#ty for desc

[isjasz]

AAAAAAHHHHH I’m so excited for your comms!!! Question, how do “surprise me” doodles work? Do we give you like a general thing/idea to work with (ex. “Could you draw something Desertduo”) or are they full random commissions, kinda like a blind box?

You can give me as detailed instructions as possible!! A surprise me basically just means that I won't be sending you any wips drafts or revisions like a regular commission would, but your idea for the commission will be yours and in fact I encourage you to be as detailed as possible with ur prompt so I can craft up a nice surprise >:3

tldr the "surprise" just means that you will be seeing the final piece as a surprise only when I'm done, but that's about it o7 ofc if u wanna be vague and have it be a complete surprise I'm also open to that tho LOL

Ty both sm for the interest and i hope that clears it up :D

[penguininmypocket]

-AIR SIRENS SHOUT OUT LOUD- -THE SKY GLOWS- -GIANT EGGMAN-ASS MOTHERFUCKING PLANETARY LASER AIMS AND SHOOTS AT YOUR HOUSE SPECIFICALLY- -last frame before impact, video freezes and a tiny .png appears in the middle of the screen- -confetti-

Gift pfp remake! :D

From the @conlangcrab runner, Varnah, to a persistent presence in notifs, yous :)

OH MY GOODNESS THIS IS SUCH A PLEASANT SURPRISE THANK YOU SO MUCHHHH I'M ACTUALLY SPEECHLESS I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SAY THANK YOU ENOUGH 😭❤❤❤ it's so expressive and so well styled i'm in utter awe-

[mochinon-yah]

How would you describe your friend's art/writing? (E.g.: scenario, food, memory, etc.)

OMGGG ANON THANK YOUUU LET ME SMOOCH U RNNN <3333

But i'm gonna twist the question a bit since i haven't read everyone's work so yeah 🥹 i'm gonna describe the way they talk or how they 'feel' like to me lolll

@beloved-brynn: (<- my dear sweet hallow) whenever brynn is talking about something, it could either be the most mindblowing thing ever or the funniest thing ever 😭 i love her sm (platonically) since she's my first ever mutual and the first ever person to just... kinda welcome me to tumblr (i can hesr her in the distance saying smth smth abt i traumatized her despite the warm welcome- /silly) also she's good at giving advices! She's somebody who would cofmort you in an objective but warm way while also try to joke around so you won't feel like you're being nagged at (good grief, i cried more while she did that lol) ALSO A SIMP FOR DIMITRIII ‼️‼️

@meimeimeirin: tbh rin's writing or way of speaking is so so uniquely her that even if she tried to mask it up, i could guess that it's her 😆 she's an amazing mutual that i have no clue how the heck did we even be friends and be close like this??? Is it the same thing like how me and brynn get close- i gave you a drawing- anyway, she has a very elegant way of doing things, and especially when she starts to ramble or write about something that she loves! It's always so lovely reading her posts <3 btw rin, keep a chicken head with you always, yeah? 😋

@leftdestiny-posts: NOW THIS IS AN ENIGMA BECAUSE I HAVE NO CLUE HOW DID WE ACTUALLY BECOME MOOTS????? Shiro, did u just somehow in someway adopt me- 😭 but anywayyyy, shiro's way of talking is so so so soft and cute and warm and it makes me wonder how the heck did they mask their craziness so good like that- /smacked sorry sorry, enough jokes, what i meant to say is that shiro is such a down to earth person, and honestly i could see them go "wah, the clouds are really pretty today~ the flowers too~~" their writing or talking style has that vibe to me! It's so warm and fuzzy to me ��� i feel so comfy with themm 💗💗

@a-bookworms-teashop: i took a liking to one of her series and ever since then, i am a fan of her works!! I like to leave comments and just yk... support her works! Suddenly, bam! She dm'ed me or smth and we just kinda talk 😆 i love when she goes to ramble about her works because it shows how much love and effort she pours into each and every one of them!!! Im still waiting for an update to that series hiks but in any case, her other works sre also a masterpiece! Example? The yandere ceo one! It's so interesting and honestly bae, i would read every chapters 😻 i mean i already did, but eh YEAH READ EM GUYS!!!

@jessamine-rose: bae jess, ur works are amazing pookie, i once read one of ur work before eventually falling in love with how u write but i forgot which one was it... (it was a long time ago) was it abt capitano...? I'M SORRY I FORGOT HDBSHSJSJ 😭😭😭 but anyway, jess has the mom vibe that it always made me think of those asian moms (I'M ASIAN- THE TRAUMA IS THERE- /silly) who would hit their kids with sandals and be "i told you don't be like that!" >:o also her way of speaking and the amount of kaomojis she used is so so her that i would just imagine her every time i see one of those kaomojis 😆💗 please keep using em, i love ittt <333

@harmonysanreads: i simp for u. Yes, you read that right, my friends... I SIMP FOR HARMYYYY (shoo shoo eun- /silly) 😻💗 harmy has a very distinctive vibe and personality despite being similar to rinrin, and uhh how do i describe it...? It's like talking with a mom figure (no harm, i don't see u as a mom figure-) who knows you so well!! Her way of talking is so elegant, but it's not the warm-like elegant! It's like seeing a queen (?) and you can't help but to be mesmerized by her mannerisms! I also love the way she can form her words, they're always so thoughtful and really straightforward in a way lolll (she's my argue buddy too- anyway prince hirang 👎 /silly)

@navxry: NAVI ACTS LIKE THE MOM FRIEND!! Not really the mom mom friend, but navi is our server mom 💗 they take care of us and sometimes pop in and say either the most horrendous down bad thing ever for female game characters (while im like "oh yeah so true lmao" but i don't usually pop in and say that) or they'll help us around the server because apparently most some of us are not pretty... tech-savvy (me included HAHAHHA) navi is such a mood sometimes and i absolutely love them for ittt ���� u go girl (/gn) be as silly as you wsnt for your fics, or in other words, kill em all- *cough* i mean what

@calxlu: a fellow infp who really loves albedo 😆 i love when one time i made a bedo art for them and they reblogged it so many times,,, it made me super happy and super proud that the art made them that happy 💗 anyway, vivi talks similarly like me methinks but like ummm how do i say it? Vivi is like cuter...???? IDKK HAHAHAJDJ- um, moving on 😆 i love it when vivi describes or tell smth because it could either be the most cutest thing ever or the funniest thing ever (i still remember that grandma comment pls 😭) anywayyy i hope your life has been less stressful!!! Also will be hoping that ppl won't bother you especially when you don't want to get bothered 🫂

@teabutmakeitazure: ZURIII MY BELOVED 🙌 HELLO HI <333 muach muach i hope you're doing well when you read this post /gen /pos !!! When zuri comes in the server and say smth, i will always imagine someone wesring a glasses, talking in such a monotone voice but tries to appear caring and sweet because YES they are actually really sweet and very much loveable and smoochable <3 it's just how you 'feel' like to me, so don't mind em too much loll 😆💗 also, i see that zuri and speckled can match each other vibe so well and it makes me think that they'll be such a great and cute duo together sbsnsjkssk

@vennnnn-diagram: VENNNNN OMG MY PARTNER IN CRIME 😻💗‼️ (<- we never did any crime other than bully brynn... i think-) ven is so funny and chaotic that it makes me wanna smooch em every time they appear <3 how do i explain this... uhhh, like ven always seems to be the silliest person ever whenever they talk in the server, but GUYS they're like really thoughtful and so overall nshdjisks i can't describe it but i will fight anyone who diss or insult ven /hj kinda srs actually ✨️ ven, if u think that being silly feels weird out of nowhere, bae we're all weird, so dw abt it 😆 im also very silly, so we can be silly together!!! ALSO ONE IMPORTANT FACT, ven is our music genius 🙌‼️ i'm so serious abt wanting to hear ur music for an hour straight-

@stickyspeckledlight: speckled...... well, uh, the word 'silly', 'random', "what in the world-" as a person fr 😆 i also just kinda deem her as the gamer pro in our server and well.... i gotta say she's real good when gaming (<- has never seen her gaming stream) BUT LIKE WHATEVER THOSE GAME TERM STUFF, SPECKLED KNOWS IT ALL ‼️‼️ like whenever she said oh this and that about hsr or genshin, i'd be "oh yeah so true" despite me not understanding her words (sorry yall i'm not a gamer 😭) alsoooo it's pretty noticeable, but uhh speckled (and zuri) is aventurine lover and she's pretty crazy abt him *cues me looking at her fics* keep going bestie 🙌 you (and zuri) are our aventurine truther lol

@ainescribe: AINE MY SPOUSE ✨️ THE LOVE OF MY LIFE /pos 💗💗 ainneee, one of our talented super amazing artists in the hostelry 😻 thought despite me saying that aine is the loml, we haven't talk or interact much, but i know that she's a sweetheart hehe 🫶 aine has a very bubbly way of talking, she likes to yap yap like eun especially if it's about.... uh lores? Idrk the kind of stuff that aine likes to talk about, but it's always fun to hear her (and eun) yap ‼️ also, i can't describe it but she makes me wanna smooch her but also nom her (it's just cuteness aggression-) ALSO I HAVE TO SAY IT AGAINNN, HER ARTS ARE REALLY PRETTYYY 💗🙌 LIKE 100/10 PRETTY ✨️

@lucienbarkbark: girl, idk what goes on in your mind but you're a mood 😆 i am always so surprised whenever rika appears and say something, it's too straightforward but i love her for it <333 she seems like someone who would just do whatever she wants, and i would totally support her for it 💪 rika and her... 66 or more men that she would (respectfully saying) sleep with 🔥🔥🔥 HAHAHHAH THE LIST IS SO LONG AND LIKE 😭😭 i can never not laugh whenever i remember it hdjdjsjwkw pls never change your frank and honest attitude, i love it 🫶 btw, uh, pls have some rest bestie 😭 like an actual rest and also a mental rest 🫂 wishing the best for you rikaaaa >:o

@mixed-kester: esther! While i may not know much about you, but i KNOW one thing!!! It's that she's a really great artist 😻 i'm telling yall to check her arts because (from my opinion) her art style looks like one you would find in a cute short comic (that i would totally devour-) AND YEAH she's just really sweet yk 🥺 also esther talks in a very direct way that it makes you want to just know what's up inside that head of hers 😆 she's also part of the 'would eat mochi 😋' gang and i just.... have to accept that....... anyway LOVE HER 💗‼️ please be more braver and accepting of your feelings, you're precious and worth it, okay? We love you, and i hope sincerely that YOU love YOURSELF 🙌

@euniveve: OHOHOHO OUR RESUME DESTROYER HERE /silly ✨️ jokes aside, i think me, jess, and shiro would say "what can't eun do atp" if we're talking about eun 😭😭 wdym she can write amazing fanfics, great artist, good at debating, a highschool athlete, a student council president- LIKE EUN WHAT THE HECK DID YOU NOT DO???? Is it the intj in you- /silly LMAO anyway, all that aside, eun talks in a very pookie way, so full of.... love (especially if she's talking with harmy) and she would totally yap yap abt smth altho sometimes she's a bit direct about stuff (not in a harsh way tho) all in all, i hope you're not too harsh on yourself 💗 OH AND i love how confident you are!! You know that you're amazing, and i think that's great pookie 🫶

@fishanonishere: FISHHHHH 🫂 the 'albedo' in my life LMAOOOO 😭 they're so cute i wanna smooch them fr ✨️ they like to yap about their works and honestly yap more bestie (I HAVEN'T ANSWERED THEIR DM IN DISCORD BUT YEAH YAP MORE BESTIE 😭😭) they have a distinct way of talking and it's hard for me to describe it, but imagine albedo talking with such an interest while also keeping it low with how monotonous his face is and you're a bit confused whether he's excited or chill with it 😆 fish is also an amazing artist, their art style is very very 😋💗 yeah i'd eat all of em HAHAHAHA anyway fishhh, i hope you keep being 'you'!! It's always fun talking to you, but i think my energy is just not that big enough for us to keep talking for so long 😭🙏

[oldscoutblog]

Yo Yo!! Hey scout I got a question for ya. What’s the names of your brothers? Opinions on them? Or maybe just describing them in general. If you want tho!

-Astro The Dream Demon 😈🌸🌀

Hey!! Wow! This is quite the array of questions you got, bud!!

I’d be happy to tell you… If I wasn’t made by da big boss to stop talking about them…

But I’ll have ya know that my brothers are probably da best people I know! I actually have some of my older brothers’ dog tags…

But uh, course I was picked on a lot, but we had a loads of good moments…

Uh I honestly will just spare you all the details… but I love my brothers and am super glad I had- have them…

[m1stm3]

DONE W THE FRIENDS LIST POST YAYYYYY

[spookykestrel]

tell me about bugs ! /lhnp

Aah ty for the ask this is so general there’s so many facts and things um (edit I didn’t mean to write a whole essay you don’t have to read the whole thing)

Recently I’ve been enjoying learning about spiders which is ever so slightly ironic considering how afraid I was of them and how I still am a bit scared to come across ones I’m not familiar with. Learning about them makes them so much less scary though. A lot of the most venomous and scariest spiders are actually relatively docile and won’t bite unless threatened or they’re a mother with babies. In the US there hasn’t been a death from a black widow bite in 40 years bc their bites are rare and able to be treated. A lot of venomous spiders can actually administer dry bites too or control the amount of venom they inject which is super cool. Since their venom is used to kill prey, when they bite a human it’s usually just in self defense so a lot of bites from deadly spiders aren’t actually that dangerous. Ofc it’s still imperative to seek treatment just in case you have a reaction or they did inject venom (although you’d be able to tell there’s some nasty symptoms). Most cases are able to be treated, too, with anti-venom and while not a pleasant experience they’re rarely deadly.

I feel like there needs to be a picture here to break up this post so uhhhhh here’s a bunch of bees on a clover ( and a Yellowjacket)

One of my other interests rn is misconceptions/misidentifications. Which ig ties into spider bites. One common myth is that daddy longlegs spiders are super venomous but their fangs are too small to bite humans. This is very wrong for several reason uhh first is that daddy longlegs is a super broad term used to refer to cellar spiders (actual spiders of the araneae order), harvestmen (arachnids in the opilione order so Not Spiders), and crane flies (these are literally flies as the name suggests. They…. They aren’t spiders they have wings they aren’t venomous. Although they do have long legs). Cellar spiders are a little venomous but their venom poses little harm to humans (just a typical insect bite yk) and they rarely bite humans. Harvestmen actually don’t have venom and don’t have fangs just hollow claws used to grip. Which can’t harm people.

anyway harvestman are the absolute silliest guys I love seeing them bounce around

(Photo credit evanaturalist on inat <3)

Another quickl thing (I promise I’ll stop soon you invoked a topic I’m incapable of being normal about and gave me no limitations or anything so I’m on a ramble there’ll be no survivors etcetc) is also about flies. A lot of people assume those itty bitty sweat bees that hover around you at the park or whatever are actually more likely to be hoverflies (instead of a real sweatbee)! They only have one set of wings (unlike a bee) and no they can’t sting. I told this all to my friend at a concert who was being very annoyed by the one following her around and after explaining them and marveling over the super cool patterning of the calligrapher flies (specific type of hoverfly) they actually came around and admitted they’re very cool and it was a lovely moment bc once you know more about something then you can accept it more yay woohoo.

^ the black and yellow is deceiving it only has the one set of wings. If you cared the one pictured is a maize calligrapher specifically . Very common in the US and Canada.

Oh and I got a millipede tatto did you see :]

[alarici]

🌟‼️

A grant I lost most of winter break writing went through and my efforts paid off (and I will hopefully be paid). This is a 2nd thing but my intro creative writing professor likes my swag which is funny and like--vindicating because I spend a lot of time writing nonsense and she has insightful criticism and such.

ask meme

[parkeryangs]

congrats on being assigned ty betteridge by tumblr poll! (ATYBT?)

i always wanted to be an unethical scientist

[canine-teethed-sheets]

How about add clawed hands, feels like it fits the direction we’ve been going

[ ✓ ] CLAWED HANDS

ohohohoh i can see the direction this is going teehees :]

[yundeob]

the parent trap | KHJ

part 1 of the Night in Hollywood!series

☆ trope: exes to lovers!au, divorced!au

☆ pairing: producer!hongjoong x designer!reader, dad!joong x mom!reader

☆ warnings: nsfw (mdni), swearing, mentions of food, mentions of food poisoning, female desc. reader, drinking, suggestiveness, smut, slight!breeding kink, oral sex (f. receiving), overstim, unprotected sex (wrap before you tap!) nipple play, titty sucking, marking, praise, slightdom!joong, blond!joong bc that itself is too much for me, mentions of (early) pregnancy, you’re both in your early thirties and make an unbelievably stubborn couple in this!

☆ synopsis: AS DIVORCED PARENTS to two twin daughters, you and hongjoong have your fair share of work cut out. Driving to piano lessons, cheering at hockey games, drop offs at each other’s houses, it can all be a little much. But could a relaxing summer retreat as a whole family possibly rekindle past emotions you’ve swept under the rug? . . .

☆ word count: 18.1k

☆ playlist: soulful strut by young-holt unlimited, l-o-v-e by nat king cole, just the way you are by billy joel, slipping through my fingers by abba, this will be (an everlasting love) by natalie cole

☆ a/n: it’s finally here. I can’t believe I’m writing this and saying it’s finally here oh my goodness. first off, thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has supported me with the series so far (shoutout to @kitten4sannie , @byuntrash101 and especially @desirehorizon for being amazing!) everyone’s sweet comments have been greatly appreciated, and I just hope this silly little fic brings a smile to your everyday lives.

ty for making writing worth it as a writer. now cue the opening credits!

“ABSOLUTELY NOT” Hongjoong says.

“But dadd,” she whines, clutching the wrinkled pamphlet closer to her chest. Eunseo’s small hands are covered in purple doodles her sister drew using a glitter pen. 

“Why not?” the girl complains, shrugging her shoulders. 

He sighs, pushing his glasses up with one hand as he continues typing away at the important document the producing company sent him on his laptop. He tries his best to reason with the child.

“Because, baby…” pausing to think for a moment before responding. “It would be hard for your mom and I to find a time that fits into our schedules. I’ve got work, and she must be busy as well.” 

Eunseo glares at her father’s excuse. 

Okay, yeah, the man knows it’s somewhat of a lie, himself. 

She continues to protest by shoving the advertising pamphlet in her dads face and blocking his view of the screen. Thankfully, Hongjoong is used to these sort of work distractions, expertly avoiding her by craning his neck sideways and continuing to type away.

“But dad, it’s an amazing cottage resort! They’ve got a lake where you can go swimming in, a forest hiking trail, a bonfire to roast marshmallows and even a diner less than fifteen minutes away! So if you end up burning the camp food like last time, we can just order and eat in! Isn’t that great?” She beams. 

He stops typing for a second, fingers hovering over the keyboard as he gives his first born a look that makes her immediately break into a sweet smile, batting her lashes and flashing him a look of innocence. 

“Please?” She begs, standing on the edge of her feet as she gazes up at him. “The last time we went was when Eunbyul and me were toddlers.” 

And how on earth could any dad’s heart not melt at the sight of his daughter trying to convince him about one harmless vacation? 

Hongjoong wheels his office chair back, turning so he could look her in the eyes properly and tuck a stray hair behind her ear. 

“Listen honey, I’m sorry, I really wish I could, but…” he trails off, looking back at the open tabs and file documents displayed on his computer.

Turning his head around and upon seeing a frown form on his daughter's face, he quickly reassures her. 

“Once you finish your final piano recital tomorrow and your mom picks your sister up to take her to her hockey game, how about we go fishing the weekend afterwards?” he suggests, brows raising. “That’ll mean I have just the two of you all to myself.”

Eunseo mumbles under her breath, quiet but insistent enough that he catches it. 

“But we’re supposed to be a family of four.” 

She sulks, thinking of how that would leave you, her mother, left out of their plans. The arms holding the pamphlet up, ultimately fall down in defeat. 

He places a peck on her forehead, patting her on the back. “You know, if you can get your mom to say yes, then I’ll think about it” he chuckles, knowing the highly unlikely probability of the event.

Adjusting his glasses, the producer goes back to his work, peeking his daughter slugging away from the corner of his eye. 

Eunseo slumps her shoulders in defeat as she walks out of her dads office, turning the corner to see her twin sister, Eunbyeol, pressing her ears near the door with her neck outstretched. Clearly she’s been caught in the middle of trying to overhear their conversation. 

The twin younger by fifteen seconds quickly rushes over, waiting expectantly.

“So? What did dad say?”

Eunseo exhales, throwing the information pamphlet away on the wooden floors and slumping against the living room couch. 

“He’s totally not buggin. Said he wants to take us fishing next weekend instead. Just us three.” she grumbles. 

Eunbyeol scrunches her nose at the idea. 

“But dad sucks at fishing.”

Her sister groans, kicking her small feet against the couch in frustration. “I know!” Eunbyeol starts to worry, coming to sit beside her.

“Then how on earth are we going to get mom and dad to get back with each other again? They haven’t been in the same room since we were like, five!”

Her twin sister scoffs, “First, we gotta get them to have a proper conversation with each other. They barely even talk when they drop us off at each other's houses.”

Nobody truly knows why you and Hongjoong had divorced so suddenly when the girls were young. Not even themselves.

All they were used to were cold stares and one word replies shared amongst their parents, refusing to find harmony in their co-parenting.

Frankly, your girls have had enough of the performance you were both trying to maintain, looking past your expressions to realize you and your husband still held feelings for the other. It was only a matter of time and place in order to set you two up together, thus, the idea of an intimate, family getaway came into their minds. 

After a few moments of letting her words hang in the air, Eunbyeol’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. 

“That’s it!”

The older twin looks up quizzically, watching her sister jump off the couch and gaze at her excitedly. 

“We’ll just have to force them to meet each other! We can always guilt trip them for dropping us off at their houses and making us play alone!”

Eunseo rolls her eyes at the idea. “Right, and how are we going to do that dummy? The only reason they’d do that, was if it was an emergency.”

Whoever said twin telepathy wasn’t a thing was a liar, because the second Eunseo catches onto what her sister is saying, the twins share a look of pure mischievousness, the gears in their brains working together as one. 

With hushed whispers and quiet giggles, the twins immediately begin conducting their plan in secrecy near the corner of the living room, backs turned and in the middle of discussion when Hongjoong walks out of his office with an empty coffee mug. 

“What are you guys doing over there?”

“Leave us alone! Family man traitor!” Eunbyeol shouts, holding a slightly hostile grudge to her father before turning back to whisper to her twin. 

Hongjoong shakes his head, sighing as he heads into the kitchen. 

“Then it’s perfect! I’ll stay here with dad once my piano recital is over, and then when Mom picks you up for your hockey game tomorrow, we’ll try convincing them together!”

Eunbyeol nods her head in agreement, eyes lighting up with excitement as she whispers in a hushed tone. 

“And once both events end, we’ll pretend to be so sick that they have to take us to the nearby hospital.”

The other twin smirks. ”Where we’ll end up guilt tripping them into taking us to the cottage.”

They double high five in victory at their flawless plan, already waiting for tomorrow to come as soon as possible.

“A summer cottage?” you repeated, brows raising at the idea as you made a left turn onto your street. 

Eunbyeol nods eagerly from the back seat after getting picked up, having ranted on and on about the ad in the pamphlet since the moment you saw her.

“It's an amazing establishment mom,” She boasts, making you laugh at her words while parking the car and unbuckling your seatbelt.

“They have everything you could possibly think of!”

“Oh, really?” You say skeptically, opening the door for her. 

Eunbyeol is lost in the middle of passionately describing all the relaxing activities you could do by yourself, or rather per se, with a special partner together. 

“There’s couples hiking retreats, couples canoeing, couples yoga… did I mention couples hiking retreats?” She confuses, retracing her words. 

You roll your eyes and smile, keys jangling as you walk through the entrance of your apartment flat while balancing the bags and items in your hands.

Being a wedding dress designer and yet picking up your daughter from your ex-husband's house could’ve been ironic to some people. But after having split with Hongjoong since the girls were so young, you came to grow fond of having some independence as a divorcee, channeling your main focus into setting up your own bridal shop downtown.

It was through that hard work and focus that you did it all by yourself with no additional help.

You’d be lying if you said you haven't opened a bottle of red wine some nights due to loneliness as a divorced single mother, but at least that was what you had your daughters for.

You made sure to work just as hard as you did enjoy playing and spending time with them. After all, they were the light of your life and purpose for living.

Balancing the pizza you picked up on the way home, you set it down on the kitchen island, telling Eunbyeol to go wash her hands in the sink. The girl doesn’t stop ranting.

“There’s usually only two rooms in the cottage, so you’ll have to sleep together with dad, but I guess you won't mind, would you? After all, you were once married” She rolls her eyes, reaching for the soap.

You shake your head with a sigh. ”What is up with you and getting me and your father together in the same room?” you muttered as you took out the plates and utensils. 

Eunbyeol eventually walks back to you, wiping her hands on her baggy jeans before sitting on the kitchen stool. 

“It’s not that I’m obsessed, Mom. Actually, Eunseo and I are just dying to get away this summer now that school is over.”

Turning around from plating the pizza and salad, you chastise your daughter, telling her to sit with her bum flat on the stool so she doesn’t fall. She immediately listens, carrying on with her persuasion. 

“We just want you and dad to get the chance to relax as well, that’s all!” her mouth full from a bite of hot, greasy pizza. 

You smile, wiping your washed hands on the kitchen towel and coming over to wrap your arms around her affectionately. 

“Spending time with you and Eunseo every week is how I relax,” you assured her, smothering your baby with kisses on her cheek.

Byeol lets out a squeal of annoyance, taking another bite of her pizza. “You’re squishing me!” She tries hiding her smile, failing when you lean in closer. 

You pull back in laughter, ruffling her hair as you walk away while reminding her.

“Oh! Don’t forget you’ve got your hockey game tonight!”

Byeol chews faster, munching on the soft crust and counting down the hours on the kitchen clock. 

She smiles to herself. 

“Don’t worry, I know!”

“What do you mean you need to go to the hospital?” Hongjoong asks in a worried voice, standing against the women’s washroom stall. He holds Eunseo’s congratulatory flower bouquet for first place in hand, feeling the stares of multiple women passing by, clearly judging him for being in the ladies room with them. 

“Honey, is everything all right?” He asks worriedly. A string of groans come from behind the door.

“You need to leave!” one old lady thrusts her walking cane at the father, lips pursed in dissatisfaction. 

Eunseo did such a phenomenal job tonight for her piano recital, that Hongjoong was shocked to see his daughter clutch her stomach first thing after running down the steps of the stage, dashing to the washrooms.

He whips his head back. “My daughter’s having a bit of a situation in here, okay ma’am? Have a bit of sympathy!” He barks frustratedly out loud to the onlookers, turning back to speak in a softer voice to the stall door. 

“Eunseo, baby, talk to me, is everything alright in there? Are you sure you need to go to the hospital? Is it that bad?” 

The girl continues her acting performance, letting out fake groans while typing furiously on her cellphone. 

“Oh the pain! I think I might have food poisoning, dad!”

Seolie: How far along are u

Byeolie: Mom’s outside, banging to come in. 

Seolie: same, I told dad I needed to go to the hospital.

Eunseo lets out another groan of pain, causing Hongjoong to worry even more. 

“That’s it, Eunseo. Let me in and help you” he decides, searching his bag for a painkiller or at least some sort of medication for relief. 

The girl frantically checks her phone, eyes lighting up at the new message. 

Byeolie: Mom’s getting the car to take me to the hospital. I’ve got her convinced to call dad soon.

Eunseo types as fast as her small fingers can move, even faster than when she performed her piano solo from before. 

Seolie: Then what do I do????

Hongjoong gets slightly suspicious at the lack of sound coming from the stall, calling to his daughter again.

“Eunseo? Everything alright?”

At the next notification, the girl makes up her mind, getting the signal from her sister. 

Byeolie: play dead. Mom calling soon. See ya there.

The actress gets into character, gaining her composure before unlocking the washroom stall and holding her stomach as she stumbles into her dad’s surprised arms. 

“Eunseo!”

She wails, falling limp. “Oh, dad! Please! Take me to the hospital, it hurts too much!”

It’s truly a mystery which parent she got her acting skills from.

But she doesn’t have to tell him twice at that point. The man is already piggy backing his fainted daughter and sprinting out of the ladies washroom, reassuring her with soothing comments as he makes a beeline for the parking lot.

“Stay with me baby!” He huffs, unbeknownst to Eunseo who peeks one eye open. 

Only after he straps his daughter in the backseat and is turning on the engine does he receive a sudden phone call from you, pressing the speaker for the whole car to hear your panicked voice. You break the news to him first. 

“Eunbyeol’s severely sick. She fainted right after her hockey game.”

Hongjoong’s eyes widened. “What?”

You sighed, running a hand through your hair. “She was holding her stomach saying she ate something wrong. Is Eunseo okay?” 

Hongjoong puts the stick into drive, backing out of the parking lot and replying in a hurry.

“She’s hit with the same thing right now. I’ll meet you at the Hospital in ten” he grunts, sweat forming on his brow as he speeds through traffic, not caring if he gets a ticket. 

Had he looked in his rear view mirror, he would have seen Eunseo sagging near the car door, clutching her stomach with a small grin on her face.

You never liked the hospital. 

The sounds of babies crying and hospital beds wheeling become the background noise, shifting nervously in your seat that was in the emergency pediatrics unit waiting area. 

Hongjoong has his eyebrows furrowed, hunched over one seat beside you as he hangs his head in his hands, knees bouncing up and down. A middle aged nurse nasally calls on the next family waiting from the front desk, boredom laced in her voice. 

You sigh, uncrossing your legs and choosing to bite at the fingernail on your right hand once realizing you’ve already done the same to all the ones on your left. 

“It’s all my fault.” Hongjoong confesses, suddenly sitting still. 

You glance to your left, watching as he sits up slowly. 

“Last thing they ate together would’ve been at my house. I probably made them sick with something I fed them,” he dejects, hanging his head down in shame. 

“It’s all my fault, god I’m so stupid!” He beats himself up. 

You have half the mind to snap at your ex-husband, anger already filling up inside you earlier when you heard Eunbyeol suggest it was something she ate at her dad’s house. You really did want to yell at him for being so bad of a chef that he sent his own daughters to the emergency pediatrics unit, undeniably relieved that Seonghwa was working tonight’s shift. 

But those cruel words sitting on the tip of your tongue are thrown away when you glance down to see your ex-husband missing a shoe on one of his feet. 

Hongjoong rushed over here so fast with Eunseo that he left his shoe behind like some sort of fairytale, Cinderella. He hasn’t even realized he wasn’t wearing one right now.

You exhaled, knowing that if there's one thing you’ve learned while parenting, it was that to have patience and understanding was a virtue. Even for your ex-husband.

“It’s not your fault,” you sighed, staring at your hands folded in your lap. 

It feels awkward when Hongjoong stops tugging at his blond locks to look at you in surprise, continuing to speak as you place a gentle hand on his thigh. 

“That could’ve happened to anyone. We don’t know yet if it was because of the food. Let’s just pray and wait and see” your voice being a sign of reliability to him. 

The man is a little shocked at your supportive nature to tell you truthfully. He delivers all the things he needs to say through his grateful gaze alone, reciprocating a small smile. 

“Didn’t think I’d see you guys tonight.” Seonghwa chuckles, walking in before Hongjoong has the chance to reply. He comes from the patient's room wearing his dashing, white doctor's coat. “Together, at that” he mumbles under his breath before looking up and flashing you a polite smile while giving his worried friend a soft pat on the back.

Hongjoong holds his breath when he asks: “How are they?”

“Better,” he tells him, flipping through some papers on his clipboard. “But it was a big shock to their bodies. They need some rest at the moment.” 

The pediatrician tries not to show his smile, standing in front of you and Hongjoong while hiding his expression behind his clipboard as per his niece’s request.

To be fair, if someone had told Seonghwa earlier that evening that he would receive a fifteen minute pep talk from his best friend's twin daughters that day in the emergency unit, he would’ve laughed in their faces. 

Alas, life was always filled with surprises. Here’s what went down thirty minutes earlier in the hospital room:

“We’re trying to get them back together,” Eunseo announced confidently, sitting next to her sister on the hospital bed. 

Eunbyeol nodded, eyeing the dumbfounded medical professional standing in front of them with his clipboard tucked under his arm, hands in his pockets. 

“So.. you guys don’t need an IV drip?”

“It’s this whole entire thing, Uncle Hwa, we’ll explain to you later.”

It took a minute before Seonghwa reclaimed his composure as an adult, chastising the twins for pulling a false alarm over something like this. He made sure to make them promise him they wouldn’t do something stupid like this again. But after that, of course Seonghwa is immediately pairing to help them with their plan on getting his best friend back together with his ex-wife. The man is just tired of watching Hongjoong beat himself up half the time about missing you. 

“So you essentially want me to lie about the fact that you guys don’t have food poisoning, and were just faking this whole thing so your mom and dad would have a reason to see each other.” 

The twins nod, one of them pointing out. “And make sure to tell them we’re fine of course. Maybe throw in we’re like, really sick, but that we’ll live so it’s best if we get rest.”

“At like a cottage or something” the other chimes in, wiggling her eyebrows at the hint. 

The doctor sighs, scratching his neck sheepishly. 

When Seonghwa leads you and Hongjoong into the hospital room, both of you feel awful seeing your babies laying in their beds, dressed in the children’s gowns. 

Eunbyeol peeks open her eyes first, voice hoarse (she practiced). 

“Mom? Dad? Is that you?” she groans, pretending to clutch her stomach in pain. 

Both you and Hongjoong rush to each child, grasping their hands and stroking their heads softly with sympathy. 

“Hey baby, I’m here” you coo.

“I’m so, so sorry girls, it was probably all my fault. I should’ve never cooked for you guys earlier today.” their dad cries out painfully, looking down in shame.

You come to stand beside him, reassuring them both. “But what’s important is that you guys get better now. We want to make sure you get the rest you need” you say, making eye contact with your ex-husband. 

Seonghwa clears his throat, crossing his arms as he flashes a wink to the girls behind your backs. 

“They seemed to have been mentally exhausted as well,” He asks on purpose, watching as you and Hongjoong share a look with each other. “Have they been receiving proper familial support at home?” 

“I can’t even remember the last time I saw my parents in the same room together.” Eunseo weakly admits, showing a faint smile. 

As parents, you and Joong feel the most amount of guilt anyone could ever feel. You realize how exhausting and stressful the pickups and drop offs to each other's houses could’ve been, especially when you two were so busy with your respective jobs to spend time with your daughters now that it was summer break for them. 

Hongjoong smiles, holding both their hands and making a promise to them. 

“Make sure to rest you two. Tell me, is there anything you guys need right now? Anything you guys want I'll make sure to get it for you.”

”Do you guys have crunchy ice?” Eunbyeol blurts out loud, breaking her weak facade. 

Eunseo almost wants to shoot a glare at her sister but she realizes both of you are still looking at them. 

“I can get you some ice!” Seonghwa quickly assures you and his nieces, mouthing to them good luck for support as he shuts the door behind him. 

You sigh, coming over to stroke Eunseo’s hair and caress Eunbyeol’s hand. 

“Well? Is there anything else you guys need from us?” Hongjoong states, eyes soft in sympathy. You nod, waiting to hear their response.

“Let us know girls, anything at all.”

Eunbyeol and Eunseo finally take their chance, sharing a hesitant look before speaking at the same time. 

“We want to go to the cottage”

“Together,” Eunseo says.

“As a family.” Eunbyeol adds in.

You and Hongjoong share a silent look. 

Later into the night, the twins are finally discharged from the hospital, deciding that they would stay at Hongjoong’s mothers apartment which was closest nearby, considering they were both tired and immediately needed a place to rest. 

The car ride home is awkwardly silent, even as the kids are (what you think) to be fast asleep, hockey gear and a bouquet of flowers riding with them in the backseat.

It was at their request for you to drive them to their grandmother's house, wanting both their parents with them till the ride home. Hongjoong settled on driving your car and dropping all of you off, planning to take a taxi back home and pick up his own car in the morning. Despite your protest on how inconvenient that was, he insisted as he didn’t want to disappoint the twins.

But suddenly the man begins to regret his offer, currently driving in complete silence on the highway, eyes facing forward and shoulders tense. Quiet FM nightly jazz plays from the radio. 

You’re sitting passenger seat up front with him in what feels like forever, looking solely at the reflections in the window, the street lamp lights scattering across your face as you travel through the nighttime traffic. It’s awkward being together like this.

You hear him clear his voice, speaking softly so he doesn’t wake up the girls.

“So, are we really considering that cottage retreat?” he glances back at you. 

You sit up, straightening your back and exhaling as you secretly wanted to have avoided that topic of discussion.

“We can’t Hongjoong,” you reasoned, shaking your head. “I couldn’t possibly take a whole vacation from the dress shop. Not unless I had someone take care of it for me, which my staff probably aren’t ready to do.” you explained, voice tense.

Hongjoong nodded, understanding your point of view. “I realize that. I’ve got a few projects I have to record and demo with Eden.” he tells you, an arm placed on the wheel with his sleeve rolled up. His veins become perfectly outlined as he passionately tells you about his producing job.

He’s so hot like that.

Jesus what were you thinking? Cursing your mind as you clear your voice and try to change the topic.

“How’s everything been going then?” you say stiffly. He nods, still awkward with sharing conversation with you. 

“Um, it's going good. You?” he asks.  

“Fine.” you swallow. 

Silence prevails. He’s first to speak again, building the courage to say the next thing in his mind. 

“I’m willing to put things on hold if I need to.” He confesses. 

Hongjoong continues to drive normally after having said that. Now it becomes your turn to stare at him now, watching how he glances at the side mirror, switching lanes swiftly like the pro-driver he was. 

“What do you mean?”

“Honestly, I think it would be good for the girls,” he admits, calling you by your name. Even hearing him call you your name feels weird. It feels foreign, like it almost wasn’t yours. 

“Hongjoong-” you warn, shaking your head at the warry possibility. 

“Just hear me out, alright?” He states firmly, making you quiet. 

He glances back into the rear view mirror, watching your girls peacefully asleep with their heads leaning against each other. 

“It’s been almost seven years. Seven years since they’ve last seen their parents speak to each other without breaking into a fight. Tonight was the first time they saw us together without having to plan a drop off and pick up in god knows how long.”

Hongjoong licks his lips, gripping the wheel as he emphasizes. “Seven years since they’ve gotten a goodnight hug and kiss from us at the same time in one place.”

You scoff, turning to face him properly this time. “I don’t know why you’re acting as though we can make this request of theirs come true Hongjoong. This is a big deal-”

“It is a big deal!” he exclaims, trying to get his point across. “I can see how badly our daughters want us to both be in their lives more, to acknowledge the fact that the other still exists after splitting apart.”

He sighs. “Us, not acknowledging each other’s existence at all is worse than if we had to see each other regularly.”

You bite your lip, getting angry. “So what Hongjoong? You’re saying you want to suddenly play family with them at the cottage?”

You shrug your shoulders. “Do you really think we can pretend to be normal parents to them without fighting like we are now? There’s a reason why our current schedules work. Don’t make me seem like the bad guy for not wanting to take them.” You glared, pointing a finger at him. His jaw locks. 

“You fully knew the lifestyle changes we would need to make as a couple when you signed those legal papers—”

“Well then did you also predict everything that happened after you brought me those papers?” He spits like venom, gaze hard as he clenches the wheel.

You blink your eyes at his words, pressing your knees together at his sudden attack. 

You don’t remember clearly if you even meant what you said at the time when you threw those papers at him seven years ago. But all you still know is that Hongjoong was just as stubborn as you were, making up his mind to sign them in the end regardless.

Looking in the rear view mirror, you muttered to him quietly. 

“Don’t raise your voice. The kids are sleeping.”

Their dad scoffs, muttering a sure, under his breath as he switches lanes. 

The kids were in fact, not sleeping, and very much awake. Eyes closed but ears wide, as they were listening in to the first real discussion their parents were having in so long. Or perhaps it was an argument?

At the right turn into his mother’s apartment’s underground parking lot, Hongjoong shuts off the engine, getting out of the car without another word and shutting the door in your face. 

You pinched the bridge of your nose, hear the back door open. 

You watch in the corner of your vision as his demeanor immediately changes, softly caressing Eunseo and Eunbyeol’s hair. 

“Hey girls, we’re here now. You gotta wake up.” He coos.

They yawn theatrically, pretending to stretch their arms. 

“So soon?” Eunbyeol mumbles.

A few feet ahead, you see your mother in law walking out from the elevators, a knit cardigan wrapped around her small frame. You smiled, getting out of the car and greeting her first. 

“We’ll leave Eunbyeol’s hockey gear with you for the night if that’s alright Mom-” 

Hongjoong’s words are cut off as the woman who birthed him walks straight past him, ignoring him and immediately taking you in her warm embrace, eyes forming crescent moons. 

“How are you my dear?” she asks, causing you to smile and hug your mother in law affectionately. “It’s been so long, I’ve missed you so much!”

Despite the break up between you and Hongjoong, you were thankful for one thing, and that was the fact that your relationship with Hongjoong’s family stayed strong, especially with Mrs. Kim.

“I’ve missed you too” you tell her genuinely. “I’ve been good, I’m just sorry for dropping them off so suddenly at your place,” You say, feeling apologetic for waking her up late into the night. 

“We had a bit of a situation,” you explain, watching as Hongjoong collects their things. 

She shakes her head, reassuring you. “Nonsense! Why would you be sorry for that.” she grins, turning her head at the car. “And where are my girls, may I ask?”

At the sound of her voice, Eunbyeol and Eunseo dash out from the back seat and into their grandmother's welcoming arms, pressing soft kisses to her cheeks.

Hongjoong is the only person that stands all alone, awkwardly holding the bouquet of flowers with heavy hockey gear and a duffle bag perched on his shoulder. 

“Oh, how I’ve missed my little squirrels!” she exclaims using their signature pet name and happily reuniting with her grandchildren. 

She turns her head, face falling at the sight of her son and lips pursing into a frown. 

“And where on earth have you been? Not giving me a call!” she snaps, slapping her son on his back. Eunbyeol laughs out loud while Eunseo tries to keep her giggles in. 

You hear your ex husband protest to her while you close the back seat door. 

“OW! I’ve been busy alright?” he mumbles, massaging his sore arm. 

Your mother in law takes both the twins hand’s on each side, nodding her head to you. 

“Leave all the kid’s stuff to Hongjoong, he’ll take care of it darling” she smiles sweetly, sending a glare to her son to take a hint and be more of a gentleman to you. She walks away with her smiling granddaughters, exchanging light-hearted giggles and excitement. “Bye, mom!” The twins wave back. 

Hongjoong cranes his head up, sighing at the ceiling before taking Eunseo’s piano bag that you were holding in your hand in one swift motion, walking reluctantly behind the three. 

“Stay here. I’ll drop them off.” he briskly walks away, leaving you stunned. 

Hongjoongs words from before can’t help but replay inside your head as you wait for him to come back down. 

Before you guessed it, it was already the ride back home, and the car was painfully silent once again. In reality, you were each thinking deeply to yourselves about the possibility of the cottage retreat. Could you really be a mom and dad together as a couple to your kids?

“Are you giving your plants enough water?” He brings you out of thought, the car slowing down as he turns onto your street. 

You look up, giving him a confused look. 

Hongjoong nods in direction, following his eyes to look at the measly, dying flower pot perched on the steps of your flat’s entrance as the car stopped to a halt. “You know, it’s really hard for plants to die when they’re outside.” He says in amazement at your shit gardening. 

You scowl at him, asking him when he became such a plant expert all of a sudden. 

He continues to poke fun at you, smirking when he undoes his seat belt. Hongjoong suddenly leans over to help you unbuckle your own, face dangerously close to yours as he lowers his voice. 

“Unless their owner just really sucks at taking care of them.” 

His eyes gaze into yours for a split second, feeling your face heat up from the proximity. You let out a tiny gasp for air when he leans back in his own seat. 

“Fuck off” you replied harshly. 

“You should give them some more care,” he suggests, ignoring your swearing. 

You don’t reply to his stupid comment, refusing to look at him as you get out of the car. 

“I can go in by myself” you press, adjusting the strap of your purse on your shoulder. You didn’t think it was necessary to draw out your time with this man any further.

Hongjoong straightens his dress shirt as he moves to your side of the car, shoving his own car keys in his trousers as he locks your doors and hands over the keys. You take them hesitantly, watching as he rests against the car door, strong arms crossing against his chest. 

“Think about it at least.” he mutters to you. 

You look at him, eyes shutting softly when you realize he was still talking about the cottage getaway. Sighing his name is exasperation, you run a hand through your hair. 

“Hongjoong-”

“Would it kill you to spend a week with me and our daughters?” He scoffs as he asks you straight up, looking at you in a way that makes you hesitate to say your next words. You observed one hand come to shuffle with the silver lighter in his trouser pockets. 

You stayed silent for a moment, genuinely thinking back to your daughters and what this meant to them if you went. What this would mean for you two as well. 

Finally, you look up to him, returning his gaze.

“I need time.” 

He nods, face serious. “I understand.”

“Let me think about it.” You mumbled. 

And with that you turn around, walking up the steps to your front door. At the sight of your flowerpot, you quickly remember his comment and snatch it in your hands, slamming the door shut to Hongjoong as he finally lets a soft grin break out on his face. Letting his back come up from leaning against the door, Hongjoong nods his head, satisfied enough at that answer, as he walks silently down the road while opening his Uber app. 

At least you’d give it some thought. 

Okay, maybe now you’ve given it too much thought. 

Sipping your fifth glass of wine of the night, you’re sitting, back hunched over with your knees tucked into your chest on the breakfast table chair, zoning out as your best friend Sophie continues barking at you and your inconsistent commitment. 

“I don’t even understand why you’re considering going! Does the man realize what it takes to leave your own shop for a full week?” she fumes, adjusting her royal jelly sheet mask while cursing at your ex-husband for pressuring you into going to the family retreat. 

“Not everyone can just pack their bags and go swimming at the cottage, Jesus Christ” she rolls her eyes. 

“He didn’t pressure me,” you told her pouting. “He wants to do it for the kids” you mumbled looking down as you defended him. 

You invited your best friend Sophie over to your apartment that evening for your weekly slumber party, a time you each looked forward to dedicating a bottle of wine and chardonnay over some gossip, spilling all the uneventful drama in your lives. 

Perhaps you revealed too much drama to your best friend tonight. 

“I don’t think I would mind going, to be honest” you hiccup, words slurring. “I haven’t had a vacation in so long, Sophie, and the girls really want to go! I would feel bad for leaving them with nothing to do this summer.” confessing through the alcohol. 

Cheeks flushed, you sigh as you play with your silk robe mindlessly while Sophie shakes her head at you, one hand coming up to snap at you and bring you back to reality. 

“Hello? Earth to Ms. Divorcee?” She sighs, rolling her eyes in frustration. “You said you wanted to set boundaries with him! To cut the line straight and keep your distance so you could get over your feelings for him! Show him who’s boss!” 

“He said he’s willing to put his music projects on hold for us,” you muttered quietly, the thought making your heart weak as you smiled at the memory of Hongjoong teasing you about your flower pot. Your chest blossomed with warmth now. 

Sophie sighs, shaking her head as she thinks just how differently you were feeling four wine glasses ago.

“Listen, honey, I’m just warning you in advance” she sips the golden liquid in her glass before placing it on the table. 

“Take it from a girl who’s had three divorces. I mean look at me! I’m still somewhat young, I’ve got no kids, no responsibilities, filthily rich, and not once have I had to pay for my own divorce settlement fees!” 

You nod mindlessly, eyes blinking softly under the bright kitchen lights. 

“What you need is a provider, sweetheart,” she crooned, caressing your head. 

“A guy who won’t leave you stressed and unimpressed like Hongjoong does.”

You continue mindlessly nodding your head at her words, ears perking up when you hear small footsteps come down the stairs. 

“Hi mom, Hi aunt Sophie.” Eunbyeol greets, eyes glued to her iPad that Eunseo trails after from behind, whining how it was now her turn to play Super Mario.  

“Hi girls,” Sophie replies like the cool, hot aunt she is, eyes shut as she’s concentrating on giving herself a collarbone massage right now. 

“Hey sweetheart,” you mumbled, smiling at your daughters standing near the fridge getting a glass of water. 

“Say, did your dad tell you guys anything about the cottage?” You blurt out loud, avoiding the look that Sophie gives you. Eunbyeol looks up from the glowing screen, ears perking in interest. “No, not much, why?” 

Eunseo snatches the iPad from her twin, coming over to you. “Did Dad say we’re going?” She asks enthusiastically, eyes widening. Sophie is quick to assure them. 

“Now of course not girls, your mother here was just-”

“Oh fuck it, why not?” you say confidentially, shining a bright smile. “Let’s go to the cottage!” You exclaimed in drunk excitement, all three girls staring at you with their jaws hanging at your sudden profanity as well as your final decision. 

Oh, how dangerous the effects of a bottle of wine were. 

Eunseo and Eunbyeol immediately embrace each other in a passionate hug, squealing in excitement that their plan actually worked. You and Hongjoong were now both convinced. “Oh my gosh, we’re going to go as a family!” They cried in happiness. You giggled at their joy, reciprocating their enthusiasm.  

Sophie leans back in her seat defeated, shaking her head with pursed lips as she picks up the whole Chardonnay bottle and sips it. 

“Oh whatever. . . This isn’t my problem anyways.” 

When Hongjoong drops by the next morning to pick up Eunbyeol and Eunseo from your house for the weekend, he can’t lie but be a little heartbroken at the way his daughters ignore his kiss to them first thing. They instead, immediately shove the cottage advertising pamphlet in his face with victorious grins. 

“See! We told you mom would say yes!” 

“Say yes to what?” He pouts, avoiding the paper and obsessively trying to peck a kiss to each of his daughter's cheeks. The idea of going to the cottage almost slipped the busy man’s mind after almost a week of no news from you. 

“What’s so important that you guys don’t even say hi to me anymore?” he sulks.

Eunseo giggles, fighting back her laughter when her dad tries to tickle her with his kisses. 

“We’re going to the cottage!”

Hongjoong stills himself, leaning back to make sure he heard her correctly. 

“We’re what?”

Eunbyeol, taking after her mother, has a cheeky expression on her face as she places her hands on her hips and sasses her father. 

“Pack your bags and swimming shorts, daddy, we’re going on a family vacation!” 

In perfect timing, you manage to stumble out your front door, coffee mug in hand and mid-yawn when you realize Hongjoong is already staring at you in shock. 

“What?” you snap, still grumpy from your slight hangover. “You’ve never seen a woman wake up before?” You replied, asking your kids if they packed all their stuff. 

The twins watch as their dad stands up from his crouched position. 

“You’re going to go to the cottage?”

At Hongjoongs words you freeze, everything coming back to you all at once. The wine, the twins, the promises, it hits you like a moving truck. 

“Well…”

“No take backs mom! You said it yourself last night that you were excited to go to the cottage!” One of the twins pointed out. 

Hongjoong doesn’t take his eyes off of you. 

“I-I did say that, didn’t I?” You chuckled sheepishly, toes curling at the rookie mistake you made in parenting 101: saying yes when you should’ve said no. 

Your ex-husband quickly tells the kids to put their things in the trunk, promising he’ll be right with them after talking to you. As Hongjoong dashes up the stairs in his white polo golf shirt, you feel slightly exposed being in only your silk slip dress and robe. 

“I didn’t realize you’d be here so early” you mumbled, looking down at your toes. 

He ignores you. “So I’m guessing we’re going then?” He smirks, looking at you with an expression of undeniable cockiness and peaked interest. 

You shrug nonchalantly. “Let’s surround the focus of this trip towards the kids” you remind him, straightening your back.

Hongjoong nods, agreeing with you wholeheartedly. “Of course, that was my intention from the beginning,” he smiles. 

You swallow the lump in your throat, unnoticing his stare drop at your breasts perking up from the cool morning air. You jump in surprise as you hear the honking of the car. 

“Come on, love birds! We gotta go back to dad’s to get our swimming stuff!” Eunbyeol cackles, leaning from the backseat into the driver's seat window. Eunseo already begins journaling in her hello kitty note book, an organized list of what she’ll need to bring to the cottage.

Hongjoong looks back at his daughters, before looking back at you with a smile. 

“Let’s keep in touch about details, alright?”

You nod silently, gripping your mug. At the sound of your nextdoor neighbor coming out, Hongjoong contemplates for a moment before quickly leaning forward, shielding you from their view with his backside. Clearing his throat, Hongjoong nods his head to the inside of your house, leaning forward to whisper to you. 

“Think, um, you should get inside, it’s getting cold,” he mutters, his dimples faintly showing. You glare up at him, “I’m going to say goodbye to my own daughters”. Still clueless to what he was referring to. He grins, shrugging his shoulders before looking at you. 

“If you insist. Just thought you wouldn’t want your neighbor to see what I can see, would you?”

You gasp at his words, looking down at your chest to see what he means before wrapping your robe around you. You quickly waved goodbye to your girls before you shut the door in Hongjoong’s smug face. 

It’s now become the second time you’ve done that.

Thankfully, the next time you see Hongjoong you’re wearing a much more appropriate outfit. In a white cotton blouse and casual jean shorts, your effortlessly chic vacation outfit was the only highlight today, considering the day you had been internally dreading for so long was finally here. 

You tried to take deep breaths while scurrying all over your house and finishing some last minute packing. Reassuring yourself that a family getaway couldn’t kill you. 

Right?

Reservations at the cottage were made over the phone last week, booking a house with the perfect lake side view, access to the forest trail and close proximity to the offered activities. It would only be a seven day stay, both in your respective rooms, (you clearly emphasized you and Hongjoong had to have separate ones) while the twins would lodge together. You had no intention of interacting with your husband alone together on this trip, apart from the quote on quote, ‘family bonding times’ you promised your daughters. And yet why were you here sweating nervously like a sinner in church?

“What a hot lady!” Eunbyeol wolf-whistles at your outfit when she walks through your bedroom doors. You jump at the sudden entrance, realizing Hongjoong was already here to pick you up with the girls.

A pair of black designer sunglasses slightly too big for her sat perched on her nose. Eunbyeol smiles before jumping onto your bed of clothes. You already know Hongjoong must’ve spoiled her and her sister with those, buying them a pair each.

“C’mon Byeol, off the bed” you quipped, packing your toothbrush as she reluctantly slugged off the covers. 

Your suspicions of Hongjoong buying them designer items are correct when Eunseo walks in, classily perching her matching white ones on her head before chastising her sister's tasteless compliment. 

“Elegant. She’s Elegant, Byeol. You don’t just go around wolf-whistling at people.” she rolls her eyes. 

“You look very pretty by the way, mom”

You smiled, nevertheless pleased at both their compliments and thanking them before going back to doing a last minute check of your things. 

Sun cream, clothes, makeup bag, swimsuit…

At the thought of your swimsuit you immediately blush, thinking back to how Sophie forced you to borrow her yellow bikini that left very little to the imagination. Despite your protests that you wouldn’t be needing it, she insisted. 

Hongjoong is last to walk through your front doors, swinging his car keys around his index finger and calling to his three girls from the downstairs foyer of your apartment. The man is clearly excited for the trip, he can’t lie. 

“Come on ladies, we’re gonna miss the chance to swim in that lake if we don't leave soon!” 

Hongjoong is your typical dad, except for the fact that he does not mess with dad!fashion. The producer is dressed classily from top to bottom in a loose-fitting designer button up with a pair of reformed denim pants, his pearl earrings and gold piercings complementing his outfit perfectly. 

Kim Hongjoong didn't play when it came to fashion. Even as a father. 

“Coming!” You exclaimed, ushering your kids out of your bedroom and making your way down the stairs with your suitcase. Seeing that it would only be a week at the cottage, you tried to pack light, though you may have to reconsider that thought with the way you struggled to lift the case properly. 

“Need some help?”

A strong hand comes to help you, immediately inhaling the scent of Hongjoong’s cologne as he brushes his knuckles near yours. “Here, I’ve got it” he assures, making you step back and admire your undeniably fine husband. 

Ex-husband. You meant Ex-husband. Scratch out the fine as well. 

You watch from behind as he struts out the foyer, smiling and joking playfully with his twin daughters, carrying your luggage out the door with them. 

What was this trip doing to you?

Once you’re on route to the cottage resort and the GPS is set, the car is blissfully quiet, each and every one of you surprisingly at peace. Jittery excitement still lays deep in your daughters' minds as you overhear them talk about what they want to do first once they arrive. 

Hongjoong’s 2000s soft rock and ballad playlist is playing quietly throughout the speakers right now, relishing in the music as luscious, green trees flash by you from the passenger window. 

While Byeol and Eunseo distract each other on their own, Hongjoong turns to talk to you. 

“I’m not going to lie, it’s been forever since I’ve been on a road trip” he smiles.

You copy him, feeling good in the moment. “Same, I don’t remember the last time I went to one.” you confessed, thinking only of all the times you had in the past when you were a child and as a teenager. 

Even back to when you were a young college student, wide eyed and so innocent to the chaos of your first college retreat with Hongjoong. That was the summer you two began dating, and boy were you fools in love. You cautiously look to your husband driving, bringing up past memories.

“Do you remember that one college retreat we went on during second year?” 

The corners of Hongjoong’s lips are already grinning upwards, smiling as he reciprocates your expression. 

“Right, like I could forget that summer” he replies sarcastically, gripping the steering wheel. 

It’s an easy memory to digest. A time when you were both so young, filled with nothing but dreams and passionate love for one another. Love so deep, that you remember the nights you’d spend locked up with Hongjoong under the sweaty bed sheets inside your cabin, blissfully making love until the sun would rise and he would finally kiss you to sleep. Perhaps, it was that summer when you realized you were going to marry and be with Kim Hongjoong forever someday. 

Though it’s too bad, someday already passed. 

“Do you remember when Seonghwa got so drunk he ended up confessing to Jieun in front of all the girl’s sleeping cabins?” Hongjoong snickers, relishing in the embarrassing memory his friend always hates him for bringing up. You laugh out loud, remembering the memory. “Oh my god, yes!” You turned to face him, shaking your head. “In nothing but his underwear, right?” 

Hongjoong nodded, smiling with one hand on the steering wheel as he drove.

“Didn’t he end up jumping into the lake afterwards? With you having to go in and save him as well?” You share your laughter with one another, catching up on past memories as your twin daughters listened attentively in the back, reliving them with you together.

That's what makes the hour and half drive from the city into the wilderness feel so short, finally pulling into the graveled parking lot of the vast cottage resort. White suburban cottages lined along one another, a good amount of distance in between each for every family staying. 

As Hongjoong parked the car, the view outside was so glorious you had to hold your breath. Glistening clear blue waves in the lake reflect the bright sunshine from above. A light breeze is present today with the way the willow and oak trees swayed gently. 

“It’s beautiful” you gasped from as far as you got out of the car, stretching your upper body with eyes closed as you inhaled the fresh air. 

Hongjoong stills his movements, shutting the door before replying with his gaze caught at your backside.

“Yeah, it is” he smiles.

Both of you turn around at a loud voice coming from behind. “We’re gonna explore the campsites and souvenir shops first!” Eunbyeol shouts as she runs away with her sister's hand in hers, towards the wooden cabin that's settled further away. 

“What about lunch?” you call to them. 

“We’re not hungry!”

Hongjoong tells them to be safe, and to stick around nearby. You smirked, helping him unload the trunk as you told him. “They’ll be fine. They’re probably too excited to even think right now” you giggled, bumping shoulders with him. 

You feel the tension that was once so strong between you two fade slowly, walking up the wooden steps of your lodge and exchanging conversation with each other.

“Hey, I just want my babies to be safe” he admits, a grin on his face as he holds the cooler in his hands. You chuckle, shaking your head at his protectiveness. 

“Here it is!” he exclaims, setting the suitcases in the front foyer as he opens the door. “Lodge number 1117”

The two story cottage is larger than it appears from the outside, having a modern yet rustic interior that you and Hongjoong admired. It had everything you would need, from a well designed kitchen area to a cozy living room space.

“It’s perfect, the kids will love it” you beam, looking at the hanging hammock chair in the corner of the living room and the gray stone fireplace. It fit perfectly for your family. 

Hongjoong smiles, sunglasses perched on top of his head as he sets the luggage down near the kitchen. Walking up beside him, you help him unload the cooler and ice boxes first, settling into your new home for the next few days. 

“I’m guessing you still drink?” you ask, looking in his direction as you unloaded the case of beer you saw him bring from the trunk.

He gestured to the booze. “C’mon, it wouldn’t be a vacation without it, would it?” 

You wholeheartedly agreed, placing a few in the fridge before you shut it closed. 

“Hopefully, this time we won’t end up shit faced like we did back in college” you laugh, turning to face him. 

“I can already picture that time we got so drunk from that bottle of tequila my friend brought, we snuck out of the campsite and went to the forest and got lost.” you spoke, the memory a little foggy but nonetheless fresh in your mind. 

Hongjoong smiles, listening as you speak.  

“There wasn’t anything but trees and bushes in that forest!” You exclaimed, shaking your head. “What did we even do there?” 

Hongjoong replies nonchalantly, folding the cardboard box in his hands.

“I’m pretty sure we fucked.”

You momentarily freeze at his words, before letting out a soft awkward laugh, causing him to look up. 

“No we didn’t, Hongjoong” you immediately deny, not believing his words. But your brows began furrowing at the foggy memory, starting to realize you really couldn’t trust your alcohol tolerance, now as an adult and even back when you were a college student. Did you guys have sex? In a forest out of all places?

Hongjoong leans against the kitchen counter, across from you as he crosses his arms in front of his chest and smirks smugly. 

“Nope, I distinctly remember it” he recalls, taking a step closer so he was now in your space. 

“I held your hand in mind as we walked up that trail by the cliff. And gosh, were we horny that night, because I remember you complaining about all that dirt you got on your knees from giving me the greatest head i've ever experienced in my entire life-” 

Slapping your hands over his mouth to stop him from going on, you blushed as you glared at him. 

“Jesus christ,” you mumbled, rolling your eyes before confessing.

“I get it, we fucked.”

Suddenly, you and Hongjoong break out into giggles like varsity sweethearts again at the story. Though embarrassed and cringing internally from the way you acted as young adults, it was nice to share them together now. At the proximity in which you’re standing in, you can't help but stare at each other softly. A hand wraps around your waist, making your breath hitch as he pulls you closer. 

“What are you doing?” you grin, watching him.

He looms over you, able to tell that something sits right at the tip of his tongue that he hesitantly decides to say. “I’m pretty sure,” he mutters, staring at your face and cautiously grazing the skin under your blouse. You feel your breathing speed up. 

“I also held you like this in my arms as you were leaning against that tree” his grip gentle and immediately transporting you back to the scenery that night. His sharp tone contrasts his touch. 

“Yknow, the one we fucked against?” he teases to you one more time.

The scent of burning campfire. A cold, midnight breeze. The feeling of the rough cedar tree against your back as Hongjoong thrusted inside you with every delirious snap of his hips, holding you close while he fucked you to oblivion with only the forest animals standing witness to your sinful actions. The film replays like a cheesy R-rated romance movie in your mind. 

“Did you, now?” You gulp, looking up at him as you adjust to the foreign feeling of his touch on your hips. 

“Yeah. I remember it all” he states, smirking down at you with an intense gaze.

The memory dies down when you catch yourself staring at his lips, arms finding their way around his neck as he dives down to whisper softly to you.

“Do you remember too?” He asks.

How he held you in his arms. How he whispered in your ear while you came around his cock, drool and traces of cum littering the corners of your mouth while Hongjoong didn’t care if you were stretching his flannel from how hard you were tugging at the material.

You nod. “I do,” you muttered, lashes fluttering as you felt as though your heart wouldn’t stop beating. “I remember you kissed me on the lips,” you confessed. 

Perhaps you wanted him to do it again right now. 

He looks in your eyes, searching for your approval that you desperately give, breath hitting each other's faces as he slowly leaned down to try and connect your lips. His chest is pressed against yours, and you begin to realize you haven’t shared the same breath like that in so long. You were so close to kissing right then and there.

If only you leaned in closer…

“We’re back!”

You push Hongjoong across the kitchen, shoving his hip painfully into the marble counter and ignoring his high-pitched groan of agony as you immediately look away to avoid suspicion, continuing to grab the beer from the icebox in front of you.

“Girls!” you exclaimed, voice wavering. 

Of course, Eunbyeol and Eunseo walk in with matching postcards and goodies from the souvenir shop in their hands, their sunglasses perched on their heads as their eyes lit up with excitement. They were still oblivious to the fact that they almost caught their parents about to make out in the kitchen.

“Dad, this place is amazing!” Eunbyeol deadpans, telling her father. “They even have jet skiing on the other side of the lake! We gotta go now!”

Hongjoong clutches his hip, pursing his lips as he hides his expression of pain and surprise. 

“Really? That's great sweetie”

Eunseo however, is quick to catch on.

“What were you guys doing?” she looks at you suspiciously. Her words hang in the air for a moment. 

“Were you guys about to kis-”

Hongjoong and you frantically scurry to find a plausible excuse, shuffling awkwardly. 

“I was helping your dad unload the cooler” 

“I was helping your mom get something out of her eye”

Both girls stare at you meekly. Eunbyeol scrunches her nose. “Huh?”

Plastering on a fake smile, you briskly leaped over the luggage nearby, ushering them upstairs before they had the chance to ask anymore questions.

“I think it’s time to unpack your things.” you watched their eyebrows quirk at the way you pushed them out the kitchen.

“We can do it on our own, mom! It’s really no big d-”

You clamp Eunbyeol’s mouth shut with your hand, blushing profusely as you walk away with them. 

Hongjoong stands there alone in the kitchen, rubbing his hip and wondering what the hell just almost happened.

The next few days, you and Hongjoong don’t discuss the incident between you two. Rather, the beginning of the trip after that event has become a painful performance trying your best to be eerily polite yet distant to each other in front of your children, as if that would make you forget the fact that you two almost kissed in the kitchen.

“Could you pass the sunscreen, honey?” Hongjoong would say awkwardly, turning his back to flash you a cheery smile on the lake deck as Eunbyeol and Eunseo watched you interact while floating in the cool, summer waters. 

You passed the bottle to your ex-husband while maintaining awkward distance. “Of course, darling!” 

“Thanks honey!”

“No problem sweetheart!”

This resulted in Eunbyeol and Eunseo looking at their parents in horror, the youngest twin muttering under her breath as they discussed an urgent change of plans.

“We have to get them to stop being weird.”

Apart from that, the ‘family bonding time’ promise to your daughters was maintained, and each day was an adventure for all of you in terms of what you would do together next. An accumulation of forest trekking, water-skiing and outdoors barbeques on the patio of your cottage made everyday feel more and more special for your girls, seeing how they relished in having both their parents with them at the same place and time. It became moments of peace and resolution that eventually became special for you and Hongjoong too. 

“I hope we stay here forever,” Eunseo blurted out one evening after a blissful day near the lakeshore, watching as the sun began to go down. She was busy licking the sticky sides of her melting ice cream cone in one hand, the other one held in yours. 

Hongjoong and Eunbyeol were a few feet ahead, laughing loudly and holding hands as they compared their fruit popsicles with one another to see whose was bigger. 

“You and Byeol would eventually get sick of going to the lake all the time” You smiled, the corners of your mouth turning up before her next words made the strings of your heart tug. 

“Sure, but at least you and dad could be together with us too.”

You watched as she ran up to her sister and dad, joining in on their fun as she began boasting that her ice cream was better than theirs. Hongjoong’s smile is the biggest you’ve ever seen it to be, looking down at his girls with a golden tan from the past few days spent outside, and hair slightly damp from swimming. 

Any person could tell the love in his eyes was as pure a father’s love for his girls could be. 

Her words stuck with you until that very night, where after dinner, board games, and much pacing back and forth in your own room before getting into bed, you decided to cautiously approach Hongjoong’s room on the opposite side of the second floor.

Bare feet padded across the wooden floors as you peeked through the sliver of the open door.

He's wearing an oversized sleep tee and blue pajama pants, getting in some nighttime reading before bed. His glasses are perched on his nose, intently reading his paperback novel. He looks as domestic as a husband gets. 

At the sound of your steps though, he sits up from his relaxed state on his bed, one arm that was supporting his head coming out as the other hand settles the book down on his abdomen. He looks surprised to see you. 

“Hi” he states, looking at you. 

“Hey”

Hongjoong’s expression immediately softened at your figure, watching as you shuffled awkwardly in front of him. The room is quiet. 

“Can I come in?”

“Of course,” He nods, setting his bookmark in the spine of the cover and turning his attention to you, offering you to take a seat on his linen covers. You see his polaroid camera with photos taken of Eunbyeol and Eunseo perched on a desk nearby. 

You don’t see the ones he secretly took of you, as those are in his drawers. 

“Don’t tell me you can’t sleep by yourself” he gently teases before watching as your smile doesn't reach the ends of your eyes. You wrap your silk robe closer to your body, feeling sort of vulnerable. 

“How do you like the resort so far?” He asks, watching as you played with your fingers absentmindedly. “Is the room okay?”

“It’s wonderful Hongjoong, better than I could ever have hoped for.” You spoke up, telling the truth.

It’s hard to arrange your thoughts in your head when it’s just the two of you in his room. The kids were already fast asleep. Now was your chance to just tell him how you felt. Why were you hesitating so much?

“Hey, look at me.” Hongjoong’s soft voice calls out to you, a protective hand coming out to caress the back of your head in habit. He can tell you want to say something, and the gesture makes you emotional, remembering how he always used to do that to ease your nerves when you were younger. 

“What’s wrong? Am I making things uncomfortable on the trip?” he worries about the boundaries you established with him at the beginning, watching as your lip begins to quiver and the emotions suddenly overcome you. 

“I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry.” you sniffled, tears forming near the brim of your eyes as you looked up at the father of your children. 

Hongjoong’s eyes widened, shifting through the covers over to you. “Woah, hey, shh that’s alright I got you” he coos, immediately going into dad mode and embracing you in his arms, letting your head rest against his chest. 

The action is natural, no longer foreign or weird, and you silently thank him for leaving reassuring circles on your back. Husband or not, Hongjoong would always be your best friend first. You had forgotten how much you missed this comforting side to him.  

“Tell me what you’re sorry about” he states, chest tightening at your wet cheeks before he slowly raises your chin to look him in the eyes. 

“For being mean to you for so long” you sniffle, a weakened state of emotional guilt eating away at you. You let him watch you carefully.

“I’ve been thinking about how happy the girls have been during this trip. A-And it kills me that we’ve been fighting for the past seven years, and that they’ve grown up seeing such bad parts of ourselves, of my own self” you ramble, confessing how you felt. 

You look up. “They’re happy because we’re together Joong. Because we’re not fighting or avoiding each other like we used to do before.”

He watches as you look up at him with tears forming in your eyes. 

“You’re such a good dad. And I realized you deserve to hear that.”

At the sounds of more sniffles, Hongjoong finally speaks, smiling as he brushes stray hair from your face. 

“I wouldn’t want anyone else but you to be the mother of our children, I hope you know that”

His truthfulness throws you off guard.

“I’m sorry too” he sighs, letting you sit up straight and look him in the eyes properly. “I haven’t been the best partner either, baby. We were both mean to each other.” he says, brushing a tear away from your face.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve thrown a hair dryer at me once before as well” he attempts to make you laugh, affection blooming in his chest when he sees he succeeds, wiping your tears. 

“But I already knew how you felt, sweetheart. I always know” he smiles, eyes mirroring a weak ache in his heart.  

“Married or not, we were once friends. And now we’re family” His voice turns deep, strong and dependable like the father he’s become.

“We can start over” you tell him, smiling as he folds his hands over your palm. “We can always do better from now and going forward. For ourselves, and for Eunseo and Eunbyeol.” 

Hongjoong nods, hesitantly for a split second before he leans over to press a soft kiss to your cheek, showing a gesture of affection that you longed for so long.

You shut your eyes, the kiss making your heart flutter. 

“Friends again?” He whispers, though silently wanting something more. 

You sighed, pulling him in closer to embrace in a hug. “Friends” you nodded while inhaling his comforting scent. 

The next morning, and for the rest of the remaining trip onwards, you and Hongjoong’s relationship dynamics did the equivalent of a 180 degree turn. 

It’s hard to believe you two really just wanted to be ‘friends’

Eunbyeol and Eunseo could tell by the way you talked to each other more, noticing you share more secret glances and fleeting touches that were innocent to the eye, but concealing a longing that you both tried to hide. You knew you couldn’t get carried away. You and Hongjoong were simply resolving a rough patch in your parenting. Not getting back together in a relationship. 

But after spending more time together while Eunbyeol and Eunseo became occupied on their own, it was hard keeping the interactions to a justified amount. Long walks in the forest, evenings spent cooking together, even cuddling together on the couch during family movie night. Thinking your kids were too busy watching the vintage Disney movie play on screen, when in fact, the real love story they were more invested in was happening right in front of their eyes, watching their parents falling in love again.

This led to the last event in their plan that they hoped would finally seal the deal. 

On Saturday night, the last night of your trip before you had to go back to the city, you and Hongjoong are surprised to find mini invitations left on your beds, scribbled in glitter pen and cursive handwriting reading out the following:

Gourmet Dinner Date for 2

Time: 7:30 pm

Location: Outdoor patio 

Dress code: Formal and Classy

You and your husband chuckled at the cards left on your beds, suddenly finding a twin each by your side and ushering you to get ready. 

“Do you and your sister even know how to cook dinner, Eunbyeol?” You questioned as your daughter rushed to push you into your walk-in closet, forcing you to get ready. 

She huffs, placing her hands on her hips looking offended. 

“At least my cooking skills don’t take after Dad’s, mom.” She mumbled, choosing your shoes for you. “Have some trust in a girl!”

Meanwhile, Hongjoong gets pampered by Eunseo in the other room, though in reality, her blunt critiques on her dads fashion are bruising his pride at the moment. 

“Dad, you have many normal clothes to wear. You have to chill with the ripped baggy jeans.” she demands, trudging through his closet to find something formal for him to wear. 

He begins to protest but his daughter shakes her head. “You’re supposed to look good for mom!” she huffs, searching on her own. At Eunseo’s words, the man starts to slightly worry, scratching the back of his head. 

“You and Byeol are gonna join too, right?”

She stops for a second, looking back to her father as she avoids the question and instead retorts back. 

“It’s just a date, Dad. Relax”

Back to what was happening in the other room at the end of the hallway, you huffed in frustration when you walked back into your closet after Byeol rejected another one of your outfits for the dinner date. 

“I have nothing else to wear, sweetie, these are all the clothes I have.” you came to terms with a hand coming to your forehead after having searched in despair. 

The ten year old shakes her head before pushing you out of the way and digging deep into your suitcase. She reveals a delicate piece of material you didn’t even realize you packed. 

“We got some help from Aunt Sophie and Uncle Hwa to pack you guys clothes that you could wear for a special occasion.” she wiggles her eyebrows, a smug grin on her face as you gap in shock. 

You inspect the dress, lips parting in disbelief as you feel the material. 

“I haven’t worn this since I was in college.” You uttered softly to yourself. 

At one longing look of the short dress, you shake your head, walking back into the closet to find something else. “I-I can’t wear this Byeol, what would your dad think?“ you asked nervously.

“Dad said he thinks your boobs looked hot in this dress so Aunt Sophie and I picked it specially” she looks up at you, proud of what she just said.  

You whip your head around, mouth hanging open in shock.

“Byeol! Where did you hear that from?” 

She sighs. “Dad had one too many drinks this one time and started talking about you guys back in college” she explained before shoving the infamous black dress in your hands. 

“Talked a lot about how pretty you were,” she draws out her words in a teasing voice. You curse your husband for his mistake.

You bite your lip as you stare down at the fabric in your hands. 

It was undeniable. You knew you looked amazing in this dress. You could testify from the amount of times Hongjoong ripped it off of you after countless night out’s filled with sexual tension and playful flirting. For god's sake, Eunbyeol and Eunseo could’ve almost had another sibling thanks to that dress.

“Fine.” you muttered bashfully, turning away as you walked into the closet to change. 

“But I’m just gonna try it on.”

Thirty minutes, one mental breakdown and too many outfit changes to count later, you walk down the stairs wearing the dress Eunbyeol had successfully persuaded you to wear. 

What do you know, the kid was right. Your boobs looked amazing in that dress. 

Not just your boobs, your whole body looked incredible with its strong curves and the beautiful fill it gave to the dress, making it slightly tighter than when you wore it as a twenty year old, but still all the more mature and sophisticated. You really did look hot.

Eunbyeol rushes down the stairs before you, catching up with her sister to inspect her job on their fathers preparation. 

“Well?” She says expectedly, looking at her dad. “Let’s take a look!”

He sports a simple yet timeless white collar dress shirt, the first few buttons undone as he wears a form fitting black dress-vest that accentuates his waist, dress pants paired to go along with it. Though simple, his silver rings pulled the outfit together, making him just as good looking and sophisticated as you were. 

Hongjoong’s back faces towards your front, watching as the man nervously shuffles his hands in his pockets.

“How do I look guys?” He gulps, adjusting his collar and sweeping his blond hair back. 

Eunseo rolls her eyes, a grin on her proud little face. “Do you even have to ask, dad?” She’s more than confident in the outfit she and Seonghwa coordinated together. 

He chuckles, shaking his head as he nervously tells them. 

“I want to look good for your mom, you know what I mean? She's a difficult woman to impress sometimes.”

“I’m difficult?” You tease, walking down the last few steps of the stairs. 

The man turns his head around, losing his breath at the sight of you standing there in front of him, wearing that dress that he hadn’t seen you wear for so long, looking breathtaking in every possible way. 

“Hi” you grinned softly, feeling sort of shy.

The way you fit in that dress made an insatiable hunger fuel inside Hongjoongs chest, eyes gazing at the way you strutted over in the black, lace covered material with your hair tied back and glossed lips turned upwards as your dimples showed. He breaks from his admiration when you quirk a brow at him, making the man almost fall to his knees and stutter uncontrollably. 

“I-I No I didn’t mean that-“

You giggle as you bravely take Hongjoongs hands in your own, shutting him up as you turn to your daughters standing in front of you, starstruck at your aura. 

“Outside, right?” you winked at them. 

“Right this way!” Eunseo enthusiastically leads you out back to the outdoor patio, a perfect view of the garden and lakeside coming into effect. Hongjoong slips his hand from yours, and slides it across your waist, pulling you into his side. 

“My parents are too cool” Eunbyeol sighs under her breath, watching from behind in awe.

Your ex-husband makes you swoon when he leans in to whisper softly. “You look breathtaking, sweetheart.” feeling an immense sense of pride at how lucky he was to make you the mother of his children. 

You blush, turning to him to whisper playfully back. 

“Not bad yourself.” 

You both look forward when you come to a stop at the patio steps, sheer amazement at the full preparation your daughters did for this event. Fairy lights were hung around the area, a table with two chairs on either side placed with a white table cloth and a bouquet of freshly hand picked flowers from the forest, battery powered candles that were sold at the souvenir shop lit in the middle and glowing softly. 

Eunbyeol dashes to the door when it rings, making you and Hongjoong furrow your brows. 

“Is someone here?” he asks, watching Eunseo fold a napkin over her arm like the pro waiter she was. The other one walks out, an oily fast food paper bag in her hands as she smiles. “Dinner is served!” 

“Turns out that diner 15 minutes away also delivers!” She chuckled, helping her sister plate the two cheeseburgers, fries, and vanilla and strawberry milkshakes. 

You and Hongjoong continue to watch in stunned amazement as the girls prepare the not exactly gourmet(?) but still impressive meal in front of you, their small hands working swiftly. 

“You guys prepared all of this?” You asked, getting a little emotional. They grin proudly, nodding their heads. “We called the place earlier and planned it all by ourselves!”

You pressed a kiss to each of their soft cheeks, thanking them both as Hongjoong did the same. 

“What did I do to get so lucky with my girls?” he smiles, ruffling their heads. 

“What about you guys?” You asked, watching as they slowly backed away to give you two some privacy. 

“Natalie and her mom invited us over for dinner and a sleepover tonight at her cottage,” Eunbyeol smiles. At the mention of their newly made friend that they had gotten close to over the week, Hongjoong looks at you then back at them. 

“What? But- ”

She cuts him off, rolling her eyes. “Her mom said it’s totally fine with her. She’s only two cottages down, and she’ll make sure we’re back in time again for tomorrow when we leave!” 

The two girls smile in excitement, though the both of you have your parental instincts kick in. 

“Please?” they begged, wanting you to let them go so that they could do this for you guys as much as they wanted to do it for themselves. “She’s waiting for us now!”

Hongjoong feels guilty. “C’mon, you guys should still join us!”

Eunseo immediately shakes her head, declining the offer. 

“Tonight is all about you guys. We don’t want to intrude” she chuckles, bumping shoulders with her sister who chips in.

“We’ll text you guys in the middle to let you know everything’s good of course” 

You and Hongjoong smile, a feeling of immense proudness overwhelming you from seeing your daughters act so grown up. There wasn’t anything else you felt grateful for more. 

“Thank you girls.” you muttered softly, watching as they flashed you a wink before hurrying out through the backyard door. 

“Don’t get all kissy in the backyard!” Eunbyeol teases, making cheesy smooching sounds with the back of her hand as her sister rolls her eyes and shoves her out. 

Before you know it, you’re left standing with just the sound of smooth jazz playing on the patio speakers and the buzzing of the summer cicadas. 

“She takes after you, I hope you know that” You told Hongjoong softly.  

He chuckles, “Not as much as you.” He gestures to the table. “Shall we?” 

And that’s how the next few hours seem to pass by without even realizing. 

You see, there was a reason why you fell in love with the man sitting in front of you, and you’re just beginning to remember it now. Being with Hongjoong felt as if the moment was everlasting, and you could testify that from the amount of laughter and deep conversation that was shared over dinner, bringing you to sit on that patio until the sun had set. Every so often you’d smile again at the thought of the twins preparing this all for you. 

“I don’t remember the last time I’ve been on a date like this” You blurted out after laughing about something, taking a sip of your strawberry milkshake through a straw. 

“Oh, so we’re going on dates now, are we?” Hongjoong grins, making you roll your eyes at him. 

You lean forward on the table cloth, watching as a glimmer passes through your husband’s eyes while he sits back in his chair, cocking his head to the side as he clears his voice. 

“But you’ve gone on dates after we split, haven’t you?” he asks, leaning forward in interest now, letting his chin rest on his palm. 

You shook your head slowly.

“Nope. Not since signing those papers” you revealed. 

Hongjoong furrows his brows in surprise. “And why’s that?” 

You suddenly didn’t have an answer. “I-I don’t know, I just…” You began, watching how he looked at you with an unreadable expression. You smiled, looking down and suddenly feeling embarrassed. 

“I guess I was too focused on running the bridal shop, I couldn’t find the time to.” You use as a cliche excuse. 

“Bullshit” he retorts back immediately. 

“It’s true!” You protested, throwing a fry at him that he dodges, landing on his finished plate. 

“You always did say back when we were younger that you wanted to be a designer. And look at you now” he admires, letting the candle lights shine a youthful glow to your face. 

“You always said you wanted to become a music producer and write your own songs.” you reciprocated, smiling as you soaked in the presence of one another. “And here you are now.” 

You think for a moment before asking the same question. 

“How about you?” 

Hongjoong silently shakes his head as his answer, though silently thinking about something else. The music changes to some old Billy Joel song in the back. You don’t realize it, but Hongjoong smiles to himself when he realizes the girls added it to the playlist. Of course they had to, it was one of the songs you played at your wedding. 

“What were we thinking when we got married like that?” You asked out loud, looking at how far you’d both come. You definitely skipped some of the order of the stages of a normal relationship. 

“I mean, we had no money, no prospects. Hell, we didn’t even have a car, Hongjoong!” you realized.

Your husband laughs, sitting straight and letting some skin show through his unbuttoned collar. 

“We were young” he justifies. 

“Yeah, and stupid too,” you pointed out, feeling the summer breeze pass by. It felt good to sit here like this with him.

You wondered, could sitting here like this with Hongjoong be a regular thing? After this trip, would you be able to walk back into each other’s lives again like this? 

As both parents and lovers?

Hongjoong brings up something you wouldn’t have expected him to. 

“Do you remember when we first found out about Eunseo and Eunbyeol?” he questioned softly, looking at you. 

You blink, taken aback. Suddenly you’re back in your college dorm washroom, sobs wracking through your body as Hongjoong who had only just sent his first few mixtapes to recording stations and companies nearby, pulled you close into his chest, eyeing the two lines left on the counter while he caressed your back. Only twenty years old and figuring out what you wanted to do with your lives, you were suddenly stuck in a sudden situation that had made you feel like your dreams would have been given up on completely. 

“I do,” you told him, pulling yourself from the memory. 

“I remember because in that moment I felt like the whole world was caving in”. You laughed, though it wasn’t fully cheerful.

“I don’t regret it, though” Hongjoong replies after some thought, gazing at you with truth in his eyes. 

You shook your head. “Of course. Neither do I.” 

It was a blessing to have two beautiful daughters as the product of your love.

“I don’t regret you either.” Hongjoong states.

You lock gazes, unable to take your eyes off of his face. 

“I loved you when I first met you and I still loved you when we divorced,” he says all at once, making your breath hitch and heart waver. 

“Don’t say that.” you tell him, looking away and suddenly reminding yourself you’re still divorced from the man sitting in front of you. 

How could he still love you after all this time? How could you feel the same about him?

Hongjoong continues, shaking his head as he bites back the lodge in his throat and makes up his mind. He has to tell you. 

“Truthfully, I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving you.” 

Don’t do this to me you begged silently.

“I’ve hurt you just as much as you’ve hurt me.” He swallows, thinking back to the times you already knew he was referring to. The times where you fought to the point where there wasn’t even anything worth fighting for anymore. 

“But you have given me the greatest gifts of my life.” He smiles, holding his tears back.

“And for that I will always love you.”

You push your seat from the table, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and wanting to avoid him.

“I can’t do this anymore.” you dejected, walking away from the patio and from Hongjoong.

There wasn’t anything else you could fake anymore. You couldn’t bear to hear the man you once loved, possibly even still love, say these things like he had a dagger lodged in his heart. Didn’t he know he was only going to do the same to you?

Hongjoong is quick to catch up, holding onto your wrist and turning you around, that your back collides with the nearest wall inside, pressing your fronts together and closing the distance.

“Why do you always run away from me? From the possibility of us?” He exclaimed, voice breaking. His heart crushed at the way you turned your head, hot tears already clouding your vision. 

“Because ‘us’ can’t happen again, Hongjoong!” You cried, staring up at the man you once promised your life to.

“Don’t you get it? Us going on this trip isn’t a sign to get back together. What would we do seven years after breaking up?”

“We could do it” He states firmly, staring you down, both your chests heaving.

You bite your tears back again. “No we couldn’t, honey. We would be pretending to think we solved our marriage. What would we do about our daughters? After putting them through our constant fighting— ”

He slams his lips to your own, shutting you up as you painfully resist his touch. Your hands came up to push him away, but at the sudden gesture, you’re already giving in and sobbing softly, letting him hold you for just one last time. 

Your lips mold so perfectly, it almost hurts how much you missed this feeling. To have him slot his arms around your waist, pull you in close, and cherish you. You almost forgot this feeling. 

He pulls away softly, watching your lashes flutter, pleading to you for a chance as he leans closer, making your breath hitch. 

“We could be together as a family again,” he states firmly, your name leaving his lips in a desperate plea. “We never know if we try—”

You drown out his words, looking up with tears falling as you cut him off. 

“Seven years ago I gave you those papers to sign, thinking that you would’ve chased after me,” 

Hongjoong holds his breath, watching as the next words stumble from your mouth. 

“I realize now, how stupid I was to think that.”

“I didn’t know you wanted me to chase you”

Shoving his chest away while mustering the last of your strength you uttered. “Of course I wanted you to chase me.” You let go of his hands. “It’s too late either way”, walking away from the defeated man.

Hongjoong stands alone near the patio entrance, watching his tears fall to the wooden floorboards. Holding the ring he had kept hidden in his trouser pocket, he plays with it in his fingers, silently wishing he had given it to you sooner. 

It rains the next morning on your departure back to the city. Perfect, considering it reflects the sudden storm of utter depression that falls upon your family. Long gone are the cheerful giggles and longing stares that were shared between you and Hongjoong during the ride to the cottage. 

There was no room for that, not after last night.

Eunbyeol and Eunseo sat slumped in the backseat, rain hitting the roof of the car as they mindlessly played on their cell phones. Really, they were peeking from behind every so often and watching their parents sit in the front seat with tension so thick, you could’ve cut it with a knife. 

What had they done wrong? They planned the trip, the activities, the dinner— it was all perfect. And yet why were you still fighting with each other? 

These questions racked in their brains, baffled to have witnessed the sight of their parents refusing to talk to each other after walking back from their friends' sleepover. 

Eunbyeol and Eunseo felt as useful as matchmakers without a couple, feeling their efforts all gone down the drain. 

At the sudden ring of your cell phone, you pick up, answering at the voice of your assistant. 

“I’m driving back up right now”

Hongjoong continues focusing on the road, the occasional wiping of rain from the windshield wipers on the front window. 

“Yes. That’s okay, I'll take care of it.” You muttered, glancing at the rear view mirror for a moment. Your twin daughters immediately sigh, having an idea of what to expect when you say those familiar words. 

“Thanks for letting me know.” 

You hang up the phone, 

“One of us isn’t going with you, are we?” Eunseo asks, making you look back at her with a sigh. 

“No, you’re not” You confess, apologetic. ‘I’m sorry honey. I really am.”

You look back facing the front, swallowing as you told Hongjoong. 

“You’ll have to drop me off at the studio. Some things aren’t working out with the client so they need me to come in and take care of it.”

He nods, unphased as he continues to look straight. 

“Will you be fine with the girls?” You asked carefully, watching them as they were slumped in the backseat.

Hongjoong grips the wheel before turning to you. 

“I‘ll be fine. Don’t worry about it” sending a small smile, though it doesn’t fully reach his eyes. 

The twins thank god that at least neither of them had to choose to go back home with either parent. 

They would’ve hated that more. 

After barely being able to depart and say goodbye to your daughters in front of your studio, holding them close for a warm embrace and thanking them for an unforgettable weekend, Hongjoong drives off with his daughters, an empty feeling cascading his thoughts. He puts on a smile still, trying to cheer up his girls. 

“What do you want to do first when we go home? Want to unpack and then eat? We can eat and then unpack. Or we could- ”

Eunseo crosses her arms, having been fed up for far too long.

“Dad, you must be out of your mind.” 

Hongjoong stills, furrowing his brows and peeking at the first born who crosses her arms, holding an attitude. 

“Eunseo, what are you- ” 

“You’re telling me you and Mom just spent a whole entire week together at the cottage, had the best time of your lives since separating with one another, and now you’re just going to go back to not speaking or talking to each other again?”

Hongjoong blinks at his daughter’s sudden outburst, already making a turn into the driveway of his house.  

Eunbyeol now reciprocates her twin, looking at her dad as she slouches beside him, coming near the front seat area. 

“She’s got a point dad. Do you really just not love mom anymore?” She worries, looking up at him genuinely concerned. 

Hongjoong doesn’t know how to answer these sudden questions right now, stuttering to reply.

“Me and your mother are fine!” He lies, trying to reassure them. “That trip wasn’t just for us, it was also for you two to enjoy— ”

Eunseo asks the million dollar question. 

“If you still love Mom, why are you letting her go a second time?” 

With the engine turned off, it's gone silent. Two pairs of eyes staring at their father, awaiting his response. 

“Well? Are you going to chase after her or not?!” Eunbyeol groans, her fathers lack of response making her pull her hair. 

They were right. How could he have made the same stupid mistake twice?

Hongjoong struggles to put the keys back in the engine, telling them to put their seat belts back on. Their eyes begin to glow with hope.

“Do you girls mind staying at your uncle’s for a bit?” He asks hurriedly, punching into his cell phone to call his brother for a favor as he pulls out of the driveway. Eunbyeol squeals, hands clamping over her mouth as her sister speaks on behalf of them both. 

“Dad, if you don’t drop us off and get your butt over to mom’s right away, I’m gonna report you to child services.” she threatens, watching as he steps on the accelerator, heart pumping so fast as he smiles through the rear view mirror.

You sighed, holding up your cellphone to your ear. 

“Call me once she approves the design then,” you told your assistant through the receiver, one hand looking over the sheets of paper, highlighting the changes to the new blueprint. 

“Alright then, bye.” 

After hanging up the phone, you rubbed your temples, head pounding as you tucked the files back into the folder. 

The clock in your studio showed the hands about to reach seven pm. A few hours had already passed since coming back from your trip to the cottage, trying to forget everything by burying your focus into the new dress prints a client of yours requested, remodeling them after the original was rejected. 

Fingers worked away swiftly, comparing textiles and fabrics as you looked at the piles of papers and messy sticky notes in front of you. But yet the gears in your mind seemed to churn achingly slow, sighing as you repeatedly told yourself the same thing. 

Just focus on the dress, focus on the dress, focus on the dress.

Don’t think about him. 

The task is impossible. Your mind can’t help but slip back to what your relationship has become with Hongjoong, and what you were going to do now that those seven days were over. For so long you had deprived yourself from indulging in your love life, prioritizing taking care of Eunseo and Eunbyeol while juggling your job as a designer. Had you been doing it all wrong? 

Hongjoong’s words repeat in your head like a broken record player. 

I will always love you

Lies. That promise couldn’t be kept. Your divorce was a clear outcome of it. You and Hongjoong were two people not meant for one another. You were too different, all you would do is hurt one another, make life an unbearable living hell—

And yet you missed him. You missed Hongjoong so much. 

What was fucking keeping you from loving him? Was it your stubbornness? Was it really the fact that he didn’t chase after you? Or was it none of that and just your own self being stupid?

The front door of the studio opens, pulling you from your thoughts as you got back to the sketches. You called up from your desk as you worked quietly. 

“The studios closed for the- ”

Heavy breathing. The man who just walked in catches his breath from dashing out of his car and up the three flights of stairs, driving through almost an hour of traffic in pouring rain to be here in this moment with you.

“Hongjoong?”

He’s drenched, making a mess on the floor of the studio as the droplets fall softly one by one. 

Suddenly he's striding over to where you’re sitting in long steps before slamming his lips against yours. The kiss throws you off guard, the shock of his cold hands cradling your face makes you close the gap unknowingly. 

Linking your arms around his neck while kissing back passionately, you let your hands rest on his shoulders, pulling back for air as you panted heavily, catching your breaths and looking at each other with pure love and lust. 

“Why are you here?” you asked, feeling dumb because your heart already knew the answer. His hands wrap around your waist, desperate as if you would leave him again. 

But he’s just so fucking tired of that now. He just wants to love you now.

“I lost you once.” He breathes, eyes watering.

“I’m not going to lose you again”. 

Suddenly, everything that kept you from being with each other is thrown away. 

That hate, that fear, everything is gone because you realize you still needed each other. You’re still the same twenty year old couple standing in that dorm washroom, holding each other close and knowing it’ll be okay because at least you had each other. 

You grasp onto his damp shirt, pulling him down with such force that your lips meet again, taking charge as you finally allowed him to have you. 

“You’re a fucking idiot” you whined between kisses, curses escaping your lips when he softly bites the flesh of your neck to test the waters. “I hope you know that”

He agrees wholeheartedly, nodding as if he was already getting pussydrunk.

“I’m an idiot” he mumbles to himself, letting it escape his lips like a mantra. Well, he was stupid enough to only chase after you this late, so if his wife told him he was an idiot, then so he was.

“Let me prove how much I love you,” a hand comes to graze near the collar of your shirt. 

You gasped, watching as Hongjoong lifted you from your seat and rutted his hips against your core pathetically, your ass digging into the edge of the table.

“Here?” Your eyes widened, watching his expression turn dark. He presses kisses on your collarbone, making your hands grasp the wood for support. “Hongjoong wait,” you exhaled in a deep breath, heart beating against your chest.

But he doesn’t give a shit. He’s tired of waiting. 

“It’s been too fucking long” he protests, ripping your top off. You’re dizzy from how abruptly he’s stripping you, latching onto his shoulders for support as you wobble from him unzipping your jeans and pushing them down, exposing you in nothing but your underwear and bra. 

And like the good little whore you are, you immediately spread your legs, letting Hongjoong get a view of the embarrassingly wet patch leaking through your panties as he’s crouched down to let you step out of the denim near your ankles.

Holy fucking shit

You stand bashfully, toes curling from how exposed and vulnerable you were being the only one naked. 

“Please?” you asked nicely, letting your foot rest on his shoulder as your pussy was now on full display for him.

You don’t have time to even finish the last word before Hongjoong dives in, lapping at your soaking cunt and humming in pure ecstasy at the taste. The muffled vibrations make you throw your head back, tugging on his locks to shove his face further. 

Hongjoong’s hands press into your thighs that cage his head in, leaving a grip that you guarantee with littering the flesh with red splotchy bruises. Did you mind? Not at all.

When his tongue pokes at the gummy flesh of your walls, you let out a full moan, echoing throughout the studio as the air begins to smell like sex. 

“Right there, yes” you urged him, leg beginning to shake from how weak it was getting. 

He's so invested, you fear he might suffocate any longer if he doesn’t pull back for air. So you grasp his head, pushing him away from his meal while you both gasped lightly.

You watch him wipe his slick covered chin with the back of his hand, not breaking eye contact as he stares. 

“You were just begging to be fucked for all these years, weren’t you sweetheart?” He teases. 

Though you wanted him to lap at your juices until you came, you knew you needed to still feel his cock inside after so long. 

Your fingers played with the hem of your underwear, smiling back at your husband. 

“And you were just begging to get a taste of this pussy, weren’t you, Joong?” wiping that smug grin off his face.

”Lay down for me” he demands, getting up so that one hand finds its way to the back of your bra to unclasp it. The other clears half your desk covered in wedding dress blueprints and sketches, making sure nothing would make you uncomfortable before he fucked you on that mahogany surface so all you’d remember would be his name. 

And people said romance was dead. 

When the bra slides off and your bare back hits your desk, you suddenly realize what Hongjoong’s intention was when he ordered you to do that. 

Soft mounds spill out as your breasts take their natural form, giving Hongjoong the perfect view of your tits. Pervert. 

He immediately latches his tongue on a nipple, taking his hand and playing with the other, twisting painfully. 

A cry escapes your lips, parting them open as you let him play with them as much as he wanted to. He smiles against the motherfuckers, knowing that shut you up perfectly. 

“Are you ready for me to fuck you now?”

“Please, Joong, I need you” you whined, submitting yourself to your husband. He already knows you’re in need of one last kiss, coming up to give his wife what she wants by slotting his lips against yours again, this time much harsher. 

“Tell me so that I treat you good, baby” he mumbles, pulling back and making you clench your thighs together. He undoes his shirt in the meantime, unbuckling his belt and pressing a sweet kiss to your cheek when you sobbed. 

“Fuck me, please” 

His fingers slide your panties to the side to press his aching tip to your wet core. 

“Like this?” He teases.

“Inside, Hongjoong” you emphasized, meaning what you said with the way your nails dug into a pile of papers nearby. Biting your lip from how sensitive and needy your cunt was. 

“I know, I know,” he murmured, smiling to himself after messing with you. 

“I just missed this pretty cunt” before in one strong thrust, Hongjoong’s bulging tip enters inside your walls, giving you a stretch you forgot how much you loved. You whined softly. 

“Shit” he curses, relishing how the buildup finally led to this moment. 

The man is ravenous, but he’s genuinely trying his best to ease the painful stretch as you adjust to his thickness, nipping your neck in a trail of hickeys and love bites posessively.

With every thrust he makes, you arch your back, pencils and papers shuffling near by you. 

“Fucking look at my wife” he admires proudly, watching the woman he loves bounce her tits at every thrust of his cock. 

“S’too much” you caved in, shaking your head at the stimulation. 

You claw at his arms, head turning to the side as your eyes roll back from pleasure. 

“I know, mama, I know” 

He grabs a tit in his left hand, the right one coming down to play with your clit, pressing slow circles near where you were connected. 

“Fuck, I missed these” He rasps, savouring the feeling of your soft flesh in his hand, making you throw your head back. 

“Missed how they looked when you were pregnant” he says, thinking of how ethereal you looked when you were knocked up with his kids. 

“God, at this point I’m gonna get you fucking pregnant again” Hongjoong grunts, snapping his hips deliriously back and forth. He envisions you round and full, fulfilling his inner fantasy. 

“Shut up.” You spat, breaking the mood as you bit your lip to suppress a moan. He almost laughs when you then crane your hips back to give him easier access to keep penetrating you. The desk shuffles. 

“Your mouth is saying one thing, honey, but your body is saying something else” 

After hearing his words, you suck him in further, both of you now getting close. 

“M’close. M’so close!” you whimpered, sitting up so that now Hongjoong could hold you in his arms, caging your body so his cock could stuff you better. 

Your mouth hangs open in silent bliss, hands scratching his back. You leaned into his ear, making the final chord inside him snap. 

“Make me cum, daddy” 

And just like that, you’re clenching around Hongjoong’s massive cock as a creamy white ring begins to form. Hot ropes fill you up inside, tangled in a sweaty mess as he purrs, caressing the back of your head again in habit. 

“So fucking good, sweetheart. You did so good for me”

The sounds of your breathing fill the studio, a pencil or two rolling quietly away on the ground from being shoved off the desk. He shakes his head when you try to pull your sweaty bodies away, hair sticking to your neck but feeling the way he refuses. 

“Just let me love you,” he mumbles into your shoulder, dick softening inside you. “Just for a moment.”

You’re too tired to say anything back, so you finally give in. 

Seven years passed by you two without even realizing how much you still loved each other. Though you wouldn’t be able to get that time back, for once, there was something that you and Hongjoong agreed upon. 

You had no intention of wasting that time any more. 

𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄:

Months later, and it still takes everything in Eunbyeol and Eunseo hearts to not scream at the sight of their parents when they walk hand in hand, smiling happily in public as they pick their daughters up from the first day of school. 

The girls jump into their parent’s embrace, eying the two silver rings they now wore proudly together. 

“How was school, darlings?” Hongjoong asks, pressing a kiss to Eunseo and Eunbyeol. 

“It was fun! We watched a documentary about lovebirds” she smiled, looking back up. You laughed softly.

“Which reminded me to tell you,” she grins, watching as you, her sister, and father all looked at her. 

“I hope you know that getting you and dad back together was my plan from the start.” she confesses, smirking at Eunbyeol who scoffs, crossing her arms. 

“Nuh uh, this was my idea first!” 

Before her sister could yell at her twin, you jumped in. 

“Plan? What plan?” You asked quizzically, both you and Hongjoong standing there confused.

“To get you guys to fall back in love again, of course!” Eunseo smiles, both her and her sister now giggling softly together.  

“How am I just finding out that there was a plan?” Hongjoong mutters, scratching his neck in confusion. You turned to the two girls, stopping in your tracks on your way to the car

“When did you two even think of all this?” grinning in astonishment as you felt Hongjoong slot his hand and intertwine it with yours. It felt natural now.

“Yeah, I'm curious too” he states, leaning close and becoming intrigued.

Your daughters look at each other before smiling. 

“It’s a long story.”

But at last, time is something you finally now have as a reunited family of four, walking back to your car, holding hands with a twin on each side.

Listening carefully, as your daughters start from the very beginning.

taglist: @vent-stink @dazzlingstarrs @vcutparis @xpixie @potatos-on-clouds @showingmafandomlove @bibbleypoof @kpop-will-kill-me @avantalem @beabatiny @gabrielle-brugger @nsixns @amaranth1ne @stayminho @myblovedjyh @kkeshia @rebekah-reads @yoonbroom @4kwp @butterflydemons @iwaizumiismybae @soobinsputnik @stayatinykatsy @atitties @justconniez @kitten4sannie @ghostskilledmyaddiction21 @cheolsthicthighs @morethingsfandom @geminiml95 @byuntrash101 @quailbagutte @syubseokie @newworldwritings @urmom26john @sleepy-kat-here @pearltinyy @hjshyhyssnmgwyjh @cursedeastern @starryunho @piratekingateez2001 @jiminbility @paumll @drinkingrumandcocacola @roomsofangel @channies-bbg-room @meanaonthemoon @teeztopia @pommelex @kiln9z @sanhwalvr @youresolivlie @edawg77 @a-0206 @summer-gyu @bvidzsoo @yoongzsmile28 @tournesol155

[flutterlesbian]

Gonna Tie Ya Up !

this is the third installment of pervyroommate!jinx— tickets to part 1 & 2 here. suggested by: @toomuchbutter ty ❤︎

taglist: @toomuchbutter @sevikas-whore @wildberryjunky

synopsis, segway 1: jinx admires & ties you up while you sleep

synopsis, segway 2: you’re tied up & awoken by jinx’s scratches

cw, segway 1: perv-watching behaviour + dub-con, mentions of spit, rope kink, reader is inebriated, reader desc. as having boobs, somno, mentioned that jinx takes a photo

cw, segway 2: dub-con ☈ full consent, reader is inebriated, rope kink, somno, scratching, fem reader intended (wearing a dress + desc. as having boobs), mean!jinx lowk

wc for segway 1: 360

wc for segway 2: 722

+ proofread

You’ve been gone too often— atleast Jinx would say so. Too many parties, too many classes, far too many meet-ups with friends. Jinx could only get off to your instagram stories for so long— she missed you. Didn’t you see that?

Segway 1: Rope on Your Sheets

You must be exhausted— from all partying, drinking and grinding on other girls till 2 am— finally stumbling back into the dorm with a crash.

Jinx should’ve been asleep, could’ve been asleep. But instead, she’d been gnawing at her nails anxiously for the past 3 hours.

Waiting for you.

And there you were, essentially passed out in your room, the littlest bit of drool, or maybe alcohol, dripping out the side of your mouth— and Jinx still doesn’t think she’s seen a sight more beautiful.

The lights are on, courtesy of you forgetting before falling into bed. And for an hour or two, Jinx simply watches you. Quite literally drooling onto her top; dark irises swallowing the blue of her eyes.

Spit pools in her mouth as her eyes trailing over your breasts, watching the soft rise and fall of your chest. Eyes shifting down to the fat of your pussy. Slow. Intentionally.

This is adoration, she calls it.

The girl, hovering above you, finally decides it’s time to take out the ropes, the same ones she’s daydreamed incessantly about using on you.

She keeps it simple, handcuffing your arms to the bed post behind you. Taking the rope goes where it accentuates your body most— gently digging the aqua rope around your breasts, wrapping all the way down your abdomen and into the fat of your thighs.

A second rope starts at your knees, tightly wound until it reaches your ankles.

Jinx sits for another while, caressing your legs— it may not even be sexual at this point— she thinks of you as an art. To be posed, put on display, and never taken out of her sight.

Jinx is ardent. And possessive.

And you look beautiful tonight.

You wake up later that morning, hungover as all hell.

But it isn’t just your head that hurts: your joints feel vaguely sore. Like you were twisted in slightly unnatural positions; mostly in the knees, a little in the wrists. You shrug it off, chalking it up to your drunk stumble into bed last night.

But Jinx knows.

She knows, the image forever ingrained in her mind. And she has the polaroids to prove it.

Segway 2: Scratch Harder

It’s you on your back that gets her going. Deep in a slumber of too many late nights studying, and the party you spent 80% of the time drunk at.

You’re in the shortest dress you own, long sleeves that shimmy under the lights.

It’s a dark maroon, red enough to highlight the flush of alcohol deep under your skin, the fabric hugging and pulling in all the right places.

Jinx takes a moment to appreciate your body, lit only by the candle in your room— a scent you love, something like apple and caramel— before she finally gets to work.

Deep red rope starting around your wrists, placing them over your chest. Jinx marvels at how it matches your dress, giggling for no one else to hear. The rope comes over your chest, wrapping around the entirety of your boobs and upper arms. Jinx stares at the way your boobs swell, with an urge she cannot name.

She takes both ends of the rope pulling it down toward your centre, wrapping it round your hips, down into thighs, eventually tying a knot at your pelvis.

The dress has fully ridden up at this point. Your pussy’s dignity only protected by thinly-veiling red panties— Jinx smirks, of course you’d match them to your dress.

You were attractive and knew it, anyone would be lucky to get to your panties.

All this time you’ve barely shuffled in bed, Jinx decides it’s time to wake you up.

It starts with light touches, the braided ends of her hair on your neck, on your palms.

Then comes the light bristle of the pads of her fingers— starting at the septum of your heart, down your breasts, then lower, lower.. her palm flat on your stomach, applying just the littlest of pressure.

You stir at this, Jinx decides it’s time you start getting up.

Long, dull, blunt nails harshly rake over the sensitive skin of your thighs; over your stomach; just above the heat radiating off your pussy.

Warm blotches form under your skin where scratches are left. She watches in awe, as you squirm; the way your legs tighten and screw, the crease forming in your eyebrows.

You awake with a gasp: eyes darting to Jinx hovering above you, features illuminated by candlelight.

Her greedy, dark eyes lock onto yours, no shame hidden under her lashes.

Just unbridled lust. Sparks of yearning.

‘You’ve been gone a long time.’

You nod hesitantly, unsure yet how to answer.

‘Hurts when you disappear, you know.’ Her fingers lightly trace over the rope around your wrists. ‘Can’t disappear like this can you?’

You finally notice the binds on wrists, and the slight sting of pressure digging into your skin.

Your voice comes out a low groan, ‘Jinx… please touch me again..’

Why not? You’ve been studying like crazy for the past few weeks, late nights at the library, stressing out with friends; finishing exam season off with a party.

Why not add to the prize with Jinx’s body on yours?

No one caught your eye at the party, but Jinx is objectively attractive. Your hot, unnerving roommate— if you couldn’t find out things about her personality, you may as well learn about her body.

‘Yeah? You want that toots?’

You nod a little too earnestly, earning a sly laugh from Jinx.

Her hand comes back down onto your right thigh, painted nails digging deeper into your skin than before.

‘More.’

Oh, she does more. Lip tucked between her teeth, almost painfully.

You don’t think you’ve ever seen her smile this wide. She’s disturbingly enamoured with the way you writhe under her.

Her smile is evil; the smile of someone when they realise they’re in full control.

Your hips move forward all on their own, silently begging for her hand to move to your pussy but she’s refusing to go any further than your inner thigh.

‘More, please,’ you plead. She scratches again but she knows what you really want— where you want her— what you really need.

Her eyes flick to your pussy, wondering what she should do first; lick? touch? overstim? denial?

Whatever.

She won’t do any of that yet, you’re too pretty like this.

Pretty, pliant, and in her grasp. She bites down harshly into your shoulder, muffling her giggles into it.

She is so mean.

a/n: el oh el u’re not getting smut 🫵🫵🫵 that is reserved for another part, get clitblocked.

also i apologise if the cw order for the segways is confusing, i’ll try to restructure it if it is, jus lmk!!

[sqtorux]

omlllll i loved your kinky smau, if you still do fics can i request one that happens after sukuna says he’s gonna show us shibari? the idea of that from the smau just has be biting my fist oml, i absolutely love your smaus 😫😫😫

summary: after knowing your desire to be tied up, sukuna teaches you the art of shibari — a practice he loved since centuries ago.

desc: fem!reader, true form sukuna, cocky!sukuna smh, oral (both), p in v, dacryphilia if u squint, petnames, 1.3k words... somebody needs a lobotomy. spin off from this smau.

a/n: yes i do write written fics too!! just havent got much reqs for them. been wilding lately with nsfw content so thankyou for giving me the opportunity to write a full blown smut lmao.

you always knew you were bonded with sukuna in more ways than one. many centuries past could not keep the both of your souls apart. heck even the red string of fate theory seemed viable when it comes to him and you.

although as of the moment, the strings of the rope holding you together were very much physical and materialising. you kneel before your king with your hands tied behind your back firmly, staring at him through glossy eyes.

“p-please” your lips quiver, feeling the throbbing between your thighs yet you were unable to do anything since you were bound in place. sukuna only smirks at your distress.

“i told you i’ll show you how this works didn't i?” his gruff voice makes your cunt react, so ready for him.

he looms over you, gently caressing your face down to your neck and stopping abruptly on your exposed chest to admire you. you whimper when you felt his touch, so starved and desperate for him but he's not giving you anything yet.

his hand trails down your hips in feather light touches and hovers on your inner thighs sending goosebumps all over your body. you bust yourself up so that his hands land on your aching pussy but no, sukuna pulls his hand away swiftly.

“tsk so desperate f'me. aren't you such a lil slut” he looks at you in distaste making you gasp. “n-no ‘m a good girl” you sob pathetically.

“is that so? then be patient. good girls will do what they are told hmm?” he whispers against your ear, even the slightest warmth from him drove you insane but you said yourself that you were a good girl, so you could only nod at his words.

he smirks in approval and moves to drag down the soft fabric of his kimono. your mouth flies open at the sight– not one but two gigantic cocks springing out in front of your very eyes. your pussy clenches at nothing just by the thought of them being rammed inside you mercilessly.

you let out an involuntary whine which sukuna did not fail to notice. “lets quench your thirsty lil throat first how bout that?” his hand holds the back of your head steadily to put you in the perfect position to suck him off. one of him at least.

you waste no time to lick the precum that was oozing from his shaft. you felt powerful when you hear him grunt despite being unable to move any part of your body. you gave him another lick and he hisses in annoyance.

“open wide” you obey as he shoves his whole length into your throat mercilessly. his black painted fingers ran through your hair, fisting a handful of them and bobbing your head against his erection. tears well up in your eyes but you do your best to graze his length with your tongue taking care not to use your teeth.

“taking me s’well” sukuna practically growls as he stares down at you, brows furrowing in pleasure and fascination with how his dick moves in and out of your mouth.

a pool of drool runs from your mouth all the way to your jaw and the end of your chin, sukuna marvels at the lovely sight. the ropes securely tying your wrists together were now burning hot against your skin, aching to be freed so that your hands can roam somewhere, anywhere.

your stomach tightens as you feel your own pussy leaking, making you whine. the vibrations made all four of sukuna's eyes roll back in pleasure “m’close” his hand bobs your head harsher, his thrust becoming faster and deeper making you gag.

sukuna shudders, shooting his load into your mouth filthily “good girls swallow” and you do just that, savoring every drop of the sweet, salty and bitter warm liquid that went down your throat.

dating someone with super powers, or in his words a cursed technique, was fascinating because before you could even catch a breath, the ropes holding your wrists in place were slashed off magically and precisely.

your hands instinctively make their way to your throbbing wet pussy but sukuna's faster than you. he always is. “did i tell you you could touch yourself?”

you could only whine as your pussy screams in need for something to clench on. sukuna spreads you on your back and brings out another set of ropes to tie each of your wrists together with your thighs. his skillful hands work through the ropes, handling the knots with ease.

he was mockingly slow with his actions on purpose, ignoring your whiny pleas. “kuna..” your voice was small, so meek it made both his cocks twich. even the one you had just finished sucking off merely a few seconds ago.

he admires his craft — you, spawled open lewdly in front of him, exposed for him to see. painfully slowly he rubs on your sticky pussy, your back arching up for more contact.

sukuna chuckles at how desperate you were and decides to indulge you this time since you've been so good to him. he shoves his fingers into your entrance as you let out a yelp, squirming against his hand for more friction.

your thighs want to close themselves but the ropes prevent them from doing so. one thing about sukuna, he has more features than your normal person — two cocks, four eyes, and a mouth that could appear on any part of his body; and he knows just how to use each and every one of them to his advantage.

a slimy warm tongue licks your clit as his fingers demolish your g-spot dragging out screams of pleasure from your pretty little mouth. you writhe, unable to move as the ropes drag against your skin, your stomach forming knots upon knots.

“s’kuna!!!” you exclaimed as you chase your high mewling out incoherent sentences accompanying pants and gasps with every lick and thrust of his fingers.

“mhm come f’me little one” at his reassuring tone, the knots in your stomach become undone with your own cum dripping out from your pussy. sukuna's mouth on his hand licks you clean as you gasp for air.

oh but he wasn't done with you. not even halfway.

he fists his untouched cock coating all of his length in his precum, pointing it at your entrance. before you could even register anything else, he shoves it inside you and starts thrusting in and out.

“this is what you wanted isn't it?” sukuna growls as your cunt sucks him in, clenching hard on his length. “s’ fkin tight-” he rams into you, his pace never faltering and only increasing more and more and more.

you want to dig your nails into his back, wrap your legs around him, pull him closer but alas, the straps of jute prevent you to act on your desires. the only thing you could do was continue to let your hole get abused, forcing out small exhales of ah ah ah!s from your lungs.

“k-kuna m'close!!” you wail, tears falling from your eyes down to the side of your cheeks. your lips part and your mouth forms a pretty o. sukuna loves your fucked out cockdrunk face and makes a mental note to frame it the next chance he gets.

“nghh p-please…” you moan out, you're pretty sure the ropes on your wrist tied to your thighs would leave marks with how much you strained your skin against them but that's the least of your concerns right now.

“yeah?? then come f’me. come f’your king” his voice was raspy, his own oragasm drawing near.

a few more frantic trusts and white hot pleasure runs through your veins, blurring your vision as you feel him dumping his load inside you, mixing with the slimy ones of your own. it leaks from your hole, too much to be stuffed, overpouring onto the sheets.

you pant in exhaustion but sukuna was far from worn out. if anything he wonders how more fucked up you will be when he stuffs both his cocks into all your holes at the same time.

maybe he'll even try taking things further with the ropes and elevate you to fuck you mid-air. since you're so good to him, you'll take it, right?

[tobiduncan]

DENDRO !

— the element of nature and wisdom! dendro users' strength, of course, comes from the mind. generally, dendro users are often people driven by a desire to understand and care a lot about being able to problem solve whenever they can. dendro users usually have so much to think about that they often... don't have much patience for things that bother them. this can make some of them seem very stubborn, or picky about people around them / how things should be done, but rest assured⼀ no one gets a dendro vision without having some capacity for open mindedness. this can manifest as being remarkable with emotions and understanding others, or being very willing to think outside the box and push limits. like the plant life they resonate with, they are very capable of and eager to grow, always in progress and striving towards their goals... even if said goals seem... very all over the place, or honestly weird and confusing. they just tend to have very specific ideas of how to do things. it may sometimes get overwhelming for themselves and / or others, but hey, you can't say it doesn't get results⼀ they often find themselves giving, or being asked to give advice for a reason.

tagging : @corvidcaeneus @thotsaucebitch and any1 else who wants to :O

HI… I MADE A GENSHIN QUIZ… You guys should take it and tell me what you got

[unknownati]

heyy hope you’re doing well! requests r open & i was wondering if you could do a stm w ekko evolving him and his s/o or a friends to lovers trope going roller skating ? :!!

like pls tell me you’ve seen those videos of ppl roller skating .. anyways thxs for the consideration, i luv your work <3

ix. skate to me!

a/n: TY!!! THIS IS SO CUTE LOLOLOL

dance based of this tiktok, idk if i'm feeling that song for this fic tho 🤔 imagine whatever song you want

*the song i attached was also not the song i imagined for the dance but it fit the fic...if u ask me i was thinking abt drugs n hella melodies by don toliver

guys iwas reading my old writing from like my notes app n why am i kinda getting worse at it LMAOOO

warnings/tags: gn!reader, no use of y/n, no desc of reader's physical features, fluff + suggestive (really it's just the dance but i dont see it as THAT sexual 🌚), reader is a beginner roller skater, modern!au, teaching you how to skate 🥹, friends to lovers, slow dancing (backpacking is the actual term...whoops), ekko locking tf in, to fw this fic or not fw this fic...good question!

_______________________________________________

ekko regularly went roller skating with powder, vi, claggor and mylo. and lord, was he a show off.

powder would be skating around in her own world, humming to the music, then here comes ekko zooming by backwards, crouching down, AND on his phone.

he acted humble about it, but humility only goes so far when you're two steps from doing a backflip on the floor. regulars started to build a reputation up for him as "the trick guy" because of it.

anyway, one day the six of you were hanging around in powder's room when you overheard mylo ask, "we still on for thursday?"

you perked up. "what's on thursday?"

"oh," vi shrugged, pink locks brushing against her brow. "we're all going skating together."

powder's arms draped around your shoulder. "hey, you should come with. you busy?"

"no," you hummed, "but i don't know how to skate."

the weight of knowing glances being shot around the room smacked you like a ton of bricks, and once again you felt left out. you opened your mouth to speak up but claggor, wearing a smug grin, cut you off.

"ekko'll teach you."

ekko fumbled with his pen, spinning to face the group. "huh?"

"yeah," vi chips in. "you'll teach them, won't you?"

ekko's eyes land on you, his lips tugging into a sheepish smile without even knowing it. "of course!"

͙͘͡★

the first time you joined them was the first time you'd ever skated, ever.

low neon lights paint the room, flicking through hues with each beat that pounded through the speakers. a glimmering disco ball spun lazily at the center of the skating rink.

ekko stepped on the slippery floor backwards, hands cupping yours. he pulled you forward and your upper half moved, but your legs didn't.

"c'mon!" he urged, drawing you closer so you didn't fall.

"i'm coming..." you croaked, trying to convince yourself more than him. your eyes remained glued to your feet.

he raised a brow and he leaned into your space. "hey," his breath tickled your ear. "i've got you."

you swallowed and awkwardly stepped onto the floor. wobbling legs mimicked those of a newborn fawn, your body lurching forward to find its balance. embarrassing, a voice rung in your mind. you heard laugh above you and it irritated you.

"ekko, help me! don't just stand there!" you scolded. ekko's fingers began to ache from how tight you gripped onto them.

"you won't learn!" he insisted. "listen, if you lean forward, all your weight will move forward. stand up straight!"

yeah, fuck all of that.

your hands abandoned his, desperately searching for a sturdier anchor. his shoulders, of course! you braced yourself on them, propelling yourself upright. every limb in your body grows stiff, your gaze meeting ekko's.

at no point did you register how close you were to him. chest to chest, nails clawing at his hoodie, faces only a few inches apart.

ekko however, was violently aware.

ekko cleared his throat, hands awkwardly floating at his side. his gaze darts everywhere except for towards you. he didn't wanna just grab on you, not without asking first—fuck, you looked amazing under the lights—but you needed help and you wanted to learn and—

"ekko?" you called for the third time.

"sorry. we'll, um, take it slow, okay? i won't let you fall. i promise."

you've only realized this now, but ekko was...kinda cute.

͙͘͡★

you attended the skating sessions more frequently after that. a quick learner, you were. after a few weeks you started to get the hang of skating on your own without clutching onto ekko like your life depended on it.

he'll never admit it, but he missed having you so close.

the distance had you two constantly staring at each other on the floor, shooting each other smiles. they were flirtatious and shy, too nervous to go any further.

with you starting to separate on the floor came you seeing just how much of a show off ekko was. backwards, sliding on the floor, speeding around the rink, twisting with vi to create some insane shape—didn't matter. it was for fun, sure, but he loved seeing the impressed look on your face more than anything.

͙͘͡★

you trail far behind ekko on the rink, still not quite as fast as him. he twists around to face you, arms open, beckoning you over.

pushing off the ground, you speed up to him, barely avoiding a collision. your body clashes with his, almost sending you both tumbling down. you erupt in laughter after finding your balance.

"i knew you'd learn," he comments, the distance between you two growing ever so slightly. your hip bumps his.

"all thanks to you," you coo. his lips press into a line, slipping against each other. should he just tell you? he's been holding it in way too long, now would be the best time, right?

"☆, i—"

"this next song's for all my couples on the floor," the dj's voice boomed out in the speaker. ekko looked around in confusion, looking at the dj booth near the front, lo and behold, powder was behind it, her hand covering her mouth as she spoke to him.

you moved with the threat of departure, then paused once you heard the slow intro to the song. "oh, but i love this song," you murmur in disappointment. once the dj played a song during a session, he would not play it again.

ekko hesitates to speak. "we could...dance anyway?" you glance over at him, glassy umber eyes begging you to not skate away. "...can we?" he tacks on.

you'd be crazy to say no.

your foot makes its turn, wheels sliding across the floor as you faced ekko. it starts casual; just skating, swaying to the music, eyes closed while you just let you and the music get comfortable.

ekko, on the other hand? a wreck. he could only keep his cool for so long. with you moving closer, closer, closer, he was about to fall apart. he kept glancing behind him to 'make sure he didn't crash into someone' but if he had the choice he'd keep his eyes fixed on you forever.

you caught on to ekko's feelings for you a while ago. albeit, it took multiple teasing glances from the rest of the group for it to start to click, but once you realized that you had him wrapped around your finger, that chance was taken and ran, no, sprinted with it.

your hands finally met, which is when you opened your eyes.

"hi," you chirp.

"hi," he parrots, tone dripping with something you can't quite place.

half-lidded eyes watch in awe of how effortless you made everything look. he needed to catch up, couldn't leave you dancing on your own.

as the song started to build into the chorus, ekko started to follow your lead. a lazy game of cat and mouse—chasing the direction of your body. his arm raised, readying you for a twirl that you were waiting for.

your fingers rotate between his and you make it halfway through the spin before you trip on your front wheel. your back lands on his chest.

"sorry," you gasp, heart racing from almost falling. his heartbeat drums against your shoulder.

"no, it's okay," he reassures. his wrists perch atop your hip bone, your arms crossed in front of you.

your eyes meet his above you shoulder. smooth, brown skin tinted a deep red over the lights, small twinkles curving around the planes of his face. slowly, your hips grind back into his. it was impossible to feign innocence at this point.

ekko almost chokes on his spit, but by no means is he against it. the slow wind of your body against his had the room spinning around him. it takes him...multiple seconds, but he starts to move with you, stretching your arms into the air, exposing the fluidity of your movements.

although his anxiety was eating him alive, he rocked with you ever so slowly, arms swishing back down. his hand glides on your upper thigh, chin resting on your shoulder. you crane back on his opposite shoulder, free hand raising to cup the back of his neck.

it felt like nobody else was in the building at that moment, music drowning out behind your heartbeats thumping in your ears.

you lock eyes, both of you stealing glances at the other's lips.

ekko was frozen, caught in the intricacies of your facial features. to be fair, you were losing the ability to breathe the more you stared into his eyes, but it seems ekko is losing brain cells. so, fine. you'd do it.

your noses collide at first, sending you back to his shoulder. like two teenagers. no time was set aside for any apology from either of you after you finished snickering, guiding him by his neck to finally let your lips meet.

the rhythmic beats in your chests synced, the world blurring around you as your movements slowed to a near stop. with each presage of the kiss stopping, your brows knit together and the hand cradling his neck pressed ever-so-slightly down. urging, pleading him not to let the moment end.

it was delicate, and maybe lasted longer than it should have, but it spoke every word that the two of you were too scared to say.

͙͘͡★

during your dance, mylo's mouth flew open with a yawn.

"man, i just wish they'd get it over with and kiss."

"be patient!" powder snapped, leaning on the table, anticipation literally having her at the edge of her seat. she's been waiting for this moment for months, praying for the day that you two just suck it up and admit it.

vi leaned across the table to whisper to claggor, eyes remained fixed on the two of you. she chuckled. "ekko's too nervous to—holy shit."

[anthillz]

Hey diva, if you've got the time, could u maybe whip up some Hoarder Alex HCs (romantic or platonic, idm!!) with reader who's a crybaby/super anxious? Like at first he finds them annoying but they're so kind to him that he starts to rlly appreciate them? Ty in advance!!! ^^

//Desc: Asks like this are sooo cute dude, I’m shedding tears😢😢 No matter how big of a jackass Alex is, don’t think I don’t see those cracks where it’s obvious he just has a lot going on…most of these things would be easily avoidable if he wasn’t so…him. But there’s nothing a shaking bundle of anxiety can’t fix, he quite literally will forgot about complaining about his trivial nothing burger of problems! He’s got a sweetheart to calm down and nurture. Thanks so much for requesting as always!! \\

⋆𐙚₊˚ 📢 Hoarder Alex with Crybaby! S/O 💐 ⋆𐙚₊˚

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Why, isn’t that just nice? Not only does he has to endure inhumane conditions, dragging and shoving his property about and has to worry about pesky intruders, thiefs! Cutpurses even!! Now he also has an inescapable though engraved into his mind. The first time he had encountered you, you told him you were trying to get trough, and you can’t swim and that you REALLY can’t swim—but not so fast you little pickpocket! He just spat the classic talk and shooed you off, like all the others…something he really didn’t expect was for you to start shaking like a leaf, sobbing, like you were ready to fall onto the floor and roll around. What a damn fusspot.

It became all the more infuriating when you had the audacity to come back later and apologize!? It made him want to tear his hair out! He was being a jerk to you and you apologize!? Oh… After (probably days of) rethinking the situation, he went out of his way and told you that “maybe…you weren’t trying to get your grubby hands on my properties…maybe.”

Your stay around the Uncanny Streets made him realize countless things, one; you’re terrible at managing stress (look who’s talking) and two; you’re disgustingly nice-hearted, even if that sometimes costs you a tear or two. He finds himself thinking about whether a certain hoarded item would make you feel happy, would this tile he kicked off and put away from The Hub make you whine a little less?

Don’t underestimate the might of a hoarder! No matter how smaller he is compared he is, he will pick you up to either comfort you or to distance you from someone bugging you, yelling “THEY ARE NOT INTERESTED, FLY OFF!!” rather calmly.

He might be a nitwit, but he’s a proper one at least. It didn’t take much time for him to learn you and the signs of you getting close to your breaking point. Don’t feel comfortable talking (especially if you’re selective mute) in a situation? No matter, he���ll get you those extra ketchup packets and demand a new burger withOUT pickles! Currently breaking down into an anxiety attack? He will personally escort you out of the space, no matter how many people he has to kick off to manage to do so.

Alex is very considerate and shielding, and when it comes to his most carefully kept jewel, his sweetheart, he will easily blow his stack…But the thing is, he’s not a good fighter. A highly enthusiastic one? Sure, however in the majority of the cases, you’ll be the one getting him out of that deuce of a mess he gets himself into while blindly trying to protect you. He’s unfortunately the type of guy who will jump into your arms, screaming like a girl whenever he’s spooked.

You really are the apple of his censor bar. Alex deep down loves doing small things for you — that will make your nerves soothe, but when you do stuff for him? Lord does he swoon! That ugly, bubbly, warm feeling in his stomach used to bother him when he looked at you, all too clammy, not for the weak. But a smile…and less fussing makes it all worth it.

He tries to make his living space (yeah, that dump) as comfortable as possible. Since the ship wreck is quite a dark place, so dimmer, warmer lights were a given. He always jumps in to absolutely destroy anything around the makes you on edge. He would also hoard a bunch of things just for you. “Oh, tesorino! I’ve got us some weighted blankets!”

He has never had to be delicate with anyone — with anything for that matter. The hoard will be there whether if he’s tossing things on top of it like a brute or if he’s laying on top, like a proud lion. With you though, he knows he has to walk around the edges and reassure you. Baby’s first relationship that requires compassion.

Cuddles. When you’re not crying like a fussbudget and he’s not ranting into the sky about absolutely nothing, that silent language the both of you understand — is cuddling. It doesn’t matter if it’s a little hand holding by the bridge or you with your legs and arms wrapped around him like a monkey on a tree, quietly sobbing into his sweater, he eats it up like the finest meal, all the time. Especially when it’s totally uninterrupted, his tail wrapped around your leg under the covers when you two are sleeping, it makes him feel like he’s doing something right.

If it ever gets to a point where you would have a panic attack, first of all he would panic. But don’t take him for a sissy, he’ll try all the methods in his repertoire. Sometimes, he’ll ask the most outlandish questions to get your mind off of your anxiety and more on the thought “what the hell is wrong with this guy”. “QUICK! NAME FIVE THINGS FROM MY HOARD YOU KNOW I’D NEVER GIVE AWAY—alright, all off them, I let you off easy there.”

————————————————————————————

[etherealily]

ꜱ/ᴍ/ᴀ — ᴍᴀᴛᴛʜᴇᴏ ʀɪᴅᴅʟᴇ

Mattheo Riddle + fem!reader. Cuss words.

This was from my poll . Not my favourite, though, ngl.

Other fics of mine. If you have the time.

You do NOT have permission to repost and/or translate any of my fics.

Desc. : Wizarding snog/marry/avoid that goes a bit too far.

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FOURTH YEAR.

Some rules are meant to be broken. Some are meant to be unspoken.

More on that later. Patience. You'll get it.

Fourth year. 'Anti-Potter' protests. A group of students who were signing a petition to get Harry Potter expelled from Hogwarts for cheating and entering the Triwizard Tournament.

Your friends had dragged you along. It didn't end well. No petition was signed, it just turned into a Harry-Potter-bashing session that you wanted zero part of.

Sure, you were angry at your teammate for putting his name in the Goblet and putting himself in danger, but you weren't one to tempt fate, and though you weren't super close with him, it wasn't in your best interests to be somewhere that was disrespecting the guy who'd defeated Voldemort when he was in diapers.

So yes, you were ready to leave.

Well, that's until you realized this shit had turned into a party.

Oh fucking yeah.

Fourth years rarely got invited to, threw, or even had a chance to be in the vicinity of parties. Those luxuries were reserved for Fifth Years and above. So this was an unexpected bonus.

The Sixth Years - Diggory's mates - had a stellar idea.

Wizarding Snog, Marry, Avoid.

'Snog, marry, avoid' was the only game appropriate enough for Fourth Years like you, and a couple others from your Year.

Wizarding Snog, Marry, Avoid, however? Bit different.

If you chose avoid, you'd be able to avoid. No catch.

If you chose snog, you had to snog. Simple.

If you chose marry, however, you had to cast an Unbreakable Vow with the person that if you two were sixty and unmarried, you'd have to get married. Risky.

The price of being cool, hm? You watched a couple rounds of this ordeal, feeling pretty good about your chances. People were starting to get restless and bored and you were pretty sure you'd seen a couple people leav—

"You."

Yeah, you should've seen this coming. When is your luck ever that good?

Ugh. Katie Bell. Lovely girl. But at the same time, a Fifth Year. They were all known to be absolute arseholes in the name of entertainment. You were just glad Cedric himself wasn't there, because he was a Sixth Year, and dear god, would that have been worse.

Her finger crooked, and she turned you around so you were facing the rest of the crowd, either grinning with mischief or grimacing with anxiety, firmly planting her hands on your shoulders. "Eyes closed."

You closed your eyes, and she spun you around, extending your arm and instructing you to point. After about three spins, your head was dizzy and you were provided the luxury of opening your eyes.

"That's one." Seamus Finnigan. Ugh, fuck.

She spun you again, and your finger landed on Rupert - some Sixth Year you didn't know, but grinned skeevishly at you. Ew. Well, you knew who you were about to avoid.

Once more she spun you, and your finger landed on— fuck it all to hell. Mattheo Riddle. He rolled his eyes. The only kid in your grade you were ready to kill at a moment's notice. Or snog. TBD.

"What's it going to be? Snog? Marry? Avoid?", she asked, chin resting on your shoulder as she moved your hand to point back at Seamus, the first of the line-up.

"Uh... can I come back to that one?"

Giggles and guffaws and ardent avoidance of eye contact with Seamus.

"Sure. Then...?" Rupert, she was pointing at.

Your eyes moved from him to her, and you shook your head. Katie laughed and whispered next to your ear. "Ah, alright, alright. Avoid. Good thing, too, Rupert's a creep. Alright, c'mon. Tying the knot with that one, or this one?"

Snogging Mattheo wouldn't have been too bad, you didn't think. He was fit enough, and plus, he had that whole mysterious thing going for him. And most likely, he would just take it for what it is and leave it at that.

You knew Seamus well enough to know he'd go bragging about it to the entire school, with a different version every time. Ugh.

But while you were really hoping to avoid snogging Seamus, it made more sense to 'marry' Mattheo, seeing as he was a Death Eater and one of you would probably die off before you two were sixty. Not like you had that little faith in your ability to snag a husband by then. And besides, you'd rather die than snog a Death Eater, alleged or otherwise. What if he somehow transmitted his evilness to you? Or worse, his mark?

"I'll snog Seamus."

"Which one's Seamus?"

You gestured at him, and she snorted. "Bold choice. I'd have thought — well, who am I to judge? Go on, then."

It didn't last long. You and Seamus were barely mates let alone... snoggers. Bleh.

Cheers, jeers and then you were being pushed to your knees, just as Mattheo was.

"Thanks a ton.", he spat under his breath. "You couldn't have snogged me? Or avoided me?"

"I'd rather die than snog you. And I'd rather die than not avoid that Sixth Year.", you hissed, and then some Fifth Year - Cormac, he said his name was - cleared his throat and took out his wand, the crowd's chatter dying out. They'd been louder with you four than with the other participants and you were pretty sure it was because they'd never had a Death Eater be a candidate for Snog, Marry, Avoid. And probably never expected anyone to choose marriage for him, anyway.

"Right hands out. Say the words."

You clenched your jaw. You really should've gone back to your fucking dorm. "Do you vow that if we're sixty and unmarried, you'll marry me?"

He nodded tersely, muttering through his teeth. "I do."

Oohs and ahhs.

"That's it, right?"

"No, keep going."

"What else?"

"Uh, add that... um...", mumbled Katie, gesturing at Cormac to add something.

"You two can't actively look to get married. If someone proposes to you, then it's alright, but you can't just marry someone to get out of this."

"Wait, wh—"

"You can never refuse each other.", continued Katie. "Plus, never ignore each other."

"Unfair! You didn't ask this to anyone else!", you exclaimed, gesturing at the other people who were now dangerously bound by Unbreakable Vow to other students in the crowd.

"Yeah? Well, you're an idiot for not avoidin' him, 'cause he's a Death Eater, so if you get married to him, you'll have to get the Mark!"

Silence. Pin-drop silence.

The elephant in the room not only addressed, but screamed about.

"Fuck this shite.", he grumbled, yanking his hand away from yours before he stood up, cutting through the crowd like a knife.

You scoffed, standing, as well.

"Fuck's wrong with you lot? Shut this down, now."

"HEY! You abandon the spell, it'll backfire."

If you'd have known that was the biggest lie told, you'd have stormed out. However, Fourth Year. That sort of magic was advanced, so what choice did you have but to believe them?

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SIXTH YEAR.

If you'd have told Mattheo he'd be pigeonholed into another party with his seniors that ended up with yelling, dancing` and Potter-bashing in an albeit milder form (Slug Club was pissing people off, honestly), he'd have laughed.

If you'd have told him he'd have to play Wizarding Snog, Marry, Avoid again, he'd have offed himself.

Which is why he was alive and well today, because guess bloody what. It was some new game some Muggleborn had introduced to everyone, "Spin The Bottle".

And, in true arsehole fashion, his seniors had put a Wizarding twist on it. Whoever it landed on had to either snog the other person or chug some Veritaserum the rest of the game. If neither of the two could agree on which one, guess what happens.

Take a wild guess.

Yeah. Both.

Fuckin' ace.

The first couple rounds ended with Theo and some Seventh Year called Cho Chang. They snogged, after which Theo whispered to him, "Can't take chances, eh, mate?" And that's when it hit him. Him and Theo didn't have a bloody choice. They couldn't afford to go on Verita-bloody-serum.

So, when fate did its bullshit thing and Theo hid his bullshit laugh and you rolled your bullshit, alluring eyes because the bottle had landed on the two of you, his jaw clenched. Fuck. He was going to have to snog you.

Not that he'd have minded a snog from you, under normal circumstances. He's not sure any guy at Hogwarts would have, in their right mind. But he'd just like the choice of it.

But once again, you need to go ruin his day. Honestly, it's like you're hard-wired to. "Serum.", you said, at the same fucking time he said "Snog."

"Impasse!", exclaimed Cormac from Mattheo's other side.

'What the hell are you doing?', you mouthed, from across the circle. 'It's bad enough we're already "married"!

Oh, there was no way in hell he was risking giving out any secrets from his side chock-full of truth serum. Mm-mm, no how.

'Kiss me', he mouthed back.

And that was his checkmate. You couldn't refuse.

You glared, shaking your head, the word "no" clearly scorching the end of your tongue.

"Snog.", he repeated, and every head in the blasted circle turned to you.

"Snog.", you gritted out, fingers digging into the hem of your shirt. Fuck this all to hell.

It was excruciatingly awkward. The crawling across the floor to each other. The glaring. The whoos and whoops of others ringing in your ears.

"Hello."

"Sod off."

He grinned, tilting his head. "Close your eyes. It'll be over before you know it."

"I know it."

"Fine, after you know it. Go on. Close them."

It was impossible not to chuckle at you when your eyes were closed, because the rage in them still blazed through your eyelids.

"Brace for impact.", he murmured, placing a single kiss on your lips. Just one. That's it.

Well, in theory.

But he placed another. And then another one. And yeah, probably one more. And before he knew what was going on, he'd forced you into a full-on snog-session in front of the entire upper school.

Unethical.

Not his finest moment.

If he could stop, he would. And he'd like to have said you couldn't, either, but the fact remained that you quite literally couldn't, without breaking the Vow.

He kissed you until his guilt kissed him.

And he pulled away, breathless, remorseful and slightly pleased.

A few moments later, though, after watching you stand and leave (no!) his hands ran across his face and he groaned, allowing Theo to yank him back and punch his shoulder in congratulations.

Okay, he knows how that makes him sound. He's not a sap.

That being said, it did make it slightly hard to see the only other person who knew your predicament (and that you were cosmically, soulfully and unbreakably connected to) being upset.

He's not a sap. Shut up.

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"You want me to what?!"

He rubbed absentmindedly at the nape of his neck. He's not an idiot, he knows this is a big ask, and it really wasn't the whole point.

Mattheo was supposed to come to you and apologise for last weekend, for putting you in an impossibly tight spot in front of all your friends.

Instead, he's scrambling for a segue and he's landed on Theo's suggestion to try to convince you to get you to teach him how to brew your healing potion.

It's pathetic, really, because he really should be able to apologise when he's in the wrong. Isn't that reflective of a strength in character? Or whatever?

But whatever. One step at a time. Theo's idea had originally been for Mattheo to flirt with you and get your recipe, but that was just because he had no idea about the Vow.

He'd made it his life's mission to make sure no one who wasn't there That Night knew that you two were basically bound by the noose of Death to grant each other favours. Seriously. He's bribed and blackmailed.

Don't get it twisted. He's selfish. He just doesn't want someone else using you to get what they wanted from him.

But today, he's happy about the Vow, because at least you can't say no. Not without breaking a vow and dying. Yeah. Unethical.

"Listen, I overheard you with your friends, earlier, and I just figure the extra credit that Sprout gave you, I mean, you should probably be able to—"

"Able to?"

"Concoct something. Y'know."

"Concoct something? Do I look like a healer?"

"I know you want to study to be one, come on."

"That's creepy! How the bloody hell do you know that?!"

"You only get extra credit from Sprout and Slughorn, and volunteer with Pomfrey nearly every week! Unless you're hosting the world's lamest teacher-student tea party, I really don't think anyone's having any doubts as to what you want to do!"

You shook your head. "I can't steal, and I can't lie, alright?"

You'd narrowly missed a refusal there. He'd have almost had to watch you break the Vow and die on the spot.

"Isn't the healer's oath to help any fellow wizard - fellow living creature, actually - in need? Aren't I?"

"I can't help you every time you come back from sneaking out to get drunk at Hogsmeade!", you hissed, and he nearly chuckled, because of course you think that's how he's so bloodied up. Definitely not from being a bloody Death Eater, but he supposed you don't quite listen to rumours that intently.

"Please?"

"Just use Episkey or ask Pomfrey, or something."

Pomfrey will know the cause of the wounds.

"It's a bit too, uh.. huge for Episkey.", he mumbled, his grip on the corner of the wall a bit too tight for you not to have noticed.

"How huge?", you questioned, eyes narrowed, and he mentally battled off the dirty joke running through his mind, lifting up his shirt to reveal the clusters of deep lacerations painting his torso.

Your eyes widened, naturally, and your eyes shot up at him. "Run into a werewolf or summat, did you?"

He snorted. "Something like that. I'll owe you one."

He watched you hesitate for a few more moments while you glared at the big ugly gashes on his body, before sighing. "Come with me."

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"This is the most embarrassing thing I've ever done."

"Shh.", you murmured. "Stay still, alright?"

He scoffed, licking his lips as he glared up at the ceiling, trying desperately not to curse as his fingers grasped his shirt so tight, his knuckles were probably white.

"This is advanced magic.", you explained, flicking through pages in your textbook. "It's not just Potions, or Herbology, but also Charms, alright? The light from the sun just before sunset needs to flow through the concoction and onto your wounds so it can alter itself to be specific to the magical nature of your w— they are magic, right?"

He huffed, watching you adjust his hand that was clutching the tiny bottle of your 'Healing Concoction' above his torso at the angle necessary for light refraction. Embarrassing. "As magic as they come."

If you'd noticed the Dark Mark on his arm, you didn't say anything.

But he knew there was no way you hadn't. It was like a fucking beacon, huge, grisly, ugly.

"When we're done sunlighting this bottle, then I can use it for the whole batch. You can give it to the rest of your mates, and it should work, so long as their wounds are of the same nature as yours."

"You really do want to be a healer, huh?"

You nodded, shutting the book and turning back to him as you crossed your arms and rested your hip on the table. "Yes, why?"

"I didn't even have to make you do it. Y'know, with the Vow. I just had to invoke the healer's oath, and here we are, no questions asked.", he mumbled, blinking as the fading crimson sunlight fought its way through the window and made his eyes water.

"Sit up."

He obeyed, shuffling up onto his elbows and softly frowning down at you as you kneeled by the grouped-together tables he was laying on, squinting up at the glass in his hand, shooting right at the blood on his stomach.

Nodding at nothing in particular, as though the concoction really had 'spoken to you', you gently pried the vial off him, uncorking it with your teeth with a pop, before proffering it to him. "Lay back down. This will more-than-sting."He believed that. "Do you need summat to bite on?"

He would never, never be too proud to say yes. It's heaps more embarrassing to be screaming and whining and squealing in front of a girl than be a man and do it all into the muffle of a bit of cloth.

You reached into your pocket, and he wondered if you just always travelled around with a gag, but you pulled out a tiny tin of what looked like mints. "Alright, so, you chew on this, and—"

"Wait, no I thought you'd give me cloth or something. Gag me so I don't scream."

You snorted. "You're joking, right? Concoctions are meant to be drank."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so keep this between your molars, in the back, and chew. Taste should keep your mind off the pain."

Long story short, it didn't.

Once he knew what the little mint-pellet of yours was meant to do, it seemed like his body would not let it work. And you didn't seem to have ever had that happen before, because he knows you'd have been caught dead than let him see that concerned look on your face.

"Shh, shh.", you kept murmuring, and not helping.

"This is more than 'more-than-a-sting'!", he spat, writhing around as the liquid cascaded through his body with a vendetta.

"But hey, look, it's working?"

He managed to rip his eyes off the stone ceiling that he was trying to look at to avoid seeing the excruciating blinding white of pain and bring it down to his torso.

You were right about that, at least.

The gashes softened from an angry red to pink, until they suddenly turned gold before fading like stars before the sun.

His mouth agape, he moved to face you.

"Literally owe you one."

You nodded, letting out a breath of relief as you took the vial back. "Yeah."

"Cash it in any time. You don't even have to Vow me."

"Alright."

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Mattheo's really not sure what he was expecting. You not getting what you were owed? Gryffindors tend to pull this shite, but just not this fast.

You didn't seem nervous, on edge, or fidgety. Just more... intense, and he didn't fucking like that, because who were you to switch roles with him? He was usually that guy in the interactions.

"You wanted a favour?", he drawled out.

You nodded. "Listen, I am not trying to, uh... what's the word? Um... like, provoke you, but I heard you're a Death Eater, and—"

"Tread lightly.", he advised, but nodded along anyway, because he couldn't exactly refuse you, could he?

"—Yeah, yeah, no, I know. Um, I just figured you had some sort of elevated knowledge on all things, y'know, Dark Arts? Right?"

"Specifically?"

"... Wandless magic."

He snorted in disbelief. "Wandless magic?"

"Yes. I was hoping you'd teach me."

He made a sarcastic 'ah' of mock comprehension, before patting the stone next to him twice in faux gentleness. Oh, how he wished he could say "no"!

Instead, he pointed at your face, smiling before standing up. "I'll see you around."

"Hey, I'm not even using the Vow! Just... help me out, alright?"

"There's no reason for me to, though, is there? It's just going to fuck me up, isn't it? Give you Gryffindors an inch, you'll take a mile."

"Why are you so hostile? I was just—"

"Why am I so host— I'm a fucking Death Eater!"

"Yeah, and you probably have heaps more knowledge than fucking Snape, in the Dark Arts! He's a useless professor!"

"No, I don't! And even then, why the f— okay, logically, yeah? Why the fuck would I give your Dumbledore-cock-sucking-Gryffindor-mudblood-arse any fucking ammunition against us?"

"Us?"

"Yeah! You get skills, find out the extent of our training, and then you fuck us up! I'm not an idiot, I'm a Death Eater, and a good fucking one at that!"

"The fuck does that mean?! I didn't doubt your 'Death Eater prowess'!"

Hell if he knew what that meant?! He just needed you to shut the fuck up so he could think of a way out!

"Listen. I apologise for losing my temper." Ew, ew, ew, he'd never said that shite in his life, but he really couldn't afford to fuck this up. "Is there anything else that I can do for you to repay you for the concoction?"

You narrowed your eyes at him for a fleeting moment, before shaking your head.

Okay, you were taking this oddly well, and he didn't fucking like it.

"So, this was, uh...? That's it? Nothing else you want?"

"Nope."

"You're not... you don't seem angry or, like, petty."

"This was a favour. It's alright if you can't do it."

Alright, this was getting ridiculous.

So, you ask someone something, they tell you they can't do it, and you just accept and move on?! What sort of weird shite does Gryffindor teach you?

It infuriated him to no end, but what could he say?! 'WHY are you doing exactly what I'm telling you to do?' Even he's not that insane.

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"I know what you're fucking doing.", he muttered under his breath, but he hadn't entirely mastered the whole speech-travel spell yet.

"Who the fuck are you talking to?"

He glared at Theo. "This is all your fault, you know. You're so fucking gullible. 'Come with me to the Fifth Years' anti-Potter party', you said. 'We'll get cool badges and popularity'.", he scoffs.

"It turned out to be partially true, right? Your 'Potter Stinks' badge is still in the drawer, isn't it?"

"Whatever. Well, now she wants me to—"

"Yeah, teach her wandless magic. You were only whining about it every night for the past couple days."

"I said I couldn't help her out."

"So she's icing you out?"

"No, actually, she's just... chill. Look.", he grumbled, gesturing at you from across the library.

"Reverse psychology."

"Excuse me?"

"Read about it in a Muggle book. Don't ask.", he added. "But yeah. She's trying to freak you out so you go tell her you'll do it."

Mattheo knew this was almost definitely not the case, but he really could not handle you icing him out like this. Not that you'd interacted too much outside you handing him the batch of concoctions every other month, anyway, but those five minutes of pleasant conversation and inside jokes about your 'lame-teacher-student-tea-party' had genuinely been the highlight of this term at Hogwarts, and he didn't want to lose it.

Fuck. He was not beating the sap allegations, was he?

He was up like lightning.

You'd barely turned the page in the reference book you were copying notes from before a palm slammed down on it.

"Fine!"

You startled, looking up in confusion. "What?!"

"I'll bloody do it! But if you think I'm telling you any secrets from our side, you're sorely mistaken!"

Nearly two years of avoiding each other, and this is what he ends up being nice enough to interact with you about. A bloody favour that you only acquiesced to because of some stupid Vow from fourteen years old!

"You'll do it?"

"Yeah, alright? I'll do it!"

"Thank you...? Uh... when and where?"

Selfishly, he wanted to show you up in the same place you'd always shown him up.

So, there you sat, the two of you, in the Potions classroom, the only light through the window coming from the sun dipping beneath the horizon in the darkening sky.

"You need to envision it. What's happening. When it's happening. How it's happening."

You nodded, closing your eyes in concentration. He'd almost find it endearing had he not been perpetually consumed with burning annoyance with you not avoiding or snogging him that fateful day two years ago.

"Unless you're envisioning me bored out of my wits, it's not working."

"I am! The Taedium spell!"

He snorted. "Nice try. I said the same nonsense my first time. I know your head probably hurts right now, but lying isn't helping your progress. Try again. And try not to use the Hot Air charm to get me to take my shirt off. Girls tend to do that."

You laughed, covering your face with one hand as you shook your head. He fought a smile. "There. That vulnerability. You need to use it. Alright? Right now, your mind doesn't quite believe that what it thinks , will actually happen. Be vulnerable, open."

Nodding, you sucked on your teeth, leaning back and taking a deep breath.

He raised a brow at you as you closed your eyes. "There. Feel the spell overtake me, not the self-doubt overtaking you. Alright?"

"Mm."

He tried his best not to yelp as he was lifted a tiny bit above his chair. "Alright, you have the ability to do the funniest shite ever right now, but try not to 'plop' me down, yeah?"

You opened one eye, gasping. "I did it?"

"Yeah, yeah. Can you let me down now?"

Gently, you lowered him back down onto the seat, with a subtle thud.

You were grinning too much, too prettily, and it was throwing him off.

"What? Don't get a big head already, alright? You got me, like, ten centimetres off the ground at most."

Shrugging, you stood up. "Either way. I did it."

"Am I allowed to ask why?"

"There's a war brewing.", you replied, tilting your head as if he were the psychotic one here. "Need to protect myself."

"War.", he muttered, shaking his head. "And you're just... alright with providing a monthly batch of healing-concoction to a bunch of Death Eaters?"

"Healer's Oath."

"Unbelievable.", he scoffed. "Do you have no moral compass?"

"Pot-kettle, Riddle."

He shot up, too, clenching his jaw as he moved to be chest-to-chest with you. "At least I'm not a two-timer." Your audacity.

"If you think I'm betraying the good side - and Dumbledore, for that matter - by helping a bunch of annoying adolescents walk back into the school and not streak blood all over the floors, then you're delusional."

"Good side is subjective."

"So is 'two-timer'."

"Why won't you kiss me?"

Wow. He just... went straight for the jugular, huh?

He's thought about this way more than he'd ever admit. The first time around, you quite literally made an Unbreakable Vow that surrendered your veto power, just to avoid kissing him, and the second time around, your first instinct had been to fucking guzzle Veritaserum and spill your darkest secrets out for the same reason.

"I don't want to.", you scoffed, and he rolled his eyes.

"Try again."

"I hated when we kissed. It was gross."

"Try again."

"I hate you."

He raised a brow. "Try again."

"As I said, I'd rather die than snog a Death Eater."

His tongue licked into his cheek, and he flicked at your hair. "Last chance. Try again. Truth."

You huffed, looking down as you bit the inside of your cheek.

"There we go, there it is. C'mon.", he urged, softly.

Taking the deepest breath known to mankind, you avoided his gaze as you spoke. "I have this, uh... irrational fear. That... that thing", you mumbled, gesturing at his wrist, "...will transfer."

He stared at you. How could someone so phenomenal, so brilliant, so resourceful, be this absolutely idiotic?! And then he burst into laughter. "If we snogged? Death Eater by exposure? Are you alright in the head?"

"I told you it's irrational!"

"Alright, so technically, everything you said before is a lie. All those reasons you gave. Bull, yeah?"

You didn't answer, and he chuckled. "It wasn't gross, you would not rather die than kiss a Death Eater, and... what was the other one?", he mused, checking off each on his fingers.

"There was no other—"

"Oh, you "didn't want to", yeah!", he exclaimed, with air-quotes.

"I didn't!"

Oh, this bastard. He was giddy, it was clear. He loved this.

Opportunist. Disgusting, Death Eater opportun—

And he was on you before you could refuse.

Well, you couldn't refuse, technically.

You'd made a Vow not to.

What a cop-out.