#you can pry my hope from me but my hope has grown out of my body

[shalom-iamcominghome]

This part in the song This Year has just been hitting different as of late

[arkhamsbrat]

𝜗𝜚 — jason todd x civilian reader

in which jason is totally not planning on stealing you away from your shitbag of a bf

part 1 ! part 2 ! part 3 !

jason todd likes you, yes, at this rate he may even love you. however, jason decides you to will just be friends. that’s it. you’re not like him, he doesn’t want you to spend your life worrying about him. you deserve better than him.

so he sits while you talk about your boyfriend. nothing particularly good, either. he has no ambition, volume control, he’s mean to animals… are you trying to make jason hate him? he narrows his eyes when he can tell you’re leaving a lot out of the conversation. hiding something. he doesn’t pry, until he sees you two in public.

your scumbag of a boyfriend following you around the library whining loudly because he wants to be anywhere but there. you keep glaring at him, like a mother scolding her child. jason feels too hopeful about how much longer you’ll be with that guy.

jason notices a small bruise on your forehead before he approaches. it’s small enough that it could be because of how clumsy you are, but jason doesn’t trust that that’s the case. “hey, sweetheart.” he speaks quietly, refusing to acknowledge your boyfriend. you shoot him a smile that makes his heart burst.

your boyfriend is long forgotten in this conversation , until he grabs at your shoulder. “let’s go. have plans later.” he’s glaring at jason, like that could do anything. jason shoots him a polite fake smile. “i can get her home.” you nod, and your boyfriend glares at you. “i’ll be fine, he’s my friend.” he scoffs and turns away from you without another word.

jason hates your boyfriend. no more conversations needed. you deserve better than that, and he could give it to you. he knows you may not like his lifestyle but he needs to try. for you.

when you’re ready to leave, he takes you to his truck. your tote bag full of books hanging over his shoulder. “can i ask you somethin?” he mutters, worried he’s overstepping.

“anything, jason.” you look back at him, eyes shining like stars. he hated when you looked at him like that. you aren’t even his, and it’s like he hung the moon just for you.

“gotta bruise on your forehead. where’d you get it?” he knows the answer when your face falls.

he’s patient, quiet, lets you decide if you’re going to tell him or not. “me and my boyfriend were… roughhousing, just went a little too far. he didn’t mean t’do it, swear.” you looked up at him nervously, eyes flitting over his face to search for any signs of disapproval.

he just nods, but his eye twitches as his thumb rubs gently over the mark. “he needs to be more careful with you, he’s stronger than you.” he only hums when you playfully remark that you’re grown.

jason knows in that moment he’d do whatever he needed to just to get you away from that man, whether or not you ended up with him after. knows that he’d protect you from anything, no matter what.

[fatuismooches]

No other reason for this other than me being self-indulgent and having some fun. Dottore and Fragile Reader of course.

Prime Dottore - About You:

"If you were expecting me to... gush about them and whatnot, then your expectations are nonsensical. I have nothing to share with you about them. I merely have three things to say. Do not get close to them, do not make them upset, and do not get in my way, regardless of what I have to do to make them better."

Omega - About You:

"...[Name]? Their time is far too valuable to be spent around the likes of you. Speaking of, have you seen them? ...You say they're with another segment now? A pity. It's a shame they're always swept away by the others. I could please them far more than anyone else in any matter. I suppose I will need to think of a way to retrieve them yet again."

Alpha (Akademiya) - About You:

"Do you know how many pens and pencils I've broken due to [Name]? Even centuries later they still find the need to debate me on certain topics, academic or not, challenge my research and thinking, and criticize my handwriting. Truly an annoyance. If only they were able to be with me a bit longer... What? They are annoying, but I still acknowledge that they have the traits of a true scholar. And their voice is still much more agreeable than the others I have to work with..."

Beta (Webttore) - About You:

"Hehe, what a loyal assistant they are. They can pick apart different parts and mechanics with ease. Much more competent than that man I disposed of a while ago, on that expedition... along with all the others. Unfortunately, I only have a limited amount of time with them. Really, is it so difficult to find someone with even a third of their ability? Actually, that is a foolish question. No one could ever hope to compare to them."

Delta - About You:

"They have an exceptional talent for pestering me at any given moment, somehow seeking me out wherever I am easily. If only they could put their mind into something more productive. Why do I not simply ignore them? Because they do not stop until they've gotten their desired results, just like me. I'd rather not prolong their prodding.

Zeta - About You:

"... As long as they are well, I need not know anything else. Their health is of utmost priority."

Zandy - About You:

"[Name]? Oh, they're the best, most nicest and fun grown-up ever! I'm never alone now that they're around! They're always willing to play with me and they always yell at the other segments when they're being mean. They're never scared at all... [Name] could probably beat Prime in a fight if they wanted. Hmm? But they can't even throw a punch? That doesn't matter! They're much stronger than you think - I've witnessed it many times."

Pierro - About You:

"When I first recruited Dottore from the desert and gave him his Harbinger position, one of the first things he did was set up a room to monitor [Name]'s condition. He did so for hundreds of years, creating numerous segments to help, and it ended up paying off. It is not my place to pry into his life, as long as he fulfills his duties as the Tsaritsa requests, but now that they're by his side again, he seems... never mind."

Capitano - About You:

"I once encountered them when they managed to sneak out of the lab. They were... intriguing and talkative. They weren't scared in the slightest and were more interested in how I managed to befriend all the creatures near me. They wanted... tips on how to convince the Doctor to let them have a pet. I don't think I was very helpful."

Columbina - About You:

"The Doctor is engrossed with his research, but the only thing he truly has a soft spot for is his dearest [Name]. He hides his feelings exceptionally well, but anyone who witnesses him around them can tell the difference. Don't tell him I said this though, you know how he'll act.~ But do tell [Name] this, they're sure to get flustered. ♪"

Arlecchino - About You:

"They have made attempts to get closer to me, but I'm afraid I have no interest in building a relationship with them. Still, I've always thought that their character would be similar to that of the Doctor, but from what I've seen of them, that does not seem to be the case. So, I do wonder if those two opposites truly get along."

Pulcinella - About You:

"I have seen many things in this long life of mine, so unlike many others, their relationship with Dottore does not surprise me too much. Still, they have much to learn if they feel the need to come and ask me for relationship advice. If you ask me, I believe that they don't truly know how much the Doctor values them, even if it is as clear as day."

Wanderer - About You:

"The Doctor's little pet? Every time I saw them, they were always scurrying behind one of the segments, as if they were attached by the hip. I don't know what transpired between the two of them for this relationship to happen, but out of all the people who associate with Dottore, they're bound to meet the nastiest end."

Sandrone - About You:

"The Doctor? [Name]? I have no care for either of them. I am much too busy with my own work to think about his worthless love life. However, I do suppose the idea is entertaining - Dottore being capable of love is as laughable as thinking an Automaton can learn to cherish another, and this [Name] person is equally as idiotic for believing so."

La Signora - About You:

"[Name], you say? I can't claim to know much about them. Everything I've heard is through the mouths of others, mostly from agents who talk more than what's good for them, but especially the Balladeer. What are they really like - a harmless and fragile sweetheart? A tool for the Doctor? His equally as heartless accomplice? Or all of the above? All I can say, however, is that it takes one to know one, right?"

Pantalone - About You:

"Ah, the little one. I am more than familiar with them, although Dottore would loathe to hear that. Did you know the Doctor is more prone to jealousy than you think? It is most amusing to see his ever-confident smirk fall once you get a bit too close to [Name]. I vividly remember the time when I said I would accompany [Name] to a ball instead, as he was too busy with his research. He never changed his mind as quickly as he did once I promised to dance with them."

Childe - About You:

“I’ve always thought Dottore was eccentric, and after meeting [Name], I can say they are equally as weird as him, solely for choosing him as their husband. Their personality is nothing like his either - they are bubbly, affectionate, and most of all… extremely weak. Traits that Dottore has no interest in. And yet the segments seem to fawn over them… I just don’t understand them. I just hope they know what they’re getting into.”

Furina - About You:

"Whenever I see them, [Name] always make sure to arrange a tea party with their own homemade Sumerian sweets! It is truly a delight. I admit, I am a bit jealous of their skill. It's as if they have the experience of a hundred years! But of course, that's impossible. Regardless, they are very kind, and they also seem to have a particular liking for romantic films... an odd thing for someone affiliated with the Fatui to like."

Nahida - About You:

"A raven and a sparrow - two beings that are surely bound to be apart from each other, but when it comes to the Doctor and [Name], it seems that even the impossible becomes possible. Though my feelings toward them will not change because of what they've done, I can't help but be interested. What lengths will the Outcast go to cure the one he holds dear, and would [Name] still be able to love him if he becomes more of a monster?"

[gay-dorito-dust]

I was wondering if you could write something about how the Batboys (and maybe Bruce) would react to their s/o who knits or crochets and makes them little gifts just randomly? like little things like a hat or a scarf. Maybe even small plushies of their vigilante personas? (Btw I absolutely LOVE your work)

Dick he fucking loves it!

Seriously dick loved the hat you made him and he’ll wear it even when he didn’t have to, he’s grown too attached to it to the point where he becomes possessive over it.

‘My beautiful and amazing partner made me this hat!’ He’d exclaim.

‘Dick your indoors take the fucking hat off.’ Jason groans but dick was more then willing to look a fucking idiot and keep the hat on throughout the rest of the day, even in his sleep he still wears the hat as it’s your gift to him and who was he to deny the opportunity in wearing it all the time!

He even takes pictures of himself wearing the hat and sending them to you and thanking you for the hat that you’ve made him. He looks so unbelievably happy for someone wearing a hat but to dick it wasn’t just a hat, it was a hat that you made him in your spare time and he couldn’t help it but want to wear it everywhere he goes because again it was something you made especially for him.

So except this loveable man to constantly find ways to wear the hat no matter what.

Raining? He’s wearing the hat.

Snowing? He’s wearing the hat.

Spending time with you in your apartment? He’s wearing the hat as though his life depends on it. He really loves your creation and will shout it from the rooftops that his beautiful partner made it for him and no one else can have it because it’s his!

Damian acts like he hates it but is secretly touched that he was in your thoughts when making such a gift.

He’s not use to someone giving him gifts or going out of their way to make him something he’ll use when the occasion arises. He’s got a light flush going across his face as he caresses the soft scarf that you’ve made him when he told you he misplaced his last one.

‘What’s the meaning behind this gift.’ Damian asks, skeptical of the sudden gift on his lap.

You shrug. ‘You told me you lost your last one-‘

‘Misplaced by continue.’ Damian cuts you off.

‘And I thought that I’d make you one instead and I hope you like it.’ You finished and watched as he opened the bag to find a soft black and emerald green scarf looking back at him. Damian blinks twice before gingerly pulling the scarf out of the box and holds it between his hands as his thumbs get accustomed to the soft material.

Damian doesn’t say much but puts the scarf on and feels himself melting in the softness of it as he takes the time to appreciate your craftsmanship. He loves your gift but doesn’t say it out loud as he’s not attuned to speaking his emotions freely like most people, but you could tell by the way he sinks into the scarf that he likes it and wouldn’t take it off unless he was dead and buried six feet under, and even then you knew you wouldn’t be able to pry the gift from his hands at all from this moment forward.

‘You like it?’ You asked.

‘It’s suitable to combat the cold, the stitching is immaculate and well done.’ Damian compliments as he adjusts the scarf on his neck, tucking it under his chin. ‘Yes this shall replace the other one…until I find it of course.’ He adds and you knew Damian well enough that he wasn’t going to bother finding the other scarf, not that he has a perfectly new one to keep him warm.

So to say you weren’t surprised to see that he was still wearing the scarf months later, claiming he’s still looking for the other one as a fluster looked overcame him that he quickly hide it with the scarf, once again melting in it and the love you’ve put in it just for him.

Bruce smiles softly as he holds a miniature crochet version of himself as Batman between his large hands. It’s cute to him that you took the time to make him this and from the looks of it, it must’ve took you a while to perfect and he couldn’t help but treasure such a gift crafted by your bare hands.

You’ll find the crochet Batman, also known as Batman jr, perched on his desk in the bathroom cave right in from of the keyboard to the bathroom computer. It looked at though the little guy was helping his human counterpart solve crime and make Gotham a better place. It was too cute you thought you were going to die!

‘I’m seeing that you like your gift?’ You asked Bruce as you held up Batman jr from his place at the bat computer.

Bruce chuckled. ‘He was doing some important work for me until you decided to pick him up.’ He joked as he presses a kiss to the side of your head, drawing you closer to him so he could indulge in your presence and hum softly. ‘But I do in fact love the gift, you didn’t have to but I appreciate the work and details you put into him for me my love.’ He adds, given your temple another kiss.

You snuggled yourself deeper into his arms as you both look down at the cute crochet plushie as though it were your child. ‘I’m more than happy that you like it Bruce, I just thought you get lonely sometimes and needed a companion to remind yourself that you’re nowhere near as alone as you’d think.’ You tell him, only to see his soft expression as he looked at you and the crochet version of himself before tightening his grip.

‘Thank you for your hard effort and love to bringing this creation to life my dear, I shall treasure you both for as long as you allow me to.’ He whispers as he kisses you on the lips.

He loves Batman jr and will pet its head when no one’s looking. It’s a reminder of your love for him and he couldn’t help but bestow it with the highest of honour, being his little vigilante companion.

Tim is his most prized possession, he will not loose sight of it and will have it on his being at all times when the occasion calls for it.

He puts his little crochet version of himself on a shelf or keeps it on his person, especially if it’s those crochet bag clip accessories then he’ll proudly have it clipped to his bag, while checking to make sure the little guy was still there and not fallen off anywhere without him knowing.

He’ll cry if he did loose it and will hate himself forever for wasting your hard work and effort. God forbid he accidentally rips it, then he’ll be inconsolable as he brings it towards you with an extremely guilty look upon his face. ‘I’m sorry I broke your gift.’ He’d say and you’d have to hold his face between your hands and pepper kisses across his face as you promise to fix it.

When you do give it back to him, Tim acts as though it’s the first time again with how his face brightens up and how he holds it against his chest, promising to cherish it forever and ever while giving you a kiss to your lips in thanks and appreciation.

He appreciates your gift and is determined to hold it to his heart forever because he’ll never know if he’ll ever get a gift as beautiful as this ever again.

Jason buries himself into the blanket that you’ve made him the moment you gave it to him and he feels as though he’s in heaven and feels close to crying because of how loved he felt through this singular act.

He cherishes the blanket like his life depends on it as it’s now his item of comfort for when he’s dealing with night terrors. To Jason anything that related to you was more then enough to calm him down and bring him back to reality and away from his own mind for a little bit. This is only proven more true when he feels lonely he clings onto the blanket and remembers that you were there, you were with him still and he wasn’t alone anymore like he was before.

He didn’t want to be alone again and you were certain to make it know that he wasn’t, not under your watch.

If that didn’t make him tear up a little, the note you stitched onto the blanket certainly did the trick.

‘Dear jay bird, hope you like the blanket I made you! I didn’t want you to be without anything with sentimental value, so I made this blanket for you as a reminder that I love you, that I’m not going anywhere and that you’re not broken. You’re just a lonely man with a heart in need of healing and I’ll gladly heal and kiss your heart until it’s fully healed again. I’m right here if you need anything baby, love your little chipmunk.’

Jason held the blanket closer to his chest, kissing the fabric as he fell asleep tucked in it warmth and your love and hard work that went into making this for him. He feels happier, lighter then he had ever felt before and he didn’t ever want to let this feeling go at all as he grips the blanket tighter in his hands, pulling it up to his chin as he allows him held to be vulnerable underneath it.

He genuinely loves your gift to him and wouldn’t want anything else but something made purely by your hands and your hands alone.

[pinkcaraz]

obsessed - c. alcaraz

c. alcaraz x f!reader

summary: you really don't want carlos to get a haircut.

wc: 1.3k

tags/warnings: suggestive, fluff, implied oral sex, making out.

a/n: posting this to cope with the fact that we're probs gonna lose fluffy hair pinkcaraz 😔. as you can probably tell, i don't speak spanish, so please feel free to correct me. as always, likes, reblogs, feedback, etc. are always appreciated! if you want to be tagged in any future writing, please lmk. i might make an official taglist form later if enough people want to be tagged. thanks and hope you enjoy!

it’s one of his days off. thankfully, you and carlos have been enjoying a relaxing vacation at home after several long weeks of traveling and tournaments. for the past few days, the two of you have been making the most of his time off by sleeping in and lounging around at home for most of the day. today, however, the absence of your personal heater next to you rouses you from your comfortable sleep early. you blindly pat his side of the bed just to be sure, and when you don’t find him, you lazily crack your eyes open to look for him. sitting up in bed, you find him half dressed, just starting to get ready for the day. 

“lo siento, did i wake you?” he asks apologetically while fondly watching you rub your eyes from sleep. you look so cute with your sleepy expression and wild bed hair, it makes his heart flutter. he stops what he’s doing to sit next to you on the bed and places a soft good morning kiss on your forehead. 

you yawn and shake your head smiling. “it’s okay. what are you doing? where are you going?” you ask, trying to smooth down your unruly hair. carlos laughs softly and brushes back a few strands that fall into your face.

“i thought i would go run some errands, maybe go get a haircu-”

“no!”

“‘no?’ what do you mean ‘no?’”

shit, did you just say that out loud? you’re still a little hazy from sleep, and clearly, your brain-to-mouth filter isn’t working at full capacity yet. 

when you don’t answer him right away, carlos presses on. “do you not want me to get a haircut? do my haircuts not look good?” he asks with his pretty brown puppy-dog eyes and signature pout.

you’ve really dug yourself into a hole here. “no, charlie, you always look good,” you respond quickly. and it’s true, he does always look good to you, even when he comes home with his goofy ass fade and you’re forced to mourn his soft, fluffy hair. at just the mere mention of a haircut, you’re already lamenting the loss of his current look. he’s been overseas for a few weeks now, so it’s been a while since he last went to see his barber. his hair has grown out a bit on the sides and especially in the front, where it curls and falls just above his eyes. he looks so good like this, it drives you insane sometimes. 

you distinctly remember an incident just last week where you couldn’t take it anymore and basically jumped his bones as soon as he wrapped up his post-match press conference. he had played so well that day. watching him absolutely glowing, dashing back and forth on court, had you so incredibly worked up. his hair was also slightly ruffled from a vigorous match and him occasionally brushing it out of his eyes. despite that, it still looked perfectly soft. you didn’t care that he was still sweaty from the match, you had to have him close so you could run your hands through his hair and ruffle it up even more. 

with unwavering determination, the second carlos stepped out of the press room, you were leading him down an empty hallway of the stadium. once the two of you were away from prying eyes, you had pulled him in by the collar for a searing kiss. as much as he was surprised, he knew better than to interrupt you when you were like this, so he played along, backing you up and caging you against the wall. your resulting gasp allowed him to lick past your lips, into your mouth, teasing you. with one hand still clinging to the collar of his shirt, your other hand reached up to tangle itself in carlos’ hair, bringing him impossibly closer to you. completely engrossed in you, he continued licking and nipping at your bottom lip until you were panting hard. when you gently pulled him back by his hair so you could catch your breath, he let out a soft moan, sending a shiver down your spine. your eyes met, both dark with want, and he dove back in, assertively pressing his soft lips to yours before moving to bury his face in your neck. when he tentatively nibbled at your pulse point, you gasped, tightening your grip on his hair ever so slightly. this had him increasing the intensity of his attention to your neck with a satisfied smirk on his face. you were running your fingers through his hair in appreciation when you heard voices down at the end of the hall, forcing you to drag him off of you. 

you were dreamily reminiscing about how you had quickly pulled him somewhere else more private to finish what you started when carlos’ voice interrupted your thoughts, bringing you back to the present. “then, por qué no?” he asks, referring back to you not wanting him to get a haircut.

“um…well…it’s just- uh-,” you stutter in response. you clearly have an answer – you’re a little obsessed with his hair grown out – but you don’t want to tell him that outright. feeling embarrassed from being in this position and also still slightly flustered from the memory, your cheeks burn. you get that look on your face that says you’re thinking unsavory thoughts about him, and ever-observant carlos starts to pick up on how you’re feeling at the moment.

with a mischievous grin and a teasing tone, he keeps pushing you to answer. “dime, amor. you can tell me anything.” at this point, he’s leaning in so close to you, practically crawling up your body, so you’re forced to lay back on the bed while he hovers over you.

“i just, uh, really like your hair like this is all.”

“oh, de verdad? is that really all you were thinking about? you weren’t thinking about yesterday?” he questions deviously while holding himself up on top of you, slotted in between your legs. 

yesterday. yesterday, as in, when the both of you were in the same position in bed. except, then, he was lower down, attentively nipping and sucking a path from your inner thighs upwards. your hands were tangled in his hair, pulling groans from him and directing him closer to the burning ache between your legs. that yesterday. 

uh oh, he’s caught you. he’s probably known this whole time that you’re obsessed – not that you were really trying to hide it or anything – and when you finally realize, you whine and cover your face from embarrassment. 

“well, no i wasn’t thinking about yesterday, but i am now,” you grumble out. thinking back, you subconsciously try to squeeze your thighs together at the memory, but because carlos is still positioned with an evil little smile between your legs, you can’t. you can hear him trying to hold back his laughter, so from behind your arms, you mumble, with no venom behind it, “you’re the worst.”

“ok, well if i’m the worst, then i guess i should get up so i can go get a haircut then,” he teases while moving to get up off of you. 

before he can get anywhere, you pull him back so that he’s plopped on top of you and wrap yourself around him like a koala. “nooooo, don’t go,” you whine into the crook of his neck and snuggle even closer to him. “please.” 

the way you hold him close has him melting. he can’t deny you when you’re this adorable. “ok, fine,” he mumbles endearingly into your hair as he presses a sweet kiss to the top of your head. carlos then wraps his own arms around you in a bear hug and rolls over so that you’re the one laying on top of him. pulling the blankets back up, he settles the both of you back into bed so the two of you can cuddle the rest of the day away. 

taglist: @yungbludz

[aemondapologistfrfr]

Anything for You - Pt3

daemon x daughter!reader 

Part 1 Part 2

Summary: The King and the Hand come up with a plan to get you and Daemon to come back to court. Daemon is barely able to contain himself when he lands on the docks of King’s Landing. 

Warnings: 18+ different PoVs bc i was feeling it, swearing, pregnant!reader this chap, coercion into like kidnapping?, the rogue prince fr, death(not mc), blood, swords, threats, p in v

Authors Note: idk why i locked in writing this like i planned to keep it cutesy and i was like wait 🤭 short hair daemon in his armor 🙂‍↕️ i never intended for this to be more than a one shot but here we are 😶 literally stopped writing my other stuff and was sat

Word Count: 3.8k 

                                         ᓚᘏᗢ

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King and Hand PoV

The King and the Hand sit in the empty council chamber trying to figure out the best course of action. Daemon and his daughter have been gone for almost three moons now and the Keep is starting to speculate. There’s been no word from Dragonstone which could either be good or bad. Whispers around the realm speak nothing of the two, leaving the King at a loss. The King looks at the Hand waiting for his next idea on how to get at least the Princess back to court. 

The King has put in his best efforts to push back the prying Lords who were vying for the Princess’s hand. They come around the council chambers and throne room like vultures awaiting her return. The Queen tells the King daily what she overhears from the Ladies and her handmaidens and it’s been causing his temper to rise. 

“Even the Queen is being questioned about their location.” the King sits back exasperated. “I’m at a loss. I don’t know what to do.” he looks at his Hand. 

“I will send out our best men to sail to Dragonstone. If they find the Princess they’ll bring her back to us.” the Hand pulls a blank piece of parchment in front of him. They spend the next couple of hours picking the company to send and decide on having her guard lead them. They hope she’ll take kinder to him and return with the men. The Hand has the King write a note to place in the Princess’s absence for Daemon. 

“If she’s there and we can get her,” the King shakes his head. “Daemon will not take this lightly.” he looks to his Hand with worried eyes. “Might it be best if we just leave them?” the Hand scoffs. 

“He directly disobeyed your commands. As he does time and time again. You are the King. If you can not control your own brother the realm will begin to see you as weak.” the Hand tries not to let his annoyance show. “The Princess’s hand can garner us alliances, armies. My King, it’s never my wish to speak so poorly about Daemon-“ 

“Yet you never seize the opportunity to do so.” the King shakes his head leaning back in his chair. 

“He’s undermining you. He knows he’ll keep getting away with it.” the Hand searches the King's eyes. “I urge you to send these men out at daybreak.” the King exhales at the Hands plea. 

“Fine. See to it then.” the King waves him off. “Pray to the Gods Daemon will see reason.” the King looks to the ceiling as the Hand goes to make the preparations. 

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Your PoV

I always heard stories of how the mornings were unpleasant when carrying a babe but I’ve never felt more at peace. The maesters here say I am the most relaxed princess they’ve had the pleasure of helping with her pregnancy. I know my father is the one to thank for that. He absolutely worships me morning, noon, and night. The moment my eyes open he’s pressing his lips across every inch of my body whispering sweet words. He stays attached to me until I plead him for a break. 

“I’ll go fetch your handmaidens to bathe you and get you ready for your garden walk.” he presses his lips against my brow before slipping out of our chambers. 

I’ve quickly grown fond of my new company of handmaidens here. They dote on me and have a gentler touch than the ladies I left behind in King's Landing. They pour milk and flowers into my bath and keep their hands on me until I’m resting against the back of the tub. After they bathe and lather me in oils and perfumes they pull a flowing dress over my head and help escort me down to the gardens. 

I quite like being on Dragonstone again. I forgot how quiet and peaceful it is. The low grumbles and songs of the dragons bring me such a sense of comfort and I feel truly calm and at home here. I don’t need guards hovering around me and I can walk in the gardens at my leisure. I let the leaves and petals brush against my fingertips. I stop and bend down to smell the lilies that wash over my senses. 

I delve deeper into the gardens and smile when I approach my bench. It sits near the edge of the gardens and overlooks the Blackwater. I lean back and pull my feet under me as I watch the waves lap against the shore. I tilt my head back and shut my eyes to allow the sun to kiss my skin. Its warmth engulfs me and a smile starts to spread across my face when I hear approaching footsteps. 

“I was wondering if you were going to join me today.” I hum turning. My face falls as I see my guard from King's Landing. “What are you doing here?” I tilt my head. 

“Hello, Princess.” he bows his head before clearing his throat. “Your father wanted to surprise you with a ship to bring you back to King's Landing. If you’ll follow me.” he outstretches his hand and I look at it.

“Where is my father? Why wouldn’t he just fly me back on Caraxes?” my brows furrow. 

“He has a couple more things to finish up here and then he will join us.” he nods his head. I study him curiously but I can’t find a reason not to trust him. He’s protected me my whole life, surely he wouldn’t cause me any harm. 

“Okay.” I rise and grab his arm. He sets a piece of parchment on the bench and begins to lead me back through the gardens. “Why are we taking this way?” I look up at my guard and he keeps hauling me down the back steps.

“It’s much faster this way.” his words seem rushed but I shrug this off. 

As we make it to the dock I see a couple other men I recognize waiting for us on the boat. Once I’m on board the boat begins to move back out into the Blackwater. I watch as we move away from Dragonstone and take a seat on the bench watching it become smaller and smaller. I watch as some of the men on the ship clap my guards back and offer him hushed words of congratulations. 

“When will my father join me in King's Landing?” I look at the man closest to me. He ignores me and goes over to the cluster of men causing a frown to form on my face. My chest tightens and I begin to feel alone and foolish for not going to my father first. A tear slips down my cheek at the same moment I hear Caraxes roar ripple across the Bay. 

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Daemons PoV

Daemon had been waiting for his Princess to return for well over thirty minutes now. He knows how she likes her time in the gardens so he didn’t think anything of it at first. He enjoys seeing her so peaceful here so he doesn’t pay it any mind. When an hour goes by he rises from his seat and starts into the gardens. 

He strolls through them silently admiring and keeping an eye out for his wife. He tries to listen and see if he can catch her humming but all he can hear is the breeze through the leaves. When he doesn’t spot her on the main path he starts in the direction of her bench. He curses himself for not starting there but when he approaches he finds it empty. He looks across the Bay before going to turn back to the castle until he spots a piece of parchment. He lifts it and begins to read. 

Brother-

It is not my wish to anger you or fight with you. You are both wanted and needed back at court. The Hand and I have sent her guard and a group of men to sail her back to King's Landing. We have many potential suitors for her that can look past how you’ve sullied her. I have called some Ladies to court as well to hopefully satiate your appetite. I wish to see you come home.

-The King, Your Brother 

Daemon growls, crumpling the note and throwing it in the Blackwater. He curses loudly off the edge of the cliff and Caraxes deafening answering roar comes from out of the pits. He runs back to the castle and makes his way to the doors that lead to the docks. He rips them open and sees the guard standing just on the other side. He slams his fist into his face and his vision goes red as he continues to pummel the guard in front of him. 

“My Prince,” the guard gurgles. Daemon slams him onto the stone. 

“You’ve let my wife be taken from right under your nose.” Daemon repeatedly hits him as the guards movements begin to lull. 

“My Prince, a moment,” guards from inside the castle try to stop him. The last blow lands with a crunch and the sentry goes limp on the stone. 

“Clean this up and wash the stone.” Daemon barks out before storming back into the castle. 

He takes two steps at a time and pushes his way into their chambers. He grabs Dark Sister from the solar and makes his way down to the pits. He quickly puts his armor on and places his helm before walking out on the platform as Caraxes approaches. Daemon grabs onto Caraxes snout and looks him in the eyes. 

“We are getting her back.” Caraxes blinks at him and Daemon takes to his mount. 

Caraxes drops them off the edge before shooting them forward. Daemon stays on high alert looking for the ship that is carrying his wife. The breeze carries them quicker and Caraxes turns his snout slightly and pushes on with purpose. Soon they’re circling above the ship and Caraxes serenades them with his song. Daemon watches as the sails sway and has Caraxes fly higher. He wishes to land on the boat and claim his wife once more and end this farce but he doesn’t know if the ship will maintain its integrity under Caraxes and he won’t risk his wife and their child. 

He curses under his breath and tugs Caraxes in the direction of the docks at Kings Landing. Caraxes circles above the city grumbling and lets his tail trail across the roofs. He makes his way back over to the docks and sees the ship approaching. Caraxes heeds the command to land at the docks and the common folk who don’t move out of the way quick enough forfeit their lives to the rogue Prince and his dragon. Horses and guards break through the crowds and the Hand comes into view. Daemon stays atop his dragon as he looks down upon the man. 

“The King commands you to stop this.” Daemon laughs at the Hand's words. 

“I do not see the King.” Caraxes tail whips closely to the Hands feet. He turns as the boat begins to dock and the men aboard look to the Hand nervously. “Surely, you knew I would come.” Daemon drawls. He starts to slide off the side of Caraxes and lands to the ground with a thud. He unsheathes his sword and points it at the Hand. “You would take a pregnant wife from her husband? Steal her away and marry her to another?” he tilts his head, stalking over to him. “And be daft enough to think there would be no consequences?” he laughs, pushing the tip of his blade into the Hands chest. 

“If you kill me here the King will never forgive you.” Daemon clenches his jaw knowing that the Hand is right in this matter. 

Caraxes pushes the Hand back with his tail and he tumbles to the ground. Daemon turns and stalks over to the ship to retrieve his wife. His brother would be unforgiving if he took his Hand but for the men who took his wife? He could find ten more of them on the street. As he approaches the boat he calls out for his wife and she comes forward with red cheeks. He sees the tears staining her perfect face and how puffy her eyes are. It’s going to take all of his resolve not to burn down the entirety of the Red Keep. 

“Come here, sweet girl.” he hums and she walks up to him and folds into his arms. He rubs her back as he feels her sobs rack through her. Every sniffle has him seeing a darker shade of red. He pulls back and cups her cheeks. “Did these men cause you any harm?” he searches her eyes. 

“No. Only taking me from you and my gardens.” her voice is soft and his nostrils flare as her tears continue to flow. His hand rests on her stomach before he kisses her brow. 

“Go to Caraxes. Hug his neck and don’t look behind you.” she nods her head and he watches as she wraps her arms around his dragon. He takes one step onto the ship and the guards have their swords out in a blink of an eye. Daemon lets the rage take over him and pour out through Dark Sister. As the men continue to surround him he smiles as he slashes and slices through them. He nods at the last man standing who looks at him with a heaving chest. 

“My Prince, I was only-“ his head falls to the wooden floor. 

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Your Pov

I jump as I feel a gloved hand wrap around my arm. I turn around and look up and see my father. My tears start anew and I cling against him. He holds me tightly and presses his lips to the top of my head. He unwraps me from his embrace and helps me mount Caraxes. He wraps a hand around me and holds tightly to the reins and shots us into the skies. My stomach drops as we approach the Red Keep and he begins our descent inside the inner courtyard. 

As we make our way down we see people scrambling to get out of Caraxes path and once they see my father step foot on the ground they run even faster. I hold onto my fathers arm and he begins to walk us into the Keep. He wastes no time taking us to the throne room and upon entering I see the King sitting with a frown. My father takes his helm off and lets it drop to the floor with a thud.

“How dare you take my pregnant wife from me.” I watch as my father stalks toward the King. I shuffle quickly up to his side not wanting to be away from him. 

“Enough of this Daemon. I am tired of the cease-“

“Your Grace,” the Hand bursts through the doors, panting with a dozen guards on his heel. The King dismisses the guards and the Hand composes himself before taking his place next to the King. “He’s killed countless men today on the docks.” the King looks at his Hand with raised brows. 

“What did you expect? You truly thought he would allow this? Did I not warn you yesterday?” the King glares at the Hand. 

“I urge you to punish him.” my father lets a laugh slip out. 

“My wife and I will be returning to Dragonstone. Where we will remain for the rest of her pregnancy, unbothered. If you send anyone else to try and take my wife I will send you what is left of them.” his words are laced with promise and the King continues to stare at us.

“You cannot possibly be considering allowing this.” the Hand looks at the King, taken aback. 

“If we would’ve left them, none of today's events would have occurred. She’s with child. You planned to marry her to some Lord but her babe will come out with silver hair. What else would you have me do?” The King looks to his Hand exasperated. 

“You are the King. It is your choice.” the Hand looks forward blankly. 

“And you are my Hand, my council.” the Kings voice rises. 

“Mm, this seems as if it’s a personal dispute.” my father hums. “We’re leaving.” he dips down to grab his helm while his other hand encases mine and we begin to exit the throne room. 

“I wish to pack a bag. I want some of my dresses and jewelry.” I whisper up to my father. 

“Of course, sweet girl.” he smiles down at me and leads me up my chambers. 

He seals us into my chambers and I walk over to my wardrobe. I turn and give a slight jump as my father is standing there with a bag. I look up to him and slowly take the bag out of his hands. I continue to look up at him and nibble my lip. His cheeks are still lightly flushed and his hair is askew from his helm. 

“What’s wrong?” he tilts his head with a scrunched brow. 

“I think you look handsome in your armor.” I mumur. 

“Is that so?” he chuckles, caressing my cheek. 

“Very handsome, my husband.” I nod my head as his eyes darken at my words. 

“Mm, I quite like that title for me on your tongue.” he pulls me closer. “My little wife.” he presses his lips against mine and I melt into his touch. 

“Thank you for saving me.” I mumble against his lips. His back straightens as if he just remembered today's events and ushers me back over to my wardrobe. 

“I will always come for you.” his words cause a blush to creep up my neck. “Pack your bag so I can take you home.” I quickly pull down a couple gowns and toss them into the bag before doing the same with most of my vanity. 

My father leads us through Keep and the guards step back in his presence. We find Caraxes snapping his jaws as the guards who are brave enough to stay in their stations outside. He dips his wing down and once we’re settled into the saddle he carries us into the skies. My fathers hands are wrapped tightly around me the entire flight back. 

                                         ᓚᘏᗢ

I wake in the middle of the night to the hearth still breathing warmth into our chambers. My father has his arms wrapped tightly around me and his breath is tickling the back of my neck. I squirm in his arms and his response is to pull me closer. He presses his nose against my nape and presses his lips against it a moment later. 

“Go back to bed.” his voice is thick with sleep. 

“I want some water.” I trail my fingertips across his arm. 

He slowly unwraps his arms from me and walks over to the table. I admire his nude form in the firelight and watch as his muscles flex as he walks back over to me. I reach up for the cup but he shakes his head and brings it to my lips. I take a couple sips and he sets the cup on the bedside table. I reach out and press my palm against his torso. I trace my fingers over the defined lines and he steps closer.

“I was scared today.” I whisper looking up at him. 

“Of what, sweet girl?” he looks down at me tenderly. 

“That they were going to take me from you.” my eyes start to fill with tears. “That they’d make me marry someone else and take my babe from me.” my voice breaks as I start to cry. 

“I will never let that happen.” his brows furrow and I reach out and pull him closer. “You’re safe. No one is taking our babe. You’re mine and only mine.” he crawls back into bed with me and I tug at his arm until he’s hovering over me.

“I don’t get why they can’t just let us be.” I sniffle as tears continue to fall down my face. 

“They will after this if they’re smart.” he presses his lips to my forehead. “If they try again, I’ll burn the whole fucking city down for you.” he whispers against my brow. 

“I need you, daddy.” I wrap my arms around his neck. He lets out a soft chuckle before placing his lips on mine. His hand travels between my thighs and I spread them waiting for his touch. His fingers slide up my slit and I writhe beneath him. “Please,” I wrap my fingers around his length and he groans, resting his forehead against mine. I guide him to my core as he swirls around my bud. I arch up as he slowly pushes into me. 

“Gods, you’re such a good girl.” he slowly rocks into me as I gasp into his neck. With every roll of his hips he pulls whimpers from my mouth. His hands rest on either side of my head as our lips mash together. He pats my thigh and I wrap them around his waist and he groans into my mouth. He kisses down my jaw and makes his way to my neck to suckle and bite. 

“Daemon,” I breathe out his name and his hips snap into mine. 

“Sat it again, sweet girl.” he purrs in my ear, rolling his hips.

“Daemon, please,” I gasp as his hips begin to fall into mine faster. I rock against him as my pleasure begins to coil quickly. He bites down onto my shoulder and I dig into his. “Daddy,” my toes curl as I fall apart around him. He groans into my neck spilling his pleasure into me. 

His lips find mine and we continue to cling to one another. He pulls out of me and pulls me back against his chest. His arms wrap around me and one of his hand splays across my stomach. He peppers kisses across my shoulder blades while slowly tracking patterns onto my stomach. 

“I love you so much. I will never let another day like today happen. I promise you this.” his arms tighten around me at his declaration. 

“I love you. Thank you.” I scoot back into his chest and hold his arms around me.  

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masterlist 🔌 

and if i say we’re having three more parts of this and two of them are already done - one of them being a prequel to part 1 🫣😏

Part 4

taglist ✍️

anything for you tags: @mamawiggers1980

@clarityisnofun @gabriella-aesthetic @callsignwidow @llynx7 @violetiss3lfish @ka1afbr @akiko-oo @papichulo120627 @lizzylovebooks280501 @thatgirl101blog @1-fuzzy-squirrels @arya-brooke @ashovertheriver @zanygot7straykidsbonk @moonymoo1 @malfoycassimalfoy @april-notthemonth69 @anaviieiraaa @p45510n4f4shi0n @neocockthotology @thereaderwitch @hardkiddonut @faenyra @hiimava11 @daintylittlesunflower @primroseluna @fiction-fanfic-reader @povofjustme @multilover19 @alexxavicry @cedstars @fuckalrighty @mrsmunson-harrington @misspendragonsworld @nz2004

[thelazyhermits]

Even though I prefer to wait until TWST events reach the ENG server before writing anything for them, I just couldn't help myself when it comes to my Yuu's first meeting with Skully cause I just love him, and I really wanted to give writing him a try.

There are spoilers for the new JPN Halloween event underneath the cut, so if you don't want to be spoiled, I'd recommend not reading this, although I'm not strictly following what happened with Skully & Yuu's first meeting in the event since I wanted to put my own spin on it.

Also, I purposely avoided bringing attention to the event outfits here since my Yuu's event outfit hasn't been decided yet, so I'll just say Yuu focuses on her and Skully's clothes after this scene lol

Lastly, for those not familiar with my writing, my Yuu is female, so if that's not your preference, you probably won't wanna read this.

For those who do decide to read this, I hope you'll enjoy it! 😊💕

When you regain consciousness, it’s to the sound of an unfamiliar voice calling out to you.

“Hello..? Hello, my dear? Lovely lady sleeping in my arms?”

Upon hearing that voice, your groggy mind immediately focuses on the incredibly warm, gentle tone the unknown speaker uses when addressing you, which you’re unaccustomed to hearing thanks to the kind of upbringing you had and the kind of people you currently go to school with.

Seconds after that voice pierces through the haze that’s currently clouding your mind, you finally register the fact that someone is holding you in their arms, keeping you safely and comfortably secure against their chest.

“Can you hear my voice?” 

Once again, the unfamiliar voice addresses you, and at the same time, you feel a long, slender gloved finger brush against your cheek with a tenderness that surprises you.

Just who is this person?

And why do they sound genuinely concerned on your behalf? Why is everything about them so gentle?

“Hey, my dear, please, open your eyes for me…”

Upon hearing that request, you finally pry your heavy eyelids apart, so you can finally get some answers to the questions currently swirling around your groggy mind.

After blinking several times to clear your blurry vision, you take in the sight of a handsome, white-haired boy, who appears to be around your age, judging from his young face.

Just after your eyes open, the mysterious stranger beams, “Thank goodness, you’re awake!”

For a moment, all you can do is stare at that charming smile, which looks genuine from your perspective. That and the obvious relief in his voice, which doesn’t in any way sound forced, make you think that he really has been worried about you.

After taking a moment to scrutinize the sincerity of that smile, your eyes drift upwards and focus on the boy’s sunglasses, whose dark, circular lenses are completely hiding his eyes from view.

You have to fight the urge to click your tongue upon seeing those sunglasses since his eyes being hidden will make it difficult for you to properly read his expressions, which is why you never liked dealing with the people in Japan’s underworld who wore this type of eyewear specifically because they wanted to make themselves hard to read.

Ironically enough, just after the topic of his eyes occupies your thoughts, the still smiling stranger brings his face dangerously close to yours, making you think he really has no concept of personal space, considering he’s doing something like this and had no qualms about holding you while you were unconscious.

“Oh my, what dazzling eyes you have, my dear. They are just as lovely as you are. I am overjoyed to finally be able to see them at long last.”

Strangely enough, rather than have the immediate impulse to hit him, like what would normally happen under circumstances like these, you find yourself feeling only amused, perhaps because this boy reminds you a lot of Rook, whose eccentricities you’ve grown quite accustomed to these last several months.

Of course, it also helps that your instincts are telling you that this person isn’t a threat to you, and you’re always inclined to believe them since they’ve never lied to you before.

That’s why, rather than push this stranger away, you decide to take advantage of this perfect opportunity that he just unintentionally provided you.

Faster than he can react, you grab his sunglasses and move them upwards, allowing you a clear view of his wide, red eyes, whose pupils have a cool, concentric pattern.

A smirk rises to your lips. “If you’re gonna check out my eyes, it’s only fair you let me do the same.”

After moving his sunglasses to rest on the top of his head, you find yourself pausing after your eyes focus on the diamond-shaped patches of black hair that are now located directly beneath the sunglasses.

It kinda looks like a face…a very familiar face at that. You note. Although, I can’t remember why it looks so familiar to me…

Since there are more important matters that you need to attend to right now, you quickly shelve those thoughts, with the intention of going back to them later.

Quickly, you refocus your gaze on the face of the stranger, whose arms you woke up in, and firmly take hold of his chin, so you can keep him from moving his face away from yours since this close proximity will make it all the more easier for you to read his expressions.

Your earlier smirk returns when the mysterious boy becomes noticeably flustered, making you believe he’s not used to getting a taste of his own medicine. “Now, let’s have a little Q & A, Mr. Up Close And Personal, so I can decide what to do with you.” 

Giving the befuddled boy no chance to refuse, you ask, “Alright, the first and most important question is: Why did you decide to pull an unconscious girl into your lap? Sure, I can get wanting to wake me after finding me in such a state, but was that all really necessary?”

Rather than appear apprehensive upon being on the receiving end of your piercing, judgmental stare, the mysterious stranger, who appears genuinely surprised by your question, frowns, “Obviously, I could not allow a lovely lady such as yourself to remain on the cold, hard ground! I wouldn’t be able to call myself a gentleman otherwise!”

Because you can tell that he’s not lying thanks to the obvious sincerity in his eyes and voice, some of the tension in your frame eases as your gaze somewhat softens. “Heh, good answer. While not every girl would accept it, considering the circumstances, I will since I can tell you had good intentions, although I would still advise not trying something like this with any other girls since most girls would understandably hit first and ask questions later.”

Judging from his puzzled expression, this boy truly has no idea why a girl would react in such a manner, giving you the impression that he can be rather oblivious when it comes to the effects his actions have on others. 

Rather than try to explain things to him, you move onto your next two questions. “Second and third questions: Who are you, and how did you end up here with me?”

Much to your amusement, rather than appear bothered by your interrogation, the white-haired boy, who’s once again smiling and has seemingly forgotten his earlier embarrassment, cheerfully answers, “My name is Skully J. Graves. It’s nice to meet you!”

“As to how I ended up here with you, I stumbled upon your unconscious form by chance after I woke up in this unfamiliar place.” He continues, “I’m afraid I can’t provide any further information since I am just as confused as you must feel about these strange circumstances we’re both now facing.”

The corners of your lips dip downward. He’s not lying about finding me by chance, but I get the feeling he’s not being completely forthright with me about how he ended up here.

It’s possible he just doesn’t remember how he got here since my mind was rather hazy when I first woke up, although my memories of what happened with the crazy book that Grim opened at the used book fair are starting to come back to me. You think to yourself. He may think I won’t believe him if he claims to not remember how he got here, or he simply wants to avoid saying anything that may make him look suspicious.

“Oh, yes, I almost forgot!” Skully exclaims, successfully drawing you away from your thoughts. “How careless of me!”

His concerned eyes peer into yours. “How are you feeling? Are you hurt anywhere, my dear?”

Upon seeing that he’s genuinely concerned about you, your expression softens. While I get the feeling that there’s more than meets the eye with this guy, I can tell he’s not a bad person at heart. A bad person wouldn’t be so kind and gentle toward me, especially not while I’m interrogating them.

While this doesn’t necessarily mean Skully can be trusted, you can at least give him the benefit of the doubt and be open to the idea of eventually trusting him after getting to know him better.

I would still like to get some more info outta him, especially in regards to how he ended up in this place like me, but it’d probably be better if I space out my questions rather than bombard him with them all at once. You muse. While he’s been pretty accommodating thus far, that might change if I start asking questions that make him uncomfortable, and I’d rather avoid causing any kind of conflict right now when I’ve got other more important things to worry about.

Rather than continue interrogating him, it’d be better to just wait and ask more questions later on once Skully has become more comfortable with you, or even better, if you bide your time, you may glean new information from him that he willingly provides without you even needing to ask since he seems like a talkative kind of guy.

That’s why you finally release your hold on his chin, surprising him, since it’s really for the best that you quit giving him the third-degree, especially when the boy hasn’t even technically done anything wrong yet. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for asking, er…”

Realizing you don’t know if Skully is someone you need to be more formal with like your upperclassmen or if he’s the same age as you, you ask, “How old are you? I can’t tell if you’re older than me or not, so I’m not sure how I should address you. I’m sixteen, by the way.”

Appearing noticeably pleased, Skully eagerly replies, “I am also sixteen! How wonderful to make a new friend who is the same age as me!”

“And you may address me however you please!” He adds, “I will be overjoyed regardless because such a lovely lady is calling me by name!”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards at his cute response. “You’re quite the charmer, huh? I like that. It’s rather refreshing, considering how most guys my age act.”

“Alright, considering you have no preference, I’ll just call you Skully and not worry about any formalities, like what I do with my other friends our age.” You add.

Your smile grows. “Since I’ve gotten enough info to satisfy myself for the time being, I’ll put an end to my little interrogation and introduce myself. My name is Yuu. It’s nice to meet you, Skully.”

Skully beams, “What a lovely name! I’m so glad to meet you, Yuu-san!”

Catching you by surprise, Skully gently takes hold of your hand and tenderly kisses your knuckles. “I thank you for this wonderful encounter.”

Once you overcome your surprise, your expression becomes amused. He did call himself a gentleman earlier, so I guess I should’ve seen this coming, especially with his formal, old-fashioned way of speaking. He’s just like the gentlemen characters you see on TV.

Luckily for him, you’ve always been fond of those types of characters, so you think the two of you will get along just fine.

Plus, it’s not everyday you meet someone this sweet and gentlemanly thanks to the kind of people you normally hang out with, so you want to make the most of this opportunity to get along with this somewhat odd yet still quite endearing boy.

A grin rises to your lips. Most importantly, when a boy acts this cute, it makes me wanna spend more time with him and look for opportunities to tease him to see if he’ll give me some equally adorable reactions.

That's why you decide to have a little fun by shifting your hand that’s currently still being held, so you can gently grab Skully’s, surprising him.

Giving him no chance to react, you bring his hand close to your mouth and tenderly kiss his knuckles, mirroring his previous actions, all the while channeling the princely charm Cater always has you show off for your fans on Magicam. “Likewise, handsome.”

Much to your delight, Skully instantly becomes incredibly flustered because of your actions - to the point his blush covers the majority of his face, making you think this is the first time someone has ever done something like this to him.

Even better, after you release your hold on his hand, Skully, who has apparently been rendered speechless, considering how quiet he now is, uses both of his hands to cup his incredibly flushed cheeks, making him look even more adorable.

Your grin grows at the incredibly endearing sight. Looks like he's the type who gets super flustered when flirted with, like Deuce and Sebek. How adorable. I’m definitely gonna have some fun with this boy. Hehe~

Regrettably, you don’t get to enjoy this moment for very long, because, seconds after you recall how Deuce and Sebek usually react to your playful flirting, you finally realize that something is missing here.

Or rather, some people.

Wide-eyed, you immediately turn to look around and realize that the only people in the surrounding area, which consists of a barren forest that stretches out as far as the eye can see, are you and Skully. “Wait a minute! Where are my friends?!”

I can’t believe I let myself get so distracted that I totally forgot about the others! You internally scream. I’m a horrible mother! Where are my sons?!

As you panickily try to climb out of Skully’s lap so you can start a search for Grim and the others, the white-haired boy catches you off guard when he suddenly rises to his feet and takes you along for the ride.

Once on his feet, Skully gently sets you down, so you can stand on your own. “There you are, Yuu-san. Now, what was that about ‘friends’? Did you not come here alone like myself?”

Rather than answer his question, all you can do is stare at this boy who’s now towering over you like a lanky giant. Holy shit. He’s tall. I had figured he would be a tall boy just from how he was hunched over me earlier, but I was not expecting him to be this big. He may be even taller than Jack and Tsunotaro!

Skully curiously tilts his head when you fail to answer his question. “Yuu-san? Are you alright?”

Realizing this is not the time for gaping like an idiot, you give yourself a quick mental shake before replying, “Yeah, sorry. I was just surprised by how tall you are. I have some friends our age who are tall, but I’m pretty sure you’re even bigger than them, which seriously amazes me.”

“Anyway, to answer your question, yes, I should have some friends with me here since they were all with me right before I ended up in this weird place.” You continue, “While it’s possible I’m the only one who ended up in this crazy predicament, I find it unlikely, considering how close some of them were to me when I got enveloped by the weird magic that brought me here.”

Much to your amusement, mere seconds after those words leave your mouth, you hear some incoherent screaming coming from the distance, and you immediately recognize that voice as belonging to Sebek since you'd know that booming voice anywhere.

Thankfully, the screaming you hear isn’t the kind that indicates Sebek is scared or in trouble, so more than likely, he’s just freaking out about his current circumstances and/or your absence. 

Your shoulders slump with relief when you hear your son’s voice. “Speaking of my giant friends, that voice belongs to one of them. Thank goodness. At least, now, I know where I need to go.”

“Would you like to go with me, Skully?” You ask, “I’d hate to leave you on your own, and we’ll have a higher chance of getting out of this mess we’re in if we work together.”

Skully beams, “I would be more than happy to accompany you! Thank you for your kind invitation!”

With that settled, you turn to face the direction that Sebek’s screaming came from, but before you can start walking, Skully surprises you when he quickly moves to stand in front of you.

Before you can question his actions, Skully gracefully bows before offering you a hand, smiling all the while. “Please allow me to be your escort.”

Since you see no harm in it and it would be nice to have a hand to hold onto while you’re walking through this somewhat creepy forest, you reach out and take his proffered hand. “Alright, thank you. Do you know your way around this forest, Skully?”

He shakes his head. “No, unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with this forest like you.”

Grinning, Skully asks, “But don’t you think it’s a wonderful experience to wander hand-in-hand in a mysterious forest?”

His question makes you giggle. What a romantic. Skully just keeps getting more and more entertaining the longer I talk to him.

After you rein in your amusement, you warmly smile, “Holding hands definitely would make this situation better, so I’m fine with walking like this.”

Plus, someone, who’s as touch-starved as you, would never turn down the opportunity to hold hands with someone, just as long as you know that person isn’t dangerous, of course.

You squeeze Skully’s hand. And I can’t turn down a request from someone who seems to be as touch-starved as me, considering his past actions remind me a lot of how I typically act around my friends, not when I know hand-holding will make both of us equally happy.

For a moment, Skully just stares at you in surprise, or at least, you’re assuming he’s surprised since you can no longer see his full face thanks to his sunglasses, which he returned to their rightful place after he helped you to your feet earlier.

His reaction further convinces you that your hunch about him being touch-starved is right since he really seems very unaccustomed to someone willingly accepting his touch.

Just like how you were before you came to NRC….

Once he overcomes his surprise, Skully’s earlier cheerfulness returns with a vengeance as he happily replies, “Let us be off then! I look forward to meeting all of your companions, whom I’m sure are just as lovely as you!”

Unfortunately, I doubt they’ll be excited to meet you when we show up, and they see you holding my hand. You wryly think to yourself. 

And, of course, you were exactly right.

[gluion]

05:43 ➵ kim gyuvin

kim gyuvin x reader

gyuvin wakes up in the middle of the night to see you awake, and he wonders if you’ll be the same face he’ll last see before he enters slumber.

general genre/warnings ➵ established relationship, fluff, thoughts about the future, reader crochets, reader is small enough to wear his hoodie (meaning it’s oversized), eumppappa appearance

word count ➵ 512 words

a/n ➵ happy birthday @vernyangel <3 i thought i'd make smth just for you so i hope you enjoy this cute, fluffy, and very intimate fic <3 if you enjoyed reading, please do reblog & leave feedback!

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

gyuvin can’t recall what time he fell asleep. exhausted from work, he doesn’t remember if he shut his eyes beside the greyhound before telling you, good night. and if he’ll be honest, he can’t remember if you said it back.

what he does remember is the last thing he saw before he dozed off—you. your fixated gaze on the patch of yarn that’s grown two times since the last time he’s seen it. the sight of you who drowns in his hoodie (which has become his favorite piece from his closet). how the hands of the clock halt whenever he’s with you.

the view he fell asleep to happens to be the same one he wakes up to. all slouched, you still work on the same patch of yarn. you’d flick your hand to relieve the tension but still kept crocheting.

your heart jumps over gyuvin’s hand on your thigh. “fuck!” as you look over to the boy next to you, you’re greeted by his sleepy grin. “you scared me.”

“what time is it?”

you check your phone before saying, “5:43 a.m.”

“not sleepy yet?” he asks only for you to shake your head. as his fingers draw stars on your skin, your hands continue to weave the yarn together. his eyes close for a moment before opening once more, trying to adjust to his surroundings. “where’s eumppappa?”

“he’s by his bed,” you answer. gyuvin glances at his dog who’s in deep slumber. “he was getting a little fussy with you holding him and me, uh, checking to see if the hat would fit him.”

a chuckle leaves him. “typical eumppappa.” you only hum.

with your eyes affixed on your work, gyuvin allows himself to revel in the sight of you.

when was the first time he fell asleep beside you? was it when he first moved into your place, away from prying eyes, that he allowed himself to be vulnerable with you? or was it at the studio, when you brought takeout for the group, allowing him to rest his head on your shoulder during the short break?

and maybe gyuvin can’t recall the first time he stripped off the goofy exterior in front of you. when he didn’t feel the need to put on an act to entertain you. when he allowed himself to exist beside you.

as his arm wraps around your waist, he scoots closer to you. with a confused hum leaving you, he says, “don’t tire yourself out. i’m sure eumppappa can wait for the hat.”

you giggle. “yeah, but i can’t wait.”

“i know.” his lips graze against your waist through the hoodie. “just wanted to remind you.”

a hum leaves you. “go to sleep. i’ll see you in the afternoon.”

with that, no other word is exchanged between you two.

gyuvin can’t remember when he let you carve a spot into his life, and he can’t recall when you let him into yours, but maybe those details don’t matter, anyway.

all he knows is that this is a life he wants to keep.

taglist: @kflixnet @blankjournal

[j2hoes]

Hopes And Fears Part Three. (Wally Clark x Reader)

Summary: Y/N’s death is traumatic. So traumatic in fact, she can’t even look at Wally without reliving what happened to her.

Word Count: 2.4k

Gif Not Mine. Requests Are Open!

Warnings: Mature Language

I’ve grown fond of the early mornings whilst stuck at Split River. The first glimpse of the sun shining over the gardens, a warm hue welcoming the day. With no students roaming the halls, all I hear is the quiet sounds of nature. On the odd occasion, I’m even able to spot a rabbit or deer, grazing gently on the acres of freshly trimmed fields surrounding the school buildings.

It’s become a habit of mine, each morning I find myself lounging besides the flowerbeds. Allowing myself to feel each blade of grass that delicately brushes my skin. For a while, I forget that I’m no longer alive. I can simply exist.

It’s not uncommon for Wally to join me. Sprawled on his back, gazing up at the clouds. Pointing out different shapes and imagining different backstories for all of the cloud animals he sees. Besides that, neither of us speak much. Only enjoying one another’s company as we relax in the morning light.

Spending this time has given me the opportunity to process everything. Wally helps me to work through my emotions and thoughts. Nothing ever being too much for him to listen to, though I’m still afraid to divulge everything. I’m sure he can sense that I’m holding back, yet he doesn’t pry. Content to just listen. In all honestly, I truly believe that these moments with Wally have helped me more so than Mr Martin’s support group has. Despite attending every session since my memorial, I consistently leave the group feeling unfulfilled. Unsatisfied. In fact, it doesn’t seem as though the teacher wants us to discuss the past, our lives and our deaths. Only wanting us to focus on the present, the state we are confined to. I find myself struggling with this a lot.

“What do you think you would be doing if you hadn’t died?”

Pushing myself up on my elbows, I look over to Wally, who is resting on his stomach, absentmindedly plucking grass from the ground.

“I was supposed to go to college, play football. Hopefully make it pro, that’s what the plan was anyway.” He tells me, full of confidence yet his tone of voice suggests that’s not the pathway he would’ve chosen for himself.

“What about like outside of a job though?” I pry, the boy has my curiosity heightened. “Like, surely you have other things that you wanted to do?”

His eyes focus in on the pieces of grass that he’s now twisting together in a makeshift sort of chain. Deep in thought, I can see the cogs working in his brain as he tries to think of an answer for me. I’m sure it’s not something he’s necessarily thought of before, following the path that his mom set out for him upon birth.

“You’re gonna laugh, but I always wanted to get married and have a family. I know that times have changed and you lot don’t really believe in marriage and stuff that much anymore but I’m a family guy. Always have been.” He admits, finally looking at me and I see the honesty written across his face. “It just sucks that I’ll never actually get to experience it.”

My heart aches for him. One fatal accident and his entire future was stripped away. Never getting to experience the things he always dreamed of. It breaks heart, knowing what he could have had.

“Wally, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s no big deal, really, I’ve spent the last few decades accepting my fate and it’s not so bad here.” He tells me, a sadness shining in the brown of his eyes, trying his best to cover it up with a soft smile. “What about you? Other than taking over the world with your best friend, what was the plan?”

Giggling slightly as he references Abby’s speech, I start to wonder what my life would’ve looked like. Truthfully, I have no idea. My life revolved around dancing and cheer, other than that I have no clue as to who I am. Up until my death, I didn’t believe I was worthy of love, the one chance I took was with Spencer and look how that turned out.

“I suppose I wanted to leave Split River, Abby wanted to go to New York so I figured I would study there.” I reply, knowing New York was never my dream. I just couldn’t bare to part with her once high school ended. “It would be quite nice to live on a farm. Out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by animals, I think that would’ve been my dream.”

“Now this makes sense.”

Crossing my legs underneath me to sit up properly, he’s unable to hide the bright smile on his face. Clearly finding some amusement in what I said.

“What makes sense?” I ask, to which he laughs quietly. Pulling a clump of grass out of the ground, I launch it in his direction. “Hey, you dickhead, I didn’t laugh at you, so you can’t laugh at me.”

“No, no. I’m not laughing at you.” Wally speaks through chuckles, rolling on to his back. “It just makes sense now why you like to sit out here.”

His arms are thrown across his face, shielding his eyes from the sun. I can’t help but stare as his muscles flex, admiring the sight in front of me. Following his body, I find myself biting the inside of my cheek as I notice his top has risen up his stomach ever so slightly. Highlighting the small trail of hair that dips below his shorts.

“Did you have a girlfriend?” I blurt out, before I even realise what I’m saying.

Slapping my hand across my mouth, embarrassment floods my body, eyes wide as Wally smiles. Eyebrows raised as he looks over to me. Sly smile making its way on to his face.

“No. No girlfriend. Why?”

“I was just wondering. I mean, star high school quarterback, you must have had girls queuing up for your attention.” I’m able to stop myself before I begin a long-winded rant. Helping to ease at least a tiny amount of my embarrassment.

Wally rolls his eyes at my comment. “Well in that case you must’ve had boys queuing up for your attention. What with being head cheerleader and all.”

“Ha ha. Okay, I know it was a stupid question.”

Fortunately for me, I’m saved from making a fool out of myself even more by the sounds of cars entering the parking lot. In unison, we both turn to face the sound. Observing the students that have started to filter into the building, chatting loudly amongst one another as they do so.

My vision locks in on Spencer and his gang of hooligans. They’re jumping all over one another without a care in the world as they make their way into the school. Trail of awestruck girls following behind in the hopes of garnering the smallest amount of attention from one of the jocks.

If only I was able to tell them what they’re really like. Perhaps they wouldn’t make the same mistake that I made. Perhaps I’d be able to save them from the same fate that I suffered.

“So I was thinking we could have a pool day. I think Charlie would be up for it, maybe not Rhonda, but it could be fun for us all just to chill out. You haven’t really spent much time with anyone else apart from in our sessions with Mr Martin.”

Wally’s words echo around my head though I’m not paying any attention. Despite, no longer being able to see the group that I was fixated on, I’m still closely watching the area that they had just previously been walking through.

Two weeks later and Spencer and his friends still evade justice. Police presence at the school has increased drastically with crime scene investigators cornering off the old toilet block. Maybe I’m impatient, but it feels like they’re getting away with it. Receiving no consequences for their heinous actions.

“Y/N, are you listening?”

Wally’s words finally drag me out of my thoughts and I meet his eyes. “Yeah, pool day, sounds good.”

“And we’re inviting Charlie and Rhonda.” He states, eyebrows raised as he knows I wasn’t truly paying attention to a word he said.

“Oh, no. They’re nice but can we just do it alone? I’m not sure I feel up to doing a whole group thing.”

Wally nods, though his eyes narrow. Sensing there’s something off with me. He’s good at noticing whenever my demeanour changes, or whenever something is bothering me. It’s part of his nature.

“Yeah of course. We should probably head to group first though.” The athlete pushes himself off the floor as he speaks, waiting for me to stand as well which I reluctantly do, not before releasing an annoyed groan. “You know, one of these days, you might actually enjoy the sessions.”

Rolling my eyes, I follow Wally towards the gym. He holds the doors open for me as we enter the building, his small act of chivalry makes me giddy. I make no effort to show this however, politely thanking the boy as I walk through.

“Ah here they are! Took you two long enough.” Charlie jokes as we enter the gym, taking our seats. I sit between Dawn and Rhonda with Wally seating himself between Charlie and Mr Martin.

“No guesses what they’ve been up to.” Rhonda comments, lollipop hanging out the side of her mouth as she does so.

“Thank you Rhonda.” Mr Martin chimes in, stopping the conversation from escalating any further. “So today, I figured we would get to know our newest member. Y/N you’ve been here for a couple of weeks now and we still don’t know too much about you.”

“I’m sure Wally could tell us all about her.” Rhonda remarks under her breath. So quiet, I almost don’t catch it.

“I’m sorry, is there something you want to say?” I snap, my tone harsh and confronting.

She laughs in response, the annoyance on my face evident as I glare at her. Her snarky and sarcastic nature hasn’t proven to be a problem for me, though I think that may be about to change.

“Y/N, tell us about your death. We’re all dying to know what happened. No pun intended.” The teacher interjects, attempting to diffuse the tense situation yet I still feel on edge.

“No thank you.”

“Oh come on Y/N, none of us are going to judge you. You know that.” Charlie tells me, offering me a reassuring smile.

“No, she’d rather just listen to all our trauma. Isn’t that right cherry pop?”

Rhonda’s words strike a chord within me. I’ll admit, the other ghosts have been very open about their deaths with me. All discussing in detail what happened to them to result in this fate. Sure, I haven’t divulged into the details of my death as of yet, but it’s for good reason. Not only am I still trying to process it myself but I don’t want them to look at me any differently nor do I want them to take pity on me when they learn the details.

“Do you have a problem with me or something Rhonda?” I ask, swinging around in my chair so that I can face her directly.

Upon doing so, I take note of how Charlie and Wally are quick to sit up straight. Feeling the anger radiating off me and awaiting any possible confrontation that may be about to occur.

“As a matter of fact, I do.” The girl retorts, crossing her arms over her chest before she continues speaking. “You waltz in here and make no effort with any of us besides Wally. Who, let’s not forget, you made to feel like a piece of shit on your first day after that unreasonable outburst. You listen to all of us recounting our deaths, the most traumatic things that could’ve happened to us and still none of us know what happened to you. It hardly seems fair.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry Rhonda. I’m sorry that i’m still processing what happened to me. I’m sorry that I’m not ready to discuss it with a group of strangers. I am so sorry that I’m not getting over everything as quick as you would like me to.”

My voice is raised as I speak, hurt that she would even think that my choice not to share what happened is a personal attack on the group. No matter how hurt I’m feeling, the anger completely outweighs it. Angry that she can’t see that I’m still struggling and angry that my murderers are still attending this school. Instead of being locked behind bars for the rest of their life, like they deserve to be. Nobody can understand what I am going through and that makes me so astonishingly angry.

“Boo hoo. You’re still processing, we’re all still processing. Not to mention the fact that we’ve barely seen Wally these past couple of weeks because he’s been trailing around after you, trying to make you feel less threatened by him. He’s even taken off that stupid football shirt that he loved so much! I hate to break it to you, but he was here first.” She argues, tears well in my eyes as she mentions Wally. I lock eyes with him and see his downcast expression. Was she right? Was he only spending this time with me to make me feel better and less scared? “You should do everybody a favour and fuck off back to the old toilet block where you came from.”

“Rhonda!” Charlie exclaims, clearly shocked by her words.

“Is that how you really feel Wally?” I ask hesitantly, the dejection evident in my voice.

He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. Nodding slightly, I understand completely. Pushing myself out of the chair, nobody speaks as I make my exit from the room.

“Lovely chat.” Rhonda shouts, one last attempt to get a reaction from me. Even as I shove open the doors with an obnoxious slam, I don’t look back.

The entirety of my body feels heavy as I drag myself down the hallways. Nobody comes after me, not even Wally. I feel truly alone, hurt and confused. Death was supposed to be peaceful and yet here I am. Suffering more than I ever did when alive.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

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[skywalker1dream]

Title: The uncertain future

note: im sorry if i hurt anyone.... believe i cried while writing this too.... i wanted happy ending but.....yea..dont hate me pleas.

Summary: As the sister of Lewis Hamilton, you watched the friendship between him and Nico Rosberg flourish and then crumble. Your heart, however, has always belonged to Nico. Now, with old wounds reopened and hidden feelings exposed, you find yourself torn between the love of your life and the brother you adore. In this tragic love story, you must make a heart-wrenching decision that will change everything.

Warnings: Angst, emotional conflict, family tension, panic attack

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

The sound of engines roaring in the distance was a constant reminder of the world you lived in. The world where your brother, Lewis Hamilton, was a star, and where your heart had silently but steadfastly clung to Nico Rosberg.

You were standing at the edge of the paddock, watching as Lewis and Nico avoided each other, the tension between them palpable. It had been years since their friendship had broken down, and yet the pain was still fresh. You could see it in Lewis’s eyes whenever Nico’s name was mentioned, and you could feel it in the pit of your stomach whenever you saw Nico.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The three of you had grown up together, sharing dreams and ambitions. But as Lewis and Nico’s rivalry intensified, so did the cracks in their friendship. You were caught in the middle, torn between the love for your brother and the hidden feelings you harbored for Nico.

Nico spotted you and walked over, his eyes softening as they met yours. “Hey, can we talk?” he asked quietly, his voice a blend of hope and hesitation.

You nodded, your heart pounding. “Sure, let’s go somewhere private.”

The two of you found a quiet corner away from the prying eyes of the media and the team. Nico took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. “I can’t keep this to myself anymore. I know it’s complicated with Lewis and everything, but… I’ve been in love with you for as long as I can remember.”

Your breath caught in your throat. “Nico, I… I’ve felt the same way. But Lewis… he’ll never accept it.”

Nico reached out, taking your hands in his. “I know it’s not fair to ask you to choose, but I can’t pretend anymore. I need to know if there’s a chance for us, despite everything.”

Tears welled up in your eyes as you looked into his. “I want to be with you, Nico. But I don’t want to hurt Lewis. He’s my brother, and he’s already lost so much.”

“Then what do we do?” Nico’s voice was barely a whisper, his eyes searching yours for an answer.

“I don’t know,” you admitted, your voice breaking. “I don’t know how.....how to choose between you two.”

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

The next few days were a blur of races, press conferences, and strained conversations. You avoided Lewis, knowing that your face would betray the turmoil inside you. But you couldn’t avoid him forever.

One evening, Lewis cornered you in your hotel room, his expression a mixture of confusion and hurt. “What’s going on with you and Nico?” he demanded, his voice tight with emotion.

You sighed, feeling the weight of the secret you had been carrying. “Lewis, I didn’t want to tell you because I knew it would hurt you. But… I’m in love with him. I have been for a long time.”

Lewis’s eyes widened, and he took a step back, as if physically struck by your words. “You’re in love with Nico? After everything he’s done?”

“It’s not that simple,” you pleaded, tears streaming down your face. “I love him, but I love you too. I don’t want to lose either of you.”

Lewis shook his head, his expression hardening. “You have to choose, [your name]. You can’t have both. If you’re with him, you’re betraying me.”

Your heart shattered at his words, the decision you had been dreading now laid bare before you. “Lewis, please don’t make me do this.”

“I’m sorry, but you have to,” he insisted, his voice cold and final. “It’s him or me.”

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

That night, you met Nico in the hotel lobby, your heart heavy with the decision you had made. He looked at you, hope and fear mingling in his eyes. “What did he say?”

You took a deep breath, the words tasting bitter on your tongue. “He said I have to choose. And I.....I choose him, Nico. I’m..... I’m so sorry.”

Nico’s face crumpled, and he pulled you into a tight embrace. “I understand. I always knew it might come to this. I just… I wish things were different.”

You clung to him, the tears flowing freely now. “So do I. More than anything.”

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

The days that followed were a blur of pain and heartache. You watched as Nico moved on, his eyes losing some of their spark. Lewis, too, seemed more distant, a part of him closed off forever.

You had made your choice, but the cost was more than you could bear. In choosing your brother, you had lost the love of your life. And in losing Nico, you had lost a part of yourself.

As you stood alone at the edge of the paddock, the roar of the engines a distant echo, you couldn’t help but wonder if you had made the right choice. But some choices, once made, can never be undone.

One particularly grueling day, the weight of your decision bore down on you more heavily than usual. Every interaction felt hollow, every laugh forced. You felt like a ghost of yourself, drifting through life without purpose. The pressure built until you could no longer hold it back.

You were in the paddock, surrounded by the familiar noise and chaos of race day, when the panic attack hit. Your chest tightened, and it felt like you couldn’t breathe. The world spun around you, and your vision blurred. You stumbled, clutching at your chest as you tried to draw in a breath, but it felt like your lungs were being squeezed by an iron fist.

Lewis was the first to notice. He rushed to your side, his face etched with worry. “[your name], what’s wrong? Talk to me!”

You couldn’t speak. All you could do was shake your head, tears streaming down your face as you fought for air. Lewis wrapped his arms around you, his voice a soothing murmur in your ear. “It’s okay. Just breathe. I’m here.”

Gradually, the world came back into focus, and you managed to draw in a shaky breath. But the relief was short-lived. The emotional dam broke, and you snapped.

“This is all your fault!” you screamed, pushing Lewis away. “You....you made me choose! You made me give up the love of my life!”

Lewis’s face fell, hurt and confusion mixing in his eyes. “[ your name], I didn’t want to hurt you. I thought I was protecting you.”

“Protecting me?” you spat, the anger boiling over. “You tore my heart in two! You made me choose between you and Nico, and now I’m broken. I can’t....I can’t live like this anymore, Lewis. I can’t live without him.”

Lewis’s expression crumpled, and he reached out to you, but you stepped back. “I need to fix this. I need to be with Nico.”

Before he could respond, you turned and fled, your heart pounding as you made your way to Nico’s home. Every step felt like a race against time, a desperate bid to reclaim the happiness you had lost.

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

When you arrived at Nico’s door, you hesitated, your hand hovering over the doorbell. What if it was too late? What if he had moved on, leaving you behind in the wreckage of your choices?

But you had to try. Taking a deep breath, you rang the bell.

After a few moments, the door opened. But it wasn’t Nico who stood before you. It was a woman, her expression one of polite curiosity. “Can I help you?”

Your heart plummeted. “I… I’m looking for Nico. Is he here?”

The woman hesitated, glancing over her shoulder before looking back at you. “He’s not here right now. Can I tell him who’s asking?”

You swallowed hard, fighting back the tears. “Just… tell him [your name] stopped by.”

She nodded, offering a sympathetic smile. “I’ll let him know.”

As the door closed, you stood there, feeling the weight of the world crashing down on you. It was too late. Nico had moved on, and you were left standing on the doorstep of what could have been.

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

The drive back was a blur. You felt numb, the pain of your decision and the realization of its consequences settling like a leaden weight in your chest. When you arrived at your hotel, Lewis was waiting for you, his expression a mixture of concern and guilt.

“Did you find him?” he asked quietly.

You shook your head, unable to meet his eyes. “He’s not there. He’s with someone else now.”

Lewis stepped closer, his hand resting gently on your shoulder. “I’m so sorry, darling. I never wanted to hurt you.”

Tears spilled down your cheeks as you finally looked at him. “But you did, Lewis. And now I’ve lost everything...”

He pulled you into a hug, holding you tightly as you sobbed into his chest. “We’ll get through this. I promise.”

But as you clung to him, the void inside you remained. The love you had lost, the life you had given up, all of it weighed heavily on your heart.

[solarwonux]

Business Proposal || knj (11/?)

pairing: namjoon x f!reader || ex friends to lovers!au friends to lovers!au

Genre: fluff, angst, smut, slow burn, fwb!au, non idol!au, unrequited love

Warnings: slow burn, angst, fluff, flirting,

Rating: mature, 18+

w.c: 4.3k

Synopsis: Namjoon is living on borrowed time, and it’s time to cash in. His father is months from taking his last breathe and his life long dream is to watch his oldest son say “I do.”

A/n: lol hello hi, being an an adult and a social adult is hard. I've had this written since June, but never got the time to edit it. Until now, I hope you enjoy it.xx

Thanks to those who have stuck around it means a lot!

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Present: 

“I don’t get it?” Casey Han, the newly hired intern in the Writing and Rhetoric Department voices as she leans back in your office lounge chairs. Every Tuesday she comes into your office at four so you can help her review her Master Thesis on Language and Dialects in Different Regions. 

She also uses this as an opportunity to fill you in on the rumors floating around the office, pry you for juicy deets about yours and Namjoons relationship, or thirst over your best friend slash soon to be brother-in-law aka Jeon Jungkook. 

It used to bother you at first, but over the last two months you have grown fond of the graduate student. She has a great sense of humor, knows all the juicy gossip, and mainly buys you an iced americano every Wednesday and Friday morning. 

“What don’t you get Cas?” You stand up from your desk chair, walk to the other lounge chair and sit down. By now, all thesis editing, review, or proof-reading has ended. You get off work in five minutes and you have to wait for Namjoon to finish grading his final papers. A task you finished three days ago. 

“Your fiance is the hottest guy in this building and you’re always holed up in your office. If I was in your shoes I’d never keep my hands off him.” She shrugs, leaning her elbow against the arm rest and resting her chin over the palm of her hands. 

You laugh, shaking your head. If things were different and you didn’t know Casey the way you did, you’d surely be suspecting her of hinting at something else. But you have nothing to worry about with Casey. Her eyes are reserved for Jungkook or Leonardo “Dilf” DiCaprio. Her words not yours.

“I mean we’re together all the time. I think keeping our space at work is just our way of staying professional and it gives us something to talk about at the end of the day.” You shrug, chucking off your heels and crossing your legs underneath you. 

“You’re stronger than me.” She smiles, shaking her head. “But it's cute. One can only dream of having a relationship like yours.”

“Believe me it took a while to get here.” You brush her off. It did. After coming clean to each other, things didn’t automatically become all sunshine and rainbows. There were constant petty arguments about who takes the trash out? Who does the dishes? You vaguely remember getting annoyed with Namjoon because he couldn’t use a knife if his life depended on it. But the two of you decided that if you wanted your relationship to work, couples therapy was the best option. 

So, every Monday at five the two of you see Dr. Heras. It’s helped with talking to each other, and getting to know each other's triggers and how to handle them. The two of you have household assigned chores to each other, but if the other forgets the other has to step up. Nightly recaps are a must, which makes bedtime exciting for the two of you. It’s the main reason the two of you don’t meet up throughout the day until it's time to go home. Things still aren’t perfect but they’re getting better day by day.

Casey claps her hands together, bringing you out of your bubble. Her face is bright like she just remembered something and it excites you. “When is your dress fitting?” 

The brief excitement escapes you when you remember how much you’re not looking forward to it. Not because you don’t want to see your mother and Namjoon’s mother. It’s because you don’t like any of the dresses on the online catalog of Hyugas Bridal. 

“Saturday.” You say, bringing your knees up to your chest and resting your chin on top of them. You’ve tried everything to convince yourself to be as excited as possible. It is your wedding dress fitting after all. A moment every little girl dreams about. A moment you have always dreamed about, but you can’t shake that there’s something holding you back from feeling exciting. 

No, you know exactly why you’re not looking forward to it. The reason starts with Jung and ends with Hoseok. 

He’s been in the back of your mind for the past week. Since the day the mothers have made a groupchat to decide the dress fitting date. At first you thought it was because it would be the first time they would be meeting. Then you shifted your blame when you caught a glimpse of the online catalog. Then one night while Namjoon was out with the boys, you remembered the faint promise from all those years ago, and things started making sense. 

No, you haven’t spoken to the well renowned designer in years. After a year communication between the two of you ran dry. You never resented him for it. You were going through things and he was building his brand from the bottom up. Your problems were only going to make him worry and that was the last thing you wanted. But he’s been living in your head rent free. You keep going back and forth. 

Should I text him?

Should I just settle? 

Should I text him? 

It’s a constant battle. One you haven’t decided on a winner. It’s putting such a damper on a day where you’re supposed to share fond memories with your mother and soon to be mother-in-law. Yet, you just can’t shake the feeling that you know what you want already. 

You're stubborn like that. 

“Why don’t you sound excited?” Casey lowers her voice. Her brows furrow in concern. 

As much as you love Casey and now consider her a close friend. This is something you don’t want to simply get into. So you lie, “I’m just nervous, our mothers are meeting for the first time. And both of them have strong personalities.” You sigh. 

Casey laughs, “I will keep you in my prayers for the rest of the week.” 

You smile, your attention getting caught on Namjoon’s ringtone. You don’t even need to check your phone to know that he’s texted you that he’s done and to meet him downstairs. So, without a minute of hesitation you slip your feet into your heels again and stand up. “Thank you, I think I will need it a lot on Saturday.” 

“Please, please, please send me pictures.” Casey clasps her hands in front of her, pouting and widening her eyes. You smile fondly. Casey has been your first female friend in years. A true girl's girl. A lovely breath of fresh air from all the testosterone you’ve been constantly surrounded by since childhood. 

“Of course, you’re the only one who will get pics anyway.” You round your desk and shut off your desktop, and pick up your work bag slinging it over your shoulder. 

“You mean I’ve knocked down the guys and made it up your list.” She stands up, smoothing down her pleated gray skirt. 

“You will always be at the top of the list Cas.” You smile, getting your phone and unlocking it to Namjoon’s short text: Done, down in 5 mins.

Followed by another one that says: Dinner?

You smile and type a quick: poke bowl plssssss.

You lock your phone and stuff it into the pocket of your gray dress pants. Casey scoffs as she opens the door to your office. “You two are gross and cute.” 

You follow her out of your office, “What do you mean?” You lock your office door and lock your arms with hers. 

“You get this huge smile on your face and then your eyes get all twinkly. It’s a little gross.” She bumps her hip with yours before giggling. “It’s so cute though.” 

“I think you’re making shit up.” You whisper, and she stops walking the minute she reaches the front reception desk. “I’ll buy you coffee tomorrow by the way.” You wink, as she takes her seat in front of her desktop. She still has two more hours left of her shift, and the last two hours are always the slowest. 

“You don’t have to but it's greatly appreciated.” She moves her mouse to wake up her monitor, and slumps in her seat sighing. “I’ll work on my revisions and email you the appointments for next week.” 

“Thanks Cas. I’ll see you tomorrow.” You rush out when you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket. You don’t bother to check it nor stay for her to reply the second the elevator dings on your floor. 

“Love ya,” Casey shouts after you, and you send her finger hearts as the elevator door closes. 

“Jin wants to go out for drinks tomorrow.” Namjoon says as he enters the bathroom, leaning against the doorway. His eyes find yours through the mirror as you begin to apply your night cream. 

You hum, placing the container against the counter. “You should go, the semester is almost over and you’ve been working hard.” You say, spreading the cream down your neck, cleaning your hands on a clean towel and proceeding to pick up the tube of your eye cream. 

“I know but he’s inviting Tae and these days wherever Tae goes so does Jimin.” He pushes himself off the wall and walks towards you. “Things are still a little awkward between Jimin and I.” He finishes, facing you and leaning against the bathroom counter crossing his arms in front of him. 

You smile, screwing the cap of your eye cream tube and placing it down. “I think you’re thinking about it too much. Jimin doesn’t hold grudges, plus we’ve talked things through already.” You pat your under eyes with your ring fingers and then turn to face him. “If it bothers you, you should talk to him too, but don’t feel pressured to do so because of me.” 

He nods, uncrossing his arms and grabs your hands, reeling you in. “I definitely want to apologize to him and settle things between us before the wedding, but I don’t feel ready.” 

“Then do it when you are ready Joon.” You reassure, lacing your fingers with his. “But I think you should still go, it’s been months since all of you got together to hang out.”  

Namjoon opens his mouth to interject but you stop him with a roll of your eyes. “Working out together doesn’t count.” 

He sighs, shaking his head, letting go of one of your hands and snaking his arm around your waist, scooting his leg between yours. “Sometimes it’s scary how you know what I’m thinking.” He whispers, placing his forehead against yours. “But I will go, I do miss them a little.” He confesses, and gives you a quick kiss on your lips before hugging you completely. “Can you tell me what’s been bothering you all week now?” 

The only downside of couples therapy and learning more about each other is that neither of you can hide anything anymore. He is well aware that you’ve been up in your head more than usual. 

You pull away, placing your hands on his cheeks. “Sometimes it's scary how you know that I’m thinking too much.” 

He plays with the tie of your bathrobe, chuckling at your response. “Your thoughts are too loud, and you didn’t sleep last night.” He shrugs. “I was waiting for you to wake me up to talk but all you did was sigh and turn a thousand times.”

You pout, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to keep you up too.” 

He shakes his head, “Don’t be. I would’ve interjected but I also know you wouldn’t have told me until your conscience was clearer.” 

You nod. “I’m nervous about Saturday.” 

Namjoon stops playing with the tie and hugs you again. “Don’t be, your mom is great and so is mine and I know they’ll get along fine. We might be making a mistake by introducing them to each other. I have a feeling they will be inseparable after Saturday.” 

“It’s not that Joon.” You sigh, he tilts his head to the side. “I know they’ll get along, it's just that–” You stop biting your lip, trying to sort your words out as quickly as possible in your head. 

As far you know, Hoseok and Namjoon haven’t spoken to each other in years. Jungkook knows why but he won’t tell you. He only says that they lost communication. But it's odd. Hoseok’s career has expanded to the point that he’s getting interviewed by Jimmy Fallon. He’s been invited to all the fashion weeks, and now has his own magazine. Your dream is to one day own one of his purses. You saw the ad for one a couple weeks ago on Instagram. You showed it to Namjoon and he had no reaction. 

Which was weird because you thought Namjoon would be proud of his once best friend. He even grumbled a little when he found your box that kept all the magazine clippings from his previous interviews. It was your way of showing your support from a distance. So, whatever happened between them isn’t a normal falling out with no hard feelings. 

From what you can tell there are hard feelings you just don’t know why. Nor do you want to pry, but the promise Hoseok made you all those years ago keeps echoing in your brain. 

Maybe this is why you’ve been running yourself up the wall. You want to reach out but you don’t know how Namjoon would react if you told him you were. After all, Hoseok was a huge part of your life. A relationship Namjoon witnessed from start to finish. 

“What is it?” He says with concern. 

“I don’t want my wedding dress to come from Hyugas Bridal.” You whisper. 

Namjoon nods, “That’s okay there’s so many other wedding dress shops, you can go to a new one.” He offers. 

You shake your head, “I don’t want any of those dresses from any of those shops.” 

Namjoon’s hands fall down to his side. “I see.” He pauses before, pushing past you and out the bathroom. His demeanor has changed so quickly you begin to suspect that he knows exactly what’s going on. 

You follow him. “Joon what are you doing?” You enter your bedroom. It’s empty and you begin to wonder where exactly your fiance went until you see him walk out of the closet with a slip of line paper in his hand. 

“Here,” He extends his hand. “Text him this is his new number.” He gently shoves the paper further in your direction. 

“What is this? Text who?” You take the folded slip of paper and watch as he walks to the bed, sitting down on the edge. 

“Hoseok, that’s who you want to design your wedding dress right?” He clasps his hands together. “He promised so it’s only right.” He adds, clenching his jaw. 

Now, you’re confused. Actually, you’re beyond confusion at this point. You’re also concerned because Namjoon looks like he’s about to burst. “H-How do you know?” 

Namjoon chuckles dryly, “He told me before he left.” He throws his hands up in the air. “Actually he told me a bunch of things but half of those things aren’t important. What’s important is that you want to wear one of his wedding dress designs so text him.” 

You take a seat next to him. “Why does this bother you Joon?” You say softly, placing your hands on top of his, trying your best to smooth down the grip. 

“Because it was supposed to be your wedding dress for your wedding with him.” He whispers, unclasping his hands and settling them on top of his pajama pants. 

“Namjoon, we were never going to get married.” You furrow your eyebrows in confusion. 

“But you could’ve. He’s been back in town since January. Jin has tried everything to get us to meet again but I keep turning down his invites. If we hadn’t tried to solve our issues I have no doubt he would have contacted you again.” 

You smile, bringing his hands to your lap. “Namjoon, things between Hobi and I are long over. I won’t lie to you and tell you I don’t love him anymore because I do just not in the same way I loved him back then and not the same way I love you now. I don’t want to marry him, I don’t think I ever wanted to marry him in the first place. He will always love his career more than anything in this world and that’s okay. I never will hold that against him because although it hurt when we broke up and I did make bad decisions trying to fill the void I felt when he left. I grew up. We both grew up Namjoon.” You finish, bringing his hands up to your lips and kissing his palms gently. 

Namjoon sighs, “He will likely join us tomorrow and what if you run into him one day and fall for his charms again.” He pouts.

“Are you jealous?” You tilt your head in amusement. He lets go of your hands and rolls his eyes. 

“So what if I am. Is that a problem? He’s a much better man than me in every sense of the word.” He stands up and walks to his side of the bed before peeling back your duvet. 

You turn your body in his direction, biting your bottom lip to stifle your laugh. You’ve recently learned that Namjoon loves to sulk like a child and he has no problem expressing when something petty is bothering him. 

“It’s not, I think it’s cute.” You sit up on your knees, before he scoffs and lays down, his back turned to you. You move closer to him and wrap your arm around his torso before leaning your body over his so you’re face to face with him. “You’re more than enough Joon.” You kiss his temple gently. 

Namjoon rolls onto his back. “Are you sure?” He snakes his arms around your waist tugging you closer. You straddle his lap, and lean down resting your forehead against his. “I wouldn’t be working this hard to make our relationship work and better if I didn’t think you were enough.” 

He throws his head back in defeat. His heart is beating so fast he’s thankful you can’t feel or hear it. His jealousy simmers in dying embers. Despite some unresolved differences between him and his oldest friend, he knows Hoseok isn’t one to try to break marriage apart. 

“I love you,” Namjoon says after a while. His voice is soft and full of tenderness. 

I love you.” 

The last time you felt this nervous was the day you had to read your master thesis out loud in class to a group of judgmental writing students. The sales assistant has been watching you pace for the past five minutes since she led you to the back of the shop. 

You admit it was a long shot, texting your ex boyfriend and world renowned fashion designer after Namjoon went to sleep. Sure, what you received was a very polite and formal message. To which you concluded that it was probably his personal assistant that messaged you. 

So, did Hoseok know you were the one meeting with him about commissioning a wedding dress. Or did he figure it was just a normal customer. Still, the whole process was fairly quick. You figured he had a packed schedule considering he had just returned to his hometown after being away for years. You couldn’t help but wonder how things were going to go today, which was why you were running the clock, driving the sales assistant absolutely insane.

Finally, you get tired of wearing a hole in the ground and take a seat on the white sofa, just as the sales assistant whispers into her earpiece. “Mr.Jung will be here in two minutes.” She voices out, adjusting her blouse before moving to the door. 

“Thank you.” You say crossing your legs and placing your bag next to you. Quickly you decide that’s too comfortable so you uncross them and place your bag on your lap again. Fidgeting with your hands, while the door slowly opens, revealing the one and only Jung Hoseok.

You almost feel like suffocating. Your breath hitches as he strolls in wearing a black suit. His hair is slicked back, and some dark sunglasses on the tip of his nose. He oozes a wave of confidence that you have never seen before, and you begin to wonder if he even remembers you and the promise he made to you all those years ago. 

After five months of being away the two of you lost contact. Three years later he unfollowed you on instagram. Well technically he unfollowed everyone on instagram and only followed one person. A beautiful model whose name was Hailey. For years, they were speculated to be dating, but nothing has ever been confirmed or denied. So, who knows. But now he was here, silent, powerful, and looking better than ever. 

And you feel foolish.

“So he finally came to his senses.” Hoseok clicks his tongue and removes his sunglasses, revealing his beautiful warm eyes. 

You don’t know what comes over you. Just an overwhelming sense of nostalgia and before you know it you’re hugging him tight and crying into his very expensive suit. He chuckles, running a soothing hand down your back. He smells fresh, like a cool breeze on the beach. He feels different, but similar and all the love you once held for him comes rushing back in powerful strokes of color. 

For a moment you feel twenty-one again. 

Finally, you pull away and look at him, taking in all the features you once knew by memory. He has a few wrinkles on the side of his eyes. But he looks sharper in all the right places and you realize that just like Namjoon he has aged like fine wine. 

“I’m sorry.” You sniffle, smoothing out the lapels of his suit. “I don’t know what came over me.” You chuckle awkwardly, looking around, avoiding eye contact as much as possible. 

He chuckles, placing his hands on top of your shoulders. “I see you’re still as emotional as ever.” He notes, running his hands down your shoulders before taking your hand in his. He leads you towards the couch and sits you down before taking the seat next to you. 

“Now, tell me how have you been?” He tilts his head, intertwining your fingers with his. If you didn’t know better, you’d mistaken this for a romantic gesture. But you know better as much as you love Hoseok. The love you feel for him is different from the love you feel for Namjoon. It’s just nostalgia with Hoseok, it’s unforgettable memories that you’ve buried. It’s young love that hasn’t known experiences. It’s the chase but never settling. And you’re ready to settle down. 

“I’ve been great. The fall semester starts next week so I’ve been running around like crazy, in and out of meetings. You know the usual boring work life.” You wave off, wiping your eyes with the handkerchief he's handed you. “How have you been, you look amazing.” You blurt out, widening your eyes. 

He chuckles, “I’ve been better, fashion week is in a month and we are still deciding on garments for the models to wear.” 

“Wow, fashion week.” You say in disbelief, shaking your head, to keep the tears at bay. “You really made it Hobi. I’m so proud of you.” You whisper the last part and hug him once more, letting go of your tears. 

It was so embarrassing but you couldn’t help it. You’ll send him money for the dry cleaners later. 

“It wasn’t easy but knowing I’ll one day have this moment with you kept me going.” He whispers, kissing the top of your head, and pulling away. “You look amazing too, I’d love to have you as my professor.” He winks, making you laugh.

“I’d love to have you as my personal designer.” You retaliate, making him laugh. He lets go of your hands and stands up, posing dramatically. “That’s why I’m here. Now, come on, I have a few design ideas I want to run by you first.” He extends his hands for you and pulls you up quickly. “These are just prototypes but I think they all suit you one way or another.” He says, nodding towards the sales assistant who leaves through the bright pink curtains. 

“Wait, wait, wait Hobi. How do you already have prototypes?” 

Hoseok rolls his eyes jokingly. “Joon and I have been in contact here and there. So, I’ve been designing these since then. And don’t worry he hasn’t seen any of them.” 

You’re floored, your annoyance zeroing in on your conniving and jealous fiance. Why the hell did he make you meeting Hoseok such a big deal if he had been plotting this against your back? But instead of focusing on that, you feel the butterflies in your stomach begin to erupt when the sales assistant comes in with three garment bags. 

“Are you ready?” Hoseok says, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his dress pants. 

Your heart begins to thunder against your chest when each garment bag is hung in front of you. You look at Hoseok who has the biggest smile on his face and you realize what a full circle moment this is for the two of you. You gave up your relationship for dreams either of you didn’t know you’d ever achieve. Yet, here you are. Him a self made fashion designer making a pit stop on his busy schedule to do this for you. And you, you are working your dream job and getting ready to marry the love of your adult life. 

You smile nodding enthusiastically. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

A/n: it's short, but I will try to be more consistent with my uploads. Check out all my other stories too!

[tommykinard6]

This blog is here to stay. It will remain a Tommy Kinard and BuckTommy blog.

I’m pissed. I’m grieving. 9-1-1 is my favorite show and now they’ve pulled this shit.

If Lou had left the show because the death threats were too much, his mental health was suffering, or he just couldn’t take it anymore, I would absolutely understand. I’d blame a certain part of the fandom, but I’d respect his decision. But he didn’t even want this. He loves Tommy and Tevan. I don’t know what Tim is thinking.

I know it all feels like a waste right now, but it’s not. Let me recount really quick:

• Buck is bisexual.

• There have been some really important scenes to come out of his discovering his sexuality, including Josh’s speech and his own lesson in fighting for his relationship.

• Tommy Kinard will be a character you pry from my cold dead hands. A gay man who discovered himself late in life and is still living his life genuinely. A man who made mistakes and acknowledges them, but has grown far past them. What a wonderfully rounded character.

• Excepting the end of 806, the beauty of their relationship. They did so much with so little screen time.

It’s not a waste, even though the ending absolutely trashed the progress made.

Resolutely, I do not believe this is the end. I know, I know, “the interviews”. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that they’re misdirecting. Also, they haven’t even written the rest of the season yet. The storyline is fixable if there’s a make up.

Not telling anyone how to feel about Oliver’s comments, but I would caution about using TVline’s article as the Bible. It was a terribly written, heavily biased interview and frankly it’s an insult that it was even conducted.

Even if it is the end, no one has to stop shipping. No one has to leave the fandom. We did not lose. We still got our canon ship and it will forever be an irrevocable fact that it was canon. BuckTommy is endgame for me. I may be disappointed by expectations, but I will never be in the wrong for sticking by that.

Make your displeasure known to Tim and ABC, but do not lose your dignity doing so. Do not engage with the haters. No harassing Lou. You can hold Oliver accountable for his remarks, but no harassment of him. You can call him out without making him the fandom whipping boy. I’ve seen many people latching onto him as the outlet for their feelings on this. Do not harass or bully the writers or actors, but make sure the producers and showrunners know they fucked up.

And most importantly, look after yourselves and each other. We’re still a community and we’re here to stay. This week is one of the worst ever, but we will come out of it.

Thank you, Tommy Kinard, for the hope you gave us, the representation you presented, and the character you were. Thank you Lou for portraying such a character and being such a sweetheart. BuckTommy will forever be in our hearts, endgame or not.

As a reminder, BuckTommy is not the be all end all of the show for queer rep. Hen and Karen, our fabulous queens, and Josh will still always be there. Buck is still bi, no matter what’s next in store for him. Tommy, even if gone forever, is still a significant moment of gay rep. And that’s not even counting the small characters that come in and out. It’s not always done well, but it’s there.

[ahgasegotarmy116]

He Doesn't Deserve You | A Jeon Jungkook Series | Chapter Five

Summary: Taehyung gets careless and breaks your heart yet again. Pairing: Noona reader x Jeon Jungkook (She's 28 and he's 22) Word Count: 4.7K~ Warnings: Implied yändere and mentions of signs of trauma because of it. (nothing too extreme) a/n: It's taken me so long to get this chapter out I'm sorryyy but I hope it was worth the wait! Thank you so much for your continued support on my stories and I hope you'll look forward to the next part!

Jungkook's visit last week really had me thinking about the choices I make on the daily. 

I stopped stressing about what Taehyung might be doing when he's away and started thinking about ways I could improve myself.

It wasn't anything major but I wanted to take baby steps.

For instance, setting up a schedule for when I wake up and always making sure to not stay up past midnight. Along with promising myself to at least sit and write for a couple of hours per day but also taking breaks when I felt I needed to. I would come back though and finish only when I was satisfied and came to a proper stopping point.

Implementing these little changes in my life has worked wonders on my confidence and peace of mind. I feel like I'm accomplishing something and getting some sort of fulfillment in the day to day which I haven't been able to say for the past few years.

I guess all of this can be chalked up to Jungkook. 

I know I'm ultimately the one who's implemented these things into my life but if he hadn't given me that push, I don't think I would've ever gotten to even see these small victories.

While I'm in the kitchen pouring myself a cup of coffee I hear a faint chime on my laptop and I smile knowing exactly who it is.

'Good morning Noona, did you sleep well?'  I read from the all too familiar jkjkjk.97  and smile seeing that my suspicions were correct.

'I slept like a baby, who knew going to bed before dawn would do wonders!'  I send back and when I try to stand up to walk back over to the kitchen I'm met with another email popping up from him.

'That's good! I'm happy to see that you're feeling a bit better these days :)'  he sends and I smile at the fact that he's just as eager to reply to me. It's been like this ever since that day he dropped off my groceries. He would send me emails first thing in the morning almost like clockwork.

I'm surprised that he manages to keep a similar schedule to mine but I don't really know what he does most days except work. 

I know he works at the grocery store but it seems to me like he's always working at odd hours. Most days even well past closing so it's got me thinking about what else he could possibly do for a living.

It's none of my business but I can't help but be curious about it since when I ask him how his day went, he usually says he's still working even though it seems like he's been working since dawn. 

I really want to ask him but I don't want to pry. He seems like the kind of guy that keeps to himself and open up when he's ready. 

I'm just hoping that there will come a day where he'll trust me as much as I have grown to trust him.

My thought process his interrupted by the sound of keys jingling in the door and my heart sinks to my stomach when I'm brought back to reality.

"Hey baby" Taehyung greets while taking off his shoes. It's Saturday so he doesn't have work which means he might be hanging around here for a while before no doubt heading out again. 

"Hey" I respond quietly, feeling as though I'm retreating back into myself, not really being able to relax until I know what kind of headspace he's in.

"Where's my welcome home kiss from my gorgeous wife?" he asks while walking over to where I'm sitting at my desk. He leans down and kisses me on the lips, moulding his mouth against mine while I crane my neck up and return the kiss, placing a hand on his cheek to keep him connected.

"Welcome home" I let out after he pulls back, panting slightly as he nudges his nose against mine before standing up straight again. "Have you been up long?" he asks, him having gone out late last night and surprisingly turning up here again bright and early.

I hum in acknowledgment, "I've been waking up earlier these days so I can get a jump start on my writing and trying to go to bed earlier" I respond while watching his back as he walks over to the kitchen.

"Oh really? How's that going?" he questions, pouring himself a cup of coffee and walking back into the living room, waiting patiently for my answer. 

"Well it's been nice to implement a bit of a routine since my days and nights have kind of been all over the place for a while. Plus, I feel like this story is really coming along. I even started mapping out ideas for the next book in the series!" I say and he looks at me as if he's almost falling in love with me again, making me shy under his gaze.

"That's amazing honey. I feel like I haven't seen you smiling like this in a really long time. Looks like all you needed was a little discipline to really get your life back together huh?" he say while giving me a knowing look, cocking his head to the side and letting his eyes roam my body for a second. No doubt looking at the faint bruises he'd left from last week.

"I guess so" I say, awkwardly rubbing my bicep where he had grabbed me. "How are you feeling?" he questions, coming a bit closer and ghosting his fingers over the marks. "I'm fine, they don't hurt as much anymore" I say, slipping my arm out if his grasp.

"That's good, I'm sorry I got a little rough with you. I was frustrated with some work stuff and I took it out on you. That wasn't fair of me" he apologizes while brushing the hair out of my face and tucking it behind my ear. "It's okay" I say quietly, looking down at the floor to avoid his gaze. 

"No, it's not okay" he says tilting my chin up and making me make eye contact.

"I haven't been treating you well and I wanna make it up to you" he says, caressing my face with the hand that he used to tilt my chin up. "Okay" I whisper as he leans down to connect our lips again but before they're able to touch his phone rings. 

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone and the name Tiffany flashes across the screen with a kiss emoji at the end, giving me a name to associate as to why he's actually never home. 

"I've gotta take this" he says and I nod my head to show I don't mind even though my heart is breaking more and more with each ring. He gives me a quick kiss to apologize before answering the call and walking into the kitchen. 

I take that as a sign that he'll be leaving for the night again and head into the bathroom since it's the one place he won't question as to why I've shut him out. I close the lid of the toilet and cover my ears so I can't hear him but curiosity gets the best of me and I hold my breath to see if I can make any words out despite my whole motives of coming here in the first place.

"No I ca-. Well I just got here I-. Okay, okay fine I'm coming. Let me just come up with an excuse to tell her and I'll be there soon. Okay? Alright, love you too. Bye" I hear him say and he ends the call. I cover my mouth, trying to stop any sounds of heartbreak that might come out and listen as he walks down the hall to our room. 

"Y/n? Honey where are you?" he asks, barely bothering to look for me. "I'm in here" I say, turning on the sink to drown out the sound a bit to prevent him from hearing how wobbly my voice sounds from the emotions I'm trying to keep at bay. 

"I've gotta head out for the day but I'll be back tomorrow night. You gonna be okay?" he asks as if he cared about me. "Yeah I'll be fine don't worry, I'll see you then" I yell above the sound and he says a quick goodbye through the door in return and leaves soon after. 

Once I hear the front door close I let some of those choked sobs go.

He's never been that obvious before. Does he just not bother to hide since he sees that I don't question him about it? I don't even know why I still care since it's very clear that he doesn't care about me.

At that I look at my phone and see that there's another email from Jungkook that came in a little while ago which gives me motivation enough to dry my eyes and get myself together so I can head back out to my laptop and get lost in this safe haven we've created for each other. 

'Did you forget about me already?'  he questions, seeing as it has taken me a while to respond. I couldn't risk doing it and Taehyung finding out about us. Even though there is no 'us' when it comes to Jungkook and I, unlike that Tiffany girl he just left me for today.

'I'm sorry Taehyung came home. He just left though...'  I send and get a response back immediately, seeing he's been waiting for my response.

'Are you okay? Did something happen?'  he asks and I smile at the thought that there is someone out there that cares enough to ask. 

We've been emailing each other everyday since he came over and I've opened up to him a bit more about my relationship with Tae and he's been really good at just letting me talk and just being there for me. Always talking me through things and helping me process no matter if it's problems with Tae or even other more mundane things like writer's block. 

He's just there, no matter what.

'Can we meet up today?' I type out but hesitate, letting my hand hover over the mouse. 

Watching, waiting, worrying about if this would be a good idea but before making that decision myself I accidentally hit send when I try to put my hand down to rest it on my lap. 

"Shit" I say out loud but before I can figure out how to unsend the message I get a response back. 

'Sure :) Did you want to meet at the Blue Pearl? Or should I come over?'  he asks and I hold my breath, weighing the pros and cons to this whole situation and decide to just say fuck it and do what I want for once. 

'Can you come over?'  I send and close my laptop, too nervous to look at his reply. "What the fuck am I doing inviting a younger guy to my apartment when my husband is gone? What am I doing?" I say out loud and pace back and forth until I hear the chime come from my phone this time. 

'Be there soon :)'  "I'm fucked" I admit out loud before running around and quickly getting myself and the house ready.

 ~~~~~

A rhythmic pattern of knocks plays and puts my mind at ease while I walk towards the door and open it. 

"Noona!" he greets with a smile before giving me a hug that catches me off guard making me take a step back to help me stay balanced. "Thank you for coming" I say while returning his embrace and letting go a second later so I can step aside to let him in. 

"Are you okay?" he asks after having taken off his shoes and taken in my form to what I don't realize is to look for any signs of harm. "Yes I'm fine" I say with a sad smile yet know for a fact that even if I try to deny it he can read me like a book. 

"Then why were you crying?" he asks, looking at my red eyes and flushed cheeks. "I heard Tae talking to one of the girls he's cheating on me with" I mumble and at that Jungkook takes my hand and leads me over to the couch without saying a word.

"He didn't even try hard to hide it. Like he has a stupid kiss emoji next to her name and everything. He had only been here for like twenty minutes tops before he left" I spill out. He keeps a hold of my hand, looking down at it while I let out all the things I've been holding in. 

The worries, the doubts, the fear, the stress. I don't know when it started and I can't figure out how to make it stop. 

"I don't know what to do" I admit, looking down at my lap, watching as the tears fall from my eyes and onto the fabric of my jeans. 

"Do you want me to be honest and tell you what I think or do you want me to just listen?" he asks, rubbing circles on the back of my hand. "Be honest?" I pose almost as a question, knowing this is the ugly truth I've been hiding from. 

"Can you tell me more than one reason as to why you should stay with him? Besides him being your husband" he asks, sitting silently and waiting for me to respond, giving me time to think it through but when I shake my head he goes forward with posing his argument. 

"If you can't manage to come up with a reason as to why you should stay with him then what's keeping you from leaving? I know you said that you're scared and you don't know what to do but the fact that you're not doing anything is hurting you more than if you decided to leave him" he states, I just nod my head and listen, letting him say his piece.

"He's hurting you. He's hurting you physically" he says while ghosting his fingers along the bruises that run up my arm, "Mentally" he continues brushing the hair off of my face and rubbing his thumb up against my temple "And sexually" he finishes, taking note of the hickeys and the way I flinch away from him when he tries to lay his hand on my neck. 

"That's just how Taehyung is, he likes things rough" I say, making excuses for the marks that are clearly beyond rough sex. 

"But do you like it?" he questions, catching me off guard with an intimacy of the question. "He keeps me satisfied if that's what you mean" I answer curtly, hoping he'll take that as an answer. 

"That's not what I asked. Do you enjoy the way he has sex with you? Is that how you want to have sex?" he continues, not backing down from getting an answer out of me. I look up at him to see if he's seriously asking me that question and all I can see is a serious expression on his face.

"I don't mind it" I say, dancing around my answer. "Noona" he warns in a tone of voice he's never used with me, catching me off guard. 

"N-no. No I don't like it. It's too rough for me and I don't like it" I admit. He nods, casting his eyes down as if he's lost in thought before asking his next question. "Have you ever told him?" he questions and I shake my head only to realize moments later that he can't see me. "No I haven't told him" I respond quietly and he nods again before looking back up at me. 

"Why?" he asks and I'm left with one answer. "Because I'm afraid of what he might do to me if I say no" I explain. "I figure it's better to say yes and take it instead of saying no and having him force himself on me" I cover my mouth not realizing the fact that I said the thing that I was even too afraid to admit to myself.

"Has he ever forced himself on you?" he asks while clenching his jaw, clearly upset at the thought. "I didn't tell him no but I tried to make him see that I didn't want it but he didn't care to pay attention" I answer, getting rid of the filter seeing as it won't do either of us any good if I were to hold back. 

"That's one of the many reasons that you shouldn't even be with him anymore" he starts, his whole body tense, anger just bubbling under the surface. "You shouldn't have to be with someone you're scared of. I just don't kno-" 

"That's just it, you don't know. You told me that before, that I shouldn't be with someone that I'm scared of but you just don't get it. You've never been married. You've never had to deal with struggles like this. You make it sound so easy, that I could just leave and never look back but it's not that simple" I spout off, defending myself and my decisions. 

"Noona I just want to he-" "I know, I know" I say cutting him off but gaining a softer tone at the end, shrinking back into myself, ridding myself of my defensive behavior. "I'm sorry Jungkook, I shouldn't have said that. I asked you to come over and then I just yelled at you and I just..." I trail off, hating myself for doing that to him.

He tilts my head up and looks at me, studying my features and I cast my eyes down, too nervous to maintain his strong gaze. "Look at me" he says in a soft tone but I keep my eyes down, focused on my hands that I have balled into fists. 

"Look at me, please..." he whispers and at that I decide to do as he says and I see how his eyes have glossed over, the stars in them wavering. "He doesn't deserve you" he whispers cupping my face, running his thumb along my cheekbone to brush off a tear that I didn't even realize had fallen. 

"I don't know what to do" I let out in a choked sob, letting the tears that I've been holding in fall, never letting myself cry enough to feel better. He pulls me in and I latch onto him, burring my face into his shoulder as he holds onto me tighter, further showing me that I'm safe with him. 

"Whatever you need I'm here for you. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it" he says, the deep rumble of his voice brings me comfort. "I-" I start but cut myself off with another sob. "It's okay, just let it all out" he says and cling to him harder. 

After having sat there and cried with him for what felt like hours my sobs slowly die down to sniffles and my breathing patterns return to normal. "You okay?" he questions, more so asking if I had finished crying versus how I'm feeling about my current reality. I nod my head but nuzzle in closer to him, not wanting to let go just yet. 

"What's wrong?" he questions. "I don't want you to see my face" I complain into his shirt and he laughs at (from his perspective) how adorable I am. "Aw come on why not?" he chuckles and I nuzzle my face into his neck, making skin to skin contact without paying any mind to it. "My face is probably all red and my eyes are puffy from crying" I mumble against his neck. 

His body goes stiff but I don't take too much notice and move a bit closer to him, not realizing how I'm making him feel and only realize it after he clears his throat a few times. "Is something wrong?" I ask finally taking in how uncomfortable he seems. 

"No, nothing's wrong I just- no it's nothing" he says trying to backpedal out of this. "It's obviously something if you're reacting like that" I press, wanting him to be as truthful with me as I have been with him. 

"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable" I say, pulling away from him. "No! Noona no, it's just that. Your lips were on my neck and you were really close and..." he trails off, hoping that's explanation enough. 

"I didn't even realize I was doing that, I'm sorry..." I trail off as well, hating that I made this situation even more awkward than it already is. "It's okay Noona I just, well I just want to make sure we don't cross a line and it was making it hard for me to do so" he explains.

"What do you mean by that?" I ask, wanting to know exactly what he's thinking. "It's just, well you're married and I think you know that I'm attracted to you by now so it was just making it hard for me to think straight" he admits and I nod my head and look down at my lap, not really knowing how I'm supposed to respond. 

"I hope this doesn't change things between us. I really do want to be your friend but I understand if I've made you uncomfortable. I just thought you should know" he finishes and waits with bated breath for my response. 

"Would things be different?" I question, not fully asking the question since I'm not sure if I want to know the answer. "Would things be different if what?" he presses. "Would things be different if I wasn't married?" I ask and I close my eyes, scared of seeing his reaction. 

"You can't just ask me that" he says and I look up at him to see his face turned away, showing how pink the tips of his ears have gotten and how his jaw is clenching. "Why not?" I press, needing to know based off of the kind of reaction he's giving me. 

"You don't know how hard I've been holding myself back" he says and tongues his cheek, making me widen my eyes at the motion. "Holding yourself back from what?" I press further, needing to know what's running through his mind right now. 

"From kissing you" he says, finally looking back at me, making eye contact before his eyes flicker down to my lips. "I-" "I should go" he says, cutting me off before I can say anything further. "Wait, no you don't have to go. I'm sorry" I say, trying my best to keep him here. I can't let him just run off after a confession like that but he's giving me no other option as I watch him stand up. 

"You have nothing to apologize for Noona. I shouldn't have said that. I do have to go though, my family is waiting for me back at home" he says and I widen my eyes, never having heard him talk about his family as of yet. 

"Family?" I question, my curiosity peaked. "Yeah I live with my mom and my three siblings" he says while walking over to put his shoes on. "Three?" I question and he nods his head not bothering to give me much more than that. 

"That's a topic of conversation for another time though" he says after he stands back up from tying his laces. "Oh okay" I say and hug myself, providing myself some comfort, hating to see him rushing out of here already. 

"They really are waiting for me. My mom has to work tonight so I'm stuck taking care of the kiddos" he says, giving me a soft smile before turning to open the door and I follow behind him. 

"Let me know when you get home okay?" I say, leaning up against the door frame. "I will" he says and reaches out to pull me in for a hug, accepting it right away. 

"I still want you in my life so please, don't disappear" I mumble into his chest and he hums in acknowledgment. "You can't get rid of me that easily. Not after I fought for that title of best friend" he says pulling back and looking down at me fondly and I smile back up at him before he places a hand on the side of my neck and leans down to place a kiss on my forehead.

"Bye Noona" he says, giving me a soft smile. I smile back up at him and return his sentiment before he turns to walk away.

I watch as he goes, waiting for him to get in his car where he looks back up towards my apartment, not expecting to see me waiting for him but smiles when he does. I smile back and wave and watch as he pulls out of his spot and makes his way out of the parking lot. 

"I'm really fucked" I mumble to myself and turn to walk inside my apartment. 

"He gets more and more handsome each time I see that young man" Mrs. Mitchell says, making me jolt back from the scare of being caught. 

"Mrs. Mitchell we didn't-" I start but she waves me off. "You don't need to make excuses to me love. Like I said last time, I wouldn't blame you if you did" she says and places a hand on my arm, noticing all the mixed emotions I have written all over my face. 

"Why don't we change the subject and have you sign those books we had spoken about the other day" she says, turning to walk towards the stack she had waiting by her front door like she had told me she would. 

I smile at her enthusiasm for my writing and and am thankful that she doesn't address what had happened between Jungkook and I anymore. 

"There you go" I say putting the cap on the pen and handing the last book back to her. "Thank you dear! The girls are going to love these!" she says placing the books back in their place. "Girls?" I question, chuckling at her reaction, so happy a simple thing like this could make her happy. 

"Yeah! The other women in my book club. I recommended your books to them and they've been begging me to get them a signed copy from you ever since" she says, turning back to face me. "Well I hope they enjoy them!" I reply happily, embarrassed still that woman of their age are reading it but thankful nonetheless. 

"We're all meeting together here next Sunday so maybe if you're not too busy writing you could stop by and have tea with us. I just know they would love to meet you!" she says, practically glowing with excitement. 

"I'll have to get back to you on that one but it sounds lovely" I smile, my heart swelling at the thought of meeting some of my readers. "Wonderful! But I'll let you get back to your day dear. Make sure to set aside some time to take care of yourself and relax tonight okay? You deserve it" she says placing a comforting hand on my arm before we both go our separate ways. 

As I close the door behind me I'm met with that all too familiar chime and I walk over to my desk, this time a bit more tentative than before, being nervous as to what I might find from my familiar friend jkjkjk.97

Home :) is all he sends but I decide to respond, nervous of the result if I don't, scared that he might shut me out or fade away.

Have fun with the kiddos tonight! And thank you for coming today, it really meant a lot to me  I send back, hoping to make things sound normal.

Anytime, let's see each other again soon. Okay?  he asks and I can tell he's waiting earnestly for a response. 

Okay. This time at The Blue Pearl so we can say 'Hi' to Rae. I miss her :(   I say, hoping that he won't take that as a way of me keeping him from coming over when I really do miss Rae. 

The Pearl it is! Goodnight Noona he says, ending the conversation early tonight, no doubt having a lot to do to manage three kids for the night. 

Goodnight Jungkook  I send and close my laptop, vowing to do as I had agreed upon and take the rest of the day to take care of myself. 

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[twiishaa]

HII ID LUV TO COME TO THE SLUMBER PARTYYY im bringing my favourite book and we can watch a rom com! after that we can play truth or dare and roblox!! with oikawa pls🫶🏻🫶🏻🙈

(also congrats on 100 followers!!!!<3)

! 𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ ִ𐙚 twisha’s 100 followers slumber party ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ — does this count as a prom date??

oikawa x reader ; wc 1.4k

check out the event!

disclaimer i am basing this off my experiences as a british high schooler okay

—

the final term of the school year was always the most busy. the entire school was filled with anticipation as the summer holidays were just around the corner, and the event calendar was bursting at its seams with different events planned: sports day, school festivals, and arguably the most important one depending on the high-schooler you’re talking to: prom.

now that there was just 2 weeks to the event, it was all anyone could talk about. there was, of course, all the drama surrounding prom dates as well— you hadn’t been a part of it because, well, you weren’t really in touch with the girls in your class. that being said, you weren’t really in touch with anyone in your class except for your best friend, that is.

ever since primary school, you’ve been on more of the reserved, quiet side; which has grown with you up till now. it wasn’t that you were disliked, no— it was just that people were… a little intimidated by your cold outward demeanour. despite that, there were still some guys here and there who asked you out, which obviously you refused immediately- who would go with a guy they’ve never known to prom?

but right now, you found yourself being hit on by some random guy in the year above. he was more aggressive, even being bold enough to grab you by the wrist. anyone walking past could easily tell you were feeling growingly more uncomfortable as the time passed.

“come on! don’t you want to look cool, with a prom date from the year above?” he was staring into your eyes while talking.

your eyes tried to find something else to look at.

“uh.. i think i’m alright-“

“oh, lies! i’m not passing on a beauty like you, let me just take you out to prom!” he inched closer to you.

you saw someone walking by. out of desperation, you quickly locked eyes with them and hoped they got your message.

the guy looked back to see if anyone was there. to his surprise, there was— the school’s prince charming, oikawa tooru.

the two of you were vastly different. he was like the lead of an american high-school drama, and if this was a movie, you were probably the shy, quiet girl who gets a massive makeover.

he smiled at you, and then looked at the other guy with a feigned smile. “excuse me, could you get away from.. my girlfriend? i don’t think she’s enjoying your…” oikawa gave him a knowing look. the guy stepped back. he stammered. “well, if you had a boyfriend, you should’ve just said!” he chuckled nervously before running off.

it was an understatement to say you were confused. you were utterly dumbfounded.

because as far as you were aware, oikawa was definitely NOT your boyfriend. heck, you didn’t even have a boyfriend.

surely you were dreaming, you thought. why would someone like him say that about someone like you? after pinching yourself, you concluded you were not in a dream, but some very strange, movie-esque version of reality.

the rest of the day was a hazy whirlpool of events as well; after the incident oikawa pulled you away from prying eyes and after many apologies, began to explain: he needed you to be his girlfriend for prom. all his friends had dates, and he didn’t want to look like a… well, a loser. to be honest, being able to go to prom with oikawa as your date, even if it was just pretending, was like winning the lottery.

and so began the beginning of you and the school heartthrob’s (fake) relationship.

—

prom was tomorrow.

you had everything ready, you even went shopping with oikawa to get matching colours. it felt so different being in the spotlight all the time, and it was definitely a big change for you, but somehow the two of you managed to pull it off— actually, it didn’t come as a surprise to you, oikawa made it all seem so believable. he was so sweet to you, even when it was just the two of you, there was a small part of you that wanted all this to be real, for him to actually be your boyfriend.

prom was tomorrow. prom was tomorrow, and oikawa currently found himself panicking in his room, speed dialling iwaizumi in a moment of frenzy.

as soon as he picked up the phone—

“oikawa what the hell do you want.” iwaizumi’s annoyed tone carried over the phone.

oikawa took a deep breath out. “i think i like [name].”

iwaizumi took a few seconds to reply. “…what? she’s your girlfriend, i sure hope you like her..” he sounded confused. oikawa suddenly realised, he hadn’t told anyone about his… situation.

he explained the whole story to iwaizumi. at the end, all iwaizumi did was laugh.

“you two aren’t dating?? what the heck man,” after his laughter died down, he added, “just ask her out! there’s no way she’d say no!” oikawa paused. what did that mean? did you like him? he was always under the impression that you were only doing it to do popular; but now that the possibility that all the effort he was putting into subtly showing you how much he like you may be mutual entered his mind— how could he pass up on an opportunity like this?

since the terms for your relationship basically ended tomorrow, he decided to take a gamble and ask you out after prom tomorrow.

—

it was prom night. the two of you were outside the venue, trying to decide on what to do when you enter.

“i’m saying we should hold hands!” you tried to yell discreetly.

“but we’d look like middle schoolers! no one would believe us!” oikawa argued.

“okay, then what should we do?” you said, crossing your arms.

“i don’t know, like hold onto my arm or something!”

“what? like this?” you stiffly put your arm around his.

oikawa looked at his arm, then began to open the door, sighing dramatically. “whatever, let’s go.” you laughed at his antics.

scanning the room, you looked at the other couples to see what they were doing as you walked in.

“oh my god we look so fake..” you whispered into oikawa’s ear.

“come closer then!” he whisper-yelled back. you did as he asked and stepped a little closer. not long after, you were approached by one of oikawa’s friends.

“hey, oikawa!” he waved cheerfully at him, then at you.

oikawa laughed a little. “hi, makki! where’s your girlfriend? d’ya lose her already?”

“i’m not that bad! she’s over there, with her friends,” makki laughed and pointed to some girl in the distance. oikawa nodded.

“so, oikawa, how’s your girl?” makki turned to look at you.

you and oikawa looked at each other.

you could feel makki’s eyes on you; your mind went blank.

“oh- uh, i’m good,” you replied; and then you felt oikawa nudge your side with his elbow. hard. you squinted your eyes at him.

makki obviously looked a little awkward, so he gave the two of you a quick wave and ran off.

“what the hell was that about!” oikawa looked at you.

“i got nervous okay!”

oikawa started mocking you. “oh- uhhhhh, im good! uhhhhhhh,”

“i do NOT sound like that!”

“have you heard yourself? yes you do!”

—

the rest of the night went smoothly, you got to have fun not only with your friend but also with oikawa’s rather large friend group. they all commented on your dress and how it looked gorgeous, which mad oikawa stare at you with a very obvious i-told-you face, as he was the one who chose it.

i could get used to this, you thought. but soon, the sky grew dark, the night came to a close, and the two of you were walking home together. you had originally planned to walk home alone, but he was determined to walk you home.

“[name].” oikawa called to you. you turned around to face him. somehow, he still looked good even under the dim lighting of the nearby lampposts.

“i know that our… relationship has been pretending up till now,” he looked at you earnestly.

“but id like to change that— if you don’t mind. can i take you out on a proper date tomorrow?”

notes thank you so much for requesting!! first post i’m so excited for more requests to come in!! love you all <33

[yanandreckless]

Rub A Dub Dub, Astartes in the tub 2/2

It's a face alright. His hair is black, relatively short and fully slicked back, whether with product or grease, remains to be seen. His whole face is in sharp lines and angles, starting from a prominent widow's peak and thick, low-set brows, to the high cheekbones and a glass-cutting square jaw. Tall, narrow nose, slightly crooked from having been broken in the past. Deep gash scars running down the side of his face and across his lips, distorting their shape into a permanent one-sided snarling grimace.

As expected, he looks like his skin never sees the sun and his eyes are deep set, boasting some dark circles a crunching game developer would envy him for. He looks up at me with inky eyes, holding his helmet under his arm and I know better than to focus on his scars so I just smile at him: "See? I was right! Adorable!" Of course that's not the word anyone would normally use for this face. He's handsome in a terrifying, almost uncanny valley way. And he's also clearly battered, and clearly not too young, if the deep lines between his brows are anything to go by. But he looks up at me with something akin to hope in those dark eyes and I can't help but feel endeared. Even the way he snarls at my compliment and kicks idly at the air is adorable. "Alright, keep going, I'll soak your armor in this while we bathe you, and then we'll scrub it, deal?" I show him a yellow plastic tub I normally use for Prince when he wants to cool down in the summer. I have now filled it with hot soapy water and two capfuls of skunk deodorizer and he nods in agreement. It turns out Strix' body is no less scarred than his face. Gashes, burn scars, punctures, and scars I can't even identify are littered all over him, along with those metal jacks and notches Astartes all have. Once he removes his gauntlets and boots, I see he's missing two toes and one finger. He's avoiding looking at me while he undresses, and helps me soak his armor in the soapy water, but once he's finally naked, he stands there, looking rather uncomfortable. I apply a generous amount of shampoo on a sponge and take the showerhead: "Alright, ready?" He merely huffs and before I know it, he's jumping and stealing the sponge from me, shaking his head stubbornly when I reach for it. Alright, he refuses to let me scrub him. Fine by me. I merely start the water and offer him the spray to step under: "Is it too hot?" He shakes his head. "Too cold?" Another shake of the head. He gets himself wet and then starts going to town with the soapy sponge. It soon gets brown. There's dust and sweat and grime all over this Astartes. "You're going to have to become better at hygiene if you wanna live with us, you know." He huffs grumpily but keeps scrubbing. I have to nearly pry the sponge out of his hands so that it gets rinsed and freshly soaped. That reminds me to check on the plastic tub and switch out the fully black water for a fresh soapy soak. Turns out I do it two more times before the water is acceptably clean. By that time, Strix has scrubbed himself truly clean and now looks much better. I spy his dirty nails and pass him a brush. There's a brief war of fake naive gaze versus my unrelenting one but he finally concedes and starts scrubbing under his grown claws on both hands and feet:

"Those need a trim." He snickers before tossing the brush aside once he's done. I give him a nice warm spray of water to rinse himself under and then a clean small towel I normally use for hands. He looks at it a bit perplexed.

"It's to dry yourself. You can even wrap yourself in it if you'd like." He hastily dries his hair and most of his body but then points at the tub with his armor, handing me the brush back. "Oh you want me to scrub your armor, sir?" I tease and he huffs again, grabbing the undergarments from the tub and starting to rub them against the soap bar vigorously. Surprisingly, we get through the scrubbing of his armor easily enough. It requires multiple rounds but it's not complicated work, and he would often tap me on my wrist and point out stuff I do wrong. Once we are finally finished, there are all his armor pieces drying on the towel and there is a clean, odorless Astartes swaying on the balls of his feet and fidgeting, staring at me. I almost ask him what he wants before I realize:

"You'll get your cuddles once you wrap yourself in a towel, mister!"

[shadowbriar]

Regulus Black - Supermassive Black Hole VII

Pairing : Regulus Black x (she/her) Selwyn!Reader Word Count : 4.6k Warning : Mention of food. Nothing else I think, just pure frustration from these to dumb children. Synopsis : A simple arrangement turned into an everlasting one as two naïve children try to figure out their heart. Notes : If you'd like to be tagged for the next chapters, please comment or reblog so I can add you to the tag list. If you like this story and would like to support me, please visit my kofi page and perhaps get me a coffee?☕ Taglist: strikethrough means I could not tag you. If I tag you by accident and would like to be removed, please let me know. @lostarc24 @hogwartshouse @milivanili99 @stelleduarte @40rimm @lilmaymayy @mischiefmanagers @happilyjollynacho @bl00dyr3gulus @lonelywitchv2 @burns-in-the-sun @lanaspepsicoke @rabluver @sofiacblair @jsjcue @coffeehurricanes @ell0ra-br3kk3r @when-you-cant-think-of-anything @kaz-mf-brekker @wokeupinaustralia @dreamalittledreamofthemarauders @lovemelikecrazyiloveyoucrazy @thisrandombitch @greenapplegrass @lothiriel9 @bunny24sstuff @starsval

↞ Part VI

Sweet.

The first thing Regulus noticed when his senses were coming alive was a sweet scent. The smell of warm florals with a hint of vanilla was intoxicating him. He keeps his eyes shut, wanting to have his smelling sense heightened. The scent was alluring, comforting in ways his dizzy mind could not explain. All he knew is that he wanted to stay forever in such a state, filled with the sweet perfume he’s grown familiar with.

Warmth.

The next thing Regulus could feel is warmth. Like his body was wrapped in a blissful embrace, tight enough to wash away every wary that has been plaguing his mind. The comfort it brings slowly mends each of his aching bones. He dares not to move a single muscle, afraid that such fragile delight would evaporate once he does.

Regulus lets out a sharp sigh when he opens his eyes. She was there, eyes closed and looking so peaceful mere inches from his face. Her chest was rising and falling at a steady pace. He could feel her arm wrapped around his waist as his own hand rested above it. With this close proximity, Regulus could only hope that the quickening of his heartbeat would not be loud enough to wake her from slumber.

He tries to recall the events that lead them to such a blissful state but the alcohol was blocking big chunks of his memory. He could only remember bits from last night. When he decided to get himself hammered and cleared the Greengrass’ stock of alcohol. He wasn’t even sure how he got back home. Did Sirius help him to get here?

Home. Regulus winces at the realisation of how neglectful he was being. He should’ve been the one to watch over her. He should’ve been the one to make sure that she was safe. Those are the least of what a good husband, and the bare minimum he should show in front of Rosier’s prying eyes last night, yet he’s done the complete opposite of it. Exactly how worse of a man can he be?

But in his defence, the night went quite heavily for him. Sirius knew about his feelings for her and it only made the guilt even heavier now. His selfishness feels all too real now that another soul knows about his deceitful sentiment. Added to the fact that he found her talking to Rosier, smiling and laughing at whatever sweetness Rosier tries to indulge her with. It was practically impossible for Regulus not to see red.

Letting out a disappointed sigh, Regulus thinks of a way he could somehow fix the state he’s in. Perhaps he could offer to go to that theme park again and use it as a means of apology over his reckless behaviour. Their so called date to the theme park last time was ever so brilliant it might even be his pass of forgiveness from the impulsive kiss he did last night.

Regulus’ eyes travel to her lips as a smile blooms on his face. He kissed those lips last night. The lips that he’s been thinking about for years, the one he’s been yearning to kiss once again ever since their wedding, the very lips he’s desperate to taste again.

But given the circumstances, how he’s sure that his breath must smell like piss and the fact that he’s got a whole load of explanations to give her, Regulus knew better than to hope for such a pleasant gesture to reoccur. There's only so much damage he could do before he lost her for good and he would never dare to gamble with it.

Before he could peel his arm off of her, Regulus was stopped by the tightening of her embrace, “Unless you have to empty the inside of your stomach, you are to stay in your position, Regulus.”

Her eyes were closed still but her voice was clear and firm, as if she’s been awake for hours. Regulus couldn’t fight the heat forming on his cheeks. How he realises that she was not asleep during the minutes of him gawking into her face like the creep he is. He could only pray that her eyes were truly closed and that she didn’t see just how much desperation he has on his face whenever he gazes into her.

But then another thought dawned on him. Her arm was still encircling his waist, pulling him closer than before. Regulus dares not to ask nor make any commentary about it, fearing that the moment he brought it up she would retreat and push him away. The fact that she’s consciously willing to hold him this close is setting fire to every inch of his fibre.

“I reek of alcohol.” He manages to say.

“That you do,” She says, sighing as she opens her eyes “But you’re warm, so you’re not going anywhere unless I say so.”

Regulus stares at her eyes, wanting to be completely drowned into her gaze. His heart was racing, trying to keep his emotions packed and collected. He’s never been this close with her, never been this vulnerable and intimate. He could see every little detail of her face. Her beauty marks, her freckles, her features, everything. And as if it was ever possible, Regulus has found himself falling deeper in love with her.

“You’re looking at me weirdly,” She commented, her brows knitted “If you say anything remotely offensive about my morning state I will kick you off of the bed.”

Regulus smiles lightly, “I thought you said you like it that I’m warm.”

“I do,” She sighs, snuggling her face to his chest “That’s why after I kick you, I’ll ask you to come back to bed and hold me again.”

He was sure now that she could hear the rapid beating of his heart. It would be impossible for him to hide it with her closely tucked to his chest. Regulus has never felt more alive than now, feeling the jolts of electricity to jump up and down his spine. The smell of her shampoo was intoxicating. He couldn’t help but to pull her closer, burying his nose to her hair and letting his senses explode with her magnetism.

She whispers softly, “Is this okay?”

“Yeah,” Regulus hums with a light nod “Yeah, this is okay.”

Regulus could feel her fingers drawing circles on his back, leaving invisible marks that he would kiss each night if possible. Everything feels surreal now. Like he was living all of the compiled pleasant dreams he’s had of her over the years. He sure knows not of what might trigger this, what he might drunkenly confess or do last night that made her welcome him with open arms, but he’s surely glad that it happened.

“Where did you go last night?” She asks, face still buried on his chest.

“I went looking for my parents and got sidetracked.”

“I can see that,” She says with a little chuckle “I’m offended you didn’t come and get me to join your little party.”

“Well you looked pretty comfortable with Evan.”

“Really, now?” She says with a raised brow, looking up to see his eyes with annoyed look.

“Do you like Evan?”

The expression on her face was telling for Regulus that he’s crossed a line he shouldn't thread with but his head was still heavy and the trace of alcohol left in his system does little to no help to keep his mouth shut. Better to do the worst damage possible now while he still has the alcohol as an excuse, he reckons.

She lays on her side now, resting her head on her arm as her elbow serves as support. She studies him, looking for any trace of jest on his face but there was only pure despair and agony that she wonders if she was reading him wrong.

“What is it with you and obsessing with me liking Evan?”

Regulus chuckles bitterly, “Believe me, knowing your answer would do the same damage as leaving me pondering for the truth.”

Her confusion only amplifies with his vague answer. Regulus still stares at her, begging for an answer. His hand now rests limp around her waist as if ready to retreat away if her answer wasn’t what he was hoping for.

“Does it matter what I feel for Evan?” She whispers, laying back down and pulling him closer “We’re married after all.”

She hoped that her answer would be enough to stomp whatever thoughts Regulus has in his mind. It doesn’t matter what she feels for Rosier, or whoever man in that matter, because truthfully speaking there has been no other man but him in her eyes. Shouldn’t the fact that they’ve exchanged vows for life be the only thing that matters now? She was his and his only, always.

But her assurance was lost in translation. Her answer only sounded as half a confession that she indeed had, or perhaps has, feelings for Rosier. And though she’s trying her best to ease his mind with her embrace, playing with the strands of hair that falls to his face, Regulus couldn’t seem to shake the underlying message he thinks she’s saying as it is engraved deep inside his brain now.

“I’m tired,” Regulus says instead, closing his eyes so he could stop the tears from escaping “Can I sleep for another hour?”

“Of course.”

“Will you stay?” He begs with a cracking voice “Please.”

There was a pause and Regulus struggled to keep his eyes closed, wanting to see what it is that she’s probably doing but before he could, he felt the bed shift as she lay back and rested her head to his chest, “I won’t go anywhere.”

—-

She could have sworn that it was just yesterday that she got off the Hogwarts Express and was escorted back home by one of her father's workers. It feels like it was just yesterday when she was forced to wear a wedding dress that isn’t really her taste and go down the aisle. It feels like it was just yesterday that Regulus kissed her at the altar, making her officially Mrs. Black.

Perhaps the fact that he’s been much warmer to her lately has made it seem as if time passes faster than it actually does.

Her sweet smile was blooming now as they walked down the busy alleyway of Diagon Alley. School starts in a few weeks and though they have pretty much all of their necessary kits for the upcoming semester, she knows that Regulus loves to visit the bookstores and get his hands on a couple of new books to bring to the castle.

“We don’t have to do this,” Regulus says, his face looking the least excited “I still have plenty of books I haven’t read that I could bring to Hogwarts.”

“I have some books I need to get for my potion class, this trip isn’t just for you.” She excuses, taking his hand and intertwining their fingers “You took Advanced Potion last semester, didn’t you? Any chance you could help me with my assignments?”

Regulus opens his mouth but before any words could leave his lips, he spotted Rosier and Crouch walking towards their direction, no doubt that they’re going to try and join them for whatever business they have here in Diagon Alley. So instead of answering her question, Regulus let go of her hold and shove his hand deep into his coat instead. Completely unaware of the hurt radiating from her eyes.

“Blacks!” Crouch greets excitedly “Fancy seeing you lovebirds.”

“Barty,” She says with half a smile “Evan.”

“There’s a long queue inside. I’ll get your books. You can wait here with Evan and Barty.”

“But—,”

Before she could give more words, Regulus already entered the bookstore and left the three of them alone outside. Sure the queue is long inside, it’s the start of a school semester after all, but it certainly is not enough of a reason to leave her alone with his friends, especially one who he’s been so worried about if she's having feelings for.

“Quite the gentleman, Regulus is,” Rosier mused, an impressed expression plastered on his face “Don’t you need to get the Divination book, Barty?”

Barty nods, excusing himself to get inside the busy bookstore and leaving her with Rosier. Once again completely unaware of the tension in the air.

Her eyes were still locked on the glass door, seeing the last spot she saw Regulus at before disappearing behind the shelves and crowd of people. Only twenty minutes ago was she certain that Regulus was opening up to her, returning the subtle affection she’s been trying to throw in his direction, but now she couldn’t help but to feel once again humiliated by her own expectations.

Regulus could switch from being the sweetest boy she could ever dream of to the coldest ice she’s ever touched in an instant. It’s like he has a switch in his head that he could flick whenever he pleases for whatever reason he deems worthy.

“Reckon they won’t come out for another half an hour,” Rosier says, trying to gain her attention “Fancy a cup of hot chocolate?”

“I’m fine waiting, thanks.”

Rosier pursed his lips, offering another suggestion that he’s not really excited to do, “Shall we go inside?”

She finally turns to face Rosier, seeing clearly that he desires not to enter the bookstore for whatever reason he might possess. A defeated sigh escapes her. Regulus’ act whenever it involves her and Rosier has been bizarre to say the least, but this would be the very first time he deliberately left the two alone. He’s always been the one trying to remove her from Rosier’s present, not to set the two together like this.

Hence for the sake of trying to understand Regulus’ motive, she shakes her head and forces a smile instead, “No, I’m good waiting here.”

A satisfied smile blooms on Rosier’s face, nodding in agreement.

There was a voice in the back of her head saying that she should just come in and look for Regulus, even when he might get all snappy at her for whatever twisted reason he has, but her feet were planted on the cobblestone. Perhaps it’s time for her to try and follow Regulus’ game instead of questioning each and every strange gesture he makes. Perhaps she could find the answer she’s looking for this way.

—-

“Excuse me,” A voice calls, making Regulus look down from the shelf he was scanning at “I was wondering where you got that Advanced Potion book from? I tried to pace around the Potion section but couldn’t find the one I needed.”

“Aquila,” He says in surprise before pointing at the direction where he got the said book from “It’s the third shelf from the Magical Creature section.”

The girl raised an eyebrow, “You know me?”

“I’m Regulus,” He says with a polite smile, offering his hand “Sirius’ brother.”

“Ah, right,” She accepts his hand with an even brighter smile “The grey eyes should’ve told me who you are.”

Regulus smiles once again.

“I didn’t know we needed that many potion books for the term.” She comments again, pointing at the stack of books on his hand.

“Oh, you don’t. You only need the ones Slughorn listed. I just took some reference books I thought might help for the course. I know they did wonders for me last semester.”

“Those aren’t for you?”

“No, these are for my..” Regulus gulps a little, a kaleidoscope of butterflies forming in his stomach “..wife.”

“Ah, Selwyn, right?” She muses “Where is she?”

“I told her to wait outside while I get the books. The store is crowded enough.”

An amused expression now visible on her, “Is your brother this romantic too?”

Romantic. Is that what he tried to do when he left her outside with Rosier? It certainly wasn’t what he had in mind when he entered the bookstore in a hurry, not wanting to spend another second witnessing Rosier yearning for her and what might possibly be the same sentiment she shares. The vague answer she gave a few days ago is still haunting him.

Regulus was already tormented enough knowing that he erased all possible chances of her being with someone better fitting than him, but he never really put much mind that that man might be Rosier. He has always been so convinced that Sirius was the one she has feelings for, that Sirius is the man she’s hoarding affections for, but now that Sirius told him that it wasn’t him, Regulus has to look back on all the interactions she and Rosier exchanged over the years.

Sure her laugh was never as loud as when she was with Sirius, but Rosier made her laugh still. She had no rejection when he pulled her for a hug that day of her birthday and she’s always been so worried about their ruined friendship, asking questions after questions about what happened between him and Rosier and in hindsight the chance that Rosier might actually be the person she fancies feels plausible now.

“Regulus?” Greengrass calls, placing a hand on his arm to snap him out of his thoughts “Are you alright?”

“Splendid,” He says with a smile, squeezing her hand a little in assurance “I should get going. I hope you find your books.”

Regulus walks himself to the cashier in a hurry, completely unaware of a pair of eyes watching the interaction that’s happened. If only he could get his head out of the knotted threads of worries, he would’ve seen the hurt from the eyes of the woman he loves.

—-

The trip back home was quiet. Too quiet for either of their liking but none dared to break the stillness. The questions running in each of their heads were too heavy, suffocating their lungs that it feels practically impossible to gasp for clean air. Each step away from Diagon Alley only fuels their near-to-implode heads with unanswered possibilities.

What did she talk about with Rosier?

What did he talk about with Greengrass?

Their hands were cold in the pocket of their coats. Fingertips itching to reach for each other but neither made a move. Afraid to be the only one craving for the other’s touch. Afraid to be the only one thirsty for the other’s affection. Afraid to be the only one in need of the other’s love.

“I just remembered,” Regulus finally says, stopping their pace on the side of the road “I need to get some quidditch equipment. My robe is torn from the last match.”

“I can come with you,” She offers “If you’d like.”

“No, it’s alright. I’ll be just fine going alone.”

“Regulus,” She finally creaks, taking a hold of his arm before he could slip away once again “What’s going on?”

Regulus’ brows knit, “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been trying to avoid me all day,” She reasoned, her disappointment bleeding through her words “Don’t think I didn’t notice. Did I do something wrong?”

“What? No! I— I just—,” Regulus runs a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated over things he couldn’t share “You did nothing wrong. I just— I just thought it would be too much of an effort for you to walk back to the shop when we’re already halfway home.”

Her eyes study him. There was honesty and vulnerability in his explanation but the creases on his forehead tells her that it wasn’t the full explanation he owes her. That something greater, more gruesome and complicated is still haunting him. It pains her to know that he still couldn’t be as nude with his thoughts with her, even after all the progress they’ve made so far, but she knew better than to push him. She could only hope that her patience would last longer than his stubbornness to keep things to himself.

“I want to come,” She says, this time with more insistence “If I did nothing wrong and you’re not avoiding me, then I see no reason for you to tell me to go home. I want to come.”

The corners of his lips turn upward, “I never said I wasn’t avoiding you.”

A flash of hurt tainting her face, “You really were avoiding me?”

“Yeah,” He jests, shrugging “You reek of cheap perfume. Did Barty rub himself all over you?”

“Piss off.”

She rolls her eyes, laughing slightly as she circles her hand around his left arm. Regulus smiles at the touch, feeling victorious somehow that she’s been more confident with their intimacy. If only he could let go of that treacherous pride and initiate more of their close affinity.

“How come you never joke about Evan the same way you joke about Barty?” She asks as they begin their walk back to Diagon Alley.

Regulus sighs, feeling the bliss of their close proximity to deter a little, “They have a different history with me. Barty never accused me of treachery.”

“I’m sorry,” She shows an apologetic smile “I hope you two can figure it out one day.”

“Highly doubt it,” He chuckles before letting go of her hand, only to rest his arm on her shoulder and place her hand to his waist “Couldn’t care less about it, either.”

“You always say that but make a huge deal out of me talking with Evan.”

“What, a husband can’t be jealous of a man talking to his wife now?”

Her cheeks turn rosy. Could that be it? Could all the anger Regulus show whenever she’s with Rosier stems from jealousy? Could he actually be jealous that she was talking to another man?

“Since when are you this much of a tease?” She asks instead, nudging on his rib “Who are you and what have you done to my reserved, tranquil husband?”

“Oh he’s around, don’t worry about him.”

She smiles, letting Regulus pull her closer by the shoulder.

Times like this, she wished she could put in a bottle to admire at night. Moments when Regulus would show her a side of himself she’s never seen before. The person in him that is playful, full of tease and is unafraid to return the affection she tries to shower him with. Salazar knows she’d kill to have this version of Regulus forever.

“What did you talk about? With Rosier when I was in the bookstore?” Regulus asks, trying to mask his jealousy with a casual tone this time “I saw Barty entering the shop not long after I entered. Must be some interesting topic to talk about to have you planted out there.”

“Nothing,” She says truthfully “Nothing important worth remembering.”

Regulus hums, forcing a smile though it’s obvious that he wasn’t satisfied with her answer.

“What did you talk about with Aquila?”

He raised an eyebrow, “You saw that?”

“Well, quite hard to ignore when you two were standing feet away from the gigantic window.” She says, this time being the jealous party of the two “What did she want?”

“She only wanted to know where to get the potion textbook from,” He explains “Just some questions about potion class. Nothing special.”

She hums this time.

She could feel that Regulus was telling the truth, that Greengrass was only asking him for the potion textbook, but the truth hurt her still. The sight of him smiling at her, the faint hint of rosiness on Greengrass’ cheeks, all of it burns in her head like a cursed image.

She tries to recall if they ever had such lovely interaction before. If Regulus ever looked into her eyes, let alone smiled at her, when they talked, but all she could gather was an empty void. They have never interacted as pleasantly before their marriage. Even now she still thinks that most of his tender gestures were of formality, to quiet down the wandering eyes and whispered questions of others that would see them. To know that he could have an organic delightful exchange with a woman he was supposed to marry haunts her.

“Regulus,” She calls again. Her eyes glued to the cobblestone, unable to meet his eyes “Do you remember that deal we made in the library? About our fake dating?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Does it still apply? With our current condition?” She questions with an uncertain tone “We agreed to call things off if either of us started to catch feelings. Is there any way to call things off now that we’re married?”

Regulus blinks, trying to digest her words with his best ability. His feet have stopped moving, making her to finally look up to him now. It was never easy for him to read through her, but her question now has unlocked a new level of confusion.

What could she possibly mean? Is she telling him that she’s starting to catch feelings for him? Shouldn’t that be a good thing for him to hear? But why would she follow her questions with finding a way out of their marriage? Is that what she truly wants?

“I.. I don’t know.” He says at last.

They stare into each other’s eyes for a few moments, trying to find the answers they both are looking for. If only they would just spill the words that have been trying to burst out of their lips, if only they would push aside their pride for a minute, if only they would just listen to the silent cry of each others’ yearn, they would’ve found their answers.

But they were just children. They were just two naive sixteen year olds who thought that they'd stripped each other off of their rights to find their true love. They were just lost souls hoping for the other to be their soulmate.

“Do you want it to be?” He whispers, fear and hesitation bleeding through him “Do you need a way out of this?”

Her heart was beating faster now. Does she want it? Does she need a way out of this marriage? No, the answer would certainly be no. But would she be able to bear the guilt of preventing him from meeting his true lover? Would she be able to forgive herself from stealing his happiness? To stop him from being with someone who could’ve been a better pair for him?

“I don’t know,” She answers “I just— Nevermind.”

She tries to have them continue their pace but Regulus is still stuck on the ground, feet seemingly melting into one with the cobblestone. His eyes were still vacant, looking as if he’s just got his soul sucked out of his body. It wasn’t a good look for others to see but her questions have taken him so off guard that he couldn’t even gather the power to collect himself.

“Is this about Evan?”

“What?” She asks, appalled at his question “Why does everything have to circle back to Evan?!”

“I don’t know, because we were talking about him and you suddenly asked me this!”

“We weren’t talking about him, we were talking about Aquila!”

“Yes, but we were talking about Evan first, weren’t we?!”

The answer was laid bare now for them. That he was distraught about Rosier while she was insecure of Aquila, but neither of them were listening. Neither of them wanted to stop and look around. Too busy trying to untangle each other’s cryptic words to realise that their closure was right before their eyes.

“You know what, forget I asked. Forget I even said anything, okay? Can we just move on from this?” She says with an exasperated sigh “We need to run before the shops close.”

Regulus clenches his jaw. Without a word, he begins to move his feet. The two of them now continue their walk back to Diagon Alley, once again in an uncomforting silence and an even wider distance than before.