#while also exaggerating a couple things to remind the reader that this is at the end of the day fanfiction

[randomshipperhere]

Currently only 6 works on the Käärijä x reader tag on ao3. In desperate need of self indulgent fan content involving this man and I ain’t Finnish enough to do it myself 🥲

[sunnyskiesscareme]

My Heart’s Racing, and it isn’t the Exercise

Luke Hughes x reader

Summary: Luke Hughes has a gym crush, and his brother wants a sister in law

Warnings: there’s a reference to like… dropping a weight on his head to induce memory loss, you’ll understand if you read it 😭 other than that, nothing!! (Unless u include Luke embarrassing himself but that’s just cuz he’s a cutie patootie)

Notes: I’m so sorry I’ve barely posted!! Uni is kicking my ass. Still, I appreciate all the support on my previous fics!! Y’all are so kind!! Also, a lil reference to the readers job as a hairdresser

Luke was sure that if y/n wasn’t here, he’d cry.

He had explicitly told his brother that he needed to be at the gym within 10am-11:30am, and no later. He hadn’t told him why, exactly, but he thought he made himself pretty clear anyhow. It wasn’t like Jack to be late to anything, but Jack had expressed that he believed you couldn’t be late to the gym in the first place. To him, it was a personal pleasure. Luke would have agreed if it weren’t for the girl with the strict schedule, who went everyday, at the same time, with no exceptions.

He couldn’t explain that to Jack without the certainty of him telling the whole Devil’s team about his little crush, and suddenly the chirping would go beyond anything he’d ever live down. So instead, when Jack would roll his eyes at his brother with a comment about being uptight, Luke would bite back with a reminder that Jack had assigned certain coats to certain hooks in the entrance way. Surely, Luke was not the uptight one in that apartment.

Jack had only hurried things up when his brother threatened to leave without him, jingling his keys and walking to the door with exaggerated stomps. Still, they had only left the house at 10:41, and for reasons unbeknownst to Jack, Luke had refused to switch to the gym nearest their building. It was 10:53 when they got there, and Luke ignored his brothers scolds for his crooked parking job, rushing to check who was at the girl’s favourite machine. It was then that Luke realized he had never learned her name. Had she ever even had a full conversation with him?

She was there, in all of her beauty, but Luke didn’t crack a smile. Instead, he walked over to the chest press for his warmup as if he had never seen her. His sudden stop-and-stare session did not go unnoticed by his brother, who not so subtly squinted his eyes in her direction, trying to find what had his little brother so dazed. His eyes flickered to the dejected look on his face, back to the girl, and then to the foot that Luke was subconsciously tapping. A knowing grin grew on Jack's face before he wiped it off with the back of his hand, wringing his wrist out in an act of preparation for his dead-lift warmup. He halted when he began to pass by Luke, stomping his foot on the ground exaggeratingly as he turned to his brother.

"Luke, Luke," Jack said, bending down to reach ear level with him. "You see that girl over there? The one on the, uh, the walking thingy?"

"The elliptical." Luke corrected, a little bit too fast. He’d learned the name of the machine a while ago, just in case he needed it one day.

"Yeah, whatever. She's real pretty, huh?"

Luke's eyes met Jack's so fast it hurt, and he blinked a couple of times to make the room stop spinning. His knuckles turned white at the grip he had on the bars of the machine, despite having paused the lifting to speak to his brother. "What- why?"

"I think I’m gonna ask her out."

"No!" Luke yelped, and those in the gym who weren't wearing headphones or struggling to breathe with the intensity of their workout glanced over at him curiously. His cheeks burned bright red, and Jack had to repress a smirk. "She’s," he shook his head, "She's not even your type."

“What? Of course she is. You don’t think she’s pretty?”

“She’s-!” Luke started, chest puffed up and eyes wide as he went to defend the girl. That was, until the smile on his brothers face looked a little bit too evil to be classified as adoring, and Luke squinted his eyes at him. “What are you trying to do here?”

Jack let out a girlish giggle and gave him a smack to his knee. “I think you think she’s pretty!”

“Shut up!” He wacked his brother right back.

“I think you’ve beaten me to her!”

“Jack, stop.” Luke begged, gripping his brothers wrist strongly enough for Jack to wince, his eyes wide as saucers.

Jack snickered, wringing out his wrist. He glanced back at the girl, whose machine beeped as she finished her cool down. “C’mon! She’s done. Go talk to her!”

“What? No!” Luke refused, his voice much quieter and harsher than his brothers. “No, she’s leaving anyway.”

Jack glanced at the girl again, who had finally stepped off of the machine and stood in front of a window. Her silhouette was black as she tipped her head towards the ceiling to chug down some water. He looked back at Luke. “I don’t think so… looks like she’s just having a drink before her next workout.”

“No.” Luke shook his head, certainty in his movements. “It’s 11:30. This is when she leaves.”

Luke seemed to have not realized the weight his words held before he said them, and quickly made himself busy with his machine before Jack’s head jerked foreword, his jaw dropped far enough that if he had dared to look, Luke would be able to count all of his teeth.

“Woah, woah, wait a minute!” He said, stepping in front of his little brother so that he had no casual excuse for avoiding his gaze. “Is this why you’ve been whining every day about when we get here?”

Luke cringed, ending his first rep early to stick an earbud in his ear. “I’m working out. Can’t hear ya.”

“Oh my god!” Jack gaped, yanking the earbud back out. “This is why I have to go to a gym 15 minutes away from my apartment- that has a gym in the building?”

“It’s only 10, don’t be such a baby.” Luke groaned, seeing no point in trying to hide his little secret any longer.

“Oh my god. Luke, I’m being serious right now, if you don’t go talk to her- I will.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I would.”

Luke’s eyes worriedly flicked back to where she stood before, but let out a breath when she wasn’t there anymore. He didn’t know wether it was of relief or disappointment, but he forced himself not to dwell on the weird feeling in his chest. “She’s… She’s gone anyways.”

Jacks head whipped to the window and then back to his brother so fast that Luke was surprised he wasn’t in pain. He quickly promised himself he’d give him pain if he looked at him like that any longer- his brows slightly furrowed, eyes more pitiful than annoyed. Jack let out a soft huff. “Next time then.”

---

Jack was ready before Luke was the next morning, bouncing on the balls of his feet on the mat in front of the door. Luke walked sluggishly, something he hadn’t done since he had first seen her. He was sure this would be the last day at her gym- certain he’d be too humiliated to return.

“Could you wipe that look off your face, please?” Luke asked, annoyed.

His grin only grew, flashing his recently fixed straight white teeth. “Why would I? Todays the day- Lukey Boy is getting a girlfriend!”

Luke rolled his eyes.

The 10 minute car ride was mostly silent. To Jack, it had felt like the longest ride he’d ever taken, even with all of the complaints he’d given about the length of the drive in the past. This was most certainly the worst of them all. To Luke, it had been the shortest. He’d listed multiple plans for certain scenarios in his head, noting that if he really needed to, there were weights near the elliptical she used that he could drop on his head if he needed to forget he’d ever seen her. Maybe his brother would feel bad enough to never bring it up again. He planned to run a few fast miles on a treadmill beforehand, so that he could build up some adrenaline, and blame his red face on the exercise.

Jack walked in with a pep in his step, only stopping when his brother suddenly grabbed his wrist. His face was white and his eyes wide, and Jack had never seen him so scared to talk to a girl before. “She’s gonna think I’m a creep.”

“No she won’t! Just… don’t be a creep, and you’ll be fine.”

Luke releases his brothers wrist to run a stressed hand down his face. “I hate you.”

“Luke, it’s gonna be fine, I’m telling you.” Jack tried to reason. He sent him a funny smile, “Plus, you’re in the NHL. what girl would say no to that?”

Luke didn’t laugh, and Jack licked his lip awkwardly. “Buddy, just do it. There’s no use comforting you now- she hasn’t even rejected you yet!”

“Yet!”

“No!” Jack gripped Luke’s shoulders tightly. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Now go. Now. It’s time.”

Luke almost tripped, his feet too nervous to react to the push his brother gave him. He prayed that it was too bright outside to see the reflection in the window her machine overlooked, and that she didn’t see any of that. He stood awkwardly a safe distance away from her, looking back at his brother who gave him a not-so-subtle thumbs up.

She was changing the song coming through her headphones when she felt the presence of someone next to her. She turned, startled when someone was actually there. He was tall, but had a young, sweet face. His hair was long enough for him to have to push behind his ear and she could imagine him hating it. Most people with curly or wavy hair did, she had learned from work, but his was her favourite texture to cut and work with. She’d recognized him well. He seemed to have a similar schedule to her, and she had used him as proof to her friends that she wasn’t uptight. He was too handsome to look at, she had decided one day. She couldn’t afford a gym crush, not when she was doing so well with her gym streak. It would complicate things. She flicked an earbud out, giving him a friendly, but curious smile.

“Hi.” He said, the word breathy.

“Hi.” She said back with a slight chuckle. “Did you need something?”

“Oh! Sorry, uh,” she didn’t notice Jack watching them, cringing at the way his brother stuttered. “I was wondering… if I could use that machine.”

She blinked at him, eyes flickering to the 3 other ellipticals lining the large window, still and unused. She nodded anyway. “Uh, yeah! Sure!” She said, stepping off and beside the guy, who looked much taller from the new angle. “Are, are the other ones not working?”

“Uh-“

“Nope!” She jumped at the loud voice behind her, looking right in time for her to miss how Jack stepped on the machines cord, unplugging it. He smacked his hand on the buttons exaggeratedly, proving to her that it wouldn’t turn on.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I’ve been hogging the only working one, haven’t I?”

“No, no! You’re okay. Uh, I just, um-“

“My brother thinks you’re pretty!” Jack blurted out, cutting off his stuttering.

Luke looked mortified, shoulders curling in on himself. Y/n reddened, her lips unintentionally curling up into a giddy smile. “Oh! Thank you!” She let out a nervous chuckle. “Um, you’re his brother?”

“I’m so sorry.” He said instead of answering, and she hoped he didn’t look so sick because his brother lied.

“Don’t be! I’m,” she let out another nervous chuckle, “I’m very flattered.”

“You should let him buy you a smoothie from the drink bar.” Jack suggested, grinning wildly. Y/n felt brave under his enthusiasm.

“Jack!” Luke pleaded, fists balled up.

“He doesn’t have to pay.” She said, and she smiled awkwardly at their intense gazes. “Uh, I mean… are you thirsty?”

“You want to get a smoothie with me?”

“Well, sure! Only if you tell me your name though.” She giggled

He looked at her, his gaping lips turning up into a smile. “Luke.”

Luke had never loved his brother more. He hadn’t listened as he came up with some excuse for leaving the two of them alone. Something about already having water or having to get his workout in while he could, Luke assumed. He didn’t really care. He had imagined a million ways his day could go, and he had somehow lived the one he didn’t think would ever happen. He smiled at her, panicking when she began to reach for the pack she had around her waist. “I’ll pay!”

She looked back up at him. “Wow! A cute boy calls me pretty and buys me a smoothie in one day? This isn’t what I imagined would happen when I walked into the gym today.” She giggled, walking with him.

“Yeah… neither did I.”

[like-a-diamondinthesky]

five minutes | l.m.h

pairing... bf!minho x gn!reader tags... established relationship, disgustingly fluffy, excessive references to soondoongdori, minho is a cat personified, soft mimo!

operation put your boyfriend to sleep in five minutes is a go.

wc... 1.4k words a/n... ah, yet another domestic fluff fic featuring softy minho. a star specialty! sorry guys this is kinda my fav thing to write ever r u sick of me 😁 anywayz this was inspired by this soft thought and this tiktok like i saw it and immediately thought : lee minho.

ALSO ALSO! HUGE THANK YOU FOR 1K FOLLOWERS! i never would've thought i'd reach this milestone and words couldnt express how incredibly grateful i am for each and every one of you who read and enjoy my works <3 i love you guys thank you so much!

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Minho turned the doorknob and pushed the front door open, greeting Soonie who stood by the entrance with a tilted head. Shutting the door, he hung his bag on the coat rack and bent down to pet his beloved cat’s chin.

“Hi, baby,” the cat nuzzled his head into Minho’s palm and circled around his arm, “where are your brothers, hm?”

Meow… Soonie walked off to the living room as if to answer Minho’s question. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he followed his cat toward the faint nose of your favorite series playing on the TV.

When he entered the room, Minho saw your figure strewn lazily across the couch. Dori was cuddled up against your chest and Soonie hopped up to join Doongie by your feet. His heart warmed at the sight of his loves all huddled together.

“Honey, I’m home,” Minho grabbed your attention with his gentle, sing-song tone, a cheeky smile plastered on his face.

You switched your attention from the screen in front of you to the man standing in the doorway, returning his smile and giving a small wave. “Hi, my love. How was your day?”

Minho padded over to you, scooped Dori up against his chest, and settled himself where the cat had previously taken solace in your arms.

“It was alright,” he said, scooching backward to press his back firm against your front. “Tiring, as usual, but it's fine.”

Though he couldn't see it, you nodded in acknowledgment and pressed a soft kiss to his head. You brought one hand up behind his ear to scratch at his scalp, something you had found he enjoyed.

“Do you want to go to bed already? It is pretty late.” From its place above the TV, the clock read 10:37 PM. “Maybe we should move our little cuddle session to the bedroom.”

Minho sighed and shook his head. “But, I'm already so comfy here. Plus, you wouldn't dare disturb the cats, would you?”

“Please, remember the last time we slept on the couch the whole night? I don’t think we want that happening again.”

“Y/n,” Minho called your name, dragging out the last syllable. “My back hurts so much! Remind me why we stayed on the couch again.”

“I told you we should have moved to the bed! But you wouldn’t listen to me,” you snickered at your boyfriend from the kitchen while you continued to whisk a couple of eggs for your breakfast.

You set the bowl down on the counter and walked over to Minho who was still lying on the couch. When you came into his sight, he made a show of stretching his arms and legs, akin to a cat, accompanied by a few exaggerated groans.

“I don’t think I can get up at all today. I should just call in sick,” Minho draped an arm over his face, letting the other fall limp over the edge of the cushion.

“Don’t you have an important meeting today? I doubt your boss would appreciate you missing that on account of an 'ouchy' back.”

“Well, maybe if you gave me more cuddles, I’d feel a bit better.” Minho peeked at you from under his arm, proposing this cute, yet slightly impractical, solution. “Unless you want me to miss work and stay at home with you today.”

“Alright, you big baby.” Rolling your eyes, you moved to straddle Minho’s lap, leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. Now chest to chest, you wrapped an arm around his shoulders, letting the other one snake up his neck to play with the hairs at his nape.

The time you spent wrapped in each other’s warmth turned from seconds to minutes, the comfortable silence lulling you back to sleep. Minutes turned to hours, leaving Minho’s meeting unattended and the scrambled eggs forgotten on the kitchen counter.

“Ugh, at least give me five more minutes,” Minho offered as he continued to stroke Dori’s back, drawing a vibrating purr from the cat. “I don’t wanna get up yet.”

“Oh, come on, you have to brush your teeth anyways. Now get your lazy bum off the couch so we can cuddle on the bed.” You grabbed the throw pillow from behind your back and swung it at Minho’s side, accidentally startling Dori in the process. The cat jumped out of the man’s arms, causing him to throw a frown over his shoulder.

“Now look what you did! You’re scaring our babies.” Finally, Minho stood up, offering you his hand to pull you up as well. You met his hand with your own and anchored yourself up, giving him a sheepish smile.

“Oops.” You shrugged and skipped off to the bedroom, leaving your boyfriend with your three cats in the living room.

“Unbelievable.” Minho took a few steps towards the bathroom, paused, and turned back to look at his cats. “Well, are you coming with me or not?”

While your boyfriend finished his night routine, you lay on your shared bed and grinned to yourself. Operation Put Your Boyfriend to Sleep in Five Minutes was a go. You knew Minho was tired, and you wanted to send him off into a good night’s sleep in the most loving way you could.

The hallway light switched off as Minho opened the door to your bedroom, sporting a playful frown. It was time for Step One: Put him in a blanket.

“Come here, baby,” you peeled the duvet back and patted the space on the bed right next to you, beckoning your pouty boyfriend over to you. “Let’s get you to sleep, yeah?”

Trudging over to his side of the bed, Minho slid onto the mattress and pulled the heavy duvet over his body. Freshly washed, the warm, lavender-scented blanket immediately soothed his senses.

“You could’ve at least stayed with me while I brushed my teeth,” Minho continued to pout as he turned on his side to face you, “and, I don’t know, given me a back hug or something.”

Though his tone was playful, you recognized the look in Minho’s gaze. He yearned for your comfort, but he didn’t know how to ask for it. Reaching over, you cupped his face, gently caressing his cheek with your thumb. You peppered a few pecks on the corners of his mouth, kissing his pout away. Perfect timing for Step Two: Give reassuring pets.

“I’m here now, it’s okay.” His hair was soft in between your fingers as you threaded them through the fluffy locks. They smelled faintly of his coconut shampoo.

Tired, Minho let out a yawn, nose scrunched and eyelids shut. He leaned into your touch, humming contently.

Faintly, the door creaked open and you could hear light thuds on the carpeted floor, followed by a slightly louder thud on the bed as Doongie entered the bedroom and jumped up to join you. He stepped all over Minho’s body—drawing out a quiet yelp from the man beside you. You giggled as Doongie finally plopped down on Minho’s pillow, snuggling against the top of his head. This brought you to Step Three: Tuck him in.

With your boyfriend lying under the covers, you hooked one leg over him, moving your hand on his head to tuck it into your neck, cradling his body with no intent to stop any time soon.

For a second, the universe felt still. It was as though the ever-rotating hands on the clock had stopped moving, pausing to witness this intimate moment between you and Minho; as if even the angels in the skies above didn’t want this sweet gesture to end.

That was until Minho decided to take matters into his own hands and execute Step Four: Put one arm out for temperature regulation.

“It's too warm!” Minho whined into your neck, breaking the silence, and removed one arm from under the blanket, exposing it to the cold air. “Ah, that's better.”

He turned on his side and wrapped his now free arm around the small of your back, pulling you closer to him, if that were even physically possible.

Seeing your bodies pressed flush against each other, Soonie—who was previously lounging at the foot of the bed—crawled up the sheets and nuzzled into the barely-there gap between you and Minho, with Dori following suit.

Within five minutes of lying down, the night ended with your small family cuddled together on the warm, cozy bed, basking in each other’s comfort.

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taglist: @kflixnet @jinnixxn @elllisaaa @captainchrisstan @laylasbunbunny @starsandrqindrops @kittymaryam-thebrowniefairy @forlix @mires-empire @quesweebs

comments, reblogs, and feedback are appreciated! © like-a-diamondinthesky 2023

[icarryitin]

Episode 3: Candles

spencer reid/gn!reader

happy 26th anniversary of my escape from the womb, as a celebration pls enjoy this lil smth smth while i spend the evening eating a whole cake by myself🧡

series masterlist

word count: 1.3k // warnings: zero just vibes, also glasses reid comes with his own warning🫡

summary: You only just about manage to rein in Penelope for your first birthday at the BAU. Spencer throws a curveball.

It’s been a mission and a half, keeping it all under wraps. Penelope’s been the worst, but you managed to convince her not to put a reminder on everyone’s calendar - a new sparkly unicorn friend for her desk collection was enough to satiate her. For this year, at least.

Birthdays aren’t what they used to be.

They used to be a month long affair, sparkly and exciting. Now it’s just a day. You might get a couple of cards from a couple of family members, you might treat yourself to a takeout so you don’t have to cook, you might watch your favourite movie. It’s nothing special anymore, but you don’t mind that. It’s just a part of growing up.

Which is exactly why you’d expressly forbidden Garcia from organising any kind of celebration when she’d cornered you in the elevator about it last week. You’re still a relatively shiny new toy in the BAU, and being the centre of attention isn’t one of your strong suits anymore. You’re happy to let it pass largely unnoticed by your colleagues. She can do something next year, for sure, when you’re settled in properly. Provided there are no cases that demand attention.

Your back still aches from the flight back yesterday evening, nobody ever said sleeping sitting up is good for you. But, thankfully, it means that everyone’s been too swamped in paperwork today to have noticed Penelope’s extremely subtle efforts to make the day a little easier for you. Her way of celebrating, you were never going to get away that easily. A coffee this morning, a muffin from the café when she came back from her lunch break, she’d even called you into The Lair to present you with a card. Secretly, of course, so as not to arouse suspicion. It’s tucked away in your bag now, safe and sound. Glitter and all.

“Goodnight, my loves.” She appears in your field of vision, blonde head bobbling over the divider between your desk and Morgan’s.

You raise your hand to wave, but the occupant of the desk to your right is far too engrossed in the file to notice. It’s just the three of you left in the office - Penelope, you, and Spencer. Even Hotch has gone, armed with a stack of case files and a furrowed brow.

“See you in the morning, P.” It doesn’t take a lot of effort to return her smile, however tired you might be. That’s the thing about Penelope Garcia, you’ve learned, her energy is kind of infectious. She totters over to your desk with a sly look over at Reid, who still doesn’t appear to be paying any attention.

“Happy Birthday.” She whispers, throwing you an exaggerated wink. Okay, maybe you feel a little bit guilty about depriving her of the celebration she wanted to give you.

And then she’s off, and it’s just you and Reid and the occasional quiet tapping of keyboards, the sifting of papers.

You’ve been absorbed by a file, checking and double checking your additions to the report are accurate, so you don’t really pay Reid any mind when he wanders off towards the kitchen. Your red pen is out, scribbling on an extra copy of the notes. The Unsub on this case had been crafty, but not crafty enough, and your confidence is growing with the handful of takedowns now under your belt. It’s nice to feel like you’re contributing to the team’s success - it’s still your rookie year, but your handcuffs are a little less shiny than they were. You’re about to start typing up your amendments when there’s a noise behind you, like someone clearing their throat. They do it again, a little louder, a little less unsure. It’s unexpected to say the least, the image you’re presented with when you turn in your chair.

Doctor Spencer Reid - adjacent desk mate, awkward stakeout buddy, bespectacled distraction - is holding a small plate out to you, one single cupcake in the centre. There’s a birthday candle stuck in the chocolate swirled icing, just the one, tiny flame wobbling away in the air conditioning. He looks nervous, but there’s a glint in his eye hiding behind his glasses. You wonder what kind of threats Penelope made to get him to do this.

“Garcia said you didn’t want a fuss,” He starts rambling, “So, I figured I would wait until there were less people around and - well, it looks like it’s just us now.”

You’re fumbling for something to say, anything.

“This was - yeah, this was a bad idea, wasn’t it? You didn’t want a fuss and I did this and now you-“

“It’s okay.” You say, finally finding your voice. Matching smiles start to grow, slowly, and the lingering awkwardness evaporates.

It’s hard not to play up the childish wonder of it all - even in the beige and navy confines of the BAU office. Reid still holds the cupcake out towards you as you squeeze your eyes shut, nose wrinkled. Making a wish. You’re not really sure what it is you’re wishing for, maybe it’s that you’ll settle in with the team for the long term, maybe it’s that you’ll catch every bad guy until there’s none left, maybe it’s that a certain teammate will keep looking at you with those big old eyes and a hint of a smile on his face. Whatever it is, it’s good enough, and you open your eyes slowly. Leaning forward, one small puff of breath extinguishes the little candle. Birthday ritual complete. You’re sure Reid has a fun fact about the history of birthday celebrations and the burning of foodstuffs, but you don’t ask just yet. He’s still holding the plate out to you.

“Split it with me?”

His answering grin is contagious, you’ve no choice but to return it as he turns on his heel to hunt down a knife from the kitchen.

“And since it’s just the two of us,” He chatters on his way back from the kitchen, a second plate and butter knife in tow, “I won’t even make you wear the birthday hat.”

There’s a birthday hat, good lord. You’re glad you managed to hold Penelope off for one year, even if it’s the only one she’ll let you have.

“You have no idea how much that means to me.”

“There’s always next year.” Reid is grinning into his half of the cupcake, deliberately not watching you process the fact that you will absolutely be wearing the birthday hat this time next year. But it’s surprisingly heartwarming to hear that he thinks you’ll be with the team for your next birthday. Not that you don’t expect to be, but having confirmation that the others believe it too makes you feel a little fuzzy.

“At least I caught Garcia before she organised a street party, a card and a cupcake do me just fine.” Your words are muffled around the mouthful of cake and icing.

“Oh, she didn’t do this.”

You don’t follow. That much must be clear on your face, because he presses on.

“I made a batch, but then Penelope said you wanted low-key. So I only brought one.”

He made it?

He made it. For you.

If he wasn’t hurtling towards inappropriate crush territory already, he sure is now.

“Thank you, Spencer.”

It doesn’t escape your notice that it’s the first time you use his name. Not Doctor, not Reid, just Spencer. He’s noticed too, if the blush steadily creeping up his cheeks is anything to go by. But you don’t want him to steam up his glasses, and you definitely don’t want to dig yourself in any deeper - so you ask him about birthday candles, an answer he’s more than happy to provide between the last mouthfuls of cupcake and remaining file reports.

Maybe the work birthday thing isn’t so bad, you’ll just have to find that hat before next year.

the canyouniverse is back with a vengeance baybieeee 🧡🧡 i’m love them sm (and you!! for reading!!!)

[coffeeshades]

credits to the gif maker!

LOVE IS COMPLICATED - PART XI

—this must be the place

summary: two idiots who got their shit together and now love each other unconditionally.

pairing: pedro pascal x actress/singer!reader.

word count: 3.3k

warnings: 18+ (minors dni). filthy smut, p in v, unprotected sex, lots of fluff, cursing, age gap, mentions of alcohol. no use of y/n, if i missed something please let me know!

a/n: hello besties, dual pov so watch out for that, and reminding everyone this is a work of fiction so just sit back and relax and enjoy! but if this isn't your thing, move along :)

masterlist!

January 18th, 2024

Los Angeles, CA

January was a whirlwind. Awards season came faster than either of you could’ve anticipated. After years of grueling work, both of you were at the pinnacle of your careers. The Golden Globes were just the beginning, and somehow, you found yourself receiving best actress nods at every award show that followed. Each time your name was announced, you were stunned—as if each award was a surprise gift wrapped in disbelief.

Pedro? He was right there beside you, proud, beaming, like he’d won every accolade himself.

And in a way, he had.

The Emmys came next. Pedro was dressed like a hot English teacher—a title you bestowed on him while posing for photos on the carpet. He blushed at your words, but his imagination clearly ran wild through the entire ceremony. You’d catch his mind drifting, the corners of his mouth twitching with thoughts you could only guess.

But when the time came, he lost his category. You turned to him with an exaggerated sad face, eyes wide, and before he could even fake another mournful look, you took his face between your hands and whispered in his ear, “You might be an Emmy loser, but you’re my Emmy loser, baby.”

He chuckled softly, a mix of amusement and adoration, his hand resting on your thigh, fingers tracing absentmindedly. “Maybe we can celebrate the loss later,” he teased, and you grinned, your shared laughter barely masked by the applause surrounding you.

February 25th, 2024

Los Angeles, CA

Pedro wore Prada that night. A crisp white button-down shirt, half the buttons undone, his chest peeking through like a prince stepping off a ship in some romantic novel. His hair was so much longer, curling softly around his ears, a curl decorating his forehead, and when you both arrived, you couldn’t take your eyes off him.

“You look dreamy,” you’d whispered, your hand lingering on his arm.

You shared a tequila shot for luck before the ceremony, a ritual that seemed to work for both of you. When Pedro’s name was called, you watched in awe as he walked up to the stage, shock evident on his face. He was adorable, overwhelmed, and completely unprepared, but still effortlessly funny.

"And thank you to my love for being my biggest supporter," he said during his speech, eyes finding you in the crowd. "I love you."

The audience roared with laughter as he joked about having a panic attack. You covered your face with your hands, laughing with him, but your heart swelled with pride. When your category came not long after, you got up there, thanked everyone, and finished with, “And last but not least, thank you to now SAG Award winner Pedro Pascal for also being my biggest supporter."

Later that night, you posted a picture of the two of you holding your statuettes, captioning it, “a couple of winners,” a nod to the moment and your shared triumph.

March had rolled faster than anticipated. The Oscars themselves were here, and there you were, sitting in the middle of Hollywood’s most glamorous circus, your name announced as a Best Actress nominee. The whole thing was surreal—like, pinch-me-I’m-dreaming kind of surreal.

Pedro sat next to you, gripping your hand for dear life. He had been holding it for the last half hour, unable to let go, which made you wonder if he was comforting you or himself. Maybe both.

You gave him a quick glance. He was calm on the outside, but you could tell by the subtle way his thumb kept moving over your knuckles that his nerves were bubbling underneath too. You squeezed his hand back, your silent way of saying, Hey, we got this, right? Though, in truth, you weren’t sure who “we” were anymore. You hadn’t breathed since they started announcing the nominees.

And then it came—the moment. The envelope opened, the pause, the suspense that felt like it dragged on for an eternity, and then... someone else’s name. Not yours.

The applause in the room felt both deafening and distant, like you were watching it all through a fog. You let out the breath you’d been holding since they called your name and tried to steady yourself. You smiled, clapping for the winner because, hey, they deserved it. But inside, you were thinking, Well, damn.

Before you could even process the mix of relief and mild disappointment, Pedro turned to you. His eyes were gentle but mischievous, the exact combination that both made you feel better and also a little nervous. He tilted his head, looking at you like he was about to drop the world’s most important line.

“You might be an Oscar loser,” he said, grinning that cheeky grin of his, “but you’re my Oscar loser.”

It took everything in you not to burst out laughing, because of course he would say that. But he leaned in and kissed your forehead, so sweet and sincere, that you felt your heart melt just a little. Leave it to him to make losing feel like a win.

You rolled your eyes, more at how much you loved him than anything else. “Nice one, P. I feel so much better now,” you teased, shaking your head.

"You did the same to me; I had to."

"That's just cruel."

You elbowed him, laughing despite everything. Because at the end of the day, you realized something—you hadn’t lost at all. You were sitting there with the person who made you laugh when you needed it most, who held your hand through the stress and teased you when you least expected it. And that, as far as you were concerned, was the best kind of win.

•••

The next few months were filled with so much love and so much laughter. Pedro went with you to every concert you had scheduled, sitting backstage or in the crowd with your friends, watching you command the stage. It became your new routine, traveling to different cities with Pedro beside you for each show.

June arrived, and with it, Pedro’s filming schedule kicked back into full gear. This time, though, it was a little different. Instead of the usual months of long-distance calls and late-night texts across time zones, he was filming in New York. That meant he came home every night to your shared brownstone.

It felt wonderfully domestic.

One evening, you were curled up on the couch, the windows open to let in a soft breeze. You could hear Pedro moving around in the kitchen, humming to himself as he tried to figure out what to make for dinner. He had arrived early today and insisted on taking care of it. The scent of garlic and olive oil was already beginning to fill the room.

You smiled to yourself, getting up to join him. “Need some help, Chef?” you teased, leaning against the doorframe as you watched him stir something in a pan, his brow furrowed in concentration.

He looked up, a grin spreading across his face when he saw you. “I’m handling it. Don’t worry, I’ve got everything under control.”

You raised an eyebrow, walking over to peek into the pan. “Uh-huh, that’s what you said last time."

“Okay, first of all, I told you that was ‘blackened’ for flavor,” he shot back, pointing the spatula at you. “And second, tonight’s different. I’m on it.”

You laughed, moving closer and slipping your arms around his waist from behind, resting your head against his back. “Mmm, smells good though. Maybe I’ll give you a pass this time.”

He leaned into your embrace, his free hand coming up to hold yours around his middle. “Only a pass?” he teased, turning his head slightly to catch your eye. “I was aiming for full marks.”

“You’ll have to earn that,” you replied, your voice playful as you squeezed him tighter. “What’s on the menu tonight?”

He twisted around in your arms to face you, a mock-serious expression on his face. “You are looking at a masterful creation of... stir-fry.”

“Fancy.”

“Very. It’s gourmet,” he said with a grin, pulling you closer. “It’s got vegetables and everything.”

You couldn’t help but laugh; the ease between you was just so comfortable.

It wasn’t about the food or the dinner itself—it was about the quiet rhythm of life you’d found together, the simple joy of these little moments. The kind of comfort that only comes from knowing someone so well and loving every bit of it.

As the food sizzled away on the stove, Pedro pressed a kiss to the top of your head, his hand still resting on your back. “I like this,” he murmured.

“What, my expert critique of your cooking? Because I can keep going."

He laughed softly. “No, I mean…this. Us. Coming home to you every night. It feels right.”

A smile spread across your face as you tilted your head up to meet his gaze. “It does, doesn’t it?”

He nodded, his eyes soft as he looked at you. “I could get used to this.”

“Well,” you said, grinning as you stood on your toes to kiss him, “good thing you’re stuck with me.”

He kissed you back, his lips warm and familiar, lingering just long enough to make you lose your train of thought. “Best decision I ever made,” he murmured against your lips, pulling you closer.

You smiled into the kiss, feeling the warmth of him seep into you, grounding you in the moment.

“Alright, mister. Let’s eat before your gourmet stir-fry turns into another ‘blackened’ creation.”

“Noted,” he laughed, turning back to the stove with you still wrapped around him.

July 25th, 2024

San Diego, California

The morning had a slowness to it that Pedro liked.

The two of you were still wrapped up in the sheets, limbs intertwined in a comfortable, familiar tangle. The sunlight crept lazily through the curtains. He felt your body stir next to his, your warmth pulling him further out of sleep. His lips found the curve of your shoulder, soft kisses trailing across your skin, while his fingers lazily traced patterns on your back.

"You nervous for today?" you asked, your voice still sleepy but carrying a smile that he could hear.

Pedro groaned slightly, his morning voice raspy. "A little," he admitted, his face half-buried in the pillow.

"You’ll be great. They’re going to eat you up," you said, teasing but reassuring, your lips brushing his neck. "Anything I can do to help?"

He smirked, his eyes still closed as his hand found its way down the small of your back, pulling you closer. "Actually, yeah… I’ve got a couple ideas."

You laughed, straddling him, your hair falling over your face as you leaned down for a slow, lingering kiss. The kind of kiss that promised more, the kind that was a language only the two of you spoke. Pedro’s hands moved with familiarity, tracing the lines of your body as if he were memorizing you all over again.

He discarded yours and his clothes too. Your perfect breasts in his face as soon as you straddled him again, knees on either side of his thighs as you sat down on his cock. His head fell back on the soft pillow as you dug your nails into his broad shoulders.

For a while, it was just your steady breathing as you rode him, smooth and constant. Your moans—a delicious symphony to his ears—filled the room, mingling with his own groans of pleasure. And then both of your movements became more urgent, and he held you down to his chest, his lips finding yours in a hungry kiss.

"Fuck," he cursed, his hands gripping your back tightly as he pushed himself deeper inside you.

"Need-need you deeper."

He heard you say, and with a low growl, he complied. "Lay down."

You quickly got on your front, head turned to the side, ass in the air, and he entered you from behind. He filled you, slowly, centimeter by centimeter, stretching you in the most delicious way.

"Yes, yes, yes."

It fueled him to see you and hear you so fucked out and desperate for more.

"Goddamn," he breathed, pulling out before gliding in again, this time a little harder, a little deeper. He repeated the motion several times, each time pushing you into the bed harder and harder, the sound of skin slapping against skin filling the room. It's filthy. His hands dug into your hips. Your moans grew louder—consuming him, matching the rhythm of his thrusts.

You were close; he could tell by the way you were clenching around him. He cannot take it anymore. It's stupidly, brilliantly too good. Too intoxicating. He leans forward, chest pressed against your back, skin slick with sweat. "Come for me, baby."

He sees your eyes go blank as you reach your peak, your body shuddering with pleasure. The sight of you unraveling beneath him pushes him over the edge, and he follows right after you, his hips turning erratic, heat spreading inside him, and his release mixing with yours.

You don't move, and neither does he. He stays buried deep inside you, both of you trying to catch your breath and come back down from the euphoric high you just experienced together. The only sound in the room is heavy breathing and the occasional whisper of a kiss against your skin.

•••

Later, the chaos of Comic-Con surrounded him, but Pedro was good at playing it cool, even if he didn't really feel like it. He’d been in the industry long enough to know how to handle the intensity of the spotlight, but today, something felt a little more electrified. It could’ve been the crowds, but as soon as you arrived and caught sight of him, you couldn’t resist teasing him.

“Oh my god, what did Marvel give you?” you said, grinning up at him with a mischievous glint in your eye. “You look ten years younger—I’m scared.”

Pedro chuckled, turning a little and glancing down at himself. “It’s all smoke and mirrors, babe. You know that.”

"Right. Smoke, mirrors, and a little bit of Marvel magic."

You stole a quick kiss. "I'll be right here when you're done, P."

He loved how you could always ease him with just a few words. No matter the situation, no matter how chaotic or overwhelming things got, you had this way of cutting through the noise and grounding him. It was something he never took for granted, especially in moments like this—before the whirlwind, when he needed to remember who he was underneath it all.

"Now, get out there and win them over, handsome."

•••

Summer turned into fall; life became a blend of filming and fleeting moments of domestic bliss.

Pedro’s schedule took him to London for Fantastic Four, and you had your own projects to attend to, which meant falling back into the familiar rhythm of long-distance. It was tough—long nights filled with texts and video calls, stolen moments across time zones—but somehow, the two of you made it work. You'd promised you would.

One night, as you lay together in bed before your next trip, he whispered, “I’d rather have you 3 days a year than anyone else all the time.”

You smiled.

Weeks later, Pedro went back to New York after a short break and found solace in the little routines.

He loved coming home to you.

He found himself doing little things for you. He’d never been much of a "chores guy," but there was something solid about washing dishes while you hummed in the next room, or folding laundry. It made up for the time he spent away, the guilt he sometimes carried for being gone so much. Doing these little things felt like his way of making sure you always knew how much he loved you, even when he wasn’t physically there.

One night, after a particularly long day for you, you flopped into bed. He was finishing brushing his teeth in the bathroom. As he walked into the bedroom, he noticed the exhaustion in your eyes. You were sprawled out on the bed, your blouse slightly rolled up. He pressed a knee against the edge of the bed and hovered over you.

You looked up at him, your voice a soft whisper. “You’re the only calm thing in my life.”

Pedro’s heart swelled at that, his mouth instinctively forming a smile. “And you’re the best kind of chaos in mine,” he teased, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. But beneath the joke was something deeper—a truth he felt in every fiber of his being. You had become his home.

He crawled back down slowly, peppering you with gentle kisses along your neck and sternum. You unbuttoned your blouse as he continued to trail kisses down your body. Each one a promise.

He bit your hip playfully, leaving a faint mark, and when the red faded, he did it again.

You laughed, the sound light and full of affection. “Always leaving your signature.”

“All part of the service."

•••

As fall settled, Pedro found himself reflecting on everything that had led him to this moment—this life he had built with you. All his lonely days, all the times he had doubted whether love like this would ever find him, seemed like a distant memory now. Everything he had been through had led him to this.

And there wasn’t a single part of him that wasn’t grateful.

As he watched you move around the London flat he had rented, his home for the next few months, catching you mid-laugh or lost in your own world, he felt whole. Complete. Every piece of his life had finally fallen into place.

And he knew, without a doubt, that there would never be a time when he had enough of you. You were his everything, and he would always come back.

Always.

a/n: the end!! sad because i'm gonna miss them so much :( but happy to have finished this the right way. thank you everyone who reads, likes, reblogs and leaves a kind message <3

[taurder]

hii its the noir requester once again 😭 i literally cannot stop reading the most recent one and i need MORE!!!!! can i get noir being a brat with humiliation? maybe hes being snarky and the reader has to put him in his place or smthn 👯‍♂️ thank u sm xx

(by the way, could i be 🕷️ anon? i think it fits pretty well)

top!dom!reader x brat!sub!spider-noir

contains: brat taming, humiliation kink, sub/dom, anal sex, begging, spanking, established relationship, implied vigilante reader.

note: there you go, and you're officially an emoji anon now! enjoy and check if you haven't a shorter thing i wrote about noir here. thanks for the request, keep coming with more, x

"i'm still mad at you" said peter in-between the intense kiss you both were sharing. just a couple minutes ago you were having a heated argument about the last mission you went together, where you made the call to not barge in inside a building without gathering first more information. still, peter got mad even if he followed your lead, and after some yelling and blaming one another now here you were, kissing passionately leaning against the entrance door.

"i feel like you keep forgetting..." even if he was the one who started the kiss after throwing away his mask it seemed that peter still wanted to give you a piece of his mind. "...my enhanced senses, i could've known if we were walking into a– mmghh!" you grabbed his crotch while leaning to steal another kiss, loving the way his body tensed up for the sudden movement.

"i haven't forgot how sensitive you are" you said back, hearing him huff in annoyance for the way you phrased that. he didn't push your hand away, instead rotating his hips towards your touch, trying to keep a serious face. "you have to decide if you want me to touch you more or you want to keep arguing with me" you locked eyes with him, even if he didn't stopped his subtle movements. he wanted to keep yelling, he was always direct on pointing out what he thought was a wrong move.

you pushed your hand more into his covered member, feeling the outline of his cock half way into growing hard. he bite down his tongue to avoid making any sounds. "you need to tell me, noir. i don't want you blaming me for another decision i make, so you take this one" he was irritated, and probably he would've tell you about how you were exaggerating but you have been hearing him nagging all the way home now. yelling, remind you of his powers and being sarcastic with your logic.

you squeezed his crotch, making his eyes flutter and his pissy expression melt for a second before you completely let go of him, putting your hand in his hip, pushing him into the door so he couldn't move more. "well?" you asked expectantly, and he had the nerve to roll his eyes before answering. "keeptouchingme" he mumbled low. he could be argumentative, but he also was a horny bastard who loved being roughen up when you were mad. you pushed more "i didn't hear you, peter, speak up"

"you heard me" horny sometimes didn't crossed out the possibility of having to hear his snarky remarks or bitchy attitude. well, he could be treated just like that. with a smooth move you turned his whole body, now pressing his chest against the door.

he was too clothed for your licking, he had only take off his trenchcoat when you arrived. you leaned towards him, getting your hands around his body so you could undo his belt, hearing him groan a little. he didn't tried to turn or move away though, and it had everything to do with his now noticeable boner. his belt fell on the floor just before you lowered his dress pants leaving them at knee height. he moved slightly and made an attempt to also undo the buttons in his vest but you pushed him forward. no. was all you said, taking both his hands and pinning them against the door.

you didn't have to tell him to keep them there, he just do it by himself after you let go. he groaned again, so you spanked his left cheek, hard. "fuck! maybe warn me next– goddamn" a second and third spank followed right after, and you loved how his ass moved just as his legs tensed up. "if i don't hear you asking for me to stop and fuck you i won't" was your only warning before spanking him again, making his glutes get hot and his dick rock hard. he even put his chest right into the door to push his ass out more after the tenth contact of your hand against his skin.

"look at you, all hard just by this. not even fully naked" he moaned, low and raspy, you were sure he was stopping himself from talking just to piss you off more. the next spank was harder, and you left your hand there, grabbing at the skin and making him yelp. "i could be fucking you half an hour ago, make this fine ass bounce in my dick" he squirmed, pushing his butt closer to you to tease you.

"nah-ah, you heard me. be the loud needy slut you always are and ask for it" you pinched his right cheek just before walking away. you went to the kitchen, still completely able to watch peter's figure and you took a glass and filled it with water, watching him hanging his head between his arms, cursing and mumbling between his teeth before talking loudly enough for you to hear. "please, come touch me" you kept drinking, and his body moved, his forehead now pressed against the door, eyes closed. "please, please, i need you to fuck me".

"finger yourself, for being a brat" you said back and he cursed out again. he only took you seriously when he heard the water on the sink running, you had started washing the dishes. you saw as he exhaled, taking one hand off the door just to guide it to his mouth, biting into his glove to take it off and throw it, covering then his own fingers in as much saliva as he could before putting two inside his hole. you two had a quick session just in the morning, and as you watch him slide a third finger sooner than expected you remembered cumming inside him. was he still wet even if he hadn't put anything more inside?

"please, please, please" he started begging after more minutes, his dick leaking uncontrollably, already making a puddle of semen on the floor. your own cock was hard with the vision, seeing him rock his own body against his three fingers, pants trapped in his legs and fully clothed on top. "you think our neighbors can hear you?" you put the last plate in the dish rack, walking to him, watching him improve his posture for you, raising his ass, showing you how deep his digits were going. "no, i think i'm the only one who knows you like this, right?"

you patted his hip and he stopped fingering his hole, instead pressing his palm again into the door. "yes, yes, fuck me now, i'm good" you took your cock out, barely pushing your pants and underwear down. "good? no love, you've been rude" you spat into his hole, making him squirm again. another two spanks for good measure and just before he was about to complain you sank your length right in.

he moaned, not caring if the thrust made his face crush into the door. he braced himself, both hands leaving nail marks into the wood when you slide out. "but if you milk me good enough i can forgive that, deal?" his confirmation was cut through another moan when you started to really pound into him. spitting more, making sure there wasn't so much friction as you fucked his needy hole.

he found his voice again when any memory of the argument before left his mind and all that was important now was to get your seed inside. he bounced his ass, making the sound of skin against skin be just as filthy as his whimpers. he called your name again and again, making sure you knew now how much he wanted this. how he enjoyed being filled by your cock. and you give it to him just as he asked, being kind enough to aim right into his prostate, to feel in return how his walls tightened.

both couldn't have lasted longer than you did, and it was almost at the same time that he splurt his semen in the door that you fill him with yours. still grabbing at his hips and sliding in and out off him, slowly riding your orgasm. he moaned more after finishing, whinning when you turn him around once more and gently pushed him to stand at the door to kiss him again. the cleaning would come later, of course. "you still mad?" he huffed again, this time a smile creeping in his mouth. "if i say yes we're going another round?" needless to said the argument die right there.

[eeunoia]

ENHYPEN Mini Series

ENHYPEN as Taylor Swift Songs

BACK TO DECEMBER

synopsis: through ups and down, boyfriend lee heeseung was there for you. he’s the perfect boyfriend girls always wishes for. he was perfect, always good to you and you hurt him.

pairings: lee heeseung x reader

word count: 11k.

warnings: angst, harsh words. (let me know if there’s more)

note📎: i’m not so sure how i did with this one, but here you go. please enjoy! this is the second part of my taylor swift songs series. i hope you guys liked this. your reply and reblog means a lot and my ask are open for you thoughts. thank you and stay safe.

"Y/n! I'll go first." you looked over your shoulder and smiled at your friend while she waves her hand. You gave a short nod and waved as well before going back to what you're previously doing.

As you busy yourself putting your things inside your training bag, you let out a yelp when someone suddenly caged you in an embrace.

You twists your head after hearing this familiar mischievous chuckles coming from the culprit. It was your boyfriend, Lee Heeseung. His smirk was evident despite you shooting him glares.

"You scared me!" you shouted at him then swat him over his arm once after he lets you go.

He grunts lowly but kept his smirk. "Well that's the purpose." he said playfully that earned him a roll eyes from you.

With a small smile you went back on fixing your things and you felt him walks closer then he threw his arm over your shoulder.

"How was practice today, pretty? I heard you killed the evaluation yesterday." his tone sounded too excited to hear anything about your day which is not a surprise anymore. He was always like this. One thing you are thankful for is that he's always ready to hear your rants about life. Whether they make sense or not, he will give you his ears.

"It was exhausting. I'm pretty sure the teacher is trying to give us a hard time." you complained and faced him so he can see how you're really upset about it.

Heeseung chuckles softly, seeing you like this is surely adorable. "Awe," he showed this expression that made you want to laugh. He cupped your face and leaned down so you're both on your eye level.

"Who made this baby upset?" he asks taunting you a bit.

You bit your lower lip then elbowed him. He laughs, but lets out a small groan out of pain. He was exaggerating a bit, but it was normal. This is how you two usually shows affection.

After finishing fixing your things, Heeseung gently steals it from your grip then the two of you started walking out from the dance practice room. Your eyes slowly trailed over him. He's wearing training clothes so you know he's here to train as well. Probably vocal lessons.

You and your boyfriend are both trainees in Hybe. He's the first one to get here and you actually met here before you two became a couple. It was not a secret, but you both know your responsibilities and limitations. Right now, your priority is both your careers. The staffs always reminds the two of you that you shouldn't let the relationship affect your work in any way.

Specially that the survival show Heeseung will participate in is just right by the corner. It's so near. Its just a month away before it starts. They've already been oriented about it.

"How was the photoshoot last monday, Hee?" you tried opening a topic between your boyfriend who's silently walking beside you.

He glanced at you before grabbing your hand to hold it. "Good. But it felt so weird tho. I wasn't totally used to it." he said and you can see how his ears turned red. You thought it was cute how he gets shy just by remembering it.

"I bet your photos will turn out great. You'll gain many fangirls!" you stated excitedly.

You know Heeseung. He's good looking and very very talented. You are very sure people will love him. He's also very funny too, so you don't see why he needs to get worried about it. Yes, being nervous is a part of it but you know he will do just well. And you'll be right here to support him.

He kept his stares at you. Those bambi doe eyes of him whenever he looks at you with so much affection sure makes your stomach go crazy. There's just something about it that you can't point out. Not to mention how his beautiful honey tan skin goes along with it perfectly. You raised your hand and brush his hair once before flashing him this warm smile.

"I know you're probably very worried and nervous right now," you started and eyes slowly trails down from his eyes down to his nose, and to his lips. He pursed it, that made it even look more red. You blinked, getting a little distracted.

"But you'll do very well, Hee. I know it. We all know it." you glanced back to his eyes after finally shoving away the distracting thoughts of his lips and how good they look.

He kept his stares and didn't respond right away. "Yeah. I just can't help but to overthink with all this pressure around me."

Some people may find him mysterious and honestly, you can't blame them. He isn't the type who will tell you everything and opens up very quickly. Heeseung is very reserved when it comes to letting other people see his emotions. You understand him and somehow gets his point. It also took you a while before he started sharing his thoughts with you.

You draws in a sigh before pursing your lips, "Don't mind the pressure. It will always be there, specially because you're very talented and a lot expects big from you. Just enjoy, baby."

Heeseung's eyes sparkles because of the endearment. His hand reaches out for you and pulled you into a tight embrace. You chuckles, inhaling his manly scent as you slowly returns his affection. His lips pressed a kiss at your forehead once.

"I will. Thank you, baby. For always believing in me."

You blushed. He's been calling you endearments ever since you two started dating, but you still blush like crazy like its the first time. Heeseung have that much effect on you. You truly loves him so much.

"I will always believe in you."

He slightly pulls away then cups your face, "And I believe in you too. I know you'll debut sooner as well." his tone sounded so sure. You couldn't even sense any doubt from it.

You flashed a confident smile, "Definitely!" you cheered happily and you both chuckled after that.

Trainee life wasn't easy and they often say that this isn't just about passion. There's so much more about it. Your dreams and future, they're all connected. The risks you are taking for choosing this life instead of going to a good university was no joke. They said continuing this path is only for brave ones. And you are brave.

As expected, Heeseung became pretty busy the following weeks. Meetings after meetings, trainings after trainings, they even started to film some clips that may appear on the show. It was so exciting and thrilling. Hearing stories from your boyfriend makes you feel like you're experiencing them first hand. You are so happy for him.

You glanced at him silently packing his bag while you hang the outfit he's about to wear tomorrow. It's the big day. His big day. They will go to this place and stay there for a long time. It makes you feel sad and longing already for him. After-all, you two had been inseparable ever since you dated. It was always with him that highlights your days. For now, you have to settle on seeing him on screen. The thought of him finally taking another step closer to his dreams, somehow became your only comfort.

"Did you pack everything?" you broke the silence between you two as you hang his pants together with his tie-dye shirt.

His eyes met yours and he smiled, it was obvious that he was thinking about something before you talked. You already had a clue what it is, but you try to keep your mouth shut and let him speak for it.

"Yes. It's not like we're asked to bring too much anyway. They said all the things we will be needing will be there." he says and you nodded your head trying to push back the tears that were attempting to come out from your eyes.

Heeseung has never seen you cry before. He sees you as a very gullible and happy go lucky person. He does saw you get sad and disappointed, but crying? No. Atleast not yet.

He might have noticed the hint of tears at the corner of your eyes so he chuckles and opens his arms wide for you. A small smirk spreads across his handsome face, to hide and cover the sadness that slowly eating him up.

"Come here," he softly says that you obliged right away.

The hug was warm as always. It was one of your favorite things in the world, being caged between his arms while he place kisses at your head and assured you that everything's going to be all right. For Heeseung, this is also one of his safest place. You between his arms, your warmth comforting him and telling him that you're just there for him. He's attached to you as much as you are to him.

"Three months isn't that long, I'll be back even before you know it." he comforts you even without you mentioning that it was that that bothers you.

He knows, because he himself is sad that you'll be away from each other for that long. But you two have no choice. This is for his dreams, your dreams. This is what's best and you are very happy for him. You'll do anything just for him to be successful and achieve his dreams. And you'll do the same for your dreams. You two promised that a time will come, you will watch each other in big screens while attending music award shows together.

"I love you, Heeseung." you mumbled.

His heart races as he pulls away flashing you a warm smile, "I love you." and he leans in to give you one affectionate kiss on your lips.

That night, you spend it while cuddling each other closely. Sleep doesn't seem to visit you and so you just enjoyed staying with him for a bit more. Soon enough, sunrise were there and he has to leave and go to the place where they'll film the show. He waves at you and you did as well flashing him your warmest smile.

"Y/n, have you watched the first episode?" your eyes looked over one of the trainees who excitedly approach you while you're currently working out.

You smiled and nodded your head shortly. She squealed and even did small jumps out of excitement. Another one smoothly joins in the conversation. They're starting to tell you how amazing and cool Heeseung was along with some other trainees that you couldn't catch on.

You just smile politely and responds whenever they ask things. Unconsciously, your eyes darted over the entrance of the gym when you saw one of the trainors were called by a staff. She asked him something and he nods his head before roaming his eyes around the place, like looking for someone. When you two met eyes, he stopped and pointed you towards the staff.

Your heart races as you watch her thank him then walks towards you. She's familiar. You have seen her with some of the managers around the company. There's a rumor that they're trying to form a girl group and will release them soon. The thought thrilled you and your heart can't help but to leap out of excitement and anticipation.

"Ms. Y/n?" the two girls that were talking to you turns their head and bowed immediately after seeing the staff. She returned the greeting and looked back at you.

"Yes?"

"Are you done with your work out? I would like to invite you to the office, one of the managers asked for you." she said using this professional tone. It made you a little worried and anxious, you'll be honest. But you shrugged it off and bravely nodded your head before asking if you can go take a quick shower first.

She said okay and that she'll just wait for you at the lobby. You didn't waste any time and just quickly go take a quick shower and tried to make yourself look presentable as much as possible. When you arrived by the lobby, she's there on the phone. While walking closer, you try to flatten your shirt and fix your hair. Just in time, she glanced at your way and asked you to wait for a while.

You stood there patiently and after she finishes her call, she walks closer and trailed her eyes from head to toe.

"Follow me." she strictly instructs and you just nodded.

As you follow her, your mind is floating somewhere. A lot of questions flooded you and your lungs pressed out air out of nervous. Chills runs over your spine as your heart clamps making it a little hard to breath. Despite all of these, you composed and prepared yourself to whatever it is that going to happen.

You've seen scenes like this. It's either end up good or bad.

The two of you stops outside a meeting room, here is where special meetings are gathered. Near here is the evaluation hall where you present your monthly performance that they will grade. It will dictate whether you will continue as a trainee or you're out.

"Wait here for a while." she says and knocked twice to the door before peeping his head a little.

"She's here with me. Should I get her inside?" she asks the people inside. You couldn't hear what exactly their responnses are but when the girl motioned you to follow her inside, you guess they agreed.

You draws in big heavy sigh before you walked inside, ready to face them and hear what they call for you in.

As expected, familiar faces are can be seen. They all turned their heads at you once you step inside. Strict and cold looking eyes scanned you from head to foot. It made you more nervous because the silence was very suffocating. They all have serious face and none of them are talking.

"Goodafternoon." you tried to greet them even if you're very nervous. Good thing that you didn't startled.

The girl asked you to stand at the middle, in front of the table where they're all seated. It's not very welcoming and has high tension that makes you just want to run outside, but this was all part of it. Monthly, you get evaluated and this are pretty similar to it.

"What do you think?" one of them asks, only she's not talking to you but rather to the person beside her. There's this strict woman, probably on her mid-30s, and she's staring at you with those strict meticulous eyes of hers. You know her. She have a high position in the company, her opinion is very important when it comes to trainees that will be released by the company.

She kept her stares and didn't talk for a while before she draws in a sigh. "Well, she looked decent." it was a short comment, but was enough to make relief falls over their faces.

She sighed, "All right, take her out from Team B and let her be with (band name) for a while. Let's see their chemistry together."

Your eyes almost popped out of its socket after what you heard from her. She didn't said anything afterwards and just fixed her folder and left, dismissing everyone that isn't needed anymore. All of them stood up to bow at her as she leaves the room, you on the other hand was still stunned at what was happening. A part of you wanted to jump and celebrate, but a part of you felt scared. Worried of what's about to come.

Trainee life is already very hard and you heard that once you're part of a debuting group, it'll be much worst. They said they'll become more strict and things are way different. Despite all of these thoughts that are bothering you, the idea of finally joining a group that will be released is very thrilling.

"Y/n? Come with me." your neck craned over to the staff that took you here in this room.

After bowing politely at the remaining people inside, you decided to follow her towards somewhere. On the way, your heart are thumping like crazy. Your stomach churns in an uncomfortable way. The emotions you are currently having are unexplainable.

Soon enough, both of you arrived at a practice room. Your mouth gapped in awe as you roam your eyes around after she guides you inside. Inside were five girls that turned their heads in unison after noticing your presence. Your curiosity subsided and you suddenly felt shy.

One of them went to stop the music and they walked closer, standing in a straight line. Their curious eyes darted silently at you.

"Girls, this is y/n. She will join your trainings and practices for a while and we will see if she fits the group." she asks you to introduce yourself and even if you feel super shy, you bowed.

"Hi, I'm y/n from Team B. I hope you take good care of me." you showed a polite smile for them that they exchanged with warm smiles. Somehow, it made you feel at ease. They all seems very nice.

One by one, they introduced themselves to you. The staff left you with them and the girls instantly hovered over you excitedly. You blushed and felt surprised at them. One giggles and informed you that you are younger so she wants you to call her 'unnie'.

"You're Heeseung's girl, right?" the oldest from the group suddenly said.

You showed a slight shock over your face and nodded your head. One seems to be surprised at the information while others kept their smiles. They all got excited and soon hovered around you to ask about details. It was obvious how they find it so amusing that you are in a relationship with the ace trainee.

“It must’ve been very hard for you right now. Do you miss him?”

Your lips lifts up into a small smile and eyes slowly trailed down your fingers, the familiar bitter feeling overtaking your chest.

“So much. I got used to having him around.” you admits.

“Yah, you shouldn’t have asked that.” one of them whispered and you just smiled a little at them to show that its fine.

A lady entered the room and she introduced herself as Ms. Kim. She’s the one incharge to manage this debuting group. She flashes you a warm smile. For the first time, you felt at ease. She’s the only one who gave you this kind of face ever since you were escorted here.

You mirrored her smile despite feeling a little awkward.

“Y/n, team B. A trainee for almost a year.” it isn’t a question that needs a confirmation, it was a statement. Seems like she’s well aware of your background. It made you feel a little nervous.

“You’re probably at shock right now, but from now on you will be joining them.” she draws in a sigh. “Consider this a chance to take a spot in the debuting group, Y/n. I hope you take this seriously.” she stated, now looking at you with a stern look on her face.

You nodded right away, warmth slowly spread through your chest.

“Yes, Ma’am!”

Things that follows became a blur. The next thing you know, you are spending most of your time with this group training. A part of you expects a lot, excited and looking forward to what’s waiting ahead, but a part of you also worries a lot. The management did told you that this doesn’t guarantee your spot for the debuting group. They’re just checking if your chemistry with these girls will click. If yes, you’ll debut with them. If not? Then you’re back to team B.

“Come on girls! Move those bodies!” the choreographer ordered and like robots you all complied. You sighed and felt your body aching due to dancing too much. The dance moves are no joke. It was crazy and honestly you feel like your bones are not attached to each other anymore.

“Y/n!!” her screams were loud as your small mistake of the dance after missing off the beat caught her eyes.

Your body stopped moving and that caused her to be more angry. She was always the strict type of teacher, the ones who doesn’t let small mistakes slip off and you understand why. You wanted so bad to move, but your body was too strained to even follow the dances.

“Stop the music!” and in an instant, the song stopped and all the girl’s eyes darted at your direction.

This isn’t a new scene for you anymore. Ever since you joined this group, you felt different. You feel like you cannot dance and sing anymore. Like as if all those trainings you've done before did you nothing, like it was all put into waste.

The girls gave way to the instructor when she marched towards your direction. They have this worried look painted over their faces. You teared your gaze away from them and looked at the furious instructor. She looked really mad. You can’t blame her. The clock is ticking and the debut date is approaching fast. They need the group ready and you are causing them trouble.

“I’m s-sorry.” you muttered lowly as you try to keep your tears from escaping your gloomy and tired eyes.

Her clenching jaw is visible and she lets a scoff, “How many months are you training with them again, y/n?” her tone roared all over the room. Nobody else talked after her question. None of them tries to interrupt or save you from her wrath.

You stood there, looking afraid and tired. You are feeling sorry for messing up, sincerely sorry for it. It’s just you feel like everything’s moving too fast for you. Suddenly, you doesn’t fit to this anymore. Like you’ve been stripped off from your life and was put into a different timeline accidentally. It was hard to explain.

“T-Three months.” you answered, stuttering.

“3 months and you still mess this small details?! Are you really a trainee?!” she shouted right at you. It made you step back once and your head lowered. You felt your chest tightens as you bit your lower lip to keep it from shaking too much. Your eyes heaten up, tears pooling already.

“I don’t even know why they decided to put you in here! I don’t know why you’re here and honestly, I want you out! You are ruining the group’s image! You are not fit here!” her loud voice hurts your ears but her words stabbed you like knives.

A tear fell from your eye. Ever since you joined this debuting group you cried too often. Too often that sometimes even if you’re hurting, no tears flows anymore. It was just too... overwhelming. Nobody’s there to comfort you. The company is strict on making you interact with other people. Right now, you have nobody.

Then Heeseung pops inside your mind. Your lips shakes even more and tears flows unstoppable. Just thinking about him suffocates you more. You wish he’s here beside you. You wish he was here, because you’re sure he will know the perfect words to say. He will know how to calm you down.

“Crying again, huh?! Is that all you can do?! Is that what you trained to do here? You’re better off on the acting career!” she has no mercy. Well, she’s strict that way. It’s not that she’s heartless, or maybe she really is, but there are times that she’s nice and caring. It’s just that she takes her job seriously. And with all the pressure for the upcoming girl group of the company, she can’t help but to be more strict.

“That’s enough,” after hearing Ms. Kim’s voice, the instructor stopped talking but you can still her heavy breaths.

She told everyone to leave the room to give you and Ms. Kim some privacy. The moment they all left, your knees automatically lose all of its strength and you fell on the floor. There, you cried. You cried so hard.

“I’m disappointed in you, Y/n.” unlike the teacher before, her tone is more calmer. Her words added to the knives already buried over you.

“We picked you to add to this group, but you are not doing your best.” she said that made you slowly raise your head to look at her.

Her heart cracks at the sight of you. Eyes full of tears, cheeks and nose red from all the crying and the life in your eyes were nowhere to be found. She can’t even see any determination from you. It’s like as if you’ve already gave up.

“I’m d-doing my best, Ms. Kim.” you tried to argue for yourself. You are trying your best. Multiple times you stayed later than everyone else just to learn the steps a bit more. Your voice strained countless times from all the vocal trainings you’ve done.

“Well, I can’t see it.” she stepped closer and helped you get back to your feet. Her concerned eyes wonders over your crying face. She cares genuinely for you. Even if she’s strict and sometimes she scold you, you can feel her care for you. That’s why seeing you like this hurts her as well. She wants you to debut with this group because she saw a potential in you.

“Do you want this, Y/n?” she asks, brushing away some of your hair from your face.

You nodded continuously, “Y-Yes.”

She stared at your eyes for a good minute before she nods her head. “Show us that you want this.” and with that she pulled you in for a hug.

That made you bursts into tears again, “I’m s-sorry, Ms. Kim. I w-will try more. I will try to do b-better more.” she cares your back and soon she asks you to go home to get some rest.

You’re like a lifeless person while entering the quiet dorm. Since you’re training with the debuting group, you sleep in their dorms as well. The whole place was dark since nobody’s here. You sighed and plopped yourself down the floor. The deafening silence of the place adds more weight to your down mood.

The aches all over your body made you tear up along with the hurtful things that happened a while ago. Your mind was blank, you don’t know how your eyes still produce tears. Then your phone inside your pocket buzzed for a text message you just received.

With slow and lifeless movement, you reached for it then checked who it was. You sat up and wipe off the tears over your cheeks as the familiar contact name of Heeseung’s Mom flashed through your screen. She left you a text.

Mom (Heeseung’s)

Y/n-ah, how are you? You don’t visit me here anymore. I hope you are eating well. I know training is hard, but you can do it. I believe in you, we all do. Don’t starve and overwork yourself. Anyway, its the last episode tomorrow and its your day off. I’m just wondering if you want to watch it with the family?

Your heart tugged by the sweet message. It made your tears flow even more. Guilt and slight anger towards yourself ignites as it reminds you how many people are supporting you. Somehow, that gesture help you to gain motivation to continue and give your best.

You took a long hot bath after crying a bit more before finally going to bed.

The next morning, the dorm was still quiet when you started getting ready to leave. You figured the rest of the girls are still sleeping in because its your day off. They probably stayed late yesterday.

You quickly left the dorm after leaving some cooked meal for the girls and a note saying that you’re off to Heeseung’s house. They are often used to it already. You leave far and his house is the closest to the company. That’s why whenever its your day off, you go there to spend some time with Hee’s Mom. To somehow ease both of your longing towards him.

“Y/n!” her cheerful voice greets you the moment you entered the house. You flashed a bright smile and return her warm hug.

You fight so hard not to cry when you felt her cares your back. With pursed lips, you blinked multiple times to push the tears back. You don’t want to worry her.

She pulls off the hug and caress your face, “Are you eating well? You lost some weight.” she says worriedly.

“Don’t worry, Mom (Hee’s Mom). I make sure I eat well.”

She pouts her lips and stared at your eyes a bit more just to check if you’re really telling the truth. Thankfully, she didn’t notice how your eyes are all puffy with all the crying last night. Guess icing your eyes really works.

She served you good lunch and both of you spent the whole afternoon catching up. The last episode will be stream live later so you still have time. Despite the smiles over her face, you can see through her eyes that she’s worried.

You reached for her hand and caress it.

“He will make it, Mom (Hee’s Mom).” you assured her.

Her eyes teared up now that you noticed it. She’s been holding back these tears because she doesn’t want you to be sad and worried as well. Heeseung has been through a lot these past months inside that survival show. But you know he will debut. He’s strong and very talented. A lot of people supports and loves him.

The two of you are hand in hand while the last episode started. Both in tears whenever Heeseung showed up on the screen.

“Lee Heeseung.”

The two of you screamed and jumped while hugging each other when his name was called. You cried with tears of joy then glanced back at the television. He was now hugging the other debuting members and you can see how relieved he is. He stared through the screen and it made your heart thumped faster.

“You made it, love.” you mumbled under your breath, the cries of joy of his Mom as your background.

The joy you are feeling for your boyfriend are too much, but a tiny bitter feeling aches inside of you. At the back of your mind you know things will change. You have no idea how or what kind of change, but you are certain about it. Then your heart aches after remembering what happened to you yesterday.

You can’t help but to be scared. Heeseung’s a step closer to his dreams, while you seem to have taken a step back.

“Baby!” he jogs towards you and didn’t waste any time to cage you into a tight hug. His face nuzzle over your neck, inhaling your familiar scent that he surely missed so much.

He closed his eyes and tighten his hug even more. He can’t help but to feel too overwhelmed. He didn’t realize how much he missed you until he sees you standing outside their practice room, waiting patiently for their break time.

You pull off from the hug chuckling then cupped his face. He stared lovingly at you and it made your heart beat fast.

“I missed you.” he says and his eyes trailed down to your lips.

You smirked, “I missed you more, ace of Enhypen.”

His cheeks turned red and it didn’t slip from your eyes making you laugh. Did you just made the Lee Heeseung blush? He groaned and placed a quick kiss at your neck before nuzzling once again.

“I’m so proud of you.” you mumbled and Heeseung’s felt so contented that very moment.

He’s just starting to achieve his dreams, but he knows as long as he have you he can do it. He don’t know what he will do if he lose you.

He pulls away again and this time cupped your face, “I love you. Thank you for supporting me.” he says sincerely then slowly leaned in to give you a kiss on your lips.

Your heart tugged and blushed so hard. The feeling was overwhelming for you. Having him hugging you like this sends comfort to you. It somehow makes you forgot about your troubles. It made you forget about it even just for a while.

“I love you, Hee.”

He smiled satisfied. “I heard you’re training with (band name)?”

Just the mention of the band’s name almost made you lose your smile, good thing you managed to hold it. The excitement through his eyes tells you that he have no idea how awful your situation was.

You gave a short nod, his smile even grew wider if possible before he leaned and placed a kiss over your forehead following it with encouraging words of, “You can do it, love. We’ll debut together.”

After that catching up moment with him, he started to become busy. You understand and already saw this coming. The only time you can talk to him is when you see each other at the company, which is not that often, and when he’s not that tired after training. Sometimes, he still try to talk to you despite the long day but you force him to get some rest instead. At times like this, rest is his top priority.

Months pass by and their debut finally came. It was very succesful and you are very happy for him. He deserve it.

While things go smoothly with Heeseung, yours become very hard. Its like you just go to trainings just to get scolded and you go to the dorms to overthink. You are restless, both physically and mentally. Right now, you don’t even know if you can make it. You are trying your best, but you just don’t know where you lack.

“Did you watch our stages?” you can almost vision his big smiles through the phone call.

You wiped off your tears and tried not to be too obvious. Heeseung called while you’re breaking down inside the dorms. He finally had the free time and didn’t want to let the opportunity to talk to his girlfriend pass. He misses you so much and he feels like even if you two texts and calls often, it wasn’t enough. He can feel that a lot of things are going on with you, but you only say a few things to him.

“Y-Yes, baby.” you answered.

You bit your lower lip to stop it from shaking.

“Hey, are you okay?” his worried tone snapped you back to reality.

‘Shit’ you cursed inside your head before inhaling and calming yourself down.

“Of course. My throat is just a little itchy that’s why my voice is strained and I have a cold.” you lied.

You heard him sighed, “Love, I told you to take extra care on yourself right?” his tone sounded so sweet and caring that you felt a lump over your throat. A lot of words that wanted to come out, but you chose not to say them. Right now, he has a lot on his hands and you don’t want to add on them.

“I w-will. Thank you, baby. Please take care too.”

He drawns in a sigh, “Surely. I’ll see you when we have free time.”

Both of you bid goodbye before he finally end the call. You cried more that night and the next day, you are back on training.

Time flies so fast. Months passed by already and Heeseung’s group is already making a name on the kpop world. It was crazy. You are happy for him, but you’re so sad for yourself.

Tonight, a day in september, you are called in over to the office hall. The same room where they called you in to announce that you will debut with that group.

“Y/n.” Ms. Kim calls.

Her and her team that was formed for the group were the ones in here. Probably having a meeting for the new group since their debut is coming so fast. The whole stuff are all planned already.

“Yes, Miss?” you are very nervous, but a little hopeful.

You knew you did your best for the past months. You worked hard to earn the position. Even after getting sick, you still try to attend practices and trainings.

“Listen,” she says and gradually glanced away before reaching over your hand to caress it softly.

Your heart sanks at that. Somehow you already know what’s there to come. Slowly, you can feel your chest tightens and your brain being clouded by a lot of thoughts. You couldn’t response at her at all, but you kept your eyes at her.

“You did so well holding up until now. I know you went through a lot and I am proud you made it this far.” she started and you can see through her eyes that she feels so bad to announce to you the news.

“I’m very sorry honey, but I’m afraid you can’t debut with the group.” her words echoes through your mind like a broken radio. You already expected it but to hear it from her just hits different. It was like being hit by a truck and then get run over by another vehicle. It was dreadful and you can feel your whole body almost giving up. If it weren’t for her hug that she suddenly gave you.

“You did so well, Y/n. Totally.”

When she pulled away, you gave her a soft small smile. Of course it was unsincere so you clearly see the worry over her eyes. You bowed slowly.

“T-Thank you for t-taking good c-care of me.” and it almost made her cry.

You didn’t cried at all while saying good-bye to the staff you used to work with. They are a bit teary tho, and they have a small hint of pity over them.

You head straight to the dorms to pack some of your stuff. It was vacant because the girls are back at the company for their practice. You are silent and still didn’t shed any tear yet. You are feeling awful, but seems like your eyes are tired of shedding any tears.

The silence were broken by a faint chime of from your phone, a text message was sent. Your head craned at your side to look at it. The familiar nickname of your boyfriend can be seen, he sent you loads of messages. Looks like the news made it to him as well. As far as you know, he’s busy now preparing for another comeback.

Your eyes were just staring at the phone until its screen turns off. Seconds later, it opened again and this time you are receiving a call from Heeseung.

“Hello?” you tried saying.

From the other line, you can hear him gasping for air, like as if he ran a marathon or something.

“Baby,” he started. “where are you? Are you at the dorms? I’m outside of your building. I want to see you.”

You almost stumble on your own feet while hurrying to go down and meet the only person that can give you comfort. Once you made it on the groundfloor and straight out of the building, there you saw him standing by the side. He’s wearing a black hoody, sweats, a cap and a mask. Since this building is exclusive, its pretty safe for the two of you to meet here.

You slowly walked towards him and he meet you half way. He took off his mask and once you’re out of his reach, he quickly caged you into a tight embrace.

There. That was what you’re waiting for. The hug was like the one that pulled the trigger for you to release everything you are keeping to yourself. Tears flows nonstop, cries whales that broke Heeseung’s heart. He shut his eyes, getting teary as well as he placed a kiss at the top of your head while trying to comfort you.

“It’s okay, baby. Just let it all out. I’m here.” he mumbles and caress your back while you continue to cry.

Heeseung can’t explain how this scene made him feel. You are crying so bad and this is the very first time he saw you like this. He didn’t like it in one bit.

“It h-hurts so bad, Hee.” you says drawing in a much bigger breath because you can feel your lungs pressing uncomfortably due to crying so hard.

Heeseung cups your face, “I know baby. I know.” he cares it using his thumbs and stared at your eyes lovingly, his eyes expresses how he mourn with you.

“I love you so much, baby. I’m just here for you.” and pulls you in another big hug.

“D-Don’t you have practice?”

He quickly shuts off the topic about him, “Don’t worry about it, I can just stay a bit more. You’re more important right now.”

You want so bad to make him go back to his practice but you know you also need him here by your side. For once, you chose to be selfish and make him stay with you.

You nuzzle over his chest, tears still streaming. “I love you so much, Heeseung. Thank you for being here with me right now.” and he didn’t say a single word. Just a kiss at the top of your head as he cages you inside his warm embraces hoping it somehow ease the pain.

A lot changed right after you got removed from the debut line up. You lost your will to be a trainee or even attend any lessons. The effect it left was undeniably impactful. The people close with you felt so bad and doesn’t really know how to help you cheer up.

Heeseung too. Juggling both his career and his relationship with you was not easy at all for the rookie ace. Giving up any of it didn’t became an option tho. No matter how hard it is, he always made sure he will still have time for you. He understands what you’re going through. It was hurting and breaking him to see you like this. The fact that he felt like you are slipping off was so much painful.

“Hi, love.” your lifeless eyes darted at Heeseung when he enters your dorm. He was wearing this big smile while holding some take-outs.

After placing it on the table, he walks closer and quickly pulls you in for a hug. Your eyes can’t help but to notice his newly bleached hair. You don’t know what exactly to feel about it. You should be happy for your boyfriend, since his group is slowly becoming known to the whole world. He’s obviously doing very well. As expected from the Lee Heeseung.

He pulls out from the hug and tilts his head to catch your eyes. You flash him a small smile, quickly pushing away the negative look on your eyes after meeting his.

“How are you today?” he asks, curiously.

‘Terrible.’ you wanted to answer, but stopped yourself from doing so. He may seem like he’s full of energy and all, but you are aware that he’s very tired. Amused at how he can still be here despite the busy schedule, you can’t help but to scan him with your eyes. Heeseung noticed your tired eyes and opens his mouth. He’s about to ask you, but somehow he already knows what you’ll say. He figured you still don’t want to talk about it yet.

“I’m doing fine. How about you?” you tried to sound as much cheerful as you want to, but you’re sure you failed.

“Good. Just a little tired.” his eyes settled at you, looking so affectionate.

His hands snakes over your waist and you felt your heart beat fast. Heeseung never changed, if there’s something that change maybe it was that he became even more sweet and honestly its making you feel guilty. Even if he don’t say it, you know you’ve been neglecting him.

You ran your hands from his arms towards his biceps over to his shoulder before locking your hands behind his nape, pulling your bodies closer to each other. You stared at him as a playful smirk plays over his pretty lips, his eyes softens even more with your initiation of skinship. He missed this.

“I’m so proud of you.” you whispered sincerely making his eyes be filled with so much love.

His hand squeezed your waist a bit before one raised to cup your face, “I’m very proud of you as well, love.” and he leaned in to seal it with a loving kiss at your lips.

Your eyes shuts as the bitter feeling slowly creep towards your chest, poisoning your mind with guilt for a lot of things. Those words he told you, even if he’s sincere about it you are the one who can’t accept any of it. It was painful rather than comforting. You wanted so bad to take it in, convince yourself that you are worthy of it, but always ends up resenting yourself even more.

You two spent the night together. He was so happy being with you and you tried to enjoy the moment as well. The problem was clearly not him, it was you. You are punishing yourself.

Days, weeks continued the same. You are lifeless and with no will already. It was evident with the people you train with. Sometimes you hear them talk.

“Isn’t she suppose to debut with (band name)? What happened?” one whispers while you pretend to continue filling your glass with water.

“I heard that she was not good enough and that she’s ruining the group’s image so they took her out.”

The words stung, but the memories that comes after was the one that broke you. With no words, you exits the room and went straight to a bathroom stall to once again cry, hoping it will somehow take some of this awful feelings away. But no. They don’t go away, they even get worst. You know you need to get away, you need to do something.

“Y/n,” the admin assigned for the trainee looked at you with worry.

You tried flash her a smile. “Please let me do this. I...” your words got stuck over your throat as you stall with your sentence. “..don’t think I can continue anymore. I’m very sorry.”

You lower your head, afraid to see more disappointed look from people. Silence ate the two of you and nobody dares to talk for a while before you felt her pulling you into a hug. It made you tear up, but you pursed your lips to keep those unwanted cries to come out.

“I’m sorry too, darling.” she mumbled and then pats your back before pulling away.

“Okay, you can go. But remember that if ever your mind changes, you are welcome to come back.”

You gave her a nod, but the idea of coming back to this place was not even playing through your mind. You bid good bye to some of the trainees you’re close with before heading towards your dorms to go pack your things. While doing it, your mind always get clouded by the thought of forgotting something.

It's been a week ever since you last saw Heeseung and you are avoiding him as well because you wanted to think throughly of this situation. Your phone was off too the whole day. Your heart aches just by thinking of him. You love Heeseung, you love him so much but right now you don’t know if you can love him well when you’re this broken. He doesn’t deserve to be neglected and so you planned to end what’s between you and him tonight too.

Your hand balled into a fist before you fished your phone and switched it open. The moment it was turned on, your chect tightens at the sight of Heeseung and you as your wallpaper. Both of you looked so happy, these was back to the days that its not yet so tough.

You jolted when the phone started to vibrate and his name flash on your screen. A tear left your eye and your chest tightens. You can feel the pain was eating your whole system.

You threw your head back and shut your eyes for a while before trying to calm youself down. You don’t want to, but you know you have to face him sooner or later.

“H-Hello?”

“Baby! I couldn’t get a hold of you the whole day, I was worried sick. What happened?” you bit your lower lip as your heart swells in an uncomfortable way.

“N-Nothing. I’m sorry to worry you.” and for what will follow afterwards.

“Can you go down? I’m outside your dorm.” he still sounded so worried and after hearing what he said, your head cranes towards the windows. You’re too afraid to approach it and check if he was telling the truth. You don’t know if you’re ready to see him there, waiting for you like always.

Even if he’s not telling you, you are completely aware that deep down he wants to demand from you. Attention, time and affection. He wants all of it from you like before, but he’s just too nice to bother you with it. He knew you are going through something so he will just understand. He loves you too much that your presence is enough for him.

After heaving a sigh, trying to gather your thoughts so you’ll be ready to say it to him properly. You know it won’t make anything better. No matter how perfect you manage to say your thoughts towards him, you know it will hurt him big time.

Just thinking of him waiting outside hurts already, but seeing him right now was even painful. He cranes his head at your direction after hearing faint steps. His brows was a little furrowed out of worry and met you half way. His hands reached out for you to pull you closer to his touch, feeling impatient to cage you into an embrace. It felt warm, comforting like usual but it sends you guilt as well. You can’t keep up with this. You don’t want to keep feeling this way.

“I was so worried for you.” he muttered and soon pulls away so he can look at your face.

Heeseung was taken aback to see your bloodshot eyes. It was very obvious you cried and when he was about to ask you what’s going on, his mouth hang open. For the first time after the night he first saw you, he manages to see how broken you are. Your eyes looks so drained and tired, like as if hiding them was not enough already as well.

“Baby..” he calls softly.

You pursed your lips as it starts to shake, tears pools your eyes. “Let’s break up, Heeseung.”

Your words didn’t process right away. He stiffens as he stares at you blankly, doesn’t want to believe what he just heard from you.

“W-What?” he draws in a strained sigh, chest tightening. “What did you say?” his tone hesitant but he wants to hear it again. He’s hoping he heard it wrong, that you are just pranking him. That all of these are just a joke.

You swallowed, feeling a lump getting in between your throat. The pain was undescribable, it was uncomfy to bear and definitely much more worst than what you felt after getting kicked out from the group. It was crazy how that feeling was beaten. You don’t know such emotions exists.

“L-Let’s end this, Heeseung. I can’t keep going on like this.” you finished your line, the words practiced moments before were all thrown outside the window.

“N-No,” He blinks, eyes starting to water. His hold from you losen and his hands fell over his sides as he stare at you hopelessly. His adam's apple bobbed continuously, trying to swallow whatever that feeling that was in between his throat.

“You are just joking, right?” he tries to push back those tears back because there’s no way he’s losing you. Not right now.

“No, y/n. We can’t. Please, I love you. I’m trying hard, right? I’m doing my best to keep you, why..” his words trailed as he saw how you look dead tired and serious. He realized you are true to your words. That this isn’t just some prank. “...are you doing this? How can you give this up like this? How can you do that when I’m trying hard to fight?” he couldn’t help but to feel so betrayed right now. It was a bitter feeling he never imagined to feel from you.

You lowered your head, tears started to flow nonstop. “I’m s-so sorry,” were the only words you can tell him right now.

He stared at you, shoulders hanging low. A tear left his eyes. He wants to pull you closer to comfort you but he himself was hurting too much right now.

“I’m so tired. I can’t keep on disappointing people—”

“You aren't! Did I ever made you feel like that?! I try so hard not to upset or offend you, because I know how hard that must’ve been feel! I try to give you attention, give you love hoping it will somehow manage to ease the pain! I love you, y/n... so much! I’m always here for you and I will—”

“That’s the point, Hee!” you cut him off lifting your head to look at him straight in his eyes. Letting him see how miserable and broken you really are.

He pursed his lips, jaw clenching while looking at you silently.

“You are doing so well. Being an idol and being my boyfriend! I am very happy for you and very thankful that despite of my shortcomings you made me feel loved. You always make me feel worthy even if I’m such a disappointment.” he took a step closer and was about to talk, but you interrupted him.

“I tried to cover it all up. I tried to convince myself that its just a moment, a phase of my life and it will soon fade away if I tried to focus on the brighter things in my life. But no! Who am I fooling? The guilt is eating me up! The disappointment I was trying to bury behind my back was poisining me all the way in. It was killing me! It was silently ruining me and I can’t keep living with it because I'm so tired. I’m tired hearing things from other people how I’m not deserving of this...” your eyes slowly softens but soon replaced by bitterness as you stared at him, “... how I’m not deserving of you.”

Heeseung shakes his head, disagreeing. He wants to hold you but you stepped back, hurting him.

“I know you don’t think that way, but the problem here is not you. This is beyond your control, Heeseung. It was all on me. These are issues only I can fix. I’m so sorry, but I n-need to end what we have.”

Heeseung was looking at you silently, still couldn’t get over by the fact that you stepped away from his hold, from him. It was a scene not easy to forget.

“I will go back home to our province. I will stop training as well.”

This time Heeseung furrowed his brows hardly. Your eyes glanced away from him, can’t handle the way he stares at you this time.

“What...” he’s actually surprised at what more there is that you’ll reveal. He doesn’t know if he wants to be here to hear all of it, because it gets even worst.

He sighed heavily, calming himself before he face palms and lets out a big heavy sigh again.

“I can try so hard to understand you giving up us,” he starts that made you look at him. “..but you giving up your dreams? That I can’t understand.” he clenches his jaw, finally looking at you in disbelief.

You stayed silent. Letting him say those words at you. Letting you hear it and absorb it all just to match the pain that were already leaving inside of you.

“I will never understand and accept you giving up the dreams you’ve built with me. I was there when you dreamed of it and I know I wasn’t the only one who believed you can.” he steps closer that caught you off-guard so you didn’t have the chance to back away.

Heeseung grabs your hand and gave you a bouquet of your favorite flowers. Your heart cracks and sank seeing it, but after he said the following words, your whole heart crumbs.

“Here,” he says. “Happy Anniversary.” his voice was filled with nothing but pain and bitterness before he turned around then started walking away from you.

Your eyes settled at the pretty flowers as tears flows nonstop once again, bluring your vision. When you finally gather yourself and ready to call him out, he was all gone. Lee Heeseung, the man that you love left with a broken heart. The night felt colder and the painful memory carved something inside your heart. A permanent scar.

“Waah, Lee Heeseung really did make it.” your head shifts to your side and saw how the staffs around you watch him over the monitor with adoration through their eyes. A small smile made it to your face before you looked back to watch him once again.

“I’m so proud of you.” you mumbled to yourself and felt the corner of your eyes slowly burning just by getting reminded of how perfect he was for you.

You snapped back to reality when you heard your instructor clapping their hands. “Chop chop ladies! We need to finish the choreo because your debut is near.”

Without wasting any time, you stood up and went to your position. Your mind was filled with nothing but memories of Lee Heeseung. The happy and sad flashbacks through your mind as you dance to your debut song.

Yes, you went back on training after a couple of months. The company called you, announcing that they want you to be part of a debuting group. This time, you secured your spot and was already introduced as one of the members. The feedback was crazy and you couldn’t imagine that you are currently in this situation when it was hell a few months back.

It’s been seven months ever since that night. You haven’t called or texted him. He didn’t try to reach out as well. You can’t blame him tho. If that night was painful for you, I’m sure it was dreadful for him. You can see him doing well with his group. He’s already making a name and you’re not even surprised.

Whenever you watch him through the screen, your heart aches for two reason. One, because you’re very happy that he’s achieving all his goald. Two, because you miss him so much. You missed how good he was. You missed loving and caring he is towards you. You missed his goofiness, his sweet chuckles, his sweet smiles. You missed his expressive eyes that stares at you lovingly. You missed his tan skin, his warm hugs and sweet kisses. You missed everything about him, you missed Lee Heeseung.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to call him?” his manager looks at you with hopeful eyes, one day.

You approached him and ask if you can have Heeseung’s number. He was surprised to hear from you after a long time, but he was also excited. He knew that what happened between you and Heeseung affected the young ace. He may not show it, but something changed.

“No need, manager. I will just text him. I’m sure he’s busy with the preparation for their tour.” you gave him a short bow before waving him good-bye.

Your eyes dropped at the piece of paper he handed you. It’s Heeseung’s number. Their world tour will start next week and you will attend the opening day. You planned to ask him to meet you right after, if he’s willing to. Just by thinking about it, you can already feel your knees weakening. But you know you have to do this. You know you still love him so much and nothing changed with it. His feelings may already did, but you still want to try.

“Bye, Y/n! Goodluck! See you at the dorms.” one of your member waved and showed you a fighting gesture before they started walking off.

With both hands holding a paper bag, you tried to calm yourself down while waiting for Lee Heeseung to show up. You’ve texted him a couple of times already, but you received no replies to any of them. Tonight was day 1 of their Manifesto world tour. It was amazing, Lee Heeseung was amazing. You texted him that you’ll wait for him right here after their concert.

Your eyes grew a bit big as you waved nervously at the familiar person walking towards you.

“I’m happy you make time to meet me! How’s the first day of concert?” your smile was wide while you hold the gift you prepared for him. He walked closer, but not too close. He looked at you silently, roaming his eyes around your face.

Your heart aches at the sight of an unfamiliar eyes. He changed a lot, that’s for sure.

“It was fine.” he answered shortly. You pursed your lips, wanted not to spoil the mood.

“Congratulations to your tour!” tone a bit stretched out now. He nodded his head and his eyes trailed down to the gift you are holding.

“What are you really doing here, y/n?” he finally asked. you gulped and your hold to the paper bag tightens as you looked at him.

“I m-missed you.”

The silence that followed your words was deafening. He stared at you with blank eyes and then you saw how his jaw clenched. He draws in a sigh, calming himself.

“Look Y/n,” he starts. “I’m glad that you’re back on achieving your dreams, I really am. But that doesn’t mean we can go back to how we were before as well.” his tone was stern and cold that it pierced straight to your chest.

“Hee—”

“A lot already changed, Y/n. You broke me so bad that night that it took me a while to actually recover. I loved you, I was ready to fight for you no matter what, but you gave up. You gave us up.” your head hang low at his words.

“You will always have a place in my heart, Y/n. But I’m sorry, I don’t think I love you that way anymore.”

You raised your head and stared at his eyes. Your heart sank when you saw how he looked a bit hurt just by thinking about what happened in the past. You mentally cursed yourself for thinking of getting back with him. You shouldn’t even thought of talking to him.

You tried hard to flash him a smile as a tear fell from your eye. “I’m s-sorry, Heeseung.” you said and you saw how he teared his gaze away from you.

You licked your lips and sighed heavily, “I just want to say I’m very proud of you and that I love you.” and you stepped closer to place your gift not to far from him.

“I hope you’ll accept this. Its just supplements and vitamins to keep you healthy for the tour. Goodluck.” and you turned your heels to start walking away.

Your tears streamed continuously as you ride the car on your way back. The whole night, you cried yourself to sleep then the next day, you tried to busy yourself with trainings. Your members didn’t asked about it. After that day, you swore to yourself that you’ll focus on yourself and career. You will leave him alone because he's already doing good without you.

His tour started and you are happy to see him enjoying it so well.

On the other hand, your debut was a success. Fans loved you and it was the best feeling ever. Somehow it diverts your attention away from Heeseung. As his tour continuous, your promotion went on as well.

You are starting to get known around the country that you’ve been invited at some variety shows. Some fans even started shipping you with one of the artist from the same agency, Beomgyu from TXT. The two of you just laughs it off knowing that it won’t ever happen because he's good friends with your ex. He do loves to tease the fans, tho.

Months pass by and your group was given a chance to do a big show at Seoul. You are very overwhelmed and very happy. These are the moments you’d realized how worthy all the pain and hardships you went through. You lost some, but also gain a lot along the way.

“Again, this is (Band name)! Thank you so much!” and you all bowed altogether before exiting the stage happily, waving at the fans endlessly.

Behind the stage, you cheered together with them and took some photos to post at your social medias. On your way to the dressing room, your eyes looked at your phone when your phone buzzed for a text. It was Beomgyu. You two were hanging out around too much, lately.

“Y/n, I forgot to mention.” your manager starts. “Beomgyu is right by the parking lot behind. He’s waiting for you.”

You nodded and grabbed a jacket so you can go to him. Some of the members teased you that you just ignored before you went there to meet him. He was smiling widely when he saw you, opening his arms to ask for a hug. You laughed and quickly gave him an embrace.

“You did so well, Miss!” he said and smiled proudly.

You pursed your lips and thanked him. “I have a gift for you.” and he pulls off the hug excited and go behind the car.

“What? You don’t really have to—” your lips pouted when you saw a big bouquet of flowers. It was so pretty.

“Thank you, Beomgyu.” you said sincerely as you stare at it, mind starting to flow somewhere else. The scene kind of remind you of something, your heart can’t help but to ache.

“Read the card!” he snaps you back to reality and you chuckled then opens it.

‘Look behind you.’ your brows furrowed at the message, but slowly turned your head.

Your eyes grew big at the sight of Lee Heeseung walking closer. He’s wearing a hoodie, but you are so sure that it was him. Right, today was the day they came back from their tour. You didn’t even realized it. You can’t utter a single word while looking at him. When he stood right in front of you, that's when it finally sink in. He’s here. He’s in front of you. Lee Heeseung is here.

“Hi.” he greeted and smiled a little.

“H-Hello,” you stuttered.

Beomgyu laughs behind you and walks closer. He pats Heeseung’s shoulder before exiting himself.

“W-What...?” you can’t make up a sentence because you’re in a complete shock.

He cleared his throat, his adams apple moved out of nervous. He licked his lips and stared straight through your eyes.

“What are you doing here, Heeseung?” you finally managed to ask, confused and heart racing so fast at the same time.

He sighed, “I missed you too, Y/n. I missed you so much.”

—————

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[spaceorphan18]

The Lady Whistledown Papers : 2x01 Capital R Rake (Part 2)

Welcome back, Gentle Readers, to The Lady Whistledown Papers, where I’m taking an in-depth look at Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton’s character arcs and romance within the show Bridgerton!

For previous issues, follow tag : The Lady Whistledown Papers

Penelope and Eloise

Before I delve into this deliciously layered Penelope and Eloise conversation - in the family scene a couple scenes previously, Colin's absence in this episode is explained in that he decided to go check out Albania while he was hanging out around the Mediterranean, because why not. And of course - Eloise brings up the fact that he can do that because he's a dude and women aren't allowed to do those things (which is kind of sucky - but also is additional commentary on Eloise's arc for the season).

I kind of wonder - was there a reason Colin was written out of episode one? Too many things going on? I don't think Luke Newton had a scheduling conflict. Hmmm.

Alright, so we get Eloise and Penelope walking around the square. First topic of discussion -- Eloise complaining that Daphne's advice was a list of top ten ways on how to entrap a man. (!!!) That's really wild. Do we think Daphne sent that as a joke? Or was Eloise exaggerating? Either way, it's hilarious. Penelope thinks so too -- girl is in a great mood as she walks with her bff. Eloise's indignation is played for great comedic effect here. (And A+ job from Claudia Jessie as she is fantastic at giving Eloise some great comedic beats.)

Penelope stops to pick up a quill -- and Eloise notes that she goes through them pretty quickly. It's a nod to her secret life as LW, and they're setting up early that Eloise's story is going to come crashing into Penelope's - and the LW stuff.

Of course, Penelope avoids the conversation by saying she's working on her correspondence. Eloise brings up the Featherington heir (which we haven't learned anything about yet), and Penelope admits (because she feels safe, yet still hesitant with Eloise) that she's been writing to Colin. But I love the turn of phrase she uses -- she says :: Colin has been keeping me informed. Putting acknowledgement that it's he who has been writing to her. Because, not only would it be improper for her to be writing a male who is not in her family, but... it lets us know that Colin is willfully writing to Penelope. And... it's also a way to not tip off Eloise of her feelings towards him. It's such a great, key detail!

The other thing to note is Eloise's reaction. She does not care about Colin's travels -- and mentions that he rambles on and on. This is also a key note for Colin's story -- when he gets back, he's going to try to connect with anyone, really, about his experiences. His family members are kind of all caught up in their own lives, and it's not that they don't care, but it's that life moves on without him. A lot of his arc this season will be trying to figure out what his role in life is.

Anyway, Penelope remarks that Colin is no Lady Whistledown, which is... a fascinating response. I mean, it's partly to throw Eloise off the fact that writing to Colin is one of the highlights of her life at the moment. But it's also an ego thing -- as she's in the prime of the Lady Whistledown madness, and is loving the attention she's getting from it.

And, I love how Eloise responds to that -- he at least gives Colin some credit in that he's gone out to see the world, something that Lady Whistledown hasn't done. And ooh, the look on Penelope's face. She's like, whoa, hold up, what??

She throws back that Eloise used to revere LW (which is what Penelope wants to hear more about) and reminds her that LW interrupted (saved her from) her debut. Penelope is clearly proud of pulling that off -- but Eloise kind of shrugs it off. She was grateful for the interruption, but Eloise is less than impressed with the column.

Penelope, again, wanting to hear more positive feedback, and reeling from Eloise seeming indifferent at best, mentions how good of a writer LW is. Eloise is like, sure, she can use words -- but is she saying anything worthwhile with them? Penelope doesn't really know what to say to this. Eloise then continues on, claiming that she's been reading articles with more substance, and Penelope's face (lol)... She's been so proud of her work, but Eloise all but dismissing it has her really rethinking everything.

Eloise goes on to say that she's discovered the writing of Mary Wollstonecraft -- and for those of you who don't know (and, you know what, I didn't - I googled this lady), Wollstonecraft was a late 18th century philosopher and feminist, and.... get this, mother of Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein). Fascinating, right?

Anyway - her writings detail female empowerment, and would definitely appeal to someone like Eloise. (And, I kind of wonder what Penelope think if she weren't jealous of Eloise's attention be taken elsewhere. Her 'haughty' comment reeks of insecurity.)

Eloise goes on to say that LW does have some power, and if instead of writing about balls and gossip, and instead wrote more about female empowerment, than she may have some kind of pull to make some change in the world. And Penelope does seem to consider it - at least a little.

But then Eloise puts in a stinger -- and completely (unknowingly) calls out the fact that LW isn't a participant in society, hence she's able to write what she can. We don't really get to see Penelope's reaction -- other than a kind of changing of the subject, but Eloise is right on the nose. And it gives Penelope a lot to think about.

Family Troubles

The next scene we get is the Featheringtons getting ready for the ball. And... a couple of things to note right off the bat. First of all, that settee is huge! And much nicer looking than the one that Pen's going to share with Colin (probably sturdier, too, lol). Secondly, I tried to zoom in and figure out what book she's reading, and I couldn't figure it out -- if anyone can get a clearer zoom in, please let me know! I'd love to know what she's reading. Also love that yet again she's got a book in her hand as the insanity goes on around her.

We learn in this scene that the Featheringtons are strapping for cash. All the servants have left, and Mrs. Varley is left doing pretty much everything, including cooking potatoes for the 100th time. (idk why they're complaining - potatoes are amazing.)

Penelope seems to be the only one rather concerned, but Portia downplays it the best she can. I have to give Portia some credit for trying to play it cool the best she can. Because, financially, they're in a really rough spot, and she knows the new Lord Featherington isn't going to be much help.

Portia tries to calm them, though, by stating as soon as the new Lord Featherington arrives they'll be fine.

Prudence is having a hissy fit (her line about changing the chamber pots is pretty funny though) and you see her lash out at Penelope -- literally hitting her feet to move Pen out of the way so that she can sit down. And I can only imagine that this kind of thing is something that's probably happened a lot with her sisters. She probably has gotten pushed around a lot by them, and Penelope just kind of takes it, and moves out of her sister's way.

Portia, though, eventually succumbs to her melodramatic tendencies, and lets them know that the new Lord Featherington is cruel and delighting in their misfortune, to the horror of her daughters (Penelope particularly looks alarmed). Portia continues - giving some backstory, that he cast his son to America because he was upset, and who knows where they'll send them once he gets there.

Portia then goes on to worry that they'll be sent out to Cornwall (which seems to be the far reaches of England). I kind of love Prudence's freak out over it. Phillippa chimes in that they can all visit her and Finch, but Penelope points out that if there's no money for servants, food, or dresses -- than Phillippa isn't getting a wedding.

And of course, this gets Phillippa to freak out -- cause she really does love Albion Finch. (Love story of the ages :D )

Portia then continues her (terrible) attempt at trying to calm them down again, claiming that all of them need to be betrothed by the time the heir arrives, or else they'll be on the streets. Prudence is like - yeah, sure, fine.

Penelope just sits there in horror. Like, the only dude she can stomach getting married to is out of the country at the moment, wtf is she (and her family) going to do.

As an aside, it is interesting -- that she already has LW money coming in. But she basically can't use it for fear of giving herself away. How crazy, to have a solution, but not be able to do anything about it.

And... that's where I'm going to stop for today! This episode has so much Penelope in it! It's fantastic! (I am missing Colin, though.)

[clxja16]

Since Day One

Part 4

Arthur Leclerc X Reader

Genre: childhood friends to lover

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2.6K

Author’s Note: okay I am done, there’s not gonna be a part five regardless. I seriously don’t even know what I would do with this story if I would continue it. Also I don’t know if Charlotte gets endorsements in real life from being an f1 wag, but like I would think she does. I just put that in the story because it fit in that moment. Also this is so late because I wasn’t gonna do a part four but ay wth. Nevertheless enjoy guys.

Part one, Part two, Part three

————————————————

“Auntie Pa,” you called out, as you entered the Leclerc home. “I brought the fish for dinner.” Arthur, Charles, and Lorenzo were expected to return to Monaco by tonight for the summer break.

“I’m still in the kitchen dear,” you could hear auntie Pa, shout from across the home. “May you set the table dear?”

“Of course,” you answered, as you put the fish down, and picked up the stack of plates. “Who’s coming tonight?”

“Just us,” Auntie answered nonchalantly, “the boys, you and Charlotte.”

“Auntie I didn’t know it was a family dinner, I don’t wanna intrude…”

You could hear Auntie Pa sigh, “nonsense, you are family y/n, I don’t know how many times I have to remind you that you are family.”

You blushed at her words, “once more,” you said as you went about setting up the table for everyone while Auntie finished her cooking. You peaked over at the dish she was making, the boy’s favorite. They always had one request when they came home from traveling, Auntie Pa’s cooking.

“I heard,” Auntie started off, “you attended a couple races.” Auntie gave you an eye, as she watched your reaction to her words. Even when you were a little girl auntie always knew everything.

“I did,” you confirmed, “I wish I didn’t stop. I…” you paused trying to get her your thoughts, “I didn’t realize how I hurt all of you, I’m so sorry I never…”

Auntie raised her hands stopping you from continuing on, she had her eyes shut, and it appeared as if she was biting her tongue. “You need not apologize for protecting your sanity and safety.”

“But I should’ve talked to…”

Auntie raised her hands again, stopping you once more, as she stared straight into your soul. “You did what you had to do, we understand that.”

“Thank you,” you said. Auntie Pa always knew what to say to make it better.

“It’s not your fault, that sometimes, my sons can be idiotic at times,” Auntie threw up her hands in exaggeration.

You couldn’t help but giggle at her reaction, “what happened auntie, Charlotte never gave the details.”

Auntie Pa sighed further, shaking her head, as she stirred the pot. “My baby, Arthur, is so much like his father. So protective over you,” Auntie said, as she pointed at you. “Last season, you canceled your Monza trip,” you nodded your head at Auntie’s words, recalling that time. “Then you didn’t go to Russia…”

“Right,” you said to confirm the details. At that point in the season the amount of harassment was overwhelming that you didn’t want to leave your home.

“Then you didn’t go to Abu Dhabi with the family, as soon as we got home from Abu Dhabi, Arthur hit the roof. He told Charles, It was because of Charlotte that you didn’t come to Abu Dhabi.” Auntie explained to you.

“Why would he say that though, I never told that to him,” you asked as you remembered, making it a point that it wasn’t because of Charlotte that you stayed away.

Auntie Pa sighed, “Because at Abu Dhabi, Charlotte had said some things that were only meant for Charles.” You looked at Auntie confused, not fully understanding what she meant, “Charlotte is a darling, but she’s not you y/n. She’s not gonna have those childhood moments with Charles like you, and that’s unsettling for her. She was explaining to Charles that sometimes you make her insecure, your connection with Charles and the rest of the family. Arthur overhead and he assumed that Charlotte told you this, so you stayed away to make things easier for Charles without considering Arthur’s feelings.”

“I didn’t, I wouldn’t,” you started off, trying to explain your side quickly, “that wasn’t…”

“I know dear, don’t worry.” Auntie reassured, as she went back to explaining, “Arthur refused to talk to Charles for the entire off season, even during their trips to Maranello together. It wasn’t until we were having dinner together right before the boys left for Bahrain, and Charlotte asked you to come to the race, herself and you declined it. After you left that night Arthur finally spoke to Charles, and Arthur got one hell of a scolding from Lorenzo for acting the way, he did.”

You sighed, as you recalled that night, “I did wonder why it felt awkward that night. I’m so sorry Auntie, I didn’t mean to cause that…”

“Don’t even worry about it dear, it’s not your fault that my boys are idiotic at times,” Auntie shocked her head with a chuckle. Just then you could hear the front door open, signaling their arrival.

-

“Are you gonna come to Spa?” Charles asked you during dinner.

“Summer break just started and already you’re talking about the races,” you sighed, shaking your head.

“Come on, you’re gonna come to Spa right?” Arthur asked, as he turned in his seat to face you.

“I don’t know, I’m gonna have to think about it,” you answered, looking at Arthur. Your head swirling with thoughts of just how handsome he was, and you couldn’t believe he was yours. You realized you could get lost staring into his eyes. And Arthur thought the same about you, as he stared back. He thought of you, and he couldn’t believe he could call you his.

Lorenzo and Charles took note of how both yours and Arthur’s demeanor changed in that moment. Granted, Arthur always acted a little more carefully when you were around. Constantly trying to impress you, however both Lorenzo and Charles could tell this time was different. It wasn’t Arthur trying to impress you, it wasn’t Arthur trying to gain your favor. Arthur looked at you with pure love in his eyes, there wasn’t a yearning, a pining, a longing look. Just pure, unfiltered, raw love.

Lorenzo and Charles exchanged a look, they both knew you guys finally got it.

-

After the food was put away, the table cleared, the dishes washed, and the kitchen cleaned, did you guys sit in the living room together. As Arthur looked around the room to see everyone together, he thought of his childhood. Of the moments after a long day of karting when you guys would come back home, and then proceed to playing video racing games.

“Super Mario Kart?” Arthur asked the room, knowing you wouldn’t back down from a challenger.

“You’re going down Leclerc,” you answered, as you began to help Arthur set up the game.

“Excuse me, I’m winning this,” Charles responded back.

“Charlotte, are you gonna play with us?” You turned to ask Charlotte.

You watched her smile grow just a bit, “sure.”

The four of you found good seats around the living room as the game started. And when the first round ended, there was only one happy person, so obviously you guys had to play again. You don’t know how many rounds you ended up playing, but there was lots of shouting, lots of laughing, and lots of cheatin going on. Lorenzo and auntie Pa, laughed at how competitive you all got. It was truly an enjoyable time.

After a while it was just Arthur and Charles playing. You took a seat with Charlotte, watching the two boys play their game. Charlotte spoke first, in a low whisper, “how’s you and Arthur?”

You couldn’t help but blush slightly, “we’re good, it’s nice, taking things slowly.”

“I’m happy for you guys, took you both long enough to get it,” Charlotte said with a smirk.

“Yeah it did.”

-

It was about a week into the summer break, when Charles had invited you out to his yacht for the day. Although this wasn’t the first time, Charles invited you out to the yacht, you still were unsure how to dress. Charles said it was an all day thing, so you packed warm clothes for the evening, as well as more, because well a girl can never be too prepared.

When you arrived at the dock, Arthur and Charles were already waiting for you. “You boys didn’t need to wait for me, I would’ve called when I got here,” you said, as the three of you loaded onto the yacht.

“It’s fine, we’re still waiting for more people, so we weren’t planning on setting sail yet.” Charles said, as he carried your bag in.

“Who’s here already?”

“Just us, Lorenzo and mom, Charlotte should be here soon though,” Arthur answered your question.

After getting your things stored away, you followed Arthur out onto the deck where everyone else was. You all sat together for brunch before setting off for the day. It didn’t take long for the rest of the group to arrive, and you guys were off.

You watched Arthur play games with his brothers and a few of their friends. They all took turns shoving each other into the water. You were perfectly content sitting on the side with Charlotte and auntie Pa. That was until Arthur decided that you sitting on the side wasn’t good enough.

Arthur made quick work of pulling you up by your wrist, “no, no, no Arthur,” you protested as he dragged you to the edge. “Arthur don’ t,” you protested once more, while everyone else cheered Aruther on. Arthur bent down, wrapping his arms around your thighs, before throwing you over his shoulder, and jumping into the water.

When the two of you came up back to the surface, it was full of you splashing Arthur. While he had a huge grin on his face, “I’m sorry mon amour,” Arthur said. If you were paying closer attention you would’ve caught his mistake, but instead you got lost in his eyes and his smile. Arthur pulled you close in the water, pecking your lips as an apology. As more cheers erupted from the group.

-

“So you just weren’t planning on telling us?” Lorenzo asked Arthur, as you guys all sat together at dinner. Arthur held your hand, with interlaced fingers, under the table.

“I was going to tell you guys,” Arthur relented, “I was just taking it slow.” Arthur leaned back, now looking at you instead of his brothers.

“Slow? How much slower are you guys planning on taking this, it’s been 16 years,” Auntie Pa said, causing a ripple of laughter through the table.

“As slow as she wants,” Arthur said with a little drawl in his voice, as he stared at you. You felt the red creep up your cheeks and your smile widened at Arthur’s cheesiness. Arthur would really do anything for you, and you were the luckiest girl alive to be with him.

“Are you happy?” Charles’ voice cut across the table, “y/n, are you happy?” You tore your eyes away from Arthur to look at Charles. Charles sat across the table from you, Charlotte sitting next to him.

While you looked at Charles, you thought about what could’ve been. What would have happened if he said yes, years ago? Would you be in the Ferrari garage cheering his name, at every race? Would you be the F1 wag that everyone talked about? Would you have the endorsement deals that Charlotte has? Would you still be in love with Charles? Would you even still be in a relationship with Charles?

As you looked at Charles and Charles looked at you. Charlotte looked at Charles. She wondered why Charles had asked if you were happy. She wondered if Charles wanted you to be unhappy with Arthur. She wondered if Charles was secretly, quietly, jealous that you chose Arthur in the end. She wondered just how much did Charles regret saying no, those years ago.

When you were looking at Charles, Arthur was looking at you. Arthur wondered what was going through your mind. If you thought that Charles was the better choice. If you were thinking about getting stuck with the second-best Leclerc? Or maybe the third-best Leclerc. If you were thinking that you weren’t that happy with him.

“I am,” you answered, earnestly, honestly, and wholeheartedly. “I am very happy,” you said, now looking away from Charles and back at Arthur. Looking at the person you are truly in love with.

“Good,” Charles smiled at you and Arthur, then looked towards Charlotte. He picked up her hand, kissing the back of it, whispering a small ‘I love you.’

-

“I won’t be gone long, just a few days,” Arthur said, as he packed his bag, preparing for another trip to Maranello.

“I know, but you’ll call and text me right?” You asked, sitting on Arthur’s bed, watching him pack.

“Of course mon amour,” he said, smirking playfully at you.

“You know, I thought the point of summer break was to take a break.” You said sarcastically.

“It’s just some contract negotiations, and media duties,” Arthur smiled as he continued to pack.

“Why a few days then and not one?”

“Because I want to actually sign a contract my dear, sometimes negotiations takes days,” Arthur smirked as he pulled you up from the bed, closer to him.

“I will see you when you get back?”

“You’ll be the first,” Arthur smiled, placing a soft kiss upon your lips.

-

“I signed with Dams racing for next season,” Arthur spoke through the phone to you, and even though you couldn’t see his face, you could hear the smile.

“You deserve it,” you spoke into the phone for Arthur.

“Do I?” Arthur asked softly, you could hear the insecurity starting to creep in.

“Of course you do,” you answered quickly. When Arthur and Charles were still karting, Charles was set on pursuing racing as a career, while Arthur was a little more indecisive. So when money started to get tight, Arthur’s career was put on hold. And at the time, one or two years off didn’t seem so bad. It gave Arthur time to appreciate racing, especially since he couldn’t do it to the fullest. Then Arthur turned 21 and he was still in formula 3. When Charles turned 21, he already won Formula 3, and 2. Charles already made his formula 1 debut, he already scored points.

Arthur was already so far behind his brother that every time he made a step forward he wondered if it was because of his ability or because of his name. Every opportunity he got, he asked if he deserved it, or if it was a favor for his brother. Every moment in the spotlight, he wondered if they were there for him or his brother.

“Where are you right now?” You asked to change the focus of the conversation.

“I’m still at Maranello, waiting for Lorenzo right now,” Arthur sighed, you could tell he was still bothered, still insecure.

“Arthur, you worked hard, you deserve this,” you did your best to reassure him.

“Charles was already in formula 1 at my age,” Arthur sighed, you could hear him take a deep breath, “maybe I should stop while I’m ahead.”

“Arthur, Charles has…”

“Hold on,” Arthur cut you off before you could finish your thought, “Lorenzo is here.” Vaguely from the other side of the line you could hear Lorenzo's voice.

“Y/n,” Lorenzo’s voice came through the phone loud and clear, “guess who’s moving into formula 2…”

“I told her already,” you could hear Arthur’s voice, although faintly, through the phone, as he spoke to Lorenzo and not you.

“Oh,” Lorenzo said through the phone to you, “well he’s moving up making big boy steps.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at the excitement in Lorenzo’s voice, “when’s the announcement?”

“Well if no rumors come out, maybe the end of the year, at the very least Abu Dhabi.”

“I’m so proud of him,” you spoke earnestly, “and of you too Lo.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Lorenzo said, you imagined him doing a little bow as he spoke, “here’s your boyfriend back.”

“I’ll call you back when we get to the hotel, I think I have some more media things to do,” Arthur informed, his voice sounding lighter than earlier.

“Alright,” you acknowledged, “I’m proud of you Arthur.”

“Thank you.”

————————————————————

@annoyingsaladstrawberry

[starseungs]

➳ 11:11pm. hhj

hwang hyunjin x gn!reader

light(?) angst, bestfriend!hyunjin, unrequited love — 0.7k words

made this just to post smth while i finish my wips </3

2022 ⓒ starseungs on tumblr. do not steal, repost, or edit.

"Why is everyone in love except for me?"

Hyunjin passionately complains, turning off his phone to toss it to the side after finally getting tired of seeing countless happy couples on his feed. "It's almost insulting to be left out like this."

You side-eyed him without much care to hide the somewhat disrespectful action. It was on purpose anyway—you wanted him to see it to prove your point. "Maybe if you lessened your expectations for every relationship then you wouldn't be whining pathetically on my apartment couch."

"And lower my standards? No way," he gasped in an exaggerated manner. You merely yawned, already having expected his response. "I have a very specific vision only my soulmate would be able to recreate!"

"Yeah, right. Your soulmate is probably grass, because you really need to touch some."

Hyunjin narrowed his eyes on you. The sharpened gaze barely affected you after having gotten used to it for years now. "You don't get to scold me like this, you're literally single too."

You couldn't help but scoff at the words you unfortunately managed to hear. Hyunjin wasn't entirely wrong—you were single too. But you believed there was a major difference between both your situations.

"Unlike you, though," you started, pausing for a split second at the sight of Hyunjin's attentive stare. It made you want to cry. "I'm not looking for a relationship right now."

"Come on, Y/N! Don't you want to see how other people would react?" He tried to sell it to you like some on-sale product. "You said it yourself; you're not looking for a relationship, then boom! Boyfriend!" Hyunjin looks up at you with a proud grin, to which you find yourself holding your breath too.

"Mysterious, right?"

You grit your teeth. From the day you first met him as a freshman in college up until this very moment, Hyunjin had barely changed. Of course, there were many aspects of him that had matured, as well as skill wise also improved—but the Hyunjin you knew never changed in your eyes. And you could say that neither did you. He was still the same one you befriended, the one you held oh-so-dearly, and the one you loved.

That fact only made you even more opposed to the idea that would just break what was left of your sense of rationality.

"You're actually insane, Hwang Hyunjin," you tried to keep your voice as composed as possible. He would likely never notice such a small change either way, but you're a lot more cautious about things. "That stuff is for fiction books. Nonexistent in real life."

He snorts at your comment. "Well, you'd be surprised. A lot more people do it than you thought."

"It's stupid."

Hyunjin hums, surprisingly acknowledging your stance. "I guess it's just normal for humans to crave love… and attention. Mostly for the attention," he lightly laughs at his own words—something you had to clench your fists quietly to as a silent reminder it could never be for you. "Still it's for fun, Y/N. We both don't have significant others or anyone courting us, so who'd get jealous?"

Yet despite everything you just did, you knew that it would end up in your loss. It always did.

"Damn it, fine."

Hyunjin's face lights up, making your heart flip and shatter upon landing because you knew you weren't doing it for the same reasons as him. Unfortunately, you've immediately come to regret your decision as Hyunjin slips his hand into yours without a word. You gasped at the unexpected feeling that had the butterflies in your stomach, circling in chaos. "Relax your hand," you heard him say, and for a second you forgot the situation you were in. "It looks awkward in the photo."

Oh. Right. You two were faking a soft launch.

It took you less than a second to release the tension from your hand. You knew it was merely you losing energy from the disappointment, but you would never admit it out loud. At least Hyunjin seemed satisfied, though.

"Should we put a caption?" He ponders, glancing at you for help. You bit your lip at what you were about to say.

"11:11, my wish came true."

Hyunjin raises a suspicious eyebrow. "That's… very corny—even for someone like you."

"It's not real anyway, might as well go all out," was your pitiful excuse, snatching the phone from him to quickly place the words.

And as you pressed the post button, all you could think of was how you hoped this was real. But 11:11 would never grant your wish like you wrote in the caption.

Not unless Hyunjin wished for you too.

mastertag 🔖— @tyuniiz @lhskokoro @bookishcalls @comet-falls

send in an ask if you want to be added ! 🫶

[frostycatblr-fandom-files]

Sorry, Wrong Comms! : Hunter x Medic!Reader [Chapter 7.5]

Warnings and Information: Intended audience is 13+ (18 if you squint.) **THIS IS PART TWO OF CHAPTER 7.** I needed to cut the chapter in “half” to avoid a massive word count! Should hopefully know the drill about my use of italics, Mando'a and headcanons by this point in the series. Couple of lines throughout both halves get suggestive.

Party shenanigans continue! The birthday presents are described in a vague, general manner to leave it up to your imagination and better fit all manner of hobbies/interests! Sorry Hunter, siblings will be siblings, and that means some teasing/plotting. Mostly Star Wars swearing. Medic!Reader (finally) meets the Captain. Rex being a proud older brother; bonus healthy emotional outlets for everyone! Some accidental eavesdropping leads to discovering how much our broody sergeant worries about getting involved with the Empire (and other things). Tech takes his turn at trickery. Local Man brags/rambles about his family in a confessional love letter like A Weirdo (Affectionate); the way to Hunter's heart is caring for his brothers and sister. Mild panic and awkwardness. Hints of the writer's thinly disguised current romantic fantasies? It's more likely than you think. Someone steps on glass, but no blood! Unintentional sibling "trickery" (Echo's, referenced from Chapter 3, if you can even call it that) and two counts of very intentional, suggestive teasing during one instance (ten credits if you guess both correctly, five if you guess one right) are also present amid other occurrences of sibling shenanigans.

Word-count: 8,540

"Start with the smallest present!" Omega called, clambering excitedly into Wrecker's lap as he barely got himself lowered on the floor after carrying all of the presents into the common area from Echo's room. 

The medic laughed with a curious brow quirking at the smallest Clone who was the big sister of the Batch, plucking the indicated item off the top of the pile at her feet. It was clearly just a small envelope that'd been swaddled in gift paper at the first feel of things. The gift-giver's name was a short, illegible smear of ink and all [____] could make out was the general markings of "cresh" of the Aurebesh alphabet somewhere in the middle of it. "Uh-oh, things got more than a little messy I see. I wanna see if I can guess who this is from. Ink smear is a little too short to be Crosshair at least." She teased, carefully removing the wrapping paper before working her nail under the edge of the seal flap to ease it open. 

"How sure are you about that?" Crosshair challenged all in good fun with a wicked grin over the rim of his fourth different mocktail combination, "While it's nothing like your's, I'll have you know that's my best handwriting yet, doc." The sniper's sarcastic nature was only further spurred on by the exaggerated eye roll and equally-sarcastic yeah-yeah-yeah murmuring of the medic and Hunter pinching the bridge of his nose with a muted sigh before flashing him two hand signals.

Knife. Stop. 

Crosshair smirked impishly, drawing out each word in a galactic language other than Basic in mock-challenge. "Why don't you make me cut it out? Just having a little fun, sarge. You should be having some fun, too." 

[____]'s head snapped up in confusion just before she finished opening the envelope, eyeing the marksman quizzically. "What was that, Cross?" 

"Oh nothing," Crosshair chuckled, flicking his free hand lazily in a dismissive gesture, "just reminding Hunter of something for later while I was thinking about it." To Hunter's relief the medic found it satisfactory enough of an answer to turn her attention back to the envelope in her hands and finish tearing it open rather than ask further questions. 

She knew immediately which brother this gift was from once the seal flap was pulled back. Tucked inside the envelope were two collector's foil tickets for her favorite intergalactic band; marked for the night they'd be on this planet and closest to the spaceport. The location she'd joked she'd have an easier time talking herself into abandoning her clinic for the night in favor of going and seeing the live performance on this leg of the band's touring route. "Aw, Tech…! Thank you, that's so sweet!" 

Tech smiled shyly before tugging his goggles back in place with an easygoing voice, eyes fixed on his knees. "You're quite welcome." He sharply ducked Crosshair's hand reaching out to mess with his hair as he teased his brother for looking slightly red in the face at the attention. "I would recommend Omega's gift be opened next. It will be in the larger envelope." 

The second envelope was made of more rigid material than the first, difficult to bend or flex without great effort. [____] smiled at the cheerfully written "Open HERE!" with a smile and the stern "DON'T open THIS end!" warning on the identical entry-points at the short edges of the rectangle. Heeding the notations, she opened the appropriate end and gently shook out the contents; a plastic gift-voucher card to a store just on the edge of the spaceport the medic frequented for one of her hobbies, and a few pieces of artwork carried out in painstaking detail to accurately depict [____]'s favorite species of flora and fauna from around the galaxy. She swore louder than intended, turning around the print of a large flower in particular to excitedly show the rest of them. "Holy kriff! Omega, you made these?" 

"Uh-huh!" Omega giggled, laughing and kicking her feet in half-hearted protest to Wrecker tickling her in-between the explanation she'd locked herself in her room immediately after breakfast this morning to work on the three illustrations, and didn't come out until lunch.  

"These are so beautiful," she swooned, eyes lingering over the attention to minute details for a moment longer before putting them back in the safety of the envelope, "thank you, sweetheart! I think I'll hang these in my bedroom… and put the voucher to good use. Who's present should I open next?" It seemed so far that the person who's present was opened last was choosing the next sibling's, and she didn't mind. (Maybe just a little curious why Tech's was specified to be first; perhaps it was because the literal big-ticket item was the most expensive and they were eager to see her reaction.) "You should open Crosshair's!" Omega decided. 

She now wondered if the remark from the Clone with the short crop of stark silver-gray hair about her handwriting was deliberate when she opened his gift next; a package of the writing pens she liked best for filling out the occasional old-school medical charts on paper. Trustworthy and reliable writing implements she'd recently run dry on. Of course Cross would have noticed and made note of when she'd thrown away that last pen with a sigh; and it didn't surprise her he'd have gone for a gift on the more practical side. The corner of his mouth twitched in a half-smile in response to her thanks. 

"Heh... Don't mention it, doc. Big guy's turn." 

Wrecker's gift was squished down into an old paper grocery sack that'd been stapled shut, and it popped out the moment the last staple had been freed. "Aw, Wreck, it's so cute!" [____] squeezed the stuffed rendition of her absolute favorite animal in all the galaxy to her chest, relishing the way the slightly chubby little body squished against her. Oh Maker, it was so soft! "I love it, thank you!" 

Wrecker grinned broadly at her, releasing Omega when the youngster made to get up from his lap, either restless or tired of sitting on the floor so she squeezed herself up by Hunter in his seat. "Yer welcome, kid! Hopefully the candy in the bottom of the bag didn't get too badly squished while I was tryna fit in the toy, heh." She quickly confirmed that wasn't the case, and was now eagerly looking forward to the particular treat she didn't get the chance to have as often as she liked. "'Kay, Echo next!" 

The gift from the ARC trooper was also in a paper bag, stapled much more neatly across the top thanks to a less bulky shape inside. Pulled open, [____] saw the tightly-tucked item and had to laugh softly as she pulled it out. "Ho boy. Of course there's a way to fold a blanket according to regulation-standards," It was so soft and comfortable to the touch, a welcome bonus to her favorite color and pattern. "old habits?" she asked, hoping to tease an answer out of him.

Echo just laughed, unlacing his arms and sitting up in his seat now that he was talking. He wasn't afraid to tease her in kind. "Be thankful for those old habits, burc'ya; it's the best way it'll fit in the bag when you have to carry everything home." 

"O-or have someone help with that," Hunter cut in suddenly with a nervous cough, proposing an offer, "It'll probably be late, so one of us would be more than happy to walk you home, by the time the party's over…" his hand started to climb back up towards the new gauze in a nervous movement before he caught himself and instead put the hand around Omega's shoulder in a tender gesture. Echo barked with laughter in response, eyes glinting with a unique hint of mischief. "Sounds like someone's trying to volunteer, kid: how nice of you, Hunter." 

[____] tucked the plush new blanket back into the paper bag, deciding it would replace the old, scratchy and threadbare blanket that was thrown over the cot in her back office and picked up the last gift, Hunter's, with a pleasant chuckle. "I'd be happy for the help, no matter who it is." she promised, cautiously breaking open the package. "Alright, last but not least, Hunter's gift-"

"And then it's dinner time!" Wrecker cheered, briefly forgetting his manners as he eyed his timer with glee. He wouldn't tell her what he'd been planning for her special dinner, adamant that it would be a surprise to her. Ended up being a good thing she'd been so absorbed in that holofilm and hadn't eaten anything yet, whatever it was waiting for them in the kitchen smelled delicious.

Methodically wrapped in clumps of thin tissue paper within the last birthday present were an assortment of accessories, each a beautiful and unique style. [____] gasped softly, marveling under her breath as she took a closer look at each little piece. Some rings, others a pair of earrings, or something to pin in her hair if she wanted. All were made a little differently, no two styles the same. It looked like they'd all come from different planets, if she had to guess based on some of the materials used to make them. "Oh stars… These are beautiful, Hunter. Oh kriff, I almost missed this one here at the bottom…" 

Omega stifled a gentle gasp at the sight of the necklace pendant the moment [____] had it unwrapped. She recognized that one in particular best out of all of the other accessories Hunter had been collecting in secret. She and her brothers had been on an assignment that they'd been promised a healthy windfall of credits for if they completed it successfully, dating back months ago now. It'd been the first mission they took once Omega was better after she'd been sick. 

Once they were done and set to return to the Havoc Marauder to return to their employer with proof of a completed contract, they'd passed through a small market where Hunter had been the first to stall the rest of them once something caught his eye. 

That Nabooian pendant [____] now held gingerly in her hands. 

The first hint that Hunter felt some kind of way about the medic was when Omega watched him ever-so-gingerly pick up that necklace from the tray out of everything else the jeweler had to sell and exchanged the appropriate amount of credits for it. After he'd walked some distance away, still holding the free gift box that came with every purchase from the vendor that now held the necklace inside it, Hunter had paused with a great, sudden look of uncertainty after showing it to Echo before it was finally put away for safekeeping. 

"What's the matter, sarge? Having second thoughts on if it's the kid's style after all?"

"N-no, I'm certain it'd look nice on her, that's not what I'm worried about. But… What if she thinks I'm weird for just… giving her this out of the blue?"

"Then, don't. Wait for like a - ohIdunno - special occasion or something. She'll like it either way, I'm sure." 

Omega realized these feelings Hunter had for [____] had been brewing much longer than initially thought. So she was right when she asked Hunter if he ever thought of someone special: the answer was sitting right there in his footlocker where he kept his armor kit for months along with everything else he'd been secretly collecting!

Of course. She should've realized that when she found everything neatly wrapped up in a pair of too-small blacks (probably Hunter's last set before his final growth spurt shortly before reaching full Clone-maturity) the time he'd asked her to grab something out of his footlocker.

In a flash, the medic had opened the clasp to the necklace and reached behind her neck to put on the accessory to try it on first out of everything. Five sets of eyes swung in Hunter's direction once she'd closed the mechanism and took a moment to admire the pendant as it hung from her neck and lay comfortably against her chest. "Oh I love this… Thank you, Hunter!" 

He was redder than one of Mustafar's lava fields even under all the cool-toned party lights as he barely stuttered out a you're welcome before his voice was overshadowed by the excited, whooping laugh as Wrecker ducked into the snug kitchenette to bring out the main course for everyone, making the effort to move in such a way that it concealed what he was carrying until he got it to the table in the breakfast nook. 

"Hope you're all hungry! Cause it's ready!" Tech, Echo, Crosshair and Omega were quick to claim their seats around the table, the joint effort once more seating [____] and Hunter next to one another, this time by force. Crosshair grinned lazily, leaning one elbow on the table once his brother and their collective friend had seated themselves. "Smells good, big guy. What is it?" 

Excited as he was, and this close to reminding Crosshair he'd helped him gather all the fresh ingredients just this morning, Wrecker did his best to stick to the script just like his sharp-eyed brother. "Thought we'd all have a taste of home tonight: [____]'s home, that is!" He lifted the lid to the tray to finally reveal what he'd cooked up, and he was sure that he looked a little pink after all the excited chatter from the medic as [____] explained to Omega (as she also pretended she had no idea what it was Wrecker had made) that this was one of her favorite things to eat where she grew up; that she hadn't eaten it since she'd moved from her home planet and came here. 

They were still on track, after all. If Hunter wasn't going to show that letter to her tonight, feeling it wasn't the right time for any reason, all he had to do was give Tech one little hand signal. 

Barricade. 

So far, there'd been no sign of it.

So, so far so good!

Following dinner, they had gotten at least one round into a short, modified game of Sabacc before everyone was interrupted by a loud GNK unit coming up the street. 

Bwonk! Honk, honk! 

Wrecker looked up from his current hand, both brows reaching for the ceiling. "Huh? Wha's Gonky doin' outside the door? He usually stays with the ship unless it's really important… Excuse me, ad'ika, I better go see what 'e wants. H-hold these for me, will ya?" 

She took the cards, careful to keep them face-down so they didn't become a spoiled hand. "Sure, no worries Wreck." [____] promised, holding Wrecker's current hand of Sabacc cards to her chest for further security. The front door whipped open, the hydraulics cracking sharply as the blastdoor opened and closed as Wrecker stepped out onto the stoop for a brief moment. 

Everyone playing at the tight table quickly abandoned the effort of guarding their current hands from spying eyes to see why there was suddenly shouting, fearing that there was some kind of trouble when they heard Wrecker and another man bellowing. 

"No-no-no, put me down!"

Everyone quickly jumped to their feet. Crosshair easily swept Omega off his lap and held her against his back with one long arm, and completely disregarding his injuries that he really should not be fighting with, Hunter stepped protectively in front of the confused medic; each veteran brother telling their prospective charge they were minding to "Get behind me!" in unison, swiping anything in reach that could be used as a makeshift weapon. Tech and Echo moved closest to the door, ready to act however necessary to buy Cross and Hunter time or to come to Wrecker's aid.

It proved to be an unnecessary measure by all, but no less sweet or so selflessly brave. There was no Imperial threat.

"GUYS! Hahaha! Look who it is!!" Wrecker was not alone when he came back inside, the door rocketing open to reveal the boyish giant with so much excitement in his mismatched eyes over this very familiar-looking man struggling in his arms, feet so far off the ground and kicking desperately for purchase on something, anything. Imperial threats didn't get carried into the house with a look of unfettered glee by someone trying to deal them secretive, critical blows.

"Wr-Wrecker! Every time?! Put me down!" the other Clone tried near-fruitlessly, still struggling in the arms of the explosive ordnance expert. 

Makeshift weapons were dropped. The five faces of the Clone brothers previously flooded with fear quickly fell and gave way to relief, Echo's gaunt face changing the most as he staggered against the wall, loosely clutching his chest, practically halfway to tears in a bittersweet blend of excitement and comfort. "Oh, Maker! It's the Captain, not a damn Imperial… oh Maker it's just the Captain." (Omega swiftly caught the attention of the medic and, happily, declared it's really okay, we know him; he's very nice! in a whispered voice.)

Echo didn't talk about just anyone like that; the Captain? [____] heard how much Echo respected, loved this particular older brother, always calling him "one of my brothers, Rex" and "the Captain" depending on the cybernetically enhanced soldier's mood or decided topic of the day when he swung by her clinic just to talk. 

So between Echo's painfully obvious relief, Omega's seal of approval, and a memory that the Batchers got along best with a select few of their "Reg" brothers in the GAR, [____] was nearly certain this must be Captain Rex, based on the whooping and crushing hug he was (still, unfortunately for him) receiving from Wrecker; and he was likely coming by to see how Hunter was recovering. "Oh, of course, of course; you must be wondering about Hunter! I'm personally not aware or sure that anyone had let you know that he was okay when Echo accidentally… hailed me but… he's, um… Echo? What's wrong?" she trailed off, seeing the ARC shrink further against the storm-blue wall with every word.

If the slight paleness in his skin could possibly go any paler, Echo had found a way, eyes enormous and both shoulders practically in his ears as he stammered through his explanation. "Uh… I'm not sure I'd call hailing you an accident… exactly. I did mean to hail the Captain, but I, uh, I-I-I also meant to contact you for medical help and I wasn't sure what communication frequency I dialed in when I started speaking and-!" 

"You boys are a real mess." The sigh from the captain was fond. Nostalgic. "Just like old times… Wrecker, mind finally setting me down so I can introduce myself?" On his feet, the Captain with closely-shaved blonde, curled hair could now properly greet the medic, offering a firm handshake. (Maker, the sheer strength in those fingers alone!) "The name's Rex. Thanks for taking care of these boys, and their sister, ma'am. I know it can't be easy." 

She knew what he was playfully alluding to, fully familiar with these siblings and their proclivity for danger in the almost-a-year she's known them by now. She firmed up her handshake and chuckled humbly. "Heh. Nonsense! I knew the job had its thorns when I went to school for it; easy would be out of the question. They just keep my job exciting for me, that's all. I'm [____]. Pleased to meet you, Rex!" 

"Likewise, [____]. Likewise." Rex pumped the handshake one last time before he was content to release the medic's hand and greet each of his brothers, starting with a warm, comforting chuckle for Echo once he was pulled to his feet. "Easy there, little brother; sorry for the scare. It's good to see you, Echo."

"I-I'm fine…" Echo sniffled, face buried into the Captain's shoulder. She'd never seen Echo cling to anyone so tightly before, not even the frightening occasion he was in the deep throes of hypothermia and Wrecker had volunteered himself to assist in raising Echo's core temperature. "M'fine, Captain… H-how'd you find us?" 

"I knew how to find your ship," Captain Rex confessed, thumb doing a few slow, circular laps where he held it against Echo's back. "Tracked it down here to this planet and docked myself a few shipyards over. The GNK-series droid aboard your ship led me here when I asked if he knew where I could find you boys. And Omega." he added, grinning at the youngster now hanging off Crosshair's wrist once it was made clear that she wasn't in any danger, waiting quietly and politely with a smile of her own. 

"And [____], too," Omega insisted, releasing herself once the Captain had let go of Echo and next offered the other curiously blonde Clone a hug in greeting, "it's her birth-day, so we're throwing her a party!"

"Ah, is that what all this is for? Wondered what Wrecker was doing wearing a party hat or what the place was so decked out for… Looks like you're all having fun! Even ol' Crosshair's managing to smile." 

The sniper laughed dryly and sarcastically, rolling his eyes and the toothpick from the last spicy snack sausage he'd plucked from the collection of snacks set out for the party as he spoke. "Very funny, Captain…" He allowed the Captain a brief hug before he started to wiggle out and stood within arm's reach, "Glad to see you made a clean get-away from the transport. It's good to see you." 

"You too, little brother," Rex agreed, patting Crosshair on the shoulder before turning his sights on the exceptionally-minded, "And good to see you too, Tech!" 

Tech backpedaled defensively, dodging a threat of close-quarters contact he wasn't always fond of. "A-ah-! Please don't hug me!" he blurted, knocking into Wrecker with a mild yelp. (Though it wasn't his fault, Wrecker apologized for getting in the way as his brother had tried to avoid undesired sensory input.) The Captain just chuckled agreeably, taking no offense. "Alright, alright. Then I won't. Won't force you to do anything you're not comfortable with." Tech nodded gratefully, not meeting Rex's eyes and allowed himself to take a singular and friendly clap on the shoulder before he sidestepped out of the Captain's reach. "Th-thank you, Captain..."

"Awh, s'okay Captain, I already gave ya a hug!" Wrecker scratched around the back of his neck in a self-soothing motion to go with the sheepish laughter, settling for a good handshake instead. "Thanks, though!"

"No, better not while I'm still healing… What brings you here again, Captain?" Hunter asked, waving off the offered hug and taking a shoulder-clap of his own on the right side instead.

"Came to make sure you especially were okay, like [____] guessed; but everyone else too, really, since I could track down your ship with the help of a friend in the network. I'm afraid I can't stay long…" Omega pouted at these words, and the unmistakable sense that Rex was a man who cared so damn deeply for his fellow Clone brothers (and sister) filled the medic's heart as she watched him comfort Omega with a curled finger and thumb pinching together to cup her chin and better meet her eye. "I don't want to put anyone in danger by lingering too long, Omega. I can probably stay for a little bit after I speak with Hunter about something, but I don't know for sure." Omega nodded, showing she understood. 

Captain Rex looked at [____] to seek approval before speaking again. "Mind if I borrow your friend here for a while? Promise I won't keep him forever so he can return to the first proper party this lot's had in ages. Good for them." 

She laughed softly, nodding at the two of them with a playful salute that made the Captain grin slightly wolfishly, and Hunter chuckled softly in relief after meeting Rex's eye. "No worries, I understand. We'll keep ourselves out of trouble and plenty entertained in the meantime!"

As Hunter suggested he and the captain retreat further into the house to speak, his bedroom perhaps, Wrecker carefully slugged [____]'s shoulder approvingly. "Haha, looks like the Cap'n likes ya kid!" 

Captain Rex just smiled humbly over his shoulder as he followed Hunter's lead. Though she'd scarcely met the man, she certainly didn't doubt it. She had the impression that this beloved, respected Captain was much like the Sergeant: the type who you earned their ire if you were unkind to their men, and the kind who regarded you with great respect if you got along well with the people they called their family.  

"Gotta say…" Rex's voice caught on [____]'s ear as she was stepping out of Omega's room to grab more snacks for herself and the girl as they worked together on a special piece of art. She'd gone in there initially because the youngster was excitedly showing off more drawings she'd done that morning while her brothers decorated the house once she'd finished making all the party hats to kill some time while Hunter and Captain Rex spoke, and [____] paused in the hallway. 

Hunter and the Captain were speaking in the smallest bedroom, the door open just a crack. Enough that she could hear the men without great effort. "Kid did a good job patching you up and removing those stitches, Hunter. Got a hell of a healer's touch; don't think anyone will be able to tell you got caught in that blast unless they looked at sealed medical records. Think she'd be willing to take on one more patient on the down-low if I ever got hurt that badly out there?" Both of them chuckled at the Captain's joke. Warmly, but also careful and guarded. 

(No, she wouldn't mind helping the Captain on the down-low at all and in fact would be happy to, she decided quickly.)

There was a long pause, the sound of resticking tape, then fabric sweeping over skin. Hunter had probably shed the top of his civvies for the Captain to inspect the healing injuries and get a sense of his little brother's recovery. "I'd ask her for yourself if you're serious. But I think she'd be willing. She's… got a good heart. Good head on her shoulders." 

"I can tell," was all Rex had to say initially before she decided she needed to move and go get those snacks before one of them caught her eavesdropping. [____] got some more of the snack-mix, and then watched while Echo held open the door as Wrecker lugged Gonky through the door and into the house with a laugh. "Felt bad for Gonky, goin' back an' being out on the ship by his lonesome when the rest'a us are havin' fun… So I brought him for the party too!" Gonky whomp!'d happily at the affectionate pat from the ARC once he was on his feet and could slowly shuffle through to the common area. 

"Here. He can have my party hat," Tech offered eagerly, "the elastic strap is beginning to prove a bothersome sensation." 

"Hey, if you need to take a moment to destimulate, take it, okay? I don't want you becoming miserable, Techie." Tech nodded softly in promise, looking touched by the concern for him coming from someone other than a vod as always. "I… think I will."

When [____] went back to the door of Omega's room after giving Gonky an affectionate pat of her own to say hi and welcome him to the party as well, she could tell the conversation between the Clone Captain and Sergeant had shifted.

"There's no rush, no pressure, Hunter, but I did want to ask if you were any closer to deciding on… y'know. Helping in the fight against the Empire as regular members of this little resistance I'm throwing together." Hunter sighed sharply and moved closer to his door, the darting shadow sending [____]'s heart into her stomach for just a second; he never opened or shut the door, instead grabbing something before he moved away.

"Right. That. I still don't know, Captain; I don't know how to balance what everyone wants along with keeping everyone safe… I can't. Help. Worrying. About the safety of my me- family." Hunter stopped and sucked in his teeth before he continued to the superior officer, and [____] risked lingering longer out in the hallway to listen. "I've tried. Maker, I've tried! I understand Echo's motivations behind wanting to help your cause, Captain. I do. It's important to him; it's an important cause. I guess I'm hesitant to involve myself… all of my family… because we nearly lost Crosshair less than a year ago and I haven't been talking about that as much as I should have with him." 

There was a long, long pause after some comment [____] could not understand from Captain Rex; it most definitely was not in Basic, at least. "… I don't know, Captain. When Echo's ready for it, I know our scrappy, resilient little ARC trooper will help with the next prisoner transport ship so more of our brothers are liberated. But after the… the karking mess I ended up in trying to make sure the way was clear for Omega to take more information from the bridge…" Hunter faltered here, a distressed, unhappy lilt in his voice that pinched her heart uncomfortably.

"I understand, Hunter. Just glad you're still with us, brother. Thanks to your… good friend." The pause in the Captain's words was almost unnoticed, and for a moment she worried she'd lingered too long and gave herself away to them. As she ducked into Omega's room, face burning and heart beating at a blistering pace, she managed to catch one last thing. 

"Thanks to [____]." Hunter agreed softly.

Her comlink began to chirp just as everyone was ready to start a round of Dejarik in teams, startling Wrecker just as he began to take a pull from his bottled beverage they'd gathered for the party. No spirits, but something fizzy and sweet [____] liked that Omega wouldn't be excluded from. "Oops. Think that's an old friend from back home. Excuse me, boys."

Tech looked at her with an imploring expression, one brow quirked in question as he blotted the front of Wrecker's now-sticky civvies, trying to be helpful. "Do you want us to wait for you until you are-"

She reached the back door and gave it a tug with her free hand so she could step out on the also decorated back patio, shaking her head. "Nah, it's okay, Tech. But thank you. You guys go ahead and start Dejarik without me. I'll join you in a few minutes." She shut the door behind her, the cool air a balm to her warm skin. The decorations in the house were lovely (wholly sweet and nothing short of lively), but some of them were covering some of the air vents and it was becoming a little hot inside with the reduction in airflow. 

She depressed the button of her comms and excitedly blurted out the name of her friend with a cheerful "Heeey! So glad you called, it's been a while!" fully expecting it to be them on the other end.

It was not her friend. Kriffing scam telemarketers on her birthday, just her luck. "Hel-lo! We've been trying to reach you about your speeder's extended-"

"Still think this part's a bit too unkind." Echo murmured, squirming in discomfort as the brothers huddled up around Tech and Hunter on the couch back inside the house, and soon Tech's datapad trilled, signifying she'd disconnected the call before there was a short string of soft cursing outside. If she had paid closer attention to the frequency, she would have seen Tech set it up so it was off by just one number from her friend's. "Finding an excuse to get her here and surprise her with the party is one thing because no one's feelings get hurt and there was truth to the stitches excuse, but she thought she was getting a call from a friend…" 

Though he was getting better used to it, bending rules and regulations still made the Corporal uneasy, even if being a part of a team with a 100% success rate during the lifetime of the GAR was admittedly a thrill in and of itself. 

Tricking their friend felt like a slight step too far, even if it was just a small part of the plan Tech put together so Hunter could have an opening to tell [____] how he felt with the letter, just the two of them. "As I've insisted, I don't think it will be of much consequence for long, if at all." He scooped up Hunter's datapad and tossed it at Hunter without so much as making sure he was paying attention. He knew Hunter would catch it. 

"What makes you so sure?" Crosshair hummed, chewing on another toothpick that had come with one of the spicy snack sausages in the party platter (he liked the way it made his gums and tongue tingle).

"I have a good feeling about this." was all the elaboration Tech was going to provide his vode. 

The sound of the door mechanism clicking caught [____]'s attention, finding Hunter hesitating just slightly when he realized he had been spotted in the doorway. "Oh, hey there; you can come out, it's okay. Guess it was just some lousy scammer calling to wish me a good birthday. Figures, right?" He smiled weakly at the joke before he made any further moves. 

Hunter joined [____] out on the little back patio, shutting the door to the housing before stepping closer with a hand outstretched, dark eyes boring into the wall, the ground, everywhere but her eyes as he held out the datapad to the medic. A funny expression she couldn't quite read crossed his face. Her curiosity was certainly piqued. 

"What's this? Found something funny on the Holonet?" 

"I'd like you to read something." Hunter wasn't acting quite like himself, looking at her with darting, fleeting seconds of eye contact. He'd never been so afraid or uncomfortable to hold her gaze in the past. Not even when she'd stepped into the barren and snug sleeping space Hunter called his bedroom and helped him remove the loose shirt and the gauze to free him of the irritation caused by the stitches in his shoulder.

What was going on? Why was he looking at her with such anxiety now?

"N-now? Heh, sure, just uh… here." She gave Hunter her drink she'd carried out here and plucked the datapad from his hands when she couldn't find a level spot to set down her beverage. "I'll trade with you so I can see what we're working with here. Is it this, on the screen?"

"Yes."

"Someone's chatty." [____] said teasingly, turning her attention to the screen after a slightly flirty wink, emboldened by a muffled, raucous whoop from Wrecker somewhere in the house. His giant, child-like nature was simply infectious tonight in particular and everyone was acting differently. Maker, she wished he'd been there for every party she'd ever had growing up, he could really liven things up when it came down to it. A shame that Captain Rex had to duck out just before they were ready to start a friendly game, she would have liked to talk with him some more. "Okay, let's see…" 

[____]

Guess I should cut the chatter: I've been made aware that you now have an idea of how I feel about you. Echo encouraged me to tell you the full truth myself. So that's what this letter is meant to do, [____]. It'll be easier to lay down a foundation for a later conversation in a letter first… if that's what you want.

She stole a little look from the datapad after the first few sentences, the confused feelings surging with the half-smile never budging. "Keep reading." Hunter simply pleaded, his smoky voice impossibly soft. 

If not, then maybe we can communicate this way for the time being. I'll leave that up to you. But it's important that you hear from me how I feel. How I am. Or, can be.

A second stolen look, the datapad falling half an inch from her face as she paused. This is exactly what she thought it was. Wrecker was too loose-lipped and his brothers probably put Hunter up to writing this out. 

This felt like a plot line from a steamy holonovel; a brooding, mysterious and troubled man with a murky past just trying to keep his family afloat falling for an unassuming nobody of a woman, giving such a strong emotional outpouring in the starlight on the night of a special occasion. 

Heh, this couldn't be real, right? She was dreaming. Had to be. But those dark eyes… those nervous, nervous eyes both fixed on her and flying to look at anything else out on this little back patio every time she tried to meet his gaze…  Was his heart already racing against his ribs like her's started to? 

You've known us a while now. Always seen the best in all of us as you came to know us and gave us all a soft place to land in this galaxy. Learned that Omega's (likely) the oldest out of all of us; observant, intelligent, highly aware. Eager to learn and try new things. She picked up the notion of giving art a try after seeing some of the pictures your pediatric patients had gifted you after you offered to keep her company so she wasn't home alone when the rest of us took that job out on Florrum. She's gotten so good at it.

She's likely watched all of us go through our enhancements and modifications, save for our older, scrappy and resilient ARC trooper Echo. Given time, he can adapt to most everything. He was one of the 'Regs', once; he's told you parts of his story before I offered him a place on my squad and took him into our fold of rowdy rule-breakers. You've been a tremendous help to him and I should've been explicitly stating my thanks a million times over, but I guess I just couldn't figure out how when I was just so relieved he was sleeping again.

Even in a romantic confession, Hunter's dedication to and pride in his family (these days they were only ever referred to one another as a "squad" when they hired themselves out for the odd jobs to put credits on the table) was so blatantly evident. She kept reading, wondering where Hunter was going with this. It was certainly odd and unconventional that he was bringing his vode into this, but there had to be a good reason when Maker, he cared so deeply for them. 

Parasite or no parasite, you've never once shied away or been put off by Crosshair's behavior or that sharp tongue to match the sharp eyesight that would leave your jaw on the floor if you ever get the chance to see him in action. He was a real menace against those Clankers in battle. (He'd be all too happy to show off, [____]; all you have to do is ask.) Wrecker shows off all the time; no denying his brawn, or his explosives expertise to give us a good explosion out on the battlefield, now is there? You've never once treated Wrecker like he's stupid and forgetful, and you're a good sport about all the times he's gotten over excited and given you one of those spine-tingling hugs of his.

 Warms my heart that you aren't threatened and are rather endeared by Tech's archive-worth of knowledge he's jammed in that brain of his to talk on and on for hours. That you'll engage with him instead of tuning him out, and actually ask him genuine questions in the hope of learning something rather than doing so just to be polite and shut him up for a while.

Tech retains just about everything he's ever learned, and it's gotten us out of so many jams I don't bother keeping count, because I'm certain he does.

All this to say "And then there's me". Probably know the least about me ever since Tech brought us to your clinic when we realized Cross was sick. 

That's right: they'd come to her because they were avoiding Imperial attention. Wrecker had carried Crosshair into the clinic just before closing as he writhed and thrashed in his discomfort, doing his best to fight against the biochemical response from the parasite. They'd probably have been kicked out of the other, larger health center had they tried going there anyway because he was so combative with his vode when the parasite got the best of him. 

Made him a danger to himself and those around him that it necessitated a very specific sedative she didn't like using on her patients because of the common side effects, but she couldn't leave him helpless and in pain. Not with the way a little girl with blonde hair tucked in the crooks of arms both cybernetic and flesh cried with a plea to help their sick brother surrounded by three other men as they got him strapped into a padded examination chair for the medic who anxiously agreed to help him. Something had been said between all of them in something beyond Galactic Basic as they came to an agreement that on a count of three, all four limbs were locked down and she was given the go-ahead by this band of then-strangers.

I was avoiding getting close in case we weren't staying long on this planet and went on the move again… playing it "safe" by being distant so yet another goodbye since the GAR's dissolvement would sting a little less. Thinking the less you knew about me the better, so this new Empire wouldn't do anything to hurt you… in case they heard about the "one off" of you helping one of our own. 

Yeah right… "One off". It's been nearly a standard year since the parasitic souvenir from Kashyyyk and there's been nearly a hundred injuries since. A hundred injuries since the collapse of the GAR and everything familiar about it… everything I was created for, [____]. My "desired genetic mutations" that made me useful to the GAR and the Jedi, my fellow soldiers, the experimental special forces 99 Unit: the enhanced senses, the ability to feel electromagnetic frequencies, expert navigating and more… What place do any of those desired defects have with all of that gone, now? 

I spend every day in discomfort due to the nature of my defects, but I made it work for the sake of my men. For the sake of all of my brothers in the GAR, even if I never fought alongside them much. There was a bigger picture I believed was worth fighting for, so I fought through the overwhelm and the onslaught on every unorthodox mission I'd been allowed to command. Nothing is familiar anymore. I have no larger safety net beyond the Batch and other deserters scattered in the galaxy. Every one of those hundred or so injuries since was another reminder of what I was trying to avoid in the vacuum of the GAR's absence. 

Reminders how alone I've become. 

Oh… stars. The datapad felt too heavy in her hands, her hands buzzing with nerves the same way they did before every dreaded medical school exam, the patio swayed and rocked under her feet for a brief moment and she had to lean back against the wall to find support. Poor Hunter… she had no idea how extensive these struggles were. How much he'd kept to himself. How much he said he was shouldering on his own. "Yo-you…" she swallowed down her stomach and sinking heart, mouth drier than the Dune Seas of Tatooine. She couldn't think straight, and Hunter was now standing so close she was beginning to feel like a cornered animal under the unblinking gaze of his warm eyes, glittering in the party lights like rich tourmalines. 

"... keep reading, cyare." It was soft. A request. Or maybe encouragement. She couldn't tell, her head was still swimming through a thousand emotions. Sadness. Confusion. Pity. Empathetic understanding. But she did as he said, eyes dropping where she had left off.

Somewhere in those hundred injuries, something changed, of course. The night Omega got sick. I couldn't avoid coming to your clinic. I couldn't avoid the discomfort. I hate clinics. (I'm sure you've been wondering that for a while now.)

But I don't hate the doctor. It's not their fault- it's not your fault - that these places are so karking uncomfortable for me. I think that was the night I realized I felt something for you, watching how sweetly you took care of my 'little' sister. I wasn't even your patient, and you still asked me how I was doing, if I was okay, if you could get me something while you were holding Omega in your arms. I think that was the night I finally saw things… differently.

Saw you differently. Authentically. Comfortably. I could start telling you more that I used to leave unsaid… something I still need to get better at and actually tell you that I trust you, that I had thought of you as a friend. That there were a million ways I wished I could have repaid you for your help and your kindness and the ways you treat my brothers and sister with such genuine care. The friendship and love that you've shown them…

And just two days ago. Maker, I'd never felt safer with a medic, or at your clinic. I still hate your clinic. 

But, oh, mesh'la… I could never hate you, [____]. 

Confessing my feelings for you on your birth-day has to be such a cliche if these Holofilms I've seen Omega watching are using this plotline a lot, so I apologize if the timing has made you uncomfortable, but I felt it was time to stop pining… and start doing something to say how I feel. Stop bottling up my feelings and be avoidant to all discomfort and unfamiliarity, and to be honest and open with you, starting with this:

I think I've loved you for a while now. But now I know for sure that I do.

-H.

Oh stars. Oh stars oh stars oh stars!

So it was real.

Springing away from the wall she'd backed herself into, something dropped and shattered near her feet. Hardly a flinch as large fragments of glass are stepped on in their collective hurry. She's acting without much thinking, and it's caught him by surprise when she's suddenly in his arms. Hunter's recovered from the initial shock of catching [____] so suddenly, the cloyingly sweet taste of the mocktail fresh on her lips spurring him on. He just hoped the spice of the party snacks he'd been helping himself to all night weren't bothersome to the medic as they feverishly, eagerly traded kiss after kiss after kiss. 

One of his brothers can be heard clear as day from inside the house once they had either finally noticed where the two of them had gone, or finally daring to break their silence after watching this whole time. "Awh yeah, Hunter! About damn time!" 

Another spoke up, first chiding the disturber, then proudly egging his brother on with a teasing question. "Oh k'uur, he'd have gotten out of his karking head eventually. Do we need to scram so you two can have some quality time, dear vod?"

Neither Hunter or [____] cared, or completely noticed. They were both so lost in one another's eyes once they pulled away to catch their breath that they didn't even seem to care that they'd been standing half-barefoot in the sticky puddle of the red, fruity mocktail this entire time since it had tumbled out of Hunter's grasp. They didn't notice when Tech shuttered the blinds in the house that looked outside after a long moment, or the faint klic! of his datapad.

"Hell'd you take a picture for?" Echo questioned, face bearing a grin to rival a nexu's that betrayed the accusatory tone. 

Goggles were adjusted before brother answered brother. "Well, since Crosshair seems to have started taking pictures with my datapad to capture our squad's happy, or dare I say… "cute" moments, I figured it would be the obvious thing to do to capture something to commemorate the occasion. I dare say Hunter's letter was… successful, and more importantly reciprocated." 

"Your datapad makes the most sense: you record everything." Crosshair countered simply, a wry smile forming around the current toothpick. 

"... Hm! I guess it does."

Omega was the last to leave the window that looked outside, straining to hear her little brother when he broke that silence swimming between him and the woman he'd fallen so hard for. "Kamino's rain… glad to finally have that off my chest…" 

"I had a feeling something was up; I kinda overheard you talking with Captain Rex tonight… and from the moment Wrecker let the Loth-cat out of the bag, of course." [____] admitted softly. 

When Omega dared to pinch the blinds apart to peak outside, she could see [____] smiling gently, kindly at Hunter as she gingerly tucked away a curling lock of his hair that had fallen out of place. Hunter finally looked truly relaxed, relieved that everything had gone well. "But I wasn't going to rush you. I'm sorry if you felt the need to rush your little letter, too… I certainly wasn't planning on going anywhere, handsome."

"I-I didn't feel rushed; I really did want to tell you sooner than later. If I wasn't going to do it tonight, it would have been soon enough after. Honest." Hunter promised her, closing that space between them once more. [____] flashed him a smile that suggested she would guess otherwise about Hunter rushing himself, but she said nothing before winding a hand around the back of his neck and head to bring him closer.

Omega dropped her hand from the blinds and joined her other brothers on the far side of the house, everyone quietly celebrating their brother's success for themselves, proud of themselves for helping everything come together tonight. 

"I give it 'til the end of next week before he's watching romance holos for ideas." came Cross's chuckle. "Going to have to set up Hunter's datapad with limited screen hours like Omega's after dinner." 

Omega sighed disapprovingly, "Don't make fun of Hunter now that he's told [____] how he feels," she said, wagging her head at her little brother, "And I don't have the limited screen hours anymore." Hunter had removed the setting from her personal device within a week after it'd been set because she proved she could be responsible. She would much rather spend time with her brothers than bury her nose into the screen for hours on end. The quality time with her brothers was something she cherished.

And now she'll probably get to spend more time with [____] very soon, doing the same thing.

Taglist: @dragonrider9905 @ladytano420 @the-hexfiles @ilovethosebrowneyes9904​

Note from Frost: Guess it didn’t end up as long as I initially planned after doing some last-minute trimming to fit material that was found to be better suited for other chapters with my editing-eyes on. :’) If you would like to be added to the taglist that is currently just specific for Sorry, Wrong Comms!, (I may start a taglist for all Star Wars related fanfiction projects that will be marked accordingly with #frostfics in the near future if there is interest) don’t hesitate to shoot me an ask or a comment loves. 🩷

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[ykwrites]

Number Two- Bakugo Katsuki x fem!reader scenario

Pairing: Bakugo x fem!reader

Warnings: mdni, graphic descriptions of sex, no use of protection, reader has a vag

Rating: NSFW

MASTERLIST

This post is part of my four days of bakugo event.

DID NOT PROOFREAD IT IS WHAT IT IS

That morning, grey and cold, was enough to jinx your entire day. Not a glimpse of sun passed through the clouds and you couldn´t help but curse between your teeth, mad at the world.

Was it bad luck? ''Maybe'', you thought while walking through the giant glass door of your agency´s building, hair dripping wet and feet completely soaked.

Not even the receptionist, who you were friendly with, dared to comment on your lack of an umbrella and disheveled look because of it and only greeted you with a very soft tone.

Some of your coworkers looked at you wide eyed, but they chose not to speak of it either.

This was a nightmare, torture really, and usually you would choose to go back home and change, but today that wasn´t a real option. Trying to do damage control, you got in your office and stripped down, shivering and putting every piece of clothing except your underwear on top of the heater.

It might look like you were exaggerating, but being all wet, having slept two hours the night before and the nerves to be perfect for a meeting that could change your career completely, you needed to move fast and do your best.

After a few minutes trying to warm up next to the heater, a knock on the door startled you, eyes instantly looking to find out you left it unlocked.

''I´m busy!''you blurted out, panicking.

''It´ll take a sec....OH MY GOD''a very red and startled Midoriya covered his eyes and closed the door shut.

You on the other hand, relaxed. If someone had to see you like this at least it was your best friend and not some random coworker.

''You can come in''

It took a couple minutes, but Midoriya ended up getting in, still covering his eyes.

''What are you doing naked in the office?''

''It’s pouring outside, I woke up late and didn’t bring an umbrella” you explained, rubbing your hands in an attempt to warm up “You can look, Midoriya, you’ve seen me in a bikini multiple times, it’s the same thing”

“If you say so”he huffed, finally removing the hand over his eyes “Why didn’t you go back home and change?”

Was he kidding? He knew about the meeting.

“I don’t know, maybe because I have a career-changing meeting I have to attend in half an hour”your tone came sarcastic and dry.

“Wasn’t it at 12?”

“It’s 11:30?”

Midoriya looked at his watch, eyebrows furrowed.

“10:30”

WHAT?

Not believing him, you checked the time on your computer instead of phone.

And he was fucking right.

This meant that all the fuss you went through didn’t even need to happen, you could’ve gone back home, but now that wasn’t an option.

Could this day get any fucking worse?

“At least my clothes will have more time to dry”you sat down, defeated.

Midoriya was silent for a second, clearly thinking until a very familiar smile appeared on his lips.

“What if I give you the dress shirt I have under this sweater?, I don’t have anything important to attend so no one will bat an eye”

“My pants are still soaked, tho”

“I’ll ask around for help to dry them faster” he quickly took your black dress pants from the heater.

He was determined, a problem solver as always and also your only hope.

“In that case, just dry my shirt too”

“It has brown spots, seems like a car splashed you with muddy water”

Resting your forehead on the desk, you gestured with your hand for him to leave, hearing the faint click of the door closing right after.

At least Midoriya was there, a best friend since highschool you could really rely on. This situation reminded you of the time a boy broke up with you in college and he showed up with Uraraka and a giant tub of icecream so you could all watch movies together. One of many occasions where he saved the day.

Your phone buzzed, a few messages from your boss popping on the screen to remind you of the meeting being held in now less than an hour.

As if you could fucking forget it.

''Y/n, it´s me''Midoriya´s voice was faint outside the office.

''Come in''

Like before, he entered quickly to make sure no one outside could see you, pants dry in his hands and his white dress shirt neatly folded over them.

''Here''he put them on your table ''Warm and dry''

Right, the fabric was warm to the touch.

''How did you dry them so fast?''you asked, standing up to put them on.

Your panties, being a much thinner material than the rest of your clothes, had dried on their own.

''Todoroki''

''Oh, you made him use his quirk for this?''

Everyone knew that Shoto avoided using that side of him.

''Don´t worry, I explained why you needed it and he wanted to help''

''I´ll thank him later, turn around''

Your friend complied and you took your bra off, still wet, and put the shirt on. It was obviously big on you, because your best friend has huge muscles, so you tied it at the bottom, undid the first few buttons and made it look as good as you could.

''Done''

''Looks good''Midoriya shoot you a smiley thumbs up.

''You saved my life once again”

“It’s no biggie”he shrugged it off ''The number one hero can´t be seen wearing dirty clothes''

''Number one hero?''you asked playfully, rising an eyebrow ''My best friend holds that title''

''Number two it is''

You scoffed, knowing not even that was a reality. Number two, much to your disgust, was Dynamight, stupid, rage filled and egotistic Bakugo Katsuki.

''Number two, ugh''you commented, exhasperated just by thinking about him.

''Come on, Katsuki is not that bad''

''I don´t understand why you defend him when he´s never been nice to you, or me''

''It´s not like that''

''Well, that´s how I see it''

''Give him a chan...''

Midoriya´s words were interrupted by a knock on the door, a faint woman´s voice telling you to please head to the meeting room.

You responded quickly with ''in a minute!'' and looked at your best friend, terrified. He gestured for you to follow him and walked beside you, holding your arm as if he was the one making you walk and then left right when you were about to enter the meeting room.

The layout around the ginormous black table was rather weird, your boss sat in the middle, a marketing employee on his right and...a fucking blonde on his left.

What was he doing there? Looking all uninterested and angry, even more than he usually was. Except for him, the other two greeted you.

''Please, sit''your boss spoke, pointing at the chair in front of them.

Confused, you complied, but kept silent for him to lead the conversation.

''We´ve been...thinking about how to make your popularity rise''your boss was careful with his words.

Suspicious.

''I believe we talked about me doing more press and tv appearances''you said ''Has that changed?''

''No, not at all''now the marketing guy spoke ''we just decided to go with a different perspective''

At that moment, Bakugo loudly scoffed, murmuring a ''yeah, sure'' that you chose to ignore.

''Okay...''you let your words trail off, wondering what all of this meant.

''Listen, I know the original idea was giving you more media attention by yourself, because you have great potential''your boss explained ''but we decided to give you a partner, one of the bests, so that spotlight can be even bigger''

Was he trying to say what you thought he was trying to say?

''What?''a bit pissed, you tried not to lose your composure ''Are you telling me that I´m not good enough by myself?''

''No!''marketing guy panicked ''We did some studies and surveys, the average citizen prefers a duo''

''Can I at least choose my partner?''

You already knew the answer, but still tried.

''No''Bakugo had the nerve to speak, enraged''And I can´t choose either''

You are so stupid, how didn´t you connect the fucking dots? THAT´S WHY BAKUGO WAS THERE, TO BE YOUR FUCKING PARNTER.

''Okay, then we can cancel all of this, I no longer want to do this''you backtracked, prefering to lose the opportunity.

''I´m afraid you can´t''your boss stood up, fixing his suit ''The contract you signed makes us promote and boost your career, but in return you are obligated to follow our guidelines''

''Please, I would rather keep things like they are now'' you pleaded.

''Not a choice, now''he gestured for the marketing guy to follow him ''Press conferences presenting the duo start next week''

''I believe you two went to highschool together, so this will be easy to do, but I would advise you to get to know each other further so the public can see a good and friendly relationship''

Just like that, you were left alone with Katsuki. In mere minutes, your whole plan to grow and become a more successful hero had burned down to ashes.

People might think being a hero is just that, saving lives and helping in important tasks, but in this capitalist world, marketing does more for a hero than their quirk.

Options were: doing what the agency wanted you to do or leaving and obviously losing your job. With a recently purchased flat and a cat to feed, the second wasn’t an option.

“You banging Deku?”

And your best friend said Bakugo wasn’t that bad…

“No”you answered rolling your eyes, arms crossed.

“Why are you wearing his shirt then?”he smiled, crooked and mean.

“Because mine got dirty”

“I believe ya”he clearly didn’t.

“Why do you care?”

“I don’t, but like that rando said: we should get to know each other better”

Your blood boiled as you stood up, ready to punch him directly on the throat if he kept talking.

When you stepped outside the room, Midoriya was already waiting, smile dropping as soon as he saw your face.

“What happened?”he came closer, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder.

“They changed everything, I will no longer be doing what we agreed on earlier”

Talking to Bakugo or your boss, made it easy to transform every emotion to rage, but with your best friend, your walls crumbled and you could feel tears pooling in your eyes.

“What?”

''We're a fucking duo''the blonde menace explained before you could.

''That´s...not as bad, right? at least you´ll still get press''Midoriya-bless him- tried to make things sound positive.

''Next to this moron''

''Don´t be mean!''your best friend, sweet as always.

''It´s not like I want to do this shit either''Bakugo scoffed loudly.

''Shut up, Katsuki''

Before any of them could respond, you left practically running and locked yourself inside your office. In what felt like seconds, you gathered your things and left to go home.

You had patrol later that day, so you took a long and needed shower before eating and putting on your hero costume.

Nothing mayor happened, thankfully, because your head was in a different place the entire time, clouding your senses, much more focused on how pissed you were.

Bullshit.

Maybe you needed to look at this in a colder, more methodic way, using Dynamight´s popularity to your advantage, insulting or hitting him behind closed doors if he pissed you off.

Reminiscing the conversation with your boss, you frowned, finding it quite strange, they said the public wanted a duo, but pretty much everyone knew that you and Bakugo didn´t get along at all so.... why was he chosen to be your partner?

Midoriya would´ve made more sense, or not, because he was engaged to Ochako and publicity wise, the so called ''public'' rooted for couples or partners that could spark dating roumors, even if they were never going to come true.

Then, why not Todoroki? he was a better option, and some fans already shipped you with him.

Overwhelmed, you finished patrol and went back home at around midnight, and after another shower, you took out your phone in a terrible attempt to distract your stupid brain, instantly wanting to scream when a shit ton of articles popped up in the news feed, announcing the new duo.

Everyone seemed excited, thrilled even, with comments of pure joy.

Your doorknob being turned agressively, made you stand up and unlock the door, ready to yell at whoever was so impatient and didn´t knock.

What a weird time to visit.

''Have you seen this shit?''Bakugo stood there, phone in hand, showing the same comments you were reading seconds ago.

How did he remember where you lived? He had been there probably once before in the many years you had known him.

''Yes''you responded, dry and not really sure what he wanted you to say.

''This is insane, let me in''

Rolling your eyes, you stepped to the side, letting him in. Glued to his phone, he walked almost blindly until he sat on your couch like he owned the place.

''The duo I was waiting for''he read in a mocking tone, snorting.

In disbelief, you stood looking at him, confused as of why he decided to come to your house this late just to read comments.

''You want something in particular or...?''

''Something to drink, you are a terrible host''

Annoyed but not in the mood to fight, you went in the kitchen and took a couple beers, throwing one at him without warning -wich he caught not having to lift his gaze from the phone screen- and sitting on the opposite end of the couch.

''My favorite heroes together''he continued his reading session, promptly ignoring your presence.

For a couple minutes, you let him keep reading random comments while you quietly sipped on your beer, until you got tired.

''Bakugo, why are you here?''

He finally put the phone down, taking a long sip and turning to look at you.

''This is the first time they´ve talked about me so much in a few months''he explained.

''That´s stupid, you are in the news every day''

''Not lately, no, I´ve been losing popularity since Deku got engaged''

''What are you trying to say?''

''This is a fucking pain in the ass, but I need this to work''he huffed.

''What?''you asked, confused.

''This partnership or whatever, so don´t mess it up''

Was he asking you to pretend you got along with him?

''Pretty sure you´ll be the one messing things up, with your rage problems''

''Shut up, are you going to help or not?''he was visibly angry, his eyes turning dark red.

''It´s not like I can choose, I´ll pretend that I like you if that´s what you want''

''That´s not the fucking point''his voice raised, not much but enough to show you he was containing his temperament.

''What do you want me to say?''incredilous, you raised a brow.

''You can fucking start by telling me why you always act like a brat and why you fucking hate me so much''

Huh? This was certainly new, new and confusing.

Did he really not get the hint why you didn´t like him? It wasn´t as harsh as hate, but how did he expect you to like him if he had always been rude to you and your best friend? He constantly acted like he was better and in doing so, bragged and pinched where he knew it would hurt.

''Are you serious?''you asked in disbelief.

''Just answer''he punctuated, voice raising again as he got closer to your face, daring.

''You are an asshole, you have always been an asshole''

''Am I?''he spat, breath practically hitting your face, making you angrier.

''I don´t know how Midoriya can consider you a friend, you are so mean, entitled and rude all the time''

''Shut up''his voice was deep, containing rage between his teeth.

''Why don´t you shut the fuck up, huh? Always telling me to shut up when you are no one to...

Your words were suddenly interrupted, mouth unable to move when you realized.

He was kissing you, Bakugo Katsuki was kissing you and your body moved on its own returning the action. You couldn´t tell how, when or why his hand had landed at the base of your neck, placed gently to push you closer, your body once again following him with ease.

Surprisingly, this felt amazing, like a shot of adrenaline running through your veins, and you didn´t once think of pushing him away.

''Is this okay?''he asked, your body starving from the lost contact.

Instead of speaking, you kissed him again, agressively crashing his lips and tugging on his shirt to push his body slightly on top of yours.

He let out a deep sound in response, almost feral.

Even with his lips on yours and desperation building rapidly, you were still mad at him, using this new found high to let out your frustration.

Bakugo caressed your side, melting into your touch and skillfully sneaking his leg in between yours, not yet touching your clothed pussy but clearly testing the waters, respectful but teasing at the same time. The thought of him touching you further suddenly sent shivers down your spine, in a good way.

That exact moment you decided that if he let you, you were going to hate fuck this man. At least if you had to put up with his bullshit, you would also have a little fun.

He seemed to read your mind when he left your lips to attack your neck right after, smiling into your skin when he heard a faint moan. That gave him the confidence to finally rub his leg against you.

In a frenzie, you made him take off his shirt and almost punched his ridiculously hot abs when he looked at you with a smug, winning smile.

''You mad?''he asked, mocking and playing with the end of your shirt.

''Shut up''

''Give me something to keep my mouth busy then''

That sentence alone made you want to scream and you took off your shirt so quickly it was ridiculous. He stared at your exposed breasts before diving right in to bite one and pinch the other, clearly delighted at the little sounds you were making.

Almost instinctively, your hips started moving against his leg, desperate for some kind of friction, wet and needy.

Bakugo, as much as it pained you to admit it, was good at what he was doing, skilled, even to a point where you wanted him inside you right fucking now.

''Bakugo, do something''you pleaded, annoyed at your own desperation,

''Call me Katsuki and I´ll think about it''

This bastard had to keep taunting you, so you decided to take charge, putting a hand over his obvious erection. His breathing hitched, eyes closing and hips bucking against your hand.

''I said, do something''you said, moving up to bite his bottom lip ''Bakugo''

He groaned,angrily getting up from the couch to take off his pants, in the blink of an eye, he was on top of you again agressively taking off your shorts and panties together.

The little you coud peak, you noticed he was big and thick, at least it seemed like it the two seconds you saw him before he was kissing you again with force.

''You sure you want to keep playing with me like that?''he said, sneaking a hand on your neck.

''What do you think?''you taunted, starting to massage his cock without warning, using his precum as lube.

Bakugo let out a deep moan, capturing your lips and taking his sweet revenge using his free hand to insert two fingers, showing absolutely no mercy. Thank the universe you were already dripping wet and took his fingers easily, moving your hips to follow the pace he made curling his digits. Like a little cherry on top, he added his thumb on your clit, making your body tremble.

Your hand was mean against his member and your lips fought a war of moans and heavy breathing in between messy kisses.

A small knot formed in you, getting desperate for release, mad that it didn´t come when you wanted.

He noticed your movements getting messy, so in an attempt to piss you off, he removed his hand and looked at your eyes getting dark, drowning in annoyance, ready to complain or plainly scream at him, all that while he lined himself up with your entrance and thrusted hard just as you were about to complain, leaving you completely speechless when he bottomed out.

''Never thought a brat would feel this good''he said, holding your hip with suck a force that it would probably leave a mark.

''Can you shut up and fuck me already?''you managed to respond, enchanted in how amazingly well his dick filled you up.

''Let me think about it''he smiled, kissing your jaw.

He thrusted, once.

''I fucking ha...'' your words cut off by another thrust.

''Say my name, brat''

''Bak...fuck''he sunk even further inside you, brushing your sweet spot.

''I don´t think that´s my name''the hand on your neck traveled up just a bit until he held your cheeks harsh to lick your lips in such a way that your pussy clenched ''say it''

''Oh fuck, Katsuki!''

''Good girl''

That last sentence he whispered in your ear, and you were not ready for the murderous pace that came right after that. He was devouring you raw, pounding so hard and delicious that your legs were shaking in seconds. Nails digging on his back, not caring if your neighbours or the whole city could hear you moaning loudly.

His deep moans in your ear were so sweet and hot, like honey, the scent of him flooding every ounce of common sense you had left,

You swore you could see stars when he put a hand on your lower stomach, adding pressure, determined to make you cum like it was his only goal in life.

''Fuck, I can´t''you said, breathless.

''Take it, baby, I know you can''now it was even hard for him to speak.

Every thrust touched your gspot, your pussy convulsing against him, warning that you were so close.

''Cum for me'' it wasn´t a request, it was an order, an order he made clear by going faster and squishing your neck, taking control, using you.

Just moments after, you came undone, releasing all over his cock, tears pooling in your eyes from the inmense pleasure as he came inside you not long after, his body falling on yours, head resting on your chest.

If this is what being his hero partner was, then you would take it.

Surprisingly, you fell asleep, both of you, hugging, naked and sweaty. Adrenaline had died down, and exhaustion appeared instead.

The next morning, light snores woke you up and an unfamiliar weight rested on top of you. For a moment you forgot what happened, enjoying the warmth.

Until your eyes opened.

Your heart raced, panicking, not because you regretted fucking him, but because for a delusional moment, you thought he looked cute there and your stupid body acted on its own to lift a hand and caress his hair gently.

Coming to your senses, you shook your head and stopped, inmediately earning a noise of complaint.

''Why did you stop?''he asked, not yet opening his eyes.

''What?''

''Why did you stop touching my hair?''his deep voice sounded mad, whiny.

''Because I need to go shower, and you should too''

Bakugo stood up, his hair messy and face puffy, yawning.

He, to your demise, looked cute and stood next to the couch trying not to fall asleep right there.

''Y/n, let´s go''

''Where?''

''Shower''

''Huh?''

''Stop being a brat''once again, he yawned, making you laugh.

''Okay, Katsuki''

[piecksz]

three’s a crowd | (m)

pairing: reiner x fem!reader x eren

warnings: nsfw, oral sex (female recieving), cuckolding, male masturbation, penetrative sex, voyeurism, slight degredation, slight angst, light mention of drugs, explicit language

summary: reiner’s attempt at hiding his attraction towards you fails, but lucky for him, eren’s feeling generous.

words: 4.6k

a/n: this was so much longer than i planned for.....well.....shit LMAOOO

a/n x2: I FORGOT TO ADD if you guys wanna listen to the song i looped like 47 fucking times while writing this, bc i feel like it fits reiner in this one shot kinda well, u can listen to recognize by partynextdoor (feat. drake) :p enjoy

Reiner hated Eren.

He hadn’t gone into living with someone he’d never met in person before with innumerable expectations, but he wasn’t banking on his roommate to be his polar opposite. He hated the sound of Eren’s riotous music into the early hours of dawn. He hated the unbearable malodor of his marijuana dependence, and he hated the way he carried himself with an intolerable air of arrogance, but as much as Eren’s living habits irritated him, it was the fact that Eren had you that presided over all of his grievances.

Being a witness to it made Reiner sick, knowing that you were leagues above Eren, and surely you deserved someone respectable, but somehow he’d charmed you into a long-term relationship, and Reiner wondered how he’d managed it. If by some miracle it had been up to him, Reiner speculated that he would be a viable match for you--that was if he had those sentiments for you--and he reassured himself he didn’t hold any promiscuous feelings towards his roommate’s girlfriend.

Yet it was hard for Reiner to rationalize the obscene thoughts that pervaded his mind at 2 AM. His clock displayed the time in bold red numbers, an indication that he should have been fast asleep, but you had decided to spend the night, and he already understood what that entailed.

The walls in their apartment were thin and did an insubstantial job of muting the noise that traveled between rooms. Reiner boasted the privilege of having his room right next to Eren’s, which meant he could hear everything that happened on the other side of the barrier. He heard every whimper, every groan, every time Eren praised you for taking him so well, and every time he admired how irresistible you looked while he fucked you from the back. The sound was so lucid he could count exactly how many rounds you guys had gone, and it was usually two, three if Eren hadn’t seen you in a while which was rare.

You two were hard to ignore, no matter how hard Reiner had tried, meaning he was also up late, listening while you two coupled. Your cries of stimulation, however, he didn’t mind as much. In truth, Reiner was always tempted to slip his hands into his pants and get himself off to the sound of your enticing whimpers, but he would discourage himself, deciding it was against his better judgement. Instead he would opt to cover his ears with his pillow, flipping over onto his side and dedicating his total effort to falling asleep.  

Of course, Reiner had long established that he didn’t like you, but he swore he could make you feel better than Eren could.

It was around midday when Reiner returned to their apartment after committing his morning to helping his long-time friend, Pieck, pack up the furniture at her studio in preparation to move. They were halfway finished with stowing away Pieck’s belongings before she realized they didn’t have enough boxes and apologized, asking Reiner if he’d be willing to return the following day to help her load up her remaining things. He obliged, guiltily happy that he was being dismissed early.

Reiner kicked off his shoes and ambled into the kitchen to set down the food he secured on his way home, but he paused momentarily to scrutinize the condition of the living room, discerning Eren’s obvious trace.

The TV was on, but it sat idly, blinking images of some prime time movie Reiner couldn’t recognize, and Eren’s drug paraphernalia was left scattered on the coffee table, his bong alongside his stray lighter and grinder.

“Eren!” Reiner had prompted him on several occasions, reminding Eren that just because he thought electricity was a necessary utility and should be free, didn’t mean it was, they still had to pay for it. He also requested that he put his bong away after he was done smoking since it wasn’t permitted in their building, but Eren seemed heedless to that demand too. “Eren!”

Reiner anticipated a response, but huffed when he received only silence. Leave it to his roommate to blight his good mood in record time. He mumbled inaudibly, swiping the remote off the table to turn the TV off, and then reluctantly bending down to tidy the space of Eren’s things.

“Hi, Sunshine. You’re up and about early.”

Reiner straightened himself out and turned around, unaware that you’d been over. He missed your approaching footsteps. Had you stayed the night? He didn’t hear anything from Eren’s room the previous evening which was unusual to say the least. Maybe you’d stopped by earlier that morning while he’d been out.

“Hey,” he replied meekly. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were here.”

Reiner’s eyes looked you over swiftly, slightly startled at the lack of clothing covering your bottom half. You were only wearing a loose shirt that stopped dangerously at your hips and a pair of lace undergarments, but naturally, you didn’t seem the least bit phased. You’d practically lived with them. When you weren’t in class or at your part-time job, you were at their apartment, leading Reiner to wonder if you forgot you had a place of your own. 

“It’s fine,” you smiled. “Sorry Eren left all of his shit out. I don’t know how I know the house rules and he doesn’t.”

Reiner snorted. “He knows them, he just doesn’t care.” His voice was casual although he walked hastily into the kitchen to avoid looking at you. He stored Eren’s bong in the vacant cupboard above the microwave before throwing his other tools into a miscellaneous drawer.

As if on cue, Eren wandered out of his room languidly, carelessly shrugging a jacket onto his unclad upper body. Reiner took that as a sign that his lunch would be best enjoyed in his room. He was already irked, and wasn’t in the headspace to deal with the current atmosphere.

“What’d you get?” you questioned, leaning over the counter with mirth. You paid little attention to the way Eren came up behind you, circling his arms around your waist and resting his chin in the curve of your shoulder. You looked more interested in the alluring smells wafting from the paper bag in Reiner’s hand.

Another thing he hated about Eren was his shameless PDA. It appeared he adored showing you off, letting everyone know that you were his, but God--how could anyone forget when it seemed he was incapable of keeping his hands off of you. Reiner himself recognized that you were a prize, from your lively eyes that were a marriage of subtle hues to the way your lips curled upwards when you grinned. He even noticed the curve of your breasts’ shape through your shirt. If Reiner had you, he’d want you all to himself.

He shook the thought out of his head.

“I just got something small on the way home.” He forced a smile. “If I’d known you were over I would have gotten you something too.”

“Why do you treat Y/N better than you treat me?” Eren asked, sounding only a little bit offended.

Reiner pretended to think before he responded. “Ah, maybe it’s because I don’t like you.”

You laughed at Reiner’s reply, and Eren only smiled, but Reiner detected something else behind his expression. Mischief.

“Do you like Y/N?”

Reiner creased his eyebrows together. “Of course.” He hadn’t read too much into the question. He did like you. You weren’t just easy on the eyes, but you were great company too. That was the only reason he didn’t mind lending their apartment to you as a second home, he enjoyed being around you.

You let out an exaggerated aww after he answered. “I like you too, Reiner.”

Reiner chuckled, shaking his head, but inside he was telling his heart to calm down. You didn’t mean it like that.

Eren hummed absentmindedly, swaying side to side slowly while you rocked along to his movement.

“Do you wanna fuck her?”

Reiner gripped the bag in his hand tightly, and his smile faltered in shock, reeling from the bombshell of Eren’s question. “What?” Did he hear him correctly?

You looked just as surprised, exclaiming your boyfriend’s name and craning your neck to look at him.

“I’m kidding,” he dismissed, but Reiner could tell he wasn’t from the way Eren’s eyes didn’t waver from him.

What Reiner didn’t know was that Eren had caught onto him. He’d known for a while, which was why he was particularly touchy with you around Reiner, showing you off, not caring whether you walked around their apartment scarcely dressed, it was because Eren enjoyed having something that someone else wanted. He saw the way his roommate acted around his girlfriend, reserved and quiet, more than he usually was, and he even noticed the way Reiner’s eyes dipped down to your chest in the moment because Eren was exceptional at paying attention to detail.

You must have detected how uncomfortable Reiner felt because you delivered a brief jab to Eren’s ribs with your elbow.

“Eren, that’s not fucking funny,” you chided. “Do I need to put you in time out?”

“It’s fine,” Reiner interrupted quickly. He didn’t want you defending him because you were oblivious. It only made the situation more embarrassing than it already was since, truthfully, the thought had crossed his mind more than once.

Eren reiterated his question, eyes narrowed at Reiner. “So do you?”

You sighed heavily and looked at Reiner apologetically. He could feel his face growing hot, and he prayed it wasn’t obvious he was as flushed as he felt. He just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

Reiner released a humourless chuckle. “Grow up, Eren.” He slipped past the two of you, but he didn’t get far.

“I’m only asking because I’m feeling charitable. You wouldn’t mind, would you baby?”

Reiner could hear Eren pressing a series of ticklish kisses against your skin, causing you to laugh through your answer.

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind if Reiner doesn’t mind.”

Reiner brought his teeth down hard on the tip of his tongue. He was surprised that Eren was so secure in his relationship that he would willingly allow another man to have his way with his girlfriend. He wasn’t sure if his suggestion was insane or ingenious, because Eren had taken control of the one thing that threatened any relationship: infidelity, something so unvirtuous wouldn’t stop him from loving you. You and Eren were so committed to each other that a simple fuck meant nothing.

Reiner hesitated, but figured an opportunity like this was rare. He had both Eren’s permission and yours, yet he still didn’t believe his sincerity until you were in Eren’s room, starting to strip out of your clothes.

His chestnut eyes drifted over to Eren, slouched lazily in the chair he casually pulled out from his desk. “You’re gonna watch?”

Eren lifted a thick eyebrow, resting his thumb under his chin with an index finger against his cheek, looking unimpressed by Reiner’s obvious reservations. “You think I’d let you fuck my girlfriend without me here?”

Reiner slid a tense hand over the back of his neck, rubbing away the uncomfortable heat that creeped up his back and diffused to the tips of his ears. He figured that was reasonable considering the circumstances, after all, he was only fucking you because Eren had allowed it.

There was nothing more intoxicating to Reiner than your bare form, scanty pink lace clinging to your hips the only thing preventing you from being completely naked in front of him. His gaze dipped from your simpering smile down to your collarbones and then down to your breasts, perfectly sculpted to your figure.

Reiner made no efforts to move despite his insatiable urge to grab you in his arms and make certain that you were left satisfied. He feared he’d look too eager to Eren who was observing from the sidelines, but you paid little attention to your audience of one as you sauntered towards Reiner, closer and closer, until your arms slid around his neck and you pressed your chest to his torso.

Reiner’s body was strung so tightly, he was afraid he might snap. It seemed you took notice of the way his muscles tensed once your delicate fingers ghosted over the nape of his neck because your suggestive expression waned, and instead, your eyebrows creased with sincere concern.

“You okay?”

He couldn’t respond, but to be fair, it was because his heart was hammering against his chest and he wasn’t sure how to make it stop. He looked over at Eren again, who, fortunately, didn’t seem to pay much attention to him. Instead, your boyfriend’s stare was fixed on your backside, likely admiring how luscious you looked from his perspective.

“I’m over here.” You laughed and pressed a gentle finger to Reiner’s chin, redirecting his focus back to you. “Just relax.”

He swallowed, chuckling to soothe his unease. “I’m trying.”

Reiner wasn’t sure why he felt so unassertive in your presence. He didn’t hold a record like Eren did, but he also wasn't abstinent by any means. This, though, felt different. He was dealing with several months of pent-up sexual frustration that could only be satisfied by you and no one else. He knew because he’d tried.

Reiner drew in a ragged breath as you leaned into him, breathing heavily through his mouth until you closed the space in between you two, then he continued breathing heavily through his nose. At first, he made no efforts to close his eyes, afraid that the imagery in front of him was a mirage inspired by his own imagination and would disappear if he so much as blinked. His lips were timid, body taut under your touch, but you seduced his mouth, reining him in until he melted into the kiss.

He pushed back against you with fervor and desperation, outlining the shape of your bottom lip with his tongue before nipping at the soft flesh. You released a quiet whimper, intensifying the lust swelling in the pit of his stomach, and Reiner forced his tongue past your teeth, claiming your mouth while his wandering hands settled audaciously against your ass.

Your hands slid over his shoulders and crafted biceps until they tugged hastily against the hem of his shirt, and Reiner immediately understood your cue, withdrawing his mouth from yours to give himself just enough time to slip out of it. He dipped down again to deliver another kiss, but he was deterred by the feeling of your palm against his chest.

“What? Is something wrong?” he questioned quickly, eyes darting back and forth between your hand and your face, worried that he’d done something to overstep your boundaries.

Instead of the troubled expression he expected, you looked rather intrigued. Perhaps impressed was the better word. Your curiosity was held by Reiner’s physique, a living work of art. Eager fingers traveled down the built ripples of his abdomen, chuckling once you felt his muscles flex under your touch.

“Jesus Christ,” you breathed. “Nice, Braun.”

A snicker emitted from the corner. This, miraculously, Eren allowed.

Reiner's mouth quirked upward in a subtle smile before he surrounded you with his arm, pulling you in for another kiss. He walked you backwards until you collapsed onto the mattress, and he fell on top of you, strong forearms holding up his weight. It was then that Reiner realized he allowed his lust to win in the war against himself.

He pulled away to recover his breath, winded pants fanning over your face. His surveying eyes searched yours before they lowered to your swollen lips. God, you were even more mesmerizing up close, heavy-lidded and studying him through a curtain of eyelashes. Maybe for once Reiner would admit he was jealous of Eren. He was fucking envious, bitter, and spiteful that you were his. He’d been a goddamn idiot to let things go this far, agreeing to Eren’s offer, because he knew one fuck wouldn’t be enough to fufill his need for you. He’d barely gotten a taste, and he could already promise that nothing would ever compare to this.

He found your throat and pressed a fleeting kiss to your pulse, moving further down until his lips met your collarbone. He nipped at the delicate skin, taking notice of the way your grip in his hair tightened. His eyebrows arched while he peered up at you, delighting in the way your head rolled back and forth against the duvet. He really wanted to suck at your skin, leaving dark bruises that decorated the path from your earlobe down to your breastbone, but he knew Eren would kill him.

Reiner dipped lower until his lips brushed lightly against your beaded nipple. You made a small sound of protest, but held his head closer, letting him know what you really wanted. His heart beat erratically against his ribcage as he curved a large hand around your right breast and suppressed a groan, but you released a breathy whimper.

He could feel the sound wreaking havoc in his brain. His balls were so damn tight, it would take barely any effort for him to cum, but he wanted to prolong your coupling as long as possible. He didn’t know if he’d ever get another chance like this.  

His thumb ran over the erect peaks of your breasts, captivated by the magic of watching your back arch and your body become aroused under his touch. He dipped a finger into his mouth, glazing it with his saliva before using it to flick back and forth at your nipple.

“Fuck, Reiner,” you mewled.

Reiner replaced his hand with his lips, sucking the sensitive bud into his mouth. The tip of his tongue swirled around it, coating it generously with his spit, while you made no attempts to conceal your intense cries of pleasure.  

Eren released an entertained sigh, swiveling back and forth in his chair. “She whines like a bitch, doesn’t she?”

Shit. Reiner had almost forgotten he was there, but he still released a hungry grunt in agreement, sending vibrations over your chest. He tugged at your nipple with his teeth, releasing it, and then soothing the sting with the flat side of his tongue.

He trailed down your abdomen, pressing hard wet kisses and stopping to leave a quick lick to your navel. He grinned against your skin when you gripped the sheets and breathed his name again, this time quieter, as if you meant it only for his ears. He liked to think so.

Once he reached the waistband of your panties, he licked along the fabric, immobilizing your rolling hips with strong hands.

“Enough with the theatrics, Reiner. Just do it already,” Eren groaned, sounding irate.

Reiner assumed Eren’s groan was only to stress his impatience, but once he looked over to him, he realized he wasn’t just giving directives from the sidelines. His bottom lip was tucked between his teeth, and his hand was moving steadily against the noticeable tent in his sweatpants.

He was enjoying this just as much as Reiner was, getting off to the sight of his girlfriend under another man, his roommate nonetheless.

Reiner suddenly felt strange. What the hell was he doing providing entertainment for Eren?

“Reiner,” your needy voice pulled him out of his reflection. His attention drifted back to you, watching while you propped yourself up on your elbows and slid your unsteady hands over your chest to tweak your own nipples, as if you were trying to hold yourself over.

He wished you hadn’t looked so tempting, even with your disheveled hair and sweaty skin, your vulnerable eyes fixated on him, and he was powerless.

Reiner hooked his fingers around your underwear, kissing a trail down the inside of your thighs as he pulled your panties down to your ankles before slipping them off and letting them pool on the floor.

“Spread wide baby, let him see that pretty pussy,” Eren stirred, cock now thrust out the top of his grey sweats and his swollen tip glistening with precum. His hand was wrapped firmly around his stiff length, moving slow while his breathing quickened.

For once, Reiner agreed with him, and he pressed his fingers into your thighs to aid you in parting your legs. Your pussy was slick with your own arousal, squelching as you tightened around nothing. You were even prettier than he’d imagined.

“Fuck,” Reiner breathed, extending two fingers to part your folds. Was he still sure he wasn’t dreaming?

He wrapped his built arms around your legs, pulled you closer, and lowered his head. He fixed his lips to your swollen clit, allowing his tongue to lap and circle around the tender bud every few seconds.

“Oh my god,” you cried, writhing against the sheets.

If he hadn’t secured your legs in his grip, he was certain you would have smothered him between your thighs out of reflex. He could detect the way you fought against his hold, but he far overpowered you in strength.

When he plunged his tongue inside you without notice, that was nearly enough to send you over the edge. You pulled on the sheets with a frenzied grip, producing a shrill cry your neighbors had certainly heard. There was no doubt about it.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” you murmured, chest expanding and falling with labored breaths.

Reiner wanted to spend a few more generous minutes tasting you, he couldn’t get enough, but he also wasn’t sure how much longer he would last. His cock was hot and hard in his pants, and he needed to feel you around him. Even if Eren wouldn’t let him cum inside of you, he needed to experience at least that much.

He rose to his feet, working quickly against his pants’ zipper while trying not to tease himself by looking at you. He was worried the mere sight of you on the bed, spread and ready for him would be enough to bring him to a climax, but he’d made the mistake of looking at you anyways, hand between your legs, delicate fingers rubbing at your clit while you stared up at him.

Fucking hell. Kill me. Reiner thought. Fuck. He felt the throbbing heat of his cock, and he wished you wouldn’t look at him like that. He really wished you wouldn’t look at him like that.

“Look at her, so desperate to be filled. It’s almost pathetic,” Eren laughed, but it was clear he was feeling your effect too. He lolled his head forward, long brown hair spilling over his shoulders and obscuring his face while his palm worked fast against his cock.

Shut up, Reiner thought. His head was growing hazy, and he couldn’t think. He needed to be inside you, and he couldn’t wait a second longer.

Reiner let himself free while his pants and underwear hung low around his knees. He couldn’t even find time to delight in the way your face melted into bliss once you laid eyes on his thick cock, leaking precum in sinful amounts because all he could think about was his ache. He leaned over you, positioning himself at your entrance.

He’d been waiting for this for so goddamn long.

Reiner exhaled when you said his name again, hips undulating against his cock and wet folds stroking his tip. He watched as he pushed himself into you, filling you to the hilt, and once he was inside he hung his head forward, eyes shut tightly in a painful sort of ecstasy.

“You’re so fucking tight,” Reiner grunted breathlessly.

He groaned, pinning your hips down with his once you attempted to fuck yourself onto his cock.

“Stop moving,” he pleaded. “Jesus christ--please don’t move.” He stayed still for a moment, waiting until his sensitivity subsided before he started rocking his hips against you slowly.

Reiner couldn’t dedicate his focus to anything other than the feeling of your slick walls clenching around his cock every time he pulled out, and the way he stretched you out every time he thrusted back in. He wondered if you could feel the depth of his desire.

“Harder,” you whispered once, and then begged louder. “Reiner please, fuck me harder.”

At first, Reiner was worried. He wanted to be gentle, he wanted to savor you, and he wanted to make sure he didn’t hurt you, but your request had him picking up the pace, ramming into you until the familiar slapping sound of sweaty skin filled the room.  

You unraveled and became completely undone, letting out loud moans every time he drove his cock into you. Reiner thought the sound was incredibly euphonic as it fell upon his ears. You were like this because of him.

“How’s this?” His voice was husky and deep beside your ear.

Reiner was pleased by your lack of response. You could only nod, overwhelmed by the dual sensation brought on by him and the feeling of your quick fingers against your clit. You secured an arm around his neck again and wrapped your legs around his torso, clinging to him like he was all you needed. He wished that was how you really felt.

“Close…,” you murmured, and Reiner deduced you were warning him that you were near your orgasm. He could tell by the way your walls began to spasm.

Reiner felt the small of his back tighten, and he knew he was close too. He was torn between his release and holding himself back, not ready for this to end just yet, but his body betrayed him and he felt his cock twitch inside you.

Luckily, you reached your climax first, and Reiner watched in awe as your body seized underneath him, breasts bobbing with every jolt while you worked your clit into overstimulation. It wasn’t long after your orgasm that he made his last rueful thrusts. He quickly pulled out and clasped himself in the curve of his hand. He pumped his length until he released in quick spurts onto your stomach, covering you in his hot seed, and he kept pumping until he made sure he emptied himself of every drop.

His eyes quickly darted over to Eren, not to be odd or anything, but again, he had forgotten he was there. It seemed Eren had already satisfied himself. The creamy, white liquid decorating the bare skin of his abdomen and dribbling down his loose fist was evidence of that. Now that he had appeased his urges, he seemed disinterested as he reached over his desk and plucked a few tissues to clean himself up.

Reiner collapsed beside you, listening to the loud thudding of his heart as it delivered a few ecstatic beats while he caught his breath and began to calm down. He stared at the pivoting fan blades, and then his eyes dropped down to you lying next to him, sweaty and fucked out.

You were laying there with him, and goddammit he wanted to reach his arms out and wrap them around you, pulling you close so he could hold you and feel your heartbeat against his chest. He’d press kisses to your salty forehead, and then tell you how much he loved you. He wanted to stay like this.

Reiner's ideal vision dissolved once Eren stopped at the edge of the bed and extended his hand for you to grab.

“You wanna join me for a shower, baby?” Eren asked.

Of course, you took it, allowing him to support you until you were sitting up.

You released an exhausted laugh. “Yes, please.” You then turned to Reiner and arched your eyebrow in surprise. “By the way, not bad, Braun.”

Reiner gave you a small smile in return, but said nothing as he watched you cover your breasts with your arm and let Eren hoist you off the bed. You two slid past him and headed out of the room, but not without Eren looking back over his shoulder, shooting Reiner a shit-eating grin, as though reminding him who you’d always belong to.

[eileen-crys]

Have you heard whether Deaky gets mentioned at all in Rudi's new book..?

Hi! Ok, so- Yes, in the last days I've been able to give a quick read to Rudi's book thanks to a friend's friend who lent me her ebook haha I'll leave a personal review under the cut at the end of the post.

John is not mentioned very much, when it happens it's usually because the band as a whole gets mentioned, and it's mostly while filming videos, but there are a couple of anecdotes with John worth mentioning imho and that I took screenshots of. Mind you that I'd always take Rudi with a grain of salt (more under the cut) but I personally don't see any issue in these anecdotes.

First we have the band rehearsing at Wembley Arena before the Magic tour, and we have a glimpse of John excusing himself for not coming at Freddie's place with the others, to go home instead 🥺💕

Freddie seemed a bit disappointed but Rudi is quick to remind the readers about their friendship. Phoebe already mentioned in his own book how Freddie and John were close in the studio during this period when they wrote some songs together, but their private lives remained quite separated and Freddie was always respectful of it.

I forgot to screenshot mentions of John during the filming of Breakthru, Rudi recalls how John came up with the idea of having a train in the video, but more than once the whole band was worried of being on the train and John expressed his concern a couple of time, in fear they'd fall down the train while moving! But in the end they had great fun and "John enjoyed the wind in his hair" 😌

And now a sadder bit, after Freddie's passing, during the rehearsals for the tribute concert:

Nothing new for us fans, but I appreciate the respectful tone this is written in. It's also the last time John gets mentioned and it's easy to believe it's the last time Rudi saw him as well.

More Brian-related, but I still found sweet, is Freddie directing the band on the Slightly Mad video and trying to convince them about his ideas:

It's never enough to repeat how Freddie was the peace-maker of the band and I thought this bit on the Slightly Mad set could be a nice example of him convincing his bandmates in the studio about his ideas.

Now, if you want more thoughts on Rudi and the book...

First, I admit I skipped quite rapidly through the book and looked mostly for John anecdotes or things related to the band or about filming the videos, so I haven't properly read the book in its entirety. I jumped a lot through the chapters. However, I must admit I didn't find it terrible as expected and there was an overall tone of genuine admiration and almost naive curiosity about Freddie and about his work. (The book should be titled "Me simping for Freddie" 🤣).

I don't like Rudi as a person, it's no secret, he irks me big time. And his book is FAR from being flawless. It's almost annoying how much, also in the book, he praises himself (yes Rudi your videos are good, we know 😅) or is unaware of how gross or inappropriate some things might be to read black on white. But I didn't read malicious intents, he's truly oblivious about certain things specially regarding gays and how they "work". His chapter "I'm the only hetero among a group of relaxed gays" is still terrible, no cap, but in the entirety of the book it's clear he's had a moment of confusion dictated by wrong prejudices at the time, and def didn't recall it in the best of ways. HOWEVER he also realizes how wrong his moment of fear of getting AIDS through a kiss has been, and admits that while he got scared, it was all because of the ignorance an panic that was diffused at the time, and acknowledges it. Some steps back, some steps forward.

He also clearly enjoys telling coke-related stories, he admits he had an issue with it, it's also a way to admit how normal having coke was and still is in the showbiz but some people might not like to read about it. Be aware.

Rudi has a story of telling lies and exaggerating stuff, bragging about his relationship with Freddie, and seeking attention like a teen, so I'd recommend to take his stories with a grain of salt, but his book to me sounded much different from, say, the terrible LAJ who writes in a scandalistic mocking tone and brags about being best friend with Freddie when she's never been.

While still telling funny stories related to drugs and parties, Rudi pours a lot of pure admiration for Freddie in his book and praises his talent and creativity and good heart, and took also a step back with his Barbara stories, admitting she and Freddie never had sex, and constantly repeating that Freddie was gay and much in love with Winnie first and then Jim. Mary is briefly mentioned, too, but still not as "Freddie's true love yada yada". I was quite confused about the bits where Phoebe tells Rudi that Freddie got sick in Munich and thought was already AIDS but I'd blame more Phoebe for it, recently I can't trust him anymore.

I must admit I was surprised because I expected much worse. I still would recommend it only if you want to collect all books about Freddie and are interested in a new perspective, and if I had to choose between this or LAJ I'd definitely choose Rudi's book. There is also a good dose of anecdotes about the backstages of filming, which I'm a huge fan of, honestly 😅🙏🏻

So, in the end, it's not the best book I'd recommend to a new Queen fan and I would also mention Rudi's habit of not being very reliable, but I wouldn't throw it directly in the fire either.

P. S.: I would throw in the fire all the pages with the abominations that are certain edited photos passed as drawingsto get clout, and I know you know what I'm talking about lol

These are my opinions of course, feel free to agree or disagree but please be polite 🙏🏻💖 I've (kinda) read the book so you didn't have to 😘

[missskzbiased]

The Things We Don’t Tell

Summary: You were sure your life was written and directed to fit a sketchy Rom-Com and nobody could convince you otherwise. First, your boss was too hot to be true, and burning with desire didn’t even begin to explain the tingling sensations he left on you. Second, your coworker (a.k.a. Ex-About-to-be-FWB) insisted in turning your life into a living hell, which wasn’t the exact kind of hotness you were into. And if having these two hot men around you every single day of your life wasn’t enough to prove it, maybe the threat of your slutty secret identity about to be busted would be… But you couldn’t let this happen.

WC: 7,5 K

Genre: Smut, Humor (?)

AUs: Office, Enemies to Lovers

Pairing: Hwang Hyunjin X Fem!Reader X Bang Chan  

(Not really a love triangle as Hyunjin is the Lead. However, Reader wants to Bang Chan)

Rebloggable Masterlist    //   Main Masterlist   //   Tag List

Warnings: Language, Thigh riding, Public space (Office), Exhibitionism, Possessiveness, Pet Name (Baby girl), Sir Kink  

[If I forgot anything, please let me know! I’m kinda sleepy right now]

Notes: There will be at least one more chapter but I won’t do a tag list post for now, only if someone wants it, cuz I’m too lazy to think about doing it right now. This fic is an attempt to experiment with some writing style things that I’ve been wanting to try. I don’t think it worked, tho SUHAHUSAUHSUHA But that’s life

- I’ll quite possibly change the title in the future-

                                                            ///

  You are a superhero.

    Okay! To be honest, you may be exaggerating a little bit ─ a tiny harmless little bit ─ but that was how you felt every single day of your life, alright? You had this glorious and mysterious side of yours that you hid from everyone else in the world… That mask that you couldn’t let come to the ground and would fight for dear life to protect… That side to your persona that no one was allowed to meet… The fierce, bold, and dark aspects of your soul that—

    “Y/N! I want those papers on my table!”

    “Yes, sir!” You shrieked in an embarrassing (not even slightly bold) way.

    — That you couldn’t show at your work.

    Yeah… So maybe no one actually thought of you as a superhero, but you really believed someone should start to. Was there something that different between your life and those low-budget TV shows people seem to enjoy so much? You didn’t think so.

  To be fair, sometimes you felt like someone wrote a questionable script and poorly directed your life to fit you as the leading lady of a sketchy rom-com. As if they just focused on checking out every point on a bullet list made up with rules for a successful superhero office drama that wasn’t even that good…

    … And speaking of which…

    Rule Number One: The stern (maybe kinda attractive) boss!

    If you had to define Bang Chan with a couple of adjectives, you would choose undeniably beautiful ─ extremely professional of you because the right words to describe him were fucking hot ─ and committed. Fortunately, it wasn’t an “I have someone waiting for me at home and a bunch of kids I must put to sleep” kind of commitment, which would destroy your hopes of having this man one day. Unfortunately, it was an “I’m better than the header and gonna run this company by tomorrow night” kind of commitment, which destroys your hopes of a peaceful day at work.

    Now, it’s not like you don’t want to do your job! It’s just that you didn’t sign up to be Bang Chan’s perfect little toy ─ definitely not the better words to describe it ─ and you didn’t expect to be joined by the hips ─ really? ─ with him or any of your coworkers. The thing is that Bang Chan wants to be on top ─ someone has to stop you ─ and he believes the only way to get there is to work as a team and be as perfect as one can be. In other words, Bang Chan wants absolutely everything and everyone to be neat, tight, and ready to be used ─ again… Not the better way to put your thoughts into words ─, but this just wasn’t who you were.  

    It also wasn’t the point right now.

    The point right now should be the fact that Bang Chan was striding to his office looking like he owned the whole damn place… If this was a movie, the camera would be focusing on his expensive, black leather shoes before scanning all the way up to his waist in slow motion. The scene would zoom in on his fine ass only to go a little bit up and catch the shiny, black belt wrapping around his figure. The outfit didn’t leave much to the imagination, but you had a hell of a productive mind… You could think of a few things you shouldn’t really be thinking about right now.

    Bang Chan didn’t seem to understand he was at work either.

    He rolled his sleeve up in a sexy motion that should be illegal. It isn’t. You can tell by the way there are no cops bursting inside the building and arresting this gorgeous son of a bitch.

    The lack of any authorities to stop this atrocious moment had you lowering your gaze to your desk ─ a vain attempt to ignore the way his forearms flexed as he gestured and ordered people around. If you were a little bit less professional, you would have some ideas of how he could do it in bed. With you. But you weren’t some kind of creepy perv who would be fantasizing about riding your own boss from dusk till dawn.

    Not at all.

    “Do you need me, Sir?” His secretary asks politely.

  A question that you would love to ask him too… In a totally and strictly professional way, of course.

    Rule Number Two: The (extremely unnecessary) nemesis!

    The shiver running down your spine could mean only one thing: Hwang Hyunjin ─ your obnoxious coworker ─ was standing right behind you, just like a bloody damn ghost. There was no need to turn around. You knew he had his mocking eyes glued on Bang Chan’s figure, and you could feel the air shifting as he tilted his head in a silent sneer before leaning on your desk.

    You refused to turn around and acknowledge his presence; painfully aware that he would flash a wide grin while looking at you with a knowing glint in his eyes. You wouldn’t give him the taste of seeing in your face that he was right; that you were staring at your boss as if you were a starving vulture. So you did the only thing you could do in this situation: You started to work. The sheets scattered over your desk wouldn’t walk by themselves to Bang Chan’s room, right?

    And neither would you if it depended on Hyunjin.

    The attempts to swipe the papers in your direction and gather everything you needed ─ to finally get rid of Hyunjin ─ proved to be vain as his hand took root on the desk. You pursed your lips in annoyance while glancing at his prominent knuckles and slender fingers; wondering if he would be so collected if he knew you wanted to crunch them. Probably not. But he gets off so fucking much on upsetting you that he might just want to take the risk anyway.

    “What do you want, asshole?” You hissed; stopping your motions before turning around to stare blankly at him.

    The face of an angel was the most accurate way to describe the sight in front of you. Plump, pink lips molded into a sweet smile and dark brown eyes morphed into cute crescents. None of those features fit his true self, though. Underneath the angelic façade, there was a demon called Hwang Hyunjin ─ who was resting his free hand on your shoulder for no reason besides driving you crazy.

    It would be easier if he was just a pretty face, but Hyunjin had a good body too. The guy looked just like a model ─ slim, tall, and classy ─, and even though only his collarbones peeked out from down his shirt, you knew that there was much more than the eyes could see.

    Well, you never saw it, but you had felt it.

    As far as you could remember, each curve on Hyunjin’s abs was craft by God himself. The way his chest was built for you to caress would be forever craved on your mind. You might never forget how soft his lips were in contrast to his lap… How his thighs flexed just right when you pulled his hair… How reactive he was… How his moans sounded… And how he put everything to waste.

    “Oh, nothing” He shrugged. As usual, his voice was just like sweet, hot honey; still, you could wipe the poison dripping down his chin, “I was just wondering if you had enough time to do your job while fucking your boss inside your head” He clarified sarcastically, cracking you a smile.

    Sometimes you regretted not putting his mouth to good use… He really needed to learn how to shut up for a while and stop being so… Unbearable. The silence he met had him scoffing; body leaning even closer to the point his face was practically hovering over yours ─ smugness plastered all over it. You held his gaze to confront him; breathe mingling with his in a heated mix that matched the anger under your eyes.

    Was he licking his lips as he stared at yours? Oh boy… He definitely wanted to get laid. It was your time to scoff as the frown on your lips turned into a smirk; eyes twinkling mischievously as you looked into his in a silent teasing. As if sensing that he was in trouble, Hyunjin tilted his head to look even more obnoxious than he was; face coming closer to yours to defy your newfound confidence.

     “You know what? If you stared at him any longer, I think his balls might have fallen off…” He whispered in a tone loud enough for just you to hear “Unless he saw the way you were looking at him… Then I guess his dick would go straight up” He assured you with a ‘friendly’ pat on your shoulder as he finally let go of your papers and straightened his back.

    “Are you saying it from experience?” You sneered; grimacing at him.

    “Are you telling me that you want me to fuck you too?” He retorted gibingly; not even thinking twice about it.

    “No” You tilted your head, trying to stay composed, “I’m reminding you that you couldn’t even kiss me without getting a boner… Just like a teenage boy” He arched a brow at your statement; pursing his lips as he hummed in wonder “I’m surprised you never came in your pants like the pathetic thing you are” He laughed; poking his cheek with his tongue before squeezing your shoulder in a silent warning.

    “I must have been quite a sight if you can remember it so vividly” You pretended not to notice the way he sniggered, pushing away the urge to punch his face.

  Nemesis was just a classy way to call him a pain in the ass.

  Rule Number Three: The (plain and uninteresting) secret identity!

  It would be impossible to miss the moment Hyunjin’s devilish smirk morphed into a bright, friendly smile. The snarky comment on the tip of your tongue was swallowed back in a bit; grimace dissolving into a wide grin as if you weren’t about to throw your fists at him. He giggled as his arms spread open before snaking around your body to pull you into a tight hug; holding you close and rocking your body side to side as a soft huff fell from your lips.

    If you didn’t know any better, your knee would be buried between his legs.

  “Way to go, Y/N!” He chirped, loosening his grip to take a better look at your face; eyes smiling as if the both of you were the bestest of friends in the entire world, “You’re awesome! I’m so proud… I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you as my teammate” He pursed his lips; dimples showing as he offered you nothing but affection in his gaze.

    You did know better, though, and it wasn’t too hard to figure out who was standing behind your back as you opened your mouth to answer him: “There’s no one I’d rather be with!” You reassured Hyunjin in a sweet, mirthful tone; tilting your head to return the fondness in his look in an act worthy of an Oscar “We’re a team, you know? You can’t get rid of me so easily” He laughed wholeheartedly at that; ruffling your hair before leaning closer to you again, resuming the hug.

    “We’ll see about that” He whispered in your ear, making you scoff.

    “What are you gonna do? Cry to Daddy so you won’t work with me anymore?” You hissed back; breaking away from his hug with a tight grin before turning around to meet Chan’s gaze.

    The surprise plastered over your face was millimetrically calculated; just like the way you pretended to be flustered as you stared into your boss’ eyes to see the pride shining on them. You brought the papers closer to your chest in what was meant to be an innocent, coy way ─ a technique mastered over the months you worked for him ─, and Chan seemed to fall for it as he giggled in delight. The poor guy had no clue all of this was as fake as your camaraderie towards Hyunjin, and he wasn’t about to discover it anytime soon if it depended on you.

    Luckily, it did! You had taken some acting classes; just enough for your next words to be naturally convincing: “I’m so sorry, Sir! We’re just so happy that –” The words were deliberately drawled to give him enough time to interrupt you. Just like you knew he would. And it was a good thing that he did because you had no idea of how you were supposed to finish that sentence anyway.

    You were a good actress, not a professional improviser.

    “Don’t mention it” He cut you off giggly; detaching himself from the doorframe he leaned on as he watched the friendly scene taking place.

    The amount of cuteness this man could deliver in his smile wasn’t fair, and it didn’t match the sensuality a simple gesture of his overflowed with, enchanting you. You gulped down as he gave both of you a silent order to follow him into his room, wondering if the duality he had in the office was remotely similar to what he could do in bed ─ a thought that shouldn’t be having a place in your mind right now.

    Hyunjin seemed to pick up on it pretty quickly too, and as soon as Chan turned around to head to his office, he bumped his shoulder onto yours. The obnoxious action was followed by your elbow diving into his ribs; a retaliation that took you less than a second and, luckily, Chan ─ or any of your coworkers ─ didn’t seem to notice. Neither of you gave away your silent quarrel as Hyunjin closed the door behind him, smiling at you when Chan finally took his seat.

     “It’s good to see that you guys have such chemistry” He confessed, and you had to suppress a scoff when you looked into his eyes. He had no idea… The chemistry between you two was enough to make you want to blow each other, “You know what I always say, right?” He boasted on a sing-song; much more at ease than he seemed to be earlier.

    You weren’t about to put that on the line, though.

    “You can’t have teamwork if you don’t have a team!” You warbled in unison.

    “That’s the spirit!” Chan gurgled, heading to his desk in a visibly good mood.

    What was going on? He wouldn’t be so happy just because you and Hyunjin were being friendly… Were you missing something? He didn’t seem in such a peaceful state of mind when he came in… It had to be something that happened after that. Perhaps he got some good news from his secretary? Or maybe… You narrowed your eyes as you caught a glimpse of Hyunjin’s hands fidgeting in front of him; his foot tapping the ground rapidly but quietly before moving slightly to step on your toe.

     Or maybe Hyunjin had something to do with it…

    “As I said in the email, Sir, I happened to hear some stuff around and… KQ managed to get an exclusive with Han Jisung” The sentence sounded just like a normal introduction to a report, but you knew it wasn’t. Hyunjin’s eyes darted to meet yours, glinting with anxiety and despair. He was informing you of what was going on, not Chan, “And as we all know, Jisung is a rising producer star, which is bound to raise their sales and might get in the way of ours…” He continued, swallowing dryly and widening his eyes ever so slightly.

    He was definitely trying to warn you of something.

    “Yes, I read the e-mail, Hyunjin” Chan agreed sternly; smile disappearing as his fingers intertwined to serve as a support for his chin. He looked classy and incredibly sexy, but your mind couldn’t afford to focus on it right now. You had to figure out what the hell Hyunjin suggested to Chan before blowing everything up, “You also said that Y/N might have the solution for this…” Oh, so that was it, you thought when Chan arched his brow; eyes connecting to yours.

    And now what?

    “So?” He encouraged you, detaching his chin from his hands so he could rest them on his desk “I’m waiting” He smiled gently; a closed-mouth smile that was supposed to calm your nerves, even though you could see how tumultuous his gaze was right now.

    It was practically a silent threat.

    In a normal situation, the predatory way he was looking at you ─ resembling a wolf when you were nothing but a sheep under his radar ─ would get you… Thinking.

    Your job wouldn’t be at stake in a normal situation, though.

    The pressure on your toes increased; the subtle way Hyunjin found to snap you out of your mind, despite your silence hanging in there for just a few seconds. It was obvious that he was freaking out just as much as you were, and you couldn’t help but blame him for this. Couldn’t he have told you about it earlier? What the hell was going on inside his mind?! Instead of taunting you about wanting to fuck Bang Chan, he should have warned you about that shit!

    That’s not the time for this, Y/N.

    The muscles on your face tensed as you tried to not give away everything going through your mind; lips twisting in a tight smile as you looked at Hyunjin: “Yeah, he was right” You answered calmly, even though your stomach was settled on becoming an Olympic athlete right now, “As I was telling him before coming here, Sir, I have someone in mind…” The relief washed over Hyunjin’s face; a genuine smile adorning his features as he withheld a sigh, “I happen to know I.N, and I think I can get us an exclusive” You confessed, shifting your gaze from Hyunjin to Chan.

    “The writer?” He blurted out, astonishment plastered all over his face.

    “Yeah… They’re a friend of mine…” You trailed off, embarrassed to say it out loud “They’re in the top trending now since their novel will become a drama and…” You cleared your throat, lowering your head to avoid his gaze. There was just so much of acting you could handle for a day, “I mean- It’s… Adult stuff, right? But they never—”

    “I know! That’s perfect!” He beamed, getting up from his chair to walk your way “They’ve never been seen! Nobody knows anything about them, Y/N” He laughed ─ he genuinely laughed ─ while clasping his hands together “Han Jisung is good, but I.N is better! This is hot news… FrontPage… How come you never told me about that?” He chuckled, placing his hand on your shoulder “Rest assured that when I get my promotion, I’m gonna have you right here in this room” He promised you in such a serious tone that a shiver ran down your spine.

    Rule Number Four: The (kinda horny) true self!

    There was not a single soul in the office as you made your way down the hall; eyes focused on the mesmerizing view outside. The sky was colored in purple shades, so deep that you would have mistaken them for black if it weren’t for the dazzling, sleepless city and its dozens of skyscrapers lighting everything up. Not even the full moon would be able to compete with such a beautiful brilliance, but it wouldn’t be necessary either as your gaze was abruptly torn away from the night.

    The darkness surrounding you didn’t allow your brain to connect the dots immediately, and you couldn’t help but wonder what happened when you bumped into something. The surface was much softer than a wall, yet firm enough to have you wincing for the impact; eyes snapping to meet the unlucky bastard that stayed until so late. The moonlight kissed his skin just enough for you to recognize the sharp features of your boss; clenched jaw revealing popping veins that distracted you for a fraction of a second.

     Your eyes trailed the path from his jaw to his neck, and you couldn’t help but wonder how it tasted like; if you could savor it like the sins you wanted to commit with him. The closeness didn’t work in your favor, and the hint of his scent intoxicated your senses as you connected your gazes. Something must have given you off ─ maybe your hesitation, maybe the lust glinting in your eyes ─ because the next second, Cristopher had his hand placed on your lower back.

   The warm sensation grew to a burning feeling as his eyes darkened while diving into yours; his stern, cold gaze contrasting to the feeling of his touch and sending a shiver down your spine. Could he have noticed the way your legs trembled as his grip tightened around you? The look on his face was indecipherable, and the intensity of his gaze made you feel too exposed and vulnerable to keep looking for an answer, so you averted your eyes away from him.

    “Weren’t you supposed to come as soon as you got his answer?” The way his voice made its way to your senses had the embarrassment washing over you. The huskiness in his tone made you gulp down ─ throat dry from thirsting over him ─ and the calmness in his sentence alarmed you as it didn’t match the disapproval in his eyes “It’s so late that there is no one else here anymore” He added nonchalantly; mixed signals getting you confused to what he meant by it.

    Was it just a way to scold you or was it an invitation?

    “I’m sorry, Sir” Despite not having anyone around, you whispered the words as if you could be caught at any moment now, “It took me longer than expected, but we—”

    “We?” His eyes were sharp enough to cut you off but the real reason why you couldn’t manage to finish your thoughts was the way he pulled your body impossibly closer to his “Were you with him this whole time?” He hissed right into your ear, letting his hot breath fan over your cold, sensitive skin in a silent threat.

    “Working” You corrected, even though he didn’t say anything.

    “Working” He hummed in agreement; hand going to tuck your hair behind your ear “As in how we work late at night?” He sneered, manhandling you to press your back against the cold surface of the glass wall that separated his office from the rest of the place “Or is it as in how he wants to work you on his desk?” He scoffed; soft huff almost as degrading as the way he held your cheeks with one hand and guided your eyes to his.

    “Neither” You guaranteed breathlessly; voice quivering in excitement.

    “Are you going to pretend that you didn’t notice his looks?” He narrowed his eyes at you; his knee making its way to the gap between yours before slowly rising to your thighs, “That you don’t know how much he wants to fuck you?” He laughed humorlessly, shaking his head in disbelief, “You better not, ‘cause I know you love it” He warned as he kicked your legs apart.

    “He could never fuck me as you do” There was such seriousness in your tone that it had him chuckling, and he nodded in approval before burying his nose in your neck, “I-I’m yours only, Sir… I know my place” You promised quietly, trying not to give away how aroused his jealousy made you feel.

    “Yeah…” His raspy laughter tickled your skin, and you muffled a whine as he grazed his teeth over your neck teasingly “But you like being reminded of it, don’t you?” He taunted, taking in your scent in a way that made you feel too small and helpless. He groaned as soon as you let a whimper fall from your lips, and you couldn’t help but struggle to stay still while knowing what was about to come, “Do I have to spell it for you, baby girl?” He snickered before sucking on the tender spot of your skin that he knew too well at this point.

    “N-No” Somewhere inside your head, you acknowledged that your reaction was insanely humiliating. He just needed a couple of words spoken in a sultry tone and you couldn’t even form a proper sentence. That was the power he had on you. And you loved it. “Only yours” The rushed tone made him smirk against your neck, stopping his path of kisses for a second to look into your eyes “Sir” You panted; returning his gaze with just as much intensity as he had on his.

    “Claim your place” His order was so tantalizing that you didn’t even blink before you finally let your knees give away, losing the support of your legs to earn the support of his thigh, “That’s right… You do remember your place” Somehow, this sounded like the best praise he could ever offer you, even under his amused tone, “But you have been such a bad girl lately…” He pouted as he caressed your cheek; hand stopping to grab your chin gently “And I don’t like bad girls… You know that, right?” He let his thumb reach for your lower lip, fiercely staring at it before grazing his finger on your teeth.

    Your answer was as silent as his request; tongue welcoming his thumb before you sucked on his digit. He hummed in appreciation, pushing it inside your mouth as you looked at him with big doe eyes to show a coyness that wasn’t really there within you. The action was followed by a swirl around the tip of his finger; as if to leave in his mouth the taste of what he was missing and prompt him to give you what you really wanted: Him.

    If he picked up on your plans, he showed it by giving like for like.

   He didn’t say a word as he pressed his thigh against your heat; leaning closer to let his breath fan over your neck once more. He stood like that for what could have been seconds, maybe minutes, but nonetheless time enough for his warmth to creep into your senses. He was like a poison to you; the intoxicating presence clouding your better judgment and destroying any will you had to have him losing control. You didn’t even mind the way he scoffed as you started to grind his leg; brows twisting to shout out a needy plea for release.

    “That’s a good girl” He approved, catching your earlobe between his teeth. The moan that fell from your lips was muffled by his finger and he didn’t seem to appreciate it, “I don’t hear you, baby girl” He complained, moving on to your jaw with a path of open-mouthed kisses that weren’t enough to distract you from his other hand “There’s no one here… Be loud for me” He allured you as his hand found its way under your shirt.

      The temptation was great… Scream his name as he fucked you senseless in the office... No risk of being caught… Just you, and him, and your dirty little secret…

    Your thoughts were all around the place, and you had no hopes of grasping them back as his cold hand brushed your side, contrasting to the warmth under your clothes. The way he touched you made shivers run down your spine; his slow, delicate motion enhancing your senses to every single second of his caresses. You held your breath when his finger finally managed to reach its destination; grazing over your nipple to have you succumbing to his wishes.

    You fought it as you could, but you were never much of a fighter.

    It was too easy for him to have you under his control, and he knew it. You could tell it by the way he chuckled as soon as you gave away how lost you were at this point. The moan that left your lips came all the way up from your chest, sounding crystal clear in the room as you let your mouth fall agape. Sucking on his finger and following his orders were the last concern you would have for this moment. The only thing worthy of your attention right now was the fact that you couldn’t get as much friction as you needed, and you had to do something about it.

    So you grind on his leg for dear life.

    “You’re so needy” The mockery didn’t have much effect on your mind anymore, so you just kept sliding up and down his thigh as if that was the only thing that could keep you going “You’re not even listening to me, are you?” He huffed in disbelief; thumb leaving your mouth so he could cup your face “That’s all you can understand, right?” He taunted, pinching your nipple to get your attention again, “Are you still there, baby girl?” He leaned closer to whisper in your ear.

      “F-Fuck me” Was the only answer he would get.

      “Manners” He warned; licking the sweet spot next to your jaw.

      “Fuck me, Sir” You corrected yourself; wrapping your arms around his shoulders to look for some support as you practically bounced on his leg, “Please, fuck me, Sir” You repeated, forehead resting on the crook of his neck as you clawed his back, trying to bring him as close as possible to you.

      “Louder” He demanded, and you didn’t need to look at his face to know that he was grinning, “Louder…” He instructed in a tone so low that you could barely hear him over the rustling sounds of fabric against fabric. Your breath hitched as his hand gently caressed your hair; moving some strands away from your face to take a better look at you. However, he didn’t get to see your teary eyes, “Come on, baby… Look at me” He asked in a tantalizing tone, alluring you to try and meet his gaze.

    There wasn’t much you could see through your hooded eyes; vision too blurry for you to grasp what was going on inside his mind. You could tell he enjoyed it, though. He always did. That moment when he could pinpoint you had given up on your control, that you weren’t yourself anymore and would be willing to do whatever he asked… He lived for it, for that rebellious flame of self-control extinguishing from your eyes.

     For who you become when lust overcomes you.        

    The grip on his hair wasn’t unexpected, and Cristopher offered you a small, wicked smile before you connected your lips. The kiss was messy and hurried; tongues exploring every corner they could find while your hands were occupied on getting rid of your clothes. Neither of you cared about anything else but feeling each other’s bodies as you ripped your shirts. The cold breeze hitting your bare skin wasn’t enough to cool down the heat consuming you, but it was enough to have you squirming and whining.

      “Beautiful” Was the only thing he said before pushing your back against the glass and adjusting his grip to take your nipple between his teeth. The groan that escaped your lips was almost animalistic, prompting him to answer with a grunt of his own as he sucked on your skin. The vibrations ran from your flesh to your core, enticing another moan that seemed to fall into deaf ears, “Louder, baby… I want him to hear you…” He pleaded, letting go of your breast just to grope it and give you a kitten lick on the next second “To know who made you like this…” He added before sucking on it again.

    Perhaps it was the fact that he thrust on you, just to tease your senses and make you thirstier. Perhaps it was the fact you had to support yourself on just one leg as he pushed his hips against yours and you tried to seek for your balance by involving his leg with yours. Perhaps it was his hand sliding to meet your clothed core; finger pressing against your clit to add a delicious, needed stimulus for your orgasm.

    Perhaps it was the words that slipped through his lips.

    “W-What did you say?” You panted; hips faltering as you tried to keep riding him, but steading their pace as his finger circled your clit to goad you “M-Mhm… S-Sir” You cried; hand burying in his hair to pull it and translate the utter bliss waving down your body. The string of mewls and urgent pleas spilled from you like a chant, getting him more eager than before, “P-Please” You whined, even though you weren’t sure what you were asking for.

      “Hold it” He ordered; straightening his back to look right into your eyes, but failing as yours rolled back to your head. His hand made its way to squeeze your cheeks, forcing you to look at him with a soft shake to catch your attention “Look at me” It sounded like a warning; stern enough for you to try your best to focus on him, “You’ll only cum when he walks right through that door… Do you understand?” He searched for any signs of stubbornness in your eyes, but his smile showed he didn’t found any.

    “W-Who?” You managed to ask; body trembling as you tried to hold every single string inside your mind in place, even though each one of them was ready to snap and unravel the crashing pleasure that was building up.

    “Why does it matter?” He scoffed, quickening his pace as the unmistakable ring of the elevator sounded on the room “You love being seen, don’t you?” He chuckled, watching as your body shook violently and your knees started to give away to the sensations running down your body.

      “Y-Yes, Sir” You could bet your voice echoed inside the building, and Christopher seemed to agree with you as he grinned in approval.

    “So look at your guest, baby… And scream my name” He instructed, pushing your face to the side. The doors opened slowly, revealing the lights inside the small cubicle right in front of your eyes “Let him know who you belong to” He whispered in your ear; hand pushing your underwear aside so his finger could come in contact with your core.

    The mysterious figure detached from the corners of the metallic walls to finally reveal himself. You met his eyes for a half of a second; enough time for you to recognize the one who worked with you every single day of your life. For the past few years. Someone who would be your partner for years to come, and who would witness and engrave your face in your most vulnerable moment.

    You came hard; probably the most overwhelming orgasm you had ever had in your life. It was impossible to hold back your voice, and you couldn’t help but howl his name; legs shaking and body collapsing into your boss’ arms. You squirmed and whimpered as you tried to recompose yourself; letting him help you ride you out of your orgasm and occupying yourself by staring into your coworker’s shocked eyes.

    “Thank you, Sir…” You breathed out, gripping his arms for dear life while the shame sank into your soul.

    Rule Number Five: The (grateful and satisfied) fans!

    And… Post.

    Oh, well… You did it. Again. There was something about displaying your deepest fantasies for anyone to see that was kinda thrilling to you. Your heart raced inside your chest just like a drum ─ well, if a goddamn drummer decided to do a solo but was too offbeat, to begin with ─ and you couldn’t help but stare blankly at the page without a clue of what to do now. It was out there… Why didn’t anyone say anything yet? Was it that bad? Should you delete it?

    Well… People have to read it before commenting, you know?

    Yeah, right… You just posted it.

    Chill.

    You licked your lips before biting them; feeling the rush that was posting about your boss online when no one else knew about it. If you were being honest, the best part of this wasn’t having the chance to live your fantasies throughout your writing. No. The best part was knowing that only you knew the true identity of Christopher… Or what you really wanted to do to him while he walked down the hallway. The best part was that no one would ever figure out that you were the author of the bestselling novel of the moment… That this steamy romance between boss and employee was nothing but your rawest desire.

     Who would think that the boring, shy girl from the office would be a smut writer? Who would think that you would have a horny, interesting secret identity? No one else but you.

      And this was priceless.

     Or maybe… It was priceless.

    As far as you knew, every single thing you cherished about being a secretive horny bitch could go down the drain tomorrow. It would be all fine if it was just a… Well, actually everything would suck. How would you look at Chan’s face if he knew you were writing about having sex with your boss while he was your boss? What would you do if they decided to fire you because of it? What would you do with your life from now on?!

     Don’t panic, Y/N.

    You had everything under control… Tomorrow morning you would be going to Jeongin’s house and interview him as if he were you. No one would ever suspect you after that. You would save your ass, Hyunjin’s ass, and Chan’s ass. And that was it. The perfect plan. Nothing to worry about. Just trust Jeongin to follow your script and make sure everything would go as planned.

    Flawless. Totally safe. Perfect.

    That’s right…

    You just need to take a deep breath and rela—

    The sudden sound caught you off guard; eyes focusing on the screen once again so you could understand what was going on. All of your worries vanished away as soon as you saw the notification on the top of it; announcing that you had just got a message from a fan.

     Finally!    

    The weasel icon was so familiar that you chuckled while opening the message; a smile plastering over your face as you let your eyes wander around the words. There was nothing more fulfilling to your writer ass than seeing the way Weasel always had something to say about your story. Sometimes, he’d give you some feedback on your style. Other times, he’d freak out about how much he wanted to “try those things out”, as he usually said. There were also times when he’d just get excited over the characters and their conflicts, which always got you laughing.

    It was fun to talk to Weasel.

    He was just as mysterious as you… There was no name to his face, and also no face to his icon, but both of you were friends anyway. He had been keeping up with your stuff from such an early stage that it felt natural to have him around and getting his feedback. It was so comfortable, that you didn’t even mind when he slid in your DMs, embarrassed to let anyone else know that your smut made him… Feel things. There was no need to elaborate on what he did about those feelings or those things. But it was kinda hot to know he enjoyed himself throughout your fantasies.

      His fantasies.

    Well… For the number of times that you used them to write your stories, it was some sort of shared fantasies by now. As a matter of fact, you never intended to make Christopher a jealous character but Weasel made the idea seem too hot for you to ignore. Sometimes, he’d open up about that girl from his work that he really liked and how jealous he was of the guy she liked and then… Well, it felt… Interesting.

    The thought of being desirable to the point a guy would want to claim you as his like this? Not that Weasel did it. He actually just mentioned that he hoped she was into this as a kink. You couldn’t help but picture the way he would touch her in such a greedy way… The possessiveness blinding him for a second… The grip tightening… The mean words and the humiliation… Oh, the sweet humiliation that would crush you as he whispered how much you would cum for him… How he was the only one who could make you like that… How he would ask you to say his name… To tell him that you were his…

    You could drink holy water and still be shaking just by picturing it.

    “That was such a good chapter… I didn’t expect you to use her friend like that. I thought it was a given that she’d end up with Chris” You read out loud, chuckling when he reached for your DMs to talk to you “Will we get a threesome or something, miss? 😏” He joked on the next line and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at this “I’m waiting for it”

    “You’re just a horny bitch, aren’t you?” You typed, smirking as you stared at his messages “No spoilers for you, though, baby boy… You’ll have to wait like everybody else” Teasing him was always funny, and he never failed to amuse you.

      “I’m not the one writing porn online” He pointed out, and before he could write anything else you shot him.

    “Yeah but you’re the one getting off to it” You retorted, getting a whole set of gasping and shocked emotes that had you laughing.

    “I have no words to express how offended I am” You chortled, shaking your head in disbelief.

     “Alright, Drama Llama” Why was it so fun to mock him? You wished you could actually meet him offline and banter like this in real life “To fill your horny ass, I might write a dom!reader next time… I was thinking about torturing the 2nd lead a bit”

    “First of all… I don’t think I want my ass filled, thank you for offering tho” Why was he like this? “And I was just joking” You frowned at that, confused by what he meant “Don’t you think that a threesome doesn’t go along with the characters? Her friend likes her a lot and Christopher is just a kinky son of a bitch… I thought he’d just show him that she was his and be an ass as usual”

    “What do you have against Chris, dude?” You rolled your eyes, although he wouldn’t be able to see it, “He’s way better than her friend! At least, he does something about her”

    “I have the 2nd male lead syndrome! You know that!” You chortled, very aware of this, “And isn’t that the perfect opportunity for him to do something about it?! I mean… I don’t want to be nosey but having a threesome is way out of character for them” He pointed out, and you had to admit he was right.

    “No, you’re not nosey…” You sighed; shoulders dropping for a second “It’s just that I’m upset about something that happened at work today and you know that projecting my problems on those characters is my thing” You pursed your lips, staring at the keyboard for a few seconds before deciding to continue “Besides, I’m about to spend an entire day with a guy that kinda inspired the 2nd lead and… I don’t really want to think about a sex scene with him, you know?” You confessed.

    “But thinking about torturing and having a threesome with him is easy” He mocked you.

      “That’s because that threesome would never happen” You sent it before you could think about what you had just written.

    “Ooohhhh!” Holy shit… The amount of emotes he had just dumped on that chat couldn’t be a good sign, “So having sex with this guy is something you want?! And that could happen?! ” Great, now you would have a Drama Llama-Weasel trying to get some juicy gossip about your inexistent sex life… WORSE! Your sex life with your nemesis! “Why don’t you go for it? I’m sure he’s into you if he’s anything like his character” Poor thing… He had no idea.

    “Shut up, it’s not like that” You brushed it off.

    “If you say so” You could almost hear him snickering, even though you didn’t know how his voice sounded like “I’ll just have you regretting this for the rest of the night” You snorted, shaking your head in disbelief. He was unbearable! “I have work early tomorrow but I’m gonna come back with questions, Miss… Wait for me”

    “What I meant is that it’d be easier to happen than having a threesome, not that I want it to happen, moron” You defended yourself but he didn’t even get to read it as he logged off right away.

      Great… He would never let you live it down.

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[kohakuarisaka]

Untamed (chapter 4 of 5)

Takami Keigo x (fem!)Reader

[ SUMMARY ] Every year, without fail, Hawks went into a rut: when autumn began, and then again in early spring. He would honker down up north in a secluded cabin. For the first time, he brought you with him.

[ WARNINGS ] R18+ for graphic sexual content and language. Non-canon compliant: Hawks’ quirk does not work like this. Reader is a hero that works at Hawks agency. Pre-existing relationship. Reader is a female with female genitalia. Feral behavior. Rutting. Biting. Spanking. Slight BDSM. Consensual sex. Wing kink. Oral sex. Romantic relationship.

Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 • Chapter 5

[ My BNHA Fanfic Masterlist ] ~ [ Also on my AO3 ]

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Hawks had gone on an early morning flight the following day, before you had stirred from sleep, leaving you alone in the cabin for the first time.

He was reaching the apex of his rut. The cabin was beginning to feel like the inside of an oven. That was great for keeping his mate warm, but not so great for him in his current state, where he felt like he was roasting alive.

Outside, the winds were cold, almost punishingly so. Under normal conditions, he would have been wrapped up in his fur coat. However, now, he was wearing a loose T-shirt more suited for summer, baggy cargo pants and military boots.

He took off into the sky, soaring at great speeds that would make him near impossible to see with the naked eye, assuming anyone was actually around to spot him in the first place.

He'd soar up high, then let himself descend in a tumbling spiral, then catch his fall above the trees and rocket between the branches, sometimes letting the bottoms of his boots skim the trees to shake the snow off.

He always loved the feeling of the wind through his feathers; but, the sensation was more intense during his rut. While pain receptors didn't exist in his feathers in the same manner as his flesh and bones, he could still process feeling.

During his rut, feeling was intensified in his wings. He almost thought he could breathe the air through his feathers. Perhaps, it was why he felt so unbearably warm, why your touch had reduced him to a blabbering animal.

It was difficult to resist the desire to bring you with him on his flights, to hold you against his chest and feel your body clinging to him while he descended.

It was exciting to think about what kind of noises you would make. He hoped that you would find it exhilarating. He wanted to feel your heartbeat thundering away from the rush, to see red tinting your cheeks and tears in your eyes.

Instead, Hawks floated alone and let the late winter air bite away at his skin while the winds brushed along his feathers. It was soothing more so than chilling. Despite how unfitting his clothes was for the weather, not even the tips of his fingers felt cold.

The winter breeze had relaxed him, but not for long. Despite the obvious chill in the air, Hawks was still sporting a painful erection. He avoided touching it, knowing full well that masturbation was pointless. Enduring this alone for years taught him that it would likely only irritate him further.

You were here, you were safe, you were his, you wanted to be here, you wanted him. Your scent was all over the nest and his bite mark was a heavy eyesore on your throat. There wasn't another human for miles. But, despite the obvious fact that there was no reason for him to feel uneasy, his nature wouldn't allow him to rest.

His rational side wanted to let you relax, to give you some reprieve from him, from what he did to you and intended to do again. The beast, however, clawing under his skin, wanted to have you again.

Hawks flew some, and then some more, letting time slip away, until he was agitated to the point that his hands were digging into his outer thighs, nails threatening to rip his clothes.

Snow began to fall on his way back to the cabin, and the gentle wind hurled it to and fro. He could feel the soft droplets fluttering against his skin. The snow felt cold, of course, but he didn't really process it. All he could think about was getting back to you.

When he crossed the threshold, it was like entering another world. The outside whistled with the harsh wind and kicked snow inside, suddenly silenced when he slammed the door. He felt the sudden security of being in his nest, enclosed, private, safe, where it smelt like freshly cut logs and you.

As Hawks stepped into the living room, he realized that you had migrated away from the bed, likely due to the cold. You had brought some blankets and pillows over and haphazardly arranged them in front of the fireplace. You had even dug a rolled-up futon out of the supply closet to pile the bedding on top of. He had forgotten that was even in there.

His boots thumped against the wood floor as he walked, catching your attention. You peered up at him, your eyes failing to mask your excitement at his return.

At a glance, Hawks could see that you had showered while he was away. Your hair was clean, just a tiny bit damp at the ends. As he got closer, he could faintly catch a whiff of the well water that fed into to the cabin lingering on your skin.

It was only natural that you would want to clean off after what he had done to you the past couple days. Hawks was well aware of that and was trying to remain calm about the whole situation; but, the truth was, he was annoyed by your actions.

You had washed him away.

Of course, that could easily be remedied.

Hawks advanced towards you, mindful to not step on the blankets with his boots, to not dirty the nest you made. He lowered onto his haunches first, taking in the sight of you, the sight of the bedding you had arranged without him. You had slipped on one of his shirts and a pair of shorts, not suitable for the weather, but suitable for him. Like this, your body was very accessible, that much was certain.

"I made breakfast, if you're hungry?" you offered, clearly not at all perturbed by his looming and staring. He didn't look annoyed, but oddly intrigued, maybe even flattered by your behavior.

"You have snow in your hair," you observed, smiling at the sight of pale white crystals caught in his blonde locks. You leaned up and reached for him, carefully tousling his hair to shake the snow free.

He waited until you were done preening him and suddenly jerked forward, pushing you onto your back with his torso. He followed with you, knees pinning you beneath him, one falling between your thighs.

When you peered up at him, unperturbed by his behavior, Hawks' gold eyes narrowed and his fangs bared. A sound that you didn't know he was capable of making snarled from behind his teeth and echoed around the room.

It was a growl, not like anything you had heard from a dog, or any animal, really. You didn't know that he could make noises like that. It seemed unfitting for the calm, polite hero that you knew so well. Then again, he had warned you about this.

Maybe, this whole experience was doing something to you, changing you; or, more likely, he was helping you discover things about yourself you never knew existed.

The growl didn't frighten you at all. It made you tremble with excitement, made your skin prickle with goosebumps and heart flutter, made wetness pool between your legs.

Spurred on by him, maybe wanting to rattle the beast's cage a little, you decided to be daring. You lifted a leg, pressed your foot against his chest, and pushed against him. Of course, he didn't budge at all. He was much stronger than you normally, and especially unwavering in this state of mind.

"Take off your clothes," you requested, trying your damn best to sound powerful, unyielding. You sounded firm, sure, but you didn't sound as strong as you wanted to, maybe not strong enough to coerce a beast.

Yet, Hawks' gaze softened, surprising you. He had told you he wanted you to be yourself, to not succumb to his every emotion. It kept him grounded, reminded him that you were here of your own free will, because you wanted to be. Your demand sobered him.

"Whatever you want," he uttered, sultry and low, and it made you tremble with excited goosebumps.

He leaned back, rising to his feet, and began shucking off his clothes in record time. His boots hit the floor noisily before he fumbled with his belt, having it barely undone before it was dragged down his hips by his pants.

He wasn't wearing underwear, you realized, as he shucked his pants off his feet. He lifted his arms and tugged his shirt over his head. The fabric hit the floor and, rather than throwing himself on top of you, Hawks remained standing.

His wings were spread out behind him, crimson feathers bright and imposing. His gold eyes were vibrant, staring you down like a predator seconds away from laying claim to its prey.

However, it didn't go unnoticed to you that he was standing there to allow you to appraise him, as if you had never laid eyes upon his nudity before.

Despite the cold, he had a faint sheen of sweat that was glistening in the light coming from the fireplace, outlining taut abdominal muscles. He hadn't eaten much since his arrival, and that much was obvious by the exaggerated tightness around his core, muscles more enhanced than you had ever seen before.

It felt almost shameful to stare at his crotch, but it was damn near impossible to not admire the heavy cock between his thighs. It was a sight to behold, just like the rest of him. The trail of pale blonde pubes leading from beneath his belly button was practically begging you to stare.

Still, you dragged your gaze back up at his face, where he looked surprisingly anxious, as if there a chance in hell you would tell him no. Sometimes, it was astonishing to think that someone so beautiful could have an ounce of self-doubt. But, he did. Even if he managed to hide it well, you could always spot it, the fear of not being good enough.

"Keigo," you uttered, voice sounding weak over the sound of the crackling fireplace.

Your arms lifted, hands reaching out for him, beckoning him into an embrace. You blinked and suddenly, he was on top of you, torso ushering you back into the sheets while his hands clawed at your shorts, dragging them down your legs.

Hawks panted into your neck, nails biting at the fleshy meat of your thighs as he tried to will himself to calm down. He was being nonsensical. You had been together for a while now. He had fucked you in every position he could possibly think of, held you at night when he could and kissed your mouth like you were his.

Because you were. Yet, despite all that, he felt so pleased that you still chose him, again.

When your hands slid over his shoulders and felt the burning heat of his skin, you felt a tinge of guilt at his state. Deliriously, you wanted to take care of him, to be able to give him everything he needed.

One hand cradling the back of his neck, you pulled him up until his face came into view and you kissed at the corner of his mouth. Encouraged, he followed, tilting his head to capture your lips in a proper kiss.

You felt his shoulders relax as his body slid atop yours, legs tangled and torsos coming together. His hands released your thighs, opting to slide up your sides, beneath your shirt and along the expansion of your ribs, where the pads of his fingers traced the outlines of your bones.

Despite the insistent, throbbing erection trapped against your thigh, burning hot like forged iron, his kisses were gentle, ushering your mouth open to accept his tongue. He kissed you like he had forgotten what your mouth tasted like, tongue slotting over yours eagerly, moaning into the kiss senselessly.

After sometime, you pushed back against his chest until he finally got the message and pulled back from your lips. You tried not to laugh at the childishly irritated scowl on his face, his expression silently reprimanding you for stopping him.

"Lay down," you urged. "I wanna touch you."

"Don't need any more teasing, babe," he protested weakly.

Still, despite his protest, you nudged him pleadingly. Hawks groaned like you had struck him, but complied and began rolling over, bringing you above him.

You watched his wings flex and fan out comfortably beneath him, spread out across the sheets like twin, elegant blankets, mindful of the fireplace. He propped his back up with some pillows, giving him just enough leverage to lean up a little, but not quite in a seated position.

As Hawks got situated, you tweaked one of his nipples between your fingers. He yelped at the touch, shoulders twitching and wings shuddering faintly beneath him. Your hand was ripped away by a grip at the wrist; but, you couldn't hold back a smile as he glared up at you.

That glare disappeared off his face when you started wiggling down his lap. Of course he knew what was coming, especially when you cupped his weeping cock and tenderly lifted it off his abdomen. Yet, excitement clawed up his spine as if he was sincerely surprised.

He hardly registered your tongue lapping at the swollen tip, where he was sticky with precum. He did, however, painfully so, notice when you sank down, enveloping his length in your hot mouth.

For a moment, you just held him against your tongue, reveling in the salty taste and moaning when you felt him throb. You slid up to the tip, failing to notice how tense the rest of him was, back arched and staring down at you intensely, muscles tight from head to toe. When you sank back down, tightening your mouth around his shaft, Hawks cried out suddenly.

His loudness startled you more so than the sudden gush of his seed. His hands grabbed at the bedding. In the corner of your eye, you could see his feathers shuddering beneath him.

Hawks' cock throbbed with each spurt, heavy where it rested against your lax tongue. He was deep enough that his seed spilled right down your throat. You relaxed and swallowed it carefully, cheeks tinted red as Hawks whined above you.

When he came down from his high, he was still impossibly hard, throbbing against your tongue as if he hadn't come at all. You began bobbing your head, excited at the thought of getting him to come again. However, his hands suddenly flew up, grabbed at your cheeks and pulled you off.

You hadn't expected that, resulting in a wet pop and a string of saliva dangling between your drooping bottom lip and his member. Hawks stared for a moment, almost in disbelief at the sight, like something taken straight out of a porno, and not reality.

"God, you look so fucking naughty," he snarled, dragging your face in towards his, forcing you to arch over him. "Dirty fucking girl, aren't you?"

His tongue lapped against your bottom lip, catching your dripping saliva, before entering your mouth without preamble. The wet organ thrashed around senselessly, enjoying the taste of himself on your mouth. After a few seconds, he pulled back with a growl and dragged your shirt up, forcing your arms above your head to free you from the garment.

"Keigo, let me-" you whined.

"Be good," he silenced you in a gentle, albeit commanding, voice.

The world flipped when he spun you back around and your back hit the bedding. His wings fanned out above the two of you, beat against the air once, and flexed, plumes spread out majestically.

"I wanna touch you more," you protested, fingers weaving through his hair with dangerous intent. You gently dug the pads of your fingers into his scalp and watched his head lull from the pleasure, eyes fluttering shut.

"That's not being good," Hawks commented with a groan, making no immediate movement to stop you.

"I wasn't done," you retorted, leaning up to drag your cheek against the stubble on his jaw. You couldn't hold back a shudder at the sensation, soft yet rough hair dragging against your skin.

"Fuck," the winged hero growled, eyes opening to take you in with a faint glare.

Your felt a wandering hand smack gently against your inner thigh, forcing your legs to spread to give him space to settle between them. A digit suddenly grazed your slit, circling your entrance to gather wetness before slipping inside.

It was almost laughable to think he had gone out into the snow to cool off; yet, the heat of your core was tantalizing, so inviting that the touch alone threatened to undo him. You were already slippery and when he effortlessly sought out your sweet spot, you mewled.

Hawks groaned like you had wounded him, the sound practically vibrating from his throat and traveling through him onto you. He tilted his head to nibble at your jaw, breath hot enough to burn your skin where he exhaled against you.

"You're ready for me," Hawks commented lowly, driving his finger inside until his knuckles brushed your folds. "Did you like the taste of my cock that much? -my cum? Feel this - fuck. You're begging for it."

"You're begging for it," you retorted softly, hands carefully untangling from his hair and sliding down to cup his face. You pulled him back, away from your neck, so you could look into his eyes.

"Yeah," he agreed in a low sigh, forehead bumping against yours just a little too roughly. "Want you so fucking bad."

"How bad?" you hummed encouragingly, hiking your legs up on his waist to pull him in.

His finger slipped free, hands shifting to slide over your hips, dragging you into a place more to his liking, pinned beneath him, where you were helpless to much more than squirm. You hiked your legs up on his hips, groaning when he humped at your core, causing his cock to drag against your folds.

"Kinda hurts, if I'm being honest," Hawks groaned out lowly.

"I'll take care of you," you promised, blinking slowly as you stared back at his vibrant gold eyes.

"Yeah?" he uttered weakly. "I can just-"

His tip prodded at your entrance and Hawks cut off, moaning in a wounded manner that had your head spinning. You had seen him get pent-up and frustrated before, after week long missions and months apart; but, he never sounded quite like this.

"Yes," you whispered back harshly.

With a shift of his hips, he was suddenly buried inside you. The sudden intrusion wasn't as startling as the loud noise that escaped Hawks. He shuddered above you, crying out, wings flexing and beating the air, driving him down against you.

"Oh, fuck, Keigo," you whined, realizing he had finished the moment he slipped inside.

His cock throbbed as if to remind you that he wasn't done yet. There was a wet squelch as he slipped out and rammed back inside, nearly drowned out by a guttural, "f-fuck", that he breathed against your neck.

He thrusted a few times, rough rolls of his hips, forcing your walls to accommodate his girth. You couldn't hold back a weak groan. As prepared as you might have been, it was inevitable that there would always be some strain to take him.

Hawks must have assumed that he was taking you too hard, for he slowed down, uttering a weak, "s-sorry."

Yet, the dissatisfaction from his slow pace was far worse than the slight ache when he took it too fast. You didn't want it slow and soft. The last couple days had you wound up, prepared for the promised, carnal passion. You wanted him to fuck you like his life depended on it.

"No," you hissed out, trying to angle your hips up to bring him in harder, fast. "God - no - Keigo, harder-"

With a faint growl, he obeyed that command, the sudden hard roll of the hips forcing you to break off into a loud cry.

"Babe, I'm gonna lose it if you talk like that," he warned, words throaty and rough where they breathed against your skin.

You worked one hand into his hair while the other grabbed at his back, nails biting deliciously into his skin, holding him close, forcing your bodies together.

"I want you to," you uttered between broken moans that he forced out of you with his cock.

Hawks uttered your name lowly, a clear warning.

"God, Keigo, just-" you growled, wiggling around helplessly beneath him. He shifted his weight, holding you down with a growl, as if you were dare trying to escape him.

It was exciting, and had you babbling at him wantonly, "you're so f-fucking sexy and I - I want it. Want you to just - f-fuck me like - ahh, Keigo, your mate."

His arms suddenly wound beneath you and hoisted you off the floor. You cried out, clinging to him in a startle at the sudden verticality. Hawks leaned upright, on his knees in front of the fireplace, holding you up, pressed against his chest, hands gripping your meaty hips to hold you at the perfect angle to fuck up into you.

"My mate? -fuck when you say things like that, makes me fucking - ghhh - fu-uck - you want me to fuck you? Yeah?" he babbled on, whispering harshly right into your ear.

It was a little too close, a little too loud, and left a ringing sensation in your head. Yet, you didn't want to shy away, especially not when he started growling. Clinging to him desperately, you could feel his back muscles shifting as his wings flapped with enough force to knock some logs off the stand.

His head tilted back and took in the sight of your face. Your eyes were struggling to remain open, lips parted lewdly, cheeks tinted a brilliant shade of red.

"You look amazing," he whispered, hot breath fanning over your face. "Fucked stupid on my cock, where you belong."

You moaned lowly, head lulling against his shoulder. You felt his lips press a kiss against your temple and he continued uttering into your hair.

"Gonna fill my pretty mate with cum. Is that what she wants?" he whispered, low and sweet, sultry and downright vulgar. You didn't answer; but, he felt your nails bite into his shoulders, heard your breath briefly catch in your throat.

"Yeah, she does," he agreed, breaking off into a pleased hum.

The wet, fleshy sounds drowned out the noise of the fireplace, accompanied by your helpless mewling and Hawks disgruntled moans and grunts. You were so close like this, held up by his strong grip, chest to chest.

You sought out the strength to peer up and catch a glimpse of his wings shuddering, flexing out from his back either for balance or unconsciously, you couldn't determine. You tore one of your hands from his shoulder and dragged your fingers through his plumes, along the growth until you met his back.

Hawks cried out in a sharp roar. His pace increased exponentially as he rode out his orgasm, wheezing and panting into the space beside your head. That white-hot pleasure overtook you at some point, forcing a startled scream from your throat.

He kept going and going, only slowing down when he was certain you were finished. Suddenly, he slipped out, and the emptiness had you whimpering, head spinning and body aching.

Your back hit the bedding and then your front when Hawks rolled you over. Focused on the ache between your thighs, you barely processed the rustling of the bedding, until Hawks shoved some pillows beneath your abdomen to slightly elevate your lower half.

He propped himself up on his hands and knees, fingers splayed out across the bedsheets on either side of your torso. You felt the tops of his thighs slide against the backs of yours, cock heavy and wet against your core.

The realization of what he was about to do seemed to slap him in the face at that moment, for Hawks suddenly stopped, freezing up behind you.

"Fuck, I need you," he uttered, voice hoarse and low. "Please - please, can I keep going? -still so fucking hard."

You almost didn't recognize the sound of his voice, hoarse and desperate; but, then, his wings beat against the air, sharply reminding you that this was Takami Keigo.

Your cheek was pressed against one of the pillows, arms splayed out above your head, and you realized faintly that you must have been quite the sight, spread out lewdly for him, back curved, ass in the air, presenting to him like a bitch in heat.

There was no sense of obligation spurring your unity; or, if there was, it was an afterthought. All you felt was desire, longing for more, aching to be filled, trembling and void of any coherent thought beyond Hawks.

You could feel his throbbing cock at your entrance, his knees pushing yours apart, his arms trembling on either side of you. He was hovering some odd few inches; yet, he was panting so heavily, you could feel it fanning over your back.

"Keigo," you whispered weakly. "Don't stop."

Your scream drowned out the inhuman growl that escaped him as he shoved his hips forward, sheathing himself inside your velvety heat, as deep as he could possibly go, trying to push his hips further forward as if it wasn't enough.

Hawks fucked you wildly, huffing out sharp breaths mingled with pleasured moans. It didn't take long for him to reposition his hands, one settling on your waist while the other fisted in the bedsheets above your head. He arched over you possessively, wings beating the air to drive him forward. As unnecessary as it was, you couldn't deny the way it stoked the fire inside you.

Before you could even think to ask, one of his feathers wiggled between your thighs, nuzzling against your pearl where it flicked and twirled, pinching at the bud with just enough friction to be pleasurable, but not too hard to be painful.

"Keigo!" you cried out, hands gripping the sheets with enough force to nearly tear them.

"Say my name," tumbled from his lips, like a broken baritone. "Yeah - fuck - my name - say my name. Gonna - ahh - stuff you with my c- ahh - fuck, you feel so good - so good," he babbled on, leaving your head spinning.

He was fucking into you at the perfect angle, ensuring his cock reached your sweet spot with each and every thrust. At some point, coherent thoughts died. Nothing existed beyond the bed sheets, the fireplace, the cabin. All you could think about was the sweet scent lingering on the sheets beneath you and the explosive pleasure Hawks was forcing through your body.

He came again at some point; but, you could hardly tell. Everything was already sopping wet, seed dripping from your cunt and down your thighs, as well his. The sounds he made never ceased, inhuman groans deep in his throat that mingled with each hurried inhale and exhale, in harmony with his thrusts.

His dominant hand slid down your spine, carefully curling at the back of your neck to hold you down. As mindless as it might have appeared, you were acutely aware that he wasn't holding all his weight down.

You were familiar with the power he held, the brute strength hidden beneath his charming and silly demeanor. He could hurt you very easily if he wanted to; but, he never did. Even in this state, his self-control was mind boggling, pinning you with just the right amount of pressure to keep you still, but not enough to cause any discomfort.

'Keigo' fell from your lips, again and again, as if it was the only word you knew. Above you, Hawks seemed to be in the very state he had been worried about, that he had warned you about: blinded by the pleasure of your core, lost to the desires overwhelming his every thought for days.

At some point, he hunched over even further, hardly thrusting properly anymore and just rutting into you, and you felt his lips touch the space between your shoulder blades.

It was hardly a kiss and you realized vaguely that he was drooling a little before you felt the sting of his teeth. Hawks gnawed a path up your back, leaving behind pink, blossoming bruises, before digging his teeth into your shoulder. It wasn't as strong as the last bite, a brief sting before the pain was lost to the pleasure.

He growled into your skin, whole body quaking with sharp tremors, signaling that he had reached orgasm again. You had lost sense of your own awhile ago, always ablaze in white hot pleasure. The mere touch of his hand along your skin, every shift of his hips, the union of your sexes, had you vibrating.

You lost track of how long that went on, how long Hawks kept going, mouth latched onto your skin, slobbering and whimpering into your flesh, while his hips rolled against yours, pinning you between the floor and his unwavering form.

Everything felt too good for you to process how tired you had become, brought to the brink of exhaustion, glistening with sweat from head to toe, kept awake only by his invasion of your body, the drag of his cock along your velvety walls.

Eventually, Hawks began to slow. He carefully removed his teeth from your shoulder and gave a few more thrusts, letting out a low whine that you could guess was one last, final orgasm.

His feather departed your slippery folds, leaving you aching and spent, and he remained buried as deep as he possibly could, hips pressed tightly against yours.

Hawks nuzzled his face into the back of your neck, panting wildly, and you felt what you could only describe as vibrations rumbling from his chest, so violently that it had you shaking beneath him. It was almost alarming, but the tremors steadily waned as his breathing relaxed.

Carefully, Hawks turned you onto your side, shoved the pillow beneath you away, and curled into the space between you, pressed tightly against your back, skin touching in every spot that was possible. His wings stretched out behind him, past the boundary of the bedding and spread out across the floor, lax like the rest of him.

Hawks adjusted your legs carefully, stretching them out with his own until they were comfortably laying side by side, all whilst ensuring his cock remained lodged inside you. The strain wasn't unpleasant; rather, you were surprised by how good it felt.

"Keigo?" you uttered weakly, voice so low, you were surprised he even heard you.

You felt his lips kiss at your throat and a hand settle over your tummy, fingers splayed. He uttered your own name back, as if reassuring, before his fingers moved around, sliding up and down your side soothingly.

You willed your eyes to open and watched the flames inside the hearth dance briefly before your gaze darkened and you drifted off to sleep, lulled by the sounds of the storm brewing outside and Hawks breathing softly behind you.

He didn't join you in the abyss, but watched over you cautiously, as if you could possibly be in any danger. The storm outside wasn't particularly worrisome, but it made it impossible for him to pick up sounds beyond the boundary of the cabin.

If you had turned to look upon his face, you would have seen his pupils miniscule, gold iris vibrant and wild. There was no chance that anyone would possibly disturb you, and his sensible self would have known that; but, as he was now, rut peaked and beast sufficiently satisfied, Hawks couldn't be told otherwise.

An arm drooped loosely over your waist, holding you close, and he listened to the soothing beats of your heart as you drifted into a peaceful slumber.