#which i can work w until august

[perfectlyoongi]

today was my day off so i didn't do anything for the !BTS series, but u can expect the new one to start tomorrow ♡

[marcmorrigan]

Released to [REDACTED]. SPK 02-04-10 6:45 PM

also released:

3 - One (1) sealed bag s/c cigarettes & lighter which were found in right exterior vest pocket of unnamed male accomplice.

4 - One (1) sealed bag s/c polaroid photo which was found in left interior vest pocket of unnamed male accomplice.

Note: victim posthumously identified as one Mail Jeevas, DOB 02/01/1990 (aged 19yrs at time of death). Request that Gevanni update documentation accordingly. - N

always thinking about the polaroids matt and mello didnt get to take + the amount of clean up and paperwork near and the SPK probably had to do after they seized all the kira case files from 'L'... also like. do you think near had to identify matts body. who else was there that couldve done it. anyway whatever teehee <3

+ 'clean'(er) version without all the scratches and stuff:

[asahicore]

cherry pits - psh (m)

this work contains smut - minors please do not interact

pairing. dad!sunghoon x fem!reader

synopsis. Your alarmingly empty bank account forces you to find a last-minute summer job so that you can afford a trip with your friends. The extremely handsome customer that comes into the store just happens to be a young single dad who's renovating the old house next to yours. The tension that settles between the two of you as you start helping him fix up his house soon becomes unbearable, but it's all one-sided anyway, right?

(Spoiler: wrong.)

genre. DILF AUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!, neighbors au, s2l, summer au, slight age gap (reader is 21 and hoon 26), reader is so down bad over sunghoon its actually crazy but also extremely relatable cause this is sunghoon we're talking about, fluff and smut, sex gets freakyyy ngl

word count. 12.9k

a/n. hey sisters had no time to write anything this week so i am coming back (everybody boos) with a repost yayyy!!! i actually love this story idkw i just find it fun so i hope you guys will enjoy rereading / reading it !!!! as always let me know ur thoughts.. even if they're just incomprehensible screaming (bad or good).. im happy w anything ok bye!!!

You’ve always wondered about the ratio of cherry to pit. Such a big pit for so little flesh, isn’t it? Yet that’s never stopped you from biting into the small fruit, eating what you could and spitting out the unwanted part. You actually rather enjoy this whole process. Bite, eat, spit. You could repeat this with huge bowls of cherries at a time until they upset your stomach and you had to stop for your own good.

Bite, eat, spit is exactly what you’re doing when, with a trembling finger, you finally brave to open your banking app and check your balance. It’s the beginning of summer, and after two semesters of intense studying and too-much-coffee drinking, you think you deserve three long months of doing nothing but hanging out in your childhood bedroom and eating the food your parents buy and make. You’re especially looking forward to the vacation in Mexico you have planned with your friends at the end of August.

One look at your bank account and your dreams of white beaches and seas so blue you couldn’t tell them apart from the sky shatter around you, the sad, low numbers on the screen sneering at you mockingly. You were sure you had saved enough money from part-time jobs and generous relatives, but now you regret all of those night-outs and lazy takeaways. If you had cut down on those, maybe you wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of finding a summer job at the last minute, which you would definitely have to do if you wanted to eat something on that dear beach of yours and not just starve to death under the glaring sun.

That was it - tomorrow, you’d go and get a job. Today, however, you’d enjoy your last day of respite and eat some more cherries, or maybe make some jam and a pie so your parents wouldn’t chide you for eating them all, and then go pick some more from the three trees in your backyard. You’d sit outside, enjoying the warmth of the sun while you read or, if you couldn’t be asked, while you listened to the bustle of the old and worn-down house next door being renovated. You’re surprised someone had the courage to buy it and give it a new life, but you assume that’s the kind of courage that comes with having time and money. 

Yesterday night, you’d heard a little girl playing outside until her mom called her in saying it was time to go, so you made up a story of your neighbors being newlyweds that had decided they’d had enough of the city and wanted to raise their daughter in a calmer town far from busy streets and loud honks. You could bring them some cherries, maybe in jam or pie form, as a housewarming gift.

Unfortunately, the day passed and you were too busy doing nothing to actually get around to baking, so you decided to do nothing some more and then go to bed, needing rest before your big job hunt.

You’d gravely overestimated the amount of job opportunities in your small hometown, only receiving apologetic looks from the store owners as they tell you they don’t need any help, or worse, already have someone. Damn those 16-year-olds who only get summer jobs so they can blow their whole pay in a couple weeks before school starts again. You, on the other hand, need that money for important things, like sipping on a cocktail at a bar with a seaview.

The local hardware store next to the train station is your saving grace. It looks quite small from the outside, but once you step inside, rows of lamps and mirrors in all shapes and sizes along with all kinds of household needs welcome you, followed by a section for gardening and pet caretaking. The basement is where all the paints and brushes were, as well as the more technical (technical to you, at least) products, like bolts and tools or kitchen and bathroom appliances.

A lot of people undertake renovations in their homes during their free time in the summer, so it’s important for the store to have their experts helping out customers in their dedicated aisles rather than working behind the till and restocking the shelves, which is what you will be doing for the next two months. The pay is slightly above minimum wage and with twenty-one hours of work a week, you’ll earn more than enough to enjoy your vacation. You start tomorrow.

Your co-workers are happy to welcome a new face into their team. They’re nice even if they have the tendency to drone on about different types of tools and the importance of choosing the right brush for the surface you’re painting, which you don’t particularly care about, but you think you might as well learn as much as you can during your time here; it might always come in handy later.

As you expected, it isn’t the most stimulating job ever, but you aren’t bored out of your mind either. You make small talk with customers as they explain their purchases, some more defensively than others, even if you didn’t ask. You make sure to restock the shelves correctly and sometimes ask for help when you feel your arms giving out after hours of carrying heavy stuff. When no one’s in, you like to rearrange the cute bathroom decorations so that they make a little rainbow of toothbrush and soap holders.

You were daydreaming about what you would do with your friends in Mexico and all the cherries you could eat there when a man so handsome you thought he was a part of your dream walks in. He doesn’t notice (or maybe he just ignores it, you’re not sure) your gawking and smiles at you, saying “hello” before turning his attention to the map which details where everything is stored at the entrance of the shop. You manage a small “h-hello” back that probably doesn’t even reach his ears, and you curse yourself for doing a poor job of greeting a customer just because said customer looks like he’s been pushed from the heavens above onto this unworthy earth by the other angels who were jealous of his beauty. 

You stay put behind the counter the whole time he’s there to avoid the potential embarrassment of running into him in a random aisle and making a fool of yourself. There isn’t much to do anyway, so you rearrange the organic protein bars and chewing-gum at the counter and count all the money in the cash register to distract yourself. He doesn’t spend a very long time browsing and after twenty minutes, you see him approach with a cart full of the biggest cans of paint the store offers. It’s mostly white paint, but there are some browns and grays, and one of pink as well.

You thank God for those twenty minutes because they allowed you to get a hold of yourself so that you didn’t gape at him like a dead fish instead of scanning his articles, which is what you are very professionally and expertly doing. “That’s a lot of paint,” you comment lightheartedly, partly just to prove to yourself that you can also speak in front of this man.

“I know,” he chuckles, and it seems unfair that his voice should be just as attractive as his face. “The previous owners of the house I just bought had terrible taste in wallpaper and wall colors, so I have to repaint basically the whole house. Everything has to go, really. The floors, the furniture, the lights.”

“Sounds like you’re going to have a busy summer. That’ll be $132.76, please.”

“I’ll pay by card,” he says as he brings his wallet out from his back pocket and inserts his card into the reader, which allows you to look freely at his tanned arms and the veins that protrude here and there. He can’t be older than thirty, so there’s probably not that much of an age difference between the two of you, but damn does he look more mature in the sexiest way possible than all of the male college students you’re used to seeing on a daily basis. If anything, he reminds you of the hot young Linguistics professor your whole department likes to drool over. 

The beep of the payment being accepted snaps you out of your daze. “And yeah, it’ll sure be a busy summer. I’ll need a lot of stuff from here, so you might have to get used to seeing me around,” he says with a smile that makes your heart skip a beat. There’s no way this walking Greek god of a man is actually flirting with you, but the glint in his eyes tells you it wasn’t just an off-hand comment.

“I could get used to that,” you surprise yourself by replying confidently, your smile mirroring his as pretty dimples appear on each side of his face.

You hand him the receipt and notice his eyes flickering down to your name tag before trapping yours in his gaze once again. You don’t think you ever want to look away. “I’ll see you around, Y/N,” he says and walks out with his cart and his tons of paint before you can say anything, lest ask his name, except for “see you.”

You take a deep breath in and another out when he’s out of sight, trying to calm your racing heart. You can’t wait to rave to the girls’ group chat about this, but one of your coworkers calls you for help and you have to put the handsome stranger to the back of your mind for a while.

—

That weekend, your parents ask you to do something about the cherries slowly starting to spoil in the fridge, so you put on your headphones and listen to an audiobook for entertainment, then get to pitting. It feels wrong to listen to The Kiss Quotient and its many smut scenes when your parents are coming and going out of the room, but what they don’t know won’t kill them; you just try to keep your reactions to a minimum during the extra spicy scenes.

Pitting cherries is an arduous task that always takes longer than you think it will, but you never complain about it. You’ve found the perfect technique of cutting them in half around the pit, turning the small fruit without squeezing it, extracting the stone and making sure it doesn’t get confused and end up in the bowl with the pitted cherries, all without tiring your wrists after ten minutes. A surprise pit in a cherry pie can add to the charm of a homemade dessert, but you’d rather not have to spit out five of them while trying to eat one slice.

You prepare a crumbly dough to make two classic American-style pies and fill four jars with cherry jam that you cook while the doughs rest. It’s almost offensive how small the cherries become as they cook, the amount that fills those four jars having filled eight before, but you decide there’s no reason to take it personally since the cherries don’t do it on purpose, and put the jars away to cool down. You roll out the first rested dough and despair for a bit when it keeps on falling apart, but it just makes it more satisfying once you have it perfectly thinly rolled out and covering the tin. The second one is a bit nicer to you and you only have to try rolling it out twice. 

Two hours later, as the sun finally starts to relent and a cooler breeze flows through the air, the pies are all baked, cooled and ready to be eaten. You leave one for you and your parents to enjoy later, then head over to the next house to greet your new neighbors with the other pie. You knock and wait for a good thirty seconds before getting any sort of response, making you think no one’s in.

“Y/N?” a semi-familiar voice calls out, and your head whips in its direction. If this were a cartoon or a 2012 teen show, you’d probably drop the pie tin, but thankfully, your hands aren’t that sweaty, and the shock of the man from the other day at the store being your neighbor isn’t that great, because of course, of course he’s your neighbor. You’re Y/N, after all; the almighty gods above would never let you have a boring, uneventful summer. Of course the hot new man in town is your neighbor.

“Oh! Hi! Guess we’re neighbors. Ha,” you say with a clumsy smile, holding the tin over your forearm as your other hand shields your eyes from the sunlight so you can look at him without squinting your eyes.

“Neighbors?” he repeats as he joins you on the front porch, taking off his gloves dirtied by the mud and using the back of his hand to wipe off some sweat from his forehead. The sweat makes his hair stick to his face and there are small beads of it falling from his hairline down onto his white t-shirt. You detect the slightest of stubbles on his chin and upper lip, probably from not having shaved for just a day or two. He’s even tanner than when you saw him a few days ago, and his thick eyebrows form a straight line as he frowns in what you guess is tiredness and perhaps confusion from seeing you in regular clothes and holding a pie tin on his porch. For a second, you’re scared he might think you’re some kind of stalker, but you nod and tilt your head towards your house. 

“Yep. That one just over there behind you.”

He turns his upper body to take a look at your house and nods slowly as he turns back around, gaze finding yours again like the other day at the store. You have no idea who this man is - hell, you don’t even know his name - but good lord are you attracted to him, especially when he gives you that unreadable smile that shows off his dimples. 

“Huh. What a coincidence,” he says, and that could mean anything in the world, but you hope he means it in a good way. “I’m Sunghoon, by the way.” he adds, extending his hand for you to take, which you do, and the simple action of shaking his hand without eye contact ever breaking is enough to send shivers down your spine. Hopefully, this goes unnoticed by this Sunghoon.

A walking wet dream. That’s what this man is. He’s walked right out of your deepest Wattpad-induced fantasies and into the house next door. Probably doesn’t help that you’d been listening to literary porn just fifteen minutes prior. 

“Is that pie?” he asks as he releases your hand.

“It is, cherry pie I made myself with cherries from our backyard. A housewarming gift, if you will. Here,” you reply, offering him the tin.

He takes it from your hands, the tips of his fingers slightly grazing yours, on purpose or not, you’re not sure. He lifts some of the aluminum covering the pie and peeks underneath, then hums appreciatively. “Thanks, it looks really good. I’ve been living off of ready-meals and casseroles from the neighbors, so this’ll be really nice.”

“Well we’ve got tons of cherries, so feel free to ask whenever you want some,” you offer, and he nods. A small silence settles between the two of you and you’re about to excuse yourself so it doesn’t get awkward when he invites you in, asking if you’d like to have a piece with him.

“If you want to, I mean. I was gonna take a break anyway,” he says somewhat coyly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. You’re surprised to see him being anything else other than confident and self-assured, but it only makes him look cuter in your eyes.

“Sure,” you accept with a smile, letting him lead you inside the house.

“Sorry, it smells like paint all over the house. That’s why I was outside, doing some gardening while I aired the house out,” he explains. “Let me just get some plates and a knife out. And something for us to drink. Do you want to drink something? I’ve got water, or some iced tea or lemonade. The grandma across the street made some for me,” he says all at once, and you suppress a giggle at his sudden nervous behavior.

“Sunghoon?”

“Yeah?” he responds almost immediately, turning to you just as you both reach the kitchen.

“Just water is fine.”

A shy smile makes his dimples appear once again as he nods. “Okay, sounds good.” You help him carry everything to the back porch and set down the glasses and a jug of water on a table with two chairs around it.

“The porches are the only parts I won’t have to fix up too much, for some reason.”

“You’re going to redo the whole house yourself?” you ask, surprised, as you pour two glasses of water and he serves you a slice of cherry pie (“there might be some stray cherry pits, so be careful,” you warn as he sets a slice on his plate).

“A lot of it, yeah, but I’ve also got some people to help out. My dad’s a carpenter so I know my way around these things, but I also know it’s better and faster to have more than one man on the job, so some guys he works with come a couple times a week.”

“Yeah, with the state this house is in, you’d need more than a summer if you did everything yourself,” you comment, and he chuckles, agreeing. “My friends and I used to make stories about how this place is haunted, you know,” you say jokingly.

“Please don’t jinx my house from the get-go,” he says, making you laugh.

“Sorry, sorry. It’ll be nice seeing it all fixed-up, actually.”

“Have you lived here long?” he asks, looking at you thoughtfully as he takes another bite of the pie. “This is really good, by the way.”

“Thanks. And yeah, my whole life. I go away when semester starts but come back for the holidays and the summer.”

“So you're a student?”

“Yeah, just at the state university a few hours away. Not too far away that it’s a hassle traveling back, but not too close that I go home every weekend. What about you, what do you do?”

You wait for his answer while he swallows his mouthful and take another bite yourself. “I teach,” he starts as he dabs the corners of his lips with a napkin. “Fifth graders, on the other side of town. I used to live in a small apartment near the school I work at but it’s nicer, having more space. I saved enough money to buy this house and fix it up, so here I am now,” he says, gesturing to the house and the garden with his arms. 

You notice his use of the first person pronoun when he talks about where he used to live and his house now, which makes you wonder if it’s just him, even though you were sure you heard a woman and a young girl’s voices the other day. Surely, if he wasn’t single, he wouldn’t have invited you in or given you flirtatious looks, right? Or were you reading totally wrong into this and he was just an exceptionally friendly person?

You put these questions to the side and continue chatting with Sunghoon, letting the subject of his marital status come up on its own during your conversation. And indeed, you get your answer when he tells you about the different parts of the house he plans on having, one of them being a bedroom for his daughter.

“Oh, so you have a daughter? How old is she?” you ask as you take a sip of water, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Considering his age, you expect that his child will be one, two years old max, so his answer makes you almost choke on your drink.

“She’s turning eight this summer.”

“Eight?” you repeat as you set your glass down, looking at him wide-eyed. So much for nonchalance. “But you’re so-”

“Young? Yeah, I know,” he interrupts with a knowing smile, probably used to this kind of reaction. “I’m 26,” he adds, then watches as you do the simple math in your head. When you turn to him with a surprised look, he answers your question before you’ve even asked it. “Yep, I had her when I was 18.”

“Wow,” is all you can say. “Can I ask what happened?”

“Sure. I mean, it’s nothing extraordinary or anything. I was in my last year of high school, and I got my girlfriend at the time pregnant. We’d only been dating four months but her parents wouldn’t let her get an abortion. They’re really religious. They took care of our baby, with the help of my parents, while I went to community college and she retook senior year since she had to drop out halfway through the year. No, we’re not together anymore, if you’re wondering,” he says, catching you off guard, as if he’d read your thoughts. 

He chuckles before sighing and continues. “If none of this had happened, we’d probably have broken up before going off to college and proceeded to forget about each other. We started out living with her parents, then got that small apartment I told you about when she found a job. We’re not on bad terms by any means, but we’ve just not been in love since Chaeryeong turned 2, probably. We’ve been more roommates than a couple for the past six years. And you know, we kept on living together for Chaer mainly, but she’s found a new boyfriend and I wanted to have my own place. Which has led me here.”

You nod slowly, letting the whole story sink in. “You’re both handling this situation really maturely, it sounds like. I’ve heard of so many teenage parents fighting all the time and not taking care of their kids properly.”

“She’s already got a weird parental situation, it’s the least we can do for her to behave like adults, you know.”

“Right, of course,” you say, nodding again. Your hot new neighbor was actually a DILF, you realized a bit inappropriately, perhaps. Cherry on top.

He tells you a bit more about his daughter and you keep talking until your dad calls you, asking you why you’re not home at dinner time, and you only notice then how long you’ve been sitting there with Sunghoon, just talking. You tell him you feel bad for taking up so much of his time but he shakes your apologies off.

“It was my pleasure, really. And thanks again for the pie, I think Chaer will love it.”

He walks you to the front door and calls out your name after you’ve waved goodbye and started walking. You didn’t know you had been expecting him to do anything until you heard the hopeful tone in your own voice. “Yeah?”

“You any good with kids?” he asks, leaning against the doorway with crossed arms and a smirk that makes your heart flutter.

Although you’ve only got one older brother, you have younger cousins as well as older ones that have babies of their own, so you’re not a complete stranger to kids, but more importantly, you like them. They have the world to learn, but they say surprisingly smart things and have really cute faces.

“I’d say that I am, yeah,” you reply, a smile growing on your face, mirroring his expression.

“Good,” he says, and pauses a second for good measure. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you later, Sunghoon,” you say as you turn back and head to your house, letting him enjoy the view of you walking away. 

On the short way home, you realize that you completely have the hots for your neighbor, although you probably knew that before. Is it twisted that you like him more now that you know he’s got a kid? Probably a little bit, but you’re not going to fight it. He’s single, after all. And not even thirty. A five-year gap isn’t unheard of. 

Your parents ask you where you’ve been as you set the table and get ready for dinner. “Just over at our new neighbor’s house to give him some pie and say hi,” you say as you toss the salad in its bowl, spreading the dressing evenly. 

“Ooh, the neighbor,” your mother echoes knowingly, wiggling her eyebrows, and steals a leaf of lettuce when it falls from the bowl because of your vigorous tossing. “We should have him over at some point, welcome him into the neighborhood. I’ve seen him a bit, you know. Out painting on his front porch or when he was in his garden the same time as me. He’s a very attractive young man,” she says, lowering her voice so your dad doesn’t hear even though he’s outside grilling the meat. “Do you know how old he is? Looks a bit young for a homeowner to me, but who knows what young people are up to these days.

“He’s twenty-six, and he’s saved a lot of money. Plus, I don’t think that house was very expensive. From what he’s told me, the renovations will basically cost as much as the house itself. He’s also got a kid.”

“Aw, must be a cute baby,” she says as your father walks in, carrying a tray of steaming barbecued steaks and potatoes.

“She’s eight,” you say bluntly, causing them both to look at you with wide eyes.

“Oh, right, then. Happens,” your mother says, bringing her glass of water to her lips and taking a sip from it. “Is he still with the mother?”

“They broke up a while ago, but they’re on good terms,” you say, and your mom nods slowly at the information.

“So, he’s single, huh?” she says, trying to hide her smile, earning herself a groan from your dad and a chuckle from you. 

“C’mon, mom!”

“What? You can’t deny that he’s attractive, and he’s single. Plus, you two must get along well if you spent a couple hours talking. Sure, he’s got a kid, but you love those, don’t you?”

“Mom, you of all people would know kids aren’t pets. Dating someone with an eight-year-old isn’t the same as dating someone with a cat.

“No one’s asking you to be that girl’s mom,” she says, dishing out some meat for the three of you. “I’d go get that man, if I were you.”

Your dad shakes his head and you eat your food as you listen to them bickering with a smile. You think about what your mother said - should you go and get Sunghoon? Your heart says yes, but your brain is a bit more reluctant. Another part of your body, lower down there, is screaming ‘yes’ at you.

He does live right by, after all.

That night, you FaceTime your roommate and best friend from college and bring her up to date about ‘the hot man from the store the other day.’ She paints her toenails but listens intently as she always does when you talk about boys, humming and chuckling here and there.

“God, Y/N, I didn’t know you had daddy issues, of all things.”

You gasp fake-dramatically. “Excuse me, I do not! I was attracted to him before I knew he was a dad, I’ll let you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let me know when you guys actually hook up, I’m curious whether older men are actually better,” she says, making you scoff.

“I hope he is. I’m very much tired of those boys that don’t know where the clit is and use too much tongue.”

“You know, when I complain to my mom about guys, she always tells me to wait it out a few years. She says they get more mature and, well, she didn’t say that outright, but she very heavily implied that the sex is much, much better. Kinda gross hearing it from her, but it’s good information.”

You hum. “Well, he’s not that much older… But let’s hope that it still makes a difference,” you say, and then move on to another topic. 

—

One thing that eating cherries has taught you is that if you want to enjoy eating the sweet flesh, you’ll need to deal with the pit as well. Ever the grand philosopher, you realized soon enough that this was applicable to real life and not just your favorite fruit. Wanna get a good grade on your test? Gotta study for it. Wanna go on holiday to Mexico? Gotta find a summer job and earn money.

Wanna make your way to Sunghoon’s bed? Gotta seduce him.

Over the following days, you stand behind the counter at the hardware store, elbow perched on the hard surface, head resting on your palm and vision fuzzy as you daydream about your next encounter with Sunghoon. More often than not, a customer will clear their throat to awkwardly let you know of their presence and you’ll have to exchange your imagined dialogue with Sunghoon for a quick apology and some pleasantries; more often than not, a coworker will call out your name for some help just as you get to the juicy part of your reverie. In those moments, you always feel like you’ve been caught red-handed watching softcore porn, even if no one knows the last thing about what goes on in your head, nor do they care. 

Much like the first time he walked into the store, when he does again on a Thursday morning, you think your daydreams have just gone too far and you’re now hallucinating. But, lo and behold, this is the true Park Sunghoon in the flesh, and he smiles and waves at you as he strides in before disappearing behind one of the many aisles.

You spend the next fifteen minutes going over witty conversation starters that will surely make him fall for you, only for you to stutter out a “h-hi, Sunghoon,” when he finally reaches the counter.

“Fancy seeing you here,” he jokes, and you laugh a bit too hard for a comment that isn’t that funny.

“How are the renovations going?” you ask as you scan his articles - some more paint and brushes, lots of tile glue, a bunch of nails and two different sizes of turnscrews. He frowns in concentration at the snacks next to the counter until he caves in and gets a chocolate protein bar that’s more sugar than protein. 

“Pretty okay,” he starts. “I’m in a bit of a rush, cause Chaer is already coming in two weeks and I need to have finished at least the interior by that time. My dad’s friends helped me get the roof done, so that’s good, but now they’re all busy with other sites so it's just me. Right now I’m redoing the tiles in the bathrooms. You need so much damn glue,” he says with a chuckle.

You think for a second, then timidly offer, “I could help out, you know. If you needed me to.” 

He looks at you with raised eyebrows, halfway through getting his card out of his wallet. “Really?”

“I mean, I don’t have much experience with this kinda stuff, but I’ve picked up a few things here and there from working here. If it saves you time, I could do the easy things. This job isn’t particularly physically demanding so I’ve still got energy at the end of the day. That’s $78.96, please.”

A small smile appears on his face as he inserts his card into the reader. He punches in his code and then returns your gaze. “That could be nice, actually.”

And that’s how you find yourself over at Sunghoon’s house in denim shorts and your dad’s old t-shirts almost everyday for the next two weeks, helping him fix up the old two-storey home. He measures out the perfect length for wood planks or marble tiles that you assist him in fastening to the floors of different rooms and he fixes holes in walls that you paint over afterwards. Sometimes on your breaks, you share a bowl of cherries that you brought from your garden. (One morning, you tried to make cherry juice out of them, but when after almost two hours of pitting the liquid barely filled a glass, you decided that it was too much effort and that you’d keep on just eating them and baking the occasional pie.) You asked him to tell you what each of the rooms upstairs would be and you realized that the window of his room faced yours directly. The blinds were down as they had always been, so you hadn’t known what the room would be.

“I’ve been sleeping on the couch since I haven’t gotten around to fixing up this room yet. Guess I should get to it, though,” he says, giving you a look that blurs the meaning of his words so that you’re not sure what he’s implying, which happens a bit too often with Sunghoon.

And you’d think that spending the better part of two weeks with the current man of your dreams would be amazing, right? 

Wrong. It’s unbearable.

Maybe that’s exaggerating it - it’s mostly fun, and sometimes unbearable. Usually, you’re an avid fan of sexual tension, especially with attractive men like Sunghoon. Lingering gazes, eye contacts when there shouldn’t be any, remarks with a deeper meaning that they let on, barely-there touches on the back of your hand or on your waist that manage to take your breath away. These are all very fine things that keep your heart bouncing and a blush on your cheeks, but they are supposed to amount to something more in the end. Maybe you’re impatient, but after two weeks of sending sex through your eyes to Sunghoon, you get the feeling that he doesn’t reciprocate your desire. One afternoon, you’d made sure to go and sunbathe in your bikini at the exact moment he was doing some work outside, and even then, he merely gave your body a one-over and disappeared a few minutes later inside his house. When he came back about ten minutes later, he could still barely look at you.

At the same time, there’s no way he doesn’t know what he’s doing when he stands close behind you, letting you feel the warmth of his chest against your back, big, rough hands enveloping yours as he demonstrates how to cut a plank of wood with the machine. There’s no way the way he smirks when the action turns you into a stammering mess is innocent, either.

Yet nothing happens. The tension is thick enough to be cut with a knife, but maybe Sunghoon hasn’t bought cutlery yet. The air is already heavy from the heat and the relentlessness of the sun, but this thing between you and him makes it almost suffocating, in somehow the best yet worst way possible. You’re this close to simply throwing your naked body at him, and it doesn’t help that you see his flexing, working muscles and beads of sweat on his hairline everyday. On the days he wears shorts, which is most days, all you can think of is getting off on his thick thighs, of his hands holding you tightly by the waist, of the way he’d look at you, eyes clouded over, of the words he’d whisper in your-

Your phone buzzes, interrupting you in your horny downward spiral. It’s your dear mother telling you to come home for dinner. As you pick up your phone, a second buzz. Ask Sunghoon if he wants to eat with us. 

You find him in his bedroom, adding the last touches to the walls. “I think I’ll be able to sleep here starting tomorrow night. I just need to go buy a bed,” he says when he sees your figure standing in the doorway.

“We can go together if you want,” you blurt before you can stop yourself. Hoping it’ll make you seem less weird, you add, “I’ve got really good taste in furniture.”

“Is that so?” he questions, turning to you with a smile. “I’d appreciate the second pair of eyes, actually. There’s a lot of things I need to get.”

“Yeah, I didn’t wanna comment on it, but I think you’ll end up needing more than a couch, a plastic dining table and two chairs,” you tease, making him roll his eyes lightheartedly. “We can go to that huge second-hand store they have just outside of town. You’ll be surprised how good - and cheap - the furniture is there.”

“Sounds good,” he nods, and checks his watch. “Are you going home?”

“I am. My mom’s invited you over for dinner, if you’d like,” you say, tilting your head at him.

He raises his eyebrows in delighted surprise. “I’d love to. Just need to shower first.”

“That’s fine. I’ll go home, just come over whenever you’re ready.” You exchange quick see you laters and you head home, taking a shower yourself and making sure to use your best-smelling body lotion.

Sunghoon arrives half an hour later with a bouquet of roses in his hands and an award-winning smile on his face. You let him in and he greets your parents, offering your mother the bouquet. “Sorry I took so much time getting here, I wanted to pick these out as a thank you.”

You can tell your mother is pleased to the heavens as she waves him off, leading him inside your house. “That’s awfully nice of you, Mr Park-”

“Call me Sunghoon, please,” he says with a warm smile.

“Right, Sunghoon. And no worries, you’re just on time. Please, sit.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Oh, no, you’re working all day fixing up that house, just sit and relax. We’re very happy to have you over, aren’t we?” your mother says, sending a very obvious smile your way, which makes you furrow your eyebrows and shake your head lightly at her, silently telling her to shut up. Sunghoon chuckles at the exchange but says nothing and you want to bury yourself and your mother ten feet underground.

Sunghoon sits across from you at the dinner table, which allows you to stare unabashedly at him as he works his charm on your parents. He’s the neighbor, so technically, he’s not a boyfriend you brought home to meet them, but still, you can’t help but compare him to those few boys that you did bring home. None of them were a disaster, but none of them went as smoothly as this, either. There were always some awkward silences and dry chuckles with your past boyfriends, but Sunghoon clearly knows how to make parents happy. Maybe because he lived with his ex’s parents for so long, or maybe because he’s a parent himself. Either way, it only adds to your desire to take all of his clothes and let him rail you into next week. Too bad he clearly doesn’t feel the same way, you remind yourself with an audible sigh, which makes him look curiously at you, but you brush it off with a smile.

You watch as he accepts a beer, compliments the food and the house, talks football with your dad, accepts another beer, and shares teaching anecdotes with your mom, who herself is an elementary school teacher. You jump in every now and then when you have something witty to add or someone asks your opinion on something, but most of the time, you sit back and enjoy, happy that everything is going well. 

You bring out your infamous cherry pie that you’d baked the previous day along with some vanilla ice cream for dessert, and smile when Sunghoon tells you how much he’d been waiting to have some of it again, trying not to blush as his gaze stays focused on yours for a second too long. Thankfully, your parents don’t notice, too busy cutting themselves a slice. 

He stays for another hour or so, until the sun has set and the streetlamps and the moonlight are the only things keeping the world visible. Your mom forces him to accept tupperwares full of leftovers from the night and makes him promise to come back with his daughter. Sneakily, she tells you to help him carry the tupperwares home even though he’s more than able to do it himself, then hugs him goodbye, hurrying you out of the door.

Sunghoon hasn’t yet changed the lightbulbs to more efficient ones, so his kitchen bathes in the faint glow of the overhead lighting as you put away the leftovers in his fridge. He stands a bit to your right close behind you, closer than needed to simply hand you the tupperwares he was holding. When everything is stored, you turn around, but you’re trapped between his body and his arm that holds the fridge door open. With his free hand, he takes you by the waist and pulls you gently towards him. “Careful,” he says so quietly, it’s almost a whisper, and closes the fridge door behind you. 

He’s never been this forward with you, and even though you’ve fantasized many times about this exact moment, now that it’s really happening, you don’t know what to do except to search for an explanation in his eyes. His eyes that are looking right into yours and are a bit clouded over, from the alcohol or the proximity between the two of you or both, you don’t know, but that also have the twinkle of a smile in them. 

His lips are close enough to kiss, you think, and as if on cue, his gaze drifts down to your slightly parted lips. “You’re very pretty, Y/N,” he says, before sealing your lips with his own. You respond immediately to his kiss - you’ve thought too much about it to stand there and do nothing - but it’s all so slow and so soft that you’re not sure if it’s actually happening, so dreamlike it all feels.

You’re called back to reality when his other hand finds your waist, your own hands coming up to his shoulders before one of them snakes its way to the nape of his neck, tugging lightly at his hair. This seems to change something in Sunghoon, who all of a sudden tightens his hold on your waist, his arms wrapping around it to bring you closer to him. His kiss gets faster and deeper too, and, to your surprise but not your distaste, a bit desperate. You’re happy if you have on him half of the power he has on you. You taste sweet vanilla ice cream and tangy beer on his tongue, and it’s not at all unpleasant. It makes you want to eat cherries together so you can then taste them in his kiss. 

A lustful sigh escapes your lips and then the warmth disappears all at once. Sunghoon looks at you like you just woke him up from a deep slumber and takes a step back away from you. You call out for him worriedly and the sound of his name seems to make him think he did something terribly wrong.

“I-I’m sorry, Y/N, I don’t know what came over me. We shouldn’t do this, it’s not- I shouldn’t have done that,” he sighs, looking defeatedly at the ground.

“Why?” you ask quietly, almost inaudible.

“You should go home,” he snaps, then closes his eyes as if in pain, cringing at his harsh tone. “I’m sorry. I think you should go home, it’s getting late,” he repeats, softer this time, but the words still sting.

“O-okay,” you say to the floor, already feeling tears well up in your eyes. You feel like you just got rejected by your high school crush, and the humiliation makes you want to crawl into a hole and die. 

Sunghoon sighs again. “I’ll let you know tomorrow about the furniture shopping, yeah? Chaeryeong is coming in the morning so we can go with her.”

“O-okay,” you repeat, surprised he still wants to do that with you. “Good night, Sunghoon,” you say without looking at him and scurry out of his house.

“Good night, Y/N,” Sunghoon answers to the emptiness after you’ve left, touching his lips with the tips of his fingers and feeling the ghost of your kiss there.

—

Truth be told, you haven’t always loved cherries. Because of a heinous lie your older brother had made you believe when you were just six years old, you hadn’t eaten cherries for two summers in a row. It was the summer your parents had finally allowed you to eat cherries as they came from the trees in your backyard - beforehand, they’d been too scared that you’d choke on the pit or swallow it unknowingly, and had always prepared purées or other forms that cherries can take for you to eat, so to be finally handed the small fruit and told “go ahead, try it,” felt like an honor. 

A simple “don’t forget to spit out the pit” from your mother had sufficed for you to be careful, and yet, your brother had thought a fear tactic would be more effective. “If you swallow it, a tree will grow inside your belly and make you puke out cherries,” he’d lied when it was just the two of you at the outdoor table. 

“Really?” you asked him in disbelief, horror written all over your face as you looked at the seemingly harmless yet deadly fruit in your hand. You’d already eaten two and were in the middle of eating a third; your brother nodding ‘yes’ in response was all it took for you to spit out the cherry furiously and immediately start sobbing, afraid you’d swallowed one even though all three pits were right there on the table, a guarantee that no unwanted flora would grow inside of you. 

Your mother rushed outside at the sound of your wailing and quickly put two and two together when she saw your brother laughing uncontrollably while you hid your face in your hands, desolately imagining your future as a walking cherry tree. She held you tight in her arms as she told your brother off and reassured you that he was just playing a stupid prank on you. Still, the simple thought of swallowing a pit had terrified you and you were unable to eat cherries for the remainder of the summer and the one after that.

This is the story you tell Chaeryeong and her dad as the three of you sit outside together, making them laugh - although, a few minutes later, when Sunghoon is gone to the bathroom away, Chaer leans over the table and whispers, “It’s not true, is it?” so you reassure her that you’ve eaten cherries your whole life and have never had one single root take life in your tummy. 

It’s been a bit over a week after you shared that kiss in his kitchen, and the awkward atmosphere is just starting to fade. You’re glad he didn’t ignore you after that night, even if pretending nothing happened when both of you are very aware that something did happen is only the slightly better alternative. It’s a refreshing change from boys that sleep with you and then act like you don’t exist, for sure.

The kiss hasn’t done anything to burst the tension; if anything, it’s made it even more electric. You catch him looking at your lips more than once and you wonder why he still acts the same way as before when he’s made it very clear he didn’t think kissing you was a good idea. Catching him shirtless one night in his bedroom doesn’t help, and neither does him catching you staring at him - you’d quickly shut the curtains, but it was too late, and he’d seen you ogling his toned chest and abs.

At least, the fact that Chaeryeong is here forces a bubbly atmosphere upon you, and you hope you’re not crazy when you notice him fondly looking at the both of you interacting. Chaer is an outgoing little girl and seems to have liked you as soon as you complimented the toy puppy in her hand, saying you used to have the same and it was your favorite.

The day you went food shopping was practically hell to get through. One evening, you were holding onto Sunghoon for dear life, finally kissing him, and the next afternoon, you were browsing through the endless aisles of your local IKEA, holding his daughter’s hand and pretending like you hadn’t kissed her daddy.

When it got to the bedroom part of the store, you and Chaer decided to try all the mattresses and find the most comfortable one. You usually were never one for seating and laying on random beds in stores, but there was a kid with you, so you were sure it’d be fine. When you found the one you liked most, you looked up at Sunghoon from your position and said, “This one’s pretty good, Sunghoon.” His immediately reddening cheeks told you everything you needed to know and you quickly sat up, clearing your throat. He tested the mattress by pushing his palm against it and muttered a “yeah, it’s pretty good” before scribbling down the number of the mattress onto the small sheet of paper customers use to remember which products they wanted.

Of course, now that Chaer is with him and most of the work in the house is done, save for some minor things that Sunghoon can finish up on his own, you spend a lot less time together. You hate that you miss him so much. You miss the way he makes you feel, like your whole body is on fire with just one look or one touch, the way his stupid jokes make you laugh or how endeared he looks when he talks about his daughter. Seeing him with her only adds to your stupid crush - he’s doting, protective and caring, makes sure she has everything to be happy and manages to treat her at once like the kid that she is but also like a human that has opinions and feelings. He’s a really good dad, and that does nothing whatsoever to stop your DILF fantasies, although now, it’s really Sunghoon that you want, and the fact that he’s a dad isn’t a dealbreaker, it just makes him that much better.

You hate that you miss him, and yet being with him is somehow worse, because you can’t do any of the things you want to do. You fall asleep one two many nights dreaming about his lips and how nice it’d be to feel them again - on your lips, on your neck, everywhere. You want to feel him everywhere, and this longing lust is starting to drive you crazy. You’d never wanted anyone this much.

He invites you over for dinner one night, and the look he gives you when he opens the door sends a shiver right down your spine. “Hi, Y/N.” 

“Hi, Sunghoon.”

He leads you into the kitchen with a hand on your waist, even though you’ve been in his house many times before and need no assistance getting there. A small, horny voice at the back of your head tells you that tonight may be the night, but you quickly shut it down, not wanting to get your hopes up all on your own.

Sunghoon serves you a glass of red wine, and you ask him what the occasion is. “Just to celebrate the house being almost done,” he answers with a smile.

Dinner would have gone as usual if Sunghoon wasn’t practically staring you down the whole time, eyes full of something you can’t quite put your finger on and that drives you crazy. His gaze lingers on you every time you speak, and he punctuates the syllables of your name like he’s trying to get a feel for them on his tongue.

Your heart is pounding in your chest when the clock strikes nine p.m. and it’s time for Chaeryeong to go to bed - you don’t know if you’ll be able to handle being alone with Sunghoon, and you might have to make a run for it, Cinderella-style. 

Chaer goes to the bathroom to wash up and change into her pajamas, and when she comes back, she asks - no, demands - that you’re the one who tucks her in, and who are you to say no to the cutest little girl on Earth? She holds you by the pinky as she drags you up the stairs to her room then buries herself in her covers, tapping on the bed next to her body for you to sit there. “Okay, now we can talk without Dad around,” she says all business-like.

She tells you about the boys at her school and the birthday party she went to last week and the latest drama with her friends. The both of you are too busy chatting and giggling to hear footsteps coming up the stairs and stopping at her door, hiding behind the wall. After ten minutes, she yawns loudly and says, “Can you call Dad? I think he’ll be sad if he doesn’t wish me good night.”

“Of course,” you reply and kiss her on the forehead, wishing her a good night yourself. You’re only half-surprised to find Sunghoon at the doorway, waiting for his cue.

“Wait up for me, yeah? I’ll just be a minute,” he says, that smile still on his lips, that smile that keeps you hoping.

“Okay,” you whisper, and head downstairs, nervously taking a sip from your wine glass as you wait for him on the living room couch.

He is indeed back in a very short time, too short a time for your nerves to settle, so when he sits down close to you on the couch, body turned towards yours, you can feel your heart in your throat. He traces the rim of his glass with the tip of his pointer finger and you both watch the slow movement for a bit, a heavy silence hanging over both of your heads. You wait for him to talk because you’re too scared of what you might say if you start the conversation.

“Y/N, I’ve been thinking,” he starts shakily, “about um, our kiss, the other day-”

“Oh, we don’t need to talk about that,” you quickly interrupt, waving your hand in dismissal at him. “You made it clear you didn’t like it-”

“No, that’s the thing-”

“And that you thought it was a bad idea-”

“No, just listen-”

“So let’s just forget about it, and-”

“Y/N,” Sunghoon says in a stern voice, raising his tone just enough to make you stop in your rambling.

“Yeah?” you look up at him, eyes wide open. Expecting, as always.

“I haven’t once stopped thinking about that kiss,” he says, sounding out-of-breath. “I handled it awfully, and I’m so sorry that I made you feel like I didn’t like it, because, God, I liked it. A lot,” he chuckles. “Maybe even too much.”

There they are, the words you’ve been dying to hear. Yet all you can say is a stupid “Oh.”

“I just… I was tipsy, and Chaeryeong was coming the next morning, and I panicked. I didn’t know what to do for the rest of the week, and you didn’t say anything, so I didn’t, either. But I can’t pretend like it isn’t there.”

“Like what isn’t there?” you echo, voice almost low as a whisper.

“You know… this,” he replies, voice as low as yours. Slowly, one of his hands comes up to trace your jawline. You release a shaky breath as you set your wine glass on the coffee table and rest your hand on his knee.

“Are you sure about this? ‘Cause if you tell me that you want me… then I’ll be all yours, Sunghoon,” you murmur, hands slowly sliding up his thigh. He takes you by the wrist and puts your hand right on top of his already growing erection, letting you know exactly how he feels about you.

“God, can’t you see what you do to me? I want you so bad, Y/N,” he almost growls, and with that, his lips are on yours, trapping you into a kiss far hungrier and more ferocious than the previous kiss, your mutual intentions finally laid out in front of you for you both to see.

Sunghoon wastes no time as he grabs you by the waist and brings you to his lap, sitting you on top of his crotch so that you can feel his hardening cock against your core. The kiss turns desperate in mere seconds, and you’re relieved to see that Sunghoon seems to have been waiting for this as long and with as much ardor as you have. Your hands are fisting his hair, tugging almost harshly, while his hands roam the expanse of your back until they settle on your ass, grabbing at it to press you closer to him. You can’t stop yourself from moaning into his mouth when his erection rubs over your core in just the right way, and he takes that opportunity to add tongue to the kiss, deepening it.

You start to grind yourself against him, which he helps you do by slightly rutting his hips into yours and bringing your ass closer at every movement. Quickly, you fall into a rhythm so perfect and that feels so good, you think you might explode right then and there. Forget riding his thigh, this is infinitely better.

Needing to catch your breath, you pull away from the kiss, but your lips find his jaw immediately and you start pressing wet, needy kisses there and down his neck, sucking in some spots so that light bruises appear. “Fuck, Y/N, that feels so nice,” he breathes, eyes shut closed. His scent drives you crazy, and his small praise makes you double down on your actions, almost biting the soft skin of his neck.

As you continue kissing him there, occasionally returning to his lips for more, his hands roam your thighs and then up your back, snaking themselves under your t-shirt and finding the clasp of your bra, quickly doing away with it. He pulls away just so he can help you out of your top and takes your bra off of you, hands caressing your sides as he admires your half-naked body in all its glory. You take his hands and bring them to your chest, resting your hands on top of his as you continue grinding onto him and let him play with your boobs. “You’re so fucking hot,” he practically moans, making you chuckle. You reach for the hem of his t-shirt, because it’s only fair that you get to see him too, and you bite back a moan when he uses the absence of your hands on his to pinch your nipples lightly, then takes one in his mouth, catching you off-guard. You forget all about your plan of undressing him as his tongue flicks at the perked bud, your hands finding his hair again as you moan unabashedly. 

“S-Sunghoon,” you breathe, the combined feelings of his now fully hard cock pressing against your clothed but soaking cunt and of his warm mouth around your nipples really getting to your head and making you see stars, so that all you can say is his name. “Please,” you beg, you’re not sure what for. Mercy, perhaps. Or release.

“Please what, baby?” he asks, and the nickname goes straight to your core.

“I don’t- just, please, Sunghoon, please,” you say incoherently, making him chuckle.

“Okay,” he says as if he can read your mind, and you think he actually does when he lays you down on the couch, fingers finding the zipper of your shorts. He unbuttons them and slides them down your legs along with your soaked panties. He makes sure they’re fully off of your body before running his palms up both of your legs, from your ankles to your hips.

“Don’t tease, please,” you plead, too desperate for him to take his time.

“As you wish, princess,” he smirks, and brings a finger to your folds, sliding it down to gather some slick before pushing it inside your hole. Your back arches as an instant response to his touch and you let out a small whine, already craving for more. “Fuck, so wet, and all for me, yeah?” he questions, his eyes not once leaving your glistening pussy.

“Yes,” you breathe out, mind too fuzzy to produce a longer sentence.

“That’s a good girl,” he coos, and adds another finger, pushing all three of his knuckles in and massaging your sweet spot as soon as he finds it. When he’s found a rhythm for his motions, he finally looks up at you and curses himself for not having watched your face earlier. Head tilted back in pleasure, mouth agape as your breathing gets more and more irregular and eyebrows scrunched together, you look like the definition of sex, and it takes everything in Sunghoon to not start touching himself.

He forces himself to look away from you only to focus back on your pussy and notices your swollen clit that is begging for attention. He licks it tentatively, and when your back arches at the feeling of his tongue on you, he dives in completely, licking a stripe up your folds before wrapping his lips around the bud and sucking at it like he did with your nipples earlier. The pace at which his fingers are pumping out of you quickens and you’re pulling so hard at his hair, you think you might rip some strands off. You feel yourself getting close, and you’re reminded of all those frustrating encounters with college boys where they stopped right before you came, so you can’t stop yourself as you desperately chant “oh my God please don’t stop please don’t stop,” not even noticing the way you’re holding his head down against your clit and bucking your hips into his face.

Your orgasm hits you like a truck - this is probably the first one you’ve received from someone other than your own hand or your vibrator in the past year and a half. It takes your breath away, and you’re left gasping for air for a good thirty seconds, your mind reeling from the intensity of such pleasure. When you calm down, you lift your head to look at Sunghoon who’s already watching you with a grin on his face, your slick coating his chin and mouth.

You plop your head back down with a groan when realization hits you. “I’m sor-”

“Don’t even finish that sentence,” Sunghoon commands, hands rubbing your still-trembling thighs. “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” he marvels, and you can’t help but giggle.

“Really?”

“Really.”

After another couple of seconds, you sit up on the couch and send Sunghoon a mischievous look. My turn, you think, and if his smile is any indicator then he seems to have understood. “Let me thank you,” you say, gesturing at him to sit up himself as you lower yourself to your knees on the couch in front of him.

You look up at him from between his thighs then unclasp his belt and undo his jeans. He lets out a shaky breath and says, “You don’t need to do this, you know-”

“Don’t be a gentleman, Sunghoon. I want to do this and I know you want it too. It’s pretty obvious,” you tease as you run your hand over his erection, watching in delight as his eyebrows furrow and his eyes close. “Now help me get these off of you.” He nods and raises his hips so you can take his jeans and underwear off, imitating his actions from before as you take your time to get them over his ankles and caressing his legs until they reach his crotch, watching as he takes his t-shirt off as well so that you can finally see him entirely. You’d caught glimpse of him shirtless before as he worked in his garden, but the sight still manages to take your breath away. Taut muscles and sun-tanned skin, laid bare right before you. This is what they mean by sculpted like a Greek god, you think.

You haven’t done anything, yet his head is already laid back against the top of the couch, Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he gulps in expectation and chest rising visibly at every intake of breath. You must’ve saved a thousand souls in your previous life to be deserving of such an image.

You spit in your palm before taking him, starting out by slowly moving your hand up and down his shaft, then rubbing small circles against his tip, the small moan-like sighs that leave his lips letting you know you’re doing a good job. You gather some saliva in your mouth and spit on his length to add some lubricant and smirk when he lets out a low fuck. You bring your head closer and lick his balls, taking one at a time in your mouth and sucking very gently, making the volume of his moans increase. “Just like- fuck, just like that, Y/N.”

You then lick a long stripe up his cock and swirl your tongue around his tip when you reach it, humming at the taste of precum there. Sunghoon gathers your hair in a makeshift ponytail so it doesn’t get in your way, and finally looks down at you, blown away by the beautiful sight of your flushed cheeks and your mouth around his cock. He groans when you take him deeper and unconsciously bucks his hips into your throat, making you gag around him. He loves that feeling but doesn’t want to hurt you so he grabs your face and makes you look up at him, lust and worry written all over his face as he apologizes, but you quickly stop him. “It’s okay, I like it. You can do it again,” you say, and smile before wrapping your lips around him once more.

“Fuck, are you sure?” he asks and you hum, sending vibrations all over his body.

“God, o-okay,” he says, in disbelief that you’re okay with him practically fucking your throat and even liking it. And you do like it - you love letting him use your mouth to get off, just like you had earlier with him. He must have amazing core strength because he’s able to buck his hips into your mouth rapidly as he holds your head tight in his hands. The way you keep coming back for more every time he lets you breathe is enough to drive him crazy, but after a couple minutes, he stops you from taking him in your mouth again.

“I can’t- I don’t wanna cum like this,” he breathes, looking just as fucked-out as you do.

“Where, then?” you ask, kissing him all over his thighs as he trails his fingers through your hair. “Inside?”

He groans at the offer but shakes his head, eyes shut as if trying to calm himself down. “I haven’t got any condoms.”

“I’m on the pill,” you tell him, still pressing kisses on his warm skin. You’re far too desperate to feel him inside you to let a lack of condom stop you, especially when you don’t even need one.

He lets out an umpteenth shaky breath and makes you look up at him. “Are you sure?”

“Sunghoon,” you say, looking him dead in the eyes, “I’ve never been more sure of anything.” You’re relieved when he smiles and nods, bending down to trap your lips in a heated kiss for good measure. Something about being in this position, kneeling in front of his spread thighs and having to look up at him, turns you on even more.

“Okay, then,” he says, still smiling as he pulls away, holding you gently by the chin. “I don��t think I’ll be able to last long, and I want to feel you cum around me. So, tell me, what’s your favorite position, princess?”

The question takes you aback but you answer it anyway, looking at the ground. “Reverse cowgirl…” you admit shyly, a small smile spreading on your lips.

“Reverse cowgirl, huh?” Sunghoon repeats, and you don’t need to look at him to know he’s smirking. “Come here, then,” he says, and helps you up, making you turn around so your back faces him and seats you down on top of him, keeping your hips raised. He takes his cock inside his hands, pumps it a few more times before guiding it to your entrance, pressing kisses to your shoulders and nape to make you relax. 

You moan at the simple feeling of his tip teasing your entrance and Sunghoon whispers “I know, baby” against your skin. “Sit down for me,” he commands gently, and you oblige, lowering your hips slowly to feel all of him stretching you out, the both of you moaning in synchronization when he bottoms out.

Sunghoon wraps an arm around your middle and pulls you onto him so that your back rests against his chest and you can let your head hang back next to his. “Let me do all the work, yeah?” he murmurs into your ear, and you hum in response. He doesn’t move for a bit, roaming his large hands all over your body until he feels your walls relax around him. One of his hands finds your breasts, playing with each nipple in turn, while the other finds your clit. It’s all so much but so good that you’re already a moaning mess before he’s even started moving. “Ready?” he asks, but you’re too far gone to answer.

His pace starts out slow, but you’re impatient and whine as you try to move your hips against his to go faster, which makes him tut. “I told you I’d do the work, didn’t I?” he asks, pinching one of your nipples in reprimand. “So be good for me and stay still, Y/N. I promise I’ll make you feel good.” You whine again but stop moving, heeding his words.

“Perfect,” he whispers and kisses your neck before picking up the pace, shushing you when your moans get too loud.

“I’m sorry, just feels too good,” you manage to let out.

“I know, but you need to stay quiet, baby,” he says, yet gets rougher with his thrusts, which does not help in the slightest. His hand that was on your breasts comes up to cover your mouth, but he quickly decides to make you suck on two of his fingers instead, muffling your moans a bit.

His fingers on your clit haven’t relented this whole time and after just a few minutes, you feel that familiar knot tying itself again in your stomach and you know you’re mere moments away from it coming undone. Judging by his rapid but clumsy thrusts, Sunghoon must be close too. He pounds into you like you’ve been wanting him to ever since you first set eyes on him as he entered the hardware store, hitting your g-spot over and over again. Tears roll down your cheeks and you whimper around his fingers, biting down on them as your second orgasm hits you.

You’re practically sobbing as he helps you ride out your high, his movements sending your body into pleasant overstimulation until he reaches his high too, the feeling of your pussy clenching tightly around him pushing him over the edge. Ropes of his semen paint your walls white, and there’s enough of it for him to become a father of two. You whine as he pulls away, and feel his cum slipping out of you and onto the couch underneath you. Before you can catch your breath, he asks, “Baby, can I do something very dirty?” and you nod without thinking much. This man could do anything he wanted to you, and you’d thank him for it.

He settles you back down onto the couch, kneels on the floor, head level with your core, and sticks his tongue inside your hole, making you yelp in surprise and overstimulation. You don’t understand what he’s doing until he comes back up and makes you open your mouth with his thumb, then spits inside it, telling you to swallow. You do as he says and taste his cum, laughing in disbelief at what he just did - and at how much you liked it. “Fuck,” you giggle.

“Was that too much?” 

“God, no,” you say, and he smiles. You open your arms, gesturing for him to get back on the couch. He rests his head between your breasts, the both of you sighing in contentment as he rubs small circles on your belly and you graze your fingers through his hair. He’s so silent that you think he’s fallen asleep, but he speaks up after a while, voice soft and calm like you’ve never heard before.

“We should go get cleaned up…” he says, and you hum in agreement, “...but it’s so nice here,” he finishes, making you giggle.

“If we get cleaned up quickly now, we can cuddle in bed right afterwards,” you argue.

“You’re right. Infallible logic. You’re so smart, you know that, Y/N?” he says, and you can hear the smile in his voice.

“Of course I know that,” you joke. “Let’s go,” you say, kissing the top of his head.

You take a shower together, cleaning each other and leaving kisses here and there, or touching in places you shouldn’t touch and that maybe lead to more, right there in the shower. Now that you’ve had a taste, you’re insatiable, and you warn Sunghoon that the both of you are in for a very long night, to which he answers that he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Once you do fall asleep, (which isn’t until two rounds later, and you’re surprised either of you have this much energy), however, you’re holding each other tightly, the fan on high so that you don’t feel all sticky, being so close to each other. Even if you wake up here and there because he shuffled or he snored too loudly, it’s one of the best sleeps you’ve ever had.

—

You wake up the next morning by small giggles and snorts that come from none other than Park Chaeryeong herself, who’s buried herself between you and her dad, shaking her body to wake the two of you. You’re glad that you listened to Sunghoon when he told you to put on a t-shirt of his as well as some underwear so neither you or Chaer would have a fright when she came and woke you up as she liked to do every morning. “You had a sleepover!” she exclaims excitedly when she sees you’ve finally opened your eyes, looking at her with a sleepy expression and a smile.

“We did!” you reply, trying to keep the same level of excitement.

“We did,” Sunghoon repeats, taking his daughter in her arms to hug her tightly and blows a raspberry in her neck to make her laugh.

“You didn’t invite me!” she shrieks when her dad’s left her alone.

“Sorry, sweetheart. It was just me and Y/N.”

“No fun,” she pouts, laying on her back and crossing over arms before turning back to her dad. “So, is Y/N my new mom?” she whispers even though you’re right there. You gasp at her question, making wide eyes at Sunghoon who just snorts, and you can’t tell if she’s genuinely asking or if she’s an eight-year-old with an advanced sense of irony.

“Of course not. Is Heeseung your new dad?” he asks, mentioning his ex’s new boyfriend. Chaer shakes her head.

“No. He’s Mommy’s boyfriend.”

“Exactly, and Y/N is Daddy’s girlfriend. Isn’t she?” he asks, raising an eyebrow at you, smirking.

“She is,” you reply, and Chaer turns back to you, giggling. She snuggles close to you, wrapping an arm around your middle, and you’re taken aback by the sheer cuteness of it all. You look at Sunghoon with a fake pained expression, and he smiles endearingly at the two of you before sighing and joining you in your hug. He rests his arms around you and his daughter, kissing the top of your heads in turn. 

“My girls,” he mutters in your hair, and you smile peacefully.

There’s a lot of things you have to talk about with Sunghoon. You know your parents - especially your mom - will be okay with the two of you together, but will his parents be? And once semester starts again, what will happen? You’ll have to go back to campus and he’ll have to stay here - will a three-hour drive be a dealbreaker, or will you make it work?

The thing is, there’s no point in thinking about all of this at this moment. You’ve got the whole summer to figure things out. For now, you’ll eat cherries and spit out the pits, and everything will be perfect.

this is a one shot, there will not be a part two!

permanent taglist: @k-ingzo @bbujiikseu @sunghoonmybeloved @lalalalawon @sd211 @w3bqrl @raikea10 @wntrnghts (ask to be removed/added!)

© asahicore on tumblr, 2023. please do not repost, translate or plagiarize my works. feedback and reblogs are always appreciated!

[vintagelasvegas]

List: The Oldest Bars in Las Vegas

Atomic Liquors at dawn in 1993. Photo by Valentin Wuebben.

Tracking the oldest standalone bars in Las Vegas is a complicated by the matter of a few of them changing names, locations, or having fuzzy math in their own history. This list is not carved in stone but as far as I can tell the standalone bars 50 years and older are ....

ATOMIC LIQUORS (917 Fremont) – opened 4/17/54. We have a longer piece covering Atomic’s history and sources for this date.

DINO’S LOUNGE (1516 S Las Vegas Blvd) – They’ve had this name since ’69, but the bar dates back to this location as Ringside Liquors since ’53, and at a previous location since the late 40s. (The last 4 digits of Dino's phone number date back to the 40s.) Their motto “Getting Vegas Drunk Since ’62” refers specifically to the business’s incorporation date. '53, '62, '69 are all correct dates depending on the details.

HUNTRIDGE TAVERN (1116 E Charleston Blvd) – circa ’62, after starting at a nearby location, 1320 E Charleston, in ’54. Founder W.L. “Buzz” Holst and family opened several drug stores and bars including the next one on this list.

DECATUR LIQUORS (546 S Decatur Blvd) – ’63

4 MILE BAR (3650 Boulder Hwy) – ’63

TAP HOUSE (5589 W Charleston Blvd) – opened as Wild Bill’s Bar in '65. It went through a few names in the 70s and has been known as Tap House since ’85.

CHAMPAGNE’S CAFE (3557 S Maryland Pkwy) – opened under a different name in ’66; Champagne’s Cafe since ‘96. It was originally Sundown Liquors and Cocktail Lounge opened in ’66, a liquor store up front and a lounge in the back. It was combined into one room that exists today and was previously known as Jerry’s Inner Circle (’68), Huey’s Saloon (’77), Jerry’s Saloon (’87), Ole Inner Circle (’93), and Champagne Charlie’s.

FRANKIE’S (1712 W Charleston Blvd) – Frank August opened Frankie’s Cocktails in '68. It’s been known as Frankie’s Tiki Lounge since 2009.

HARD HAT LOUNGE (1675 S Industrial Rd) – ’70. Their “Est. '62” motto works as a reference both to their ’62 building and to the beloved ’62 mural in the bar which came from its previous location under the name Bourbon Street Lounge. The building was home to The Coffee Pot and Squaw's Corner, until the owners of Bourbon Street Lounge moved here and opened Hard Hat Lounge.

STARBOARD TACK (2601 Atlantic St) – also opened in ’70 according to some records, or ‘71 at the latest. Their website says “since ’72.”

Elsewhere ...

Pioneer Saloon (Goodsprings NV) - Built by George Fayle circa '13, without a doubt the oldest bar in Clark County, Nevada.

Gold Mine (Henderson NV) - "Hendertucky's Oldest Tavern," was licensed to Henderson councilman Giles L. Franklin in Sep. '65.

Not quite on the Oldest Bar list ...

70s/90s: Double Down Saloon (4640 Paradise Rd). There was a bar here called John John’s Cocktail Lounge here in '74, then it was called Dreamworld which might have been a disco. For many years in between it was a restaurant rather than a bar. Double Down opened in ’92.

80s: Sand Dollar Lounge (3355 Spring Mountain Rd). Similar to Hard Hat, the motto “Est. ‘76” may refer to the building complex, but Sand Dollar Lounge opened in ‘83 and there was no bar, lounge, or music venue at this location prior to Sand Dollar.

90s: The Hideaway Tavern (3369 Thom Blvd). Their motto is “Friendliest bar in town since ’62,” however Hideaway opened in a new building in the 90s. The ’62 date refers to the property history. In ’63 (not ’62) a building was relocated here from downtown’s “old ranch” aka the Old Mormon Fort State Park. The old ranch was established in the 1800s but building that was moved was part of a restaurant which was constructed in the 50s. At 3369 Thom Blvd was repurposed by Larry LaPenta as into a restaurant called Lorenzo’s, later know as Old Ranch House Supper Club, and Larry’s Old Ranch House. It was demolished in the 90s, and replaced by a new building which opened as Larry’s Hideaway. After a change of ownership it became The Hideaway Tavern. The changes to the structures can be seen in USGS aerial photos, and Clark County Assessor dates The Hideaway Tavern to ’93.

Missing any?

This started as a post on Vintage Las Vegas Instagram. Thanks to CityCast Las Vegas: An Inside Look at the Oldest Dive Bars in Vegas.

4 Mile Bar, '86. Photo by Chelsea Miller. Neon in Nevada Photograph Collection (PH-00225), UNLV Special Collections.

[earthnashes]

I needed examples for a new commission type bracket I'm adding to my website, so these brave souls stepped forth and allowed me to experiment/test them out with their characters! The owners of these lovely ladies, in order, are: PyritKyrit, ChibiCreates, BoxofFoxes, and Daughteromega! Thank you all so much for being my test subjects! ;w;

I do these "EXAMPLES NEEDED" commissions on occasion to answer following questions: -How long will this take me from start to finish? -How do I want them to look across the board? -Is the test price an appropriate price for the piece, or should it be lower/higher?

It's basically my form of quality control to make sure I'm offering something that looks good/has a consistent baseline look, is fun for me to draw, and is priced fairly for both myself and the potential client based on the hours worked. It also gives me the perfect excuse to experiment with new potential commission types! :)

As you can clearly see, this time the test was for Lineart commissions. I've done them in the past, but they never felt uniform enough to properly gauge a price as well as give an acceptable example to really show folks what they'll get from me. So this was me sitting down and giving myself specific parameters to stick to when I do these commissions, and those parameters are "toned lineart". Lineart with some flat toning/shaded added for extra sauce.

BUT YE! I had a fuckin blast working on these. My August commissions will be opening within the next couple of weeks, in which these badboys will make their debut! Keep your peepers open for more info on that later, and until then I hope ya'll enjoy the art! More to come soon! :)

[xsatoru]

count ⭒ kento nanami

TW: smut (minors dni), edging, denied orgasm, biting, lil tiny bit of pain kink, reader is kinda fucked dumb, and some wee degradation mixed w/ "punishment", you know kento's just sweetly mean and ultimately puthy drunk sjskkaks

A/N: bajsksks this is my debut on this blog and in the jjk fandom i'm saur nervous lol 🫣 but i had this thought n couldn't get it out my head...

nanami kento is the type to make you count — out loud — each and every one of his thrusts.

he's so mean, finding a sick satisfaction in the way you struggle to keep track. but of course, it's expected to be much too hard on focusing how many times his thick cock deliciously bullies the soft, gummy walls of your cunt.

kento isn't faring too much better himself, pussy drunk as always when you're just so tight and warm and wet. his dick slips in and out with ease, sweet hole molded perfectly for the hefty girth with how long he's worked to split you open. he loves to switch up his technique for shits and giggles, keep your cunt guessing, and that pretty little head of yours thinking despite the way it's utterly melting.

"f-fifteen!" you squeal out at the particularly hard but slow thrust that drags the swollen in and up, up, and up until the tip of his cock can relentlessly massage that bundle of nerves you never truly are able to reach on your own.

your lover keeps his hips flexed, pressed snug against yours and brushes back sweaty, disheveled bangs from all the exertion. he can feel how he twitches repeatedly in tandem with the spasms of your squishy pussy, desperate to milk him for all he's worth and drain him dry.

he snarls, "what a greedy lil cunt," and braces his muscles. looming over your prone figure sprawled on the bed and calculates his next move.

"sixt-teen! seven-seven...teen!! eight... eight... eight...!"

oh, kento's brutal. he laughs without humor, hips only continuing to pick up their onslaught of a pace. aggressive thrusts that cause your cunt to pitifully weep and squelch in delirium. the rate at which he slams into you would almost hurt if he thankfully wasn't cushioned between your plush thighs, a crazed smile growing on the depraved man's handsome face at the way your tits jiggle in time with the sound of skin smacking harshly against skin.

"silly thing, fucked too dumb to count properly." then he coos, sarcastic words laced in faux saccharine. "are two-digit numbers too hard for you?"

you whimper, tears pooling in your eyes and cling to his broad shoulders. "ken, kento... ah, please!"

"let me help you, precious," he whispers reassuringly and your legs squeeze around his waist in appreciation and anticipation.

your darling, lovely, wonderful kento. surely, he'll let you finally cum...!

the weight of his strong body pushes your back deep down into the mattress, pelvis flush against yours. happy trail tickles at your sensitive, puffy clit. he doesn't pull back no matter how much you whine and writhe beneath him, pussy clenching uncontrollably at another ruined orgasm.

curse his damn stamina and sadistic attitude!

"kento, no...!"

"and how many was that?"

"f-four," you sniffle pitifully.

"smart baby, what a lucky guess. so you do know how to count!

he rewards you with a nip to your tender breast, slightly taking away the pain of edging with a sting elsewhere. with it comes a muddled clarity that will help clear your brain.

it's all part of the game. and nanami kento is a man that never loses.

"shall we try double-digits again?" he teases, adoring the way your eyebrows scrunch and your lower lip juts out in a pout. even more in love with the scratches of honor from your nails digging into his back when he begins to grind against you. "something tells me you just might finally get it right this time, sweetheart."

xsatoru: August 2023 ©

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

It’s so sad and funny to see ‘fans’ being disappointed by Becky English’s articles. I have always expected that Kate would start as a full time Royal again until September or the next year.

I know many are saying she is using her privilege and it’s a bad look and I get it, but people need to calm down and understand that she had chemo, and not all the patients are affected with the same secondary effects or else. If she ended chemo in August as the articles told us, she just has had 4 months of rest, I’ve read that majority need at least 6 months to start feeling a little bit like their old self and some secondary effects even need 1 year.

And to be fair, people need to understand how KP’s PR works, they have always been focused on: Family first and duty last, I think is genuine but I also think that it’s the way to show the world that the RF isn’t a bunch of cold people anymore, that also helps W to sell his father and husband PR (we know he loves that as a way to show the idiots he isn’t a cheating husband and he is a present parent not like Chuck) and Kate being the ‘nation’s mother’ and nurturing figure of the RF PR. Again, I think it’s genuine and they are lovely people, but that doesn’t mean that their office doesn’t use those good things to sell that image to the nation. So having that in mind, of course we will have at least 1 year of endless articles saying that family is first, that she is focusing on what matters and slowly abandoning such PR until she can come again as full time Royal.

The article of course has some briefs from KP, but other things are guesses, and common sense (it was obvious she won’t fully return in January) but people already believe she won’t be doing a damn all the year, when i guess that she will do at least 2-3 engagements per month + her private work with early childhood + maybe key visits to Wales or Scotland (St. Davis Day and Hollyrood week) + 1-2 army engagement + accepting few new patronages + trooping, cenotaph, big maybe the state banquets, etc…. (So be prepared for only having like 50-60 engagements this year)

William himself said during Earthshot that he expected Catherine feeling better and doing some foreign visits with him, so, I think as English said, they aren’t saying if she indeed will travel or not until the date is near and see if she feels good enough. Only William ‘confirmed’ he will do some of the visits but English is just making the common guess: ‘nobody still knows but she wants to if she feel good’ (which is what W said, so nothing new)

Anyway, the point is people need to stop being mad for something that was common sense and expected for this year. And stop comparing her with Charles, because first, he is the King and second we don’t know what treatment he is taking and while he is older, maybe his treatment plan allow him to not feel too bad

Pretty sure you're on the wrong blog because no one here is upset or disappointed by the article.

Everyone here understands that cancer and treatment is different for each individual case. We're not comparing Charles and Kate's experiences. We're comparing the palaces' communications strategies and how that managed (or didn't manage) the public's expectations.

[lucy90712]

Can you do a Jude Bellingham imagine where his girlfriend is very burnt out from school. They do long distance so she tries to get everything done so she can go spend time with him & watch him play. One day when she lands to watch him play against Barcelona he finds her stress crying in the room alone because she tries to be there for everyone around her but it’s costing her to stress out about getting things in on time. Somehow Jude calms her & they enjoy their day before he plays against Barcelona.

Thank you

-a very stressed & burnt out student

A/n: this is me right now too, I hope things get easier for you soon

WC: 2.0k The last few weeks maybe even months have been so stressful. Ever since I went back to university I have done nothing but go to classes and study. I know it's my final year but I didn't think it would be this difficult but there is just so much to do between assignments for classes and preparations for my dissertation. For the first few weeks I feel like I was coping pretty well but recently it's all just hit me like a truck and now I feel like I'm drowning in books and being suffocated by deadlines. 

To make it all 100 times worse where I chose to go to uni is away from my family and very far from my boyfriend. Don't get me wrong I love it here but at times like this I just wish that I had someone here to tell me it's all going to be ok. I've been really missing not just my family but my boyfriend Jude as well, I haven't seen Jude since before I came back to uni which was at the end of august and it's been killing me. I also haven't been able to talk to him as much as I would like as I've been really busy and he's been busy too with his move to Real Madrid and having to get used to living and playing over there. 

These last few months have been hard on our relationship, even though we've been long distance for a few years now we have never gone this long without seeing each other and the fact that we haven't talked as much hasn't helped. Finally we are going to see each other though as I'm flying over to see him play and just to spend a few days with him which has got me through the last few days. In order to be able to go and see Jude I have been working extra hard to get my work done as I want to actually spend time with him which I can't do if I have assignments to do but it's been difficult. All week I've only left my apartment to go to classes and I've pulled far too many all nighters but I've got quite a lot done so I guess it's somewhat worth it although I still have some things to do. 

I had an alarm set to wake me up before my flight but it wasn't needed as I'd been awake all night packing and doing uni work. The worst part was despite all my hard work I had to pack a few of my textbooks and my laptop as I didn't manage to finish everything in time. I tried to put that behind me though as I got to the airport because I still want to enjoy my time with Jude and if I'm stressed and feeling down then I'm not going to make the most of the time which I really do want to do. Jude has been telling me all week how much he's been looking forward to today he promised me that we was going to get up early to pick me up from the airport before he has to go to training which is how I know he's serious as he hates getting up in the morning. 

~~~~~~~~~~

After a few hours in the air I landed on Spanish soil and somehow I immediately felt a bit more relaxed as I knew it was only a matter of time until I would be in Jude's arms which is exactly what I need. As I got off the plane I text Jude to let him know I had landed which he answered right away telling me he was already waiting for me in the arrivals lounge with a disguise on so he didn't get recognised. Knowing he was waiting for me made me walk a bit quicker to collect my bag and once it was in sight I grabbed it and ran towards where Jude would be waiting for me. 

It took me a minute to find Jude but eventually I saw him stood with a hat and sunglasses on which didn't offer much of a disguise but he wasn't surrounded by people so clearly it does something. Once he saw me coming he swiftly made his way over until he was close enough to pick me up and nearly kill me with how tightly he held me. It felt so good to be in his arms again and smell his cologne it made me feel like I was home again which is exactly what I've been needing. Jude held onto me for a good while before he took my bag in one hand and my hand in the other leading me out to his car which was parked outside. Once we got in the car Jude leaned straight over the centre console and smashed his lips onto mine which led to us making out for a bit too long so we had to rush back to Jude's place on he could drop me off before going to his training session. 

Once Jude had left I went and made myself some breakfast as I didn't have time to eat before I left and I had to make myself a cup of tea because despite being in Spain I'm still British and we can't go a day without a cup of tea. Jude knows me well enough that he had brought a new pack of my favourite tea and put it on a shelf he knows I can reach along with a mug which he had clearly just brought for me. I enjoyed my cup of tea before I took my bag upstairs to go and unpack. To my surprise the room was quite clean and Jude had cleaned out one of his draws for me, well not quite there was a few hoodies and t shirts in there still but he left me a note telling me I can wear them so they are mine now. Of course I had to put a hoodie on before starting to unpack all of my stuff. 

I unpacked most of my stuff pretty quickly but then I got to the bottom of my suitcase and saw just how many text books and folders I had to pack. Seeing it made the realisation hit me that I still have so much work to do and once again all of the stresses started weighing down on me like it was physically crushing me. All week I've been so deep into work mode I bottled up all my emotions but now they are all coming out at once and for some reason I can't stop crying. It's like all of the pressure and stress has finally reached the surface and the mental breakdown all my friends warned was coming has finally arrived. I've never felt so overwhelmed in my life and I just don't know how to cope all I do know is that I need to get myself together before Jude gets back as I don't want to worry him plus I want to enjoy our time together. 

My attempts to calm myself down didn't go well if anything I just got more overwhelmed and cried more. I was so in my own world that I completely lost track of time so when I heard the front door close and Jude call my name I panicked. As his footsteps got closer to the bedroom I desperately tried to wipe the tears from my face but then I realised my eyes would still be all red so I just put the hood on the hoodie up to try and cover my face.

"Hi darling do you need any help unpacking?" Jude asked a he walked in 

"N-no I'm f-fine" I sniffled

"Babe what's wrong?" He asked clearly concerned 

"Nothing" I said 

"I know you're lying to me I can hear you sniffling what's made you so upset you know you can tell me anything" he said trying to make me open up

"I'm sorry I'm just stressed I've got so much work to do for uni I worked so hard all week so we could actually spend some time together but I couldn't finish everything and now I have loads of texts books in my suitcase and I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed I'm really sorry I'm ruining our time together" I rambled 

"Hey hey slow down it's ok there's no need to be sorry it's ok tell me exactly what's going on and we can fix it together" Jude comforted 

"I still have two assignments I need to finish before the end of the week and I'm so exhausted from pulling so many all nighters but I just want to actually spend some time with you because I've really missed you" I said a bit more calmly this time 

"Ok we can work this out I know you're tired but how about I help you finish those assignments then we can just have a relaxing evening together get some sleep and be ready to do something together tomorrow" Jude suggested 

"That sounds good" I said 

Jude then picked me up and sat me on his bed before grabbing my laptop and books for me. I explained to him what I needed to do and then we go to work together. One of my assignments I just needed to reread so Jude did that for me to make sure there were no mistakes then I just needed to finish one other assignment and then do the same. Jude was so helpful and read the parts of my textbooks I needed to me while I typed and he let me talk through my ideas with him even though he doesn't understand what I'm studying. In just over and hour we were done and I instantly felt so much better and when Jude started giving me kisses I felt even better. 

 Being the amazing boyfriend that he is Jude got some chocolate from downstairs for me to eat while he ran a bath for the both of us to share. It was only when Jude came to ask me which bubble bath I prefer that I realised just how much he had brought for my visit. He doesn’t like to take baths so he wouldn’t have bubble bath just lying around and the chocolate I was eating was my favourite one so he must’ve got that especially for me as well. Jude is such a sweet boyfriend all the time but little things like this just make me realise how truly perfect he is and it makes me so grateful that I ended up with Jude as I know he truly cares for me. 

Once the bath was ready Jude helped me get in then he got in himself and sat behind me letting me rest my back against his chest. The entire atmosphere was so relaxing which helped me finally let go of all the stress and anxiety that has been fuelling me for the last few weeks. Nothing needed to be said either both of us were more than content just sitting there in silence as Jude’s fingers played with the rings on my hand especially the promise ring which he gave me last Valentine’s Day which I think is my favourite piece of jewellery I own. After a while of just relaxing Jude started to wash my body for me which meant I didn’t have to move at all as his hands gently rubbed over my skin. 

Once the both of us were clean we got out the bath and Jude gave me some of his clothes for me to put on which I very happily did. He then picked me up and carried me downstairs to the sofa where he piled blankets on top of me before sitting down and spreading them out properly. All of the sudden I felt the tiredness take over so I snuggled up to Jude and just let my eyes close and sleep consume me. Just as I was drifting off I felt Jude kiss the top of my head and whisper I love you which put a smile on my face just as I went into a dreamland. 

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Five Fics Friday: August 16/24

Happy Friday Everyone!! Check out these fics to start off your weekend!!! Hope you enjoy!!!

RECENT MFLs

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[pearlywritings]

Can we get a...

synopsis: twins’ seventh birthday is almost half a year away, but it seems that they already have a gift in mind. Though you surely did not expect this.

pairing: Diluc x fem!reader, your twin sons Rufus and Lucas

tw: fluff, pregnancy

word count: 3.5k+ words

Family AU Masterlist

What a peaceful February afternoon. The fire flickers and wood cracks in the fireplace, warming up the area around. In this peaceful noise you make out Adelinde's voice quietly discussing something with Elzer in his study, with a door left slightly ajar - a precaution so she can always hear in case you call for her. But you don't think you'll need her help anytime soon, feeling quite cozy at the moment - multiple pillows support your back as you are resting on the sofa, big comforter covers your body from stomach and down, two boys are snuggling under it from both sides of your body, providing additional warmth and contently squinting from your fingers threading through their thick locks and gently massaging their heads. Their teacher has just left not so long ago and you are letting them relax after the whole morning of studying. After all, a break for yourself was around the corner as well, so the trade papers you'd been reviewing were put on a coffee table aside. You'll have enough time to finish this little work Diluc still lets you do in your condition, while he himself is out to check on the tavern in the city and, as you are guessing, buy kids some treats for their good behavior as well.

You feel Rufus shift a little on your right, bringing your mind back to reality - for a moment the serene atmosphere lulled you into a slumber. It makes you aware of what the two redheads have been doing ever since they joined you in the living room to cuddle - silently exchanging glances over your six-(almost seven)-month pregnant stomach. They are up to something it seems, but there is no hint of mischief in the air, so it should be something harmless - you won't pry until they want to share it with you.

Which happens pretty soon, as the boys nod simultaneously and then two sets of ruby-like eyes glance up at your face and you see it as a signal for a conversation, drawing your hands away from their heads and resting around their half-turned to you bodies.

"Mama?" Rufus is the one who starts the conversation after a few more moments of silence. You tenderly smile and rub his back in reassurance.

"Yes, baby, what is it?"

"Remember how it's our birthday in August?" The boy continues as his brother fumbles with his fingers a little, giving out his nervousness. You know your boys, despite their quite creative and energetic nature they rarely ask for something overly crazy or something you and your husband couldn't afford for them, so this one must be really serious, if the younger of the twins fidgets at the prospect of it. Your fingertips slide to his arm and down to his hands, offering to hold them, and Lucas puts them onto your palm almost immediately.

"Of course I do, loves," your smile never disappears, if anything it gets wider - they will be turning seven, hard to believe it's been several years of your babies' lives already. "Oh! You have something in mind for how you want to celebrate it?" They shake their heads, so you try another, "presents?"

This time they confirm your guess with a nod and Lucas, playing with your fingers, hums. 

"And what might it be?" You ask curiously, once again witnessing how the boys exchange glances, as if deciding who'll be the one to announce it. To your surprise they both take deep inhale, look back at you and blurt the question out together:

"Canwegetadog!?"

"Wha-" caught off guard you stare at them with wide eyes, though very quickly recovering. "I am sorry, could you repeat that? I don't think I heard it with all this speed."

Twins pout, as if saying it again offends them very much, but eventually Lucas shakes your hand a little, asking for your attention, which you direct at him.

"Yes?"

"Me and Rufus were wondering… Would you and papa let us get a dog?"

Oh. A pet? Wow, this is new and serious indeed.

"A dog?" They nod again, tense like bowstrings awaiting for your reaction, almost not blinking as they stare at you. A little bit caught off guard you keep your silence for a few seconds, thinking over their request. But it looks like the lack of response from you is concerning for the twins, as they become even more fidgety and avert their ruby eyes, thinking they did the wrong thing, after all, that's an almost life-changing matter. They nearly jump when your hands come to rest on their backs, comfortingly rubbing.

"What kind of dog? Do you have something in mind or you just decided you simply want a dog?" 

As if by a wave of the magic wand their shoulders relax, gaze back on you and smiles once again plastered on their cute little faces. Rufus immediately starts untangling himself from under the comforter.

"Oh, we can show! I'll go get it, wait a moment, ma!" Finally free, he jumps off the sofa, swiftly turns back to tuck the fabric back at your side and quickly runs to the stairs and to their room. Lucas presses himself into you again, one arm wrapping around your stomach and his face tucked into your ribs.

"You are not mad?" You hear in a muffled question, which makes you chuckle and put your own hand on top of his.

"Of course not, Lu. An animal companion is a sweet idea, I love it. But before I, or your father make any decisions, we need to fully understand what you two want and how to operate it," and for you to know what to use when appealing the idea to your husband, because it happened so that there’s never been a conversation about pets, aside from his falcon, who is more of a companion to him, and the kids are still wary around her.

"Oh, you mean like, the size, the eating and walking habits, how it is with people?" The younger peaks up and you are amazed at how clever he is.

"Yes, that's what I mean…how do you know?"

"We read it in a book brother went to get. Dad let us use the library in his study and Rufus found an encyclopedia about dogs. There are pictures and all kinds of interesting stuff. We asked Addie to help us a little with the words we didn't know."

You hum in acknowledgement, not having time to say anything else, because you can hear your other son reappearing on top of the stairs and soon tapping his way down and back to you and his brother.

"Here!" He proudly presents you a pretty slim volume and this time you don't even need both hands to take it. Lucas patiently waits for his brother to climb back under the warm fabric and get comfortable and only then tells you to open page 56.

Placing the book partly on your belly, you start searching for the page and find it pretty quickly, as it appears to be the first one in the Snezhnayan national breeds section. While many domestic animals were bred and selected in their homelands, it's not strange to see some of them distributed to other regions as well, so, the non-Mondstadt-originated dog doesn't surprise you.

Seeing the name of the breed though makes you snort on the inside, imagining the look on Diluc's face when he hears about it.

"Snezhnayan Borzoi?" You ask, looking at the illustration of a very elegant dog with long slim legs, equally long curved body, long snout, long tail, long beautiful fur… yeah, everything about this dog is long, which in the end gives a very noble-looking complexion. 

Boys nod.

"Yes, we really, really want it… Look how pretty it is!"

"And you both agreed on the same dog?" You ask a little bit in disbelief, knowing very well, how different some of their tastes are.

"Well…" Rufus trails off, staring at his brother, who returns the same kind of look to him.

"We wanted different," Lucas admits, "but when we told Addie, she said two dogs are too much."

Even if they don't elaborate, you understand the meaning behind it. Too much in general. And also there is soon going to be a new member of the family, which means your and Diluc's attention would be occupied even more, and if one dog (or a puppy, at first) is still manageable, two is hardly so.

Looks like your boys are growing so well, learning to make some sacrifices and be open to compromising, your heart couldn't be more happy for them.

"This beauty is pretty indeed," you say after their explanation and you can see how ruby eyes light up with hope. "And you came to an agreement, great job, boys!"

Two sets of arms wrap around your neck and both of your cheeks get a loud smooch.

"Thank you, mama! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

You laugh joyfully, turning head side to side to kiss their foreheads.

"Don't thank me just yet, we still have a game to play," ah, yes, the game the three of you practice before laying out some of the ideas to their father. It both helps to convince him faster and for the twins to develop the argumentative skills. And also works vice versa when they go to dad first with the matter where you have the final word in.

"Why don't you prove to me this sweet dog is the one for you and that generally it is a good idea," the smiles get wider, as they understand what you are implying, and by the confident looks on their faces you can guess they’ve already thought beforehand of what to say to you.

"Yes, mom! So," Lucas decides to not beat around the bush and start right away, "we do not ask for two dogs. We know it is a big deal," he says it so proudly, that you can hardly contain a chuckle.

"Secondly," Rufus points into the book and you glance at the numbers presented there, "this dog is big."

"And why is that good?" the older twin furrows his brows for a moment in thought, pursing his lips. You patiently wait, before he comes up with something.

"I think a small dog is hard to notice and if it barks, the sound is too, um…" ruby gaze darts to the side for help.

"Disturbing," his brother offers.

"Yes, disturbing! And you'll soon have a baby…" both boys look at your belly and Rufus gently pats it, which brings a bright glint to your eyes. They are so considerate.

"Besides," Lucas chirps again, "they are quite lazy while inside and won't be too noisy. When outside they love to run a lot and we have a lot of land around for it. I think we can easily go for a walk three times a day with it."

"Hm, but it says here that each walk should take at least an hour. Sure you can handle it?" You point at the paragraph with the descriptions and boys start thinking. "You should understand that this will be your dog and it will listen to you."

"Yeah, we read that borzoi do not really listen, and to the people who are not their owners…" Rufus sighs, and you see the understanding that maids will be of little help sink in. "But we will try very hard! We can walk after breakfast… ah, wait, the classes…" at that you chuckle, and reach to ruffle his hair.

"Don't worry, I am sure your dad won't mind rearranging the beginning of your classes to start a bit later," their faces beam with a smile again.

"And then we can easily walk in the afternoon and evening!"

"That's great, loves," the praise encourages them even more and by the time it's lunch hour, the twins have laid out some more proving points, making you believe Diluc would be easily swayed.

"You really want this dog, aren't you…" you muse, finishing reading the article the book offered. They eagerly nod. From the corner of your eye you notice Adelinde, who has come out to check on you three and the fireplace. Suddenly she chuckles.

"Sorry, My Lady, I happened to overhear your conversation."

"Oh, that's fine," you offer her a reassuring smile, which she returns with a sweet one of her own. "But what made you laugh, Adelinde?"

"Just remembered how animated young masters have been for the last couple of days, when talking about this beautiful dog in my presence."

"Is that so?" The boys sheepishly giggle, starting to make their way out of the comforter's embrace. "Ah, nevermind," shaking your head and passing a book back to Rufus, you move the comforter completely off of you, and, with some assistance from Adelinde, rise to your feet.

"It's time for lunch, isn't it? Let's go have it, and when dad comes home in the evening, you'll talk to him, alright?"

"Mhm!"

"Good. Now go and put the book back into your room, wash your hands and be ready to dig in," your sons disappear as quickly as you finish your speech. The woman next to you offers you her arm and you thankfully lean on it, even if it's just mere meters to the dining table.

An opening door draws your attention from the book and instantly the bookmark is placed between the pages as your eyes connect with your husband's vermillion ones. The jacket has probably been taken away by the maids to clean and dry and he also lacks a cravat and a vest. What he isn't lacking is a small smile brightening up his whole face and reflecting in the burning fire of his soul.

"Good evening, my flame," the greeting is sweet on his tongue and the almost unnoticeable sprint in his steps is an indicator of how much the Master of the Dawn Winery has been craving to be back with you, his wife. The bed dips under his knee and the gloves are swiftly taken off and thrown to the side. Big scarred warm palms cup your cheeks and a kiss is pressed against your lips, sealing his words like a barrel of dandelion wine.

Diluc cradles your face in his hands so delicately, so gingerly, you start thinking he is back to viewing you as a glass piece that can easily break, which was proved wrong many times before. You kiss him back with a little more force to remind him you are not fragile and the man seems to chuckle, drawing his face away to gaze at you lovingly. Only for his eyes to widen a little when you peck his nose and rub yours against it.

A rich laugh is born within the confinement of his chest and a few more fleeting kisses are placed all over your cheeks.

"Missed me this much?" You murmur quietly, afraid to break the atmosphere. Your husband hums, rubbing his thumbs over your cheekbones.

"Yes…missed you so much," then his gaze flits down to your stomach and the next moment the palms are pressed against your rounded belly, with lips following soon after. 

"Missed the little one too, love."

Instantly your fingers go into his flaming hair, releasing them from a high ponytail and carefully running digits through the heavy locks. You let him have his moment, lovingly staring at the back of his head, listening to the softest murmurs offered to the baby in your belly, your third child, your soon-to-be-joy. Just two more months.

"Do you feel sore?" His burning gaze is back on your calm one, worrying about you overworking your body - you are carrying a big weight on your midsection all the time, he knows it's hard.

"Luc, love, have you forgotten? You literally increased payment to my maids to take care of me whenever you can't. Soon I'll get addicted to all these nice massages."

"That's not a bad thing."

"Yeah, I am aware, and you could use some too. I can feel your tense back under my fingertips"

"Love," he groans but you know, it's not of annoyance, just him being playful. "Besides you know our staff adore you. Helping you in any way possible, especially now, is no trouble for them."

“Your ability to convince me of anything in the sweetest ways possible scares me,” you laugh, when he gives you an unamused glance, and poke his cheek with a finger.

“Speaking of convincing, have boys already gotten to you with one?”

You bring your hands from his hair to your stomach when your husband draws himself back and off the bed to properly undress and change while having a conversation with you. By the sound of him lightly chuckling you know they have.

“Oh, when I tell you I got worried when they met me at the front door and urgently asked to go to my study - you better believe it,” he grabs the gloves he threw away minutes ago and walks to put them in a drawer.

“So, how went the discussion of their desired birthday present?” You really are curious - after all that’s such a big decision and, by the looks of it, means a lot to your sons, who, as it now becomes clear to you why, have even spent the last week being on their best, borderline perfect behavior.

Diluc grabs a hanger from a wardrobe and puts it on the bed, starting to work on his shirt. A concentrated look on his face doesn’t go unnoticed by you, and the need to know his thoughts stirs impatience inside.

“Tell me. Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me!”

“Well,” a fond look of his crimson eyes graces your somewhat displeased expression, quickly making you melt, earning a smile from him as well, “it went very well.”

“For you or for them?”

“What if I say both?” he teases and you almost roll your eyes. If the bed wasn’t so big you’d reach out and kick his leg.

“Come oooon, I am intrigued!”

“I know you are,” a chuckle.

“You know and yet you keep it a secret? Unbelievable. Your brother’s antics rub on you it seems. Don’t look at me like that, we both know you were even worse in your teens.”

“One day he won’t see the light of it,” Diluc promises without malice and, finally changed, climbs onto the bed to settle by your side, only to be attacked by your loving kisses and a big hug, which he accepts eagerly, encouraging your affectionate clinginess.

“Tell meeee, did they do well?”

“In their game of conviction? Of course they did, you are their teacher,” at that you giggle.

“So… Does that mean you told them you’d get a dog? The exact one they want?”

“I didn’t say I’d get them a dog, but I promised to think.”

“Only to get it as a surprise?”

“You know me too well, my flame. And though their choice surprised me, I don't have anything against it.”

“Though the land of origin has it against you?” The man sighs at your joke, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“It’s going to be hard, but I’ll put someone from my people in charge of that. After all, borzoi aren’t popular in Mond, it’s probably been years since the last time some noble adopted a dog like that as an,” he twists his fore and middle fingers, “ ‘exotic pet’.”

“True,” you agree, reaching out to take his hand and put a head on his shoulder. “You think we'll handle it on top of everything?"

"I think we will. I suppose we'll have some time to get adjusted to having the baby here. Then I could help Ru and Lu train the puppy. Borzoi are quite temperamental, after all, they’ll need assistance."

"And once again you are ready to go such lengths to make our babies happy. You are a great father, you know?”

He doesn’t even need to respond, because you both know the answer to this question. Diluc leans to rest the cheek against your head and intertwines your fingers, gently squeezing to tighten the hold. Your words, this exact admittance brought a bigger smile on the man’s face and caused butterflies to dance in his chest, caressing his heart with the soft trembles of their wings. Yes, he’d do many things to assure his family’s safety and happiness, as it became his life purpose after meeting you.

Besides, birthdays happen once a year, right? And getting a dog isn’t all that extraordinary, - knowing his boys and their wild imagination he could’ve expected something mind-blowing (like that time when they saw Klee using her bombs and begged you two to install those instead of the fireworks. Obviously you two declined, letting Albedo take care of that part, so in the end Rufus and Lucas still were entertained and content with the fire show).

So, yeah, Snezhnayan Borzoi it is.

Maybe he could teach it to bark at Kaeya. Just because he can.

[glitchy-npc]

51 from the whump prompts?

Lady Argent pays Ricardo a visit after hes been gone a few days. 1021 words, content warning for alcoholism. [A03]

51. “I thought I was better.”

Los Diablos, August 2019

Lady Argent patiently listened to the sounds of multiple locks clicking open on the door to Ricardo’s apartment. After she had asked it so nicely it only felt fair to wait and it was willing to oblige, despite its programming. Machines were often easier to talk to than people, more polite for one, straightforward, and they rarely left you to worry about them. 

Unlike Ortega. 

Striding into his apartment the door slid back into place, locks resetting. It didn’t take long to find Ricardo, the soft snoring a dead giveaway. Staring down at him where he laid sprawled out on his couch, the former Marshal looked nothing like he did at HQ, the cocky confidence he always wore when in uniform, and even less like his airbrushed counterpart from the covers of magazines. Here he looked…fragile. Disheveled hair sticking to his forehead, a day or two's worth of stubble on his jaw, expensive shirt creased in whatever shape he had collapsed in. The smell of alcohol made her wrinkle her nose. 

The sight of him made her heart twinge. It also pissed her off. 

She made no attempt to quiet her footsteps as she stomped towards the kitchen throwing open the cabinet door with a loud enough bang that it should have woken him but didn’t. She filled a glass to the brim with tap water and when she returned to the couch, dumped its contents squarely onto his face. 

She didn’t flinch at the string of spluttered Spanish curses or the lightning that danced around his knuckles as Ricardo jerked back to consciousness. Attempting to wipe water from his eyes it took him a moment to focus on his assailant.

“Angie? What the hell…?” There was far more confusion than heat in his words.

“I think that should be my line.” She crossed her arms over her chest, still standing. It wasn’t often she got to loom over him and she was going to make the most of it. 

“How…did you get into my apartment?” He glanced over at the door that had betrayed him.

“Your security isn’t as good as you think.” She tapped clawed fingers against her own arm, not caring if the sound made him wince.

“So to what do I owe such a nice, unexpected visit?” He tried to push wet hair back from his forehead and throw on a smile, neither of which were very successful.

“Don’t get cute with me Ricardo-”

“You think I’m cute?” This time the smile fit. But Argent wasn’t going to fall for it. 

“You know damn well why I’m here!” She needed to pace if she wasn’t going to slap that stupid smile off his face. “Herald and I have been pulling double shifts because you haven’t bothered to show up to work in days!”

“Ah…sorry about that.” He at least had the decency to look guilty but that only pissed her off more.

“Sorry!?” She stopped pacing to give him an incredulous look until he looked away. “The entire team has been worried about you and picking up your slack and all because you’re what…getting day drunk at home!?”

“Listen…”

“No, you listen! No one wants to go through this shit again! I thought you had quit.” That was only half true. Cut back maybe, at least had it under control. Self control was something she understood intimately. She expected better from him. Maybe that wasn’t fair but what is?

“Look I didn’t exactly plan for this I just…” He trails off, leaving her to pick up the pieces. This isn’t a conversation he wants to have but he's getting it anyway.

“What happened?” Her words are sharp but she sits down on his coffee table to face him directly, no longer looming. “Talk to me.” She added, softer. 

Ricardo’s sigh was heavy as he started to worry at the emitters on his hands. Nervous, vulnerable, Argent wouldn’t want to be in his shoes right now but he got himself into this mess, he can at least try to get out.

“I…thought I was better but…I thought I saw him again…my old partner.” The admission is barely above a whisper.

Argent sighed heavily through her nose. So that was it, a relapse, enough to induce the hallucinations again. It stung more than she thought it would. How long can you watch someone you care about destroy themselves over a pain you can’t share?

“Ricardo…”

“I know what you’re thinking but I swear I was stone sober at the time!” He tried to meet her gaze, to will her to believe him. 

“So what's this then?” She kicked the tequila bottle next to the foot of the couch, finding it empty.

“That was an experiment…a stupid one.” He scratched the back of his neck, looking even more sheepish than he had before.

“I won’t argue that, but you're going to need to explain it.”

“I guess I thought that…maybe if I was drunk I could force it, prove it wasn’t real. Just my brain playing tricks again.”

“You’re right, that is stupid.”

“Y’know with the whole tough love thing there's supposed to be a little bit more of the latter…” He chuckles a little and it doesn’t sound fake.

“That I’m here is proof of that.” Matter of fact, no need to get mushy about it.

“You’re right and…thank you Angie, for checking in on me. I’ll get my head back on straight, I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” She reached out to touch his knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. She wasn’t normally one for physical contact but he needed it. Maybe so did she. 

As she rose to make her way to the door she looked back over her shoulder, the fond smile on his face making her heart twinge again. “You better show up early tomorrow, I plan on being late. I’m sleeping in.” 

“Yes, mam” He replied in as military a voice as he could muster. Argent snorted and rolled her eyes as she left, hoping he’d keep his promise.

[cuttergauthier]

Treated Like A Princess

Gabe Perrault x Female Reader

Warning: fluff, cursing, Mention of ex, Mention of abuse from ex, Mention of alcohol

word count: 1.3k

let me know what you guys think🤍

Gabe and I have been dating for the past 8 months. We met when Gabe played for the NTDP last year. We had to do a project together in school so we got close. I had broken up with my abusive boyfriend about 3 months earlier so I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend, but Gabe made me change my mind.

After a month of knowing Gabe and him trying to ask me out on a date, I told him about my ex which isn’t something I like to talk about but for some reason I knew I could trust Gabe so I told him. Gabe was angry at my ex which is understandable, and he also promised me he would never hurt me and if I gave him a chance he could prove it. 

I ended up giving him a chance and it’s probably one of the best decisions I could have made, he treats me like a princess everyday. He asked me to be his girlfriend last May.

In high school we would go to some of the same places we just never saw each other, until we started working on a project together. We found out that we were both about to start our freshman year of College at Boston College.

We spent most of the time during summer that he wasn’t training together. When we got to Boston College at the end of August we saw each other as much as we could before he got too busy with hockey and me with school.

His teammates are all pretty great. Him and the rest of the Freshman all live in dorms close to each other so I've been spending a lot of time there instead of my dorm. I got pretty close to them, they're great guys, they’re always doing something stupid. 

…

Tonight the hockey team was throwing a party after their big win, since I’m dating Gabe I always go. 

Thankfully the party was at the Seniors house. Gabe told me he would meet me at my dorm room before going to the party. I had taken my car to the arena, I went back to my dorm room so I could change before making my way to Gabe’s dorm room. I was laying on Gabe’s bed scrolling through TikTok waiting for him to get home.

At around 10:00 p.m. his bedroom door opened and Gabe walked in. I looked up from my phone and smiled at him. He dropped his bag at the end of the bed on the floor, before he made his way to me, placing a kiss on my forehead.

“Sorry it took so long, some of the guys needed a drive so Ryan went to drive them to the dorms to get change before coming back here” he said.

“No worries. What time is everyone going to start showing up?” I asked.

“Soon we can make our way there as soon as I get changed.” he said

He was looking in his closet for jeans and a tee shirt, he turned around and chuckled at me.

“What?” I looked at him confused.

“The team is already there, they have been setting up for a little bit, did you not see the text in the group chat” he said laughing. I shrugged.

“I don’t know… I was scrolling through TikTok so I didn’t see it,” I said , smiling shyly. 

Was I that focussed on Tiktok that I didn’t realize they were texting in the group chat? 

I’ve been in a group chat with Ryan, Will and Gabe since the UNTDP days. 

Once Gabe was changed he grabbed my hand.

“Come on, let's go to the party” he said smiling.

I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before I let him walk us to the party.

“This party is going to be pretty big tonight so stay by me please or if you go somewhere make sure you’re with one of the girls” he said and I nodded. 

I’ve always been scared that I might run into my ex boyfriend at Boston College parties since he also goes here, thankfully Gabe always keeps an I on me and most of the parties the guys throw they make sure he doesn’t get in, but tonight is also an open house, so anyone could show up.

We made our way to the kitchen, Gabe took a drink for himself then handed me one. I stayed with him as we talked with Drew and Will. Ryan and his girlfriend Julie made their way to us. 

I talked with Julie while the guys talked with Ryan.

Gabe had his arm around me, we stood in the kitchen next to the counter after the others left to talk to other people.

I was looking around to see if I could possibly see some of my other friends, until my eyes landed on my ex. 

I really hoped he wouldn’t be here, I hope that he knew I was dating one of the guys so wouldn’t come anywhere near me since Gabe could beat him up.

I stood still in shock with my eyes wide. Gabe noticed I wasn’t answering him so he looked at me concerned. He looked to try and find what I was looking at when I felt his body tensed. 

Gabe put his drink on the counter, took mine and did the same before taking my hand and leading me towards the stairs. 

He stopped by Cutter and Charlie before telling them something, I didn’t hear what he said. All I saw was them nodding before he dragged me out of the party and to his dorm room, thankfully it wasn’t far away, but I’m stuck in shock so I didn’t realize how fast the walk went.

He sat me down at the end of his bed before squatting down in front of me. He put both his hands on my cheeks so I could look him in the eyes.

“Hey beautiful, look at me, you have to breath” he said softly 

I took a deep breath. He nodded.

“Just like that… keep doing it”

I did it a few more times, Before I was able to calm down.

“Are you doing better?” He asked

I nodded.

“Thank you, I didn’t think I would actually see him here” I said slowly.

“You don’t have to thank me, Cutter and Charlie said they would handle it” he said and I nodded.

“Do you want to stay here and cuddle?” He asked again.

“Can we? It’s your team's party. I don't want you to have to stay here with me, when you should be celebrating with your team” I asked shyly. I didn’t want to ruin his night, just because mine was.

He shook his head before smiling at me. 

“Babe, I’d rather spend time with you,” he said leaning in and kissing my forehead. He got up and went to his closet and took out sweatpants and a hoodie along with my bag. He walked back to me and gave me the hoodie and my bag.

“Go change,” he said. I nodded and made my way to the bathroom. To do my skincare routine and change into comfy clothes. Once I slipped on my Pj shorts and Gabe's hoodie I went back to his room.

Gabe was laying under the bed covers scrolling through his phone. When he saw me, he put his phone on the nightstand before making a grabby hand at me.

“Come here,” he said. I made my own on the other side of the bed and god under the covers. Gabe pulled me to his chest holding me tight, I closed my eyes, with Gabe I always feel safe. 

He kissed my forehead.

“I love you so much, and I promise I will never let him hurt you again” he whispered.

“Thank you… for everything. I love you too” 

“You never have to thank me for anything. Now get some sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up” he said softly.

I fell asleep listening to his heartbeat.

[skzdiary]

all fun and games

lee! Minho

ler! Jeongin

t/w: no warnings, just soft tickles and none else! if this is not your cup of tea, feel free to scroll!

The boys finally got to a long deserved rest after the ATE comebck. It just turned august, gosh how does time flies by so fast?

All the members were out with each other at different places:

-channie and seungmin at the burger place

-han and felix at the movies

-hyunjin and changbin going for a walk

"i.n~ahhhh, looks like you stuck with me baby bread!~" the older teased jeongin and ruffled his hair with excitement that he was gonna be spending time with the maknae.

"alright, alright! enough with the hahahair! i spent a long time styling it!" the fox tried to keep a serious expression but failed due to how he cannot resist the bunnies adorable energy.

The dancer and the vocalist grasped for their belongings and they both drove all the way to the fair. It was the perfect time for them both to come, they have worked so hard and they deserve something fun!

"were here innie, where do you wanna go first? a roller coaster? hook the duck? darts?" the older was fulfilled with such excitement and could not wait any longer. He wrapped his hand around the youngers wrist and dragged him to anyone he could get to.

"whohoa! slow down hyung! what about this game?" i.n turned to lee know, standing at the game was a southern man wearing a blue dungerees and a red shirt. "roll up! roll up! hang on the bar for 3 minute to win ₩8000!" ~ "how about you do this? you work out alot, so im pretty sure your strong. pleaseeeeee hyung!" innie whined and begged the older.

"alright in~ah! ill do it, sheesh!" Minho made his way to the bar and held on, the timer started and he was dangling there helplessly. The clock was ticking and the bunnys hands were clamped to the railing, he really was intrigued to win this. "this is so easy, i can win this easily!"

Baby bread had a sneaky idea, the sly fox trotted his way infront of the dancer and lightly stroked his neck and collarbones.

"i-innie, w-what are you dohohing?" the bunnies face turned a bright crimson red and pursed his lips to prevent laughter from coming out.

“Oh nothing much hyung, just helping you win” younger laughed at Lee know trying his best to maintain his giggles. Although that didn’t go to as planned when he gently stroked his sides up and down to make it more difficult for him.

“i swear to gohohohod! cut it ohohohout”~ the older sweetly laughed to his heart contented, he really wanted to win the prize money; so he continued battling. The maknae willingly walked his fingers down to Minho’s v-line which was enough nearly enough to make him give up.

“plehehease! nohohot fair! I cahahahant!”~

“You can’t what, baby?”

“I cahahahnt take it! Stohohohop”

1 minute was remaining on the clock, Lee know had made it this far, surely he can make it to the end, right? He carried on like a champ, that was until the sneakily little vocalist massaged at his underarms. “What about here, hyung?”

Minho started laughing as loud as a hyena. This spot was his worst so it was enough to make him go ballistic. “nono-NOHOHOHO-, I JUST WANT TOHOHO WIN!”

“What do you say then?” - “PLEHEHEHEASE STOHOHOHOP!” as innie followed his request, the timer beeped and the clock has finished.

“Here’s the ₩8000! Congratulations, no one really ever wins, especially the way you just did it. Well done champ!” Lee know ended up being embarrassed but he knew he couldn’t be mad at his baby. They made their way back to the car and back to the dorms to one of the rooms where seungmin were chilling.

“What was that for?”

“What was what for?” seungmin asked curiously with a confused puppy expression.

“innie tickled me whilst i hung from a bar FOR THREE WHOLE MINUTES!” Minho smirked and gave jeongin the eyes and he just giggled.

“Ha, snooze you loose bunny!” the younger chuckled teasing the older, which he did not like.

“Oh you’re in for it now, lil pup”~ the dancer leaped and tackled the singer to the floor and started his attack.

“wait.. I’m sorry! Plehehehase! Nonono-NOGOHOHO-“

Aaaaa this isn’t the best fic I’ve written 😭👋 kinda disappointed because I could have done better but I’ve had no energy or requests and my little brain AINT BRAINING. Ah 진지하게 😭

tags: @itzsana-kiddingmenow @leeknowstan33 @minnielvr22 @hansloveleeknow @minsungii @lubieplackieverybody @jihyosdaughter @soap143 @jeonginsdiary @jihyosdaughter @leegemma @v--143 @just ngkookslipring st

[franki-lew-yo]

Worst year of your life so far

It's hard not to feel like every time a moderately good and nice or even great thing happens to me I ought to expect and inconvenience or a TERRIBLE thing to happen right after. This is genuinely why I'm afraid to be happy. I don't have an exact religion, I'm just certain that I am in fact an evil person or at least some evil person's revitalized soul. Since November of last year my life has been, in this order:

>Receive notice that I might owe SSI 15k because a miscalculation says they're overpaying me. I don't have 15k or stashed away 15k. I've been using every cent of money given to survive and pay back overdue fees. Life coach is sure I won't have to pay anything. I don't believe her.

>Find out that the location of my jobsite is being terminated within a week before the site is closed down. Can not be moved to a new location. The chain is dying. No location has room for me.

>Spend the days up to Christmas helping my coworkers who were a lot of times my only non-family communication, tear apart our store and then become strangers. The worst part is when they have me throw out hundreds of dollars of boutique clothes because the company wants to write it off as a reduction, DIRECTLY into a garbage bin. We'll be terminated from any further locations if we're caught trying to save or sneak away with anything. It's Christmas time and here's some clothes for needy people and my company is literally throwing them in a landfill. I just watch.

>Is repeatedly told by my job coach, REPEATEDLY, that I will get a job at a place which shares my old workplace's union. Nope. I don't. They string the both of us along for four months. By the time we move on to a new place in mind THAT job opportunity fizzles out after too many tries. My job coach and I have a fight and he doesn't talk to me or wants to see me. I feel nothing but shame. He and his wife are going through their own crisis.

>While ALL of this is happening I'm watching an active genocide a take place in real time. I try to do my daily clicks and boycott as much as possible. Come August I use up the rest of my unemployment money donating to any vetted fundraiser I can. I hope, I HOPE every time that THIS MONTH must be the last month of this slaughter. The powers that be have to do something...the answer is a resounding no. More and more innocent families are butchered. I can't offer anything really substantial.

>TWICE. TWICE IN ONE YEAR- my EBT gets cut off until I repeal it.

>My sister and I are both unemployed and in mental (in her case physical anguish). We blow up at each other more than once, especially over politics. She gets a job that she hates and is dangerous before the thankfully quits. She gets another job and is layed off for no reason in the same week she gets it.

>Can't afford a real dentist. Have to do a dentist-intern who tells me to watch my cavities that I have but no they can't do anything about it.

>My laptop's mouse stops working. It's fine for tablet but it means I need to use an external mouse for everything casual and writing. I'm already avoiding doing too much digital artwork on account of not wanting to wear down my system. Oh also my screen has a shadow on in.

>My mom is evicted from the house she and her boyfriend have lived in for years now and is forced to live in my grandpa's house which HE'S been forced to move out of. It was also a house I had lived in for awhile as well and so all of my sister and my own childhood things have to come back with us to our apartment. We don't have room. I'm going to have to downsize so many of my things.

>Catch covid because I was too stupid to bother with a booster. It delays getting me my new job and tasting anything for a month. Also delays me getting to work on the art I need done by September/October.

>Dog gets a bad flea infestation almost immediately after this because of summer heat. Also she wasn't on flea medication when it happened.

>My new job is two days a week rather than three. Lesser pay than what I used to have. All throughout October my schedule is cut to one day a week. I can never truly finish my job for my supervisors like they need to of me.

>Life coach assigns new job specialist; the one who got me my job. New specialist tells me all about Tiktok and how I need it and how I ought to download and post more on there. When I ask her for help navigating the platform and for her to help me on my social media art campaign; she shuts me out. Tells me repeatedly she's not versed in social media and tells me to instead take an online class. That's not what I want from her I want her to support me as an artist and that means occasionally just following my pages. She gives me a hard "no". Literally all my plans for a semi-active youtube, tiktok and instagram campaign fall apart. If I can not be supported even emotionally what's the POINT??

>I learn just this night how I unintentionally deeply hurt one of my oldest friends on the platform when I get the courage to ask if she's really upset with me or not. She blocks me mid me trying to ask for more information on the incident that hurt her. I do think I wronged her, but it's that I didn't even know I did that HURTS. Another one of my friends is right in the way of a frikin hurricane.

>Sister/Roommate is diagnosed with a condition that makes drawing difficult. I try not to draw near or around her as much as possible. It hurts. We are both still artists.

>Next door neighbor who's made creepy sexual comments about me to my sister throws dog poop on my sister's car at night. He thinks it's our dog even though I'M THE ONE picking up our dog's poop every single time.

and finally

>Country elects the same admitted fascist we kicked out for starting a riot.

Art, fandom and my dog is literally all I have. It is my one and only escape and happiness. I would be proud of myself and how much I've matured since just last year, but I can't. I can't be because I'm too miserable and so is everyone else around me. People tell me it's my fault or not my fault, people tell me I can help but won't or that I can't help at all. It's never enough. I wish I could be a better friend towards every one of you. I wish I could be a better creator. I wish I could find the time in my schedule to find a time in my therapists' schedule to see me again. All I ever feel like is an entitled garbage heap for even complaining when so many people are suffering to such an insane degree. Even the campaign people coming to me about how they want me to reblog their posts trigger me on account of how so many seem to forget they've already talked to me before. The fact that I am forgotten by circumstances where people can't remember anyone's username hurts me when it shouldn't.

I just want it all to stop.

----

And, for the first time, I actually want to thank you if you somehow read any of this. This is going to get deleted soon (or maybe not) because it is a trauma dump and TMI.

And yet I genuinely needed to get all of that off my chest. I am INCREDIBLY stressed out and hate to feel bad for myself because that just makes me hate myself and then feel more bad for myself AGAIN rather than do what I keep saying I want to do and help people. I wish this clarity and odd inner-peace wasn't brought about by such turmoil and inner pain. I wish that so much. I guess to quote Art Spiegelman quoting someone else: "Samuel Beckett once said: 'Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness.'...but then again, he did say it."

[mistkisbiggestfan]

The Walking Dead Telltale:

Violentine stuff!! (Violet + Clementine)

You can write fluff, suggestive, or slight agnst

Btw ur fics are rlly good ^^

Violentine!! Oneshot

Violentine world domination!! A fluffy oneshot, based on another night of stargazing.

A/N: I'm back to writing! Expect more fanfics during August :3

GENRE: Fluff

WARNINGS: None

WORDS: 1504

11.08.2024 - REQUEST ARE OPEN

After all that happened, nightly stargazing shared between Violet and Clementine became sparse, since Clem wasn’t able to really climb anymore, there was no way for her to even get onto the bell tower. It saddened both of them, even though none of them had commented on it.

After many restless nights of work, and effort put in by everyone, the others managed to repair the old, broken down staircase, making it usable again. Most effort was put in by Violet, Louis and AJ, since the boy wanted to help Clementine as much as he possibly could.

Now, simple, domestic moments between Clementine and Violet became sparse. All the work that constantly needs to be done around the school, expanding safe zones, repairing the traps, taking care of the school, setting up basic heating for the upcoming winter, it wasn’t easy, especially since Clementine was still just getting used to her new life, in which she is dependant on others for some help in her everyday routine.

It was mildly infuriating, her life was based on her own independence, on the fact she mainly relied on herself and AJ. And now, she had to get help from others just to walk down the stairs, until she learned to do it herself.

Clementine sighed, as she was walking through the courtyard, leaning on her crutches, she just left the dorm room, and for once in a long time, she finally had some time to herself. A cold breeze passed by as she sighed, taking in the chilly air.

She had her jacket on, and a sweater she recently found underneath it, providing enough heat for more than one if it came down to it.

AJ was off with Louis, as the teen promised to the young boy that he’ll teach him how to play piano. Ruby was just doing something with Aasim and Willy. Which left Clementine and Violet to themself. The young woman really wanted to know where her blonde lover went off to, but she really didn’t feel like searching the whole Ericson’s to find her. She sighed, where could she possibly be?

The courtyard was empty, that was until she heard a faint sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the bell tower, the steps were quiet and slow, she turned slightly just to see a familiar sight, there she was, Violet smiled. “Hey there, Clem.”

Violet said, finally stopping, right in front of Clementine, her hands deep in her pockets, searching for warmth in the evening’s cold. Clementine smiled back, happy to see the girl. “I was looking for you, where were you?”

She asked, looking at the blonde, the teen answered. “The bell tower.” She then looked back at it as she seemed slightly excited about something, yet unknown to the other girl. “Come on, I want to show you something.”

Violet said as she began to slowly lead them towards the very same bell tower she was at beforehand. She matched the speed Clementine was walking with, as they casually strolled, side by side. It felt oddly nice, finally having some quiet time, without a worry in the world.

After a minute or so, they reached the entry of the base of the bell tower, Clementine sighed as she looked at it, in melancholy. “I miss our stargazing, you know.” She said to the blonde, as she stared longingly at the bell tower before her, that’s when she noticed Violet seemed even more excited than before. “I’m sorry we can’t do that anymore.”

Clementine looked at her with a raised brow, as Violet finally looked at her, and realized she must have seemed to be really happy about something, they understood each other without words, and Clem wanted to know what was up. Violet scratched her neck slightly, averting her gaze for a second. “Uh.. Me and others, we kind of were working on something, so we could.. you know, stargaze together again?”

Violet said, more quietly than before, it was a trait of hers, confrontation like that, talking about gifts, feelings, or something similar made her flustered. She sighed and opened the door to the entry of the bell tower, as they both walked in, Clementine’s eyes widened, the stairs that were previously broken down, and where they both had to climb to get to the top before, were fixed.

That meant one thing, they could finally stargaze again. Just like they used to. Just like the night when they confessed.

Clementine smiled, and as Violet was still looking at the newly made stairs, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her torso, as Clementine rested her head on the shoulder of the blonde girl. The other tensed for a second before relaxing. “Thank you, so, so much.” Clementine said, beyond happy.

They both sat beside each other, staring up at the night’s sky. Clementine rested her crutches somewhere off to the side, as she finally could spend some quality time with her girlfriend, she glanced at the girl beside her, smiling softly at the sight of her. “I really missed this.”

Her rough, scarred hand traveled to the one of Violet’s, her hand was slightly smaller, colder. Violet smiled back, her eyes softening at the sight of Clementine, at the feeling of how close she was. As they sat, side by side. “Me too.”

She said simply, Clem’s eyes traveled back to the night’s dark sky, the starry night was beautiful, with only a few milky clouds obstructing the perfect view. The moon shone brightly, like a torch guiding the lost through the cold vail of the night. It illuminated everything around them, making everything visible almost as clearly as during a cloudy day.

The sight of the beaming, soft stars on the canvas of the inky night was one to cherish. It was an aspect of their life ar Ericson's that both turned to love.

Every single star glistened and bloomed like a white, sparky rose in an otherwise stygian and somber garden of the night's sky, leaving Clementine with a bittersweet impression.

She really did miss this.

Clementine, Violet and the cimmerian, misty sky. With its soft, bright rays of the moonlight as their only possible witness.

Clementine’s gaze followed a set of stars, as she pointed at them, her finger tracing the outline. “That one. It looks like a cat. Hmm.. I guess it would be.. Independent, reliable, always on the move.” She said, naming a new constellation, like they did the first time they ever stargazed together. The breezy, chill air, passed by them, as Clementine sighed.

Violet spoke up. “It reminds me of you. You’re just, you know.. not on the run anymore.” She sighed before continuing. “I don’t know what I would do without you. That time, y'know, when we separated because of the walkers, I thought I would never see you again.” Violet said softly.

"I'm really glad you're still here, Clem."

“I’m glad to still be here too.” Clementine gave the blonde’s cold hand a light squeeze, a soft reminder that she’ll always be here for her, and she’s not about to leave her anytime soon. She avoided death once already, after all.

Before Violet could say something again, another light breeze hit them again, the cold, chilly air – a reminder of the fact winter was coming. Clementine didn’t mind, not at all. Especially when she had already felt way worse before, when her, AJ, and Kenny were going to Wellington. A light breeze like this was practically nothing.

But, from the corner of her eye, she saw Violet shudder at the night's cold air. She rubbed her arms for warmth. Clementine liked those quiet, domestic moments between them. The woman noticed her lover tremble slightly in the freezing air.

“That vest of yours literally doesn’t give you any warmth.” Violet huffed slightly at the comment, about to say something in defense. Clem took off her jacket, wrapping it around Violet’s shoulders, the blonde looked at her with slightly widened eyes.

“Wait, don’t, you’ll be cold too.” She was about to take off the jacket and hand it back to Clementine. But the taller girl just moved closer, ending the small gap between them, as one of her arms wrapped around Violet’s torso.

“I’m alright.” She said, smirking slightly. Violet looked flustered, as she averted her gaze to the side, also smiling, slightly, resting her head on Clementine’s shoulder. She sighed deeply, taking in the chilly air around them, happy for this calming moment they could finally share between each other.

After a while, Clementine felt Violet fully lean onto her, as her posture slumped even further than usual. Her breathing leveled.

The blonde fell asleep, at ease, comforted by the fact that Clem won't ever leave her behind. And soothed by her soft embrace.

Clementine longingly stared down at Violet, she sighed softly and brushed out a few strands of hair out of her face, letting her rest, as her eyes locked onto the starry night.

A/N: Okay so I haven't written in a while I admit I'm a bit rusty, feedback/comments are appreciated!!

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

Frev friendships — Simonne Évrard and Albertine Marat

[Albertine] had come to Paris after the death of her brother, at the request of Madame Marat who had written her letter after letter asking her to come and replace her brother with her. One day I said to her:“But, Mademoiselle Marat, you say that you came to Paris after Marat's death, however, I read a book where the author says that you attended his wedding with your brother.” - “He lied about it, Madame!”she replied. And, you see, Mademoiselle Marat was incapable of lying.  1847 interview of a woman who had lived neighbor with Simonne and Albertine, cited in Marat et ses calomniateurs ou Réfutation de l’Histoire des Girondins de Lamartine (1847) by Constant Hilbe. Nicolas Villiaumé, who met Albertine in her old days, him too specified that she came to Paris in 1793 on page 50 of his Histoire de la Révolution française: 1789 — 1796 (1850). But on page 279 of the same work, Villiaumé also has Albertine say she had talked to her brother ”the day before his death,” so it’s still unclear what exactly should be believed here.

We therefore declare that it is with satisfaction that we fulfill the wishes of our brother by recognizing citoyenne Évrard as our sister, and that we will hold as infamous those of her family members who does not share the feelings of esteem and gratitude that we owe her, and if against our expectation there could be some, we ask that their names be known, as we do not want to share their infamy.  Written in Paris, August 22, second year of the republic.  Marie-Anne Mara (sic) f. Oliver   Albertine Mara (sic)  Jean-Pierre Mara (sic) Decree signed by Albertine, her brother and sister on August 22 1793, cited in this article by marat-jean-paul.org.

Finding no recourse except in the poor, [Marat] would have succumbed to his misfortunes. People, your good genius decided otherwise: he allowed a divine woman, whose soul resembled his own, to consecrate her fortune and her rest to keep you your friend. Heroic woman, receive the homage your virtues deserve: yes, we owe it to you. Inflamed with the divine fire of freedom, you wanted to preserve its most ardent defender. You shared his fate and his tribulations: nothing can stop your zeal, you sacrifice to the Friend of the People, and the fear of your family, and the prejudices of your century. Forced here to circumscribe myself, I would wait for the moment when your virtues will appear in all their brilliance. Albertine in Réponse aux détracteurs de l’Ami du Peuple (1793)

Your name, your adress, your means of living? I’m 36 years old, I have a pension, I live with my sister on rue Saint-Jacques, n 674, division of Thermes. […] Where were you on 3 nivôse (December 24)? […] I soaped the whole day, I wasn’t finished until nine in the evening. My sister had only her lamp, she works at the horology. I only went out to buy a bottle of wine, and I supped with my sister. I haven’t received three people in one décade. Who are the people you have been seeing since one month? We only see citoyen Ranus, a watchmaker who lives on rue de la Barillerie who provides work for my sister. There came a citizen from our country who’s name I don’t remember. […] Interrogation of Simonne held December 30 1800, cited in Le Charivari: publiant chaque jour un nouveau dessin, November 27 1780.

I have reason to believe that the widow Marat was not an ordinary woman, because her sister-in-law spoke to me about her with enthusiasm. Albertine religiously kept all that had belonged to her. I was personally charged in the last years of her life, when necessity compelled her to do so, to sell various objects and clothes which came from her, which were of a certain elegance and of great distinction. Letter from M. Goupil-Louvigny to François Chèvremont June 11 1866, cited in in this article by marat-jean-paul.org.

-[Albertine] was not happy, and she died in great destitution. -I was told that her sister-in-law, Madame Marat, lived with her. -Yes, Madame, she died here. -What kind of woman was she? -Oh! Madame, she was an excellent woman. You know, we called her Madame Marat, but she was not his wife, she was his maid. However, I assure you that she did not look like a maid; she was very distinguished; she never spoke to anyone. This poor woman died after falling down the stairs. -Was she beautiful? -Beautiful!…she was very good (très bien)! she was angelically sweet. -Did they work for a living? -Madame Marat did not work. Mademoiselle Marat made watch hands; she even made some for my brother and my godfather. Madame Marat took care of the home. -Did they stay in this house for a long time? -Mademoiselle Marat stayed here for about forty years; her sister died long before her. This is how they came here: they had rented under the name of the demoiselles Albertine. One day, there is a knock on our door, my mother goes to open it, the person on the other side asks for Mademoiselle Marat. I will not hide from you, Madame, that my mother had a horror of this name Marat, who had caused so many people to be guillotined... My mother received the person very badly and told him that there was no tenant of this name in the house. The person insisted and described what the two ladies were like. Yes, said my mother, we have two people like those you describe to me, but they are the demoiselles Albertine; they live on the fourth floor above the mezzanine, the door on the right. The next day, my mother called the grocer from downstairs: “What is this,” she said, “so we have Marats in our apartment? you rented to the demoiselles Marat!!!” — “But no, Madame, I rented to the demoiselles Albertines” Later, as they were very quiet people, we greeted them in the stairwell. My father and my godfather gave them work, but they didn't speak to each other. […] [Albertine] had a portrait of Marat by David, she also had a portrait of Madame Marat that was very pretty. She often told me: ”I shall burn this portrait.” - ”Oh, mademoiselle Marat, that would be unfortunate, it’s so good!” - ”To who do you want me to give this…?” -Do you know if she burned it? -I don’t know, but I think so, because when she said she would do something, she did it. 1847 interview of a woman who had lived neighbor with Simonne and Albertine on 33 Rue de la Barillerie, where the two moved sometime after 1800. cited in Marat et ses calomniateurs ou Réfutation de l’Histoire des Girondins de Lamartine (1847) by Constant Hilbe.