#//wanted to thank everyone for yesterday for starters !!

[serpulalacrymans]

My neighbors keep replaying the same song…

When I do it I keep the volume down… This is just annoying..

[ahundredtimesover]

I Want You to Stay (07) | JJK

Pairing: Jungkook x (f.) Reader

Genre/Tags: boss!JK x assistant!reader; idiot strangers to lovers; slow slow burn; k-drama feels; angst, drama, fluff, smut

Chapter (Series) Warnings: foul/explicit language; alcohol consumption & passing out, unhealthy coping mechanisms; family drama; minor injuries; power dynamics (JK starts off as a jerk); work-related anxiety, feelings of helplessness, insecurities; childhood traumatic experiences, nightmares; sexual harassment, prior incidence of domestic violence (PLS PLS BE CAREFUL WHEN READING); arts and business/property devt talk that’s probably inaccurate; commitment issues & emotionally constipated characters; cold and detached JK; eventual explicit sexual content (specific warnings stated per chapter) (18+)

Chapter Word count: 15.4k

Series Masterlist

Status: Ongoing

Series summary: Working for Jungkook isn’t the same as working for Hoseok. For starters, Jungkook doesn’t smile, he doesn’t appreciate you, and he gives you too much work. It doesn’t help that he’s incredibly handsome and has women at his beck and call. But as the tension grows, it becomes impossible to resist him. You’ve dedicated yourself to your job for 8 years so when you finally decide to put yourself first, he asks you to reconsider. And while you know that leaving is difficult, you learn that when it comes to Jungkook, staying is always so much harder.

Playlist 🎶: on the way home

A/N: One of my fave chapters! I hope you like this one! And just a heads up that intervals between posting days will be longer as the chapters get longer, too. And bc u know, life... HAHA but again, thank you so much for all the love for this like??? HOW. PLS you've all been so nice so thank you! 🥰 Also… JK in that SNTY suit.

And as always, my biggest thanks to @wonwoonlight  🥰

PS. If I can’t tag you, pls fix your settings!

Mr. Ri loads the luggages in the trunk and you double check that all bags - which you helped pack yesterday - are complete. You enter the car right after and head to the airport where Jungkook will fly to Singapore for a few meetings and to attend Seokjin’s alcohol launch party. 

It’s been over a month since the Arts Center event and so much has happened since then. Jungkook went to Jeju to meet an artist and then to Japan over a weekend to meet another two. He’s been on calls with a few more with plans to meet in their country of residence in the next months, and he’s gone around different local towns to meet with craftspeople for souvenirs and future exhibitions. He’s also touched base with various national and international Korean arts and culture organizations for promotion and joint projects. The event opened doors for a new network that he hoped for. There are now proposals for other collaborations and side engagements that’s doing a lot for the company’s brand and expansion. 

To say that Jungkook and the team have been busy is an understatement. You went back to work after those few days of recovering with everyone overwhelmed by all the things they had to do but like you expected, you all managed and got things organized. There are still multiple things to handle all at once, but everyone’s just been on top of everything and showing how competent you all are as individuals and as a team.

Within that period, Jungkook has stopped by the team’s office and the pantry more times than those first months. He also managed to laugh at Do-hyun’s unfiltered remarks a few times and even slipped his own that got the team giggling. He’s seemed a lot more relaxed and so has the team. Lunch meetings have been regular given all the work you all have to do. Yohan and Chin-sun even say that they’ve gotten to know Jungkook a little better through their visits to the Arts Center. And while they do think he’s still a bit detached and catch him in his own world sometimes, he’s a lot more engaged and is actually way smarter than they’d initially thought. 

Jungkook checks his phone and sighs, prompting you to turn to him.

“Seokjin says the party is an intimate event but there’s gonna be over two-fifty guests so I don’t know about that,” he shakes his head, showing you the restaurant bar where his friend will be launching his alcohol brand. “For some reason, he expects me and Tae to entertain guests on his behalf.”

This was another development you hadn’t expected. Since that morning when Jungkook sent you food when you were unwell, your relationship changed. It’s still professional but there’s more openness now, as if that prompted both of you to be comfortable around each other. 

There’s more trust and honesty, too - he lets you make decisions, lets you handle the team when he’s away, and asks you for your unfiltered opinion. You feel like all the time you spend together has allowed you to learn how he sees and understands things; you even finish his sentences sometimes. 

He’s also loosened up a bit and allows himself to laugh and smile more. They’re still rare occurrences but you never point them out, not wanting him to feel awkward and then stop. They often catch you off guard so you haven’t been able to fully appreciate them but at least he feels comfortable around you, enough to even talk about non-work stuff and things that fill his mind, like random questions or small concerns. 

You’re unsure if he notices how uninhibited he’s become but you don’t point it out either. He still has his moments of living in his head, his faraway thoughts rendering him quiet and observant, and his perfectionist attitude means he’s still critical sometimes. But he doesn’t take anything out on you - not his frustrations nor his fears. He’d usually keep to himself and talk to you once he’s cooled down and you’d take that any day, so long as you keep your sanity and are able to do your tasks as instructed.

In return, you let yourself be the same. You’ve fully restored your confidence and that’s allowed you to show just how capable you are. You’ve been more vocal with your thoughts, too, and don’t take it personally when he doesn’t agree. You smile a lot more, joke with him even, and have been more generous with words of encouragement and affirmation. They come more naturally than you expected, and you appreciate that he doesn’t turn you away whenever it happens.

He’s actually okay to be around when he’s not being grumpy or difficult. You suppose that the situations he was put in - and how you responded with patience and understanding - allowed him to see that you’re truly on his side and that let him put his guard down a little. You’re past trying to please him for the sake of making your job bearable; there’s actual joy in it now, and while the search for who you are outside of all this continues to ring in your head, you think that sticking around for now isn’t so bad either.

“Perhaps Seokjin has seen how good you are with entertaining guests now and deems you worthy of being an extension of him,” you respond to Jungkook’s earlier musings. “And he wouldn’t be wrong. You’ve become really good at it.”

“You know, I think you oversell me sometimes,” he chuckles. 

“Hmm, I think I don’t,” you counter. “If I may say so, Mr. Jeon, it's just that the bar was pretty low so the improvements are quite striking.”

“Fair enough,” he laughs, not taking offense.

“You can still do better at charming people. Maybe you can learn a thing or two from Seokjin and Taehyung,” you push.

“Those two flirt, they don’t charm,” he playfully rolls his eyes.

“Well, I completely disagree, sir. I mean, I’ve seen it firsthand. And I’m not one who’s easily charmed.”

“Fine, I’ll see what I can pick from them, then,” he concedes.

“Kidding aside, I think you’ll be fine, Mr. Jeon. Plus, it’s unrelated to work so there’s no need to impress anyone,” you state. 

“True,” he hums. “But just thinking about these next few days is already making me tired. Tae rented a yacht for tonight. We have Seokjin’s launch tomorrow, and to celebrate, he’s throwing another party the day after.”

“Hmm, must be that you’re getting old,” you tease, earning you a hum in agreement. “But you’re used to that though, right? They always said that was your life back in Singapore.”

“It was. I had less responsibilities and people to manage but back then, everything seemed too much,” he shares. “I took the weekends seriously and really just did whatever I wanted. I haven’t done much of that these past weeks because I’ve been so tired and I feel like I’m under the microscope when I’m here. So yeah, I’ll probably just take advantage of being back there and just enjoy it.”

“As you should,” you say. “You’ve worked hard and you deserve to spend your weekend however you wish. Just, uh…”

“What?”

“Probably give Lucas a heads-up in case a half-naked woman greets him in the kitchen on Monday morning.”

The silence is deafening and you think you’ve crossed a line with this one. You turn towards him and he looks stunned at your unfiltered remark.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Jeon,” you bow in apology. “That was too personal.”

“It’s okay,” he responds after a beat of silence. “I guess I deserve that. I mean, I never apologized for the morning when you experienced exactly that. And for when you found that underwear on the floor, which I forgot to clean up. So, uh. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, too. I got over it,” you assure him. “And if anything, I’m pretty sure she left that on purpose so she’ll have a reason to come back.”

“That’s exactly it,” he groans. “She saw me again and wanted to go to my apartment so she could get it. I told her I threw it away.”

“How brutal,” you tease again.

“Not my finest moment but yeah, I’m sorry to put you in that position. Must’ve been tough seeing proof of all the washroom gossip.”

“You know about those?” You gasp. 

“I’ve heard about them,” he sighs. “Mr. Ri’s got eyes and ears in the office.”

“It’s hard to defend so I just don’t try,” the older man shakes his head. “Not like you deny it anyway.”

“Not like I really care,” Jungkook shrugs. “But even then, I guess it wasn’t the best start for us,” he tells you.

“Perhaps not, but I’m not one to judge, Mr. Jeon. That’s all in the past now, and that feels like a lifetime ago.”

“It does,” he hums. 

It’s during these casual exchanges when you get to see a bit more of Jungkook as the person that he is, beyond the perfectionist executive who still harbors fears and worries about his new role. He’s still a human being who finds ways to deal with the stresses of life, someone who needs time to step away from his burdensome responsibilities, someone who seeks intimacy and connection and finds ways to attain them in his own ways. The doubts and worries are still there, but the foundation has stabled a bit. Somehow you think that you’ve created a space safe enough for him to talk about them, to apologize, and to try to be better. You hope he gets to create that for himself, too, and if that’s what you’ll leave him with by the time you decide to step away from this job, you think you’d be satisfied. 

Silence engulfs you both and like he often is after being vulnerable with you, he keeps to himself once again. You wait a while before running through his meetings for today and next week and inform him of what the team will be working on while he’s away. Jungkook responds with a few last-minute instructions, especially about the tasks he needs done in time for your team meeting on Monday. You’re both back to professional talk and you don’t really mind; there’s something about being honest and open that could be a bit disarming.

The car stops and Mr. Ri exits to retrieve the luggage from the trunk. Jungkook, in his navy blue suit, gathers his things and says goodbye. Before he can close the door, you call out his name.

“Yeah?” He asks, his one hand carrying his bag and the other, on the roof of the car as he bends to look at you.

“Happy birthday,” you say. “I know you think it’s just an ordinary day but I hope you celebrate well.”

“Thank you,” he says after a few seconds, basking in the softness of your smile for the short moment that he can.

Jungkook steps away then closes the door. He heads to the airport lounge before taking the 6-hour flight to Singapore, spending it on reviewing reports and design proposals. He goes straight to the office when he lands, settling down in his room where he responds to emails. He munches on some dumplings for lunch, thinking he’s missed the ones from the restaurant across the street, but then Lucas enters and sets down a bowl of seaweed soup.

“Ms. Cho asked me to get this for you, Mr. Jeon.”

Jungkook is caught off guard but manages to dismiss Lucas and tastes the dish. It’s nothing like his mother’s, but then again, he hasn’t had it in years. When Jungkook moved here, there were no celebrations apart from getting drunk at a club, which is also why he’d stopped thinking of his birthday as anything special. There were no traditional meals or well wishes or birthday cakes.

He’s here again. There’s that yacht party tonight but it won’t feel like a celebration. Somehow, with this bowl of soup, this does. You’re a thousand miles away but even then, he still feels your presence. Even then, he feels more cared for than he has these past several years combined.

Jungkook wakes up the next morning with a splitting headache. His neck feels a bit strained, given that he’d slept in an awkward position wearing his clothes from last night. He also barely remembers much. One minute he was drinking with a woman around his arm and the next he’s… here. 

He shifts and lays flat on his back, groaning as last night’s happenings manifest in the soreness of his entire body. The yacht was fancy, as he’d expected from his best friends. There was overflowing food and drinks, the music was great, and the guests were honestly too many for his liking. There were familiar faces and new ones, but he mostly stuck around with those he knew. What he also remembers is not being able to taste his cake. He’s definitely calling Seokjin to complain.

Suddenly hit with the thought of not knowing how he’d gotten home last night - or with whom - Jungkook sits up and groans once more, the incoming call adding to the ringing sound in his head.

“Mr. Jeon,” Lucas answers on the other end. “How are you feeling today?”

“Terrible,” Jungkook says, now finding the strength to get off the bed. “Did you take me home?”

“Yes, sir. You wanted to leave so Mr. Ri and I took you to your penthouse,” Lucas answers. “Your valuables are on the table.”

Jungkook sighs, knowing it was one of those nights. Removing his clothes, he sees the fresh marks on his chest. Wanting to prepare himself before finding some stranger in the other room, he asks his assistant if he’d brought someone home with him.

“No, sir. It was just you. She, uh, she asked to come but you told her you were too tired so she stayed behind.”

“Oh, good,” Jungkook exhales in relief, not wanting to deal with any of that this morning, which is one reason why he always asks them to leave. “How long do I have until I have to get ready for tonight?”

“About five hours,” the younger man replies. “You have a scheduled dinner with your friends at 5:30 and then the event at 8. I’ll be there before that to help you get ready.”

“Alright, thanks. I’ll just workout to deal with this hangover.”

“Medicines are in the cupboard, sir. Please just let me know if there’s anything more you need.”

“I will.”

Jungkook hangs up and presses on his temples as if that’ll do anything. He retrieves the medicine as advised and thinks of something else he needs - a cup of lemon ginger tea. Ever since you’d prepared one for him that one morning, he’s been having it after every night out. He calls the butler to have it prepared for him, given that he doesn’t have the energy to do so himself. 

It arrives, and coupled with the aspirin, he’s starting to somehow feel better. He knows that heading to the gym will do the trick, as it always does, but it still makes him think that he shouldn’t have drank as much as he did last night. 

For someone who’s not particularly fond of people, even Jungkook sometimes wonders why he goes out and parties as much as he does. 

He wasn’t always like this though. His weekends used to be spent on food trips and travels, but after the breakup with Chaerin, those days became free, and he’d stay out late so he could sleep the rest of the next day. The women were to make up for the loneliness; the alcohol was to forget why he needed them in the first place. He hates loud and unnecessary sounds, but the music and the chatter started to become white noise for him; they’d become a companion to help deal with the noise in his own head, or the lack of it. 

Years later, the remaining thoughts in his mind were just all about work, and he’d revert to the same habit for relief - the women became his thrill; the alcohol was so he wouldn’t remember them. 

And it works. The ecstasy lasts only through the night. It’s fleeting as his desire for them is. He doesn’t recall names, just that they made him feel good and that they felt the same; they often try to hook up with him again after all, seeking him in the clubs they know he frequents. But he rarely entertains them; a second time leads to a third, and he can’t be assured that they won’t ask the same tiring questions he hates hearing - why doesn’t he have a girlfriend? Why doesn’t he want to commit to anyone? Does he see himself settling down and having a family? What’ll make him want that?

It’s happened a few times, during the rare instances that there’s a lull in between and they take advantage of his brief period of vulnerability to make him open up. He never does, and it’s not because he thinks it’s a weakness to do so, but he just never really let the moment linger to find out. 

After a light meal, Jungkook heads to the gym and spends three hours expending his energy so he could get it back. 

This is his other means of dealing with his stress. Working out makes him focus on something else and it helps in releasing all his anger and frustration. As he stares at his bare body in the mirror right after - the marks from last night still visible - he scoffs at himself. 

He’s so stereotypical, it makes him sick. He’s allowed himself to let his life revolve around the shallow and fleeting sensations of pleasure to counter the permanence and inevitability of his job. This is his world and he made it this way. And while he drowns in the nothingness inside the walls that he created, he still thinks it’s better than being outside; somehow he thinks it’s lonelier and more burdensome out there. At least in here, he’s all he has to deal with; he’s all he can disappoint.

But there are still moments when he wonders what it could be like if he just dared to live differently. Like when he watches Seokjin animatedly explain the history and creation process of Korean traditional alcohol during the product launch that evening and how his passion is moving and infectious. Or when he observes how Taehyung freely moves around the club and makes connections with others as deep as his smile. 

Jungkook thinks about all this as he glances at the woman next to him later that night, bare under the covers like he is, her body curled into a cocoon as she takes a break. 

She’d caught his eye earlier because she wasn’t trying to get his attention like the others were. She spoke less and screamed more, let him do what he wanted but touched him softly as she pleased.

“You’re a good lover. Why do you waste yourself with something temporary like me?” She’d asked. 

It left him speechless and he shrugged - a change from his usual dismissal - but there’s really nothing to say. 

Why does he? He doesn’t know. He doesn’t want to. 

But it’s at this moment that he tries to imagine what it would be like if it were the same face he saw next to him every morning, if it were the same hand he held everyday, if it were the same warm body he curled into every night. His mind wanders too far, into the depths of a place it can’t go to, beyond boundaries he can’t cross, and the sight is both terrifying and calming. 

It’s safer where he is.

So when she wakes up from a short nap, she looks up at him, her soft eyes wishing for something she knows she shouldn’t.

“You should go,” he says, the softest he’s ever uttered the words. 

“Okay,” she whispers in submission. 

She gets up from the bed, finds her stray clothes on the floor, and puts them on. Jungkook follows her to the door, a first for him. Maybe it’s her gentleness, or the unspoken understanding between them, or maybe because she doesn’t ask for more even if she seems to want to. 

But though he contemplates pulling her back to try to feel what that’s like - seeing her in the morning, holding her hand, curling into her embrace - he doesn’t. He knows even that desire would end; it’s fleeting just as everything around him is.  

He holds open the door. She turns around with a smile.

“I hope someday you find someone you’ll ask to stay,” she says, surprising him again. “I’m sure they would.”

You walk around the store in awe of the luscious plants displayed on the shelves, your eyes as bright as the lights that shine over them. There are so many to choose from, and though you have an idea of what you want to have, it’s tough deciding which ones to get right now. The money tree is a must, so is the Chinese evergreen. But do you go for the orchid or the peace lily? Can you keep up with a spider plant? How many of the asparagus ferns should you get?

Your eyes flit from one plant to the next, eventually deciding on getting everything on your list then placing them on the cart for payment. 

Jimin chuckles next to you. “Since when were you a plant mom?”

“Since she got that aloe vera from Yoongi and she was convinced that she has a green thumb after it didn’t die,” Soomin deadpans next to you as you frown at her sarcasm. “That’s also after my weekly reminders to water the plant because ‘no care’ doesn’t actually mean it’s going to survive on its own.”

“Oh, shush,” you scoff at her. “You told me I was doing a good job.”

“You’d send a photo every few days, hun,” she laughs. “What else was I supposed to say?”

“True. I needed the encouragement,” you shrug, paying for your haul. “But also, I’m a plant newbie. Yoongi said that I probably need some of them at home and in the office for positive energy and he’s not wrong. All the frustration from months ago just accumulated in my apartment and I need a change.”

“So… Is Yoongi a plant dad, too?” Soomin wonders.

“No. He just knows about a lot of things,” you reply. “Plus, he’s an architect and a designer. He knows a thing or two about plant decor.”

“Why isn’t he here with you, then?” She arches an eyebrow.

“Because I’m with both of you, duh,” you roll your eyes. “And before you say anything more, I don’t really like mixing my work friends with my personal friends. It’s different.”

“Well, I’m glad we could join you on this new phase of your life,” Jimin tries to be encouraging. “It’s like turning over a new leaf.”

You scold him over his terrible pun but laugh anyway, enjoying the comfort and playfulness that only your best friends could bring. They picked you up from work last Friday then you all headed to a club after dinner. You spent yesterday at a beach at their insistence then stayed in during the evening. It’s now Sunday and you’re dragging them around as you run errands before saying goodbye to them again, and it’s not a normal day without Soomin mentioning Yoongi. Perhaps it’s because of all the guys you’ve mentioned that have taken interest in you, he’s the only true green flag; he’s also the only one you didn’t entertain at all. You suppose that’s something she’ll not really get over. 

The three of you head to a nearby cafe. Jimin excitedly talks about the latest menu item in their chain of restaurants while Soomin groans about the stuff she has to deal with as she manages her family-owned shipping company that’s the biggest in the port city of Busan. They turn to you and ask how the rest of your week is going to go, with slightly surprised looks when you don’t talk about work with as much disdain as you used to. There’s excitement, even, something that Soomin points out, and when you mention that Jungkook is on an overseas trip, she assumes that’s the reason why.

“Not really,” you clarify. “He arrives tomorrow evening, but the week’s packed - we’re visiting the Arts Center for inspection and then I’m doing an ocular with Chin-sun for the VP events we’re holding in the next few months. I mean, I won’t be buried in files nor will I be in meetings all week. So yeah, it’s not bad.”

“That’s good,” Jimin beams. “At least it’s nothing like how it used to be. Right?”

“It’s a lot better, I told you guys,” you say, reminding them of a similar talk you had the last time they were here, which was a week after you’d gotten sick. “Jungkook is… rational, less grumpy and impulsive; he also listens to me and trusts me. He’s even smiled a few times.”

“Wow, he really set the bar low for you, huh,” Jimin chuckles, earning him a nod.

“Does that also mean that he’s now completely bearable and no longer your type because he’s not an asshole anymore?” Soomin chimes in, being the blunt and bold one among the three of you.

“He never was my type in the first place,” you scowl. “Plus, he’s literally my boss, Soo. That’s like, not some flag, it’s a whole ass brick wall that shall not be crossed.”

“Right. That’s why Mr. Min didn’t make the cut,” she points out. “Told you you should’ve just quit your job so you could date him.”

“And I also told you that wasn’t the only reason why I didn’t want to,” you remind her. “Yoongi’s exactly the type of person I need in my life, and being more than friends is the surefire way of making sure that doesn’t happen. Like, why would I risk a good friendship for something that may not work out? Whether I break his heart or he breaks mine, it’s pain I can’t handle. There’s just no going back from there.”

“Right, that is your biggest fear,” Soomin replies softly, the sympathetic tone in her voice telling you that she does understand where you’re coming from. “I mean, it’s still possible that you wouldn’t hurt each other but I get it. It just sucks, I guess. The good ones often start as your friends.”

“I know. And I’d rather have them and be single than none at all,” you sigh. 

The thought is simpler than it seems. You won’t deny that you’ve thought of how things would’ve been if you gave Yoongi a chance, but the fear of what you’d lose always trumped that type of possibility. 

There’s a kind of pain you don’t want to experience, one of a broken heart caused by losing someone you’ve given your all to. It’s how you think you love, after all; you can’t give any less. But it’s also why you’ve never done it. No one’s inspired that kind of devotion for you. 

Soomin has pointed out before that it’s probably also because you don’t open yourself up to the possibilities as you should. Maybe you’ve just been too focused on other things. But maybe you also just haven’t felt the kind of all-consuming desire for someone who would be worth it, one you’d want so much that you’d willingly face the fear of paralyzing heartbreak just to be with them. 

You suppose that’s the difference. That’s the irony, too. You’re scared to love because you’re scared of the pain, so you keep your distance to keep yourself safe but it’s also why you haven’t found someone you’re willing to crawl out of your walls for.  

There’s not much you feel passionate about in life. Maybe it’s love. But you’re too cautious to feel it, to look for it, so you don’t really know. Maybe it’s something else completely, and working in the environment that you do hinders you from discovering it. You’ve kept your distance from a lot of things over the past years and the thought that one day, you’ll be able to feel free from all the burden you carry because of a past you couldn’t control, makes you look forward to the day when you get to walk away from all those and hopefully, find whatever it is you’re looking for. 

Jimin nudges you after you zone out, and you switch the subject and ask about the latest gossip in their hometown. You enjoy living vicariously through their social life back in Busan. They not only come out here to Seoul to see you but also to take a break from all the drama that they can’t really escape from, given the type of people in their circle of friends. You always thank the heavens you got lucky that at 10 years old and making a new life in a new city, you found Soomin and Jimin, perhaps the only other people aside from your mother who make you feel safe and protected, a feeling you don’t take for granted. 

They indulge you and share some stories, but when Soomin goes through her social media feed to show you something, she gasps instead when she realizes that the men in her friend’s Instagram post include Jungkook.

“Did your boss just go there to party?” She asks, showing you the photo.

“Partly,” you reply. “His best friend hosted the launch of his alcohol line there but there are a couple more parties because it’s his birthday weekend. Your friends went?”

“Yeah, some of them are Kim Seokjin’s friends, apparently,” Soomin says. “Small world. But then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. Seoul and Busan socialites attract each other.”

“Why aren’t you there, then?” You chuckle. 

“We’re choosy socialites,” Jimin clarifies. “Or like, pretentious. We just act like we are but we really aren’t, just to say that the Park and Cheon kids are interesting and sociable like the rest of them.”

“Who says they’re interesting and sociable?” Soomin states incredulously. “My eyes roll to the back of my head every time I’m in those shitty events. The lack of self-awareness of rich people repulses me. And I obviously don’t count us in.”

“And you shouldn’t,” you confirm. “I attract good people, I guess. I’m glad you’re not like them.”

“Well, what about Jungkook’s friends?” Jimin asks. “How are they like?”

“What I can say about the Kim brothers is that they’re nice people,” you say. “Very charming, ridiculously good-looking... And they sound like good friends, too. I can’t say much else. Their dating game is pretty strong though.”

“I’d assume. I mean, when you look like that, how could you not be?” Soomin states. “I mean, even Jungkook’s on point. That’s some hot girl he’s got.”

She shows you a couple of Instagram stories from her friends posting about the launch party. It turns out, there were a lot of Korea-based personalities who were invited. You spot Jungkook immediately, wearing the all-white ensemble that you packed for him the other day. His hair is a bit curled and the knitted top underneath the simple coat highlights his taut physique. There’s also that gorgeous woman around his arms, and if what you know about him is enough, you’d guess she’s probably one of those he seeks for a good time. 

The sight of him loosening up a bit and enjoying himself is something you appreciate. He’s always stressed when he’s here and you’re glad he could spend a few days partying elsewhere without having to think about work, especially during the week of his birthday. You don’t know how much of this aspect of his life he enjoys, but he does seem a bit free yet still somehow detached. You suppose that’s something he’ll always be - a man trying to live his life while separating himself from the meaning of it. You’re unsure of how he does it but perhaps it’s not that different from how you are, too. 

After lunch, Soomin and Jimin do a few more of your errands with you before dropping you home and then heading back to theirs. You spend the rest of the evening arranging your plants in your tiny apartment and feeling like more life is breathed into it with every one of them finding their home in a corner or on a shelf. Oddly enough, you feel a bit less lonely. That’s how you think you’ve been doing things, after all - finding substitutes for the kind of company you’re yearning for, for the kind of relationship you’re so afraid to have.

Jungkook wakes up that Monday morning feeling a lot better than he did the days before. For one, there’s no ringing in his head nor the feeling of dehydration. Bare under his soft covers, there also aren’t any fresh marks on his chest that signify the kind of night he usually has. In fact, he remembers most of it - he stayed by the bar and briefly chatted with the women who’d approached him. 

Suzy was there last night, too, the only one he’s hooked up with more than once, and probably the only one he’s had proper conversations with, given that she’s a landscape designer. She’s been away on business trips and had just gone back, her bluntness about going back to his apartment that she’s too familiar with being met with a rejection that she didn't take personally. 

“Has Seoul changed you?” She asked, her eyebrow arched in anticipation of his reply.

“Do you think a place would do that to me?” He laughed.

“No, but a person would,” she shrugged. 

“None of that,” he shook his head. “There’s no one. I’m too busy, too tired.”

“But not too lonely?” she asked. “It’s the only reason why you would call me.”

There was no bitterness in her words but still, he asked. “And why did you always come, then?”

“To see if each time would be good enough for you to not make me leave.” 

The conversation took a turn that he didn’t expect, the usual honesty in her words being too honest for him. He fumbled for something to say but she shook him off, claiming that she knew what she was getting into every time he took her home and that constantly hoping for something doesn’t guarantee that she’d get it one day. 

He drank a couple of glasses of whiskey after she left but managed to call his butler for a sandwich and lemon ginger tea in time for his arrival at his penthouse. The meal did the trick, as he’d slept soundly after a warm bath without a splitting headache and regrets the next day. 

It’s Monday, after all, and it’s back to work as usual. He has a few meetings to attend before flying back to Seoul, one of which is with the team. He gathers the energy to get off the bed for a half-hour exercise before getting ready. He eats the breakfast that the butler orders for him then heads to the office where he briefly meets with Lucas. 

Settled on his desk, he proceeds to virtually meet with the team, who all promptly greet him from the conference room. He asks how their weekend was, with most of them looking surprised because he rarely asks them about it, but they answer anyway. That’s when he notices that you’re not around, prompting him to look for you.

“I’m here, Mr. Jeon,” you answer off camera before appearing on screen with a candle-lit cake in your hands.

He’s surprised when the team sings him a happy birthday, your eyes fixed on him as you mouth the words with a soft smile on your face. Do-hyun giggles at his silence, saying that he probably forgot it was his birthday or he maybe didn’t expect that they’d prepare something for him. 

“We like you now, Mr. Jeon,” she teases, earning him a nudge from Chin-sun but she doesn’t seem to mind and neither does he. 

It’s what makes him laugh, hoping that the pink on his cheeks aren’t visible on screen. He hadn’t expected this. He also knows he doesn’t deserve it, but he’d bet that you had everything to do with this.

“You’ve probably been too busy to celebrate but we haven’t forgotten. More like, Ms. Cho made sure we remembered,” Manager Lee chuckles. “We hope you enjoy this little something we prepared.”

“It’s an ice cream cake so it’ll just be in your refrigerator and you can have some when you return,” you say. 

“Thank you,” he finally manages to say. “You didn’t have to but I appreciate it. I’m looking forward to having some when I get back. Ms. Cho should also buy another one big enough for the team to share.”

You nod in acknowledgment of his instruction before starting with the meeting. There’s a lot to talk about, given the Arts Center construction and activities, as well as the upcoming year-end events that they have to organize and coordinate. It goes on for over two hours and it ends with your gentle smile after he says goodbye.  

The rest of the day feels too long for Jungkook, especially during the late afternoon flight and eventual ride home. He stares at the photo you sent of the cake, making sure he sees the greeting on it. 

“Get home safely, Mr. Jeon,” you text him after he says thanks. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With the reminders of the impermanence of things and people this weekend, Jungkook finds comfort in the stability that you provide. It’s in your smile, in your reminders and organization of his life, in your thoughtfulness and patience. It’s in the assurance that tomorrow is another day, one in which he gets to see you once again.

The cake is simple but sophisticated. The mint chocolate flavor is exactly how he likes it and in ice cream cake form, it’s really delicious. He’s glad he gets to have this all for himself, as the team was able to enjoy one yesterday as per his instruction, and you’d sent a group photo of everyone enjoying it to him, the small smile that formed on his face no longer surprising him. 

For one, the comfort is there. He’s seen just how much better the team is working together because of it - they’re more open to giving him feedback and receiving his, any moment of frustration is easily mended with laughter, and his encouragement and affirmation have been motivating them as well. In the midst of it is you who makes sure that communication flows smoothly and that everything is on track, acting as the glue that keeps everyone together. 

He sees firsthand just how good you are at handling things, and how despite all the stress, you manage to get him seaweed soup and a cake for his birthday. It’s more than just the details regarding work that you’re on top of; it’s also details about his life, and how he’s responding to it tells him that maybe, whatever change there is like what Suzy observed, a big part of it is because of you.

“I’m glad you like it, Mr. Jeon,” your voice cuts through his thoughts. 

He looks up and sees you with a portfolio in hand, motioning towards the cake that’s now one fourth eaten.

“Ah, yeah,” he says, not denying it. “I feel like I haven’t had sweets in a while. Where did you buy this?”

“Oh, uh, I asked the baker who made desserts for the Arts Center event if she could make a customized ice cream cake,” you explain. “Fortunately she could. And thankfully it’s delicious. She enjoyed working with us so she gave us a discount.”

“You… had this made for me?”

He’d expected it to be store-bought, but learning you made the effort to reach out to someone reminds him once more of your thoughtfulness, of your care.

“Yes, I, uh, I just assumed you’d receive a few and I thought to give you something a little different.”

“It’s the only one I got actually,” he says, catching you off guard. Your face falls a little so he follows it up. “Like I told you, I don’t celebrate my birthday so I don’t let people know about it. And the ones who do also know that I don’t make a big deal out of it so they don’t really give me anything.”

“Oh,” you say, feeling a little sad. 

You’re not one to have big celebrations but you do have a bit of it. For your 30th birthday at the start of the year, Jimin and Soomin threw you a little party in your humble home in Daegu where they performed some of your favorite songs and enacted your favorite drama scenes to make you happy. There was no need for anything fancy - just your loved ones and your mom’s and Min-woo’s amazing cooking. 

But even before that milestone, your friends always made sure to at least get you seaweed soup and a birthday cake; they want you to remember that there are lives impacted because you were born. You can’t really say that Jungkook’s impacted your life the same way but you still value his existence; a small cake is just a little something to celebrate that. But the idea that his family and friends pass up on the cake - and perhaps the gifts, too - makes you think that there’s really not much in Jungkook’s life he feels he could share with others, that there’s not much he could give and receive in return. 

“I hope I didn’t cross a line if it’s something you don’t like people knowing,” you continue. “I just thought… it would be nice to receive something from us.”

“It actually was,” he admits, his voice soft and low. Turning away, he says, “it’s been a while since I actually thought about my birthday as anything other than ordinary. It’s nice to be reminded sometimes. So thank you, Ms. Cho. For the soup, too. I appreciate it.”

Perhaps it’s his honesty that does it, but you can’t help the smile that forms on your face. If learning how to express gratitude is something you could teach him, you already feel accomplished. 

It’s the next day when you find yourself back in Jungkook’s office, staring at the potted plant in your hands. You’ve gone from debating on whether to leave it on his desk or the coffee table, to even giving it at all. You won’t lie and say you didn’t know what you were thinking when you passed by the plant store after work last night to get this specifically for him. You did - you wanted him to feel that joy of receiving a gift, which you suppose doesn’t happen, especially for someone who can literally buy anything he wants. 

But still, it doesn’t mean that your good intention will be received well. You’ve given Hoseok a small gift every year for his birthday, partly because he likes receiving them and also because it’s your way of saying thanks. 

You want to give this to Jungkook as a form of gratitude, too. Despite how you both started, the amount of things you’ve learned from him and continue to have somehow made up for it, and you also know that he’s learning from you as well. He’s given you agency to make decisions. He’s also given you events and small projects to manage, making you realize it’s what you really enjoy doing. Seeing things come together the way you envisioned it is so satisfying. Perhaps without intending it, Jungkook’s showed you a way out, a path that you want to explore so much that you’re willing to let go of all that you know in this company for something new, for something that feels more like you. 

Your thoughts have completely digressed and with the time you took debating and reflecting, you hadn’t heard his footsteps, and so you jerk a little when he calls out your name.

Turning around, you bow in greeting, remembering at the same time that you have something that you’re not 100% sure yet you want to give right now. But as always, he calls you out on it. 

“Is that a snake plant?” He asks, walking towards his seat.

“Yes.”

“Is that the one on your desk?”

“Uh, no, actually,” you laugh dryly, knowing you can’t turn back from it now. “I… I meant to give it to you, sir. I just thought that, uh, the money tree on the shelf might be too lonely so I got you a desk plant. I heard it’s good for positive energy and to filter the air.”

“It is,” he hums. “Is that why you got yourself one?”

“I suppose. I figured it could help improve my mood. Yoongi suggested it before but I just kept pushing it back. I finally got some for my apartment last weekend,” you explain, just so he knows it didn’t come out of nowhere. 

“And you think this will improve my mood?” He arches an eyebrow. 

“Maybe,” you shrug. “We’ll probably need a dozen of them here but we could start with one.”

He matches your soft laughter with his own, which you’re thankful for. He reaches out for the plant, nonchalant like you when your fingers brush against each other. 

“Hopefully this will work,” he says as he places the small, white pot next to his desktop. 

You leave him so he could prepare for a conference call while you’re set to meet with the marketing team. Jungkook gazes at the plant and notices the little note attached to the string around the stem. 

Happy birthday, it reads. 

This wasn’t just something to match the money tree that Hoseok left for him that he hasn’t been caring for much. This was a gift for him. You probably assume that if he doesn’t receive birthday cakes, he wouldn’t be receiving gifts, either. And you’d be right. His best friends just throw him parties. And once he left Seoul to obtain his MBA in Singapore and stayed to work in their Southeast Asian headquarters, the distance between him and his parents grew. They’d reach out but he didn’t bother much, so he’d stopped expecting anything. After he broke up with Chaerin, he stopped receiving anything at all. This is the first time he’s gotten something from someone after a long time. 

It’s simple in its meaning and honest in its intention, and he doesn’t hold back the smile that forms on his face.

You watch the realization dawn on Jungkook from outside. You’d remembered the silly note you left right as you sat down and didn’t have time to take it back, which really wasn’t much, but you suppose it’s enough to tell him that the plant indeed is a gift. You don’t know if someone like him even receives them, or would even appreciate something so cheap and humble, but the gentle smile he has on tells you that he probably doesn’t get much, but that this is something he welcomes. 

Your smile follows soon after but it feels different this time. There’s pride somehow that your little gift could elicit something so rare out of him. There’s also a bit of awe; this is the softest he’s ever looked, with that tinge of gratitude and yearning, a complete contrast to what you know of him, to how you’ve always seen him. It’s… it’s actually beautiful. 

And this is when things start to get confusing, especially as your phone beeps with that SMS from him.

[From: The Boss] Thank you, ___.

It’s the non-work message. It’s the use of your name. This is personal for him and you acknowledge that it’s the same for you. Perhaps there’s a reason why you made the effort to get the gift last night, why it mattered to you that he received something to celebrate his birthday, and why seeing him appreciate it the way he does is making you giddy and satisfied at the same time. 

Maybe it’s the care you’re starting to feel for him that’s beyond just wanting to make your job bearable. You’ll dissect what that truly means later on, but right now it’s just you, him, and the glass wall in between the both of you. There’s distance, there’s a boundary, but there’s a transparent barrier that allows you to see what’s on the other side, one which allows you to know who he is behind the man you’ve come to know. And you admit, he’s not so bad after all.

The construction of the Arts Center is going better than expected. Given some of the delays due to the wrong materials delivered and some permits that took a while to get, the workers were able to make up some ground, largely due to Jungkook’s supervision. When you both visited a few weeks ago, there were many things to work on, and he managed to identify the priorities and find ways to get the project back on track. 

It was during those few days of constantly being on site that you saw how efficient and effective he really works. You admired his precision and attention to detail, how he instructed the team leads and project managers and laborers, how he put together the design of one of the rooms just as he’d envisioned it. 

He was commanding and decisive, and you appreciated his thorough and simple explanations that allowed you to keep up with him. He’s said that he wants you to understand what’s happening so that you’re well-informed should you need to communicate to others on his behalf, and what initially intimidated you turned into something you became interested in. Since then, you’ve been watching design shows to help you further. The challenge was welcomed, and now you feel like everyday, you’re learning something new on the job. 

His instructions from that time were followed, and you’re back today to inspect the rest of the spaces. Everything is so massive, and with one half of the wall of the performance hall already done, you can clearly see the upgrade. The details are impressive, and the way that the traditional designs merge with modern elements is a feature itself. 

You’re immersed in the intricacies of the ceiling, walking towards the wall to get a closer look that you don’t immediately notice the workers walking past you with a massive slab of marble. The moment that you do, you step back too quickly, tripping on your heels, and just as you brace yourself to hit the ground, you instead feel your back against a firm chest, with hands on your elbows breaking your fall.

You sigh in relief, even leaning your head back because nothing could be more embarrassing than falling on your ass in front of many people, including your boss. That is, until the familiar scent of jasmine and bergamot wafts through your nose and you realize that what you just did is debatably more embarrassing than what could’ve happened. 

The familiar clearing of the throat is what finally does it for you, and with wide eyes, you turn around and face him to apologize. 

“I’m sorry, sir. I—”

“Was so much in awe that you didn’t notice the workers passing by,” he finishes, his slightly teasing smile calming you down.

“Ah, well of course. The details are too pretty,” you reason, stepping back only a little. You look at him shyly. “But thank you. I was about to fall.”

“I know. And I was about to lose it if my assistant got injured on the job.”

“True. It’s bad publicity, I guess,” you shrug. “And distractions could cause delays. And that’s bad, too.”

“Or you know, I simply just can’t have you injured, simple as that,” he says with a little frown on his face. 

“Imagine if I didn’t see them? They could’ve dropped the marble and I would’ve completely lost it!”

“Why?” He arches an eyebrow.

“That slab is like, two months’ worth of salary, Mr. Jeon.”

“It’s actually more but that’s not the point,” he fully frowns now. “If you didn’t see them, then they could’ve hit you, and then you would be whining in pain right now. You could’ve gotten seriously hurt, ___.”

His voice is firm and low, and you nod in acknowledgment because you also know he’s right. The workers’ vision was limited but yours wasn’t; you were just too distracted and if you hadn’t pulled early enough, that marble really could’ve done damage to you. And if it wasn’t for Jungkook catching your fall, then something bad still would’ve happened to you.

“But are you okay? You didn’t twist your ankle or anything?” He asks.

“No. Uh, the heel’s just a bit loose but I’m fine,” you reply, still trying to wrap your head around how he’d said your name - informally, in this setting, as he told you that you could’ve gotten hurt. Maybe you weren’t imagining the worried tone of his voice earlier.

“Okay,” he sighs. “You have to be careful next time.”

“I will, sir,” you reply. 

You step aside and Jungkook sees you from his peripheral vision as he returns to assessing, staying put and only glancing at the ceiling unlike earlier. He’d seen you marvel at the design of the hall earlier, and while he was initially doing the same, seeing you wide-eyed and impressed caught his attention more. 

Many times, he’s seen you look dejected, frustrated, angry. He’s seen your moments of focus and joy, too, but this is the first time he’s seen you be in awe. There was this softness on your face that was still filled with emotion, and he’d been drawn to you enough to see that you were about to fall. He’s glad he has quick reflexes and was able to get to you in time, the worry he felt at the thought of you getting hurt in any way was quite overwhelming for him. And while it’s partly because you’re his responsibility in this case, he also knows it’s more than that. 

He gestures moving to another room and you follow him outside, and just as you try to stay close to him, Jungkook also makes sure you’re away from any kind of danger. He moves to your side when there are workers nearby with their heavy equipment and large materials. He shields you from the drilling. He glances at you as you both walk towards the other performance hall. And when you get there, you see the ceiling installation is ongoing, and Jungkook immediately calls for hard hats for the both of you. 

He hands you one and you put it on, fumbling with the strap underneath your chin. You groan in frustration when you’re unable to lock it, and that’s when you see him move towards you. 

“Let me,” he says.

You stop your movements and shyly nod in agreement, and he waits for you to let go before he fixes it himself. 

It’s a little odd being on the other side, since it’s always you who fixes his tie or his coat. But you’re the one watching him now, with his furrowed brows and seriousness in securing this safety gear on you making you feel warm inside.

He steps back then looks at you, trying hard to control his laughter.

“Are you laughing at me, sir?” You pout.

“No. I don’t make fun of people,” he says, turning serious now, but you don’t miss the grin on his face.

It’s unfair that he looks good even with a hard hat on.

One of the project managers calls him and he goes around, with you staying close by. This performance hall is bigger and boasts of a more traditional design, which would hold the cultural performances that the Culture Minister is very excited about. You watch Jungkook inspect the space with thoroughness, checking each wall panel and each seat. 

It’s amazing to you just how involved he is with this project even with the project managers handling things relatively well. He wants to be on top of everything, he’s said; it matters too much for him to not know what’s going on. 

You see Yoongi enter the room and approach him. Once he sees you, he laughs as well.

“Do I look that bad?” You groan. “Mr. Jeon was laughing at me, too.”

“It’s a little big, and I guess I’m just not used to seeing you in one,” Yoongi shrugs.

“Why don’t you have one?”

“I don’t need it. I’m here all the time and nothing happens.”

“Well, I’ve been here a few times and I almost fell earlier,” you say, recalling the almost-embarrassment.

“I know, I saw it,” he chuckles.

“You were there?!” You gasp.

“No, I was totally in the other room that’s why I witnessed you almost get hit by the marble then trip on yourself,” he deadpans. 

“I didn’t see you, that’s all,” you shrug. 

“I was by the doors. I checked these spaces yesterday and I just wanted to be around in case Jungkook had new instructions,” he explains. “But I gotta say, you guys were kinda cute earlier.”

“Almost falling on my ass isn’t cute, Min Yoongi,” you scowl. “I could’ve either ruined the marble slab or hurt my bum. Either way, it would’ve been embarrassing.”

“I didn’t mean just you. I meant you guys,” he gestures towards Jungkook. “He caught you, didn’t he?”

“Yes… That was embarrassing, too,” you frown. “What’s cute about that?”

“He looked worried. It’s just not something I’ve seen him be towards other people, that’s all.”

“It’s because an injured employee on site isn’t good, okay? Plus, if I’m incapable, then no one’s gonna be around to make his life easier,” you reason.

Yoongi stares at you for a while before shaking his head. “Wow, you really are dense.” 

“I don’t know what you’re on about,” you cross your arms in frustration. 

“Forget about it,” Yoongi shakes his head, deciding not to push it. 

He’ll tell you another time that he’s glad you’re becoming more of yourself again, that the light has somehow come back, that there’s now comfort you exude around the man you’d once despised. Yoongi feels assured now that there’s someone else who seems to be looking out for you, and that it’s something you don’t seem to mind at all.

“Yah! You’re being all mysterious again!” You pout, something he chuckles about. 

“Me? Mysterious? Come on. I’ve always been an open book,” he teases. 

You’re just about to nag him again when you hear Jungkook clear his throat, and you turn towards him and ask if he’s already done inspecting.

“There are still a few things I want to run by my design lead before leaving,” Jungkook says. “Please move my meeting to 3PM.”

“That’s noted, sir. I’ll give Mr. Hong’s assistant a call.”

You excuse yourself and step outside, leaving both men alone.

“Angering my assistant, are you?” Jungkook asks Yoongi, the curious yet playful tone in his voice evident.

“Nah, just teasing. That a problem?” Yoongi answers back. 

“No. It’s good she has someone she’s comfortable with at work.”

“Could be you, you know? That isn’t so bad,” Yoongi remarks, surprising him. “And it doesn’t cross whatever boundary you’re trying so hard to stay behind.”

“We’re not… on that level. I mean, I don’t know how to be someone other people are comfortable being around,” Jungkook admits.

“I don’t know about that. Seems like you’re already that for her,” Yoongi says. “I was just teasing her about how you guys looked cute earlier, when you broke her fall.”

“You were there?”

“Both of you really don’t notice other people when it’s just both of you, huh,” Yoongi laughs. “But yeah, I was. I saw her relief. And I saw you worry.”

Jungkook merely shrugs, not wanting to confirm. Even if he denies it, Yoongi will still believe what he wants to believe. But the older man knows you well just as much as he knows him. 

“You care about her, don’t you?” Yoongi responds to the silence. “And I mean not in a superficial way, or a good boss caring for his employee type of way. Like, you worry when she’s sick or overworking, when she’s hurt or in danger. You want her to always be safe, to get rest. You like having her near. You wanna know that she’s happy.”

“You know I can’t do that,” Jungkook finally answers. “I can’t think of her that way.”

“I know. That’s why you were the way you were,” Yoongi says. “How else do you respond to things you can’t control than through anger and detachment? But just because you shouldn’t, it doesn’t change the fact that you do.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that it’s wrong,” Jungkook counters.

“Well, irrationally calling her out and being angry were wrong, too, and you did those because you weren’t being honest with yourself,” Yoongi argues. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, the least you can do is be true to yourself about how you feel. Because the more you deny, then the more you resist, and when you do that, you end up hurting her. Is that what you want?”

“Of course not.”

“Then just… accept things - what you feel, what you both are, what you can or can’t be.”

Jungkook looks at his friend as if some epiphany had just transpired. It’s been difficult for him to make sense of what he feels around you. There’s always that air of familiarity, but the warmth and comfort are new. There’s the reality that you come from different worlds, but that you both somehow feel and experience and maybe desire the same things. There’s that sense of fear over change and of what he can’t control, yet you somehow provide the calm and stability that he hasn’t felt in a long time. 

It’s all these contradictions that have been messing with him, and Yoongi’s right - because of all the times that Jungkook had wanted to create that distance, all it did was hurt you. That’s the last thing he wants, he realizes now. He’s seen you struggle, and even if that’s just a fraction of what you normally go through, it’s enough to tell him that he doesn’t want you to experience that again, especially not because of him. It’s too early to say the extent of his care towards you, and it’s not something he’s willing or ready to explore right now. But just as Jungkook’s about to comfort himself that it’s fine, and that he shouldn’t dwell on it anyway so as not to further nurture it, Yoongi speaks again.

“Just… just a heads up, though,” he adds. “The care that I felt, that’s how it started for me.”

“What started?”

“Me, liking her.”

It’s at that moment when you come back from your call, and you inform Jungkook that the meeting’s been moved and that he has a scheduled one with some of the directors on Monday. 

“Alright,” he says, directing you and Yoongi towards the souvenir shop, temporarily disregarding what he was warned about.

“You two looked so serious. Everything okay?” You whisper to your friend. 

“Yeah,” Yoongi hums, giving you the most genuine smile he could give. 

There’s that sparkle and softness in your eyes that had captured him all those years ago. They dimmed throughout the years and they’ve just been sporadic, illuminating only during specific moments. He’d seen them again a lot more regularly, and even today, as you looked around the halls and admired the designs of the space. 

Yoongi doesn’t know if a certain person is the reason for that. He knows you enough that you wouldn’t even notice it, so you definitely wouldn’t know what caused the change. But as your friend, he hopes one day you will, so that if you’re brave enough, too, you’d try to make sure that the light stays. 

The inspection ends and you get back to the office at 4. You return to piles of documents you have to sift through and encode, and your original plan of leaving on time changes. 

Jungkook spends over an hour talking with Yoongi and the construction lead about the Arts Center, and once that’s over, you see just how exhausted he is. He’s massaging his temples and sighing deeply, and you know that whatever just transpired, he’s going to be thinking about it all throughout the weekend, which he doesn’t really have time for. The gala that one of the Board members throws annually is tomorrow night, an event you’ll be attending with him as well. 

You enter his room to remind him about it and to give some forms for his signature. He signs them off, and when you say you’ve got a few more requests that you’ll leave on his desk for Monday, he tells you to just wait until then.

“Go home, Ms. Cho,” he says. “It’s been a long week. And it won’t end until after tomorrow night.”

“What about you, Mr. Jeon?”

“I’ve got some stuff to sort through after inspection. I’ll probably leave in an hour or so.”

You frown, a mannerism of yours that he’s gotten used to seeing. It’s mixed with a pout that often makes him internally laugh because it seems unlike you. It also always means there’s something you want to say that you’re holding back.

“Should I not?” He arches an eyebrow.

“Hmm. Just thinking that it might be better for you to take a rest tonight, too,” you advise. “The gala could be quite draining and it would be good to save your energy for that.”

“I’ll think about it,” he hums.

“Then I’ll think about going home, too,” you answer back. 

Jungkook chuckles, knowing you’re always going to counter him in some way. And he’s glad that you do.

“You may go. And get a good rest, too.”

You nod and bid him goodbye, exiting the room to start packing your things. It’s five minutes later when the door opens and you see him with his bag, ready to head home as well.

You smile at his tender doe-eyes as he admits through them that you were right - he doesn’t have a reason to stay behind, so he’ll call it a night and get as much rest as he can. 

He pauses by the entryway, and you pick up that he’s waiting for you, perhaps to make sure that you’re indeed going home. You quicken your pace and walk next to him, steps in pace as you both go to the elevator and down to the lobby. 

“Mr. Ri can bring you home after me,” Jungkook says. “It’s late already.”

“Not late enough,” you reply. “I’m okay, Mr. Jeon. It’s not necessary.”

He concedes, and you wait for the car to arrive and say goodbye to him again. 

There’s a softness on his face as he lingers before he enters. A small smile forms, and it’s what you see until you fall asleep that night. It’s the same one that’s oddly been giving you comfort lately - it’s a little restrained but somehow it still looks vulnerable. Perhaps it represents how Jungkook’s been to you - there are some contradictions, but beyond all that, there’s care.

Mr. Ri happily greets you as you enter the car that late Saturday afternoon to head to Jungkook’s penthouse. He compliments your dress, saying it’s nice to see you in something formal that fits your style - it’s simple yet elegant, and you tell him that your mother wouldn’t stop gushing over you through the screen, nagging you to send full-body photos so she could appreciate you more.

Jimin and Soomin surprised you in the morning to help you fix up, insisting that they wanted to make sure you spoiled yourself for the event. If you wouldn’t, they would, so they treated you to the hair salon and had your nails done. They’re the ones who took so many photos like some formal dance, and Jimin commented that the only downside was that they were sending you off to pick up Jungkook. 

Defending your boss the way you did surprised you a little; it surprised them a lot more. You’d said that he bought you the dress, that he’s been nothing but kind, and that whatever negative feelings you had towards him are all in the past. Your friends understood, deciding not to ruin your night and then letting you go so they could eat out and meet you back at your apartment once you’re done. 

You chat with Mr. Ri about how things have been at work, your friends, and your family. You also talk about the gala and how it feels a little nerve-racking attending this time, given your experience with Jungkook. 

It’s a grand event that the company’s executives attend, and guests are asked to refrain from going solo. For such requests, it’s not unusual for them to bring their assistants. You’re expected to attend anyway, and assistants usually partner up with each other and it always worked. You went with Hoseok last year because A-yeong had a work event, and while you expected that Jungkook wouldn’t care for such request and maintain that he’d go by himself, you also didn’t think that CEO Jeon would insist that his son take you as his date so he wouldn’t be alone. 

The elder Jeon had reasoned that business discussions usually take place during the gala, and it would be good for you to be around and be familiar with the new people on the scene. Hoseok had said that they’re expected to stay through the whole thing, and it’s much better for his cousin to have a companion so he could survive the night. That was months ago when things were still a little shaky for you both. You still remember Jungkook’s displeased look when it seemed like he had no choice in the matter, especially since he probably thought that his father just wanted to make sure he’d act accordingly. It feels like a lifetime ago, really, as you think about his soft smile from last night. 

You don’t know exactly what you’re feeling, why his gestures or mannerisms suddenly mean something to you, or why there’s excitement when you think about seeing him outside of work. You’re unsure why the curve of his lips when he grins or the deep huff that follows his laugh makes you a little giddy, or why his eyes lingering on you makes your heart beat a little faster than usual.  

Just like right now, as they gaze at you while you seemingly do the same. 

“You look, uh—” he starts, unable to find the accurate but appropriate term to describe how you look. 

“Nice?” You finish, recalling the term he’d used when you tried this gown for the first time. 

“Something like that,” he chuckles, earning him a giggle from you.

He playfully shakes his head, perhaps knowing that you’re used to him not making grand compliments or anything. But he does smile after, and there goes that blissful feeling again. 

Maybe it’s because for the first time, you’re being appreciated. Maybe just like how it’s been recently, he likes being around you, prefers it, even. And given how you felt so unwanted during his first few weeks here, this is a blessing, as if in his appreciation of you, you’re liking yourself as well.

“Well, in my opinion, you look quite dashing, Mr. Jeon,” you say bravely. “Except your waistcoat seems to be uneven.”

“Exactly what I thought,” he sighs. “I can’t quite align it properly.”

And as you always do, you approach him, your hands immediately going towards his shoulders to flatten the vest, then his sides to pull it down. You adjust it a little bit more then fix his collar after, and suddenly this feels so natural - being close to him, taking in his scent, and smiling as he glances at you. 

“Do you need help with your coat?” You ask once you finish.  

He nods and you follow him to his walk-in closet where you take the last piece of clothing and assist him in wearing it. He adjusts the lapels while you assess if all wrinkles have been flattened. You watch him look at himself in the mirror and you can’t help but admire him as well. He exudes confidence, which you can say now is strikingly different from the Appointment Dinner where he still looked a bit unsure. But now, he commands respect. The deep black color of his striped three-piece ensemble with his slick hair parted in the middle makes him even more handsome, and you manage to hold in the gasp you were about to release as he faces you for a final look.

“All good?” He asks. 

“All good,” you smile, turning around and walking back to the living room. 

He follows, and he takes this time to bask in your beauty before he has to act like it doesn’t affect him again.

There’s a reason why he was rendered speechless the first time he saw you in this gown at the tailor shop, so much so that he had to step out to get some air. You look even more stunning now, with your classic but natural-looking makeup and your styled hair. You exude a certain kind of glow that sucks him in, that makes his heart race yet soothes him just the same. 

It’s a little dangerous for him, given that he’ll be spending this entire evening with you as his date, looking the way you do while he has to act disinterested, as if his attraction isn’t slapping him in the face and his internal alarm bells aren’t ringing.

But he has to act professional. He has to stay behind the lines even if his mind is yelling all the words about your beauty that he has to ignore. So he gives himself this short moment where he gets to admire you, and when you make it to the elevator and become confined in a small space, he holds his breath as you smile at him shyly, hoping that he doesn’t give himself away. 

He’ll get himself together, he orders to himself, and he’ll make sure he doesn’t scare you off. 

You make it to the lobby and enter the car. The drive to the venue is quiet at the beginning. It’s technically not a work day so there’s no reason to discuss work. You and Jungkook may have started talking about non-work matters but it doesn’t mean you readily talk about actual personal things. They’re occasional, as it’s not something he seems to do much and you’re often guarded about yours. It took a while for you to open up to Yoongi and even then, there are many things he doesn’t know. You’re comfortable around him, there’s no denying that, but there are still parts of you that you don’t like to share with others, and you suppose that Jungkook is the same.

But still, you ask how his evening was and how his day went, expecting he’d give a basic answer.

“I just stayed home last night and watched soccer over drinks,” he says. “Then I did my workout and went for a swim this morning. I did a bit of work in the afternoon and then got ready.”

“Ah, no party last night and then recovering from it in the morning?” You tease, knowing that’s a usual occurrence for him. Lucas did mention about the Singapore trip and how he’d taken home a passed out Jungkook on the night of his birthday. 

“Well, there was a party,” he responds. “There always is, but I passed up on it. I didn’t want to feel out of sorts tonight. There’ll be a lot of new faces and I don’t wanna mess up.”

“Oh, you won’t. You’ve been doing really well, Mr. Jeon. And that’s me being honest.”

“Why wouldn’t you be?” He arches an eyebrow. “Would you tell me otherwise?” 

“Well, the me of now, would. The me of a few months ago would want to but wouldn’t.” 

Jungkook dwells on your answer. “Hmm. What changed, then?”

“I got used to you.” 

He meets your gaze and somehow it feels too long. You don’t really know what prompted you to say it but you felt a little bold, a little too honest.

“In what sense?” he wonders, turning away now.

“I’d say I got used to the mood swings but then again, they haven’t been intense compared to those first few weeks,” you admit. “But surprisingly, it’s the calmness I’ve become accustomed to. And the seriousness and occasional zoning out, but also, the…”

Care, you want to say. Or the thoughtfulness. 

“Consideration,” you say instead. 

Jungkook’s throat dries up as he finds the words to say. He’s now afraid to look at you because he might give in and say something he’ll regret. He’s been praised before for his work and his designs, but he supposes that no one’s really complimented him for something he does for other people, specifically for you. Maybe that’s why he thinks he doesn’t deserve it; he’s unsure if he’s really considerate by nature or if he just is towards you. It’s why he brushes it off, insisting he just has his moments.

“But those moments could mean a lot to the one it’s shared with or directed to,” you counter. “Even if it was just once. Or even if it was so trivial that you probably forgot already. But the other person doesn’t. Or they would, but something about that moment stays.”

Jungkook thinks about the moments you’d shown him consideration. Or even care or thoughtfulness, but he wouldn’t word it that way to you. There are the big ones - when you showed your support of the Arts Center to his father, when you calmed him down during that first Board meeting, when you gave him the noodles when he was sick, when you stayed with him during his interview with the magazine publications.

When you stood up to him. When you didn’t quit after that first week.

There are also the small moments - the ginger and lemon tea on Monday mornings when he looks like he’d drank too much the night before, the biscuits you serve with his coffee, the affirming looks during team meetings, the comforting smiles from outside his office when he’s stressed. 

There’s a lot of those you show him, and he realizes now that he remembers each one. 

The silence returns soon after, as you both seem to prefer basking in the soft music that Mr. Ri plays. 

It’s 15 minutes later when you arrive at the venue. You get out of the car and meet Jungkook by his door, surprised when he offers his arm that you take. 

“This is how they do it, right?” He looks at you questioningly.

“Yes,” you chuckle. “It’s a little over-the-top but the hosts treat this like it’s some red carpet event and I just follow what the others do. Bitna says it’s the one time we could feel like proper ladies or something, whatever that means.”

“Hmm, makes sense. I guess I’ll be a proper gentleman, then. Whatever that means.” 

You hold onto him lightly as you both make your way inside. You try to disregard the firmness of his arm and the way it feels under your touch, so you gently let go not long after and clutch onto your purse instead, not wanting to give off the idea that you’re anything more than each other’s dates. You greet the guests and establish your position to those who are unaware in an effort to show that this social event is a work function as well. 

Jungkook talks about the Arts Center when he can, and you mentally take note of certain projects, sites, events, artists, and patrons that are mentioned, quickly typing them on your phone for future reference. He talks to you about them in between flutes of champagne and canapes that are some of the most delicious you’ve ever had.

Jungkook laughs as you down another brie and cranberry bruschetta.

“What? I like fancy food,” you pout.

“Yes, your normal people’s taste buds like fancy food,” he teases. 

It’s a statement you make often and you smile that he now uses it against you.

Your moments of casual ignorance of what’s going on around you are ones you find yourself enjoying too much. You internally sigh every time a guest approaches him, and even more so when you find yourself with a few others and someone stands a little too close, or has his hand linger on your elbow, or whispers something in your ear as if you’re at a bar and the music is too loud, which it isn’t, so there’s really no reason for this son of some business tycoon to be asking you to head outside “to talk.”

“Don’t you have a date?” You ask after he insists. 

“Yeah, some girl,” he shrugs. “She’s kinda boring. Lucky I found you.”

You awkwardly smile, knowing it’s not your place to reject him and make a scene. He looks to be the type who always gets his way and if he doesn’t this time, you’re afraid of how he might take it. 

You don’t budge and call for another flute of champagne instead, finishing it in one gulp that has the man releasing a deep breath in front of you.

“So you’ve been working for the Jeon’s for 8 years, you say?” He speaks again.

You nod, looking around to avoid his eyes.

“That’s quite a long time, yeah? I’m sure I can get you a spot at my company,” he brags. “I mean, we sell luxury cars. That’s way more interesting than buildings and shit.”

“I don’t drive,” you say too quickly. “I mean, I don’t know how to.”

“Perfect. I can teach you then,” he smirks. 

It’s the look that heightens your level of discomfort, and just as you’re about to make some excuse and run away, Jungkook calls your name that has you immediately turning towards him.

“Yes, Mr. Jeon?”

He’s not too far away; he comes closer yet still maintains a bit of a distance. 

“Hoseok’s asking for me but I want to speak to Mr. Saito before he leaves. Can you go to my cousin on my behalf?”

“Of course,” you say, excusing yourself and scurrying away from the scene, sighing in relief at the sight of a familiar pair of faces.

A-yeong gives you a hug and you return it, then you turn to Hoseok and ask what he needs Jungkook for.

“Nothing,” he says. “I didn’t call for him.”

“Oh, okay. Well, he said you did.”

“I haven’t spoken to him since we got here,” Hoseok replies. “You know how this gala goes. So many people to meet. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, just… uh. Well, I just met Mr. Kwon’s son. And let’s just say, I don’t want that to happen again.”

“Oh, ___,” A-yeong sighs, knowing exactly what you mean. “Just stay with us. Or don’t leave Jungkook’s side.” Turning towards the man who’d just arrived, she adds, “stay close to her, okay?”

Jungkook looks at you, his eyes asking a question that you know the answer to but neither of you says anything. 

“I will,” he nods. 

Both of you stay where you are for a while before heading back to your seats for the sit-down dinner. You converse with those at your table, thankful that they’re all decent and entertaining. After that, Jungkook doesn’t leave your side. It almost seems like he’s your date rather than the other way around, but you appreciate his presence, especially when he calls your attention once you start looking uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry,” you sigh. “I just… I just get a little uneasy when people I don’t know get too close.”

“I understand. I’m the same,” he says, prompting you to look at him. “But I just feel uncomfortable, not unsafe. There’s a difference. And it’s not okay if that’s how they make you feel.”

He knew without you saying the words. It takes you back to that night at the restaurant with Hajoon and how Jungkook had looked the most guilty he’d ever been when you said that his staring made you feel uncomfortable. You supposed then that it was mostly because he thought he was causing a rift between you and Hajoon but you realize now that it was more than that. For all that Jungkook is, you’ve come to see that there are things he can’t stand himself doing; deliberately making you feel unsafe is definitely one of them. Perhaps it’s why at this moment, you feel the exact opposite being around him. 

And that’s how the rest of the night goes. He stays close but when he’s caught up in a conversation he can’t get out of, he gives you that look to remind you that it’s okay to step away, that you have the ability to remove yourself from a situation you don’t feel good being in. And you do, and the worry you used to have about being a mere assistant fades away. You never thought that one Jeon Jungkook would give you the permission to do that.

You’re seated on a chair some time later, the hours of walking in your high heels taking its toll on you. You wave to Hoseok and A-yeong, no longer having the energy to walk up to them for a proper goodbye. You sigh to yourself, feeling the tiredness slowly overtake you. It was still a good night, but it took a lot of energy from you, too. 

“Hey,” you hear Jungkook call out. 

You turn to him, still looking handsome as he stands nearby, his hands in his pockets as he mirrors your exhaustion.

“Ready to head home?” He asks.

“Yes,” you say too quickly, earning you a laugh. 

You stand up, limping only a tiny bit, but you think Jungkook notices, as he offers his arm just like he did at the start of the night.

“This is what a proper gentleman does, right?” He asks. 

“I suppose. Although I might say, Mr. Jeon, that’s what you were the entire time. So thank you.”

Jungkook nods in response, unsure how to receive your gratitude. He knows what you mean, as the first sign of your discomfort had him looking at you constantly. He was worried all night but he supposes there’s no reason to feel that way now, as your faint smile just signifies that you’re tired more than anything. 

For the short moment it takes for you to walk closer to him, he basks in your beauty once more. The night will be over soon, and he’s glad he could give you some reprieve this time. He tries not to lose it when you tighten your grip on his arm for support though, but that’s something he can think about later on. 

The walk to the car isn’t that long and you let go of him eventually. You head towards the other door then enter, the space in between reminding him of where you both belong - on either side of a line, one that he shouldn’t think of crossing.

You sink into your seat, fighting the urge to curl your body and take a nap, so you sit up straight and hold yourself together after once again feeling Jungkook’s arm under your touch. Most of the alcohol has left your system but perhaps not enough, as you boldly look at him and smile in appreciation. He returns it, perhaps knowing why you are.

You look out the window, appreciating Seoul’s night sky, until the vision starts getting unclear, as the rain falls steadily on the window. The tapping of the droplets on the glass is a sound you’ve come to appreciate, among other things that you used to be terrified of. 

There’s just this calmness, as if the rain is greeting you, accompanying you in your thoughts. But the sound of the radio getting louder disrupts that a little bit, and in looking at Mr. Ri in question only to find him glancing at the rearview mirror to see the man next to you, do you realize why he’s doing so.

Jungkook’s demeanor has changed, a complete 180 to how he looked not long ago when he seemed satisfied, fulfilled, almost proud of himself for surviving the night. He’s now cross-legged and cross-armed, with his eyes closed and jaws clenched, as if he’s trying to hold himself together. Or trying his best to drown out the sound of the rain, the way Mr. Ri is trying to do for him.

Your face falls at the sight. You’ve seen Jungkook stressed and angry and disappointed; you’ve seen him anxious, too, but this is different. There’s a bit of fear in there, and with the way he flinches and how he’s clutching onto his arms, you know this comes from somewhere and this was caused by something. If it’s anything similar to what you know, then this was because of something painful.

You want to reach out to him but you know you shouldn’t. You helplessly look back on the road then glance at Jungkook every few seconds as the rain continues. It doesn’t seem like it will be a terrible downpour but it’s stronger than usual. 

You try to remember instances in the past where he’d acted this way. A few come to mind, and you think now there’s a reason why he becomes uneasy when it starts to drizzle. That happened the other week while you were on a site visit with him for a small project, but you hadn’t thought much of it, given that he was on his fourth cup of coffee on the way there. 

But right now, you wish there was something more you could do; anything is better than nothing. But you feel constrained - by the distance, by your position, by his boundaries that seem to always be there.

By some miracle, the rain weakens, and it’s stopped by the time you arrive at Jungkook’s apartment building. The car halts and with him still in the same position, you think he probably doesn’t realize he’s home. 

“Mr. Jeon,” you say softly, gently tapping his arm to get his attention. “We’ve reached your place. And the rain has stopped. It’s… it’s okay to open your eyes now.”

It takes a few seconds but he takes a deep breath, opens his eyes, then looks around. It’s just droplets frozen in time on his window and he sighs in relief. Somehow the assurance that he’s okay means something to you this time; you hate to think of what burden he carries that he hides away.

He opens the door, and there’s a bit of disappointment you feel when he closes it and leaves without a goodbye. You suppose he just wants to get to his place immediately and rush to safety. But you don’t want to intrude, not if distance is what he needs, so  you settle with just watching him walk away. 

But then he turns around, and with that bit of boldness left in your body, you open the window and give him another smile. You wish he feels the tenderness in it; you wish somehow it’s enough to let him know that you understand, and that he’s not alone. 

“Good night,” you manage to say, and he hears it despite the distance.

“Good night, ___. And thank you.”

It’s the use of your name. It’s the softness of his smile and the words of gratitude. It’s the way he lingers as the car starts to drive away and you’re left watching him even from afar. 

It lets you know that he knows. And it’s the reason why you sleep soundly that night and why for the first time since you’ve met him, you can’t wait to see him again. 

Series Masterlist

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[angelliicc]

signal

“i send you a sign, send you a signal

but it doesn't work at all”

a/n: hey guys im back again. enjoy because this is based off of a real life story to me :)

warnings: none

masterlist

| your team jumped for joy, forming a circle. “WE’RE GOING TO CHAMPIONSHIPS!!” you all exclaimed. the playoffs were a very close game, your team winning by a point yesterday. tears of joy filled the gym when you all realized you were going to the finals game.

“wanna watch the next game to see who we’re playing tomorrow?” coach asked.

“sure.” your team replied. you climbed up the bleachers sitting in the middle. you sat next to your friend, just as about it was tip off. you had no idea which schools they were. they were just yellow vs. black to you. the first half was quite boring, so you scrolled on your phone. halftime ended and it was the start of the 3rd quarter.

black was in possession of the ball until a girl from the yellow team stole it and made a wide open layup. woah. you thought to yourself. shes good. really good.

you couldnt take her eyes off of her. the way she played, her defense, her handles, her height, everything. you were admiring her from afar. you can finally see the back of her jersey. 14, williams.

you received a pamphlet of all the schools and players who were eligible to playoffs. you grabbed yours and flipped the pages quickly, looking for a williams.

“#14, ellie williams, point guard.” ellie huh? you thought to yourself.

the game eventually ended, with ellie and her school winning. meaning you were playing her tomorrow evening.

“im so scared, nervous, and excited.” you tell dina at school.

“im sure you guys will be fine! you have an undefeated season!” dina replied.

“i have a feeling we might lose. they’re really good and tall.” you said

“im sure everything will be fine, good luck tonight tho!” dina spoke

“thanks, i need it.” you joked back.

school ended at 3, the game was at 7. you had to get ready quickly since the play you were playing at wasn’t close. you brought your gym bag and water bottle and jumped into the car.

you were the first one there, with tons of emotions flowing through your body. you had a mental breakdown yesterday since you didn’t play to your expectations, which resulted into your mom scolding you. you wanted to make sure you played your best today.

more and more people arrived, parents, athletes, coaches, anyone. the gym was divided, half being in pink to support you and the others being in yellow to support your opponents.

tip off was in 5 minutes, you weren’t a starter, but you understood. your emotions were trying to get the best of you, but you tried to stop it. your coach gave you and your teammates some advice and where everyone should go, then the buzzer rang.

“on the court lets go!” the ref shouted. you sat down on the bench, watch the ball fly up in the air, then one of your teammates swinging it to your team.

“is ellie starting?” you thought to yourself. you didn’t see her on the court, but found her on the bench, watching eagerly just like you were.

2nd quarter had arrived, 15-24. you were losing. “you, go.” the co-coach told you. you got up, making sure your shoes had grip and ran on the court. you saw ellie was also playing. a foul got called against your team, so an opponent got 2 free throws. you were waiting on the 1st one.

“what are you doing? get ready!” coach scolded. when the opposing team got the rebound, coach called a timeout.

“you, take a charge on #14 if you can. shes too tall and drives fast.” coach ordered

“but who will the foul get called against?” you questioned.

“she will, shes in foul trouble.”

but before he can even explain more, reg blew the whistle, ordering everyone to get on the court. her team now had the ball. you tried your best to take a charge, but chickened out. coach subed you out. that was the only time you played.

it was a close game, but the other team started to give out towards the 4th quarter. your team took advantage of that. less than a minute left. shot clock. 52-48. your team had possession of the ball. there was 6 seconds left. ball up in the air, and it was a good. a 3 pointer made with 6 seconds left.

your team were champions. an undefeated record, the first in your schools history. you and your team gather outside to do an “undefeated” chant. all of a sudden, you see ellie in tears. you walk up to her, trying your best to comfort her. “hey, good game out there. you played good.” you said, attempting to cheer her up. all she could do was nod.

a few days later, you couldn’t stop thinking about ellie. “why can’t i get her out of my head?” you asked yourself. its like she owned your mind, and she was the only thing in it. you had no choice but to find her online, somehow.

you figured out the schools name, and decided to check the following list on it on instagram, when you see her username with a profile picture that looks exactly like her. “oh shit, its ellie. should i follow?” you ask yourself “you know what. fuck it.”

you pressed that blue follow button. next moment, your phone buzzed. she followed you back. it was like you were on cloud 9.

you went through her stories, seeing that she plays volleyball. you decided to dm her saying who you were, and that you played against her.

r: “hey, are you one of the players from the championship game?”

e: “yes, are you one of our opponents?”

r: “yup, i just wanted to say like your really fucking good i saw your semi-final game on sunday you killed it.”

e: “thank you so much omg you are rlly good too. i saw you guys play at the finals game. you are rlly good.”

r: “thank you, how long have you been playing?”

e: “7 years, wbu?”

r: “technically 2, i player when i was younger and i play now. i played volleyball for the first time this year, it was interesting.”

e: “vb is amazing. why, what happened?”

you then told her the unnecessary drama that happened at that time. it was definitely an experience.

r: “i wanna join club vb but its so expensive”

e: “fr like thousands of dollars to hit a ball over a net?”

r: “there’s a club near my city, but they want $6k”

e: “jesus, for hitting balls?”

r: “exactly! i can do it for free at my house”

you both then continued to talk about club volleyball, until you mentioned her volleyball videos. god she was amazing, you can see her going pro one day. she complimented you for your kind gesture. you both talked about how you can go against each other in the future again.

the next couple of days, you were contemplating weather or not to try out for club vb, so you texted ellie about it.

r: “hey ellie, i kinda wanna try out for volleyball. do you have any tips or what to expect?”

e: “theres gonna be passing, hitting, and serving. just keep practicing those.”

the conversation continued until it was getting late, and you both stopped responding to each other.

over the summer, you kept throwing hints to her how you liked her. you were head over heels for her, but you didn’t know if she liked you. you went complete stalker mode, looking at her reposts. you put songs on your story that reminded you of her. you replied to her stories and her notes, but she just didn’t get it.

over time, you made it to her close friends list. you felt like you won the lottery. you told dina and jesse about this crush, but they weren’t supportive.

“you can do better.” jesse commented

“first of all, what the fuck? and second, shes cute and a good baller.” you replied.

“i don’t think she likes you, sorry.” dina said. “shes friendzoning you. you’re the one always texting her first, replying to her, etc. i think you need to stop.”

“and what if i don’t?” you questioned.

“you’re gonna get your hopes up, all for nothing. don’t let her break your heart.” jesse added.

from then on, the signals you sent her died down. you didn’t text her as often as you did. you replied to her stories only rarely. you were forced to fall out of love.

i give you a glance and keep throwing hints

but you don’t understand

[meowmeowriley]

@o-birdseed-o @27potatochips here's that other bit of Outlaw Outta Time I meant to post yesterday, but I got distracted. For context there's 2 pre-order bonus horses in RDR2, the war horse and the thoroughbred. Those are Ghost and Arthur's horses, respectively.

Arthur led Ghost and Soap to the stable and hitched Obscenity. Soap slid off Calypso, once again impressed that the beast could carry both him and Ghost, and watched as Ghost handed a sugar cube to her and whispered his thanks. He was so gentle with her, it never failed to make Soaps heart swell.

As they entered the stable a man approached. "Enjoying those horses I sold you?"

Arthur nodded. "I am. Found a use for that war horse after all." He then gestured to Ghost.

The stable manager looked Ghost up and down. "Fitting." He said. Ghost said nothing, though with his face uncovered there was no doubt that the stable manager though Ghost was scowling at him. People always thought that, he just had major RBF. The man turned back to Arthur once more. "What can I do for you today then, my friend?"

"Well, ahhh" Arthur sighed heavily in that way Americans would during casual conversation, "I'm in the market for two more. One needs to be very specific though." As he spoke, Arthur brought up his hands to punctuate his words. "I need something calm. Unspookable. Something that can handle wrigglin' in the saddle. Gettin' up and down, up and down." He sounded mildly exasperated as he made each point, but his eyes were soft and fond.

"A good first horse for a toddler then?" Tje man asked after a moments thought.

"Yes." Arthur immediately answered.

Soap elbowed Ghost in the ribs as he'd started to chuckle. He had to admit though, the comparison of Albert to a toddler was apt.

The man led them to a reddish brown horse in a stall. She had a white streak down her face. "Best starter horse we have."

"Perfect." Arthur said as he stroked her. She leaned her head into his touch. "We'll need tack as well."

They walked over to the tack wall and Arthur pointed out a set with small blue and red flowers on the bridle and saddle. As the stable hands began getting the horse ready the manager asked "You mentioned another?"

"For my friend here." Arthur said and Ghost patted Soap on the shoulder.

"What're you looking for?"

Soap cleared his throat. "Ah'm not sure. But I'll know it when I see it."

The man smiled and nodded, then led them out to where there were more horses in several round pens. "Most of what we have is out here. Take a look around."

They walked around and looked at the horses for a bit,  but nothing felt right. Until he spotted her.

A darker brown horse, with a black mane and tail. Black on her legs that looked like socks, legs that she was digging into the dirt. Several men with lassos around her neck were trying to drag her along. She had a funny shape to her skull, like her nose was turned up, and her tail was held high. She looked mean. Soap liked that.

"What about her?" He asked the stable manager.

"Uhhh that one's on her way to the butcher. No one wants her."

"She not rideable?"

"After her previous owner died, no. "

"Ah want her." Everyone looked at John like he'd lost it. He stood his ground.

Arthur sighed again. "How much?" He grumbled.

The stable manager laughed, "you know what? You get a halter on that thing? She's free. But you gotta do it without losing your hands."

John grinned. He could do that. He grabbed the plain black halter that was handed to him by one of the other men, and made his way to the horse. The first thing she did the second he was stood before her was open her mouth wide to take a chunk out of him. He stuffed the bit in her mouth. She seemed just as stunned at the rest of the men around them, with the exception of Simon and Arthur, who were both howling with laughter as he led his new horse over to them. She came easily now that she had her halter on, though her ears were still pinned, and she tried desperately to get the bit forward with her tongue. She seemed hell bent on chewing on it.

"She's got an explosive temper." The stable manager tried one last time to warn him.

"So've I." John called over his shoulder as he led her towards the saddles.

He could hear Simon speaking for the first time since they'd arrived, no doubt reassuring the stable manager. "Don't worry he's got a way with cold, aggressive beasts that'd rather be left alone."

"That so?" Arthur had gotten over his laughing fit.

"Worked on me, anyway." The pair had walked up beside him, watching him look over the saddles.

[cerealforkart]

Announcements and Updates

I already mentioned this with my anniversary comic this morning (I'm glad people seemed to like "it's back on air"), but Dungeons and Daddies the Manga is a whole year old today and I wanted to talk about a couple things!

For starters, thank you to everyone who's been on this journey with me, from those of you who have been here since lesson 1 to those of you who only just discovered lesson 42 yesterday (you probably don't exist because the tags hated lesson 42). Whether you like or reblog every single lesson, you silently read the updates without ever interacting with them, and even if you fell out of the fandom but you read the manga at some point, I appreciate you all so deeply.

I might be making this a bigger deal than it actually is, but Dungeons and Daddies the Manga is a really special project to me. I'm so proud of my growth and I've put a genuinely crazy amount of time and effort into this. There was a time when I was trying to catch up when this was basically a second job. I would come home from work and draw manga pages until I went to sleep, it was all I did, it probably wasn't healthy tbh. People in the discord know, I've gotten crazy efficient at making these, if I don't have anything else going on, I can pump out 2-3 of these a day when new episodes drop. I've never undertaken a project this big before, I'm more the kind of person with a million abandoned first chapters, so to actually still be keeping up with this is huge for me, so I'm hyping this up a little bit.

If anyone has ever thought, "wow, I would love to support cereal financially! They seem to work very hard and would probably really like some money! I would also love some of cereal's cute art to plaster on my belongings," please keep your eyes open, I'll be dropping stickers in near future (Taylor in the trash can will be one of them)! I meant to have them ready for today, but I've never sold anything online before, and I'm kind of stumbling through the process. I'll try to have them up soon! So keep an eye out in the upcoming weeks.

For those of you who only care about Dungeons and Daddies the Manga, you can stop reading here, thank you so much for enjoying my manga this past year! For anyone interested in some personal updates and projects, please keep reading, I've been working on something I'm finally ready to announce.

I've learned a lot from my work on Dungeons and Daddies the Manga. My art has improved a lot, and it's still improving all the time, and I've really come to love making comics. Which is why maybe it won't be so surprising to learn I've decided to start an original webcomic. This webcomic won't interfere with my work on the manga, no need to worry, but as much as I love the manga, and the DnDads community, there's only so much I feel like I get back from it. I've been pouring so much time, energy, and love into Dungeons and Daddies the Manga over the past year, and I'm so proud of my product, but I want to start putting some of all that into something that's actually mine. I've been through a weird past couple of months where I went through some really bad burnout, looked around my life and realized "oh wow, this ALL sucks! I don't like a single thing I have going on here!" So, I quit my job, moved, and while I've been restructuring my life, I started dusting off some of those old abandoned first chapters I mentioned earlier and getting back into original work.

The webcomic is called The Rotting Things, I've teased it a very little bit here and there. It's about a boy with a power that is slowly but surely killing him and a man said to be unable to die trying to maneuver through a world of magic that hates anyone unlucky enough to be able to wield it.

I'm kind of nervous about starting a webcomic, but I've been waiting to be "good enough" to put something out there for a very long time, and I'm trying to come to terms with the fact I'll never be fully happy with my own work and just diving in. It would mean a lot to me if anyone wanted to give it a chance.

An eight page prologue will be dropping next Friday, September 29th, after which pages will start to drop one at a time every Friday. We'll see how I handle the one update a week schedule, it might go up to two pages a week depending on how confident I feel. Just like the manga was, this will be a learning curve for me, but I'm eager to try it out! Please give it a shot!

[ari-archives]

Win and Lose Pt. 2

Oliver finally got back to him room after a long night of practice. He and the new starter was just working on some drills. Since she’s new, Oliver thought to show her a little more attention to prepare her for the upcoming quidditch championship coming up. This year is the last chance to fulfill his dream of winning the quidditch cup for his house.

The practice went great, and Alicia got the hang of it quickly. Oliver felt good about the championship game. He can’t wait to tell you all about it later. After he showered, he changed into his pajamas and got into bed with the biggest smile on his face. He’s missed you a lot lately because he’s been busy with the team but, he knows he’s going to make it up to you after he wins. He’s going to shower you with so much affection you’ll be sick of him.

-

Oliver woke up with excitement in his whole body. He jumped out of bed and headed straight to his closet. He opened to find a suit with parchment attached to it. It red “One-year anniversary! Astronomy tower – 8PM. Don’t forget the bracelet!!” Oliver’s eyes widened. He forgot. HE FORGOT HIS ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY DATE.

He opened his side drawer and grabbed the bracelet he was supposed to gift to you last night. He rushed out the door nearly bumping into the twins. He didn’t miss the looks they gave each other before looking back at him. You must have come to the Gryffindor dorm to look for him. His heart aches just imagining how hurt you must’ve felt when he didn’t show up. He had to get to you. And fast.

He ran down the hallways not caring about the weird stairs he got. All he cared about was you. He was turning the corner to head to the Ravenclaw dorm when he almost bumped into you.

“Y/N!” He exclaimed. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hi Oliver.” You replied in a sad tone. His heart broke at the sound of it.

“Can we please talk?” Oliver begged.

“Yeah, I think we should.”

“Thank you! You don’t know how sorry I am the I forgot our annivers-“ The quidditch captain started.

“Let’s end it here Oliver.” You interrupted.

Oliver froze. Like his body and mind was unable to process what you just said.

“What?” He finally let out. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted you to repeat it.

“Look, I think our own priorities don’t align with each other. I prioritized you and our relationship, and you prioritized…Quidditich.” You explained. “I think it’s for the best.”

You tried to pass him and walk away but he grabbed your wrist to stop you. You finally looked into his eyes and saw tears threatening to fall. Yours mirror his in the process. It almost made you want to hug him and forget yesterday never happened. Almost.

“Y/N please. You know that’s not true. I love-“

“Do you know what I saw Oliver?” You said, not being able to hold back anymore. “I saw you having the time of your life, smiling and laughing at the Quidditch pitch with another girl. You spent our anniversary with someone else Oliver. Do you know how that makes me feel?”

“Leannan, you know she doesn’t mean anything. She’s just the new starter and I wanted to train her to be better for the championship.” Oliver tried to explain.

“That’s not the point Oliver!” You yelled ignoring the shocking faces of everyone around them. Whispers started going around as Hogwarts always deemed you and Oliver the perfect couple. Voted most likely to get married after graduating.

“The point is that you chose Quidditch over me... again. For the past month, you have been cutting our dates short or simply just ditching me whenever we get anytime together. But I have been so understanding because I know how much this game means to you. Because I love you and I’m willing to compromise one little month of my needs for you to achieve your dreams.” You blurted out, not planning on stopping there.

“I just asked you for one night Oliver. One stinking night for you to take a break and just enjoy the time we have spent together this past year. But you couldn’t even give me that. Instead, you stayed and played Quidditch and spent our anniversary with someone else.” You said defeated.

“I went to the pitch and planned to yell and scream at you for the whole Hogwarts to hear. But I saw that you had the biggest smile on your face doing what you love to do. I saw that there was no thought of me that night. No thought of your love for me. I deserve better than that Oliver. You broke my heart.” You pointed, tears streaming down her face at this point.

“Yes, you do Y/N. and I will give that to you. Please just give me another chance.” Oliver pleading, grabbing a hold of your hands. You pulled your hands, shaking your head.

Oliver can feel this is the end. He doesn’t want to believe it. He won’t believe it. You and him were supposed to be forever.

“I love you Y/N. More than anything in the world. You know this. I get that I messed up and I will make it up for you as long as it takes. Believe me Y/N, I love you.” Oliver expressed with his heart on his sleeve.

“That’s the thing Oliver. I don’t know if I believe that anymore.” You said, sadness pouring out in every word. “You can win your Quidditch cup now. You just lost me along the way.”

You didn’t let Oliver another word in before turning and walking away. It was the hardest thing she had ever had to do. But you had to put herself first. You loved Oliver, you just weren’t sure if he loved you the same way you loved him.

As for Oliver, he couldn’t help but just let the love of his life walk away from him. He messed up. He knows that. But so, help him he will get her back no matter how long it takes. He just has to prove to her that she is his number one priority. He made that mistake once, and he will never make that mistake again. Even if it means losing the quidditch cup.

[it-happened-one-fic]

500 Followers Playlist Starter Pack: The Twisted Wonderland Version!

Thank you so much!!! I'm afraid I don't have time to do a full event (Christmas and all that jazz) but I did want to say thank you to everyone so I came up with this! I have a habit of listening to music while writing so I used few songs (I aimed for four each but didn't always make it) from my playlists to form sort of a starter pack under the cut! Again, thank you so much!!!

(NOTE: The links go to Youtube)

Genshin Impact Playlist Starter Pack

Riddle Rosehearts: 

New Rules - Dua Lipa 

Come Along - Pentatonix 

Oh No! - MARINA 

Black Roses - Charli XCX (includes cursing) 

Trey Clover:

Sugar Sugar - The Archies 

Gambling Man - The Overtones

Home - Philip Philips 

Honey Bee - Blake Shelton 

Cater Diamond:

The Tracks of My Tears - Smokey Robinson and The Miracles  

Call Me - Blondie 

Sweet Nothing - Calvin Harris (feat. Florence Welch)  

Dance the Night - Dua Lipa 

Ace Trappola:

Troublemaker - Olly Murs (feat. Flo Rida) 

Jessie’s Girl - Rick Springfield 

I Think We’re Alone Now - Tiffany 

Fire Alarm - Castlecomer 

Deuce Spade:

Waiting for a Star to Fall - Boy Meets Girl

Somebody to You - The Vamps

Hey Look Ma’ I Made It - Panic! at the Disco

Never Gonna Give You Up - Rick Astley

Leona Kingscholar:

Send Them Off! - Bastille

Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea - Fall Out Boy

We Don’t Have to Dance - Andy Black

Power Over Me - Dermot Kennedy

Ruggie Bucchi

Roll To Me - Del Amitri

Two Princes - Spin Doctors

The Way I Are - Timbaland, Keri Hilson, & D.O.E

Follow Me - Uncle Kracker

Jack Howl

Silver Night - The Rasmus

I Really Like You - Carly Rae Jepsen

Right Here Waiting - Richard Marx

I Will Never Let You Down - Rita Ora

Azul Ashengrotto:

Material Girl - Madonna

Stay With Me - Sam Smith

I’d Really Love to See You Tonight - England Dan & John Ford Coley

Diamonds - Sam Smith

Jade Leech:

Curses - The Crane Wives

She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5

Staring At You - Diane Birch

Break the Ice - Britney Spears

Floyd Leech

Out of My League - Fitz and the Tantrums

Bad Word - Panicland

Rag Doll - Aerosmith

I Was Made For Dancin’ - Leif Garrett

Kalim Al-Asim

Golden - Harry Styles

Budapest - George Ezra

Boogie Shoes - KC & The Sunshine Band

I Should Be So Lucky - Kylie Minogue

Jamil Viper:

Can’t Remember to Forget You - Shakira & Rihanna

Power & Control - MARINA

Just One Yesterday - Fall Out Boy & Foxes

Move Your Body - Sia

Vil Schoenheit:

You Make Me Feel - Cobra Starship (feat. Sabi)

Vogue - Madonna

Young and Beautiful - Lana Del Rey

Pretty in Pain - Diane Birch

Rook Hunt:

The Look of Love, Pt. 1 - ABC

Come To My Window - Melissa Etheridge

I Will Follow Him - Peggy March

Happy Together - The Turtles

Epel Felmier:

Bad Reputation - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (cursing)

Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver

Cooler Than Me - Mike Posner

So What - P!nk (cursing)

Idia Shroud:

Something About Us - Daft Punk

Come Inside of My Heart - IV of Spades

He’s So Shy - The Pointer Sisters

Heavy In Your Arms - Florence and the Machine

Ortho Shroud:

Electric Angel - Hatsune Miku

One More Time - Daft Punk

Malleus Draconia:

I Found - Amber Run

Deeper than the Night - Olivia Newton John

Disturbia - Rihanna

Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

Lilia Vanrouge:

I Love the Nightlife (Disco Round) - Alicia Bridges

Raise Your Glass - P!nk

Saturn - Sleeping at Last

We are Family - Sister Sledge

Silver:

Fireflies - Owl City

(They Long To Be) Close To You - Carpenters

When You Say Nothing At All - Allison Krauss & Union Station

Son Of Man - Phil Collins (From Disney's Tarzan)

Sebek Zigvolt:

The Glory of Love - Peter Cetera

Head Over Heels - Tears for Fears

You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

Shout - Tears for Fears 

[little-earthquakes-rp]

OOC:

I just want to thank everyone for all the love yesterday. 💞💞💞

My drafts are stacked and I still have a few things waiting in my inbox. I'm so excited about writing out. I won't be around much today because it's my birthday, and I'll be celebrating with family and friends. I'll be getting to them over the next week. 🥰

In case you'd like to send something here are some links.

memes // open starters // ask

Happy Writing

[princess-of-the-corner]

Toontown: Rewritten Recap: January 2003 (Cattlelog)

January 25, 2003

Sir Max had a very important announcement to make: Clarabelle Cow has officially opened her business!

Kinda.

She’s sent everyone free sample packages, including phones that can be used to call her to order MORE furniture. The phones can’t be used to call anyone else, though, only her.

That said, serving 300 customers is, understandably, very hard. Thus, Clarabelle Cow had the Toon Troopers (such as Sir Max, who reported this event) boxing and delivering the goods themselves.

Also, sending out all the “sampler packages” wore out the Toon Troop so much that they genuinely did NOT have the energy to open the Cattlelog for business. So the Toons are going to have to be happy with the starter set for now.

Also, for some reason, moving the furniture crashed the game.

January 26, 2003

LL-Terminal43 made an emergency monitor broadcast, and the 26th manifested as an anomaly that made it broadcast as an encrypted blog post.

Decrypting it reveals what it was broadcasting.

Flippy and Sir Max visited Doctor Surlee’s lab, with Flippy wanting to find Surlee’s blueprints on laff.

Why?

Slappy had 42 laff, the highest laff of any Toon at the time, while Flippy only had 38. Flippy was worried that Slappy’s higher laff might make him more appealing to the voters, and thus sought to find a way to make his own Laff higher. They found the Laff Meter blueprint, and Flippy copied it. That, however, set off Doctor Surlee’s Security System, getting locked in his lab in the process.

They were not going ANYWHERE until Surlee came to let them out.

Also, click here for a decrypted version of the blueprint they found.

January 27, 2003

Sir Max created an inescapable maze of furniture inside his house to trap the other Toon Troopers.

He also explained that he had gotten stuck while doing a Task with Flippy, which is why there hadn’t been any news yesterday.

Also, furniture can be moved now, thanks to the Toon Troops and Clarabelle visiting everyone’s houses and cleaning up all of the glue that had been spilled all over the furniture while they were unpacking it. Not sure how they didn’t notice that, but it does mean that toons can FINALLY personalize their estates! It only came at the cost of delaying the grand opening of Clarabelle’s Cattlelog again, but as everyone’s furniture was glued to the floor, this is probably for the best.

Also, Sir Max didn’t put an exit in his maze. The other Toon Troopers were genuinely trapped with no way out. He closed off the blog post as he left to feed them again.

January 28, 2003

The servers hosting Toontown rewritten had some technical issues, temporarily taking the game offline and causing a blackout in the world of Toontown.

Thankfully, being cartoon characters, Sir Max and friends’ eyes glowed in the dark, so they weren’t COMPLETELY blind in there.

January 29, 2003

The Toon Troop tried to send out everyone’s Cattlelog shipments, but had to deal with a sudden bug infestation.

Sir Max, in particular, would deny freaking out at the sight of the bugs, even if he was very clearly freaking out.

Perhaps some bugfixes would help.

January 30, 2003

Fat McStink announced his annual fan-favorite event: Improvaganza! He was then alerted to the fact that the venue he rented out was closed due to health code violations involving bad pies.

He then decides to go with his back-up plan: Hosting the event at his house! All his friends can come over and have some fun!!!

Y’know, for the first time in five years.

As soon as he left to find the others, Sir Max came out of hiding to let the players know that the Toon Troop had chosen to lay low and mentally prepare for a couple of days, given how the Improvaganza tends to be quite the ordeal.

(Also, Fat McStink apparently ruined the update by putting it in the wash. Don’t ask how that works.)

January 31, 2003

Sir Max posted a message in morse code, explaining that he had gone into hiding to avoid the Improvaganza. It was just too cheesy to endure.

Also, more words were added to the whitelist.

-

I love how they add the fuckups to the lore. Like ‘oh moving furniture crashes the game? Uh.... actually we spilled glue!’ and the wordplay on ‘infested with bugs’

[twopoppies]

Hi Gina, about Harry at Louis' concert yesterday... I've been seeing it all over twitter too and it's driving me crazy. I was at that concert and let me tell you, there is no way that random person in the photo was Harry. For starters, the photo is cropped to make it look like they're alone but it was a section of the stands with more people. Also it was right where a banner made by the fans with the phrase "you and us until the end" was hanging, so I'm sure if Harry had been there someone would have noticed. So please stop making things up especially if you weren't there (because everyone who says it's him is people who weren't there, isn't that funny?). Stop taking pictures of random people with bad quality to say they're Harry, please.

Anyway, I just wanted to clear it up because for once I can be sure of something, it's driving me crazy that other people are making things up.

Have a nice day!

Yeah, I’m really not surprised. But thank you so much for all the details.

In reference to this

[peppapig9009]

Boruto Timeskip X Reader

Part Three!!

A/N - Hello everyone! I hope you guys are doing well. Okay so before you guys begin I just wanted to thank you guys for reading my stories, it makes me really happy and motivates me to continue on. Ughh I really wanted to finish this because I didn’t want to keep you guys waiting. If only you guys knew how much work I have to do for school right now. I even have a speech class which used to be my worst nightmare but I’m glad that I have gotten better at public speaking. Okay off you guys go! If there are any mistakes in here please let me know! :D

10k words!!

Summary - You were invited to go to Naruto’s house after so long, why were you invited? And who invited you? Read to find out.

Warnings - Swearing, Violence, and Smut

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩

“What’s wrong? why are you yelling?!” You said still trying to figure out whatever came out of his mouth. “It’s nothing, I had a bad dream. Sorry for waking you up.” He said yawning as he laid back down in your arms. It was silent for a moment. Your heart was still beating fast from the adrenaline that was rushed into your body. “You okay?” You asked, running your fingers through his hair waiting for a response. “Yeah, it’s just that I sensed unsettling chakra. But once I was aware of my surroundings, it left for some reason.” He said. You only hummed in response and tapped on his shoulder to let him know that you’re going to get out of bed.

You went into your stuff and picked out the clothes that you were going to wear for the day. “Shit, we had sex last night.” You said to yourself as the memories washed over you. You looked back at him and saw that he was also looking back at you. You both gave each other an awkward smile and slowly looked away. You stood up and walked out of the room only to find out that no one else was home. “I wonder where they went.” You thought as you walked to the bathroom. You checked the water temperature to see if it was good enough to walk in. And it was, so you started to strip down. You always thought showering was the best way to start your day and the best way to end your night. You just love being clean.

Once you were done showering you opened the door so the fog could come out. (And also because you couldn’t see anything in the mirror.) In the meantime, you brushed your teeth and your hair. After you were done with that, you opened the drawer and pulled out all the things you needed to make you look perfect for the day. “Hey are you going to take long? I need to take a shit.” Boruto said making you jump. “Yeah give me a few.” You said laughing. It never failed to make you happy knowing Boruto is comfortable enough to tell you things like that without making the situation awkward. You saw him turning around with his arms around his stomach. “Jeez what did he eat yesterday.” You said to yourself.

After you were done, you put everything back in its place to stay organized. You picked up your clothes and put them in your ‘used only’ laundry basket and walked out. “There, you could go in now.” You told Boruto. He then walked out of the room with clothes in his hand because he was also going to shower. Actually, he didn’t walk, he ran. You saw that the room was all clean. “Phew, thank you.” You said sighing out loud knowing you didn’t have to clean the room. You then walked out and into the kitchen to see what there is to eat. You thought to either make sandwiches or go out and buy something. “I’ll just wait until Boruto gets out. I’ll let him decide.” You said closing the cabinets. As soon as you sat down on the couch, you sensed Sarada and Kawaki’s chakra coming your way.

*Knock Knock*

“who’s there?” You said quietly as you opened the door, “hey! What are you guys doing here?” You asked. “Hii! We’re here to inform you that lord eighth ordered us to tell you guys a message. He said that if you guys are going to stay here, you have to be productive. For starters, you guys have to clean up trash around the village. Don’t worry though! Me and Kawaki are here to help you guys.” Sarada said. “Not that we have a choice.” Kawaki interrupted. You looked up at him and saw that he was staring right at you. He broke eye contact and looked to the left trying to hide his black eye. His whole face was bruised up. Compared to Boruto, he had no scratches on his skin. You didn’t say anything to Kawaki and also looked away turning your attention to Sarada. “Well, would you guys like to come in? Boruto is showering at the moment so we have to wait a bit.” You said moving to the side so that they could walk in. “Yeah that’s fine.” Sarada said letting out a giggle. “How’s Himawari?” You asked her. “She’s doing great actually! She’s so strong and independent now.” Sarada replied. “That’s good to hear.” You said smiling. ‘Please hurry up Boruto. It’s so awkward here.’ You said in your head. Kawaki was insanely quiet, you could tell he was still angry about yesterday and the only thing you could do is hope that another fight doesn’t break out.

“What’s up guys, what are you doing here?” Boruto asked. You sighed in relief. “They’re here because Shikamaru sent them. Me and you both have to clean up the village because apperantly he doesn’t want us being lazy.” You said. “When do we start?” Boruto asked Sarada. “As soon as we can.” She replied. On the outside, Boruto seemed unfazed about having to clean a village that he hasn’t even been in for years. But on the inside, he’s screaming, on his knees crying, shaking, and tugging his hair. “Okay, sounds good.” He said, then giving you a ‘we have to run’ look. You only smiled in response.

Kawaki was the first one to walk out. Leaving everybody else behind. Sarada gave you and Boruto a confused look. “What’s up with him?And why is his face all bruised up?” She said. “You don’t know what happened?” You asked her. “Don’t let it get to you, it’s nothing important.” Boruto interrupted trying to stop the conversation from going on. “Umm okay?” Sarada said quietly still having a confused look on her face but listened to Boruto and decided to push those thoughts away and proceeded to walk out the door. “Follow Kawaki since he is heading there already.” Sarada said loudly enough for the both of you guys to hear.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

“Here we are. Directly in the middle.” Sarada said placing her hands on her hips. “Okay next step is to get in pairs. Y/n you’re coming with me. As for you both, go work together. Kawaki you know where to go right?” She said. “Like hell i’m working with him” Kawaki said. “And what makes you think that I want to work with you?” Boruto told him. “Alright then go work alone.” He replied. Sarada got in between them and looked at Kawaki, “You can’t let him work alone remember?” then turning her attention to Boruto. “Shikamaru ordered us to look after you guys. Don’t take it the wrong way because it’s not that he doesn’t trust you, it’s because he doesn’t want the village all confused.” She said. Boruto nodded.

“Well then, I guess me and you will work together. Kawaki, you already know what to do.” Sarada said. You and Boruto gave each other a goodbye with only your eyes then proceeded to walk opposite directions. You were following Kawaki and he was following Sarada.

“We’re here.” Kawaki said as he gave you a big trash bag. “I don’t want you picking up trash that’s not yours, so your job is to hold the bag for me.” You looked at him in awe. “Thank you but it’s okay, two better than one am I right?” You said. He stopped to look at you. “Your job is to hold the bag, okay?” He demanded which caused you to sigh.

After a while of looking around for trash, you started to grow hungry. You hoped it wouldn’t start to grumble loudly because the only time it does, it’s somewhere really auiet. *grumble* Speak of the devil. You heard Kawaki laugh from behind you. “You hungry?” He asked. “Yeah..” you said defeatedly. “Okay, just wait until we finish this little section and i’ll go buy you something to eat.” He told you. “Thank you Kawaki.”

You felt bad seeing him all bruised. “Sorry about yesterday, Boruto didn’t have to go all out on you like that.” You said. “It was worth every second though.” He replied with a big smile. “Shikamaru was going to kick both of you guys out because of what he did, but I told him no because it was me that was at fault.”

“How come?” You asked him. “Because that meant you had to leave and I didn’t want that.” “Thank you,” you said letting out a chuckle, “hey look, we’re finally done!” You blurted out. Kawaki looked up at the area and let out a faint smile, “Yeah, let me just tie this bag and throw it away.”

After he came back from wherever he came from he asked you, “What do you have in mind?”

“What do you mean?” You asked. “Like what do you want to eat.” He replied. “Ohhh! I was thinking on getting these big and fluffy pancakes. How about you?” You said. “I asked you what you wanted to eat, not me. Whatever you want i’ll buy and try it with you.” You only nodded. Kawaki admired your face, he found it kind of adorable seeing you all happy about food.

“Wowww so nicee!” You said admiring the cafe from the outside. “I heard they have amazing pancakes here. Hopefully they do make the ones you asked for.” He said as he opened the door for you.

When you walked in, you saw Sarada and Boruto sitting there chatting. Your heart sank when you saw Boruto handing her a tiny white bear with a pink lace tied around its neck. You felt betrayed. It’s not like you weren’t doing the same to him. You felt Kawaki lean in your ear. “Pretend you don’t see them.” He said. You stayed quiet and walked up to the cashier to place your order. “Do you guys make big, fluffy, and spongy pancakes by any chance?” Kawaki asked. “You mean Souffle pankcakes? If so, then yes we do!” The cashier responded. “Okay then, we would like two servings please.” He said. “Alright, anything else?” She asked. And Kawaki shaked his head to the left and right. “Okay, your total will be $18.57.” Kawaki then handed her the money. “Thank you, it will be ready in about 10-14 minutes.” She said as she went to the back.

“Want to wait outside in the meantime?” Kawaki asked. You nodded your head quietly. He started to get angry knowing Boruto knew that you guys were also there. Once you walked out, he sat you in a small round table with only two chairs. “You okay?” He asked. “Not really.” You replied. “Is it because of them?” He asked once more. That question made you look at him in the eye. You didn’t want him to know you loved Boruto because you also had feelings for him. “I’d take that as a yes.” He said. “You’re not mad, are you?” You asked. “Why would I be? As long as you’re here with me and not him, then i’m not mad.” He said smiling at you. You smiled back and looked away because you were growing nervous. Little did you know, he was too. After a while of you guys talking about random things Kawaki said, “I’m going to go check if the order is ready, stay here.”

You dozed off thinking about the scene you had just watched a couple minutes ago. You didn’t want to come to conclusion that Boruto had a thing for Sarada, you didn’t want to believe what you saw. Maybe you were just being dramatic. Maybe the bear was Sarada’s and Boruto was just giving it back. you heard footsteps behind you thinking it was Kawaki with the food. You turned around only to see Himawari coming your way. “y/n!!!!” She said as she gave you a big hug. “Hii! What are you doing out here alone??” You asked her in a happy tone. “I was just trying to find Kawaki. Is he here with you?” She asked. “Yeah, he’s in there actually.” As soon as you said that, Kawaki walked out with the food.

“Big bro! I wanted to ask you a super duper important question.” She told him. He placed the food on the table and turned to look at her. “What is it?” He asked. “Well, I just wanted to ask if Y/n could be invited to the sleepover!” she said. “A sleepover?” You asked. Himawari turned to look at you, “yes, if you’re wondering who’s going to be there, it’s just going to be ChoCho, Shikadai and Inojin.” She said with a big smile on her face. “Would you like me to invite Boruto as well for you?” She asked. “No it’s fine,” you told her. Kawaki looked at you in a surprised expression because you didn’t want Boruto to come.

“So would you like go?” Kawaki asked you. “Why wouldn’t I?” You said giving Himawari another hug. “You just made my day!! See you tonight!” Himawari said as she ran back to where she came from. You suddenly heard her screaming “she’s been invited guys!!” The second she turned the corner. You were shocked, “All of them were stalking on us?!” You asked Kawaki. You found it kind of funny because literally why were they hiding?

“Wait, tonight?” You asked. “Yeah, why?” He said. “No nothing, I just didn’t expect it to be so soon. I don’t even have any cute pajamas.” You said as you both sat down to eat. “Aw man I should’ve asked Himawari if she wanted to try these.” you said. “It’s fine, she comes here all the time.” He told you. He took a piece of his pancake and leaned his chopsticks closer to you. ‘He wants to feed me?’ You asked yourself. “Here, I want you to try mine” he said. “But we ordered the same thing?” You told him. “Shhh. I just want to feed you.” you nodded your head and opened your mouth. “Wait they’re actually so good!! Try mine” You told him, adding in a little humor. He started to laugh. You forgot how easy it is to make him laugh. Well only with people he is comfortable with. ‘His laugh is so attractive’ you thought to yourself. He noticed you staring at him “is there something on my face?” He asked which made you come back to reality, “what? No, Sorry if I was staring.” You said clearly embarrassed. He only smiled and started to eat his food while you did the same.

All of a sudden Boruto and Sarada walked out of the cafe. “What’s up guys!” Sarada said causing Boruto to sigh loudly as if he’s been caught. “Oh hey, how was the cleaning?” You asked her. “Pretty rough, Boruto on the other hand got hungry and took us both here.” Boruto turned around to look at you, then at Kawaki. He was acting childish it almost pissed you off. “Well bye now! See you guys later.” Sarada said as she turned and walked away with Boruto.

You only turned around silently. You didn’t want that to ruin your day so you just brushed it off of your shoulders. Kawaki noticed that both of you guys had already finished eating, so he stacked the plates and stood up to return them. A few seconds later, he walked out digging something out of his pockets. He took out some cash. “Here is some money if you want to go shopping for the sleepover.” He told you smiling. “I wish I could go with you but I have something important to do with Shikamaru. See you later.” He said walking to direction of the Hokage’s office. You looked down to your hands and spread out the money to count. “237$!? Is this pocket change for him or something?!” You said in your head.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

You decided to go shopping like right now since you didn’t have anything else to do. You walked around the town to see what was new since it had been so long since you walked in these streets. You gazed at each store admiring their unique decorations. Your eyes then stopped at a clothing shop. “They look like they have everything here.” You said to yourself as you walked in. “Welcome in!” A worker said as she swept the floors. You smiled at her then proceeded to look around. “There.” you said staring at the pajamas section. There were every types of pajamas like sets, long wear sets, nightgowns, robes, onesies, you name it.

“These are so cute!!” You said looking at the two piece set. It was a perfect shade of lavander, soft and silky. You loved how the shorts had ruffles on the ends. As for the shirt, it was spaghetti strapped, with white lace around the edges. You grabbed the set that was your size and proceeded to walk around and see what else there was to buy. “No freaking way!” You said looking at the cute displays of lingerie. “Hmm. Who’s going to be the lucky guy to see me in these?” You said to yourself laughing mischievously. You just love wearing matching bra and panties. Especially the sexy ones.

You ended up picking out a sky blue laced lingerie, a pastel yellow with colorful laced flowers, and finally, a dark red one. You were going to go check out until you remembered the most important part. Fuzzy socks. “Here you are.” You said looking at the socks section. You didn’t know which ones to choose. It was between either the white ones with pink stripes OR the pastel rainbow socks. “I think these are more cuter.” You said grabbing the ones with more color. “What else am I missing?” You asked yourself trying to remember what else is needed. “Slippers and a blanket!” You thought. So you went to go see where the slippers section was but ended up finding the blankets first and so you grabbed the softest one you could find, which was a pink one. “Okay finally, the slippers.” You said to yourself already tired of walking back and forth.

Once you found the slippers section you looked around to see which ones were worth buying. You smiled after you found the perfect ones. “Perfect.” You said grasping onto the bear design. It literally has arms and legs and when you put your foot in, it’s literally in its stomach. It looked almost like a plushie. “Time to go check out.” you said to yourself.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

You ended up spending around 105$. Which surprised you because normally stores that looked modern were more expensive. You had about 3-4 hours to get to the sleepover. So you decided to use those remaining hours to get ready and clean everything you had just bought.

Once you got home you knocked on the door. you heard the locks clicking and then saw that Boruto had opened it for you. “Is my Aunt home?” You asked him. “Yeah, just her though. I think your cousins went out.” He replied. You walked in and decided those were the only words coming out of your mouth unless your aunt spoke to you. You didn’t want to talk to Boruto at all right now. Once you walked inside, you went straight to your room and took everything out your bags happily. “I’m going to hand wash these.” You said to yourself holding all the lingeries. You removed the tags off of the remaining cloths and stood up to go put them in the washer. Once you did that, you walked back to your room to hand wash the lingerie only to see Boruto holding them. “What are you doing weirdo.” You said. “Who bought you these?” He asked. “That’s none of your business.” You told him trying to take them away from him. “Boruto if you don’t give me them back, I’m going to scream and I am being for real.” You said.

“Scream then. I just want to know who bought you these?” He asked once more. “Well who do you think? The only other boy I hang out with is Kawaki, so I don’t know why you’re asking questions that you already know the answers to.” You told him. “No don’t worry, I knew perfectly who. I just wanted it to come out of your mouth.” He said. “Okay then leave me alone.” You said. “You’re going out tonight, right?” He asked. “Again, it’s none of your business. Why don’t you go ask Sarada these questions? You’re bothering me.” You told him walking out of the room to go ask your aunt for a flat iron.

After you came back with the flat iron you saw that he actually left. “What the hell is wrong with him.” It’s like he loves you one day then switches up and acts cold another. You wanted to cry out of anger because literally why was he acting like nothing happened yesterday. Shit, does he even remember or something?

The clothes were finally does washing so you then switched everything to the dryer and set a timer for 40 minutes. You walked to your room and picked the lingerie you were going to wear, which was the light blue one and headed straight to the bathroom. You started to hand wash each piece with laundry soap. Once you were done with that, you rinsed them and dried them with a tiny wind style jutsu on your palms. “The clothes are almost done right now. They’re going to be dry by the time i’m out of the shower.” You said to yourself.

Once out of the shower, you oiled your skin with baby oil and layered it with some lotion. You wrapped your hair in a towel because it kept getting in your way. You then put on your matching bra and panties. It kind of turned you on seeing yourself like this. “I need to go grab the clothes from the dryer. But to do that, I need to walk out looking like this.” You said to yourself. It was only about 10-15 steps away from the bathroom so you quickly sprinted to the laundry room and took the clothes out of the dryer. “So warm…” you said as you put them on. The only thing you didn’t put on were the bear slippers because you didn’t want them to get dirty quickly.

You then rushed to the bathroom to go do your makeup. You grabbed the palette that had the specific lavander shade you wanted. It even had the same shade with glitter. Your makeup came out to be really nice. You liked it. You put everything back to its place and connected the hair dryer to the outlet on your right.

It took you about 20-25 minutes to fully dry your hair. You laughed when you saw how messy and fluffed out it was so you grabbed your hairbrush to untangle it. Once you were done with that, you connected the flat iron to the same outlet you disconnected the hair dryer with. You turned the iron on and waited a couple seconds so that it could heat up. “Am I doing too much?” You asked yourself. “Nah, I don’t think so” you said shrugging. You knew the chances of having moments like this again were low to the ground so you decide to make the most of it.

You were finally finished with your hair and as you were putting everything away, your aunt peeked in and said, “You look so beautiful.” With a soft voice. “You remind me a lot of your mother. You look just like her actually.” She added. “Aww thank you!” You told her going in for a hug. “Wow! You smell so good too!!” She said making you laugh out of joy. You loved it when people compliment how good you smell.

“When are you going?” She asked. “Now actually! I think I won’t be home until tomorrow. Is that okay?” You said. “Of course! Just in case I’m not home just know I left a spare key under the mat outside.” She said moving to the side because she was in your way. “Okay thank you! Just let me go get my stuff and I’m out of here.” You said as you went into your room. You picked up the bear slippers and put them in one of your big purses you decided to bring since it was big enough to fit everything. You had to squish the bear slippers flat because they were too big. You also added in some perfumes, your toothbrush, hairbrush, extra socks, a pair of underwear just in case, some hair ties, makeup wipes, and the warm blanket you had just took out of the dryer. You punched the inside of the bag to push it flat again because the blanket was causing it to overflow. You zipped up the bag and put it around your shoulder then walked out of your room to let your aunt know you were going now. She just told you to be careful and make smart decisions. Wonder what that meant.

You left earlier than you were supposed to just incase Himawari needed help with anything. “Hopefully i’m not the first one there.” You said to yourself. You were nervous. Not because of Kawaki, but because knowing the sleepover is at Naruto’s house. It felt illegal without him being there, or Hinata too because she was always the one to open the door for you.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

You finally arrived and knocked on the door. Kawaki had opened it for you and moved to the side so that you could walk in. “You’re a little early.” He said. “Yeah, I just wanted to see if Himawari needed help with anything.” You told him. “She’s not here. She went to go get some more cupcake batter because apparently there wasn’t enough. She left like five minutes ago. I’m surprised you didn’t bump into her.” He said as he picked up colorful ribbons.

“What are those for?” You asked him. “Himawari left me in charge of the decorations. Want to help?” He replied. “Sure, what can I do?” You said. “Well for now go bring the mattresses from upstairs. They shouldn’t be heavy so don’t worry.” He said. You nodded your head and placed your stuff down on the couch and walked upstairs. Kawaki turned around and couldn’t take his eyes off of you. You could feel his eyes tearing holes onto your skin so you walked faster upstairs. “Where?!” You yelled so that he could hear you. “In Boruto’s room!” He yelled back.

You walked in Boruto’s room and saw that nothing had changed. You picked up a mattress and headed back downstairs. “You had me thinking they were going to be heavy. Anyways, where did you get these inflatable mattresses?” You asked him. “We’ve been having them. I didn’t know until like last month.” He replied. “Where do I place them?” You said. He looked down at you from the latter “hmm, let’s move the living room around.” He said as he climbed down.

He ended up shrinking everything from the living room except for the TV and placed them in his pocket so that he could put them away later for when he gets the chance. “Enough room?” He said jokingly. You let out a smile and nodded. He grabbed the mattress you were holding and placed it down on the floor. “Three more to go.” He said as he went upstairs to not lose any time and you followed behind to help. “Here,” he said holding out his arms trying to give you something. You held out your hand to catch whatever he was going to drop and saw that you were holding the mattresses. “Cute, right?” He asked. “Yeah it is.” You said looking at him. The idea the you both being alone made you a little nervous. “You should have just shrinked them from the start instead of sending me upstairs to struggle.” You said squinting your eyes at him.

He walked up to you and leaned in your face. You froze up like a statue, not knowing what to do. “I know.” Was all he said. He then brushed his nose against your neck. You could feel his breath on your skin. He smelled clean and cozy. It made you want to fall in his arms. He felt like a bed whenever you have to forcefully wake up early, like a feeling you can’t get enough of. He backed up to face you. You knew where this was going. “Kawaki, we can’t. Himawari is going to come back and potentially see us like this.” You said moving your head to the side to dodge his kiss. He stopped for a bit to sense something. “She’s two minutes away. Don’t worry, it’ll be quick.” He said. He took a good look at you and realized you were uncomfortable. He backed up as fast as he could and apologized. He tried walking away but was stopped by your hand. He was shocked and didn’t move until you dragged him closer to you. “Are you sure?” He asked quietly. You nodded, not saying a word. It was like you were being controlled. You hated when your body moved on its own. You know you shouldn’t be doing this because you already have Boruto to pleasure you. But you crave affection. At the moment, you just craved the thought of somebody pouring their love on you. You knew that if Boruto were to do the same to you, you would be disappointed in him for eternity. But you just love the feeling it brings to your body, the feeling of doing something you know you’re not supposed to be doing. He brought his hands down to your waist. He touched you soft and gentle. It was like time was moving in slow motion because both of you guys were taking your time. He stared into your eyes admiring every part of your face. You grabbed onto his lower back and pushed him against you. He closed his eyes, burrowing his eyebrows through pleasure. His heart was beating so fast he had to start taking deep breaths through his mouth.

He began to rub himself on you and pushed you against the wall to get a better grip on your body. You lifted one of your legs to get a better angle on your g-spot. He began to speed things up and was now going rough on you. You were being slammed against the wall with every thrust he gave himself against you’re clothed clit. You were both a hot mess, breathing on each other, too busy to kiss. “Kawaki, she’s almost here.” You said as you grabbed on his jaw to make him come back to reality. He didn’t even hear you and thought that you were going in for a kiss since you had your hand on his jaw. He gave you a hungry look and crashed his lips with yours. Causing you to fall back in a trance, forgetting there was a sleepover to decorate. He picked you up and laid you on his bed. Still not letting your lips go. The kiss was wet and desperate. You could feel his tongue exploring every corner of your mouth. He got in a comfortable position on top of you and rubbed his dick right against your thighs causing you to wrap your legs around him so that he could migrate to your clothed clit once again.

He filled the room with his voice. You never knew he was such a loud whimpering until now. He brought his tongue down to your chest and licked his way up to your neck causing you to freak out because if he were to give you a hickey, anybody could see it because your neck and chest area were exposed by your pajamas. “Kawaki! Did you not hear me?!” You said pushing him off. He looked up at the window, “fuck… She’s already here.” He said. You sat up quickly and fixed up his hair. “You go down first then i’ll go. Making it seem like I was in the bathroom.” You told him. Before getting up, he gave you a quick kiss and ran downstairs. You laughed a little seeing him all freaked out.

You laid down on the bed and sighed loudly. “Well things got heated quickly.” You said as you dried the saliva around your mouth. You got up quietly and walked to the bathroom slowly. You closed the door and looked at yourself in the mirror. “Horny bitch.” You said laughing. You washed your hands with cold water trying to freshen yourself up because your body was all hot. You opened the door and walked downstairs. You saw Himawari and Kawaki working on hanging colorful ribbons around the whole house. You and Kawaki made eye contact but he quickly looked away because of how nervous you make him. Himawari turned around to see why Kawaki looked away and saw you. She let go of the things she had in her hands and ran towards you. You almost fell back when she gave you a big hug. “Y/n!!! When did you get here?!!” She asked you. You looked at Kawaki then back at her. “Just now actually, I needed to use the restroom. I was going to pee myself if I didn’t” you said laughing.

*ding dong*

“Coming!!” Himawari said. When she opened the door you saw Shikadai, Chocho, and Inojin all together with a bunch of snacks in their hands. When they saw that you were in there with her, their smiles disappeared from their faces. Himawari noticed the sudden mood drop and said, “it’s okay guys. Please don’t be mad at me for inviting her. I just missed her so much.” Chocho looked at you and smiled. “It’s fine. If you invited her then I have no problem. Right guys?” Chocho said turning to face Inojin and Shikadai.

“Yes.” They both said at the same time.

When they walked in, Himawari gave them each a task to do. Chocho was in charge of adding bedsheets and pillows to the mattresses, Inojin was in charge of helping Kawaki with hanging the ribbons, Shikadai was in charge of helping you with setting up the lights, and finally, Himawari was in charge of making the desserts. Dinner had already been ordered which was pizza and wings but it was going to take a while since the order was big.

You and Shikadai each opened the box of string lights and took them out. “I thought the lights were going to be separated.” You told him. “No, it’s all in one string. Where do you want to hang them?” He said. You looked around to find a spot. “Want to curl them around the stair rails?” You asked him. He turned around to look at the stairs and nodded his head. You guys began to curl the lights around the rails.

Once you were both finished, you connected them to the closest outlet. “Let’s go help the others.” He told you. You nodded your head and walked downstairs with him. “How does it look?” You asked Himawari from the kitchen. The moment she saw the work you and Shikadai had done she smiled so hard. “I love it!!” She said.

Everyone was finished with their tasks except for Himawari. So you all decided to help her. Everyone was now in the kitchen mixing up a bunch of batters. She told you guys she was going to make brownies, cupcakes and cake.

“Oh and guys, I invited Mitsuki and Sarada on my way back home after buying batter. Hopefully they like the decorations.” She said excitedly. Boruto was most likely going to invite himself in knowing you were also in the sleepover. “Y/n and Kawaki, you guys are in charge of decorating the cake. Once it’s out of the oven you guys can start.” You and Kawaki looked at each other and smiled. “Shikadai and Inojin, you guys are in charge of baking the brownies.” She said as she handed them the batter. “Don’t forget to add chocolate chips on top.”

“As for me and you,” she said turning her attention to Chocho, “our job is to bake the cupcakes and add frosting to them.” Chocho smiled and nodded as a response.

Everyone got into their pairs and waited patiently for the cake batter to be finished so that you and Kawaki could start decorating it. “Hey” you said to him nervously. “Hi” he replied trying to hold in his smile. “Want to go see what else is new around the house in the meantime?” He said trying to find an excuse for both of you guys to be alone. “Wait guys before you go,” Himawari said. “The cake will be finished in about 13 minutes. So make sure to come back before the timer rings.” She said looking at Kawaki. “Yeah we will.” He replied.

You guys then ran upstairs laughing trying not to be loud and obvious. Obviously you guys were, but fuck it. He closed the door behind him and locked it. He had to cover your mouth because you were laughing uncontrollably. “Shhhhhh.” He said still having his hand on your mouth. You nodded your head to let him know you weren’t going to laugh anymore. Once he removed his hand from your face you kissed him getting straight to the point. The kiss was soft and passionate unlike the one from earlier. He gripped onto your hair. Not too soft but also not too rough. You pushed him against the door and decided to heat things up by kissing him harder. He understood the assignment and kissed back with the same speed. The room was silent, the only noises being heard were your lips smacking with his. He began to walk himself towards the bed, still not letting go of you until he turned around to sit himself down. He gave you the look. Oh? He wanted you to sit on him, so you did.

You had both your legs cradling his hips. You took off his shirt and began to kiss on his neck. He started to groan as soon as he felt your touch. No girl has touched him this way. You were the first and he was proud of it. Who would have known that he is a touch starved virgin? A lot of girls would kill to be in your place to take it away. You kissed your way down to his stomach, which meant that you were now on your knees. Things were going too fast. You wish you could stop right now but you couldn’t because of how blind you were by horniness. He loved the sight of you giving him puppy eyes. He knew what was going to happen next so he smiled and nodded. You got up a bit to give him a wet and messy kiss, at this point you guys were now fully making out. You wanted to continue kissing him but you had to hurry and do everything in speed before the timer was up. You’d say you both have about eight minutes left before having to go back downstairs.

You backed up to disconnect your lips with his and got back down on your knees. He lifted himself up so that you could lower down his pajamas. You grabbed the edge of his boxers and slowly pulled them down. As you were doing that, Kawaki was running his fingers through your hair. He was so big you started to question if you could do it. Boruto’s was big but not this big. You gulped hoping nothing goes wrong. “Ready?” You asked him. He only hummed in response. He couldn’t talk because of how desperate he felt for you. You lowered your head and kissed his tip softly. You pushed it back a little to run your tongue on it from the bottom to the top, licking him like a lollipop. You haven’t even started yet but you had him shaking and whining. You grabbed a hold of it and put your whole mouth around it. You began to suck on him, bopping your head up and down. “Fuckk….” Was all he could murmur. You could feel his dick twitching inside your mouth, you loved it when they do that. It made you feel like you were doing a good job. Suddenly he grabbed a hold of your head and started to control it. Shit, you needed to swallow and breathe. You eventually tapped on his thigh to make him to stop.

“What’s wrong?” He asked. He saw you trying to catch your breath answering his own question. “Sorry, I needed to breathe.” You told him smiling. You went back down to finish off what you were doing. This time you had breath so you reached for his hand and brought it to your head. You wanted him to control you, you preferred it actually because you like the idea of him grabbing you like a doll to pleasure himself, moving you around just the way he likes it. The room was full of his whining. He tried to be quiet by gluing his lips shut but he just couldn’t. You could tell him was about to finish so you swatted his hands off of your head and took control. You sucked him even harder out of your own pleasure. Boom. He started to erupt like a volcano. He started to shake uncontrollably once he felt your tongue swirling on his tip. You felt countless drops of liquid shoot to the roof of your mouth, swallowing every drop.

You brought your head up once you stopped feeling him leak. You peeked up to see what he was doing because he was quiet. You thought he had fallen asleep but he was just trying to catch his breath. He sat up and reached down to give you a kiss. He didn’t care if he tasted himself through your mouth. He grabbed onto your jaw tightly to kiss you deeper. You could feel his tongue going all over the place. You felt him pulling you closer to get on him. You got off of the floor and climbed on him. “Fuck I love you so much y/n. I love the way you touch me. Touch me more. Or should I touch you?” He whined desperately through the kiss not knowing what to do because of the short amount of time you both have left. You felt his cold fingers brushing against what's between your things causing you to arch your back. He started to rub directly in the spot that made you feel good the most, still having his tongue aggressively exploring your mouth.

Now it was you making the noises. He loved the vibrating sensation your mouth made against his. You could still feel his whole body shaking, it was all because of how horny he was. He spun you around, now having you on your back. He got off of the bed and stood at the edge. He leaned down towards your ear and said, “my turn.” He pecked your mouth and was now on his knees. He grabbed the edge of your shorts trying to pull them down. He stopped.

You heard him sigh loudly. “Cockblocker.” He said as he got up gently to not bump into you. “What’s wrong?” You asked him. “Boruto is coming along with Sarada and Mitsuki. Who the hell does he think he is.” He said trying to walk out but you stopped him. “Let him in. After all, this is his house. Plus this is a special day for Himawari. Don’t ruin it just because Boruto’s presence is around.” You said. He stayed quiet and nodded his head.

Before he walked away he came back to give you one last kiss just incase you guys don’t anymore. He didn’t want to let go of your embrace and still continued to kiss you. It went from being soft and passionate to wet and aggressive. He knew that if Boruto were to come here, you would be by his side and not with him. He hated it. He wanted to claim you but he knew he couldn’t because you were already Boruto’s and he was just a side piece. He wanted to show you that he is better than Boruto and that he could treat you so much better than he can but he just can’t that because he knew that you loved someone else other than him. Possibly even more.

“Im going to miss you.” He said through the kiss. You were confused and didn’t think much of it.

He tried backing up but you grabbed him by his collar, still not letting go. He grabbed you by the waist, gripping on it as he rocked his hips against you. He then grabbed on your jaw and lifted it up making you face the ceiling and ran his tongue along your jawline. He eventually found your lips and kissed you quickly. You could feel vibrations coming out of his mouth. Fuck, you needed him so bad. You felt him walking towards the direction of the door while still having you in his arms. You didn’t want to let go but you had to because Boruto was steps away from knocking on the door.

Kawaki gave you one last peck before walking out and gave you an upset look. One of the timers Himawari had set up started to ring as soon as Sarada knocked on the door. “Himawari, take the cake out. I’ll open the door.” You heard Kawaki say from downstairs. You peaked to see what was going to happen but you just saw Kawaki being calm just like you told him to. Himawari ran towards the door and gave everybody a hug except for Boruto. She looked a little confused so you decided to walk down the stairs to make her think you were the one who invited him in. “Hi Boruto.” Himawari said shyly. He was happy to see her looking healthy and happy. “Hello. It smells really nice in here.” He said. You walked down stairs and he turned around to see you. He noticed how good you looked but you ignored him and walked to the kitchen. “Kawaki, come help me with the cake.” You said and he followed right behind you. He looked back at Boruto and gave him a smirk. “Asshole.” Boruto thought.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

Everybody was finally finished cooking and decorating the pastries. Himawari put them in display for everybody to see. “We won’t eat these until dinner arrives, okay guys?” She said. Everybody agreed and continued to chat until the delivery guy arrived. You needed to use the restroom, so you went to the one that was in the basement since it was the closest. You always loved going down here since it was basically an arcade room. You wondered why Himawari didn’t make the sleepover over here. You walked in the bathroom and when you tried closing the door someone stopped you. “What the hell?” You said. You noticed that it was just Boruto. “Boruto get the hell out! Im about to piss myself no joke!!” You yelled causing him to close the door himself.

You flushed the toilet and washed your hands, “You can come in now.” He opened the door and walked in suspiciously. “Sorry for yelling. I was on the verge of pissing myself.” He didn’t say anything, instead he just laughed through his nose. “So.. what do you want?” You asked him. “I just wanted to apologize for being possessive earlier back at the house.” he said. His response made you sigh. “It’s okay, I forgive you.” You said looking down to check out his fit. “Where did you get those pajamas?” You asked. “I went shopping for some.” He replied. “But how did you know I was going to the sleepover if I didn’t tell you?” He let out a faint laugh. “You can’t hide things from me you know?” He said.

You tried opening the door but he stopped you. “So let me ask you this,” he said pausing for a second. “What’s going on between you and Kawaki?” Shit, you’ve been caught. You were going to respond but you stopped when you noticed he was walking towards you. Great, now you were cornered. “I thought you said you were going to stay away from him. Just for me, right?” He said leaning to your face. You looked away closing your eyes. He didn’t like the fact you looked away from him so he grabbed onto your jaw. “Look at me y/n.” You opened your eyes to face him. Shit, it started to hurt like a mother fucker. “Boruto, you’re hurting me.” You said giving him a hurt look. His eyebrows softened along with his grip. You pushed him off of you and ran up the basement stairs. Boruto’s been acting weird ever since you guys came back to the village and you hated it. You knew it wasn’t because of what had happened to Sasuke but because of Kawaki. Boruto knew that if he were to let his guard down, Kawaki would steal you from him. He doesn’t know how to tell you because he doesn’t want you to hate him and think that he is being possessive, so he expresses it with anger and frustration.

“The food is here!!!” Himawari yelled causing everyone to circle around the food. You went to go grab some disposable plates and handed one to everyone. You got two slices of pizza along with five spicy wings and ranch. You sat by yourself trying to act like you don’t see Boruto and Kawaki staring right at you. Right now you didn’t want to talk to neither of them. You thought about what Boruto was telling you earlier. He never acted so harsh on you. Especially after aggressively grabbing onto your jaw like that. He was always patient with you no matter what.

Once you were done eating, you threw away the paper plate and walked outside to go get some fresh air. The only person who saw you walk out was Boruto. You sat on the bench Naruto made for Boruto and Himawari when they were little. It made you a little emotional thinking about them. Knowing they are sealed at the moment, not a clue where they until Kawaki lets them out. You heard someone making noises towards the direction of the door. You turned your head to see who it was. Only to find out it was Boruto once again. You weren’t mad. You were just numb. You had no time to fight. He sat right next to you but didn’t talk. He figured it would be better to not speak at all.

You may be upset at him right now but you needed his presence. just him. You scooted closer to and laid your head on his shoulder. He reached for your hand and held it tight. You then brought your head up to kiss his cheek. His face brightened with a smile. “Want to go for a walk?” He asked you. “Yeah.” You replied.

You both stood up still not letting go of each other’s hands and decided to walk through the woods, just like how you guys did when you were younger.

You guys finally found a good spot after walking for about ten minutes. He laid his coat on the grass so that you both could lay down to star gaze. He sat down first and grabbed your hand gently for you to sit with him. “The coat came in handy.” You said because you didn’t want to accidentally step on a bug that could potentially bite you if it survived under your ass. “yeah, I brought it to star gaze.” He said as he laid down. There wasn’t enough room for you to do the same until you felt one of his hands pulling onto your waist to lay close to him. You were now resting on his chest, with one arm around him and a leg over his. He gently kissed your head and rubbed on your back softly.

You could hear his heart beat through his chest since you had one of your ears against it. You could also hear his lungs filling up with air. It was so relaxing that you could sleep here. You felt him shifting around almost as if he is pulling something. “Here.” You heard him say, causing you to get up. It was a bunch of flowers wrapped in beautiful tissue. You leaned in to smell them. They smelt amazing, “thank you Boruto, wait, where did you get them?? Your hands were empty this whole time.” You asked confusingly. “A magician never reveals his secrets.” He said as he handed you the same bear he was holding at the cafe with Sarada. “Isn’t this Sarada’s?” You asked him. “No, she was just seeing it to tell me if it was a good present to give you.” He answered. “Thank you again Boruto, I love everything.” You said. You never would have guessed Boruto would be giving you presents out of the blue. It was always rare.

He started pecking your face causing you to let out a slight giggle. His kisses kind of tickled because his lips were cold from being out here. He then caught you off guard by tackling you, sending you straight to the floor and attacked you with kisses all over your body. His kisses felt like as if he was pouring his love and affection on you, just the way you like it. It felt almost as if his purpose right now was to heal your spirit. Which worked obviously. You were both now a laughing mess, filling each other with happiness.

You then felt Boruto dig in your neck, he went from pecking, to dragging his tongue against it. You grabbed his head with both of your hands and brought him up to your face. You crashed your lips with his, immediately using your to tonged to fully make out with him. It’s fun seeing how things could escalate quickly. You enjoyed hearing the crickets chirping around you guys because it reminded you of when it was night time with Sasuke, you three would set up the beds and sleep outside. You slept faster when the crickets chirped. It almost felt nostalgic realizing it’s all in the past and you simply couldn’t go back to change the future.

You loved making out, it’s a sensation not even you could describe with words. It felt almost…out of this world? Boruto gave you one last peck before getting up, he brought you with him by pulling onto your back to help you balance since you were on the ground. “Come on, let’s get back before they finish dessert.” He said. You nodded and stood up, you turned around to grab your things from the floor only to find out Boruto had already gotten them for you. You awed in your head smiling. Simple things matter. “Are you ready?” He asked you. “Yes I am, let’s go now.” You said as you dusted the excess dirt off of you.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

You guys finally arrived and walked into the house and saw that everybody was still minding their own business, still talking to one another. Himawari turned around and gasped, “These flowers look amazing!!! Aw and look at the bear!!” She said as she touched the bear’s fabric. You and Boruto both smiled at her. She relaxed her face thinking about something. “Wait where did you guys go??” She asked giving you both a suspicious face. “We went for a walk. I wasn’t feeling very well so y/n accompanied me. And I gave her these for her acts of kindness.” Boruto said. “Are you feeling any better?” She asked once more. “Yes I am, thank you for asking.” He replied. “Well, you guys came back just in time. I was just about to pass the desserts!” She said as she ran towards them.

“Everyone!! We can eat desserts now!! We are going to be up all night so make sure not to finish them all at once pretty please!!!” Himawari yelled in excitement. You and Boruto sat on the stairs together while eating brownies. You also grabbed a slice of cake that was decorated by you and Kawaki. Speaking of him, where did he go? He probably went to sleep. You looked around to double check if he was still around. As suspected, he wasn’t. You didn’t think much of it and continued to talk with Boruto. “Are you guys enjoying everything?” Said Himawari, sneaking up on you guys. “Yes I am Himawari, thank you again for inviting us.” You told her. She nodded her head and stopped for a second looking at you and Boruto asking, “are you guys dating?”

Boruto almost blasted the brownies through his nose. You looked at him to make sure if he was okay, then turned back to Himawari. “No, why?” You asked her. “Oh, it’s just I always see you guys together. And also because he bought you flowers.” She said laughing nervously. You gave her a smile, “I’ve always been there for him no matter where, so he is just paying me back with this.” You said as you pointed at the flowers.

She smiled proving her point that Boruto wasn’t a bad person. She didn’t like it when people saw him that way. “Okay then, see you guys later!” She said going back to where she came from. You thought about her question. You and Boruto weren’t dating but sure as hell did activities couples do. You looked at him and he gave you an awkward smile. “Want to go over to the beds? The stairs are getting uncomfortable.” You told him. “Yeah, I was about the say the same thing” he said getting up. You felt Kawaki walking down the stairs with you guys except he was as the top, almost as if he was waiting until you guys stood up to go back down to where everybody else was. “Why are there only four beds?” Boruto asked. “Oh, we all have to sleep in pairs. I mean the beds are pretty big so i’d say around three people could fit.” You told him as you sat down on your bed.

“Okay guys Kawaki is going to put on the movie for me because I needed some help. For now, can anybody help me with the popcorn?” She asked loudly. “I’ll do it!” Said Chocho getting up immediately. “What do you guys want to watch?” Asked Kawaki with the remote clicking through the movie app. “How about a scary movie?” Mitsuki suggested. “Do you guys want that?” Asked Kawaki turning around to hear opinions. “Yeah sure why not?” Answered Shikadai. Kawaki then handed the remote to him so that he could choose. As they were choosing, you got up to go get a glass of water because the sugar from the desserts dehydrated the hell out of your mouth. You opened the cabinet that had all the cups and carefully grabbed one because they were mostly made out of glass. You turned around and filled the cup with water from the dispenser, as you were waiting for it to fill up, you felt someone tap your shoulder. It was Kawaki.

He handed you a bowl of popcorn, “oh, thank you Kawaki.” You told him. “If you want more just ask me.” He said quietly. He then turned around and grabbed more bowls to pass out. He looked and sounded upset. You wanted to ask him what was wrong but he had already left to the living room.

You sat back down with Boruto to watch the movie and noticed that all the lights around you guys were turned off, including the lights that were wrapped around the stair rails. “Oh damn they are serious about movie time.” You told him as you laughed. “Yeah I thought the same thing.” He replied laughing with you. You then heard someone hush loudly. “Who said that?” Boruto asked looking around. Nobody answered. You found it kind of funny but brushed it off so you could focus on the movie. “Hey!! This is the movie we watched with master Sasuke! Remember??” Boruto asked you quietly. “Oh yeahh. It was such a good movie too, I wanted to wanted to know the name of it but I forgot to ask him.” You replied.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

The movie had finished, it was pretty long but it went by fast because it was actually interesting. It was currently around 11 in the night, the sleepover already almost coming to an end, and you were starting to fall asleep. Except you couldn’t because Himawari took out the karaoke. But that’s not the worst part, the mic was grabbed by Mitsuki, and everybody knew that he sang horrible but they wouldn’t admit to such thing. You heard Boruto trying to hold in his laugh next to you as soon as the music started to play. “Boruto shut up before he hands you the mic, i’m not even joking.” you said quietly laughing with him.

As you were laughing you felt someone stare are you. You looked to see who it was and saw that It was Kawaki once again, you saw that he was trying to hold in his laugh as well. You both smiled at each other and went back to focus on the singer. Himawari stood up and tapped on Mitsukis shoulder. “You got to let everybody else have a try silly.” She told him. “Oh you’re right. My apologies everyone.” He said scanning to see who’s next. Shit. He was staring right at you. “Not me. Not me. Not me.” You said in your head. “Boruto, come up, you’re next.” You heard Mitsuki say. You started to laugh your ass off knowing Boruto thought he was going to get away with it just because Mitsuki was staring right at you, possibly even your soul. “Aw man, Why me out of all people?” He said standing up. He grabbed the mic and inserted a random song nervously. As soon as the song started to play it said. “Battery low” loudly then turned itself off.

“Fuck yeah.” You heard Boruto say quietly. He stood up happy and dived his big self on the bed. “BORUTO DON’T!!” You yelled but it was too late. You suddenly heard a big pop. “You popped the fucking mattress dumbass!!” You said laughing. Everybody else was surprised by the sudden act, they couldn’t even react. “What the hell? It was an air mattress?! Why didn’t you tell me...” He said clearly overstimulated. “Tell you?? How would I know you were going to dive.” You said getting up to check to see where the pop came from. “Well it’s a good thing only the lid popped open.” You said smiling. Kawaki stood up and walked upstairs. You thought it was just because he got mad but he came back with the mattress air pump in his hands, he then gently sat right next to you, trying to be as close as possible and inserted the pump inside the mattress. “Boruto, get off of the bed real quick.” You told him. He nodded and got off. As Kawaki was doing that, Himawari had put on another movie, this time it wasn’t a horror one, it looked to be more like a comedy.

“There you go.” Kawaki said patting on the mattress, fixing the blankets for you. “Thank you Kawaki.” You told him smiling. He got up and sat back on the chair he was sitting on. It was around that time where everyone was starting to fall asleep because all you could hear were yawns here and there.

“Guys I don’t think I can stand another ten minutes staying awake. I’m sorry.” Chocho spoke out as she got comfortable in the blankets. “That’s okay Chocho, I was also feeling tired as well.” Himawari said. “But before sleeping, do you guys have any room to finish all these desserts?” She added, not caring if we said no because she started to hand them out anyways. “Thank you.” Everyone said once they got one. “Wait, Kawaki where are you going to sleep? And, your room is not an option.” You heard himawari whisper to him. You were an expert at eavesdropping so whispering doesn’t help because you could still hear them.

“Well i’m the odd one out, everyone has their own pairs already, look. So I think the only option for me is to go sleep in my room.” Kawaki said making her turn around to see everyone with their partners getting ready for bed. Chocho was going to share the bed with Mitsuki, Inojin with Shikadai, Sarada with Himawari, and You with Boruto. “Well you’re going to have to share.” Himawari told him. It wasn’t something Kawaki could choose because she was commanding him to. “Okay..” he said looking to see whose bed to choose.

“Is it okay if Kawaki sleeps here with you guys?” Himawari asked you. “What the hell? N-“ “Yeah thats fine.” You said interrupting Boruto. You then scooted closer to Boruto’s side so Kawaki could fit, leaving you in the middle. “Wait, don’t get on the bed yet because I have to go get ready to sleep.” You told Kawaki. You stood up to grab your bag and headed upstairs, you preferred that one because it is more spacious.

You placed your bag on the counter and started to dig your hands in there to take out all the things you needed. Which was your toothbrush, your hairbrush, and makeup wipes. First, you brushed your teeth to get it over with. After you were done with that, you started to untangle your hair because you hate going to sleep without brushing through it. “Noo my curls are gone now.” You said to yourself. You put the hairbrush back in your bag and took out a makeup wipe. “I guess I was over dressed. Or maybe they were the ones that were under dressed?” You thought as you wiped your makeup off.

“Finished!” You said to yourself looking in the mirror. You wondered if letting Kawaki sleep with you and Boruto was a good decision, but oh well, you couldn’t do anything about it anymore. You packed everything inside your bag and headed downstairs with the rest. You saw that the tv was turned off, leaving only the decoration lights on. “All nighter huh...” You said in your head.

You placed your bag right back down where it was and walked over to the beds. You saw that Boruto and Kawaki were facing away from each other as far as possible. You laughed a little and walked in the middle of the bed to lay down. You got in the blanket that both of them were sharing, which was the pink one you had bought earlier today in the store.

You never felt so safe knowing that two of the most strongest males you know were right in between you. It made you feel happy in a way.

You were growing tired of facing the ceiling so you turned your body towards boruto. As you were doing that, Kawaki also did the same, now facing you. You didn’t know what he could possibly be planning right now because your back was facing him, well at least not until now because you felt him hug you from behind. Ugh, his warm embrace never failed to melt you. He must have some real guts to touch you like this right in front of Boruto.

“Hopefully me and Boruto get more days like these.” you said smiling yourself to sleep.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

Okay so that is all for this chapter guys!! Thank you to whoever made it this far, it really means so much to me!🥹 💕. I’m so excited to write the next reading that had been requested for me to make. Stay tuned!😋😋

[megatrainer-jules]

//OFF SCREEN POST 1

OVERRATED - JULES

The door to the lab's first floor gently swung open, three young teenagers walking in, talking amongst each other. Leaning by the elevator, a young man in a silky white lab coat- by far the youngest looking of the workers there- looked up with a grin. He adjusted his shirt collar and shifted a small, fancy, box under his arm before walking over,”Hey! You guys must be the newest group of trainers, right?”

“Oh, uhh..yeah.” One of them looked over his shoulder as if expecting the professor to be with him,”You some kinda…escort to the lab?”

“Oh.” Jules’ face shifted to a small frown before a nervous grin quickly replaced,”No, no. I’m actually one of the workers here. I’m here to give you your official starters!”

The youngest looking of the three piped up, “What about professor Sycamore?”

Jules laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with his freehand, “He’s a busy man. But I’m here! Trust me, I’m not that scary.”

“Right…Thanks.”

“Of course! Now come on, I bet you’re all super excited to meet your new partners,” he shifted the box to his hand, clicking a button on the side to open it up and reveal three shining PokeBalls- each labeled with the little sticker indicating they were bred to be starters, “Who’s up first?”

They all looked at eachother, as if still unsure about the young looking man- before the first of them reached out to grab the three PokeBalls- releasing the young ‘mons. A Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. Well raised and healthy looking. She frowned, “Aren’t these guys like…super common starters? I thought we’d be getting something special.”

Jules resisted a visible wince, “These guys are special. I’d know, I’ve been raising them.”

“But what’s so special about them?”

“They’re energetic. Kind. Ready for a good fight.” He laughed, “Bulbasaur won our very own mini tournament the other day! He’s a strong lad!”

The quietest one piped up finally, grabbing a PokeBall from his friend’s hand, “Then I’ll take him. I’m gunna be champion one day, I need a strong Pokémon.”

Jules smiled,”Well Bulbasaur will definitely be able to help you. Charmander’s also a good choice, too. Not quite the strongest but always ready for a fight. Little girl bit my coworkers hand yesterday.”

She looked down at the PokeBalls in her hand, scowling, “But a Charizards so…common-“

But before she could say anything else, the youngest swiped Squirtle’s pokeball in a heartbeat, “You can have it then. I want Squirtle.”

Jules opened his mouth to speak with a laugh, only to hesitate at the dirty look she gave her friend. What was this kid's deal? He was trying so hard not to frown himself at how genuinely upset she seemed over the little lizard pokemon…even the charmander noticed , tilting her head curiously.

“I’m not taking that thing. Give me Squirtle.”

“Hell no!”

She turned to the quiet friend, holding out a hand expectantly, “Bulbasaur then.”

They just shook their head, holding the pokeball close to their chest.

Jules rested a hand on her shoulder, tilting his head,”Oh come on. Charmander’s a great choice.”

“But it’s so overrated. And it’s not even that good!

He frowned, “Overrated?”

“Everyone wants a charmander because of all the fuckass champions with one. And they’re bred so much more than the rest because of it! I don’t want my name being ruined because an overrated super common Pokémon that’s not even that good is my reputation.”

“I-“

“Give me something else.”

“Kid, I can’t just-“

She frowned, tossing him Charmander’s pokeball, “Then give me cash to go to an actual breeder, not some kid pretending to be the professor's help.”

“Char?”

He frowned, getting so genuinely offended over the audacity of this kid. Charmander just looked up at him, confused. It broke his heart- but he just sighed and looked at the girl defeated, “C’mon. I’ll see if there’s any other starters that haven’t been chosen yet.”

He looked down at the Pokémon with such sorrow to his eyes, “You too, Charmander. I’ll give you back to the professor for now.”

[dreamingdarklyblog]

Taking Inventory

Okay well... I was going to reply to that thread with my "take" on what happened, but it was getting really long so... Here's the thread I'm talking about

It was pretty intense. I got a bunch of questions about it, and I'm getting to them. But for now I'm going to attempt a somewhat analytical account of what I experienced... Attempt being the key word.

So he's had fun the last few days playing with a trigger that seems to make me giggle. Lose track of my thoughts. It's also seemed to change over time. At first it was just that. Then the next day it seemed like my breasts would also get a bit bigger as I giggled. Then that started happening faster, and I became more aware of what was happening.

I... May have told him it was more fun to not be so aware, and then soon after I found I wasn't aware of it again. I should mention that this is mostly me piecing it together afterwards. At the time, each time it's a lot harder to figure out what's happening. In some cases I haven't even realized there was a trigger at all, let alone be aware of it.

Then yesterday in the afternoon I think it changed again. In addition to all that, it started getting a lot harder to think clearly as I giggled. I couldn't quite get a grip on what was happening, but at some point I noticed by breasts were significantly bigger, and they kind of... Stole most of my attention. I know was talking a lot, and I was mostly tuning him out and uh, focusing on those.

At some point during this I promised to write him another blog post about rubbing... And at some later point, I decided that was a great idea and went off to write it >_<. That's the first post you saw.

I do sort of remember writing it. But also I was in such a weird head space, it feels like it was written by someone else entirely.

After that... At some point. I once again became more fully aware. I didn't "Remember" what I'd done exactly, as I'd never forgotten it. I was aware the whole time, I just... I didn't care? And now that I was thinking more clearly, there were a lot of memories rushing to get my attention. So I was pretty overwhelmed.

I responded to a few comments and questions, pretty embarrassed and conflicted about everything, and then went back to my day. Still sort of processing as things would come up, come to my attention. Saying "as i remembered them" isn't right, as, like I said, I hadn't really forgotten anything. It was just mostly background information until something prompted the memory, or pulled my focus.

*cough*

Then later on I was talking to my writing partner again, and we got into some deeper conversations about consent and CNC play, and that kind of thing... Aaaand then he uh. Well. Things got a bit intense.

Things repeated a bit. Things got Foggy. Boobs got Big. My thoughts got distracted. And I started to think how hot it was that everyone enjoyed my post. How amazing it was that people might be cumming reading it. How much I loved that idea and wanted more of it. How much I wanted to make everyone cum, and how grateful I was that they did. How I should be thanking them for it >_<. And offering myself to make it happen more.

...

So just to be clear. Whatever I might happen to SAY on this blog. There will never be any photos. Or any actual contact or anything like that going on. Sorry if I promise something in an altered state, but yeah, it's not real. My writing partner knows that, and knows the line, and that while I might be fine... Thinking I would do such a thing, or maybe even believing in the moment that I had done it, doing such a thing in reality is a non starter. And I trust him with that. Just to be clear with you all about where the consenting line is and such.

So this was sort of my.. In the moment experience of it. As I can recall. Commenting about it. I'll try to write sort of my thoughts on how it all works in my head later. Mostly from thinking back and trying to analyze what I was thinking with more perspective.

[darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght]

Chapter 17- Part 8

So, first thing’s first- Paralysis!

And from here, well- it’s a low-level Taillow, I don’t even think I need to lower its health? Just a Poké Ball should be fine?

And that’s that, welcome to Ace the Taillow! And now for the other half of these Rhodochrine encounters…

Stantler! Let’s see how this one goes.

Still gonna paralyze it, that’s just objectively good capturing strategy.

And from here, I think Acid will be sufficient enough to lower its HP at a safe rate.

And now, just to be safe, let’s use that Great Ball we just picked up, yeah?

If you didn’t know, I named her after the love interest deer girl from Bambi. Seemed appropriate enough.

So those are about all the encounters we can get right now, so let’s address that Egg.

Taking a closer look at the Egg like this…mainly yellow with significant brown portions…immediately, my mind goes to Drowzee. But I guess it’s possible for it to be Girafarig, though I feel like Girafarig would have some pink on it too due to its triangle scales. So um- Drowzee is my main guess, with Girafarig as a secondary guess?

But we won’t know until it hatches, so let’s just do some rearranging of the party-

There! With Magma Armor, this Egg should hatch in no time!

(Many steps later…)

The second guess it is! Look at this…not-so little guy!

Pardon me, the little guy is a little girl, in fact-

Anyways, if you’re curious about the name, it’s a reference to Girafarig’s inspiration (both generally and in terms of etymology)- the kirin, which is not only a mythological creature, but also the Japanese word for ‘giraffe’!

So yeah, a Psychic-type that also has immunities and extra resistances thanks to its specific dual-typing! I like it!

Anyways, with that, it’s time to do some team-building. And with the information I have about the Fields of interest as well as the general characteristics of Poison-types…I think I know who I’m bringing to this fight.

Riptide and Glare are pretty self-explanatory- Riptide because I refuse to take the starter out of the party, and Glare for probably Poison immunity. Crater and Kirin are for the type advantages (and in Kirin’s case, a certain move she hatched with that could be useful for…reasons), Breeze for whenever I want to blow the Corrosive Mist away, and Blaze to take advantage of the Corrosive Mist to power up her Fire-type moves in case Crater or Kirin aren’t cutting it.

Obviously, some level-grinding is in order, but that’s what the Grand Hall battle corner is for, yeah?

(Then I had to go to sleep…although, the pull for the battle corner that day sucked, so I didn’t mind waiting another day to see if better Trainers would show up.)

Wow, my luck with Grand Hall sure has been sucky, huh? Yesterday there was just one (1) Trainer with Pokémon in the early 20s and who only gave less than 60 Pokémon Dollars, and today? One (1) Trainer with Pokémon in the early 20s who only gave ~100 Pokémon Dollars. Would it kill this game to at least give me more than one Trainer to battle against?? 

I know what you might be thinking- “Oh X, just use the extra Exp. Candies (S) that you have to level your Pokémon!” And I could do that, yes- but I’m not just grinding for exp. points, I’m grinding for money too! Because I want to be able to afford items! What the heck is this, then??

Well, despite how unpleasant it was- seriously, why do I keep running into this guy with a Mawile?- I was able to get the team to a good level.

Lv. 29 seemed like a good stopping point, I doubt Corey will have any Pokémon above Lv. 30 at least. Plus, still no idea when we’re gonna get to the actual third Gym, which has a level cap of Lv. 35, so the lower I can keep my party’s levels while still being able to do this specific boss fight, the better. Besides- if Riptide levels up one more time during the battle, it’d make for a very cinematic evolution moment.

You might have also noticed how everyone now has an item. Breeze and Blaze have Elemental Seeds because they’re most likely to come out on Corrosive Mist, so that’ll give them a power-up (in spite of poisoning them too). Riptide and Kirin have Pecha Berries (I only had two to begin with) to deal with any poisoning of their own, and Crater has an Oran Berry for HP reasons- I would have liked to give her a Sitrus Berry instead, but I didn’t have one. Oh, and Glare’s item didn’t change, still Protective Pads.

Now, I think we’ve prepared rather thoroughly- in the end, it all comes down to what actually happens during the battle. So no more delays, let’s do it.

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[thewickedxrp]

SENTENCE STARTERS!

please reblog to take part! if you respond to three or more of these, it will count as activity in our next activity check.

"am i afraid of the dark? are you kidding me?"

"you shouldn't be here. it's too dangerous."

"i just feel doomed, all of the time."

"you're kind of an ugly crier."

"should i come back at a better time?"

"everyone i love dies."

"take one more step forward and you'll regret it."

"you're nothing but a monster."

"i thought you really cared about me, but now i see i was wrong."

"are you really going to leave me here without asking me the question you've been dying to ask me?"

"i don't hate you. i just don't like that you exist."

"what about a compromise? i'll kill them first, and if it turns out they were innocent, i'll apologize later."

"do you think i'm dumb enough to fall for that stupid move?"

"it was my fault for thinking you might care."

"those things you said yesterday...did you mean them?"

"i'm okay, thank you. just please, stop talking to me."

"to the night you'll never remember!"

"it's midnight, what do you want?"

"that's a lot of blood."

"don't close your eyes."

"i don't feel safe letting you go off on your own in that state."

"you couldn't died, you know..."

[koffing-time]

ooc ask thingy but i wanna say that the open rp team calm raid thingy is so cool! maybe sometime in the future i’ll join something like that, once my character is stronger and more geared towards stuff like that!

//ooc:

Thank you! It was really fun and i really can only recommend trying some rp and events.

I'll use this chance to clarify some stuff, because it was a bit chaotic yesterday and i made some mistakes or missed some stuff regarding blogging etiquette.

First: it was a mistake calling it an open starter, because really it wasn't? It was meant as a closed starter for everyone participating in the raid. Because i didn't know everyone there from the top of my head, and because I didn't want to tag like 15 people, i settled for "open starter". Well, what's done is done, and it worked out fine.

For the future: an "open starter" is usually meant for anyone, regardless of any planning. Anyone who happens to see it can just participate. I will hopefully keep this in mind.

Second: i probably could have tagged a bit more specific regarding content warnings. A high stakes warning couldn't have hurt on a few posts either. I'm sorry if i triggered anyone. I think i tagged everything with "team calm raid" though, maybe that was enough? Again, I'll hopefully keep this more in mind in the future.

(also, I don't really know who you are because anon, but I'll hopefully see you around sometime!)