#which makes sense cos she is the one who does most of the talking n stuff rn but its still a shame

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

Assortment of sketches n doodles of my most recent brainworm inducers

[sungvrhs]

ATTENTION - Park Sunghoon

Genre: Smut | CEO Sunghoon!male x reader!female

Word Count; 3.0K

Having numerous attempts at getting his attention? No way, either of those came across your mind and each and every one of them were so bland that you almost decided to drop out of this idea of yours. 

Not to mention how difficult this job was even after he was your husband, you weren't willing to give up- not just yet. “Y/n, maybe you should simply go and confess it out to him that you don't like it when doesn't attend to you or stuff. That is a hundred times better than the numerous failed attempts you are making to grasp his attention.” Your co-worker, Sarah spoke, causing you to groan as you ducked your head down on the table. “It's such a bummer to a pretty face with a pathetic personality.” You mumbled, lifting your head up to glance at his picture that was secretly displayed on your lockscreen. You didn't know if he ever wanted you to show him off, which you never did, or even be possessive towards him when other girls would twirl their hair or give one the most seductive looks to him. What surprised you was how ignorant he was to them. As a man, he had more than what you could label as ‘control’ over greedy desires which you were pretty thankful for, but you despised it a little when it came to you. How can he not change himself just when he is around you? Just a little bit? It was all that you ever wanted. 

You were thankful to have married a loyal man who wouldn't raise his head to meet the gaze of another woman that wasn't his, or would never cherish their existence in any way to make way for any sort of expectations. But if that was being applied to you too, then you didn't know what to feel about it; unlucky or thankful? 

“Come on Y/n, don't think much about it. I hope your man realizes that soon.” Sarah spoke, patting your back as she felt guilty for not being much of help to you. Just as she was about to leave, your eyes widened as you sat up straight, causing the latter to get her attention back to you. “What what? What happened?” Sarah questioned you worriedly, looking back at you with a smug expression resting on your face. “I can do this one last thing I haven't done yet.” You spoke, giving a pause to your sentence as Sarah sighed. “And that is?” “I can make him jealous.” You spoke, grinning as Sarah rolled her eyes. “You think that after what you have told me about Sunghoon, he would fall for this?” You thought for a while, as you spoke “He might if it is his best friend.” You spoke, raising your eyebrows as Sarah finally understood. “No way you're pulling Jake into this.” You whined a little at her response, “Please Sarah! This is the only chance I got. I promise I won't emphasize on anything like that ever again!” You gave her the most doey eyes that you could as to which she sighed. “Fine fine, I'll talk to Jake.” She spoke as you lunged forward to give her a big hug, muttering a small thank you as to which she smiled. If that is what can fix her friend’s life, then she was down for it. Both of you knew that Jake and Sunghoon were like two peas in a pod and having him as your bait was a perfect plan. And with him being Sarah’s boyfriend just added cherry to the top of your well designed plan. ‘This shall be it.’ You thought to yourself as you vowed never to turn back to this request after this attempt. 

“This is it. Does this look fine?” You asked her as the three of you sat in your office, to which Sarah gave you a thumbs up. “Well you look pretty, regardless of how you dress up in your usual days.” Jake spoke, suppressing his laughter as to which you threw the ribbon on his face. “Respectfully fuck off Jake.” You spoke as to which the latter shrugged his shoulders. “I can, but you both have bound me not to.” “Well it's all this once Jake, I hope that knocks some sense in your best friend to not keep hurting Y/n.” Sarah spoke, her hand resting on his shoulder as to which he sighed. “I’m gonna be dommed once he finds out that I’m the one flirting with you.” He spoke, facing you as to which you smiled. “At least he would notice. Unlike the rest of the days.” The last phrase almost came out as a whisper, causing you to bite your lips to suppress the disappointment that was evident in your voice. “Hey, it’s going to be fine. Trust me.” Sarah spoke, causing you to give a soft smile to her. “Well, if this doesn’t work, I’ll surely go talk to him.” Jake spoke, your smile evident at his expressions. Well, at least something happened to be good today. You were thankful to have two good friends here. Otherwise, the workspace would have been more like a prison to you. 

The meeting was unexpected and you were thankful for wearing your makeup in the morning otherwise you wouldn’t have looked presentable. And to add fuel to the fire, you were running late to the meeting room as you sprinted through the hallway, the clock striking exactly 3.03pm which meant that you had messed up. Reaching up to the meeting door, you pushed it slightly, the former voices dropping down to dead silence as you peaked your head, noticing how the pair of eyes were looking at you. Nervousness took over you as you made your way inside, muttering a small sorry to the people for interrupting as you made way towards the table. It might have escaped your lips as a whisper but it was audible enough for your friends to notice as Sarah motioned you to sit beside Jake. You took your seat, skipping your usual empty one that was next to Sunghoon as you made way to sit next to Jake, exchanging a small smile with him as you failed to notice a raging pair of eyes at you both. 

“Is he looking?” You asked Jake, not making it evident by looking at the screen as to which he responded, “He is, though he seems a bit unbothered.” You heard him speak as you scratched your nape, turning your head to look at where Sunghoon was seated, his cold gaze from his specs meeting yours as a chill ran down your spine. ‘How could he be effortlessly breathtaking?’ You thought to yourself as you were quick enough to break eye contact. “You can take off your coat, that might help.” Jake spoke, motioning his eyes to Sunghoon as you slightly nodded, taking off the coat as Jake helped you out. You could see how Sunghoon was clenching his jaw, definitely pissed off at your actions as you smirked to yourself. You could see that Jake saw it too as he was trying his best to suppress his laughter. 

Adjusting his specs after the employee finished with his short presentation, Sunghoon was quick enough to agree with the ideas as the meeting was called off. “That's it for today, everyone is dismissed.” You turned around, looking at Jake as he was confused at how straight forward he was. “It's alright, we will figure something out.” You nodded, as you hugged him. “Thanks a lot though.” You spoke, breaking the hug as he nodded sideways. “Chill Y/n, I just helped you with your coat, nothing else.” His orbs moved across to meet Sunghoon’s bizarre ones as he grinned. He knew he was going against the plan but he was 100% sure it was going to be worth it. Leaning close to your ear as his hands rested on your shoulders. “ This may sound stupid, but I think this will work.” You pulled back a bit confused at his words as he made way to good your hand, kissing the back of it as he passed you a wink as took a few steps back, leaving you stunned, your face heating up at his actions. You were definitely not prepared for this but you cleared your throat, grabbing your files as you made way to exit the door before you heard a voice reaching out to you. “Except for you, Park.Y/n. I would like to exchange a few words with you.”

Your ears perked up at his icy voice, movements halting at his words as if your body had failed to respond after he called you out. You could easily pick up hints of another vibe reflecting in them as your eyebrows furrowed at the sudden swift in tones. You turned to face him, watching his every move; how he would set his specs on the bridge of his nose, his slender fingers sliding across the page of the file as he kept his one leg on the other, adjusting the tie loose around his collar. Not going to lie, it was all more than to make you feel a blazing sensation across your chest. And whilst you were busy admiring the small details, you heard the door being locked, pulling you back to reality as you turned to find him messing with the buttons of the CCTV camera and the sound adjustment. 

"Done staring shamelessly at your boss?" His raspy voice snapped you out of your trance as you mentally scoffed. ‘The attitude.’ You rolled your eyes at him as you spoke, “I wasn’t staring. Why would I stare at someone whom I loath the most?” You spoke, causing him to turn around on his heels, raising an eyebrow as he let out a chuckle, nodding sideways at your words. It was unbelievable to his ears that you would ever loath his presence. “You? Loathing my presence?” He spoke, taking slow steps towards you as you took a step back. “Of course you would when you got my best friend to flirt around with.” You couldn’t believe his words, but the fact that he caught you right on point was itching a smirk on your lips, but you tried to avoid it, maintaining a poker face.

“Excuse me? I wasn’t flirting with him. We are just friends-""Y/n, the attitude you had a few minutes ago clearly doesn't justify your words." He cuts you off, his slow steps towards you progressing up with every passing second. The echoes of his steps were syncing with your heartbeats; rapidly taking pace with every passing second. “What is wrong with you Sunghoon? Your dual personality is a growing headache for me. It's either you despising me and not sparing a glance at your very own wife or you’re completely pissed off at me talking to my friend-””I don’t care if you talk to someone or not.” He spoke, now completely in front of you as you mentally cursed the table for existing right behind your back right now. “What I despise is how happy and smiley you seemed with him.” His hands made way to take away the files from your hands as he kept them beside on the table. “How you both talked as you both shared a loving eye contact.” His other hand made way to tuck a hair strand behind your ear as he leaned closer, his cinnamon breath hitting your cheeks as he continued to speak. “How you were seeking his help to take off your coat.” His hands traced down your outlines, slowly and sensually as it didn’t fail to give you tingles. “S-Sunghoon.” You whimpered, your breath becoming shaky at his actions as he chuckled deeply. “What? You can’t handle it? I didn’t even start anything.” He spoke, raising an eyebrow as he undid the buttons of his coat, slowly and painfully as you found it hard to maintain eye contact with him whilst his actions did the opposite. He knew the right buttons to press and this is exactly what he wanted to do. You found yourself at the loss of words as your mouth was hung at his actions. Letting the coat dangle free around his body, he swiftly took it off, flexing his chiseled body under the white clean shirt as he turned to throw it on the table, watching it land down as he turned attention to you again, his tongue poking his inner cheek.

“You did this on purpose didn't you?” He questioned you, his hands resting on either side of the table as he had you trapped in between. You looked away, finding it hard to meet his gaze. ‘That was not how this was supposed to go.’ “What? Cat got your tongue?” He scoffed, knowing very well the impact he was setting on you was like setting up a jenga tower, step by step. You gulped at his actions, trying not to get away with his little play. The thin white shirt was clearly not helping as it traced out the outlines of his whole body; from the top of his broad shoulders down to his sculpted abs, your gaze went to his muscular biceps that followed his veiny hands, settled right beside yours as his figure trapped yours. “Eyes up here love.” His slender fingers came in contact with your chin as he raised your head to level your eyes with his. A moment of silence follows, with only the rhythmic breathing of the two of you syncing whilst his calm attire contrasts your freaked out one. It was nowhere close to being intended but seeing him all pissed off by the way his darkened orbs pierced through yours, it wasn’t helping the heat that was arousing between your legs.

“I hate you.” You spoke, tongue poking your inner cheek as you pushed him back, creating space between the two of you as you heard him scoffing. “If you lie,m try to be a bit more evident, my love. The way you were technically undressing me with your gaze speaks the opposite of what you just ‘meant.’” Emphasizing on the word ’meant’ as he clicked his tongue, his hands resting on your waist as your cheeks turned into hues of red. He spoke nothing other than leaning down next to your ear, his hand squeezing your waist as you held back your gasp. “Try a bit harder to hate me, your body language ain’t helping you either.” He chuckled in your ear, his husky voice ringing like a melody as you turned to face the opposite side, hating how weak you were becoming in front of him. He pulled back a little, his cinnamon breath fanning across your lips whilst his chocolatey orbs captivated your hazel ones once again. 

“Tell me that you hate me in front of my face.” He spoke, his gaze flickering between your lips and orbs as he inched closer to you ever so painfully whilst you gulped down the lump forming in your throat. “I hat-” Before you had the chance to declare what your heart never desired to you felt his lips meeting yours, pulling you in a feverish kiss as his hands gripped yours wrists, pushing them behind your back as he held them in place just by one of his hands, earning a groan from your end as to which he only smirked. He knew you very well and seizing the right opportunity was his art. The bridge of his specs kept knocking against your nose as to which you simply wanted to adjust it in between his locks, but the very next second he pulled back aggressively from the kiss, leaving you perplexed as he shook off his head to the right, letting his specs fly across the room as your eyes widened. He wasted no time in letting you mumble as his hands seized your tiny waist, pushing you up on the table whilst he had his guard in between your legs, pulling you close by the nape in another kiss once again, this one being more passionate than the earlier one. 

Pulling apart after your hands tapped his shoulder at the shortage of breath, a string of saliva had your lips connected, leaving you both panting for air. “Oh you do hate me. Hate me enough just to kiss me.” He smirked, knowing very well how much of the impact he had on you. You were beyond flustered at his words. This side of him was definitely unexpected and you were enjoying it. His fingers played with your pants, eye contact never breaking as he continued with his verbal declaration. “You hate me just enough to let me slide past the barrier.” He pulled down your pants, leaving you in your lacy underwear as he pulled them down, his other hand crept under your shirt, rubbing circles on your back as the contact of his cold hand with your warm skin made you hiss. “Just enough to undress you.” His hands made way to pull off your shirt, as you helped him up, too drunk in his words as you simply obliged to his unheard commands. “Just enough to finger you.” He muttered his fingers skillfully diving into your cunt, running waves of pleasure through your body as you clutched onto his biceps. “S-Sunghoon please.” You mumbled, suppressing your voice to the lowest as you whimpered, your face scrunching as his fingers continued to waver like magic around your walls. You didn’t even pay enough attention to how and when he unzipped his own, holding his shaft as he almost rode you to your high, a familiar knot forming in your stomach as he pulled out just before you could feel the relief, earning a groan from you. Your eyes shot open at his actions, brimming orbs meeting his mischievous ones as he leaned closer to your ear, whispering the last words before he devoured you. “You hate me just enough to let me fuck.you.raw.” He let those words sink in your ears, pushing his shaft right in you as your back arched. “Let me give this pretty little cunt of yours all the attention it needs. Since my woman can’t pleasure herself enough, can’t she?” 

note: Hi!! MY HANDS WERE ITCHING TO POST SOMETHING ABOUT HOON IN SPECS AND I A CHUNK OF IT EVEN BEFORE THE PICS WERE DROPPED. I tried to mingle the plot that I wrote earlier with a few good ideas. If there are any grammartical errors, feel free to ignore cause english ain't my first language! Reblogs and likes would be appreciated!

[luminoustarlight]

Leo Campo is a romantic. He’s a ladies man until he finds the one, but you better believe he treats every woman he’s ever hooked up with like they’re his world. He’s just an affectionate guy. Call it a symptom of being Italian. Pet-names roll off of his tongue smoothly, always punctuated with a little smirk.

“Can I get you anything else, sweetheart?” He’ll ask the unsuspecting girl at the bar.

The most frequent reply is “just your number,” which has definitely gotten old. He doesn’t actually give it out; he just takes them upstairs and gives them something better.

He’s a tender lover, always attentive to the needs of the woman he’s pleasuring. And the women are always satisfied.

Between the adoring nicknames and innate ability to make a woman cum three times before he cums himself, many girls begin hoping for something more than a one night stand. All of it offers them a false sense of the possibility of a relationship. Because how can a man be so sweet and not want something more?

Because Leo Campo is certain he’ll know the love of his life when he sees her. Maybe she walks into the bar, maybe he meets her while he’s coaching soccer.

Or, in your case, at your apartment where he’s delivering pizza.

If only you’d known how handsome the pizza delivery guy was going to be, you would’ve bothered to clean the smeared mascara from your eyes. You wouldn’t have answered the door with an oversized t shirt hanging off one of your shoulders, no bra to hold up your goods, and an old pair of sweatpants you’ve had since college.

“Oh my God,” slips out of your mouth. Your first instinct is to slam the door. Your tongue feels dry and your broken heart hasn’t forgotten how to hammer in your chest. Breakups happen every day. It’s okay that you look like a hot mess, minus the hot part.

You’ve ordered pizza from Vince’s dozens of times and that Jogi kid always delivers your pizza.

Who is this tall, dark-haired man with a smile that makes you think maybe you won’t feel miserable forever?

“How ya doin’?” He asks you, clearly not taking in any context clues as to how your night is going.

“Uh,” you begin unsurely. Are you really about to have a conversation with this guy in a pair of sweatpants with a guacamole stain on the right thigh? “I’ve been better. Hence the absolute atrocity standing before you.”

“Where?” He smiles without missing a beat. Because somewhere beneath your disheveled appearance, he sees a girl he desperately wants to get to know. Who broke your heart? And how does he mend it?

“I don’t suspect you have anyone to share this pizza with?”

“Not as of 8:16 this morning.” Yes, you know the exact minute you found your piece of shit ex-boyfriend cheating on you with his co-worker.

“Well, as of,” Leo checks his watch, “7:24 this evening, now you do.”

“You’re quite bold, aren’t you?”

“I suppose.”

“Aren’t you working?”

He shrugs. “It’s the end of my shift. Are you going to let me in?”

You narrow your eyes at him. “Is this the beginning of a Dateline episode?”

This makes Leo chuckle. Of course you’re tentative. You’re an attractive, single woman who has no right trusting any man at all, let alone a random pizza delivery guy.

But there’s something about his smile that quells your anxiety. No ulterior motives, just genuine kindness.

“I can call my Ma, if you want,” Leo suggests half seriously. “You can talk to her and learn everything about me.”

Your bottom lip snags beneath your teeth as you open your door to let the handsome stranger in. “I’m Y/N, by the way.”

“Leo.” He sets down your pizza on the coffee table. “Leo Campo.”

requests are open for leo and several other hayden characters!

anakin masterlist

[stephstars08]

Boyfriend

Jack Champion x Actress!Reader

Warnings: Adult Language, Mention of Toxic Relationship, Angst but mostly Fluff, Anxiety, Kissing/Short Make Out Session, and maybe some grammar mistakes.

Summery: Jack has had a crush on Y/N even before he booked the role for Scream 6 so, when he get's to play her love interest in the movie his crush for her just grew even bigger. His fellow co-stars really want him to make a move but obstacles stood in his way so when production for the movie ended he never got to. When the cast reunited Jack hears that Y/N is looking for boyfriend which makes him want to make his move but he still has that anxiety that holds him back. Will he let go of his anxiety and finally make a move?

Inspired Song: Boyfriend by Big Time Rush

Word Count: 2,983

Author’s Note: HELLO EVERYONE! I’m officially back to posting my stories!! I haven’t started writing again but I will hopefully this weekend! As I said before this will be my last Jack story for awhile since I want to focus on writing for his characters like Ethan and Spider! Anyways it’s so good to be back and let me know how you all liked this one shot! Talk to you all soon!!

Ever since the first day on the set of Scream VI, Jack immediately fell head over heels for Y/N. Well, if Jack was being completely honest, he has had a crush on Y/N even before booking the role since she is his secret celebrity crush. Before Y/N joined the Scream franchise she was on many Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows when she was young. That’s how she met Jenna and ever since then they have been best friends. As Y/N got older she left Disney and Nickelodeon since she wanted to do more mature roles and she did just that. Y/N was in the last Scream movie, so she also became close with Jasmine, Mason, and Melissa so when there was news about another movie, she knew she wanted to return. Y/N plays a character that is related to Tatum and Dewey Riley. In the sixth movie Jack’s character is a love interest to Y/N’s character. Throughout the whole movie Y/N’s character defends Jack’s character for not being Ghostface but becomes heartbroken when she finds out he really is Ghostface.

It was already hard for Jack to do scenes where it’s just Y/N and him because of his crush but it was even harder because she has a boyfriend who just so happens to be on set every fucking day! When they first met Jack and Y/N immediately connected. It wasn’t shocking since Y/N is known to be one of the sweetest and nicest actresses to work with and Jack totally agrees with that statement. It’s just sad that he can’t say the same thing about her boyfriend. From day one Jack could sense that Y/N’s boyfriend was intimidated by him. Jack mentioned this to Mason, which he told him to get used to that. Mason told him about how it was from Dylan who played Wes who was Y/N’s love interest in the last movie. Jack asked Mason why the asshole of a boyfriend does that in which he didn’t have an exact answer, but he did mention that the girls and him think it’s because he knows that there is someone out there that is better for Y/N than him.

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As production was coming to an end a sudden change of mood came from Y/N. Throughout the whole filming Y/N had always been happy and had an exciting attitude but that all changed a week ago when she showed up to set the total opposite and has been like that since. The most talkative girl on set all of sudden became the quietest girl on set. She also didn’t look like herself either since even with make up on you can tell that she had been crying a lot. Jack was very concerned about her so when he would ask her what was wrong, she would just brush him off with an obvious lie, so he decided to go to Jenna’s trailer and ask her.

When he knocked on the door Jenna called out to him to come in. When Jack walked into the trailer, he saw Jasmin was also in the trailer talking with Jenna. “Hey Jack.” Jenna said to him from her seat on her comfy chair. Jasmin was sitting on the small love seat that was next to Jenna’s comfy chair. “Hey, do you two know what is going on with Y/N?” Jack asked them with concern in his voice. “Every time I ask her, she lies telling me that she’s fine.” He added with a sigh. “That fucking asshole broke up with her.” Jenna answered in a snappy tone.

Jack felt his heartrate speed up. Jenna just said what he thought she said, right? Y/N isn’t with that controlling asshole. Y/N is signal!

“Wait, that asshole broke it off with her?” Jasmin asked Jenna, who answered her question with a nod. “Even worse is that he did it over fucking text message. I was with her when he texted to her saying that they were over.” Jenna added in a snappy tone.

He texted Y/N saying it’s over and that he didn’t want anything to do with her no more. If Y/N wasn’t broken down crying, Jenna would’ve gone and found that motherfucker and kicked his ass.

“That asshole is such a fucking coward.” Jasmin said which made Jack let out a laugh since they keep referring Y/N’s ex-boyfriend as asshole instead of his name. But Jack didn’t disagree with them since he was an asshole. “I mean I’m glad that she’s done with him I just wish it was the other way around.” Jenna said with a sigh. “I mean I’ve told Y/N a hundred times that she deserves a guy ten times better than that asshole.” Jenna added.

“Yeah, Y/N deserves a guy like Jack.” Jasmin said looking over at him with a knowing smile. “M-me?” Jack stuttered not expecting Jasmin to say that. His brown eyes were wide open in shock. “Dude, we know you have a crush on Y/N.” Jenna told him with a laugh. “What? Did Mason tell you?” Jack asked now with frustration in his voice. Mason is the only person he told. “He didn’t have to because it’s so fucking obvious.” Jenna told him which made Jasmin laugh. “Wait so everyone knows about my crush on Y/N? Does she know?” Jack asked, starting to panic. “Relax, okay! She is completely oblivious to your flirting.” Jasmin told him in reassurance. “I don’t flirt.” Jack mumbled as he looked down at his shuffling feet. “Listen all we’re saying is that when we see you with her, she looks really happy and that maybe there is something there between you two.” Jenna explained to him, which put Jack into deep thought.

Jasmin’s phone started to vibrate. “Devyn just texted, we’re needed back on set.” Jasmin said, picking up her phone and sending a quick text back to her. “C’mon lover boy.” Jenna said in a teasing tone to Jack as she stood up. Jack rolled his eyes and walked out of the trailer with Jenna and Jasmin following behind him.

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As production went on Jack wanted to make a move on Y/N but he never got to because of the toll her recent relationship had on her. Yes, the guy she was with treated her terribly, but they were together for almost two years and the guy didn’t even have the courage to break up with her face to face.

When filming wrapped up everyone went their separate ways but still kept in contact with each other. They still talked through the group chat. Everyone but Y/N which is most likely because she was filming for a TV show that she frequently guests’ stars on. Jack was also busy doing a press tour with the Avatar cast promoting the sequel. Even though he wasn’t with Y/N, she was still on his mind. He thought about texting her just to see how she was doing but never did since he was scared that she wasn’t going to respond.

When it was finally time to promote Scream VI that meant Jack will be reuniting with Y/N since the whole cast will be getting back together for the premiere. Jack was excited to see her, but he also couldn’t help but be a little nervous too. The cast was going to be walking around New York doing press coverage and taking pictures for the movie.

Jack was the first one that was ready, so he was in the lobby of the hotel waiting for everyone. He was sitting down on a couch when he heard an exciting voice say his name from the elevator. When he looked up, he saw that the voice belonged to Y/N. Right when he stood up Y/N gave him a big hug which almost knocked him over. “I’ve missed you so much!” Y/N told him as she held onto him tightly. “I’ve missed you, too.” Jack told her returned the tight embrace. When Y/N pulled out of the hug she noticed his hair. “Wow, you cut your hair.” Y/N said to him in surprise. She was just so excited to see him she didn’t even notice. “Yeah, do you um like it?” Jack asked with nervousness in his voice that he was hoping she doesn’t pick up on. “I love it! It suits you really well!” Y/N told him giving him a pat on the head and sat down on the couch.

“How have you been doing?” She asked him. “Good, I was really busy doing a press tour for Avatar.” Jack told her as he sat down next to her. “I saw the movie with a couple of friends! It was amazing! You were amazing as Spider!” Y/N told him with a smile which made Jack’s cheeks turn bright red. “Thanks, that means a lot!” Jack said as he looked into her beautiful eyes. Y/N stared back into his memorizing brown eyes but before anything could go further Mason, Jasmin, and Liana came out of the elevator greeting them.

Once the rest of the cast showed up, they made their way out of the hotel and to their first destination. Throughout the whole day out Jack would feel Y/N’s gaze on him but when he would look back at her she would look away pretending that she wasn’t staring at him. When Jack first noticed it, it made him think back to what Jenna and Jasmin told him that Y/N deserves to be with a guy like him. But the real question was is does Y/N want to be with a guy like him?

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That night Jack was sitting in his hotel room when he heard loud knocking on the door. Jack got up off the bed he was lying on and walked over to the door. When he looked through the peep hole, he saw it was Mason. Right when he opened the door Mason walked into the room. “Um, come in.” Jack said in a sarcastic tone as he closed the door. “Dude, Y/N is looking for a boyfriend!” Mason told him which made Jack’s heart skip a beat. “What?” Jack asked in a surprised tone as he walked over to where Mason was standing. “Did she tell you that?” He asked wondering how Mason knew this. “No, but I was at the indoor pool with her Devyn, Jasmin, and Jenna and I overheard Y/N tell Jenna that she’s looking for someone.” Mason told him.

“You need to get your ass down there and ask her out!” Mason told him in a stern tone which made Jack’s brown eyes go wide. He felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. “W-what, now?” Jack stuttered out. “Jack, just fucking go for it. Now is your chance!” Mason told him with excitement in his tone.

Let’s just say that Mason is the biggest shipper of Y/N and Jack. On set it was super obvious that they have amazing chemistry on and off the camara. When their characters had a romantic scene together, they weren’t just acting as their characters, everyone knew it was really Y/N and Jack being filmed. Everyone really wanted either Y/N or Jack to make a move before filming wrapped up but that never happened.

“What do I do? What do I say?” Jack asked, starting to panic a little bit. “Just be yourself! Walk up to her, sit down, talk like you two usually do, and when the time is right ask her out!” Mason explained to him.

“Okay, is she still at the pool?” Jack said, grabbing his hotel room key and slipping on a pair of shoes. “I’m pretty sure.” Mason said walking over to the door. “Come on!” Mason said walking out the door. Jack put the key into his pocket and quickly followed Mason out the door.

Jack followed Mason downstairs to the hotel’s indoor pool. When the boys got there, they looked through the little window on the door and only saw Y/N and Jenna sitting on the edge of the pool with just their feet in the water. While Jack stared at Y/N laughing at something Jenna said his nerves started to pace again.

“Mason, I don’t know if I can do this.” Jack said completely stressed out as he stepped back from the door. “What if she says no?” He asked having zero confidence. “Jack, you got this!” Mason told him putting both of his hands onto Jack’s shoulders. “Just go in there and be yourself. Just go back to those days on set where you two would just talk the day away!” Mason told him trying to boost his best friend’s confidence. “Go in there and use that million-dollar smile of yours!” Mason added, which earned him a strange look from Jack. “Okay, that wasn’t strange at all.” Jack said, taking Mason’s hands off his shoulders.

Jack took out his room key, getting ready to unlock the door, but before he could the door opened to reveal Jenna. She walked into the hallway with the boys. Mason grabbed the door before it could close. “What are you two weridos doing?” Jenna asked them. “We’re not weridos!” Mason said defending Jack and himself. “Okay, you keep telling yourself that!” Jenna said with a yawn and walked away from them. The boys looked into the pool room to see Y/N still sitting there. Mason pushed Jack into the room. “Go!” Mason said motioning his one hand towards Y/N and shut the door.

Jack looked at Y/N moving her feet around in the water. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and walked over to her. “Hey Y/N.” Jack said getting her attention. “Hey Jack!” Y/N said with a smile that always makes his heart skip a beat. “Can I sit with you?” Jack asked with nervousness in his tone which made him curse at himself in his head. “Of course!” Y/N said oblivious to the nervousness in his tone. Jack put the key back into his pocket. He took off his shoes and socks and rolled his pants up to his knees. He sat down next to her and put his feet into the water.

“These past couple of months are the happiest I’ve been in a long time.” Y/N said as she looked down at her feet in the water. “Really?” Jack said, looking over at her. “After production wrapped up my ex wanted another chance, so I gave him one which turned out to be a huge mistake.” Y/N said with a heavy sigh. “What did he do to you?” Jack asked with a protective look in his eyes. “Same shit he did before. It got so bad that he wouldn’t even let me leave my apartment to go on set. I finally opened my eyes after realizing that he was trying to run my life, so I kicked his ass to the curb.” Y/N explained as she did everything, she could to keep her eyes from tearing up. She needs to stop wasting tears on that asshole. “You deserve to be with a guy who treats with love and kindness.” Jack told her as he used his hand to put some of her hair behind her ear. “You do?” Y/N said looking over at him locking eyes. “Yeah, it was so hard seeing that asshole treat you so terribly.” Jack told her as his brown eyes stared deep into hers.

They didn’t even realize that they were leaning in till their lips met. This isn’t the first time they have kissed since they had to kiss in a scene for the movie but this one was different because this wasn’t their characters kissing. This was actually them kissing. It put shock into both of them especially Y/N, so she pulled away. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” Y/N said quickly standing up. “Wait! It’s okay!” Jack said quickly, getting up onto his feet.

He took one of her hands to stop her from walking away. “Y/N, I have feelings for you.” Jack told her, finally confessing it after holding it in for the longest time. “You do?” Y/N asked in a surprised tone. “Y/N.” Jack started taking her other hand in his. “I have had this big crush on you before even meeting. That crush turned into more as we worked on the movie together, but I never made a move because you were with someone else. It was so fucking hard seeing you with that asshole because I knew you deserved better. When you two broke up everyone was telling me to make a move, but I was too scared.” Jack told her has he held onto her hands tightly scared that she would disappear. “I’m okay facing that fear now.” he added, staring deep into her Y/E/C eyes.

“I’m such an idiot.” Y/N said with a frustrated sigh. “Huh?” Jack asked with confusion. “Ever since I left that asshole I’ve been looking all around for a charming and cute guy to be my boyfriend. I didn’t even have to because that guy has been in front of me the whole time.” Y/N said letting go of one of his hands and put her hand onto his cheek stroking it gently with her thumb.

She pulled him in for a kiss which surprised him, but he didn’t hesitate to kiss her back. As they kissed Y/N’s arms made their way around his neck while his arms made their way around her hips. They released themselves from the kiss when they needed air.

“Would you be my date to the premiere tomorrow night?” Jack asked her once he caught his breath. “Yes! That sounds like a perfect first date!” Y/N answered with a big smile on her face.

[tartigglez]

"i know it hurts..."

headcanons of some genshin boys when you have your period (pt.1??)

kaeya, diluc, thoma, childe, zhongli (separately) x afab!reader (pronouns not mentioned)

genre: fluff

word count: 800-ish

tags: periods, no distinct mention of blood, wholesome boys (for the most part), a lottttt of physical touch + petnames, kaeya is teehee, diluc is clueless as shit, thoma is absolutely whipped, childe is also clueless, zhongli is wayyyyy clued in

tw/cw: zhongli is written as genderfluid, mentions of foods/drink (soup + tea), kisses in zhongli's, i don't think there's much else to add here, lmk if i missed smth

a/n: surprise? hi! i've had a very emotional night, so its time for something extremely self indulgent. i wrote this mostly for the genderfluid zhongli agenda. also i'd like to remind everyone that i am genderfluid, my pronouns are they/she/he!!! ty, enjoy.

kaeya’s personality seems to go through some sort of shift when you’re on your period, seriously! he’ll go from being a flirty, unserious captain with an eye catching smirk to a kind, gentle, soft spoken man. he will quietly hold you if you’re in pain, and try his best to distract you. will kiss you softly and assure you that it will pass, without ever making you feel like you’re exaggerating. strokes your cheek and does whatever you want to do in order to stay distracted. 

“darling? are you alright? are you sick?”

“no, just cramps.”

“ahh, here.”

“how does this feel? you okay? comfy?”

“yeah, I’m okay. thanks kae”

“not a problem at all, lovely”

“so, how was work? 

diluc is lowkey confused at first in your relationship. he’s never spent much time around anyone who has a period, let alone having to live with one, so it makes sense (a little) that he really doesn’t understand anything that’s happening to you, or what hurts, or why, or how he can help. the first time he finds you curled up in his bedroom in dawn winery he’ll be really confused and awkward, run to adelinde and try to very discreetly ask her what to do (he doesn’t do a good job), but eventually she gets what he means, and tells him to just ask you, which he builds the confidence to do after hyping himself up for like twenty minutes.

“hi”

“hi, 'luc”

“uh… are you okay?”

“ish?”

“uhm… may i talk to you about something?”

“yeah, of course! what’s up?”

“what is… happening to you right now? it’s painful, i know, but how do i help? what do i do? what do you need? how can i make you comfortable? i don’t want you to be in pain.”

“pah, how sweet. come, sit, i’ll explain”

thoma knows exactly what is going on, and when its going on. keeps track of your periods (with your knowledge and consent ofc) just so he knows what days to bring you whatever you may need. he’s a BIG BIG acts of service and gift giving kinda guy, because he’s always in the city, so he always picks things up for you. this happens even more when you’re on your period. of course, sometimes, his estimates of your starting days will be a little bit off, so he might end up randomly doing something and it seems like its out of nowhere, and he tries to play it off like it is too. 

“thoma? what’re you doing home this early?”

“oh, I thought i’d come home and make you soup!”

“make me… soup? that’s a little strange…”

“no it’s not! it's just because i thought you liked it, especially when…y’know”

“hah, your guess was off darling, you’re two days early. still, i appreciate the thought love. let’s eat?”

childe is clueless. extremely clueless. but he’s also super duper sweet, and a very fast learner. he tries his best to understand what’s happening and what to do, but unfortunately he doesn’t really have anyone to ask about it. so he’ll literally read a book, which is rather rare for him but he would literally do anything for you. if you’re feeling really unwell, he will insist on taking the day off work to look after you. he’s extremely attentive and gentle, which is the side of him his “co-workers” don’t get to see. 

“morning baby! how’re you feeling?”

“mmhh,, morning chi. ‘m okay, a bit crampy”

“okay, i’ll stay here then.”

“what? no, you have work. you gotta go!”

“i’ll call in sick, they can live without me for a day”

“chi you can’t do this agai-”

“i’d do anything for you”

zhongli. understands. everything. okay hear me out. zhongli can take any form he wants, so sometimes out of curiosity he would change into another body. he’d get completely, utterly shocked the first time he got a period whilst in this form (it was unexpected.), but learned how to cope with it, because he wanted to be able to fully understand the struggles that some mortals might go through.

he knows exactly what to do when this happens to you, speaks to you calmly and holds you if you get cramps. will brew tea for you, and get the latest herb combinations for pain relief from baizhu. will snuggle up to you, place his hand on your stomach because it’s warm, and hold you close. kisses your neck gently and asks if you need anything, overall just a big sweetie. if you want him to, he’ll go into his half-dragon form, so he can wrap his tail around you. loves you more than anything and will do anything to make you comfortable. you need something? it’s yours, no matter the extremes he has to go to in order to get it. constantly making sure you take your time with everything, and making sure that you don’t overexert yourself.

“my love, i know you’re in pain, please don’t push yourself”

“i know, i know, i just have a little more work to do”

“i trust you, but i’m staying here with you, just in case. have you eaten? are you comfortable? do you need any pain relief?”

[gluion]

[part two] of boundaries and secret glances (i'm lucky to be loved by you) ➵ kim sunwoo

idol!kim sunwoo x ex-idol!reader

as a well-respected independent producer in the industry, you get requests from different companies for collaborations. when you accept to work on chanhee and sunwoo's unit track for their upcoming album, you are left to your own devices as you work closely with sunwoo. who is to say what can happen over the days?

genre/warnings ➵ strangers to friends to lovers (though sunwoo has always had a crush on you since your debut), music and lyrics au, fluff, angst with happy ending, afab reader (they/them pronouns), drinking, kpop mistreatment, mental and physical abuse done by companies, close proximity, sunwoo is a FLIRT!!! and also obsessed with you, LOONA IS FREE HERE!!!, iz*one sadly does not exist </3, boundaries are definitely crossed in the sense that you should not be flirting this much with a co-worker turned friend, slight suggestive content at the end

word count ➵ 14.6k words (30.3k words in total)

parts ➵ [1] [2]

taglist ➵ @deoboyznet @kflixnet

a/n ➵ thank you for taking time to read the second part! please note that idols shown or talked about in this fic are not meant to reflect my real thoughts on them. i love all the idols here in this fic. i would really appreciate it if you could take the time to like and reblog this.

want to be part of my taglist? send me an ask! masterlist

It has been a week since your fight with Sunwoo. Soeun chose to defer her employment with IST for another two weeks until she can get her hands on someone to take her job under you. To be clear, you did not care about how Mr. Yoon attempted to screw you over. In fact, you were used to it and trained yourself to not think too much about it.

What bothered you about everything was how Sunwoo seemed to turn his back on you so quickly. Despite all the late nights and moments spent in close proximity, the friendship proved itself to be weak in the face of adversity. You guess Sunwoo needed more from you to truly think of you as a friend.

Now, you were seated in Sunwoo’s favorite Japanese restaurant which had turned into your favorite as well. You were only there for the sushi to patch the wounds that he inflicted on you; food cures everything. Yet, when Hikaru offered a bottle of sake for free, you could not deny her request.

A bottle of sake turned into two and a half, and you were officially drunk. You realize that sushi is not the most filling food to eat before you drink. As you stayed seated and slouched on your table around 1 AM, you were left with your thoughts as Hikaru stayed with you.

“Hikaru, I don’t know what happened,” You slur which has Hikaru letting out a hum.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“I… I don’t know what happened between me and Sunwoo,” You say as you finally sit up straight.

“Something happened between you two?”

You hiccup and take a moment to make sure you do not vomit. Before you could respond, you heard the bells ring. Once the mystery person made their way to you, you showed a lazy smile.

“Sunwoo!” The person in question sighs as he scratches his head.

“Thank you, Hikaru, for calling me. I’ll take care of them from here.”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know something happened between you two.” As Sunwoo walks to you, you raise your arms.

“Carry me you asshole!” Despite the sting of your words, the way you exclaimed it was merrily. Sunwoo sighs, faces away from you, and crouches down.

“Get on my back.” You gladly accept his offer and wrap your arms around his shoulders, jumping on his back. The moment he stands up, you stumble but he holds on you tightly.

“Again, I’m sorry about this Hikaru. Do I have to pay for anything? Please send the receipt to the dorm if necessary,” Sunwoo tells Hikaru, making her shake her head.

“No, it’s okay. Just take care of Y/N. Do you need help?”

“I’ll be fine. Thank you!” With that, Sunwoo exits with you on his back.

As he was walking back to your place with you on his back, you were resting your cheek on the back of his head. In fact, you were mumbling something that he could not quite catch.

“Hmm? Y/N, did you say something?”

“Why…” The rest of your words turned into incoherent nonsense that Sunwoo was not sure if he should ask you to say again considering your state.

“Y/N, I couldn’t hear you.”

“Why do you not like me?”

That has Sunwoo stopped in his tracks. As he continued to carry you on his back, he looked at the path in front of him as you continued to mumble.

“Sunwoo,” You hiccup. “What happened to us? Do you not like me?”

Sunwoo’s heart ached at your words. He did not know how to reassure you that he enjoys everything about you, especially in your current state. In fact, it would be no use. With that, he continued to walk with you on his back.

The journey back to your place gave you enough time to rest and sober up somehow. As you gained a clearer conscience, you realized how having Sunwoo carry you on his back was terrible for you. There was no way you could live this down. Yet, you allow yourself to snuggle into him as you take in his smell.

Sunwoo smells of jasmine and rose. The scent of berry lingers on his hair along with the smell of laundry that clings onto his clothes. As you breathe him in, you realize how comforting his presence is in your life.

Once you two finally reached your place, he attempts to wake you up as he thinks you were asleep

“Hey, we’re here.”

As you got off his back, you look away and attempt to make your way to the door. Sunwoo grabs your hand before you could do so and spins you to face him. What he did not expect was to see tears falling down your face.

“Y/N, I’m–”

“Sunwoo, what did I do wrong? Did you not think of me as a friend?”

“What? No, I–” You attempt to shrug his hand off your wrist but fail.

“Let me go,” You say as more tears continue to fall down.

“No, I won’t.”

“Sunwoo, let me go.”

Greeted with no response as his grip remains firm, you attempt to shrug it off once more. Without any success, you start to sob even harder.

“Please, let me go!” Your sobs were even louder, your body shaking as your throat started to strain.

“Y/N, I can’t. I care about you.”

“No, you don’t! If you did, you would have never asked me to take that offer!” You argue back as you look at him straight into his eyes.

“Y/N–”

“Sunwoo, please! The longer you hold onto me, the more confused I get about our relationship. Like, what are we? Friends? Enemies? Strangers who want to flirt? What are we?! It’s so hard to understand you after everything!”

With that, Sunwoo pulls you into his chest and hugs you. As you continue to sob and hit your hands on his chest, he continues to hold you despite everything.

You wish he never bothered to be friends with you. Why could you two not remain colleagues? Why did Sunwoo have to reach out to you and leave you with a broken heart?

It took you a few minutes until your wailing started to calm down. As you start to get exhausted from crying, your arms began to grow tired while your throat started to ache. At that moment, you do not do anything as Sunwoo continues to hold you in his arms.

The moment he lets go of you, he caresses your face so that you could look straight into his eyes. Your bloodshot eyes along with tear-stained cheeks became a painful sight he could not bear to look at, especially knowing he was the cause of this. Despite everything, you saw how his eyes continued to hold the entire universe.

“Y/N, I need to say this to you right now because I’m scared you’ll go back to sleep thinking all of this.”

“I–”

“No, Y/N. Hear me out just this once, please?” Before you could say anything, he went on.

“Y/N, I have always thought of you as a friend. In fact, I regarded you as the one person I wanted to continue spending time with. Maybe it’s because our friendship is so fresh, but I loved every moment I got to have with you.” Sunwoo draws patterns on your cheek with his thumb. “Whether it would be in the studio as we worked in comfortable silence or in my favorite Japanese restaurant that turned into your favorite as well, every single moment is precious because it had you in it.”

“Sure, I was ecstatic to know that I would be spending time with my celebrity crush, but I learned more about you the more we continued to work together. Did you know that I fall asleep to the thought of spending more time–no, that I fall asleep to the thought of you? Everywhere I go at any moment, I always think about you; I wonder how you are today; I hope you got to eat well today; I wonder what other things you can reveal that can keep me absolutely hooked on you.”

“Y/N, I don’t think you realize just how precious you are in everyone’s lives. If you think I never saw you as a friend, well I need to tell you otherwise. I appreciate everything about you—your place in my life has become a comforting presence that I cannot imagine without. In the short period of time we got to know each other, I learned more about you outside of the idol persona I was infatuated with then.”

As your drunken brain tries to process, your mouth parts open.

“I… I don’t get it, Sunwoo. What are you trying to say?”

With that, Sunwoo lets out a sigh as he closes his eyes and loosens his hold on your face. As you continue to stare at him, he has no idea what to say. It was silent for a moment. 

“Chanhee and I talked to Jihoon. We’re trying to negotiate again with our CEO.” You were left in shock.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen but I’m trying to fix it, okay? Hyung just informed Soeun just today, and we’re trying. I don’t want to discuss the details now because I want you to be in a sober state to fully discuss it with you. But I just want you to know I’m doing everything possible to fix this. You do not deserve to be fucked over again—you deserve better,” Sunwoo continues.

The guy who betrayed you was doing all of this for you? It felt surreal that Sunwoo would go to these lengths to right this situation. Maybe it is because you thought that your relationship with him was built on nothing but shameless flirting, but he continues to prove you wrong—you’re so glad he does.

Before you could say anything, Sunwoo says, “I’ll see you when you’re sober, okay?” With that, he engulfs you in a hug.

And he whispers, “Y/N, I miss you. Just let me know when you’re ready to talk.”

With that, Sunwoo nuzzles his face into the top of your head. And before you know it, he gives you a small kiss on the crown of your forehead. Your eyes were closed as his lips linger. The warmth of his lips felt like a blanket you would wrap yourself with when the storm came. You could only wish it could remain like this.

He finally lets go of you and lets his hand hover over your cheek. As you looked up to the guy who had singlehandedly given you warmth and heartache over the weeks, you still wish nothing but happiness for him. It’s not that you lacked respect for yourself for what he did—it’s that Sunwoo still deserves all that is good in the world no matter what you may feel.

Sunwoo drops his hand back to his side and gives a small smile before he decides to walk away. As you stay rooted in place, you watch his figure become smaller as he continues to walk. But before you decide to go back into your house, Sunwoo looks back at you.

“I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me. But I would never hold it against you if you couldn’t.”

It’s been a few days since your last encounter with Sunwoo. Currently, you were in your office going through your emails (which surprised Soeun—even yourself). As you were considering denying all of the requests from these different companies, Soeun continued to give you a rundown of what Jihoon told her regarding the negotiation process.

“Jihoon says that since the anticipated comeback day is coming closer, the situation works in our favor. He mentioned that they haven’t found the right producer to work on Chanhee and Sunwoo’s track. That means that with the tight schedule, their company may reconsider what you produced as the final track.”

You only let out a hum as you continue to scroll through countless emails.

“Hey, look at me,” She says as she snaps her fingers to grab your attention.

As your eyes rip away from the screen, you look at Soeun who had a frown on her face. Clearly, she knew something was up considering your behavior that night with Sunwoo.

“Y/N, I know you are an independent artist but you still need to be careful about what you do. You are a well-respected artist in the industry and we cannot do anything to risk that! Y/N, you are free to go drink out and whatnot but you can’t just drink in public alone! Imagine if people saw you, let alone see you get picked up by Sunwoo! Remember how Keeho and Intak were caught in the club? Or even Taehyun?”

You understood where Soeun was coming from because she is right. It was completely stupid on your end. It was bad enough that you had to sustain yourself as an independent artist. It would be even worse if the public commented on your irrational public drinking behavior.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.”

“I sure hope you know!” Her voice raises which you flinch at. Soeun notices the way you react and closes her eyes in an attempt to calm herself down.

“I’m… sorry for the way I’m reacting. Y/N, I know I’m going to work in IST soon enough, but I’m still your manager and friend. I’m trying to look out for you,” She says with her eyes open as she takes a seat in front of you.

“And in my attempt to look out for you, I want you to feel comfortable enough to tell me what’s on your mind.”

As she says those words, you lean your head back and look up at the ceiling. No matter how long you and Soeun have been together, you always found it hard to be vulnerable. It is not her fault but yours.

“Soeun, I don’t know. I’m just so lost in what I’m feeling and I–it’s all so confusing, you know? Like–oh my god, why is it so hard to vocalize my thoughts?” You let out a small laugh as you pick on your nails.

“It’s okay, take your time. You always know I’m here to listen, just say whatever comes to mind.”

So you talked, and it went on for hours. The best thing about talking to Soeun is that you always felt understood by her from how she responds to how she reacts. There really is no friend like Soeun—one who is willing to go to all lengths for your happiness and safety.

“Y/N, would you ever find it within yourself to forgive him? I mean, I don’t think I would,” She says, which makes you chuckle.

“The weirdest thing is that I would have never forgiven anyone for that. I mean, I opened up to Sunwoo about my own trauma only for him to completely disregard it.”

And it is true. Sunwoo should not deserve your forgiveness—just like how JYP Entertainment, Stone Entertainment, and IST Entertainment do not deserve it as well. To be treated as a tool that people can use at their own will to only benefit themselves is something no one should ever experience. You decided that you do deserve to be respected. So why do you find it in your heart to want to forgive him?

“I just find it crazy that I cannot bring myself to forgive these entertainment companies but for Sunwoo, I would. Call me infatuated or too up into my delusions, but all the days I’ve spent with him have only shown me a guy with a heart of gold and pure intentions to not only protect but to love immensely. Like, that’s just the type of guy he is! And this comes from someone who is always cynical about men.”

Soeun laughs, caresses your hand, and says, “No, you’re right. I’ve known you for how long and I have never seen you actually consider forgiving a man just like that.”

As you looked down at your intertwined hands, you could only sigh.

“Soeun, am I wrong for wanting to forgive him?” You ask as you look up to her.

With that, silence enters the room. As you wait for Soeun’s answer, anxiety starts to pool in your stomach. You did not want to come off as easy for wanting to forgive the guy who brought joy and sorrow within the past weeks.

“Y/N, wanting to forgive shows just how strong you are. Many people may disagree and say that you’re in the wrong for wanting to forgive him, but I believe that it just shows more of the Y/N I know. You’ve been wronged by so many people but I never see you use that as an excuse to treat people shitty, and that’s what I love about you. That’s why I always say you need to be kinder to yourself and give yourself more credit for all that you do.”

You felt yourself pout at what Soeun said. “Soeun, you’re going to make me sad!” She only laughs.

“I’m right though! I think even your fans would think the same, and I’m sure Sunwoo does.”

You press your tongue against the inside of your cheek as you think about her words. Instead of saying anything, you let go of Soeun’s hand and grab your phone. Once you typed out your message, you gave it one more read and sent it. 

It is 2:36 PM. You were seated in one of your favorite cafes that you would frequent back when you were still in 1CON. As you take a sip from your cup of earl grey tea, you scroll aimlessly through your Instagram.

“Y/N-ah!” You look up to see Jiwoo and Heejin whose smiles lit up the whole room.

Whenever you feel lost, you always find yourself going to these two. They were the ones you relied on the most back in your Produce 101 and 1CON days. Maybe it was due to being in the same unit groups during the competition or being roommates when you were still in 1CON that made you three grow closer. Nonetheless, you were happy that your friendship with them continues to last past disbandment.

“Heejin and Jiwoo! Thank you for meeting with me,” You say as you stand up and give the two a hug.

“Heejin-ah, I’ll get us our drinks. You stay with Y/N,” Jiwoo says as she makes her way to the cashier.

“Y/N, I have a feeling that I know why you called us,” Heejin says with a small smile as you two take a seat.

“Yeah, shocker,” You joke in hopes to lighten up the mood.

“Don’t worry about it. I get it, men truly are something.”

“They really are! I can’t believe I’m letting a man do this to me.”

Before Heejin can respond, Jiwoo comes to you two with some drinks and pastries.

“Here you go, Heejin! Let me just settle down and you can spill on Sunwoo,” She says excitedly which makes you chuckle.

With that, you explain to the two your whole situation with Sunwoo from the start to current. As you talked about the close proximity and all the other actions that transpired between you two, you could see Heejin and Jiwoo squeal.

“Yah! I never knew that all of this happened between you two! You downplay it or leave out so many details in your messages,” Jiwoo scolds you.

“I know, my bad. It’s just, it still feels weird to think that this all happened. But going back, my dilemma still remains. I don’t know what to feel about Sunwoo.”

Heejin scoffs and says, “Do you really not know what to feel about him or are you seeking some kind of external validation?”

“Hey! I mean, I’m both?” You shyly admit.

At first, Heejin and Jiwoo look at each other. A part of you had a feeling that they came prepared with whatever they wanted to say beforehand. With that, they look at you and give you a piece of their minds.

“Y/N, you should just talk to him,” Jiwoo starts off.

“I think it’s all hard to say whether you should forgive him or not if you don’t actually hear him out, you know?” Heejin takes a sip from her cold brew. “And I know that you’re the type of person who wants to come to these situations with a clear understanding of what to do, but it’s not fair for him. In no way am I trying to defend this guy’s actions because it is still pretty shitty and I would scold him. However, I think that your decision to forgive him or not will only be clearer if you talk to him.”

“I agree. If you come in there with a clear and strict decision of forgiving him or not means you don’t want to hear what he has to say. Plus, I do think it’s good on his end that he’s trying to make up for his behavior by trying to negotiate with his own agency. Everyone knows how hard it is for idols to stand up against their own companies—we would know out of all people would know,” Jiwoo points out.

Both of them made sense in what they were saying. If anything, you were starting to understand how important it is to have a talk with Sunwoo.

“So, I’m not wrong for wanting to forgive him?” You ask as you seek validation.

Jiwoo sighs. “You’re not wrong for wanting to hear him out. To hear out the person who betrayed you in hopes to understand and possibly forgive them speaks so much of your character, Y/N.”

“You know, you really are too good for this world. In other instances, I would have told you to ghost this guy and go on with your life.” You laugh at Heejin’s words. “Yet, the way you talk about Sunwoo and all the good things he’s done for you makes me hope that it all goes out well. You’re the one person I trust when it comes to forgiveness—you know that you deserve respect. Of course, you still need to work on acknowledging your achievements,” Heejin continues making you gasp.

“Hey! Soeun won’t get off my back on that, you know?”

“Yeah because it’s true and something you need to focus on,” Jiwoo argues and smacks your arm.

“You work too much!” Heejin exclaims.

“Heejin, I have to work or I’m going to be broke. Being an independent artist is hard,” You point out.

“We get it. I mean, you’re talking to us out of all people!” 

Your group bursts into giggles. It is crazy to think that you three had to undergo mistreatment that scarred your lives. In no way was it right but it is something you three trauma bond over.

“So, what are you going to do?” Jiwoo finally asks.

Instead of answering, you grab your phone and message the man who you needed to hear from.

Sunwoo was not focused during his dance practice. If anything, he has been unfocused since you first stormed out of the building that one day. Of course, he tried to do anything that would help him get his mind on track. However, with the comeback date approaching and no clear future for his and Chanhee’s track, he has been stressed out. It did not help that he missed your presence the most.

“Yo, Sunwoo? You good?” Kevin snaps Sunwoo out of his trance.

“Huh? Oh yeah, sorry.”

Everyone in the group knew that Sunwoo was not his usual self. With the stress of the comeback and his argument with you, many of the members noticed how scatterbrained he has been. Although Chanhee and Changmin made an attempt to talk to him about it, he always shut them down. This is why when Sunwoo approached Chanhee with the idea of talking to Jihoon, Chanhee was shocked about his best friend talking about you after so long.

Jihoon says that he is getting close to sealing the deal with Mr. Yoon. However, he requested to have a meeting with Sunwoo and Chanhee to hear the request from them. With the meeting happening in three days, Sunwoo found himself ridden with anxiety.

There are so many ways in which the meeting could play out; Mr. Yoon easily agrees with their negotiation and has Y/N’s work as the final track; he denies the request and pushes back the unit song for the next comeback instead; or, Sunwoo could lose his job. Everything about this situation stressed him out, but he knew that it was something that needed to be done.

“Okay everyone, let’s stay focused. We have so many segments to fix on,” Sangyeon calls everyone’s attention.

“Sangyeon’s right. Sunwoo, we really need your help here,” Changmin hated to say that to his best friend knowing fully well of the situation, but the time constraints were putting pressure on everyone.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry everyone,” Sunwoo apologizes as he rubs his eyes in frustration.

“Hey, let’s cut some slack for Sunwoo. He’s going through a lot,” Eric attempts to defend his best friend.

“Yeah, but if we don’t show Jihoon hyung anything good, we’ll be scolded,” Hyunjae explains.

“But you guys know that Sunwoo hasn’t been sleeping well since his fight with Y/N,” Chanhee chimes in.

“I know that, but remember when we delivered a bad performance to Sunghoon?” Juyeon shares which made the chatter stop.

The mention of their old manager brings the group into silence. Everyone’s experiences were different, but all would agree Sunghoon has single-handedly traumatized the members. Through insults, invasion of privacy, and gaslighting, many members of the group felt unsafe with him.

“Hey, don’t think about him. We’re safe now, okay?” Sangyeon says before anyone could continue spiraling down into memory lane.

“I’m sure Jihoon hyung will understand, but we still need to present something that would fulfill the standards of the company,” He continues as he stretches his shoulder.

Before anyone could say anything, the door of the practice room opens and reveals Jihoon and Jongseob, their choreography teacher.

“Speak of the devil! We were just talking about you, hyung,” Kevin exclaims with a smile on his face.

“Oh, talking about me? I hope you’re not planning to find a way to sneak out of the dorm again,” Jihoon jokes.

“To be fair, Hyunjae and Younghoon dragged us with them!” Jacob tries to defend him and Kevin while Jihoon only laughs.

“How’s the practice? I thought it would be good to leave you guys to work by yourselves,” Jongseob asks the group.

No one answers.

“I’m assuming that you’re still struggling.”

“Hyung, I think we’re getting stressed by the lack of time and progress,” Changmin pouts.

“And that’s why I’m here to help! Let’s try to refine up to the 2nd verse and work on the rest tomorrow, okay?” Jongseob asks which has the group scream out in happiness.

“Can I speak to Sunwoo first?” Jihoon asks.

Sunwoo only nods and walks out of the practice room with Jihoon. He continues to follow Jihoon until they reach an empty recording studio. Once the two entered, they made their way to the black couch that stood at the end of the room and sat down.

The thing is that Sunwoo is nervous. The name of Sunghoon being mentioned brought him memories he wished he could forget. So to be seated alone with Jihoon only rid him of anxiety.

Sunwoo did not have it in him to share what he went through with anyone. So when Y/N asked him back then what his experience is like with The Boyz, he purposely omitted it. It is not that he did not trust Y/N but more that it was hard for him to ever have to vocalize his own experiences with Sunghoon that almost pushed him to leave the group.

“Hey, Sunwoo? Are you okay?” Jihoon snaps Sunwoo out of his trance.

“What? I’m sorry. I’m okay, hyung,” Sunwoo says with a quick smile as a cover-up.

Jihoon only frowns and says, “Sunwoo-ah, I know you well enough to see that you’re upset about something. It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it but you don’t need to lie to me.”

Sunwoo shakes his head and lets out a sigh.

“I’m sorry, hyung. It’s just that I’ve been so lost with… everything, really,” Sunwoo attempts to joke as he lets out a chuckle.

“No, I get it. With what you’re going through with Y/N, the comeback date coming soon, and your upcoming meeting with Mr. Yoon, I would be surprised if you weren’t stressed.”

“Yeah but… I’m trying to deal with it.”

“And you know that you don’t have to deal with it alone, right?” Jihoon is only met with silence.

“Sunwoo, you are a very talented guy whose charisma manages to bring up everyone’s mood. You somehow–no wait, you are the life of the party for many and the shoulder to cry on for others. So you should know that whenever the burden is too hard to carry, you have people you can rely on—me, your members, Y/N even.”

Sunwoo only sighs as he plays with his hands. “I know, you’re right. I think it’s just weird to still be open about anything.”

“Hey, I understand. I mean, I get that it would be weird to be open with your manager but I always want you to know that I am not like Sunghoon,” Jihoon tries to make a point by holding onto Sunwoo’s hands.

“I’m sorry to bring his name up but I know the damage he’s inflicted upon you guys mentally and physically. Every day, I still see how his memory continues to live with you guys from the way you function during comeback season to the way you treat yourselves. So when I look at you now, I feel the need to reiterate it.”

Sunwoo cannot help but smile at Jihoon. One of the things that Sunwoo appreciates about Jihoon is that he has always been attentive to the needs of the group. From food cravings to fatigue levels, Jihoon always found ways to make sure every member was heard and understood.

“Thank you, Jihoon hyung. It means a lot. You do so much for us and I hope you know how much we appreciate you,” Sunwoo says, which earns a smile from Jihoon.

“I know that even if you guys tend to mess around or sneak out of the dorm every once in a while.” The two burst into laughter.

“Well, I just wanted you to know that. Now, the reason I called you here is to talk to you about more details about what to expect from the meeting.” Sunwoo nods. “Thankfully, Soeun and I discussed thoroughly the details and what might help with the negotiation pushing through. Thankfully, I will be in the meeting to help so you don’t have to worry too much. I do think you and Chanhee need to prepare a good and rational explanation as to why they should accept Y/N’s work as the final track and I can deal with all the technical details such as dates and whatnot. I’ll send you a proper message later tonight.”

Sunwoo nods firmly and shows Jihoon a smile. Before he could say anything, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. As he takes it out to see the notification, he is surprised to see a message from you. As he gasps, Jihoon could only guess what has Sunwoo in such a reaction.

“I am guessing that you have somewhere to be.” Sunwoo shoots Jihoon a smile and hugs him briefly.

“Thank you, hyung! I’ll see you later,” He says as he stands up and quickly makes his way to the door.

“Yah, don’t forget you need to be in the dorm by 9 PM latest!”

It is 4:21 PM. You were seated in the same cafe where you met up with Heejin and Jiwoo. You decided to get a chai latte to accompany your book. Although you tried to read the pages of Crying in H Mart, you could not keep your mind off of your upcoming meeting with Sunwoo.

You decide to grab your phone and look back at your conversation with Sunwoo.

y/n: are you free to meet?

zzoguri 🦝: of course! i can meet you around 4:30?

zzoguri 🦝: where should i meet you :]

y/n: there’s actually a cafe i frequent that’s near my place. it’s called milk and roasters

y/n: i can send you the google maps details if you need it

zzoguri 🦝: it’s okay i found it. i’ll see you :]]

As you continue to look down at the conversation that took place hours ago, you start to feel anxiety pool at the bottom of your stomach. Although you are the type of person who stands their ground and likes to hear people out, you cannot deny that you were the anxious type. Your tendency to overthink always brought you to hypothetical situations you never wanted to experience.

This is why you never noticed that Sunwoo entered the cafe as you continued to stare down at your phone.

“Hey.”

You felt yourself jump in your seat at Sunwoo’s sudden voice. As you look up at him, you notice a sheepish smile plastered on his face.

“Jesus! Sunwoo, you scared me.”

“To be fair, I wanted to see if you really were easy to scare like I’ve seen in the old 1CON vlogs,” He says as he takes a seat across from you.

“Oh god, you really watched those? I was such a baby then.”

“Of course I did! You were my number one pick—you still are.” You could only roll your eyes at Sunwoo.

“Plus, Haknyeon did mention you’re my celebrity crush,” He continues as he looks out the window.

You only giggle and say, “I can’t believe that getting me to work on your unit track was just a ploy for you to meet your celebrity crush.”

Sunwoo was about to protest but no words left his mouth. “Yeah, it really was.”

You try to hide the smile forming on your face by taking a sip of your chai latte (though you are not sure if you were blushing). Once you put your phone and book away, you look right at the boy seated across you.

“I’m ready to listen regarding the negotiation.”

Sunwoo lets out a sigh at first to prepare what he was going to say. Although he spent his time drafting a flow of what he would say on the way to you, he was scared that he would fuck this up.

“Ever since our, you know… fight, I’ve been trying to find a way to make this all right. I thought I could just apologize but I knew it wouldn’t be enough.” Sunwoo tongues the inside of his cheek. “I mean, I basically asked you to give your work as a demo despite knowing all the times your old companies didn’t credit you for your work—let alone properly pay you for it. That’s why I talked with Chanhee about negotiating again and he was open to the idea.”

“We eventually found ourselves talking to Jihoon hyung and one thing led to another. We’re trying to push for your work to be the final track for many reasons; there’s not enough time to outsource another producer who would deliver a track within the projected internal deadline; it would be impossible for me and Chanhee to squeeze in enough time to work with a new producer since we’re focused on our comeback performances; and it’s also not fair to you—above all reasons, that is the one that I find important to address.”

Sunwoo takes a deep breath. “Y/N, I’m sorry for ever asking you to do something that would only have you relive your trauma or create room for more disrespect directed towards you. When I looked back at our conversations about your time in JYP and Stone Music Entertainment, I only realized after our fight what I was asking you to do. You do not deserve to be forced to relive your trauma. So above everything, I’m sorry.”

You are silent for a moment as you process his words.

“Sunwoo, so why did you ask for me to accept the deal then?” He lets out a sigh at your question.

“I… don’t know,” He admits. “I know, that sounds so shitty but I really don’t know what was on my mind to push you into the deal. I think I wanted to believe that they wouldn’t make any significant changes to your work; I just wanted to rap to the song you produced,” He trails off.

“But also, I think a part of me was scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“I… I think I was scared of how Jihoon hyung and Mr. Yoon would react if you denied the deal. I–this isn’t about me, sorry. Just know that it was wrong on my end; I’m doing all that I can to fix this,” Sunwoo answers as he looks down at his crossed arms that rested on the table.

You do not know what came to you, but you found yourself reaching out to Sunwoo’s arm. As you rested your hand there, he looked up at you with eyes filled with guilt.

“Sunwoo, it’s okay. You can tell me—this is also about you as much as it is about me.”

At first, Sunwoo was hesitant to share with you something so traumatic and personal to him. He hates to vocalize any experience related to Sunghoon. Yet, the moment you showed your smile that filled him with warmth without fail, that is when he knew it was time to tell you.

“A part of me would think that I would have to carry the blame or the burden if you denied the deal,” Sunwoo starts off. “I felt as if I would have to be in charge to clean up the mess. I mean, I was the one who pushed for you to be the producer for the unit track. It made me think that if we didn’t get to use your work, I would need to do all the work once again. But most of all, I was scared that I would get scolded by the company.”

Sunwoo sighs. “Y/N, remember that conversation we had when we were at the convenience store? The one where you asked me what it’s like to be in The Boyz?” You only nod.

“I know I mentioned that the scolding was the worst of it all and… it’s because of what the group had to go through back then.” You found yourself slowly rubbing his arm in hopes to comfort him.

Sunwoo sucks in a breath.

“We had a manager before Jihoon; his name is Sunghoon. He was our manager back in our pre-debut to freshly debuted days. At first, Sunghoon was a great manager. I mean, he took care of us and defended us on most occasions. If anything, we trusted him so much with so many secrets.”

“But something flipped in him—or maybe he was just always a bad person and we never noticed. At first, he would manipulate us into thinking we were too fat or we lacked so much skill that it would cost our debut.” Sunwoo found himself shuddering at the memories. “At one point, I remember that he made Changmin believe that it would be impossible for him to improve in singing. Changmin took that to heart because he only had dancing. He knew that if he didn’t show any improvement, he would be kicked out of the group.”

Sunwoo closed his eyes. “I think one of the worst things I underwent is the physical and mental exhaustion he would subject me to.”

“Out of all the members, he expected me to be the perfect dancer—the one to get the choreography and perform it exquisitely within the first days of learning it.” Sunwoo shakes his head. “But for some reason, he made me believe that all the times I would slip up were the main reasons why I was holding the group back. Although the group tried to tell me that I was one of the best dancers and it was fine for me to make some mistakes, I started to believe that I was at fault if I wasn’t doing anything perfectly.”

“It started to reach a point where Sunghoon would force me to stay late in the practice rooms alone and he would force me to perform the same choreography until I got it perfectly. The other members said it was weird that only I was being subjected to that but the others had other mistreatments they were being put through; Haknyeon was put through inhumane diets; Juyeon and Changmin were forced to sing until their vocal cords would strain; Kevin and Jacob would not be allowed to talk to their family back in Canada; and so much more.”

The more Sunwoo shares his story, the more your heart would ache for him. It was not right that he had to go through such a traumatic experience in the same way that you should not have been discredited for your creative works. It is not right that so many trainees and idols are continuously subjected to mistreatment as if they are only tools for the success of these companies.

“No matter how many times Sangyeon tried to talk to Mr. Yoon, he would not believe us. And somehow, Sunghoon always found out whenever Sangyeon tried to talk. The–god, the physical abuse I had to see Sangyeon undergo was terrible. I think he had it worst out of all of us.” Sunwoo bites his lip.

You wish you knew what to say when you heard Sunwoo’s story, but his experience is something you do not think you had a place to comment on. All you could do is hold onto his arm—only caress him in a way that you wish could heal him of all wounds.

“Somehow, we managed to get our families involved. It was risky since we had no contact with them because of Sunghoon, but Hyunjae found a way. It only helped that some of us were still minors when we debuted. Mr. Yoon finally listened once our families got involved and we never saw Sunghoon again.”

“But the worst of it all is that no one knows what happened to us publicly. We weren’t allowed to talk about it outside of the group—even our families weren’t allowed.”

For a moment, silence comes to you two.

He sighs. “I don’t know what Sunghoon is doing now; many of us pressed charges against him but he quickly solved it. So while he continues to walk around, I’m here still picking up the pieces. I feel at fault for everything that doesn’t go the way we had planned out—just like how Sunghoon made me believe that any mistake I committed held back everyone.”

You do not say anything. In situations like these, you think it is best to just listen until the person speaking gives you a clear indication to talk.

As Sunwoo continues to look down at your hand that rested on his arm, he felt a sense of warmth fill him. And you least expect it when he grabs a hold of it and intertwines his fingers.

“Y/N, I want you to know that you do mean the world to me, and I’m sorry that I ever treated you like that.” His eyes are filled with guilt as he says those words. “But I feel even more sorry knowing that you started to doubt our friendship just because of my actions. So I meant every word I said that night when I brought you back home, and all others during the time we spent together,” He speaks as he draws circles with his thumb on the back of your hand.

It felt so nice to be cared for by Sunwoo—you could only imagine how it would feel to be loved by him.

“Sunwoo, I forgive you and I’m sorry you had to go through that.” You give him a small smile. “You don’t have to be sorry for ever keeping that memory to yourself; I would’ve done the same. Typically, people would just apologize or even go on with their days. You though… you went to such great lengths to fix all of this, and I’m forever thankful for you.” You take a look at your interwoven hands. “So I want to at least tell you… thank you for this, and I always want you to know I’m here for you every step of the way.”

Sunwoo cannot help but smile at your words. “You’re too good to me.”

“I think you’re talking about yourself,” You giggle.

Sunwoo was seated across from Mr. Yoon with Chanhee and Jihoon by his side. He still could not believe the day had come. He has had numerous discussions with Chanhee and Jihoon about what needs to be said. With the pressure of comeback day coming, the uncertainty of the NEWSUN track, and your overall happiness, he knew he had to do anything possible to have Mr. Yoon agree to the negotiation.

“Hello everyone. You have called this meeting to hold a negotiation regarding the NEWSUN unit song and to discuss our last encounter with Y/N,” Mr. Yoon starts off.

“Yes sir, I will have the boys speak first and I will present the technical data after,” Jihoon responds.

Chanhee sucks a breath in. “When Sunwoo and I were conceptualizing what we wanted from this track, we wanted to ensure a performance that captured our charms, capabilities, and message we wish to convey. It took months for us to truly decide on what type of song we wanted but we were always certain to have Y/N produce the final track from the start. It is our dream to work with them—let alone meet them. With that, both Sunwoo and I were happy to see the final product of the track that we believe fulfills the standards of the company, especially under the supervision of Jihoon hyung.”

“Although you wish to have Y/N’s work as a demo, both parties previously agreed to their work acting as the final track with only minimal edits if necessary. However, with them unaware of the change in the contract, we lost the perfect track to work with. With this, Chanhee and I agreed that it would be best to discuss with you on what can be done to proceed forward,” Sunwoo says.

Jihoon points his laptop screen to Mr. Yoon with the calendar showcased. “Sir, we have spent around a month working with Y/N as the producer as we were under the impression that their work would act as the final track. However, with your proposed changes of requesting a demo, it was impossible for the team to outsource enough producers willing to agree with the proposed internal deadline.

“Along with this, the group is now at the stage where they are heavily focused on refining their performance for the title track. With the time constraints, both Chanhee and Sunwoo may be unable to work with a new producer to create the track they envisioned. Lastly, it is important to point out that the company luckily got away with this as Y/N is an independent artist with not enough manpower to sue for a breach of contract. Still, it is not right that we amended the details of the contract and did not get a clear understanding of whether they were aware of the changes,” Jihoon continues.

“We ask for you to reconsider having Y/N’s work as the final track as it fulfills the vision of mine and Chanhee’s. Y/N is a well-respected artist in the industry whose tracks ensure success for the artists they work with. Through the number of sales and streams other artists have as seen here…” Jihoon shows a line graph. “... then we can hopefully predict similar results for the group as well.”

Sunwoo hesitates for a second as he gets a good look at Mr. Yoon whose facial expression never faltered. “My time working with Y/N has improved me as an artist as I got to learn from them. Not only that but I believe they are a well-respected partner that the company could keep close contact with. But above everything, Y/N does not deserve the treatment we subjected them to. If anything, it is an honor that we got to work with them.”

Sunwoo takes a second to breathe. “Both Y/N and I have grown closer during our time working, and I would hate to disrespect an artist and friend like them.”

For a moment, the CEO only looks at the three people who sat across from him. Sunwoo knew that Mr. Yoon could do anything he wanted and that they would have no absolute say in it. But for once, he was clinging onto that string of hope that maybe their company has changed and learned to listen to their artists.

“Okay.”

It took a bit for Chanhee, Sunwoo, and Jihoon to register what Mr. Yoon said. However, when he nodded, a smile showed on their faces.

“You are right, Y/N is a well-respected artist who we must keep in close contact with. With the time constraints, I cannot risk pushing back the unit track any further as the marketing materials have already been made. And Jihoon is right, I am lucky enough to have gotten away with this but it doesn’t make it right.” Mr. Yoon sucks a breath in. “So you are right, and I’m sorry for not listening to you. Jihoon, please send an email to Y/N’s manager. Hopefully, they would still allow us to use their work as the final track,” He orders Jihoon.

“Now, get back to work. You better deliver good results for this comeback.”

It is 3:23 PM. You were at home enjoying a bag of chips as you watched The Uncanny Counter on Netflix. Soeun had an emergency to attend to which is why you decided that today would be a good day to not do anything. As you were sprawled over the sofa, you watched So Moon and Do Hana interact on screen.

“Sejeong is so pretty,” You muttered to no one as you continued to snack away.

While you were invested in the show, you were surprised to hear the doorbell ring. You frowned to yourself as you got off the couch. Once you make your way to the front door, you take a look into the peephole to see Sunwoo.

“Shit!” You exclaim quietly as you look down at your clothes; a grey oversized RJ of BT21 shirt and blue checkered shorts.

You can hear Sunwoo’s snicker from the other side of the door.

“Yah, Y/N! I can hear you, let me in.”

“Sunwoo, I am not dressed up!”

“It’s okay, just let me in,” He knocks on the door.

As you get annoyed with his knocks, you give in and swing the door open. A smiley Sunwoo appears by your doorstep (though you did notice his smile getting wider when he saw what you were wearing). You frown at him and take a step to the side to let him in.

You close the door and say, “I did not expect to see you today.”

“Well, I’m here. I just had my meeting with Mr. Yoon.” You felt your lips part open as anxiety started to creep in.

“Oh my god, I thought it would take some more meetings.” For a moment, you felt yourself panic over what news Sunwoo may have brought into the household.

However, Sunwoo still had that stupid smile on his face (something you still greatly love and despise). And you are left shocked by what leaves his mouth. “I sealed the deal. Y/N, your work is now officially the final track of mine and Chanhee’s unit song!”

As soon as he shared the news, you felt yourself jump in happiness and hug Sunwoo. At first, Sunwoo was stiff as he was not expecting you to hug him so suddenly. But the moment you hugged him tighter is when he let himself melt into the hug. His arms went to wrap around your waist and lifted you off the ground slightly.

“Sunwoo, I can’t believe it! You did it!”

Although the negotiation seemed more about you, you believed it to be for Sunwoo. Ever since he told you his story in the cafe a few days ago, you were worried about him confronting his boss. You did not want him to do anything that would ultimately risk his career. And yet, here he stood before you, victorious than ever.

With your arms still wrapped around him and his with yours, you decided to lean a bit backward to look at him properly. “You managed to get the track! Now, you and Chanhee can say that you fulfilled your number one wish.”

Sunwoo chuckles as he looks directly back at you.

“Yeah, I guess so. But Y/N, that’s not my number one wish.” You let out a gasp.

“Kim Sunwoo, you’re saying that working with me is not your number one wish? After Haknyeon had to tell me that I was your celebrity crush?”

Sunwoo rolls his eyes. “How many times do I have to say that you are my celebrity crush?” You only frown at him.

“Haha, stop with the lies.” He shakes his head.

“Well, you better be happy you at least got to get that wish fulfilled—whatever your number one wish may be,” You mutter the last half bitterly which only makes him laugh.

You let go of him and make your way back to the couch in your living room. As you moved aside your bag of chips, Sunwoo took a seat beside you.

“Hey, you don’t want to celebrate this win?” You let out a hum as you were thinking over his question.

“Shouldn’t we be celebrating with Chanhee then?”

“Chanhee has something else he needs to attend to,” He says only for you to pout.

“I miss that guy, you know?”

“Well, we can try to celebrate with him on another day.”

You nod. “Well, what do you have in mind?”

“Honestly, I can only think of eating out as an option.”

You started to think of what other things you and Sunwoo could do. “Oh! What about drinking?”

As you look at him excitedly, he only shakes his head with a small smile on his lips.

“No drinking? Why? Is it because it’s your comeback soon?” You ask.

“No, it isn’t that.”

“Well, what’s wrong with drinking? You hate drinking with me, do you?” You tease only for Sunwoo’s smile to get bigger as he shakes his head once more.

It takes him a moment to speak. “I don’t trust myself with alcohol when I’m around you.”

You felt your eyebrows furrow at the statement. With such an ambiguous statement, you were not sure what to make of he just said.

“Okay… well we can just eat out,” You say as you shut off the television screen.

“Alright.”

“But before anything,” You move closer to him and give him another hug. “Thank you again, and I’m so proud of you.”

It is 3:34 PM. You were in the backstage area where The Boyz will be having their comeback showcase. The group wished to extend an invitation to you to show their appreciation for having you work on Chanhee and Sunwoo’s track. As you tried to peek through the curtains, you noticed how big and spacious the stadium was.

“Y/N-ah, we have to move,” Soeun grabs your attention by tapping your soldier.

As she started to walk, you followed her closely. Every time staff members would pass by you, they would always greet you ecstatically. It still feels surreal that many people recognize you and respect you despite 1CON disbanding two years ago. No matter how washed-out of an artist you try to make yourself out to be, the love and regard you receive from many prove otherwise.

Soeun stops in front of a door that you are unfamiliar with. The moment she knocks, the door swings open to reveal Eric all dressed up in an oversized shirt, fishnets, and leather pants.

“Y/N! It’s so nice to see you here,” He says with a smile and takes a step to the side.

“I’ll see you later. I’m going to meet with Jihoon,” Soeun briefly says before leaving you.

As you take a step inside, you could see Hyunjae, Sangyeon, and Juyeon getting their makeup done. In contrast, Changmin, Chanhee, and Younghoon were busy playing around while Jacob, Haknyeon, and Kevin were on their phones showing each other TikTok videos. All of them were dressed up in clothing that would involve corsets, fishnets, leather, and more. 

“Y/N! You’re here!” Haknyeon exclaims.

As everyone greeted you, you could only smile. “Hi everyone, I’m sorry I could not bring you guys anything to congratulate you on your comeback. However, I would like to treat you guys to dinner one day.”

“Ah, thank you! You really don’t need to,” Sangyeon responds.

“Please, I insist. I mean, you gave me an opportunity to participate in this album so it seems only right. I also got to make some new friends through this opportunity.”

Chanhee cannot help but smile. “Y/N, I still cannot believe that we got you to work on the NEWSUN track. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

“Will you be going to the afterparty later?” Kevin asks to which you nod.

Before you could say anything, you notice Sunwoo emerging from the back of the room dressed in a crop top with fishnets under and leather pants. For a moment, you feel your brain blank out at the sight of him (and his abs, though you hate to admit it). But the smile that shows up on his face when he sees you is something you could not help but feel so much warmth from.

“Y/N! I did not expect to see you here in our dressing room,” Sunwoo says as he walks closer to you.

Before you could say anything, he wraps his arms around you and gives you a hug. You felt shy at the sudden action, especially since his other members could see the interaction.

“You came to support me, didn’t you?” Sunwoo says cheekily with a wink to which you only roll your eyes.

“Sunwoo, can’t you just thank me for showing up?”

He only laughs and lets go of you. “Thank you, Y/N.”

“We also have a gift for you,” You spin to look at Juyeon who is not seated in his chair anymore.

You were surprised to see him bring out a signed album of theirs from behind him. “Wow, thank you!”

As he hands you the album, you closely inspect all the signatures on the cover of the album. You notice the smiley faces, the heart, and even a “Thank you, Korea’s Sweetheart Y/N <3” on it. You can only smile.

“If you look through the pages, you might actually find some doodles or notes from us,” Sunwoo shares as he looks over your shoulder.

As you skim through the pages, you can only giggle at the drawings that the members have left. “I hope you didn’t leave any of your drawings here, Sunwoo.”

“Hey, I can draw!” Sunwoo exclaims as you move your head to the side to be able to see him since your back was facing him.

“Whatever you say,” You smirk as you continue to flip through the pages.

Before Sunwoo could argue, Jihoon and Soeun enter the room.

“Ah, I see you’ve given Y/N the album. It would be good to take a picture of you all together and then Sunwoo, Y/N, and Chanhee.”

Everyone collectively agreed to take these photos so you all moved out of the dressing room to take a proper picture. Jihoon held his phone up as you and The Boyz repositioned for the photo. While half of them decided to crouch, the other half of them including yourself remained standing behind them. As you are pushed to the middle of Sunwoo and Changmin, you cannot help but hold the album up so it can be seen in the picture.

“You guys can get a little closer,” Jihoon calls out which has you all squeezing in.

“Perfect! I’ll be taking the picture now.”

“3…” You continued to hold up the album but felt Sunwoo nudging your side.

“2…” His arms start to snake across your waist.

“1…” And he brings you closer to him.

For a moment, you cannot hide the shock that appears on your face. But as you hear the shutter sounds, you quickly cover it up with a smile.

“There we go!” Jihoon says as he looks down at the photo.

“Can we just get Sunwoo, Chanhee, and Y/N?” Soeun asks those who are not part of the picture to step aside.

While Chanhee took his position beside you, Sunwoo’s arm never left your waist. You were hoping that you were not blushing hard enough for the members to notice—let alone Sunwoo. Though you could not help but look over at the other members who seemed to snicker at you two.

“Okay, 3…”

“2…” You felt Sunwoo rest his head on the side of yours.

“1…” All you can do is squint your eyes at his action.

The shutter sounds go off. “Y/N-ah, you’re so cute!” Soeun calls out.

Once you open your eyes, you can see Jihoon smiling in the pictures. “I’ll airdrop these to Soeun.”

“Can I see them?” Chanhee asks.

When Jihoon showed you three the photos, you could see your smile wide as ever and your eyes squinted as Sunwoo's head rested on yours. While Sunwoo opted for a wink, Chanhee chose to give a smile and a peace sign.

“Yah, Kim Sunwoo! Why do you and Y/N make me look like a third-wheeler?” Chanhee complained only for the others to laugh.

“So true, don’t leave out poor Chanhee,” Changmin jokes. 

“Hey, I’m not!” Sunwoo tries to defend himself.

The group continues to argue but all you do is watch. The best thing about these guys is that you could really see their love for one another. No matter how many quarrels or (friendly) bullying they decided to put each other through, you knew how much they cared for one another.

“I hate to break the conversation but we really need you guys on stage in 10 minutes,” Jihoon points out.

As the group quickly made their way closer to the stage, Sunwoo stayed back for a bit.

“I will see you later, right? In the afterparty?” He quietly asks.

You nod. “Yeah, good luck.”

The moment you smile at Sunwoo, he feels himself smile as well. And somehow, he was quick enough to give you a kiss on the cheek. As you were left stunned in your place, he could only smile at your reaction.

“I’ll see you later.”

As he left you and made his way closer to the stage, you could not help but melt at the feeling.

“Y/N… did I really just see that?” Soeun asks as she tries to hold back a squeal.

Instead of replying to her, you quickly open the album and flipped through. In the pages, you saw notes from members that talked about some of their fondest memories with each other during the production of this album. You noticed doodles on different members’ faces and messages directed to you all around.

Once you reached the section that discussed the NEWSUN track, you saw messages from Chanhee and Sunwoo. Before you read Chanhee’s, you found your eyes focusing on what Sunwoo had to say:

Hi Y/N!

I still can’t believe that I got to meet my celebrity crush of how many years just because I asked for you to produce it. I want to say thank you for all the time we spent together when we prepared for this track. This track was already personal to me when Chanhee and I spent months figuring this out, but it became even more meaningful when we got you on it.

In the few days we worked together and the following weeks that came, I’ve learned to grow as an artist and as a person because of you. I’m so glad to have you in my life, and I’m thankful to have gotten to know you in all aspects you shared with me.

♥️ Your number one fan forever, Sunwoo

God, you really needed to know what to make of your relationship with Sunwoo.

The showcase was a success. You really enjoyed watching The Boyz not only perform but even interact with the fans. It kind of reminds you of all the other showcases you had with 1CON. 

Now, you were being driven by Soeun to the location of the afterparty. You were typing away on your phone as you messaged Heejin and Jiwoo.

chuu chuu 🍎: oh my god y/n!! i thought you would ask what you guys really were before the showcase

heekki 🐰: yeah because didnt we agree on that?? what happened 🤔

y/n: well… i didnt LMFAO 😭 guys im so lost like i cant believe he just kissed me on the cheek infront of SOEUN!!!

heekki 🐰: that’s why you need to talk to him!!

heekki 🐰: it’s been so obvious he’s liked you since he met you

chuu chuu 🍎: i think him saying he can’t be trusted with alcohol when he’s with you just proves it too

chuu chuu 🍎: don’t forget the meaning of the song you worked on!!! remember!!!

heekki 🐰: omg he’s been hinting at their song when he said that? damn sunwoo 🤮 you are much smoother than i thought

y/n: STOP!!! okay i will talk to him i swear

“Y/N, we’re here,” Soeun says as she pulls up in front of the same building where you went to that one party with Sunwoo.

You exited the car and glanced back at Soeun. “I’ll see you later, maybe?”

Soeun only chuckles and says, “Yeah, unless Sunwoo decides that he wants to bring you home himself.”

“Soeun! Don’t say that!” You gasp at her comment only for her to laugh.

“Have fun!” With that, she drives off to wherever.

You continued to make your way into the building and tried to find the function room where the afterparty was being held. Thankfully, it was easy to find since you could hear songs from their newly released album being blasted through the walls.

Once you swung the door open, you saw staff members, idols that The Boyz is friends with, and others who are unfamiliar to you. You quickly made your way through the crowd of people in hopes to find anyone who could bring you to Sunwoo.

Before you could take another step, you felt someone grab on your wrist from behind. As you look back, you see Sunwoo dressed out of the crop top but in an open-button shirt with a tank top under.

“You really did come!” He says as loud as he could over the music that blasted.

“Of course I did, we need to celebrate your success.” He only shakes his head at your praise.

“Come on, I’ll bring you to the drinks–”

“Sunwoo, wait.” He stops pulling you in the direction where the bar is.

You suck a breath in. “Can we talk? Like maybe outside?”

For a moment, Sunwoo felt hesitant. His mind could only guess what the conversation may be about. With the way you look at him, he nodded and continued to walk in a different direction.

Eventually, you found yourselves by the outdoor area where you had a good view of the city lights and night sky. With his hand still holding onto your wrist, you continued to follow him to a green steel bench. The two of you sat down beside each other. As you tried to adjust your body to face him, you noticed that his hands have found themselves covering his ears. With that, you decided to rest your hand on top of his and bring it back down to his lap. 

“Hey, it’s nothing bad,” You attempt to ease his anxieties.

Sunwoo sighs. “I’m sorry, I think it’s the nerves.”

You can only smile at him as you draw circles on the back of his hand with your thumb.

“Well, you’re at a party with me where there’s alcohol surrounding us,” You try to joke as you look down at your intertwined hands.

Sunwoo only chuckles. For a moment, silence comes to you two. As the wind comes in and rustles the leaves of the bushes, you are left to hear the sounds of nature (and the muffled sounds of The Boyz’s music) as you try to think of the words to say.

“Sunwoo, we’ve known each other for a while now. I mean, I originally agreed to work with you guys to see Soeun’s new workplace. I had to come to terms that she was going to resign from being my manager. But I think I found it within myself to accept it.”

In some way, your time working with Sunwoo helped you prepare for letting Soeun go as your manager. Somehow, you also found yourself getting accustomed to the feeling of working inside a company throughout all the times you and he would work.

��It’s just, I really was not expecting to gain a friend when I accepted the request, especially a close one. It’s weird because for all the other people I worked with, we’ve only been friendly to each other. But you, you actually took your time to really… know me in the same way I got to know you.”

“You listened, understood, and even comforted me when I needed it. I hope you know that I am thankful for all of that.” You smile. “That’s why above everything, I’m so glad I got to meet you and become friends with you in the process. I mean, you really did show me the pleasures of being your friend. Despite our fight, you always found a way to fix it all up.”

You sucked in a breath with your eyes downcasted. “But Sunwoo, with all the moments we shared, I don’t… even know what we are. The more time we spend with each other, the more boundaries keep getting crossed.”

And you finally let it out. “Sunwoo, what do you want from this—from us? I can’t just let you get away with all the flirting, the compliments, even the kisses.”

You hear Sunwoo chuckle which makes your eyes look up to him.

“It’s just funny when you mention kisses as if you didn’t leave me a kiss the night I brought you home.” You cannot help but let a giggle slip out.

“Okay, I’m at fault too. But I’m serious now—I don’t think I would’ve given you that… kiss if it weren’t for all the times you flirted with me.”

Sunwoo smiles as you whisper those last words. With his free hand, he reaches out to your face to caress your cheek. For a moment, he only looks at you with eyes full of adoration.

“Y/N, I like you and I want something with you.” He tucks your hair behind your ear. “For the longest time, you are the one celebrity crush who I followed closely. In your work, performances, and charisma in your Produce 101 & 1CON days, I always found myself admiring you and feeling supported by you. Even if you didn’t know me personally, I always felt as if you motivated me to keep going during my newly debuted days.”

“But when I finally got to work with you, that’s when I got to learn about you more outside of what I saw. In those moments, I realized that what started off as admiration had turned into something intimate and genuine.”

Sunwoo’s thumb draws patterns on your cheekbone. “Remember how I admitted to having a bigger dream other than collaborating with you?”

“Yeah, can’t believe I wasn’t your number one wish.”

“Well, you are.” You cannot help but smile at his words.

“For a long time, I think you’ve always felt like this unattainable wish to have. Yet, I worked so hard to be able to meet and work with you—the universe listened,” He whispers those last words as if he stored such beautiful phrases within him.

“I mean it when I never expected a genuine crush to develop within me when I got to know you more. I don’t want you to think that all of what I feel is based on the crush I had on you when I saw you on TV. No matter what, I never want you to doubt the feelings I have for you.” The moment Sunwoo smiles, you feel every limb of your body filled with warmth.

Before he could say any more, you felt your eyes flicker down to his lips. With him aware of that action, he held himself back from saying anything. His breath hitches at such a small action. As you feel yourself slowly lean in, you let your eyes flicker back up to his.

“Can I?” You whisper.

Instead of Sunwoo replying verbally, he closed the gap between you two. You wish there were words to describe what it feels like to kiss him. For now, you can only think of one word—overwhelmed.

There were so many emotions that came with the kiss; genuineness, joy, and desperation were to name a few. Sunwoo’s plump lips on yours were something you dreamt about late at night; you cannot believe that the dream came true. In the same he described you as an unattainable wish, kissing him felt the same as well. As you feel yourself get stuck in a daze with the kiss, you break it off and rest your forehead against his.

“... Wow.” You felt your heart hammer in your chest as you processed what just happened between you two.

“Was that okay?” He whispers with his eyes still on you.

You take a deep breath. “It was more than okay. I just–I felt so overwhelmed.”

“We can take it down a notch if you would want.”

“No!” You said a little too quickly which made him grin.

“No?” He mocks you.

You scoff. “Just shut up.” And you brought his lips back on yours.

With your lips interlocked for the second time, you cannot help but wrap your arms around his neck. It is as if there is some carnal desire within you to be as close to him as possible. Nothing is on your mind except for Sunwoo; his smile; his heart of gold; his ability to make you smile; his lips. You feel Sunwoo start to smile in the kiss which has you parting ways.

“God, Y/N—I didn’t know you wanted me that bad.”

You frown at him. “As if you don’t want me too, Mr. “I have always had a crush on you” like…” Despite your words, you cannot help the smile that threatens to show itself on your lips.

“Yeah, I do want you,” Sunwoo says so casually as if he did not know the effect his words had.

You feel yourself blush. “You know, you say that shit so easily to me that a part of me started to believe that this was just your way of being friendly and that I was looking too much into it—though many people did keep saying you were hitting on me. Do you do this with others you work with?”

“You talked about me to other people?”

“That’s what you got from what I said?”

Sunwoo lets out a laugh. “I was hitting on you. To be honest, I was doing it since I first met you but I think everything started to feel genuine during our first time in the convenience store. I mean, that’s when I got to actually know you but I’ll never really know when I first started liking you that way. All I know now is that I like you now, no matter if you were in 1CON or not.” He smiles. “And no, I usually think I don’t pay attention much to others the same way I do with you.”

The great thing about Sunwoo is that he always tries to soothe your doubts. Somehow, the universe gave you someone who likes you for all that you are. You two had your own baggage that you guys brought to the relationship, but you knew that anything felt possible as long as he was there.

“Now, what did you tell others about me?”

“Can you not?”

“You know I can’t. I like knowing how much you like me.”

It is 1:47 PM. You were dressed up in semi-formal attire appropriate for meetings. As you held your iPad close to your chest, you felt your palms getting sweaty and your heartbeat booms loud in your ears. The last time you were this nervous was when you were waiting for the final line-up results for 1CON.

“Y/N?” The secretary called out your name.

As you shot up from your seat, the secretary pointed to a door. “You can enter now.”

Once you made your way to the door, you felt yourself take a moment to breathe. The nerves were getting the best of you, but you knew that now is not the time to ruin your chances. You swung the door open and were greeted by Song Jooyoung and Choi Kyusung—the members of Black Eyed Pilseung and CEOs of High-Up Entertainment. 

“Ah, Y/N! It is so nice to meet you once again,” Mr. Song says as he gets up from his chair to shake your hand.

“Ah, Mr. Song and Mr. Choi, it is a pleasure to see you once more.” Once Mr. Song took a seat, you sat in the chair across the two.

“I guess it is only right to first say that we were pleasantly surprised to see you when we opened auditions. It’s not all the time that you see Korea’s sweetheart wanting to audition for your company,” Mr. Choi says.

You smile at the two. “You’ve certainly improved since 1CON disbanded. Not only have you been producing music for yourself and artists but your vocals and movements have certainly grown over the years. When you weren’t signed, were you actively practicing?”

“Actually, I think I’ve been slacking when it comes to dancing. It was really me, my old manager, and two colleagues that really helped in making sure I would still be relevant in the industry.” You admit to Mr. Song.

“I mean, we can only imagine. It must have been a difficult experience,” Mr. Song says.

You let out a sigh. “It’s… definitely an experience. I think I learned a lot from this.”

“Well, you will have all the time to tell us about it later on. We evaluated your audition along with your recent works over the past two years,” Mr. Choi starts off. “After careful consideration, both Jooyoung and I agreed that you would be perfect for High-Up Entertainment. With your current skill set, we believe we can help you further hone these in hopes that you can reach your true potential.”

“Here in High-Up, we believe in the importance of artistic freedom. Not only will you be able to share your aspirations and dreams with us but we will guide you all throughout the process. Rest assured, you will not be alone—it is important to us that our artists can speak of what they wish to pursue,” Mr. Song says.

“Y/N, we know how difficult you’ve had it in the industry as an independent artist. Most of the time, you are criticized or praised for choosing to work on your own.” Mr. Choi takes a deep breath. “But we want to make sure that you know that we are here to support you every step of the way. You won’t have to work alone anymore.”

You feel yourself smile at the news. It means a lot to you for Mr. Choi and Mr. Song to say those words. After being subjected to mistreatment by different companies and being pushed under the spotlight for everyone to comment on everything you do, it warmed your heart to know that there are people who do care.

Not everyone is wishing on your downfall, and not everyone wants to treat you like a tool. Over the course of time, you realized that some people want to see you succeed.

“Thank you so much for having me,” You say as you bow your head.

“Before we officially sign you into the company, we will briefly discuss the terms of your contract. We will be sending it to your email right now,” Mr. Choi says as he types away on his laptop.

“Are you free to go over it? Don’t worry, we won’t pressure you to sign it right away. After all, we want you to have enough time to carefully deliberate.”

Instead of verbally answering Mr. Song, you opted for a nod.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

“Soeun, I got in!” You exclaim as you were seated on the bus going back to your place.

“Oh my god, I’m so happy for you! And you’re under the care of Black Eyed Pilseung.”

“Don’t worry, I haven’t signed the contract.”

You hear Soeun let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god, Y/N. Please let me look through it tonight and I’ll email you back.” You chuckle at her reaction.

“Of course. I’ll be sending the original and revised contracts your way. It’s funny how you’re still looking out for me even if you work in IST now.”

“I’ll always look out for you.” You smile at Soeun’s reply.

It’s been four months since Soeun officially resigned from being your manager. During those four months, you did not accept any offers for any collaborations. You knew that it would make your life complicated if you entertained any offers without any manager present. Instead, you focused on creating more tracks for yourself and scouting a company that you felt is worth trusting.

The bus was nearing your stop. As you got off your seat, you waited for the doors to open.

“Thank you, Soeun. I mean, you’ve done so much for me,” You say as you finally step out of the bus.

“Hey, I hope you’re still not beating yourself up over the fact I left JYP Entertainment with you. That was my decision, you know?” Soeun said as you were walking back to your place.

You let out a sigh. “I know, but it was hard to just be… okay with it. But I hope you're enjoying what you do in IST.”

“I actually am. I’ve been helping out Jihoon often with The Boyz and handling some of the trainees. You know, Jihoon was not lying when he said The Boyz are really… boys.” You let out a laugh at Soeun’s sharing.

“C’mon, it’s a group of like 11 guys. You must have at least expected it.”

Soeun groans. “I know. Thankfully, they’re nice and fun to be with most of the time. Though they can get out of hand.” You can only laugh.

You finally reached your place and tried to fish out your keys. “Hey, I’ll call you back. I just got back to my place. I’ll send you the documents later.”

“No worries! Take care and love you!”

“Love you Soeun! Thank you again.” Once she hangs up, you successfully retrieve your keys and unlock the door.

As you entered your home, you closed the door behind you. “I’m home!”

“Welcome back!” Sunwoo says as he comes from the kitchen dressed up in a sweater and checkered sleep pants.

You and Sunwoo have been together since you confronted him the night of his showcase. Most times, you found yourselves staying at your place since Sunwoo shares a dorm with Chanhee, Changmin, and Younghoon. During the past months, Sunwoo has been with you during this weird unemployment but self-discovery period. Never was he ever condescending to you, and you needed that desperately.

“Hey, you,” You say once Sunwoo pecks you on the lips.

“You know, you still look so good in that outfit.”

You chuckle as he looks at you from top to bottom. “I know Sunwoo, you said that when you saw me getting ready.”

“Yeah, but…” Sunwoo gives you one more kiss. “I just want to remind you.”

“Well, thank you. I like those pants on you.”

“You like it more when it’s off.”

You roll your eyes. “Point taken.”

As you made your way to the living room, Sunwoo followed closely behind you. The two of you took a seat on the couch.

“So… how did the meeting go?” Sunwoo finally asks.

You smile at him. “I got in!”

“Really? Y/N, that’s huge!” He says as he brings you into an embrace.

“I know! It’s crazy that I might be working under Black Eyed Pilseung.” You giggle at his reaction.

He gives you a kiss on the forehead. “I’m so proud of you. I never doubted you.”

“Yeah. During all the times I was panicking, you were always there to keep me at ease,” You murmur as you nuzzle your face into his neck.

“Though, I need to go through the contract again with Soeun. Wanna go through it with me tonight?”

“Of course, I’d do anything for you,” Sunwoo says as kisses your cheek.

You feel yourself smile at his words. He never fails to comfort you with words that feel as if they came out of a poet (though you could consider him a poet with how many lyrics he has written).

“I know you do, and I’d do anything for you too,” You say as you look up at him.

“Yeah, you let me stay in your home even when you’re not around.”

You roll your eyes. “Sunwoo, you practically live here at this point considering all the times you’ve slept over.”

“You don’t want me over?” He pouts.

“You know I do.” You look away from him only to be greeted with more kisses all over your face.

“Of course I do!” He teases as you groan playfully at his kisses.

“Sunwoo! You’re so obsessed with me.” He laughs and gives you one more kiss on the lips.

For a moment, you two look at each other with adoration. Nothing was said but it did not matter for all that needed to be uttered was shared in that moment.

“I love you,” Sunwoo whispers.

You feel your lips quiver at Sunwoo’s confession. Never did you ever expect yourself to be liked by someone in the way Sunwoo likes you.

“I love you too,” You say in response.

As you see Sunwoo smile at your words, you knew that your future would have him in it. At that moment, you knew how lucky you were to be loved by Sunwoo.

if you liked this, please take some time to like and reblog this!

[late-to-the-party-81]

Whatever you need

AN: Thank you to the anons who sent me asks about the boys looking after Cali when she’s having her period. I didn’t follow the suggestions to the letter, but hopefully you will still enjoy this fluff tinged with a small amount of smut.

Beta’d by @lfnr-blog-blog-blog

Dividers by @firefly-graphics and moodboard by me

Master list | Series Master list

Relationship: Engineer Bucky x Reader (Cali) x Artist Steve

Word Count: 1.2k

CW: Period fic, soft loving boyfriends, clothed thigh-riding/soft smut, lots of kissing, soft dirty talk - kinda.

You didn’t know why you were so surprised by your boys being so in tune with your body, but every month - or rather every 31-33 days - you were still taken offguard.

Initially you thought it would be difficult for the two men to understand the waxing and waning of your menstrual cycle, previous partners having never cared, but they’d proved you wrong. 

“Darlin’ we know how to take you apart with the merest touch, what makes you think we don’t know what’s going on down there and how it all works?”

You lay on your side on the bed, Bucky pressed up behind you with his large warm hands splayed across your cramping abdomen. He’d found you here, in your baggy sweats and vest, not needing to ask what was the matter when a wave of pain made your features twist in discomfort. He’d just whipped out his phone, called Steve to tell him to bring home snacks and supplies, and then snuggled up behind you.

“Well, to be honest most men are either ignorant and/or don’t care.”

“And those guys are bozos. How can they not want to understand? If they have menstruating people in their lives who they love and care for, understanding it just makes sense.”

His right arm was moving, drawing slow circles on your stomach, soothing your aching body.

“I remember talking to my doctor once, about my periods. Before I’d even started he asked if they were still regularly every 28 days. Part of me wanted to tell him that I was the fricking moon, and that not all women are like that. When even health professionals can’t get it right…”

You trailed off. Sure, your guys knew a lot, but you would admit you hadn’t plumbed the depths of their knowledge on the subject.

“I know, sweetheart. I got three sisters. I know more than I ever thought I would. 17 year old me got my eyes opened wide the first month all three of them and Ma synched. My pa just came home, dumped a load of candy on the table and told Ma that he and I were going out for boys' night.”

You giggled at the mental image of young Bucky, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights, not knowing what to say in the face of a multiple progesterone crash.

“‘N by extension, Stevie knew all about it cos he was always hanging out at mine when his ma had to work nights.”

You turned your head to look over your shoulder at him. His misty grey eyes looked back at you and his cheeks and chin was covered by a short layer of hair. Fuck, he looked delicious. You needed to distract yourself.

“So, here’s a test for you. Why are there different sizes of tampons?”

“Easy- different flow rates.”

“How often does a woman need to change her tampon?” 

“About every 6 hours. Don’t leave it in for more than 8. Come on, give me a hard one here!”

You pondered for a moment.

“When does a woman grow her eggs.”

“Grow them? When she’s still in utero. Which means when your mom was pregnant with you, there were three generations in the same body. But your ovaries take turns maturing one each month.”

It was a bit awkward to press a kiss to his lips, but you didn’t care.

“My, you are clever.”

He smiled against your lips.

“I know…”

His lips roved gently over yours as his hand continued to stroke your stomach, slowly but surely stoking a fire within you. So much for distracting yourself. You always got horny on your period, your jumbled hormones doing a number on you, but you always felt a bit ‘wrong’ doing anything about it.

Reluctantly you pulled your lips away from Bucky’s, giggling as you felt his erection nudging your ass.

“Need me to help you out with that?” 

Bucky turned you in his arms so he could look you in the face, brushing his nose against yours and cupping your face.

Let’s just focus on you, darlin’. Orgasms are good for cramps.”  His voice was a purr, his lips brushing over yours before he sucked your lower lip into his mouth and ran his tongue over it. You pulled away with a laugh and smacked at his chest, but your doubts were crumbling.

“Bucky! You’re such a horn-dog!”

He chuckled and pulled you closer, slotting one of his thick thighs between your legs.

“Can you blame me, when you and Stevie are so god-damn sexy.”

“You’re not too bad yourself…”

“Flattery will get you everywhere and everything you like.”

You nipped at his jaw and heard him drag in a sharp breath.

“Didn’t think I needed to flatter you.”

“Okay. You got me.”

“And you got me.”

He kissed you again, his hands slipping inside your sweats to knead your ass and gently move you up and down his thigh. Okay, now all your doubts were gone. Vanished. Poof. There was only Bucky and how good he was making you feel. You wrapped your arms around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair as you breathed soft whimpers into his mouth. 

Up here, in the top floor bedroom, you didn’t hear the front door open and close, but you did notice when the bed dipped behind you, and the smell of Steve’s cologne enveloped you.

His breath tickled your ear as his large hands, with their long, tapered fingers, slid up your vest and started to stroke over your sensitive breasts.

“Hey, baby. Bucky helping to soothe those pesky cramps? You nodded and let out a muffled mmm-hmm as Bucky continued to kiss you.

“Well, just enjoy it, Cali. Let us make you feel better.”

Steve’s thumbs brushed gently back and forth over your nipples and you gasped, throwing your head back. His mouth latched onto the side of your neck, while Bucky shifted to your collarbone, his hands still on your ass, rocking you.

You could feel the pleasure building in you as the friction across your clit sent shockwaves through your core, coupled with the gentle teasing of your breasts. You closed your eyes and just let yourself drift away on the rising tide, small whimpers and moans making their way past your lips

“Just let go, darlin’. That’s it.”

“So beautiful, baby.”

You were surrounded by your boys, being loved and cared for. You couldn’t believe how lucky you were.

Finally, you crested, a soft ecstasy filling your pores and surrounding you like a fuzzy blanket. Steve and Bucky continued to kiss you and pet you until you slowly relaxed into the mattress. When Bucky pulled away from you, leaving the bed, after a quick readjustment of his pants, you let out a little whine, not really to be dragged from your comfortable, warm spot, but Steve just wrapped his arms around you, a mirror of how you’d been lying with Bucky only 30 minutes ago.

“Ssshhh, Cali. He’s just gone to run you a bath. And you're gonna have candles, and wine, and candy and that relaxing music that you like. Sound good?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Nothing’s too good for you, sweetheart. I hope you know that. Now, you rest here, and have a little snooze, and I’ll wake you up when your bath’s ready.”

“Okay, Stevie.”

You drifted off, with a smile on your face and warmth in your heart.

Tag list: @jobean12-blog @tuiccim @yarnforbrains @sidepartskinnyjeans @flordeamatista @krissy25 @bodeckersdiamonddoll @goldylions @luxeavenger @wheezy-stucky @doasyoudesireandlive @chemtrails-club @seitmai @peaches1958 @pono-pura-vida @writing-for-marvel

[lilywily143]

I finally made a second analysis for a character but I have so many moments and therefore images that this needs two parts for this one character.

Makes sense, she's a main one. Unlike Khan.

Edit: The Second Part

So. V. She has my favorite character arc, period! I love her a ton and I can't wait to see her in the next episode.

So how she acts at the start? Basically a serial killer. All of the Disassembly Drones are killers but she is shown to be the one who loves the job a LOT.

Heck her first line, after killing a drone is, "And yet.. I still feel nothing." And the thumbnail for the pilot has her in the center with a pile of her victims behind.

You see a lot of her personality in the second episode. Saying she and the murder drones were programmed to solve a problem, making you think she would rather stick to the programming then N has.

But then you really REALLY see how she really acts in episode 3, mostly around her co-worker N.

V suggested killing drones off in the prom going on where N's friend would be, so N yells at her about the horrific stuff that happened last episode. And... She can't speak to him for a moment.

She stares at the one thing Uzi damaged before she left the ship. I think that reminds her of something that she doesn't like. Which I'll get into in the second part.

So, she suggests only killing enough drones so they can survive on their oil. Which is actually reasonable compared to her constant killing she is shown doing in the series.

But N specifically says that he knows V is holding things back and that she is okay to share the information. But she stays silent. Whatever the information is, she can't let herself speak about it.

She actually kills N [but not really, they regenerate], and says something very interesting to his question without letting him listen.

N: Please, what do you know-

Beheads him

V: What's best for you. Even if you hate me for it.

She seems very saddened at the idea of N hating her as well, but she does what she thinks she has to do for the BOTH of them, going to the prom to kill the drones.

But she can't even commit to it when [despite it being a plan against her] she is said to be the prom queen. She is shocked but she just doesn't go kill anyone, she even puts her wings and murder weapons away.

And the most 'unlike her' thing that happens is that she gets nervous to talk. She has the best lines and is willing to threaten. But to this nice thing she isn't used to, she can't speak super easily.

And then the most recent episode, the 4th one, has the biggest part around her arc. For me at least.

She is still staying with her murdering programming she says she has. She even shows her wings off, a big part of the murder drones even though N doesn't do the same thing here.

But she doesn't kill the whole class for the job, in fact she only kills one drone the entire episode for maybe not listening to N. I say maybe cus she'd kill the whole class for that

But the fact she is helping to distract the class for Uzi to investigate is very nice of her.

She actually gets close to killing a second drone for just annoying her and calling her defective, but she doesn't because Uzi just looks scared.

And small thing, she helps give N attention from the drones. Not just to help them stay distracted from Uzi, but it was also a bit of a compliment for N.

During the time with the class, she is actually having a lot of fun. She is acting in a leader like role, but it's a lot of fun for her without it hurting drones [on purpose, the drones holding her boat tripped themselves]

Then she meets with Uzi seemingly to just scare her and keep her from her and N.

But that's the main thing, to DISTANT Uzi from V and N. She says, "Better to stay distant. Don't cha think?" And then she says, "He'll [N] will move on just fine." After she threatens to kill Uzi.

It clearly is a threat, but there is the famous quote of "How people treat other people is a direct reflection of how they feel about themselves"

She doesn't like the idea of making friends and connections, but she cares a lot for N despite her pushy nature to him. So I think she says that N will move on so that she can convice herself to not think to connect with him.

But even then, she still hangs with one of Uzi's classmates. Lizzy. Even after Lizzy helped with a plan to try and kill her, V hangs out with her.

She also still has a lot of fun with the class. She does make a "threat" to the class, but again, she doesn't kill anyone else this episode.

But then Uzi comes back and accidentally summons a horrific creature...

The Second Part

[valeriianz]

2, 3, 14, 19 for the concert asks?

yo! under the cut cos this got just a little long

2: Best concert you’ve ever been to

THE CAT EMPIRE AT HISTORY, TORONTO!

ahhhh every Cat Empire show is crazy. they are so fucking talented and you can tell they just love music. they do jam sessions on stage and the hype and positivity is so infectious. Felix does this thing that i love where he sticks the mic stand into the crowd and gets us singing. it's always such a fun time. and the fans, dude! we are all just music lovers and since i always go to shows alone, i love talking with them. they are the most down to earth, chill human beings.

and this show in particular, i got invited backstage to jam with the band 😭💖 we ate pizza and drank beer and it was the coolest experience of my life. i wish they toured N America more lmao

3: Worst concert you’ve ever been to

im very fortunate that most of my shows have been at least worth the money. but i can think of two right off the bat that i wasn't satisfied with. story time(s)!

Lindsey Stirling at the MET in Philly.

so, ive seen Lindsey Stirling three times. for those who don't know her, she's a violinist, but very poppy with dubstep mixed in. her shows focus very heavy on dance and theatrics. the first time was at a festival when she was suuuuper brand new (2015) and the crowd was alive. it was so fun. and it makes sense, her music is the type to dance to!

second time i saw her was another standing crowd situation in Manhattan circa 2016. when i say the crowd was dead, oh my god it was lifeless. i was embarrassed. New York City, what the hell?

then i saw her at the MET in 2022, which is a seated venue. and like, holy hell... everyone remained seated, even when Lindsey told the crowd to get up and dance multiple times. at one point i had put my phone up to record a certain part of the show and the girl sitting behind me immediately tapped me on the shoulder and told me to put my phone down. like, okay i get recording the show is annoying, but im not that guy. i just wanted to record a 10 second sequence she was doing but fine. i barely took my phone out during that performance.

but anyway, the stillness. listen, ive been to seated venues before (rock shows) and no one ever remains seated through the entire show. what the fuck is that? i was dancing in my seat while everyone around me looked at me like i was crazy. omg i just wanted to jam! and then my favorite song came up, Roundtable Rival (listen to this song and tell me how im not supposed to dance to this) and fuck it, i stood up and started to shake it.

to wrap up this long story, the girls behind me were so disgusted by my actions they full on left. there was only one other person in the floor seats that i could see who was also standing and dancing. and during the last song, Lindsey actually made everyone stand up and groove to the song (but even standing, these people were fucking dead).

i took my frustrations to reddit, asking if i was in the wrong, and got absolutely dog-piled with hate. even though Lindsey clearly said at least twice during the show to stand up. i haven't listened to her since. she's a talented musician, but the fans absolutely killed it for me.

Fall Out Boy at the Key Bank Center, Buffalo

this is gonna be a short one. this was in 2017-early 2018 i think. it was for their Mania tour. I had seen them the year before in Brooklyn and the show they put on was super fun, they really made use of the stage (this was an arena tour) and for that show, i had purchased nose-bleed seats. and for this one in Buffalo, i purchased floor tickets (it was significanly cheaper in Buffalo).

but they didn't utilize the stage at. all in Buffalo. all the theatrics i had seen in Brooklyn didn't exist here. the tracklist was pretty much the same, the graphics and pyro the same. but just a weak performance with no energy. i was so bored.

14: Moshpit, barricade, back, or rafters

i have sampled all these options, and 100% always prefer the barricade. i love being up close to the action and (usually) that up close is where the party is happening. (though i could go on a rant about how concert goers don't jump/dance at shows anymore, even some rock shows ive been to have just been. muted. i still dance my face off and make it a problem for the people around me).

tried one moshpit in my experience and the adrenaline is like nothing else. but i'd probably steer clear of it now. gotta protect my weary bones in my older age haha

19: Farthest traveled for concert/festival

before my trip in June, it was 400 miles (within the states). but after my last show, its now 560 miles (900 km)!

ive definitely thought about going to festivals overseas, especially since two of my favorite bands are English and Australian... but as much as i love traveling, i find it annoying to plan a trip around a concert so. traveling further than a few hundred miles just for a show is not something i typically do.

concert asks

[anniekong]

1) I saw the job posting and expressed my interest in applying to S.

2) S knows the hiring manager and makes the introductions via email. ( I've also reached out to others who may know him to gain insights)

3) Admin schedules the introductory meeting on the same day-it was a snow day too

4) I went to this initial introductory meeting a little underprepared to meet M

5) I went home and worked late that night. E saw that I was online and we had a quick catch up call. I told him about my day and my job search process and it turns out that M was his mentor during his time in the US. E offers to put in a good word for me.

6) I wrote a thank you note to M and inquired about the predecessor to learn more about the role.

7) It was SA and I write him a cold email and set up an initial call. I met with him to gain further insights on the role such as the day to day.

8) S puts in a good word for me explaining my performance rating in 2022 but M expresses his concerns due to lack of marketing experience and leadership skills.

9) I applied for the job and resumed working.

10) I went to Zurich to give a workshop and I saw the interview meeting pop up on my calendar for the following week. It’s a panel interview of three people in total. I shared the news with J who was co-hosting the workshop with me. She was extremely happy for me and offered to help shape my stories during my time in commercial operations. "All you have to be is yourself," she said. I wish it was that easy. We are both big believers that things happen for a reason so a rejection would not be the end of the world.

11) Exhausted after a long week, I crafted and practiced my stories on the plane ride back and continued to practice until the night before. ( Everything from my tone, hand gestures, eye contact, eyebrow twitch etc).

12) It was D-day and my first hybrid interview. I have not had an in- person interview since 2019. I had to balance looking at the screen and addressing the folks in the room. It started out well just as I've practiced. However, I was stump on questions like why should we pick you over someone else, what does success look like for you in this role, most people start from sales and work their way up to global/corporate- why are you going in the other direction, what do you hope to deliver in 18 months. I must’ve looked like a deer in headlights. They were asking me what my favorite color was and I answered 28. The interview took an hour vs the initial 45 mins meeting, which further portrayed how inefficient I was in conveying what they wanted to hear. They were challenging me and I wasn’t given them the right answers. I might have redeemed myself with the questions I’ve asked towards the end but felt defeated completely.

13) I was pretty sure I didn’t get the job at this time and shared my experiences with my work besties starting with I and sharing the questions that had stumped me and my tired and jet lag brain. “The why would they choose you is a personal branding question! You are supposed to showcase your strengths”, she said. Well it makes sense now, since you put it like that wishing that I had known that 20 minutes earlier. I took it as a learning opportunity.

14) The day after, S asked how the interview went. The corporate response for I bombed it is "This helped me understand the level of detail that is necessary to really standout in those interviews."

15) I caught up with N at the cafe and M sees me and waves at me walking in one direction. S comes walking from the opposite direction and they meet in the middle. S had asked how the interview went then and there…not awkward at all. (I found out about this later but somehow I had a feeling they were talking about me and shared my uneasiness feelings with N since it was too soon!)

16) S shared that he’s still interviewing and there’s a McKinsey consultant that they are also considering. Well that's nice… I thought. He/she will definitely be a thousand times more polish than me. S also recommended that I ask L to reach out to M to endorse me on my performance.

17) I’ve never done this before and had to double check with someone who has worked with HR to see if this is normal (I realized how risk adverse I am during this process). She convinced me that it's not only normal, but a necessity when applying internally. I wrote an email to L, having saw her and caught up with her in the office the day before.

18) L replied and to my surprise, said she was proud that I was asking for endorsement when most people shy away from it. She mentioned that she had already put in a good word for me.

19) I started applying for other jobs because I was coming to terms with not getting the job.

20) S follows up with M the following week. I’m embarrassed at this point because he was pushing for an answer and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have an answer because I got rejected.

21) 8 days from the interview date, I’m sitting at lunch with a neighboring finance team and shared my interview experience during this busy time at work. When I got to my desk, M pings me and asked if I have time to chat. I replied asap and he called me right away.

22) “I got some feedback for you,” he said. “I welcome any feedback you have,” I replied, having already made peace with myself that I will have to resume the job hunt. “ You got the role,” he said….and I haven’t stopped smiling since that moment.

I wanted to highlight the amount of effort it took to apply for one role. I could have easily gotten rejected and this process would have to occur again before I land on my next role.

I understand the power of networking, sponsorship and personal branding.

Although the future is exciting, I’m even more touched by the amount of people who are willing to help me, expecting nothing in return throughout this process- most notably, all of my sponsors ( S, L, A & E), E who is an informal mentor to me, D who consistently sent me job postings, AD who offered to help with interviewing, I connecting me to everyone she knows on the Global Oncology team. The countless number of coffee chats with the oncology marketing team who took time out of their day to educate me with nothing to gain.

I pinged I when I received the good news and she was so happy and excited for me. "You did all the magic," she said. "Not at all, it felt like a teamwork." It sure wasn't because of my stellar interviewing skills.

I’m so thankful for them and will continue to pay it forward.

As J and I agreed on, it's this cycle of good karma and positivity that will continue to expand.

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”

A

[alwaysmarveling]

Laryngitis

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2.1k

Summary: Nat’s a protective girlfriend and you may or may not be sick

A/N: I somehow just realized that since yesterday was Monday, by my unofficial posting schedule, I was supposed to post something yesterday. Sorry for missing it, but I hope you guys enjoy this :)

The annoying beeping of the alarm filled the pitch-black room. Not fully awake, you realized Natasha didn’t have to be waking up this early, so you shot up to turn off the clock before it could wake her up. Just as you were fiddling with the buttons, a groan from beside you told you that you were too late.

“D’you have to go already?” your girlfriend asked, her voice husky and slurred. You whispered back to her in an effort to not wake her up completely.

“Yeah, I’m sorry for waking you, Natty. Go back to sleep.”

“You don’t have to whisper, babe. We both know I’m not going back to sleep.” You let out a sigh, rubbing your eyes slowly to pull yourself into consciousness. She was right; Natasha was a light sleeper, and once she was up, she was up. “Don’t worry about it, dorogaya. Means I can do your hair for you.” That brought a small smile to your face. Not only was Natasha amazing at doing your hair, but it was always an intimate moment between the two of you that both of you loved. As long as Natasha wasn’t away, she made it a point to do your hair for you, even if you two were in an argument with each other.

A small cough brought you back to the present moment. You weren’t sure what it was, but you just weren’t feeling it today. You thought it was the sleep at first, but it was never this hard to wake up, and it wasn’t like you did anything particularly exhausting the day before. Shaking out your arms, you dismissed the thought and slid off of the bed.

“I’m going to go get ready first.” Both you and the redhead froze at your voice.

“Are you okay, detka?” You leaned over the mattress to gently rub at the deep crease between her brows, giving her a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, I must just have something stuck in my throat.” The spy chuckled at your response, but you could still sense an uneasiness in her.

“Go drink some water. Does your throat hurt or anything?”

“I’m fine, Nat.” She simply hummed, watching as you shuffled into the bathroom. You may or may not have told your girlfriend a little lie, but so what if your throat hurt? You’d be fine in less than an hour. You didn’t want to worry her over nothing.

When you were finished in the bathroom, the lights in the room were on, and Natasha was now sitting on the edge of your bed, legs crossed.

“Come sit.” She tapped the small footstool in front of her with her foot before returning to her position. “You sure you’re okay?” she asked again as you joined her.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. You really don’t want me to go on this mission, huh?” you teased. Your face contorted at the end as you tried to hold in a cough, and you still sounded like a frog. Still, you tried to play it cool, hoping Nat was still buying your previous excuse. 

“Well of course I don’t want my girl to leave me.” You could practically feel your heart jump out of your chest when she called you hers, but you simply winked at her.

“I shouldn’t be gone long, half a week at most,”  you informed her, sitting down on the stool.

“I’d miss you even if you were gone for five minutes,” Nat murmured, leaning over to kiss the top of your forehead. “Oh my god, Y/N. You are not going on this mission, you liar. You have a fever!” As if she planned it, you shivered as a chill ran through your body.

“Nat, I promise you, I’m fine.”

“Yeah, right,” she scoffed. “You sound like a zombie. You look like a zombie too.”

“I- hey!” You didn’t mean to yell as loudly as you did, and it threw you off a little bit, causing you to release a series of dry coughs. Lips pursed, the redhead rubbed your back in an effort to soothe you.

“You are definitely sick, Y/N. Get back in bed. I’ll tell Fury.”

“Natty, you’re not going to-” Before you could finish, she was already at the bedside table, phone to her ear. Damn your girlfriend and her spy skills.

“Hey, Fury, Y/N’s sick with a fever and probably laryngitis. You’re going to have to get someone else to cover the mission.” You groaned, burying your face in your hands. You hated missing work. You’d never been one to take a vacation or a day off; for the whole time you’d been working under SHIELD, you only took a sick day once after you’d had to get surgery due to a mission gone slightly wrong. Even then, it took some serious persuasion to get you to do so. You were too busy stressing about missing the mission to listen to the rest of your girlfriend’s conversation with Fury until you heard her calling your name.

“Y/N. Babe? Y/N? Hello?” Looking up from your hands, you met her concerned gaze.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“Fury’s asking how you’re feeling.”

“Good enough to go on the mission?” The redhead rolled her eyes.

“Try again. He’s worried about you.” She held out the phone to you. “Fury, you’re on speaker.”

“L/N, how’s the throat? Try tea with lemon and honey, it’ll help.”

“I’m fine, old man,” you rolled your eyes.

“Wow, you really are sick.” Your lips parted slightly, and Nat couldn’t help but chuckle at the indignance written across your face. “Get some rest, L/N. Don’t worry about the mission, it shouldn’t be hard to get someone to cover for you.”

“But-”

“No ‘but’s. L/N, your powers are literally based on your voice. This is a minor mission, but if this goes south, we need someone who can defend themselves to their full capacity. You are way too valuable to be lost just because you got sick. Listen to your girlfriend. Get better soon. That’s an order. Goodbye, L/N. Thanks for calling, Romanoff.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Wait, Fur-” The man hung up before you got the chance to finish. “This is all your fault.” You crossed your arms, turning away from the former assassin.

“Y/N,” Natasha sighed. “It’s just one mission. I promise everything’ll be okay.” She knew well of your anxiety regarding missing work considering she was the one who had convinced you to take the sick day after your surgery. While she hated making you upset, she knew—and if you were being honest, you did too—that you couldn’t go on a mission like this.

“What if I fall behind? Or what if Fury decides he doesn’t need me anymore? Or what if-” Your voice got weaker the more you spoke, partially because of your nerves but also partially due to your illness.

“Babe, as much as I’d love to talk this out with you, you shouldn’t be talking. Your throat is already destroyed, so for now I’m going to need you to trust me and just listen.” She took your hand and gently guided you back to the bed, purposefully avoiding the glare you were giving her.

“You won’t fall behind because this mission isn’t important. Fury said so himself. I promise it won’t affect your performance at work. And Fury will never decide he doesn’t need you anymore because he literally sees you as his kid.”

“He-” Natasha pressed a finger to your lips before you could finish.

“No talking. Yes, he does see you as his kid whether you want to admit it or not. He will also never replace you because you’re one of the best agents he has. He asked you to join the Avengers for a reason, printsessa. He’s not going to fire you just because you get laryngitis one time, even if you fall behind because of it.” Your girlfriend bent down slightly to meet your eyes, which were still directed at the floor. “You’re doing amazing, Y/N. You do so much for so many different people, and now it’s your turn to let people return the favor. Okay?” You stared at her for a second, your face so blank even Natasha couldn’t read it. When you finally nodded, the redhead let out a small breath of relief before giving you a small smile and a peck on the forehead.

“You stay here. I’ll be back in a little bit, okay?” You reached your arms to her, fingers grasping, when she began to walk away. Letting out a light laugh, she turned around and held one of your hands. “I’ll be back as fast as I can, malyshka. Why don’t you pick out something for us to watch?” She let go of you after one last kiss to the back of your hand and left before you could stop her again.

---

Natasha shuffled through the cabinets as the water was heating up in the kettle.

“Morning, Wan, starting breakfast?” the spy greeted the witch.

“Yeah, you’re up early. Y/N’s mission?”

“Actually, she’s sick,” Natasha grimaced. “Fury’s going to reassign the mission.” Wanda let out a whistle as she placed various ingredients on the kitchen counter.

“I bet she didn’t take that well?”

“Nope. But she can barely speak, and even when she can, she can’t speak more than a sentence or two without stopping to cough, which means…” She trailed off as she inspected a medicine bottle.

“No powers.” Satisfied, Natasha put the rest of the bottles away and returned to the now whistling kettle.

“Exactly.”

“Huh, the kid who can kill people just by speaking with a certain tone gets taken down by a virus.” The former assassin chuckled as she squeezed lemon juice into a steaming cup of tea.

“Don’t let her hear that.”

“Which part?”

“Any of it.” Wanda’s laugh rang through the room.

“Is she hungry? I can make some soup after breakfast if she’s up for it.”

“That would be great,” Natasha smiled gratefully, “Thank you so much.”

“Of co- Your girlfriend is calling for you.” Red flashed as Natasha’s head whipped up, confused.

“Are you sure? I didn’t hear anything. I told her not to-”

“No, no, not verbally. She’s just thinking it. Very loudly.” Nat sighed, but the corners of her lips curled upwards at your antics.

“Is there anything the queen needs?”

“Just you. And no medicine.” The spy shook her head.

“Tell her,” she started, tossing a spoon into the sink, “that I’m on the way. With medicine.”

“You got it,” Wanda promised with a wink. “Warning you now, though, her majesty won’t be happy.”

---

Sure enough, Wanda was right. You had already opened your mouth to complain about the medicine in Nat’s hands, but one stern look from her had you zipping your lips closed in a second.

“You take this, in a couple of days you can talk again.” Your girlfriend didn’t need to be able to read minds to understand what you were thinking; your face said everything. “Yes, a couple of days,” she ordered firmly, handing you two pills. “Take them. Here’s your tea, and I also got you a bottle of water.” You gave her a grateful smile before swallowing the pills, grimacing as they scratched their way down your very sore throat.

“Good girl,” Natasha murmured. “Now,” she started with a peck to your cheek, “Do you need anything else? Blankets? A cool towel? Oh, Wanda’s making you soup, by the way, but I could get you a popsicle or something if you want?” You shook your head at all of her requests. Instead, you patted the spot on the bed next to you.

“Alright,” the redhead smiled. “What’d you pick for us to watch?” You pointed to the screen in front of you. “American Idol. You really aren’t making things easier for yourself, huh?” Nevertheless, she slid in next to you, sitting cross legged, and pulled you into her, your head resting on her lap with the laptop placed in front of you. 

“Maybe I can pull an Ursula and use one of their voices for the mission,” you whispered.

“I swear to god, Y/N, if you don’t shut up,” the spy laughed. A smile on your face, you hit play and snuggled yourself further into her.

As Nat ran her fingers up and down the length of your arm, you couldn’t help but relax into her. Sure, your throat wasn’t better by any means, and you had some lingering anxiety about the mission. But if you had to miss a mission, this was sure as heck the best way to do it, with Natasha right by your side.

[l4verq]

sundays | b.b

bucky barnes x reader

in which you buy him furniture

warnings : fluff

fic : one shot

it was a joke at first.

horrified when you’d learned he slept on the floor, had one tv that would turn on three out of five tries, you’d bought him a rug right there in that little run down shop.

it was the fuzzy, plush kind that your body just sank into.

see this? it’s a rug, people use this to decorate their houses.

to which he’d rolled his eyes, i’m fine with how i’m living.

but he let you stuff it in his bag anyway.

send me a picture of it.

he lazily reached into his pockets, taking out a flip phone?

he’d snickered at your shocked expression as he waved it back and forth.

you were surp- no, you were just disturbed.

apalled. confused.

see this? you have to press these buttons to use it.

you’d flicked him off, rolling your suitcase around to leave.

it’d been two long weeks undercover and all you wanted was to get home to your bed.

that night bucky couldn’t sleep.

he couldn’t decide just where to place the rug.

maybe he should sleep on it? but it also looked nice at the doorway.

his phone chimes as he settles on sleeping on it.

ﾶﾶ did you place it??

oh wait you cant see the emojis

:D

emojis?

no, it’s hideous.

- bucky

he falls back on his pillow, hitting send.

the rug was pretty comfortable.

:( it’s not

and ur doing it again -.-

right, the name thing.

sorry, old habits

where was that damn colon.

:d

the next afternoon, he’s standing in front of a porcelain vase, floor covered in package filler.

it’s murky black with little ridged patterns running across.

why is an amazon prime

delivery at my house

:)

he sets it next to the tv, scarfing down a bowl of oats for lunch.

technically it was breakfast for him cause he just woke up.

but he can’t focus on watching tv cause something’s off.

it’s too empty, the vase.

so he reluctantly gets up, stares at it one more time before reaching for his jacket.

fishing out crumpled notes from his pockets, he counts them.

how much did flowers cost nowadays?

the gifts started coming in weekly.

fake plants, a hanging mirror, a frame with a picture of a cow dancing.

each time he’d come up to you with that same look on his face.

a baking tray? what am i going to do with that?

“bake?” you shrug, flaunting your sparkly acrylics at him, “pretty, right?”

after that one nasty brawl in romania, you’d been walking around with sad, ugly nails beds for far too long.

“we’re literally leaving for the quinjet in an hour,” he sighs, taking a seat next to you, “you’re gonna break them again.”

you pull your lower lip, “all i want is pretty nails.”

he pouts too, “life’s so hard, isn’t it?”

“you don’t know the pain i go through when i have to literally fish them out from the ground.”

he chortles, eyes wide.

“you mean, when you force me to look for them too?”

“that’s what friends. are. for.” you punctuate by poking his hand with your nail.

“we’re co-workers.” he gruffs, nodding to the pages sprawled on the table.

it was the day you two dreaded most, writing mission reports.

“i wrote most of it last time so it’s your turn now.” he slides over a pen.

“co-workers? i thought we were besties by now.” you cross your arms, narrowing your eyes at him.

“you’re not my bestie.” he rolls his eyes at the onset of just pure offense on your face.

“who is it then? sam? john?”

you knew just how to annoy him to the point raynor’s rules flew out the window.

but god were you endearing with that little smile peeking through.

“i’m a hundred and nine years old. i don’t have besties.”

of course you’d get him to say that godforsaken word twice in ten seconds.

and he saw it every sunday now, on a new delivery like clockwork.

when your sunshine’s (me) not around

- bestie xx

he grabs the exacto knife, he’d gotten specifially for opening said packages and slits through the taped sides.

it’s a bedside lamp, an old man sleeping soundly on the packaging.

he cracks into a smile, something he’d been doing every sunday recently.

setting it beside the rug, he looks around his apartment.

he could barely recognise it now.

it looked... homey?

“hey.”

it’s a slight pause before sam replies with a suspicious hey back.

“how’s.. your day?” he crumples his face in cringe, hand clenched over his forehead.

he hears a chuckle.

“what do you want?”

“why would you assume i’m calling you because i want something?”

“because this is the first time you’re calling me.”

okay, fair enough.

he slowly phrases his question, “hypothetically speaking, if i were to get something for someone, a woman, what should i get her?”

“what does y/n like?”

he furrows his brows, “how do you know it’s for her?”

“she’s been sending you furniture for two months now, i think it’s long overdue.”

“i don’t know what to get her.” he sighs, tilting his head back against the wall.

he’d tried but everything he thought you’d like just ended up in the spare room.

“maybe you don’t get her something, maybe you do something, put that apron to use.”

he rolls his eyes, “you’re not making any sense.”

sam has to physically hold in a tiny scream.

“i’m talking about a dinner date, you do know how to cook right?”

bucky frowns, “date? i’m not gonna ask her on a date.”

he’d never see a day without you teasing him if he ever asked you out.

“why?” sam asks, flatly.

bucky shrugs, “i don’t know, what if she says no.”

“well, have you tried asking?”

countless times but he’d always back out the last second.

kinda what he’s contemplating doing right now as his finger hovers over the send button.

did you have dinner?

it’s an agonising ten minutes before your reply pings.

it’s 11 in the morning!?

fuck, he just sounds like an idiot now.

haha i meant breakfast

he groans, sinking into his couch.

haha?

yea

also, you like the lamp?

he looks over at it propped up next to his sleeping... situation.

it looked perfect.

it clashes with the

walls

if only i knew your

house’s color palatte :(

i could describe it

his heart races as he types.

or you could come over

time seems to slow down as he waits for that ping!

why did he listen to sam? you probably think he’s stepping over the lines.

no, you’re probably crafting a sarcastic rejection right now and it-

like a date?

;)

no

super casual dinner

:(

ok...

he smiles at the little colon and bracket, how could two random symbols be so endearing.

-

a/n : idk how i feel about this one lol🥴🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

[sundaysundaes]

Love Bites

Lee Donghyuck/Haechan X Reader, ft. Mark Lee | Vampire AU, Roommates AU | Smut, Fluff, Humor, Romance

Summary: Supernatural creatures don’t scare you, so when the cute neighbor who lives just across the hallway offers you a chance to move in for cheaper rent, you agree in a heartbeat--even when he consumes human blood on a daily basis.

Warnings: Smut, vampire sex, sex in front of a mirror, blood sucking, unprotected sex, slight choking. For the sake of the plot, Y/N is slightly intoxicated in this fic (drunk sex). Please don’t read this fic if this makes you feel uncomfortable. I also don’t approve nor allow taking advantage of your romantic partner while they are under the influence of alcohol.

Supernatural things don’t really scare you. Growing up in a family that tells urban legends and mystical myths as bedtime stories makes you feel somewhat reserved toward spooky stuff, to the point that you won’t even bat an eyelash during a jump scare at literally any scary movie out there. It’s not like you’ve seen any supernatural creatures with your own eyes but you believe in their existence, especially when you live in a town where freaky things happen on daily basis. 

You’re not sure about werewolves and zombies, but vampires do roam the earth the second the moon replaces the sun. It’s not merely a rumor anymore, it’s a fact. But they keep their presence in secret, trying to act as humanly as possible so they won’t gather unnecessary attention. And since no one has found any dead bodies with bite marks or severe blood loss, people don’t really identify them as a threat. You perceive things in a similar way. As long as they don’t bother you, then you can co-exist in peace. That’s what you believe.

So when you visit your neighbor in the middle of the night, the cute guy—probably still in his early twenties—who lives just across the hallway, you figure you’ll see him smiling back, maybe even offer you a cup of coffee out of courtesy. Now, you don’t usually barge into someone else’s apartment even when the front door is unlocked, but seeing how the two of you are already on a first-name basis, always greet each other with a nod whenever your eyes make eye contact, you think to yourself, “Yeah, he wouldn’t mind if I come in, would he? What’s the worst thing that could happen? He’s too cute to be a serial killer anyway.” Which, you realize soon enough, was a poor, terrible logic on your part. 

But you turn over his doorknob with a click and invite yourself in.

So clearly, you do not expect to see him sitting bare-chested on the couch with his girlfriend’s legs hooked around his waist. Clearly, you do not expect to see his hand yanking at the roots of her hair, forcing her to expose the column of her neck and making her call his name in the most wanton moan you’ve ever heard in your life—even if you’ve had a fair share of watching porn movies (for research purposes). And you most clearly do not expect to see him sinking his canines deep into her skin, not caring when trails of blood start to taint her bare shoulder and groaning in bliss as he relishes the taste of her blood.

So naturally, the only thing you can think of is:

Oh shit.

“Wait!” A hand finds its way to tangle around your wrist when you slip behind his front door to run back to your own. His icy cold skin makes you flinch in surprise but you keep your face still. As you turn around to see the owner, you’re greeted by the sight of him with his eyes turning as dark as the night. His brunette hair is made of curls and waves, seems unbelievably soft and silky with bangs almost covering his eyes. His lips and cheeks are smeared with fresh blood, possibly from trying to wipe his mouth in hurry with the back of his hand. His fangs are no longer shown and although he seems breathless, you can tell he’s not breathing from how still his chest is moving (but you’re too distracted with the sight of how toned it is). His black jeans are hanging dangerously low on his hips, unbuttoned but not yet unzipped, and it’s harder for you to not stare at his v-lines compared to the amount of blood that painted his lips.

Trying to act nonchalant, you simply ask, “Yes?”

“This isn’t what it looks like.”

“Oh, so you’re not a vampire drinking blood from your girlfriend’s neck?”

He gapes, eyes growing wide, before, “Okay, then it is what it looks like.”

You retract your hand, giving him a formal nod. “Cool.” 

“Cool?”  

“Yeah, as in, no problem. You have a kink. I understand.”

“No, I mean—” He pinches the bridge of his nose, somewhat dizzy from your reaction. “Why are you so calm about this?”

You frown. “I’m confused. Would you rather have me freak-out and tell our landlord that you’ve been spilling maiden’s blood on his carpet?”

“Well, no, but—” He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Also, I’m a professional. I don’t leave stains.”

“Congratulations, I’m impressed.” You clap your hands twice, face blank. “Well anyway, I guess I owe you an apology. I didn’t mean to sneak into your apartment without permission and disturb your…” You scratch your cheek, attempting to find the right word. “Late night snacking time—”

“Oh, God.” He rubs his palm over his face but before he can protest any further, his lover is calling him from the inside of his room.

“Lee Donghyuck, come back to me. I haven’t come yet.”

You stare flatly at him, trying not to look as judgmental as possible but most likely failing terribly at it. “She sounds nice.”

He mirrors the look on your face. “Yeah well, she tastes nice.”

“Ugh, too much info there, buddy.”

“No, I mean, her blood, not—” You’re not sure whether vampires can blush but this one surely seems like one. “Why did you even come here again?”

“Oh, that’s right.” You remember. “This is totally cliche and I wish I could say a better excuse but I was making coffee and ran out of sugar. Do you have some I can borrow? And maybe some cream?”

“Seriously?” It’s supposed to be a sarcastic response, but when he sees you nodding your head, he adds, “Do I look like I drink coffee in my spare time?”

“You spend eternity without drinking coffee?” You gasp, laying a hand on your heart. “I feel sorry for you.”

“Leave. Please.”

***

On the next evening, you find yourself crossing the hallway and knocking on his apartment’s door again. Knowing how patience has never been one of your virtues, you try to turn his doorknob after your third knock. Like last night, it’s unlocked with a click so you invite yourself in, calling his name.

“Lee Donghyuck, are you here—”

“I really need to fix that stupid lock.” 

The sound of his voice startles you when he suddenly walks into view, but not as much as the sight of him with a white towel hanging around his neck, his wet hair dripping water to his bare chest, and another towel wrapped around his waist. 

He notices you’re staring so with a small smirk, he comments, “So you’re fine seeing me with human’s blood on my face but completely left in shocked when I’m half-naked?”

You put your best effort to act unfazed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You do know us vampires can tell when you’re lying, right? We can hear your heartbeat.”

“And yet, you didn’t hear me coming into your apartment last night.”

“I was…” He narrows his eyes. “Distracted.”

“You mean you were too horny to notice.”

“You—” He exhaled loudly, perhaps a habit he invented to make him seem more human. “Why are you here again today?”

“Can’t I greet my neighbor?”

He snorts loudly but walks away, throwing himself on the couch. “Seriously, why aren’t you surprised about this?”

“About you being a vampire? Or about your God awful taste in women?”

“Yeah?” He mocks back, making a face. “As if your boyfriend Mark Lee is any better.” When he sees a blush blooming on your face, he snickers. “Enlighten me, Sweetheart. How does it feel to have a lover that only last for one minute during—”

“Okay, I’ll take my words back. Everything. Can we move on, please?” You try to yank yourself back to your normal state, even when you feel downright ashamed. “So, this vampire thing. How long have you been a vampire?”

“Long enough.”

“How old were you when you first turned?”

“Young enough.”

“How often do you drink human blood?“

“Often enough.”

You glare at him, earning a sly grin in return. “You’re not taking me seriously, are you?”

He sends you the best serious expression he can manage. “Serious enough.”

“Right, okay, I’m leaving. Have fun being an asshole for eternity.”

But the second you turn around in your heels, Donghyuck is already on the other side of the room,  closing his front door and leaning his back against it. “Now, now, you come in as you please, uninvited. You don’t think I’ll let you go just like that, right?”

You raise an eyebrow in question. “What do you want?”

“I think it’s something that we both want.” He steps closer, voice sounding smooth and alluring. “You know what I’m talking about, right?”

You gulp, suddenly becoming nervous. He’s an arms reach away, and then closer, and closer until you can feel his cold fingers tracing against your cheekbone, lifting your face so his eyes are locked with yours. 

“I’m—” You can feel your breathing starts to stutter. “I’m not giving you my blood.”

“But it’s not blood that I want from you.” His eyes are half-lidded, his thumb tracing your lower lip. “I’ve been thinking about this so much lately.”

Your heart feels like a ticking bomb inside your chest. “A-about what?”

“About our rent. Do you want to move in together so we can split the rental fee?”

***

It’s both ridiculous and dumb, his offer to move in together for cheaper rent, so it’s even more ridiculous and dumb when you agree to it. There are several reasons that make sense, actually—at least, to you anyway: 1) your neighbor may be a vampire but he’s super hot and although that doesn’t make everything okay, it does make his offer sound incredibly tempting, 2) your landlord is going to raise the rent in the following two months, 3) your part-time job’s salary can only cover so much of your living cost and you have no savings whatsoever, 4) if you can ignore the fact that he brings random girls at night for midnight snacks, he becomes much, much hotter.

Of course, there are risks to think about as well. Sharing a place with another person can bring trouble, so you can only imagine how troublesome would it be to share your home with a vampire. What if he gets too thirsty and starts drinking from you instead? 

You gulp. The thought of it is actually kind of… sexy.

Mark. You mentally slap yourself in the head. You have a boyfriend. Stop crushing on your damn neighbor.

Well, there is nothing serious going on with Mark actually. You guys were just lab partners in high school, went on a couple of dates, had a terribly awkward first kiss, had a heavy make-out session with him ejaculating under one minute when you dry-humped him on the couch of your living room. 

So yeah, nothing serious.

“My apartment or yours?” You ask after a week has passed by, the second he opens his door for you. “Your apartment is bigger, but mine is cleaner.”

“Whatever you want, Sweetheart,” he smirks, leaning against the doorframe, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I don’t mind as long we can split the fee.”

“Yeah, why is that? You’re running out of money?”

His smirk instantly falters. “Well, it’s not exactly easy for vampires to get a job these days.”

“You literally have superhuman skills.”

“Well, you guys have the technology!” He throws his hands in the air, absolutely disgusted with the word by the sight of it. “And the Internet! Sure, I can run pretty fast, I have super hearing, I can see in the dark but these fucking technologies can do literally everything I’m capable of—and everything I’m not capable of—with only a few clicks!”

“Do you need a hug?”

He’s still pouting but shrugs. “Can’t hurt.”

“There, there.” You give him a pat on his back as he leans down so you can reach his height. “I’ll teach you some basic stuff to get you updated.”

“Thanks.”

“You’ll get through this.” You pull away, squeezing his shoulders. “So, about moving in together. Shall we talk about house rules and stuff?”

“Sure, but before that,” he smiles, opening his door wider for you. “Come in. I don’t bite.”

It’s something about him using that poor choice of words with that teasing smirk on his face that makes your stomach feel uneasy but you nod and let yourself in. As he closes the door, he adds, “Unless it’s what you’re into.”

“Getting my blood drunk by a vampire?” You scoff, trying to steady your racing heart though he can probably tell already. “Why would it be something I’m into?”

“Well, my ladies surely enjoyed it,” he chuckles and you secretly think to yourself, yeah because you’re fucking hot, that’s why, but you keep yourself ignorant on the outside. “But if you’re ever curious,” he coos, eyes nearly glowing as he pushes his bangs back with one hand, “I’m down anytime you want.”

You shudder, but from disgust or excitement, you’re not sure. “Thanks, but no thanks. So, house rules?”

***

It turns out to be shockingly easy to share an apartment with an undead creature of the night. Your source of information regarding vampires are from the collection of your young adult supernatural novels, ranging from something serious like Interview with The Vampire, to something mediocre like The Vampire Diaries, and something absolutely ridiculous and downright outrageous like Twilight. So it’s not really surprising when your first assumption of vampires are dead people who look unusually pale but strikingly attractive, have constant frowns on their faces as they brood over literally everything that’s happening as if they’re constipated all the time (they’re not, since vampires don’t have that bodily function anymore) and kill people in their spare time by sucking their blood dry.

But Donghyuck isn’t like that at all, to the point you have to convince yourself that he’s a century-old vampire and not a brat going through puberty.

Because Donghyuck isn’t pale, his skin is tan as if he was kissed by the sun when he has been hiding from it his whole life. It’s smooth, unscarred, and almost golden under the fluorescent light of your apartment. 

He’s not heartless either. He cried during watching Hachiko even when the dog owner was still alive and well, shouting, “Bad shit is going to happen. Bad shit is going to happen to the dog—look how cute that dog is—look just how fucking cute he is—he doesn’t deserve any pain—if this dog dies by the end of the movie, I will combust,” to the screen. So the thought of him killing someone by sucking their blood dry? Seems very unlikely.

And he’s not broody or angry all the time. He’s extremely playful and annoyingly mischievous. He keeps his stock of blood in empty bottles of red wine and places them inside the fridge with a handwritten note that says: “It’s really just wine, Sweetheart. I bought some as a housewarming gift. Come take a sip.” You did, once, out of curiosity, and from that day on you promised yourself that you’d never ever trust his words for as long as you live.

Being a monster, he should’ve been the cause of fear, but in reality, he gets scared from a lot of things—even the things that shouldn’t scare a baby. You will never forget the day when a loud crash came thundering from his room, two seconds before he came barging into yours, screaming with wide eyes, “THERE’S A COCKROACH FLYING IN MY ROOM!”

“And what did you do?”

“I THREW THE TV AT IT BUT THAT FUCKING THING STILL LIVES!”

“WHAT?! But that’s our TV!”

“IT WAS FLYING TO MY FACE AND I PANICKED—WHAT THE FUCK WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?!”

Even a butterfly that sneaks in from the window makes him jump on his feet. It was cute the first two times it happened, but seeing how he keeps on throwing random things—your phone, included—to keep the bugs away, you probably should start adding another house rule.

Speaking about rules, they’re pretty basic. It’s settled that you’ll both do your cleaning separately. No borrowing things without permission, no spending too much time in the bathroom because although he doesn’t need to go to the toilet, Donghyuck enjoys drawing himself a warm bubble bath for hours, as he takes a sip of his ‘red wine’. And you’re fine with him bringing girls over to your place as long as he does his midnight snacking in his own room. You were against it before but then you figure that you’re going to have Mark in your room from time-to-time (your date night is cheaper this way) so you really don’t have the right to forbid him.

But man, if only you could take back your words.

Because when Donghyuck said his ladies surely enjoyed it when he drank from them, you didn’t think that they would enjoy it this much. And you didn’t think that drinking blood from a human equals having sex with them all night long.

The sound of “Aah, yes fuck me just like that,” and “Bite me again, Lee Donghyuck, I want you to bite me as hard as you fuck me,” can be heard coming endlessly from his bedroom whenever he brings a girl—sometimes even two, for God’s sake—over. You have to plug your AirPods into your ears, blast the volume to the maximum until you can literally feel your ears going deaf while pulling a pillow over your head. And even then you still can hear them. Your apartment has excellent sound-proofed walls so your neighbors don’t really hear the loud screeches they’re making, but for you who sleeps in the room just across the living room? A living hell.

Fortunately, it doesn’t happen every day. It doesn’t happen every week, even, since he always keeps some stocks of blood in the fridge.

“Did you take this blood from those girls?” You grimaced one night, as you opened your refrigerator to slide in your pudding leftover and noticed three huge bottles of red wine completely filled up to the brim.

He laughed, waving a hand. “Of course not, stupid. How could I even do that in the first place? I bought some blood bags from the hospital, obviously.” He was sitting on the couch before but when he delivered his next line, he suddenly stood behind you, lips hovering dangerously close to your ear. “And just in case you’re wondering,” you could feel his smirk grazing your earlobe. “I only drink directly when I want to have sex.”

The heat was spreading almost immediately to your cheeks so you hid it by throwing a punch to his stomach, which he easily dodged. “Still,” you complained, “There’s blood in my fridge.”

“Hey, I never complain when you keep your celery juice in there.” He scrunched his nose in disgust. “I don’t eat or drink human foods, but who the fuck drinks celery juice?”

***

Donghyuck is also exceptionally talkative, you’ve learned along the way. It’s nice to have someone to fill the silence, moving from one random topic to another, never letting an awkward pause hang for too long. But he can also be exceptionally annoying when you have some papers to do and he’s bothering you because he’s bored out of his mind. He’ll start pestering you with questions—unimportant questions—like, “If you only have one eye, are you blinking or winking?” Or “Why is it that when you are sleeping it's called drool but when you are awake it's called spit?” And the stupidest of them all, “Why did Superman wear his briefs on the outside of his tights? This question intrigues me.”

And you’ll eventually start to lose it, throw a pillow to his face and yell, “GET OUT OF MY ROOM!”

But by the end of the day, it’s really fun to have him around. Not just because you can secretly enjoy the sight of him coming out of your shared bathroom with only a towel hanging low around his hips, but also because he’s a vampire and you can spend your time doing actual research about it.

“So,” you began one day after the sun has set and he crawled out of his room with the biggest bird's nest on his head. You had a romance novel on your lap, your fingers running through the pages. “Are you like an actual vampire or are you the romanticized, somewhat gay vampire they usually depict in books?”

“Well, I’ve never been with a man but I don’t really oppose the idea.” He took a seat beside you on the couch, laying his feet on the coffee table. You kind of just stare at him, not exactly judging his words, just… bewildered. 

He noticed the look on your face. “When you’ve lived for a century, you gotta learn how to keep things interesting, even if that means having a dick in my mouth.”

“That’s…” You swallowed. “Not exactly something I want to imagine.”

“You should, though. Try picturing me with your boyfriend Mark for a sec. Don’t we look hot together?” You had to look away when he wiggled his eyebrows at you. You just had to.

“So, these vampire books you said you read,” he went back to the previous topic after cackling for a whole ten seconds at the flustered look on your face. “How do they depict us exactly?”

“You’ve never read one?”

“Have you ever read any books about humans written by vampires?”

“Fair point. Well, it said that vampires couldn’t see themselves in the mirror.”

“Myth,” he replied, leaning his head against the couch. “I can see myself in the mirror and I like seeing myself just as much as you do whenever I come out of the bathroom.”

You almost blurt out the cinnamon cookie you just ate. “Excuse me?!” You cough, eyes starting to get a little teary. “Who said I like looking at you?”

“You don’t?” The way his eyes twinkled made you a little bit weak. A smirk grew apparent on his face. “You sure about that?”

You cleared your throat, flipping another page of your book. “Next question,” you continued, ignoring the soft laugh he emitted. “Do garlic, holy water, and silver scare you?”

“They don’t scare me,” he clicked his tongue, vexed by the way you composed your words. “I just don’t like them.”

“Right, so that’s a yes. Do you have to be invited in to be able to enter someone’s home?”

He tightened his jaw, quietly murmured, “Yes.”

“Can you read someone’s thoughts?”

“No, but I can tell how they’re feeling through their heartbeat.” His eyes were boring into yours, lips curving upward. “Like you, for example. I can tell that whenever I’m around you, your heartbeat runs just a little bit faster.”

You glanced away, rubbing your nose. “No, it doesn’t.”

“Ah,” he showcased his perfect marbled teeth as he grinned knowingly. “Just like that. Your heartbeat is increasing again. Are you lying to me, milady?”

“You’re freaking annoying, you know that?”

“It’s part of my charm.”

“Speaking of that,” you immediately said, knowing it was the perfect chance to avert his attention to another topic. “Can you charm someone?”

“With these looks?” He gestured to his entire body. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I.” But when you started scowling at him, he added, “But if you’re talking about mind compulsion, yes, I am able to do that. I can erase and alter people’s memories, even controlling them only by making eye contact.”

“That sounds pretty convenient.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t like doing it.” He shrugged, staring at the ceiling with droopy eyes. “Hypnotizing them to get what I want just doesn’t sit right with me. I want to feel a connection, you know?”

“So doing one night stands with vampire groupies is the perfect way to earn that connection, I suppose?”

He tilted his head, poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue. “You really know how to attack someone’s pride, huh?”

“Part of my charm,” you mimic him with a nod. “Okay, next question. Can you die with a wooden stake piercing your heart?”

He rolled his eyes. “Everybody dies with a stake in—what is this, an interrogation?”

“Do churches—”

“Okay, Sweetheart.” He closed your book, smiling at you though it didn’t reach his eyes. “I think that’s enough. My turn.”

You furrowed your eyebrows, not really pleased with the way he just suddenly changed the direction of your conversation. “What do you want to know?” You indulged him anyway.

He tilted his head, propping his elbow on his thigh, fingers tapping against his cheek as he rested his chin on his palm. Gazing at you intensely, he asked, “Are you a virgin?”

It didn’t take even a split second for you to blush. “T-that’s—What kind of question is that—”

“Ah, so you are.” His smile grew a bit larger, but you weren’t sure whether he was amused, aroused, or just excited to mock you about it. “Is that why you’ve been staring at me a lot lately? Because you’re curious?”

“For the last time,” you emphasized, though your heart was hammering against your ribcages. “I wasn’t looking at you. I never—”

“You’re adorable when you lie,” he snickered, a lopsided smile painting his face. “Your heartbeat sounds like you just did a marathon. Are you okay?”

You threw your book at him, successfully wiping the smirk on his goddamn perfect face, and raced back to your own room.

“Ah, she’s really cute.” Was the last thing you heard him say before you slammed your bedroom door behind you.

***

For a vampire, Donghyuck’s presence is as bright as the sun, always managing to lift your mood whenever you’re too stressed about your college assignments or too exhausted from your part-time job. Of course, he’s also the cause of your stress more often than not, but whenever you get into a fight with him—usually because he’s so disorganized and you’re too obsessive to keep everything in order—it doesn’t last long and ends up with him making you the best dinner you’ve ever had to compensate, even when he’s not the one at fault.

Donghyuck doesn’t consume human food but he makes the best cuisine you’ve ever tasted in your life. And also the sight of him wearing your pink apron while humming to a Michael Jackson’s song with his bangs tied to the side using your hairclip is really, really something to behold—which is weird because that obviously doesn’t scream sexy in any way, or masculine even, but it makes your stomach do somersaults most delightfully.

“Dinner is served, Milady,” he says, laying down a plate of Spaghetti Aglio e Olio in front of you, making you gawk at the sight. “And it’s special because it contains a lot of garlic—seriously, like a lot. I had to put some gloves on and everything.”

“You’re an angel.” You nearly cry and it’s not an exaggeration. “I can’t believe you did this all for me.”

“Well, I haven’t really thanked you for covering my rent last month so…”

“It’s fine, you can pay me back later.” You take a hold of your fork, already wetting your lips in anticipation, and waste not a second longer before you dig in. When the cheese melts inside your mouth, you almost moan in joy. “Oh my God, this is so good. I love you.”

He chuckles, suddenly standing behind you, leaning forward so he’s next to your ear. “Yeah? How much?”

You raise your silver spoon in the air and he immediately leaps to the other side of the kitchen, startled and scared out of his mind. “Hey, that’s not nice! I thought we’ve talked about this!”

Rolling your eyes at him, you take another spoonful of it. “Man, you should really make a job out of this,” you comment. He only cooks whenever he feels sorry for you for going through a hard day—whether it was because of him or something else—but if that’s what it takes to have this magnificent dish entering your mouth, you don’t mind suffering more often.

“I really should, huh?” He takes a seat on the kitchen counter, his legs dangling a few inches in the air. “I’m really running low on money.”

“I thought vampires were supposed to be rich and like, noble.”

“You’re confusing us with Aristocrats.” He grieves. “Do you think I can get a night shift at a restaurant downtown?”

“Oh, I actually know a place. I’ll take you there tomorrow.”

“Like on a date?”

You almost drop your fork. “Why do you have to make everything weird?”

His cheeky grin is contagious but you’ve become a master of handling your expression. “I just like seeing you blush,” he confesses. “Have I told you how cute you are?”

“Today? Not yet,” you mutter as you munch on your food. “Yesterday? Approximately two hundred and thirty-five times.”

“Then I’ll try to break another record today.” He throws you a wink.

“Shut up and let me eat in peace, please.”

***

“Donghyuck-ah.”

“Yes, baby?”

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop posting a goddamn selfie every ten minutes!” You almost throw your phone to his face but since it’ll be a waste, you decide to throw your shoe instead. “I didn’t teach you how to use Instagram for this!”

Donghyuck easily dodges every single thing you’re throwing at him. “Didn’t you tell me to promote my cooking skill? That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

“How does this—” You show your phone’s screen to him, almost smacking him on the face with how fast and hard you’re doing it. You slide your thumb over his Instagram feeds, showing more than fifty different pictures of his close-up face and he just made that account two days ago. “—promote your cooking skill?!” 

“But, look,” he guides you, clasping his hand to yours so you’re both holding your phone. He taps from one picture to another. “This is me holding a spatula. This is me boiling water and this is me pouring barbecue sauce—”

“Oh my God.” You almost yank every hair out of your head—or out of his head. “I follow more than four hundred people and all I can see is your damn selfies!”

“Correction, my damn cute selfies.” He pecks your cheek. “You’re welcome, babe.”

But all jokes aside, it actually works. His adorable selfies—no matter how bad you hate to admit it—are attracting more followers each day that by the time a week has passed by, he has gained more followers than you (and you’ve had your account for three years, shame on you).

And on the following two months, he gets his first endorsement deal.

“I can’t believe this,” you say, gaping as you stare over his shoulder to look at his phone’s screen, shamelessly reading his direct messages. He’s getting an offer to become a brand ambassador for this little bakery with a cover photo of a lady with chubby cheeks baking cupcakes. “I can’t believe there are people crazy enough to hire you.”

“Hey, privacy!” He immediately stands up from the couch, covering his screen with his palm. “I could’ve been sending nudes!”

“You’re sending nudes?”

“Well, not my nudes.” He rolls his eyes.

“How is that any better?!”

“Look, I’m busy. I got a gig.” He grins proudly. “I’m on my way to becoming a celebrity, babe. Do you want my autograph now before it’s too late? I could sign your bra if you want. I mean, I’m totally down if you want me to sign your tits, but if you ever think that could be awkward—”

You smack his head with a spatula.

***

It’s your first date night after nearly half a year of not contacting Mark due to him going overseas for student exchange, and you’re nervous for various reasons.

First, you haven’t told Mark you’ve been sharing a place with a guy.

Second, you certainly haven’t told him that this guy is a vampire.

Third, you absolutely in any way cannot tell him that you’ve been secretly crushing on this guy while your boyfriend was away studying.

And last but not least, you know that if anything happens tonight, whether it ends up with you fighting with Mark or finally losing your virginity to him, Donghyuck can hear every single thing.

So you barge into his room, hand laying on the front of his bedroom door as you push it open. “Donghyuck-ah.”

Like always, he’s laying idly on his bed, head almost dangling on the edge of it with his phone in his hands. “Yes, baby?”

You sigh, rubbing your temple. “How many times should I tell you? Don’t call me that.”

“You’re not my baby anymore?” He fakes a loud gasp. “I am shocked.”

“Mark is coming over tonight.”

His movements stop abruptly. “I didn’t realize you were still with him.”

“Of course, I am. Why wouldn’t I be? He’s been nothing but sweet to me.”

His eyes lose the mischievous spark he usually displays in them. “And yet, you keep drooling over my body. Can’t say I’m not hurt.”

“I never—” You exhale loudly, throwing your head back. “I’m not going to have this argument again. He’s coming over tonight to have dinner—”

“But you’re a shitty cook.”

“By dinner, I mean take-outs,” you admit your defeat. “Anyway, I came here to ask you a favor.”

“Sweetheart,” he calls, turning over to his stomach so he can face you without having to see you upside down. “I know I said I wanted to make things interesting, but having a threesome with you and Mark? So suddenly like this? Don’t you think it’s gonna be a little awkward between us? I barely know the dude. You should at least tell me what kind of person he is, whether he likes action movies or romantic ones, whether he blames someone else when he farts—I need to know him before I have his dick in my mouth.”

Talking to him gives you headaches, you should’ve really come prepared. “Are you done?”

“Do you still want me to continue? Okay, well—”

“Shut up, please for the love of God, shut up.” You should take your leave before he starts yapping again. “Look, that super hearing thing you do? Can you turn it off just for one night?”

“Sure thing, click,” he says, snapping his fingers near his ear. “Done. Now I’m deaf.”

You flatly stare at him. “I’m serious.”

“Whaaaaat? I can’t heaaaaar youuuu.”

“Hyuck!” 

He groans loudly, rolling his eyes. “Well, it’s not like my ears have on-and-off buttons I can just switch, okay? What do you want from me?”

He’s right, there’s nothing you can do. “Then, can you leave the apartment for the night?”

He opens his mouth wide, hand going to his chest. “You’re kicking me out from my own apartment? This is heresy!”

“Donghyuck-ah, please!” Great, now you’re stomping your feet like a child. “I just really need some privacy for tonight.”

“Oh, you’re gonna get laid, aren’t you?” He raves mockingly, but his eyes are somewhat bitter. “Seriously? With that guy? I think you could do so much better, Sweetheart.”

Vexed, you jeer back, “Yeah? And who do you have in mind? You?”

You’re not sure whether it’s your words or the way you say them because his eyes suddenly turn darker, almost glowering at you but it only happens for a second or two so you’re not sure if you even see that clearly.

“Well, it’s not my business, is it?” He casually chirps, smiling at you again though something still feels off. “Don’t worry, I won’t eavesdrop on you two. I have a lot of kinks but voyeurism isn’t one of those. You won’t even notice I’m here.”

“You…” Something feels really off with the way he’s acting. It’s like he’s visibly upset but trying to act nonchalant about it. “You’re sure?”

“You have my words.”

“Okay then.” Whatever it is, you figure you can deal with that later. “Well, I’m gonna take a shower.”

As you shut the door behind you, uneasiness starts to fill your chest.

***

Your date with Mark is going well. It’s going so well, even, that you end up lying on your bed, perfectly naked,  lips swollen from his kisses, with him hovering on top of you, both breathless and speechless.

And unfortunately for you, also clueless.

He has a packet of condoms in his hand, and no matter how embarrassing it is for you, you already have your legs spread on the bed, waiting for him to… well, do whatever it is he’s supposed to do. Perhaps it’s okay for you to be clueless about sex because guys usually take the lead, right?

Wrong.

“Okay, wait, let me just—” Mark’s fingers are shaking due to anxiety. His poor, innocent mind cannot handle being so painfully turned-on and awkwardly embarrassed at the same time. Your boyfriend has always been awkward with literally everything, which kind of makes him adorable but it does not come as cute—not in the slightest—when he’s doing the exact opposite of what’s he’s supposed to do. Somewhere deep in his mind, he probably knows that he’s supposed to tear apart the packet sexily with his teeth,  put the condom on within seconds, and thrust into you as painlessly as possible. But in reality, what’s currently happening is he tries to catch the condom that flew out in the air after he managed to tear the packet apart with his shaky fingers. He then progresses to try putting on the condom for approximately fifteen minutes while flinching several times when he accidentally slaps the elastic band against his cock.

The whole thing is a fucking disaster (no pun intended) and all the passion, desire, and arousal that you once felt swirling in your stomach vanish in an instant. And when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, it does, because being a virgin himself, Mark doesn’t really know where to, for the lack of better words, put it in.

“Mark?”

“Y-yeah?”

“That’s my asshole.”

So with a reassuring (fake) smile, you lay a hand on his chest and gently push him backward, trying not to wince in chagrin when you suggest, “Maybe we should stop and try again some other time?”

You two dress back into your clothes in silence and after you escort him to your front door, Mark tries to kiss you at the same time you’re leaning in for a friendly hug so it ends up with him knocking his teeth against your forehead.

When he’s gone, you close the front door with a sigh, pressing your spine against the wooden surface as you soothe the pain on your temple away with your fingertips. It doesn’t take long before Donghyuck peeks his head from behind his door. Noticing you’re alone, he steps into the living room, leaning against the wall just a couple of meters away from where you’re standing.��

“So,” he begins, acting casual, “How was the date with—” He suddenly bursts out laughing, one hand holding his stomach as he nearly tumbles down to the floor, cackling like a mad man. “I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have eavesdropped but man, did he really put it in the wrong hole? Oh God, this shit is just beyond me, man.”

With your shoulders slumped forward, you walk back into your room, trying to gather back the pieces of dignity you have left.

***

“You know what I should do?” Donghyuck asks with a game controller in his hand. To stop him from making fun of you and your terrible incident with your boyfriend, you’ve borrowed a PlayStation from your cousin. Even though he claimed that he despised technology, Donghyuck is actually brilliant when he puts his mind to it. It doesn’t take more than two hours for him to master the game, already adapting to every button of the controller, even manages to land a few high scores in the last ten minutes. He used to prefer to live in the old school way, but that soon changed after your influence.

“Pray to God for forgiveness so He won’t send you to hell?” You offer, as you take a seat next to him on the carpeted floor, crossing your legs, eyes staring idly at the screen. 

“Cute, but no.” He clicks some buttons aggressively, trying to reach yet another high score. “I should become a historian. I mean, I’ve seen things happened with my own eyes—the first world war, the second world war, the birth of Jesus.” He sneaks a glance, but seeing no reaction coming from you, he juts out his lower lip in disappointment. “It’s cruel that you don’t indulge me with my jokes these days.”

“Oh, so you want me to respond? I thought you just liked hearing yourself talk.”

“Heeeeeey,” he hisses, leering at you. “I know you’re hurt that your boyfriend tried to butt-fuck you but don’t throw this all on me.”

Oh my God. “Right, then let’s try this.” You have no choice but to please him this way before he destroys whatever is left of your pride. You do a quick search on your phone, throwing a random question from what you found in the article. “Who led our country in 1950?”

“Easy. The guy with the bald head. No, wait, is it the skinny one with the huge mole on his neck?”

“Name, Hyuck. I need a name.” You exhale in exasperation.

“Oh, I got it! The one with the annoying high-pitched voice!”

“How the hell am I supposed to know?”

“Well, how the hell am I supposed to remember shits that happened seventy years ago?”

You give him a look, eyes staring at him lifelessly. “You’re right, you should totally apply for the job. You’ll nail it.”

***

“I can’t believe this.”

“Saying that multiple times won’t really change anything, Sweetheart.”

“I can’t believe this,” you repeat, this time while standing up from the couch, slamming your fashion magazine down to the table. “I can’t believe our air conditioner broke when it’s nearly thirty degrees outside! Aren’t you hot?!”

“Am I hot—” He snorts, flipping a page of his novel.  Yes, it is actually quite bizarre that he spends his spare time reading. “What kind of question is that? Of course, I’m hot. Haven’t you seen the number of girls I brought into this place?”

“Ugh, God!” You plop back into your seat, throwing your head back in vexation. “What are you even reading?”

“That vampire book you talked about yesterday.”

“Which one?”

“The one that’s interesting.”

“Oh, Interview with The Vampire?”

“No.” The way he rolls his eyes as if he’s disgusted with your guess is beyond you. “Twilight.”

“Oh my God, stay away from me.”

“What—this is actually good!”

“These vampires sparkle under the sun—aren’t you, at the very least, offended? Because I’m livid and I’m human.”

“That’s what makes it interesting, actually,” he retorts, eyes moving back-and-forth as he reads through a passage. “They’re so different than us in real life, so it’s like seeing through a new perspective. I’m Team Jacob, by the way.”

“Good Lord.” You palm the side of your face. “You’re more than a hundred years-old but you have the taste of a teenage girl going through puberty. I’m ashamed of knowing you.”

“You’re just cranky because of the weather.”

“I’m literally dying.” You can feel sweat drenching your back, all the way to your shirt and you just took a shower twenty minutes ago. “You’re lucky you’re immune to temperature changes.”

“Then wanna sit on my lap?”

Your ears must be playing tricks on you. “Excuse me?”

Donghyuck sighs, closing his book and throws it away to the side. Turning to you, he repeats slowly, dragging out every syllable. “Do. you. want. to. sit. on. my. lap?”

You send him a blank stare, annoyed. “I heard you, asshole. I’m not an idiot. I’m just shocked at your offer. You’re really going all out in harassing me these days, aren’t you?”

“What—” He throws his hands in the air, exasperated. “I’m a vampire, remember? I have cold skin. Here,” he takes one of your hands, sliding it down his shirt as if it’s nothing, and presses it against his stomach. “Can you feel it?”

All the blood rushes to your face, making you feel lightheaded but also conscious of how his skin feels under your palm. It is cold, though not as cold as he’d made a big deal out of it. It’s like the room temperature during the spring season, at most. But compared to how sizzling it is right now, his skin is nice to the touch, relaxing even. 

But all that thought just goes straight out of the window when he shifts on his seat and you can feel his abs muscles contracting.

“Whoa,” he stops, looking at you. “Are you okay? Your heartbeat is insane.”

You smack him on the head and try to suffocate him with your cushion. It doesn’t work since he doesn’t breathe, but at least it can stop him from seeing how red your face is turning.

But when another day passes by and your landlord is still taking his sweet time trying to find a cheap handyman to repair your AC, you decide to take on his offer. You know it’s weird for roommates to cuddle but, as you try to reason within yourself, you will be sitting on the-sexiest-man-you’ve-ever-witnessed-with-your-eyes’ lap, your back pressing against his (hopefully) bare chest, and snuggle close until your body heat is no longer screaming at you in agony. You don’t really see any problem with this. After all, you have been imagining how it would feel to sit on his lap every time he does that manspreading thing on your couch. 

So really, what’s there to lose?

“Okay,” you begin, standing in front of him in an already awkward position. “So, how can we do this without being weird about it?”

Donghyuck tilts his face up, leaning his back against the couch, phone in his hand. “Do what?”

“Do…” You fiddle with the hem of your shirt. “You know, what you offered yesterday.”

“Hmm?” He raises his eyebrow in question, but the way one side of his lips is curving upward betrays his act. “I forgot. What exactly did I offer to do?”

“You’re seriously going to make me say this out loud?”

“Baby, I’m clueless.” His smirk grows wider, his voice filled with allure. “Please. Enlighten me.”

He’s toying with you, that’s for sure. And no matter how much you want to feel those arms around you, there’s no way you’re gonna let him degrade you like this. “Fine, then forget it,” you sulk, turning around on your heels with your scarlet cheeks puffed out but Donghyuck laughs in the most innocent way when he’s clearly nothing like that in reality. Calling your name in a sing-song voice, he circles his fingers around your wrist and tugs you back until you tumble down to his lap.

“You’re never honest,” he says, his velvety voice suddenly only a whisper away. His arms are tied securely around your waist, pulling you close until you can do nothing but lay your back against his chest. “But you’re cute so I forgive you.”

You can’t form a word, too busy trying to compose yourself. You can’t hear his heartbeat—since he’s the creature of the undead, obviously—but you assume with the proximity you’re being, you would’ve definitely heard it if he had one.

You didn’t notice it before but now that you’re sitting on his lap, your palm pressed against his thigh for stability you realize that he’s wearing black ripped jeans with holes that are oh so terribly distracting. If you dare to move your finger, you’ll be able to trace the smooth skin at the inner part of his thigh.

You gulp hard.

You can hear him snickering behind you. “Thinking about something dirty?”

You almost swallowed your own tongue. “What—no!” Flapping your hands in panic, you almost fall from his lap but his fast reflex won’t let you, as he embraces you tighter, making you fall back to his chest with a small oof.

“Relax, I’m just messing with you,” he chuckles lowly, his lips grazing against your earlobe. “This is nice. We should do this more often. You fit perfectly in my arms.” He says his line with sincerity with no trace of humor or teasing in it, which effectively make you curl your toes in bashfulness.

“You’re gonna have a heart attack if you keep your heart rate going like that, Sweetheart,” he titters.

“Yeah, well,” you try to push him away by pushing your palm against his cheek. “Unlike you, I don’t really spend my time snuggling with the opposite sex, so of course I’m nervous.”

“You’re sure it’s not because of me?”

“Absolutely. In fact, I’d most likely have a bigger reaction if Mark was the one holding me instead.”

The way he suddenly goes stiff intrigues you, but you don’t dwell on it. “Is that so?” He simply retorts back, tone suddenly becoming cold and it makes you feel uneasy.

“So, uhh…” Your breathing tatters when he becomes mute, only the sound of the ticking clock on the wall can be heard. “Wanna watch a movie?”

He only hums, placing his chin on top of your head. Since he’s always so talkative, it gets really tense when he’s quiet. “Did I offend you or something?” You question.

“I don’t know, did you?”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I knew.”

“Then let’s just leave it at that.” Seeing how you keep fumbling with the remote in your hand, he snatches it away and proceeds to switch the channels. “We’re watching Twilight.”

“Nooooooo, not again!”

But his arm, as he raises it high in the air, is longer than yours so you can’t steal back the remote no matter how hard you try. And as you jump up and down, shifting back and forth on his lap, Donghyuck warns, “I don’t know if you’re doing this on purpose, but if you keep doing that, I’m gonna get a hard-on.”

You immediately stay still, hands tucked neatly on your lap, chest thundering. “You—Why—” You shake your head, flushed. “How can you say things like that?”

“Things like what?”

“Sexual things like that.” The more you reveal your thoughts, the harder you blush. “Don’t you have any shame?”

“What, I can’t be honest?” He snorts. “I didn’t mean to harass you or anything. Just letting you know in advance. It’s completely a guy thing.”

“No, it’s not just that. You always flirt with me—calling me baby, telling me how I look cute all the time when you don’t even mean it—“

You’re interrupted with a loud sigh accompanied by an impatient groan. “Turn around, look at me,” he orders and his tone is irrefutable. When you turn slightly, making eye contact, Donghyuck has his eyebrows furrowed, almost glaring at you. “I know you’re gullible, and I know you’re dense when it comes to things like this but I swear to God, if you don’t start taking a hint, I’m going to have to push you against the wall and kiss you to prove my point.”

You’re dizzy and nauseous, and your stomach is flipping like crazy and you’re conflicted between believing him or laughing at him because although he looks dead serious right now, you can’t help but wonder what if, after you give in to your feelings, he sends you that signature cheeky grin of his to reveal he’s just joking all along? You’re not even brave enough to imagine, even when the vivid image of him pushing you against the wall, his knee slipping between your legs while he brings your wrists over your head, holding them still with one hand is enough to keep you awake for hours.

So you decide to take the easy path. “Okay.”

He blinks. “Okay?”

“Okay.” You shrug, acting casual. It’s really a miracle that you don’t stutter when you deliver the next line. “You told me to take a hint, that’s what I’m doing.”

He raises one of his eyebrows, confused. “Just like that? You’re not gonna say anything more? Or do anything about it?”

“Nope.”

Slowly, there’s a shift in his expression. He shakes his head, tongue protruding against the inside of his cheek both irked and amused. “You’re really something.”

Surprisingly enough, he leaves it at that. Though it’s somehow uncomfortable, you follow his lead and just lock your eyes to your tv screen as he chooses his movie.

You have no interest in watching Twilight—absolutely nothing, zilch, zip, nada!—so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when your eyelids start to become heavy in the first thirteen minutes of the show. You would’ve fallen asleep way sooner though, if you weren’t too distracted with the way he laid his hand on your thigh, sometimes unconsciously rubbing or squeezing it with his palm when he got a little bit bored with the scene, making your breath hitched in your throat.

The room’s temperature is still hot even when it’s in the middle of the night, successfully making your bangs stick to your temple but Donghyuck is quietly humming something to himself. Soft, melodious sound is resonating from his chest directly to your ear and you begin to drift away, floating into your dreamland.

***

“Hey, wake up. It’s almost morning.”

Your bleary eyes are greeted with the dim light of the room. The TV in front of you has already been switched off so the only thing that can be heard in your apartment is the buzzing sound coming from your fridge and the faint ticking clock. 

“What time is it?” You rub your eyes, not aware that you’re still sitting on his lap, with your spine leaning against his chest. It’s until you feel his arms loosening around your waist that you begin to think, oh fuck, what have I done?

You immediately jump off his lap, tripping over your feet but manage to hold your balance by placing a hand on the coffee table. “Why didn’t you wake me?” You screech, face aflame. “You kept holding me in that position all night?”

“Yeah.” He stretches his arms above his head, cracking his neck. “I wanted to wait until you wake up by yourself, but you know, the sun is about to rise.”

You’re still pretty much flabbergasted by the whole thing. “You really should’ve woken me up.”

“Well, you seemed like you were having the best sleep you’ve ever had.” He stares at you with a twinkle in his eyes. “Was it that good being in my arms?”

You’re about to explode. “Okay, wow, look what time it is.” You try to look at your wrist and mentally slap yourself harder when you realize you’re not wearing a goddamn watch. “A-anyway, you really should go back to your room before it’s too late.”

He shakes his head, chuckling at your stupid antics as he stands up from the couch. He ruffles your hair once, making a mess out of your strands before he heads back to his room. As he slides open his door, he spares you a glance over his shoulder. “Hey.”

“What?”

“You kept calling my name in your sleep. What were you dreaming about?”

Whether it’s true or he’s just flirting with you to get your reaction, you don’t want to know. “Just go to your room!”

***

A few moments after the sun sinks below the horizon, Donghyuck comes out from his room with bleary eyes and his shoulders slumped forward. 

“Good morning, Princess,” you joke, your hands busy mixing coffee powder, sugar, and milk to make your own version of Dalgona coffee. Donghyuck scratches the back of his head, his eyes are barely open as he heads to the kitchen, not even sparing you a glance. When he opens the fridge, he groans loudly, noticing that he forgot to restock his red wine. He slams the door with a loud huff, drags his body to the dining table, and sits down with his cheek pressed against the table. Seeing how you’re not paying him any attention, he groans again, louder and whinier this time.

“Okay, what?” You ask, leaning your back against the counter, a cup of coffee in your hand.

“I’m thirsty,” he grumbles, jutting out his lower lip.

“Then drink.”

“I don’t have any money to buy even a bag of blood. Why do they have to make it so fucking expensive?” He pouts. “I mean, I can always steal one but I’m scared of being caught.”

“Scared of being caught? You, with your superhuman speed and strength?”

“Well, they have those security cameras installed all over the place! I don’t want to get arrested or worse, go viral!” You resist the temptation to roll your eyes at his nonsense. “These fucking technologies, man, I swear to God, they’ll be the death of me someday.”

“Then just go outside. Our town is filled with walking blood bags.”

He groans again, now pressing his forehead against the table. “Man, the effort I have to make just to survive. I’m so done with drinking blood from slutty girls. They’re bitter.” He sticks out his tongue at the memory.

“Yeah, why is that? Why do you only drink from them?”

“Because they’re the only ones who’ll agree in a heartbeat.” His voice is muffled as his lips are brushing against the surface. “Also the sex isn’t too bad if you can ignore how annoyingly loud they are.”

“Trust me, I’ve tried.” You grimace at the flashback. It really has been a while since he brought one of them back to his room and you were ecstatic about it, knowing you were the only girl he had been giving his attention to. “Why don’t you just compel someone to give their blood? You can erase their memories too after you’re done.”

“I’ve told you, I don’t like doing that. It makes me feel like a monster.”

It’s cute, you suppose, the way he tries his best to defy his nature. “Then…” You tap your fingers against the mug, somehow feeling uneasy. “Why don’t you try being in a relationship with someone? I’m sure they’ll be willing to give you their blood if they like you that way.”

“Yeah? With who?”

“I don’t know, like…” Your cheeks grow hot, bringing your face down to hide your eyes behind your bangs. “Maybe just someone you like.”

“Are you volunteering?”

The way he suddenly has you backed against the counter, trapping you inside his arms, and whispers seductively with his lips almost grazing your own make you jump on your feet, your cup slipping off your fingers, crashing to pieces when it hits the marbled floor.

“Careful!” Donghyuck holds you by the waist, stopping you just a split second away from stepping on the broken glasses. You realize your hands are fisting against the back of his shirt, embracing him for support without knowing. You pull away immediately, clearing your throat.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you,” he says, letting you go. “I mean I did, but not like this.”

You sigh. “It’s okay, just step away. I need to clean this up.” He tries to help but you won’t let him, because having him in such proximity is going to blind your senses, unable to function properly. Even just thinking about the way his strong arm fits the curve of your waist already makes you lose focus that you end up cutting your finger with a shard of glass.

He catches the little surprised yelp that escapes your lips and immediately bends down to check on you. “See, this is why I told you to let me clean up instead,” he complains, carrying you to the sink and drenches your finger with running water. “Let me see.” With a hold around your wrist, you can barely do anything but to let him examine your cut thoroughly. “Well, it’s not deep but it’s… still…” 

Noticing how he trails off, you look up to check on his face seeing how his eyes are now glowing a bit brighter, his lips parted as if in awe from the way droplets of blood seep from your fingertip, trickling all the way down to your palm.

“Hyuck…?”

His eyes are drifting back and forth from your face to your cut and you know where this is going but when he brings your palm closer to his lips, his tongue darting out to lick the blood off your skin, you nearly collapse to the floor. 

“Hyuck—” You hiss, cheeks reddening as you try to retract your hand but his hold is firm on your wrist. He licks his way up before he brings your fingertip inside his mouth. Donghyuck has his eyes closed, a moan almost falls from his lip when the coppery taste taints his tongue. He sucks on the wound, wanting to taste more, to rip your skin apart with his teeth and—

“Hyuck!” 

He blinks awake, shocked when he sees your face painted with fear. His fangs are drawn out but he immediately retracts them back before you get a detailed look, his face flushed as he takes a step back.

“S-sorry—” He looks away, rubbing his nape with shaky fingers. “I didn’t mean—shit I really have to go—I have to drink—” and when you blink your eyes, he’s vanished from your sight.

With your heart thundering inside your ribcages, you lean back against the kitchen counter again, your legs trembling under you.

That was close. So fucking close.

There’s a fear growing inside you but it’s not from the memory of him with his fangs extended like the true monster that he was. You’re not scared of him, you’re scared of yourself because you know you want him, you want him in any way possible. You want him to belong to you, to be with you, to be desperate for your touch, your blood, your presence, your everything, just as much as you are about him.

You bury your face in your palms. I am so fucked.

***

Hours turn into days and days turn into months, and before you know it, it has been a year since he moved into your apartment. The friendship that blooms between you feels nice and you want to keep it that way but it’s getting hard when he keeps on bringing random girls in skimpy dresses back to his room. You used to be furious by how loud they were being, but now you’re pretty much angry just simply by imagining him being with someone else. And it doesn’t even have to be sexual—just picturing him bonding with another person, even when it’s not as strong as what you two have, manages to irk you so much.

The thoughts of him keep revolving in your head no matter how hard you try to push them away. It even puts your relationship with Mark in jeopardy, as you can barely pay him any attention. It doesn’t surprise you at all when he decides to break things off, saying something cliche like, “I think we’re better off as friends,” and “It’s not you, it’s me,” which in normal circumstances will piss the hell out of you but when that happens, you simply just reply, “You’re right. Let’s be friends.” And there are no hard feelings—no feelings at all, even, which is weird considering you were only a month away from having your first anniversary with him.

Now that Mark is out of the picture, you can finally bring all of your attention back to Donghyuck. But the more you think about it, the more you’re not sure about the whole thing. He’s a vampire, isn’t he? What future do you expect to have with him? Let’s say you date him and things go well with your relationship, and then what? He’s going to stay young with that cute, boyish look on his face and you’re gonna be all wrinkled and gross, how are you ever going to be able to stand that? What if he wants someone prettier than you? What if he gets bored?

Or maybe it’s just lust you’re feeling. You don’t love him, you’re just physically attracted to him. That’s right. Strictly physical.

And yet, as you see him dressed up in a white buttoned-up shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, running a hand through his hair and pushing back his bangs to showcase his temple, you thought: fuck.

And when he smiles at you, as he places a plate filled with the exact dish he knows you love down to the dining table, saying, “I went ahead and did some research about you. I was about to buy you some presents but I thought it would feel more personal if I cooked something for you so,” and stopping to gaze at you with tender eyes before he adds, “Happy birthday, Sweetheart.” You thought: Jesus fucking Christ, just marry me already.

Donghyuck goes all the way with everything, from placing scented candles on the table, playing soft music in the background, even escorting you to your seat, pulling your chair back for you, and placing down a napkin on your lap. It’s too much for your poor brain to comprehend, and your chest is suffocating from all the feelings swirling behind it and Donghyuck looks so beautiful—almost goddamn ethereal even—in that shirt, in that hairstyle, in the dim light of the room.

“You’re not hungry?” He asks when a few seconds have passed by and you haven’t munched at your food like a caveman—because that’s what you usually do. 

“I’m—you—” You splutter, taking a deep breath to calm your nerves before you try again. “You look nice.”

You can already tell that he’s about to say something along the line of “But baby, I always look nice.” So when he just softly smiles back and thanks you about it, telling how you look just as nice when you know you look like a storm just hit you, you’re pretty much lost for words.

“You seem exhausted,” he comments, frowning in concern. “Hard day at work?”

You can’t trust yourself that you won’t start rambling nonsense again while answering his question so you decide to just reply to him with a timid nod.

“Why are you so nervous?” He laughs, eyes turning crescents. “Your heartbeat is going through the roof again.”

You loathe yourself for being so transparent. “I’m nervous because you’re suddenly being so nice. I can’t help but think you have a hidden agenda or something.” That’s a lie. A complete lie.

And you’re sure he knows it. “And what if I do?” He asks, raising an eyebrow seductively. “What kind of a hidden agenda do you think I have for you?”

Why is it so fucking hot in here?! “I don’t know…” You start fiddling with the fingers you have on your lap. “Drinking my blood, maybe?”

His expression is a mystery to you, even when his smirk seems familiar. “And would you be okay if that’s true?”

You can’t answer but fortunately for you, Donghyuck lets out a chuckle, telling you he was making a lame joke. You force yourself to laugh but it sounds like a wheeze so you stop before it gets even more humiliating.

Donghyuck walks to your side with a bottle of wine in his hands, sliding glass to your side as he says, “Wine, milady? It’s not blood, I swear.” And you believe him because this time, the liquid seems more ruby than crimson.

“You really need to relax,” he comments as he leans his back against the edge of the table, raising the glass of his usual red wine in the air before he clanks it gently against yours. “To the cutest, sweetest roommate in the world.”

You immediately take a sip to hide the blush that creeps up your face, flinching when the burning, mildly bitter flavor hits your tongue. You’ve never drunk any alcohol in your life and although this first experience feels rather unpleasant, you keep chugging more of it down your system. 

“Does it taste good?” He asks, secretly smiling to himself as he witnesses how fast you’re drinking the whole glass down. You shake your head in response, which earns another laugh from him.

You’re not sure whether it’s because it’s your first time drinking alcohol or you just have a low tolerance when it comes to it, but you can feel yourself getting both lightheaded and drowsy. Donghyuck who takes notice of that, move you to the couch so you can rest more comfortably. “I better take this away,” he says, circling his lean fingers around your wine glass but you push him away.

“No,” you say, eyes a little bit unfocused. “I’m fine. Pour me some more.”

“Don’t you think it’s enough?”

“Just another glass, Hyuck, don’t be a bitch about it.”

He’s taken aback but collects his composure within seconds. “All right, just don’t blame me for it,” he states as he pours you another one.

“I have a question for you, Lee Donghyuck,” you coo as he takes a seat on the coffee table, facing you. “Does everyone’s blood taste the same to you?”

“It differs, actually,” he answers, taking a sip of his own drink. “But only faintly. I’m not that picky about it.”

“And how does it feel having your blood sucked by a vampire?”

“You’re asking the wrong guy.” He sways his head from side-to-side in amusement. “I mean, of course, I can have my blood drunk by another vampire but I’m not that kinky. I know some vampires who are into that kind of shit though.”

“Well, by the sound of your girls screaming like they were giving birth, it’s either very painful or very…” The sight of him staring at you intently, taking in your features, nearly throws you off tracks. “Pleasurable.”

There’s an awkward pause and silence hangs around to fill the space before Donghyuck speaks again. “How come you’re asking me these questions?”

“Because that’s all I’ve been thinking about,” you confess, not sure why, but you’re feeling very brave at the moment. “And it’s not just about you drinking my blood, but more about you entirely. You know what I mean?”

Donghyuck places his glass down on the table, leaning towards you. “Not sure, but I’m all ears.”

“I… just…” It’s getting harder to speak when he’s so close, you can start locating every tiny mole he has on his face and his neck. The small one near his Adam’s apple is the one that distracts you the most. “I just think we’re compatible with each other, you know? And I’ve never enjoyed someone’s company this much before. You’re funny, you’re smart, and you’re both endearing and freaking annoying at the same time—how is that possible?”

But Donghyuck isn’t laughing. His eyes are deep and dark, raking over your profiles with so much intensity but when he swats the bangs out of your eyes, his touch is tender. “What else? Tell me more.”

You lean closer to his touch like how a kitten would, making him gulp slightly at the sight. “I get so vexed whenever you spend your time with anyone else. I know I have no right to be jealous since we’re just friends but I can’t help it.” You sigh, rubbing the side of your face with your palm. “It’s so fucking tiring to think about you this much when I can’t have you.”

You’re too lost in your own thoughts that when Donghyuck reaches out a hand to touch your face, you jump in surprise, spilling wine all over your blouse. “Shit, this is my favorite shirt,” you whine, sliding your glass down to the table. “Can you get me some tissues?”

But what he does is lifting your body with both of his arms and carry you to the bathroom. You cling onto him with a yelp, trying to keep yourself away from falling even though you’re sure he’s perfectly able to hold your weight.

Donghyuck places you down on the bathroom counter, your fingers dangling at the edge of your sink. Sitting up straight, you begin to feel conscious of your surroundings. “What are you doing?”

“It’s your favorite shirt, right? We need to wash the stain before it sticks,” He explains, his fingers going to your collar. You nearly stop breathing when he asks for permission to undress you, “May I?”

You swallow hard before you weakly nod.

He takes time unbuttoning your shirt one by one when you know he can rip it apart easily with one finger. He’s so gentle, his touches are paper-thin but whenever his icy fingertips make slight contact with your skin, it sends electricity to every inch of your body. 

When he manages to untangle the clothing from your body, you’re only left in your bra and your black satin lace cami top. You can tell he tries to be polite by not staring at what you’re wearing, and instead immediately drags your blouse to the sink, drenching it with water.

“Where did you place the detergent again?” He asks, reaching up over your head to check on the top cabinet and he’s so fucking close that you can see the movement of his Adam’s apple as he speaks. And it’s really, really tempting to just lean over and—

Donghyuck flinches when he feels you sinking your face in the crook of his neck, mapping your lips on his skin, breathing in his scent. You don’t know how vampires usually smell like but Donghyuck reminds you of summer even when you’re not sure how summer smells like. It’s funny how you’re not making sense, even in your own thoughts.

Pushing you away by the shoulders, Donghyuck’s eyes gleam in the way you’ve never seen before. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I…” You can’t form a word—you can’t even form a thought as you’re too busy staring at his lips, how smooth they look, how thrilling they must feel against your own. And maybe he’s thinking the same thing about yours because when you lean in for a taste, he meets you halfway.

It’s warm and it doesn’t make any sense, because the rest of his body is icy cold but as you press your mouth against his, all you can think about is how his lips are warm and soft, so fucking soft and delightful and maybe it’s just your mind playing tricks on you but you don’t care.

You breathe heavily through your nose, yanking at the collar of his shirt so he’s closer to you than he’s ever been, and you tilt your head slightly, angling your face so you can meld your lips deeper against his. He instinctively reacts by holding the side of your face, fingers slipping between your strands, tips curling around your nape.

He kisses better than any man you’ve ever been with and you’re sure he’s better than any man you’ll ever date in the future because Donghyuck knows what he’s doing, even when he’s caught by surprise. 

Sliding your hand up to his chest, you can tell how his skin stands in contrast to the warmth of his mouth and it makes you shiver, your breathing rags, and you moan into his mouth, tracing your tongue along the puncture of his fang that’s still retracted, almost as normal as a human’s but something inside you tells you it’s not going to stay that long if you continue doing this.

So anticipation builds inside you because there’s absolutely no way you’re going to stop what you’re doing.

But Donghyuck is surprisingly more chivalrous than he looks. He pulls away, giving you a few inches of space to break the attraction. It’s not enough, your mind is still heavily clouded by the thoughts of him, so you reach up to kiss him again, catching his lower lip between yours.

“No, wait,” he says, voice sounding breathy though he doesn’t breathe. He circles his fingers around your wrists, holding them down against the counter so you won’t be able to move. 

“Let me just kiss you,” you plead, eyes dazed and desperate. “Please.”

His chuckles are soft, almost inaudible. “You’re drunk.”

“I’m not, I swear.” It’s horribly embarrassing how you’re itching for his touch as if losing physical contact with him causes you madness. “Hold up your fingers and ask me to count them. I’ll guess it right, trust me, so can you just—” You try to move your hand to pull him close but his grip around your wrist is stronger than your strength. “Hyuck—”

“Look, I want this just as much as you do—” He hisses when you’re using your knee this time, sliding it between his legs, giving him the friction that he needs. “Fuck. I probably want this more than you do, but—” He loses control for a split second, re-attaching his mouth to yours with so much fervor, tongues desperate to taste one another. The way you whimper against him makes him groan, his hand sliding down your thigh and spreading your legs apart so he can fit himself between them.

It’s when his fangs suddenly puncture your lips, drawing a hint of blood and making you cry out in surprise that he wakes up from his reverie, pushing himself away immediately to the other side of the room. You almost topple forward from suddenly losing him to lean on but manage to keep your balance by gripping at the edge of the counter.

Donghyuck turns around, facing the bathroom tiles as he leans one hand against the wall while his other one covers his mouth.

“Hyuck—”

“Sorry, let me just—“ His shoulders are shaking, trying his best to calm himself and the thirst that overwhelmed him earlier. “They’ll go back in a minute.”

“No.” You jump down from the counter, moving to his spot with careful steps. “Let me see them.”

He shakes his head, still not turning around to face you.

“I want to see them, Hyuck.” You place your hand on his shoulder, caressing him gently until he finally submits to your touch. 

You only ever saw him with his fangs retracted twice in your life but even then, it was always too dark and too fast for you to see him properly. Now, you can take your time.

He’s so fascinating.

His eyes, as they peer into you in concern and uncertainty that he might hurt you, are glowing brightly in the color of topaz and they’re strikingly beautiful that you can barely look at anywhere else. His fangs are larger but he can still hide them behind his lips if needed. It’s the way they become frighteningly sharp that sends a shiver down your spine but you brave yourself enough to reach out to him.

“C-can I touch…?” You hesitantly ask, and he looks conflicted by the question but soon gives you a timid nod. He parts his mouth slightly so you can trace your fingertip along his cuspid, and you flinch as it feels like a knife splitting your skin. 

He hastily pulls back, terrified at the thought of hurting you. “You’re okay?”

“Do it with me.”

“What?”

You take a deep breath, your heartbeat going crazy. “I want you to drink from me.”

“You’re crazy—”

“Please.” You lay a hand on his chest, tilting your head to the side, exposing your neck to his eyes. “Just try, Hyuck…”

The glimmer in his eyes shows that he’s yearning to fulfill your wish but he cups your cheek again, telling you, “You’re gonna regret this in the morning.”

“I won’t.” Your fingers find a home in his waves. “I’ve been wanting this for a long time so—”

A high-pitched yelp escapes your lips and you have to muffle the rest of your scream by mouthing against the fabric that covers his shoulder because Donghyuck doesn’t waste any second after he heard your confession. His canines are prickling against the skin under your jaw, just between the earlobe and the collarbone. And it hurts when he sinks them—so, so badly—that tears begin to form almost instantly behind your closed lids. Donghyuck suddenly lets you go, his eyes widening as he gazes at the way blood is gushing through his bite mark. “Fuck,” he says, “How can you taste so—” and he dives in again, moaning rather loudly when the warmth of your blood fills his mouth, swallowing a big gulp each time. “So fucking good,” he murmurs in pleasure, tightening his hold desperately around your waist as if you’re the thread that keeps him alive.

The pain only stays for a few seconds before a rush of endorphin seeps into your skin, running through your veins and pumping euphoria to every inch of your body. You slowly relax against his chest, eyes becoming half-lidded as you go into a trance, heartbeat slowing. You’ve never done any methamphetamine in your life but you imagine that it must feel somewhat like this. 

“Hyuck…” You breathe out, feeling a little bit lightheaded, the strap of your camisole falling off your shoulder. You can feel your knees slowly giving out under your weight. “I… I can’t stand…”

He yanks himself away for a second, only to lift you so you can wrap your legs around his waist, your arms around his neck. He carries you back to the counter, placing you down in the same spot as before, your legs dangling in the air.

“Better?” He asks, rubbing comforting circles with his thumb along your cheekbone. You nod, eyes going down to focus on his fangs again. His lips are painted with your blood, with some of it trickling down his chin. He’s a monster and he definitely looks like one, but his eyes are tender and his hands are silky smooth on your skin.

He slides his hand down to the hem of your camisole, fingers rubbing against the fabric as he peppers soft kisses along your jawline. “Is this one your favorite too?”

“Huh?” You’re having the hardest time trying to focus. “Oh… No, not really.”

“Well, then,” his lips are still sucking bruises on your neck when he rips both of your camisole and your bra with one flick of his hand, exposing your bare chest to the air, making you jump in surprise.

“Hyuck—” You’re silenced with another kiss, and it’s so consuming, so deep, so wild that you nearly sob against his mouth. The taste of copper makes you frown in discomfort but the knot starts to loosen when his tongue darts out to meet you in a messy kiss.

His hand is going down to your breast, cupping the side while he runs his thumb along your sensitive bud, making you rake your nails against his back in response. His other hand is tracing the curve of your waist, going down to your hips before he tears your skirt away, tossing the clothing somewhere across the room, following your previous ones.

“Tell me if you want to stop,” he says, hooking his hands at the back of your knees before he pulls your legs forward, pressing his hardness against the wetness of your lingerie. You whine, circling your legs around his waist for stability, and murmurs, “No, don’t stop, please,” against his ear.

It’s not fair that he’s still fully clothed so you frantically toy with the buttons of his shirt, pushing the fabric off his shoulders with so much eagerness before you roam your lips to every inch of his exposed skin. 

Donghyuck licks along the wound of his previous bite, emitting a sinful moan from the back of his throat when your blood sparks ecstasy in his mouth. His fingers are tentatively rubbing you over your lingerie and you beg with your lips muffled by the skin of his chest, “Take it off, just take it off, please—“

You can feel a tiny laugh reverberating from his chest over your desperation but you don’t care. You really are that desperate.

Donghyuck is more than willing to comply, sliding the lingerie down your thighs and you help him push it off your legs completely. You guide his palm to your heat, his fingers immediately sliding between your folds, the heel of his hand pressing against your clit. His mouth finds his way down the valley of your breasts and goes lower and lower until he has his head between your thighs.

You nibble at your lip in anticipation when he presses open-mouthed kisses on the inner part of your thigh. Donghyuck makes sure he has his eyes fixed on yours when he dips his fangs into your supple skin, making you quiver with the sensation.

“God, Hyuck.” You’re going insane, you can feel it. “I want you. I want you in me. I want you all over me.”

And he probably is too because he’s abandoning all of his self-control at once. The way he sucks bruises on your skin, lapping at the trail of blood that painted your body is almost animalistic, raw passion mixed with lust and uncontrollable desire. He unbuckles his belt in hurry, pushing his jeans and boxers down just low enough to release himself from its confines. You can feel his tip grazing against your clit before he glides his length down your folds, pulling you by the legs so you’re almost laying down on the counter, half of your back pressed against the mirror behind you.

His eyes are hooded but they speak reassurance when they bore into yours. “I’ll be gentle.”

Now that it finally sinks you’re going to do this for the first time, your lustful desire gradually changes into jitters. You nod, permitting him to proceed. 

The feeling of him stretching you little by little is absolutely painful and he can tell that too, hissing, “Fuck, you’re so tight,” as his eyebrows adjoin in the middle. You can barely stand the pain and you’re about to stop him by reaching out a hand, but he grabs your wrist and sinks his teeth to your skin.

Another jolt of pain sends tremors all over your body but just like before, another rush of endorphin hits you like a wave, gradually reducing your pain until you’re in haze again, blissful even, but also even more aroused than before, hungry for his touch.

“You’re okay?” He asks, licking the blood that trails down your arm. “Are you still in pain?”

You’re breathing hard but you can feel your heartbeat slowing. “Stop talking and fuck me already.”

His glowing eyes are gazing down at you with desire, intense with lust. He runs his tongue along his lower lip once, smirking as he says, “Yes, Ma’am.”

Even when he said he was going to be gentle with you, he’s doing the exact opposite. Or maybe he is going gentle, which only makes you wonder how wild can he be when he’s not holding back. The thought of him losing control of his mind as he pounds into you senselessly makes you shudder, tightening yourself around his length unconciously.

“My God.” The feeling of your heat enveloping him—squeezing around him—makes him drop his temple on your shoulder, dissolving him into a groaning mess. “You are driving me insane, do you know that?”

“Don’t hold back,” you hold his face, caressing his sharp jawline with trembling fingers. “Just do what you want.”

“But I’ll break you.” Although his eyes seem like he’s about to grant your wish.

 You let your tongue slide up from his chin to his lower lip, stopping just to whisper, “Then break me apart, I don’t care,” before you crush his mouth with yours again.

Donghyuck’s thrust is both deep and hard, knocking your breath with each pound as he holds you by your hips, nails clawing into the skin. Maybe it’s the trace of endorphin left in your body that heightened all your senses while at the same time washing all your pain away because everything feels so unbelievably good. His touches, his kisses, his thrusts, and the way he moves his hips faster and faster until you can’t properly breathe—everything feels amazing. 

And his voice—God, his voice—the way he moans and grunts against your ear, or when he sprouts expletives while he buries his face deep in the crook of your neck, lips scorching against your skin, makes you think fuck why did I waste a fucking year doing nothing when I can have him like—

You’re interrupted from finishing your thought when Donghyuck suddenly pulls out of you, making you whimper from the loss, and turns you around, forcing you to land on your feet again, your stomach pressed against the edge of the counter. You place both hands on the marbled surface as he pulls your hips closer to him, pressing his hardness against your behind as he presses his chest to your spine.

“Come here, look,” he says, holding you by the chin and lifts your face so you can gaze directly into the mirror. He shifts his hand, now holding back your bangs so your eyes are reflected perfectly. “Look how beautiful you are,” he purrs near your ear, the tip of his nose brushing against your jawline.

It’s both embarrassing and arousing to see yourself being held domineeringly by him, the curves of your body fit his perfectly even from behind. Your lips are bruised and swollen, blood smears messily around your neck, your wrist, your thigh even on your hips from the way he trailed his coated fingers along the skin. 

Donghyuck raises two of his blood-smeared fingers to your lips, mixing your lipstick with your own blood before he slowly drags his fingers away, painting blurred lines of crimson to your cheek. He sighs at the sight, eyes half-lidded as they glow brighter. “If I’m a monster,” he says, voice low and breathy, “Then you’re a fucking goddess.”

You shudder and avert your gaze, ashamed of how sultry you look in the mirror and how sinful his gaze is as they rake over your body. He presses close, completing the dip of your spine with his chest like a matching puzzle. His fingers curl around the front of your neck, forcing you to look at your reflection once more as he licks a stripe up your wound. “We look good together, don’t you think?”

You’re breathing hard, chest heaving up and down with each breath. “Hyuck…” You crave for him to fill you again like before. “Please, just—"

He glides his hand down between your legs, teasing you with small touches but strong and fast enough to make you quiver. “So sensitive too,” he chuckles, nipping slightly at your earlobe. “You’re so fucking cute.”

Before you can retort anything back, he pushes the head of his cock into your heat again, agonizingly slowly at first but slams the rest of it with one snap of his hips.

“I’ve thought about this—about us—I think about you a lot,” he confesses, with low groans interrupting his lines. “You’re really driving me insane with that face of yours, your lips, your voice—whenever you call my name, whenever you pout after losing an argument—the way you secretly stare at me wherever I go—”

“I don’t—” You gasp, thighs trembling under your weight and he wraps an arm along your stomach, holding you still while he pushes in deeper. “I never—”

“And the way you lie just like now, with that blush creeping on your face.” He chuckles, kissing the middle of your shoulder blades. “Fuck, you’re so cute—so fucking cute that it pisses me off whenever you talk about Mark when we both know he can’t satisfy you the way I do—he doesn’t understand you— doesn’t get your stupid jokes—” He begins to fall out of rhythm, hips moving faster with each thrust. “He doesn’t deserve you—I deserve you.”

You catch the sight of your reflection, noticing how he sometimes throws his head back in pleasure, his strong hands gripping on the sides of your waist as he rolls his hips again and again, thrusting into you until you can only cry out his name and nothing more. It’s too obscene, too erotic for your eyes to witness, and when he locks his gaze with yours in the mirror, you nearly faint.

“H-Hyuck—” You reach out a hand back, trying to find his for support but he holds your wrist against your spine, pumping into you with strong strokes, leaving you with no options other than pressing the side of your face against the marble countertop, mouth parting in a silent scream.

The sounds of his groans and your whimpers echo through the bathroom walls, along with the sound of your skin meeting his. His teeth prickling against your shoulder, his eyes going to see how you look underneath him in the mirror before he sinks his fangs deep into you, making various sounds of pleasure as he drinks your blood.

The sensation of his thrust, his fingers slightly choking you as he holds you by your neck, and the amount of endorphin that washes over you soon drives you to your release and he embraces you closer, feeling every shake that you emit directly with his body. And maybe it’s from the loss of blood or everything else combined, but your vision starts to blur and suddenly your world turns black.

***

When you wake up, you’re laying on your bed, staring at the ceiling you’ve seen a million times with your eyes barely open. You’re still pretty much in a haze, not sure if you’re still floating inside your dream or back in reality. It’s until your door opens with a click that you can start to differentiate.

“Ah, you’re awake.” He peeks inside through the door holding your favorite mug, already dressed back in his favorite black tee and matching jeans. “I was wondering when you’d wake up. Can I come in?”

He walks in without needing an answer and, weirdly, he doesn’t seem nervous or awkward when the sight of him already makes you blush fervently and your heart races fast. A flashback comes in like an unstoppable train and you almost reach out a hand to your neck, wanting to know if his bite mark is still there. 

The way he acts is so natural that you begin to wonder whether all that happened was simply your imagination. But when you try to move your body, jolts of pain runs like electricity to your bones, making you freeze instantly. It feels like somebody is trying to crack your head open, tearing your body apart and you fall back to the bed, weak and exhausted.

“You all right?” He immediately rushes to your side, sitting on the edge of the bed, checking on your face. “You lost a lot of blood, so I wouldn’t move too much if I were you. I brought you some coconut water, here,” he places the mug down on your nightstand. “And some supplements too. They’ll help with your blood loss. I’ll cook some fish and eggs for dinner later.”

You can only nod, too tired to even speak. His eyes begin to soften, his fingers reaching out to caress the strands of your hair. “I guess I went a bit overboard, I’m sorry.”

“A bit…?” You croak out.

“I’m sorry,” he repeats but can’t help a smile forming on his face. “I tried so hard not to, but you were so cute.”  He leans closer, his lips hovering above yours but he rethinks his decision before he closes the gap, and moves to press a gentle kiss on your forehead instead. “You should get more sleep,” he murmurs against your skin. “Call me when you need help. I’ll be right outside.”

And he doesn’t spare you a glance as he stands up from the bed, but the way he trips on his feet once makes you realize that oh, maybe he’s embarrassed about all this too.

“Hyuck.”

He stops in his tracks, glancing over his shoulder as he lays a hand against your doorframe. “Yeah?”

“Where does this leave us?”

His face slightly goes stern. Turning over to face you, he questions further. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” you pause, wetting your lip in anxiety. “Do you want us to pretend it didn’t happen?”

His eyes darken, somehow seem a bit upset. “Do you?”

“I… Uhh…” The way your heart is beating so fast makes you feel nauseous. “I don’t, but—”

“Then don’t suggest something like that,” he sighs, walking back to your bed again. He kneels on the floor so you’re eye-to-eye, squeezing your hand with his larger one. “Don’t scare me, okay? I finally have you where I want you.”

You look away, attempting to hide your flustered face. “But then, what are we now?”

“I don’t care what we are. I just want us to keep doing this.”

“Doing what, sex? You drinking my blood?”

“No, idiot.” He rolls his eyes. “I mean, yes, of course, that too. Plenty of that. But what I meant was I want to continue to have this kind of relationship with you. Us living together, making fun of each other, having dinners together, even spend hours watching re-runs of your stupid tv shows—”

“They’re not stupid.”

“They’re stupid. I only watch them because of you. You are my favorite show.” He winks, breaking the tension and you blurt out laughing, shoving him playfully by the shoulder. But when your giggle starts to fade, Donghyuck leans in to cup your cheek, smiling softly. “I just want to spend more time with you, as long as you’d let me. So can we have that? Please?”

“I…” You’re so captivated by his features, especially the shape of his lips. “I guess…”

“You guess?” He scrunches up his nose. “You’re playing hard to get again? Seriously? After all the begging you did in the bathroom?” Seeing you blush only makes him want to tease you harder. “What was it that you said? God, Hyuck, I want you. I want you in me. I want you all over me—“

“Okay, shut up, geez!” You slap a hand against his mouth, steam practically coming out of your ears. “Yes, we can have that. I’d… love to have that actually.”

Kissing your inner palm, he lovingly smiles against your skin, appreciating your honesty. “That wasn’t so hard, was it, Sweetheart?”

***

Read the sequel here

[thebeautyoffanfics]

Hey there Savi.. could i request a kou,mitsuba and tsukasa x reader where their s/o gets bullied alot?? I've been struggling with it recently and now that school is going to start again im dreading it .. thank you in advance <3

kou minamoto x gn!reader, mitsuba sousuke x gn!reader, tsukasa yugi x gn!reader

a/n: of course!! I’m really sorry that you’ve had experiences like that, but I also genuinely hope that this year will be better! You’ve got this-!! And don’t be afraid to ask for help <3 you’re so so welcome, tho I’m sure schools probably started by now, therefore I’m super sorry for the time this took- and thank you so much for requesting <3

Waaaaaah i’m also sorry if it’s OOC, cos I know Tsukasa’s at least is;;; writer’s block is aaaaaaah-;; I’ve genuinely been writing this since September 19th,,,,

warnings: bullying

word count: 2,044

kou minamoto <3

You glanced at your phone screen, the date flashing up at you. It was depressing. Thoughts of previous years danced in your head, as you shut your phone back off. You currently stood outside of your school, “open house” finally over. School was starting back in just a few days. Your days of freedom could be counted on one hand… this was, by far, one of your least favorite times of the year.

“(Y/N)! Do you still want to walk to the park?” Kou questioned, running up beside you. You nodded, hoping that spending time with your boyfriend would get your mind off of school, and memories related to such. As the two of you began to walk, you could practically feel the question on the tip of Kou’s tongue. He always made himself rather obvious- his hands fidgeted a bit, his gaze lowering to the ground.

“Say, (Y/N)... you seem sad. Is it because school’s starting back?”

You thought for a moment, unsure of how to put it. He certainly wasn’t wrong…

“Yeah, that’s basically it… last year was just… not a good year, haha.”

“Oh? Well, I’m sure this one will be better!! If you want, we can make a list or something? All the bad things about last year can be something we change this year-!”

Despite bitterly knowing that it wasn’t exactly something within your realm of control, you laughed a bit. “That’s… insanely corny, Kou. I didn’t say a terrible idea- just… corny.”

When you glanced up at him, you noticed his red face, as he blurted out an excuse. A moment of fumbling over his words passed, before he gave up, glancing off to the side once more.

“Wh-whatever- I mean, just… like, tell me what’s wrong, if you want to. And I’ll try to help. Alright?”

“It’s really not something either of us can help, Kou.”

“So? I’m your boyfriend,” He seemed a bit embarrassed to say, most likely not used to pulling that sort of card, “If you don’t want to tell me, I can’t make you. But, if you’re alright with telling me, I want to know. Either way, I’m here for you...”

“Ah… I know it, Kou. Honestly, I just… dealt with some bullying last year, so I’m really not looking forward to this year. No matter how much I hear ‘oh, the bully does it to feel better about themself’, it’s just emotionally… hm, awful, you know?”

“Oh… I understand, (Y/N). I do remember some people picking on me, since I have a big brother like Teru- it’s not fun at all. Here!! I’ll stay with you, 24/7! Sit with me during classes, and I’ll hang out with you during free time!” “Thanks, Kou- but we probably won’t have every class together.”

“Then- just tell me if something happens during the class,” He spoke, crossing his arms rather seriously. “I’ll talk with the teacher! Easy peasy!!”

A moment passed, before Kou took your hand, looking at the ground, then back up with you. His eyebrows were furrowed just slightly, his eyes not as wide as they usually were. Kou was being serious- as serious as his sweet mind could let him be. He almost seemed to resemble his big brother even more- when the two were serious.

“If something happens, tell me, okay? I mean it. I don’t want this year to be bad for you- as your friend and boyfriend! Let me do what I can to help, alright?”

You blinked a bit. Kou’s words were so sincere, you felt your heart beat a bit quicker. “A-alright. Thank you, Kou. I really mean it.” You spoke, bringing the boy into a hug to hide whatever sort of expression you were making.

“Of course! You don’t need to thank me, (Y/N). I’m happy to try and help-!”

mitsuba sousuke <3

“(Y/N), if you don’t tell me what’s wrong, I’ll give you something to complain about.”

Ah, Mitsuba… he spoke, his arms crossed as he sat next to you, silently noticing your slightly disheveled clothes. Judging by the slightly down look you wore, too many things were now adding up. Something was bothering you, and he was bound and determined to find out what it was.

“Mitsuba, it’s okay, really. Here! Let’s eat, I’m starving!” You opened up your bento box, sliding one his way, and sticking the chopsticks into your mouth. Though you hummed happily, Mitsuba was… in Detective Mode, to put it lightheartedly. Your every move was being analyzed, as he tried his best to figure out what was wrong. Your eyebrows furrowed, as you swallowed a bit harder than usual.

“What’s the point of lying to me, dummy? If you aren’t hungry, it’s probably because whatever is bothering you is ruining your appetite. Talk to me. I’m serious.”

You sighed, feeling as if the food was stuck in your throat. Or maybe your throat simply felt as though it had a lump in it…? Either way, you were painfully aware of the unpleasant feeling. Along with the creeping suspicion that Mitsuba wasn’t going to leave this alone. Was he good at reading people?? Were you just easy to read…? Or maybe, he was just far too accustomed to the way you reacted to things. Able to focus in on the little things, especially when he wanted to. Perhaps it was the talent of a photographer? Being able to read the entire picture??

Perhaps you were thinking too much into it, desperate for a way to get your mind off of the things going on around you.

“I’m just… dealing with some stuff.”

“Well, duh. What kind of stuff?”

You kept your gaze glued to the floor, fiddling absentmindedly with the chopsticks. You knew you could confide in Mitsuba… yet, something about it felt practically impossible. What would happen if you told him? Could he do anything? He was merely a ghost…

“Oi, I asked a question. Listen, and listen well, you idiot- I know I can’t solve all your problems, but I can at least listen- which is what you’d better be doing right now. You listen to me, though who wouldn’t want to is beyond me, so I can at least do the same. I’m not your therapist, but I am your boyfriend.”

Those words danced around in your mind for a bit, as you considered how to put it. For a moment, you simply nodded, letting Mitsuba know you heard- and were acknowledging- what he said. A few more moments passed before you began to speak.

“Lately, there have been some students… picking on me, I guess. It’s… discouraging, and makes school feel like a living nightmare. You’re the only good thing in my day at this hellhole.”

“Oh.”

You tightened your grip on the chopsticks, trying to read Mitsuba’s tone. Suddenly, it clicked- remembering Mitsuba mentioning being bullied for being “feminine” and “foul-mouthed”. He truly, genuinely, understood where you were coming from.

“I see, then… I’ll tell you what to do, (Y/N). Tell an adult, lame-o. I don’t give a flying flip about ‘oh, they won’t believe me’ or ‘what if the bullies blah blah.’ At least try it- it’s hard, but I don’t care about that either. Also, freaking ignore them. Obviously, you don’t want to pay them attention, so don’t.”

“Mitsuba, it’s not that easy-”

“I know. (Y/N), I’ve been in your shoes. Maybe it’s different- I dunno what kind of bullying they’re doing. Still, if you’re good enough for my standards, you know you’re at least worth something. So don’t let those low-lives get you down. I promise you, if I could, I’d give them a piece of my mind. But, since I can’t, just… do it yourself, or something. Don’t endure it, you rat.”

(“Mitsuba, all your insults lowkey feel like bullying-”

“Shut up, stupid-face, you can’t tell a teacher on a ghost. What’re you gonna say?? Waaaah, sensei, school mystery number 3 is calling me names!! Hah.”

“Tsuchigomori-sensei can see you, you know. And he teaches both Minamoto boys!”

“Lalalaaaa, I can’t hear you-”)

tsukasa yugi <3

Tsukasa… knows.

There was no other way to put it. You knew he knew, and you knew he was just waiting. A part of him wanted you to ask him for help- to confide in him, even if it took some pushing. He was… a bit different in that sense- I mean, how was he to know you didn’t enjoy being bullied? Was it the same way he felt when Amane looked at him with such hatred?

“(Y/N)!! What’s with such a sad look?? Did you get a bad test grade?” Tsukasa questioned, floating alongside you as you entered the broadcasting room. You simply shook your head, placing your bookbag on the floor, then standing back up.

“It’s just been a day, Tsu,” You added, taking a seat near Sakura. As you did, she pushed a cup of tea your way, her gaze as it usually was. She looked right through you, as if you were nothing but a ghost. Still, it was a much better look than the ones given by the bullies. Muttering a ‘thank you’, you lifted the cup, fiddling with it slightly.

“If there’s something bothering you, feel free to share it,” Sakura spoke, her gaze staying on you, then finally closing as she sipped from her cup.

“If there’s something bothering you, share it.” Tsukasa added, placing his head on your shoulder and staring at your eyes. His gaze drifted to your hands when you brought the cup to your lips, then over to your throat as you struggled to swallow.

“Runt, if you don’t back away from them, you’ll the the one bothering them,” Natsuhiko spoke, raising his eyebrows at Tsukasa, then offering you a slightly concerned look. His expression was enough for you to know he wanted to know if you were alright- to which you shrugged, reaching up and patting the side of Tsukasa’s face.

“Don’t worry, guys. I’ll be fine, really.”

Sakura pondered for a moment, before standing. “Mitsuba, would you like to walk with me? I should go grab something.”

Mitsuba, who had been sitting off to the side- glanced up, his usual puppy-like expression on his face. “Sure,” He replied, standing up, practically in sync with Natsuhiko.

“I’ll go as well, my lady!”

Oh. She’s doing that on purpose.

Your eyes followed the trio as they left the room, and you could feel Tsukasa’s eyes still stuck on you. The moment the door shut, he spoke. “(Y/N), tell me what’s wrong. You don’t seem to enjoy being miserable!”

“Am I supposed to?” “You’re miserable then? What’s wrong, c’mon!!”

“I didn’t say I was- just that I don’t think many people like it,” You spoke, taking another sip from the tea. The warmth of it made your throat feel hot, but it didn’t help the lump stuck in it.

“(Y/N). Just admit to me what’s wrong, and I’ll do what I can!”

You sighed, not wanting to grow frustrated. Tsukasa was… trying. He just didn’t understand everything- the boy who enjoyed seeing people wear normally unpleasant expressions, of course he wouldn’t personally understand. He wanted to help you, but how could a ghost help? Much less, the ghost of a boy such as him?

“(Y/N)-” “I’m just dealing with some bullies. It’s fine, Tsukasa- I’ll figure something out.”

“I’ll kill them <3”

“Tsu-”

Tsukasa stepped away from you, crossing his arms. “So, (Y/N), you don’t like it when people bully you? I’ll take care of it! Promise!” “Stop it right there, Mr. Only-grants-wishes-for-the-dead. Don’t ‘take care of them.’ I just need to get enough confidence to tell a teacher or something…”

Tsukasa paused, pouting his lips slightly, before nodding. Quickly, he floated back over to you, and trapped you in a hug. His arms wrapped around you securely, making you feel rather safe for being in the arms of such a destructive boy. “Fine. I’ll go with you, then, (Y/N)! I’ll even hold your hand!! And I definitely won’t let those bullies bother you any more~.”

“Tsukasa, please, don’t do anything drastic-” “Whatever you say, (Y/N). You know I can’t go against the wishes of my cute partner~!”

[my-tin-can-mans]

Gone Too Far, Crosshair x Reader

Soooo I'm thinking about writing another part to this let me know what you think, this idea had been festering in my brain for awhile now and I finally had the patience to sit down and write it. Also I got an idea to a Rex x reader one shot so be prepared for that soon if I get the motive.

Pairings: Crosshair x Reader

Warnings: None? Kinda Angst? I'm not sure.

It was late, incredibly late. And as the pilot of the Havoc Marauder, you had to be up early to take the ship out of hyperspace and land it. That meant you needed sleep, enough to at least fly a ship, but that was sounding impossible at this hour.

Wrecker and Crosshair were still up, bouncing a ball on a wall back and forth. You knew this because on the other side of the wall happened to be your room. Granted you shared it with Echo, but this noise didn’t seem to be a bother for him as you could hear his soft snores from the bunk beneath you. Unfortunately, as the two newest members to the bad batch, you both got to share the room closest to everything. Which meant when someone was up and moving around in the hull, you two were the first to know.

You huffed, raking your hand down your face, and throwing your GAR issued blanket off yourself. You climbed down the ladder trying to make as little noise as possible as to not wake Echo, but you were sure nothing would if he couldn’t hear the loud bounce against the wall ever thirty seconds. You quietly opened the door and walked into the hull. Wrecker was laying with his back against the floor and his feet propped up on the seat in front of him while Crosshair was sitting up in the seat beside his feet, infamous toothpick wedged between his lips and ball in hand.

The look on your face was not a nice one, and the two men knew that. “What’s got your panties in a twist?” Crosshair spoke as he went to bounce the ball again against the wall in front of him.

But as it started to bounce back you swiftly came in and grabbed it. “Hey” wrecker whined, “we were having fun.”

“Well too bad” you grumbled, “I've got to land this ship in less than four hours and if I don’t get any sleep, we’ll all be crash landing.”

“What does our ball having anything to do with your sleep?” Crosshair spoke up with a rather knowing look on his face.

“Considering the fact that it's bouncing up against the room I sleep in, a lot.” You cocked you hip and put your hand on it, threating him to fight back.

But it was crosshair you were talking to, of course he was going to argue. “it's just a ball princess, ignore it. You’ll find you sleep a lot better that way.”

“Damnit Crosshair can’t you for once think about anyone other than yourself?” you raised your voice, officially becoming a little more than frustrated.

“I still don’t see how you ever made it as a slave once, all you ever do is whine.” This hit hard. It wasn’t the usual back and forth banter between you two. It was way more personal than that. You’d grown up a slave and had eventually escaped with the help of the republic, specifically Senator Amidala. You two had grown close and you felt you had a debt to pay off the republic for saving you, but it wasn’t in the same sense as before, you were gracious for this, and she took you under her wing gave you a job in the GAR and you had a place to sleep and eat and free will. You were a great pilot; you’d like to think. You spent much of your time and a slave being forced to run spice. You knew how to get out of tricky situations. So, when commander Cody had seen you in action one day, he knew just the new position for you, pilot of clone force 99 because, with all due respect, Tech was great at many things, but your specialty was flying. And they needed a good flyer with all the close calls they had.

You hadn’t thought about that part of your past in a while. You were leading a good life now and had been trying to forget. As you stood there stunned by Crosshair’s words you could feel the tears welling up in your eyes. You didn’t want him or Wrecker to see you cry, you weren’t that close with the bad batch to let down your guard that much, so dropped the ball that was still in your hand, and you swiftly turned to retreat to your room.

You managed to keep the tears in long enough to climb back on the top bunk above Echo and get situated. The ball had stopped bother you and it was dead silent for once, but you were never getting sleep now.

_____________________________________________________________

Your alarm went off, but it was useless. You hadn’t slept at all. You heard Echo starting to stir as well. You let out a sigh. Throwing the blanket off yourself again and climbing down the ladder. Echo was sitting up of the edge of his bed, rubbing the sleep from his face. “Morning” he whispered.

“Morning,” you said back just as quietly, “Echo I need to change real quick do you mind?” you and Echo had gotten pretty close, but you still felt a little uncomfortable changing in front of him. It was the one thing that sucked about having to share a room, but he was always a gentleman about it, always giving you the privacy you needed.

“Of course not,” he responded laying back down and covering his face with his arm.

You switched from the old, battered shirt and shorts you owned to your flight suit uniform. “Okay,” was all you had to say to let Echo know you were decent. He lifted his head up and began placing his own amour over his blacks while you fastened you harness and put your blaster and a couple of other necessities back into their rightful place. The whole while Crosshair’s words from just a few hours ago played on repeat in your mind damping your mood for the day before it had even begun.

You were tired. You hadn’t gotten a drop of sleep last night and now needed to prepare the ship to drop out of hyperspace and land it. Although it wasn’t a hard task, very mundane for being a pilot, it still took a lot of focus, which was something you weren’t good at doing without sleep.

You walked to the cockpit with Echo. Tech was already in the co-pilots seat and Hunter was sitting in the seat behind him. You took yours as the pilot and Echo sat behind you. “We’ll be dropping out of hyperspace in 6 minutes.” Tech turned to you to say.

You grunted, beginning the routine of checking the hyperdrive and stabilizers. About a minute into doing this a mug of caf was harshly placed in front of you on the dashboard. You looked up to see who had done this and were unpleasantly surprised by Crosshair standing beside you looking down at you with a scowl to his face. “What’s this?” you asked like you didn’t know what a cup of caf looked like.

“Caf” he responded, sliding it closer on the dashboard to meet your face better.

“No thanks.” You said back, sliding it away from you and trying to focus on the blinking buttons ahead of you.

“Three minutes till drop,” Tech and interjected, popping his head around crosshair to give you a questioning look, “you ready?”

“Yeah.” You sighed, trying to get back to work with Crosshair still standing there.

You were hoping he would take the hint that you were still pissed at him and just leave you be, but of course that wasn’t the case. The mug of caf was slid back in front of you and you looked up again to see an even more pissed off crosshair than before. What was his problem? He insulted you and took it too far and now he was mad you were declining his caf? It was starting to make your blood boil too; you were the one that deserved to be angry not him.

“Look,” he said, “I made it just how you like it, two sugars one cream. I even put it in your favorite mug. Just take the kriffing caf.”

If this was some sort of pathetic excuse for an apology it wasn’t going to work, you were truly upset and a cup of caf wasn’t going to fix that.

“And I said no thank you.” You told him harshly and forcefully pushed the cup back in his direction.

You could go for a cup of caf right now, but you weren’t going to let him get away with this. He was always pushing your buttons, making snarky remarks at you and this time he had gone to far.

He huffed, grabbed the cup, and walked out of the cockpit.

Right on time, Tech and began to start the countdown to drop out of hyperspace and you now need to focus the most.

_____________________________________________________________

After you had landed you stayed behind in the cockpit, while everyone else around you had started to get up. You closed your eyes, leaning back in your seat and taking a deep breath. The day had just started, and it was already going horribly.

You felt a hand on your shoulder and you jumped, turning to give the perpetrator a dirty look expecting it to be Crosshair again not taking the hint that you were still very clearly upset but softening when you saw Hunter instead. The sergeant of the bad batch and you had grown close, mostly because he could read you like an open book, whereas the others tended to not pick up and any hints that your moods had changed. “Mind telling me what that all was about back there?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow at you.

You signed and he went to sit in the seat across from you while you began to tell him about the incident last night.

“So he was trying to apologize to you this morning.” Hunter stated.

“Hunter, you know my past and the pain that comes along with it better than anyone else on this ship. I've reluctantly shared bits and pieces with all of you out of trust, for him to use that against me in a petty argument really hurts. A cup of caf isn’t going to make me forgive him, especially when I know he isn’t truly sorry.”

He sighed leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees to place his head in his hands. “(Y/N), I know you and Crosshair haven’t ever really gotten along but he’s not good at talking about things, I'm sure he truly is sorry, but him giving you a cup of caf is the biggest apology I've ever seen him give anyone.”

This whole situation was really one you just wanted to forget. But at this point you also just wanted an actual apology.

“Well he’s going to have to bite his tongue and do better than that.”

[witchlyboo]

Definitely, maybe.

Part five: The one who belongs to someone else.

Introduction. Part one. Part two. Part three. Part four.

Paring: Latina!reader x Logan Lerman x Tom Holland x Ben Hardy x Timothee Chalamet x Pedro Pascal x Michael B. Jordan

Warnings: Swearing, angst, misspellings, some Spanish, me learning how to write properly, and NY stuff that I've learned from movies that we all agree to pretend are real.

Word count: 6.4 k

a/n: You been asking for smut, I know, I know, I just wanted to introduce you to all the boys first, and we're getting there, just one more ahead. Also, I'm working on a masterlist because we are getting too many parts already.

All body types and skin tones friendly. You can also enjoy it as a no Hispanic reader. Constructive feedback and misspellings correction is always welcome.

Red and blue lights flash the driving mirror.

—No, no, no, por favor que no sea a mi—You beg to the sky looking at the patrol that is asking you to park, or someone else, there's a lot of cars in this part of the city, there's a big chance is the panic who's controlling your senses.—Dios, mi abuela fue a la iglesia cada domingo de su vida y nunca te pidió nada, please let me have some of her divina recompensa.—But that's not how it works, you end up parking with just a few seconds to think what to say. There's a perfect explication of why you are driving a car that is not yours in the middle of the night and smelling like a minibar.

Then this ridiculous thought comes to your mind, you look expensive, you've never seen the daughter of a senator but you must be close to it, it would make you less of a feminist if you just use your attributes? Ugh, you feel sick just to think about it but don't have enough money to pay a fine, and the constant paranoia of being chased all the time as an immigrant will only get stronger.

You pull down your dress a little so your neckline can do its job but you regret it immediately, and you're pretty sure you look more like an expensive prostitute who stole the car of his lover than some influential men's daughter.

—License and registration.—You hear him say when he approaches your window. You don't like this but you have to play the dumb tourist, the pretty foreign girl that is too stupid to be dangerous, with the look you have tonight it shouldn't be hard. But damn you hate cops, any uniformed man that works for the government is your eternal enemy, and you don't know how long you could keep the nice dumb Latina game before spit on his face.

—There's something wrong, officer? ...You?!—Your sexy and fake high voice is ruined when you see the face of the man who stopped you. This night couldn't get worse.

—Wait, what happened with the party?—Evan interrupts you while you finish some notes for work, little remainders for later when you don't have an eleven years old kid running around you, he's not usually this energic and you have to blame yourself for that, you're describing a life of excess and eccentric fun, something you let behind so many years ago that your own son doesn't know even a bit of it.

—Ugh, a nightmare doesn't worth telling.—You remember vaguely most of it but what keeps fresh in your mind is bad enough to don't want to bring it back.

—But if Timothée is my dad I have to know the important things, including the bad stuff.—Sounds perfectly reasonable and that's what makes you groan at him. Sometimes you feel blessed that your kid is better than you in any possible way, and sometimes you want to kill his brain with video games and reality shows like the rest of the parents.

—Ok, cool, but I'll keep all the +18 content for myself, so this part of the story might be blurry for you.—It kinda is for you anyway.

You should’ve known this night was cursed, you had a feeling because a) your earring fell off at the same time Timothée texted you to give you the party address and say he can't pick you up. And b) he won’t pick you up. Your mother would say that’s reason enough to not go, a real gentleman wouldn’t make you go to an unknown place in the middle of the night on your own in a city like this. But you decide to ignore it because you are a modern woman and because it’s worth it. It better be.

The outfit must be something special. You always take your time to choose what to wear, even if just another regular day, and since this isn't the case you thought about it for hours, that made your mind busy enough to not thinking about Tom and the whole love confession. He texted you saying he'll come for you to go to class together on Monday, which is completely impractical because he's way closer than you but is progress and you're going to take it.

You wanted to ask for Sheep's opinion but you thought she might not care, has been a few days since she started acting strange like she's bothered just to see you breathe. You want to blame his boyfriend to take all her time and attention from you but is probably just her new job, she got a small role in a Netflix show, and even when you're so happy for her, that's the event that has changed her into someone completely different. But you give her time, stress can do bad things to people.

The winner is the exact copy you made of the black and white striped dress Cameron Diaz wore in "The Mask" beautiful, classy, and sexy enough without being too scandalous, not that you have any problem with that, but this isn't the occasion, you don't want to feel like you're being too much or too little, just enough, it's supposed to be easy, right? you were born for this. Just adding some big shiny earrings you got on a thrift shop that look like real diamonds and you're ready, not that you own any to compare. Red lipstick, dark eyes, and a messy bun to get that disinterested pitch every look needs.

Getting there wasn't a problem, you were in the rich part of the city, everyone know who, where and what just to brag about it. The excitement is growing with every second, you check your makeup like thirty times in the elevator and send texts to your mom just to let her know where you are, and because you have to share that moment with someone and you are limited of friends these days.

Timothée opens the door with red eyes, drunk, high, or somewhere in between, you know then you were right about the bad feeling. He jumps on you to kiss you and no matter how much you try to explain the delicacy of your lipstick, he does it anyway, leaving a taste of alcohol and shrimps in your mouth. Taking you by the waist he walks you to a group of people you don't know while you're trying harder to fix the red color of your mouth without a mirror.

—Here is the companion I bought, look at her, that's how five grand per hour look like.—They laughed but you were too disoriented to process all the things he said, it was supposed to be a joke? if it is, why isn't he correcting? Instead, his hand goes straight to your ass and presses it to get you closer to him.

—I'm actually an intern in the costume designer department of the new version of "Sense and Sensibility".—You wanted to mention your recent promotion to hairstylist and makeup artist but that might be too pretentious. Anyway, they don't seem to care what you are or not, in fact, they don't even see you, all eyes are on Timothée

—Oh, well, is easy to forget when you're paying them—All laughs again. Who is this person? Who are all these people, actually? You recognize some influencers, a few cast members but there's no sign of the director, other main actors, not even his co-star. You feel like an extra in a movie where someone will be killed in a luxury party, hopefully not you. You take his hand from your body and clear your throat.—I'm just joking my love, she looks stunning, isn't she? I’ll get you a drink.

He leaves and the group of people surrounding you suddenly dissipated like boiling water, you were on your own again and despite some judgmental gazes is like you’re not there, you’re sure you could just take your dress off and throw it to someone’s face and unless Tim says something about it, no one would care. You’re there as his companion, an ornament, and that’s not enough to earn their attention because it’s too obvious you’re the one in turn.

You walk to the only window no one is smoking and check your phone, you know, the thing you do when you pretend you have important issues to attend, but no, you end reading some old messages, pictures, texting your mom of how much fun you’re having at the party, and somehow you check your filed Facebook messages to find Logan’s name. You cover the screen so fast you hurt your nail, his name is enough to make you tremble like a Chihuahua, you haven’t talked to him since that night, you know from his sister he lives in the house he bought for you two and he’s having the happiest life without you. You want to believe that because that means you took the right decision but deep inside… no, you can’t be that person, you want him to be happier than ever.

You find the guts to open the message, and you read as slowly as is humanly possible. “My angel, I hope this finds you in perfect health…” Dios, just Logan could start a message like that, your smile is almost too big to fit in your face so you bit your nail to cover it a little. “I recently found one of the human body drawings you made for me to study, you’ll be happy to know…”

—That’s a fucking long-ass message.—Tim appears behind you and takes your phone from your hand, spilling some of his drink on your dress in the process. Apparently, he's been there long enough to read part of the message.

—Give it back.—You command in the most severe voice you have, your magical moment got ruined and you remember the hole of hell you are.

—"My angel, I hope this finds you in perfect health. I recently found one of the human body drawings you made for me to study, you must know I still use them now and then"—Timothée starts reading the message, and even when no one is close enough to hear it and you don’t really care about this people’s opinion, that’s not for anyone to read, that’s one of the few parts of your life you treasure the most and you’re not ready to get over it.—You little slut, are you cheating on me with a med student?

—Give it to me.—You repeat trying to take the phone from his hand but he’s faster and walks away putting it out of your reach.

—"I meticulously preserve them, I certainly know any piece of art made by you will be priceless in the near future"—You don’t want to hear it coming from his drunk mocking voice, so you try to ignore what he’s saying and put more effort on chasing the phone.—Should I had kept the jeans where you left the wet spot on? I didn’t know you were an artist, my love.

—Timothée, por el amor de Dios.—Now you're trying to climb him, it wouldn't be that hard to take him down, he's skinny and you're fierce. That's what you thought but he's not moving even with you are on top of his shoulder and his opposite long arm keeps the phone away from you.

—Who is this guy and why is he talking to my girl like this?—You see the olive eyes getting darker and the tone of his voice went deeper than you thought he could do. You desist from taking the phone, you know the bullies love the attention, maybe that's exactly what he wants and give it to him just makes it worse.

—I'm not your girl.—You claim fixing up your dress having enough of games, and you have no reason to keep worrying about losing your job, the filming is done, and apparently your relationship with him too. You don't care about any of that anymore, just want to read Logan's text.

Even behind all the alcohol and the eyes injected in blood thanks for who knows what kind of drug, you can see the disappointment and anger, but it's not a broken heart, Is the hissy fit of a child that loses his balloon and now everyone will pay for it, especially you.

—Are you sure about that?—You can see him swallow hard, almost looking vulnerable, but his voice is defiant and threatening to prove you wrong. He just has to stretch out his arm to reach the open window with your phone in hand, his intentions are clear and the only thing you can do is raise your hands as a reflex.—You were mine the moment you put a foot on my trailer, and I don't fucking share my stuff.—Before you can say a word he drops the phone from the fourth floor.

You know is senseless but you find yourself running out of the party and going to search the device, using it also as an excuse to get away from that place. This is the first time someone makes you feel meaningless, you know the famous' world is cold and lacking in empathy but this is ridiculous, they're a bunch of parasites fed by attention and power. By Timothée.

The screen is crashed and the rest of it is probably beyond repair, not that you're surprised, its life is longer than you've been in the country and you admit you should have replaced it much earlier but you're not the kind to throw away things that still work. However, is not the phone you are worried about, not as much as what it contains.

—That was obsolete anyway, I'll get you a better one.—You didn't know he was following you, his voice interrupts your self-wailing. He sounds calmer and a little embarrassed, but not enough to say sorry, you don't think he's capable of saying it.

You shake your head and start to walk away without a word, you don't want anything from him, not materially, at least.

—Don't make a scandal out of it, it's just a phone!—He yells erasing any trace of regret in his voice. He doesn't see the reaction he expected and that's when he runs after you and with a hand on your upper arm pulls you back, you gasped for the sudden bluntness.—That annoying habit you have of leaving when I'm talking to you.

You push him away with all the strength you have, which resulted in him almost falling on the ground.

—I don't care about the stupid phone!—You finally break, but sadly is not as satisfactory as you thought it would be.—You are mean, vain, arrogant and the worst part is that you enjoy being this despicable human because you have absolutely no consequences to it. Everyone around you just accepts it and I feel so sorry for you because the only possible way for you to fill the void inside is to be surrounded by that crowd of mules licking your steps—To your surprise, he has nothing to say, he's just standing there with no facial expression, whatever he feels is easily covered by his years of experience acting, even drunk.—I can't give you that and it's obvious they don't want me either. What am I even doing here?—You ask yourself thinking where would be the best way of getting a cab, is a rich zone, must be easy.

—Everything is better when you're around—His voice is thin and fragile, you have to process what he said three times in your head to understand his words. You're not willing to look at him yet.—You're not like the others.

—Pure bullshit. You love to repeat that misogynist discourse of girls being in a certain way because is easier than be responsible for the people you choose to be—You were hugging yourself the whole time, is a cold night, but not enough to be bothersome, you enjoy Fall weather—You got me for a moment, I give you that, you fooled me but I'm too tired of guessing what version of you is real—When you return your gaze at him, he doesn't try to hide the guilt anymore, but there's still haughtiness in there.—Now, if you don't mind Mr. Chalamet, I need to get a cab.

—No, you came with me, you leave with me.—There's no trace of alcohol in his voice anymore, a good scolding is enough to put you sober, you know that thanks to your mom. Oh god, you're becoming her.

—You didn't bring me here, gigantic head—You look at him and put your hand in front of him with the palm up. He stares at it for several seconds before put his own on it—Not that!—You shake it and start looking inside his jeans pockets until you feel the metal of his key car.—You can't drive and I have to get home. You'll find it in the studio tomorrow.

That's how you ended with a car way more luxurious than you expected, driving so slowly and carefully that the police stopped you. What a night, but at this point, you couldn't care less about anything that is not that message, is been months and you can't get over it, over him. Not even Ben moans, Tom's comforting arms, or fight with a movie star at 3:00 am. is enough to get him out of your mind.

—So is true, you don't wear anything that hasn't appeared in a movie, huh?—Michael B. Jordan is leaning on the car window with a mocking smile and a sparkle of satisfaction that you would love to punch but his uniform keeps you in line, where you come from police is not equal to justice, most of the times is oppression.

—You know where it's from?—That was kind of comforting, no one at the party noticed. Not that you care.

—Is The Mask, not some Adam Hitchcock's blurb.—He smiles and even when you really don't like him, it's nice to be with a familiar face, you are really tired of running away, scaping for problems that are a result of your null capacity to deal with emotions. Ugh, what a word.

—Is Alfred Hitchcock, actually.—You didn't want to sound priggish, but you correct him with no time to stop yourself, an old habit.

—You got me, smarty, you know more than movies than me. Where did you get this car?—You feel really nervous even when you got this legally, you have your documents and license on time and he's being nice enough to not want to run away in a car that you technically borrowed for yourself.

—It's not mine.—No shit, Sherlock.

—No shit, Sherlock, I was asking where did you steal it.—You wanted to laugh but there's something with the uniform that just doesn't allow you to be yourself.—Are you drunk?

—No, no, fuck, no, it's just, I don't feel comfortable with cops—He raises his eyebrows but that is his only reaction.—Listen, is my boss' car, I'm doing the favor to take it to the studio, and I'm really nervous because is fucking expensive, he's an asshole, I haven't drive un almost a year because you people only use cars if you're rich or your work and lives depend on it. I'm starving.—The last part came out of nowhere, you haven't eaten anything in almost 13 hours, maybe that's the actual reason why you are that moody.

He doesn't answer right away, takes his time to look at you, what makes you blush, he's really close, closer than he's ever been. Does he smell like green apples? Not the actual apples, the artificial smell they had given to them.

—Get out of the car.—Oh no, is he arresting you? Is he finally taking revenge for every time you make fun of his Hawaiian-type shirts? You know you have too much karma accumulated and a cop making you pay for it when you don’t believe in their sense of justice is kinda poetic, and evil.

You don’t want to discuss with someone with a taser, gun, pepper spray, or who knows what else. So you take your bag, the key car, and get off defeated.

—My turn is almost over, I’ll take you to eat something, c’mon.—He walks back to his patrol and you stay still for a few seconds still processing his words, you must look totally devastated for him to offer that. How you see it you have two options, go with him and spend an awkward hour with a person you don’t like or risk getting a fine, Tim can pay it, it’s not a big deal but you don’t want to owe him even the minimal thing.

You get in the car holding on to your bag to feel calmer, this is the first time you’re fully alone with him since you found him half-naked in your kitchen. Those defined abs may never leave your brain.

—Are you cold?—He interrupts your thoughts with his question, you didn’t notice you were shaking. He looks for something under his seat and gives you an NYPD hoodie, you hold it doubting your next move, is not like you don’t appreciate the gesture but it’d be easier to take if it doesn’t get that words printed—Is clean.—He says chuckling when he sees the way you’re looking at it.

—Is not that, just, you know, fuck the police, defund the NYPD, demilitarize the pigs and that stuff.—You say putting on the hoodie anyway, is a cold night and you won't help the institution wearing their propaganda.

—Yeah, I get it, but you can't change the system just from within.—You decide is not the right moment to have a political conversation so you shrug your shoulders and discreetly smell the hoodie, a mix of cologne, green apples, and cheap soap, you know is cheap because you buy the exact same, do its job.

—I'm in the mood for pizza.—You say casually, making a deal to yourself to try to be his friend, he is a small part of your life anyway.—Domino's is open at this time of the night?

—Tell me you're not consuming that shit, dear Lord, you been here for how long, two years? I can't believe your idea of a good pizza is Domino's. Stella hasn't taught you anything?—You're surprised by the level of condescension with a pizza and you mirror his smile, suddenly feeling embarrassed. Your school program includes people from all around the world so you don't have that much experience with actual new yorkers. Logan is rich, so he doesn't really count.

—What's wrong with Domino's? I don't buy much street food, is cheaper to buy things on the food market. Besides, all pizza is good.—The mention of Sheep makes you a little tense, so you don't say anything about it, is not a conversation to have with him.

—Don't blaspheme in the patrol, I just washed it—You laugh, finally, after a terrible weekend. You can see why she likes him, there is something about his voice, smile, and his eyes that feel... calm, like watching Friends after a marathon of Lord of the Rings.—There are rules to survive this city, and I'm surprised you have made it this far without a proper guide.

—Chill out Mr. Miyagi, I'm not from the jungle, and I've learned a lot by myself.—He gives you a lopsided grin as a request, and you put your fingers up ready to enlist your acquired knowledge.—Walk fast, like you're about to be stabbed, something that actually happened to me, with an umbrella—He nods and laughs being related to it.—Number two, no small talk, no one cares, even if they ask. Number three, if you look a stranger in the eye, especially a homeless person, you have essentially invited them to approach you.

—Number four, we never eat from Domino's, Papa John's, Pizza hut, or any other chain restaurant, only trucks and local places are allowed.—You roll your eyes but you get the point, is just, again, you're not much into street food, it doesn't taste like home and the only way to eat food like that is preparing it yourself.

—Fine, fuck capitalism, let's support local places—You make an obvious fake enthusiastic tone but he nods proudly.—Number five, you don't need a car to live here, not even know how to drive. I would have successfully avoided this police brutality if I had followed that rule.

—For someone who is about to eat for free, you whine too much.—He parks the car and gives you a sign to go with him. You see him go to a pizza truck and order, you realize at the moment how ridiculous you look, so before chasing him you let your hair down, take your huge earrings off, and roll up the skirt of your dress until your mid-thighs letting the hoodie cover the rest, and clean the red lipstick with a Kleenex from your bag. Now you look more like a college person and not a rich girl who just got seized.

—Here you go.—He says giving you a slice as big as your head, looks oily and spreading cheese everywhere. Perfect.

—Is it vegan?—You ask receiving the food with an obnoxious face. His kind grind turned into a dread expression and you give him your second laugh of the day.—I'm kidding.

You are about to give it a bite when you see passing next to you a huge rat with the exact same slice as yours in its mouth, running into the dark of the night happy to have obtained the food for its family. They use to scare you when you just moved out but now they're like any other pigeon in the sky.

—Rule... whatever, a rat with a slice of pizza is a symbol for good luck, congratulations.—He pets your head awkwardly, not sure if you're ok with the physical contact, which, surprisingly, you are.

—I see rats with bagels all the time.—Pizza and bagels, that's the main culinary wonders of the city, you like it, not much to object but is hard not to compare it with your home's food.

—Is easy to confuse a rough diamond with a simple rock.—You both eat in silence, enjoying the mixed sounds of the city and all the different smells, the whole situation feels like one of those lofi music videos. You remember thinking about moments like this before getting the scholarship, what would it be like to feel normal in the city of your dreams.

—How do you know that much about movies?—He asks after a few minutes when you take a break to drink something, that pizza is not easy to take.

—When I was a kid a spent much time on my own, so my dad bought me a used DVD reproducer, and at the corner of my neighborhood was this movie store where you could buy 5 pirate movies for one dollar. They were blurred, with a terrible sound, and most of the time with the wrong movie inside but they helped me to not feel lonely. Eventually, the store closed but I've watched everything in it by then—He gives you a warm smile, you never told that story to anyone, not because is too intimate to share, but because no one asked, it doesn't sound like a question with a complex answer.—Anyway, I watched Marie Antoinette when I was like eight, and I decided at that moment that however is done I wanted to be part of that magic.

—You hear all kind of people chasing dreams in this city but is hard to find someone who actually deserves it.—You blush and you cover it with your hair but the smile on your voice is impossible to hide.

—Is that a compliment? You must really want me to like you to date Sheep.—You laugh but you can see his face tense, so you can guess your friend has been busy breaking everyone’s hearts.

—She hasn’t returned my calls in three days so I don’t think there’s much you can do—You nod, all this time you thought he was the reason she is ignoring you but apparently you are both in the same boat.—But yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking, what I should have said is, Marie Antoinette at eight? I can see where all the damage started.

You gasp and throw your napkin at his head, he easily catches it without even looking at it and laughs; that was unexpectedly attractive.

—Why a cop?—You ask, not sure where that question came from, maybe you authentically want to know more about him, he just bought you food, and honestly, that's the easiest way to win your trust.

—I wanted to be an actor when I was a child. This is the city of opportunities so you may think that if you want to chase the big wonder, this is the perfect place to do it. But I grow up surrounded by these people giving their entire lives to get something just given to one in a million so I decided is not worth it. For many years I wondered what I wanted to do with my life and the answer was really clear, my dad was a cop, a good one, or that’s what people say. I don’t remember much because he died when I was seven—Conversations about death are not your strength, everything can turn out uncomfortable if you choose the wrong words.—It might not be that glamorous but if my father died for it, it surely worth it.

—For the good ones.—You raise your almost empty can of Coke and he does the same with a grin that warms the cold weather of the night.

—For the good ones.

The next two hours passed like minutes talking about anything and everything. It just felt right to talk freely with him, you didn’t feel judged for your awkward family moments or your random thoughts, not even once because he told you his too. At some point of the night he borrowed you his gym sweatpants, any of you could just suggest going home but that was off the table, end that peace just for weather reasons would have been a tragedy.

—I read Timothée Chalamet is a dick. Is that true?—The mention of his name remains you of your life and everything that comes with it, including the middle semester project that you must dedicate your entire day, one that is about to start.—What, you can’t talk about it?

—He is a complete dick with no sense of privacy or human decency—And when he interrupts a deep kiss to look at your eyes, smile, and caress your chin, you feel like a character of his Victorian movies. But he didn’t ask that.—But the next week he’ll be no longer my problem.

—That’s why we have rule twenty-three, don’t ask for a picture of a celebrity unless they are local—You have heard about it before but you haven’t got the opportunity to decide if you like that rule because the only celebrities you have seen are from work and that club’s party opening.—That means you’ll be free to go to the Stephen Kings’ movie projection there will be for Halloween.

You don’t know if that was a proposition, a suggestion, or just a simple recommendation, and whatever it is, you noticed he was nervous to ask. Is it wrong? It feels wrong like you were betraying your friend accepting to hang out with his boyfriend without her consent. But he didn’t ask you to go with him so is safe to answer.

—Yeah, I guess—You get a moment, four seconds top, where you shared innocent, curious, and tenting gazes like three graders in the playground. And that’s the further you will allow yourself to go.—We better leave, if the sunlight touch me I’ll turn into dust.

You get off the car hood and go to the side door, but this time he opens it for you. You give him a “seriously?” Look, receiving a little push in your arm as a response.

↬☀︎︎

A distant voice asks you to wake up, softly whispers that turn into caresses on your cheek, your eyes feel so heavy, even when you are well aware of your environment your eyelids keep closed.

—Good morning, Princess—This is the first time Tom calls you that way, the change from silly nicknames to Princess is enough to get you out of hibernation. He is squatting beside your bed, his smile is the promise of a better day, and chasing that idea you give him one small back.—Your mom has been texting me desperately all day, she said you're not answering her calls and is worried.

—Fuck, my phone broke last night, can I call her from yours?—That’s an oversimplification but in the search for a better story, that's what you decide to believe and tell. Tom nods and gives it to you, he looks happy, beyond that, this is the first time you see that subtle blush on his cheeks and the eyes sparkling. You sit on the bed next to his body looking for your mom's number, slowly he moves between your legs, you have shorts and an oversized Back To The Future t-shirt, you got took the time to prepare yourself to bed last night and keep Michael’s clothes inside your closet to wash them, like The Tell-Tale Heart, a little innocent secret who feels dirty somehow

The conversations with your mom are always long, nostalgic and the tears are hard to hold for both parts; after a long life sharing almost every day with her, her absence never feels smaller. But this time is different, Tom is exploring the bare skin under your knee with his warm hands, asking for permission with curious eyes, and when you don’t object to the touch the British boy keeps his exploring mission cautiously, giving special attention to see your eyes in case something change. Is time to hang up when he gives a long and loving kiss to your knee, the less erotic kiss you could think of but so intimate to bristle your skin.

—Not nice to touch someone's daughter when is talking to her mom.—The protest of your voice loses strength at every word, he heard that and just straight his back to reach your face, the gap is almost extinct.

—We're okay, she likes me.—He assures holding your hips and pulling you a bit to him. Tom looks very comfortable with the new closeness authorization, you like it but are not very sure about it yet, most of you still think of him as your best friend.

—Did she tell you that? Are you talking with my mom behind my back?—You laugh when he does, almost like nothing changed.

—She adores me, I swear, I'm invited to Christmas, you know?—You're not surprised, she invites everyone, Logan was too but the first time he got family plans and didn't make it to the second.

—You should go, maybe we can do...—His lips touch yours in a peak at the middle phrase and makes you forget what you were about to say.—Man, the audacity to interrupt...—Then he kisses you again, deeply, using his tongue to taste your inner lip and his hands holding your shirt in fists. That's a twist of events.

—Is that ok?—You hear a weak whisper coming out of his voice but you got so mesmerized on his lips that decided to ignore it and kiss him back instead. He responds to your touch and starts to lean over you to make you lay on the bed.

Jesucristo bendito, is this happening? like, actually happening? you must look like trash, you barely took all the makeup from the night before and didn't take a shower, you start to get so worried about smells, feelings, and what that'll mean to your already too much-spoiled friendship.

However, the time of doubts is done when Sheep starts yelling in the living room, you both reacted running to the sound and looking for your blonde friend. Michael is there but doesn't look like the same as a few hours ago, is annoyed and tired for the lack of sleep, a look that doesn't match him at all.—What did you do?—You ask him fast assuming she's mad for something he did.

—Just in time, the star of the movie, I was wondering how much it will take you to be the protagonist of this.—That is Sheep's voice talking about you and what must be your heart breaking from her words.

—Excuse me?—You wish your tone would be less savage but you can't help respond the same way she did.

—Logan wasn't enough, then you got the drummer, fucking Timothée Chalamet, Tom and now my boyfriend. I'm so glad I didn't leave you alone with my dad or I'd be calling you mom now.—You have no words to that, Michael doesn't even dare to look at you, he must have told her something she misunderstood, but Sheep, or well, Stella is saying things she actually thinks and keep to herself. Tom walks in front of you whispering things to her to calm her down but she is not looking at him, you didn't tell her anything about Tom either so he's taking responsibility this time.—Go ahead and fuck the whole city, Michael if that please you but you're crossing the line with Tom and you know that, you're going to ruin him as you ruin every man that enters in your life.—She has a very you moment having the last word of the dispute and getting out of the apartment with Michael going after her but not putting much effort in it.

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