#edit i forgot to add this to my au tag when i start to add more in there bc this is technically apart of that

[wolftheidioticfan]

(We can get to that heaven!) As the tanks roll by (We can get to that heaven!) Under a blood black sky (Lunatic in my bedroom!) I'm thinking, "Where in the blazes Did I park my car?"

[mystxmomo]

can you…write…kevgar… again.. please…

im not asking for a 100k words, 100 is enough for me.. please…

😭💔😭☹️☹️🥺😭😭💔😭eyyeus eueue 😭💔🥺🥺

Okay so like. I do actually want to come back and write something once this event wraps up, because I'm genuinely kind of baffled at how much we're being... like given? It's sparking some ideas. No promises on it though because I need to write being carried by the muses and the tides.

Edit: Also this art at the bottom is REALLY cute I forgot to mention it at first. Thank you for. Letting me see them....

Anyway. I can do you one better than 100 words. Back in like. 2022, I was working on a massive Hanahaki Kevgar AU. I ended up dropping it because I explored what I was interested in with "As the pieces fall into place" (Aka erectile dysfunction au) and was pretty happy with what I had + I think I used chunks of this dialog in that fic (So if some of that looks familiar thats why). However, I also had like. A REALLY NOT INSIGNIFICANT part of this fic written?

Thought it would sit around and collect dust forever in my docs, but you and I both know how sad the state of the Kevgar tag is in. Here's what I had of it put together. Again, I can't stress enough. This is unfinished. But it's also uhhh. Almost 5k words of unfinished? So hopefully some of it still scratches at your brain, even if it's just a draft.

"Original Authors note: 

Hello there main friend group, extended twitter friendgroup, and three random strangers in my puter that this pairing will appeal to, I hope this fic finds you well.

Basically, I saw a tumblr post maybe a year or two back that talked about the idea of Hanahaki not as a lethal disease, but instead a chronic one. The idea that it’s a manifestation of your emotions, and your emotions aren’t going to kill you, but by damn they’re gonna be a bitch to deal with. Especially if you keep shoving them down in a little box and avoiding them. 

Basically the flowers are a metaphor. It takes away from the tragedy but adds an angle of nuance that I as a writer find personally enjoyable to navigate and play with.

AND I thought to myself. Man you know who would be fun for that? Gay Kevin."

===================

Edgar Valden is real pretty, is the main thing.

Frustratingly so. Men, let alone men with personalities as rotten and cruel as Valden’s shouldn’t be allowed to be as pretty as he is. 

But he is, and it’s an issue. 

He’s also. Ah… Small. Frail enough to tug at Kevin’s heart strings in a way he’s not entirely comfortable with. He catches himself thinking about that mid-match, Edgar dizzy enough from a recent hit not to fight being carted around on his shoulder. A head smaller than Kevin, and lighter than some of the ladies, Edgar is easy on his arm and warm against his shoulder.

The first time he realizes it, the illusion is immediately ruined by Edgar catching his barings, and begins to kick and struggle out of his hold and cuss him clean. But a sickly, uncomfortable feeling settles in his stomach, and eventually even the most private of Kevin’s thoughts always have a funny way of haunting him. It’s easy to hate him when he’s standing in front of you, sneering and glaring like the bullheaded swine he is. But out on their game field, when the adrenaline runs so heavy his blood goes cold, and Edgar is flying around the field with the same amount of speed and dedication that he takes to his art, it becomes harder to separate pretty from fragile. And late into the night, when Kevin’s thoughts have a tendency to haunt him the most, there’s no escaping it. He prefers it to the guilt that plagues the back of his mind at those hours, but it sits at the pit of his stomach with the same amount of discomfort and nausea as that guilt does. And that guilt, inevitably, turns to rage.

And rage always comes back to frustration. 

When he starts hacking up petals and blood, he doesn’t think it’s Valden. He doesn’t think it’s anyone, really. 

//

Emily tells him that it’s called Hanahaki.

“I’m surprised you’ve never encountered it before,” She says, as a general musing.

“I’ve heard of things like it,” He says, “You tend to hear a lot of rumors n’ stories while travelin’ around. You can’t take everything at face value, y’know? Thought it was closer to tall-tales.”

She nods, her brows furrowing together. She tends to get like that when she’s deep in thought. Sort of snappy, and certainly less patient. But she hasn’t gotten to the point that she gets after they finish their matches, running around like a chicken with her head cut off. Instead, it’s quiet pacing.

“Our body has an odd way of reacting to…” She tilts her head, carefully considers her words before she says them. She’s smart like that, “Emotions. Stress. Eventually, it manifests itself physically,” She gives him a concerned look, “Has there been any changes in your life?”

He gives her a weird look. Permanent state of stasis they seemed to be trapped in, their changes were rare and minimal. He had less games these days then when he’d started here, and most of the new personalities at the manor were a respectable sort. To his silence, she almost rolls her eyes. Almost. She’s professional enough not to.

“Ayuso, it could be anything. Have the games been worse recently?” He gives her a stranger look for that one, and she tuts, runs her hands back through her hair and messes up her otherwise pristine looking bun, “Honestly, I’m surprised we haven’t gotten a case of it in the manor sooner. Maybe because of how isolated we are..?” She considers it in silence, and Kevin thinks it would be wrong to interrupt her. But then she’s turning to look at him, “Can I see those petals again?”

Raising a brow, he takes out the handkerchief he’d collected them in. It’s from a personal favorite outfit of his, and at first he’s not actually sure what she’s looking for. Because she brushes the petals off to the side, and raises the cloth to the light, and what she says next concerns him more than anything else about the conversation has, “It’s an abnormal amount of blood for such a minor case,” She mutters, stares, “You did come to me immediately, right?”

He huffs laughter. His throat hurts, “‘Course, course. I didn’t see petals and think it was normal.”

She glares, “Don’t get smart with me, Ayuso. I swear, some of these people could come down with consumption and avoid me for it…” She sighs, and her shoulders fall, “Is it growing thorns…?” 

“Is that possible?” He asks, and feels somewhat foolish for doing so. Of course it is. She wouldn’t have mentioned it if it hadn’t been.

“It’s not unheard of,” She says, and steps forward to hand him the handkerchief back. When she looks over at him again, it’s with a certain amount of sympathy he rarely sees on her face, “You should be fine, but…I won’t say it will be pleasant.”

He chuckles, and it comes across as weak and forced, “Ms. Dyer, I may be something of a foolish man, but I don’t think anyone is foolish enough think flowers in your throat are a’pleasant experience.”

She rolls her eyes at him, “Let me see what medicine I can find. I might be able to kill a few of them off for you…”

//

He doesn’t want to acknowledge his unfortunate reality, but the first time he vomits up fist fulls of flowers, he’s in a match with Valen

It’s not a good match. Emily goes down fast. Kevin doesn’t have time to get across the map. Mike tries to pull off a rescue, but Michiko is faster than he is, and a bit more clever to boot. Edgar manages to pull something off with those paintings of his, but Kevin’s never been any good with the technology in the manor, and by the time Emily’s out of the game they barley have two ciphers done.

With Michiko distracted by Mike, it gives him the chance to slip away with Edgar. He knows Edgar took a bad hit, because he stays limp over his shoulder rather than attempt to fight and squirm against him.

(He’s warm, something whispers in Kevin’s ear.)

“There you are,” Kevin draws, and drops him on the ground with no amount of care or subtlety. Edgar stumbles back a few steps, attempting to blink away the lightheadedness that comes with these matches.

“... Thanks,” Edgar says, quietly, and brushes himself off at the knees. Though he’s doing well to hide it, he has an embarrassed blush on his face, and he needs to lean back against the crumbling wall to keep his balance. 

Kevin reaches out to steady him a bit better, and Edgar shoots him a look that could kill. 

“Go decode, I’ll catch my breath and find a way to distract her again,” Edgar turns to give him an odd sort of look, the normal irritation that shadows over his face mending away to something else entirely. Though what it is, he’s unsure, “We can probably still save this if I…” He’s trailing off, a distant, manic look to his eye as he does. It answers none of Kevin’s questions, and only increases his concern, and when Edgar kneels on the ground it’s to fuss with something in his hand.

He’d not noticed it before, but the painter already has a syringe in his hand. He must have scavenged the supplies from Dyer's chair, because he’s already trying to find a vein with shaking, cold-nipped looking fingers.

And like a pendulum swinging back and forth, his irritation washes back to sympathy. And with that sympathy comes guilt, and nausea. 

Kevin steps forward, and grabs his arm for him. Edgar immediately tries to pull away, but Kevin is stronger than him, and it only takes tightening his grip to get Edgar to still. Edgar squirms under his touch, and something in Kevin’s head equates him to being no different than one of those squeaking barn kittens that didn’t know threats from friends and so they yelled and hissed at anything that grabbed ‘em.

“Hold still,” he says, his voice strained, and Edgar does glare at him this time, “Save the supplies. Y’might need it later.”

Edgar lets him. Patch him up. He can’t argue with strategy, and their playing field is the uncomfortable equalizer. To Kevin’s discomfort, Edgar spends the entire time staring at him with this ugly, uncanny look.

…

“You’re hurt,” Edgar says, suddenly, and reaches out to grab Kevin’s face. Edgar’s hands are soft, and but his touch is not. His thumb brushes against his mouth, and he’s surprised to find that it comes back with blood. He doesn’t remember tasting it. Maybe he’s already so used to it, that he’d just not noticed it, “When did you take a hit?”

A smarter man would be able to come up with an excuse on the spot. It’s not unusual, afterall, to end the match covered in your teammates blood. Especially ones that run as poorly as there’s. Especially with Kevin’s position being as it is.

Kevin is not a smart man. He’s dull, and a coward.

“I’m fine,” He snaps, and pulls back from Edgar. Feeling suddenly quite defensive, he feels his lips curl up in defiance. It’s all show, really. Because underneath it, he can’t deny the sudden surge of nerves and panic and fear. He’s never been any different or any smarter than a cornered animal, but most men in his position aren’t.

 Edgar’s hand lingers in the air, fingers oddly delicate despite the blood. And Edgar stares at him. He stares at him for a long time, his eyes distant and hollow and cold, “Okay,” He says, and his tone is odd when he says it. Like Edgar doesn’t entirely believe him. And when Kevin thinks he’s going to leave it at that, he clarifies with, “Okay. You don’t have to tell me. Whatever. Just- Go decode. Maybe I can still save this for us, you useless asshole…” 

And Edgar trails off, stares at the spot of the snow where his own blood has dripped on the snow. 

There’s no fight left in him after that. There should be. This is the part where Kevin normally feels anger and discomfort at the mans provocation, where they ruin their match and draw the hunters ire. It’s normally the part where irritation takes over sensability.

Instead, Kevin stumbles away feeling nauseous. He doesn’t decode. Decoding would be the smart thing to do, and he is not a smart man. A cold sweat crawls over his skin, and he’s shaking hard enough that he’s having trouble staying upright. He feels it, in his throat and in his gut. Something cutting into his flesh, like the way a cats claws would dig into skin.

He makes it behind shack, before he needs to stop and stable his weight on the wall.

It’s petals and blood mix on the ground in a ugly red soup, chunky and red with rotting petals and cuts of flesh. He wheezes in an attempt to catch his breath, but he finds himself dizzy for it. Eventually, he needs to kneel on the ground and rest his head against the wall, unable to keep his eyes open without risking another fit. The cold weather of Leo’s is as much of a sting as it is a comfort on his throat and skin. And just when he thinks he’s settled his head, he lurches again, the cycle repeating all over.

He doesn’t realize the blood rushing in his ear is the hunter until he feels her cold hand on his back.

“Oh dear..” Michiko says, and her voice is soft on his ear, “This is where you’ve been hiding.”

Michiko is a sweet sort of lady. She doesn’t take the chance to knock him out over it. Instead, she lingers behind him and ushers him in the direction the dungeon must be, stopping him from falling over himself twice in the process

He’d not realized she’d found Edgar. She must have. By the time she guides him over to the dungeon, it’s already open, the wind blowing out of it. He drops into the dungeon without as much as a tip of his hat, and there's this cold, empty feeling that sits in the bottom of his stomach.

Valden was going to kill him.

// Editors note: These next sections are unfinished, but I still give everything I had for you. Anything that has a "...." Around it was supposed to have more of a lead in.

Edgar doesn’t kill him.

But also Edgar doesn’t talk to him for a while, after that.

He doesn’t talk to him. He expects a fight out of it, but he stumbles into the room so pale and dizzy that it draws the concern of Emily immediately. 

[Edgar picks a fight with Emily because he's confused and irritated]

“Come on now Valden, don’t give her a hard time ‘cause you’re in a shitty mood,” He steps in between them, and Edgar snarls at him.

“Don't fucking touch me,"

...

Something clicks into place in Emily’s gaze, something Kevin barely catches himself. She looks at the two of them. Opens her mouth to say something. A scolding, maybe.

Then closes it, her eyebrows furrowing.

//

The first time he coughs up a stem, he cuts up his throat so badly he can’t talk.

Perhap's its for the best. He feels uncharacteristically irritable about the whole thing, as the rose thorns hook into his throat and restrict his breath.....

“Ayuso…?” Edgar calls out, and he sounds surprisingly… small. It pisses him off. 

“Just-” Kevin draws in a long breath, holding his head in his hands, 

Edgar lingers in the doorway for a few seconds, blinking dully. He looks away, “I was going to ask if you’re alright.” He says, sounding short with him. “I thought….” He trails off, stares at him for a long time. His gaze burns into Kevin’s skin

“Nevermind,” Edgar grumbles, and pushes past him. It’s with a harsh shove, and some smarter part of Kevin thinks he might deserve it. But some ugly, more stubborn part of him only makes him angrier. 

//

....

“Of course I know what hanahaki is,” Edgar says, and the door closes with more force the necessary, “The droll hopeless romantics in the arts don’t know how to shut up about it.”

“You don’t hate me?” Kevin’s heart swells.

“Why would I hate you?” Edgar wrinkles his nose at him, “You’re annoying, and I wish you’d learn how to shut the hell up. But thats really not different than any of the other dumbasses that populate this manor."

Unsure of whether or not to be relieved or to scold the man, Kevin laughs. He feels light headed.

“Want to hear somethin’ funny?” Kevin doesn't wait for a reply, “I don’t…. think I hate you.”

Edgar takes a moment to process that. Then laughs at him. Loudly, and full body. It’s sharp on his ear, and as ugly as it is pretty. Perfect, for a man like Valden, “That's what you’re so worked up about?” He asks, and steps forward to look him over. 

“You’re fuckin’-”

“You’re throwing around children's insults and throwing up flower petals over the fact you might not hate me. Ayuso that’s- Ridiculous. Tell me you see how ridiculous that is,” He says, and his smile is hidden behind his hand. Kevin feels ill looking at it. Because even when he’s mocking him, that smile causes his stomach to turn and nerves to creep under his skin. 

(His smile is, while at first perplexed, otherwise sincere. It’s something rare to see on the man.)

And he- he doesn’t understand. Edgar doesn’t know. He doesn’t understand what this means for Kevin, he doesn’t understand the severity of that acknowledgement. 

Kevin barely understands what this means for himself. 

Kevin lunges forward and grabs him by the shirt. He kisses him.

Edgar looks startled. At first, he panics, and Kevin has acute awareness of the way his hand grabs at his shirt and wrist. He doesn’t pull away

But eventually, he calms as Kevin does. His hand moves from his chest to his jaw, cupping his cheek like it actually means something to him. His hands are soft, and Kevin’s are not. Kevin’s lips are chapped, and Edgar’s are sweet. It causes guilt and disgust to rest in his gut all the same, and instead of rage, it just sinks and sits there. 

When he pulls away, Edgar is giving him a distant, careful look. 

Kevin stares at him with exhaustion, pale in the face and ill in the stomach.

“Oh. You taste like blood. Come here.” Edgar says, and his hand lingers on top of Kevin’s wrist, on his cheek, thumb against the corner of his lip,

Edgar kisses him again. It doesn’t help, but Kevin still indulges in it like it does.

...

When Kevin breaks away, he’s shaking.

Guilt. Disgust. Anger. Discomfort. There are butterflies in his stomach, like the first time [his lady I forgot her name] grabbed his hand and smiled at him.

Fuck.

He pulls away, and he vomits.

Edgar is quiet this time. There’s no mockery, and no cruelty. He watches him with a blank expression on his face, hand drifting like he's unsure whether or not he wants to touch him again. Then, he kneels down next to him. A warm body against his side, a soft hand on his back, rubbing right up between his shoulder blades.

“Hey,” Edgar says, “Go to bed, Ayuso. We can talk later.”

His eyes burn.

Edgar helps him over into bed, and sits on the edge of it until he falls asleep. 

They don’t talk about it.

//

He tries to talk to Patricia about it.

“Mother once told me that love was something you chose to do. People think they fall in love. And maybe there’s some honesty to that. But love is conditional. It’s as much of a choice as cruelty,” Patricia says. She looks toward him, frowns, “But I will admit. You seem to have been born strictly to challenge that idea.”

Kevin can’t help himself. A smile hesitantly pulls onto his lips, and he says, “Y’think?”

“That’s not a compliment. Moron,” Her tongue clicks against her teeth, but her eyes soften on him.

“I don’t know. It sort of sounded like one.”

...

"Listen, Kevin. And I am begging you to listen closely. Because I'm going to tell you something I wish, more then anything, someone had told me," She struts forward, placing her hands on either side of his cheek. The touch is gentle, but firm, guiding his gaze to hers. She has to gaze up at him to look him in the eye, but when that meets, hers narrows on his with an almost predatory look.

But then it falls. Her lips twitch down, and her hands fall, "It's okay."

He laughs, "That's it?"

She considers her next words carefully. Instead of snapping back at him, there's a patient, creeping look to her eye, "It's okay that you're uncomfortable with this."

And his blood runs cold.

Something must change about his expression, then. Because she sways forward again, closer than before. She swallows, slow and collected, "It's okay to feel disgusted with yourself, and it's okay to feel guilty. That's outside of your control. I need you to think about that, because I know you don't understand it. What you're feeling now is- it's fine. It's just... Fine. But if you sit there and let it eat you alive then you're better off dead."

....

He coughs.

And coughs again, . He’s struck with a sudden wave of exhaustion.

He ... Sits down. He feels winded.

He holds his head in his hands.

"I don't think this was ever about Valden," He says, and his hand scratches at his throat.

"Maybe not," Patricia shrugs, "Maybe it was. You'll have to be the one to figure that out.”

//

He extends an olive branch.

"Do you wanna come drinkin' with me tonight," Kevin asks, and he holds back a grimace as he asks. 

Edgar looks at him weirdly, "Not really," He says, too fast for Kevin's heart to handle. But then he continues. Not in any consideration of Kevin’s immediate heartbreak, but because he muses outloud to himself more than he doesn’t, "It gets too loud in Demi's bar. That room is too damn small sometimes. That doesn't sound even remotely relaxing."

Kevin pauses.

"It can just be us," he offers, and takes a small step forward, "I ain't exactly picky about where I drink. If the bar is too loud I can come on up to your room, or you can come up to mine."

"..." Edgar turns to look at him, and his gaze glimmers with a curious interest, "Why don't you come by my studio tonight with some wine."

For a minute, the guilt in his heart is replaced by those soft, lovely butterflies that scatter and crawl about. 

“Alright.”

//

....

“Oh, it’s you,” Edgar wipes away the paint off his arms, and nods him into the room. Kevin offers him a suspicious, quiet look, but steps forward.

“Hurt my heart, Valden. Soundin’ so disappointed I showed up.”

“I didn’t actually think you would,” Edgar says, like an admittance, “Sit down.”

Kevin does.

“I hope you don’t mind if I paint you while we drink,” Edgar says, pouring the wine Kevin brought into two cups. And Kevin - he grunts.

“Now I didn’t exactly remember that bein’ part of the deal.”

“Sucks.”

Edgar extends the cup out for him to take. Kevin does. Their fingers brush, and Kevin’s entire arm buzz with the nerves that come from it.

Edgar works in silence, for the most part. It’s awkward, and uncomfortable. Kevin falls into sharp coughing fits, and Edgar without fail will wrinkle his nose at him, come on over, and wordlessly tilt his head back to the position he wants him in. His touches are soft, and careful. Calculated in a way that Kevin doesn’t often see on him. The wine aside, Edgar has tea prepared for him, which surprises him. Given that Kevin arrived so late, it’s mostly luke-warm. Edgar doesn’t bother mentioning or apologizing for that. 

He finishes off a glass of wine. Then another. It just further succeeds in giving him that uncomfortable, sticky feeling he’s never been good at handling.

Edgar stares at him, and Kevin feels that gaze crawling across his skin. The room isn’t warm, but it might as well be.

“I’ve never been good at portraits,” Edgar admits to him, suddenly, his gaze lowering to his pallet. Kevin waits for him to continue, but realizes that on his on he probably won’t.

Despite himself, he prompts him.

....

His gaze is tired. His figure is stiff, “I’m not good at this, Ayuso. I’ve never been good at this. So I’ll be forward. I don’t know why you’re here, and it’s really hard to convince myself of any explanation that seems reasonable.”

Kevin's throat itches. Edgar looks up at him.

“What are you asking me, then?”

“I don’t know.” Kevin says, “I don’t even really know what I want outt’a this, if I’m bein’ honest with you.”

Edgar rubs his eyes. It seems tired, “Fuck me, you’re so fucking stupid sometimes,”

Kevin feels that anger, that kneejerk horror, and he moves to stand. There’s a snarl on his lip before he knows it, as the embarrassment passes over him

“No, no. Jesus- Get that look off your face, I wasn’t insulting you. You just- Are.” Edgar’s jaw sets. His paintbrush slams down, and with it, Kevin stills. He looks like he has a headache, “You are.” He repeats, sharply, and more firm.

“How is callin’ me stupid not an insult?!” 

“What else am I supposed to call you when you act like this!?” 

Kevin stares at him in disbelief, and Edgar throws his hands up in the air. He holds his head in his hands and closes his eyes, and there’s this short, uncomfortable silence between the two of them. It passes. It always passes. 

Kevin gets up to leave.

Edgar catches his hand and stare at him. Kevin hadn't realized he could move that fast, or maybe that he'd been approaching him to begin with. Kevin turns to snap at him, but when their eyes meet he feels it all die out.

“Sit down,” Edgar says

Kevin.... sits.

[The note in my drafts here just said "Second Base" With no other context]

He feels. Guilt. For for wanting him like this. 

And, above all else, guilt at placing himself in Edgar’s life. Guilt for his feelings.

He coughs. 

Kevin nudges Edgar off of him, and for a moment Edgar’s eyes flash with panic and - To Kevin’s mild horror, betrayal. But Kevin doesn’t have time to sit on it. He rolls over and, as he’s become so accustomed to, hacks and coughs until vomit and blood and whole flowers pool out of his mouth. At first in chunks, and then and into a puddle on the otherwise clean cloth. It tastes like rot in his mouth, stinks like the mush thrown at hogs. 

When he comes back down from it all, Edgar is next to him folded on his knee’s. He has a hand between his shoulder blades, tracing sweet little lines into his back. 

When Kevin breath’s again, he’s surprised. 

His hand is still near his mouth, covered in the ugly [visceral] and gore. 

Kevin think’s Edgar will leave him as he did before, especially when he leaves his side and mumbles about not needing to do anything tonight. But to his surprise, he comes back. He has a rag in his hand, stained by paint but otherwise clean, and a cup of water. Edgar takes his hands between his own again and mindfully begin to clean it. His nose wrinkles up when his hands touch a little too close to the gunk, but to Kevin’s surprise, he still works to clean them.

It’s been a while since anyone’s done that for Kevin.

He feels emptier for it.

...

“Didn’t think someone like you would have the stomach for this,” Kevin says, eventually, when his body no longer betrays him.

“... My sister used to get sick when she was younger,” Edgar says, 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” He looks ahead, rather than at Kevin, “The maids were supposed to take care of her, but I…” Edgar trails off, his fingers twitching. Kevin doesn’t push him about it. He has a few stories of his own that he wouldn’t want told.

“Sorry ‘bout your uh-” 

Edgar looks down at the vile, and wrinkles his nose, “Why are you apologizing? It’s just spare bedsheets. They were probably Balsa’s anyway,” 

They sit in silence.

Kevin is the one to leave.

//

What he hates most, he thinks, is that Edgar isn’t wrong. Kevin can’t deny his own attraction to the man at this point. That’s why he was here, wasn’t it? And there’s such shame in that. He was better than that. 

He doesn’t have a defense for himself. He says, "Is it hard to believe I find you kind of- I don’t know. You’re interesting?"

Edgar's nose wrinkles. His face blanks over. God that's - infuriating. He does that when he realizes he's not going to be getting his way, that he's maybe not as right as he thought he was. Kevin knows this because Kevin's argued with him before, "What could you possibly find fascinating about me?"

“I don’t know yet,” He answers, weakly, and Edgar gives him a look with disbelief so thick he can cut through it. His throat feels dry. Not even the stuffy, clogged dry that could get him out of this, but instead an uncomfortable, distant feeling that has him falling silent and still. He wants to raise his hands up and touch them to the other man's shoulders, but just as much, he finds his hand paralyzed at his sides.

Edgar tries to take pity on him.

“Ayuso, that’s not- It’s not an accusation,” Edgar says, slowly, “It’s just what it is.”

Kevin draws a long breath in. It's patient, and careful, "You were okay with me using you like that?"

"You weren't using me," Edgar sounds annoyed, but there’s confusion there, "I want to fuck you. If I didn’t want to fuck you, I wouldn’t be here.”

Kevin flinches at the vulgarity of it. Maybe it's just how sharply it contrasts the emotions of the conversation, but he - He does flinch.

...

Edgar steps closer, so that they can sit next to one another. He's still and uncomfortable. "Okay."

Kevin laces their fingers together.

There's no guilt for that.

[enepaigos]

Navigation post I've been meaning to do for a while...!

Inbox: Asks and DMs are open, however I'm very socially awkward when it comes text chat. I also use speech-to-text a lot due to a learning disability. The speech-to-text hates my accent, so don't be surprised if there's any grammar issues. So don't expect anything fast. Requests? Why not..? I'm kind of slow artist so I might use use them as 5-minute challenges. We'll see. Also, please be polite and just use common sense if you have it. Anonymous will always be an option if you need it. One more thing, don't come into my asks just to start a fight. I'm just going to block and delete those.

Warnings: There may be an occasional horror illustration here or there, but usually expect those to come around Halloween. I haven't gotten too far into disturbing stuff yet, but it might happen. Also, I might swear. However this f****** speech to text tends to auto sensor a lot. So maybe don't worry? Edit: forgot to mention, I'm in my mid twenties.

Commissions: will be a separate post when I can stop procrastinating on info sheets. For right now closed.

Current hyper fixations: sewing, live 2D, Twisted Wonderland, Splatoon, and Sonic.

My stuff: (I'll add links later, I just want to post this and get over with) art tag, asks, OCs, Dragon Ace au, sewing stuff, headcannons.

Other socials:

https://bsky.app/profile/enepaigos.bsky.social

https://ko-fi.com/enepaigos

https://www.instagram.com/enepaigos/

Note: still a couple things I need to add, but my AuADHD is like "do it later, we're tired." Executive dysfunction at its finest.

[zirkkun]

taglist

▬ feel free to use this to find posts or filter stuff from your dash. i may update this in the future but this is a general list! ▬

→ if you're looking for something from 2020-2022, know that i didn't start properly tagging reblogs until sometime around 2022 / 2023. in that case, you can always check out my archive. → if I've forgotten to tag something, you can just drop me an ask!

💚 blog-specific taglist ▬

◽ #zircon arts → for my visual arts! ◽ #zircon collab → for collabs with other folks or dtiys events! ◽ #zircon writes → for my written works! ◽ #zircon edits → for video edits / collages! ◽ #zircon bookmark → posts i bookmarked for my own reference! ◽ #zircon pin → current and old pinned posts! ◽ #zircon shitpost → shitposts i've made or reblogged! ◽ #zircon rambles → for my text posts! ◽ #zirqueue → any and all things thrown into my queue! ◽ #friend art → my friend made this art and i encourage you to check it out! (note: i tend to be really awkward when it comes to calling people friends so if we talk a lot and you're upset i didn't tag a reblog with this, feel free to just tell me about it. i don't wanna overstep is all lol)

💚 fandom taglist ▬

standard rule is i tag the fandom by its most common name or abbreviation. most common fandoms: ◽ #undertale ◽ #deltarune ◽ #undertale au → generally same fandom space, but if you don't want to see one or the other, here's the separate tags for ya. ◽ #twewy ◽ #twewy spoilers → normally i don't tag spoilers past a few months after release of something, but because twewy is so plot-twist-heavy, i opted to make an exception going forward :) but anything pre-April 2025 probably won't be tagged with this, fair warning! → do note: all my neo twewy reblogs are ALSO tagged as #twewy! fandoms i occasionally post about: ◽ #yugioh ◽ #ace attorney ◽ #neopets ◽ #loz ◽ #danganranpa ◽ #drawfee ◽ #drawn to life ◽ #pokemon ◽ #stardew valley ◽ #kingdom hearts

💚 ship taglist ▬

standard rule is i use the most common ship name i see OR the tag from the original post. sometimes i leave it blank if i don't know the ship name. feel free to let me know if you'd like me to tag it and what ship name to use! undertale/deltarune/utmv: ◽ #soriel (Sans x Toriel) ◽ #papyton (Papyrus x Mettaton) ◽ #mettasans (Mettaton x Sans) ◽ #sanscest (Sans x Sans) → i realize there's a bunch of different ones, but there's too many to keep track of, so they all get to be under this tag lol → that being said, if there's a SPECIFIC sanscest ship you'd like tagged, let me know! twewy: ◽ #joshneku (Joshua x Neku) ◽ #neshiki (Neku x Shiki) ◽ #joshneshiki (Joshua x Neku x Shiki) ◽ #beatjosh (Beat x Joshua) ◽ #beatneku (Beat x Neku) ◽ #joshmegumi (Joshua x Kitaniji) ◽ #kirikagi (Joshua x Haz / Hazuki) general / other: ◽ #oc x canon

💚 content warning tags ▬

i don't use a lot of these very often, but they're here in case it comes up. a handful of these i've only used once or twice. i try to keep this updated whenever i add a new one, but you can expect the formatting to be the same if there's something i haven't listed here. additionally, if you need something tagged that i've posted about and either forgot to tag or never considered tagging it, don't be afraid to ask! it's a small amount of effort i can do to make your browsing experience better :) self-explanatory tags: ◽ #blood tw// ◽ #character death tw// ◽ #knife tw// ◽ #gun tw// ◽ #gore tw// ◽ #yandere tw// ◽ #body horror tw// ◽ #rape tw// ◽ #grooming tw// ◽ #violence tw// ◽ #death tw// ◽ #death mention tw// ◽ #needle tw// ◽ #vomit tw// ◽ #eye strain tw// ◽ #snake tw// ◽ #self harm tw// ones needing more explanation: ◽ #discourse tw// → applies to fandom discourse, whether it be a specific incident or the concept as a whole ◽ #real life topics → anything about real-life issues. sometimes pertains to discourse, sometimes doesn't → i rarely post things requiring either of these tags simply because it bogs ME down if i were too post too much about them. please don't feel bad if you need to block these posts for your own mental health when you don't have the capacity to think about them! ◽ #undress tw// → tag that specifically applies to if a person/character is put into a situation where they are forced to take off clothes for one reason or another. i've only used this once, but kept the tag in case it comes up again!

[madlad-sadgal]

Goldenheart AU Pt. 3

I FOUND MY NOTEBOOK!

If you couldn't tell, I have found my notes about this AU and am finally able to make more parts (I could've just made new notes but for some reason my mind stopped everytime I tried to do that, so yeah). This part is gonna be about the band members' (Bal, Nimona and Meredith) backstories.

I highly suggest you check out these first if you wanna understand this, cuz it might not make sense: [Part 1] [Part 2]

(Edit: I'm an idiot and forgot to put the links when I first posted it)

Part 1 is just the base of the AU, and part 2 explains the Director/Livia's (the name I gave her) reasons to not want Goldenheart to be a thing.

Also, feel free to put any idea you might want to add on in the comments or the tags! I tend to look at them and take them in consideration. I don't tag you (some people don't want to be tagged), but if you want to be credited, just message me and I'll tag you if I use your idea!

Anyways, Enjoy!

Ballister Boldheart

Although he didn't live on the streets, Ballister wasn't part of a very fortunate family when it came to money.

Education was something his family struggled to provide to him, and food was thoroughly enjoyed as one never knew if the next meal would be provided or not

His parents worked in a quite successful company but were paid barely enough to survive despite the amount of work they did

Ballister also worked small jobs, such as helping the park keeper clean up garbage, helping the mailman deliver his letters and packages, and so on

When he properly met Ambrosius was when he was cleaning up the park

I say properly because everyone knows Ambrosius Goldenloin, future heir to the Goldenloin company, so when he walked up to a little boy with long dirty hair and worn down clothes, it was pretty safe to say he was wary of him at first

Slowly but surely, after they met up more and more, Ballister started to warm up to him until they became great friends

Ambrosius had tried many times to give money to his family or to buy him something, but Ballister always refused because 1) He wanted to prove he could help on his own, not thanks to some charity money, and 2) He really didn't need the rest of Ambrosius' friends to start rumors about how he was using him for money (It was pretty clear they didn't like him, mainly Todd Sureblade, the Sureblade's being long friends of the Goldenloins)

At some point in time, when they were about 9-10, Ambrosius had to leave cities because of something and the two boys wouldn't be able to talk anymore, so he left with heart wrenching goodbyes

After that, everything was basically shit

With Ambrosius no longer around, some of his old friends who had stayed behind picked on him (hiding the stuff he needed to work, throwing random objects at him when he was in the park, etc.)

His father succumbed to an illness he had been suffering from for a while which sent his mother spiraling into a depression and turning to drinks. She didn't abuse him, but behind her curtain of sadness, she basically forgot about him and it was up to Ballister to provide food and take care of the both of them

It didn't take long for child protection services to take note of this and, at 16, Ballister was placed in a foster home while his mother went to therapy and rehab

It was in the foster home that Ballister met Nimona (backstory later)

Nimona was younger than him by around ten years, a little six year old kid who looked harmless until you realized just how much chaos she could cause

Still, he enjoyed Nimona's company and his foster parents could tell, so they let the two kids be. It was a struggle to stop Nimona from causing chaos everytime they went to the market, but it was worth it if it meant they'd stay up until late into the night arguing about whether freestyle jazz was good or not, if pineapple belonged on pizza or not and what animals would be the best to have if you were running away from the police

Back to that last point, music (except freestyle jazz) was something that the two enjoyed greatly. Nimona enjoyed the drums, always getting a boost out of watching others go crazy on them. Ballister preferred bass (it may or may not be because he remembered Ambrosius had mentioned it being his favourite instrument once and he was desperately holding on to his old friend)

When Nimona turned 7, their parents' rights were terminated and Vivian and William (their foster parents) adopted them, and he was also adopted not long after because his mother's rights had been terminated as well, so now they were an actual little family

Ballister recieved a bass set on his seventeenth birthday, and Nimona received a drum set about three years later on her tenth birthday. By then, Ballister had gotten a lot better with handling and playing the bass and helped Nimona a little with her drums

When they were respectively 22 and 12, money became thin in their household and, having already been through it, Ballaiter didn't want to go through it again, so he decided he was gonna find a way to help his parents, except this time he knew little jobs at the park or helping the mailman wouldn't cut it

They knew they were talented and they could put their talents to good use, and the idea to create a band was somehow thrown into conversations

Only problem is, Bal is pretty good in technology, but he can't work backstage and on the bass at the same time, they'd need at least a third member

Enter Meredith Blitzmeyer

So I'm gonna stop this here because it's already pretty long, I'm exhausted and I'm pretty sure you can tell I got tired towards the end of this, but oh well.

Nimona's backstory's next.

And again, please add on to this with your ideas if you have any, I like hearing what you guys think.

[kwanisms]

taglist | playlist

summary: Everything seemed to fall into place for Y/N. She had a loving boyfriend, her dream job, and the bestest friend in the universe. She never thought her life was missing something until she was introduced to Seo Changbin, the town's newest tattoo artist who happens to be harboring an unimaginable secret.

pairing: tattoo artist!Changbin × fem!Reader

genres/themes: angst, fluff, smut, 18+ (minors dni. I mean it. go away), slow burn, “forbidden” love, strangers to lovers, supernatural au, tattoo artist!Changbin, werewolf!Changbin, established boyfriend!Joshua

warnings: adult dialogue, alcohol consumption, Joshua being an asshat

permanent taglist: @yoonguurt @wonderfulshinee @candidupped @dejavernon @violagoth @tigermoonbiss @katsukis1wife @luvsooby

stray kids taglist: @cixrosie @hoeforcheol @beomgyusbabygirl @lovestayskzxx @flowerboykun @smhlino @cutiespaghetti @peterparkoure

series taglist: @snow-pegasus @brownieracha @hobi-is-golden @avyskai @i-say-choco-you-say-ice-cream @biribarabiribbaem @mchslut @spicxbnny @hgema @likeaboss-duh @oiminho @slut-for-dabi @ughyeka @honey-lemon-goose @skidsflowers @fixation-dump @meadowyin @sleeplessdawn @bristidutta @changbinnss @racha-enthusiast @phobia0922 @sanjoongie @nattisbored @kimseungminsprincess @chrollosforehead @typicalcuriosities @tai-loves-skz @labyrinthonmymind @spookyauthorspopmusictrash

Red strikethrough means I cannot tag you. Check your visibility settings.

And if you change your url, YOU are responsible for telling me.

a/n: It's finally here! I have been looking forward to this series for a while. I really hope it's as well received and that you all love it. I will warn you all that it's a slow burn fic and I do mean slow burn. Something to note is that Y/N never cheats on her boyfriend. I want to make that known now. Cheating is not included in this series. A couple things before we get started:

A huge thank you to my wife, Sky☁️, for this entire story idea. Without her late night thoughts and ramblings as well as her constant hype and support, this series wouldn’t even exist.

Also a massive thank you and huge shout out to @icybluehosh for her professional input on all things tattoos. You are a saint, my love and I thank you so much!

Edit to add a massive thank you to @playmetheclassics for beta reading and helping me edit this hunk of words. I'm so sorry I forgot to tag you earlier Indi 😭😭😭

To everyone else, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy this series and what I have in store for these characters!

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𝗰𝗵 𝟬𝟭 - 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿

wc: 16.5 (she's wordy and I'm not sorry lol)

masterlist || next »»

The faint sound of soft jazz played overhead, occasionally drowned out by the sounds of forks and knives clinking gently against ceramic plates. The air filled with the smell of coffee, muffins and other baked goods, making you wish you'd gotten something to eat.

Coming to this cafe had been your boyfriend’s idea, not yours, but you found yourself enchanted with the small, cozy atmosphere. The light, almost white, wood of the floor and tabletops contrasted against the black painted brick walls of the small space.

Huge rectangular windows dominated the storefront, allowing in as much natural light as possible. The pale wood was accompanied by black painted metal in the legs of the tables and in the chairs and the few bar stools that stood under the white granite countertop.

There were a few potted plants behind the bar and in the corners giving a little life and color to the otherwise nearly monochromatic palette. You glanced down at the mug in front of you. A simple vanilla latte had been your order when you accompanied Joshua up to the counter.

The sprinkling of cinnamon that lay on top of the steamed milk foam couldn't mask the aroma of the coffee that invited you in to take a sip. Although you didn’t want to mess up the foam design, the moment you took a sip, sighing in contentment as the sweet vanilla bean flavor hit your tongue, you knew you’d made the right call.

You heard a chuckle and glanced up across the table, eyes settling on your boyfriend as he smiled at you, having just taken a sip of his own coffee, an iced americano, his go to as of late.

You couldn’t understand why he loved such a bitter drink. You remembered trying it weeks ago and gagged. It was just too strong and bitter for you. You liked cream and sugar in your coffee.

You liked things that tasted sweet. Joshua said sweetness reminded him of you, which is why he asked for an extra two pumps of the liquid sugar in his drink earlier.

“What?” You asked softly, setting your mug on the table. Joshua shook his head, his smile widening ever so slightly as he set his own cup down. “Nothing,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders but the smile remained. “Are you taking the mickey out of me?” You asked. Joshua laughed and shook his head. “That was awfully British of you,” he said and it was your turn to laugh.

“You’ve been watching too many of those BBC shows again, haven’t you?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow. You shook your head. “No, I’ve just been rewatching Doctor Who,” you admitted, looking away and out the window next to you.

The street outside was bustling with people, most of them enjoying the pleasant end of summer weather. Sejong was a smaller town near Daejeon and it was the town you happened to call home.

The quaint small town atmosphere greeted you the moment you pulled onto the main street. The smell of pine and fresh mountain air greeted many travelers who picked this town as their vacation spot, and for good reason.

The town offered a wide variety of activities, from mountain climbing to camping and hiking. It was also close to a lake that was popular with tourists and residents alike.

A hot spring was rumored to be in the area, though you'd never set sights on it, and you'd lived in Sejong all your life, explored much of the forests, and seen many things under the sun and moon alike.

But no hot springs.

You used to enjoy summers in Sejong, especially when you were younger. Spending all day with your friends, going to the lake and relaxing on the shore by the swim beach. You had spent many summers of your youth at the lake, both at the swim beach and exploring the lake's edges with your friends.

Seungcheol and Joshua always led the adventures with you, your best friend Lilah, and Jeonghan trailing behind. Sometimes Wonwoo would join you but most of his summers were spent interning at his father’s publishing company.

When your friend group wasn’t at the lake, you could be found at each other’s houses, or for you and Lilah, you could be found at what the two of you called your ‘secret place.’ It was a small clearing in the woods near the edge of town that was full of wildflowers during the spring and summer months. You’d meet up during the day and sometimes just the two of you at night. It was a pact that only you girls would meet there and that no boys were allowed.

You had so many fond memories of summer you weren’t sure when you started dreading the hotter months of the year. Maybe it was a subconscious thing once you became an adult.

When you’re a kid, summer is a time for breaks from school. Time for friends, staying up late, and partying. When you became an adult, summer didn’t stop the daily grind. You still had work to do. It made you appreciate your parents more the older you became.

“Y/N?” You heard Joshua speak, pulling you out of your thoughts and turning your attention to him once more. “You alright, babe?” He asked, brows knitting g together in concern. You nodded, giving him a smile. “Yeah, just thinking,” you said, picking up your mug and taking another deeper sip of the hot coffee.

Though it was technically summer, you were glad it was ending, and autumn was beginning to settle in. The mornings were cooler, the days were getting shorter, and the nights were getting longer. The leaves barely started to change color, but you already caught little glimpses of yellow, orange, red, and brown amongst the green.

“What are you thinking about?” Joshua asked, and you turned back to look at him. “Just the past,” you said with a shrug, resting your hands on the table before you, fingers wrapping around the warm mug. Joshua shifted in his seat, leaning forward and resting his elbow on the table. “What about it?” He asked softly, resting his chin in his hand.

“Just how much easier things used to be. No worries, no bills, no rent, no traumas.”

Joshua’s expression changed, a frown settling on his face before he reached out to take one of your hands softly in his. He rubbed the back of your hand with his thumb, studying your expression before he spoke. “You know it wasn’t your fault,” he said suddenly.

You glanced up at him, eyes meeting his gaze. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he added. A small smile formed on your face. “I know,” you replied, voice barely above a whisper.

The tender moment was interrupted by your phone buzzing on the table top. You didn’t want to answer it, almost glaring at it for ruining your precious time with your boyfriend. He glanced at the screen, picked up the device, and turned it towards you. Your eyes read the name that flashed across the screen as the phone continued to buzz in his hand. You sighed and pulled your hands away to take the device from him.

You slid the lock to answer and held the phone to your ear. “Hey, Lilah,” you greeted your best friend. On the other side, you could hear her breathing heavily and the sound of objects being moved quickly. “Y/N!” She gasped. “Ohmigosh, I’m glad you answered!” You looked up at Joshua who was looking out the window, his expression unreadable.

It was no secret Joshua wasn’t fond of your best friend. More than once, he’d said he thought she was a bad influence on you which you didn’t understand because Lilah has never once pressured you to do anything you would consider bad. Sure, she was covered in tattoos and piercings, but to you, that didn’t change the fact that she was still your best friend underneath all the ink and metal.

Lilah was the loud, outgoing, energetic one between you. You'd met in primary school when she offered to share her brand new crayons with you and declared you her new best friend.

In middle school, the two of you met and befriended Wonwoo and with him came the others. Joshua, Seungcheol, and Jeonghan were a year older than Wonwoo but still as close with him as they were with one another.

“I’M FREAKING OUT Y/N,” Lilah nearly shouted. You cringed, pulling the phone from your ear slightly.

“Calm down,” you said into the receiver, noticing Joshua glance at you out of the corner of his eye.

He’d never understand why you still associated with Lilah. Especially after what happened between her and Jeonghan. To Joshua, you were too good for Lilah. When she started covering herself in tattoos and getting facial piercings, Joshua knew she’d gone off the deep end and he feared she would take you with her.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, looking away from your boyfriend. “I need you here. Please Y/N it’s an emergency,” Lilah said, voice sounding panicked. You nodded, despite the fact Lilah couldn’t see you. “Okay, calm down, Li. I’ll be right over,” you added, glancing up at Joshua, who glanced back at you as you spoke. Lilah thanked you profusely over the phone until you hung up. You looked up at Joshua, a grimace on your face.

“I know,” he said, giving you a small smile. “Lilah emergency,” he added. You sighed, nodding and turning to grab your bag. “I’m so sorry, Josh,” you said as you got up, Joshua following. You quickly drank the rest of your latte, not wanting it to go to waste. Joshua chuckled as you set the mug back down and turned to him.

He pulled you into a tight hug, resting his head against yours. “Be careful,” he said softly in your ear. You nodded, hugging him back. “I will,” you answered, pulling back and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. You tried to pull away, but Joshua wouldn’t let you. “I’m gonna need a bit more than that,” he said softly, hand moving to cup your cheek and pull your lips back to his. You giggled, the sound muffled by his lips.

The way he kissed you always left you breathless and wanting more. That was how Joshua always was. He always left you wanting more. “Josh,” you murmured against his lips. “We’re in a coffee shop.”

Joshua hummed and pulled away. “Okay,” he sighed. “Fine.” He pressed one more kiss to your lips before letting go of you. “Text me when you’re done with Lilah,” he said, moving aside so you could walk past him. “I will,” you said, giving him one last smile before walking towards the door and onto the sidewalk.

The walk to Lilah’s wasn’t long as she didn’t live far from the city center. The two of you had almost moved in together but thought better of it as you lived somewhat different lifestyles. You had a day job, whereas Lilah was a night owl, becoming most active once the sun went down and the moon came out.

You, on the other hand, were a day person. You preferred the sunlight to the moonlight. You were a lot like Joshua in that respect. He preferred the daytime over the nighttime. He felt that there was more to do during the day.

Unlike Joshua, you didn’t see anything bad about the nighttime. Sure, you preferred the sun over the moon, but you couldn’t deny there was a certain beauty to the silvery glow of the moon that contrasted with the golden one of the sun. They were opposites, but then again, so were you and Lilah.

Lilah was your moon, and you, her sun.

You found yourself outside her building after a brisk walk and climbed the steps to the front door, punching in the code and pulling open the door. Lilah had given you the code to her building ages ago. She said for emergencies, of course. You had also given her your code, again, for emergencies.

Climbing the steps up to her floor, you wondered what could be so important this late in the afternoon that she had interrupted the already small amount of free time you got with your boyfriend.

Of course, Lilah didn’t know you were with Joshua.

It was more of an impromptu thing, meeting at the cafe. The same one he’d taken you on your very first date. Your order hadn’t changed since then, but Joshua’s had changed a handful of times in the last two years.

Standing before Lilah’s door, you brought your hand up and gave the wood three sharp knocks. Behind the door, you heard a commotion as heavy footsteps made their way to the door. A smile spread over your face as Lilah threw open the door. Her panicked expression morphed into a smile as her eyes landed on you. “Oh, thank god!” She said, reaching out to grab your arm and pull you into her apartment.

Lilah’s apartment was small, a studio with a partition wall separating the living area from her bed. The walls were a very pale lilac gray with white crown molding and baseboards.

There were two large windows in the living room area, allowing larger amounts of natural lighting in. The view from her apartment was the main downtown square. During the day, it was a somewhat boring sight, the buildings, the people, even the square, but at night, everything came to life according to Lilah.

Her kitchen was small but big enough for her. A pair of folding doors off the kitchen opened to a pantry where her washer and dryer sat. The furniture in the living room was mostly gray and black, matching Lilah’s personality perfectly. The light walls were adorned with numerous posters of bands and movies.

Several framed paintings also hung on the walls, a few of them being Lilah’s own art, but one small canvas that hung on the wall separating her bedroom was one you had done.

A small floral piece you remembered from a wine and paint party your mother had hosted. Lilah and her mother had attended, and you weren’t too pleased with your painting, so you opted to toss it when your mother wasn’t looking, but Lilah took it instead and hung it proudly next to hers.

The normally very tidy apartment was in a state of disarray, as if a tiny tornado had wreaked havoc.

As Lilah led you into her bedroom area, you were convinced the tiny tornado was in fact your best friend. Clothes were thrown all over the place, littering the floor and the bed. Shoes had also been tossed carelessly around the room and you looked around, shaking your head.

“What is going on?” You asked, turning to look at your best friend.

“There’s a party tonight. Chris invited me. You remember Chris, right?”

You, in fact, did not remember Chris. Since Lilah and her boyfriend, Seungcheol, broke up, Lilah had seen a variety of different men. Testing the waters, she called it. You shook your head again.

“I don’t think I do,” you admitted, moving to sit on her bed, pushing some of the clothing aside. Lilah groaned. “Yes you do,” she answered. “He’s the really cute one with the naturally curly hair. Dimples, pointed chin, chiseled jawline,” Lilah prattled on as she searched through her clothes.

“You just described like half the guys you’ve introduced me to,” you joked, watching her. Lilah clicked her tongue in disapproval. “He’s the Australian one!” she added quickly and then it dawned on you.

'A-ha.' Come to think of it, you did remember Chris.

Lilah was right, he was really cute. His accent is what really sealed the deal for Lilah. The moment he opened his mouth, she was smitten. You could remember almost seeing hearts in her eyes as she watched him speak. He’d been there with some of his own friends whose names you couldn’t remember.

You knew the other reason Lilah liked Chris so much was that he was covered in tattoos. Not full sleeves, but you knew that the work on his arms cost at least several hundred.

Tattoos weren’t cheap, and despite trying to convince Joshua of that, he still thought people with tattoos were unemployed and lazy. It irked you to no end because you knew how expensive it was. You’d accompanied Lilah to more than one tattoo and piercing appointment and nearly died upon hearing the cost.

“Oh, that one,” you said, rolling your eyes playfully.

Lilah nodded furtively, holding up a black cropped shirt. “Yes, that one!” Lilah sighed dreamily, tossing the shirt in her hands aside and picking up a black and white striped shirt.

“He texted me earlier and invited me to a party at the old Firestation. You know the one. Station 6,” she explained as she continued to dig through her clothes. This you also did remember.

Station 6 was the old fire station that was sold after a new, more updated building was constructed. The old station was snatched up by some developer intent on turning it into apartments but found the floor plan weird so he resold it for much cheaper, and a younger team bought it and converted it into a nightclub.

“Apparently Minho told him after Ari told him about it and Minho has been trying to get with Ari for like three months now,” Lilah said as she held up a cute black short sleeve top with an off the shoulder neckline.

“I’m going to pretend I understood what you just said,” you said, holding in a laugh. You knew Chris. The other names were foreign to you, or at least you couldn't picture any faces. Lilah did laugh, instead continuing to dig through the piles of clothes on her floor.

"Just help me, please?!"

You looked around the bed where you sat and grabbed the first thing that caught your eye. It was black, like the majority of Lilah's wardrobe, so it was worth a shot. Whatever it took to satisfy your best friend so you could try and get back to your boyfriend.

“Well, why don’t you wear this?” You asked, holding up the article you'd grabbed off the bed. It was a black leather bodycon dress with a lace up bust.

Lilah looked up and studied the dress from her spot on the floor. “I wore that last time I saw Chris,” she said, shaking her head. “I need something else. I really wanna get Chris’ attention,” she added.

"Something to get his attention," you murmured as you looked around before your eyes settled on a flash of red. Leaning over, you snatched it and held it up. “Hey, what about this?” You asked, smiling as you held it up for her to inspect.

It was a red halter dress. There were three cutouts held together with three chain links extending just past the navel. The back was cut to about the mid back. Lilah sat up and walked forward on her knees. She took it from your hands and inspected it. You glanced around and grabbed a tangled mess of black elastic. “And this?” You asked, holding it up.

Lilah looked up at your hands and smiled. She grabbed the mess and got up, running to her bathroom to change. You got up and started searching through her shoes and pulled out a pair of peep toe mesh booties with lace up front and stiletto heels.

You knew Lilah well enough that if you hadn’t chosen a pair of stilettos, she would have been offended. You stood back up, turning to meet her at the bathroom door.

“So… how does it look? How did I do?” You asked through the door. “I gotta give it to you,” Lilah started, before pulling open the door to show you the outfit.

“For someone who wears exclusively pastels, you sure know how to pick out the sexiest outfits,” she said, adjusting one of the straps of the black harness bra.

She noticed the heels in your hand and smiled gleefully. You handed them to her, smirking as she looked them over. “I’m serious,” she added, stepping out of the bathroom and walking over to her bedroom area, where she began picking up her clothes. You helped, putting things back on the hangers and handing them to her.

“Now,” Lilah said, turning to look at you, a wide grin on her face. “We need to pick an outfit for you,” she added.

You shook your head. “Oh no,” you replied.

“I’m not going, Li,” you said, shaking your head. Lilah pouted and moved to kneel on the carpet beside where you sat on the bed.

“Come on, Y/N! Please!!” She begged. You shook your head.

“No, Li. You interrupted my time with Joshua when I wanted to spend more time with him,” you responded. Lilah stuck out her tongue.

“Please, Y/N? You’ll see him on Sunday, won’t you?” She stated, giving you her best puppy dog eyes.

She was right. You would see Josh on Sunday at church with your families. You only attended to keep up appearances, not because you actually believed.

Realizing she wouldn’t let this go until you gave in to her pleas, you groaned and fell back onto the bed in defeat. “Fine!” You grumbled. Lilah let out an excited squeak.

“I’ve got the perfect outfit for you!”

She got to her feet and rushed to her closet while you sat up quickly, mind racing with images of what she might possibly pick out for you. It was pretty obvious you and Lilah had very different tastes and styles when it came to clothing.

You shook your head furiously. “Oh, no. Uh-uh, Lilah!” You blurted out. “I’ll just run home and change,” you added, getting to your feet. “Nonsense,” Lilah said as she dug into the back of her closet.

“I keep a few dresses in here for occasions like this,” Lilah added as she pulled out a dress. She turned and held it up. It was a baby pink bodycon dress, with a ruffle trim around the top. The short puff sleeves also had ruffles around the cuffs, and the bust had a lace up that fell to the navel. The back was somewhat modest with a zipper.

You eyed it; mildly surprised Lilah had even an ounce of pink in her wardrobe that wasn't neon or hot pink. She held the dress out for you to take but you paused, glancing up from the dress to your best friend. "Come on, please, Y/N?" she whined.

You studied her expression before finally sighing in defeat. "You aren't going to let me leave unless I say yes, are you?" You asked, narrowing your eyes when she giggled mischievously.

"Fine! Fine," you said, taking the dress. "I'll be your wing woman tonight." Lilah danced excitedly, thanking you profusely as she moved to dig through her shoes and quickly pulled out a pair you’d borrowed more than once: white satin pumps with stiletto heels and a silver filigree design on the back.

As she handed them to you, and you took them as you shot her a look. “You were planning this the whole time, weren’t you?” You asked. Lilah ushered you to the bathroom and closed the door behind you. Sighing, you quickly slipped off your shoes, setting them on the closed toilet lid before undressing.

You pulled the dress on, zipping it up with some difficulty. It was a little snug but still fit. Shaking your head and gathering your clothes, you emerged from the bathroom and found Lilah waiting in the kitchen for you.

She smiled widely as you set your folded clothes on the counter and you tried to ignore the look on her face as you pulled out your phone, wallet, and lipgloss from your purse. “You look so hot!” Lilah said excitedly. “Oh stop,” you hissed, heat rising to your cheeks.

“You want to wear one of the other dresses?” Lilah asked, and you quickly shook your head. “No,” you answered. “This is fine,” you added, grabbing your compact mirror and reapplying your lipgloss. Lilah had quickly done her makeup while you were in the bathroom.

She'd gone with a blood red lipstick and dark smokey black eye makeup. “We should head out,” Lilah said, checking her phone. “Do you have a small bag?” You asked Lilah, who nodded and disappeared into her room. When she returned, she was holding a small silver clutch and handed it to you.

Opening the tiny purse, you slipped your things into it, adding Lilah’s phone and lipstick when she handed them to you. “Okay,” Lilah said, combing through her hair with her fingers. “Let’s go.” You slipped on your best friend's heels and followed her to the door.

Outside, the sun had started to set, falling below the treeline. The two of you walked, chatting animatedly, when your phone buzzed in the purse. You fished it out and saw a text from Joshua.

Joshy: everything okay?

You: yeah. Lilah just being usual Lilah

Joshy: dramatic? That’s so like her lol so you staying with her or would you like to meet up and pick up where we left off?

You paused, stopping in your tracks as Lilah chatted animatedly. She didn’t notice you’d stopped for a few moments. “Y/N?” She asked. “Everything okay?” You looked up at her, meeting her concerned gaze. “Yeah, let me just answer this text real quick,” you replied, looking back down at your phone and typing a response.

You: I’m gonna stay with Lilah. Girls night. Sorry babe

Joshy: it’s alright baby. Will I see you soon?”

You: of course. We’ll see each other on Sunday,

Joshy: at church?

You: and after, if you’d like (;

Joshy: Sunday suddenly can’t come fast enough

You giggled, slipping your phone into the purse and joining Lilah, linking arms with her as you walked.

“I think that’s the last box,” Jeongguk said, setting the box he was carrying down on the kitchen counter. Changbin looked up from his phone and back down, sending the text he was currently typing and pocketed his phone.

“Which one is that one?” He asked as he walked over to where his friend stood. “Uhh, kitchen shit,” Jeongguk said, tilting his head to the side to read the hastily scribbled words written in black Sharpie.

Changbin snorted and pushed his friend, who merely chuckled.

“I still can’t believe we’re actually here,” Jeongguk added as he moved to lean over the kitchen island. “Beats sleeping on the road and in shitty roadside inns,” he continued, giving Changbin a pointed look.

“Would you rather sleep in a shitty roadside inn or camp by the side of the road again?” Changbin asked, recalling the first and last time he went camping with Jeongguk. ‘Never again,’ he had told himself the following morning.

“Yeah, no. I’m never sharing a tent with you again,” Jeongguk laughed as Changbin joined him. “Hey, it makes for one hell of a story,” the younger man said with a shrug.

Jeongguk rolled his eyes. “Ah yes, I’ll be sure to regale all the hot babes with tales of how i thought I got bit in the ass by a snake, but it was actually a rock under the base of the tent I happened to roll onto in my sleep,” he said, a goofy grin on his face as Changbin burst into laughter.

“In your defense, it was like three in the morning, and I’m sure it felt exactly like a snake bite in your sleep,” Changbin retorted, making Jeongguk offer him a very rude hand gesture. “I’m just glad things worked out when they did,” Jeongguk finally said softly. “Who knows what would have happened if we didn’t get into this place before the end of the month.”

The smile on Changbin’s face fell slowly. Jeongguk was right. They were cutting it close, but he was lucky to even find this place to begin with. He would have to thank Sungjin again for the heads up.

Changbin felt his phone buzz in his pocket and took it out, heart beating quickly until he saw the notification was from Chris. He visibly relaxed, his muscles no longer tensing, something Jeongguk took notice of immediately.

He waited until Changbin finished texting before he spoke.

“When are you gonna stop doing that?”Jeongguk asked softly. He didn’t mean it harshly. It’s not like he found it annoying. More like it was concerning how his friend tensed up any time his phone went off.

“Huh?” Changbin asked as he slipped his phone back into the pocket of his black cargo pants. “Doing what?” Jeongguk could tell Changbin was trying to feign ignorance but he wasn’t having it.

“You really think she’ll be able to find you? All the way out here?” Jeongguk asked, watching how Changbin winced slightly when he mentioned… her. Albeit not by name. Still, any mention of her was enough to send Changbin on edge.

“You know she hates small towns like this,” Jeongguk continued. “I mean, hell, she didn’t even want to visit Daejeon when we came out for a tattoo convention three years ago!” Changbin knew his friend had a point.

“It’s been what? Almost a year since you’ve seen or heard from her, right?” Jeongguk asked, watching Changbin as he nodded. “Give or take, yeah,” he confirmed. Jeongguk nodded this time. “It’s time to let it go, man. You’re safe. There’s no way she’ll find you out here.”

Changbin exhaled slowly. Jeongguk was right. Changbin knew there was no way anyone from his past would find him out here. It was far from the city. Far from the life he’d lived before. The only thing he brought with him were his problems and one of the few people he could really depend on.

His phone buzzed again and he pulled it out. Chris sure was talkative today.

Chris was the new piercer he’d just hired a couple of months ago when the shop was still being renovated. Chris and Minho had come in, the former being all smiles as he walked in, a certain bounce in his step, while his friend was much more cynical and witty.

[two months ago]

Changbin stood up, admiring his handiwork as he checked the wall for white spots. He’d just finished painting the accent wall near the front of the shop while Jeongguk was working on the large tiger decal he’d started three days ago. Changbin turned to look at his friend’s work.

“Holy shit, dude,” Changbin said as his eyes took in the details and color. Jeongguk was resting on a ladder as if it were the most comfortable place to be, an artist's palette in his hand as he worked on the tiger’s face.

He looked down with a huge grin, one the girls he’d dated in the past said reminded them of a bunny rabbit. Changbin didn’t see what they saw, but that was probably because those girls were trying to woo his best friend, and he was not.

“Looks a lot better than yesterday, huh?” Jeongguk asked as he set the palette on the small tray holder of the ladder and climbed down, hopping past the last few steps and meeting Changbin in the middle of the room to look up at the tiger.

“Yeah, he has teeth now,” Changbin joked. “Doesn’t look like some weird gaping maw.” Jeongguk playfully swung at Changbin with a chuckle. “Fuck you, man,” he laughed as Changbin easily dodged him.

The two were continuing to playfully box at one another until the bell at the front door rang as the door opened.

Changbin turned as two men entered the shop. Both of them were taller than he was but still shorter than Jeongguk. One had dark brown, curly hair tucked under a black plain baseball cap. He wore a simple black tee shirt and grey sweats with black trainers.

He had partial sleeves, all in black ink, decorating his arms as well as a couple on the side of his neck. He also sported a silver barbel on his left eyebrow, a black ring in his septum and a single nose piercing.

The other man, the taller of the two, had longer just as dark brown hair and wore a dark gray shirt with ripped blue jeans and black high top shoes. He had full sleeves in partial color and a single vertical labret piercing.

“Hey,” Jeongguk said, stepping forward. “Sorry guys, we’re not open and still working in here.” The taller of the two raised an eyebrow as the shorter man smiled, dimples appearing on either side of his face.

“You’re hiring, right?” He asked, holding out the flyers Changbin had put up the week before. Changbin looked back up at the man. “Uh, yeah. What kind of experience do you have?” He asked.

He watched as both men pulled out their phones. The taller one showed him an Instagram full of his work. “Do you both do tattoos?” Changbin asked. The shorter one shook his head.

“Minho does tattoos. I’m still learning, but I do piercings,” he answered. Changbin nodded, watching as the shorter man showed him the piercings he’s done.

“You have your licenses and certifications,” Jeongguk asked as he looked over the two men’s Instagram portfolios. Both nodded, providing the necessary documents. Jeongguk looked over the two license and papers before he handed them back and tapped Changbin on the shoulder, nodding towards the front desk.

“Give us just a second,” Changbin said to the men and turned to follow Jeongguk.

“What do you think?” His friend asked, arms crossed over his chest. Changbin glanced over where the two men stood, looking around and inspecting Jeongguk’s tiger wall art. “This is really good,” the shorter man said, smiling at the tiger . “Your work?” He asked, directing the question at Jeongguk, who nodded.

“It’s really good, man.”

Jeongguk turned his attention back to Changbin after thanking the man.

“Well?”

Changbin looked at the two men, giving them the once-over. It was apparent they both knew what they were doing but he needed confirmation. “Let’s give them a test.” Jeongguk nodded and stepped forward.

“What are your names again?” He asked.

“Minho,” the taller man answered.

“This excitable short puppy is Chan,” he added, gesturing to his friend.

“Uh no. Chris,” the shorter man answered.

“Chan is my birth name. I prefer Chris.”

“Okay, Minho,” Jeongguk answered, nodding towards Minho.

“Chris,” he nodded towards the shorter man. “We’re gonna give you both a test.” Minho said nothing but Chris chuckled.

“Okay, but I didn’t study,” he joked.

Minho rolled his eyes.

“Ignore him and his dumb jokes,” he said softly. Changbin let out a low laugh.

“Jeongguk, take Minho to your station,” he instructed before turning to Chris.

“You come with me.”

Chris followed Changbin to his station. “Are there any piercings you aren’t comfortable performing?” Changbin asked as he dug through a box, pulling out a few supplies. He pulled a rolling tray over to him with the toe of his boot.

Chris shook his head. “I’ve done almost everything. Dermals, tongues, nipples, hell, I’ve even done a few genital piercings,” he answered as Changbin set up the tray. Changbin looked up with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re a braver man than me,” he murmured with a smirk.

“I don’t want anyone’s junk in my face.”

Chris shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me,” he said with a grin. “And the smell doesn’t bother you?” Changbin asked as he moved the tray over to his chair. Chris shook his head. “Nah. I always wear a mask and I get it done as soon as possible so I don’t have to smell anything.”

Changbin snorted as he sat on the chair. “Alright. I’ve set you up to do—” he started, but Chris interrupted him. “Nipple? Not gonna lie, I figured you’d already have them done,” he said with a sly grin.

Changbin untucked his shirt and pulled it off. “I just never got around to it. It’s hard to pierce yourself, and Kook doesn’t do piercings,” he said as he set his shirt aside.

Chris seemingly entered his professional mode. His cheerful demeanor didn’t drop as he washed his hands quickly, returning to put on the gloves.

“Kook?” Chris asked as he got to work. “Which side?” He asked, pointing at Changbin’s chest. “Doesn’t matter to me,” Changbin answered. “Right side is fine.” Chris started prepping the area, wiping it with an alcohol pad.

“Kook is my partner,” Changbin finally responded to Chris’ earlier question.

“Oh, business partner or…?” He trailed off. Changbin chuckled as Chris prepared the needle.

“Business. He’s a great guy and my best friend but I’m very much into women,” Changbin answered as Chris laughed with him.

“Hey, no judgment here,” Chris said, preparing the barbel before grabbing the small forceps. “How well do you handle pain?” Chris asked as he carefully clamped the forceps on Changbin’s right nipple.

“I’m covered in tattoos,” Changbin answered with an amused tone. “I’d say pretty well,” he added as Chris picked up the needle.

“You’d think people who are covered in tattoos handle pain well but Minho is the biggest baby in existence,” Chris whispered as he leaned in closer to see what he was doing.

“I heard that.” A voice called from across the hall, making Changbin and Chris both chuckle. “Deep breath in,” Chris instructed. Changbin breathed in. “And out,” Chris said and as Changbin exhaled, he felt the slight sting of the needle.

“You didn’t even wince,” Chris noted as he pulled the barbel through and carefully secured the screw ball on the end before wiping the area one last time.

Changbin picked up his shirt. While Chris cleaned up the used items and removed his gloves, Changbin pulled his shirt back on.

“So, do I get the job?” Chris asked as Changbin moved the tray aside and set the rest of the stuff to be cleaned.

“How are you with painting?” Changbin asked as he tucked his shirt back into his pants. “Uh, I’m no Picasso, but I’ve painted rooms before,” Chris said with a shrug. “And Minho?” Changbin asked as they walked towards the doorway.

“He’s the artist. Much better than me,” Chris answered, following Changbin into the room where Jeongguk’s station was. They turned and watched while Minho worked. Jeongguk had pulled his shirt off and was sitting facing away from Minho while the younger man drew a small flash tattoo.

It wasn’t anything intricate or fancy. The lines were clean, and his hand very steady. “You better not be drawing a dick,” Jeongguk said jokingly. Minho snorted but continued to work.

“Nah,” he replied, stopping for a second to wipe some ink and blood from Jeongguk’s skin, a smirk forming as his response formed in his head.

“It's a butt.”

In reality, it was a small sheet style ghost with a little balloon that read ‘dead inside.’

Changbin held back a laugh as a grin spread across his face. The style was cute and cartoonish, but the sad ghost eyes and the balloon really set it apart. “I know it’s supposed to be a flash tattoo, but you should totally fill that in red,” Changbin said as he leaned over, pointing at the balloon.

“Great,” Jeongguk said sarcastically. “I got a red ass on my back.”

His response had the other three men bursting into laughter.

When he finished, Minho cleaned up while Jeongguk managed to get a glimpse in the mirror. “Hey, that’s pretty neat. I like the balloon,” he said as he looked over his shoulder at the little ghost.

“I almost did the ghost with a ski mask and gun,” Minho answered as he finished cleaning up and washed his hands. “That would have been a good one, too,” Jeongguk replied, pulling his shirt on.

“So,” Chris asked again with a smile on his face. Changbin and Jeongguk exchanged glances. Jeongguk nodded at his friend, and Changbin turned back to the two.

“You’re hired.”

[present day]

The ringing of Changbin’s phone brought him back to the present, pulling him out of his memories. The caller ID told him it was Chris. He answered it, holding the device up to his ear. “Hey,” he answered.

“Alright, I know you said not to call you without asking first, but there’s this club. Minho and I are going. You remember Ari?” Chris said into the receiver.

Changbin did remember Ari. She was the blonde girl that often came to the shop to see Minho. He also remembered the way Minho looked at Ari whenever she was around. It was a fondness he’d never seen in the two months he’d known the man.

“Yeah, I remember Ari,” Changbin answered, ignoring the way Jeongguk looked up, listening in to his side of the conversation. Jeongguk mouthed at Changbin, trying to figure out what was going on, but Changbin waved him off.

“Well, her friend Hana has been in the shop lately, and she’s got an eye for you. She wants to meet you. So the task to invite you to come out with us has fallen to me. Would you kindly grace us with your presence, boss?” Chris explained, ending in an ask. “We would greatly enjoy your company.”

Changbin snorted. If Chris had asked this in front of him, he’d playfully push or swipe at him. “Yeah, I guess I can make an appearance,” Changbin answered.

“Great! What about Jeongguk? Is he free?”

Changbin told Chris to hold on, putting the call on mute before speaking to Jeongguk. “Chris and Minho are inviting us to come out to a club with them. Apparently one of Ari’s friends wants to meet me,” he explained.

Jeongguk bobbed his head from side to side before nodding. “Yeah, sure.”

Changbin unmuted the call and brought the phone to his ear with a smile.

“Yeah. We’re in.”

You’d never been to the old fire station. The brick exterior hadn’t been touched, even leaving up the old Station 6 sign. Heavy bass sounded from inside the building, muffled by the bricks. You followed Lilah to the door and squeezed your way in. Most of the original structure had been untouched.

The entry hallway was crowded with people moving to and from the dance floor, which was the old fire truck bay. You followed Lilah into the old garage and stood to the side while she looked around, no doubt looking for Chris. You instead took the time to look around at the decor.

The brick inside had been painted black, and there was now a second balcony above the dance floor. The floor where people danced was a step down with a raised DJ booth in the far corner from where you stood. The bar was packed, every seat taken. The tables against the railing separating the dance floor were standing only.

The bar stools and the standing tables matched round black tops with black steel legs. The bar top was black quartz and shiny, catching the lights from above as they swirled and painted the dance floor and patrons in a shower of rainbow and neon lights.

“I see them!” Lilah said to you, leaning in to speak in your ear so you could hear her over the booming music. You nodded, showing that you understood. Lilah took your hand and led you past the bar, following the flow of the crowd until she managed to squeeze into a small booth in the far corner.

She sat down, pulling you gently with her, your butt landing on the cushioned bench next to her. You recognized the man next to her. It was Chris. He turned to look at her as she tapped a finger against his tattooed forearm. His shocked expression morphed into a huge grin, and he greeted her warmly and hugged her.

“You remember my best friend, Y/N?” Lilah asked, gesturing to you, and your attention was drawn from the old garage doors that had been left intact, but no doubt the wiring cut so they couldn’t be opened. Chris gave you a pleasant smile. “It’s nice to see you, Y/N,” he said, leaning forward to shake your hand. “Didn’t expect to see you here,” he added, reaching towards the table to grab his drink.

You shrugged your shoulders. “I didn’t know I’d be coming until about twenty minutes ago,” you replied, nudging Lilah, who gave you a sheepish smile. “I can’t come out without my best friend!” She said with an exaggerated shrug.

You rolled your eyes and turned your attention away as Lilah started to chat with Chris. Sitting in the same corner booth were some faces you recognized but couldn’t put their names to their faces. Your eyes landed on someone you’d never seen before. He looked to be about your age, with short black hair with bangs that fell into his eyes. His attention was focused on the girl sitting next to him.

He wore a black fitted button down with the sleeves rolled up, exposing his heavily tattooed forearms. You noticed the way the fabric of his shirt stretched every time he moved. This guy looked like he was born in a gym. You found yourself unable to look away from him.

He smiled, no doubt at something the girl next to him had whispered in his ear. He shook his head and leaned forward, grabbing his drink and taking a sip. He nestled back against the cushion, arm resting on top of the cushion behind the girl.

She was clearly enjoying the attention he was giving her. Your eyes wandered, taking in the tight black jeans and black leather combat boots. The man leaned forward to look at the guy sitting on the other side of the girl. He was equally as tattooed as the first with an eyebrow and lip piercing.

He had shorter brown hair, styled back to show off his forehead. He turned to look at his friend. You could see his mouth moving, not hearing what was being said. The second man, the brunet, nodded before turning back to the girl with purple hair he had been talking to.

The first man stood up and held out his hand to the girl, which she took it excitedly, letting him pull her up, the brunet man following with the purple haired woman.

You looked away quickly as the four walked past, no doubt heading for the dance floor. As you turned to look at Lilah your eye caught another man staring at you. You recognized him as one of Chris’ friends.

You were sure Lilah had mentioned his name before. Min-Soo? Min-young? Minho? You knew it started with Min. He was looking at you, a curious expression on his face. When your eyes met his, he raised an eyebrow and a smirk slowly started to form on his lips. You tapped Lilah quickly, catching her attention.

“I’m gonna go get something to drink,” you said over the music. Lilah held up her finger, telling you to wait a moment. She turned back to Chris to explain where the two of you were going. He offered to come with and Lilah took him up on his offer.

You soon found yourself squished between Lilah and one of the patrons sitting on a stool at the bar. You apologized to the woman but she just smiled and turned back to her friend.

“What are you drinking?” Chris asked Lilah. She glanced at the back of the bar as a bartender came by.

“Whiskey,” she replied. “Neat.”

Chris turned to the bartender to order two whiskies, both neat before he turned to look past Lilah at you.

“What would you like, Y/N?” He asked. Your head snapped to look at him. “Oh, uh…” you trailed off, glancing at the bar before speaking quickly. “Whiskey sour is fine,” you answered.

Chris nodded, turning to the bartender to add your drink to his tab. The bartender nodded, getting to work on your drinks. You turned around to look over the crowd of people on the dance floor, and somehow, your eyes found him again. His attention was on the girl he’d been sitting with, hands on her waist as they danced closely.

Feeling as if you were intruding, you turned away. A moment later, you felt the girl on the stool next to you slip away, leaving the spot vacant but only for a second.

“I’m surprised to see you here, Goody-Two Shoes,” a low but seductive voice said in your ear.

You turned to see the Min-something guy from before. You rolled your eyes as Lilah reached across to smack his arm. “Don’t call her that, Minho!” she said, frowning. His smile widened as he waited for the bartender.

“Enjoying the show?” He asked, and you turned to give him a confused look. He nodded over his shoulder.

“The way you were eyeing him so hard, I’m surprised someone like you would even be interested,” Minho said, voice low enough that only you could hear him. You looked away.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you answered. He scoffed. “I’m not blind, sweetheart,” he said patronizingly.

“I saw you checking him out earlier. What? Is your pompous asshole boyfriend not doing it for you anymore?”

You felt the heat rising from the pit of your stomach. Before you could answer him, your drink was set in front of you. You thanked Chris, who gave you a warm smile before you turned to look at Minho, a smirk still plastered all over his face.

Taking a sip of your drink gave you enough courage to bite back. “I suggest you get your eyes checked, Min-ho,” you said, adding emphasis to the last syllable of his name before Lilah dragged you away from the bar and back to the booth.

Back on the cushioned seat, you sat nestled next to Lilah as she spoke animatedly with Chris and the girl Minho had been sitting with earlier. You didn’t join in the conversation though you did listen in.

“Good eye, Ari,” Chris said, his eyes on Changbin and Hana as they danced on the dance floor. “She’s really cute. Totally looks like his type,” he added as Minho returned, sliding into the booth and cozying up next to the blonde who smiled.

“I knew the moment we walked into the shop, she’d fall for him,” Ari answered, lifting her glass to take a sip. “They do look really good together,” she added. Chris smiled, playfully rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, pat yourself on the back,” he said with a chuckle. Ari smiled again. “Thank you. I think I will,” she said, reaching over her shoulder to lightly pat herself on the back, making Chris and Lilah both laugh.

Minho set his glass down and turned to lean into Ari, whispering in her ear. She nodded and followed as Minho stood up. “We’ll be right back,” she said as she took Minho’s hand and followed as he gently pulled her along.

You watched as they walked past, having zoned out of the conversation halfway through. You felt pressure on your shoulder and turned your head to see Lilah resting her chin on your shoulder. She gave you a smile which you returned.

“You okay?” Lilah asked as a slower song started to play over the speakers. You nodded. “I’m okay,” you answered. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Chris down the rest of his drink before he placed a hand on Lilah’s shoulder.

She sat up and turned as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. She nodded before turning to you. “We’re gonna go dance,” she announced. You nodded wordlessly, taking a sip of your drink. “You should come with us,” Lilah added, looking at you with a peculiar expression. You shook your head.

“You came here for him,” you whispered as Chris stood up.

“I’m your wing woman, remember? Go dance with him. Sweep him off his feet,” you said softly, offering your best friend a reassuring smile.

Lilah nodded and leaned in, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “We’ll be right back,” Chris said over the music. You shook your head.

“Take your time,” you half yelled.

“I’m not going anywhere,” you added. Chris smiled and nodded to your drink.

“If you finish that, go get another and put it on my tab. It’s under Bang,” he said as Lilah got to her feet. You nodded as they squeezed past you but made a mental note not to do that . You felt bad if anyone bought you things.

You already had so much. You didn’t need anyone buying you things when you could buy them yourself. You continued to sip on your drink, pulling your phone out to see if you had any text.

Other than Wonwoo telling you he was expecting a package soon, there were no notifications, and it was radio silence from Joshua, leaving you to wonder what he was up to. ‘He’s probably reading a book or catching up on that anime,’ you told yourself with a smile. ‘My goofy weeb boyfriend.’

Once you’d finished your drink, you decided to get another and got up, heading over to the bar, squeezing between two tall men where a very pretty female bartender with baby pink hair smiled at you.

“Hi, hun,” she greeted you, leaning in to hear your order. You got the same whiskey sour and opened your borrowed purse to pull out some cash to pay.

“Let me,” a voice said, and you looked up to see a strange man beside you smiling down at you. He was quite handsome, and tall, with medium brown hair and very prominent dimples.

“I’m Dae-hyun,” he added as the bartender made your drink, eyeing the man suspiciously. “Y/N,” you said politely. “And thank you, but I've got this,” you added, pulling some notes out of your wallet.

“How else am I supposed to get your attention, though?” Dae-hyun asked. “Come on. Let me buy you one drink,” he pressed, but you shook your head. “No, thank you. Really, I appreciate it, but I can buy my own drinks.”

You turned to pay the bartender as she set your drink down, not missing the way Dae-hyun’s eyes scanned your body, a smirk on his lips. “Hey, you gonna buy a drink or just oggle my patrons?” She barked, making the man jump and grimace.

You turned and watched as the man slunk away and turned back to pay the bartender. She pushed the drink towards you and waved her hand. “It’s on the house, honey,” she said with a wink.

You thanked her, putting the bills instead in the tip jar and thanked her again before leaving the bar and returning to the corner booth that still sat empty save for the server cleaning up the empty glasses.

You thanked her as she walked by and returned to your seat, fishing your phone out again, trying to pass the time.

You could have left the moment Chris asked Lilah to dance with him. Your mission had been completed as Lilah’s wing woman, but you sat on the black cushion, sipping on your free drink.

As you scrolled through your Instagram feed, loud giggles announced the arrival of part of the group, and you glanced up to see the blonde girl, Ari, and Minho return.

“You’re still here?” Minho asked as he plopped down next to Ari, eyeing you suspiciously. “You can leave, you know.” Ari lightly slapped his arm. “Don’t be mean,” she said sternly. “If Y/N wants to stay here, she can,” she added, smiling warmly. Her kindness surprised you but you smiled back.

Minho leaned forward to grab his glass and grumbled something you couldn’t hear but Ari slapped his arm again. “Be nice!” She hissed as you turned your attention away as more footsteps approached.

It was the man from before and the girl he’d gone to dance with. You looked away as they sat down, feeling the guy’s eyes on you. You glanced back and met his gaze. This was the first time he’d acknowledged your presence.

You barely got a good look at his face before his attention turned to the girl next to him and you felt like you could breathe, your cheeks growing warm. You decided to chalk that up to the alcohol coursing through your system as Lilah and Chris finally returned.

“Is it just me or is it hot?” Lilah asked as she took her glass from Chris, thanking him before taking a sip. The girl whose name you did know nodded. “It’s really hot,” she replied, looking at the man beside her.

Her eyes moved past him to you and she gave you a blank stare, glancing you over as if she’d just noticed you existed before she turned away when Ari called her name. “Hana, do you want to go back out there? Minho won’t go with me!” Ari pouted. Hana shook her head at Minho and got up.

“I’ll dance with you,” Hana said, reaching out to take Ari’s hand and the pair squeezed past the rest of the group and headed onto the dance floor again. You looked away from them to find the black-haired man looking at you again.

His gaze didn’t feel scrutinizing or patronizing in any way. It was more like he was trying to figure you out simply by looking at you. You turned your gaze away but felt his eyes on you. Lilah and Chris were chatting animatedly next to you about his new job.

“Yeah, I just walked in and showed him what I’ve done. Then I had to perform an actual piercing,” Chris explained as Lilah hung onto every word. “Like, you had to pierce him?” She asked, jaw dropping when Chris nodded.

You glanced down at your now empty drink, trying to decide if you should get another. ‘Ah, fuck it,’ you told yourself as you set the empty one down and announced to your best friend you were getting another.

Lilah whipped around, gently grabbing your hand and stopped you before you could get up.

“Are you sure you can handle another drink, Y/N?” She asked, eyes studying your face, her expression full of concern.

“Oh, come on, Lilah. She’s a big girl,” Minho said as he slid into his seat next to Ari, who had returned with Hana before Hana pulled the man she’d been with up and onto the dance floor again. Minho was giving you a smirk but like Lilah, Ari had a look of concern. You weren’t sure why.

You narrowed your eyes at Minho, wanting to snap back but Lilah gave your hand a gentle squeeze. “Ignore him, Y/N,” she said, turning your attention back to her.

“You know your tolerance better than anyone,” she added. You looked at your two empty glasses on the table and nodded. “You’re right. I’ll just go to the bathroom,” you answered before getting to your feet and adjusting the hem of your dress.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Lilah asked but you shook your head, giving her a smile. “I’ll be fine, Li,” you said before turning and walking away from the booth.

You made your way out of the garage and towards the bathroom, only to bump into someone. The force at which they ran into you almost knocked you over. “Whoa! Sorry,” said a familiar voice as two hands steadied you.

You looked up into the face of one of Joshua’s best friends.

“Hey, Cheol!” You said excitedly, sharing a hug with him. He smiled brightly at you. “I didn’t know you were going to be here!” He said, looking around. “You didn’t come with Josh, did you?” He asked.

You shook your head. “Uh, no, I came with… Lilah,” you said, voice dropping as you said your best friend’s name. Seungcheol acted as if hearing his ex-girlfriend’s name didn’t bother him but you knew better. As far as you and Joshua knew, Seungcheol was still heartbroken over Lilah and Jeonghan’s drunken hookup.

It had been only a few months ago at a lake house party. Seungcheol, unfortunately, had work responsibilities so he couldn't attend. You'd gone with Joshua to appease "the party gods" as Lilah put it.

Halfway through, Lilah was much more drunk than you'd seen in a long time and Joshua offered to take both of you home. You went with him to get your jackets and when you returned to where you'd left Lilah, she was nowhere to be found and no one knew where she'd gone. You tried looking for her but Joshua said to let her be.

You felt like you should have looked harder.

The next morning Lilah showed up at your door, hungover and crying. She told you she waited for when you and Joshua went to get your jackets and during the time you were gone, she'd run into Jeonghan, who was also quite plastered himself.

One minute they were chatting, the next, they were stumbling into an empty room, and when she woke up the next morning, she realized they'd had sex. She was an absolute mess, beating herself up about how to break the news to Seungcheol.

When she finally did, she didn't ask for his forgiveness though he was ready to give it freely. She didn't cry, she didn't beg, she simply apologized and ended things, telling Seungcheol that there was no fixing this. What she'd done couldn't be undone or taken back.

According to Joshua, Seungcheol was heartbroken. He'd lost the love of his life and a best friend in one swoop. He didn't handle the betrayal he felt towards Jeonghan well and ended up giving Jeonghan a black eye. Joshua had felt conflicted about the whole thing, wanting to be there for Seungcheol but not knowing who was at fault .

You knew that Lilah and Jeonghan messed up but Lilah was your friend. Seungcheol was Joshua’s friend before he was yours. So you'd distanced yourself out of respect not only for Lilah but for Seungcheol as well, not sure if he'd even want to see you.

Judging by his response upon seeing you now, you knew he didn't hold you accountable . He was his usual cheerful self.

“Oh?” He asked, lifting his glass to his lips to take a sip. You nodded, unsure how to recover from the awkward silence between you. “You don’t have a drink?” He asked, noticing your empty hands. You shook your head.

“I just finished a second. I’m on my way to the bathroom,” you replied, gesturing towards the hall that led to the bathrooms. “Want me to get you one?” Seungcheol asked. You shook your head. “No, that’s okay,” you answered but Seungcheol cut you off. “Speak of the devil,” he said, a smile forming on his face.

You turned to look at who Seungcheol was looking at and your heart nearly dropped into your stomach.

Joshua was walking over, a smile on his own face, until he caught sight of you. His smile faltered for a moment before he turned his attention to Seungcheol. “We were just talking about you!” Seungcheol said, greeting his friend. Joshua looked from his friend to you. “Were you now?” He asked, to which Seungcheol nodded.

“I thought she came with you,” Seungcheol admitted. “No. She didn’t,” Joshua said, his eyes not leaving yours. “Well, I’ve got to use the restroom,” you said quickly. “It was nice catching up with you, Cheollie,” you said, giving him a smile before walking away to head for the bathroom.

Joshua muttered something to Seungcheol before following you, grabbing your arm a little too hard and turning you to face him. “Sorry,” he muttered, noticing how you winced in his grip. “I thought you were having a girls night,” he said, his voice back to normal volume since the music was now muffled as you were no longer in the same room.

“I am. I came here with Lilah,” you answered, eyes darting to the side where you saw another familiar face. “I thought you meant you were staying in,” he said, drawing your attention again.

“You know, a girl's night, like, movies and pizza or something,” he added. You shook your head. “No, Lilah wanted to come see Chris, and I said I’d come with her,” you replied. "Be her wing woman of sorts," you added with a laugh.

Joshua’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Who the hell is Chris?” He demanded, sounding suddenly angry that you were talking about another man. 'Oh boy, here we go.'

You didn’t like the tone of his voice.

“Chris is one of Lilah’s friends ,” you stated. Joshua crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t like it,” he said quickly. “Don’t like what?” You asked, also not liking the direction this conversation was going.

He was stalling you, and you really had to pee. “I don’t like the idea of you and Lilah alone with some strange man,” he countered. You rolled your eyes. “He’s not some strange man, Josh,” you retorted.

“He’s her friend and he happens to be a very nice man,” you added. Joshua scoffed, now his turn to roll his eyes.

“Nice people don’t hang around these places, Y/N,” he replied, and you had to give him a deadpan blank stare.

“Are you saying you aren’t a nice person?” You asked, making him realize his contradiction. He was getting frustrated with you. He pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes screwed shut as he breathed slowly. “You know what I meant."

You saw his eyes flicker from you to something behind you for a moment before turning his attention back to you. “So then I’m not a nice person?” You inquired, trying to get him to admit he was making bullshit up. Joshua rolled his eyes again. He was over this.

“You know damn well what I meant, Y/F/N Y/L/N,” he stated, clearly annoyed with the banter you were giving him.

“Oh-ho-ho,” said a voice as the owner slid up beside you and draped an arm around your shoulders. “Busting out the government names are we now, Joshua Hong?”

You glanced up to see Minho, a smirk on his face. Joshua glared at the younger man. You could see that the simple action of putting his arm around your shoulders nearly set him off.

Joshua didn’t like it when other men looked at, let alone touched you. He was about to grab Minho by the collar when you shook Minho's arm off your shoulder.

“What are you doing here, Minho?” You asked, looking at him. He tore his gaze from Joshua’s, giving you an uncharacteristically warm smile. “Lilah was wondering what was taking you so long,” he said before looking back up at Joshua.

“I volunteered to come retrieve you,” he added, linking his arm with yours if only to set Joshua off further. You pulled your arm from his.

“Well, I still haven’t been to the bathroom,” you admitted.

"Well, why did you say so?" Minho asked, gesturing for you to hurry. “I’ll wait here. I promised Lilah I’d retrieve you and retrieve you I shall,” he added, causing you to roll your eyes before excusing yourself and hurrying down the crowded hallway.

Minho looked back at Joshua as you disappeared, his smile falling quickly. “Who the hell do you think you are?” Joshua asked, gritting his teeth. Minho was not easily intimidated, especially not by men like Joshua Hong.

“No,” Minho said, taking a step forward and prodding Joshua in the chest with his finger. “Who do you think you are?” Joshua was taken aback. “What?” He asked incredulously.

“I saw that,” Minho stated. “The way you grabbed her like that. What makes you think you can act that way?” Minho demanded, his voice low so only Joshua could hear him. “She’s my girlfriend, Lee. I don’t think it’s any of your concern—” Joshua started but he was cut off by Minho once again, who jabbed him in the chest with his finger.

“She may be your girlfriend,” he repeated. “But that doesn't make her your property,” he added. “You don’t get to grab her and throw her around like some kind of rag doll." Joshua opened his mouth to retort but was cut off once again by Minho's external monologue.

"You know, I've always wondered where those bruises come from,” he added. Joshua’s eyes widened. Minho could see he'd hit a nerve. "It all makes sense now."

“How dare you accuse me of abusing Y/N,” he snarled. A hand came between the two. “Gentlemen,” a voice said. Joshua looked down and noticed a much shorter man with black hair pushing him and Minho apart.

“This is a public space,” he added, glancing from Minho to Joshua.. “Let’s not cause a scene.”

“Who the hell are you?” Joshua asked, albeit very rudely.

“Changbin,” the raven haired man replied. “Seo Changbin,” he added, holding out his hand for Joshua to shake. Joshua looked down at the man’s tattoo covered hand and chose to ignore the gesture, instead looking at Minho and narrowing his eyes.

“Stay out of my relationship, Lee Minho,” he spat angrily before turning and walking back to meet up with Seungcheol and their friends, leaving the two men standing there. Changbin looked at his older friend.

“Okay,” Changbin said, jerking his thumb behind him in the direction Joshua had gone. “Who the fuck was that?” He asked. Minho held out his hand in a grand gesture. “Joshua Hong,” he replied.

“Sejong’s very own pompous asshole boyfriend,” he added, causing the younger man to snort and roll his eyes. “Wait… boyfriend?” Changbin asked, suddenly confused.

“Who’s his girlfriend?”

In the women’s restroom, you opened the stall door having finished your business and approached the sink, washing your hands quickly as you glanced up at your reflection in the water-stained mirror. Your makeup seemed fine despite the fact you had been crying just a few minutes ago.

You hoped no one would notice.

Your eyes caught sight of a red mark on your arm and glanced down at the spot where Joshua had grabbed you. “Shit,” you whispered, moving to dry your hands and inspect the mark.

If Lilah didn’t notice the makeup, she was bound to notice this. According to Lilah, Seungcheol had done the same thing a few times, grabbed her by the arm much harder than he intended to.

‘He must be really mad, if he grabbed me this hard,’ you thought as you finished drying your hands. You quickly rid yourself of that bullshit thought and shook your head quickly. ‘No,’ you told yourself.

‘It doesn’t matter how mad he is. Nothing gives him the right to grab me like that.’

Giving yourself the once over one last time with a quick nod to your reflection, you pulled open the door and stepped out into the hall. As you wound your way through the crowd of people, you were knocked backwards into someone and turned to apologize profusely.

The guy turned, and you saw it was the guy from the booth. The one Minho had caught you staring at. “Sorry,” you muttered.

“Someone knocked me over.” The man looked over and noticed several much taller guys crowded nearby before his eyes returned to you and nodded.

“You alright?” He asked, taking you by surprise. ‘Why is he asking me if I’m okay when I’m the one who bumped into him?’ You wondered but decided against asking him that very thing. “I’m okay,” you answered with a nod.

The smile that formed on his face almost took your breath away. “Then no harm done,” he said softly, turning back to the girl leaning against the wall that he’d been previously kissing. You turned away as they went back at it.

‘Awkward.’

As you headed out of the hall, you saw Minho standing in the same place you’d left him. He was looking over the crowd, clearly agitated but you couldn’t discern what had him scowling like that.

‘He… actually waited?’

Minho must have sensed someone was watching him and turned to find you standing a few steps behind him, watching him with a peculiar expression. Perhaps you hadn’t expected him to actually wait for you.

After witnessing your encounter with Joshua, he wasn’t going to leave you to walk alone when that asshat was still in the building, probably waiting for you to appear so he could swoop in and do more pompous asshole boyfriend shit.

Minho’s expression softened as you approached him. You glanced around only after realizing Joshua wasn’t anywhere in sight. You wondered what Minho could have said or done to get Joshua to leave but thought better than to ask.

“Where did Josh go?” You asked as soon as you were within earshot. Minho shrugged his shoulders. “Why do you care?” he answered. You glared at him. “‘Cause he’s my boyfriend,” you retorted, your words failing and expression softening as he offered his arm for you to take.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” You asked suspiciously, taking his arm all the same. “Don’t get used to it,” Minho said as he led you back to the booth, stopping at the bar to get another drink. “What are you drinking?” He asked. You shook your head. “I shouldn’t have another,” you admitted.

Minho dramatically rolled his eyes with an equally exaggerated sigh.

“It’s not every day I’m offering to buy you a drink so pick something,” he urged, waving his hand. “Fine, a Singapore sling,” you answered. Minho gave you a once over before his lips spread into a wide and slightly mischievous grin.

“Oh, I think I’m gonna like this new you,” he said before turning to tell the bartender, leaving you to silent combust as heat spread across your face.

‘What does that mean? The new me?’

Once the drinks were made, Minho led you back to the booth. You thanked him again and sat next to Lilah.

“There you are!” She said, throwing her arms around you. “I was getting worried!” You patted her on the head, chuckling as you looked up to see Minho leaning across Ari’s lap to speak to Chris.

You noticed the urgency at which he spoke and that his eyes flickered to you and back. Chris asked him something you couldn’t hear, and Minho nodded quickly before speaking again.

Whatever their conversation was about ended as soon as Lilah pulled away from you. “Ooh, what’s this?” Lilah asked upon noticing your new drink, clearly not remembering that she suggested you not get another.

Not giving you a chance to answer, she took it from you and took a sip. Her face scrunched up as she swallowed, handing your glass back to you before she gagged. “What the fuck is that?” She asked as you rolled your eyes.

“A Singapore sling,” you answered, raising the glass to take a sip. “Well it’s disgusting,” Lilah answered. Minho snorted, but it seemed only you heard him. “It’s not that bad, Li,” you answered softly.

“Yeah, we can’t all have the taste buds of a child,” Minho quipped. Lilah and Chris both turned to look at him. “You? Sticking up for Y/N?” Chris asked, looking shocked but amused while Lilah looked just plain shocked.

Minho snorted again in laughter. He held up his drink in a silent cheers, directed towards you. “More likely than you think,” Minho said to his friend before sending a wink in your direction. Your cheeks burned in embarrassment as he took a drink and both Lilah and Chris exchanged glances as you took a sip of your drink.

“What happened when I sent you to check on her?” Lilah asked, turning to look at Minho again as he lowered his glass. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Chris looked mildly amused and surprised at the direction the conversation had turned.

“What does that mean?” Lilah asked as you glanced over to the dance floor, trying to ignore the conversation unfolding next to you. An RnB song with heavy bass had started playing, so only couples were on the floor now.

“Y/N,” Lilah said, drawing your attention away from the dance floor. “Huh?”

“What exactly happened that took you so long that I had to send Minho to fetch you?” Lilah asked. Your stomach dropped. ‘Shit.’ You tried to feign a smile and lighthearted expression but could see Minho looking at you from behind Lilah. The scowl you had seen earlier before meeting back up with him was back.

“Oh, uh, I ran into Cheol,” you answered softly, looking down to pick at the hem of your, well actually Lilah’s, dress.

“Oh,” Lilah replied, her curious expression dropping and a blank look crossing her face.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Cheol,” Minho said softly, nodding along. “Oh, and Josh,” he added with venom in his voice. You glanced up to see he was looking out at the crowd with a sour expression.

Lilah laughed at the look on Minho’s face. “You look like he pissed in your cornflakes,” Chris said, nudging his friend with a laugh.

“What did he do to you?” Lilah asked, noticing his sour expression wasn’t going away.

Minho shook his head. “Not me,” he replied, eyes moving towards you.

He wondered what it was about Joshua that you loved so much that you shook your head as subtly as possible, clearly not wanting him to bring up what he’d witnessed. Something he’d sent guys to the ER for. Something he would gladly do to Joshua, given the chance.

It was then Minho realized Lilah was still waiting for him to speak. “Then who?” She asked. Minho inhaled and exhaled deeply before shaking his head, forcing a smile.

“Nothing,” he replied. “He’s just a prick.” He raised his glass to his lips and downed the rest of his drink.

‘A dead fucking prick if I catch him doing that again.’

You silently thanked him for not bringing it up as Lilah rolled her eyes.

“Oh, don’t be mean for no reason, Minho,” she said before turning to look at the dance floor. “I have my reasons,” Minho muttered, but Lilah didn’t seem to hear him as he stared into the bottom of his now empty cup.

A new song started playing, something more upbeat but still with a lot of bass. Lilah smiled, bouncing excitedly in her seat. “Y/N, you wanna dance?” she asked, looking at you with a smile. You looked up, eyes wide. “Uh… I don’t know Lilah,” you said softly.

But of course, she didn’t listen. Lilah never listened.

Instead, she took your drink from your hands and set it in front of Chris turning to face him. “Can you watch these for us, please?” She asked, bringing her hands together almost as if in prayer.

When Chris nodded, a fond smile on his face, Lilah thanked him and squealed with delight. “We’ll be right back,” she said before standing up and grabbing your hand. “Come on,” she said, pulling you out of the booth and towards the steps despite your blatant protests.

Once on the dance floor, nestled in the crowd, you finally let loose and danced with your best friend. She always knew how to cheer you up. One song turned into another, and soon, you were dancing to a third song. Lilah always brought out the best in you. She always knew how to have fun, no matter the circumstances.

You were holding her hand and dancing, swaying to the music when you felt two hands on your hips. You turned quickly and found yourself face to face with none other than Joshua.

“Miss me?” Your boyfriend asked softly, smiling when your surprised expression morphed into relief that it was him and not some creep.

“You weren’t there when I got back from the restroom,” you replied, pouting slightly.

'Oh god. Is that what alcohol did to you?'

You felt his hand cup your cheek and you leaned into his touch, your body following his lead.

“Sorry, baby,” he said, leaning in to whisper in your ear. “I had to take care of something,” he added. You pulled back, placing a hand on his chest and pushing him away a little. “Wait. No. I’m still mad at you,” you added, looking at him with a serious expression.

Joshua’s free hand came up to caress your other cheek. “I’m so sorry, Y/N,” he said, eyes flitting back and forth between yours. “Truly. I didn’t mean it.”

“Yeah, well, it really hurt,” you continued. He pulled you closer, closing the distance between your bodies. “I know, baby. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he replied.

Lilah moved to your side and looked between the two of you. “What do you mean you hurt her?” She asked, voice suddenly full of anger. “It was an accident,” Joshua said, turning to look at your best friend. “I didn’t mean to grab her so hard,” he added, gesturing to the red spot on your arm.

Upon seeing it, Lilah’s expression twisted into a scowl, and she reached between the two of you. “Hands off,” she snapped, trying to pull you away from Joshua and interject herself between the two of you.

“Lilah,” you started, but she cut you off. “No,” she said, pointing at you. “He doesn’t get to grab you so hard that he leaves a mark,” she said, nearly shouting the last part at Joshua, who glanced around nervously at the people around you.

A crowd was starting to form. “He doesn’t get to do that and then get off Scot free,” Lilah said angrily. “Lilah,” Joshua said, drawing her attention. “I know you mean well, but please stay out of my relationship with Y/N,” he continued.

“No,” Lilah snapped back. Joshua’s expression shifted from shock to anger. ‘Fuck,’ you mentally cursed. ‘This is not good.’

“Cheol pulled the exact same shit with me,” she spat, standing between you and Joshua. It had been a long time since you’d seen Lilah this angry, and you knew the alcohol wasn’t helping any.

“He’d grab me so hard that I’d bruise, and then he’d apologize, saying he’d never do it again,” Lilah continued as Joshua tried to interrupt. “I’ve seen plenty of bruises on Y/N’s arms to know the signs,” she argued.

You glanced around and noticed Minho and Chris had gotten up. The black-haired newcomer had also gotten up and was watching the scene from the railing. Minho tapped him on the shoulder and nodded. The newcomer stood up straight and followed.

‘Shit.’ You turned back to Lilah.

“Come on,” you said, trying to pull her away from Joshua. “Let’s not do this here.”

“Just because your relationship failed does not mean you need to involve yourself in mine,” Joshua snapped back angrily. “Oh, shut the fuck up, Joshua Hong. You think you’re so high and mighty,” Lilah spat back. You rushed between your best friend and boyfriend, using your body to block them from each other.

“Lilah, don’t do this here,” you pleaded, gently pushing your friend back and trying to break up the escalating fight before anyone got in trouble or seriously hurt. It was not above Lilah to start a physical fight when she was drunk and upset.

“No!” She shouted. “I’m so sick of this shit! He’s just like Cheol! He thinks he’s so goddamn untouch—!”

“Lilah,” Chris said, his hands gently grabbing her around the waist. “I think you promised that you and Y/N would go get pancakes with us,” he said in her ear. “We should go do that,” he added.

Minho, who now stood between you and Lilah, chimed in. “Yeah,” he added. “I think pancakes sound good right now, don’t you, Y/N?” Upon hearing your name, you glanced at him, confusion was written on your face.

As far as you could remember, neither you nor Lilah promised to get pancakes with them. Minho gave you a very pointed look. ‘Oh!’ You understood quickly and played along.

“They’re right,” you said, looking at Lilah. “We did promise”

Joshua stepped forward, moving to grab your hand, but a hand shot out, grabbing Joshua’s wrist. You glanced at the person standing on the other side of you. The man with the black hair and tattoos.

The same one you couldn’t help but stare at earlier and was knocked into outside the bathrooms.

“A promise is a promise,” he said, fixing Joshua with a calm stare. Joshua pulled from his grip. “Don’t touch me,” he snapped. The man held his hands up to show he wasn’t a threat. “My apologies. I just don’t like seeing guys mistreat their partners,” he said, making Joshua round on him furiously.

“Excuse me?” Joshua asked, fixing the man with a bewildered stare.

“Who the fuck are you to accuse me-?” The man cut him off.

“Not accusing,” he said simply. “I’m just saying what I saw.”

Joshua scoffed and chose to ignore what the dark-haired man said. “Yeah, whatever.”

“Y/N,” you heard your boyfriend call your name, attention turning to focus on him as he spoke. “Come on,” he continued. “I’ll walk you home.” You hesitated. ‘Should I really go with him? He’s pretty upset…’

You must have taken too long for his liking because Joshua called your name again. The tone of his voice didn’t sit right with you, so you shook your head. “I think you should take time to cool down,” you finally answered.

‘Fucking finally,’ Minho thought as he looked up from your face to Joshua’s. He had to say he was impressed with your defiance when all he’s ever heard is how obedient you usually were. Could it be the alcohol? Or had you finally had enough of Joshua’s shit?

“Don’t worry mate,” Chris said, the Aussie in him jumping out. “We’ll make sure she gets home safely,” he added, arms around Lilah as he kept her from lashing out at Joshua.

If Joshua was angry before, it was nothing compared to how pissed he was now.

“As if I'd trust any of you,” Joshua said with a scoff.

“I’d trust us more than I’d trust you right now,” Minho said with a shrug. Joshua glared at him, his anger building. The smug grin on Minho’s face wasn’t helping to quell his fury.

Before Joshua could answer, you spoke up, your voice broke through his concentration. “I’ll let you know when I get home,” you promised, no doubt hoping it would be enough of a solution, but Joshua shook his head.

“No,” he protested. “But I really want to get pancakes,” you continued.

“Then I’ll take you to get some,” Joshua replied, taking a step forward. You shook your head. “Another time,” you heard Minho say as he rested his arm over your shoulders. “Don’t worry, Joshy. She’ll be fine with us,” he added.

Joshua’s fist clenched tightly at how too cozy Minho looked with his arm around your shoulders. He’d punched men for lesser things.

“No,” he refused again. “Y/N,” he said, looking from Minho to you. “Come here, now.”

Now it was both you and Minho who didn’t like his tone.

“She’s not some dog you can command,” Minho spat, taking a step forward, but the dark-haired man stopped him. You decided to speak up.

“I’ll see you on Sunday, babe,” you said, reminding him that even if you went to eat pancakes with Lilah’s friends, he was still your man.

He glared at Minho. “If you try anything,” he warned. Minho rolled his eyes. “As if,” he said with a snort. “Don’t worry, Hong. Your precious little princess is safe with us,” Minho added. Chris began leading Lilah away from the group and towards the exit.

Minho’s arm over your shoulders pulled you back, and he wordlessly guided you away from Joshua and towards the exit as well. You glanced back at your boyfriend, and you could see he was more than upset.

He was outright furious.

The air outside the building was cooler than when you entered, and it felt nice after being in a crowded club with such an intense and heated situation. You walked silently beside Minho as you followed Chris and Lilah.

“Wait, are we actually getting pancakes or was that a cover?” You finally asked. “I mean,” Minho started.

“I wouldn’t say no to breakfast right now. There’s that 24 hour place by our apartment,” he added, looking towards Chris.

Chris had stopped walking and was still supporting Lilah’s weight. She was very intoxicated, the drinks she’d consumed finally catching up to her. The almost-fight and her anger probably didn’t help. Knowing her, you felt she would barely make it home before passing out.

“I’d love some breakfast too, but I think this one might be a little too far gone to make it there,” Chris said, nodding at Lilah, who was currently humming, eyes shut as she swayed to music only she could hear. You took a step forward.

“I’ll take her home,” you offered, moving to help support Lilah. “You sure?” Chris asked, looking at you as you took Lilah’s arm and pulled it over your shoulders, your arm going around her waist.

“Yeah. If you guys wanna go get breakfast, I can take her home,” you replied.

“What about you?” The dark-haired man said suddenly, prompting you to turn and look at him. All eyes were on him.

“What about me?” You asked.

“I think what Changbin means,” Minho started, eyes looking at the dark-haired man. ‘So his name is Changbin.’

“Is how will you get home?” Minho continued, turning his gaze to look at you. Shrugging, you looked back at him. “I’ll just walk,” you replied. “My place isn’t that far from Lilah’s.”

“And if your boyfriend is waiting for you at your place?” Changbin suddenly asked. Your eyes fell on him again, confused but also surprised. ‘Why is he being so… protective?’

“Then I’ll just—” you started but Minho cut you off. “I’ll walk you home.” Your gaze fell on him, now properly shocked. ‘Who is this? ‘Cause it’s definitely not the Minho I know.’

“Then I’ll take Lilah home,” Chris said, taking Lilah from you. “That way, you get home much faster,” he added. “But what about your breakfast?” You asked, eyebrow arching. “Eh, we can always get it some other time,” Chris said, shaking his head.

“I’d feel a lot better if I knew you got home safe,” he continued, starting to lead Lilah in the direction of her apartment.

“Wait,” you said quickly, running after them, pulling your things from Lilah’s bag and handing it to Chris. “I almost forgot I had her stuff,” you admitted. Chris took the bag and thanked you.

“We’ll get breakfast another time, I promise!” He called as he continued to walk, leaving you, Minho, and Changbin alone on the sidewalk.

Changbin looked down, checking his watch. “I gotta go,” he said quietly. “I promised Hana I’d be back to pick her up,” he added. Minho nodded before gesturing him off.

“Go ahead, tell Ari I’m sorry,” he said. Changbin nodded.

“I’ll explain everything,” he replied as he walked backwards a few steps. “I’ll walk Y/N home,” Minho said to which you shook your head in protest.

“I’m fine, really,” you replied.

“I can walk myself home.”

Minho rolled his eyes and waved Changbin off before walking towards you, gently grabbing your arm and turning you in the opposite direction.

“Where do you live?” He asked as you walked together. “Just a couple blocks west of Lilah’s apartment,” you replied. Minho nodded, pulling you along.

“Let’s get going then,” he added.

You glanced back as Changbin walked in the opposite direction, back towards the club and disappeared around the corner but not before throwing one final look your way with an expression you couldn’t read.

You and Minho were left in the empty street alone, walking down the sidewalk toward your apartment. Silence fell between you as you walked and you wondered if you should say anything to break the tension.

This was the third time he’d gone out of his way to do something nice for you and you felt you should at least acknowledge that so he didn’t try and use it against you later.

“Thank you,” you finally said softly, not noticing the way Minho looked at you. “For what?” He asked after a beat of silence.

You took a deep breath. “For back at the club. You didn’t have to intervene, you know,” you continued. “Joshua is always like that. He doesn’t pay attention to his own strength.” Minho scoffed. “I’m probably just as strong as him and I’ve never once grabbed anyone hard enough to bruise them, Y/N,” he continued.

“That’s not normal,” he added. “And you shouldn’t have to put up with it.”

You glanced up at him. “It’s not that big of a deal,” you muttered. Minho stopped, pulling a hand from his pocket to grab your arm carefully.

“Stop making excuses for him, Y/N. I told you before he’s a pompous asshole and I’m not taking it back.” You glanced down to where his hand was still on your upper arm. It was a right contrast from the way Joshua had grabbed you earlier.

“If someone loves you, and I mean truly loves you, they don’t hurt you like that,” he continued, his hand dropping from your arm. You said nothing, only nodding slowly. When he realized you weren’t going to speak, Minho let out a sigh shoving his hand back into his pockets.

“Come on,” he said quietly, nodding his head in the direction of your apartment and continuing down the road. You followed behind him, not even noticing how he glanced back at you, a small fond smile on his face.

‘If she wasn’t so up Hong’s ass… maybe then.’ He shook the thought from his head as you struggled to keep up with his long strides. It was almost cute. ‘In another lifetime,’ Minho thought as he glanced skyward briefly.

You must have regretted not bringing a jacket now that the sun had gone down and the temperature had dropped. As you brought your hand up and rubbed your arm, quickly following Minho down the street, he stopped and sighed. ‘Why does she have to be so helpless?’ He wondered, unzipping and removing his jacket.

“Here,” he called out, holding his jacket towards you.

You glanced from him to the jacket and back.

“Just take it before I change my mind,” he continued. You took it carefully from him and pulled it on. “Thanks,” you muttered, zipping it up. Minho said nothing, only humming in response as the two of you continued down the street, silence falling over you once more.

The moon had begun to rise over the tops of the trees, casting a silvery light over everything.

You glanced up, eyes taking in the few stars you could see in the inky midnight blue sky. You were so preoccupied with looking at the stars that you ran into Minho’s body, colliding with him and a loud ‘oof’ leaving your lungs. Minho chuckled, looking at you as he stood still. “You know,” he said softly, turning to face you fully.

“You really should watch where you’re going,” he continued, a smirk starting to appear. You rolled your eyes, thankful for the dark which concealed the way your cheeks burned.

“It’s not like I was expecting you to just stop like that,” you murmured.

“What were you looking at, anyway?” Minho asked, ignoring your words to look towards the sky.

“The stars,” you answered simply, glancing from his face to the shimmering white dots in the blackness of the night sky. Minho’s eyes fell to your face as you stared skyward.

“The stars?” He asked, the smirk on his face growing. You nodded. “The further from the downtown area we get,” you explained softly.

“The brighter they shine.” Minho’s gaze softened slightly as he watched you.

“Alright Galileo,” he sighed loudly, making you tear your eyes from the stars.

“I said I’d walk you home but if I had known it was going to take three hundred years, I never would have offered,” he groaned teasingly, turning to start down the sidewalk before glancing back at you, the mischievous grin back on his face. You hurried after him, following his path down the sidewalk.

Before long, your building came into sight as the two of you headed to the door. Upon reaching the steps, you turned and removed Minho’s jacket and handed it back to him.

“Thank you for letting me use it,” you said as you held it out for him to take. He gave you a rare warm smile as he took it. “I’d never hear the end of it if I’d let you freeze,” you heard him say as he pulled his jacket back on. “Hey, at least it’s warm,” he mused.

“Thank you again for this,” you continued, ignoring his remarks. “You really didn’t have to walk me home, but I appreciate the gesture all the same,” you added. Minho gave you another rare smile. “Meh, don’t get used to it, princess,” he countered. “I don’t exactly like you,” he reminded you.

“But I absolutely loathe Joshua Hong.”

You rolled your eyes. Whatever beef the two of them had was none of your business so you didn’t care about what he thought of your boyfriend. “Goodnight Minho,” you replied as you turned to head up the small staircase to your front door and unlocked it with your keycard, giving Minho a tiny wave before letting the door shut slowly behind you.

Once upstairs and inside the safety of your apartment, you started to undress, sliding out of your, well Lilah’s, dress and letting it fall to the floor.

You moved into your bedroom area and grabbed a clean sleep shirt, pulling it on over your head and letting the material fall to your hips before moving to climb into your oversized queen bed, practically diving under the covers and pulling them up to your chin.

Your eyes slid shut before you even had time to register your exhaustion and soon the room was filled with the sounds of your snores as you drifted deeper into slumber.

[phoenixyfriend]

I think the problem I have with finding good Anidala fic is that. Like.

They're usually background to something else, as the established canon ship.

A lot of authors add the element that they were doomed to go domestic-violence-y or bitter divorcees and I don't want that.

Or there's the undercurrent of This Will Become A Tragedy, which. Can I have a few instances where it isn't, please?

People really like writing Padme as being The Sane And Sensible Female Character, Because Women Always Have The Brain Cell.

It's always mixed with a callout for either them or the Jedi.

Like. Damn. Can I just get my comedic AU where they can be morons in love?

Fantasy AU where Padme's a princess in a castle that Anakin has to save and they make out while the dragon is almost upon them because they're horny young adults and Obi-Wan Will Take Care Of It, Right?

College AU where Anakin's working in a repair shop and Padme comes in with a broken transmission and he literally trips over himself trying to impress her.

Lovebug AU where they get hit with some spell or chemical that makes them take all their private Romance Novel Dialogue and start spouting it in public and everyone around them is just like 'yes, this ridiculous phrasing is the fault of the interfering element' but no it's just Them Being Them.

Post-war AU where O66 didn't happen and they dump the twins on Uncle Obi for date night but the date night gets crashed by assassins and they spend the rest of the evening shooting things, flying speeders, and arresting people.

Mid-TCW AU where they have to 'pretend' to be married for a mission but they're already secretly married and they awkwardly try to straddle the line of looking like they're not in love to the supervising Jedi but looking like they are in love to the leaders of the planet they're on and they never land on the same page when deciding how much affection to show.

Literally any AU, modern or canon or what, where the two of them find out someone's got a crush and get really, really into matchmaking as a duo like they cannot get enough of this. You mentioned this person twice and they are already planning your wedding.

Them tag-teaming to seduce themselves a third (Rex, it's Rex) but their standards for romance involves things like shooting pirates and blowing up buildings, so it only works if the person they're seducing can be impressed in a good way by exploding starships (I mean he probably can).

Modern AU where Ahsoka needs someone to come in for a parent teacher conference, and the usual adults (Plo, Shaak, Obi-Wan) are all out of town, so Anakin and Padme go to talk to her teacher instead and it's. Uh. Why are there bodyguards here?

Any AU where they roleplay Anakin-the-handyman showing up to fix her pipes, and they're going to make it a sex thing but Threepio and Artoo interrupt because of course they do.

EDIT: OH I FORGOT ONE

Femme fatal Padme showing up at PI Anakin's doorstep looking for help with uncovering the crimes she suspects her fiance, Rush Clovis, of doing for the mob.

[ameftowriter]

FINALLY I WROTE THIS AFTER 2 AND A HALF DAYS!!

Whew... I'm sorry for it being so late on this one.

But I did my best after being inspired by this wonderful art. Thank you @k-chips and @zomandfriends and @wyrdle .

Also this is based off @k-chips 's Dadvell AU yes xD

Thank you for reading and I hope you like it. I apologize for any errors as well.

Under the cut cause it's a bit long and also spoilers.

EDIT: I forgot to add some important tags I'm so sorry also some information cause I rushed to post this and I'm forgetful

Title: But what about you?

Tyme walked through the hallways to speak to Clavell at his office. Everything was going well so far she thought to herself. Everything was going smoothly and even issues that rose were quickly fixed and resolved. She was happy to report to Clavell that there were many willing volunteers to help set up for the first Academy Ace Tournament this Friday and the participants for the battles itself have all signed up.

But as she opened the door to the Director's office, she saw the one last big issue to resolve.

Clavell continuously paced around his office. Back and forth, back and forth, over and over again. He stopped and looked like he thought of something.

Then he grumbled and began pacing around again.

Tyme sighed to herself... There was indeed one last thing that had to be dealt with first.

And perhaps she's the only one who can resolve this problem.

She approached Clavell who kept going and going, as he didn't realize who was already there next to him.

"Director...." Tyme began.

"And there's still the board meeting...." Clavell muttered to himself as he walked away, not noticing Tyme.

"Director Clavell..." Tyme repeated herself as she walked to follow him.

"The Tournament is this Friday... I still need to get a speech prepared..."

"Clavell."

"But of course... I still need to provide more support for Arven and his friends..."

"Clavell!"

"Oh!" Clavell quickly turned to see that Tyme was standing next to him with her hands at her hips and looked at him with the most annoyed expression.

"M-Miss Tyme..." The flustered director spoke, "My goodness... I didn't see you come in... How long were you--?"

"I just got here, Director Clavell...." Tyme shook her head. She could feel the tension within him.

"I must apologize then, Miss Tyme.." Clavell bowed at her, "I have been quite busy with various affairs."

"I'm sure you are, Clavell..." Tyme sighed as she dropped the title, "Though I believe you may have overloaded yourself with too many affairs."

"... Do you think I have?" Clavell wondered, a lot of events have occurred in this school year alone after all. But he was the director, a lot of things are his responsibility. 

"Definitely." Tyme nodded, "You need to take care of yourself once in a while, Clavell. You won't be able to help anyone in your state. "

"I suppose you're right but I..." Clavell paused for a moment as he thought of what he needed to do. "Ever since I found out the truth about Team Star and around two years ago... I have to make sure these kids are doing well for themselves now and the school isn't giving them too much trouble ...."

"Yes ..." Tyme did not want to be reminded of that shame she felt when she was told of the truth behind the entire incident. But she has noticed then that the Team's members have started coming back to classes and have been opening up to the teachers and other students... Especially her student, Penny...

"Then the Academy Ace Tournament is this Friday... We need to make sure everything is set up and we got the proper permissions for the location and the shops..."

"Of course..." Tyme and various volunteers have already gotten the permissions needed to set up the Tournament. Chairwoman Geeta already compiled it all for them. She wanted to tell him this, but the man kept on pacing...

"Jacq needs assistance in his classes and his Pokedex as these Paradox Pokemon that Sada brought in have a lot of information to bring up and even to other Pokemon Professors..."

"That's not a rush then is it?" Tyme tried to reassure him, at least to lessen the burden.

"Speaking of Sada, and the Paradox Pokemon..." Clavell already changed the topic as the thought of the incident that happened a couple of months ago, "Dear Arceus... Those kids... I still need to check up on them and their well-being... A couple of months have passed already, I dearly hope that they are still doing okay since then..."

"I'm sure they're doing all right, Clavell..." Tyme remembers seeing the four students in question, enjoying each other's company and having quite a loud yet joyful chat in the cafeteria yesterday. She was quite happy to see that.

"But also Arven...." Clavell clutched his head as he counted in his mental checklist, "I have been worried for him since the incident in Area Zero.... When we found out that his mother had been gone far longer than we realized, then down there to meet the AI and... And..."

"Clavell!" Tyme had grasped his shoulders firmly, and jolted the man awake from his self induced trance, "For Arceus's sake, settle down."

"I... I apologize..." Clavell muttered.

"I know you have a lot to do, but please take care of yourself first." Tyme pleaded with him with the softest look possible, "I worry about you."

"I..." Clavell felt his face heat up by that. "I'm really sorry Tyme... For making you worry for me."

"You've gone through a lot under a span of a year, even more than anyone should." Tyme reassured him again, "You don't have to be sorry for this."

"I know but I..." Clavell began to remember his mental checklist again, "I feel like there is still much more to do..."

Tyme sighed, here we go again.

"I still need to check on the kids...." Clavell counted, "And Arven... He still needs my help, I need to be there for him more..."

"Clavell..." Tyme spoke softly.

"I'll also still need to talk with Team Star, I want to make sure they're doing well too..." He counted it again.

"They're all right...." She reassured him again even though it fell on deaf ears.

"Jacq needs help as well..." Once again he does it.

"That can wait. Even though he knows it's not a priority..." She continued.

"Then there's the tournament... I can't just leave it..."

By then, Tyme had enough and pulled the man to her and enveloped her arms around him, hugging him so tight.

"But what about you?" She says to his ear, "You silly old fool..."

"Tyme... I..."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again... You need to take care of yourself. If you don't then I will... For your sake ..."

"Tyme..." Clavell repeated, as he was unsure of what to say or do. "You don't have to..."

"But I want to." Tyme answered back, "You need this. At least for now..."

Clavell could feel the tears well up in his eyes as he brought his hands upward to return the hug she had given him... "Yes... Yes, please... And thank you."

The two remained like this for a good while as Clavell quietly sobbed as he grasped Tyme's sweater. He was grateful to have her around at his moment of weakness and felt himself relax for once. Tyme rubbed circles on his back as she, herself tried to hold back her own emotions. She hated seeing him like this. When she found out about everything this poor man had gone through in just the course of this school year, she brought it to herself to accompany him more and help him more than ever. It was the best thing she could think of right now. So despite it all, she was relieved that she could finally help him.

As the two finally went silent, Clavell sighed, "Thank you Miss Tyme... I needed that..."

"Good! Now that wasn't so bad, is it?" The two let go of their hug but their hands still on each other. Then the two stiffened.

The realization that they're so close to each other had clicked in for them and they have once again fallen into silence.

"I...umm..." Clavell was the first to speak, with his face flushed red and his hands letting go of Tyme's waist, "Th-thank you Miss Tyme... For that support..."

"O-of course..." Tyme felt her face heat up, and her heart skipped a beat... she never really realized how... good looking... Clavell is up close like this...

"Is there something else wrong, Miss Tyme?" Clavell managed to speak as he felt his own heart rate speed up after being so close to her like this. "You still have your hands on my shoulders..."

"Oh... oh! I... I apologize, Director Clavell!" Tyme quickly removed her hands from him as she felt flustered, "I'm... I'm just glad to help!"

"Of course!" Clavell gave her a soft smile, as he still felt relaxed and happy to be by her side. "If you have time then, shall we have some tea?"

"That would be wonderful!" Tyme smiled at him back. The two are simply delighted to have each other at this time of vulnerability.

"Oh... My... Arceus....." Penny muttered as she peeked through the office door. She was actually there to try to meet up with Director Clavell to talk to him about the STCs and its steady progress and various records with it. But instead she had just witnessed something she definitely wished she could have recorded.

"Well... This can wait..." She said to herself as she slowly closed the door as silently as possible to not get their attention, "Priority one is to gossip this to Riley, Arven, and Nemona.... They're gonna be so happy to hear about this!"

She then silently walked away from the office ready to head back to her friends.

[mickules]

ASK DUMP

But first:

OOPS [for context]

My hand slipped.

Yous all ready for a MAMMOTH ask post? I mean it this is LONG

[edit: completely forgot to add the ‘read more’ rip your dash this is L O N G]

(next set of asks are [here]! in smaller bites this time)

Honestly I’m kinda boring when it comes to headcanons, they’re mostly canon compliant or I end up floating about on the general consensus of popular fanon. Here, however, is a bunch of little titbits!

~Hifumi draws like Boichi. The idea he has a super detail oriented style and not a cutesy one cracks me up.

~The difference between Taeko and Celeste; those colour contacts are prescription. (Taeko doesn’t look too dissimilar to Toko and she hates that)

~Likewise, Gundham takes forever to get ready as he re-applies the “wards necessary to allow mere mortals to withstand the presence of The Supreme Overlord of Ice”

~Kazuichi on the other hand is au naturale. He just looks like that.

~Hiro is right, where do you think his clairvoyant abilities came from?

~Taka has had to shave every morning since he was 13, (he looks like Masaaki Sakai from Monkey if he grows it out) Mondo will never be able to grow any facial hair, and he’s salty about it. His hair is naturally curly but he straightens the back for that Pomp Aesthetic

~Taka is a very restless sleeper, never wakes up in the same position as he went to sleep. At Hope’s Peak he usually finds himself waking up across the room, on the floor.

~Additionally, He eats like a gannet - maximum efficiency (until he gets indigestion) [more on this]

~Red eyes and a diabolical resting bitch face is the dominant trait of the Ishimaru Bloodline. (POV trying to have a casual conversation)

~Takaaki is a divorcee not a widower; his marriage was an arranged one organised by Toranosuke, and when the scandal went down the marriage was dissolved by the bride’s family. [more on this]

She was 5′3′’

Takaaki just wants someone tall enough so he can take a nice photo (I had to google ‘no homo with socks’, I hope you’re happy)

---

30% of Takaaki’s intimidation is his height, the rest is his Glare™

Ah! I can understand the confusion! That was actually an older Mondo, as the anon had asked about Kaito being Mondo and Taka’s kid. I’m easy going when it comes to pairing characters together, I don’t mind answering questions along that vein! I love to see other people’s interpretations, and how they imagine a relationship develops. I’ve seen some absolutely adorable art of them as a couple! Personally however, I don’t have a good idea of their chemistry in my head, so I don’t think of them as being together. At the very least not in this weird AU thing I’ve got going on. 

---

Bold of you to assume Takemichi hasn’t been keeping it a secret. Not out of fear or shame, but rather because Michi would do anything to keep nosy, overbearing, meddling Daiya out of his love-life. He’s seen how Daiya absolutely ROASTS Mondo every-time he strikes out, and Michi ain’t about to open himself up to that. I imagine Daiya finds out whilst frequenting a gay bar- like that Doctor/Donna Doctor Who scene:

He is then resolutely recruited as a Gay Consultant™ 

They become very popular regulars. (tags got me creasing)

@hawklanthebard

You’re not wrong - that’s a fabulous concept, but they’re gonna have to catch him first. Surviving middle school gave Taka an unusually highly developed intuition for trouble and an excellent default flight or fight response

Mondo having to deal with his gang associations negatively effecting his ‘civilian’ life and friends? *Chef’s Kiss*

---

Taka with his wooden sword would be a sight to behold. Unfortunately, I doubt brandishing a sword would be welcome in a school environment - so he’d unlikely use it for anything other than exercise. ISHIDA ON THE OTHERHAND

Hifumi might have had a bit more trouble

@emiefaunwrites

(Thank you so much! That’s so very sweet! I’m glad you like! :D) SO I didn’t originally have a timeline when I started making the comics, but NOW I do, so it’s a bit of a mess lol! BASICALLY: ~Daiya survived the bike crash  ~Mondo & Taka go to Hope’s Peak  ~They become friends (I have a comic planned for this, and it’s NOT a sauna scene *wiggles eyebrows*) ~[The Yakuza Incident] this is when Mondo catches feelings, but chalks it up to the adrenaline of the situation ~[Mondo meets Takaaki] and [makes a great impression] ~Daiya is introduced to Taka, and gives him “The Shirt” unbeknownst to Mondo  ~Taka has his own Gay Panic™ (this is another comic comin’ in the pipeline!) but he doesn’t recognise it for what it is. ~[Takaaki finds The Shirt, and him and Daiya make their plan] ~[The Hershey’s Kiss Incident] Mondo has to ask himself some PRETTY SEARCHING questions after this, whilst Taka has to wrestle with the revelation that if Mondo asked for a kiss, Taka would not hesitate to do it. ~ and Finally, eventually, a Confession (this is another comic, but it’ll deffo be a while before this one is done)

---

@crackinwise

Takemichi sees the Oowada brothers as a single unit - he is 'second’ to both of them. So, whilst Mondo is at Hope’s Peak, Takemichi defaults to keeping an eye on Daiya to give Mondo some piece of mind, since Daiya still a target for rival gangs. Takemichi’s title of ‘second’ is just a formality of the gang. Daiya doesn’t really go in for the hierarchy stuff, but it’s the gang that insists on it and Mondo unfortunately really internalised it. From the gang’s perspective, you have the suave leader, his sharp, loyal 2nd in command and his volatile brother he has to reign in, when in reality Daiya delegated a lot of his responsibilities to Mondo and Michi over time, and was more a figurehead than an actual leader by his retirement.

(I’ve got some more Leon in a future comic - have a peek, he’s got such a cheeky face) [this comic is now done!]

Mondo’s unsuccessful romantic attempts are the favourite gossip topic of a surprising amount of class 78 tho’ not within earshot of Mondo obviously - They’re secretly cheering him on but they also have a betting pool based on how quickly he’ll scare the girl away. Celeste has made a very tidy profit.

---

Taka is 100% the type who’d inform the mcdonald’s cashier that they gave him too many nuggets and try to pay the extra. He’s IMPOSSIBLE to do a favour for.

[persona ref here]

@chinchillasinunison

I agree, Mondo in specs is A+, but yes, ‘tis a persona reference.  I FULLY recommend Persona 4 if you get the chance! It’s a JRPG, but the ‘dungeons’ are people’s psyches, and when they’re inside they have to confront a ‘shadow’ which is basically some aspect of themselves they’ve repressed or heavily dislike. The stress of being in the dungeons causes people to get dizzy and confused, and the glasses stop that- it suggests Mondo has already confronted his own shadow, before Taka had to confront his. . .

---

That’s some excellent analysis right there! Taka 100% has some deep seated issues to do with his relationship with control. I think his new friendship with someone so far outside his understood norm of ‘acceptable’ would have rattled some of those insecurities loose.  There would be an inherent need for Taka to try to ‘improve’ Mondo’s behaviour - to try to make Mondo more “acceptable to society”, the way Taka was taught to be. But by doing so, he would be removing something that makes Mondo who he is. It would come down to an internal fight of being a hypocrite for overlooking Mondo’s anti-social behaviour, or trying to control Mondo and making him into something he’s not. Taka would hate himself for not being able to accept Mondo wholesale, the way he wishes people would accept himself, and the way he knows friends SHOULD do - basically a microcosm of the wider span of his anxiety with his chosen path and future.

(ahhhh! !Thank-you! That’s supremely kind! I’m still really enjoying the Dangan stuff, and if I move on to other things and folk don’t vibe with it - It’s all good! No worries! My only goal on this tumble is to enjoy myself, and so far that ain’t changed :D)

---

NOICE! Excellent recommendations I’m lovin’ them! Always happy to get more! 👀

Also, from that DR chatfic:

“TAIL ‘EM NAEGGI”

I have been outdone.

---

(AH! You flatter me! I’ll keep on tryna be cool!) [pic is here!] Daiya and Takaaki being casual allies is definitely a dynamic I really enjoy; Crazy Crafters is such an enjoyable fic! All the little interactions and character chemistry works so well together! Chasml’s fics are ones that I keep coming back to - I ADORE Their characterisations.

@rc-hetalia-mun

Dang you right, Honestly I needed a kid and his mum for the Crazy Crafters [pic] and Hiro has such a fun design; it was inevitable.

---

(AH! Thanks!! What a compliment!! :-0 !! ) Normally, someone as jacked as Mondo would have a craggier face, not unlike Sakura’s sharp nose and defined cheekbones - but he’s got surprisingly soft features, I think those big eyes and long tapered eyelashes really add to it.

---

(!!!!!THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!) Taka doesn’t even smile that much in his in game sprites but I CANNOT HELP IT! He has such a wide, welcoming smile and I LOVE DRAWING IT!!

---

(Thank you! I loved doin’ it!) All credit 100% goes to @monikamarkovova They have the most SUPREMELY FLUFFY MOTHMEN art and I am in AWE, I cannot compare. I do not know how they do it. [here for ref]

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(ahh! <3 thanks very much!) Here’s a bit of a behind the scenes! I do all my sketches in colour ‘cos I find it easier on my eyes. I have trouble telling the difference between colours of a close tone, so it’s easier to see when distinguishing between the sketch and the black lines when I’m doing lineart. Red just happens to be my go to since it’s quickest to get to on the colour slider and I’m lazy. The sketches you see are pretty much 1 to 1 what I use for lineart, minus the half tones. If I have multiple sketch layers, I’ll use multiple colours so I can see easier, but usually I do all my sketches directly on my guideline layer because I’m a madman. Here’s a coupla examples:

here’s a rare one where I didn’t draw directly onto my messy af guidelines- but I always start with red, then blue, then green and very occasionally purple if I need a fourth.

I keep the mini-comic sketches in red since I think it looks better. Black is harsh and can be unforgiving and I think it makes it easier to see how rough my sketches are. In colour it’s a little softer - and to me - more pleasing to the eye! (and even when I do use black- it’s usually at partial opacity to soften it out)

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AND cos I’ve been watching too much Natsume Yuujincho (FULLY RECOMMEND it’s delightful) Have a quick redraw: 

As my brother described it “Kiyotaka and his Fat Biker Cat”

And that’s it for now! The ask box is nice and empty, thanks for so many brilliant asks and sorry it took so long! I’m working on ‘Taka and Mondo becoming friends’ comic and ‘Taka gets a clue’ (edit: this one is [done]) comic, and I hope neither will take too long! :)

[youtifulhobi]

I Want You to Lie [JHS] (18+)

➴ Pairing: JHS x Reader | WC: 19.9k | Genre: angst, crack, fluff, smut | Rating: NSFW; 18+

➴ Warnings: copious amounts of swearing, depictions of a car accident, mild (playful) physical violence amongst friends, misunderstandings, emotional breakdowns, reader knows her alcohol and partakes occasionally, lots of tears

➴ Tags:

General: Chaebol AU, heiress!reader, heir!Hoseok, high school sweethearts, friends to lovers, lovers to exes, exes to lovers, friends with benefits, unrequited love, pining

Smut: dom!Hoseok, switch!reader, grinding, biting, teasing, edging, fingering, daddy kink, mirror sex, oral: male receiving, handjob, semi-public sex, breast play, oral: female receiving, soft sex, masturbation: female receiving, unprotected sex, creampie

➴ Summary:  Best friends, exes, ex best friends, friends with benefits...there are very few remaining labels you and Jung Hoseok can continue to add to your unofficial list. Things have changed since high school, with the exception of one thing--you're still head over heels for him, and he's not.

➴ A/N: This is part of the Sons of Midas collab hosted by my soulmate @joheunsaram ! Check out the other talented authors here (all our fics are intertwined and set in the same universe!) 

Thank you so much to @missgeniality @joheunsaram and @taegularities for betaing! Edit: @hoebii​ on god I’m so sorry I forgot to tag you as one of my betas 😭 thank you for betaing the first half of this fic, I greatly appreciated your feedback  ♡ ♡

@taegularities​ this is for you, baby, thank you for being the Swan to my Candy ♡

Do not redistribute or plagiarise on any other platforms (including but not limited to wattpad, youtube, instagram, facebook).  I only use tumblr and AO3 as of the time of posting.  If I find my work plagiarised or redistributed without consent, I will not hesitate to take legal action.

“Jesus, Y/N, what are you wearing?” Jimin’s face scrunched up in disgust as he took in your outfit with a grimace, equal parts horrified and amused.

You set the corners of your lips back in an amused pout, rolling your eyes. “This,” you gestured to your scarf and white knee high socks, “is what my parents decided to punish me with for telling them I used my monthly allowance for pole dancing lessons because I wanted to drop out of school and become a stripper. Granted, they couldn’t do much today because of the uniform, but...they replaced my entire wardrobe with nun outfits.

“Fortunately,” you continued, stopping at your unnecessarily large locker, “I can fix that when they can’t see me.” With a flourish, you pulled an altered uniform out of the hardwood polished cabinet that resembled a small vanity rather than a locker. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

Your best friend shook his head when you greeted him again, grinning from ear to ear as he took in your appearance.

With a skirt that ended barely past your ass, white thigh high socks, jacket altered to end mid-forearm, and a casually unbuttoned top to show off part of your collarbones, you finally looked every bit the ‘aspiring stripper’.

“You know your parents can’t see you at school, so you can drop the rebellious act, right?” Jimin raised an eyebrow as he leaned casually next to your locker, crossing his arms.

You sagged against your locker door, face falling. “Yeah, I know, but I’m tired of playing the good little heiress. What if I want to be a stripper?”

Jimin scoffed. “When have you ever played the ‘good little heiress?’ Come on, Candy. Let’s talk more about your stripper career later. We’re going to be late to class.”

“Did you just—” you slammed your locker door, armed with only a paperback journal. “—call me Candy? That is the most stereotypical stripper name! Park Jimin, get back here!”

Jimin, noticing the telltale rise in pitch, had started backing away with a grin, hands coming up to protect himself.

“Dude...what happened to your face?”

Jimin groaned, pressing the ice pack harder against his eye. “Candy. Candy happened.”

Hoseok tilted his head to the side. “Who the fuck is Candy?”

With a high pitched giggle, Jimin relegated the story of your new nickname, much to his friends’ amusement.

Your seven friends had matching bruises on their arms for a week after Jimin unveiled your nickname, but the name would stick with you for decades to come.

“Noona, are you okay? You’ve been mopey lately.” You turned your head slightly to the side, the sunlight hitting your cheekbones and jawline. You eyed Jungkook as he padded quietly to your side, keeping you company on your favourite balcony at school.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” you snapped, wincing when the younger boy recoiled at your sharp tone. “Sorry. Just...thinking about my lack of a future is all.”

Jungkook tilted his head to the side, not fully understanding your cryptic statement. “What do you mean?”

You remained silent for a few moments, musing over how to explain yourself. Jungkook, mistaking your silence for a crossed boundary, held up both hands in front of him, waving them frantically. “Y-you don’t have to explain if you don’t want to! I’m sorry if I upset you! Please don’t be sad!”

You smiled at your best friend’s panicked antics, reaching out to wrap a hand around his. “No, bunny, it’s okay. I’m not mad at you. I never could. I love you too much. It’s...complicated. Everyone sees me as this delinquent, this bad girl who knows exactly what she wants, but that’s the problem. I do know what I want, but I’ll never be able to have it, because as heirs, we’ll probably be forced into arranged marriages that benefit our companies more than us as individuals. Does that make sense?”

You stared out at the atrium that lay below the balcony, waiting for Jungkook’s answer. You weren’t in a rush, but you wondered if you had spoken too quietly for him to hear. “...Bunny?”

“Yes!” came his immediate reply, albeit slightly panicked. “Yeah, that makes sense. I’m sorry you have to deal with this alone, noona. It’s not fair.”

You chuckled. “I mean...yes, but also no. You know you’ll also probably be entered into an arranged marriage, right?”

Shaking your head in disappointment, you closed your eyes for a moment before turning to the younger boy with a sad smile on your face. “Anyway, thank you for listening to me rant, you didn’t have to—”

Your smile faded as you took in Jungkook’s face. Your best friend’s beautiful face was marred with faintly purple bruises, dried blood from a cut on his cheekbone, and fresh blood welling from a split lip as he grinned happily at you, bunny teeth on display. Your heart broke.

“Baby...what happened?” You spoke slowly, not trusting your voice to waver as tears began to well up in the corners of your eyes. “Who did this to you, bunny?”

Jungkook shook his head, still smiling, not knowing that each time he tried to be strong, he pushed what felt like a dagger into your heart. “Nobody, noona, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

You narrowed your eyes, despair giving way to rage. “So help me, bunny, I will fight half the school if I have to.”

“Noona please, they’re not worth it. Really. Let’s just...go to class, yeah? I’ll walk you to your room. Come on.” Jungkook took your hand, a light pink tingeing his bruised cheeks as he dragged you away from the terrace.

“Okay noona, I’ll see you after class. Promise me you won’t do anything rash?” You smiled noncommittally at Jungkook’s question, ire burning cold in your veins as you kept a temporary lid on your temper. With a warning glance, Jungkook waved goodbye and flashed you his signature bunny smile, sending a wave of affection through your body as he left. You loved him. You really did. Which was why there was hell to pay.

“You WHAT?” 

You huffed, rolling your eyes as you rested your tender jaw on an ice pack. “I got suspended from school and from my duties as the class president because I fought half the school, eomma.”

In your defence, every single one of the student body you had gotten into a fight with deserved it. Due to your status as class president, you had gotten your answer in less than fifteen minutes about who was responsible for hurting your best friend. You had made up an excuse about menstrual cramps and needing to use the bathroom after you made a mental hitlist of who needed to be taught a lesson and effectively cut class to pull Jungkook’s bullies out of their own lessons to fight them. 

“That’s my girl! I’m proud of y— uh...I mean, that’s very bad, Y/L/N Y/N. Uh, bad girl.” You suppressed a smirk at your father’s backpedaling when he became the latest target of your mother’s glare. 

“Think of our reputation, Y/L/N Y/N! What will the tabloids say? And your friends’ parents? You have to be careful with the way you carry yourself. You are a Y/L/N. Our family name carries a lot of weight and has done so for generations.” Your mother sighed, leaning back in her tulip chair where she’d sat for the past several hours calculating business expenses and profits. “With that said, I’m happy you’ve developed such a strong sense of justice. I must say, your father and I were worried that we didn’t raise you well, with the pressure of the family name and all, but seeing how you acted today on account of Jeon Jungkook, I’m so proud of the young woman you’ve become.”

You tried to suppress the smile that began to emerge, wanting to avoid further straining your hurt facial muscles, but it came out anyway. Though you and your parents always got into petty fights, you knew they loved you, and you loved them. 

“We really do need to get that temper of yours under control. How do taekwondo classes sound?” Your dad mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “That way when you go off for university, you can have more tricks up your sleeve to fend off those fraternity boys who try to spike your drink.”

You stared at your father with a disbelieving expression whilst your mother succumbed to the end of her patience and brought her hand to her face with a loud smack.

You ended up taking your father’s advice and signed up for taekwondo classes after you relinquished your class president position, knowing that you had behaved inappropriately for someone in a state of authority (no matter how much you believed you were in the right). 

With the sudden free time, you found more time to explore your hobbies and found joy in dancing, quickly becoming the dance team’s co-captain along with Jung Hoseok.

While you’d interacted with Hoseok before as he was part of your friend group, it wasn’t until the two of you began working together as dance captains that you became close.

...maybe a little too close. 

You see, you’d never liked fuckboys who thought they were God’s greatest gift to humankind, but Hoseok wasn’t like that. He was breathtakingly handsome, confident, rarely cocky unless the situation called for it, sweet, thoughtful, and funny. Girls you thought had a leg up on you in terms of looks fell over themselves trying to please him, but Jung Hoseok only had eyes for you.

He wasn’t quick to judge, displaying more maturity than any other teenager you’d met, preferring instead to play devil’s advocate in an attempt to balance both sides before making a decision. In other words, he was every bit the ideal chaebol heir; cool, calculated, and decisive. 

There was nothing more attractive than Jung Hoseok when he was serious, face impassive as he concentrated, but what you fell for was the boy underneath the facade. The boy whose smile lit up the room, blinding like the sun, infectious, happy laughter usually accompanying it; the boy who listened to his friends’ problems despite having his own and offering advice but never pressuring others to take it; the boy who worked harder than adults you knew to achieve his dreams; the boy of your dreams.

It was a surprise to nobody when you fell head over heels for him. Jimin teased you the most, noting how your demeanour changed to a much gentler one when Hoseok was around. The one time Hoseok had caught you punching Jimin’s arm was immediately after one of these teasing sessions and you’d stopped immediately upon noticing his appearance, cheeks heating as you blushed furiously and glared at your best friend. Hoseok had flashed you an easy smile, sending your heart into overdrive as you scrambled to your feet, mumbling an excuse to leave the vicinity. 

The only times when you weren’t a blushing mess around your friend-turned-crush was when you were dance captain, coaching your members through new moves and consoling them when they made mistakes. You never noticed, but Hoseok would pause in his actions, smiling at your back while you taught and the hint of something else glimmering in his eyes as he gazed at you.

The two of you exchanged longing glances when you thought nobody was watching, both too shy and unsure to make the first move, until your friends, exasperated by the lack of progress in your relationship, barricaded the two of you in the dance hall where you’d been cleaning up alone after practice.

“Hoseok?” You asked, sitting back on your heels as you turned your head to face him, “What was that noise? Everything okay?”

Hoseok grinned at you nervously, rubbing at the nape of his neck. “Uh, yeah, everything’s fi- okay. Everything’s okay. Our friends...might’ve locked us in here.”

Your eyes widened. “Why would they do that?”

Hoseok didn’t answer, instead walking slowly towards you, hands in his jeans pockets. The intensity of his gaze as he looked at you sent a shiver down your spine, though it was more from anticipation than fear.

“Do me a favour?” Hoseok’s voice came out husky, only the slightest waver betraying his inner turmoil.

“Yeah, what is it?”

“...dance with me.” Hoseok extended his hand towards you, an easy smile painted on his face. He looked down at you where you knelt, eyes pleading for you to take his offer. You smiled.

“Sure. Did you want to choreograph another dance? What’s the song?” You placed one hand in his, not fully understanding, but trusting him. Hoseok’s eyes widened slightly as he realised there was no music playing and dragged you over to the music station where your phone was still plugged in. Motioning for you to turn around, he navigated through your music playlist with one hand, still holding your hand with the other. 

Your heart began to beat quickly as the first few measures of a song you’d dreamed of playing at your wedding began to play through the speakers, and you spun to face your crush.

“A Thousand Years? Hoseok, what’s going on?”

Hoseok didn’t answer, instead pulling you to the middle of the floor where he placed a hand on your waist and began to guide you through the steps of a waltz. Of course he’d know how to ballroom dance. He was the heir of Korean Air and would be expected to know how to dance socially, but you’d never expected a sixteen year old to move with such grace, as if he’d been doing this all his life.

“This has been a long time coming, Candy, but if I’m being honest, I’ve liked you for a while. I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to say something and how sudden this might be, but Taehyung and Swan were going to have my head if I ‘didn’t do something about it,’” he explained as he lifted an arm for you to twirl under. 

You spun under his arm elegantly, having taken a few mandatory classes of your own. “No, it’s...it’s more than okay. I...I like you too, Hobi. A lot, actually. I’m sorry if I’ve come across as rude whenever you come into the room and I just leave without saying anything. Truth is, I lose all control when I’m around you and I’m not used to that. You...you make me feel like a girl, as weird as that sounds. Everyone thinks of me as this out-of-control person who only knows how to think with her fists, and...well, I’m not used to not being seen as that. You’re the first person to give me a chance to explore who I really am.” You chuckled, averting your eyes in embarrassment. “Sorry, I went on a tirade there, didn’t I?”

“A little bit, but that’s okay.” Hoseok let out a soft laugh, squeezing your hand. The two of you continue to dance around the room in silence, until Hoseok breaks it again. “Candy, I...want to ask you something.”

You looked up at him, breath catching in your throat as you took in his profile. With a heart shaped smile and pearly teeth on display, dimples denting his cheeks, and joy dancing in his eyes, he was the most beautiful sight you’d ever seen. 

“W-will y- ...do…,” Hoseok turned his head to the side as he choked on his saliva, cheeks reddening with embarrassment. You smiled at him, interlacing your hands together in a show of encouragement. He turned back to face you, smiling at you gratefully. “Do you want to be my girlfriend? You don’t have to, of course, I don’t want to pressure you or—”

You cut him off, bringing your movements to a standstill as you stood on your tiptoes to press your lips against his. You felt his hand jerk. Disappointed and hoping you didn’t ruin your friendship, you began to pull back, only to have your eyes fly open wide momentarily when his hand left yours to cup your face gently, as if you were made of glass. 

Hoseok chased after your lips, eager to reciprocate your intentions, and your hands looped around his neck as you held each other close under the spotlights, sharing your first kiss as Christina Perri’s voice echoed sweetly around the dance studio.

You giggled as Hoseok pressed a kiss to your cheek in the form of a hello, prompting groans to arise from your gathered friends.

“Get a room, you two,” Seokjin groaned, furrowing his eyebrows as he waved a dismissive hand at the two of you. Taehyung and Swan just grinned, both wearing matching expressions of disgusted joy, revelling in the couple they helped create.

“Maybe we will,” Hoseok remarked with a grin, causing the elder boy to spit out his water.

“Hey, that’s my little sister you’re talking about! Try anything and I’ll have your head for dinner.” 

“You know you’re not actually her brother, right?” Yoongi commented drily, leaning back in his chair as he fiddled with Seokjin’s water bottle cap.

“That doesn’t make it any less okay for him to defile h—” you lunged towards Seokjin, clapping a hand over his mouth before he had the chance to do any more damage. Taehyung, having sat with a strange look on his face for the past several seconds, suddenly let out a loud cackle, falling over into Swan’s lap. Swan fared no better, using Taehyung as a resting area for her forearms as she laughed, tears of mirth pooling at the corners of her eyes.

The pair’s laughter served as a broken dam as the rest of your friend group broke into laughter as well, all at your expense. Face red, you didn’t notice that Jungkook’s laugh was forced, coming out at a higher pitch than was usual.

“Okay, well, I think that’s our cue to go, don’t you Hobi?” You stood and glanced sideways at your boyfriend, who wore a grin on his face akin to a naughty toddler who had been discovered pelting the wall with their food. 

“As for you, oppa,” you turned to Seokjin, whose expression suddenly turned mildly fearful, “keep...your...thoughts...to...yourself!”

Seokjin complained good-naturedly as you rained (somewhat gentle) blows down on him between each word, bringing both arms up to protect his face. “Hey, not the face! It’s worth millions! But noted! I won’t do it again!”

Placated, you took Hoseok’s hand in yours and handed your school purse over to him, something he’d insisted on doing shortly after you began dating. In Hoseok’s words, your hands were ‘better suited for holding hands’, and namely his. You’d tried not to swoon on the spot, but failed spectacularly, causing Hoseok to burst out in a fit of laughter.

“Okay, we’re going to go. We have to choreograph the next dance routine and also study for the English exam.” 

Your friends nodded, knowing how important tests were, especially considering that you and Hoseok were going abroad for university and thus would be expected to do well in standardised tests native to the countries you planned on attending school in.

“Okay, we finished another lesson. Do you want to take a break and get to choreographing? We have a lot of work to do if we’re to go home by midnight.” You placed a sticky note in your lesson book to mark your place and looked at your boyfriend, tilting your head to the side.

Your heartstrings tugged as you took in his ragged appearance, dark circles easily visible from a kilometre away. Somehow you felt that this was all your fault. You had pushed Hoseok to study a year early for the TOEFL, knowing that he aimed to study in America and would need to master the language before the application process even began, as the application portal was all in English.

Hoseok had whined at the thought of being torn away from his favourite hobby and at you choreographing all the dances, so the two of you had compromised and agreed that you’d plan together during breaks from studying. It had gone well for a while, but the third week of alternating between studying and dancing until the wee hours of the morning and getting up early for school was beginning to take its toll on the both of you.

But he never complained. Whenever you worried for his health, your boyfriend would plaster a smile on his face that showed off his dimples and cheerfully comment that having you around to support him was the only thing he needed. The way his whole body seemed to radiate joy when he was around you filled you with warmth, but you also knew that he needed to rest. 

“Sure, where did you want to start planning from? Do you want to start choreographing from scratch or refine the steps?” Hoseok struggled to pull himself to his feet, stumbling a few times as he did so. Your brows knitted together in concern, hands reaching out to steady him.

“Hobi, I don’t think that’s a good idea, actually. Why don’t we end things early today? We’re ahead of schedule for English, you’ve been doing really well.” 

Hoseok shook his head slowly. “We can’t. We need something to teach on Thursday. We only have three more days to finish the choreography. We don’t have time, Candy.”

You rooted your boyfriend to the spot with a fixed stare, annoyance coming to life in your gaze. “No, Hoseok. We’ve been at this too long. Your body needs to rest. There’s a reason why Jimin’s parents won’t let him pull all nighters, and we’ve done several.”

Hoseok opened his mouth to protest, but you held up an index finger, pressing it against his lips. “No. I won’t listen to you. If you won’t do it for yourself or me, do it for the sunbaes who are also in the same position as you. I’m sure they’d appreciate a break and one less thing to worry about.”

Your boyfriend met your gaze, pouting. You felt your resolve waver, then strengthen again when the ceiling lights illuminated his tired face. Moving your hand from his lips, you held his hands in yours as you looked at him imploringly. “Hobi, we can always pick this up tomorrow after school, okay? Just rest one night for me. Please?”

As if he could sense that he was fighting a losing battle, Hoseok acquiesced with a sigh. Satisfied, you turned to pick up your school bag when you heard the sound of a body hitting the floor.

“Hobi?!” You whipped your head around, eyes bulging and fearing for the worst, when Hoseok lifted his head up from the floor to look at you.

“Yeah?” Came his nonchalant answer. You closed your eyes and let out an exhale, grateful that he hadn’t fainted.

“You scared me! I thought something happened,” you chided, swatting at him playfully. “Don’t do that again!” 

Hoseok grinned at you and opened his arms. Happy to have an excuse to snuggle with your boyfriend, you crawled into his embrace and pressed yourself up against his side, resting your head on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to your forehead, holding you close and sending your heart aflutter.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Candy. I promise.”

If only it were that easy.

It’d been seven years since you last held Jung Hoseok in your arms and were able to call him yours, not that anyone was counting. Your relationship had lasted a total of two and a half years, after which it had ended due to the sheer difficulty of maintaining a long distance relationship. You’d forced yourself to move on, as was expected, slept around in sophomore year of university, greatly appreciating the freedom western education gave you as opposed to the rigorous Korean education system, settled down in a semi-serious relationship that lasted two years, graduated, broke up with your boyfriend, and fucked your way through the student body in graduate school, graduating summa cum laude with a dual master’s degree in esthiology and business administration. Your time abroad was spent well, for the most part. Though the first year was filled with meaningless hookups in an attempt to forget about Hoseok, you’d matured throughout the course of your second relationship, and it had taught you to love yourself. As a result, the sex life you enjoyed in graduate school was not borne of a desperate need to forget the man you loved, but rather because you enjoyed sex — namely, the pleasure you were able to derive from it.

Though you remained irrevocably in love with Jung Hoseok, you never expected that you would be with him again, even if it was through a strictly friends with benefits arrangement in which you’d doomed yourself by agreeing that there were to be no feelings involved. This wouldn’t end well.

“Been around the block a few times, have you?” Hoseok’s whispered words sent a shiver down your spine but you pushed him away, smirking.

“More times than you can count on all our friends’ fingers, baby. Don’t get mad because men have a refractory period and women don’t. Jealousy isn’t a good look on you,” you cooed, tracing his jawline with a featherlight touch. Hoseok grinned.

“Have I told you how hot you are when you put people in their places?” 

“You mean under me?” You grinned back, shifting to a more comfortable position as you continued to straddle your high school sweetheart. Hoseok hissed, not missing the way you subtly pressed your ass against the front of his trousers as you moved.

“For the most part, yes,” Hoseok murmured lowly as he leaned up to press a lingering kiss to your forehead. “But not me.”

In one swift movement, Hoseok flipped you over so that he hovered above you, smiling down at you. You realised with a start that from this angle, Hoseok looked like a predator, which would make you...the prey. 

As you came to your realisation, Hoseok pounced at his opportunity, lowering his body over yours as he traced the shell of your ear with his teeth, biting down on your earlobe. You let out an involuntary moan, knowing that with one action, Jung Hoseok had caused a rush of arousal to dampen your panties.

You tilted your head backwards, exposing your neck in an act of submissiveness to Jung Hoseok. Grinning, Hoseok took your offer and began to kiss his way down your body, pausing to take your dress and bra off, leaving you clothed only in your underwear. You pressed your thighs together, suddenly shy.

“Everything okay? Did I do something wrong?” Hoseok’s face came into view again, a worried expression marring his beautiful features.

“No, no you didn’t. I’ve...never…” your voice trailed off as you struggled to give a viable excuse instead of the truth. I’ve never slept with anyone I loved more than anything. “I’ve never had sex with someone I’ve been friends with for so long, that’s all.”

Hoseok nodded slowly, seemingly understanding. “Do you want to stop? I don’t want to do anything you’re not a hundred percent on.”

“No!” You shouted, startling Hoseok. “I mean, no. No, I want to have sex with you, I definitely do. God, I’ve wanted to fuck you for ages. I-I mean…”

Hoseok’s eyes narrowed as a smirk took over his heart shaped lips, catching your slip-up. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you say?”

Your heart began to beat faster, suddenly feeling very much like a deer in headlights. “N-noth-..ohh..” 

A groan left your parted lips as Hoseok cupped your sex through your underwear, pressing the wet fabric against you. He knew he was the reason behind your arousal. He knew why you’d have to throw your panties away after tonight.

Because you’d never wanted anyone the way you wanted Jung Hoseok, and you were putty in his hands.

Satisfied with your easy undoing, Hoseok curled the tip of his index finger under your panties and pulled them to the side, groaning at the sight of your glistening pussy. “Fuck, Candy, is this all for me?”

You looked at him imploringly, silently pleading for him to stop teasing you. “You know it is. All for you, I promise.”

He pressed a knuckle against your clit, causing your head to loll to the side in pleasure. “Such a good girl for me. Tell me, do you roll over like this for anyone?”

You whined, a high-pitched, keening sound, frustrated with the way Hoseok continued to deny you pleasure. “No, daddy. I — oh.” 

Your eyes flew open, immediately drawn to Hoseok as you warily gauged his reaction. The title had accidentally slipped out in the moment with no prior provocation, and you weren’t sure how Hoseok would feel about it. Would he hate it?

He would not, if the smile spreading slowly across his lips was anything to go by. “That’s my girl,” he growled as he rewarded you by finally inserting a finger inside.

“Mmmmmm…!” A groan forced its way up your throat, the force causing you to part your lips as you threw your head back onto the pillow. You cried out his name, missing the way his gaze darkened at the way you addressed him. 

Without missing a beat, Hoseok began to piston his finger in and out of you, relishing the way your walls clenched around his digit sporadically, your face twisted in pleasure as your hips arched towards his hand, begging for more. He liked you this way, he decided. 

To everyone, you were an unstoppable, unflappable, independent young woman, capable of achieving everything she set her mind to; but to him, you were an open book, even after all these years. Your friendship had never stopped, even after the breakup, always on the brink of something more, but neither of you had taken the plunge...until now.

Both you and Hoseok were in a stable part of your lives, having inherited your parents’ companies without hiccups. Businesses were going well, your social lives were thriving, both online and offline, but you and Hoseok were missing something that only the other could give. 

To you, Hoseok had always been your missing puzzle piece, though the timing had never been right. You weren’t sure where you stood in Hoseok’s story; he could have his pick of the bunch, with girls falling at his feet left and right, but he’d chosen you. Surely that had to count for something, right?

In a somewhat backwards way, you’d convinced yourself that sleeping with Hoseok would be the end to everything; a goodbye of sorts, but here you were, a month into your agreement with him and falling harder with every touch, caress, and whispered word. But you couldn’t bring yourself to end your arrangement and say goodbye to the only man you’d ever truly loved. You couldn’t let him go, no matter how hard you tried. You never had been able to.

But something in your heart told you that Hoseok was beginning to treat you differently; a conclusion your mind acknowledged. Rarely were your emotional and logical side able to agree on something, so you found yourself staying up later at night, overanalysing the ways Hoseok’s touch had become more loving, more possessive, as if you belonged to him and only him; the way he began to hold you closer to him after sex, the way he kissed your cheeks and forehead when he thought you were asleep.

You sighed as you leaned against Hoseok’s sweaty arm, head tilting back to rest on his shoulder.  “That was a good session, wasn’t it?” 

Hoseok hummed his agreement, fingertips ghosting against the fabric that clung to your hip, tipping his head against the mirror. “Yeah, it’s been a while since we danced for the hell of it.”

“Since high school,” you offered with a bittersweet smile. “Good times, huh?”

Hoseok grinned, taking your hand in his. “Very. Speaking of, how do you feel about ice cream? We should do something to cool down.”

“Or…,” you countered, a smirk taking over your face. “We could save that for dessert.”

Hoseok, knowing your intentions, lifted an eyebrow. “And what, may I ask, are for the other courses?”

“Something tells me you already know,” you murmured, eyeing the way Hoseok’s erection strained against his grey sweatpants. Without waiting for Hoseok to confirm or deny your observation, you slipped a hand inside the waistband of his joggers, grasping him as you looked at him innocently.

Hoseok groaned, though a knowing smile crept onto his face. “Naughty girl, Candy. Here, of all places? You like mirrors more than you let on, don’t you?”

You purred, leaning closer to kiss him as your hand began to stroke his shaft, relishing the way his hips thrust forward in time to set the pace. Hoseok placed a hand on your ass, gripping the flesh tightly as he tugged you closer to him.

You whimpered and straddled him at his request, ministrations slowing as one of Hoseok’s hands unclasped your bra, knowing what was to come. 

“Call me, I’ll pick you up when you’re finished with dinner.” Hoseok sent you a warm smile as he looked over at you from where he sat in the driver’s seat, one hand on the wheel and the other arm perched on the window ledge. It was the hottest thing you’d ever seen and you stared at him wordlessly until he broke you out of your reverie by repeating his comment.

“Uh, yeah, okay. That sounds good. I’ll text you when dessert comes so you have time to finish up. Don’t spend too long at the office, okay? It’s after work hours. CEOs need to rest too.” With a shy smile, you got out of Hoseok’s car, waving as he drove into the dark.

With a final pat down of your outfit, you turned towards the nondescript building, slipping a card along with a large bill into the security guard’s hand to indicate that you were taking the VIP lift hidden away in an alcove. It wasn’t that you liked to flaunt your lifestyle, but you appreciated the semblance of privacy money could buy, so you took it at every opportunity. 

“Candy!” You smiled widely at the chorus of squeals and flurry of movements as several bodies threw themselves at you, almost knocking you over as your friends greeted you.

“Sorry I’m late! Hobi and I had to finalise some details for transporting my company’s products to America. What did I miss?” Ignoring the flush that began to creep up your neck at the mention of your ex, you turned your attention to Princess, who had finally returned to Korea after nine years abroad.

“Nothing much, we just finished ordering. Swan says the food here is really good, so we got a bit of everything,” Princess remarked, shooting your best friend a small smile.

You smiled, striding over to where the alcohol had already arrived and poured yourself a glass of soju, wrinkling your nose at the lack of whiskey. “Hey, what’s with this weak shit?”

Swan rolled her eyes, smiling to herself. “Not everyone can drink the devil’s alcohol straight like you can, Candy. Besides, we’re not here to get drunk, we’re here to catch up and have fun.”

You pursed your lips, taking a sip of plain soju and wincing. “Well, this devil would much prefer hard liquor to unflavoured soju.”

Peach snorted, shaking her head. “If you looked slightly to the left, Candy, you’d see that we have flavoured soju right there.” She pointed to several green bottles to your left, laughing at your expense.

Grinning, you twisted the cap off a random bottle and poured its contents into a shot glass, downing it to rid your mouth of the taste of plain soju. “Ugh, much better.”

The girls chuckled at your antics and crowded around you, clamouring over which bottle to open before you opened them all, waving your hand with a flourish. “There, now stop arguing and drink! Princess is home, can we get to celebrating already?”

Princess laughed, a joyful sound that lightened the mood, and the four of you sprawled elegantly on different armchairs as you drank and chatted away, happy to catch up after six long years.

“It’s good to know you’re back!” Swan smiled at Princess, the warm room getting pleasantly hazy as empty bottles of soju were left discarded in a corner and food filled your stomach. 

“Hard times, I tell you.” You looked at Princess fondly, eyes meeting as you winked at her from across the table, continuing to lament over her absence. “Every time I came back to visit, all I’d think was how I wish you were there to talk with me.”

You scrunched your nose gently in a form of affection, smiling at the woman opposite you. She’d grown immensely in the nine years abroad, almost a complete 180 from the girl you knew in high school.

“I still can’t believe you pulled that trick on all of us,” Peach added. “Out of the blue! Poof, you were gone. And now poof, you’re here! You missed out on so much,” she laughed.

A mischievous grin began to spread across Princess’s lips, a familiar twinkle in her eye. “Like what?”

“First...Taehyung became a heartthrob!”

You let out a cackle, clapping your hands together in glee. Out of all the things to begin with, you wouldn’t have pegged this for the conversation starter, but you weren’t one to complain.

“A what?” Princess exclaimed, eyes widening. Food promptly forgotten, she looked at each of you in shock, trying to see if it was a prank. You didn’t blame her. The last time she had seen Kim Taehyung, he had been a shy seventeen year old with ruffled hair, slaving over the piano in an attempt to compose a song for the girl he liked.

“A heartthrob. A gentleman. A casanova. A ladies’ man. And what a man,” Peach continued, eyes glazing over as she fanned herself, swooning.

You let out a noise somewhere between a snort and a wheeze. The alcohol was definitely starting to get to you. “Come on, it’s not like that…”

You launched into a small tirade about how high school Kim Taehyung and current “casanova” Kim Taehyung were one and the same, except he now had a better sense of style, was more confident in himself, and had grown into his looks. “So, to finish, Tete just grew up. That’s all. Haven’t we all grown up? We all look like five course meals, so I’d wager we’d be the talk of the town elsewhere, too.”

Princess blinked, eyes slightly glazed over. “That’s our Taehyungie?”

She looked pointedly at Swan, almost pouting. The latter began to blush, glancing at Princess with slight discomfort as she stumbled over her words, trying to explain. “He’s a very good looking young man. You and I both know he isn’t difficult to love,” she admitted.

“Well, if he takes after his brother…” Peach mused, a thoughtful expression on her face. “By the way, the female population of Seoul would like to offer you their gratitude and give you an honorary medal.”

This time, it was Princess who began to flush, looking down at her lap. “I didn’t do much…”

“You trained a beast!” Peach continued, steamrolling on with seemingly no regard for Princess’s feelings.

Appalled at the lack of empathy shown by your friend, you hissed, sending her a warning glare. “Peach!”

A gentle touch on your forearm, belonging to Princess, distracted you. “Hey, don’t worry.” She smiled at you reassuringly, though your eyebrows remained furrowed and your lips pursed in a show of frustration.

“You don’t want to know about him?” Peach pressed on. Your temper flared, but you managed to bite your lip, preventing yourself from growling at your friend. As tempted as you were to speak up for Princess, she was capable of handling herself, so you let the matter go, distracting yourself by reaching for your water glass.

“How is he?” Princess inquired, an inscrutable expression on her face.

“He keeps binging on girls and alcohol. But he’s a ghost, babe. A hot ghost, I’m not going to lie about that,” Peach stated matter-of-factly. “I can’t believe you kept up with him.”

You stiffened, your spine suddenly ramrod straight. You loved Peach and knew that she and Princess had their agreements on talking about Namjoon, but it seemed the alcohol had loosened her tongue a little too much.

With a bitter smile and a flicker of grief flitting across her face, Princess remarked, “We were just dumb kids.”

“Alright, I think that’s enough,” you smiled through gritted teeth. 

Swan, having been keeping an eye on your infamous temper all night, pounced at the opportunity to change the subject, mischief gleaming in her eyes. “Candy, if you wanted to talk about Hoseok, all you had to do was interrupt. How’s that going, by the way? He dropped you off tonight, didn’t he?”

As if a switch had been flipped, you felt your annoyance melt away, replaced by equal parts embarrassment and warmth. Your cheeks began to heat, a shy smile spreading across your lips. “We’re...we’re really good, actually. He’s been treating me really well, taking me out for dinner and surprise lunches; we’ve been catching up. He did drop me off tonight. Is it that obvious?”

Your blush deepened as your friends cooed, interjecting with comments and questions about how he’d been after taking over Korean Air, if he was treating you well, and how he was in bed (you refused to answer the last question, but your grin was enough of a response).

Princess, who had largely been silent with a concerned look on her face, suddenly asked: “Are you sure you can deal with that, bub? He seems to be making you happy and that’s really nice to hear, but...don’t let your feelings for him cloud your judgement. Keep a clear head and don’t let your fantasies make you think he’s doing something he’s not.”

Despair flooded your heart as Princess threw a much-needed dose of reality at you, washing over you like cold water. Suddenly no longer giddy at the mere thought of Hoseok, you couldn’t help but sadly admit the truth you’d been hiding from yourself for months. “No, I’m not sure I can, but I’ll take what I can get.”

The rest of dinner passed by in a blur, with you uncharacteristically quiet as you thought sadly about Hoseok and the way you wished he returned your feelings.

You looked over at Hoseok’s sleeping form, the sandman choosing to evade you tonight. You hadn’t had too much to drink at dinner, so you couldn’t blame your inability to sleep on alcohol. Rather, it was because you had gone somewhat light on the beverages that you were lying awake in the middle of the night, ruminating on what had been said during dinner.

Princess’s words echoed around your mind, haunting you for the fourth straight hour. “Are you sure you can deal with that, bub?” 

The simple nine word question had shattered the perfect illusion you created in your head, opened your eyes to reality — Hoseok didn’t want what you did. He wasn’t interested in dating you; he just wanted sex with someone he could trust to not run to the tabloids.

But some part of you still yearned for his touch, to be able to snuggle close to him when he wrapped an arm around your waist, drunk off sex, wanted to believe that you weren’t delusional. 

“The heart wants what the heart wants,” you mumbled quietly to yourself, freezing when Hoseok stirred.

“Mm...Candy?” Hoseok lifted his head centimetres off his pillow, looking for you, very much still in the throes of sleep but conscious enough to form coherent words. “Where...where are you?”

You watched him quietly as his hand fumbled around for yours, a soft exhale emanating from his nostrils as he searched blindly. You made no indication to move, staying still until Hoseok’s hand landed on your face.

You snorted with laughter, trying and failing to keep your body from shaking the bed. Hoseok opened his eyes sleepily, only to widen them in horror as he realised he had inadvertently smacked you.

“Fuck, Candy,” he managed to eke out, scrambling to get closer to you. “I’m so sorry, are you okay?” 

You threw your head back and let out a loud laugh, giving yourself over to the moment. No matter what happened, you knew Jung Hoseok would always hold your heart in his hands. For better or for worse, you were his, and always would be.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Throwing caution to the wind, you leaned forward, emboldened by the way Hoseok grasped your hand tightly in his, and pressed your lips against his, pouring all your emotions into the kiss. To your surprise, Hoseok responded in kind, moving his mouth against yours gently instead of the frantic fervour you’d gotten used to over the past three months.

You reached up to cup his face, thumb stroking the slight stubble that had formed over the past twenty-four hours, sighing when he rolled on top of you.

“Hobi…” for once, his name wasn’t spoken as a plea, but a statement in and of itself; one that signified how deeply in love with him you were, a promise that you would always be his, no matter what happened. Make love to me, you thought silently. “Fuck me.”

Hoseok said nothing, simply lifting up the hem of your shirt to expose your breasts. He shifted down your body to better position himself to press open mouthed kisses along the swell of your tits, biting down gently here and there, before latching onto your nipple.

His tongue painted streaks of saliva across your breast as he lavished them with attention, causing your nipples to harden in arousal. You panted heavily under his touch, hands balling the blankets, as his fingers traced circles around your sex, teasing you.

You knew you were a goner when Hoseok pulled away to look at you incredulously, having found traces of your arousal already on the bed. “Fuck, Candy. Already?”

You mewled in response, lower lip jutting out in a pout. Hoseok chuckled, leaning down to kiss you quickly. “Good girl. I’ll make it worth your while, I promise.”

“You always do,” you managed to breathe out. Unbeknownst to you, a gentle smile spread across Hoseok’s lips at your words as he kissed the soft flesh of your belly. 

Closing your eyes, you let a small puff of air escape your lips, arching your back off the bed, enjoying the way Hoseok’s kisses made you feel. For a second, you let yourself believe that he was kissing you out of love, not as a precursor to foreplay. As you did, you unwittingly let out a whimper, causing Hoseok’s heart to clench at the sound.

“You’re beautiful,” Hoseok murmured quietly into your skin as he hooked a finger under the band of your underwear and pulled it down, exposing more of your skin.

The moonlight peeking through the curtains shone on you, illuminating each additional centimetre Hoseok uncovered. You grasped the bed sheets tightly as he brought his mouth to your most sensitive spot, closing his lips around your sensitive bud.

Groaning, you bucked your hips up, wanting more, but Hoseok pulled away, grinning. Whimpering, you pouted at him. “Don’t play with me. Not tonight, Hobi. Please?”

Noticing that something was wrong, Hoseok latched onto your arms with his hands and pulled you into a sitting position before cupping your jaw with one hand. “Hey. What’s wrong?”

Your lip quivered, so desperately trying not to cry in front of the man you loved and tell him that you’d never gotten over him, always stuck in the past when you’d been each other’s world. “Nothing, dinner just...took a heavy turn, is all.”

“Talk to me. You know I’m here for you no matter what.” Hoseok spoke in a low, soothing tone, thumb stroking your cheek. The motion calmed you and you threw yourself into his embrace, choosing to surround yourself with his scent.

Hoseok had always been your happy place, and tonight was no different. As you let the floodgates loose on what had happened between Peach and Princess, Hoseok listened patiently, rubbing your back soothingly the entire time.

“We all know Peach has difficulty filtering what she says when she’s drunk, and I don’t blame you for being annoyed with her. But, with that said, I think you might’ve been a little tough on her. Why don’t you call her tomorrow and invite her to lunch so you can talk it over whilst sober?”

You hummed, mulling over Hoseok’s advice. He’d always been one to consider both sides carefully, which made him a great person to go to when you had a problem. “Okay. I’ll do that.”

The two of you sat in silence for a while, Hoseok continuing to rub circles on your back as you sat in his lap, arms looped around his neck. “Are you feeling better?”

You nodded, nuzzling your nose against the crook of his neck to show your thanks. Hoseok shifted uncomfortably under your body, trying not to jostle you. When you looked up at him questioningly, he looked away, abashed.

“That’s a...uh...sensitive spot for me. I don’t want to pressure you when you’re not in the right frame of mind.” Hoseok rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, a blush beginning to bloom on his cheeks. 

You smiled, heart swelling with love. Regardless of your relationship status, you had always been Hoseok’s top priority. Many nights when he’d been abroad and you were still in Seoul, he had forgone sleep and dance practice to talk to you, ensuring you had someone to talk to.

“I’m okay now. Let’s finish what we started.” With a glance to ensure Hoseok was still willing to sleep with you, you pulled him to you, arms still around his neck, and kissed him, slowly, sweetly, and gently.

Hoseok lowered his hands to your hips and manoeuvred you into a position where you half sat, half straddled him and responded to your kiss softly, in no hurry to fuck you.

It was only when you rocked your hips gently against his crotch when he groaned, hands moving under your shirt to grasp your breasts. “Fuck.”

Breaking the kiss, he lifted the hem of your shirt high enough to duck under it, leaving you to wonder what he was doing until you felt his mouth close over your nipple, tongue tracing around the rapidly hardening nub.

Annoyed that you couldn’t see what he was doing, you ripped your shirt off, pulling it over your head and throwing it somewhere into a corner. The momentum proved too much for you to handle, however, and you fell backwards, Hoseok still latched onto your tit.

Knocked breathless from falling onto the bed and the way Hoseok continued to worship your breast like nothing had happened, you encircled Hoseok’s body with your legs and pulled him against you, desperately hoping for friction against your clit.

When the fabric of Hoseok’s boxer briefs rubbed against you, you moaned, closing your eyes in bliss. Chuckling at your neediness, Hoseok took pity on you and kissed your neck before shuffling down your body until he was facing your pussy, shifting his attention to your clit. 

You nearly cried at the relief Hoseok’s tongue brought to your poor clit, arousal gushing out of your pussy as he worked his magic. Noticing this, he gently prodded at your entrance with an index finger, slowly nudging his way in. 

A guttural moan tore itself out of your throat as your walls clenched around the intrusion, pulling it in deeper to heighten your pleasure. Hoseok smirked against your clit, knowing what he was doing to you.

Your legs widened of their own accord, a silent plea for Hoseok to give you more. When it didn’t come, you opened your mouth, a whimper leaving it. “Hobi, please. I need you.”

Hoseok pulled away from your pussy, mouth glistening. “Whatever my girl wants, my girl gets.”

Before you had a chance to process what he’d said, Hoseok’s lips were on yours, sharing the taste of your arousal. You moaned into the kiss, holding him close to you as you licked at his lower lip. Hoseok pressed his body against yours, erection leaving a trail of precum on your stomach.

Hoseok’s mouth against yours was hot, insistent, desperate, yet gentle, loving, and soft all at the same time. Suddenly overwhelmed with the feelings you had for him, you didn’t notice him lift his body off yours, instead brought back to reality when his cock lined up at your entrance.

Unlike the other times when he impaled you on his shaft in one swift movement, knowing you liked it, he pushed forward slowly this time, almost as if he wanted to savour each moment. The agonising pace brought tears of equal frustration and affection to your eyes, each emotion warring inside you and rendering you a hot mess.

Hoseok wasn’t sure what possessed him to do what he did next, but he would do it again and again if given the chance. Leaning down gently, he kissed away a tear that escaped your eyes, the salty taste spreading over his tongue. He didn’t know why you were crying, but he’d do everything in his power to make sure you spent more days laughing than crying.

When Hoseok was fully sheathed inside you, your walls fluttered around his cock, prompting an involuntary thrust from him. You both groaned at the motion, your hands coming up to grasp the pillow under your head.

As Hoseok began to move, his hands grasped yours, intertwining your fingers together. Your breaths came faster and closer together, sweat beginning to form at your brow as the sounds of Hoseok’s body meeting yours became louder as you both approached your highs.

“H-Hobi, I’m—” you panted, voice reaching a fever pitch. Hoseok, understanding, let go of one of your hands and brought his fingers to rub against your clit, creating the much needed friction you needed to propel yourself over the edge.

Crying out, you came around Hoseok as he continued to rut into you, fingers working you through your climax. He wasn’t far behind, the rapid pulsing of your walls proving too much for him to bear as he spilled himself inside you, painting your insides white as he kissed you like a man starved.

Your ragged breaths began to slow as you caught your breath, post orgasm haze finally clearing enough for you to look for Hoseok. When you couldn’t find him, you began to panic, sitting up to look around the room. 

As you were about to call for him, he appeared in the doorframe, having left for the bathroom to find a cloth to clean you up with. “You okay?” Hoseok asked, eyebrows raised in concern. 

You nodded, heart rate slowing again, as you let him mop up the cum that had dribbled out when you’d sat up. “Hobi,” you called out softly when he was finished. “I want a hug.”

Smiling, Hoseok placed the wet washcloth on the bedside table and settled under the covers before he pulled you to him, encircling your frame with his arms. “Everything’s going to be okay, Candy. It always will be.”

Soothed by the combination of his words, scent, heartbeat, and warmth, you allowed yourself to be lulled into a deep sleep, worries chased away once again.

“Cookie! Over here!” Sitting under the shade of a tree on a picnic blanket, you watched as Hoseok played with the rescue puppy you’d saved a year ago, hiding behind a tree and popping out when your corgi got too close.

You smiled at the sight, leaning against the tree as you took a moment to yourself. It’d been a good several weeks since dinner with the girls, and things with Hoseok were only getting better. Though a small part of you worried that things were starting to get too good to be true, you chose to live in the moment and savour each second you spent with the man you had loved since you were fifteen.

Noticing that your book was still open in your lap, you closed it, unable to concentrate when Hoseok was within your field of vision. When you looked back at him, he was peering around the tree trunk for your dog, wanting to surprise him yet again, unaware that Cookie had waddled quietly behind him.

You watched with amusement as your puppy barked loudly at Hoseok, startling him and sending him falling to the floor in shock. “Where did you come from?”

You giggled, mouth coming up to cover your mouth delicately. Hoseok, hearing your laugh, looked up at you, affronted, and complained loudly as he got to his feet, brushing off his trousers.

“Yah, Candy, your dog scared me! He’s so sneaky!” You let out a peal of laughter as Hoseok whined, ambling over to you before he sat down in front of you, pouting. Chuckling at him, you brushed a few stray blades of grass from his hair and his clothes and handed him a water bottle.

“You were doing the same thing to him, don’t blame my baby!” Cookie jumped into your lap, tongue lolling as he panted, winded from using his stubby legs to run from the tree to your lap. You petted him, hand smoothing his fur as you poured water into a bowl Hoseok had recently purchased for him and brought it to his muzzle, nudging him to drink.

When both Cookie and Hoseok were done drinking water, Hoseok sat next to you, back against the broad tree trunk. Just as you were about to ask him about details on your company’s deal with his, you felt a weight on your shoulder.

Turning your head, you looked down to see that Hoseok had fallen asleep, exhausted from playing with your puppy. With a smile, you rested your head on top of his and watched as Cookie bolted after a butterfly, running as fast as his little legs could take him.

“The person you are trying to reach is unavailable at the mo—” 

You growled, a feral noise rumbling in the back of your throat. Hoseok had disappeared without warning two days ago and was nowhere to be found. Worry mounting, you had called him several times, only to be met with the same damn message over and over again, looked for his parents only to be told they were on a vacation and would be back in a few days’ time, and asked your friends if they knew where he had gone (they did not).

With no idea where he was and unsure when Hoseok’s parents would return from their trip abroad, the only option was to let yourself into his apartment. A feeling of dread settled in your stomach. You didn’t want to invade his privacy, but you were out of options, having exhausted all other choices in the past 48 hours. Sighing, you put your phone back in your purse and turned to the door in front of you, having made a final last ditch effort to avoid breaking into Hoseok’s apartment.

With a deep breath, you steeled yourself, fingers shaking as they inputted the password to Hoseok’s penthouse suite. The keypad beeped, letting you know that the combination you entered was wrong. Confused, you tried again. Wrong. Again. Still wrong.

Throwing your hands into the air, you tried his birthday, the date he took over the company, his graduation dates, and various combinations of his phone number. Each time, the keypad told you that you had put in the wrong passcode. 

You snarled, whirling around to punch the wall. Pain exploded from your knuckles, the skin splitting immediately from the impact against the textured marble surface, but you paid it no mind, instead wiping the trace amounts of blood away with a thumb. If Hoseok had disappeared without telling anyone and changed his passcode, he must’ve had something to hide. 

In a last ditch attempt, you put in your birthday, only to be met with the beeps from a correct combination. Shocked that he had changed his passcode to your birthday, you pushed the door open, though you couldn’t keep a small smile from making its way onto your lips that disappeared as soon as you took in the sight before you.

His apartment was immaculate. More than that, it looked like it hadn’t been touched in days. Not long enough to collect a layer of dust, but long enough that the air had turned somewhat stale, a strange smell hanging in the air.

Concerned, you made your way into each of the rooms, checking for clues to see what may have happened. The kitchen was clean. No plates, sinks, or glasses were in the sink, and the fridge was still stocked with kimchi and fruits and vegetables neatly put away. The sight made you smile, though it tugged at your heart. You missed him. You always did.

The media room was untouched, the chair tucked neatly under the desk and the remote controls for the cinema-like projector screen lined up side by side like the way Hoseok liked them to be. 

Ventures into other rooms in his apartment led to similar results. With tears pricking at the corners of your eyes from fear that something had happened, you padded into his room, holding your arms in an attempt to calm yourself. 

“You’re a big girl, Candy. You’re here for answers. You’re a strong girl. You can do this.” Your voice quivered, throat tight with emotion as you attempted to assuage your worry. Feeling only slightly better, you stepped into the middle of Hoseok’s bedroom, eyes immediately falling an indentation on the corner of a carpet. If it left a mark long enough to last a few days, it must’ve been something heavy, you reasoned.

The temporary relief you felt at finally having a lead was replaced with confusion when you looked up and saw the walk-in closet door slightly ajar, as if someone had pulled it shut, but not entirely. Making your way to the door, you turned on the lights and your stomach dropped.

It was a suitcase. The divot in the carpet had been made by the corner of Hoseok’s suitcase. He had run away. A quick glance around his wardrobe confirmed your suspicions. Several of his favourite suit jackets were missing, dress shirts were gone, and empty hangers hung where his slacks used to be.

Maybe it had been a work emergency, you tried to tell yourself. Maybe something went wrong abroad and he hasn’t had the time to tell me yet. Maybe…

Your train of thought ground to a halt as your eyes roamed carelessly over a rubbish bin on your way out of his bedroom and discovered several of the trinkets and ties you’d gifted him over the years inside.

Feelings of betrayal, hurt, grief, and anger coalesced to form a dagger that pierced your heart, shattering it. The excuses you made for Hoseok were unnecessary. Nothing you could come up with, delusional or not, could explain why so many gifts were in the rubbish bin. 

A sick curiosity pushed you to check the other bins in Hoseok’s apartment. With each you checked, your heart got closer and closer to becoming irreparable. Almost ten years’ worth of gifts that you had given Hoseok were in the rubbish bins, scattered around his apartment. 

Finally unable to stomach it, you sprinted away from the kitchen, where a large majority of your gifts had been thrown away, only to take a wrong turn and end up in Hoseok’s study.

At the sight of a huge portrait of you and Hoseok at the first event you’d attended as a couple, dressed to the nines, hanging behind his desk, you crumpled to the floor, sobbing and burying your face in your hands. Your shoulders shook as you bawled, tears streaming ceaselessly down your face and dripping onto the lacquered floor with soft plops.

All the times you’d thought Hoseok was warming up to you, the tender moments, whispered confessions, and fleeting touches, were just a show. With each part of yourself you gave to Hoseok, you’d been pushing him away, and now he’d fled, unable to bear being in the same city as you.

You had wanted him to lie to you. You wanted him to show you that he wanted the same things you did — to revert to the shy girl you’d been around Hoseok in high school, shy giggles, sweaty hands on first dates, the butterflies in your stomach whenever you saw Hoseok for the first time after saying goodbye the previous day. And he had done it for you. Except...you’d been foolish enough to believe him when it had been all a lie.

The tears never stopped. Not when you finally mustered enough strength to pull yourself to your feet, using the edge of Hoseok’s desk as a crutch, and inadvertently saw a blank memo pad with only your name on it inside a heart, not when you got into your car and drove aimlessly, only to end up outside Taehyung’s building, not when you stumbled into said building, heartbroken, into the arms of your best friend, who you couldn’t remember calling.

You cried until your voice was hoarse, then cried some more. All the while, Taehyung attended to your every need, wiping your hair and skin with a wet towel when you refused to move off the sofa to shower. He fed you after begging you to eat, tears welling up in his eyes when you turned your head away. He hugged you, holding your shaking frame in his arms as you struggled to breathe properly, hiccups interrupting each inhale. He stayed up with you, unwilling to leave you alone for an extended period of time, letting you sniffle into his shirt as he wrapped an arm around you and watched tv, knowing you didn’t like it when too much attention was lavished on you. The only time he left your side was to get tissues as you tore through box after box, blowing your nose and dabbing at your eyes until both were red, sore, and swollen. The tattoo on the inside of your wrist, an identical copy of a heart Hoseok had drawn for you in high school with the year you found your lifelong friends etched in the middle, seemed to mock you at every turn.

When the tears finally stopped, your eyes were so swollen you could barely see out of them and it hurt to breathe through your nose. Taehyung had to help you wipe your makeup off, taking extra care not to hurt your already sensitive nostrils. The delicateness of his actions reminded you of Hoseok and, before you knew it, you were crying again.

You continued to cry on and off over the next few days, Taehyung refusing to let you go home in your state. Eventually, you only cried yourself to sleep and when you woke up in the morning after remembering that Hoseok had left you. You began to regain a semblance of normality in your life as Taehyung coaxed you through your heartbreak, beginning by forcing a bowl of kimchi jjigae onto your hands, which made your lip quiver upon remembering it was one of Hoseok’s favourite comfort foods, but you stayed strong. 

After you fed yourself and finished the bowl of food under Taehyung’s watchful eye, he pointed you to the shower, handing you a pile of clothes he’d gotten from your apartment when you were still sleeping. When you came out, eyes still nearly swollen shut, but clean, he took your hand and led you to a chair in his bedroom in front of a vanity and dried your hair for you, despite your complaints that you could do it yourself.

As he blow dried your hair, you took a look at him the best you could, and felt a pang of guilt at not noticing the dark circles under his eyes and a frown pulling down the corners of his mouth. Something told you that you weren’t responsible for them, yet you didn’t pry, worried that you’d drag Taehyung down into the same pit of hell you were in. He’ll come to me when he’s ready. Besides, he won’t say anything when he knows I feel shitty, you mused to yourself as you let Taehyung fluff your hair.

Somehow, you knew it had to do with Swan. She was the only one who could affect Taehyung like this. Making a mental note to check up on your best girlfriend, you allowed the feeling of Taehyung’s fingers running through your hair to lull you into a short nap.

You woke to the feeling of someone shaking you gently, a baritone voice sounding near your ear. “Candy, wake up. Your hair’s all done.”

Opening your eyes, you peered into the mirror to see your hair neatly parted on one side, styled your usual way. “Tete, this looks really good! Where did you learn to do hair like this?”

With a smile that barely reached his eyes, Taehyung remarked drily: “We’ve been friends for eleven years. Did you really think I wouldn’t know how to style your hair after watching you do it hundreds of times?”

You responded with a half-hearted one of your own, the gaping wound in your chest still too fresh for you to smile properly. “Are we going somewhere?”

Taehyung nodded quietly, extending a hand for you to take. You latched onto it, finding comfort in the way his large hand enveloped yours. Somehow, you knew he needed the physical reassurance that you were there as much as you needed him.

You said nothing as Taehyung produced your car keys from the depths of his pocket and got into the driver’s seat, slipping into the passenger seat like it wasn’t your car. Even if you protested, you highly doubted that Taehyung would have let you drive, considering that you could barely see.

The two of you drove in silence, both refusing to turn on music out of fear that it would trigger the other. You stared out of the window, the dark tint of your sunglasses doing wonders to ease the strain on your eyes.

The car seemed to go on forever and yet it was like no time had passed before Taehyung pressed gently on the brakes, bringing the car to a stop. “We’re here,” he said simply.

You nodded and got out, squinting your eyes against the bright sun despite having sunglasses on. 

“I thought we’d take a walk in the park or something. Is that okay?” 

You nodded silently, not trusting your voice.

“Tete...about what happened…” you began, hating the way your voice broke. Hot tears   began to well up in your eyes again, but Taehyung was there to hold your hand, squeezing your hand in a silent show of support. 

With a finger to his lips, he motioned for you to stay silent until the two of you found a secluded area of the park, where busybodies and Dispatch wouldn’t be able to overhear private matters about the CEO of AmorePacific Corporation. You appreciated his thoughtfulness — normally, you would have done the same, but you weren’t in the best state of mind right at this moment.

You turned to Taehyung, eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Tete…”

Instead of responding, your best friend pulled you into a hug, crushing you against his chest. He rested his chin on top of your head, stroking it gently as he murmured, “I know.”

You pressed your face against his shirt in an attempt to stem the tears and stop your lower lip from quivering again, but the cotton only served to absorb the moisture from your eyes as quickly as it was produced. Soon enough, you gave up and wailed openly into the soft fabric, hands clutching onto Taehyung’s shoulder blades for dear life, as if he were your life preserver.

In a way, he was. In a dark sky of despair, he was the lone star that shone brightly, guiding your way. You had never needed your best friend more, and he, you. For every tear you cried into his chest, you felt one land on your head; two best friends, grieving together, yet separately.

You pulled away just enough to catch a glimpse of the heartbreak on Taehyung’s face, and a bitter smile formed on your trembling lips as you tried your best to hold back a sob. “Te-,” 

Your voice cracked, and you gave up on trying to talk. Instead, you placed both hands on either side of his handsome face, using your thumbs to wipe away the tears that rolled down his cheeks, your smile getting more acrid with every hiccup you held back. You simply nodded at him, eyes crinkling with the effort it took to stay silent for him. 

Because this was not only about you. This was about him, too. I know, your eyes told him. And I’m here for you. I will always be here. I love you. 

With a wail, Taehyung’s head fell forward onto your shoulder, and you guided him to a nearby bench, where you held him close, arms around his shaking shoulders, tears leaving a watery trail behind them, teeth biting down on your lower lip as you held back sob after sob. Together, you were two best friends, heartbroken, but at least you had each other.

Heart beating quickly in your chest, you hurried as you clutched a fresh batch of flowers to your chest, waving one hand to the nurses in a greeting as you made your way to a room you had become well acquainted with over the past several days.

When Jungkook had called you, voice thick with emotion, and told you that his mother had been involved in a car crash, you had immediately forgotten about your heartbreak, choosing instead to focus on supporting Jungkook to the best of your ability. 

With the practised ease and grace of a CEO used to sorting out emergencies, you’d first devised a schedule so that everyone who wanted to visit would be able to maximise their time with Jungkook’s mother, then sent him home with Tiger, knowing that she’d take care of your Bunny. At this moment in time, it was imperative that Jungkook keep as calm as possible, knowing that his world had just crumbled around him.

With a stony face, you had listened as Seokjin explained to you how Jungkook’s mother had been having an affair with ChampCon’s Chief of Staff and how it’d been an open secret between Mr. and Mrs. Jeon. Having known Jungkook since he was a first year in high school, you knew how he idolised his parents’ marriage, but as a third party, you had long been able to see the cracks in their relationship, so the news didn’t come as a surprise. After all, even if you didn’t see it coming, who were you to judge when you knew how powerful the heart’s will was? You were still in love with someone who had treated you horribly, left the country with no prior warning, and threw a decade’s worth of gifts in the rubbish like you hadn’t meant anything to him. 

You’d chosen to keep Uncle Jeon and Seungwon apart for the time being, firmly believing that it was for the best that they not see each other for a while.

“Eomeonim,” you whispered as you opened the door quietly. Lately, Jungkook’s mum had been sleeping more, which you took as a sign of recovery. As a result, you had taken to entering quietly and peeking at her in case she was resting, in which case you would leave your gift on her beside table and tiptoe to the exit.

“Omo! Y/N? Is that you? Come in!” Mrs. Jeon’s voice rang loud and clear, and you blinked at how much stronger she sounded today.

“Eomeonim, how are you feeling today?” You peered around the corner, a smile lifting up the corner of your lips. “Did you rest well? You sound better!”

Mrs. Jeon sat up in bed, eyes bright and alert, perking up when she saw your head peek around the corner. “Aigoo, it is you! Come, sit!”

You grinned, thrusting forward the big bouquet of flowers you’d gotten her. Jungkook’s mum had known you since you beat up half your high school on behalf of her son, and had treated you like her daughter ever since. In a way, she truly was like your second mother. She fussed over you, fed you, bought you clothes, and nagged you about things you had to do but didn’t want to. 

You watched as her eyes lit up at the sight of the flowers you’d bought and waved away her thanks, choosing instead to busy yourself with putting the flowers in a vase so that she wouldn’t be able to see the dark circles under your eyes. Like your mother, she possessed a keen eye and could tell when something was wrong just by looking at you.

Unfortunately for you, you could only pretend to rearrange the flowers for so long before Mrs. Jeon got suspicious. “Y/N? Is something wrong?”

You winced before turning to face her, closing your eyes so you wouldn’t be able to see the hurt that would inevitably flit across her face as she took in your haggard appearance. 

“Come here. Sit next to me” Jungkook’s mother murmured, understanding evident in her voice. “You’ve had your heart broken, haven’t you? It’s written all over your face.”

With a sigh, you opened your eyes and nodded your head, defeated. No matter what you tried to do, it never seemed to be enough to fill the Hoseok-sized hole in your heart. Ambling over to the chair next to the hospital bed, you sat down, exhaling heavily.

“Was it Hoseokie?” The older woman asked astutely. You winced at the mention of his name. Though Taehyung had done a wonderful job of patching you up enough to be able to face society, he’d avoided his hyung’s name, knowing that you weren’t ready to overcome that obstacle yet. As a result, the mere mention of Hoseok’s name tore the wound anew, the phantom wound bleeding again. 

However, you stayed strong, only allowing the briefest flicker of grief to cross your face. Mrs. Jeon, who had been studying you intently, smiled and patted your hand, stating that she was proud of you.

“It’s not easy hiding pain; emotional least of all,” she explained, a faraway look in her eyes. 

You cleared your throat. “Are you talking about Seungwon samchon?”

She nodded, love and pain warring in her eyes. “I won’t pry,” she began, “just in case you’re not ready to talk about it. But being hurt isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You and Hoseokie have always been similar in the sense that both of you have been able to see both sides of a situation. This is the same — you just haven’t figured out yet that hurting is a sign of love. By loving someone, you wordlessly give them your trust and hope that they understand. Think about it this way, Y/N. You’re hurting because you had so many happy memories with Hoseokie, and you miss them. But that’s what makes love beautiful, too — without sadness, we wouldn’t know to appreciate the happy times.  There’s beauty to be found everywhere, if you just know where to look.”

You felt a finger under your chin, helping to support your head. As you looked into the older woman’s eyes, you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. In her gaze, there were several emotions; with grief, pain, and love being the most prominent of them all. “You’re so strong, my Y/N. But even warriors need to rest. Let someone take over for a while.”

At her words, the tears you had been holding back began to fall freely down your cheeks, and she wiped them away with a comforting smile, drawing you into an embrace. As the woman you grew to see as your second mother held your head close to her chest, you let yourself fall apart in her arms, hands grasping the blankets tightly, knuckles white. 

You took one last look at yourself in the limousine’s mirror, ensuring that not a hair was out of place, took a breath, and waited for the driver to open your door. It’d been a few weeks since you had talked with Jungkook’s mother, and, knowing her to be the wise woman she was, took her advice, trying to accept your feelings rather than pushing them away.

It had worked wonders once you realised that being strong was also knowing when to take care of yourself, and you felt better than before, which couldn’t have come at a better time since Hoseok was guaranteed to show up at Jungkook’s birthday party.

When the car door opened, you were greeted by clamouring from the paparazzi gathered and blinding flashes as they fought to get the best photo of you. You swung a bare leg out of the car first, taking care not to reveal anything more than necessary, and drew yourself to your full height, smiling calmly for the cameras.

Dressed in a black A-line, one-shouldered evening gown with a single, thick golden stripe that travelled diagonally from your shoulder to the hem of your dress, snaking down the thigh high slit on the side of your dress and winding around your waist to accentuate it, you were the picturesque definition of minimalistic elegance. 

As you nodded to the press gathered at the dock, one hand raised in greeting, the bright flashes of light reflected off your matching diamond earring and bracelet set, complete with two simple, thin silver rings on the fourth and index finger of each hand. You’d chosen to forgo a necklace today, trusting that the overpriced and oversized teardrop shaped rocks dangling from your earlobes would do the talking. Alternatively, you didn’t want to give an excuse to people who wanted to stare at your chest — if they wanted to, they should do so unashamedly. You were proud of your tits and considered any visual breast contact a compliment, as long as it wasn’t leering and remained respectful. Granted, you didn’t share this thought process in high school, when you’d given Jungkook a good wallop (just after meeting him, nonetheless) for doing the exact same thing, but you’d grown comfortable in your own body over the years.

Careful not to damage your favourite white and gold Patek Philippe Calatrava Timeless watch that had been a present from your parents for taking over the company, you subtly shifted your custom black and gold Hermès Jige clutch to your other hand, turning your attention to the line of paparazzi on your left. 

Normally, you hated the attention events brought, especially when so many young members of high society were gathered, but today, you let yourself revel in the spotlight. You had worked hard over the past month after Hoseok had ghosted you and left you behind in Korea. After you’d poured yourself into your work (with a few interventions from your parents when they felt you were pushing yourself too hard), your company had flourished enough to start an entirely new line of cosmetics that had previously been deemed too risky. What was more, you knew you looked good tonight, having had your stylist spend a minimum of three hours on your hair alone.

After you’d spent five gratuitous minutes in front of the paparazzi, answering questions left and right, you dipped your head as a farewell, walking towards the ridiculously sized painted steel shell commonly known as a yacht, ready to see your Bunny.

You felt his presence long before you saw him. The two of you used to joke about how you’d always be able to find each other even in the most crowded of areas, but this time, it rang true and you cursed your ability to locate him regardless of where he was.

You shook your head, remembering Mrs. Jeon’s lesson — there was always a silver lining, if you just knew where to look  — and took a deep breath. At least I have some time to calm myself down before I see him, you thought to yourself. Also an opportunity for closure, you mused.

Feeling noticeably calmer, you strode into the throng of people to look for Jungkook, not missing the way that the crowd parted for you, whispers following you.

“It’s Y/L/N Y/N, the CEO of AmorePacific Corporation. I heard her car was parked outside Kim Taehyung’s apartment building for days last month, do you think something happened between them?”

“You think Jung Hoseok found out she was two-timing them and left Korea?”

“Look at her dress, it must have cost a fortune. Her company must be doing well these days.”

With practised ease, you kept your expression neutral. You learned a long time ago that whilst you couldn’t control what others said, you could control how you reacted. Moreover, tonight was not about you. It was about your best friend — the reason why you kept fighting through even the most difficult times.

“Bunny!” Jungkook’s head whipped towards you, eyes excitedly searching the crowd. 

“Noona?” He called, unable to see you. You smiled to yourself. Jungkook really was like a little puppy, one of the main reasons why you’d named your dog after him (if anyone asked, you vehemently denied all such claims). 

Feeling much lighter than when you’d boarded the ship, you walked past the last of the partygoers and appeared before Jungkook, a genuine smile breaking through the carefully crafted façade you’d created over the past month. 

 “Bunny!” You squealed, a peal of laughter leaving your immaculately coloured lips as you ran towards him, social niceties of someone your status be damned. 

Jungkook barely had time to react, arms opening just in time for you to barrel into them as you flung yourself at him, almost knocking him over with the force of your jump. His arms closed around your upper torso, just below your shoulder blades, rather than your waist; an area you’d come to understand that was both friendly and respectful, yet showed a sign of how close you two were.

He patted the sides of your ribs as you remained latched onto him. “Hi noona! Thanks for the gaming rig, you really didn’t have to do that for me.” 

You pulled back, a big smile on your face as you patted Jungkook’s cheek fondly. “Don’t mention it. You’re my Baby Bunny, of course I had to get you something for your special day. Consider it both a graduation present and birthday gift. This way, you don't have to strain your eyes doing all that ‘research’ with Tiger."

Jungkook blushed at the mention of Tiger, an adorably dark red flush colouring his cheeks. You grinned, knowing the telltale signs of a new relationship all too well, and reached out to ruffle his hair.

"Ah, noona, I had it styled today! Don't touch my hair!" You grinned, his complaint only serving to increase your desire to muss his delicately gelled locks. A brief scuffle ensued as he tilted his head back, trying to avoid your hand, and you fought to brush his arm aside, happy giggles leaving your upturned mouth.

"Oh, is that why? You had it styled for tonight and not Tiger?"

Jungkook's blush grew deeper and his movements faltered for a split second, giving you the opening you needed to finally land your hand smack in the middle of his locks. Throwing your head back and crowing at your victory, you took pity on your Baby Bunny and fixed it for him, ignoring the way your fingers grew sticky from the hair gel that accumulated on them as you brushed strands of hair into place.

“Gross,” you mumbled under your breath, wrinkling your nose at the overpowering smell that emanated from the hair product now on your fingers. “Jungkook, I thought you had a sensitive nose like me, why are you wearing this rubbish?”

Jungkook looked at you, the bridge of his nose scrunched in a similar way. “Thanks for getting some off my hair; I had a new stylist and they didn’t get a fragrance free one so it’s been bothering me all night but I couldn’t do anything about it because there are cameras everywhere. Here, I’ll get you a tissue. There’s a bathroom that way, let me walk you to it.”

You smiled, taking his outstretched arm, chatting away happily as he walked you to the luxuriously decorated bathroom, taking care not to touch anything with your goopy hand. 

“May I?” 

You and Jungkook froze simultaneously, instantly recognising the velvety voice. It was him. The man who held your heart in his beautiful hands, who had the ability to shatter it (and did) with a single snap. Jung Hoseok.

“I’m not going to try anything, Jungkook. Not here, not on your birthday,” Hoseok assured. You tore your eyes away from him, conflicting emotions warring, and met Jungkook’s eyes. With a miniscule nod, you let go of his arm.

The cold air that met your forearm immediately after you let go of Jungkook almost tore a whimper from your lips, but you managed to withhold it. 

Jungkook left the two of you, needing to fulfill his host duties, but he glanced back at the two of you as he walked away, eyebrows furrowed in concern. You smiled at him, waving with your clutch, until you lost sight of him.

“Candy…” you turned, smile dropping as it was replaced by a cold, impassive gaze. 

“What?” If Hoseok was taken aback by your sudden change in attitude, he didn’t show it, instead waiting for you to turn to face him.

“I owe you an explanation,” he began. “But before that, I wanted to apologise for hurting you.”

You snorted in an extremely unladylike manner. “You know what I think of your apology? That it’s too late. I thought something happened, Hoseok. You took my heart with you when you left. I loved you. I still do, and I feel like the stupidest person ever. Because who loves someone who’s so bad to them?”

Hoseok’s eyes, which had been shuttered in an attempt to hide his shame, suddenly widened. “You...still love me? After everything I’ve done?”

You growled, at your wit’s end with Hoseok. As if something had possessed you, your hand reached out to shove Hoseok, smearing Jungkook’s heavily scented hair gel all over his lapel.

Your eyes widened a split second after your brain registered what you’d done. Hoseok loved his suits like a man of culture would, and you’d ruined one of his favourites before the ship had even set sail.

“Oh no. Hoseok, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to. I mean, I kind of did, it’s the least you deserve — wait, what am I saying? No you don’t, I mean — uhhh, it was immature of me, but you still—”

Hoseok’s hand closed over yours, not caring that your fingers were sticky with Jungkook’s hair gel. “No, don’t apologise. You’re right, I did deserve it. Besides, I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

The superficial conversation faltered between you two, and soon it was replaced by an awkward silence you’d never experienced around Hoseok. You shifted from side to side, acutely aware of how Hoseok’s hand remained intertwined with yours as your heart fluttered in your chest from his confession. “L-let’s go to the bathroom, I have to wash my hand and I’ll help you with your suit.”

Hoseok nodded, letting go of your hand as you moved forward to open the door to the marbled bathroom. He followed you inside, taking care to keep a respectable distance between your bodies upon entering the Atlantis-sized bathroom, sitting on the counter next to the sink as he waited for you to wash your hands.

You picked up a soft towel, rubbing it on your skin a few more times than necessary to wipe off the excess water. Wetting the hand towel, you strode over to where Hoseok sat with his back to the mirror, one leg firmly on the floor and the other dangling in the air, hands clasped in his lap. 

“Why?” You asked as you pressed the wet towel to the stain on his lapel.

“I panicked,” he said simply. You waited, quietly dabbing at his suit as you waited for him to continue. “I don’t know why; I was feeling...something, and I didn’t know how to deal with it, so I left. I’m sorry, Candy. I should have told you. You’ve been there for me every time I needed you, and I left you all alone.”

Your fingers tightened imperceptibly around the fibre of the towel as your temper flared. “You’re sorry for leaving. Are you? Are you sure that you didn’t leave because you knew I was in love with you and that you were getting too comfortable picturing a domestic life with me?”

“I—” Hoseok tried interjecting. You ignored him, all the suppressed feelings over the past month resurfacing. 

“No, it’s my turn to talk, Hoseok.” Your heart fluttered at the mention of his name, no matter how much you hated it, and it further ignited the rage burning deep in your belly. “I’ll admit, it was wrong for me to begin our friends with benefits situation when I’d already broken the most important rule we had, when I was in love with you, but I knew that was my problem. What I didn’t expect was for you to drop everything and run away from me like I had the plague when you realised that I’ve never stopped loving you. I’ve been irrevocably in love with you since I met you in high school, Jung Hoseok, and the sad thing is that you loved me once, and it’ll be the only time you return my feelings, and I’ll have to watch from the sidelines as I marry someone I don’t care about and have his kids while you’re off in your own world with someone you cherish, love, and adore with all your heart. You’ve ruined every man for me, Jung Hoseok, and I want to hate you for it, but I can’t. Because I can only love you.”

You paused in the middle of your tirade, panting and tears flowing freely down your face, glaring at Hoseok. If you’d been slightly more observant despite your anger, you might’ve noticed the glimmer in his eyes, a shine not unlike the one your own tears gave off.

“Tell me, Hobi,” you panted, still out of breath, “how do you do it? How do you remain so aloof with me when you once told me I was your everything? You confessed to me in high school in the most romantic and cheesy way possible. Is that how you treat every girl you’re interested in? Am I just another pawn in the game for you? Tell me, how do you manage to keep from feeling anything when I do this?”

You wrapped a hand around the back of Hoseok’s neck, pulled yourself to him and pressed your lips against his, pouring all your emotions into the kiss. Hoseok didn’t move at first, frozen in shock, but snaked his hand around your waist, returning your kiss with a desperate fervour.

You weren’t sure when your anger turned into lust, or if it had been simmering the whole time you’d been apart from Hoseok, but you groaned when Hoseok’s fingers traced the bottom of your spine, desire pooling in your belly.

You tilted your head to nip at his earlobe, causing his fingers to dig into your skin as he hissed.

Knowing you still had an effect on Hoseok despite what he’d done gave you a power trip of sorts, satisfaction running through your body as you deftly undid his belt with nimble fingers, rings glinting under the crystal wall sconces that lit up the bathroom. 

“What are you up to, Candy?” Hoseok growled as you reached into his underwear. “What’s your game?”

“Just showing how much I missed you,” you purred, fluttering your eyelashes prettily. Hoseok narrowed his eyes, knowing you too well to take your answer point blank. 

Sensing that you were about to be subjected to a round of interrogation, you grasped Hoseok’s length, pulling down his underwear with your free hand. 

His cock sprang free, still not completely erect, but you didn’t let it deter you as you took him into your mouth, reacquainting yourself with the taste that was Jung Hoseok.

You whimpered at the way his cock almost instantly began to harden under the expert movement of your tongue, unable to stop saliva from pooling and dribbling out of the corner of your mouth.

Hoseok nearly fell off the counter from the pleasure your mouth brought on his length, every nerve alit from the way you traced patterns all over him, leaving no area unexplored. His hands trembled as he fought to find purchase somewhere, knowing your hair was off limits — you’d kill him if he ruined the perfectly coiffed locks. Finally, he settled on your neck, one hand grasping the back of it and the other hand gripping the marbled counter as if it were the only thing keeping him from falling.

You brought your hand to stroke Hoseok’s cock when your mouth grew numb, movements syncing with the way your head bobbed along his erection. Knowing that he had to be close, you let your teeth graze gently along the shaft, taking care not to injure him, swirling your tongue along the head as you did.

When Hoseok’s fingers dug into your neck and his knuckles grew white from holding the bathroom counter, you knew he was close. You thrust your head as far down into his lap as possible, taking his entire length in your mouth as Hoseok tried to muffle his groan, his cum shooting in spurts down your throat.

Hoseok panted with the effort of his release, fingers easing their grip on both your neck and the counter, as he looked down at you. A slight sheen of sweat covered his forehead, the only easily visible sign of what the two of you had gotten up to in one of the many bathrooms on the oversized boat.

He reached down to help you to your feet, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips as he began to fiddle with your dress, fully intent on returning the favour.

You stepped back, indifference written across your beautiful features. Hoseok knitted his eyebrows together, forming a ‘v’ in the middle as he usually did when he was confused.

“You don’t have to return the favour. Just like you don’t return my love.” Ice dripped from every syllable you spoke, and a sick, twisted pleasure ran through your body as you watched Hoseok’s eyes widen and his lips turn down in his signature shiot-shaped frown.

“Candy, wh-” he began, reaching out for you. But you were already halfway out the door, and when it closed with a gentle click, he felt the cracks on his heart deepen until it broke, leaving a you-sized hole in his chest.

What had he done?

You let out a breath when you were far away enough from the dining room, hoping that nobody had noticed you stuffing your face with food from the buffet. With your newly broken heart, you’d had to find some way to deal with your emotions, and since you didn’t trust caterers to keep up with your taste in alcohol, you’d turned to food. You huffed a hollow laugh, ensuring you still had your belongings when you almost ran into a girl close to your age, who looked as heartbroken as you felt. With a jolt, you realised that it was Swan, who you’d been meaning to catch up with all night.

She walked past you with a sunken expression, tears drying on her cheeks and steps sullen, and you knew something was wrong. She didn’t seem to notice you, so you grabbed her arm and were met with her glistening eyes, on the verge of tears.

“What happened, baby?” You asked carefully, wiping away the tears that had started flooding anew, her makeup already smeared. You suspected this had something to do with the way Taehyung had broken down in your arms a few weeks ago.

You saw it in her expression that she needed to confess at least something if not the whole story, knowing that she wouldn’t lie to you. She merely nodded to the scene behind her, sure that you’d understand.

And surely enough, you did.

With the way Taehyung was standing only a few feet away from the pool, looking longingly at her and meeting your gaze with the same brokenhearted gaze as Swan’s, you knew your assumption had been right. You sighed, chest heaving. You had known Swan almost as long as you’d known Taehyung. You knew she could take a lot of shit, but her achilles’ heel was Taehyung, who’d apparently broken her heart again at a party filled with hundreds of guests.

“Fucking hell,” you mumbled as you let your friend go, squeezing her hand as a quiet sign of support. She was quick to leave, the heartache too heavy to bear and the burdensome gaze of the man she loved too intensely to stay any longer. You didn’t blame her. You felt the same way about Hoseok. But this wasn’t about him. This was about your two idiot friends who fit so perfectly together, but had let assumptions get the best of them.

But before you could walk any closer to him, exhaustion clear as day on your face, a girl with flaming red hair called out his name, obviously drunk and wobbly on her knees as she clung onto Taehyung. Fatigue suddenly burned away by the sheer audacity of the stranger, you stormed over, stilettos click-clacking on the wooden deck.

“Who’s this bitch?” You asked as you approached him, fury burning behind your eyes as he watched you with a gulp. He’d been crying too, you noticed. The agony in his face was different than the one a few weeks ago when he’d taken care of you, and your heart ached for your best friend, understanding perfectly how he felt.

Upon noticing you coming his way,Taehyung’s expression morphed into one of fear for the redhead that lurched forward and clung onto his arm as Swan left the vicinity, knowing fully well what you were capable of. The girl, either not noticing or not understanding, grinned, latching onto his arm again, pleased that Taehyung had stopped pushing her away.

“Hey, redhead. Did your hair dye leach into your brain one too many times or are you just stupid?” Venom dripped from every word that left your mouth as you seethed, fed up with the girl you knew had caused yet another misunderstanding between your two best friends. 

Stepping closer to her and flinging Taehyung’s arm away from her grasp, you shoved a perfectly manicured nail into the middle of the redhead’s chest, growling. “How dare you show up here with a shit excuse of an invitation and — yeah, I know that’s a fake invitation, don’t give me that look, you leech. Jungkook doesn’t know you exist and Taehyung may have been dropped one too many times on the head, but even he has more sense than to invite you on board.”

Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked back at you in utter shock, disgust written on her forehead as she eyed you from top to bottom, sneering. “Excuse me? Get your grubby han—”

“Gladly,” you snarled, fists unclenching, not caring that you had attracted an audience that waited with bated breath to see what would happen next, “consider yourself excused.”

With a smirk that could curdle milk, you placed your hands on the front of her shoulders and pushed, sending her flying into the pool, relishing the way her gratingly shrill voice cut off mid-scream as the water pulled her under.

Looking coolly over the crowd that had gathered, you caught the eye of the chief of security, who looked more amused than anything else. “Chief Lee, we have an unwanted stowaway. Please escort her back to the dock.”

Without looking back, you grabbed Taehyung’s hand, interlocking your fingers with his, and dragged him away from the drowned rat who had finally surfaced and was currently shrieking her head off. You needed a drink.

You sat on the plush barstool, nursing a glass of water as you watched Taehyung sip quietly at an Old Fashioned you’d ordered for him. Some things, you’d told him when he’d wrinkled his nose at your choice of drink, can only be made better when you’re holding a glass of whiskey in your hand. Because sometimes, things are out of your control, no matter how desperately you wish they weren’t.

Taehyung hadn’t pried when your eyes flooded with unshed tears as you listened to yourself prattle on, only placing a comforting hand on your shoulder, squeezing it gently. You felt a little guilty, venting your problems to Taehyung when he’d been forced to watch the love of his life walk away without being given a chance to explain himself, but over a decade’s worth of being his friend told you that he needed time to digest what happened.

As a result, you sat next to your best friend quietly, reaching out to squeeze his hand once in a while to bring him out of what you were sure was a downward spiral. He’d flash you a rueful smile once in a while, and you’d smile back sadly, wishing you could do more to help him, but knew that you were already helping immensely by just being there for him.

The two of you stayed like that for a while, letting time pass you by, until the water you’d drunk caught up with you and you had to excuse yourself to the bathroom. 

Knowing that Taehyung had pulled himself together enough to not do anything rash even though he hadn’t much to say, you left him behind, patting his shoulder and wiggling your phone to indicate that should he need anything, you were just a call away. You weren’t sure why you did so; you were only planning to leave for a few minutes, but if tonight had taught you anything, it was that even the most life-altering situations could happen in the span of a few minutes. 

Yoongi caught you as you left the bathroom, a wild look in his eyes. Instantly sensing that something was amiss, you stopped fiddling with the rings on your fingers, heart beginning to beat quickly in dread. He didn’t give you the chance to ask; his next words doused all hopes that you were wrong.

“He’s crying.”

It was a simple line; one that was probably uttered hundreds of times across the world at any given time, each one with a different meaning, but this two worded sentence broke your heart. Though Yoongi hadn’t specified who exactly was crying, you’d heard the exact same phrase from his mouth once before, when everyone except Jungkook had graduated from high school.

It was no secret that Jeon Jungkook’s shyness usually got the better of him, but most people interpreted his silence as a sign of haughtiness, only willing to be friends with upperclassmen, so when you graduated a year ahead of Jungkook, there was nobody left to protect him. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to make friends with people in his year — it was more that he had no interest in befriending people who talked openly about how stuck up he was, not caring that he was within hearing distance. Though Jungkook knew that he was none of these things, each word was like a tiny stab to his heart, culminating in him calling Yoongi in the middle of a breakdown.

“Jungkook?” You asked, your voice barely above a whisper. Yoongi nodded, jaw tight. You bit back a snarl — your Bunny needed you right now. Whoever had made him cry on his birthday could wait, but you would come for them, and you would make it hurt.

“You’re in charge while I’m gone. Don’t do anything I would normally do. If anything happens to our friends, you’re a dead man, Min Yoongi.”

Yoongi nodded stiffly and placed a hand on your shoulder, squeezing it in a show of support before the two of you parted ways.

It took a while to find Jungkook, given the size of the yacht, but you eventually found him waiting for a water taxi to take him back to land. Thankfully, the paparazzi were long gone, but you still sidled up next to him, hands behind your back.

“Hey, Bunny. Want some company?”

Jungkook’s head whipped around at the sound of your voice, eyes shining. Your frown turned melancholic, gaze softening as you brought a hand up to his cheek to wipe away a stray tear that had escaped.

“Noona…” his lip quivered. Your vision became blurry as tears began to pool in your eyes, unable to stand seeing your Bunny in such a devastated state.

“Come here, Baby,” you cooed, drawing his large frame into your embrace. Your decorated fingers played with his hair just the way he liked it as he sobbed into your shoulder, the tears rolling down your skin. 

All the while, you rocked him gently from side to side, keeping an eye out for a water taxi that would take you away from the ship of horrors. It seemed like none of your friends were having a good time tonight, despite the happy occasion that had brought you all together.

You heaved a sigh, trying to mask it off as a normal breath so Jungkook wouldn’t be alarmed. Sending a silent prayer to whoever oversaw life on earth, if there was one, you prayed fervently that things would turn around, and soon. Your friends had their problems, Hoseok included, but they were all good people. Misguided at times, but good.

“CEO Y/L/N? Your transport has arrived.” The attendant’s voice broke you out of your reverie and you ushered Jungkook into the smaller boat, never letting go of his hand.

Jungkook stayed mostly silent on the way back to land, the only sound being his hiccupping as he continued to cry. He never let go of your hand, even when it grew sweaty from the prolonged contact. You let him crush your fingers in a death grip, wincing quietly — you knew he needed as much comfort as he could possibly get, so you stayed silent, only adjusting your hand when the force he exerted put too much pressure on one of your rings.

He only began to talk in incoherent sentences when the two of you were in the privacy of your car, which your driver had parked at a carpark near the docks sometime during the party, safe from the ever-curious hordes of paparazzi.

You’d fiddled around with your navigation system as you waited for Jungkook to gather his thoughts, unconsciously setting the destination to the park you and Hoseok had frequented when things were less complicated. 

“G-girlfriend,” he finally managed to eke out. You paused, your eyes moving from the infotainment system where you’d been selecting piano renditions of Jungkook’s favourite songs to soothe him to stare out the window, ring adorned fingers still hovering over the screen. You didn’t like where this was going. What should have been happy news, announced to you by your precious Bunny, blushing as he held Tiger close to him, was being tearfully confessed to you.

“What about her?” You asked carefully as you looked in the rearview mirror to ensure there were no oncoming cars before pulling out of your parking spot. You were careful not to use her name, lest it trigger Jungkook.

“Saga...lead strategist...betrayed...used me,” was all Jungkook managed to choke out before he dissolved into another heartrending wail. “Noona, why?”

You clenched your jaw, the muscles jumping as you pieced together Jungkook’s broken sentence and deduced what he was trying to say. This must have been what Yoongi was talking about, you thought to yourself. Of course it would be the first girl he opened his heart up to and who reciprocated his feelings. You sighed, glancing at the navigation system to check that you were on the right road before turning on your left indicator. 

“Did you hear this from Yoongi oppa?” You asked, keeping your eyes trained on the dark road ahead of you. Out of the corner of your eye, you caught Jungkook nodding, confirming your suspicions. You hummed understandingly, brain racing to come up with a reason why Tiger would do such a thing.

From what you’d seen of Jungkook and Tiger, they seemed to have a healthy relationship, bickering occasionally but generally bringing out the best in each other. Jungkook always came to you with stars in his eyes as he told you about the latest updates to the mobile game they’d been working on together, mostly gushing about Tiger instead of the game, but it was endearing. More than once, you’d had to hide a smile lest Jungkook get grumpy and refuse to tell you anything more.

Maybe she needs the money? I don’t remember her from high school, so it’s possible that she’s not a chaebol. You mused quietly to yourself as you continued to listen to your Bunny cry, occasionally asking questions to clarify the situation. You were careful not to ask overly provocative questions, preferring for Jungkook to get the venting out of his system before you helped him analyse the situation from Tiger’s point of view. Maybe she’s trying to gain more experience from working for Saga Games? It’s possible that what she needs right now to build her resume isn’t something Jaunty Games can offer. ChampCon is struggling, after all.

“Baby, who keeps texting me?” You asked, annoyed by the constant beeping of your phone as it alerted you to message after message, constantly breaking your focus. 

“I dunno, I need to unlock it before I can see. You don’t have message previews turned on, noona. What’s your password?”

“24, followed by the year we met,” you answered immediately. There was a moment of silence as Jungkook unlocked your phone. When Jungkook didn’t respond immediately, you glanced over at him briefly before shifting your attention back to the semi-deserted road before you, knowing that an intersection was coming just around the corner. “Who are the texts from, Bunny?”

“Hobi hyung,” came his answer. Your fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles whitening at the mention of his name. 

“What did he say?”

“Nothing much, he’s just calling your name and asking where you are and if you two can talk. He’s typing now. Oh.”

“Oh?” You repeated, heart speeding up. “What did he say? Can you read it to me?”

“Okay, noona. Y/N, I hope you’re okay. You haven’t been reading these texts, so I’m a bit worried. There’s no rush for you to reply to what I’m about to say; I just wanted you to know the truth. I didn’t get the chance to tell you my side of the story when you helped me with my suit, but I panicked when I realised I felt something for you. At the time, I didn’t know what I was feeling, but it was enough that I knew I wouldn’t be able to think properly with you around. No matter the day or how I feel, I always feel better when I’m around you. You bring out the best in me. You make me forget all my worries when you smile, and the only thing I’d been able to think about before I left for overseas was our memories in high school.  So I jumped at the chance to help you expand your contract in America and I finalised the details between our companies so you could start exporting as soon as possible. But while I was there, once my work was done, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way I left you back home without a word, without telling anyone, and I’m so, so sorry. I love you, Y/L/N Y/N. I’ve never stopped loving you, ever since the day we met in high school. I suppressed it because you began dating that guy in university, and I thought you’d moved on, but I didn’t realise until I was all alone in America that I’d been running away from the one I loved more than anything, and that’s why I came back. To make things right. Again, please don’t feel obligated to — NOONA!”

With a start, you blinked, realising that you’d been in shock from Hoseok’s confession. He didn’t hate you. He loved you, and you’d been a bitch to him without letting him explain himself.

Jungkook screamed again, and you blinked once again, eyes refocusing on the road, only to have your breath catch in your chest as you realised you’d run a red light at the intersection and there was a lorry truck barrelling your way, honking desperately. You and Jungkook were destined for a head-on collision, several seconds too late to slam the brakes to avoid an accident.

Acting on pure impulse, you jerked the steering wheel as far as it would go, swerving the car. In the split second that you realised what you’d done, you felt peace. You’d minimised the amount of danger that would occur to your Baby Bunny, having veered your car so that your side would take all the initial impact.

You had a maximum of two seconds before the truck hit you. One and a half second. You looked over at your Bunny, eyes shut in fear and cowering, and smiled at him sadly. One second. You reached your hand out to grab his. Half a second. “Noona loves—”

You heard the shattering of glass before you felt anything. “—you.”

And then everything went black.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this fic. Please consider reblogging so that others are able to find my work! It gives me a lot of motivation to continue writing.

MList

“I Want You to Lie [JHS] (18+)” is © copyright @hobisuniverse​ 2021, all rights reserved.

TAGLIST 

@hobi-love​ @wickizer​ @kaepjjangiya​ @sunnysidesblog​ @dee-ehn​​ @codeinebelle​​

(if you’d like to be tagged in the next instalment, please send me a dm or an ask!)

[fox0war]

Okay first off: Sorry if I block you, you just look fuckin suspicious as hell if you've got a real name username, no pfp, no posts/reblogs, no likes, and you're subbed to like 5000 ppl, ima think you're a bot. Either that or I just... didn't like you, sorry. Secondly: DNI if you're Racist, Any variant of Queerphobic (Homo, trans, bi, ect), Sexist, ect. No anti-furs either, I have a lot of furry friends and while not a furry myself, produce a lot of anthro content. No proshippers too, that content makes me HELLA uncomfortable and makes me suspicious of you. I'll add to this as relevant. Thirdly!: Please feel free to send asks, I love asks, y'all have no idea how excited I get when I see something in my Inbox!! If I take awhile to respond I promise I'm not trying to ignore your ask, I probably just forgot to respond! Fourth: Fanart of ocs is appreciated! Previously had stipulations here but like I WOULD BE SO CHEESED IF YOU SENT ME ART OF MY GUYS!!!! /POS!!! I WOULD LOVE YOU FOREVER PLATONICALLY!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Finally we get to the master post section, I'll try to edit this as needed but I do get forgetful sometimes! Please check #ramblings from a den dweller for me posting random stuff, I try to tag all my random thoughts that don't belong here with that!

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Meet the Artist (TBA)

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COTL Main AU (Should probs give it a proper name at some point) -Attempts at designing my Lamb 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 -General Headcanons/Stuff that has happened 1 - Yoinked with permission - 2 - 3 - GOAT - 4 -Cultist Designs!! Hano(Fish) - Vephar - Multiple - Sozo - Baal and Friend - Multiple, Again - Frog Wife WIP - Earlier Frog Wife -You, You get me. -Fox Family Chaos -Shamura... -Kallawimp -I consent! (Trend) -Lamb Ask Game

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COTL The Feasting AU / Cannibal AU -The Beginning

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Cerifikn Nation -Pho'Bous's stories 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - -Mr. I'os gets tormented by past trauma -Who is Pho'Bous? -What is raising Mushroom like? -Who even is Moss? Who is Mushroom? -Some proper intros -Adopts I made for the group!! -Zombies, they're bad for business (Event) -A Jubilee is a type of Celebration -Hallow Stories 1 -

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The Amazing Digital Carnival AU (belongs to @sm-baby I just did the fan content) -Millie! -Online Forums -Oh dear...

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Don't Starve Together -OC but... survivor? -Actual attempt at turning them into a DST char

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Cookie Run (Various, mostly Kingdom though) -Makhana Cookie! - Art by Allimili - Art by F0xx1n3 -Makhana Doodles + Baked Lobster -Baked Lobster Cookie -Fried Shrimp Cookie + BLC Height Comparison -WIP I still need to finish... -Shmilk Headcanon -PV as Rep -First time drawing Shmilk -Not accurate anymore, still funny -Chomp. -Ship bingo -NPC love -Various MyCookies -Ask answered! Feesh.. -CRK reference? -Mut finds Blorbo in wild

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Forsaken -Tycoon Origins (oh how his concept has evolved) -Tycoon Bonds (Pre-Noli Update) -NOT WHAT I'M CALLED -Started an animation WIP before even finishing his ref -First Looks -Taph nesting in a tree

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[Placeholder for later fandom chaos]

[monsteronfire]

Fishing for a Star

type;; One-shot (6.4K words)

pairing(s);; fratboy!JK x older!Reader/OC

genre;; Slice of Life, Smut, College AU

warnings;; Drinking, oral (male receiving), shy!Koo, sub!Koo, slightly dom!Reader/OC, Yoongi being a dumbass voyeur, both parties pining for each other like idiots

a/n;; I feel like it’s been a motherfuckin’ year since I’ve written and posted anything. I honestly started this thing probably a year ago. I just really love the chill college parties trope. Might add more to this, but unlikely. Enjoy my pain as I cry over JK in leather.

edit;; Totally forgot to put a read more tag on here, sorry y’all. I even told myself to fucking do it right as I started the post. Also the pic isn’t mine, got it off Google.

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“Please tell me that’s not what you’re wearing.”

You step out of the way for your housemate, the hoodie you’d picked out momentarily blinding you while you pulled it over your head.

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be putting it on.” You say, finally getting it over your head and shaking the hair out of your face. You blink at her half-way-to-getting-ready state, noting in the back of your head how good she looks even now. Her hair is done, wavy and a little disheveled. The shine of the dark strands makes you want to run your fingers through them, knowing they will be soft. Her makeup is half done and she’s dressed only in her underwear, but she’s beautiful all the same. You can tell she’s planning to doll herself up tonight and why shouldn’t she? It’s one of the biggest frat parties of the year and with it being her last year, she’s aiming to have a good time.

“This is a party, (Y/N). At least try and look a little slutty.”

You snort and grin a little, watching her pop her hip out while she eyes you.

“Why is that, baby?” You reply, reaching up to pull a couple of strands of her hair back into place fondly.

“I plan to get laid tonight. I expect you to too, babe.” She snaps, swatting your hand away.

“Sorry, sexy. I’m fishing for something special tonight and it doesn’t require the slutty look.”

“Oh god, not again.”

“What?” You question, turning back to the full length mirror and carding your fingers through your own hair to fix it.

“You’ve been after this boy for three years, (Y/N). He’s got you wrapped around his finger.” She states, walking away from you and back into the bathroom. You’re still smiling when you check one final time to make sure the jeans you’re wearing make your ass look great before leaning against the door frame.

“That was my plan from the beginning. Now I just need to wrap him around mine.”

She snorts, leaning over the sink and closer to the mirror.

“I said three years, didn’t I? If you haven’t bagged him yet, you won’t.”

You pout at her, but are undeterred. You know what kind of person he is and you’re well aware of how much work he had and will continue to take. You could tell he was not a one and done from the first moment you saw him. He would take time, a lot of it and you were willing to put it all in.

“You know how stubborn I can be.” You chuckle at her. She rolls her eyes, but smirks none the less. She knows she can’t say a word to change your mind.

“Whatever. If I catch you two together, I’m telling him to fuck you already.”

You laugh as you walk away, working on gathering what you’ll want to take to the party.

“You sure I’ll even be allowed at this thing?!”

“Are you kidding?! Everyone is invited to this party. The doors are left open so anyone can just fucking walk in off the street!”

You chuckle, grabbing your bag and stuffing your wallet in it. You’d graduated a couple years ago and while most of the seniors would know you, you sometimes felt weird hanging out at a party in the college you’d already graduated from. A girl has to do what she has to do when a baby boy is on the line, though.

And a baby boy he was.

-

“Jae!”

You smile as you and your friend enter the large, old house. The lighting is dim, the music is thumping and all you can smell is alcohol, sex and sweat. There’s noise all around you, but you and your friend weave through the crowd easily. Nearly everyone greets you as you two pass, guys high-fiving you and girls giggling and touching your arms. You bounce to the music as you follow her, the two of you making your way past the front stairs and down the hall. You make a pit stop in the kitchen- Jae grabbing the classic Solo cup and you pulling a bottle of beer from a cooler full of ice- before heading out onto the back deck.

The backyard is just as crowded as the house, people in the pool, people in the gazebo and people littering about the yard and deck. There’s a large bonfire near the back of the yard and a couple other smaller fire pits in random spots. One of them is up on the deck in a small metal  pit, the warm flames surrounded by the very reason you and Jae came tonight.

“There’s our girls!” Namjoon shouts, lifting his can and drawing the attention of the seven other guys around him to you two. Taehyung, Hoseok and Jin all shout in unison as they spot you, Tae standing and pressing a sloppy kiss to your friend’s cheek. Yoongi and Namjoon lift their hands as you get closer and you reach out to slap each one. Jimin stands to press little pecks to first your cheek and then Jae’s. You all greet each other quietly before Jae slides herself into her target’s lap. She’s been after Jin all year and you haven’t been the only person sitting back to watch their game of cat and mouse. Jin is practically an expert at flirting just enough to keep her hooked without giving her what she really wants.

To be young and in lust.

Your eyes finally find the last member of the group, his silence keeping him out of spotlight unless he’s being searched for. He’s already looking at you when you spot him and his eyes dart down to his shoes while he shuffles behind Yoongi and Jimin. He can only keep his eyes off you for a moment before they find yours and he’s trapped. You smile softly at him, taking delight in how his eyes widen a fraction and his pupils grow. He’s holding a Solo cup, the rings on his fingers glinting in the firelight as he deftly squeezes them a bit tighter. He looks good tonight, his dark hair pushed back away from his forehead to show his strong brow. He’s dressed in all black, black t-shirt tucked into black jeans, black boots and to top it all off a leather jacket. He definitely pulled all the stops on you tonight and you have to make a conscious effort not to drool when you stare at him. He looks like a badass and you know every other girl in this joint sees him the same way, but you know the truth.

“Uh-oh,” Jae mumbles into Jin’s ear.

“She’s spotted her target and is locked on.”

You don’t bother listening to her, instead creeping closer to the object of your desire.

“Hey, Jungkookie,” You murmur quietly to him, leaning in a bit closer, but not too close. You had to be very meticulous with him.

“Hey, noona,” he responds shyly and the whole circle of friends is a sniggering mess for a moment. Pink begin’s to dust his cheeks, but you spare him a little and turn to flick Jimin in the back of the head.

“You lot are pretty curious tonight. Weren’t you all having a conversation before we came up?”

They all snigger some more, but quickly go back to bullshitting around the fire, leaving you and Jungkook in peace. You take another step closer to him, half expecting him to maintain the distance between you, but he remains still and lets you get closer. Threes years it’s taken you to get even this close to him, his overtly shy and sweet demeanor keeping him just out of reach of your darker, more corrupted hands.

“You look good tonight,” you comment and his blush darkens in the firelight. He thanks you almost too quietly, quickly bringing the cup of beer he’s holding to his lips to distract himself somehow and it has you chuckling lowly at him. He looks away from you, avoiding your eyes and you can’t stop the fiendish grin on your lips. You finally give him some respite, turning away from him to join in on the random conversation that the group is sharing around the small fire pit.

Finally…

He get’s his chance and takes it without a second thought. He spent years hesitating in such small matters and found himself either missing out or always caught if he didn’t take the chance when it was presented to him. So he learned. Now when you have those few precious moments where your focus is not on him- where you are off guard for just a beat- he gets to watch you instead. Watch the way your eyes glow in the firelight, or the way your hair just barely shifts as a warm breeze lazes by. He takes in your simple outfit, jeans and a sweatshirt. Nothing like the rest of the girls at every party he’s ever been to. Your smile moves your whole face, your cheeks rising, you lips splitting and even your eyes squinting shut as you tease Taehyung. His lips quirk a little on their own when he notices that your ears shift a little when you smile as well.

Your lashes are long even without makeup, so much so that the first time he’d ever met you he could have sworn they were fake. But then he caught you tugging on them one afternoon while you told old stories with Namjoon. You did it regularly and had told him you could feel the dead ones coming out, you wanted to get them before they fell into your eyes. A quirk he’d logged away to keep safe for the rest of eternity. The beer in your one hand shifts to the other, the rings on your fingers clinking just loud enough for him to hear over Hoseok’s shouting. A hobby of sorts you shared with Jimin. You two wore the same ring size and often went shopping for new ones together, even swapping every now and again. The free hand moves about in the air as you speak and Jungkook thinks it almost weird now to see someone talk without gesturing with their hands so much. How did one truly immerse another in their words if they didn’t show them how it felt as well? When you were angry- fuming for either your own hardships or for those of a friend- you pointed a lot, your head shaking and your hands slicing through the air to signal how done you were. When you told stories of your adventures with the oldest members of his brothers your hands where always in the air; swiping, rolling, falling and twisting. You painted such a picture with only the movement of your hands when you spoke. They weren’t really dainty, your palms wide and your fingers not very long, but they fit perfectly with his hands. A fact that amazes him, but that he’s grown rather fond of. When you laugh, it’s loud. Not soft, not like the twinkling of bells, but like a song. Loud, but still beautiful and it can range from joyous mirth to deep and rich fondness, the type of feeling that fills your chest with warmth and adoration. That’s the laugh he enjoys the most, that deep chuckle. The one you give to him quietly so just the two of you can hear it.

He wants you. He was confused at first, for a long time. Scared of your mature age compared to him and your strength. He always sees you as strong, even if you don’t think so yourself. You always make him nervous, unsure if he is really worthy of the sweet attention you give him. The quiet whispers just between the two of you, the soft touches, the adoring look in your eyes. He fears all your attention, but he can’t deny now that he wants it- needs it. He can’t go a day without it.

-

The party winds down and you are delighted at the sight of mattresses being brought down and strewn haphazardly across the floor in their living room. When Jungkook finally picks his spot you waste no time in shuffling closer to his mattress. Normally you would keep your distance, allowing him his comfort of solitude to sleep, but you’ve already allowed him plenty of his liberties tonight. You will get something out of this evening if not a simple kiss in the dark. He shocks you by saying nothing as you lay down, your eyes just catching a glimpse of Jae and Jin heading upstairs. Probably to his room to finally earn what she’s worked so hard for. She quickly casts you a thumbs up, a large grin on her face as she tries to keep it unnoticed by anyone else in the room. You return the gesture and chuckle, groaning a bit when you body finally hits the not so comfortable springs. You take a moment to sigh before opening your eyes again and focusing them on the object of your desires.

He’s staring right back at you and your breath catches in your throat, lost in the sea of stars in his eyes. They’re wide and shining, staring so intently at you that you almost don’t take notice to the shine of his lips. Like he’s just licked them a few times. Even in the dim light of the moon that filters in through the windows and the very few lights in the house on you can see them glisten, and your eyes are torn between them and his shining eyes. He looks like a lost puppy staring at you, but there’s more in his eyes. He looks in awe, almost afraid and- dare you say it- a little eager. Like he wants something to happen, but it scares him and that thought alone drives straight to your core. A fire alights inside you and suddenly you’re staring back at him with equally wide eyes, your bottom lip trapped between your teeth. The action immediately draws his large eyes to your mouth and fuck if you don’t almost groan when his tongue pokes out to lick nervously over his lips again.

His mouth parts ever so slightly and you swear you can hear him panting a little over the din of people ambling to where they plan to sleep. Someone plops down directly behind you, their back hitting yours as they shift to get comfortable. You’re right on the edge of the mattress, so this person has to be hanging off the one they’re laying on to be this close to you. And by the feel of how broad their shoulders are it’s definitely a man. Your eyes narrow and you almost growl when Jungkook stiffens in front of you and the man knocks against you again. Your head turns just enough to spot the thin, white shirt he’s wearing stretch over one shoulder before you’re shoving back with your elbow. He grunts when you dig into his back, but says nothing else, only leaning away from the discomfort. He’s clearly wasted. Still, he’s too close to you and taking the great opportunity presented before you, you scoot closer to the apple of your eye. He doesn’t shy away and it takes all your effort not to reach out to him when you finally focus back on him.

“Sorry,” you whisper, scooting just a tiny bit closer than you really need to. He shakes his head quietly, mumbling out an ‘it’s okay’ while his body leans closer to yours. God you want to ravage this sweet boy. It’s practically making your heart explode with how cute he’s being right now. He’d looked away in his response, but when he looks back to you he’s dragging his lip through his teeth and you really can’t take it. Again you two are lost in your own little world as you stare at each other.

“Jungkookie… you’re not being very nice to me right now.”

His eyes widen even further- if that’s even possible- and he looks almost stricken at the comment.

“What?” He manages to almost whimper out and you just can’t stop yourself from scooting even closer to him.

“You’re looking at me so sweetly, baby. How am I supposed to play nice with you tonight if you keep staring at me like that?”

You don’t know where all this confidence is coming from. Granted you’ve always been a bit more confident than the young man in front of you, but even still, you never thought you’d get to a degree where you were saying such flirtatious things in such a dominant tone to him.

“Play… nice?”

The glint changes in your eyes and Jungkook visibly shutters at the sight. Your eyes had been so deep and full of adoration just a moment ago, now all he sees is greed and lust. It makes his already hard cock twitch in his pants. Gods he’s been hard from the moment you called him that nickname- Jungkookie. He generally doesn’t like anyone, but the guys saying it. But every time you say it…

He’s almost scared to feel how excited he’s getting every time you scoot a little bit closer. He doesn’t want you to stop. Not until your body is finally pressed to his and he can hold you so tight, and never let go. He’d hoped something would have happened between you two before tonight, but he was always so scared and you were always so cautious with him. He just wants you to ravage him already. He’s dreamed about it practically every night, it might as well happen already.

“Stop,” you suddenly say and he can feel your fingers on his chin, pulling his lip from between his teeth.

“If you lick or bite your lips one more time,” you have to take a moment to calm yourself before continuing, “… I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself.”

He throbs in his jeans and when he locks eyes with you he’s lost. He doesn’t want you to stop, he realizes that now after feeling your fingers touch his skin. Fire ignites where they trace from his chin and along his jaw. He trembles beneath your touch and you can feel it. Oh you can feel it. You do the opposite of what you just told him, biting your lip to draw his eyes to them again as you two gravitate ever closer.

“Unless you don’t want me to.”

He doesn’t speak, he feels like he doesn’t know how to in that moment. He doesn’t trust himself to anyway, so he does the next best thing. He licks his lips again and is rewarded. Your fingers that had been running along his jaw suddenly snake into the hair at the nape of his neck and you pull him close. He is just as needy as you are, his hands which had been fiddling with his shirt the whole time are suddenly flying up to tug your bodies even closer. Your lips crash against his and he whimpers into your mouth when you both open them simultaneously, your tongue dragging along his. It takes all your conscious effort not to moan, your body melding itself against his. His arms wrap around you and squeeze you to him, his whimpers turning into a little moan when you gain dominance in the kiss.

You pull away, one of your hands coming back to his jaw to to place a thumb over his open lips. You turn to look back at the bodies laying around the room, most of the members of the fraternity still down here, all of them passed entirely the fuck out. The guy just behind you is snoring up a storm and you can’t help smirking a little when you turn back to face Jungkook. He looks so fucked out already, his eyes glazed and his pupils blown wide as he pants lightly against your thumb. Your smile is both devious and full of fondness as you stare at him.

“You look so good baby, but you have to be quiet for me,” you whisper to him and he does nothing more than open his mouth wider. His tongue snakes out and licks against your thumb, pulling it in and sealing his lips around the appendage. He suckles on it hungrily and gods be damned if your panties aren’t soaked at this point.

“Fuck,” you sigh, squeezing your thighs together. You want him so bad it almost hurts. He pulls away far enough that your thumb pops from his lips and he whimpers once again, pulling you as close as he can.

“Noona, please,” he says, his breath shuddering.

“Please what, baby?”

He grabs one your hands and pulls it down between your bodies, pressing your palm to the bulge in his jeans. Your breathing deepens when you palm the hardness through the thick fabric, wondering how you didn’t notice it before.

“Oh baby,” you coo quietly and rub your hand heavily over his bulge. He bites his lip to hold back the moan threatening to break free and you feel his hips start to rock into your hand. He’s so fucking hot, how have you been able to resist him for so long?

“How long have to been this hard?”

He takes a moment to respond, trying to take deep breaths. Your hand stalls to help him regain some semblance of sanity, but he seems against the idea. His hand returns to gripping yours, pressing your palm back against his hard-on.

“Long time,” he finally gets out in a clipped tone, probably unable to speak properly at this point.

“Poor thing.”

You pull closer to him, pressing your forehead to his and lowering your voice so that you’re barely audible.

“Take your cock out for me, baby. Please.”

He keeps you close and groans into your neck, only taking a moment to collect himself before he’s pushing away, and his hands are flying to undo his pants. He struggles with the button for a moment, but you don’t help him, only leaning back to watch with excitement. When he finally gets them undone he’s tugging them down just enough so he can freely pull is cock out and gods is it beautiful. Your mouth waters as soon as he has it out, its pink color and red head making you want to feel the weight of it on your tongue. It’s not particularly long, but it’s thicker than you thought it would be and the precum that glistens on his tip calls out to you. You let out a heavy breath when his hands hover just shy of his shaft, trembling and aching to give the poor weeping thing some relief. Still he hesitates to touch himself.

Such a good boy.

“You’re so gorgeous,” you practically wheeze out, finding it hard to breathe when your twitching hand finally reaches out for him. He’s whimpering before you even touch him and you have to remind him to be quiet when the tip of your finger goes to touch the head.

“Remember, baby, keep it down.”

He nods a little shakily and just as you press into the precum on his tip with your finger, his hands are flying up to cover his mouth. He’s so sensitive and you love it.

“Well, you’re certainly aching there aren’t you? Does it feel good to have me touch you?”

Again he nods and you pout, swirling your finger in the sticky fluid at his tip. His eyes clench shut at the sensation and he deftly thrusts his hips up to meet more of your hand.

“Use your words or I’ll have to stop.”

“Yes,” he whispers out harshly, his hands clenching into fists at his stomach, “… yes, yes, yes, yes!”

You smirk, the high you’re getting from all of this driving you to carry on.

“Good boy.”

You continue to swirl your finger over his tip a few more times, widening your circle until you’re sliding your finger down the top of his length, all the way to the base. He pants a little too heavily, his eyes glued to your hand and what you’re doing to him. You circle around his base to the bottom of his cock before dragging your finger back up and rubbing it deftly over the slit a few times.

“Fuck noona-“

“Language, Jungkookie.” You say with a smirk, your hand finally flattening over the underside of his length so you can palm him a few times. His hips rock against his will and meet you half way every time you press down on him. He looks so pretty like this, his eyes nearly black and so focused on how your palm drags over his length. He’s sweating a little, panting a lot and his gorgeous cock is ready to explode at any second. And you’ve barely even done anything to him yet.

“What made you so hard and needy like this?”

He stays silent for a long moment, only answering when the pressure of your hand lightens and you begin to pull away.

“You… you made me like this. You always… make me like this.”

Always?

“Fuck, Kookie, if you had told me sooner we might’ve actually got it in tonight.”

His eyes are glistening at this point as they shoot up to glance at you before scrunching shut when your fingers finally wrap around his shaft. You pump him slowly, but his hips make up for that and keep the sliding of his cock in and out of your hand at a steady pace.

“I wanted to. Fuck I wanted to, but…”

“But?”

He pants a few times, focused more on chasing his high. Your grip on his cock tightens to the point that he’s forced to stop thrusting, only allowing him to continue when he answers.

“I-I was scared. And you were being so cautious with me-“

“Of course I was! I didn’t want to scare you away. I worked too hard for you, I wasn’t going to mess that up by being too greedy.”

His hips stutter and then pause, his eyes opening to look at you. His face is flush, you can tell even in the dark, and his hair is starting to stick to his face. Still he looks like the sexiest, most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.

“Why?”

“What?” You ask, not prepared to be questioned back like this.

“Why did you put so much effort into me. You could’ve easily slept with one of the other guys. Yoongi’s always had the hots for you. So has Tae. Why me?”

You take a long moment to mull over your answer, your other hand coming up to push some of his sweaty hair out of his face. When you get some clear, you lean in to kiss him a little more gently this time. Though it isn’t any less heated, it’s more of a deep sensual kiss than one of hunger and lust. When you pull away, you look him in the eyes when you answer.

“The same reason anyone chooses anyone else. You’re the one I wanted, Kookie. I would’ve put in a hundred years of work if I had to.”

His eyes are wide with adoration and awe, but the moment can’t last forever. His cock twitching in your hand reminds you of what is happening and you squeeze it gently before going back to pumping him. He gasps quietly at the sensation, his eyes falling closed and his body slowly starting to roll backwards. You move with him, pressing your body into his side when he’s finally laying flat on his back. His hands are clenching and unclenching against his stomach, desperate for some kind of anchor. A thought pings into your mind while you watch him grasp sporadically at his shirt, releasing his cock and pushing both his hands and the shirt up his abdomen. He whines at the loss of contact, lifting his head to see why you’d stopped stroking him only for his eyes to go wide. He looks a bit panicked, his gaze darting around to the half dead bodies around you two. You could so easily be caught, but most of the occupants of the house were completely wasted and would likely never remember this even if they did see it.

You slide down his body quietly, stealthily, like a cat taunting its prey into the shadows. Your eyes catch his and they hold him, their mischief so palpable that it makes Jungkook’s mouth go dry and his cock pulsate so fiercely it taps against his stomach. Your one hand trails down his side lightly, nails tickling his hip and thigh so that he’s shuddering beneath you. He reaches for you, one hand cupping your cheek- wants to tell you to stop, but his throat is so dry he can’t even whisper. Or perhaps he’s lying to himself and doesn’t want you to stop at all. When you quirk an eyebrow in question and you feel the object of your desire tap against your throat with another needy pulse, you know the answer is no, he doesn’t want you to stop.

A trembling whisper of your name leaves his lips and you can only smirk, tilting your head down to kiss just above his navel and then to one side of it. Down, down, further you trail, your kisses getting sloppier as you descend closer to your target. Your tongue and teeth leave wet, rosy patches as you go and you can feel his muscles quivering every time you touch him until finally the desperately red tip of his cock is right in front of you. He whimpers beneath you and you shush him gently, unable to tear your eyes away from the way it pulses and twitches up towards you.

“Please,” he finally lets out, sounding much like he’s on the verge of tears. You smirk again and glance up at him through your lashes.

“Please what, baby?”

He huffs cutely, his other hand cupping the other side of your face and his thumbs smoothing along your cheekbones like he’s so desperate to just pull you into his cock, but doesn’t want to be too demanding. You smile a bit more when his look gets more and more frantic, one of your arms reaching up to rub his chest under his shirt soothingly.

“Relax, my sweet star. Just tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you.”

“P-please…”

“Go on, baby. I know you want it, just tell me.”

“Please, I want your mouth,” he finally shutters out, but you can’t help yourself and push just a bit more.

“What do you want from my mouth?”

He huffs again and looks away, searching the room to make sure everyone there is truly oblivious.

“I-I want…”

“Want?”

“Please, noona, ravage me with your mouth.”

He looks you directly in the eyes as he finishes and the glee that soars through you practically makes you light headed. You grin broadly at him and bite your lip.

“I’ll give you anything you want, bunny. You just have to ask.”

Before he can really bask in your words you focus back on his cock, the hand that had been trying to soothe him shooting down to wrap gently round his base and lead his head to your waiting tongue. His breath shudders out and his mouth opens to let out a rush of air. The precum leaking from his tip covers your tongue in salt, but you don’t mind, all too desperate to feel the full weight of him at the back of your throat. Still you take your time, only licking at his slit to tease him, another droplet of precum oozing out every time to you do.

He’s panting while he watches you, his hands trembling on your face until one shakily weaves into your hair at the crown of your head. He doesn’t grip or pull, doesn’t try to shove more of his cock into your mouth which is what you’re used to. No, he’s too gentle and sweet to force anything. He only wants and lets you lead the way. When you finally wrap you lips around his tip he can’t hold back the noise, his head falling back, his teeth digging into his bottom lip and what he hopes is a quiet moan leaving him. And you can only smirk at the sound, the subtle shudder in his voice making you even more wet and your stomach clench with desire.

You take the time to generously wet the head of his cock, delighting in its twitches while you swirl your tongue around him. When you pop him from your lips the poor thing looks pathetic, practically weeping in your fingers and you feel all too obliged to take him back in. Only this time you take him all in, or at least as much as you can. You suck him all the way to the back of your throat, moaning quietly around his shaft so he can feel the vibrations. And oh does it make him make the most wonderful of sounds. A surprised cry and the slapping of a hand over his mouth (the one that was lightly stroking his fingers along your cheek) has you trying to smile around him.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-…”

He lets the mantra trail off quietly, his body arched so you can’t see his face anymore. And as much as you adore the sight of him losing control, you’d much rather see the pleasure on said face. You suck harshly and pull off him, letting him once again pop from your lips. You take care to pump him slowly while you speak, you spit slicking his cock enough that there’s little friction.

“Look at me baby.”

It takes him a few moments, but you wait patiently until he realizes you gave him an order and he follows through. He looks a little lost when he finally locks eyes with you, his gaze a little wild like he can’t really see you at first.

“Noona?”

“Are you with me, sweetheart?”

He looks confused, but nods all the same, probably ready to agree to anything at this point.

“Listen carefully, baby. I want you to look at me the whole time. Don’t you dare look away or I’ll stop, okay? Eyes on me.”

He nods deftly, afraid he won’t be able to fulfill your request, but eagerly wanting to please you.

“Good boy.”

You don’t give him any time to prepare himself and suck him back in as far as he’ll go. He wheezes and squeezes his eyes shut for just a moment, quickly remembering your order and opening them back up to focus on you again. You smirk around his cock to let him know you approve and focus back on your task. When you can’t push him any further down your throat you opt to bob your head, one hand stroking what you can’t swallow and the other massaging his balls. You look up every few seconds to make sure he’s still watching and only have to stop once to make him look at your again. The sloppier his cock and your mouth gets the more he shakes and shudders beneath you, the hand in your hair trembling like a leaf in the wind. He keeps his other hand up by his face, ready to cover his mouth every time he can’t hold back a whimper or moan.

It doesn’t take long, only a few minutes and he’s desperately pleading to you, “I’m cumming, I’m cumming, I-“

You push him in as far as you can take and swallow around him just once before he’s shooting his load down your throat. Tears form in his eyes when he squeezes them shut and you can’t fault him when his head falls back onto the mattress. He did such a good job of watching you, you’ll let him have this one. When the last of his cum is swallowed down, you take care to gently clean what you can off his cock with your tongue. He shakes and gasps beneath you as you do, his head shaking back and forth as if to say he can’t take anymore. You pop off him one last time and kiss his tip softly, grinning when he finally cracks his eyes open to look at you.

He looks madly in love while he stares at you and it makes you somewhat nervous to see such intense emotion in his eyes. You lift yourself and crawl back up his body, pausing to help him pull his pants back up and his shirt back down. You hush him when he tries to button and zip everything back up, pushing his weak and tired hands away.

“No one will notice, just rest baby.”

“Well that was hot.”

You freeze over him, Jungkook’s body going rigid and his eyes widening with fear. You both look over your shoulder and spot Yoongi a small ways away from the foot of your mattress, laying on his side with his head propped up in one hand. He’s smirking at the two of you and while Jungkook looks mortified, you only feel proud. Now someone has witness that Jungkook is yours and no one else can have him.

“Hyung,” he whispers harshly, both his hands coming up to cover his face. You smile fondly at your boy before looking back to Yoongi.

“Well if you’re good and keep this to yourself, maybe next time you can join us.”

Yoongi quirks an eyebrow and grins excitedly, Jungkook letting out a panicked noise when you settle in beside him. He whispers to you quietly as if he doesn’t want Yoongi to hear and you only shush him gently to calm him.

“Lay down and rest, bunny. Don’t worry about him, he’ll keep quiet.”

“But-“

“Shh, sleep.”

You run your fingers through his hair until he finally settles down, turning so that he can wrap himself around you and tuck his head under your chin. You chuckle lovingly and continue to pet him, using your free hand to flip Yoongi off when he makes lewd gestures at you in the dark.

[skellebonez]

Stop Lying To Me (Monkie Kid Cursed AU fanfic)

I was super inspired by @winterpower98 's Cursed AU and the fanart @kitkat1003 did for it soooo... I kinda wrote my own interpretation of this revelatory scene in an anon and now I am rewriting it here as a fic. I'm going off all the info in the masterpost and the hints in tags combined with my own flair so I'm probably off in places, but hey I had fun writing it and I hope you all have fun reading it and that's what counts! (also I have never posted fanfic to Tumblr before so if the formatting is off I apologize.)

Warnings: mild but vague depictions of some nasty injuries. And angst.

EDIT: I forgot to add the Read More! I fixed that!

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

"You LIED to us."

Macaque looked up, eyes wide at the amount of venom that should not have been held in that voice. "Kid I-"

"You LIED TO US!" MK yelled, words tapering off with a disbelieving laugh as his tail swiped the air violently behind him. "You lied to Monkey King, to- to ME! You used me! Again! ... you used me again..."

Oh. He didn't realize his chest could hurt as much as it did when he heard that. That second again, soft but somehow like breaking porcelain against a hard surface. Macaque didn't realize he could hurt like that. He watched as MK slid down to sit on the ground, turning away from him to check on the still resting Monkey King. "Kid..."

"Was this your plan the whole time?" MK refused to turn, busying himself with checking on his mentor's injuries, injuries he was now fully aware were caused by his own claws thanks to Macaque's confession. "Pull a harmless 'prank', come up with an excuse to get us all away from everyone, pretend to start coming around, make me think you actually liked me this time?" He turned, teeth bared in a half smile half grimace. "Wait for me to start losing control so I could do the dirty work of getting revenge against Sun Wukong for you? What did you tell me last time? 'You are the weapon'? Is this what you wanted? A weapon!?"

There it was again, that pain in his chest. Macaque looked away, unable to keep eye contact with the kid. Not when he could see the shimmer of moisture starting at the corner of his eyes. Heaven, he was going soft! When had he started going soft? "It... I wanted..." Why were the words so hard now? Words were never hard before, he could let them flow like sweet honey at any time he pleased but now they stuck on his tongue like tar. "... yes."

A confirmation. The silence between them was thick, and from the edge of his vision he could see the tears as they finally started to roll down MK's face. "I thought you could change, Macaque."

"I am changing!" Macaque insisted, turning back to look at the younger with what he hoped with a gentle smile. "Yes, I had a plan originally, but it's changed! I don't want that anymore!" He took a step forward, not missing the flinch back and the way the kid curled into himself. When MK said nothing he took another step forward, slower this time, and another. "I'm going to stop this, WE are going to stop this, you won't be a weap-"

"Stop lying to me!" He had messed up. Gotten too close, too fast, pushed too far. When he reached for MK the kid swiped instinctively and his claws made contact, just barely, slicing into the side of Macaque's neck as he made to dodge just a bit too late in shock. Everything froze for a moment.

"I..." MK's eyes widened in horror as he looked at Mac's neck, then his hand. "No, I. I didn't. I didn't mean to. To hurt. I." His eyes flooded more red and as he looked to Macaque his breathing grew faster. He let out a sob. Then a yell. Then a scream.

"Shit!" Macaque took a quick few steps backward before stopping and going forward again, holding his hands up in front of him. "MK, MK listen to me please. You have to calm down ok? You just recovered from the last time, your body cannot handle another transformation without you being hurt!"

A step forward, a step back, scream growing strained and more red but this time from the lengthening claws digging into MK's own arms. The kid was trying to fight it, he could tell, but Macaque had messed up too much. He knew about the plan, that he had hurt Wukong, that he had been manipulated. He didn't know everything but he knew enough. And Mac knew MK wouldn't be able to stop it, even as tempered by exhaustion as it was.

So he did the only thing he could think of that wouldn't hurt him. He leapt forward and held MK. Knelt on the ground and wrapped the kid in his arms as tight as he could. The kid fought harder, both at the transformation and at the hold, grabbing Macaque's arms to pull them away and slicing his sleeves to ribbons and grabbing at his back when he failed.

Macaque did not let go. Not when those claws ripped through his clothes and drew more and more blood, not when MK smashed his forehead into his mouth and split his lip, not when the kid twisted and grabbed his arm and widened his own mouth and BIT, hard and furious and tearing into his bicep down to the bone. Not when the power radiating off the kid scared him more than he would ever admit. Macaque did not let go. 

"I'm not lying kid," he whispered. "Not anymore."

Eventually, too long for comfort, MK stopped fighting. It was like a switch was flipped. One second he was fighting and then next he just. Stopped. Had he not been breathing so hard Macaque would have sworn he has simply ceased entirely. 

They stayed like that for a moment, Macaque getting his own unsteady breathing under control before he gently maneuvered the kid to pick him up. He walked them back to where Wukong was fitfully resting, no doubt disturbed by the recent events, ignoring how his back was rapidly growing warm (but somehow cold) and wet and how one arm shook with effort it should not have needed. "You're gonna be ok Kid. You're gonna be ok. I promise."

"N.." So he wasn't completely drained. Yet. "No more... lying...?"

"Yeah. Yeah, no lying," Macaque said as he laid MK down, wincing as he turned in such a way that the worst of his injuries would be hidden away, if the kid was aware enough to see them that is. "Not about this, not anymore. I promise. Get some rest kid, you're gonna need it."

MK let out a halfhearted chuckle, nodding his head. "K. I... I won't. Give up on you yet." And with that he finally passed out.

Mac sat and watched, afraid to move lest the kid just suddenly transform. But he didn't. He rested and Macaque knew he had a lot to fix. He had gotten attached. Damn it all but he got attached to the kid.

That was the last thought he had as his body finally gave out, sending him sideways into the dirt. He thought he heard a yell, a voice more familiar to him than MK's, angry and scared sounding. Why was it scared? He was the Six Eared Macaque. He would be fine, he always was.

Even if that was potentially another lie.

[tarantulas4davey]

Youtuber!Ralbert Au - Part Two

once again inspired by the wonderful and fabulous @we-are-inevitable and you can find her original concept here

part one to this series can be found here

and my valentine’s concept can be found here

i finally did it guys are you proud ✨

LETS DO THIS THING

now that we’re here, i realized i forgot some vital information last time (aka i hadn’t come up with it yet but ranting to jorja helped me solidify the world thank you mother goose)

so race’s online handle is radioactive racer, and albert’s is, as we know, chaotic red

both of these come from when they were in middle school and had just made vine accounts

albert’s entire account was just videos of race doing dumb shit while he cackled in the background

race’s was just memes

but because this was middle school, race looks WILDLY DIFFERENT compared to now

he was in his full dyed hair and guyliner phase, and before he grew 8 inches the summer before freshman year, so he’s fairly unrecognizable in the vines of him (plus,,,, they were dumb 13 year olds, only their friends saw their vines)

but there’s just,,,, an account full of very cringe videos of 7th grade racetrack higgins on the internet that nobody’s connected to them yet, so we’ll do something with that eventually

now back to your regularly scheduled programming ✨

so race and ‘red’ announced they were dating about a month ago, and it’s getting increasingly difficult to make sure al’s face isn’t visible in any clips

also both of their channels are gaining more traction, and race is getting recognized more in public (which he adores, i might add)

but it means that eventually someone’s going to make the connection between the redhead race is walking around with and chaotic red

so despite how anxious it makes him

how genuinely terrified he is that he won’t live up to expectations and everyone will be disappointed

he decides to post a Q&A video to his channel and reveal his identity

it starts with him adjusting the focus onto the couch in their living room, before his stocky frame, black sabbath shirt, jewelry and freckles walk on screen, and he sits down

if anybody had any idea what to expect, the crooked grin, lip ring and custom snapback probably weren’t terribly high on their list

he lets out a breath and his grin gets a bit wider, before he waves into the camera “hey guys! so,,,, this is probably a bit out of left field, but i wanted to properly introduce myself. i’m albert, nice to meet you, but please, call me red.”

his eyes flicker to behind the camera and he rolls his eyes slightly at race’s chuckling that barely audible to the audience

“don’t you dare laugh at me, i’ve never done this before!”

“you’re doing great babe, you’re just a massive dork.”

“stuff it, blondie.”

al can’t really hold back his laughter, not completely, so he huffs a bit before turning back to the camera and properly answer questions to “let the people get to know me”

the dynamic from race’s original video revealing their roommates is flipped

the audience finally getting to see that albert’s grin pulls up slightly farther on the left side than the right

or that he fidgets with his lip ring when he’s thinking through an answer

or the utterly s o f t look he has in his eyes when he looks at racer, one that seriously doesn’t match his mischievous expression or abrasive voice

he answers questions with more ease than he expected, excited to finally be sharing, but once it comes time to hit upload he freezes

“race i don’t think i can do this”

“of course you can sweetheart, everyone already loves you”

“but what if they’re disappointed? what if i’m not cool or interesting or attractive enough? what if-“

“al i k n o w you did not just look at me with t h a t face and claim to not be ‘attractive enough’. attractive enough for who, red? people that are gonna say mean shit anyway?”

al ends up hitting the upload button and promptly hitting his forehead on his desk in anguish cause holy shit what’d i just do

all his worrying ends up being for nothing because everyone absolutely adores him and won’t stop saying how p r o u d they are and how pretty he is

“i told you, dumbass. you’re the prettiest person i know.”

“stop it, you sap.”

he starts using face cams for his (and race’s, when he’s on the chaotic red channel) gameplays and his focused face is s o c u t e

race finally doesn’t have to be sneaky or beg him to take pictures anymore

race is also incredibly excited to not have to aggressively edit all his videos to make sure you can’t see al’s face/hear his name in any of them

race “accidentally” leaves the clip of them slow dancing in the kitchen to ed sheeran in the vlog right after the face reveal

when al next films a sit down video, race is behind the camera, and they’re going through old pictures of albert from childhood (most of them have race in them too, he might as well be there)

this is when the fans discover albert blushes when he’s embarrassed

this video is also how everyone connects the old chaotic red vine account to them and race is m o r t i f i e d

they make it to a picture of them just after they got together, race leaning into albert’s side loosing his shit at something jack is doing off camera, but in-the-picture albert is too busy looking completely head over heels for race to notice whatever they’re doing over there

al just grins and looks up at race with the same stupid mushy expression

“that’s when i knew i was really in love with you”

you can basically hear race m e l t behind the camera and he just tackles al into a hug on the couch and it’s SUCH a cute couple-y moment

“yeah, and you were calling m e the sap earlier. s u r e, whatever helps you sleep at night, albie.”

“it ain’t sappy if it’s true, tonio.”

and editing-al cuts it off, but race had untucked his face from al’s neck and dragged him into a kiss

when he finally got back to filming, al may or may not have had to use cover up on his neck to make it less conspicuous, but that’s neither here nor there to be honest

also this isn’t a necessary addition but every once in awhile race or al will forget to cover up marks on their necks before filming and get absolutely ROASTED on twitter

i have a thousand more ideas for this au so i promise i will be making more at some point but here’s ✨this✨ for now

lmk if you want me to add you to a tag list or whatever cause i’m down with that

ok fín

[star-spangled-bingo]

Star Spangled Flash Bingo

Wohoo this is our first flash bingo and it will run from January 18th to April 18th - we might do another after that depending on the success of this one and how our schedules look by then. Consider this a trial for both you guys and us. 

Let’s get some questions out of the way first: 

Can I sign up for the flash bingo if I haven’t signed up for a full card?

Yes you absolutely can. Just like you can sign up for this one as well as the other. 

Can fill a square from my regular card and one with this one with the same fic?

Yes if you double the acquired wordcount. The same goes for every other media. Just double the minimum and you’re good.  

Will we receive a badge for blacking out a flash card?

You betcha

Can I sign up for more than one flash bingo card?

Afraid not. Not this first time around at least. You have to pick one and commit to it. HOWEVER if you finish long before the flash is over and contact us via ask we might be able to let you sign up for a second flash card ;)

Important Dates for Flash Bingo

Sign Ups: Starts Jan 18th and closes March 18th 2021

Last chance to post a flash fic: April 10th 2021

Last chance to post masterlist and request a badge: April 18th

All blackouts receive a badge and will join our hall of fame under flash bingo participants 2021

General rules for the Bingo is the same as for the main bingo but let’s repeat them shall we:

Purpose of the Bingo

The focus is still the three caps but each card comes with a few challenges on its own. Scroll down to find a link to the cards and the rules for each. 

All Bingo cards are SFW as a rule but that doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to write smut if you are over the age of 18. We just want to give every writer a chance to participate no matter if they write smut or not (hey that rhymed). 

Restrictions

- No abusive ships are allowed. Some ships like Winteriron can be abusive if you focus on the negative but can also be based on healing, therefore they are a grey zone and fall under think about what you write, if you chose a pairing such as that one. Shipping Bucky with Rumlow will always be abusive and as a rule no villains shipped with heroes allowed. (Loki might be an exception cause he is a grey character, just think before you write with him too).

-No pairing an adult with an underage character. No aging up or down. This goes for side pairings as well so no Starker!

- No incest - that goes for Thorki as a sidepairing as well. Adopted or not they grew up as brothers.

- No non/dub con are allowed either. 

- You can’t write smut if you are under the age of 18. If we catch you doing so you will be blocked from the bingo page and banned for participating.

- You can’t write smut if you are under 18. Everyone can write fluff, angst, crack, etc.

Formats and requirements

- Fics must state what square you fill, warnings, word count and pairing - if no pairing just write general (check the format page for ideas on how to format your post)

- Social Media AUs, Aesthetics, Edits, Fanart, Fanvids, podfics must have square filled, pairing and if needed warnings. 

- Everything you post as a fill must be original and new content - or if you read someone’s fic as a podfic explicit consent from the author must have been given and they have to be credited on your post. 

- Fics must have a minimum of 250 words - fics over 500 must have a keep reading to be reblogged. 

- Use common sense for when posting artworks into long posts. They might need a cut too.

- Aesthetics have a 4 picture minimum and preferably accompanied by a 100-word description or drabble - words are not a must

- Gifsets has a 6 picture minimum.

- One piece of fanart in form of a drawing by hand or a computer program is considered a fill. 

- Social media Aus must be a min of 6 pictures. 

- Podfics must be a min of 3 min.

- Fanvids must be a min of 30 sec. 

- All content can be added via link not to an original Tumblr post if you so choose as long as there is a Tumblr post with the format requirements we can reblog and the Tumblr post must be linked too on the masterlist you create when your card is filled. 

- IF WE FORGOT YOUR TYPE OF ARTWORK SEND US AN ASK AND WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO WORK SOMETHING OUT - we are pretty open to all types of creative outlets but it’s hard to put restrictions of stuff we don’t know or know very little about.

- One square per fic/artwork. If you write a series each chapter can be considered a fill or the entire series can be a fill if you so choose. No combining squares within the bingo.

- You are free to combine our bingo with another bingo with no additional requirements added from our end. Just make sure you follow the other bingos rules too. 

- If you combine with our main bingo though we ask you double the minimum requirement of your chosen media for it to count as a fill for both. Otherwise we will ask you to choose. 

- Warn accordingly. If warnings are spoilers put them in the tags and tell people to check your tags for additional warnings on the post.

- You don’t have to use the same media for the entire card. You can have 3 fics and 1 vid and the rest fics fx.

- Tag us @star-spangled-bingo and make clear the fic is for SSB SPRING FLASH 2021 and use the #SSB Spring Flash2021 on each square you fill.

Sanctions for breaking the rules

- If your post lacks a keep reading we won’t reblog it but it will still count as a fill.

- If you don’t tag us we can’t reblog you and if you don’t say it’s for SSB2020 in your header we won’t count it as a fill until you edited it into the post. This seems strict but we got 2019 floating and it is impossible to know which card what is for if you don’t mark it down for us. 

- If your fill fail to meet the minimum requirements your fill will be reblogged but won’t count as a fill unless you add to it to meet the minimum. 

- If your post doesn’t clearly show square filled, we won’t reblog it and it won’t count as a fill until you edited it in. 

- If we discover you write smut and are under 18 - you will be blocked from the bingo blog and banned from participating in the bingo in the future even when you reach the age of 18. 

- If you break this rule: No abusive ships are allowed. No pairing an adult with an underage character. No aging up or down. No incest and no glorification of non/dub con are allowed either. All of these go for side pairing also so no Thorki and Starker. Your post won’t count as a fill, nor will it be reblogged. You’ll get a reminder of our rules the first time you break it and the second you will be banned from the bingo.

Find the Flash Cards and the rules that are specific to them here!

Find the format requirements here!

Sign Up for a Flash Card Here!

Best of luck and have fun!

Kari, Erin, Jules and Becki

[shadowdianne]

Alright, so @delirious-comfort tagged me in something about wips and SHAME. That's what I got. Sure there was something else thrown in there but bottom line: shame! xD She, brilliantly, went for WIPS in the sense of works that have never seen the light and who knows if they ever will -please, I want to know what half of them are about, you evil- Since that's basically impossible on my end of things I'm just gonna go for unfinished stories and call it a day since they are -technically- works in progress

Painted Voices -SQ- Oh boy, 2015. I don't even remember what I wanted to do with this one. It was at the time there were a bunch of stories with either one of them being blind or deaf and I tried to jump into that. I'm ashamed of it and certainly will delete this because I'm sure it sucks and I was an idiot about the whole thing.

The recognizable stranger -SQ- 2015 as well... I remember this one. I have mixed feelings about this but I will simply state that I don't remember what I wanted to do with this one. I was the: What if these two met prior to the events of S1 that existed back in the day.

Words unsaid -SQ- Technically I wouldn't count this as a wip but A03 is marking it as such so I'm going to stick with it xD FixitFic. I used to do a bunch of those with every new episode or so. Eventually, however, I stopped writing them in a single series. I remember having someone telling me that it bothered them that I did it like that and so I started posting them as separate one-shots and I guess I forgot to close the thread of this one.

The missing page -SQ- 2015 againnn, honestly, I don't remember what I wanted to do here. I believe it was about Regina going back into the book or in time and just seeing things from an outside perspective. It was also the time when writing Daniel and Emma as the same person -sometimes Emma having Daniel's soul within her some other times in a more convoluted way- was a thing. So if I remember correctly this was my take to that.

A forgotten promise -SQ- The witcher au before the witcher turned mainstream xD Ah, I'd have loved to finish this one. It required a lot of work and I was in the middle of my uni years and the feedback was... uh. Let's go with uh, so I started to have second thoughts, think it was rubbish and halted it altogether. [For context sake the small amount of ego I DO have tells me to point out I was churning 4 to 7 prompts per day at the same time] I would probably erase it entirely if I tried to do anything with it now so I'll just leave it there.

It feels like magic -SQ- Ohhh, remember when we all did magic realism? I loved that. On this one Regina was transformed into a cat because things and the story revolved around Emma buying her as her familiar. It has 13k posted but I think I wrote like 30k beyond what I ended up posting. Same story: I started to think it was shit; cornered myself into a panic attack and never finished it xD Tag yourself: Dianne doesn't end up their wips edition

Sateen memories -SQ- No fucking clue what that one was about

I'm not afraid of the dark -Princess Rover- It was going to be a rewrite of a bunch of lore back in the Shannara Chronicles all the while shitting on canon and the books but didn't happen.

What you want -SQ- Emma is the Dark One, Hypersexualization of the character. If you have heard me rant loud enough you know I prefer teasing. I got bored.

Nothing is true, everything's permitted.-SQ- The AC au! I also have mixed feelings about this one due to THINGS. It involved lots of studying because I wanted to make an accurate enough portrait of the historical momentum I was writing about. This was in 2017 so whilst I don't remember exactly I know I was working two jobs plus uni so yeah, nah, I didn't have the mind to write more than the prompts I was doing at the time xD

There is no hex or spell I could unlearn with you by my side -SQ- The HP AU. I basically stopped due to -points at JKR- and that it was a series of drabbles so it was linked to the amount of prompts. I remember it was the time Tumblr did an inbox purge, lots like half the prompts, most of them for ever so... it just sits there.

Of magic and prowess -SQ- Steampunk! It was supposed to be the second part of And the cogs are ticking if I'm remembering correctly. Very short and sweet, 5 chapters. I got 11 eleven kudos, 2 comments, about 15 asks stating that they rather wanted me to keep writing prompts than whatever I was doing with this and I said fuck it. Yeah, yeah, the vitriol I have inside is not lost to me.

Tiny nothings -SQ- Same thing as some fics above this one. I started doing lost moments but I ended up migrating it to single oneshots. This one is set in S6 so added to the previous explanation I would also add the: S6 was a pain, one.

Hidden truths -Rizzles- It was a prompt(?) but I was never too sure about my ability to write Maura and my brain shortcircuited.

Deipnon -SQ- Actually this one is co-written. Life happened. Nothing more. -I hope you are doing good Eva, love you lots-

Lost words -SQ- One word prompts. Same story than before really: I wrote them solely on tumblr, someone told me to re-post them on a03, I did, I then got anons telling me that it bothered them, stopped altogether.

The miller's daughter -SQ- Ohhh, I used to love this one. Rewriting of... something I guess xD Enchanted Forest based, total AU but trying to give a Grimm-esque perspective. 2016... who knows what I did xD Again, overworked is the answer.

But I know this night you will come -SQ- Well, actually this one was a trio if I'm remembering correctly... yeah, Regina, Red, Emma. Dunno, is this time to state that I've discovered I'm demi? lol. I'm not sex-repulsed but it bores me to tears writing about it. Give me teasing and I will write a full novella out of it. But sex is *yawn* for me when writing about it.

Ghost of you -SQ- Ohhh Emma!ParanormalInvestigator! I have a bunch of those. There was a mirror, a very angry Queen and far too much worldbuilding to fit into a tiny story. Yeah, I also see that pattern xD

Arcadia -SQ- The only fic I will ever be ashamed that I didn't finish to the point of self-destruction. I actually wrote it, I then lost the files, corrupted, gone, puff. But then I didn't rewrite it and then I felt self-conscious and then... shame.

Beyond -SQ- 2019 Probably one of the last de facto prompts I accepted. I wasn't feeling all that good about my writing. I think I was basically trying to jump start something that had died. I would have loved to finish it. Honestly.

Annnd, that's it! Tagging @rubikanon for this one <3