaron made a face, but Morgan kept talking saying, “If you’re afraid that she’s not going to reciprocate your feelings, I see the way she looks at you. She likes you too.” Aaron let out a sigh and Derek put a hand on his shoulder saying, “Just think about it. A lot of people would be happy to have y/n, but she’d be happy to have you.” That evening as y/n dropped him off they had kissed for the first time outside in the parking lot. 

The light knock on his door pulled him from his memories, and he stood and neatened his trousers and shirt as he opened the door for y/n. He opened the door and let y/n in. She smiled at him handed him a wrapped bouquet of hyacinth and baby breath and said, “For you, Aaron.” He smiled and leaned down giving her a kiss. He had brought her y/f/f when she had first invited him to her apartment and she was returning the gesture. As he found a vase to put the flowers in, he offered her a chilled glass of water, and y/n moved around the space observing his neutral-toned apartment.

After he set the flowers on the table, he came up beside her and slipped his hand around her waist. He was looking at his wall full of pictures. They were mostly of Jack, but there were a few of him and Hailey and a few he had taken on an old camera that was still around the apartment somewhere. She turned to look at him and said, “Jack’s grown up so much since some of these were taken.” Aaron hummed in her ear and said, “It’s crazy to think about. He’s going to school and making friends. When I talk to him on the phone I can hear him becoming his own person.” y/n turned back to the photos and found one where Hailey was particularly radiant, and she commented, “She looks so…” There was a pause as beautiful seemed to fall flat as a superlative. y/n finished the sentence with, “luminant here.”

Hotch’s eyes moved from her to the picture and back to her. He deeply appreciated that y/n included Jack and even Hailey in her consideration of him and his life and happiness. Her comment made him look over y/n in her f/c turtle neck and back corduroy skirt and said, “You look lovely tonight, y/n.” The flush on her face always made him feel a certain way, and as she turned to look over the space again she said, “I like it, Aaron. It’s calming and I think almost anyone could feel safe here.” Hotch hadn’t particularly decorated the space with that in mind, but again he didn’t have the eye for fashion or design that y/n had. He simply said, “I’m glad you like it, and that you feel safe here.”

He took a breath and then asked, “You ready to head out, or do you want to sit for a bit?” y/n took his hand and replied, “Let’s head out, our reservations are in a half hour, and just because it’s Friday night and there might be traffic.” Hotch nodded and he moved to the counter and grabbed his coat and car keys. They headed out to the wine tasting at a jazz club that they both liked. 

The date went well and as they arrived back at Aaron’s place he got out of the car and opened the door for y/n. They were both slightly buzzed, but not inebriated or without their wits. As y/n got out of the car he asked, “Would you like to come back inside for a bit or do you want to get back to your place?” y/n smiled and said, “I’d like to be with you for a while longer?” They left the crisp autumn air behind as they reentered Aaron’s apartment.

He grabbed them both a glass of water and they sat on his couch y/n turned her head to him and he leaned down kissing him. His lips were so soft and warm on her mouth. The taste of him was a craving, a desire she couldn’t easily let go unless they were like this. Aaron could feel her love and longing in the way she moved her mouth over his. He wanted more, needed more of that feeling that he had been missing for the last few months. He slipped his tongue out of his mouth and over her bottom lip. y/n sighed, surprised by this new action from him, but opened up to his request.

Aaron moved into the space, moving his tongue over hers and the contours of her mouth. As he explored this new space, y/n let out a small moan into his mouth. She moved her right hand to his thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze letting him know that she was enjoying this moment. Her hand on his leg, so close to his groin made his cock twitch and he felt embarrassed for a second because something as small as her hand on him had elicited a response. y/n felt Aaron’s body tense under her hand and could imagine what had happened with this body. When they broke apart for air, y/n shifted from his side and moved so her legs were straddling his on the couch. She didn’t put any weight on him, wanting to make sure he was comfortable with this.

Hotch’s eyes widened at the change of position and he sucked in a deep breath, his body already flushing. y/n placed her hands on the couch just above his shoulders. Her eyes glistened in the soft light of his lamps and she asked, “Is it too fast for you Aaron?” Hotch made a small sound, it was so quiet that it was almost unnoticeable in the space. He nodded his head no and replied, voice low, “No. It’s not. As long as you're comfortable with what we’re doing. We can take it at your pace. I want you, y/n.” At hearing his words and seeing the hunger in his eyes, she lowered her body until it was pressing close to him. 

Her skirt was short were fitted and as her knees spread to sit on him it shifted up to her waist. Aaron was a bit too preoccupied to notice this yet as kissing him again; first on the mouth and then his earlobe sucking and lightly nipping the soft flesh. He let out a groan that was louder than he was expecting. His body was really reacting to her touch. What had been a twitch in his pants was now throbbing against the waistband of his pants. y/n felt his erection growing under her. While she moved to his jawline and began half-open-mouth kisses and licking the area, she shifted her weight again and moved her hand to the buckle of his dark brown belt.

She fumbled with the metal as she continued her work on his face. She similarly undid the button and pulled down the zipper of his pants. Once his member was freer, y/n pressed against him providing him with some much-needed friction. Again made that low noise that made her core tingle and burn at the same time. At this, Aaron couldn’t take it anymore, he needed to be touching her. Aaron shifted strongly but carefully picked y/n under the thighs and he moved so that they switched spots. Now that he was the one above her, he moved to pull at the edge of her shirt. y/n raised her arms for him and the fabric came easily over her head.

He leaned down and kissed her hungrily. His hands found traction on her waist and the warm feeling of them resting there made y/n make a small sound into his mouth. Aaron moved his mouth away from hers and placed a hand over her f/c lacy bra. Her breasts and nipples were visible to him through the semi-sheer fabric and lace and he marveled down at her form laid bare to him. He gently massaged the right breast in his hand and he felt her nipple harden under his touch. For the first time that night y/n whispered his name in a way that made Aaron feel more alive than he had in a long time. With his other hand, he took y/n’s left hand and slowly started kissing up the side of her arm. He looked over the litany of healed scars crisscrossing the warm skin under his mouth. 

He had noticed them the first day he had met her. Although they weren’t pronounced as they were old and healed, he still saw them. How couldn’t he see them running up her arm and under her three-quarter sleeves? He was a profiler after all. He never said anything about them. He’d never heard the team talk about them either. It would be rude to of course, and really it had been none of his business at the time. But not that he could see them so clearly running up her arm he had to wonder. He sucked on the hollow spot of her elbow joint, and y/n bucked slightly, moving her hand down to this clothed groin. He let out a gasp as her hand began moving over his hard penis. Her hand traced the line of his arousal and he had to hold back from bucking under her touch. He kept moving as her hand worked over him.

As he moved up her arm to her shoulder and collarbone, he moved his other hand to her left breast, massaging the tissue with his deft hand. With his other hand, he pushed down the strap of her bra and again started kissing her chest. Once more he kissed over her chest and noticed that the scars weren’t only endemic to her left arm. They were scattered haphazardly over her shoulder and collarbone. These marks had healed darker than the ones on her arm. He realized that if he paid close attention to his mouth, which he was, he could feel the difference between the smooth skin and that which had been opened many years ago. They were both making soft, needy noises and their movements grew more urgent. Aaron was now moving himself along her hand and y/n tipped her head back and said, “Aaron, please. I need more. I need you.”

Hotch nodded and again, he stopped his frantic body and hooked his arms under her legs, now picking her up and moving into the bedroom. She clung to him, arms wrapped around his neck. He set her gently on the bed and almost immediately pulled at her skirt. She rested the heels of her feet on the mattress and lifted her hips, so he could get rid of the fabric now bunched around her waist. Once the skirt was discarded, Aaron pushed her back onto the mattress. He also pulled off his shirt and discarded his pants in two fluid motions. y/n looked at the bulge in his briefs and smiled to herself. She knew he must be impressive, but being so close to seeing it in full confirmed her assumptions. Hotch leaned down and began sucking at the soft, flushed skin of her thigh. 

The fact that Hotch’s mouth was breathing hot and loud against her leg and that he was moving steadily toward her center, made her arch her back in pleasure and the feelings of warmth continued to move through her. As Aaron’s mouth got closer to her black underwear, he was faced with the presence of scars once more. There were less of them here on her thigh, close to her center, but these seemed deeper, more deliberate. He wanted to kiss these, to continue the path of pleasure he was on, but it felt wrong.

For him to be doing this without acknowledging something, to check in with her before he continued. y/n could feel his hesitation. She saw how he had paused each time he noticed a new area affected by her prior self. Her voice cut through his fog as she said, “I’m not embarrassed by them anymore you know. I used to be, but not now.” Hotch lifted his body and chest upright looking deeply into her eyes. He knew this was important to her, but also to him. For him to understand if she wanted to talk about it. He shifted and placed a hand on her thigh, just below her panty line, indicating that he wasn’t finished yet, just taking a break.

All he could think of saying was, “I’m sorry.” y/n scoffed at this, not at him but, more at the idea. She placed a hand on his cheek and said, “You know no one ever talks to me about them. Not even when they were red and bleeding did anyone say anything. I thought certainly my parents, or teachers, or friends would say something, but they didn’t because they didn’t know how.” y/n looked away and removed her hand from his face saying, “Sorry. I’m kind of being a buzzkill, aren’t I?” Aaron’s eyes deepened, and he took both her hands in his and said, “No, no it’s not to me. Please, you can talk to me if you want.” 

She looked back to his face and it was clear to her that his desire for her wasn’t ebbing with this conversation. He was still Aaron, the Aaron she had spent months with, but this was different and she knew it. y/n let out a breath and said, “I got so good at hiding them that when I stood naked in front of a mirror I would flinch at my own reflection.” Hotch nodded slightly and asked, “Did they hurt you a great deal?” y/n took her bottom lip in her mouth for a moment before replying, “Not really. At least not until the next day. I was just looking for a release you know? Something to distract me from what was happening.”

Aaron’s hand on her thigh gently started tracing over the scarred tissue with his thumb and he said, “Well I’m still sorry that you felt you needed to do that. Even if it was to protect you emotionally.” y/n gave him a small smile. She looked up at him with her large eyes, sincere in their clarity as she said, “You don’t have to apologize, Aaron. I’ve forgiven the younger version of me that made the choice to hurt herself. She was scared and angry and didn’t understand what was happening to her.” Aaron could ask about what exactly had been going on in her younger years. But he didn’t. He wanted her to be in control of this conversation, and a moment later, she said, “Plus, there are better ways to find release than when I was in high school.” 

Aaron flushed and felt his erection which had gone semi-soft twtich again. He reached out for her and said, “Are you sure? We can stop for tonight if you like.” y/n shook her head no and replied, “No, I want to keep going. I want to go all the way with you, Aaron.” Aaron nodded and pulled her close again, embracing her mouth with his. His right hand slipped behind y/n’s back and he deftly undid the clasp of her bra. He pulled far enough away to pull the intimate article off, and he said, “Just let me know if you need me to stop, alright. At any point, we can take a break.”

y/n hummed her agreement and threaded her hands through his short hair. Aaron moved his face lower and he breathed warmly over her right breast. The warm sensation over her sensitive skin caused her nipples to grow taught again. Aaron leaned in and took the tissue in his mouth. He swirled the nipple with his tongue and y/n let out a sound so desperate and beautiful that he grew rock hard again in an instant. He kneaded the other breast with his hand and his left hand slipped under the waistband of her panties. She was desperately wet as he moved his pointer and middle fingers over her folds and heat. After a moment of this, Aaron pulled his face from her chest, wanting to get more of those sounds from her mouth. He got her out of the last piece of her clothing and he looked over her bare sex for a moment before diving in with his mouth.

The taste of her on his lips was intoxicating, more intoxicating than the wine they had imbibed earlier that night. He moved over her wetness with an urgency. Again, y/n spoke his name with a need he didn’t know he needed to hear. She arched her back against his strong and accurate tongue. Hotch pressed her stomach back flush with the mattress and he reveled as her body twitched beneath his hand. As his tongue began entering her most intimate area, she moaned. She could feel herself coming close and wasn’t ready for the feeling to stop. She called his name and he stopped immediately, checking in with her. He looked up at her and his face and nose were wet with her excitement. “What is it, y/n. Do you want to stop?” He said it rather breathlessly as he had been very intent in his work. y/n replied, “Far from it, but I want to taste you too. I want you in my mouth.” 

Aaron stilled for a moment and said, “You're sure?” y/n smiled mischievously and said, “More than anything.” He felt a growl in his throat and he finally took off his briefs, freeing his cock. y/n looked him over for the first time, apparently impressed with him. He was slightly happy about this reaction, but the feeling of being pushed back and y/n taking his tip into her mouth instantly stilled that inner voice. ‘Oh fuck,’ he thought as she swirled her tongue over him in one direction for a bit, and then the other, and finally across the top. This sensation alone was enough to bring some pre-come to the tip. Aaron watched as she sucked it off quickly and then moved back onto him with her mouth. The very sight of her working over him nearly sent Aaron over the edge.

His size was impressive and y/n wondered if she would be able to take all of him in her mouth. She worked fervently over him, taking more and more of his length each time she moved her head up and down him. She ran her hands over his balls as she did this, and she could feel him throbbing in her throat. Meanwhile, Aaron’s body was twitching with bliss and anticipation, and he said her name like a prayer as she finally got to the base. She continued to work on him as she sucked and licked his cock. She ran her tongue all the way up the vein running on the underside of him and again, this nearly ended him. This time it was his turn to ask her to stop, which she did.

He knew that if he came now in her mouth he might not be able to do it again as intensely as the first time. Could he come again? With her, absolutely, but this was their first time and he wanted to give her his best. Breathlessly he said, “I need to be in you if you’re open to it. Please.” He realized that he was begging, but he couldn’t stop the urgency in his voice. 

y/n agreed, at this point their bodies were aching for release and she wanted him in her as badly as he wanted to be in her. She asked, “Can I be on top please?” With some vulnerability, she added, “It’s been a while since I’ve been intimate with anyone.” Hotch nodded, knowing the position would give her more control in regard to the depth and pacing. He said, “Of course. Whatever you want love.” He sat up a bit, leaning back on his palms. As _y/n_ got ready to straddle him again, he asked, “Are you on the pill, or should I get a condom?” He hadn’t made assumptions about her sexual life until recently, and asking something like this felt inappropriate unless in this very situation. y/n smiled and said, “I’m on the pill. We’re good."

With this, she got back on her knees with Aaron underneath her. She used her hand to gently guide him into her entrance. She worked slowly at first. Even with just his tip inside her, Aaron had to stop himself from lifting his hips to get further inside of her. However, he kept still and let, y/n slowly take more and more of him inside her. He encouraged her saying, “That’s it y/n, your doing well. You feel so good around me.” She smiled at him and after a few moments, she was mostly seated over him. She was incredibly tight, and he was impressed that she had taken his member in as deeply as she had. There was only a tiny bit of his cock exposed.

He felt her walls throb and tighten against him and he had to bite his mouth shut to stifle what he assumed was a scream of pleasure. She leaned down and took his mouth in hers, It was her turn to explore his mouth and he allowed her in easily. She was greedy with her tongue, and her breath was hot in his throat. After she pulled away for breath she assessed her comfort. Any pain that had been there when she was enveloping him had passed and she said needily, “You can move in me, Aaron. Please.” 

Aaron moaned again as he followed her command. He shifted his hips up and the feeling of his cock sliding inside her was pure bliss. It was all he had imagined and more. He started slowly, but both of them had waited and built up for the other and it was time to get their reward for their patience. Aaron built up his speed and the stream of half-contained noise that y/n made only had him quickening his pace more. As his thrusts became more urgent he felt a slight sheen of sweat covering them both. He was close, so close and he raced toward the finish. In a final desire to have him closer and deeper in her, y/n placed her full weight on his hips and leaned back, supporting herself on shaking, shuddering arms.

The final shift in position allowed him that last bit of room to fully enter her and she moaned out, “Faster Aaron. Please, I’m going to come.” At her words, Aaron placed his hands on her hips, guiding their shared movement. He thrusted even faster and only a few seconds later, y/n came undone. Her body shaked and clenched around him and that was all he needed to find his release. His seed shot out of him hot and fast and he kept thrusting a few times more chasing the high, heady organism she was giving him. They both made ungodly noises as they let go and y/n quite literally collapsed on top of him.

He held onto her closely as their shaky breaths intermixed. As Aaron regained his breath, the words came unbidden and he said, “I love you y/n. Oh god, I’ve loved you for so long. I’m sorry it took me this long to say something.” y/n was still shaking with her orgasm, but she managed to strangle out, “I love you too, Aaron. A hundred percent.” Aaron registered her words from a few months ago and he realized that she had been longing for him for that long and that he was a fool for not noticing before. 

Aaron was tired, but y/n was completely spent and he was still in her softening from his heightened state. With gentle strength, he grabbed her hips and lifted her off of his body. She made a small protestation at the loss of contact. However, he didn’t have any plans of letting her go soon. He pulled her to his chest and she settled contentedly next to him, her damp skin sticking to his. He was beginning to connect her comments about her scars to his own father's abuse. However, he didn’t have the head space for that rabbit hole right now. But he did say softly, “Do you think it’s fate that we met, y/n?”

She chuckled into his chest and replied, “That’s too cliched coming from you Aaron.” He hummed and said, “Maybe, but am I wrong?” The question hung in the air for a minute before y/n said, “Maybe not. All I know is that life can be terrible. God knows we see the worst of it, but at least you're in mine.” At this, y/n settled closer to him; listening to his heartbeat consistently thumping in his chest. Aaron held her a bit closer. He would get up eventually to get her some towels to clean her up, but for now, having her in his arms was all he ever wanted. 

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[pedroscurls]

Always Been You (Part 3).

Character(s): no-outbreak!Joel Miller x fem!Reader, young!Sarah Miller (6 y/o) Summary: As your friendship with Joel grows, he decides that it's time for you to meet Sarah. Word count: 5,090 Author's Note: This chapter was so much to write. In the next few chapters, we will slowly begin to do a time jump (definitely want more of young!joel before moving on). Anyways, as always, please enjoy!🫶 Warning: None. SERIES MASTERLIST

“You know, for someone who’s just her friend, you spend quite a lot of time with her,” Tommy said, his focus on the road as he and Joel began making their way to your coffee shop for their usual pick-me-up in the middle of the day.

It had been a few months since Joel met you and while you had established a very firm boundary with your friendship with him, Joel found it difficult to keep his feelings for you at bay. He spent a lot of his time thinking about you, talking about you, and he was always counting down the next time he was going to see you. 

But Tommy was right. Joel did spend a lot of time with you and whenever he did have any time for himself, he spent it with you. As his friendship with you grew, Joel knew that he wanted you to meet Sarah. Not only because he wanted to finally combine both important relationships in his life, but also because he believed you would be a great female role model to his six-year-old daughter. 

In fact, Sarah already knew all about you. The following morning when Joel came home, Tommy had let it slip that he had spent the night with a mysterious woman, which piqued his little girl’s interest. Ever since then, Sarah asked about you all the time and Joel was always more than willing to share the small moments he got to spend with you. 

“She’s just a friend, Tommy,” Joel replied. 

“So, if I were to ask her–”

“Don’t even think about it,” Joel interrupted. “She ain’t ready to date and even if she was–”

“You’d be the first one in line,” Tommy winked. “I’m just teasin’ you, big brother. She’s good for you, you know? Could be good for Sarah too.”

“You think so?” Joel asked. 

“I mean, Sarah knows all about her and I’m sure you talk about Sarah with her too.”

“I do,” he nodded. “I just– I don’t usually bring around new people for Sarah to meet, you know? She’s my babygirl,” Joel said with a sigh. 

“What are you afraid of?” Tommy asked. “I haven’t seen you this happy in a while and if she’s just your friend… I can only imagine how you’d be if you two were together.” 

“I guess I just don’t want Sarah to get attached. All she’s ever known is you and me.” 

“Well, you know your girl more than I do, Joel. If she meets Sarah, how do you think it’d go?” 

Joel bit his lower lip. It was something he had imagined and dreamt about all the time, especially lately. He yearned to have you over for dinner, to show Sarah where you worked and how good you were at your job, but he also wanted to spend time with you and Sarah together. His fear of you eventually leaving after developing a bond with Sarah scared him though, and while he was sure that you wouldn’t ever leave his side (or Sarah’s), it was still a terrifying thought. For so long, it had only just been him, Sarah, and Tommy. He rarely brought women around her and Tommy was respectful enough to do the same. 

But Joel knew that Sarah was getting older. She was asking more and more questions about the lack of women presence in her life and he didn’t know what to do. It was wrong of him to think that you would be the person to be that for Sarah, but a part of him believed that you would slip into that role willingly. 

“I think it’d be great,” Joel admitted. “I just don’t want her to think I’m bringing her around Sarah so that she can become her mom or somethin’, y’know what I mean?” 

Tommy stopped at a stoplight and glanced over at Joel, arching a brow. “Ain’t nobody thinkin’ that but you.”

“But what if–”

“Joel,” Tommy chuckled. “You have a good judgment on character. If you’re still stickin’ around this woman, it must mean that she’s one helluva person.” 

“I just like bein’ around her,” Joel shrugged. 

“That’s it? Nothin’ else?” Tommy began driving once the light turned green, getting closer to your coffee shop. 

Joel bit his lower lip, looking out the window and seeing your coffee shop get nearer and nearer. He felt an excitement settle in the pit of his stomach and he sat up straighter, his hands fidgeting on his lap. 

“She just makes me feel good, Tommy. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Tommy pulled up to the curb and put the truck in park, glancing over at Joel. “Bet you’re regretting those two times she tried to kiss you, huh?”

Joel rolled his eyes. “She was drunk and I ain’t the type of guy to take advantage like that.”

“Good point,” Tommy nodded. “But I bet you’ve been thinkin’ about it ever since, haven’t you?” 

Joel gently shoved him before he climbed out. “Oh, shut up. Let’s get our coffee.” 

Tommy smiled to himself and watched Joel step inside the cozy coffee shop and when he saw you sitting in the corner with several papers in front of you, he noticed Joel straighten up and run a hand through his hair before stepping up to you. 

“The usual, Joel?” Tommy called out. 

“Yeah, the usual.” 

Tommy walked to the register while Joel walked over to you. When you heard his voice, you looked up and smiled to yourself, standing up to pull him into a hug. 

“You’re always on time,” you smiled. 

Joel always loved when you pulled him into a hug first. He loved the way you curled against him, your cheek resting against his chest and your arms coming to wrap around his midsection. He smiled to himself and wrapped his arms around your waist to return the embrace, letting the seconds pass all too quickly. 

“I don’t like bein’ late,” Joel replied, pulling away from you. 

“I’ve noticed,” you laughed, taking your seat and motioning for him to sit next to you. You watched him take a seat, noticing how he was looking over the papers that were on the table. 

The pain and heartbreak you felt months ago were not as strong as they were now, but you still had your moments, but they weren’t as intense as they were when you first met Joel. You liked to believe that Joel helped you slowly get over your ex-boyfriend, but the feeling he gave you every time you talked to him or spent time with him was something that you tried so hard to ignore. You had told him that you weren’t ready to date or even get into a relationship–and it was true– but having Joel as just a friend when you thought that it could eventually be more, lingered in your mind and occupied your thoughts. 

“You’re always workin’,” he commented.

“Well, I do have a business to run,” you replied, gently nudging him with your shoulder. “You should know this. I know you and Tommy are trying to open up your construction business. Even after working hours, you’re still working.”

“Oh great, somethin’ to look forward to,” he teased, rolling his eyes. 

“How is that going, by the way?” 

Joel shrugged. “It’s hard, but I think we’re makin’ some progress.” He looked up to see Tommy talking with the cashier and she was obviously blushing from whatever Tommy had said. Joel had to chuckle to himself; he and Tommy were complete polar opposites. Tommy liked the attention, enjoyed the thrill of talking to women whereas Joel liked to keep to himself, very careful in who he wanted to talk with or let in to get a glimpse of his life. Even before Sarah, Joel had always been the more serious type. 

“You know, if you ever need any help, I’d be happy to–”

Joel interrupted. “I know, but I think we’ll be okay.”

“Stubborn,” you replied. “You’re stubborn.”

“And you ain’t?” Joel grinned.

You narrowed your eyes up at him, biting your lower lip as the side of your legs were flush against his. You noticed that you were just mere inches from him, but this was normal. To any outsider, you were sure that they would assume you and Joel were together, but you had established that you weren’t ready and that you wanted to focus solely on yourself. 

“I’m not,” you said.

“Liar,” he winked. 

“You’re calling me stubborn and a liar?” you said with a gasp, looking deeply into Joel’s deep brown eyes. “You do know that I am the owner of this coffee shop…”

“You gonna kick me out?” Joel teased, leaning closer to you. 

“Don’t tempt me,” you giggled. 

Joel chuckled and bit his lower lip, using his free hand to rub at the back of his neck. “I have somethin’ to ask you and don’t feel obligated to say yes or anythin’, but…”

You tilted your head, furrowing a brow. “What is it?” 

“Would you like to meet Sarah? It’s just–”

Your eyes widened and Joel felt the nerves settle when he saw you grin with excitement. “What? Of course. I would love to meet your little girl, Joel!” 

“Wait, really?” 

“Yes,” you smiled. “Why are you so surprised?” 

Joel shrugged, letting a quiet sigh of relief as he smiled over in your direction. “I don’t know. Guess I just got used to the women I meet not usually being comfortable with the idea of me being a young father and–”

You rolled your eyes. “Oh please. I thought we established that you were attracting the wrong kind of people.”

“Fair point,” he chuckled. “So, you would be okay with it?”

“I’d be honored, Joel. It’s obvious she’s important to you and you seem like a great dad and if you want me to meet her, well, that must mean I’m pretty special,” you winked, only teasing just a bit, but you knew that meeting Sarah was a big deal. Not only to him, but to you as well. 

“Well, you are,” Joel smiled. “Special, I mean. You’re special.” 

“You flirting with me?” you blushed. 

“That depends,” he chuckled. “You gonna flirt back?” 

Just as you were going to respond, Tommy approached the table and set down both cups of coffee, deciding to sit across from you. 

“Hey,” Tommy smiled. 

“Hi, Tommy. How’s the coffee?” you replied with a smile, turning your attention away from Joel and towards the younger Miller brother. 

“The best as always,” he winked. 

Joel let out a sigh to himself. It was just his luck that the timing was never on his side because whenever you both were so close to crossing that line, something (or someone) would break you both out of that trance. 

“Thanks, Tommy,” Joel said, taking his cup of coffee and lifting it to his lips. “Yeah, the absolute best.”

“At this rate, I should probably make two new drinks and name it after the both of you.”

Tommy smiled. “That would be awesome! Would you really do that?” 

You nodded. “How about one of these weekends, you both come on by and we can perfect the recipe?” Then, you looked over at Joel and smiled. “I’m sure Sarah would love to come too. We can make some cookies.”

Joel smiled in your direction. You hadn’t even met Sarah yet and here you were, already including her in plans. It made his heart swell and the warm feeling settled in the pit of his stomach (like always whenever he was around you). 

“I think she’d love that, darlin’.” 

Tommy sipped at his coffee, staring between the both of you with a knowing grin. “You know, tonight’s taco night. You should come by for dinner.” 

Your eyebrows shot up and then you looked over at Joel. “Oh, I do love tacos…”

Joel bit the inside of his cheek. “Tommy…” 

“What? Ain’t no harm in inviting her to dinner.”

Joel shook his head. “You don’t have to–”

“I’d love to come to dinner, Joel.” You interrupted, reaching out to rest a hand on his forearm.

Joel looked down at your hand, the feeling of your fingertips on his skin left an electrifying feeling that radiated throughout his entire body. “If you’re fine with the last minute dinner plan and if you ain’t doin’ anythin’ tonight, we’d love to have you over.” 

“Then I’ll be there.” 

Tommy grinned. “Great, let’s say seven?” 

“Seven’s perfect. Should I bring anything?”

“Just yourself,” Joel answered. 

You smiled and nodded. “Then, I’ll see you both and Sarah,” you said with a wink in Joel’s direction. “Tonight.” 

Tommy and Joel stood from the table and you followed, leaning over to give Tommy a one-armed hug before you turned your attention to Joel to wrap both of your arms around him. Joel immediately held you with both of his arms, feeling extremely excited and extremely nervous about tonight.

“I’ll see you tonight, darlin’.” 

You pulled away and nodded up at him. “I’ll see you both then. Bye, Tommy. Make sure this one doesn’t work too hard.”

Tommy smiled, playfully saluting in your direction. “Yes, ma’am.” 

Both Joel and Tommy turned on their heels, leaving the coffee shop to walk back towards their truck. Once outside, Joel gently punched Tommy’s arm, shaking his head.

“What?” he said, running a hand over his arm. “I was just tryin’ to help.”

“I had it under control,” Joel grumbled.

“You know, a thank you would be nice…”

Joel narrowed his eyes. “Thanks, Tommy.” 

“Anything for you, big brother.” 

—

“So, she’s really coming, daddy?” Sarah said, standing on her toes to watch Joel cook the meat on the stovetop. 

Joel looked down at her and smiled, picking her up and letting her rest on his hip while his free hand stirred the meat on the pan so that it would continue to brown. “She is, babygirl.” 

Sarah grinned, resting her cheek on Joel’s shoulder as she snuggled closer to him. “Do you think she’ll like me?” 

“I think she’ll love ya, honey.” 

“Should I go draw her a picture?” Sarah smiled, her eyes lighting up with excitement. 

“You know,” Joel smiled, turning his head to place a soft kiss on the crown of Sarah’s head. “I think that’s a great idea, babygirl, but can you go wash up before you do that?”

She pouted. “But why?” 

“Because,” he chuckled. “Daddy said so and because you’re a bit stinky.”

Sarah widened her eyes and gasped, looking down at herself before she wrapped her arms around Joel’s neck, giving him kisses. “Then that means you’re stinky too!” 

Joel chuckled, turning the stove off and gently tickling Sarah’s side, hearing her laughter and giggles filter the kitchen. “You’re sneaky.” 

Sarah giggled, trying to push away from her father’s tickles. Joel smiled to himself, giving her a gentle kiss before he set her down on her feet. “Go and get ready, babygirl. I still gotta finish dinner.” 

“Okay,” Sarah sighed. “If I must.” 

“Are you sure you’re six?” Joel teased.

“Almost seven!” Sarah smiled, walking out of the kitchen and towards her bedroom. 

Joel smiled to himself; while he wasn’t planning to be a father at such a young age, he wouldn’t trade it for the world. He loved being a dad, especially to Sarah. She had the better parts of him and he loved watching her accomplish all the big milestones: taking her first step, saying her first words, bringing her to school for the first time… She was growing faster than he liked, but she had always been a daddy’s little girl. They were always attached to the hip and there was a part of him that was afraid of how the dynamic would eventually change when Joel decided that he wanted to settle down. 

But then his mind drifted to you. He knew that it would come easy, slowly bringing you further into his life and having you meet Sarah would be the first step. 

Once Joel finished cooking and setting the table, he received a phone call from Tommy, letting him know that he wasn’t going to make it. He knew what his younger brother was doing, but he was too excited and nervous (at the same time) to question it. 

“All finished, Sarah?” Joel called out, walking towards Sarah’s bedroom. He stepped inside to see her curly hair completely wet and droplets of water dripping on the carpet floor. 

“All finished, daddy.” She was sitting at her small desk with a crayon in hand as she looked completely focused on the drawing. 

“Your hair, babygirl,” Joel said. He grabbed the towel that she threw on her bed and walked over to stand behind her, gently drying her hair. “You’re making your floor all wet.”

“Sorry, daddy,” Sarah said, flashing him a small grin. “I’m just too excited. Wanna see what I’m making for her?” 

“Yeah, let’s take a look.” Joel said, looking over Sarah’s shoulder. 

She looked up at him and held up the piece of a paper with a proud look on her face. Sarah had drawn a picture of you holding a cup of coffee. “I’m not finished yet, but do you like it?”

Joel smiled. “That looks amazing, baby.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “She’s gonna love it.” 

Sarah smiled, looking up at him with a sense of accomplishment. “Okay, you need to go and get ready,” she giggled. “Because you’re stinky.”

Joel chuckled, poking her side which resulted in a fit of giggles. “I’m stinky because of you.” He stood back up and looked down at her, watching Sarah go back to drawing and coloring. “I’ll be quick, babygirl.” 

“Okay, daddy. I’ll be here.” 

—

You were on your way to Joel’s house for the first time. You were nervous to meet Sarah, hoping that she would like you. Joel always talked about her and you knew how important she was to him; you wanted to make a good impression. It was obvious that Joel didn’t usually bring new people around Sarah and the fact that he wanted you to meet her meant a lot. 

Joel meant a lot to you. 

You weren’t sure how you had gotten through these last few months without him. He empowered you, always reminding you that you didn’t need Robert, that you deserved better, that a better person would come along when you were ready. The attraction and the possibility of what could be always lingered whenever you both spent time with each other. 

Joel had the ability to make you smile or laugh whenever you were having a bad day; he knew exactly what to do when you needed a pick-me-up, someone to hold you when you cried, and someone to listen to you when you voiced your insecurities. Joel was always there, like he said he would be after the night you met. 

Thinking about Robert still pained you, still brought a wave of emotions that left you a crying mess, but Joel was always there to pick up the pieces. 

Joel was always there to wipe your tears away and pull you into his arms. 

It had been the safest you felt in a very long time. 

About twenty minutes later, you climbed out of the cab and looked up at Joel’s house. It was on a culdesac, the driveway being occupied by his truck. The grass on his lawn was green and looked as if it had just been mowed, but as you stepped closer to the door, you felt the nerves settle within you. You had brought about two dozen homemade cookies and a tub of vanilla ice cream; it was your favorite dessert and you wanted to share it with Sarah. 

Plus, you also didn’t want to go to dinner empty handed. 

Finally bringing yourself up to ring the doorbell, you heard several muffled voices from behind the front door. A few seconds later, Joel opened the door, hair slightly damp, dark navy blue shirt wrinkled but tight around his arms paired with jeans, and he was barefoot. He grinned in your direction before you heard a small girl’s voice and the sound of her footsteps from behind him.

“Daddy! Is that her?” 

You couldn’t help but smile, looking past Joel’s shoulder to see Sarah in all her beauty. She was wearing a light purple t-shirt with a butterfly on it and some shorts, but what made your heart swell was the glimmer in her eyes when she looked at her dad, her thick and bouncy curls, and a smile with dimples. 

“Hey, come on in,” Joel said, helping you inside before calling out over his shoulder. “Yes, babygirl, it’s her. Come here and say hi.” 

Sarah came running towards the both of you, holding a piece of paper in both of her tiny hands. Once Joel shut the door, she looked up at you with a wide grin. 

“It’s you,” she giggled. 

“It’s me. Hi there,” you smiled, kneeling down to get to her eye level. “You must be Sarah.” 

She nodded excitedly and said your name, using her free hand to wrap around Joel’s leg. “Daddy talks a lot about you.”

“Oh, he does, does he?” you smiled, glancing up at Joel who was staring at you with a smile. “He talks a lot about you too.” 

“He does?!” Sarah smiled, looking up at her dad. “That’s nice.” 

You let out a quiet laugh and saw her eyes drift to your plate of cookies and the tub of ice cream. Joel caught on as well and scooped Sarah into his arms, making you stand up. 

“Dinner first, Sarah.”

“But she has cookies… And ice cream,” Sarah said with a pout. 

“It’s my favorite dessert,” you said. “I like to make my own ice cream sandwich.” 

Sarah’s eyes widened and looked between you and Joel. “Can we have dessert first?” 

Joel chuckled, shaking his head. “No, baby. Tacos first then dessert.” 

Sarah sighed and then looked over at you, slowly sticking her hand out. You noticed that she was holding a piece of paper and you gently took it from her, looking down at it with a big smile. 

“I drew you a picture,” she said. “Daddy says you like coffee, like him.”

“This is amazing, Sarah. I think I’m gonna put it up in my coffee shop. Front and center for everyone to see.” 

“Really?” she smiled, hope in her eyes. 

“Oh, of course,” you winked. 

Joel couldn’t help but watch you interact with Sarah; it was so natural, so easy, and didn’t feel forced at all. The same feeling that he had been experiencing whenever he was with you settled in the pit of his stomach once more, causing butterflies to flutter as he bit his lower lip to hold back the big grin that was spreading along his lips. He knew you weren’t ready to get into a relationship, to date, and your focus had been solely on loving yourself again and while Joel supported you in your journey, he couldn’t help but wonder and dream about what this could be when you were ready. 

“You’ve got such a cozy place, Joel,” you said, pulling him out of his thoughts. 

Joel smiled, one arm hooked underneath Sarah as he used his free hand to rest on your lower back, leading you towards the dining room. “Thanks, darlin’. I’ll give you a tour later.” 

“Wow, dinner and a tour? I feel special.”

Joel chuckled. “I thought we established that you already are special.”

You blushed, looking up at him. However, before you could say anything, Sarah interrupted and smiled over at you. “Daddy makes the best tacos.” 

“I love tacos,” you smiled. “So I’m excited.” 

“Can you sit next to me when we eat?” Sarah asked. 

“Of course. I’d be happy to.” 

Sarah grinned and Joel set her down on her feet. She walked over to the dining table and pulled herself up onto a chair, pointing to the one next to her. You glanced over at Joel for a silent permission and he nodded. You handed him the cookies and ice cream, watching him disappear for a moment to put the ice cream in the freezer and the cookies on the counter. 

You sat next to Sarah and looked down at her with a smile, the aroma of food invading your senses and your stomach beginning to growl. Sarah giggled, looking up at you. 

“Your tummy is hungry.” 

“I know,” you pouted playfully. “I got a little monster in there.” 

“Sometimes, I get little monsters too,” she laughed. 

“I’m glad I’m not the only one then,” you winked. “So, your daddy tells me you’re six?” 

“Almost seven,” she corrected.

“Oh, my apologies. Almost seven,” you laughed. “What do you have planned for your birthday?” 

Sarah looked up in thought, her legs dangling from the seat. “I think daddy’s gonna take me to the fair.” 

“That sounds like it’ll be fun,” you smiled. “Play some games, eat some junk food,” you teased. 

“You should come!” 

“Oh–” 

Joel walked back into the dining room, catching the tail end of the conversation as he sat across from you and Sarah. “Sarah,” he began. “She might be busy, baby. It’s okay–”

“I can make time,” you interrupted. 

Sarah grinned excitedly. “Really?”

Joel bit his lower lip. “Darlin’, you don’t–”

“I’d love to go, Joel. Besides, it’s Sarah’s birthday, right? She can decide who she wants to invite,” you winked over at her. 

“Yeah,” she said with a nod. “I can decide, daddy.” 

Joel chuckled, raising his hands in the air. “Okay, okay. I’ll let you know the details then, darlin’.”

You smiled, nodding in his direction as you saw Joel begin to serve Sarah’s plate. You watched him carefully, feeling your heart skip a beat at the sight of him. He was such a good dad and now being able to see it firsthand just made the lingering thoughts and feelings you had for him more intense. 

But you still had to keep reminding yourself that you weren’t ready yet, no matter how much you found yourself wanting nothing more than to be with Joel.

“Thank you, daddy,” Sarah grinned, sitting closer to the table to begin eating. 

Joel grabbed your plate, almost like second nature to him, as he began putting the food onto it for you. He had stopped midway to look up at you, finding that you were staring at him.

“Shoot, I’m sorry, darlin’. I’m just so used to–”

You stopped him with a gentle hand on his forearm, looking at him with a small smile. “It’s okay, Joel. I’m usually the one preparing people’s plates for them so this is a nice change of pace.”

Joel bit his lower lip. There were some things you said that he couldn’t believe; how could the people you called friends (and even partners) not treat you like the queen you were? While you both weren’t together, Joel always made sure you were taken care of, making sure to open the doors for you, always considerate of your feelings, and he just had to wonder what type of friends (and men) you were attracting. 

“Well, not here,” Joel said. “You cater to too many people, darlin’. At least let me do that for you,” he smiled. 

“You’re too good to me,” you blushed. “But thank you, Joel. I appreciate it. I appreciate you.” 

He set your plate down in front of you and began preparing his plate. After a few minutes, the three of you began to eat, hearing Sarah’s mumbling of approval that her daddy’s tacos are the best and you couldn’t help but wonder and imagine that this was something you could get used to. 

Halfway into dinner, Tommy walked into the house, making his way towards the dining table. 

“Sorry, I’m late,” Tommy said, sitting next to Joel. 

“Date cut short?” Joel teased. 

Tommy shrugged, rolling his eyes. “I’d rather not talk about it.” Then, he looked up at you, watching as you and Sarah were speaking amongst one another and he glanced at Joel with a knowing grin. He leaned over to him and whispered, “So… Looks like you’ve been havin’ a good time.”

Joel shook his head, gently shoving his brother. “Stop it. Not now.” 

“Want me to take care of Sarah for the rest of the night while you and–”

“Tommy,” he warned, a pink hue coming up across Joel’s cheeks. 

“Okay, okay. Just a friend,” he winked. “Right.”

You looked up at Tommy and smiled in his direction, giving you a nod as he began to eat. 

“Daddy, can we have dessert and sit outside in the backyard?” Sarah asked, her plate completely clean as she was leaning against you, her arm hooked around yours. 

Joel chuckled, looking over at you and back at his daughter. “How about we let Uncle Tommy finish eating and we can all head out there?” 

“Oh,” Sarah said. “I meant… If me and her can go outside while you boys stay in here.” 

You let out a quiet laugh, looking up at Joel for a moment and noticing the surprised look in his eyes. Joel knew how friendly and welcoming his daughter was, but this… Sarah was already fond of you and you had only been here for a little over an hour. 

“You know what,” Joel began. “I think that’ll be okay. Uncle Tommy can help me clean up,” he said, resting a hand on his younger brother’s shoulder to give a firm squeeze. “Ain’t that right, Tommy?” 

Tommy swallowed the contents in his mouth and nodded, looking up at Joel and turning his attention back at Sarah and back at you. “That’s right. You girls go and have fun.” 

“I can always help clean up and–” you began. 

Joel interrupted you immediately. “Nope, we got it, darlin’.”

Sarah hopped off her chair and extended her tiny hand out for you. You bit your lower lip and stood up, taking her hand. “Lead the way, Sarah.” 

Sarah grinned and led you into the kitchen. You grabbed the plate of cookies and the vanilla ice cream as she grabbed a big spoon. Then, she led you towards the backyard, skipping excitedly a few steps in front of you.

Once you and Sarah were outside, Tommy looked over at Joel and let out a laugh. “You’re in trouble, ain’t ya?” 

Joel sighed, running a hand over his face. “I think so.”

—

prev. - next.

[dragons-clause]

The Dragon's Clause

Sabo x Fem Reader CW: Forced marriage, intrigue, character death, fantasy violence, blood, magic, language, smut, 18+ mdni

Tag List: @mfreedomstuff @manachiichan

Chapter 11: Hawk Eyes

After the spar the rest of your day was largely uneventful. Hack had come to you with a time line for the engagement and wedding ceremony, and aside from being a little surprised that it was already an item for discussion, you had nothing against the parameters provided. You’d expected when you’d been sent to the palace that you weren’t going to have a say in how quickly things did, or did not go. Being asked for your opinion was already a courtesy beyond what you had expected.

You only saw the Duke during dinner, and the conversation was engaging and polite. You reassured him about the time line that Hack had brought to your attention and reiterated you didn’t have any concerns with it. He asked more questions about the sword style you used, and surprisingly offered to let you practice your magic alongside it, if you were so inclined.

Which was far easier than you trying to decide when to broach the subject.

“I’m grateful that your grace is so supportive.” You admit with a smile. “It’s a little jarring comparatively.”

The smile he gives you in return is cheerful. “You’re exceptionally skilled, holding you back for any reason would be silly. My preference is that you’re more skilled as a Guardian than a Sword, but whatever the end result is, I will not be dissatisfied.”

“Why the preference for a Guardian?” There’s no hostility in your voice. It’s hard to consciously decide what category one would fall into. It almost came down to the individual’s natural affinities. Fire could be defensive, but it was more offensive. Water and wind were versatile, but earth was almost entirely a defensive manner of magic.

Divine magic was controlled by the Empires, and anyone born with an affinity for it rarely found freedom among the masses. Advanced Divine magic couldn’t pack the searing punch of ice or lightning, but it was unmatched in utility, and the only magic that could truly heal a person. Saints, however, rarely left the holy lands of Mary Geoise, being available almost exclusively for the Celestial Dragons and no one else.

“Myself aside, I already have seven Swords in my ranks, and one decidedly overworked Guardian.” He explains nonchalantly. “We make it work, but it would be a boon to-.”

“You’re saying I could defend the northern border?” You interject, eyes wide in disbelief.

Sabo blinks. “I… yes, if you want to. I won’t force you.”

The strange feeling in your chest is certainly relief, but you don’t know what to do with it. You set your cutlery down and cover your mouth with a napkin, lowering your head. You can feel the tears coming, and there’s no time for you to leave, so you’re just trying to keep it to yourself.

“… My lady, I promise I won’t make you do anything you don’t want.” Sabo says softly, voice wrapped in compassion.

You shake your head, taking a moment to compose yourself. You might not have been able to stop the tears from falling, but you didn’t want to sound wretched when you weren’t feeling that way at all.

“My apologies, your grace, I just, have always wanted to do so.” You manage, dabbing away the tears at your eyes as the rush of emotions pass. “It’s been a stressful time since I left Lulusia, I promise I’m much better at containing my emotions than this, but this is some of the best news I’ve heard in years.”

Sabo brightens considerably. “Good then, I’m - er - happy to have been of assistance, but you needn’t guard your emotions here. Well, no, I won’t mandate you act a specific way, but you won’t displease me with a show of emotion. Stoicism may be prized among nobility, but there are only a few times when it’s useful.”

“I will keep that in mind, your grace.” You incline your head, a soft smile still on your lips. Not only was the Duke willing to let you hone your favorite skill, but he was also willing to bring you on border expeditions.

With the way things had gone since you arrived at the Duke’s estate, you were a little curious how it was that he had come to have such a wretched reputation amongst the nobility here. You couldn’t imagine it was something that he was doing on purpose, though it might be something he’s since leaned into, whatever caused it.

Sabo was, however, the first person to treat you like a human, and not a commodity, for at least a decade. You couldn’t imagine that such compassion would upset people, for nobles themselves might internalize the parameters within which they exist, but they were still human.

Sabo excused himself once the meal was done and you spent the last few moments of daylight finding something new to read in the library. Koala helped you get ready for bed, and a couple small cantrips provided you enough light to read by, at least for a little while before you turned in completely.

You wondered idly as you tucked the book away and released the motes of light, if Sabo was able to read minds. If not then the day had been quite the collection of happy accidents. The only thing that worried you was how the King would react. Sabo’s father had been very clear about how he felt about his son, and how little he had expected things to work out between you.

With things going this well, it almost felt like you were defying the crown, despite there being no effort to actually do so. It had simply been how things had gone. Sabo was pleasing to look at, and you were both similar in age. Such things were often rare in political marriages, especially when one or more people involved didn’t have much of a say in what was going on.

And neither of you had a say in this.

You wondered what kind of reaction Sterry was having to this, the smile he gave you as you left a week ago still lingering in the back of your mind. He still felt like more of a threat than the king, but it was hard to say in what way.

Something catches your attention and you scramble out of the bed and practically tumble onto the floor as you feel the slice of air barely miss you. It wasn’t magic, but the skill of the sword that cut through the air was masterful.

You cast the small motes of light you’d been using earlier to read, and then overloaded the orbs with magic in a flood. Cantrips were weak spells, and the flood caused them to burst in painfully bright ways. You hear someone snarl and use the spare second to put more distance between you and them.

You get your hand on the door knob and start to open the door when a small dagger shrieks through the air, slamming into the door with enough power to pull it from your grasp, and force it shut. The impact rattles the door and you put your back to it, facing the intruder in your room.

It’s a lithe man, wearing a wide-collared coat, and a wide-brim hat. The long fluffy feather seems a bit much, you think, for an assassin, but you hadn’t heard him enter the room, so his skills were certainly enough to make up for his tastes in hats. The sword on his back is alarmingly large, and it gives you a strange sense, like it’s less a weapon and more the burden he bears.

You put your hands in front of you, standing low. Fighting without a sword is less than ideal, but it’s better to risk injury than to accept death. You’re fast, and as Sabo had said earlier, you’re faster than expected. It might not be enough to best the man before you, but with luck it would be enough to get away from him.

“Death comes for you, and you would defy it?” He questions in a voice low, smooth and clear.

The intensity of his gaze is unsettling, as though you’re a rabbit pierced into place by a hawk, but you nod. Fists and legs tensed, waiting for the right moment to move.

“Admirable.” The sword he’s holding is smaller than the one on his back, larger than the one around his neck, and he drops into his own stance. You don’t recognize it, but there are many self-taught swordsmen who have developed their own style of fighting. He sounds like nobility, from a fallen house, or another continent maybe.

He shifts and you move, no holding back as you charge at him. The intense eyes widen just a little, whether he’s surprised by your speed, or disgusted by the risk you were taking, you couldn’t tell.

There’s almost no telegraph in his movements, he’s certainly a grand master swordsman, but you weren’t watching for anything large, the smallest shift was all you needed to prompt you, and you tumbled down onto the ground. Rolling just under the path of his blade and back on your feet just a step behind his heel.

Your hands wrapped around the cast iron fire poker and you pulled it free with such force that you sent the rest of the tools clattering against the bricks. Bracing it with your other hand you managed to block the swing that threatened to open you from chest to stomach. The weight of the blow was enough that you could feel your bones creaking under it, muscles burning from the exertion of keeping yourself upright.

“I was told I’d find a beast.” You’re not sure if he’s angry or confused, the weight coming off your impromptu weapon, and you stumble a couple steps back, putting a little distance between the two of you. He stays where he is, letting you do so.

The gap in your skills is unsettling, if he’d continued his attack you’re certain you’d be dead already.

“You’re skilled, but you’re no monster in human skin.”

The shattering of a vase in the hall causes both of you to look toward the door a split second before it freezes and shatters. You see Sabo and Hack in the doorway, and you’re fairly certain you see Koala perched up on something from across the hall.

Fire roars into the room toward your assailant, and the crack of a firearm is woven within it. The man cuts both fire and bullet, and you can barely believe what you’re seeing. There’s no marks of magic around him, but the truth of what he’s done is indisputable. Despite this, the fury from Sabo, Hack and Koala doesn’t let up. His sword cuts through their attacks, but he’s certainly being pushed back by the assault.

Sabo rushes forward, bullets and shards of ice accompanying him. The swords man aligns himself with the Duke, letting most of the accompanying attacks slip past him. There’s a strange sound as their swords clash, Sabo’s fire splitting off to either side from the other man’s blade.

Sabo roars, heat and fire rolling off him and forcing the other man back. The Duke shifts to be between you and the assailant, and the support from Hack and Koala renews with vigor. Water and ice snap through the air, keeping the other man preoccupied. You’re certain at least one of Koala’s bullets actually hit him, but he doesn’t seem to have felt it.

Sabo’s foot shifts forward, watching for an opening, but the shift of his weight seems to be enough for the swordsman, and he falls back. His movements are quick and he’s still knocking Hack’s magic aside as he leaps over the small patio, disappearing into the night.

You sit down on the bricks, sighing in relief as tension falls out of your body.

“Koala.” Sabo commands and you hear her say something in response, before you hear footfalls running down the hall. Hack was moving through the room and out the patio doors before Sabo even said his name.

Sabo kept his sword out, eyes moving around the room before he released his own motes of lights to survey the damage and look for any more signs of the assailant. Your bed was nearly cut in half, the door was gone, and there were scorch marks on the floor from Sabo’s magic, and rime in other places from Hack’s own power. Half the curtains and furniture was scorched or filled with bullets.

“Are you hurt?” Sabo questions, eyes still on the room.

“In the strictest sense I am unharmed.” You say evenly. “But certainly sore. I only blocked one strike and my whole body aches.”

Sabo relaxes, sheathing his sword and turning toward you before looking away again. “My apologies that we weren’t here faster.”

You shake your head. “Please don’t apologize, you saved my life. Though from who, or why, I don’t know.”

“Did he say anything?”

“He seemed to think I was a monster.” You murmur, and Sabo turns to look at you, confusion on his face. Looking up at him you shrug. “It would be news to me as well, your grace. I am most certainly my father’s child, and he is most certainly the King of Lulusia’s brother.”

“And… your mother?”

You shrug. “I don’t remember her, but my father spoke fondly of her, and in none of his memories did he mention she had horns, or claws, or anything of the sort.” The tension of the moment breaks for you and you laugh softly. “If she was anything, I imagine he would have called a siren. Some irresistible beauty from which he had no hope of escape, but he was like as not to fall into poetry given the chance.”

Sabo smiles. “Sounds like he loved her truly.”

You nod. “Indeed, your grace.”

He clears his throat, looking back around the room. “Mending isn’t going to save that bed.” He sighs. “I’m afraid we’ll have to see you to another room for tonight, Lady Lulusia.”

“Will you be able to handle it, your grace?” You ask teasingly even as he reaches out a hand to help you to your feet.

He presses his lips together and the motes of light seem to shift specifically to leave his face in shadow. “I will be quite alright.” He insists, stopping before he walks any further. “Er, my apologies.” He says, moving fluidly and picking you up easily.

One hand was wide against your back, the other wasn’t even touching you. He’d hooked your legs with his arm and was keeping his hand off your thigh. Your arms are crossed against your chest, and given his attempts at being considerate despite picking you up thusly, you decide to leave them there.

“Um…?”

“You’re barefoot.”

“I am.”

“There’s ice and ash on the floor, and Koala broke a vase earlier in the hall.” He explains. His words are even, but his eyes are straight ahead, and you can feel tension in his body that’s beyond just him carrying you.

“… You are far more considerate than I’d been led to believe, it seems.”

“I have a tendency to give as I’ve been given, my lady.” He says, a smile pulling at his lips as he relaxes a little. “It seems to upset people more often than not.”

Sabo ascends the stairs and carries you until he reaches a set of doors. He apologizes as he sets you onto your feet easily and opens the doors for you.

“This was going to be your room until the wedding.” He explains. “Since where you were before was a guest room.” This room was a little larger than the guest room, with space enough for afternoon tea to be had with one or two guests. There was a balcony as well, but you could feel magic on the glass unlike on the floor below.

“Quite the security.”

“Mm, security I’m going to have expanded. It was merely a precautionary measure before, and I didn’t believe anyone was skilled or foolish enough to come onto the estate grounds like this.” His brows furrow an he frowns. “Even if it does nothing but slow someone down, tonight has proven that those seconds matter.”

He clears his throat, and gives you a small bow. “I’m just down the hall, so please rest easy, Lady Lulusia.”

Sabo gets a few steps away before you call out to him. “Your grace?”

“Hm?” He turns, looking over at you.

“Thank you.”

His smile is warm, and a little shy. “It was my pleasure, my lady.”

[soft-bellied-tannies]

Chubtober Day 29!

Listen, you don’t have to tell me that today is absolutely a stretch for the prompt, but I love this idea and I’m willing to make the reach. 😂

So, hear me out. Today’s prompt from fatguarddog’s list is Android. Are there any actual androids in this story? No. But! JK uses his phone which is likely a Samsung so android…right?

—-

Jungkook and Jimin started their dynamic a little over a year ago after graduating college.

Jimin had gained his “freshman 15” throughout college and their relationship which awakened something in both of them.

Ending college at 150, but having active lifestyles and busy schedules meant that Jimin’s gain was slower yet just as enjoyable.

Jungkook was an excellent feeder. They both loved looking through forums and coming up with plans together.

Jungkook buys one of the electronic scales that connects to his phone with an app when Jimin is around 170.

Since he is a big tech guy, Jungkook figures out how to change the function on the scale to always display a number less than what Jimin actually weighed, but he could also see the actual results on his phone.

Jimin had been trying for his current goal of 200 for months and always pushes more with dinner or a stuffing when he weighs beforehand.

No matter what he does, Jimin is still under 200 every time he steps on the scale.

He’s already catching on to something being up with the scale situation, but Jimin doesn’t say anything, thinking Jungkook will admit that he’s doing something soon.

When Jungkook tries to push it farther by making the scale show that he had lost weight, Jimin finally feels that he has confirmation his partner is doing something with the scale.

Jimin’s not a tech guy at all so he doesn’t know how Jungkook is doing it, but he’s certain that has he rigged it up somehow.

Jimin obviously wants to gain so he doesn’t care that it obviously has encouraged his gain.

However, Jimin did have a surprise for Jungkook at his 200 goal that involved special lingerie he bought and he’s going to be pissed if it doesn’t fit because of his extra unknown gaining.

Jungkook is away the next weekend for a bachelor party so Jimin buys his own scale to see just how far over his 200 goal he is, certain that he hadn’t lost weight with the way he had picked up his eating lately.

Jimin tests the scale they’ve been using and gets 193, unsurprising as he’s been fluctuating between 185-195 for at least two months according to that scale when he feels like his weight is steadily going up.

Then Jimin gets out the new traditional scale he bought, assuming the number will be higher.

He is in absolute shock when it says 223 meaning Jungkook has managed to ‘hide’ over 30 pounds from him.

Jimin thought he was just going to be a few pounds over 200, maybe 205-210 at the most.

He isn’t mad in the slightest because he’s feeling both proud and turned on by 223.

However, he also thinks that Jungkook most know his actual weight since he’s the one messing with the scale.

Jimin decides he needs to get back at him.

When Jungkook gets home, Jimin decides to ask for a big dinner to absolutely stuff himself as a welcome back - ordering a massive takeout order with his favorite dessert.

He also asks to weigh in before the meal as they occasionally liked to see how much Jimin ate by weighing before and after.

Jimin uses their normal scale and it again says 193, putting on his normal pouting act that he will never hit 200 at this point.

Jungkook comforts him and takes them back to the living room to have a massive meal.

Jimin does push himself to make his point even better and eats more than he ever has, needing help up to go weigh himself after the meal.

Jungkook gets their scale out, but Jimin stops him.

“Wait, let’s try my new one.”

Jungkook panics internally as Jimin pulls out a scale he has never seen and proceeds to step on it, seeing 227.5 light up the screen.

Jimin thinks to himself that 4-5 pounds of food is impressive since he knows his real starting weight before dinner and uses that energy as he puts on another act with Jungkook.

“Oh my god, that’s impossible. I’ve never eaten that much in my life, but there’s no way I ate 30 pounds of food…unless…”

JK immediately knows his little game is up and is ready to grovel.

“Baby, listen, I can explain.”

“Oh, you better. You are in trouble.”

Jimin’s ‘punishment’ for Jungkook is that Jimin is still going to wear his fancy lingerie and eat a huge tray of desserts like he planned.

However, instead of letting Jungkook hand feed him or even tie Jimin up like he planned for 200, Jungkook is now the one who has to sit across from Jimin with his hands tied up, unable to touch or feed Jimin throughout the entire night.

Jungkook learns to never tamper with anything in their house again, quickly learning of the mean streak in his typically soft and sweet Jimin.

Also, when Jimin hits 250, the reward of being the one to feed and pamper his beautiful baby in celebration is much better than any punishment could ever be.

[nutmeginlinkeduniverse]

Had an idea so I’m going to put it here;

POLY MALON/TIME/READER

Imagine when Time goes off to join the chain, Malon’s suddenly lost some of her help for the farm so she hires you but then ends up falling in love.

GENDER NEUTRAL READER

HOW YOU MEET MALON

It started off easy.

The workload had increased a little but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle alone. Her father had opened a store in town and now spent most of his days there. But it wasn’t like she was lonely or anything no.

She’d spent her entire life without the help of the Hero of Time, she could easily handle a few weeks running the farm without him while he saved all of Hyrule.

At least that’s what she thought.

But then the weeks began to stretch on and then they turned into months. Winter into Spring. Frosty branches began to thaw before her eyes, and the animals started growing more needy.

After several weeks of being absolutely unable to sit down, she knew she had to ask for help.

Her father was more than open to the idea, already having a few ideas about how he could get her some help from his old friend. But of course, as soon as Link hears about Ingo’s potential involvement he shuts this down instantly.

He does want her to have some help though, he’s not a monster, and does feel somewhat guilty for being away so often.

So he proposes sending out flyers.

Just so happens you were looking for a job at the same time, so when you hear about a ranch asking for help, and perfectly willing to provide lodging, you take the offer up at once.

The interview takes place at 9, so you show up in all your best clothing.

Only to find the prettiest woman you’ve ever seen holding out a cup of tea whilst she guides you to sit down at her dining table.

It goes incredibly smoothly, and despite your nerves you find yourself laughing and joking easily with the woman who introduces herself as Malon, begging you not to call her Missus (coz it makes her sound old)

Suffice to say you ace it.

But you also notice something off, especially in the way Malon waves goodbye to you. Though you can’t quite put your finger on it.

You move in the next day, taking a cozy little attic bedroom with all the comforts you could want.

You’re eager to get started, but Malon seems hesitant, mostly just getting you to do some cleaning around the house.

You do manage to cooerce her into letting you cook dinner though. (I imagine you make Mac and Cheese but you can make whatever you want of course) You honestly were not anticipating her reaction, as she seems to pile praise upon you.

The next few days follow roughly the same pattern, with you cleaning the house and then making dinner. During the entire time, you observe Malon quite a bit, watching in alarm as she seems to get more and more sluggish as time goes on.

However nothing comes off it until a few more days later.

You finally get to help in the barn, sweeping up some hay as Malon milks the cows. It’s peaceful, but oddly quiet, and you can’t but have this pit in your stomach as you see Malon pottering about in the corner of your eye. You can’t quite put your finger on it though.

Well at least you can’t until you see Malon collapse face first into the ground.

It sends a jolt of panic through your heart.

You go running over, turning her over and checking her breathing while supporting her head.

She’s definitely running a fever, seemingly incoherent and somewhat unaware. You decide to carry her back to the house, and lay her down in the bed.

Cue you running practically the entire farm whilst you take care of her. For the non farm competent amongst us, there are some books about farming in the house which you basically use as instruction manuals.

It’s exhausting work, and you somewhat empathise with how Malon got sick now.

Fortunately for your sanity, she isn’t sick for too long, some good old fashioned bedrest seeming to be exactly the cure for all her ailments and she’s soon enough raring to go again.

Tragically for her, she gave you quite a scare, and there is no way in hell you are allowing her to escape the bed until you’re absolutely sure that she’s okay.

She is absolutely full of praises for you, and incredibly grateful for what you’ve done.

It takes you quite some time to properly insist that she doesn’t have to practically kiss your feet for you to understand she is thankful.

Once you do however, the two of you begin to fall into a natural rhythm of who does what around the ranch. You even end up entirely taking over the farm’s vegetable patch, and tending to it every day.

She honestly doesn’t mind at all, loving to watch you amongst all the plants each day as you carry the watering can back and forth, dirt on your knees from kneeling in the ground to remove pesky weeds from the plants base.

After the long days work, you often cook dinner, seeing as she makes breakfast; and then the two of you often sit in the living room and chat with a cup of tea whilst you do your respective activities.

Typically it’s embroidery for her, but she isn’t against the occasional crochet.

Mostly she loves it when you talk and tell stories of your life before the two of you met, loving the way your hands move and you get so animated.

All things considered it does not take her long to realise that she loves you. That she wants you to stay on the ranch, long after Link comes back.

That’s right, even as her love for you grows, she doesn’t lose her love for Link. In fact, it makes her blush and squeal at night to think of a life where she can have the both of you.

She’ll do anything for that life she thinks.

Before it can happen though, you have to meet Link.

Fortunately for her sanity, it doesn’t take long for a portal to dump her dreams into her lap. (She thinks it’s a miracle, but in reality I the mythical portal maker, find the whole scenario adorable and so am definitely rooting for this)

MEETING TIME

All things considered it does take a while for you to meet the husband of your employer.

When you do though, it isn’t exactly what you expected. There is no man in a business suit coming over to shake your hand, though considering the way you met Malon you weren’t exactly sure what you thought.

Especially by the time you did meet him, Malon had told you enough embarrassing stories to shatter the original perceptions of the Hero of Time.

So when you hear Malon yell, you grab a sword from nearby and go rushing out.

Only to find her wrapped up in the arms of an armoured man, with several other heavily armed strangers hanging around.

You aren’t stupid however, and Malon has told you where her husband has been while you’ve worked for her. So you approach with minimal caution, but do keep your hand on the sword.

Malon spots you and pulls you over to meet Time in front of all the boys.

Your greeting is a little awkward, especially as it is very obvious that he is sizing you up.

Eventually, after all the introductions are done, you eventually head inside the house to offer everyone refreshments, while Malon drags Time away to have a bit more of a private chat.

When Malon comes back in, you discuss sleeping arrangements before the boys all offer to help with you and Malon’s chores.

Sky and Hyrule come to help you with the vegetable patch. Or at least they try, before getting shooed away by Time, so he can have a chat with you.

It’s nerve wracking, particuarly as this man is still fully decked out in armour and definitely does not have his wife’s comforting demeanour. But you quickly realise he just wants to know about Malon. You gladly tell him about her, how she misses him and how she’s been doing.

He thanks you for your help and for taking such good care of her whilst he’s away.

He seems sad at this, so you decide to ask him how he is. And though he’s surprised, he does open up to you slightly, and the two of you chat well into the afternoon.

Malon comes out of the house, and invites you back inside for dinner.

He bids you goodbye, before heading to the barn to inform the rest of the boys.

Malon does not miss the faint blush on your cheeks as you say hi to her before heading inside to clean the mud off of yourself. You do miss her smile, at the sight of you interacting with her husband.

She honestly thinks there could not have been a more perfect sight than the two of you interacting.

Dinner with the boys goes wonderfully, though she does take extra care to ensure you and Time are seated close together.

It’s perhaps not the most sane thing to do, especially since this is the first time she’s seeing her husband in months, but she thinks it’s absolutely worth it.

She’s rewarded for her meddling by the sight of you wiping crumbs off of Time’s cheek, and his face igniting with the perfect combination of pink and red blush as well as his stammering out a thank you.

After this little interaction, he looks over at her, seeming worried before catching sight of her beam and relaxing.

She knows she’s got to chat with him about this, before he falls for you the way that she did.

It’s what she wants him to do, but knowing her husband, he’s going to have major anxiety about it, unless she nips it in the bud. It can wait a little though, and she spends the next day forcing the two of you together, rejoicing in both of your blushes.

After everyone’s gone to bed, she pulls Time onto the sofa to talk with him. The two of them have a long chat, before she eventually admits that she wants his permission to date you.

He’s shocked but agrees, before she launches into the actual bombshell.

“And you know, sweetie, if you want to date them too, I wouldn’t be opposed to a threeway marriage.”

He goes completely red, and several minutes tick by before he’s able to form coherent thought again and even longer before he’s able to make a tangible sound with his mouth again.

Malon understands though, and places a hand over his before telling him that there’s no rush, that he may take as long as he needs.

He’s definitely not opposed to it, that’s for certain.

But he decides to get to know you first.

GETTING TOGETHER

Obviously it’s Malon who approaches you first.

She knows about the arrangement with her husband, but you remain blissfully unaware.

Due to her excitement, she kinda also forgets to tell you, meaning that when she does eventually approach you with her romantic words, you stammer out an apology and flee.

It makes for quite the miserable few days, as she takes it as rejection and you struggle with the concept that a married woman has basically asked you to have an affair with her. (or so you think)

Fortunately you’re a decent person, so after a few days in agony, you make the ultimate decision to write Time.

Did I forget to mention that you and he have become pen pals over the past few weeks since he left?

Well you have, exchanging thoughts about the ranch and your vegetable patch, and his adventures. He’s surprisingly really easy to write to, always really prompt and while not the most forthcoming with information, the exchange never fails to make either of you smile.

You write about Malon in it’s own letter, sending it off and going back to the now silent house.

It takes several more days of glances and pining before Time’s reply arrives.

It’s quite the tense moment as you take the letter and rush into the vegetable patch with it.

Turns out Time quickly figured out that Malon forgot to tell you about his acceptance and even eagerness towards the situation, so he doesn’t hesitate to assuage your fears. (He does of course leave out her hopes that you and he will eventually have the same relationship)

After reading the letter, you rush into the barn to find Malon. She sees you standing in a state of mild distress, as you try to find the words for her, and immediately throws her pitchfork aside, frantically running over to you.

You say nothing as she calls out, but after a few moments place your arms around her and capture her lips in a kiss.

She absolutely melts into it, wrapping her arms around your waist and neck.

When the two of you part, you collapse into her, apologising over and over, before she eventually guides you outside to the bench, where she takes great pains to dry your tears.

When you manage to regain your breath enough, you only produce the letter from Time and hand it to her. She’s only reading for a few minutes before her face falls, and she smacks a hand against her forehead before you begin giggling. You can’t feel too bad though, as she quickly joins your laughter.

It’s not the cleanest start to a relationship ever, but the two of you wouldn’t change it for the world.

Fortunately for both of your hearts, the rest of the relationship proceeds to fall into place rather smoothly.

Not much changes in all honesty, except of course for the fact that the two of you find ways to incorporate te casual touches into your working day.

Oh and you stop receiving wages, as she now adds you to be one of the business owners.

The few other times that Time and the boys come back, you expect that she’ll stop with the touches, but instead she seems to almost ramp them up in front of Time. You have to admit that you’re slightly baffled, but when you ask, she just laughs and changes the subject, or kisses you until you don’t ask silly questions.

And it definitely becomes a silly question.

You see, the pen pal situation hasn’t stopped since you and Malon started dating. In fact, it wouldn’t be far fetched to claim that it had increased.

Time’s confession does of course come eventually, but you’re expecting it. You watch as he stammers through his self deprecation before “And I’d really appreciate it, if you’d consider dating me as well… if you’re open of course.”

He can hardly look you in the eye during the whole thing.

You don’t respond, instead reaching up and pulling him down to your level to kiss him.

It’s perfect, and the next day the three of you make the trip into the local town to ask the carpenter to make a bigger bed.

HOPE YOU ENJOYED!

Feel free to hit the ask button if you’ve got a burning idea and want me to write for you :)

As a final word, I want to thank @luimagines for inspiring me to write in this form. I love your work!

[sab-teraa]

Tye Talks: A Diary Entry

(22/02/24 || 22:58 pm)

Good evening friends, I hope you are all well and having a lovely Thursday! Just one more day till the weekend! Yay <3

Inspired by the lovely @the-winds-of-destiny-xxx , I've decided to start blogging about my day. Hopefully, I will be able to stay up to date lol.

Work

Ugh, I've been up since 5am prepping myself to deliver my second lecture of the semester. It went well, kinda. The students were super interactive which is great. Application + practicality > regurgitating information. They did super well. Also, we have a new HoD, and while I really liked our previous heads, the new HoD is a breath of fresh air and I really enjoy their approach towards education.

My full-time job is actually soooo … atm. My colleague has resigned which is all cool and I wish her the best.

But, there’s a trend I’ve noticed recently within our organization … and I hope it does not present any problems in the future. Tbh, I think it has presented a problem before … but idk. Anyway, constructive criticism goes a long long way … only if you’re keen and willing to learn …. which this person defo is NOT.

Enough about my colleagues, the CEO presented me with an opportunity but I'm lowkey nervous .. bc I prefer being a private + somewhat anonymous person lol, but I obviously said yes. Let's see how it goes, anything can happen and this whole project might fall through. Especially in this economy.

All in all, I really love my job and the career path I’ve taken. I hope it does not backfire on me later on in life.

Uni

Gosh. Uni is the bane of my existence atm. Tho, i did make a bit of progress on my thesis today. I know exactly what I need to do, but I just don't have the motivation to it. But, I think I've finally got myself together .. so let's see what happens.

Also, I'm so grateful for my thesis supervisor <3 she is so understanding and supportive.

Health

Is this tmi? Maybe? Apologies if so?

But, my nose and throat have been KILLING me recently? Idk if it’s bc of the fan or what … but yup. Thank god for cloves! They’ve helped wayyyy more than anything else I’ve tried lol. Also, my pms is really starting to hit 😭😭 I’ve been in soooo much pain since I got back home.

My mentally, I’m doing okay … there’s obvs moments in the day where I’m like shit?? I’m an adult adult?? Yet my life feels so stagnant 😂 but then I try to keep it moving and not think so much about what I want … and I try to focus on what I do have…. bc I’ve done my best.

Fun and mundane

I finally got to go to my first gym class of the week - I really needed that! The housewives from my class invited me for smoothies afterwards … and they are so fun! Are they my mums age mates? Yes 😂😂 but I loved hanging out with them .. they truly live in their own bubble .. I wanna be exactly like them when I’m older lol.

Oh Oh! And I finally finished the second season of Al Rawabi School for Girls ... flip, it truly broke my heart. What an amazing show.

I really wanted to start the new season of Real Housewives of Durban … but the new Showmax app is truly YUCK! I have the ick 🫠🫠 but, I love the show waaaaay too much, so I’d probs get over it soon lol.

Other than gym and catching up on tv, I made a delicious lasagna for dinner. I'm convinced that my homemade meat sauce and cheese sauce remains undefeated, or maybe that's just me being cocky lol. If I had more space, I would have defo attempted to make the pasta too.

I'm super excited for this weekend bc my friends and I are going to this art and music event and getting food afterwards. I also really wanna buy that duvet set I saw online ... since I'm no longer purchasing an apartment (recession boo boo boo 🍅🍅🍅), I may as well just re-do my current apartment lol. It already looks great, but I've been putting off getting a new duvet set bc I presumed I was gonna buy a bigger bed lol... so I've just been rotating between the two sets I have ... and damn they've seen better days lol.

Relationships

After all he has been through, my brother finally has some great things happening. I am so proud of him. I know he will achieve everything he aspires to <3 This has also done wonders for his self-confidence, he truly needed this, and I hope ... I really hope that it stays on this positive track.

Positive family news aside, idk if anyone saw the post about my uncle? But god damn I'm annoyed af. (Side note: He is my mums cousin btw; but my entire family is close). Anyway, my uncle called my mum to rant … and according to my mum he was sooooo proud of what he said to his wife??? I’m just disgusted. Idk how. His wife could forgive him for this. I’m so glad my mum put him in his place ✋🏽✋🏽✋🏽

I know its not about me and I have no right to speak on other people's relationships, but I hate seeing people put their all into a relationship and even go against their own family to be with someone ... only for their partner to treat them like this. His wife deserves soooooo much better and its sooo heartbreaking that she has to go through. My heart truly breaks for her. I pray everything works out for her.

Conclusion

Anywho … if you made it this far! Thank you for reading my ramblings <3 wishing you a lovely day! Stay safe babes 😘

[rodeoxqueen]

High Fidelity

Dante/F!Reader

Chapter 1: Top Five Most Repeatable Albums

Summary:

You were a record shop owner in Fortuna that was fed up with the world a little in your thirties already. You had sworn off love after the broken engagement of your now ex-fiancé and despite the immense heartbreak you were happy as you were now (or so you like to you think), in your tiny record shop that crooned what you deemed superior music and your two strange coworkers Nico and Nero who grew on you. Life was simple, going to shows and listing your top fives of everything music-related: best albums, best stage presence, best comebacks, the list goes on. But when a certain red-jacketed devil is practically thrown through the window of your store, you soon might reconsider everything. Will love succeed again, or will you add Dante to your list of top five hearbreaks of all time?

It was tense in the room of your apartment, the day Rob, your ex-fiance left. 

“Please, don’t go, let’s talk about this. You promised we would always talk about it.” You’re in his way from the door, eyes filled with tears and voice breaking. You’re trying not to lose your dignity but you feel like you’re going fucking crazy. 

“I don’t think we can fix this, (Y/N).” Rob says, already packed and ready to leave your life forever. 

Two years. You were together for two years. You wanted everything to do with him. Now he doesn’t even want to look at you. 

“I’m sorry. I have to go. My flight’s soon.” 

There’s no love in his eyes and this lump in your throat has to be your pride leaving your body, begging him not to go. 

Every happy memory you have with him left the door with his bags. 

You’re sobbing with all you got, heaving breaths as you walk away from the shut door. Your face in your hands, you find it in yourself to sit on the couch, the one opposite you Rob’s. Matching colors. Red and blue. 

An IKEA date after you two moved in together a year into the relationship. 

Your chest just hurts and you don’t know how this will get better. 

Several months later, it did get better. Only a little bit. They do say it’s not healing if you’re isolating yourself from every possible conflict and confrontation, but who the fuck is they? 

You stopped talking to Rob’s friends, you were only friends because you were dating Rob anyways. So there went most of your social life. 

It didn’t matter, they were all snobby influencers and people who acted like butter wouldn’t melt in their mouth. 

In the few months after post-Rob, or what Nico called it, you eliminated a lot out of your routine that would bring change to your comfort. 

You didn’t really go out, you went about your life just focusing on your record shop: Fortuna Vinyls. 

Speaking of which, you’d have to go soon, having to leave your bed that you learned to get used to sleeping alone in. A few more minutes of self-loathing wouldn’t hurt. 

The morning light flooded the apartment when you opened the curtains in your bedroom. Rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you put on your usual outfit of a worn out band tee and comfortable pants. 

Finished with brushing your teeth, you decided to forgo any makeup, not willing to make the effort on this Monday morning. 

Durand Jones and The Indications’ “Is It Any Wonder?”  played in your headphones as you made yourself a coffee to get going, forgoing the usual breakfast of cereal and milk due to lack of time. Okay, maybe more than a few minutes of self-loathing. The bed was just really comfortable today. 

Your green sweater that used to be your dad’s? Check. 

Sneakers on? Yes. 

Phone? Keys? Wallet? Triple check. 

You locked your door and stepped into the Fortuna morning. You hadn’t had the intention of living in a small city like this, with these religious fanatics, but property tax was low and business was decent here. 

As long as it gave you a roof over your head and a nice dinner with yourself once and a while, you barely found the need to complain. 

The walk to work wasn’t too far, just a couple blocks and a corner store away. You decided it wouldn’t be too late to grab a bagel from the bodega. 

Bagel in hand after a transaction from the owner’s son who really shouldn’t be wearing a durag, you took to your route. 

People walked past you, seldom acknowledging you unless it was to move around you while they went the opposite way. 

That’s why you enjoyed wearing sunglasses, you could see everyone but no one knew where you were looking. 

You switched the song previously playing to Yaya Bey’s “meet me in brooklyn.” 

Fortuna Vinyls’ sign was still on, meaning either Nero and Nico forgot to turn it off while closing last night. You sighed. 

Anyways, you unlocked the door and turned on all the lights. Dark to fully lit, you basked in your store. 

Rows of vinyls on the left, tapes and CDs in the corners, and a few record players scattered around the store, your office in the back and check out counter to your right, the store was covered in posters that you also sold, except for the signed MTV Unplugged Nirvana poster you got from god knows how long. 

You loved this store, in its red-bricked glory. You didn’t even care that someone tagged your window with paint pens, it kind of added to the vintage appeal. 

Bagel and coffee on your desk in your office, you turned off your headphones and flipped through some vinyls you kept on the table. 

“I guess this one will do for today.” Aretha Franklin’s Young, Gifted, and Black was one of your personal favorites, with her sweet voice and pretty lyrics. 

You placed it on the record player, gingerly placing the needle at the edge of the vinyl. It played through the speakers as you went about your checklist, trying to figure out what needed to be done this week before your only two employees came in. 

Nico and Nero were a package deal, either they showed up together or Nico would show up late and she was Nero’s only form of transportation from his and his girlfriend Kyrie’s flat, meaning sometimes Nero would show up even later, having lived the farthest away. 

The two showed up one day when you were in desperate need of workers and you just called it good with them. Despite their many unprofessional behaviors, they still got the job done. Even though you’re pretty sure they sometimes show up after just smoking a joint. 

You paid them to show up at least. 

Sitting in your office, you watched people walk around through the big window of your office to the big display window of the store. You weren’t open just yet, and you figured some peace would be nice before Nico came in reeking of cigarettes. 

Speaking of the devil, the door was opened and the bell chimed. 

Nero came in first, Nico following close behind. 

“Turn this whack shit off and let’s play my Monday playlist!” 

“Come on, Eileen” replaced Aretha Franklin belting out a tune and you rolled your eyes at the overly cheery song. 

“Come on, boss!” Nico cackled as she danced in front of your office window, wearing her usual white tank top that sometimes flashed customers and her signature work pants cut into shorts. Her cowboy boots clicked against the linoleum as she did a spin, trying to get Nero involved. 

He shook his head, sipping his energy drink. 

“Forget you then!” 

“Turn it off!” You yell as Nico cranked up the volume, practically bass-boosting the store and disturbing a few passerbys. 

Nero hears your plea and shuts off the speakers. Nico scoffed, scuffing her heel as she walked off, looking at the pile of new vinyls she had to put the prices on. 

Work went by pleasantly after, a few customers bought some limited edition vinyls for Five Finger Death Punch and Billie Ellish. 

You actually had time to eat today, sharing lunch of ramen with the two youngsters. It brought you back to your college days, eating ramen in your shitty dorm. 

Everything was going good until one very pissed off customer came in trying to buy that one Dolly Parton album Nico loved. 

….Which she refused to sell to anyone and made a big stink about it every time. 

“This is the third time I’ve come this week and you still won’t sell this to me!” 

“Mmmhmm, I have my reasons.” Nico scoffed, checking her nails over the counter. 

“Why? And give me a real reason this time.” Nico looked at the man up and down. 

“Because you suck.” 

“Why you-” 

You stopped the tirade, leaving your office and sighing. 

“What’s the problem this time?” 

“She won’t sell me this album!” 

“Nico, come on, just sell ‘Coat of Many Colors’ to this man.” Nico put her hand on her chest, offended. 

“Sell this album to a washed out business man who won’t understand the complexities of her first album?! (Y/N)-” 

She never finished her sentence when your window shattered as a man was thrown through it. 

What the hell?