#x-ray engine
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icedcyanide · 2 years ago
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Under Darkness
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jt1674 · 4 months ago
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bakingmakingmachine · 5 months ago
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Using JADE software to perform some analysis on the general measurement scans that were run for the samples using the X-Ray Diffraction machine
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i-j0s · 6 months ago
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nctrnm · 16 days ago
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#NowPlaying: "Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Episode 117: NASA Trade and Technical Professionals, Part 3" by NASA
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a-typical · 5 months ago
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Since many materials change shape when they change temperature, a test team from Ball Aerospace worked together with NASA engineers at Marshall’s X-ray and Cryogenic Facility (XRCF) to cool the mirror segments down to the temperature Webb is experiencing in deep space, -400 degrees Fahrenheit (-240 degrees Celsius).
Cryogenic testing of the primary mirror segments began in at Marshall’s XRCF by Ball Aerospace in 2009.
The change in mirror segment shape due to the exposure to these cryogenic temperatures was recorded by Ball Aerospace Engineers using a laser interferometer. This information, together with the mirrors, traveled back to California for final surface polishing at Tinsley. The mirrors’ final polish was completed in June of 2011.
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By the end of 2013, all the flight primary mirror segments, as well as the secondary and tertiary mirrors would be at Goddard. The mirrors were stored in special protective canisters in the cleanroom, awaiting the arrival of the flight telescope structure.
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Inside a massive clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland the James Webb Space Telescope team used a robotic arm to install the last of the telescope’s 18 mirrors onto the telescope structure.
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James Webb Space Telescope Mirror Seen in Full Bloom
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Once the mirrors were completed, the science instruments were integrated into the telescope. While at Goddard, the telescope also underwent environmental testing – both acoustic and vibration – to ensure it would be able to withstand the rigors of launch. That successfully completed, the telescope was sent off to NASA Johnson in Houston, Texas, for tests of the optics and instruments at cryogenic temperatures. NASA Johnson’s Chamber A is the only thermal vacuum chamber NASA has that is large enough for Webb!
Once the telescope reached orbit, engineers on Earth made adjustments/corrections to the positioning of the Webb telescope’s primary mirror segments to bring them into alignment – to ensure they would produce sharp, focused images.
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icedcyanide · 2 years ago
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Wayfaring Stranger of the Zone
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jcmarchi · 9 months ago
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AXIS mission selected as NASA Astrophysics Probe competition finalist
New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/axis-mission-selected-as-nasa-astrophysics-probe-competition-finalist/
AXIS mission selected as NASA Astrophysics Probe competition finalist
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The MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research (MKI) is a project lead for one of two finalist missions recently selected for NASA’s new Probe Explorers program. Working with collaborators at the University of Maryland and Goddard Space Flight Research Center, the team will produce a one-year concept study to launch the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) in 2032.
Erin Kara, associate professor of physics and astrophysicist at MIT, is the deputy principal investigator for AXIS. The MIT team includes MKI scientists Eric Miller, Mark Bautz, Catherine Grant, Michael McDonald, and Kevin Burdge. Says Kara, “I am honored to be working with this amazing team in ushering in a new era for X-ray astronomy.”
The AXIS mission is designed to revolutionize the view scientists have of high-energy events and environments in the universe using new technologies capable of seeing even deeper into space and further back in time.
“If selected to move forward,” explains Kara, “AXIS will answer some of the biggest mysteries in modern astrophysics, from the formation of supermassive black holes to the progenitors of the most energetic and explosive events in the universe to the effects of stars on exoplanets. Simply put, it’s the next-generation observatory we need to transform our understanding of the universe.”
Critical to AXIS’s success is the CCD focal plane — an array of imaging devices that record the properties of the light coming into the telescope. If selected, MKI scientists will work with colleagues at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Stanford University to develop this high-speed camera, which sits at the heart of the telescope, connected to the X-ray Mirror Assembly and telescope tube. The work to create the array builds on previous imaging technology developed by MKI and Lincoln Laboratory, including instruments flying on the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Suzaku X-ray Observatory, and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
Camera lead Eric Miller notes that “the advanced detectors that we will use provide the same excellent sensitivity as previous instruments, but operating up to 100 times faster to keep up with all of the X-rays focused by the mirror.” As such, the development of the CCD focal plane will have significant impact in both scientific and technological realms. 
“Engineering the array over the next year,” adds Kara, “will lay the groundwork not just for AXIS, but for future missions as well.”
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spacenutspod · 1 year ago
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Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast where we explore the latest news and discoveries in the world of space and astronomy. I'm your host, Anna, and I'm excited to guide you through some fascinating updates today. From groundbreaking missions and scientific revelations to the latest in aerospace engineering, we have a packed episode that is sure to spark your curiosity about the cosmos. So sit back, relax, and let's embark on this incredible journey through the universe together. - NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory: 25th Anniversary: NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999, Chandra has provided invaluable insights into black holes, dark matter, and more. Despite initial budget constraints, Chandra has exceeded expectations, thanks to innovative engineering and the dedication of its team. This observatory has opened new windows in astrophysics, offering data on galaxy formation, supermassive black holes, and gravitational wave events. As we celebrate Chandra's silver anniversary, we also honor the engineers and scientists who have ensured its long-term success. - 10th International Conference on Mars: At the recent 10th International Conference on Mars, experts highlighted ten significant milestones that have shaped our understanding of the red planet. From the international science fleet currently operating on Mars to groundbreaking discoveries by rovers like Curiosity and InSight, these milestones include detecting methane surges, uncovering ancient lake formations, and capturing seismic activity. Each discovery builds a richer narrative of Mars' past and brings us closer to future human exploration. - SpaceX's Starlink Collision Avoidance Maneuvers: SpaceX's Starlink satellites have performed nearly 50,000 collision avoidance maneuvers in the last six months, about double the previous period. This showcases SpaceX's commitment to space safety, but also highlights the growing complexity of managing such a vast constellation. With over 6,200 operational units and increasing solar activity, the frequency of these maneuvers is expected to rise, presenting a significant challenge for future space traffic management. - UK Space Agency's Lunar Water Extraction Initiative: The UK Space Agency has awarded £30,000 in funding to ten innovative teams to extract and purify water from lunar ice. Among the captivating projects is one by Nacre Scientific Limited, which plans to use a modified microwave oven to melt dirty lunar ice. Other solutions include using solar rays, supercritical water, and UV light to purify water. These technologies not only aim to support lunar bases but also have potential applications on Earth, revolutionizing water resource management in remote or war-torn areas. Don't forget to visit our website at astronomydaily.io where you can sign up for our free daily newsletter, catch up on all the latest space and astronomy news with our constantly updating news feed, and listen to all our back episodes. We'd love for you to join our community on social media too. You can find us on Facebook, X, YouTubeMusic, and TikTok by searching for AstroDailyPod. Until next time, keep looking up. www.bitesz.com
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dazzlingjaeyun · 1 month ago
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ʙʀᴜɪꜱᴇꜱ – ꜱɪᴍ ᴊᴀᴇʏᴜɴ
engineering major!jake x nursing student fem!reader
୨୧ genre: strangers to implied lovers, mostly angst & smut, MDNI | words: 17.3k | cw: jake is very in love but also lowkey emotionally unavailable, mentions of blood and injuries, self-indulgent shade on iced americano, HANDS (also self-indulgent),  jake has one wet dream, munch jake,  fingering – also semi-public (in his car),  mentions of orgasm denial, marking and biting, dry humping, nipple play,  unprotected sex, creampie, praise, aftercare!! ୨୧ 
read this as a standalone or as a prologue to bandaids! if you've already read bandaids, you can still read this one after. it'll make sense both ways ><
hanna says: huge thank you to @brklynbabyjay and @jayparked for brainstorming a lot with me & helping me with the plot. thank you su for betaing me for this monstrosity and thank you snail for giving me the idea for the title. i appreciate you so so much. also congrats to @tmrwsuns for not losing your mind (and ears) when i yapped about this too much. thank you for hyping me up instead! ily all and this wouldn't have been possible without you <3
mature content under cut, minors do not interact!
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“J-Jake,” you mumble out, your fingers tightening the grip on his hair, pulling a little harder – just enough to create the perfect sense of pain. Jake opens his eyes and looks up to you, the sight alone enough to make him bring a finger up to your leaking hole while his tongue keeps focusing on your clit. Your eyes are shut almost a little too tightly, eyebrows firmly drawn together, and bottom lip pulled between your teeth, although that’s barely enough to muffle the pretty moans and whimpers that Jake so badly needs to hear.
It’s almost pathetic how his heart skips a beat at just how easily his finger slides in, how with each pump of it, he can practically see the air getting knocked out of your lungs. When he closes his lips around your clit to gently suck it between his teeth and your head falls back, perfectly displaying the dark red spots he left there so carelessly just minutes ago, he can’t help but let his free hand slip under the soft fabric of his sweatpants, palming his pulsating length through his boxers.
A low groan escapes his lips, sending a wave of vibration through your core that has you bucking up your hips. The movement forces Jake’s eyes shut, his hand almost instinctively leaving his own body and instead reaching for your hip to pull you even closer to his face. 
The second he opens his eyes, the bright rays of sunlight that peak through his curtains force him to squeeze them shut again – only to be met with the same image: you squirming underneath him, legs shaking around his head that you desperately try to pull closer.
Suddenly, his usually loose shirt feels too tight, his light blanket too heavy, and he’s hyper aware of the way his dark bangs stick uncomfortably to his sweaty forehead. He forces his tired lids to lift again and slowly sits up, leaning his back against the headboard of his bed and running his hand through his hair first and then over his face. 
With a sigh, Jake tugs at his shirt, loosening it from his body in an attempt to cool down. His eyes scan the room – books carelessly scattered across his desk, clothes piling up on the chair and the  gym bag with his favorite pair of boxing gloves dangling from it – searching for something, anything, that could distract him from his painfully throbbing hard-on.
Yet, as if he isn’t trying so hard to think of anything other than you, his gaze lands on a few loose papers piling up on the edge of his desk: The notes he took during last week’s statistics class, looming over him like a cruel reminder of the deal that got him into this very situation in the first place.
Back then, when you mutually agreed to help each other, when he promised to send you his notes in return for you taking care of his bruises whenever practice got too rough. The image of your big, innocent eyes as you inspected his bleeding knuckles and the little gash right under his eye only twists the knife of guilt further in his chest.
Jake’s mind flashes back to that one statistics lecture – the only one he was late to. How every seat in the back was taken and he had to awkwardly walk down the stairs to the very front of the lecture hall, feeling all eyes on him as if he walked the walk of shame. How he sat next to you, simply because it was the very first seat he could spot, and he accepted anything to spare him further embarrassment or a comment from the lecturer who had already been eyeing him with raised eyebrows and ‘annoyed’ written all over his face.
He only exchanged a quick, rather forced, smile with you, before rummaging around his backpack until he found a few loose papers and a single pen. Back then, he wasn’t sure if you tried to be subtle as you glanced at his desk from the corner of your eye, observing his rather poor set up, but he noticed nonetheless. Glancing back, he saw you equipped with various pens and highlighters in different colors, yet the notepad in front of you was empty save for the date you’d neatly noted down in the right corner.
You quickly averted your gaze again, glancing back and forth between your empty paper and the lecturer. The crease between your eyebrows got deeper with each phrase he uttered, and your hand stayed rooted in place. Knowing you were supposed to take notes, that there was no way to pass that class otherwise, the professor’s words began to blur together until they were nothing but a fog that clouded your understanding until all hope of making sense of the content disappeared.
Jake on the other hand quickly scribbled down words and formulas, his pen moving over the paper with ease while his focus remained almost entirely on the lecturer and the slides that he projected onto the wall. You eyed his paper again, trying to somehow make sense of the words and numbers, trying to find something you could copy by any chance – just so you wouldn’t leave the lecture hall with an empty notepad again like you’d done the previous two weeks.
But when you tried to catch another glimpse of his notes, his hand quickly rushed over the page while noting down another apparently important point the professor had just made – and your eyes landed on his knuckles.
“They’re not supposed to be that red,” you blurted out your first thought before you could stop yourself. It took Jake a few seconds to fully register your words, but his hand slowly came to a halt as he turned his head your way. He furrowed his brows in a mixture of surprise and confusion, but you barely noticed, your gaze now focused on the gash under his eye. “Neither this,” you added, a little quieter this time.
He didn’t reply, just looked at you with a blank, unreadable expression that forced you to swallow so heavily you were sure it would have been audible hadn’t it been for the lecturer’s endless ramble. You could feel your shoulders tensing as seconds went by without any response from him, and although you pressed your lips together slightly, the silence felt so oddly oppressing that you couldn’t hold back from breaking it again.
"Looks a little puffy too,” you scanned his face for any reaction before averting your eyes as if that could stop him from keeping his on you.
“It’s a bit swollen,” he replied after a while, causing your head to snap back to him, eyes slightly widening in surprise. The boy offered the hint of a smile that was gone so quickly that you barely had enough time to register, let alone reciprocate it.
“Do they hurt?” you asked, letting your eyes wander from the bruise under his eye back to his knuckles, “or feel warm?”
He curled his fingers, clenching his hand into a weak fist before replying with a short nod that you saw from the corners of your eyes, “a little bit of both.”
You hummed. “Might be getting infected.”
When he just wordlessly blinked at you again, you added, “I have some stuff if you wanna clean them up after the lecture.” This time, his reaction was almost immediate, although wordless yet again. He creased his brows another time, scanning your face up and down as if he wasn’t quite sure if he should be confused or suspicious.
“I’m in nursing school,” you clarified. “So yeah, I carry like a mini first-aid kit with me pretty much all the time.” 
Jake’s lips formed a silent ‘oh’ as he nodded understandingly, fingers hovering over his notes almost absentmindedly while he seemed to consider your offer. “I mean,” he began, eyes flashing to the rows behind from where he’d registered a quick ‘sh’, and nodded again. “Alright,” he whispered before offering another quick smile that felt a bit more honest and a lot less awkward than before, and focusing on the lecture again. 
As soon as the professor dismissed the class, you closed your still empty notepad and collected your unused pens before neatly packing them into your bag and instead pulling out a small pouch, while Jake just carelessly shoved his papers into his own backpack, leaving them half crumpled. When you turned to face him, you found his eyes on you already, his expression a mix of uncertainty and expectation.
You wordlessly pulled a small bottle of hand sanitizer out of the pouch and rubbed some of the liquid into your hands. Then, you took out a few antiseptic wipes, carefully tore open the packaging, and extended your arm to signal him to give you his hand.
His skin felt warm against yours, softer than you expected, as his long, slender fingers curled around yours to keep his hand in place, while you gently wiped off the remnants of his wound with your other hand. You watched intently as his veins became a little more present each time the sting of the antiseptic made him tighten his grip around your fingers. Then, you added a little bit of ointment, wrapped a bandage around the wound, and repeated the routine with his other hand.
As you leaned closer to examine the gash on his face and the faintest hint of your perfume tickled Jake’s nose, his breath flattened subconsciously. His eyes landed on your face, now close enough for him to notice the various shades of color in your eyes and the way your lashes curled up perfectly. Jake pulled his lower lip in between his teeth and gently bit down to stop his lips from curving into a smile at your focused expression and your slightly parted lips. Only when you gently tapped over the wound itself did he instinctively pull back just slightly, scrunching his nose in discomfort.
“Sorry.” You pressed your lips together in a tight, apologetic smile that Jake just dismissed with a smile of his own.
“That looks bad,” you mumbled as you carefully applied a thin layer of ointment.
“The other guy looks worse,” Jake stated with a mixture of triumph and amusement, earning himself a look from you that clearly showed you were trying not to snort. “I bet.”
Once you added a small band-aid, although Jake refused at first, you leaned back in your seat to examine his face and hands from a bigger distance. “Much better,” you said with a faint smile. “If they don’t heal, you should get proper medical help though.”
Jake bit back a smile and opted for a nod instead. “Thank you, I owe you.” This time, it was you dismissing his words with a shake of your head and a simple, “you’re good.”
He looked at you for a moment, as if waiting for you to row back on it. But when you didn’t, he slowly stood up from his seat. You mimicked the movement, slung your bag over your shoulder and wordlessly followed him to finally exit the lecture hall.
“Actually,” you said just before he reached the door. He turned back around, his eyebrows slightly raised to show he was listening. “Would you mind sharing your notes with me? I… have nothing,” you asked, avoiding his eyes out of sheer embarrassment. 
“Oh, sure, I got you,” he replied so casually you almost felt stupid for hesitating before. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to you, “Just save your number, I’ll send them to you later.” Nodding, you took the phone from his hand, making sure your fingers didn’t brush against his hurt ones in the process, and quickly typed in your number.
Jake quickly glanced at his phone once you gave it back, just long enough to catch your contact name, before he shoved it back into his pocket. “See you around, Y/n,” he said with a soft smile. And with that, he walked out the door.
That’s how you and Jake, who had first introduced himself as Jaeyun when he’d sent you the notes later that night, found yourselves in some sort of agreement: Every time you helped him patch up his bruises, he sent you his lecture notes. 
And yes, after some time, Jake started sharing his notes without asking for anything in return, as did you whenever he needed your help outside of your statistics schedule. But none of your interactions ever went in a way that would allow his mind to go down the alley of imagining you in any form of sexual context.
The loud ring of his alarm pierces through the silence, startling him and pulling him back to the moment – back to his bedroom that still holds way too little oxygen. Shifting uncomfortably, he reaches for his phone to turn off his alarm, only to be directly met with your name on his lockscreen. The short “thank you! :)” you sent about an hour ago, probably when you saw the lecture notes he’d sent you the evening before. Probably while he was still asleep, dreaming about nothing other than having his face buried deep between your thighs.
With a groan, Jake tosses his phone to the side, lets his head hit the headboard again, and brings his hands up to his shoulders in an attempt to knead away the tension in his muscles. Yet, no matter how hard he tries to refuse, the image of you seems to flood his mind all over again each time he does so much as blink – and even the smallest movements of his hips force him to swallow down a whimper from how sensitive his cock feels against the restraints of his boxers.
Sighing, Jake slumps further against the headboard, spreads his legs just a little to sit more comfortably and takes a deep breath before consciously closing his eyes and really allowing himself to let his mind drift back to you one last time. How he grips your hips to pull you so close to his face that your taste and scent completely take over his senses. How your moans come dulled from how hardly you’re pressing your thighs around his head. How you’re shaking underneath him, clenching so deliciously around his tongue every time he lets it sink in between your folds.
His hand itches to reach for his cock, but he presses his fingers into the mattress instead, fisting the sheets to physically hold himself back from doing so. Then, just as his mind replays your image – of how you look under him, hair sweatily sticking to your pretty face and neck covered in purple love bites – he forces his eyes open again. Clenching his teeth, he sits up straight and lets his face fall into his hands.
“Fuck this,” he murmurs to himself, before he swings his legs off the bed and gets up. He pulls his shirt over his head as he walks to the bathroom, dropping it on the floor along with the rest of his sleeping attire and stepping under the shower where he lets cold water run over his body until it washed away every last thought of you.
Once Jake arrives at the gym, determined to ditch classes in order to keep his mind off of you, he immediately starts his usual warm-up routine, but neither running nor stretching nor the music blasting through his headphones is enough to really achieve that. A tap on his shoulder interrupts his wandering thoughts mid-stretch. When he turns around, he’s met with his friend Sunghoon’s face.
“No classes today?” the younger one asks, to which Jake just shrugs. “If you will.”
Sunghoon looks him up and down for a moment, not missing the hint of distress on his face, but he decides to not ask any questions. Instead, he tilts his head towards the ring in the middle of the room. “Wanna go a few rounds then?” Jake responds with a nod, mimicking his friend as he wraps his hands, straps on his gloves and pops in his mouthguard.
Muscle memory helps him to dodge the first few blows and even land a hit or two. But then, avoiding another dangerously close punch, he makes the mistake of shutting his eyes just for a split second mid-flinch. Yet, it’s enough for a flash of you to run through his mind; a tiny fragment of his dream replaying until a jolt of pain rushes through his head and pushes the image away with force. 
Sunghoon’s eyes widen as he steps back, clearly surprised that he, in fact, landed the punch he aimed right at Jake’s jaw so obviously. “What the fuck?”
Jake just quickly shakes his head, blinking the stars away. “Again,” he orders, repositioning himself before continuing. But just when he thinks his focus is at its peak again, his mind cruelly shifts back to how easily your arousal coated his lips and chin. And then, another punch right to his ribs makes him lurch forward, the air getting knocked out of his lungs in a choked grunt. 
“Focus, Jake,” Sunghoon says, voice laced with a mixture of confusion and warning. “How did you not see that one coming?” He aims another punch that Jake avoids with a step just at the last moment. “You’re slow as hell today, what’s up with you?”
Jake straightens his back and tilts his head to both sides to quickly stretch the tense muscles in his neck. “Nothin’,” he mumbles back, taking a short, yet deep breath in before aiming a hit Sunghoon easily, almost lazily, avoids. The latter raises an eyebrow, waits for just a second and then counters. Jake dodges the first punch, but the second hits him right on the opposite side of his jaw, quickly followed by a third against his ribs.
Scoffing, Sunghoon drops his arms and takes a step back. “Nope,” he says after a while of watching Jake recover from the pain. “We’re not doing this when you don’t even try.”
Before Jake can object, Sunghoon takes off his gloves, slipping through the ropes and out of the ring. Jake wipes his jaw with his forearm, hissing at the stinging pain as his sweaty skin meets the open wound. He bites down on the glove, using his teeth to abruptly pull at the strings before sliding it off his hand and doing the same on the other side. Then, he shoves them into his bag, jaw clenched so tightly in frustration it almost aches. Because even now, all that’s on his mind is you.
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Just an hour later, Jake finds himself in front of your door. After taking a deep breath, he slowly rings your bell, the rush of his own blood in his ears muffling the sound that echoes through the door. Admittedly, he hesitated for a good thirty minutes before even contacting you, typing in his message and deleting it again. But despite really wanting to see anyone but you right now, he could already imagine your scolding voice if he didn’t show up. Something about how you’d told him time and again that he should come to you whenever he needed his bruises patched up and blah blah.
“Oh God,” your quiet gasp snaps him back to reality. Only now does he realize you already opened the door and, judging from your reaction, took in the image of his battered face. Before he can react, you reach for his arm, pull him inside and close the door behind him. You wordlessly guide him to the bathroom where you motion him to sit down on the edge of the bathtub before you grab a small emergency kit from the drawer under the sink.
Jake watches you as you move – quickly but precisely, washing your hands and separating cotton pads to soak them up with an antiseptic whose scent stings almost uncomfortably in his nose. When you turn back around, he quickly looks down. Only when you place your index finger under his chin to carefully lift his head do his eyes meet yours again – and he feels his jaw tensing just by the way you scan his face with that familiar, worried expression of yours. Because once it makes his chest feel tight with endearment, it’s quickly replaced by a wave of guilt. Your simple, innocent touch is enough to make him shiver, his mind immediately racing with a million way too inappropriate thoughts and the desperate attempt to push them all away. 
Angling his face to the side, you carefully tap the cotton pad over the wound on his jaw first. “Relax,” you murmur so quietly it might as well have been a whisper when you feel him clenching his teeth even harder. You flicker your eyes up to his briefly only to find them squeezed shut – something he’s never done before. The sight makes you bite the inside of your cheek, the thought of him actually being in pain tugging at your heart just a little.
Turning his face to the other side, you take a new wipe to clean up the slightly smaller bruise there. Once you’re done, you apply a thin layer of ointment to both before letting go of his chin. Just as you want to take a step back, he opens his eyes – and although they seem to hold a vulnerability you’ve never seen before, they soften a little at the sight of yours.
“Thank you,” he mumbles after a while, eyes not leaving yours this time. He’s found himself in that position several times before; sitting on the edge of your bathtub with you standing in between his legs. Yet for the first time, his hands itch to reach out to you.
“Does the other guy look worse again?” you try to joke, but the hint of worry in your voice betrays you. Jake’s lips still twitch up into a soft smile as he shakes his head.
You slowly take a step back to create a bigger distance between you and lean against the sink. And although Jake should feel relieved by the newfound space that makes breathing a little easier again, a tiny part of him wants to pull you back right where you stood two seconds ago.
“So, are you finally gonna tell me how you end up like this every other day? Cause if not, I might start thinking you’re doing some kind of shady stuff.” You cross your arms in front of your chest.
Jake chuckles softly. “I actually do it for fun,” he begins, “and for career reasons, I guess. I’ve been boxing ever since I was a teenager and I wanna go pro.” He studies your face for a second before he continues. “That’s why I don’t put too much effort in my engineering degree, you know. I’m just… kinda doing it ‘cause my parents don’t approve of the whole boxing thing. But that’s always been my first choice.”
There’s something about the hint of pride in his voice that warms your heart, despite the worry that also settles somewhere there. “So, you’re getting beat up for your dreams?” you ask, drawing a quiet laugh from Jake.
“Hey, I beat up people too,” he defends.
“Yeah. And I don’t know if I think that’s a solid career plan.”
Jake halts for a moment and searches your eyes again, expecting that disapproving look he usually got when he shared his plans with anyone. But he only finds a hint of worry instead – and he quickly tries to dismiss the way his heart squeezes ever so slightly. “Now you sound like my parents, too.” 
“Well, thanks to them, you go to college and I won’t fail statistics,” you say with a chuckle.
Jake just responds with a soft smile that’s somehow still enough to spread a warm, cozy feeling all across your chest.
“Good, because medicine can’t afford to lose its best future nurse.”
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“Break time,” Jake’s voice cuts through the silence so firmly that you flinch, pen gliding over your notes and crossing some of the words out. You look around the library to find around a dozen other students glaring in your direction, and quickly offer them an apologetic smile before your eyes dart back to Jake.
“I’m not done yet,” you reply, forcing your focus back on the textbook in front of you – until Jake takes the pen from your hand, places it between the open pages and closes the book. “But you’ve been studying non-stop for almost three and a half hours now. I can see your brain fuming,” he sighs. Just as you open your mouth to oppose, he shakes his head and gently presses his index finger against your lips.
“You know that suggesting a break when you’ve been the one to doomscroll this whole time is crazy, right?” you  mumble against the digit. He lets it rest on your lips for another second, and you swear you can see his gaze dropping – but before you can think about it, he looks up again.
“Coffee,” he suggests, although it sounds more like an order. Biting your lip, you debate whether to agree or to bury your head in your books again.
“Coffee it is,” you finally say with a sigh before collecting your stuff and shoving them back into your bag.
The walk to the small campus café is silent, but while it feels like a much needed break for you, it just seems to give Jake’s mind time and space to wander. Every time your shoulders bump against his or his fingers brush yours while walking, even if just for a fragment of a second, his skin starts buzzing. 
By the time you reach the counter, his throat feels so tight that simply asking for your order takes all the effort he can muster. For a second, you eye him with furrowed brows, not quite sure if his jaw is really as tight as it looks or if it’s just the different light inside the store that casts a weird shadow there. 
“I’ll go with a caramel macchiato.”
“Suits you,” Jake responds without thinking, only realizing what he said when your brows draw together again.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He hesitates for a moment. Then, he takes a deep breath that he masks with a shrug. “You’re also sweet.”
You look at him in disbelief, and he almost rows back on his words, until you let out a quiet chuckle. “If that’s you trying to make me pay for your coffee, it’s not working. And by the way, americano is ass. Literally doesn’t even taste like coffee, it’s just colored water and–” 
But Jake doesn’t even listen anymore, busy struggling to ignore the pang in his chest just because you remember his usual order. He bites back his comment about how ‘coffee isn’t coffee either if it contains more syrup than anything else’, instead placing the order and paying before you even get the chance to take out your wallet.
Once you settle on a small table, the silence between you feels relieving – as if your brain finally got the chance to shut off after hours of trying to fit half a semester of pharmacology into your head. Jake, on the other hand, doesn’t feel half as relaxed, seemingly not able to peel his eyes off you, no matter how hard he tries.
You look around the café for a while, watching people come in and leave, until your eyes settle on Jake again. His gaze is intense, filled with something you can’t really read, but it sure is enough to make your heart skip a beat. Enough to suddenly make you feel smaller, tension creeping into your body again.
“What?” you ask so quietly you’re not sure if he even hears over the background noise of the store. Jake only shakes his head in response and drops his gaze to his hands. Your eyes follow his and you allow yourself to watch him play with his rings for a while – turning them, sliding them off and back onto his fingers, knuckles slightly red and veins oh so prominent. Your mind wanders, replaying fragments of every time you cleaned the blood or dirt off his knuckles, or how you taped band-aids around his fingers. Of how his hands felt in yours, fragile but somewhat good, somewhat safe. 
“You’ve got something on your mouth,” Jake’s voice makes your head snap back up. As you try to wrap your head around how long you’ve been zoned-out, Jake reaches forward, wipes his thumb over the corner of your mouth and holds it in front of your lips. You part them just enough to close them around the tip of his finger and lick off the whipped cream, cheeks heating up so quickly you’re sure it’s evident. But Jake doesn’t notice, and if he does, he doesn’t point it out.
Instead, he leans back casually and grabs his drink again. “Do you wanna go back to the library?”
To his surprise, you shake your head. “My brain’s mushy, I feel like I won’t even remember what I studied today.”
“That’s ‘cause you’re always stressing too much. Come on, I’ll drive you home.”
Once you sit down in the passenger seat of Jake’s car, you immediately slump against the leather, lean your head against the window and let the glass cool down your pounding temple. Jake gets in the driver's seat, but instead of starting the engine, he looks at you with his head tilted to the side. “Tired? Or frustrated?” 
With a sigh, you lift your head and turn around to face him. “I usually feel better after a break, but now I really don’t.”
“Maybe you need a… different kind of break,” he hesitates, eyes dropping to your lips for the blink of an eye, so short you barely register it. “Release some stress, you know.”
“Oh, are you volunteering?” You laugh, but Jake doesn’t reply, doesn’t laugh – doesn’t even tear his eyes away from yours. He just shrugs.
In no time, your smile fades, your eyes widen and your breath gets caught in your throat so quickly that it’s hard to speak. “I–... I was joking.”
“Well, I’m not,” he says, face as calm as ever, when in reality his heart seems to be racing a marathon and his palms begin to feel sweaty.
“Did you get hit in the head last practice?” You try to joke, but the small tremble in your voice betrays you.
He absentmindedly pulls his bottom lip in between his teeth as his eyes drop from your eyes to your lips and back up again, holding your gaze as though he could see right through the chaos that is your thoughts. Feeling your heartbeat picking up and your breath coming shorter, you try to swallow down the lump that begins to form in your throat. Jake seems to lean just a hint closer, wetting his lips with his tongue – but just as you want to lean forward too, he suddenly pulls away and sits back in his seat, head falling against the headrest with a sigh. He resists the urge of running his hand through his hair in frustration, before turning his head to the side to look at you again.
“Sorry. I probably did get hit in the head,” he mumbles.
You look at him for a moment, trying to gather your courage to say something, but the words don’t come until he reaches for the key to start the car.
“That’s so unfortunate,” you say, making him stop, “I liked the idea.”
The words make Jake’s eyes dart back to you, and for a while, he just looks at you with an unreadable expression, scanning your face as if trying to find out whether you’re joking. But your gaze is steady and your lips don’t twitch in an attempt to bite back a smile or a laugh. You just lean in a little, then stop to give him time to react. Jake’s eyes never leave yours as he mirrors the gesture.
He leans closer until you can feel the ghost of his breath fanning over your skin, letting goosebumps erupt from just that – and then, as if you’re pulled towards each other by force, you close the distance until his lips are on yours. 
He kisses you softly at first, hesitantly, as though he’s trying to savor how soft your lips feel or how effortlessly they move in sync with his. Heart beating so fast you can feel it in your throat, you reach out to get ahold of his collar and pull him closer. You feel his hands cupping your cheeks, fingertips pressing against your skin like you’d slip away otherwise. But instead, you curl your fingers around the fabric harder and tug on it with just enough force for your teeth to clash.
“Come here,” Jake murmurs against your lips, dropping his hands to your hips and carefully pulling you over the middle console and onto his lap. He kisses you again, this time with more urgency. Your hands find their way around his neck, fingers weaving through his hair and tugging on the ends when he gently bites your lip.
The space between you feels too small and not big enough at the same time, and you’re not sure whether you want to pull away or scoot closer. But before you can make up your mind, Jake tightens his grip on your hips and pulls you in until your torsos touch and you can feel his chest rising and falling against yours as he gently pulls away from the kiss.
“Feel better already?” He asks, voice slightly hoarse and lips softly brushing yours. Jake squeezes your hips as your hands slide from the back of his head down to his shoulders, solely to hold himself back from shuddering at the simple touch. 
“Don’t know,” you reply, smiling against his lips. “Might need a little more to convince me.”
You feel him reciprocating your smile before he kisses you another time. His hands tentatively slide under the hem of your shirt and to your lower back, just resting on your skin, while yours brush over his collarbones and to his chest, where you feel  his heartbeat quickening under your fingertips. 
Jake tilts his head to the side to deepen the kiss, and almost immediately, your hands rush up to his neck again, tugging on his hair just enough to draw a low groan from him. His hands move up and down your waist as though he’s trying to memorize every inch of your body. You slowly pull back, just enough to whisper his name against his lips like it’s the only thing you know how to say. His fingers dig into your skin ever so gently as he leans down to leave soft kisses against your jaw, making your breath stutter and your lips part. 
His touch feels somewhat urgent, yet not rushed – and though your heart aches at how gently he takes his time, how he pulls away barely enough to look at you just to make sure you’re okay, you can’t help the heat that spreads up your spine and down to your core. “Jake,” you whisper again, shuddering as he hums against your neck before he pulls back and scans your face for any signs of discomfort. “Want me to stop?” 
The way you shake your head almost frantically draws a chuckle from Jake. Leaning forward again, he continues to kiss your neck down to your collarbones, one hand still pressing into the flesh of your hips while the other begins to fidget with the waistband of your pants.
Your breath hitches as he slowly slides his hand past it, thumb carefully grazing over your clothed clit. “Let me take care of you,” Jake says so quietly it almost comes out as a whisper. He pulls his hand away, waiting for your response while slowly but steadily sliding the rings off his fingers.
Nodding slowly, you take a deep breath as he pulls your underwear to the side and slides a finger through your folds, collecting your slick and tracing it up to your clit again. You rest your head on his shoulder, letting the scent of his cologne tickle your nose as your breath gets shakier each second his finger carefully rubs over your sensitive bud.
You want to tell him you want more, but not trusting your voice you just buck your hips forward slightly. Jake, who understands wordlessly, bites back a smile as you can’t seem to help the quiet whimper at the feeling of his digit prodding at your entrance. “That what you want?” He asks, voice so confident it only intensifies the feeling of being completely put into his hands. You just manage a quiet hum that gets stuck in your throat as he slowly pushes the finger in, immediately curling it so perfectly that you could almost forget it’s the first time he’s ever touched you like that.
Continuing his antics, he carefully adds a second finger, angling them just right to hit the sweet spot that draws a quiet moan from you. The sound is enough to cause a shiver to run down Jake’s spine –  and suddenly, all he wants is to hear it again.
He gently presses his thumb against your clit, not able to hold back the quiet groan as he feels you clenching around his fingers. As your grip on his shoulders tightens and your breath comes even more ragged, he places a gentle kiss on the crown of your head. “Everything still okay?”
The softness in his voice makes your heart flutter a little as you try your best to stay composed enough to nod. “Just… please don’t stop,” you murmur, voice almost breaking at the end. Your breath feels hot against Jake’s neck, yet it makes him shiver. Every curve of his fingers seemingly guided solely by your sounds and the way you arch into him, Jake closes his eyes to focus only on the way your breath grows heavier as each stroke brings you closer to release.
“Let go for me, hm?” Jake asks so gently it fully contrasts the pace of his fingers, making your heart squeeze just as your orgasm hits you with a force that has you digging your fingers into his shoulders. Jake continues, helping you ride out your high, until pleasure gives way to pain and you manage a choked out ‘too much’. He pulls away quickly but carefully, slightly shaking his shoulder to get you to lift your head.
“Hey,” his eyes search yours as he gently rubs your back underneath your shirt, “you alright?” Taking a deep, shaky breath, you nod and back it up with a soft smile. Jake’s eyes drop to your lips once more, but he doesn’t lean in. Instead, he pulls your head to his shoulder again and just holds you there until your breath evens out.
When you open your eyes again and your gaze falls directly onto his strained pants, you slowly trace one hand from his shoulder down his torso. Jake’s eyes flutter shut as his cock twitches in anticipation – but just as your fingers ghost over his clothed length, he grabs your wrist to stop you. When you lift your head and give him a questioning look, he just offers a smile in return, lifts your hand to his lips, and places a gentle kiss on your knuckles.
“You don’t owe me anything, you know. I just wanted you to feel good.” You open your mouth, but he shakes his head, reassuring, “I’m okay, really. Let’s take you home, yeah?”
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Even days later, you don’t talk about what happened, or how steadily he held your hand when he insisted on walking you up to your apartment. Neither about how he randomly starts coming over just to bring you snacks from the convenience store close to his gym whenever he heads home from practice. Not even after you notice that whatever he brings is always something you mentioned craving just a little while ago. 
And technically, things stay the same, except that they don’t, really. Jake still sits next to you in statistics lectures. He still takes the notes while you’re trying to figure out what’s going on, still sends them to you unasked. But now, he doesn’t pull away when his knee brushes yours under the table, and you swear he softly bumps his hand against yours on purpose while writing.
You still take care of his wounds after practice. It’s just that now, you text him every night to make sure he really is okay – even if he leaves your place just an hour earlier. And on some days, he doesn’t go home at all. You start keeping his favorite cereal in your kitchen cupboard, and suddenly, the mug he uses for his morning coffee becomes only his, and you stop using it.
He still looks after you, paying attention to your study habits and making sure you’re taking breaks. But now, taking breaks means having his head buried between your thighs. And now, revising means trying to remember what you studied just an hour ago while his fingers work you closer and closer to release, only granting it when you get the answers right.
“Metoprolol,” he reads what feels like the twentieth flashcard, thumb drawing soft circles over your clit. You sigh, closing your eyes and focusing on the feeling, until it suddenly stops. When you open your eyes, you find Jake already looking at you, waving the flashcard like a reminder. “Metoprolol,” he repeats.
“That’s a beta-blocker,” you grumble, wiggling your hips to get Jake to continue, but he just drops the flashcard to your mattress and grips your hips firmly enough to stop you.
“And what’s a beta-blocker?” He asks, biting the inside of his cheek to hold back his grin as you roll your eyes.
“You know what a fuckass beta-blocker is, Jake.”
He raises an eyebrow, slowly pulling his hand away from your core. “Come again?”
For a while, you just look at him, jaw clenched and hoping he’ll eventually give up on your pharmacology revision. But he just looks at you with an almost bored expression, not making any attempt to continue. 
“They lower heart rate and blood pressure,” you sigh, now giving him an almost pleading look. He hums, letting his thumb ghost over your skin without really touching you. “They’re usually used for hypertension or after heart attacks to–” you cut off as he finally slips a finger into your aching hole.
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The first ring of your doorbell barely catches your attention, muffled like a quiet disturbance somewhere further away. But when it rings again and a third time only shortly after, you push your chair back with a sigh and stand up. Your knees almost buckle and your spine cracks uncomfortably, shoulders hurting as you roll them back in an attempt to release the tension that’s been building up from sitting for countless hours.
The fourth ‘ding’ has you rolling your eyes annoyedly. A shiver runs over your scalp and down your spine as you release your hair from the tight bun you kept them in, only now realizing that the hairstyle probably contributed greatly to the pounding in your head. You ruffle them a bit, trying to adjust them so they fall into your face to cover as much of your reddened, puffy cheeks as possible, while you drag yourself to the door and open it without a glance through the small peephole.
The air from outside immediately hits you, clinging to your bare legs uncomfortably. It takes just a look at Jake’s gym bag to recognize him, but your eyes still slowly wander up his torso and to his face.
“Are you hurt?” you try to ask, but the words only come out half. You clear your throat and ask again, scanning his face for any visible bruises, but finding nothing but a hint of concern etched onto his features.
“No,” he replies, studying your face the same way you do with his and pulling his brows together a little tighter at the sight of your glassy eyes and the circles forming underneath them. “You didn’t reply to my messages all day and that’s… kinda unlike you. So I wanted to check in on you.”
“I was studying,” you mumble.
Jake sighs almost inaudibly, just loud enough for you to register the faint sound of it. “I can see that. You look like hell.”
You meet his gaze for a second before you avert your eyes. “Thanks, Jake. Flattering.”
He ignores your remark, still scanning your face. “Were you crying?” he asks, but you don‘t reply.
Without another word or an invitation, Jake takes a step towards you, closing the door behind him with a soft click and dropping his bag to the floor. “Come on, you should really take a break,” he says softly, and although the familiar hint of concern in his voice usually causes a gentle warmth to spread across your chest, this time it feels close to infuriating. You can feel how your shoulders tense again at his suggestion and you immediately shake your head in response. 
“You’ve probably been sitting at your desk for hours. It‘s okay to slow down a bit,” Jake says so soothingly it nearly comes off as belittling. He keeps searching your face for any type of reaction, his gaze suddenly so heavy on you that you almost begin to feel small. “You‘re not going to get anything done if you‘re this exhausted,” he tries again.
“I don‘t have time for a break. Not everyone can afford to fall behind and fail their classes, Jake!” You snap, the words spilling out in a tone much harsher than intended and before your brain even finishes your thoughts. It takes only a flicker of your eyes up to his face to see his reaction – his jaw tightening slightly and a small wrinkle forming on his forehead, not from concern this time, but from irritation.
He stays silent for a moment. “That wasn‘t necessary,” he finally mumbles, the earlier softness in his voice now replaced by something firmer. You open your mouth to apologize, but your throat tightens, closes up, makes it hard to speak or even swallow down your apology.
But just seconds later, Jake lets his shoulders fall with a soft sigh, the tension on his face slowly dissolving. He takes another slow step forward and reaches out to gently place his cold hands on your heated cheeks, cupping your face with a grip ever so lightly, as though he‘s giving you every chance to pull away and step back. “It‘s okay,” he reassures quietly. “I shouldn‘t have pressured you.”
Your throat tightens even more as you look up at him the second before tears begin to blur your vision – and just when you want to turn your head away, Jake tightens his grip. Closing your eyes instead, you grit your teeth as hard as you can when one tear rolls down your cheek and you feel Jake’s thumb gently wiping it away.
When you open your eyes only to find his eyes filled with more warmth and softness than ever before, you sniff once, mumble a low, “I’m sorry,” and pull back with a little more strength.
“Wanna rant about how annoying classes are?” he asks softly, tilting his head to the side, but you slowly shake your head. “Do you want me to leave?” He bites the inside of his cheek, regretting the question before he even finished asking it. But to his surprise, you shake your head again.
“Stay,” you confirm quietly, just loud enough for him to catch. His hand itches to reach out to you again – to pull you in and hold you close until he’s made sure that you’re okay. But instead, he just nods. “Movie?” He suggests so gently that your heart almost skips a beat at his attempt to still keep you away from your desk, just not as pushy as before.
When you settle on the sofa next to Jake, he places his arm on the cushions behind you. You stare at the screen, but you don’t really pay attention to whatever is playing. All you can focus on is Jake; the scent of his body wash, the way just sitting next to him leaves the palm of your hands sweaty despite the air conditioning, and how his arm behind you makes you feel so close to him, although he doesn’t touch you. You glance down right in time to catch Jake spreading his legs a little further – just enough for his knee to softly brush against yours.
Tentatively, you lean closer until your head reaches his shoulder. He lets his arm slide off the cushions and around your shoulder almost instantly, pulling you more in so your head rests fully on his shoulder. You stay like that in silence, Jake absentmindedly letting his fingers slide up and down your arm, until you scoot a little closer. He reaches for your thigh with his free hand, slowly curling it around the inside of it just to place your leg on top of his own.
“Is this okay?” he asks quietly as he lets his hand rest on your knee. 
The simple, innocent contact is enough to make your breath hitch, enough to let goosebumps erupt on every inch of skin he touches. Not trusting your voice, you opt for a quick nod of your head that draws a sheepish smile on Jake’s face.
You stay like that for a bit, both pairs of eyes on the screen without really paying attention. Jake traces gentle patterns on your skin, trying his best to not be too obvious about how he follows every small twitch of your thigh or every inch you slowly scoot closer. Skin crackling under his touch, a soft sigh gets caught in your throat as he slings his arm around your waist and pulls you onto his lap.
“Better?” he asks quietly, almost inaudible over the sound coming from the TV. You reply with a hum, before hesitantly draping your arms around his neck. Your fingers gently lace through his hair as you lean forward to rest your head on his shoulder again. His hands settle on the small of your back, just holding you in place for a while.
Although neither of you speaks, the show that’s playing slowly wanders to the very back of your mind, attention zeroing in on the sound of Jake’s steady breaths and the feeling of your body gently pressed against his, somewhat peaceful, yet unsettling at the same time. Not enough.
As if reading your mind, Jake softly tugs at your sweater to wordlessly gain your attention. Shifting slightly, you lift your head from his shoulder to look at him. His eyes find yours immediately, softening just a bit at how they now seem much calmer than before. You allow yourself to get lost in his brown orbs, and, for the very first time, embrace the warmth that spreads through your chest. You're so absorbed in his eyes that you don’t even acknowledge the strand of hair falling onto your face until you feel Jake gently tugging it behind your ear. 
His hand lingers on your cheek as his eyes dip down to your lips. Chest buzzing from your quickening heartbeat, you tentatively lean a little closer. He lets his hand slide to the back of your head and gently pushes you forward until his breath fans over your lips – and before he can ask, you close the last bit of distance between you.
Surprised at first, Jake reacts quickly, eyes closing and lips moving effortlessly in sync with yours. His fingertips gently press against your scalp as he angles his head slightly to deepen the kiss. The blissful shiver his touch sends down your neck draws a whimper from you, so quiet you would have thought it went unnoticed by Jake if it wasn’t for the twitch of his fingers. When you slowly pull back, breaths coming more ragged, his hand moves from the back of your head down to your neck, fingers curling around your throat ever so gently – just enough to pull you back in.
He kisses you almost feverishly now, earlier hesitation gone as he glides his tongue against yours and gently bites on your lower lip. Each of his antics has you pulling on his hair a little harder, sending blissful shivers down his spine at the memory of all the times he felt that same tug on his scalp with his face buried in between your thighs.
Slowly pulling back and allowing both of you to breathe, his hand drops from your neck to your hips, pushing past the hem of your sweater to rest on your bare skin. Then, his lips are on you again, leaving hot, open-mouthed kisses against your jaw, your neck, the spot right under your ear and your collarbone. He sucks on your skin, gently bites down wherever he knows it will draw a quiet moan from you, and quickly licks over the bruised skin to soothe it – all while firmly holding you close to him, fingers almost boring into your skin. 
His other hand toys with the fabric of your sweater, softly tugging on it without making any attempt to rid you of it. But the ache between your legs only grows bigger with every second that passes with him marking what seems like every accessible inch of your skin. You let your hands sink to his shoulders, squeezing softly to get his attention, but his lips stay attached to your collarbone, leaving yet another love bite.
Only when you manage to mumble his name, voice breathy and almost breaking at the end of the syllable does he pull back to look at you. “Take it off,” you mutter – and before he can open his mouth to ask if you’re sure, you beat him to it with a quiet “please.” He nods, hands sliding to the hem of your sweater to slowly, almost shakingly push it up. Trying his best to keep his eyes on yours, he can’t help but peek down as he carefully pushes the piece of clothing over your head and drops it somewhere on the sofa.
“So pretty,” he whispers, leaning forward again to softly place his lips on top of yours, hands sliding up hesitantly before cupping your boobs and giving them a gentle squeeze that draws another quiet moan from you. His lips trail down your neck again, touch gentle yet somewhat impatient, until he reaches your chest.
Raising his head to look up at you, he waits until you give a short nod, before attaching his lips to one nipple. The content sigh that leaves your lips at the contact shoots right to his hardening cock. Eager to draw another one from you, he flattens his tongue against the bud, gently sucking on it right after. Once the quiet moan reaches his ears, the corners of his lips curl up into a smirk. He pulls off to come eye-level with you, chuckling softly as he catches the hint of disappointment on your face at the loss of contact.
“Don’t hold back,” he orders, voice not as firm as he initially planned, but the hint of softness makes your heart flutter a little. “I know you can be louder than that. Let me hear you, hm?” He asks, bringing two fingers in front of your lips. You slowly open your mouth just enough for him to push the digits past your lips and onto your tongue. Keeping your eyes on his, you hesitantly start sucking on his fingers, not missing how his jaw tenses although his expression never falters once.
“I said let me hear you,” he repeats, voice dipping lower – just enough to make another shiver run down your spine, but you stay silent. He pulls his fingers out with a tsk. “You’re not usually this shy, what’s up today?”
Instead of waiting for a response, his mouth is on your nipple again, the fingers that pressed down on your tongue just moments ago coming up to flick and twist the other one. Your head lolls back with a shaky breath, nails digging a little deeper into his clothed shoulders.
There’s a part of you that wants to keep holding back, not only out of shyness, for this is the first time Jake has ever seen you shirtless. It’s the way his antics grow messier, almost desperate to finally get the reaction he wants, that just feels too good. While you’re busy wondering if just nipple stimulation has ever caused your underwear to stick to your drenched core this much, one particularly harsh pull rips a surprised moan from you. 
Although you keep your eyes closed, partly to spare you from embarrassment, you can feel Jake smiling against your skin. You subconsciously slide forward, his hardening cock pressing against your heat, and the tiny bit of friction is enough for you to clench around nothing. When you press against him again, Jake curses under his breath, but you don’t quite catch what he says. Both his hands are quick to land on your ass, fingers digging into the plush skin while he guides you, and the way the outline of his clothed hard-on perfectly presses against you draws whimper after whimper from you.
Your eyes roll back each time his tip meets your pulsating clit, the sensation feeling almost overwhelming despite the layers of fabric between you. Not knowing how to deal with the mix of not wanting to stop and really, really wanting more, his name leaves your lips in a moan that has his hips stuttering for a second.
“What do you want?” he asks softly, tilting his head to the side the adorable way he often does when talking or listening to you.
Instead of replying, you only press against him harder. His eyes roll back with a low groan, but he refuses to give in.
“Use your words, pretty.”
“Want you,” you murmur, and although he really wants to hear you say it again, he’s too impatient to make you repeat yourself. Instead, he quickly manhandles you from his lap onto the sofa, your back pressed against the cushions as he hovers over you and starts leaving more kisses from your neck over your chest and stomach down to the waistband of your shorts. He quickly pulls it in between his teeth and down your legs without breaking eye contact. Once your shorts and underwear are carelessly discarded somewhere on the floor, his hands find their way to your thighs, spreading them apart to put your dripping core perfectly on display for him. 
You let your forearm fall over your eyes as you feel the familiar heat creeping up on your cheeks, feeling timid no matter how many times he’s already seen you like this. The feeling of two fingers gently sliding in between your glistening folds makes you arch your back, and although you can’t see him, you can practically hear Jake’s grin as he speaks, “so wet just for me?”
Again, he doesn’t wait for your response and licks one long stripe from your hole up to your clit, where he circles the bundle of nerves with his tongue before tentatively sucking it between his lips. The moan that rips from your throat only motivates him to do it again, making your back arch off the sofa again. When his tongue finds your hole, his nose bumps against your clit, drawing another whimper from you while he laps up everything you give him with a content hum.
Just as he focuses on your clit again, grabbing your thighs and placing your legs over his shoulders to bury his face deeper between them, you manage a quiet “stop” in between moans.
Jake quickly sits back on his knees and brings his hands to your thighs to gently massage them. “Is everything okay?” The soft look he gives you makes your heart skip a beat, your chest feeling warm with endearment.
“I just… I want you,” you admit, watching as his eyes widen.
Suddenly, Jake’s throat feels dry, and his chest rises and falls quicker as he tries his best to find a different meaning to your words than the one he initially comes up with. “What do you mean by that?”
You hesitate for a moment. “I want you to–... I need you to fuck me.”
Jake’s hands come to an immediate halt, as he swallows the lump in his throat to physically hold his jaw from dropping at your words.
“Fuck, you can’t say this like that,” he mutters.
You don’t respond, just look up at him with pleading eyes as you can practically see his brain short-circuiting.
“I don’t have any con–”
“I don’t care,” you interrupt him, “please, Jake.” Grabbing the collar of his shirt, you pull him in for a soft kiss that completely contrasts the urge in your core. He immediately melts into the kiss, reciprocating it with the same tenderness, until he pulls back way too soon and pulls his shirt over his head.
Your hands find his skin, marvelling at the toned chest and abs he’s been hiding from you. Jake sighs softly at the contact, muscles contracting under your touch as your fingers curl under the waistband of his sweatpants to pull them down along with his boxers. His cock springs free, perfectly hard with beads of precum dribbling down the sides. You reach out, but Jake grabs your wrist to stop you. His other hand pushes your leg more to the side before he carefully guides his tip through your wet folds, over your clit and down to your leaking hole. He hisses at the feeling, clenching his jaw tight to hold back from moaning just from the feeling of your arousal alone. 
“Jakeee,” you whine, bucking up your hips just enough for his tip to slide in. Choking back a groan, he places one hand on your knee to angle your leg so that he can properly line himself up with your entrance. He looks at you as if scanning your face for any kind of uncertainty, but before he can ask if you’re sure, you nod.
Jake slowly pushes in, head thrown back as your warm walls welcome him inch by inch. His fingers dig into the flesh of your leg as he tries to hold onto whatever little sanity he has left in him and give you time to adjust.
“Doing so good for me already,” he mumbles more to himself than to you, but the praise is enough for you to clench around him in a way that draws a hiss from him while his eyes shut close. He wants to tell you how you can’t do that to him just yet, but he doesn’t trust his voice. Just as he tries to focus on not bursting without having even moved, your gentle grip on his biceps makes him open his eyes.
“You can move,” you say softly. And so he does, head dropping to the crook of your neck as he slowly starts moving.
Although the stretch feels amazing, the way his hips roll against yours so perfectly, hitting all the right places in a way you haven’t felt before, something feels off. You try to angle your hips differently, to change the placement of your legs, squirming under him for less than three seconds before he quickly comes to a halt. He lifts his head, eyes searching yours as his hand quickly comes up to cup your cheek.
“Hey… what’s wrong? Do you want to stop?” He asks so gently it almost hides the breathlessness in his voice.
You shake your head, letting out a shaky breath as you feel your body tensing in frustration. “No, I just… I don’t know what’s wrong,” you murmur. Suddenly, you feel a lump forming in your throat again, the stress from earlier mingling with the newfound frustration now.
“Babe,” he coos, the sudden nickname bringing your attention back to him. “We’ve never done this before. It’s okay if something doesn’t work out immediately.” His thumb brushes against your cheek tenderly, and leaning into his touch, you slowly start relaxing.
Jake slides his hands under your back, pulling you with him as he sits up and positions you on his lap without slipping out of you. You hold onto his arms again while you slowly sink down on his lap fully, gasping softly at how deep he reaches now. “Let’s try this,” he suggests, hands sliding down your back to your hips. He gently lifts you up a little before he guides you back down, shivers running over his body at the soft moan you let out.
“Just go with whatever feels good for you,” he says, voice so gentle you completely miss the way he’s losing his mind internally.
“But you–”
“Don’t worry about me, you feel perfect for me,” he reassures before you can voice your doubt.
So you start, going slowly, hesitantly at first, then a bit faster – this time quickly finding a rhythm that feels just right for both of you.
“Fuuuck,” Jake pants as his head falls back against the sofa and his fingertips bore a little harder into the flesh of your hips. Your hands weakly grab onto his shoulders for support as you feel the burn in your thighs intensify.
“Just a little longer, baby. Can you do that for me?” He asks when you slow down, lazily grinding on him rather than riding him. His voice is breathy – laced with a strange mix of exhaustion and lust that is enough to send shivers down your spine.
You nod tiredly, though you can’t fully register what he even asked for. His voice is muffled by the ringing in your ears; the only thing you can truly focus on is the way he fills you up so perfectly and how fresh waves of pleasure shoot through your entire body every time your clit rubs against his pelvis.
Jake lifts his head from the sofa to take a better look at your face, and if it didn’t boost his ego so much that your cheeks were flushed, your eyes almost teary and your lips slightly bruised from all the kissing, he would almost feel pity for you. 
“So pretty like that… Such a good girl for me,” he breathes, but his words don’t quite reach you. You let your head fall into the crook of his neck where every breath of yours covers his skin in goosebumps and every little whimper makes his cock twitch inside you.
You barely register how he tightens his grip on your hips until he holds you down firmly enough to stop your movements. Before you can even lift your head to look at him, he bucks his hips up, his tip kissing your cervix so deliciously that you can’t hold back a surprised moan as your nails dig deeper into the skin of his shoulders.
Jake’s eyes flutter shut at the way your walls clench around him. He rolls his hips into yours another time, leaning his head against the cushions again and relishing how good you feel around him, how your warm slick coats his length and drips down his thighs. 
His hands find their way to your ass, lifting you up just slightly, only to roughly push you down to meet his next thrust.
The world around him suddenly goes quiet – the sound of the TV playing in the background, even the quiet hum of the air conditioning that Jake always hears – none of these reach his ears anymore. The only thing he can focus on are your moans that echo off the walls, each of them only spurring him to make you feel better, to make you moan louder.
You can barely hear the string of curses he mutters under his breath, but his breathy whimpers pierce through the wall of pure pleasure, shooting straight to your core. Your legs feel numb, but the way he whines just a little louder and grabs your ass just a little tighter whenever he reaches so deep you’re sure you could see the bulge in your stomach if you had the strength to lift your head from his shoulder motivates you to keep going.
Jake moves one hand up to the back of your head, fisting some of your hair and pulling your head back so gently it’s almost endearing compared to his thrusts. “Keep your eyes on me, baby,” he mutters, holding back a moan at just the sight of your fucked out expression.
Your entire body is tingling, making it hard to not squeeze your eyes shut. “I said eyes on me,” Jake manages between whimpers, focusing his own gaze fully on your face. He can literally see how each snap of his hips brings you closer to release, and god does he love to see it. How he has you right where he wanted you for so long, how he can draw those pretty moans from you, how he doesn’t even need you under him to have full control over your pleasure.
“Jake,” his name rolls off your lips with a moan that makes his hips stutter, his jaw tensing as he tries to solely focus on not letting go just yet.
His hand slowly lets go of your hair and roams over your body, leaving goosebumps in its trace. He cups your breasts, gently squeezes your waist, places his hand on the small of your back to pull you impossibly closer until he finally settles for your clit. A small sigh escapes your lips when he starts to rub slow circles around the bud. You let your head fall on Jake’s shoulder again, strands of hair sticking to your forehead, your cheeks, covering your eyes that you shut tighter with each snap of his hips.
Jake feels his abdomen tighten, his thighs shaking as every thrust knocks the breath out of your lungs all over again. His fingertips dig deeper into your skin, relishing how fast your arousal covers his other hand and how each of your moans bring him closer to the edge.
A murmured “don’t stop,” is all you can muster as you feel the tension in your body reach the unbearable. The sensation makes your head spin – your clit throbbing under his touch, your walls clenching around him tighter and tighter and your skin tingling on every inch your bodies meet.
You can’t even warn him before your orgasm washes over you like a tidal wave, leaving your body shaking and your nails digging into the skin of his shoulders.
“Fuck, I–” Jake cuts off, his eyes rolling back as he feels his cock twitching. He places both hands on your back, pulling your chest flush against his, so close that you can feel his heart beating rapidly against yours, as he finally allows himself to let go.
He lazily thrusts his hips up a few more times, not only riding out his own high but yours too, before he stops completely and lets his head fall back against the sofa again. Your heavy exhales hit Jake’s sweaty neck as you try to catch your breath, forcing another shiver down his spine. He lets his fingers brush up and down your back gently, waiting for both of your heartbeats to slow down while he softly murmurs words you’re still too far gone to understand.
Only when you slowly lift your head from his shoulder does he open his eyes to look at you. The corners of his lips curl up, offering a smile that feels so warm you almost don’t notice how your body temperature slowly begins to drop.
“You okay?” he asks, his voice ever so gentle although slightly hoarse, as one of his hands lets go of your back and instead moves up to your face to carefully brush your hair out of your face.
You reply with a short nod, tiredly reciprocating his smile. “I’m tired,” you mumble, which earns a soft chuckle from Jake.
“Shower or bath?” he asks, letting his hand rest on your cheek and softly brushing his thumb up and down your skin. You allow yourself to lean into his touch slightly, yet you pout your lips, “nothing.”
Smiling softly, Jake leans forward to press a light kiss against your forehead. “Can you take a deep breath for me?”
Jake drops his hands to your hips, slowly lifting you up once you exhale to carefully pull out of you. Only when he gently sets you down on the sofa do your legs stop shaking. “Good job,” he mumbles. Then, he pushes himself up from the sofa, picks up his sweatpants from the floor and quickly slides them on.
You watch him, gaze wandering over his bare back, the marks your nails left on his skin and the way his muscles slightly flex with each small movement, before he turns around with a soft smile and leaves the living room.
Your eyes are barely open when he comes back with a glass of water in one hand and a dampened washing cloth in the other. He hands you the glass with a soft smile, waiting for you to drink and placing it on the coffee table after. Then, he motions you to lay back with a gentle push against your shoulders. Placing his hands on each of your knees, he slowly spreads your legs apart to carefully clean you up.
The warm fabric feels soft and the way Jake wipes it over your sore skin ever so gently makes your heart flutter as the familiar warmth of just being around him spreads through your chest. Just as your eyes begin to close, the feeling of Jake’s soft lips against your forehead makes you open them again. He’s leaning over you, eyes and smile filled with something between warmth and fondness.
“You hungry?” he asks so quietly he might as well have whispered as he reaches out to gently tuck some strands of hair behind your ear.
Your tired eyes light up at the mention of food. “Can we order pizza?”
Jake nods with a chuckle. After finding his phone somewhere on the floor, he hands it to you. “Choose what you like, I’ll be right back, yeah?” Already invested in the options, you barely register Jake leaving the room again, until he returns with a shirt in his hand. You would have mistaken it for one of yours, if not for the bigger size and the unmistakable scents of his detergent and cologne as he carefully pulls it over your head and guides your arms through the sleeves.
“I always keep an extra one in my bag,” he explains before you can open your mouth to ask.
Trying to dismiss the bubbly feeling in your stomach, you nod in response and mouth a quick ‘thank you’. Jake offers another gentle smile, before taking his phone from your hands, choosing his food and placing the order. The two of you just wait in silence, you sitting on Jake’s lap, one of his hands around your waist to hold you close while he rubs soothing circles onto your back with the other.
After you finish your food – well, Jake’s food, simply because you liked it better than your own and he immediately switched the two boxes – he curls one arm around your waist and the other under your knees and picks you up to carry you to the bedroom where he gently lays you down on your bed before crawling in next to you.
As if it was second nature, his arms find their way around your body again, pulling you in and holding you so close it almost feels like he never wants to let you go again. And despite being too tired to really think about it, you can’t help but wish he means it.
“Jake?” His name rolls off your lips before you can stop it.
You feel his chest vibrate underneath your head as he hums in response. You hesitate for a bit, letting his slow breaths lull you in until you feel yourself drifting off and you barely register the confession you mumble right before sleep pulls you under.
“I really like you.”
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The next morning, you wake up from a shiver running over your body. Eyes still shut, you scoot closer to Jake, expecting to be embraced by the warmth of his body, but his side feels even colder.  When you slowly open your eyes, you’re met by the bright sunlight that shines through your curtains, and an empty other half of the bed. You hold your breath for a moment, checking for any sounds coming from the bathroom or the kitchen, for quiet footsteps outside your room. But when you hear nothing, the apartment feeling more silent than ever before, you push the air out through your nose. 
Although your body feels heavy, your legs and core a little sore, you slowly sit up and reach for your phone on your nightstand. As soon as you grab it, your screen lights up with Jake’s name, the pile of messages he sent the day before, and one from only 43 minutes ago.
Jake: had to leave early for practice and didn’t wanna wake you up :( hope you slept well tho. you looked cute haha. text me when you’re awake?
Biting your lip to hold back a smile, your eyes skim over the previous messages – his question if you wanted to grab dinner after practice, his repeated attempts to ask if you’re okay, if you’re really just studying for so long, or if he did anything to upset you – before they land on the most recent message again. You quickly type your reply and hit send, before falling back into bed, pulling the blanket over your body and letting Jake’s scent take over your senses until you’re fully embraced by it.
When he responds just a little later than usual that day, you don’t think much of it. He tells you about practice, how he doesn’t have any bad bruises this time, and even sends you a picture for proof. You smile at his messages like you’re used to by now, and your heart does that little jump when he sends a voice note to wish you sweet dreams later that night.
Then, little by little, his replies begin to come later, his calls less frequently. He slowly replaces the occasional forehead kisses for kisses on your cheek, or sometimes, none at all. And although you try to shove it away, sometimes you can’t help but think about it. You begin to wonder whether his touch really feels a little less soft than usual, or if your mind is just playing games with you. If his message was intended to sound a bit colder, or if you’re reading too much into it.
He never brings up your quiet confession, and you don’t either, unsure if he even heard, when in reality the four words are constantly replaying in his mind. When you repeat them without saying them, just because your touch is so much softer than before. Because your eyes search for his more often, and the look in them makes his heart drop. And sometimes, when he keeps his hand around yours a bit longer, you allow yourself to think that he might not let go. You almost ask. But each time, he quickly pulls away, changing the topic as though he’s terrified of what could happen if he gives you enough time to think.
Yet, he’s still around. He still comes over after practice, still eats dinner with you, still checks in on you, and still stays when you’re studying. Just not as frequently, and seemingly not as whole-heartedly.
“This one looks painful,” you mumble, standing between Jake’s legs as you clean up a cut on his lips. He doesn’t reassure you that it’s fine. Instead, he just responds with a hum that sounds more indifferent than anything else. His breath flattens when you finish up by applying some of your favorite chapstick to his lips like you usually do, its familiar scent flooding his senses until all he can think about is how it tastes on your lips. And for a second, he seems like he might lean in. But then he stands up so rapidly that his forehead almost clashes with yours, mumbles a quick thank you, something about having to run errands, and rushes out of the door with nothing more than a short goodbye-kiss to your cheek.
Jake doesn’t send you his usual good night text that night – neither the night after. He stops coming over as much. Because he’s tired, busy, or already has plans. But when you tell him that you miss him, he still responds that he does too. Until he doesn’t respond at all.
You reassure yourself he’ll text tomorrow, but tomorrow turns into the day after tomorrow, and then into the day after that. Your follow-up message remains unanswered, and the next one stays a draft until you eventually erase it.
After that, you only see him once. He walks past you in the college hallways, so quickly that you have just enough time to catch a glimpse of the angry red bruise blooming right over his cheekbone. You almost turn around, almost call his name and reach out to ask if he’s okay, but he’s gone before you can second-guess it. And you don’t see him again until he rings at your door a few days later.
“Can we talk?”
Jake almost shoots the question at you, as if he’d forget it if he didn’t get it out fast enough. You look him up and down for a moment, silently wondering why, suddenly, he wants to talk, when he’s been so painfully obvious at avoiding you for what felt like an eternity.
At first, you don’t reply, stuck between having no words to say and having too many. A part of you wants to slam the door in his face, another one wants to hear him out, and despite the feeling of discomfort in your stomach, one part in the very back of your heart hopes that this somehow means something good. “About?”
“Us.”
You swallow lightly, yet it’s enough for Jake to register. When you step to the side to let him in, he hesitates for the blink of an eye. Then, he comes in, waits until you close the door, and hesitates again when you look at him expectantly, before he takes a deep breath in and finally speaks.
“I don’t know where this is leading, and I don’t know where you want this to lead.” He takes a break, eyes searching yours as if searching for the confession you’re not ready to make a second time.
You subconsciously pick at your nails as the silence seems to stretch the small space between you infinitely. Then, taking a deep, shaky breath, you break it. “If this is about the other night, we can just forget it.”
“Did you mean what you said?” He asks quickly, sternly, voice laced with a tone that tells you there’s no correct answer to the next question. “About liking me?” 
You hold his gaze for a while, trying to make out the emotion his brown orbs hide, but to no avail. So you lower your eyes before slowly nodding your head yes – and with each passing second in silence, the air only seems to thicken with tension.
“We should stop whatever this is,” he says with an unfamiliar coldness, as if he’s trying to prove there’s no room for argument – as if the lack of an answer wasn’t the answer already. And although meeting your expectation, the words still hit you like a punch to the gut, causing your head to snap up to look at him again, only to find nothing of the usual softness on his face.
You open your mouth to respond, but the words get stuck in your throat, clogging your airways until it feels hard to breathe. Jake’s eyes flicker down to his hands, observing his bruised knuckles, before he brings them back up and locks them with yours. 
“If you want more than this, we should stop,” he repeats matter of factly, eyes never leaving yours. “I can’t be the guy you need, much less deserve. I’m not gonna take you on nice dates or be there for you on call. It took me years getting to where I am now, and I’ll work harder to get where I want to be. I can’t do it halfway, Y/n. And I won’t choose you over boxing.”
“You should have thought about that before you started to act like my boyfriend.”
Jake’s eyes widen slightly at your words. He looks at you for a while, a hint of tension in his jaw, until he visibly gulps and lowers his gaze. “I didn’t mean to–”
“Oh, you didn’t?” Your interruption makes his eyes snap back to you, the sarcastic undertone in your voice drawing his brows together. “I thought you were sure when you started all this, my bad.”
“Listen, I wasn’t trying to mess with you,” Jake replies, the slight tremble in his voice mirroring the one in his hand as he runs it through his hair, pushing back some strands that fall right over his eyes again the second he lets go. 
“It just didn’t feel that casual to me,” you mumble, unsure if he hears, or if you even meant for him to. 
But his eyes widen again, a wave of something similar to panic washing over his face. “It wasn’t casual,” he defends, almost stumbling over his own words from how fast he spits them out. And for a second, you allow a spring of hope to bloom in your chest, allow yourself to breathe – until his words snatch the air away from you once more.
“I just can’t give you more.”
You look at him, eyes boring into his as if you could find a glimmer of something else behind them. Something that tells you he doesn’t mean it, that he’ll change his mind. But he stays silent, just holding eye contact for a moment before breaking away from it.
“Right,” you say quietly, but Jake still catches the way your voice cracks a little, and he swears his heart does the same when you continue, “you could just give me enough until I slept with you.”
“Huh?” He exclaims almost a little too loudly, taking a step forward to reach out to you, simply because he lacks ideas of what else to do – but you quickly step back, eyes shooting up to his in a way that tells him to keep his distance.
“Y/n, that’s not true.”
“Well, the shoe fits,” you reply, crossing your arms in front of your chest.
He shakes his head, clenching his hands into fists to refrain from reaching out again. “That’s not true,” he repeats.
“If it wasn’t casual, what was it then?”
Your question comes quietly, but surprisingly stable. You hold Jake’s eyes, even when your throat starts burning from how tight it feels and you really want to look away just to hide the tears that you feel pricking at your eyes. But you don’t have to, because Jake is the first to look away, eyes wandering to the side to look right past you and thinning his lips as though keeping them sealed.
“Okay. Got it.”
And with that, you open the front door again and tilt your head toward it to wordlessly signal him to leave.
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“Dude,” Sunghoon groans frustratedly as Jake barely dodges another punch the younger throws at him. “You’re slower than a sloth,” he continues, but Jake doesn’t reply – just stumbles back a step to avoid another hit.
“That girl still taking up all your focus?”
Jake’s eyes dart up immediately, eyebrows pulling together and lips parting ever so slightly, yet he doesn’t say a word. Instead, he steps forward, aiming for his friend’s ribs. Blocking the blow with his arm, Sunghoon’s lips curl up to a grin that tells Jake he’s simply trying to get any type of reaction from him.
“The one you were desperately trying to reach a few weeks ago, if you remember,” he clarifies unnecessarily, voice laced with mocking innocence, as if Jake could have forgotten who he means. 
“We’re not talking anymore,” he replies finally, voice tight enough to show he’s not willing to talk about it.
“But you’re thinking about her, aren’t you?” Sunghoon presses with another question that earns him a quick but sharp punch to the gut instead of an answer. He winces at first, but the initial cough from the air being pushed out of his lungs violently soon turns into an amused chuckle.
“Take that as a yes,” he mumbles before collecting himself and standing up straight despite the dull pain in his stomach. “Then she must have been really clingy. Or a really good fuck.”
Jake clenches his jaw tightly, the line between his brows deepening further. “Stop speaking about her like that.”
“You didn’t deny it,” Sunghoon replies, not even trying to hide the grin on his face as he watches Jake practically imploding.
“Shut up,” he growls, “that’s not how it was.”
Sunghoon raises an eyebrow, replacing his  teasing look with a more serious one. “How was it then?”
Jake’s face slowly relaxes, the tension disappearing little by little until there’s nothing left of it. He opens his mouth, closes it, and repeats the process once more before he slowly lowers his gaze to the floor and takes a deep breath.
“I don’t know. Good. She felt good to be around. Calming, if that makes sense. She seemed comfortable and just herself with me, and…” 
Sunghoon doesn’t reply, just hums to tell the older to keep going.
“I’m probably making that up, but I think sometimes she smiled a bit more when I was around and then my heart did that thing and it made me want to make her smile forever?”
“And how did you mess up?”
The question causes Jake to look up again, cluelessly blinking at his friend.
“You said you’re not talking anymore,” Sunghoon continues, “but it sounds like she really liked you. So: How did you mess up?”
“She does like me!” Jake exclaims so quickly he almost stumbles over his own words. “Or… did. I don’t know. I told her I can’t give her more than that and she got it all wrong, talking about how I could give her just enough until she slept with me and–”
“Woah, hold on,” Sunghoon interrupts with one hand held up, “I know you’re not an asshole, why are you acting like one?”
Jake doesn’t reply at first, just replays his friend’s question over and over in his mind.
“I just… look, she deserves the world, okay? And I’m just so caught up in boxing, and I need to focus if I wanna go pro.”
Again, Sunghoon’s eyebrow shoots up. “She ‘deserves the world’, so you go give her nothing? Doesn’t sound logical to me.”
“But making this professional has been my goal for years and–”
“I know. Did she make you choose?”
Jake hesitates, then slowly shakes his head.
“So you just freaked out.”
“I didn’t freak out.”
“I’ve known you for years now, and as your friend I feel entitled to tell you that 99% of the time you’re the epitome of freaking out,” Sunghoon deadpans. “Do you have feelings for her?”
Jake gives Sunghoon a look that somehow says everything  and nothing at once, and it’s just enough for the younger to understand.
“You’re in love with her.”
Jake hesitates, holding his breath for just a second, before pushing the air out with a sigh. Then, he slowly nods. “I am.”
“Then why’d you drop her, dumbass?” Sunghoon asks, throwing his head back with exaggerated frustration. But Jake just slips through the ropes of the ring and rips off his gloves – completely oblivious to the fact that, just around the corner, with his words echoing in your mind, you’re holding a little tighter onto the shirt you intended to give back to him. 
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Diploma in one hand, you wince at the pain in your heels as you slowly push through the crowd of people. You’re almost at the exit, eager to catch some fresh air after what felt like hours of ceremony, when a soft tap on your shoulder makes you turn around. And suddenly the noise around you fades, as though the world stopped for a moment.
You look at Jake, his own diploma in one hand and a small bouquet of flowers in the other, and your breath catches in your throat when he slowly reaches out to hand it to you. Goosebumps erupt on your hand, shooting up your arm and down your spine, when his fingers softly brush yours as you hesitantly take the flowers from his hand.
“Congratulations,” Jake mumbles so quietly you don’t catch it, just reading it off his lips. He wants to tell you that he knew you’d make it, that he’s proud of you, that he hopes you’re proud of yourself, too. That he misses you to a point where it hurts, and that just seeing you again made his heart skip several beats. But the words stay on the tip of his tongue, slowly evaporating into thin air with every second he doesn’t get them out.
“Congrats to you too. Didn’t think you’d graduate, given you don’t have time for Plan B,” you manage, although the words taste bitter, feel forced, and make Jake gulp visibly. But he notices the soft look on your face, the apology in your eyes that contrasts the harsh tone of your voice, and he knows that you’re not really trying to hurt him – just trying to protect yourself from getting hurt first. 
He stays silent for a while, pulling his lower lip between his teeth, and releasing it again before responding. “Well, someone once told me that getting beat up for my dreams isn’t a solid career plan.”
Before you can help it, the corners of your lips twitch just a little, barely enough for Jake to see the faintest hint of a smile. 
“Oh, and you listened to that someone?”
“Only ‘cause that someone is special… and definitely not Plan B,” he says with a shrug that looks way too forced to make it appear casual. 
You absentmindedly tighten your grip around the flowers, wanting to snap back a reply to hide that the walls you’ve been building around yourself aren’t so stable after all – but your mind blanks. 
And Jake swears he would take the snarkiest remark, but your silence and the insecure look on your face makes his chest tighten uncomfortably.
“Anyway, you should go celebrate with your family and–”
“They didn’t come,” you interrupt with a shake of your head.
“Huh?” He surprisedly raises his eyebrows.
“My family didn’t make it. Too much work, or no flights, or whatever,” you shrug, slightly shifting from one foot to the other as if that could loosen the tension you feel creeping up your spine.
“Do you wanna join mine?” He blurts out before he can stop himself. “It’s… nothing fancy, just dinner. You should come.”
This time, it’s your eyebrows that shoot up. “Excuse me?”
“You should come.”
For a while, you just look at him. Take in the hint of hope on his face, the way he slightly raises his eyebrows in anticipation, and the way he starts fumbling with the diploma in his hand. And you try hard to ignore how your chest warms at the simple habit of his that somehow makes you realize just how much you missed him. 
“Did you mean it?” The words come out before you think about it, surprising both of you.
Jake furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “What? Of course. You shouldn’t be alone today.”
“No, I mean… Did you mean it when you said you were in love with me?”
You watch as his eyes widen and his adam’s apple pops up and down as he gulps. He opens his mouth, but you beat him to it. “I was going to return your shirt, and I guess I overheard your conversation. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, you guys just don’t know how to talk in normal volume.”
Jake looks at you with a face that doesn’t quite give away what he’s thinking – something like a strange mix of shock, relief, and uncertainty. Face paling, he waits and waits for the realization to settle, searches for things to say, but suddenly it feels like he lost all the words he once knew.
“I… Yeah, I meant it,” he begins slowly. “I didn’t realize it before– I mean, honestly, I did. I knew I liked you, but–”
“You freaked out,” you interrupt, trying to imitate Sunghoon’s tone of voice, but you can’t help the hint of sadness coating your words.
Jake reciprocates your half-smile for a second, then he nods with a sigh.
“I did freak out. Listen, I’m sorry for the way I left things, and I know sorry isn’t gonna make it better magically, but…” He trails off and lowers his head. “You mean a lot more to me than I showed you, and I’d like to prove that to you at least today.”
You gulp as if that could help you get rid of the lump that has been forming in your throat the second you turned around and faced him. And despite it getting only harder to breathe when his eyes find yours, you don’t look away this time. Instead, you let his gaze steal the air from your lungs little by little as you keep searching for the slightest hint of insincerity. But even as seconds turn into what feels like an eternity, you find nothing that makes you doubt he means it. So you slowly nod.
“Fine. But only ‘cause I really want dinner,” you give in, and although you try to sound stern, you can’t help but mirror Jake when his lips curl up just a little.
When Jake introduces you to his family, you learn that he’s been talking about you – ‘once or twice’, according to him, and ‘the entire fucking time’, according to his brother. Your eyes shoot to Jake, who just scratches his neck sheepishly, but the honesty in his look makes it hard for you to really shrug it off. 
He stays close to you throughout the entire evening. Wherever you’re walking, his hand hovers over the small of your back just enough to prove he’s there without really touching you – and during dinner he sits next to you, perfectly distanced for your legs to not brush against each other’s but so you can still feel the warmth of his body. And although his family includes you into the conversation just perfectly, he occasionally nudges your shoulder and looks at you with a questioning look to make sure you feel okay.
When you bid goodbye to his parents and brother later that night, you’re so busy thinking about how oddly comfortable you feel, that you don’t notice how Jake struggles to hide the oh so evident adoration in his eyes. The need to keep you close. But he swears that even if you decide you never want to see him again after this night, the soft smile on your face is enough for him, as long as he was the one who painted it there.
He insists on walking you up to your apartment, hand itching to reach for yours, but he quickly shoves it in the pocket of his dress pants. Once you stand in front of your door, you hesitate to look for your key. Instead, you turn around to face him.
“Thank you for inviting me,” you say quietly, offering him a tiny smile that he immediately reciprocates. 
“Thank you for coming with me,” he replies so gently your knees almost buckle just at that.
“Well, I told you I really wanted dinner,” you try to joke, but your voice sounds far more charged. Jake smiles nonetheless.
For a while, you just stand there, looking at him without feeling like you’re drowning. You can almost see it on his face how he wants to take a step closer, but refuses to give in to it. And despite everything, you’re the one to do that instead. Jake’s breath flattens as he looks down to you, wanting nothing more than to close the distance between you, but he doesn’t move – doesn’t back away either when you slowly bring your hands up to his jacket and pull him down until your lips almost touch.
He gulps as he reaches for your waist with shaky hands to pull you in more, trying to ignore the way his heart skips a beat once he feels your body against his. And when you slowly angle your head up to close whatever distance was left between you, the goosebumps that erupt on his body almost make him shudder. His fingers dig into your waist softly, almost like he’s trying to remind himself that you’re real, while his lips gently move against yours in a way that makes you feel like he never left. 
Nearly overwhelmed by the feeling, you allow yourself to melt into his touch until you slowly, almost reluctantly, pull away for air. Jake’s breath brushes your lips as he gently rests his forehead against yours, eyes still closed.
“Fuck, I’m so in love with you,” he mutters, not even registering the words until he said them. 
When he feels you tensing just slightly, he quickly takes a step back. “Sorry, I–... You don’t have to say it back, I just– sorry I shouldn’t have said that,” he stumbles over his own words, only stopping his ramble when you take a step forward again and tenderly place one hand on his chest. Then, you curl your fingers around the fabric of his shirt just enough to pull him in again. 
You kiss him so softly it proves not only that you feel the same, but also that you’re not yet ready to really tell him again. That you want to let him in, but still make sure he keeps one foot out the door. And for now, that’s enough for Jake. 
His touch is gentle when his hands cup your face, thumbs carefully sweeping over your cheeks as he pulls away the second time.
“You mean a lot to me, Y/n,” he confesses, intentionally this time, steadily, although his voice shakes a bit. “I’m sorry I ever made you think otherwise.”
Your heart squeezes not only at his words, but the way they feel more genuine than anything he’s ever told you before. And you can’t help the soft smile when you look right into his eyes again and find nothing but endearment and honesty.
“You did prove that to me today,” you mumble, smiling a little brighter at the evident relief on his face.
“Will you let me prove it again?” He asks tentatively, the glimmer of hope in his voice making you chuckle softly.
“I’ll see.”
© dazzlingjaeyun, 2025. please do not copy.
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syluspeach · 3 months ago
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Using their evol to please you
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Pairings: Sylus, Caleb, Zayne, and Rafayel x reader
Note: I couldn’t think of a way to integrate Xavier’s evol into this piece :( don’t think i forgot him. If you have any suggestions, let me know! Also, I kind of lost steam with Rafayel’s part, that’s why it’s shorter than the rest.
Sylus
Cries and whines filled the grand room. Your limbs were shaking from the amount of times you had cum in the last hour. The vibrating wand held against your battered cunt was soaked with your juices.
You tried shifting your hips to cause it to roll off, but the red and black tendrils holding it in place wouldn’t allow it. Your wrist were bound above your head and your legs were held apart by the same mist. It was feather light, the grip it hand on you was neither too tight nor too loose.
Lifting your head off the bed, you watched as Sylus sat on the leather couch that he brought over, paying you no mind. He was calmly looking through some files, his glasses sitting on the tip of his nose.
You don’t know how he did it, but he could have his evol work on autopilot.
“Sylus, please.”
Your words came out as a mewl, the syllables getting caught in your throat as your thighs trembled, your tummy flexing as you came once again.
“No-no more, Sylus.” You said in between breaths. “I can’t take it…can’t take it anymore. Please-please I’ll be good.”
With a stoicism that irritated you, he closed the folder he had been reading and made his way over to you.
Standing above you, he took in your tear stained face. He brushed away the strands of hair that stuck to your sweaty forehead, his cool skin offering some reprieve to your heated skin. As he pulled away, you tried to lift yourself off of the bed to follow his fingers, wanting to feel them on your skin again, but his evol tugged you back into place. A wail left your teeth bitten lips.
Flicking the wand to a higher setting, he settled himself beside you as you turned away from him, his fingers caressing the skin of your thigh before slipping over your drippy pussy. With ease, his fingers slid into your empty hole.
“Oh fuck. Please, Sylus.” You could feel his nose trailing along the column of your throat. “S’too much.”
His digits curled upward, hitting the spongy spot that had you seeing stars and gasping for air.
“Once more, sweetie. Just give me one more. I know you can do it.”
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Caleb
While the aircraft was on autopilot, Caleb had you in his lap, completely undressed. His face was smushed against your bouncing breasts as you fucked yourself on his fat cock. The sound of the running engine couldn’t be heard over your moans as his tip caught at your opening.
Your thoughts were clouded with lust.
What started as a nice trip through the clouds, turned to you pressing your thighs together, searching for some relief. Caleb just looked too damn good in his colonel suit, aviators shielding his eyes from the harsh rays of the sun. One second you were trying to calm your ragging thoughts, the next you had untucked Caleb from his slacks, greedily mouthing at his length.
Tearing himself away from your chest, he angled your head, catching your lips in a searing kiss. His tongue made its way into your mouth, tasting himself besides your strawberry lip balm.
After a while, your knees were hurting and your legs were straining from the repetitive moment that came with riding him.
“Caleb…can’t…feels so good.” You spoke through battered breaths, words pushing out of you each time his mushroom tip nudged your cervix. “M’tired…can’t hold on…”
He shushed you, pressing open-mouth kisses along your neck.
“Relax, I’ve got you.”
His hands maneuvered you so that your back was pressed against his chest. His hands brushed over your curves, trailing up your sides until they settled on your tits. He played with them, pinching and pulling at the harden points.
Once you had become putty in his hands, he settled his plan into action.
Slowly, his evol lifted you off of his lap, a hand coming down to hold himself at your entrance. Looking down, you were met with blue and red stripes around your waist.
“What are you-”
“Don’t worry about it. Just enjoy the ride.”
His evol always amazed you. He used it throughout your daily lives, lowering dishes off of high shelves for you to holding you in place when you tried to run away from him, but never during moments like this.
The motions were smooth and controlled, his dick sliding into you with practiced thrusts.
Your fingernails dug into the leather of the pilot’s seat and your head fell back against his shoulder. The use of his evol allowed for him to place his hands all over your body.
With one hand squeezing the fat of your tit, his other was splayed across your tummy, his thumb strumming your puffy clit. Feeling the way your body trembled, he knew it wouldn’t be long before he had your cum dripping down his cock.
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Zayne
Looking at the little creatures Zayne had crafted for you with the use of his evol, your mind wandered.
What else could he make with it?
Through heated cheeks and stuttering words, you asked him if he could create something you could use while he was away at those health conventions he always had to attend. The look of shock on his face had you backtracking, sputtering apologies for asking for such a thing.
You never believed sweet, serious Zayne would be one to indulge your dirty fantasies, but then again, he was full of surprises.
After a nice hot bath that left your skin warm to the touch, he had you laying beside him, head resting against his arm as he trailed the tip of the icy dildo, a replica of his own cock, in between your breasts.
It was cool to the touch, like glass, but it didn't heat up nor leave that stinging feeling against your skin when ice touched it for too long.
The sensation of it circling your nipples had them pebbling, catching the attention of the man beside you. He made sure to take the hardened buds into his mouth, the warmth overtaking them shocking your body to the temperature change.
“Open.” He commanded, nudging the tip against your lips.
Hallowing your cheeks, you looked up at him with wide eyes, lips stretching to accommodate the stretch of the fake cock. Once you knew you had left it covered in your saliva, he pulled it out with a pop before moving to the apex of your thighs.
He trailed it from your clit down to your awaiting hole. Knowing the intrusion would have you keening, he made sure to swallow your sounds with a kiss.
It was a new sensation. Smooth and cold along your gummy, warm walls, but it felt good. Didn’t exactly feel like him, too polished, but it was just as thick and big as him.
Yes, it would do just nicely for the days he was gone.
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Rafayel
With Rafayel’s skin being unnaturally cold, his evol came as a shock to you. Ice and fire came together, creating the beautiful being that was in between your spread legs. Filled to the brim with his cock, he refused to move. Instead, he was taking his time breaking you down.
Playing with you more like it.
He needed you whiny and desperate before giving you what you craved.
The flames that once danced along Rafayel’s fingertips fluttered over your nude form. With your hands tied to the headboard and a blindfold around your eyes, the temperature change was heightened. He was hot and cold, perfect for temperature play.
Each time the small pieces of inferno got near your breasts, goosebumps erupted on your skin, nipples tightened at the sensation.
The flames acted as dripping wax, but somehow, they didn’t burn you to an aggressive extent. Your lover wouldn’t allow it. He followed their paths with his lips, pressing kisses against your skin as if to soothe the pretend burn.
When he got close to your navel, your fingers flexed, nails digging into your palms. He must have felt your whole body tense.
“Relax, I won’t let you burn, cutie.” He mouthed at your jaw, his icy chest pressing against your heated skin. “Not unless you want me to.”
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smileysuh · 5 months ago
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hotel california
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🌙 starring. Choi Seungcheol x afab!Reader
🔮 preview. “Time is a funny thing in this place. I know it’s been days, weeks, years even- that I’ve been here, but I don’t know for how long. I eat, I sleep, I drink- I repeat. I don’t grow old, I don’t get sick. I just am. It’s fucking boring if I’m behind honest with you, or at least it was. It’s been a while since we had someone new show up at the hotel, and even longer since that someone was as gorgeous as you.” 
tw/cw. Unprotected sex, fingering, pussy eating, blow job, roughhousing, dirty talk, praise, finger sucking, multiple sex positions, spanking, mentions of pain kink, mentions of masturbation, breast worship, watching yourself in the mirror while you fuck, etc… I pet names: (hers) gorgeous. 
👹 rating.18+ explicit I wc. 9.9k
🍭 aus. Non idol au, strangers to lovers, song as inspo, etc..
☀️ mlist + an. I’ve wanted to tackle ‘The Hotel California’ song by Eagles for ages, and after months of thinking about how to do it best, I think I finally did it justice. I wanted to also draw some inspiration from the tv show ‘The White Lotus,’ with the first season (and the first season’s Hotel Manager) being particularly interesting to me. I’m really excited about this fic, and I hope you guys enjoy it!
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One:
Driving across the Californian desert after a twelve-hour shoot had not been your plan, but being double booked by your agent had left you with little choice in the matter. You’re still a blooming model, and you can’t yet afford the luxury of easy flights- no, you have to do it yourself, and it’s determination that’s driving you as you speed down the highway with the sun beginning to set.
You’re exhausted, and you can feel your body beginning to tire from your long hours, but you push on. In an effort to keep yourself awake, you put on some music, doing your best to focus on the long winding roads as you take the liminal path between one civilization to the other.
It’s a pretty drive if nothing else, at least as the sun sets, but once the purple and pink sky has faded to black, the whole thing feels monotonous. 
You yawn loudly, pushing harder on your gas pedal. There are no cops out here this deep in the desert, and if it saves you even ten minutes to speed, it will be well worth it.
It’s hard to concentrate, and you can feel yourself getting drowsier and drowsier, your eyelids getting heavier with each passing breath, but you’re in too deep to pull off on the side of the road.
Your body is relaxing, succumbing to the exhaustion. Your eyes begin to close- and just as you’re on the precipice of falling asleep at the wheel, your car makes a rough sound.
Body lurching with anxiety, your heart thumps wildly in your chest, and once again, your car makes a noise it shouldn’t be making.
With a loud groan, you slowly pull off to the side of the road, and that’s when the engine begins to billow smoke out from under your hood.
You reach for your phone, only to find it’s dead, and with a loud, “Fuck!” you get out of your car.
It takes you a second to remember how to pop the hood, after all, you’re a model, not a mechanic. As the hood lifts, a gust of hot smokey steam flairs up at you, and without your phone to use as a light, you can only rely on the rays of the moon to guide you as you fiddle with your car on the side of the road in the middle of the desert.
After five minutes of panic, you decide to give up. As you look around, you realize there’s a light in the distance. It’s a faint light, but a light nonetheless. 
You return to your car, sitting there for a while as you decide what to do.
Leaving your vehicle on the side of the road isn’t exactly the best-case scenario, but neither is staying with it overnight- you’ve heard that the desert can get cold when the sun goes down, and you’re already feeling chilly.
You weigh your options. After a while, you collect your things from the trunk and begin to make the trek down the long desert road toward the lights that symbolize civilization of some sort. 
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Two:
“Welcome to The Hotel California,” a peppy man smiles when you approach the front desk.
It turns out the lights you’d seen from your car had belonged to a cute one-story terracotta hotel. You didn’t realize there were hotels along this stretch of road, but relief floods through you as you approach the man whose badge says ‘Jeonghan. hotel manager.’
“Hello,” you smile, releasing a sigh. “My car broke down a little ways up the road.”
“Well that’s not very good,” he frowns, empathizing with you.
“I need a room for the night, and I’d appreciate it if I could use a phone to call for someone to come and look at my car in the morning,” you explain. 
“I can get that settled for you,” he assures you, writing something down in the notebook in front of him. “A room for one?”
“Yes, it’s just me,” you confirm.
“Name?”
You give him your information, reaching into your bag for your credit card.
“We won’t need any form of payment until check out,” Jeonghan assures you. “Anything you eat or drink or do will be added to your tab, and you can deal with it another time.”
“Thank God, you have no idea how exhausted I am.”
“I’ll have our bellhop escort you to your room and help with your bags,” the hotel manager smiles. He waves over a man, whose nametag reads ‘Seungkwan,’ and with another nod and a grin to you, the manager watches you walk off.
You take a moment to look around. While the exterior of the hotel had been very rustic, the interior is Art Deco. There are many mirrors, and the lobby has a few red velvet couches strewn about. It’s actually kind of cute for a hotel in the middle of nowhere, and you’re thankful you’d come across it.
If your car had broken down even five minutes before, you doubt you would have seen the lights of The Hotel California, and then where would you be? 
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Three:
You wake as light peaks through the blinds of your room. With a yawn, you sit up in bed, immediately reaching for your phone on the bedside table.
Although you’d plugged it in to charge the night before, the screen is still dead.
Your heart sinks in your chest, and with a groan of exasperation, you stand up. 
After putting on clothes and making yourself feel presentable, you head out in search of the lobby, where you find Jeonghan behind the front desk as he had been last night.
“Hi,” you greet him. “I was wondering if you have any news about my car?”
“We called a towing company, they had to come out from the nearest town. No word yet on what’s wrong with your car or how long it will take to fix.”
It’s hard to hide your disappointment as you release a deep breath. “So… I’m stuck here.”
“It would appear that way,” Jeonghan smiles politely.
As you’re about to leave, you remember the other point of contention on your mind, and you turn to look at the hotel manager again. “I tried to charge my phone last night, and I’m not sure if it’s a problem with my charger or your outlet, but it didn’t charge.”
“I can take your phone for you for now, and I’ll see if one of the chargers or outlets we have here will work,” he suggests.
You stare at him. The idea of giving up your phone doesn’t sit right with you, but at this point, you’re too tired to care. Although you’d gotten sleep, your body still feels exhausted- how many hours had you even gotten in bed?
“What time is it?” you ask.
“I think it’s time for you to get a watch,” the hotel manager teases.
“Right…” you trail off, pulling your phone out of your pocket to hand to him. “Please get this back to me once it’s charged, I’ve gotta call my agent and maybe rearrange a mode of transportation or something.”
“Go relax and I’ll deal with all of this,” Jeonghan assures you. “We’ve got a morning buffet in the dining room just down the hall, I suggest you go and get your strength up.”
“Thank you.” 
You follow his direction down a few corridors to a dining room. It’s a lovely space, with one line of glass walls that look out at the desert. The style choice is as art deco as the lobby, and while you’d found it charming at first, you’re already getting sick of the mirrors everywhere.
A large table lines the far wall, and there are many silver trays with food on them. Heading over there, you find a plate and begin to choose what you want to eat.
As you make a dish for yourself, you look around, noting that there aren’t very many guests in the hotel. You suppose that it’s a very odd location for a hotel, and its remote nature is probably the reason you only see a handful of people around.
Once your plate is full, you approach one of the many empty tables, taking a seat and looking around once more.
There are two men dressed in suits, and you immediately assume they’re in business of some sort. You wonder what they’re doing here of all places, but you don’t dwell on it for long, not when you notice that their table is covered with plates.
They’re both rather lean men, so you wonder how they plan to eat all the food in front of them, but you decide not to be a person who pries. After all, you’re only going to be here a short time, you don’t have to care about what others are doing around you.
Your gaze shifts to a man seated near the windows. His hair is dark and curly, and he has a pair of glasses on. His gaze is focused on a book in his hands, and you notice the only thing on his table is a lemon water.
For some reason, he gives you monk vibes, and you wonder how a man so young and attractive can be so peaceful in his way of living.
The hair on the back of your neck prickles, and you realize someone is watching you. There’s a man in the corner of the room, and on second glance, you realize he’s next to a record player. He stares at you for a few seconds, then lifts an entire bottle of whiskey to his lips.
He makes you uncomfortable, and after that, you just focus on your own plate, repeating to yourself that this will all be over soon.
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Four:
After breakfast, you head back to your room, and when you get there, you’re surprised to find both your laptop and all your charging cords are missing.
You scramble through your bags, hoping you just misplaced them- but no, your electronics are gone, and it makes your heart race with anxiety.
You all but run back to the lobby, but when you arrive, Jeonghan is not there.
Looking around, you realize there’s a bar set up in the corner, and you quickly make your way over, stopping in front of the bartender. “Hi, I checked in last night, my car was having issues, and then so was my phone- I gave my phone to your hotel manager to charge, and when I got back up to my room my laptop and charging cords were gone-”
He stares at you blankly, and you read the name on his shirt.
“Look, Joshua, I just need help. I need something. I have to call my agent, I have to do something-” 
“Have a drink,” he suggests, lifting a bottle of tequila from behind the bar.
“I don’t need a drink,” you groan. “I need my phone, I need my laptop, I need my car- I need you to help me sort this out!”
“Calm down, gorgeous, Joshua just works here, you’re not going to get a lot of help out of him unless you want a mean cocktail.” A deep voice makes you turn, and you find yourself staring at the man who you’d seen by the record player at the buffet earlier.
He’s still carrying his bottle of whiskey, but it’s only about half full now.
“He works here, so he should know what to do or who to call-”
“Like I said, the most you’re going to get out of him is a wine and steak pairing recommendation,” the man in front of you laughs. “I’m Seungcheol, by the way.”
You tell him your name with a sigh, and you don’t miss the way his gaze rakes up and down your body.
“So what’s your story?” he asks.
“My car broke down, I walked here, my phone is dead, my laptop is stolen, I’m having a really shit day.”
“Sounds like it.” He brings the bottle of whiskey to his lips, taking a large gulp. “Maybe you should take Joshie’s advice and have a drink.”
“What I need is a nap,” you state. “I’m going back to my fucking room, to have a fucking siesta, and when I’m done, that fucking hotel manager better have my phone charged and my car fixed.” 
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Five:
You have no clue what time it is when you wake up from your nap, all you know is the sun is beginning to set and your whole body hurts. You groan to even sit up, and you realize you feel as exhausted as you had this morning before your nap.
Are you getting sick? 
Deciding you don’t have time to dwell on the state of your body, you head to the lobby, where once again, Jeonghan is nowhere to be seen. So instead, you head to the bar, where the ‘Seungcheol’ man is sitting and chatting with Joshua.
You take the seat next to him and he turns to look at you with a grin.
“Hi, gorgeous, how was your nap?”
“Uneventful,” you state. “Look, I need a ride to town.”
“Which town?”
“Any town, I don’t care, I just need to get out of here.”
“Well, I don’t have a car.”
“You don’t have a car?” you stare at him in shock.
“Nope, just a motorcycle, and I doubt all your shit would fit on it.”
“I will literally leave ‘my shit’ here and come back for it once my car is fixed.”
“Well…” Seungcheol taps his fingers on the bottle of whiskey in his hand. “My motorcycle broke down on the way here.”
You blink as you look at this man. He’s stunning, with a strong jaw, broad shoulders, curly hair- but fuck, he’s a bit dense. “Well?” you ask. “Was it towed? How long have you been waiting for it to get fixed?”
Seungcheol only grins, taking a sip of his whiskey. “A while.”
For some reason, the way he says it is ominous. You don’t know if he’s playing with you, or what- but you’re done with all of this bullshit.
“I’m going to bed again,” you announce.
“Didn’t you just wake up?”
“I am going to bed!” 
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Six:
When you wake up the next morning, the first thing you do is go to the lobby. You can’t help the relief that floods through you when you see Jeonghan standing behind the front desk.
“Thank God,” you almost laugh with triumph. “Do you have news about my car? Or my phone? Also, someone stole my laptop yesterday!”
“Unfortunately I have no news about your car, and it seems none of the chargers are working with your phone,” Jeonghan frowns.
It feels like the breath has been knocked from your lungs. “What?”
“Also, I don’t know anything about your laptop, but I’ll look into it.”
You’re tired of this hotel manager taking charge- tired of being at this Art Deco hotel in the middle of butt fuck nowhere.
“You know what, I’d like to check out,” you tell him. “I’d like to grab my things, call a taxi, and just go to the next town and wait for my car to be fixed.”
“I’d love to help you with that,” Jeonghan says, “but unfortunately there are no available cars to take you to the next town.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, no taxis come out this far, you couldn’t bribe them with a hundred bucks to come grab you.” Jeonghan laughs as if what he’s just said is a joke. “And unfortunately all the actual cars on the property belong to people who work at the hotel, all of whom are on shift and can’t drive you.”
“Can’t I wait till someone’s off shift?”
“Everyone on shift lives here in the staff quarters and I can assure you that no one wants to drive to the next town, which is over two hours away, after a twelve-hour shift.”
“So…” Your heart is racing. “What are my options?”
“Well, you can check out if you’d like,” Jeonghan says, “but unfortunately, I don’t think you’ll be able to actually leave the premises unless you walk, which would be very dangerous.” 
“Fuck. Give me my phone back.” 
You watch Jeonghan reach down and pull your cell out of a drawer, and then you snatch it from his hands.
“Have a lovely evening!” he calls as you turn and storm to the bar.
“What was that about?” Seungcheol asks as you come to stand next to him, releasing a breath of exasperation as you set your hands on the bar top.
“Joshua, give me a bottle of something.”
“What do you like to drink?” the bartender asks.
“Anything.”
“Looks like you’ve changed your tune, gorgeous,” Seungcheol grins next to you.
“I’m going to get drunk, and then I’m going to walk back to civilization if it’s the last thing I do.”
You note the way Seungcheol’s expression falters. “For real?”
“Yes, for real.” 
Joshua places a bottle of tequila on the bar and you snatch it up, flicking off the lid and taking a large chug. 
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Seungcheol muses. “He doesn’t either, do you, Joshie?”
“I just work here,” Joshua shrugs.
“Unless one of you wants to drive me back to town, I’m walking!” 
You can feel Seungcheol studying you, and then he sighs. “Fine. I’ll go with you.”
“I never asked you to come.”
“But I’m coming anyways, it wouldn’t be responsible to let a cute girl like you go out into the desert alone. There are aliens and shit.”
“Sure there are,” you roll your eyes.
You have a few more sips of your drink, getting yourself jazzed up for this- and then, you turn to look at the door that leads out of The Hotel California. “Okay, let’s get out of this fucking hellhole.”
Seungcheol releases a chuckle, shaking his head, and then he stands, following you out into the desert beyond.
The first half hour or so is you walking with determination, but as time ticks on, you begin to falter.
“Finally ready to turn back?” Seungcheol asks.
“Why did you even come with me?” you snap.
“I told you, it wouldn’t be safe to send you out here alone.”
“Because men who ride motorcycles really care about safety,” you roll your eyes.
Seungcheol only laughs, and he says nothing else, allowing a silent trek for another hour or so.
Is it an hour? Fuck, you can’t really tell. There are no clocks, no phones to check the time- you have no clue how long you’ve been out here, and anxiety is beginning to bubble up in the pit of your stomach.
Then- just as you’re feeling close to your breaking point, you see lights in the distance.
“Oh my God! We made it!” you practically scream, turning to look at Seungcheol, who doesn’t seem nearly as excited as he should be.
Your pace picks up, in fact, you begin to run toward the light, toward salvation-
You’re out of breath, your muscles screaming at you, but you push on… and that’s when you realize, these lights are familiar.
The excitement begins to die down, and when you’re close enough to see the source of the lights with clarity, you sink to the ground next to the highway in shock.
Gravel and sand crunches as Seungcheol comes to join you, standing a foot away.
“But- that’s- that’s the hotel!” you say.
“It is.”
“But- we went straight! We followed the highway! How are we back here again?”
You’ve never felt defeat like this, and you’ve been rejected by modeling agencies a number of times in your career. This is something different, it’s not just a momentary lapse- this feels more permanent, it feels more otherworldly, and you can’t wrap your head around any of it.
“I think…” Seungcheol releases a sigh. “I think it’s time I told you a few things.” 
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Seven:
Seungcheol had insisted on going back to the bar to get a bottle of whiskey before divulging into a conversation with you. As you’d entered the lobby, Jeonghan had called out a bright ‘welcome back!’ and you were too defeated to acknowledge him.
You feel like a shell of a person as you lead Seungcheol back to your room, collapsing on your bed. “What the fuck is going on?” you ask.
“This is all going to sound a bit weird,” he admits.
“Weirder than us walking in a straight line for two hours only to find ourselves right back where we started? I doubt it.”
Seungcheol smiles, shaking his head a little as if this whole situation is somehow humorous.
“I think… everyone is stuck here.”
“Stuck here?” you question.
“You and I, we have similar stories. I remember driving my motorcycle, something happened, I pulled over, and then I saw this place,” Seungcheol explains. “I’ve talked to a few people who live here, and they all have the same story.”
“I don’t understand- Seungcheol,” you swallow thickly, “how long have you been here?” 
“You see,” Seungchol chuckles, but there’s a sad note to it, “Time is a funny thing in this place. I know it’s been days, weeks, years even- that I’ve been here, but I don’t know for how long. I eat, I sleep, I drink- I repeat. I don’t grow old, I don’t get sick. I just am. It’s fucking boring if I’m behind honest with you, or at least it was. It’s been a while since we had someone new show up at the hotel, and even longer since that someone was as gorgeous as you.” 
You can’t believe he’s taking this opportunity to flirt with you, so you pull yourself back on track. “Someone has to know how long we’ve been here,” you insist. 
“No one I’ve talked to knows.” 
“Well,” you take a breath. “I want to talk to those two men, the ones in suits who are in the buffet.”
“Why?”
“They strike me as the kind of men who would know things,” you tell him. “I can feel it.” 
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Eight: 
You find the two men where they always are in the buffet. Tonight, they’re playing chess, using up a large table so the space not covered with the game board can be full of food and drinks. You still wonder at their glutenous ways, but that’s not why you’re here right now.
“Hi,” you say, trying to be friendly despite the day you’re having. 
The two men look up at you, then at their chessboard.
“I’m Y/N, and this is Seungcheol,” you introduce yourself only to be met with silence. “What are your names?”
“Jun. That’s Minghao,” one of the men says dismissively. 
“Do you guys happen to have the time?” you ask next.
They’re both quiet, and it’s making you angrier by the second, but you force yourself to keep your cool.
“Would you guys be able to tell me how long you’ve been here?
Still silence.
You look around for that man you’d seen, the one with glasses and a lemon water, but he’s nowhere to be found.
“Look,” you kneel down so you’re about level with the seated men, lowering your voice. “I just got here, something weird is going on, and I need answers.”
The two men exchange a glance, and it’s Jun who finally turns to you. “We won’t discuss this in the open.”
“Come to our room,” Minghao sighs. “But don’t make it obvious you’re following us.”
You wonder why the theatrics are necessary, but with a nod, you and Seungcheol move away. You take a seat at a table across the space, and after a few minutes where the two men converse in whispers, both stand up.
You wait for them to leave, and after a few seconds, you and Seungcheol slowly follow. 
Jeonghan watches you cross the space, and that’s when you realize why these men are being so weird. This hotel manager has an odd hold on everyone in this place.
When you make it to Jun and Minghao’s room, they open the door for you, saying nothing. As you enter the space, you’re ready to bombard them with questions, but when Jun moves to the coat closet, pushing fabrics aside, all your words die in your throat.
The entire wall, which had just been hidden, is covered in small tally marks.
“We were keeping a tab with a pen and paper, but the cleaner kept taking it away,” Jun explains. “I don’t think they want us to keep track of time.”
“And these tallies-” you begin.
“They mark the days the two of you have been here,” Seungcheol finishes.
“But,” you swallow thickly, “that’s thousands of days- that’s years!”
“Over sixty years,” Minghao says quietly.
“How can this be real?!” you ask. “You both don’t look a day over thirty.”
“When we’d arrived here, we weren’t,” Jun says sadly, “but that was in 1963.” 
“Nobody grows old here,” Minghao tells you, “because we’re in Hell.”
“So you both think that pansy hotel manager is the Devil?” Seungcheol scoffs.
You can see Minghao’s eyes immediately narrow in annoyance. “We just mind our own business, and we suggest you do the same.”
“Have you ever confronted Jeonghan?” you ask.
“Nobody confronts him,” Jun says sheepishly. “I guess, even though we’re all in Hell, lots of us are… scared of the consequences.”
“Well, he already took away my phone and my laptop,” you sigh, “I guess I have to be the man in the room and go deal with this.”
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Nine: 
After spending the night thinking about it, you decide as the sun comes up that you’re going to rip the bandaid off.
Everyone in this fucking hotel is so evasive, but you’ll take this head-on. You’re a twenty-first-century woman, and you’ll be damned if some hotel manager ruins your entire life.
There’s a power in the way you walk as you head straight for the front desk, and you try to look intimidating despite your rapidly beating heart.
“Good morning,” Jeonghan greets you with a smile. 
“What’s the deal?” you ask.
“Hmm?” 
“The deal with this place, what’s going on?”
He flashes you a knowing smile, and the words that come out of his mouth next are an obvious load of shit: “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 
You size him up, and you realize that, at this precise moment, you’re not going to get any information out of this man, so you decide to switch to plan two.
Turning on your heel, you head deeper into the hotel, and in the back of the dining room, you see Seungkwan slipping into a corridor. 
Catching him is easy since he’s not exactly running from you, and the man stops to politely nod at you. “Good morning.”
“What’s going on with this place?” you ask.
“Excuse me?”
“This stupid hotel, what’s the deal? All my electronics are missing, there are no clocks, and I left yesterday, I left! I walked down the highway for two hours only to end up right back where I started!” You can’t help the way your voice is rising in annoyance, and you partly hope that you can actually successfully intimidate this man-
As you look at him, you realize intimidation is off the table, because he releases a laugh.
“Look at you, little miss demanding.”
“Please,” you sigh, your heart practically wilting in your chest. “I just need to know.”
“Talk to the hotel manager, he can answer all your questions.”
“Except he can’t, or maybe the word is won’t-” You struggle for a moment. “Look, don’t you want to gossip with me?”
You can all but see his ears perk up at the word gossip.
“You’re a bellhop, you like secrets, right? You enjoy tea?”
His eyes narrow at you. “I’m more of a coffee drinker.”
“Tea, as in gossip, gossip is tea-” God, you wonder how many of these people are from the last century and have no idea what you mean when you use current lingo.
“I’m listening.”
“I’ll tell you some tea,” you insist. “Gossip for gossip, deal?”
“I want something else,” Seungkwan tells you, and that’s when you notice his eyes lingering on your throat, your necklace. “I want that.”
You sigh, reaching behind yourself to unclasp the silver chain. “Take it and tell me what’s going on in this stupid hotel.”
As soon as the jewelry is in the bellhop’s hand, his entire demeanor changes. It’s as if he’s gone from a young man, and turned into an old woman telling you about her neighbors and how she snoops at her window to collect information all day. There’s an air to his essence that tells you you’re about to find out exactly what’s happening in this so-called ‘Hotel California.’ 
“What have you heard so far?” he asks. “What do you think this place is?”
“I don’t know? Someone said it might be Hell, but I doubt Hell is an Art Deco and terracotta hotel in the middle of the desert.”
Seungkwan’s expression shifts with an all-knowing sort of twist of his lips. “This isn’t Hell. It’s purgatory.”
“What?” You feel your breath leave your lungs in shock.
“And Jeonghan, well, he’s not a hotel manager, he’s a grim reaper. His domain is this desert, and every guest at this hotel, they died in his desert, so their souls were his to pass judgment on.”
“Wait a minute, what do you mean we all died here?”
“Keep up!” Seungkwan snaps. “This is purgatory! Of course you’re dead!” 
Your entire body deflates now. “But… how?”
“Fell asleep at the wheel, didn’t you, little miss model? Seungcheol’s motorcycle hit a pothole. Minghao and Jun were high on coke and drove off a cliff by the ravine not far from here, thinking they were invincible. Every guest has a similar story, it’s a dangerous stretch of road after all.”
“So… who are you? And how do you know all the people I’ve talked to since I got here?” 
“I’m a nobody, a highwayman. But trust me when I tell you, the staff here keep tabs on everyone.”
“Are all the staff... Highwaymen?” you ask.
 “In one sense or another.”
“And… and Jeonghan chose to put us in purgatory?” you question. “Why didn’t he take us to a final place?”
“Because your unfinished sins were too great to gain you entry above, but not dark enough to gain you entry below.” Seungkwan pauses for a moment. “It’s best if you try to overcome your original sins, you might just make it out of here.”
“Overcome my sins?” you repeat, on the verge of laughing in an odd sort of complete hopeless hysteria that you’ve never felt before. “Has anyone ever made it out of here?!” 
“One man,” Seungkwan says thoughtfully. “In fact, you saw him. The man in glasses, Jeon Wonwoo. He was a powerful man back when he was alive, lustful and glutenous. But in his time here, he’s overcome, and you were his final test.”
Anger bubbles inside of you. “I was a final test? You mean I was brought here to test some horny guy!?”
“Not many women die on this stretch of highway, not many who are so grey and muted as yourself. Jeonghan found you to be particularly… puzzling.”
“Puzzling?” you scoff.
“You’re a model,” Seungkwan shrugs. “Lust, envy, pride, greed- you belong here like everyone else. Those businessmen, overwhelmed by pride, greed, envy, gluttony, sloth, and even wrath. They’ve only conquered lust in their eternity here, but that was to be expected with no women to enchant them. They treasure their own company now, far more than they’d ever treasure yours.”
“And Seungcheol?” you ask.
“Seungcheol?” Seungkwan actually laughs. “A rockstar from the seventies? Lust, pride, greed, wrath- in his day he had an enjoyment of starting mosh pits at his own concerts, of fighting people, of drinking and sleeping with many, many women. No, Jeonghan chooses the right people. You’re all here, and you’ll likely all stay here.” 
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Ten:
You’re sitting with Seungcheol in a secluded part of the buffet room, and you’ve just given him a rundown on all things Seungkwan. For a moment, he just sits there, and then, his brows furrow. “That little fuck says I’m here because I used to start moshpits at my own shows?”
“And sleeping with lots of women I’d assume.”
“I’m gonna beat that fucking bellhop’s ass-”
“This is what he’s talking about!” you insist. “Wrath!”
Seungcheol steadies himself, and then he sighs. “Who would have thought the seven deadly sins were a real fucking thing.”
“People who believe in the bible and stuff?”
Seungcheol shoots you an unamused expression and you have to stop yourself from smiling.
You look down at your hands, fiddling with your fingers. “So… are we going to try to overcome our sins or whatever?”
The man next to you exhales deeply. “I’ve been here a long time,” he admits. “I don’t think I’m going to magically change because some bellhop said I’m a horny fuck with anger issues.”
“True.”
“Besides, Jeonghan brought you here to test the whole lust thing, and I think we both know I’m failing in that one.”
Your skin tingles. Is this seventies rockstar admitting he’s into you?
I mean… you’d suspected as much, but to hear it confirmed like this…
Do you want to be good? Do you want to work on yourself?
Or do you want to give in to these lusty feelings? Do you want to go wild and make the most of this place since you’re probably going to be here forever?
You feel completely torn, and you clear your throat. “I think… I think I need to go clear my head.”
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Eleven: 
You find your way to the pool after some deep soul-searching. You’re in need of somewhat of a cleanse, and you think water could be a good way to do that.
It’s the evening, but the air is quite warm as you make your way through the open spaces of the hotel. The sky is dark above you, but stars twinkle, as does the moon. It’s oddly peaceful, if you forget the fact that you’re in some fucked of purgatory liminal space.
When you get to the pool area, you realize there’s a man you’ve never seen before, and he’s sitting by the hot tub. His feet are submerged in the bubbling water, and his head is tipped back, eyes closed. There’s a bong next to his right hand, and you can smell weed. 
You stand and watch him for a moment, then decide to approach.
“Hello?” you say, drawing his attention. “Are you new here?”
“No, but you are,” the man muses.
“I am… but I’ve never seen you before.” 
“You wouldn’t, I’m nocturnal. Might as well be, since there’s nowhere to go but here.”
Obviously this man has his own opinions of The Hotel California, and you take a seat next to him, crossing your legs. “What do you think of this place?”
“It’s whatever.”
You risk another look at him, and you realize he’s closed his eyes again, looking as relaxed as ever. That’s when you realize this man’s main sin is glaringly obvious; he’s sloth.
“How did you find weed here?” you ask.
“Brought some when I arrived, started growing it when I realized I wouldn’t be leaving.”
So… this man is growing weed, sleeping all day, and smoking all night in purgatory. Sounds about right.
“Do you want to leave?” you question.
“It’s whatever.”
“Some man named Wonwoo left,” you point out. “Seems like there’s a possibility.”
The man laughs. “That fucking monk finally got out? He’s been trying to be a good boy for years.”
You swallow thickly at the reminder that even if you try to be good, you’re doomed to be here for years. It’s not an ‘okay I’ve been good for a day, let me out now’ sort of situation. The whole thing leaves a bad taste in your mouth, and you clear your throat. 
“I’m y/n by the way.”
“Vernon.” There’s a stagnant pause, and then he stretches. “You know, it’s nice here. You don’t have to cook or clean. There are no responsibilities. You just get to relax.”
“Kind of like an indefinite vacation.”
“Exactly.”
He seems nice enough, and if it wasn’t clear he was such a sloth with a thing for marijuana, you might expect him to be next on the list of viable options for getting out of this place.
“Just, enjoy yourself,” Vernon sighs. “You might as well.” 
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Twelve:
After a night of thinking, you’ve finally made your decision on what to do in this God-forsaken hotel, and you head down to the lobby. One look at Jeonghan makes you rethink asking him for information, but you spot Seungkwan heading toward the buffet, and you quickly follow him out of sight from the manager.
“Hey,” you greet the bellhop, “have you seen Seungcheol today?”
“I believe he runs at this time,” Seungkwan explains. There’s a small rocky hillside out behind the pool, Seungcheol made a trail there for exercise, but between us, sometimes I think he’s hoping to get bit by a rattlesnake and die for a second time.”
From the small chuckle that leaves his lips, you can tell he’s trying to joke around, but you’re just not at the stage in your acceptance of this place to find dead jokes comedic.
“Thank you,” you nod, heading off in the direction he’s pointed you in.
The trailhead behind the pool isn’t very difficult to find, and you start up the path.
You have no clue what time it is, but you know it’s early morning. It’s just starting to get warm, but despite this, you have a fire inside of you driving to find the seventies rockstar.
This urge - call it lust maybe - it drives you forward, and finally, you find the man you’re looking for.
He’s in running shorts, and he’s shirtless. A sheen of sweat covers his muscular form, and God, he’s never looked this beautiful. His hair is curled from precipitation, and he’s panting, his hands on his hips as he stands at the top of the small hilly cliff that looks down at The Hotel California.
“Seungcheol!” you call, drawing his attention immediately.
“y/n?” 
You can tell he’s confused to see you here, and his brows furrow. Walking closer, you take a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking,” you tell him.
“Yeah?”
“I was thinking… if we’re going to be here forever, we might as well make it fun.”
Your words hang in the air, and on this tiny hill, you accept your fate. You accept that you’re dead, that you’re in some odd form of purgatory. And you accept the fact that you’ve found a partner to share this whole delusion with, for better, or for worse.
“So you’re saying…” Seungcheol swallows thickly, stepping closer to you.
“Just kiss me,” you laugh, shaking your head at him.
A massive smile appears on his face, and then he’s grabbing your hips and tugging you tight to his chest. His lips are on yours a moment later, and while you’d expected him to be an eager, lust-fueled maniac, he’s oddly slow with how he approaches this first interaction.
However, the kiss deepens when you wrap your arms around the back of his neck, your tongue swiping his bottom lip desperately.
Seungchoel lets out a deep groan, matching your rising energy with an enthusiasm of his own.
It feels so good to be doing this with him, and for the first real-time since you got to the hotel, you feel your anxiety slipping away. Your entire body is focused on this man, and this man alone- and then his hand slips down to your ass, grabbing it roughly.
“Hey,” you laugh, pulling away from the kiss. “We’re not fucking out here on some rock.”
“We’re not?” Seungcheol chuckles.
“Not in a million years, which it sort of sounds like we have.”
“Back to the hotel then,” Seungcheol tells you, and just like that, the two of you head back down the trail to the hotel.
It seems there are different routes to take, and you find yourself in the lobby as opposed to the pool, which is where Jeonghan stops you with a wave. “y/n,” he calls. “I’d like a word.”
Seungcheol groans, and you release a sigh, turning to look at him. “I’ll meet you later?” you suggest.”
“I’ll go shower, find my room after, I’m in number seventeen,” Seungcheol nods.
You watch him disappear, taking a moment to appreciate the muscles of his broad shoulders as he walks away, and then, you turn to face the hotel manager.
“Looks like you’ve made a decision,” Jeonghan muses.
You wonder what exactly he’s talking about. Is it a decision to pursue Cheol? To sin? 
You’re not quite sure, but at this point, you don’t care.
“I’ve made my choice,” you tell him, trying to sound confident about it.
“So you’ve chosen to be a part of The Hotel California.”
“I don’t think you left me with much choice,” you point out. 
A large smile appears on Jeonghan’s face. “I guess I have to agree with you there,” he admits. “Go. Enjoy Seungcheol. You might be able to help with his… less desirable traits if not his sexual habits.”
So everything here really is a set of scales. Cheques and balances. A lesser evil of cleansing Seungcheol of minor sins while fanning the fire of his lust. You suppose you can’t win them all. 
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Thirteen:
You wander the hotel until you find room seventeen, and when you get there, you don’t even bother to knock. You simply push the door open, entering the space.
Seungcheol’s hotel room is different from your own. It’s significantly larger, with a den and a door that you assume leads to the bedroom. You make your way through the space, looking in at where he sleeps, which is where you find the man himself standing.
He has a towel wrapped around his hips, his hair is damp and curly, and God, he looks even sexier than he had on the hill. He’s so well muscled- part of you wants to lick his entire body and moan while you do.
Seungcheol turns to look at you, and when he smiles, you swear your knees feel weak.
“What did dickhead want?” he asks.
“Jeonghan?” Your mind goes blank. “He uh, I guess he wanted to see if I’m set on staying here or not.”
“And?”
“Well, we’re about to sin, aren’t we? So… guess I’m a permanent resident now.”
Seungcheol laughs. “Who wants to go to heaven if you can’t fuck there?”
“A lot of people I think,” you giggle.
“Well, not us.” He steps towards you, hands settling on your hips. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to show up.”
His words are nice, but you have some doubts lingering inside of you. “Would you fuck any girl who came here though?” you question. “Or am I special?”
“You’re special,” Seungcheol confirms. “You’ve got fire in you, I could tell from the moment we met.”
“Some people have called me a bitch before.”
“Well they can go fuck themselves,” he retorts quickly.
You laugh, looking around. “This is a nice room.”
“It wasn’t my original room, but once I realized I was staying here, I scouted out all the empty places to find my favourite.”
Your gaze shift up, and you notice that the ceiling is covered in mirrors. “I can’t escape these fucking mirrors.”
“These ones are fun though,” Seungcheol insists.
“Yeah? How’s that?” You wrap your arms around the back of Seungcheol’s neck, pulling him closer with a grin.
“Because… I can watch you when you’re riding me. You can see my sexy back when I’m fucking you. It’s just a good set up.” 
“And I guess you haven’t really had a chance to test it out before,” you muse.
“Not with another person.”
It takes you a second to realize what he’s saying, and then you laugh. “Cheol, are you telling me you watch yourself jack off with these mirrors?”
“It’s not like I have access to porno mags or anything!” he defends himself.
God, he’s from the seventies- did they even have easily accessible porn then? 
You push the thought out of your brain as you move closer to him, until your lips are just milimeters apart. “Now you have me.” 
“I do, don’t I,” he grins, tightening his grip on your hips. 
“Uh huh,” you nod. “And I haven’t been properly fucked in a while.”
“I bet I have you beat on that one.”
“Better make up for your lost time, big guy.”
“Better make this sin worth it,” he counters, and with that, he presses his lips to your own.
You smirk into the kiss, pressing your chest against his own as you wrap your arms around the back of his neck. It’s a mad flurry of tongue and teeth, no being cautious as he had been on the hill earlier.
No, this time, you know exactly what you want from each other, and there’s a freeing feeling in that.
He’s quick to guide you toward the bed, and when he gets you there, he pushes you down onto it. His hands quickly tear at your shirt and you raise your arms to allow him to easily take it off of your body.
Seungcheol sinks to his knees on the ground, his lips attacking your throat and descending down to your breasts. Two large hands grab at your tits, massaging them through your bra. He’s practically motorboating his face against you now, groaning into your cleavage.
“Take off my bra,” you tell him. “Suck on my tits.”
Seungcheol chuckles, but one swipe of his hand behind your back has your bra coming undone, and you realize that despite his forced celibacy, he hasn’t lost his touch.
Your bra slips off, and Seungcheol immediately picks up where he left off, but this time, he has access to your bare skin,
He grabs your breasts, pulling one nipple into his mouth while you throw your head back and moan.
It takes you a second, but you have the idea to open your eyes, and when you do, the mirrored ceiling gives you the perfect view of this man kneeling on the ground and sucking your breasts.
There’s something sexy about the view, and when you thread your fingers through his curls, it makes things even hotter.
Seungcheol groans, roughly tugging your nipple between his teeth and making you cry out.
“Shorts next,” he instructs, pulling away so you can both work on getting you fully naked for him.
It’s a little shocking how fast this is all going, but you don’t mind. Lust is fueling every cell of your body, and before you know it, Seungcheol is pushing you so you’re flat on your back. He places your thighs on his shoulders, and then he dives into your core with his mouth.
You whimper at the sensation of him sucking on your clit lewdly, and again, when you look up, you can see the view.
Fuck, with him now bending half over the bed like this, you can see his shoulders even better.
He’s so broad and strong and sexy, and it makes your core pulse with pleasure as he eats you out like he’s been starved for fifty years, which he has.
 “Just like that,” you tell him, bringing your hands up to play with your nipples, loving the view of it all.
Seungcheol shifts, and then you feel a finger push into your entrance. He doesn’t go slow with it, he immediately starts pumping, fucking you while he licks and sucks on your clit roughly.
There’s no tact in his motions, no precision, he’s a wild man, and you suppose that fits his rockstar soul.
There’s something so sexy about this animalistic way he’s treating you, and when he groans against your clit, your entire body lights up with pleasure.
He has you closer to the edge than you’d ever imagined possible in such a short time, but you wonder if perhaps your body has been in need of some stress relief like this after such a crazy few days.
Another finger slips inside of you and you moan, reaching one hand to tangle in his hair again.
As much as you want to close your eyes and enjoy this, you can’t bear to look away from the view.
God, it’s absolutely glorious.
This gorgeous, beefy man, is practically ravaging you on a bed with silk sheets, worshipping your pussy with his tongue and fingers while you watch, enthralled with it all.
You can hear your core getting wetter, and with each thrust of his fingers you can feel your juices. His tongue circles your clit in the perfect way and your stomach muscles begin to clench, signaling your impending high.
“I’m gonna cum,” you tell him, swallowing thickly even as you pinch your own nipple, writhing against the bed.
Seungcheol only growls in response, and the sound turns you on even more.
Within a few seconds, you’re coming undone, releasing a cry of pleasure as your body is flooded with euphoria.
Your hips push up against Seungcheol’s face, but his free hand pins you down, his tongue unrelenting on your clit.
Now, you have to force your eyes shut. It’s all you can do to contain the ecstasy he’s providing you, an electric feeling that’s surging through your entire body unlike anything else.
“Fuck, fuck- Cheol!” you gasp, wriggling in his grasp.
He pulls off your clit with a pop, and you can feel him looking up at you as he removes his fingers.
Then he stands, and you open your eyes to look at him.
“Here,” Seungcheol leans over you, and then he pushes his fingers into your mouth, “want you to taste yourself.”
All you can do is stare up at him in shock, lust overtaking you as you suck his digits off diligently. You even grab his hand to steady him, not wanting him to pull away until you’ve licked him clean.
“That’s a good girl,” Seungcheol groans. 
When you’re done with him, you release his hand, and Seungcheol pulls away with a deep breath.
“Can you suck cock like that?” he asks, undoing his towel so it can fall to the floor.
His hard length immediately slaps up against his abdomen, and you can see beads of precum dripping down his shaft. God, he’s super turned on, and your pussy pulses at the mere sight of him.
“Gonna give you the best head you’ve had in fifty years,” you promise.
“Ha ha,” Seungcheol says, but there’s little humour in it. 
You sit up, and then, you stand. He gives you a confused look, but when you push him down onto the bed, things seem to click for him.
You take your spot on your knees, where he’d just been, and this time, it’s your turn to push his legs slightly open, giving yourself space as you grab the base of his cock.
“Don’t cum in my mouth,” you warn.
“No?”
“Want you to cum inside me, don’t wanna waste a drop.”
“Fuck,” Seungcheol groans as you put your mouth onto his tip, sucking and licking with all the enthusiasm he’d just given you. 
His hands immediately grab at you, pushing your hair out of your face. He holds you gently as you sink more and more of him into your mouth, swirling your tongue to tease every inch of skin that you can.
“Shit, feels good,” he tells you, collecting your hair into a ponytail to make things easier.
You hum against him and his hips twitch at the stimulus.
“Fuck-” he says again, and you’d bet your life - or maybe your afterlife - that he’ll be swearing a lot. 
He’s a man who hasn’t felt the touch of a woman in fifty years, you would blame him if he’s quick to bust?
“Keep going, fuck,” Seungcheol groans, applying some pressure to your head.
You don’t mind that he’s beginning to get rough with you, and you diligently sink further onto his cock, taking him all the way to the back of your throat. You gag a little around him, and Seungcheol releases his loudest moan yet, tightening his grip in your hair.
“Keep doing that, fuck, keep doing that!” he encourages you. 
You do your best to relax your throat, wanting to please him, to give him the best blowjob he’s ever had. You have always found satisfaction when pleasing others, call it a trauma thing or whatever you want to call it, but his pleasure is your pleasure, and you can feel yourself getting wetter by the second as you listen to his moans.
“Shit, I’m close,” Seungcheol tells you.
With those words, you immediately pull off of him, and he looks down at you in shock. 
“You’re not cumming in my mouth, remember?”
“Please?”
“No.” 
You stand up, staring down at this man, who suddenly looks very needy. Then, you push at his chest, prompting him to lay flat against the bed while his knees are still bent, feet on the ground.
One of your own knees makes contact with the bed, and then the other, so you’re straddling him now.
“You said you wanted to watch me ride you,” you remind him. “So watch me ride.”
You grab the base of his cock, lining it up with your core, then you sink down onto him fully.
He’s big, and you feel the stretch, but you’re so wet from this that your lubrication makes the actual taking of his cock much easier than you’d imagined. God, when you pause for a moment, fully seated on him, you both groan from the pleasure… then you begin to bounce.
“Jesus Christ,” Seungcheol whispers, one hand grabbing your hip while the other latches onto your breast. He pinches your nipple between two fingers and you whimper, throwing your head back.
You look up at the ceiling, watching yourself ride this beautiful man.
The view makes your core throb, and you can feel your pussy clamping down around him, which earns another groan from the man you’re riding.
“You look so fucking good like this,” Seungcheol tells you, sitting up and using his hand as a brace against the bed so he can wrap his mouth around your nipple.
You grab him, threading your fingers through his hair and using him as an anchor as you move on his cock, bouncing to the best of your ability even in this position.
Again, you find yourself looking at the view, and you realize maybe this is a completely new kink of yours that you’d never discovered before.
“Okay, okay,” Seungcheol grabs your hips, making you stop. “My turn now.”
“Your turn?” you scoff.
“My turn,” he confirms.
Then, he’s standing up, and taking you with him. His hands grab your ass, keeping you pinned to his body while you squeal with delight, latching onto his shoulders.
“Wanna fuck you doggy first,” he tells you.
“So original,” you roll your eyes.
“Gonna make you regret that, gorgeous,” Seungcheol laughs.
“Then do it.”
With a shake of his head, he throws you onto the mattress, and with one quick manhandle, he has you on your knees with your ass in the air.
He’s standing at the foot of the bed, and he grabs your hips with one hand, his cock with the other. His tip finds your entrance, and with one rough thrust, he’s buried inside of you again.
“Fuck!” you whimper, arching your back and bracing your cheek against the sheets.
“Feels good, huh?” he asks, immediately picking up a pace that has your eyes rolling into the back of your head.
“Fuck, so good!” you moan, loving how deep he’s hitting, how rough he’s being.
A harsh smack erupts through the room, and you realize as the pain blooms like heat along your skin that he’s just spanked you.
“Did you like that?” he asks.
“Maybe?” You’re not sure how you feel about the sensation, but when a second smack comes, you jolt, your pussy clamping tight around Seungcheol’s cock.
“You liked it, didn’t you?” he teases.
“No!” you insist, but you can’t help the fact that you had enjoyed it, and you can tell from the gush of wetness you feel in your core that it will be clear to Seungcheol that you liked it as well. 
“Keep lying to yourself,” he laughs, his hand returning to your hip so he can fuck you even harder.
You enjoy the feeling of this for a while, but soon, you’re practically itching for another hit of pain.
“Spank me again,” you tell him.
“Hmm? Didn’t quite hear you.”
“Spank me!” you say, louder this time. “Please!”
Another chuckle escapes the smug bastard behind you. “Only because you asked so nicely.”
One more spank becomes three, and you’re a whimpering mess at the end of it, clawing at the blankets like a whore.
“Guess we’re going to have to explore this pain kink of yours,” Seungcheol teases. “But first, I think I’m gonna cum in this perfect pussy and mark it as mine.”
You’re so overwhelmed by how good this has felt that you can’t even find the words to respond, but you don’t have to.
Seungcheol pulls out of your pussy, and then he adjusts you on the bed, pushing you closer to the pillows so when he joins between your legs, he has space to plank over you in missionary.
His cock enters you, his lips finding your throat, and as you stroke his powerful shoulders, you find yourself blinking up at your reflection. 
You’re watching yourself sin, but you’re entirely okay with it.
You’re listening to him pant in your ear as he gets closer and closer to the edge, but you kind of love it.
This hotel might be a place to overcome sins, but you’re not sure how anything this perfect - this natural - could ever be considered wrong.
“I’m close,” Seungcheol whispers, sucking on your earlobe.
“Then cum inside of me, give me all of it,” you tell him, tightening your grip on his shoulders.
“Fuck,” Seungcheol groans, pressing his lips to your own. He kisses you desperately as his hips falter, his pace becoming erratic.
You can feel the moment he explodes, can feel his cock throbbing hard as he shoots his cum deep inside of you. He fills you up with warmth, and it feels like completion as he groans, half collapsing on top of you from the effort.
The kiss breaks, and you stroke his hair as he pants against your throat. Your eyes never leave your own in your reflection of the mirror over the bed.
Jeonghan might have put you in this place, but you’re the master of your own fate, and this is the direction you’ve chosen. 
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☀️ mlist + an. thank you for reading! I'm going to miss this au.
🍭 support me by. sending a tip here or here - or become a patron to access monthly bonus content and extensions for fics like this one :) find the Patreon teaser below! 
🔮 preview.   When Seungcheol thrusts, it pushes you onto Mingyu, and when he pulls back, he pulls you with him, effectively controlling the pace of absolutely everything. Seungcheol might be working on his envy streak, but he’s as controlling as ever… although, you kind of love that about him. Sure, he’s a flawed man, but he’s your flawed man, and as he begins to fuck you rougher and harder, you know that you’d never give this up, not even for Heaven itself. 
cw/ tw. Unprotected sex, threesome, pussy eating, blow job, fingering, multiple reader orgasms, use of mirrors, masturbation, controling/dom Seungcheol, dirty talk, praise, slight degradation, spanking, deep throating, eiffle tower/spit roasting, etc…   I petnames. (hers) gorgeous. 
👹 rating. 18+ explicit I wc. 3.1k I teaser wc. 150
🌙 starring. Seungcheol & Mingyu x afab!Reader
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bonus
You’re sitting at The Hotel California bar with Seungcheol. The two of you enjoy having a few drinks before a night of raunchy sexual escapades, and at first, this is a night like any other… until, you hear a new voice and turn to see a stranger talking to Jeonghan by the front desk.
You can’t help the look you immediately exchange with Seungcheol.
The two of you have spent months- years even, enjoying each other, and one thing you’ve always discussed bringing into the bedroom to spice it up, is another person. However, no one currently at the hotel has ever caught your eye, so you’d agreed that if anyone new showed up… you two might give them a try.
Now, with a tall, dark and handsome stranger standing just meters away, you think you may have found your new third, and excitement bubbles up inside of you.
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general taglist
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@runahways - @d-abin - @milkteade - @woogyuhae 
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As I was short on time this month and unable to do a teaser, here's another shout out to some of my favourite blogs who interact with my work, I love you guys endlessly
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otiskeene · 2 years ago
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Nordson Test & Inspection Unveils Next-Generation X-Ray Inspection System At PRODUCTRONICA Munich 2023
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Nordson TEST & INSPECTION will introduce its cutting-edge Quadra Pro 7 Manual X-Ray Inspection (MXI) system at PRODUCTRONICA Munich from November 14 to 17, 2023, at the Munich Exhibition Center. Along with the product launch, Nordson will display the SQ3000™+ Multi-Function system for AOI, SPI, and CMM at Booths A2.532, A2.537, and A2.540, in partnership with smartTec GmbH and Amtest Group.
The Quadra Pro 7 Manual X-Ray Inspection (MXI) equipment will revolutionize 3D/2D manual inspection in back-end semiconductor applications. This breakthrough system uses the revolutionary Onyx® detection technology to improve image quality and noise levels, increasing precision and efficiency.
Uniquely flexible, the Dual Mode Quadra NT4® tube is a Quadra 7 Pro highlight. Operators can smoothly switch between brightness and resolution modes using this innovative technology to match application needs. This versatility ensures good semiconductor inspection findings for many needs.
The new Revalution™ software, designed for high-end semiconductor applications, enhances the Quadra 7 Pro user experience. The software's easy interface, streamlined workflow, and expanded capability help operators examine and interpret inspection data. This function speeds decision-making and boosts productivity.
Read More - https://bit.ly/3rWrH3L
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dark-fics-4-you · 7 months ago
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Blue Christmas
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dark!Rafe Cameron x f!Reader
Warnings: noncon (rape), p in v sex, kidnapping, murder, drugging, stalking, obsessive behavior, possessive behavior, choking, unprotected sex, breeding kink, abusive behavior
A/N: this fic is directly inspired by the movie P2 (2007) but I changed a couple plot things to make it fit for Rafe. Hope you enjoy!
The click of your heels echoed throughout the large, empty parking garage. You let out a frigid puff of breath as you shivered, pulling your coat tighter around your shoulders as you looked for your car.
After the holiday party had died down, you had volunteered to stay late to finish up a report so you could have Christmas day off with your family. And now, a full hour and a half after everyone else left, you were finally about to be on your way home.
You reached into your purse to fish your keys out, clicking the unlock button to help you find your car.
Chirp chirp!
The sound came from the level above you and you let out a small groan as you began the walk up to the next level.
After spotting your car, you let yourself in, sliding into the seat and closing the door behind you.
You slid the key into the ignition and turned it, but instead of coming to life, your engine stuttered, refusing to start.
“Shit!” You cursed, slapping the steering wheel in frustration. “Fucking seriously?!”
All you wanted right now was to get home to see your family, but now it appeared your car might not even be leaving the garage.
You reached into your purse to pull your phone out, dialing your mom, but when no sound came over the speaker, you pulled the phone away from your ear to realize that you didn’t have any signal.
Realizing that your only options were to find the parking security guard or walking out into the cold air to get better signal, you decided that you needed to find the parking office.
However, before you could even open your door, you saw the lights on the opposite side of the garage begin to turn off, one by one, growing closer until you were swallowed by the darkness of the garage.
“I’m still in here!” You shouted, feeling freaked out by the dark.
But the sudden sharp knock against your window nearly stopped your heart.
A bright flashlight flicked on, pointed at your face like the person was trying to get a look at you.
He must have seen the fear in your eyes because the light lowered to the ground, revealing the parking security guard, and you let out a sigh of relief at the familiar face.
“Thank god it’s just you,” you joked nervously as you opened your car door to step out.
You looked up at the tall, blond man, remembering the many times he had let you in the parking garage or waved goodbye as you drove out. He was a shy and somewhat awkward guy, but he had been nice in all of your previous interactions.
Underneath the nerdy looking glasses, you might have even considered him handsome.
“I’m glad you’re still here so late, or I’d be in a lot of trouble,” you groaned, gesturing to your car. “It won’t start and I don’t have any signal in the garage.”
“Ah that h-happens here more than you’d think, I can help you out,” he grinned, taking a cursory glance at your car. “You could um- make a call from the office, if you wanted.”
“Oh that would be perfect! Thanks um… Ray?”
“Rafe,” he corrected you with a lopsided smile.
“Oh. Rafe, sorry,” you repeated. “My name is Y/N.”
“I know.”
“You do?” You tilted your head to the side in confusion as you looked up at him.
“You hand me your parking pass every day, remember? Everyone who works in the office does,” he smiled.
“Oh yeah, true,” you let out a small laugh.
“Did you enjoy th-the party?”
You blushed, smiling to yourself as you remembered your coworker, Jack, pulling you into one of the empty offices for a quick make out session. This was the first time the two of you had ever done something so risky at the office before, and it had been pretty thrilling.
“Yeah, it was nice. I’m ready to get home to my family though, they’re all waiting on me.”
“Then we better call you a taxi, huh?”
“Guess so.”
You followed him as he lead you to the parking office, and your eyes widened as you took in the sparkling Christmas lights that were wrapped around the small space.
“Did you do all of this decoration yourself, Rafe?”
“Uh yeah,” his lips curled into a shy smile and he scratched the back of his head nervously. “I don’t know, it just brightens the place up. Makes the job less depressing.”
“Oh yeah, I totally get it.” You sat down at the chair opposite from his desk, mindlessly glancing over at the monitor that was showing multiple grainy camera angles throughout the garage, cycling through all the cameras throughout the building.
You looked over at the corner of the office to see a large black dog curled up on a bed.
“So, here’s the office phone,” he passed the landline to you. “I’m gonna step out for a quick smoke, you can uh, call your family or a cab, or um whatever you need to do. I’ll be b-back in a couple minutes.”
“Okay! Thank you so much for your help!” You smiled, waving as he stepped out the front door of the office.
You dialed your mom’s number, holding the phone to your ear as you waited for her to pick up.
“Hello?” You could barely hear your mother’s voice over the sounds of children playing.
“Mom? It’s Y/N.”
“Where are you?? We’ve been waiting for an hour at this point sweetheart.”
“I’m sorry, I had a little extra work to do tonight so I could spend all of tomorrow with you. And you’ll never guess what happened when I left the office.”
“What?”
“My car wouldn’t start! So I’m waiting in the security office and I’m going to call a cab,” your mother started to interject, but you cut her off, “don’t wait up on me. I’ll get there soon hopefully, but with this weather it might take a bit for the cab to get here.”
Your mom was saying something about sending your aunt to pick you up, and you waved her off, but when your gaze landed on the monitor’s camera feed, your blood went cold and the ringing in your ears prevented you from hearing anything.
Your eyes widened as you watched Jack open the office door building on the camera feed, pulling you inside, leaving only a moment before his lips were on your neck, and his hands were trailing down your body.
Your stomach lurched when you heard yourself softly moan his name before his lips covered yours.
This video was from earlier tonight.
“Y/N?” Your mom asked and you realized you had gone silent.
“I-” your mouth felt dry, your mind was racing, but you knew you needed to call the cab as soon as possible. “I’m calling the cab now.”
You hung up quickly, looking behind you and around the now cramped feeling office for the security guard.
Would it be safe to leave the office? How would you find your way out quickly with the lights off?
He was nowhere in sight, so you dialed the number of the cab company, hand shaking as you held the phone to your ear and cursing when it kept ringing with no answer.
Finally after what felt like an eternity, someone picked up.
“Hello? Please, I need a cab at 9876 Main Street.”
“How many passengers?”
“Just one, please hurry,”
“We’ll be there in under 5 minutes.”
You let out a sigh of relief, you were finally going home.
However, you were shocked back into reality when a hand suddenly clamped over your mouth, pressing a damp rag over your nose and mouth.
You let out a muffled yelp, struggling against them, but the strong arm that wrapped around your chest held you firmly in place.
You had only taken three gasping breaths before the world around you grew fuzzy, and then your vision went black.
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Your eyes cracked open slowly and you lifted your aching head to find yourself still inside the security guard’s office, laid out on the couch. A chill ran up your spine and your noticed your coat was missing.
Rafe was sitting at his desk with his back turned to you, watching the video of you and Jack on a loop.
You let out a soft whimper of fear, shifting to stand up and try to run out of the room, but you quickly realized your right wrist was handcuffed to the sofa when it dug into the skin of your wrist, pulling you back down onto the couch.
The clinking of the metal alerted Rafe to the fact that you were awake and he turned around, a sick grin spreading across his face.
“You’re up! Sorry about all that with the rag and stuff,” he chuckled, acting as if it was some run of the mill accident.
His casual ease as he looked over you sent a chill down your spine.
You didn’t miss the fact that his large dog was awake now, sitting beside him and staring you down imposingly.
“Also, I um- I cancelled your cab,” he told you and your heart skipped a beat.
“W-why?”
“Well… I thought maybe you’d want to spend your Christmas Eve with me,” Rafe nervously offered.
You blinked at him in shock, at a complete loss for words.
“W-we could get to know each other, and finally have our first date.” Rafe stood up from the chair and approached you, and you shrank away from him.
“Listen, Rafe..” you swallowed dryly, heart hammering against your chest as you carefully chose your words, “I- I’m sure you’re a really nice guy, but I’m already seeing somebody.”
There was a deadly silence at your words and Rafe’s eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening in a way that made you nervous.
His dog noticed the subtle change in his attitude, a low growl building at the back of its throat and he slowly started to walk towards you.
“Easy Max,” Rafe warned, his tone cold and mocking. “Don’t wanna scare poor Y/N too much.”
The dog backed off at that, laying down in his bed, but still eyeing you suspiciously.
Rafe sat beside you on the couch, one arm wrapping around your waist and you shuddered at the physical contact.
“Listen, Y/N, just give me a chance okay? Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself?”
“I-” you stuttered nervously, your mind too blank with fear to know what to say. “I have t-two siblings.”
You tripped over your words, face warming up when you felt his hand slowly begin to trace up your back.
“Keep going,” he ordered with a whisper, his hand rising to the rest at the back of your neck. Your pulse was racing and your breath was beginning to grow uneven with tension.
“I’m f-from a town 40 minutes from here. I’ve never ah-” you winced when his fingers flexed slightly, putting you even more on edge. “I’ve never lived outside of the state.”
“Really? That’s incredible. Me personally, I’m from North Carolina, but I’ve traveled all over the world.”
His eyes flicked from your face to your chest, eyeing the way your breath was coming quickly. He grinned wickedly, drawing so close you could feel his breath against your cheek.
“Am I making you nervous, Y/N?”
He adjusted his hand, wrapping his thumb and pointer finger around the back of your neck while his other fingers splayed down your spine, and you let out a shaky breath.
“Would you feel more at ease if I was Jack?” Rafe spat his name out like it was poison in his mouth and you winced.
“N-no. I- I don’t- no,” you whimpered, not sure what he wanted to hear from you.
This night had taken a turn that you never expected and your head was still spinning as you tried to come to terms with what was happening.
Rafe let out an annoyed huff, a scowl blooming across his face as he stared at you.
“Do you want to see him again tonight?”
“What?”
“I said, do you want to see him again tonight?”
“I-” you stuttered, but you trailed off, not knowing what he meant or how to answer.
Rafe rolled his eyes, clearly growing irritated by your indecisiveness. He turned to find something on his desk before returning to you with a key in one hand and a small knife in the other.
Your eyes widened at the sight of the knife, your breathing picking up as you looked to him in fear.
“What-?”
“I’m going to unlock you and we’re going to take a short drive, but I can’t have you getting any smart ideas, sweetheart.” Rafe grabbed your cuffed wrist, jamming the key into the lock on the cuff that was attached to the sofa.
He grabbed your wrist tightly with one hand, pulling you off the couch and turning you away from him before reaching over your shoulder and bringing the knife to your throat.
He leaned forward, letting his lips come to your ear and you held back a shudder as he spoke, “if you so much as think about trying to get away from me, I won’t hesitate to kill you, do you understand?”
You nodded, choking down your tears as he pushed you forward to signal you to walk out of the office.
Rafe led you to a car, opened the door, and shoved you inside, giving you a warning glare to not run before walking around to the driver’s side.
“W-where are we going?” You asked as he started the car and backed out of the parking space.
“You’ll see, sweetheart.”
He turned towards the exit of the garage, and for a moment you could feel your escape within your grasp, but he steered away, instead steering towards the ramp that led to the lower levels of the garage.
“W-we’re not leaving?” You could feel your heartbeat pick up again in your confusion. Where the fuck was he taking you?
“We’re almost there, Y/N, calm down.”
Your eyes scanned the dark garage, but they widened when he turned the corner, his headlights revealing Jack duck taped to one of the office chairs.
“Oh my god,” you whispered in shock, taking in the blood that was already dripping from his forehead. Jack shifted in the chair, his eyes squinting as he tried to look through the windshield.
“What’s going on Rafe?? Why are you doing this?” You hissed through tears, frantically looking back and forth between Rafe and Jack.
He chuckled, but it lacked humor and you felt nauseous at the sound.
“Don’t you get it, Y/N?” His hand came to your cheek, forcing you to meet his gaze. “I love you so much, and he’s what’s keeping us apart.”
Now you were almost certain you were going to be sick and you let out a sob as his thumb lightly traced your face.
“I- I don’t even know you, Rafe! I barely knew your name before tonight,” you cried hysterically, begging him to find reason. “Please, whatever you’re planning, just stop!”
You couldn’t stop the burning tears from falling now, anxiety making your heart beat so fast you felt dizzy.
“Shh Y/N, calm down.” He wiped away some of your tears with his thumb. His blue eyes watched you with concern, but there was a coldness underneath the surface that frightened you.
“I’m gonna take care of it, okay? And he’s never going to come between us again.”
Before you could question him, he closed the gap between you, holding you in place as his lips covered yours.
Your eyes shot open in surprise, stomach turning in disgust as you squirmed against him, and you whimpered when he forced his tongue into your mouth. His lips felt hot against yours and the kiss lasted too long, as Rafe held you down against the chair by your throat until you were gasping for breath.
He pulled away with a dreamy look in his eyes as he scanned your distressed expression.
“Do not try to run. Got it?”
You stared at him blankly, taking a beat too long to respond and his hand tightened around your throat.
“Got it?” He repeated with a sickening edge to his voice.
“Mm, mm hm,” you nodded, mouth too dry to make any noises other than humming yes.
“Good girl,” he purred, leaning forward to press one last kiss to your trembling cheek before reaching over to open his door and climb out.
You were glued to your seat, too scared to attempt running with him still so close. You could barely watch as he approached Jack with the knife brandished in his hand.
“Please- stop it! Don’t get any closer!” Jack cried out and your heart skipped a beat, more tears sliding down your face was you watched with horror.
“You were never good enough for Y/N, you know that?” You could hear the rage in Rafe’s voice simmering beneath the surface, ready to be released.
“Always taking her for granted and treating her like she’s some everyday slut.” He spat, pulling his arm back before punching James hard across the jaw.
You stifled your cry by biting your lip, trying to ignore Jack’s groans of pain when Rafe punched him again.
“Rafe, stop it!” You cried from inside the car and he turned around to look at you before punching him in the stomach with a grin.
“She may not understand what kinds of tricks you’re pulling, but I do.” He slammed his fist into James’ gut again. “I know guys like you, who get off on playing nice girls like Y/N and treating them like shit.”
“No- I’m not-” Jack grunted, blood trickling past his lips as he struggled to breathe. He strained against the layers of duck tape wrapped around his chest and the back of the chair to no avail.
“And I’m sure you look down on the guys like me. You think you’re so much better because you went to college and got a comfy, corporate job, and assholes like you always get the girl in the end,” Rafe’s voice was downright venomous at this point, and you could tell that he was working himself up to a boiling point.
“Not this time,” he chuckled darkly, bringing the knife to Jack’s throat threateningly.
“Rafe please!” You screamed, tears flowing down your cheeks as you watched the scene before you unfold, feeling utterly powerless.
In one smooth motion, Rafe brought the knife across Jack’s throat and a river of crimson sprayed from his neck, splattering across Rafe’s face and clothes.
You sobbed as Jack slumped against the chair, his head leaning back to reveal the large cut splayed across his throat, and you knew in your heart that he was dead.
Before you could think twice, your hand was wrapped around the door handle, and you pushed yourself out of the car.
The garage was almost pitch black, save for Rafe’s headlights and you didn’t notice the cement wedge in front of you.
“Shit-!” You cursed as you hit the ground, adrenaline too high to register any pain from the fall.
You turned your head as you scrambled to your feet to find Rafe’s angry gaze fixed in your direction. Heart pounding, you stumbled to your feet and took off towards where you remembered him turning from the ramp to the upper levels, the sounds of your heels echoing off the walls of the parking garage.
“Fuck!” You heard Rafe roar from behind you followed by the sound of him hitting something hard in frustration, likely his car, before you heard his heavy footsteps chasing after you.
“Y/N!!” He yelled, his voice reverberating and repeating as he cursed.
Knowing that this was likely your only chance to escape, you frantically looked around for an exit once you got onto the ground floor, only to find that it was gated off, and there was no way for you to leave.
When you passed a second exit that was gated off, you realized Rafe must have closed them all down to keep you inside and your heart fell.
“Where are you hiding?” Rafe’s voice sent a shiver down your spine, and you could tell he was getting closer.
If you were going to escape, you weren’t going to be able to do it alone.
You could hear his footsteps getting closer behind you in the dark, and you tried to quiet your shaky breath as you ran to the brightly lit office, hiding behind the support pillars along the way.
Even if he caught you in the office, if you could just make a call to the police, hopefully that would be enough to save you.
You finally reached the front, pushing the door open slowly and quietly before crouching and entering.
Unfortunately, in your panic to get away, you had forgotten all about Rafe’s large dog, and you nearly jumped out of your skin when he ran up to you, barking and lunging, only to be yanked back by his chain at the last moment before reaching you.
Your heart rate spiked as the dog growled loudly in between sharp ruffs, barring his teeth and trying to nip at you.
“Shhh!” You whispered. “Good doggie, please be quiet!”
You eased past the dog and towards the landline, trying to stop the uncontrollable shaking in your knees as Max continued to bark.
Images of Jack’s throat being slit flashed through your mind and you choked back a sob as you reached for the phone.
Your sweaty fingers slid over the numbers and you held the phone up to your ear waiting for the ring.
But it never came.
You pulled the phone away from your ear in confusion, and looked down at the handset, following the wire connected to the phone to where it should have been plugged into the wall.
Instead, you stared at the severed wire in terror, realizing that Rafe must have cut it while you were knocked out earlier.
“Why are you trying to ruin our first date?”
Rafe’s voice from behind washed over you like a bucket of cold water, and you slowly turned around to find him standing in the doorway of the office.
He was an imposing figure, made all the more terrifying due to the flecks of blood painted across his face and shirt. His glasses were gone now, and you realized just how much they had been hiding the threatening glint in his eyes.
Rafe no longer seemed like the shy, nerdy guy you had taken him for before tonight, but instead a dangerous predator who had finally cornered his prey.
“Rafe,” your voice was so faint you weren’t sure if you were even speaking. “Please, I’m scared.”
Your throat felt tight, tears filling your eyes when you noticed the blood on his hands.
“Scared?” He asked incredulously. “You should be thanking me for getting that loser out of our way.”
A sob clawed its way out of your throat, and you took a step back, only to jump forward again when the dog’s low growl came from behind you.
“Now it’s time to stop running,” Rafe taunted.
You felt dizzy with fear as you watched him step closer, towering above you, the outline of his muscular form barely hidden by his leather jacket.
Heart beating loudly against your chest and blood rushing in your ears, you didn’t have any time to think your decision through before acting.
You rushed forward, trying to push past him to get to the front door, but you were a moment too slow.
Rafe’s strong arms wrapped around your waist, easily picking you up and spinning you away from the door.
You cried out as he carried you forward, pushing you against the table in the middle of the room and bending you over it.
“Stop it-!” You screamed as you struggled against him, but he easily pinned you against the hard wood, letting out a wicked snicker as he roughly pushed the skirt of your dress up.
“Don’t you want someone to take of you, baby?” The blond groaned desperately, fingers grasping at your tights before ripping them open.
“I just wanted to treat you nice, Y/N.” He growled, anger radiating off his tongue. “Like the good girl I thought you were.”
You wretched your arm free before bending your elbow and thrusting it into Rafe’s stomach.
He cursed loudly, his grip on you loosening for just a moment before his hand clamped down around your wrist, painfully twisting it behind your back and harshly forcing you against the table. When you heard his belt jingling behind you, your heart skipped a beat.
“Looks like I was wrong.” Rafe spat, and you whimpered in fear as he pulled your panties to the side. “Maybe you are a fucking slut.”
“Rafe please, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Please don’t do this, Rafe,” you were quaking beneath him, crying harder as your pleas fell on deaf ears.
You froze however, voice dying in your throat when you felt the tip of his cock run along your folds.
“Oh god,” he strained, and you squirmed beneath him, cringing when his lips came to your ear.
“You’re so wet you’re dripping down your fucking thighs, sweetheart,” he taunted, barely shifting his hips forward and spreading your lips with his dick.
You sucked in a shaky breath, legs growing weak underneath you. You fisted the hand pinned against your back until your knuckles grew pale. His fingertips brushed your clit as he languidly dragged his tip along your pussy, up near your ass, then down to your clit. Up, down, languid strokes as he hissed through his teeth.
"Bet Jack wouldn't ever get you this wet, huh?"
Jack’s lifeless body flashed before your closed eyelids again, quickly replaced by the sharp sting of Rafe's fingers clamping your clit, rolling his slick-covered digits over your nerves. An instinctual whine left your lips, and Rafe sneered down at you as he dragged his dick back up to your hole, circling the head around your entrance as you protested.
"Rafe, please, please," you cried into the table, clenching your knees together and tilting your hips from him, anything to get him to pull away.
“Fucking stay still!” He hissed, wrapping his thick bicep around your throat in frustration. You let out a choked whine, tears coming to your eyes when his muscles flexed, cutting off your breathing, and Rafe ignored you as you helplessly scratched at his arm.
He groaned as he pushed into your cunt, his tip nearly sliding all the way inside of you, met with resistance that only fueled him further. Your pleas were lost to the heat that blushed Rafe's face.
"Fuck, sweetheart, you been holding this back from me?" He dragged himself out of you, watching as you clenched and quivered from the sudden withdrawl. Again, he pushed his flushed head into your warmth, and then out, in slow teasing strokes that made your head spin.
Against every survival instinct that was screaming at you, you stopped fighting. Each sting of his dick breaching you, each wet squelch of his fat tip inside you left you feeling dizzy with want.
However, when you felt his cock inch deeper inside, you whined in protest and squirmed in his arms, but one flex of the bicep at your throat quelled your resistance quickly.
“You’re so pretty, you know that, Y/N?”
You shuddered as Rafe groaned against your ear, his arm locked around your neck and preventing you from turning away. Your knees shook beneath you as he slowly forced himself deeper, and you felt betrayed by your body when you felt yourself growing slicker around him.
“Too pretty to be trapped in this shitty office job, wasting your hours at work, if you ask me,” he purred.
His fingers found your clit again, thumb rolling over your sensitive bud, and you bit back a moan as your back arched instinctively, allowing Rafe to dip deeper inside.
He was much bigger than you expected, stretching you out with each thrust, and pushing himself deeper and deeper until his tip kissed your cervix.
The blond wasn’t holding back anymore, reveling in every mewl and whimper he could draw out of you; and the way your snug walls clenched around his length had his hips snapping against your ass as he chased his release.
“Don’t you want a family to care for, baby?” He groaned, fingers swirling over your clit and you whined, trying to squeeze your legs shut in a desperate attempt to stop him.
His words echoed in your head, the sick irony completely lost on him.
You already had a family and he was holding you hostage to keep you away from them.
“We could start our own, together,” he whispered, and a muffled sob escaped your lips. When you squirmed beneath him, he easily held you in place, punishing you with quick, painful thrusts.
“You’ll never have to worry about working again,” he groaned when your tight walls squeezed around him. “Just- fuck- stay at home ‘n be my pretty, little housewife.”
Disgust and terror bloomed in your gut as you realized with a shock just how twisted his fantasies were. You felt sick thinking about how long his obsession had been festering beneath the surface and you had been too blind to see.
Rafe pinched your clit between two fingers and you whined, tears running down your cheeks as he forced your legs open again. You tensed around him, letting out a choked moan when he rolled his thumb over your tender clit.
You hated him, but even worse, you hated how much control he had over your body, and how painfully delicious each stroke of his cock felt.
“Please-” you whimpered, not entirely sure if you were begging him to stop or keep going, twisted desire clouding your head as he plunged into you again and again, the sticky sounds of your slick cunt filling the cramped room.
Rafe groaned, easing his hold on your neck to lean forward and trail messy kisses from your cheek to the side of your throat that was exposed, never slowing his pace or the steady circles around your clit. Nausea churned in your gut at the overly intimate gesture; and when the scent of copper reached you, you realized he had smeared some of Jack’s blood onto your cheek.
You gasped loudly when his lips attached to your neck, nipping and sucking at the sensitive skin. Rafe’s low grunts vibrated against your throat when you squeezed down around him.
Your body rocked with every thrust of his hips, your knees quaking beneath you as his thumb circled around your clit faster now.
“Rafe-” your breath hitched and you shamefully realized that your undoing was hurdling towards you.
“That’s it sweetheart,” he hissed through clenched teeth, his bicep flexing around your throat as he lost himself in his pace, plunging into you again and again.
You let out a choked whine when his thumb pressed harder against your tender bud, and you were finally pushed over the edge.
Your body tensed, legs shaking as your slick walls spasmed around him. You squeezed your eyes shut as the waves of pleasure crashed over you, whimpering pathetically as Rafe pushed his cock into you again and again.
He snickered as you cried beneath him, reveling in the way you helplessly scratched at his arms, tearfully begging him to stop.
The blond slammed into you harder, each slap of his balls against your sensitive clit made your head spin and it wasn’t long before you were coming around him again.
You trembled beneath him, so dazed that you could only whimper mindless pleas.
“Fuck-” Rafe’s breath caught in his throat as you squeezed around him, his pace stuttered, and the arm at your throat tightened as he grew closer.
You could barely breathe now, and you struggled against him as he choked you, panic overtaking you when your vision grew fuzzy around the edges.
Rafe groaned loudly when he came, forcing his cock deep inside you and painting your walls with his hot, sticky cum.
You shuddered when he nudged himself deeper and you felt his thick cum overflowing past your sensitive, puffy lips. Out of instinct, you tensed beneath him, and he moaned against your ear when you tightened around his softening cock.
After what felt like forever, he finally pulled out, loosening his hold on you, although you couldn’t have fought back now even if you tried.
You heard him pulling his pants up behind you, and you flinched when his hands came to your back to pull your skirt down to cover you.
“C’mere honey,” he cooed, carefully lifting you off the table and guiding you to the couch. You obeyed him, much too out of it to put up any more resistance.
You cringed in pain as you sat down, but tried to make yourself as comfortable as you could.
Rafe’s hand was on your back, lightly drawing small circles on your exposed skin, and you found it nauseating that he could be so gentle after treating you so savagely.
He was staring at you, studying your nervous face for a few moments before reaching out to cup your cheek.
You flinched, turning away slightly as he drew closer, but his grip was firm, and he held you in place as he leaned in and draped his lips over yours.
Your stomach turned as his lips slid over yours possessively, and you let out a squeak of surprise when he pushed his tongue into your mouth, groaning as he staked his claim on you.
When he finally pulled away, your head was swimming, and the dazed look in your eye made Rafe smirk.
“Aw look at you, never seen you so cock drunk before,” he chuckled, before leaning in to give you another quick peck on the lips.
“You gave me the best Christmas gift I could ask for.” He grabbed one of your hands, wrapping his fingers around it and squeezing gently. “I’ll take care of you Y/N.”
You stared at him blankly, a tear rolling down your cheek that Rafe chose to ignore as he looked deep into your eyes.
“I love you, and I promise, I’m never leaving your side again.”
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nasa · 10 months ago
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25 Years of Exploring the Universe with NASA's Chandra Xray Observatory
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Illustration of the Chandra telescope in orbit around Earth. Credit: NASA/CXC & J. Vaughan
On July 23, 1999, the space shuttle Columbia launched into orbit carrying NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. August 26 marked 25 years since Chandra released its first images.
These were the first of more than 25,000 observations Chandra has taken. This year, as NASA celebrates the 25th anniversary of this telescope and the incredible data it has provided, we’re taking a peek at some of its most memorable moments.
About the Spacecraft
The Chandra telescope system uses four specialized mirrors to observe X-ray emissions across the universe. X-rays that strike a “regular” mirror head on will be absorbed, so Chandra’s mirrors are shaped like barrels and precisely constructed. The rest of the spacecraft system provides the support structure and environment necessary for the telescope and the science instruments to work as an observatory. To provide motion to the observatory, Chandra has two different sets of thrusters. To control the temperatures of critical components, Chandra's thermal control system consists of a cooling radiator, insulators, heaters, and thermostats. Chandra's electrical power comes from its solar arrays.
Learn more about the spacecraft's components that were developed and tested at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Fun fact: If the state of Colorado were as smooth as the surface of the Chandra X-ray Observatory mirrors, Pike's Peak would be less than an inch tall.
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Engineers in the X-ray Calibration Facility at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, integrating the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s High-Resolution Camera with the mirror assembly, in this photo taken March 16, 1997. Credit: NASA
Launch
When space shuttle Columbia launched on July 23, 1999, Chandra was the heaviest and largest payload ever launched by the shuttle. Under the command of Col. Eileen Collins, Columbia lifted off the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Chandra was deployed on the mission’s first day.
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Reflected in the waters, space shuttle Columbia rockets into the night sky from Launch Pad 39-B on mission STS-93 from Kennedy Space Center. Credit: NASA
First Light Images
Just 34 days after launch, extraordinary first images from our Chandra X-ray Observatory were released. The image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A traces the aftermath of a gigantic stellar explosion in such captivating detail that scientists can see evidence of what is likely the neutron star.
“We see the collision of the debris from the exploded star with the matter around it, we see shock waves rushing into interstellar space at millions of miles per hour,” said Harvey Tananbaum, founding Director of the Chandra X-ray Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
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Cassiopeia A is the remnant of a star that exploded about 300 years ago. The X-ray image shows an expanding shell of hot gas produced by the explosion colored in bright orange and yellows. Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO
A New Look at the Universe
NASA released 25 never-before-seen views to celebrate the telescopes 25th anniversary. This collection contains different types of objects in space and includes a new look at Cassiopeia A. Here the supernova remnant is seen with a quarter-century worth of Chandra observations (blue) plus recent views from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (grey and gold).
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This image features deep data of the Cassiopeia A supernova, an expanding ball of matter and energy ejected from an exploding star in blues, greys and golds. The Cassiopeia A supernova remnant has been observed for over 2 million seconds since the start of Chandra’s mission in 1999 and has also recently been viewed by the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO
Can You Hear Me Now?
In 2020, experts at the Chandra X-ray Center/Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) and SYSTEM Sounds began the first ongoing, sustained effort at NASA to “sonify” (turn into sound) astronomical data. Data from NASA observatories such as Chandra, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope, has been translated into frequencies that can be heard by the human ear.
SAO Research shows that sonifications help many types of learners – especially those who are low-vision or blind -- engage with and enjoy astronomical data more.
Click to watch the “Listen to the Universe” documentary on NASA+ that explores our sonification work: Listen to the Universe | NASA+
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An image of the striking croissant-shaped planetary nebula called the Cat’s Eye, with data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope.  NASA’s Data sonification from Chandra, Hubble and/or Webb telecopes allows us to hear data of cosmic objects. Credit: NASA/CXO/SAO
Celebrate With Us!
Dedicated teams of engineers, designers, test technicians, and analysts at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are celebrating with partners at the Chandra X-ray Center and elsewhere outside and across the agency for the 25th anniversary of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Their hard work keeps the spacecraft flying, enabling Chandra’s ongoing studies of black holes, supernovae, dark matter, and more.
Chandra will continue its mission to deepen our understanding of the origin and evolution of the cosmos, helping all of us explore the Universe.
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The Chandra Xray Observatory, the longest cargo ever carried to space aboard the space shuttle, is shown in Columbia’s payload bay. This photo of the payload bay with its doors open was taken just before Chandra was tilted upward for release and deployed on July 23, 1999. Credit: NASA
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
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mripetctnerd · 2 years ago
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