#‘oh no I stayed up too late crafting’ is probably going to be the theme of the month

[unreliablesnake]

His new little pet (Kyle Garrick x f!reader)

Summary: Kyle becomes obsessed with you and comes up with a plan to get you.

Note: dark!Gaz. I wanted to write something like this after reading the first few pages of You. // If you want to know when I post new stuff, follow @unreliablesnakefics.

Warning: kidnapping, drugs, sexual themes, stalking, etc.

A friend of his took a bunch of photos at a big festival, one he couldn’t attend because he was on another continent at the time, taking out bad guys to keep the balance in the world. But as he swiped through the photos in her Instagram post late at night in an empty briefing room, Kyle’s thumb stopped above the screen as he took a closer look at one of the pictures. 

His friend was posing with a friend of hers, one he had seen in photos before. You were tagged which made it easy to find out who you were, and based on your profile and previous content, you didn’t even live that far from him. How irresponsible of you to post about your favorite places to visit in the morning, and sharing pictures with a view outside your window that makes it easy to pinpoint where exactly you live. 

The obsession over you came as a surprise as he couldn’t recall the last time he got so hooked on the idea of being with someone. You were on his mind all day long, sometimes during times he was supposed to focus on something entirely different with a weapon in his hand, waiting for the commands coming from Price. 

But how could he focus when you were so irresistible? He memorized every detail, the shape of your kissable pink lips, the color of your eyes, the way you usually styled your hair, and that bikini which left little to his imagination. Oh, if he ever got the chance to be with you, he sure as hell wouldn’t let you post such pictures. The last thing he needed was knowing other men were drooling over the curves of your body. 

When he wasn’t deployed, he began to hang out around your apartment, patiently waiting for you so he could learn more about your daily routine. You usually came down to a nearby bakery in the morning to get something for breakfast, then you left for work where you stayed until late in the afternoon. From there the program you chose varied all the time; sometimes you spent time with your friends, sometimes you stayed at home. 

From his brief conversations with your mutual friend, he learned even more about you. Wednesday is reserved for emergency venting meetings with your closest friends, a little three-people group whose members had known each other since their teenage years. Every Friday you meet with your friends to have a drink in a pub, watch a movie together, or sometimes you go to a restaurant to talk over some fancy dinner. Saturday is usually reserved for dates or going to a party with the core group. Sunday was the day you always spent with your family. 

A creature of habit, that’s what you were. To him it was good news, this way he could make an accidental meeting happen at a place he knew you would visit. Kyle decided to make his move after the next mission, during which he carefully crafted a plan to make it seem like it wasn’t planned beforehand and as if he had only vaguely remembered you from a picture from your mutual friend’s profile. 

The bakery near your apartment seemed to be the best option on a Friday morning. If things went well, you might invite him to hang out with you and your friends, or you could even offer to see him one-on-one the next day. He wouldn’t force this. Sure, he would ask for your number–you know, just in case something happens to that mutual friend of yours–but there’s no way he would ask you out. Not yet. 

He would eventually send you a text that simply says, “Jennie’s birthday is coming up, we should throw a party for her.” And you would probably reply, “Good idea, let’s meet to discuss the plan.” It would be easy. You were too kind and loyal to say no to an idea like that. From this point on, it would be way too easy. He gossips about friends you don’t want to attend, he cracks jokes to lighten the mood, and he would gently touch your shoulder every now and then, just a little not to make you uncomfortable, but still get your attention as he passes by. 

He waited a little further away from the bakery, keeping enough distance to be out of sight, but staying close enough to enter a few seconds after you. And just as expected, you arrived at the usual time, at seven o’clock to have enough time to eat at home and get to work by nine. Kyle walked in with his phone in hand, his eyes focused somewhere between the screen and you so he knew exactly when he would accidentally bump into you.

“Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” he apologized as he looked up and locked the phone. 

You flashed a charming little smile at him as you pulled on the strap of your bag. “No problem, it happens to the best of us.” 

He couldn’t believe how nice you were and how your voice was as sweet as honey. Just as he was thinking about how to keep up the conversation, his lips almost forming the first word of the next sentence, you narrowed your eyes and clearly took a better look at him. The expression on your face slowly changed, showing that you were thinking hard about something. 

“Don’t we know each other?” 

It took Kyle by surprise. He couldn’t recall meeting you in person before, but you seemed so sure that you knew each other that he didn’t dare to speak up at first. He then told you he couldn’t remember ever meeting you, but–because there was a but, why wouldn’t there be one–he mentioned that you looked familiar too. You wondered if he lived nearby, and he was quick to confirm he did indeed and maybe that was the key. 

But then a look of realization appeared on your face. “Jennie’s Instagram,” you exclaimed happily. “I knew I saw you before. You’re friends with her, right?”

His brain short-circuited for a moment as you grabbed his elbow and pulled him out of the line so you could talk without interruptions. Clearing his throat, he flashed a kind smile at you and nodded. “Yeah, I knew you looked familiar too. You went to that festival together a few months back.”

“As we do every year,” you said with a laugh that sounded like music to his ears. He couldn’t wait to hear you laugh at his jokes while the two of you were sitting on his couch with his arm around your shoulder. “How long have you known her?”

“For about four years, I guess,” he replied slowly as he thought about the answer. Not because he cared that much about his friendship with Jennie at this moment, but because he wanted to make sure you got the answer you were looking for. “Yes, four, she came to my 30th birthday party as the girlfriend of one of my old friends.”

The last part of his sentence caught your interest. “Old friend?”

Kyle nodded. “They broke up and our little group was already mad at him, so I guess we kinda inherited Jennie after the breakup,” he explained with a laugh. “How did you meet her?”

Some asshole bumped into you as he walked in, as if the shop wasn't big enough for everyone. But the line was away from you and he seemingly wasn't coming in to meet someone, which meant the little incident was probably more than just an accident. Kyle had to keep himself under control so he wouldn't go after him and force him to apologize.

He shouldn't do that. He definitely shouldn't scare you. In his eyes you were like a delicate flower, a wild animal that could easily be scared away with a loud noise.

“We went to college together,” you replied after you returned your attention to him.

At first he didn't even remember his question that you answered. But soon his mind wandered to dangerous waters knowing Jennie and her rebellious past, but he tried to keep a straight face. He definitely shouldn't think about whether or not she had made a move on you, if the two of you lived together as roommates, or if she had some juicy story about you.

“Sounds like fun,” he said with a forced smile.

In reality, he didn't want to think about you being in college. Were you one of those girls who tasted freedom for the first time and went wild for those few years? The more he was looking at you, the more he could imagine your wild side. Maybe you had a long string of one-night stands, guys you brought home after those big parties you attended.

Kyle knew you were past that wild phase. Sure, this side of yours came out to play when you went to festivals or visited a club with your friends on a Saturday evening, but in your everyday life you were a completely different person. Chill yet disciplined, and practical. Spontaneity wasn't in your dictionary from Sunday to Friday. 

“I should get going or else I'll be late from work,” you suddenly spoke up with your eyes on the screen of your phone. This sentence got his attention and maybe the hint of disappointment crossed his face when he looked at you. You didn’t seem to notice because it was gone by the time you put your phone in your pocket and looked up at him with a beaming smile. “See you around.”

Nodding, he watched as you left the shop without standing back in the line to get your breakfast. Poor you, now you will probably have to get something else to eat. Hopefully you won’t starve yourself. He shoved his hands into the pocket of his jacket and left as well, going home to spend the rest of the day stalking you on social media. 

It always surprised him how much you shared on different platforms. Photos, locations, thoughts, moodboards, sometimes your interests, and you were always ready to engage in conversations with others. This made tracking you a lot easier for him, but at the same time it also reminded him of how much you craved attention. Why else would you post so much? 

If he had you all for himself, he would definitely talk to you about this. He huffed at the word if. It wasn’t an if, it was a when. Because it was only a matter of time until he got what he wanted so badly, he just had to be patient for now. Until that day he would keep an eye on you, make sure you were safe, and learn even more about you. He could ask Jennie about you after casually mentioning that he met you by accident. Knowing her, she would be quick to start telling him stories. 

But what happened in reality surely surprised him. He told Jennie about the meeting the next day when she called, and two days later she called him again, this time asking him if he was interested in you. “You have no idea,” he wanted to say but eventually he kept this to himself. So instead of properly answering, all he said was a nonchalant “she’s cute,” as if he hadn’t been thinking about you for weeks. His friend sounded excited but refused to elaborate on why. 

Later that day he received a notification on Instagram that told him you were now following him. Kyle knew better than to instantly follow you back, he wanted to make it look like he wasn’t in a hurry to let you know he remembered you. He wasn’t surprised to see you slip into his DMs the next day, although he expected you to keep your distance just a little longer. 

Hey, do you remember me? We met in that bakery last week. Jennie’s friend?

A smile appeared on his lips upon reading the message. Oh, you were so desperate. You spent the day when you followed him liking all of his recent photos, sometimes even leaving a cute comment with emojis. And now it was you coming to him, basically begging for his attention. 

I remember.

What are you doing on Saturday?

Date night. Based on the way you had let that asshole fuck you last Saturday, he didn’t expect you to move on so fast. That guy was one of the worst, some moron who treated you as if you were nothing more but a cheap whore. Yet you enjoyed yourself apparently because otherwise you wouldn’t have let him stay the night. And he saw the messages. He visited your apartment one day while you were at work and snooped around your laptop for your passwords. 

How naive of you to save every password in the browser. Anyone could take a look at them. What made his little search even more joyful was the fact you seemingly had a software on your phone to have remote access to it, this way he could check your phone too. So he logged into your accounts and deleted every message that was related to a new login. He spent an entire night going through every single one of your conversations in hope to find out what you liked. 

You looked like an angel, even talked like one, but deep down you were a really dirty girl, having several spicy conversations with different men. Roleplay, detailed chats about nights spent together, or sharing fantasies; it was hard to choose a favorite. He could still hear your moans as he read them, the sound of the video feed from your apartment last Saturday still a vivid memory in his mind. 

He only responded to your question the next day, keeping the casual tone as if he hadn’t known what you wanted from him. You want to grab a beer? Sure. Let's invite Jennie too. You sent your reply in five minutes, stating that you were thinking more of going alone, just the two of you.

“Slut,” he thought with a laugh. But he didn't mind as long as he was getting what he needed badly, the chance for his fingers to trace your body, his lips traveling from the shell of your ear down to your wet, tight cunt. He wanted to see you fall apart over and over again so he could build you up from scratch just the way he wanted.

Late in the afternoon on Friday he stood across the street in your neighborhood, watching you get ready through the window. You didn’t seem to care that there were no curtains and anyone could see you walk out of the shower to get dressed in your bedroom. A free show, one that made him be painfully aware of how tight his jeans were.

Then his phone beeped. Then it beeped again. With a groan he took a look at it, only to find a message you received. He had never heard of the man who wrote to you, but the things he sent you made it clear he wasn’t just a friend. He wondered how you could do this to him, why you decided to chat with a guy when you were about to go on a date with him the next day.

Let’s skip dinner. I’m waiting for you in the Ritz. Room 312. Bring some clothes, you’re only going home on Sunday. Until then you’re mine.

I’m visiting my parents on Sunday.

Cancel it. I’m not asking.

Yes, Sir.

A luxury hotel for the weekend just to fuck you in peace? Who the hell was this guy? Without much thinking he checked his profile and there he found a bunch of photos of him and his family. He was married which meant he was a lying piece of shit, but you didn’t seem to mind playing the role of the other woman in his life.

When Kyle looked up, he saw you folding clothes, probably putting them in a suitcase as this guy told you. You were so obedient, such a nice little pet, it would be a shame to hide you. If he had you, he would surely put you on display, letting everybody know you were his.

It was only the next day when a new message popped up on his phone. It took you more than half a day to cancel your meeting, telling him a family emergency came in the way. You didn’t mention a raincheck, it looked like you weren’t as interested as he had assumed. What a shame.

But it was okay. He could wait.

Price called him a few days later to inform him about a new mission. Kyle didn’t feel like going, but there was nothing he could do about it. Maybe distance would help. Maybe he could come up with a plan to get you. So he went there, spending every free second reading the messages you exchanged with others. 

This man you had spent the weekend with was bombarding you with messages. Apparently he sent you flowers, an expensive necklace you were very grateful for, and hell, he even offered to buy you a car because he didn’t like the idea of you using public transportation like the rest of the city. “Any guy could get touchy in the crowd and I don’t like the idea of others touching what’s mine,” he reasoned.

By the time he returned home, Kyle had a plan. He rented an apartment in an almost empty building and spent a lot of money on making it soundproof. You would like it. Well, you would learn to like it. It would be your new home, one you shared with him. The next days were spent near the building you lived in to see if your habits had changed while he was gone but lucky for him you were doing things the way as always.

So on a Friday evening when you went to a bar with your friends, he carefully spiked your drink then left to wait for it to start affecting you. He even left for half an hour, just to arrive as if he hadn't been there before. Who would be suspicious of someone who arrived when you were already a bit strange?

“Hey, Jennie’s friend,” he said when he stopped by your table, acting like he didn't remember your name. Your friends gave him a strange look, but when they saw the cheerful smile on your face, they visibly relaxed. “It's been a while.”

“Kyle! I'm so so sorry for ghosting you,” you slurred as you jumped up and wrapped your arms around his neck. “Why don't we hang out tonight?”

“And your friends?” Screw them, of course, but still, Mr. Nice Guy had to ask. 

You rolled your eyes at him. “I spend every Friday with them. But you! You're a rare sight.” He gently pushed you away to make it seem like he wasn't all that happy to have you all over him, like his mind wasn't already in overdrive from the scent of your perfume. “Let me make it up to you. I canceled the meeting and I'm so sad about it,” you said with a pout.

With a laugh he gave a questioning look to your friends, his eyes falling on the one who seemed the most protective from the group. She carefully considered the possibility of letting your drunk self leave with someone they didn't know, but you then began to beg her and she gave in with the condition of you calling him once you were at home.

A little detour was okay, he could manage that. You spend some time together, he walks you home, he waits for you to talk to your friend, then he returns to your home to get you. He knew you would love your new home because he took care of everything. From the few visits in your apartment when you weren’t home along with the video feed from your place, he learned which products you liked, what size your clothes were, what you liked to wear at home. He bought everything, “a shopping spree to surprise my girlfriend who stays over a lot lately,” he had said in a store with a loving smile, making everyone believe that this was all. 

The two of you decided to go grab something to eat, but you weren’t feeling well–thanks to the drugs he had given you, how smart of him–so he took you home instead. “Call your friend, then go to sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow to see if you’re feeling better. But if you need anything in the meantime,” he began quietly as he stepped closer to you, his hand reaching out to touch your cheek, “call me.”

He checked the feed from a nearby bar and listened to your conversation with that friend. 

“Lucy, I’m home in one piece,” you said as you leaned against the headboard of your bed. 

“Good. And that guy?”

“He left. I hoped he would stay to entertain me, but he wanted me to get some rest.”

Kyle couldn’t help but chuckle at your disappointment. You would get what you wanted in no time. You would be begging him to stop after he pulled out oh-so-many orgasms out of you, but he still wasn’t sure if he would give you the freedom to decide. Once you finally ended the call, he went back to your apartment and quietly walked into your bedroom, careful not to startle you. 

You were half-asleep already, but when he sat on the edge of your bed, your eyes opened and you looked at him. “Kyle?” He nodded as he swept a strand of hair behind your ear. “You came back?” you mumbled. 

“Get dressed, I want to show you something,” he told you before standing up to get you some clothes. 

By now the alcohol and the drug turned you into this obedient little thing, so you got dressed and followed him without questions. The car ride felt like an eternity, but he knew in less than twenty minutes you would officially become his. He rested his hand on your thigh the whole time, his thumb drawing circles into your skin through your jeans. You were sleeping peacefully so he could look over at you any time he wanted. 

When you reached your destination, he helped you out of the car and guided you to the third floor where his secret apartment was. You didn’t ask questions, you just crawled under the covers in bed and asked him to join you. Kyle didn’t have to be told twice, so he took off his shoes and occupied the empty side of the bed. “Get some sleep, pet. We will have the rest of our lives to have fun, trust me,” he whispered to you before leaning over to kiss you. 

[greatyme]

8 Shows To Get To Know Me

Thank u for tagging me @jyuubin!!

Invader zim

I was a big nick/cartoon network kid & invader zim is just such a classic. I would watch the shit out of it, I’ve bought the whole series, the whole deal. When I was little I based my identity off of gir and when I was rewatching not too long ago I realized I still have so many lines memorized… it’s so silly and stupid and smart and gross I love it

My babysitter’s a vampire

Since this is a get to know me tag we’re like going through time with these series. This is another one I have lines memorized from! If I were to say which character I am it would be Rory and that is Important to know. A bunch of my friends love it too and we’ve rewatched it together it’s so fun whenever we do <3 another classic if u ask me

Merlin

If u asked me in like 2015-2017ish what my fav show is I probably would’ve said Merlin. And it stayed up there as a fav show for a WHILE. I’ve never been able to rewatch it bc of like. The Pain the finale caused me but I was obsessed with it when I did watch it. I had some huge multiship mindset going when I watched it and was shipping basically everyone together which I don’t think I’ve done for any other show… I watched tf out of the bts for it too. Like I was kinda in deep…

Skam/druck/skam austin

Is it cheating if I put a show and my two fav remakes LMAO… I’m a big skam girlie. We should all know this. I made this acc when druck was airing as a skam + remakes blog. I had a skam austin username for the longest time (rip gracefulnosplinters). The og is such a classic and gave me some of my fav pan rep (so did druck)! I was so so so obsessed and in my heart I still am. I’ll defend skam austin to the ends of the earth. I met some of the druck cast members (heyyy Lukas). I lived and breathed those clip drops in real time like they were AIR. I completed the Norwegian duolingo course and my streak is still going. But really which skam viewer has ever been not entirely invested in the series. I’ll stop now cuz I could talk Forever about it all…

The untamed

Oh god. If you knew me when I first watched cql I’m genuinely so sorry… I would NOT shut up. It was every other word out of my mouth. I related every goddamn thing I saw to the show. It consumed me for MONTHS. As in I literally couldn’t watch anything else until a few months later after binging all sorts of bts, adaptations, and reading parts of the novel (funny thing is I still haven’t seen all adaptations/everything lmao). I always say it’s a good thing I couldn’t legally drive people when I was in this phase cuz I ONLY listened to/played the fucking character osts in the car for months like I knowww my mom was sick of it (she’s the only one who had to deal with me in the car lmfao). It was also the first time I ever actually made a sideblog for anything. I found the show at a very fitting time in my life too. Probably one of the hardest times ever but some of the themes in the series stuck with me in ways that felt so personal. A lot of love here

Kinnporsche

Another one I was super invested in at the time. Would not shut tf up about vegaspete. Very annoying about. Rewatched tf out of it. You know the drill. The few months I spent watching it was so eventful

HIStory2: crossing the line

Okay I think I’m really just in a HIStory mood lately but this fucking show. THESE TWO. YU HAO AND ZI XUAN. WHAT THE FUCK. The best way I can explain this is in a way no one else can understand: it appeals to a younger part of me in a very specific way. Like it’s scary. The chemistry is insane like going back to it after about a year still made me feel the exact same crazy way. One of the greatest losses caused by covid was the sequel that got cancelled 💔

Bad buddy

We all saw this coming. Gotta end with a bang. My favorite ql of all time. Insane to experience live and such a perfectly crafted show (thx p’aof). Layers upon layers of depth to write about (which like tbh every bad buddy fan basically has, me included). Just so much to love. Speaking of love: milklove origins too!!! We get it all from one silly little series. I remember exactly where I was so vividly when I experienced so many iconic scenes. It’s legendary!

I’m gonna tag @dumpsterslugz (I can tag you in things like this now >:D) @pondphuwin @heart-ming @markpakin & anyone else who wants 2 do this !!

[princesspuresarahk]

Meg Fanfic

Chapter: 5 Lets go for a drive! a phone call from Lois?

The weekend went by in peaceful bliss feeling like a dream to Meg she wished it could last forever but she knew it wouldn't be long until her 'family' got back.

"Meg, do you want to go somewhere today?" Donna asked her.

"hmmm going for a drive sounds nice it that's if that's alright with you Donna," she suggested while helping Donna clean up wearing a comfy oversize lavender sweater with jean leggings and fluffy socks during her 'stay' (from what she can think as) at the Brown house she offered to help Donna and Roberta around the house with chores to which Donna at first said there was no need but Meg wanted to help as she found it kinda relaxing folding fresh clothes and blankets hot from the dryer smelling like a clean autumn breeze after the cold rainstorm they had everything outside was foggy and murky with the chill that can make you almost see your breath went outside

"Yes, it does sound nice," Donna responded.

They finished the rest of the laundry they went upstairs to put the rest away into the rooms Meg dropped off Jr.'s and Rallo's on their beds before heading to Roberta "Hey Roberta here's your clothes to put up, also me and your Mom are going for a drive would to come?" She asked smiling even though she's a year older than her Meg wanted to get to know Roberta now that she'd started a friendship with Donna.

"Yeah, I would love to come~" Roberta replied. She does want to see what Meg and her mom have been doing lately. With the laundry put away the three headed out the car with Donna having already warmed up the car with the still chilly weather keeping them warm inside “Woah, it’s so cold.” Meg remarked, slightly shivering.

"yeah it's freezing out here Mama it's October and already feels like November how did Cleveland live out here," Roberta did as well checking her phone for Federline as they on the car Meg in the passenger seat Roberta wanted to sit in the back and have room to herself enjoying the space in the car while her stepfather and brothers are away.

Meg felt relaxed throughout the car ride. It gives her a piece of mind.

Onward they drove listening to music and talking about little things with the topic of the upcoming Halloween party sharing ideas for the fairytale theme Meg suggested some little flowers scarf toppers and hanging sparkling stars ✨⭐ "to give it a magical feel to it," she explained "and we can even make them by scratch with arts and crafts oh and with little hearts 💖 to bring a little romance in the air for the couples attending," Donna is intrigued by the idea. “That sounds great. We could also add in some pink roses too. We can also add some cute lace on it.” She suggested.

"That sounds great," Roberta replied.

They talked about more ideas they could work on the campaigns even some charity ideas they could bring to the council to raise money for newer school supplies and enhancements ideas of a bake sale, an event stand to sell goods at sports, games, dances, and talents something Meg learned at a school when her and the Griffins stayed in Texas at her Aunt Carol's and went to one of their football games

One of the few things their school didn't have that could bring new opportunities to the students.

After driving around two hours the trio stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break and had something to drink Donna got a unexpected call. Checking it was Lois she told Meg and Roberta to on ahead inside as she took this call Meg wondered what her Mother was calling about as she and Roberta went inside.

"She's probably asking for something dumb." Meg should not expect something positive from Lois.

It'd be 5 minutes until Donna came in to find Meg and Roberta who had already chosen their beverages of bottled water, an energy drink with a slim Jim, a mini bag of honey roasted peanuts, KitKat and M&M's "Hey Donna what did my Mother have to say," Meg asked while Donna got herself a small coffee and roasted honey pecans she had a slight annoyance on her face "Lois called if you could stay with us for a few days it turns out Peter got himself stuck in jail for causing a fight and trashing the Airbnb with reckless driving and won't be out until she tries to convince her Father to send them the money to bail him and pay for the damages oh I swear why Cleveland is friends with that fool of a man child," she mumbled that last part but Meg heard she understood that part being hard with living with a man child there are days she questions her Mother why she stays with him and why Peter even bothers to be a dad? Meg couldn't help but let out a sigh in disbelief knowing Peter was bound to get into his dumb shenanigans but hey at least she wouldn't have to see them for a little longer she looked at Donna who put a hand on their shoulder her phone now gone rising into a sweet smile and her doing the same as she said "so it looks like you'll be staying with us for sometime baby girl we'll stop by your house later and get you a suitcase packed and you'll be staying in our guest room for the time being," giving Meg a wink "Thank you, Donna I really appreciate it,"

Meg loves this. Now, not only does she get to stay longer in the Tubbs’ residence but also, but she is also staying longer away from her family.

It strangely felt good, things felt good for Meg and with her new friendship with Donna and blooming one with Roberta her time with the Browns, it's going to be a brighter one.

Later that evening after enjoying their long drive they headed back to Spooner Street only stopping by the Griffin house for Meg to quickly grab a couple of clothes and a few things while she stayed at the Brown's house until Griffins got back.

'I can't believe this is actually happening.' Meg thought excitedly.

She never thought something could happen like this being with a kind woman like Donna who willingly came to the mother and aunt-like figure she needed her own 'Auntie Mama!'

Right now after coming back from their long drive, she was helping Donna out in the kitchen preparing dinner having decided on hot creamy pumpkin soup with little bacon bits that made the kitchen smell good aroma of fresh hot soup on the stove as Meg was putting the ingredients Roberta studying the table while talking with Federline Donna was on the phone with Cleveland. Good cause they needed to talk!

“Cleveland, you got to do something about that friend of yours! I don’t like how he treated Meg!” Donna exclaimed.

Cleveland sighed knowing this was coming is a topic that he and Donna have been bickering about lately he knows Donna hasn't liked the Griffins ever since they moved back to Quahog even for a time forbidding him from being friends with that Peter and see how they treat their children Cleveland knows this and understandingly knows it's wrong especially how they treat their oldest child heck he's been having second thoughts about their friendship lately but then again they were best friends "I know Donna it's just that I know Peter for a long time and he was my best friend he saved my life a couple of times and how can I repay for something like that?"

He and the boys were having a campfire roasting hot dogs when Donna called and with the kind of topic and tone she was having he knew this needed to be a private call excused himself to the car for a few minutes as he and Donna talked about the issue about Meg "I know it's truly wrong with how he treats his oldest child Meg is a sweet little girl always has been has been Peter seemed to love her in the beginning I just don't know why now he treats her like dirt don't even treat my kids like that if there was a way I could take her in myself I am her God Daddy after all Donna but I don't know how to do that without causing drama,"

"Then tell that man to not be such a horrid father! the same goes for his wife!" Donna chided.

"you're right Donna I'll have a talk with Peter about it as soon as they return I promise," he replied in a sweet loving tone but Donna knew he was going to keep his promise "All right baby we'll see you guys when you get back tomorrow I love you Cleveland give Rallo and Jr. A good night hug from me and you boys stay safe out there,"

With that, they hung up Donna went to the kitchen to finish up making dinner "Donna how was Cleveland and the boys doing?" Meg asked curiously

“They are just camping. Seems like they are enjoying their time.” Donna responded.

"they must be having a lot of fun I like camping," Meg smiled

They finished up making dinner filling their bellies with nice hot soup and grilled cheese. Later the girls decided to do some karaoke! With Meg and Donna starting with some Dolly Parton!

“🎶Tumble out of bed

And stumble to the kitchen

Pour myself a cup of ambition

And yawn and stretch and try to come to life

Jump in the shower

And the blood starts pumpin'

Out on the streets, the traffic starts jumpin'

For folks like me on the job from 9 to 5,🎶" shaking their hips and body to the groove pink and purple karaoke microphones in hand

🎶"Workin' 9 to 5

What a way to make a livin'

Barely gettin' by

It's all takin' and no givin'

They just use your mind

And they never give you credit

It's enough to drive you

Crazy if you let it

9 to 5

For service and devotion

You would think that I

Would deserve a fat promotion"🎶

The song was cheering up Meg. She started to move her body to the beat.

"🎶 Want to move ahead

But the boss won't seem to let me

I swear sometimes that man is

Out to get me, hmmm

They let you dream

Just a watch 'em shatter

You're just a step on the boss man's ladder

But you got dreams he'll never take away

In the same boat with a lot of your friends

Waitin' for the day your ship'll come in

And the tide's gonna turn

And it's all gonna roll you away

Workin' 9 to 5

What a way to make livin'

Barely gettin' by

It's all takin' and no givin'🎶"

She and Donna sang their heart out into the beat as Roberta watched with amusement watching her Mom and Meg sing shaking their hips and body to the groove pink and purple karaoke microphones in hand

"🎶 They just use your mind

And you never get the credit

It's enough to drive you

Crazy if you let it

9 to 5

Yeah, they got you were they want you

There's a better life

And you think about it, don't you?

It's a rich man's game

No matter what they call it

And you spend your life

Putting money in his wallet

9 to 5

Oh, what a way to make a livin'

Barely gettin' by

It's all takin' and no givin'

They just use your mind

And they never give you credit

It's enough to drive you

Crazy if you let it

9 to 5

Yeah, they got you where they want you

There's a better life

And you dream about it, don't you?

It's a rich man's game

No matter what they call it

And you spend your life

Putting money in his wallet

9 to 5!🎶"

The two said the last part out loud before collapsing to the couch to catch their breath laughing as they did the invigorating tune radiated through the whole room as the two women danced.

They continued singing their hearts out with Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Raise Your Glass with Roberta later joining the two in a contest singing another Pink song Get This Party Started!

"🎶I'm comin' up so you better get this party started

I'm comin' up so you better get this party started

Get this party started on a Saturday night

Everybody's waitin' for me to arrive

Sendin' out the message to all of my friends

We'll be lookin' flashy in my Mercedes Benz

I got lotsa style, check my gold diamond rings

I can go for miles if you know what I mean

I'm comin' up so you better get this party started

(I'm comin' up, I'm comin')

I'm comin' up so you better get this party started

Pumpin' up the volume, breakin down' to the beat

Cruisin' through the west side

We'll be checkin' the scene

Boulevard is freakin' as I'm comin' up fast

I'll be burnin' rubber, you'll be kissin' my ass

Pull up to the bumper, get out of the car

License plate says "Stunner number one Superstar?"

After singing song after song, the women were all tuckered out from singing and ready to head off to bed Meg has a feeling that tomorrow will get even more better.

And indeed it was in another peaceful autumn Monday morning before they were back at the school for the week the girls spent the morning enjoying eggies in a basket with turkey bacon and later the girls cleaned up the house some more when Cleveland and the boys get home from cleaning the kitchen, living room, laundry and bathrooms the satisfaction of a nice clean house. Meg got the last load of bedding for her room she couldn't help but press the sheets against her skin still hot from the dryer signing at the smell of Downy Bliss of Sparkling Amber and Rose "Mmmm so warm and soft I love it and I love it here with Auntie Donna," she whispered before putting them in the basket heading upstairs to finish remaking her bed. When the Browns moved back in they decided to set up new arrangements now that they were a family of 5-6 (with Meg now in the mix for the time being ) with setting a part of their attic into a guest bedroom whenever they had guests over and needed a place to sleep making it comfortable and cozy for the person staying.

“This looks very nice, Auntie Donna.” Meg feels comfortable with the bedding.

"Anything to make sure our guests are comfortable baby so you be snug as a bug here," Donna cooed giving a little kiss on her head as Meg giggled.

“Thanks again for letting me stay here, Auntie Donna.” The younger woman said in gratitude.

Later that evening the sound of Cleveland's car could be heard pulling up the driveway he and his boys had returned from their trip as the women came out to greet them "Welcome home Cleveland did you and the boys have a fun time," she greeted rushing to her hubby to embrace him in a big hug kissing her husband. Cleveland returned the hug and kiss "Haha it's good to be home baby, the boys had an amazing time by the time we got back to Quahog they were tuckered out haha Rallo even fell asleep on the way," motioning to the car as Cleveland Jr. helped a very sleepy Rallo out of his car seat "hi miss Donna it's good to be home I sure missed my warm bed and being home while camping," he said happily as Donna picked up Rallo into her arms as her youngest opened his trying to stay awake "Hi Rallo did you have a good time baby," she cooed as Rallo let out a tired yawn, Rallo looks at her somewhat dazed and part of his afro is "dented" from lying on the seatbelt.

"Best trip ever Mama..yawn.. didn't want it to end..yawn..I hope we can go back again..yyaawwnn.." he sleepily explained before hearing soft snores coming out as sleep took over Rallo again as he cuddled up against his mother lost away in dreamland.

Donna gave Rallo as everyone made their way back inside Cleveland chuckled "Haha It's good to be home,"

Donna sighs, "Yes it is...~ But a few things that need to be discussed..."

She whispered as Rallo fell back asleep in her arms Cleveland nodded understanding what she meant "Yes baby I know I plan to talk to him as he and Lois get back," he's going to do the right thing for his God daughter's sake.

It made Donna proud of her husband "That's good Cleveland now come there's lots to talk about," The family headed inside for a hot dinner was waiting for them of crispy za’atar chicken and cauliflower with roasted sweet potatoes.

The family enjoyed the dinner later getting together to talk about how their weekend went and the upcoming plans for the party until it was time for bed as everyone wished each other a good night of sleep and rest for a new day.

Yup! plot twist Cleveland is revealed to be Meg's Godfather how will he confront Peter's treatment? what will happen when the Griffins get back?

stay tuned for Chapter: 6 Cold rainy school days and friendship?

credit to the beautiful Taffy aka www.tumblr.com/queenofcandynso… for being part of this fanfic : )

credit to Dolly and Pink of their songs

[kirby-the-gorb]

[astaroth1357]

Demon Brothers Comfort an MC with Depression

As somebody who struggles with and has seen others battle depression, I know that it manifests in everyone a little differently and what works for some may not for others. Unfortunately, there is no cure-all. But if you're like me and some relief can come from comfort/being comforted, no matter how you find it, then I hope this helps you too. Please remember there's always places and people who wish to help out. Try to practice self-love and stay safe out there.

Warnings: Themes of Depression, Angst

Lucifer

His reaction to stress is work. If he’s stressed out, then he’ll do more work. It’s not that he enjoys it, it just keeps his mind distracted and he’d rather things get done. So he can recognize when someone else does the same.

Cooking, cleaning, homework, or other chores, he’s seen the MC go around doing this and that throughout the House. At first he was thankful, his brothers so rarely clean up or look after themselves, but after a while things started to seem off…

They started working themselves to the bone. He could hear them up in the middle of night sweeping or washing dishes. It was almost like they had forgotten how to sleep at night...

One night, when he left his study to go make some coffee, he found them in the library scrubbing the floors. Their shoulders were trembling with hushed whimpers and choked sobs...

He made them put the sponge away, walked them back into his study, and sat them down despite their protests. They explained their condition to him there through tears they seemingly didn’t want to shed... They’d been unable to sleep in days and were using cleaning as a distraction...

His first instinct was to put them to bed, but if they already can’t sleep then that seemed insufficient… 

He ordered them to relax in the chair and played classical music as he made them some tea. He tried to calm them down as best he could and reassured them with quiet conversation and compliments to help them stop crying. When they eventually zonked out, he carried them back to bed then set to work.

Informed Diavolo the next day that the MC was having difficulties then sought out the best treatment the human world had to offer. He personally escorts the MC there for regular services. 

Would not hear a word of protest on this. If they didn’t want to go, then he would just have kidnap a therapist and bring the treatment to them.

He instructed his brothers remind the MC to relax sometimes and watch closely for signs of overworking. They could let the house fall to pieces for all he cares, just as long as they’re getting enough sleep and feeling better.

“This simply won’t do… But that’s alright. I’ll make sure things here are better for you.”

Mammon

He's been with MC the longest, he knows what's up by now. 

He wouldn't say they have mood swings but he's picked up on how their mood rises and falls over time. They may seem perfectly fine for a while, a week, sometimes two. Then suddenly it's as if they pull back...

They'll stay in their room longer, be a bit more quiet at the dinner table, or look spaced out all the time. Like they're there, but not really with him anymore…

At first he thought it was something he was doing but they’d always tell him he’s fine. Great even. So why did they keep pulling away…?

He got worried enough about it that he asked Solomon if it was just a human thing. He’s the one who told him what depression was and that the MC may have it.

Honestly, he can’t say that he gets it completely, but he takes it seriously. If it’s making the MC feel this bad then he’s got to try something, right?

He’s unsure of what to do, so he settles for just being there for them. Constantly. If he notices that they’re pulling back again, he’ll go to their room and just be there. Even if he’s only checking his phone while sitting next to them on the bed. 

He makes sure to remind them that since they’re his human he doesn’t like seeing them sad. If they need to talk, he’s got it. If they need a hug, he’s got that too. He won’t let them feel like they’re all alone as long as he’s around.

“Tsk, look… You know you’ve got me here, right? I ain’t goin’ leave ya…”

Leviathan 

Was pretty oblivious to it until he walked into their room one day to lend them a new manga and found them curled up, crying in bed.

Panicked right away because he thought they were hurt and almost called for Lucifer before they stopped him.

After they explained the situation and that sometimes the tears just happen, he felt awful for them. He’s not exactly an emotionally secure person himself so he could relate to feeling like your mind can be against you at times.

He offers them funny manga or shows them games that make him relaxed and happy. He takes their tastes into account and tries to craft them the best “feel good” media pack an otaku can ask for.

If they’re not an otaku like he is well… He doesn’t really know what makes normies feel better, but he’ll still try there too. He’s sure there’s probably some things on Akuzon that can help. Flowers? Candy? Do crystals work on them? He’s not very equipped, but he is trying.

Asks them over for a lot more anime/game nights because he thinks if he can get them distracted, then that’s a bit of relief in and of itself. Will try very hard to make them laugh when they’re together. Every little smile is a victory in his eyes.

“Okay, I brought this, and this, and this, oh and that too! It’s a good series. We can watch it together, okay?”

Satan

Sadness is sort of new to him. When you’ve been angry most of your life you end up not very familiar with other emotions, be they your own or other people’s...

He DID know about depression though. Or at least he knew what it was. He read about it in some human medical journals after the MC came to the Devildom, just to cover his bases.

When the MC started to show signs of having it, he was hesitant to say much at first because he didn’t think his place to do so.

He changed his mind after they began skipping classes. It started out pretty minor, they’d be late for class this week then maybe leave a little early the next… But soon it seemed like they couldn’t bring themselves to go at all. 

He knew this wasn’t a Belphie situation. The MC wasn’t lazy and they cared a good deal about their grades. If something was keeping them from making it to class, it had to be serious and he wanted to help.

He read enough on the subject to be able to approach it tactfully, then presented the MC with his findings. He tried to be gentle, but he was worried and when he’s worried he wants to get to the bottom of the problem as soon as possible.

When his suspicions were proven true, he did everything in his power to help them. He read up on the condition for days and asked them a lot of questions about how they doing, how they’re feeling, what makes them comfortable, etc.

He begun looking into what treatments were available/able to be smuggled down to the Devildom while still being discreet, if that’s what they wanted. His brothers didn’t need to know.

Checks up on them a lot in the meantime and tries to cheer them up if he can. He’s not the best at it face-to-face but he may send them gifs and pics of kittens doing kitten things. That usually helps him, so maybe it will help them too?

“Don’t worry, you can get through this. There’s a lot of options available. Here, let me show you what I’ve found...”

Asmodeus

Even the most beautiful people can feel depressed sometimes and Asmo knows that.

It started with him fussing over their appearance like he does with all his brothers, semi-playfully of course.

“MC, are you getting enough beauty sleep? MC, why don’t you do something more with your hair? MC, you could look cuter than that! MC? Are you listening...?”

It didn’t take long, though, for him to notice the dip in their self-care was getting steeper… And it wasn’t like them. They didn’t put as much pride in their appearance as he does (who can?) but they had a style. There was a way they liked to present themselves to other people. They just weren’t doing that anymore…

Something was wrong and he was sure of it.

When he invited the MC to his room that day, he didn’t have any ulterior motives for once. He wasn’t looking for a night of fun, only answers to soothe his concern. 

He had never been more gentle or considerate of their feelings than he was right then; coaxing but never prodding until finally they let him in wholeheartedly.

He held the MC as they cried, listened to every word they had to say, never interrupted or complained, and just brushed every tear away.

Makes it his mission to take care of the MC inside and out. Spa days become a regular occurrence where he will ask how they’re doing and let them vent whatever they need. If they don’t feel like talking, then he will take over and try to make them laugh with some embarrassing gossip about his brothers.

Wholeheartedly believes that one's mental health is entwined with one’s physical, so will make them feel the most beautiful and relaxed they ever have in hopes that it might soothe that emotional pain too.

“Go on, sweetheart, and let it all out… Don’t worry. I’m listening.”

Beelzebub 

His first tip off was the food. They weren't eating.

Beel's pretty perceptive to what food is around him at all times so he’s the first to notice MC's portions getting smaller… then their plates stay half full.

That worried him enough but when they started skipping meals all together he knew he needed to step in and find out what was wrong. Were they sick?

He gently cornered them one day in the kitchen when they went to grab some instant noodles. It was well past noon and that was the only thing he'd seen them eat since yesterday's breakfast. He knows they're never as hungry as he is, but that has to hurt them too, right?

When he asked about their appetite they wouldn't meet his eyes. They tried to tell him that they were fine but that wasn't going to fly. He called their bluff immediately.

He didn’t expect them to start crying... Honest.

He felt horrible and just pulled them into a hug while they let it out, rocking them gently like he does with Belphie when he’s upset.

When they explained to him what depression is and how they don’t feel like eating sometimes it makes him more worried than before. He honestly can’t process the idea of not being hungry for such long periods of time but it sounds bad for them surely…

From that day forward he keeps a close eye on their food intake. He’ll be the first to encourage them to eat and even offer his own food if they haven’t had any yet. If they’re looking a little down, he’ll offer them snacks from his comfort food stash.

He’s always down to be with them when they need it. No questions asked. If they just show up at his room or send him a text then he’ll be there. He doesn’t mind if they don’t feel like talking, he just hopes his presence helps somehow.

“Do you need me right now? Okay. I’ll order us a pizza but you have to eat some of it too, alright?”

Belphegor 

It’s not an unfamiliar feeling to him. He went through his own sad spells after Lilith died… Back then he coped with it through sleeping most of the day and being with Beel.

He started to notice that the MC was sleeping more. At first he was kind of happy because then they could nap together, but it started getting worse…

They’d sleep almost all day. Humans only need 8 hours but they’d go 14 or more… Not even he can stay in bed that long...

When they were awake they’d be quiet. They’d like to hold him but they weren’t telling him what was wrong…

After a while, he got so worried that he looked up what could be making them so sleepy. When he read about depression it all clicked in place for him, not just about them but about himself too.

One night, while they were having another afternoon nap/snuggle, he gently brought up the subject and they confirmed his suspicions.

What proceeded was a long conversation between the two where he admitted to sometimes feeling the same. They compared notes and thoughts, shared pain and scars, and talked about little things that might not mean much, but made them smile and feel happy to be in the world.

He made a deal with them to start staying up more if he did the same. He skipped class less often in order to wake up and go to school with them and stayed near them while they’re there just in case they started losing steam. 

He wouldn’t force them to do any schoolwork or anything, but he would try to keep them up and about by inviting them in on pranks or talking to them so they won’t fall asleep until a good time for it. He just wanted them to be happy and healthy.

Promised that no matter how long the day took, he’d still cuddle them to sleep at night.

“Hey, if I’m not sleeping then you aren’t either. Come on… We can do this together.”

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Hunting Palismans" From The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

Today, I present to you reason #4,693 for why The Owl House is the best thing at the moment: It's the perfect balance of serialized storytelling with an episodic format. The story always moves forward with an exact order for how episodes should be watched, but each episode still functions as its own standalone tale. Having prior knowledge of what happened before adds more to the experience, but you can still watch whatever you want and still have an enjoyable time. Take "Hunting Palismans," for example. It adds so much more to the overarching narrative while slightly continuing other threads. But it's still something you can watch as is without remembering the past or wondering about the future.

However, to properly explain how requires spoilers. I wasn't kidding when I say that this episode adds so much, so you're going to want to be wary of that when you continue reading.

With that said, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Coven Heads Meeting: We already saw these fellow schmucks in the trailer, but that doesn't take away how cool they are! It's not explicitly stated which head belongs to which coven, but you can already tell who goes where just from their designs alone. And I love that. I love that just by showing us some excellent character designs, anybody with half a brain can already figure out the particular type of magic each Coven Head specializes in. It's a perfect example of the show-don't-tell level of storytelling that is always at its best through animation, and I'm all for it because of it.

What the Day of Unity is: Several fans, myself included, have already speculated that the Day of Unity was that Emperor Belos planned to combine the human world with the Boiling Isles and rule it all with an iron fist. That being said, figuring it out is one thing, but being told that it's true is a whole different level pants-s**ting horror that I AM NOT READY FOR! Even when it's going to happen, I can assure you that I will not be prepared to witness it ...and I am scared of when it does.

Belos Body Horror: ...Disney, I was already scared s**tless of this guy. I DO NOT NEED THIS!

That being said, seeing Belos do...whatever the f**k that was, helps explain further why he needs the magic in palismans. I always assumed because it's like fuel for a car, giving him the power he needs. Now, even though the answer is more apparent, there are still some questions to be had. Is he cursed, and the magic keeps it at bay like Eda's potions? Or did he experiment with the wrong type of magic, and the palismans keep him stable? Only the future can say for sure...and I'm also not prepared for the answers from that either.

Golden Guard is Belos’ Nephew: Gosh dangit, THE INTRO HASN'T EVEN STARTED YET, AND THIS EPISODE IS ALREADY GIVING SO MUCH!

But, yeah, the most powerful witch on the Isles is apparently Golden Boy's Grunkle Belos. That very knowledge is incredibly interesting to discuss while presenting possibilities for future narratives. I don't know about you, but I see the Golden Guard going down the path of Zuko, learning that the magic of friendship is worth much more than whatever power he gains from being Belos' nephew. And possibly earning his uncle's love seeing how he's the only family he has. It's a situation that's vastly different from Amity's because even when she defies her parents, she'll still have Edric and Emira at the end of the day. For Golden Guard, knowing that he lost a great family to wild magic, the inclination to go against Belos is a lot weaker due to him being all he has left.

Oh, and also, Belos' family getting wiped out because of wild magic. Yeah, not only does that give the best type of motivation for Belos' distaste for it, but it also explains the Golden Guard's hesitance to use it. He's inclined to so he can save his uncle, sure. It's only the fact that he knows what happens with wild magic that causes some resistance...Also, we're less than a minute in, and I'm already getting all of this from one discussion between two characters.

HOW IS THIS SHOW SO GOOD?!

Intro Changes: It's about time too. It seems weird that the crew waited to change Eda and King's designs in the intro this late in the game, but it also tells me that Amity dying her hair lavender is the last huge change this season will present. Otherwise, why change the intro at all if you were going to alter Luz, Willow, and Gus' designs anyway? It just doesn't make sense to me.

Luz Keeping the Echo Mouse as a Pet: The fact that she keeps the most important creature in the world to her as a pet...it's...it's adorable, alright? And as we established several times, I cannot hate adorable things.

Don't judge me!

Amity Staying Home: There are two plausible ways why Amity didn't go to school that day. Either she's getting punished for dying her hair or because she's trying to avoid Luz so they won't talk about the you-know-what. Either could work and seem understandable to Luz, thus explaining why she admits how "that makes sense." Although, there is something to discuss in how Luz is curious as to where Amity is. Judging from the tone of her voice, it's pretty clear that she wants to talk about the little peck on the cheek and maybe get some confirmation as to what it means. Because there is no going back from that. You can explain away saying or doing something stupid, but you cannot un-kiss a cheek. That is a point of no return, and if Amity really is avoiding Luz because of it, that means it's up to our favorite weirdo to make the first move. As for what that may entail...we'll just have to wait and see.

Frewin: We get two bits of information here for the price of one reveal here. Knowing that Frewin is a palisman is shocking enough, but the knowledge that Bump is partially blind and needs Frewin to see? That is an intriguing piece of intel that I would have never expected to get revealed. This is reason #5,279 for what makes The Owl House so good. Even when the show presents information you wouldn't guess, it's all so interesting anyways that you can't help but go along with it.

Adopting Palismans: First of all, love the fact that the Bat Queen makes a return to provide a solution to the palisman trees being rare and solving her own problem regarding the discarded palismans. It's a situation where everyone wins in a way that is so clever that I can't help but admire it.

Second, the idea of students choosing to adopt palismans instead is cute. I'd say it gives further insight into who these characters are in how they say what they want to be, but there's nothing really new added that fans couldn't figure out from the get go. But I will say that it's pretty cool to know that these characters have official staffs now. Speaking of which, if you're upset that their palismans don't match up with your headcanons...grow up.

This was a cute and smartly written scene that should not be bogged down by whiney fans who can't accept a series doing something different from what they expect.

Little Rascal: I’d take a bullet for this bird. That is all.

Luz Being Uncertain of her Future: A lot of fans offer several ideas of what the future could look like for Luz. Will she stay in the Boiling Isles? In Connecticut? Or will she go back and forth? We don't know, but one question we rarely brought up is what does Luz want? More specifically, what does she want to do? After everything Luz went through, the adventures she's gone on, and the lessons learned, what is something that Luz wants her future to be? That's an answer she doesn't really figure out, and I'm genuinely ok with that being a question that's tabled for another day. Most kids who ask that question themselves aren't always going to find an answer after a short amount of time and sometimes even need to spend their lives trying to figure it out. So having it be something Luz has to consider and probably find out in a future episode is the smarter option, as it allows time for it to simmer in her own mind and provides more insight into her character. As stated several times in this episode, she doesn't think things through, so it's nice that the writers finally allowed her some time to wonder what's next when the adventure is over.

Luz Having to Improvise Without Paper Glyphs: You want to know what my favorite Spider-Man moments are (this is relevant. Trust me). My favorite moments are when Spidey's web-shooters run out of fluid, and he's forced to improvise with that big brain of his to find a solution. That's sort of what happens with Luz in "Hunting Palismans." She didn't bring her glyphs with her (why would she), so she's forced to use the environment around her to make new ones. Plus, Luz also flexes her knowledge of the Boiling Isles by mixing her glyphs with a magical plant (which Willow certainly told her about) so that she and the Golden Guard could knock out Kikimora's dragon. It's yet another showcase of her intelligence that a lot of fans are too keen to overlook. Unfortunate to see, too, because looking at how well Luz can craft the perfect solutions by fighting smarter, not harder, is a fantastic add-on to her personality. I love characters who win through their wits rather than their raw powers, and I once again hope more people will catch onto that aspect of her too.

Golden Guard Whistling the Theme: Look, I love it when a show acknowledges its own theme song, ok? Leave me alone.

Luz and the Golden Guard: This is one of those dynamics you didn't know you wanted until you have it. And now that I have it, I DEMAND MORE!

Seriously, seeing these two interact off of each other was a ton of fun to watch. When Luz and GG are initially at each other's throats, their threats and mockery towards one another aren't out of spiteful anger between two mortal enemies. It's more like...two siblings who get on each other's nerves yet are supposed to deal with one another. It's equally adorable and hilarious, and yes, I absolutely loved that they're forced to work together in this episode because of it.

Although, while the entertainment value is fantastic, it also adds more proof of why Luz is the best character in the series. She spends one night with this guy, and that's more than what she needed to make a difference with him. I wouldn't go so far as to say that they're buddies now, but Luz definitely sowed the seeds into his redemption. He's far from willing to join her side, but he still does something he rarely does with anyone else: He told her that his name is Hunter. And this is what Luz does. Through nearly every person she meets on the Boiling Isles, she always manages to change them for the better. It'll be a while before Hunter deflects from Belos, but if Amity proves anything, Luz has a way of sneaking into people's hearts. They just need to spend more time with one another, and I can't wait to see what happens next because of it.

Kikimora Wanting to Kill Hunter: This shows a lot about who Kikimora is, but it potentially proves just how dysfunctional the Emperor's Coven can be. If Kiki proves anything, the coven must be filled with people willing to backstab and cheat their way to get on Emperor Belos' good side. Just look at Lilith. She literally cursed her own sister just to get in and received all the rewards because of it. The Emperor's Coven may be the best choice for witches to do magic, but if you're surrounded by people you can't trust, then is it really worth it?

The Guards Not Knowing Who Hunter is: This helps add to how much of a big deal it is for Hunter to reveal his name to Luz. If people can't even recognize his face, there's a chance it means that he keeps his true identity a secret except for those in his inner circle.

And the coven guards brushing off his brand is more than believable to me. They may be aware that Belos' right hand is young, but teens will be teens. Anybody with enough artistic talent can fake a brand. So it isn't too far off for those two to think Hunter was just a kid pulling a prank.

Hunter is Powerless Without his Staff: Not much to say here. It's just some more neat insight into Hunter's character that makes me wonder if even Belos' magic is real magic.

But I will say this: The fact that Hunter comes from a lineage of powerless witches, well, who's to say that isn't because of a...certain ancestor?

(*Cough* Hunter is related to Philip *Cough*)

Hunter vs Kiki: A pretty well-animated fight scene that adds potential drama to the story for the future. Now that Kikimora knows that Hunter helped Luz escape with the palismans (albeit unwillingly), she may or may not hold that over his head when the time comes. Or, at the very least, decides to keep a closer eye on him whenever he makes a slip-up.

Eda and King Getting Luz her own Palisman Wood: These last two weeks have been severely lacking in the Eda and King department, but scenes like this more than make up for it. Those two have formed such a bond with Luz to the point where they would do the impossible if it meant she would feel better. It proves just how much of a family they all are and the lengths they would go for each other. After all, weirdos have to stick together.

Little Rascal going to Hunter: Hunter is right. That was surprising.

Given how much Little Rascal stuck by Luz, I was more than positive that she would be the one he chose. So seeing Little Rascal pick Hunter instead is a much nicer twist. There could be multiple reasons why, and I'm just going to leave that to the analyzers in this fandom to decide. Especially since the answer isn't really all that important.

So, instead, I'm going to go ahead and sit in the corner as I wOrRy AbOuT tHe DaY tHaT bElOs FiNdS lItTlE rAsCal!

IT'S GONNA HAPPEN! AND I SWEAR TO ALL THAT IS HOLY, IF THE WRITERS KILL HIM, I WILL NOT BE HAPPY!

WHAT I DISLIKED

First, there's...um...

Well, there was this...

Ok, as much as I liked--No, that turned out well anyways...

…

...

...I've got nothing.

I, honest to goodness, have no complaints about "Hunting Palismans" Not even the tiniest of nitpicks I would usually ignore due to how well-executed everything else was.

It's all written fantastically to the point where it's...perfect.

IN CONCLUSION

"Hunting Palismans" is an easy A+. It introduces even more plot threads, gives insight into characters, and despite being essential to the story, it still manages to be a fun episode all on its own. And, I'd go so far as to say that it's one of the best, if not the best, episodes in the series. There's nothing bad about it, and that surprises me. I rarely find nothing bad to say about any story, even the ones I enjoy greatly. I'm sure there are some flaws that others would be more than happy to point out, but why bother hunting for the imperfections when I could accept that, for once, an episode is simply perfect.

(And that’s six hits in a row...THAT STINKER IS GOING TO HAPPEN! It hasn’t happened yet, BUT IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN! I CAN FEEL IT!)

[luffles424]

Lucidity (9)

☼ Pairing: BTS x reader (this chap is Namjoon x reader)

☼ Genre: vampire!BTS, succubus!reader, smut, fluff, angst

☼ Count: 6.3K

☼ Warnings: 18+, teasing, biting, minorish blood play (it’s a vampire fic so like, there’s some feeding), some dom/sub themes, unprotected, light choking, creampie, referenced kidnapping, captivity, implied attacks, minor character death (nothing in detail)

☼ Summary: You’ve spent years jumping from country to country, starting countless new lives. Crafting new lives is as easy as breathing for you, lies flowing easily and people are charmed with a simple bat of your eyes. When you meet a witch who offers the idea of opening a supernatural club, using your powers combined with hers to ensure safety to those who enter, you decide to join her in an adventure that is entirely new to you. But your new life in Seoul is drastically changed when you’re forced to face something you’ve spent centuries hiding from. But just because you might be running for your life again doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun along the way, right?

☼ a/n: Surprise~~ The truth is finally here! Hope you enjoy and that it was worth the wait! While the truth is out, there’s still a long way for everyone to go! And be sure to heed the warnings! This chapter is pretty heavy. My ask box is always open ~ 💙💙💙💙

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

You groan, stretching out on the silky bedding. The room is warm, summer light casting rays across the room where someone left the window cracked to keep you cool. You pause and listen for a moment, but there’s no sound of movement around the house signifying anyone else is home. Namjoon and Jaeho must have gone to the village for a while. 

You kick your leg out from beneath the sheet that covers you, hoping to cool yourself just slightly from the heat that settles over you. You sort of wish one of them was home right now, just for some company. You all had been working so much lately that you hadn’t seen much of them other than occasional meals. You can’t even remember the last time the three of you fell into bed together at night and woke up together. You’ve all been so busy lately. 

Sighing, you stretch out again and breath in deep to catch their scents. At least you have a small piece of them. You don’t think you’ll ever be able to repay Jaeho for all that he’s done for you. You’ll spend the rest of your life repaying him for the chance he took on you. You had been forcibly turned and abandoned with no knowledge of what you suddenly were. Your memories of the specific encounter have always been hazy. You just remember coming to and having the sudden, insatiable craving for sex. 

Jaeho took you in months after you were turned, when you were aimlessly roaming and feeding. There had been no rhyme or reason to what you did, you simply functioned off instinct, moving around through a confused, lustful haze. You don’t even know if you had killed anyone. At the time, you simply didn’t care. The changes had muddled your mind so much that you lost yourself for a while. Jaeho had found you in an alley about to drain someone completely. 

He taught you control, and in all honestly probably kept you from getting yourself killed too. You weren’t exactly subtle in your feeding, you at least knew that much. Sometimes, when you traveled with him later, you’d hear rumors from years ago. Of a woman or attacks or strange instances that sound eerily like you and your actions. It really would’ve only been a matter of time before someone caught wind, connected them, and hunted you down. He had done the same for Namjoon, you found out later. He’d been turned, either on accident or maliciously, and abandoned. Namjoon had held out for weeks, hunger slowly growing as he struggled against his new instincts to hurt those around him. Jaeho found him on the edge of going feral and helped him.

When they’d found you, they brought you back to the modest place the two had been staying at and you all had talked. He explained what they were, how he’d been around for a few centuries, the few years Namjoon had now been with him. He extended the same offer to you, to stay and learn control with others who knew the struggle of a never ending thirst. He knew some about your kind, enough to teach you about yourself and how to handle your new powers. It had been the first time you’d heard what you were, succubus. 

You would’ve assumed that once your powers were well and truly under control that the three of you would go your separate ways. Or at least that Jaeho would send you on your way, confident that you wouldn’t leave a trail of bodies behind you anymore. That maybe Jaeho only saw you as someone to help out before letting you go to feel better about himself. But a couple decades later and you’re still all together, closer than ever. The relationship developed slowly over the years. All three of you danced a little awkwardly around each other. Products of a time where monogamy was most well known and the concept of three people together and happy seemed so foreign to you all. 

One balmy night in Paris, when you’d come back from work, you found the two of them sprawled in just their underwear. All the windows were thrown open and a gentle breeze ruffled the curtains, casting shifting patterns of moonlight across their skin. And it struck you like a bolt of lightning in that moment, heart warmed by the sight that welcomed home. The sight that you were always so excited to come home to. A sight that you realized that you wanted to come home to forever.

“I love you.”

You had blurted it out. You don’t know if you had startled yourself more with the sudden admission or them. They both stared at you with wide eyes before exchanging a quick glance. Jaeho had tentatively, and nervously, something you had never seen from him before, asked who you were talking to. You would have thought it would’ve been hard to answer. Which one did you mean. But it was the easiest thing in the world to say as you looked from Jaeho to Namjoon and said ‘both.’

Their faces had remained nerve-wrackingly blank for long moments. Before Jaeho broke out into a wide relieved smile. 

“Oh thank god. I thought I would have to be the one to bring it up first.”

Namjoon’s shock and confusion lasted a little longer. First directed at you then towards Jaeho’s admission. Even without Namjoon’s answer, you felt giddy and excited. Both of you turned expectantly towards Namjoon, who seemed to flounder under the sudden attention. 

Jaeho was quick to intercede. “It’s okay if you need time or don’t feel the same, Joonie.”

Namjoon blinked a few times before quickly shaking his head. “No, I- I’m just surprised. I promise. This is… amazing.”

His soft confession was enough to finally propel you forward, tugging him up and into a feverish kiss. One that Jaeho interrupted to steal a searing kiss of his own before planting the same on Namjoon. After, the three of you had fallen into bed together and haven’t separated since, with exception of occasional trips. But those never last long for any of you. You always end up missing the others too much to stay away for long. And for all the fun there is in the world, there’s nothing better than being in their arms. 

Maybe you should suggest a small vacation soon, you’re fairly certain there’s some anniversary coming up. And your small little plot of farmland will survive a few days without the three of you around. Long enough for a quick trip somewhere. You wish you could go back to Paris. But that would take too long to travel. It’d have to be somewhere a little closer. 

The rustling of grass filters in through the window, signaling someone’s approach. You think about getting up to greet them, but decide that you’d rather try to get them to join you in bed. You’ve missed them too much to let the opportunity to get to be close with them for a little while go. The door is opened and closed and you can hear them shuffling around beyond the partition. The movements are too soft to pick out who it is, but after a moment, Namjoon’s warm scent spreads through the house.

“Joonie…” you croon. 

There’s a pause and then a chuckle and the footsteps come closer. “Is there a particular reason you are still in bed and naked, love?”

You reach a hand out towards him. “In the hope that one of my beautiful men will decide to join me again. I miss you both.”

A smile tugs at his lips, cheeks dimpling. He tugs his hair free of it’s tie, silky strands falling to his shoulders as he gives them a quick ruffle. You know you’ve already won with that action, even if he’ll pretend to think about it. He’s not going to leave until you’re happy and satisfied. “Is that so?” 

The ties of his belt are undone and he lets his top fall open. Your eyes trace over the newly revealed skin, tongue darting out to lick your lips. His skin is more tan than you last remember, leaving him practically glowing golden in the sunlight.

“Have you been working outside without a shirt lately?” you murmur. 

He hums, shrugging the shirt from his shoulders and letting it pool on the ground at his feet. “There is a lot of work to do around here.”

“Are you saying I don’t do any work around here?”

He chuckles. “I think you do the most work, love.”

He hooks his thumbs in the waistband of his pants, tugging them down his legs and leaving him bare before you. You hungrily drink him in. Now that he’s able to stay out in the sunlight longer, his skin is finally starting to return to the golden of when you met, losing some of the paleness that came from his new sensitivity to sunlight. The years spent tending the fields around your little home has left him built, so much so that you're positive that even without the vampire strength that he’d be able to lift you easily. The idea makes you squirm.

Beckoning him once more, you slide the thin sheet from your body, shameless in your nudity before him. His gaze flickers across the expanse of your form before taking a step closer and stretching out beside you. Propping his head up on a hand, he uses his free hand to trace idle patterns along the soft skin of your stomach. His cool touch leaves goosebumps in their wake. 

“Well, love, now that you have me back in bed, what are your grand plans?”

Shifting onto your side, you press yourself closer until you’re pressed against him, finger tips ghosting up his arm. “I’m certain we can think of something to occupy ourselves with, Joonie.”

He chuckles, the sound deep and warm enough that you want to do nothing more than bask in it forever. His hand cups your cheek gently and you lean into the touch a moment before turning your head just enough to press a kiss to his palm. “You’re insatiable,” he murmurs, trying to sound like he’s reprimanding but his tone oozes nothing but fondness. 

Humming, you thread your fingers through his hair. “You don’t seem to particularly mind, though.”

“Brat,” he murmurs, before pressing his lips to yours. 

You smirk into the kiss though it’s short lived as Namjoon’s hand slides off your cheek to grip the back of your neck possessively, guiding you into a deeper kiss. Moaning when he nips your lip before slipping his tongue into your mouth, you feel your pussy clench at the sting and let your hands drift from his chest down to his half hard cock where it presses to your thigh. You wrap your hand around the already hefty girth even when he’s only half hard and you get a grunt in response. Giving him a few slow pumps, you revel in the feeling of him firming up in your grip, the physical proof of the effect you have on him. Decades later and you still love the feel of them hardening with just a few strokes. 

You could do that with anyone, but there’s something special about Namjoon and Jaeho. The bond you all share makes moments like these so much more than just sex or feeding. There’s a delight in the fact that time has left them just as in love with you as you still are with them. Love so deeply rooted that you don’t think it could ever be removed. 

Namjoon’s lips reverently trail along your jaw. “You’re in your head. All that work to get me here and you’re just going to imagine something else?” His tone is lighthearted and teasing as he ends his question with a nip to your neck. 

“There exists nothing I’d rather imagine than to be here with you. And oh,” you grin, looking pointedly to where you’re pressed together, “will you look at that. I’m right here with you.”

“I know someone who would perhaps have an objection to that.”

Leaning in, you steal a quick kiss. “It’s what he gets for leaving the bed.”

Namjoon chases your lips when you go to pull away. “Someone should do some real work around here.” 

He continues pressing forward once your lips reconnect, forcing you onto your back and he shifts to pin you to the bed with his hips, hard cock pressing delightfully against you. Grinding your hips up into his, you let your legs wrap around his waist to keep him close. His cock slides through your wet folds, creating the perfect rub of friction to your clit that makes your toes curl. 

“Joonie…” you whine as his lips trail down to your neck. 

“I don’t know if you’ve earned anything yet, love,” he coos, fangs grazing across your skin, a shock of adrenaline racing through you at the teasing promise of being bitten.

They’ve fed from you countless times, but time does nothing to lessen the excitement that comes from the promise of the pleasure that will course through your veins as they feed from you. The first time either of them had fed from you, Jaeho had you sat on Namjoon’s cock. And you had cum almost the second Jaeho’s fangs pierced the skin of your neck. The euphoria that flooded your body had been almost overwhelming and when you had come back to yourself, Namjoon had been squirming beneath you, whining to Jaeho about how tightly your pussy can clamped around him while Jaeho had fed. Jaeho had merely laughed before lifting you easily and helping you ride Namjoon until he came as well. Not that it took long after the way your pussy had been convulsing around him. Now you’ve grown a little addicted to the feeling of being fed from by them, especially when all three of you are together. 

Thrusting lazily against you, Namjoon pulls you back to the present, giving you only just enough pressure to your clit to leave you aching for more, squirming as much as you can with your hips pinned down by his. His teeth nip at your skin, the sting sending a jolt through your body, dragging a whine from your throat. 

“Please…”

Namjoon makes a thoughtful noise, though he seems far more preoccupied with your neck to truly be thinking about your pleas. You wonder when he last fed. It’s been a while since he’s fed from you, so you know that he must have gone out to feed from a human. But with the way all your schedules have been lately, you don’t know exactly when that was. The way he’s interested in your neck though says that it’s maybe been a while since he’s fed. Or, you think with a small thrill, maybe he has just missed feeding from you.  

You know you could easily overpower him. While in normal circumstances his strength far outweighs yours, this is your domain. And the lust slowly clouding the room means that it would be nothing to flip you both and simply take what you want. Something that he most certainly knows after being with you for so long. 

But there’s something to the surrender, the implicit trust you put in him. In each other. Namjoon lifts his head and his eyes shine with happiness. Ducking down, he presses a soft kiss to your lips. Then he presses a second kiss, far more urgent and needy. It consumes you as he grinds against you, thick cock rubbing perfectly against your aching clit.

You whine against his lips, drawing a deep chuckle from him. “Tell me what you want, love,” he murmurs.

You nip at his bottom lip with a small grin. “Just you.”

Fingers digging into your hips, he adjusts you slightly so his cock just presses against your entrance. “Who would’ve thought that the sex demon would be so soft, hm?”

Before you can retort, he pulls you in, cock sinking deliciously into you. You moan as he presses in fully to the hilt, letting you sit there full of him until you start squirming, wanting him to move.

He chuckles again. “So needy, love.”

His hips draw away, until just the tip remains before he thrusts back in. The force jostles you up the bed, pulling a gasp from you and he sets a slow, almost lazy rhythm. You sink into the feeling, reveling in the drag of his cock against your walls. There’s a level of care and calculation to his movements and anticipation builds in you as you wait for his next move, pleasure slowly building in your belly. His fangs drag teasingly against the thin skin of your pulse point and your pulse races at the promise of a bite. 

Teeth digging in gently, nowhere near hard enough to pierce your skin, you whine, trying to push up into the easy pressure against your throat. Namjoon’s hand finds your throat, fingers fitting right under your jaw and forcing your head back and fully exposing your throat to him. The hint of danger sends a thrill through your body and your pussy clenches around his cock. 

His tongue traces the path of your racing pulse until his lips bump his fingers. “So, so needy. And yet, you won’t just ask for what you want.” He tuts, plush lips pressing to your jaw above his fingers. “Tell me what you want or you won’t get it.”

You huff and his hand tightens marginally around your throat, cutting your theatrics off immediately. “Want you to feed. Haven’t had it in so long…”

His smile presses to your neck. “Only you would miss having a vampire drink from you, love.”

A breathy laugh leaves you. “Cause I know how good it feels. It’s so good.”

He hums, tongue laving over your pulse for a moment before his fangs are sinking into your flesh. There’s a split second of pain, twin points of burning that is washed away by euphoria as the venom sinks into your veins. Your limbs tingle and every place that his hands touch feels electric. Drinking deeply, his hips stutter to a stop, leaving you impaled on his cock as he feeds. 

In your distracted state, you don’t notice his fingers moving until they find your clit, circling the bundle with practiced ease. Pleasure burns through you, bright and hot as his fingers move and your hips move in an attempt to get more sensation, to get him to fuck you hard and fast and add even more pleasure for the greedy, hungry pit of lust growing within you. 

He pulls away slightly, dark eyes staring at the bite before he’s diving back down to lick up the blood that oozes from the wounds. His hips twitch and you know that’s he’s just barely holding onto his restraint. You sink your fingers into his soft hair, tugging the long strands and pulling a growl from deep in his chest. 

“Fuck me. Joonie, please…”

Everything freezes for a moment and then Namjoon jerks into motion, thrusts picking up pace rapidly, almost frenzied as his lips find yours for a messy, uncoordinated kiss. He fucks you hard and fast, desperate in a way you both need. You’ve missed them both so much. 

Pleasure builds quickly in your belly and you let it crest with a sigh. Shuddering, your pussy clenches around his cock as you cum, venom heighting all sensation to the point that you feel high. Namjoon’s hips stutter slightly from the sudden clench. A handful of thrusts later, just as you start to tip into oversensitivity, he cums with a groan, leaving you sated and full.

His forehead rests against your shoulder for a moment before he pulls out and flops down beside you, pulling you close to cuddle. 

“Love you…” he murmurs, lips brushing your skin.

Letting your fingers comb through his hair, you hum with happiness. There’s nowhere you’d rather be. “Love you too.”

Namjoon can hear the pacing before he even enters the house. Opening the door reveals the same thing he’s come home to for the past three days, Jaeho pacing around the small common space, completely lost in thought. He wonders if Jaeho even attended to his chores today, or if he’s been here since this morning when Namjoon left. He had at least managed to get Jaeho to sleep a little, if a little fitfully. Being wrapped up in Namjoon’s arms had seemed to help at least a little bit. 

“Jae,” he calls softly.

There’s no response initially, Jaeho looking up a handful of seconds after Namjoon has said his name, like there’s a delay in processing what’s happening around him. Worry creases his face and Namjoon steps forward to wrap his arms around the other. 

“She’ll be back. You know she always comes back,” he murmurs soothingly. He’s said it more times than he can count in the last three days. Namjoon doesn’t want to think about how he’s saying it as much to reassure Jaeho as he is to reassure himself.

The conversation the two of you had before he returned to work two weeks ago plays on a never ending loop. Wondering if there’s some hidden meaning or clue that he missed. He’d asked what your plans were for the rest of the day and you detailed that you were hungry and that there had been a werewolf that had been coming into the tea house and seemed interested. So you were going to flirt a little and see where it led. 

 Namjoon had never imagined that he would be here. Laying in bed, idly tracing patterns on his partners skin as she detailed her plans to go sleep with someone else. He would expect jealousy, or maybe even anger. And the jealousy had certainly been there in the beginning. But Jaeho and you had never ending patience with him. Helped him talk through his emotions and get to where he is now. Because he knows there’s nothing to be jealous of. That while you flit off every so often to sleep with some people and feed, that at the end of the day, you’ll always end up back here with them. Because it’s them that you love and they’re home. 

There’s nothing in Namjoon’s recollection of the conversation that reveals any hidden meaning or agenda. You had talked as if you’d be back within a day at most, like you were just heading out for a quick bite to eat and then you’d be back. 

Namjoon tries to bury the worry that bubbles up that maybe he missed something or that something’s happened. Jaeho is worrying more than enough for both of them right now and at least one of them needs to remain strong and level-headed. 

Chewing his lip for a moment, Jaeho thinks his words over carefully. “I know that. But she never disappears without telling us for more than a couple of days. It’s already been almost two weeks. She would’ve told us if she was going for a while.”

Humming, Namjoon gives him another squeeze. That was another thing he was trying to not think about. Had you told him that you’d be away for a while and he just didn’t remember and now Jaeho was worrying for nothing? But if he told Jaeho that you had said that when you didn’t and you really were in trouble? Namjoon doesn’t know if he’d be able to live with that. “You know how werewolves are. She probably just got caught up and forgot. She hasn’t been with one in a while. They’re a lot and she can feed from them a lot. Probably just drinking her fill.”

Jaeho sighs, sagging slightly in Namjoon’s arms. The words seem to sooth him, at least for the moment and that’s the best that Namjoon can ask for right now. “I guess… I just don’t have a good feeling about this.”

Namjoon presses a kiss to his head. “Don’t worry. She loves us both. She’ll be back before we know it.” Pulling away, Namjoon gives him a reassuring smile, gently tugging him back towards the bed. “In the meantime, I know just how to help you relax.”

You don’t know how long you’ve been here. Time has blurred into a long stretch of aching hunger, made more acute with every attempt you make to escape. None have been successful. You don’t even really know where you are. The last thing you fully remember is spending time with the werewolf you met at the tea house. You’d spent a couple of days with him, days full of fun and left you full and sated. You had been planning to go back to Jaeho and Namjoon the next morning. But someone clearly had other plans. 

Waking up in a dark, cold gray cellar had certainly been a surprise after falling asleep in bed warmed by a werewolf. As had the ache in your head and blood matted in your hair, though the blood certainly explained the headache. More surprising than just being in the cellar was finally taking notice of the bars separating you from a large portion of the cellar and confining you to one little corner. There’s nothing in the little cell with you. With no windows, there’s no way to tell how long you’ve been down here either or even what time it currently is. The cellar is sparsely filled too, a few boxes scattered around, but it seems abandoned. You’d tried yelling yourself hoarse the first few days after awakening, but either no one was around or the stone the cellar was built from kept your shouts from reaching anyone. 

Which has led to your current predicament. You know at least a few weeks have passed. The slowly growing hunger is proof enough of that. The growing hunger has also meant that you’ve slowly begun to lose yourself. You’ve been having moments where you’ve blacked out, where you know you’ve been conscious but you don’t recall a thing that happened. One time you came to, to find your hands slick with blood and the sting of cuts on your fingertips. After taking a moment to get your bearings again, you found blood on the bars where you assume you had tried to break your way out even if you don’t remember those actions. 

The length of time they last seems to be growing longer and you don’t know whether it comforts you to know that it will be over soon or feel guilt wrenching heartache that your last moments are here, alone and that Namjoon and Jaeho will never know what happened. 

As your periods of lucidity begin to lessen and you find yourself spending those brief moments as yourself thinking of Jaeho and Namjoon. You miss them so much. Want their comforting scents here with you, to fall asleep in their arms on soft bedding instead of being alone on a cold, stone floor. 

You wonder if they’re worried or looking for you. They knew you’d gone to meet someone, assuming Namjoon told Jaeho about your plans. Would they think something happened to you? Or would they just assume you had left for a while, even if you hadn’t told them that you planned to leave for a while. It’s something that you haven’t done since the beginning of your relationship. Back when you all were still figuring out how the three of you worked and you were a little more easily spooked by what you felt. And even back then, you never disappeared for long, always drawn back to them no matter what. 

It’s during one of these periods of consciousness that something changes. A door opens and you see a sliver of light, that given however long you’ve been in the dark, is nearly blinding for a moment, forcing your eyes to squeeze closed. Then someone descends the stairs, a lantern in one hand, casting a warm glow about the cellar that is still almost too bright considering the dark you've sat in until now. The scent hits you a moment after her appearance. Werewolf. 

Your stomach clenches painfully, hunger gnawing at you with the tease of possible food before you. You find yourself getting to your feet and approaching the bars without much thought, so fast that you stumble but you’re too focused to pay it any mind. In fact, you’re so focused that the bars startle you slightly when you bump into them.

The woman laughs cruelly when she sees that. “Forgot the bars again, whore?”

Again? Has she been down here before? Your mind reels, scraping together every brief memory from recently to see if you can recount someone coming down here. Your mind comes to only darkness. You suppose that it is possible that she came down before given the moments you’ve been losing. But that just becomes even more disconcerting because she’s been coming down here while you starve? While you’ve been struggling to get free? Fingers curling around the bars, you open your mouth to speak, but nothing comes out, throat rough from disuse. 

Clearing your throat, you try again. “Who…”

The woman scoffs and you have no idea if it’s because you’ve had this conversation before or if she just seemingly dislikes you that you addressing her directly is disgusting to her. “Are we really doing this whole thing again? How you seduce anyone when you’re this stupid, is beyond me.” The lantern is set on the ground as the woman takes a seat on a small stool set before the bars. “My name is Talia. I don’t think I need to tell you that I’m a werewolf.”

“Why…”

She laughs again. “Because you slept with my mate.”

Mate? You’ve only slept with one werewolf recently. And he was certainly unmated. No marks and no mating scent. Mated werewolves carried a certain scent, a slight undertone of their mates scent that is with them always. Is that who she means? You’d discussed other current partners while you were together and he hadn’t mentioned a mate. He mentioned a guy, a werewolf from another pack that he was interested in. Was debating whether he should court him or not. You had given him some advice and he seemed genuinely happy to receive it, glowing when you asked about the other werewolf and he began to gush about how they met. 

“What are you talking about?” you croak. Everything is confusing and that combined with your hunger is making your head throb, making it even harder to focus on the harsh words she spits at you.

Tutting, she shakes her head, like she’s chiding a child. “You spent all that time with him and you’ve forgotten him?”

“I… I don’t understand… I’ve only slept with one werewolf. And he wasn’t mated.”

“You know nothing of mates.” There’s a wildness in her eyes that has you shrinking away from the bars. With it comes the dawning realization that she is the reason you’re locked up down here. 

Tears gather in your eyes, frustration, anger, and grief almost so overwhelming that it feels like you’re choking. “Why are you doing this? Please, let me go.”

“That’s most certainly not going to happen. Not yet anyway. I have plans for you. You ruin my life, I ruin yours,” she cackles.

And then she’s picking up the lantern and leaving as you shout behind her. For her to stop, to let you go, for anyone to help you. The silence sets in as the cellar door is slammed shut behind, disturbed only by your broken sobs. 

“I’m going to find her.”

Namjoon looks up from the paper he’s going over, brow furrowed at Jaeho. “What?”

“It’s been a month, Joonie. I’m worried. I’m going to find her.” He adjusts a bag slung over his shoulder, face determined.

Namjoon starts to stand. “I’ll come with.”

Jaeho shakes his head. “No, someone should stay here. In case she comes back. Someone should be here for her. I’ll check in with you every couple of days.”

Namjoon nods reluctantly, moving closer to him. “Be safe,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to his lips. 

Three days later, Namjoon catches wind of a werewolf pack that’s going to take care of a feral vampire that’s attacking a nearby village. There’s only one other vampire in the area. Namjoon’s stomach sinks and he goes to the village without a second thought.

You blink, consciousness coming back to you slowly. You notice several things that don’t immediately fully process with you. First, you’re outside. It’s night, but the buildings around you are ablaze, casting everything in bright light. Second, you are, bizarrely, no longer starving, instead a hollow fullness settles in your bones. Almost more off putting than the hunger. Third, and this one takes the longest to register because it seems so unreal, Talia stands before you. And with a growing sense of dread as you fully take in the scene, holds a struggling Jaeho by the throat. 

You take a step closer and can see her grip tighten so you stop, going so far as to take a step back in the hopes that she loosens her grip on him. Jaeho thrashes and when you call out his name, all you get in response is a hiss. Is he… feral?

Flashes of memories hit you, things that make your stomach turn. It all seems like a nightmare. You have a vague awareness of completely losing yourself, Jaeho finding you. Or was he led to you? Of you… feeding from him as he fought to subdue you. When you look at your arms, you see scratches and bruises that confirm your memories to be true, that you attacked him. That you did this to him. Squeezing your eyes shut, you force the memories away before focusing on Talia again.

“Let him go.” Your voice breaks.

She gives you a cruel, condescending smile. “I don’t think so. There’s a feral vampire causing havoc, as the resident pack, we have to take care of it.”

Tears spill down your cheek as you shake your head. You have to fix this. It isn’t his fault. He just needs to feed a little and he’ll be fine. If she just gives him to you, then you can fix this. You both can go back to Namjoon and everything will be okay. “No no no. Please. Don’t do this. Give him to me. I can make him better. Please, this is just an accident.”

Humming thoughtfully for a moment, she makes eye contact with a grin. “No.”

Then she rips Jaeho’s throat out. You scream, dropping to your knees as he gurgles for a moment before slowly sinking to the ground. All you can focus on is the blood slowly seeping into the ground. You feel cold even with the heat of the blaze surrounding you. Talia drops the mess in her hand and glances behind her. 

Burying your face in your hands, you sob, feeling the loss of Jaeho tear through your chest as viscerally as a dagger. You ache. How are you going to tell Namjoon? There’s no way to explain this. Jaeho should’ve let you go after he taught you control. Maybe he shouldn’t even have bothered to stop you that night he found you. He should’ve just left you to hunters. 

This is all your fault.

You hear voices murmuring, one calm and collected and the other frantic, and when you finally manage to drag your gaze up what feels like an eternity later, you see Namjoon standing over Jaeho’s body, face twisted with anguish. Talia’s nowhere to be seen. He drops to his knees, hands hovering like if he doesn’t touch then it’s not real. Staggering to your feet, you cross the short distance, stopping just short of them when Namjoon’s head jerks up to meet you with a hard look. It’s enough to break your heart all over again.

“How could you do this?”

His words are ice and you have no idea how to respond. You have no answer. How could you, you haven’t even been conscious. Your lust clouded your judgement and now you’ve hurt the people you loved the most. “J-joonie-”

“Don’t call me that. You don’t get to call me that anymore. How could you do this? After everything he’s done for you?” His voice raises in pitch as tears begin to fall down his cheeks. “He did everything for you. For us. How could you?”

The silence after his shouting is deafening. It would almost be easier if he kept yelling. At least then you wouldn’t have to hear the way your thoughts swirl with ‘it’s your fault he’s dead.’ 

What are you supposed to say to him anyway? There’s no apology in the world that could ever bring Jaeho back. Namjoon’s right. Jaeho did everything for you. And now he’s dead.

“I’m sorry…” The words feel like ash on your tongue. Wholly inadequate but you have to say something. You and Namjoon can still continue on. You can bring Jaeho’s memory with you. You don’t all have to lose everything. 

Namjoon laughs bitterly. “You’re sorry?” He sounds incredulous and shakes his head. “Just leave. I can’t…” His breath stutters and his gaze drops to the ground. “Please just go. I don’t want to see you ever again.”

You want to argue. Bring up the idea that you don’t have to lose each other too. That Jaeho wouldn’t want you to separate just because he’s gone. But you have a feeling that he won’t be receptive to that. And as much as it pains you to leave them both. You don’t want to cause Namjoon more hurt than you already have. The kindest thing you can do now is simply honor his request. 

So you leave. Vowing to yourself that you’ll never let someone close again. You don’t think your heart could handle more loss. You bring nothing but pain to others.

[thatcartoonnetworkblog]

Cartoon Network Hotel Review

WHAT TIME IS IT????

If you don’t find yourself screaming this when you get here, even just in your head, then you’re in the wrong place.

But after a nice drive through Amish Country, the Cartoon Network Hotel is nice and visible right outside of Dutch Wonderland. Coming in, you see images of some of your favorite characters, right before Finn and Jake welcome you at the front.

Granted, it looks like I came off season- with fall and school just starting, Dutch Wonderland is only open on the weekends, and the hotel wasn’t exactly packed from what I can see. Which made for a good time for the indoor pool to be under renovation, so I sadly didn’t get to check that out. But hey, the outdoor pool was running just fine, although it was mostly empty, just myself and a family.

I didn’t take any pictures of the pool, since I didn’t have my phone (but a couple of Ice King’s penguins are playing life guard duty, alongside a pretty cute girl), but I did snap a photo of the Powerpuff sprinklers! They look pretty cool, right?

But that’s jumping ahead. Anyway, as mentioned, today it didn’t seem so busy, so despite arriving a couple of hours before 4 PM check-in, I was able to get a room right away. It must have been busy enough that I didn’t get the Gumball room I asked for, but instead I got my second choice, Steven Universe.

But I mean, look at this. I can’t complain. I was just thinking that I wanted the SU room instead, anyway.

The rooms are themed to one of six shows/franchises, the other four being Powerpuff Girls, Ben 10, Adventure Time and We Bare Bears. The former two seem to be primarily inspired by their recent series however, not their classics, so your mileage will vary there. I asked a receptionist which show tends to be the most popular choice, and she says that it rotates. Apparently PPG does get picked often by those who grew up with it, which makes sense, although those aren’t my Powerpuff Girls.

So, some things of note- there are four exclusive channels to the Hotel. Gumball and Teen Titans Go get their own 24/7 channels, which seems redundant since they’re basically all CN shows anyway. But they also have a FanFavs channel, which shows various episodes from various series, and New Shows, which I’m not sure if it shows currently unaired episodes or not. I couldn’t get that one active for long, but I did see part of a Victor & Valentino episode. I did have FanFavs on a bit as background noise, and they seem to mostly show:

Adventure Time

Regular Show

Steven Universe

Ben 10 (2016)

Mao Mao

Thundercats Roar (seriously...)

It seems like they mostly rotate from those shows, but I’d like to believe there’s more. Griz is on the cover bar for it when you connect to wifi, and you’d think they’d also show at least the 2016 PPG show as well, as that’s all over the resort.

They also do showings of cartoons in the kitchen at 3 and 9 PM, as the kitchen is closed during those times. My flight was very early, so I missed the 9 showing, as well as the Summer Camp Island-inspired bonfire that happened before, but I caught the 3 o’clock cartoons. They played episodes of Craig of the Creek, Total Dramarama, Teen Titans Go, and Gumball. Pretty cool, although these are basically the only four shows the channel plays anyway, The intro they use for the screenings shows clips from classic Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and Scooby-Doo cartoons, but none of those were shown today. Maybe they’ll throw one in at another time? Probably not Scooby... or maybe just a movie, since they apparently play movies as well sometimes.

I didn’t stick around for most of the TDR cartoon though, as I was participating in the Craig of the Creek scavenger hunt. They hunt various CN characters around the lobby vicinity, and you try to find them in the right spot.

This is what you get if you win- a COTC pin and a Hershey bar. But hey, you can’t argue with results, and this is about it for Craig merch.

The gift shop almost exclusively focuses on the six shows with featured rooms, and a lot of merch isn’t exclusive. I did get a couple of things though.

The beach towel is based on the designs you see all over the hotel and has a couple of series not otherwise represented in terms of merch, like OK KO, Summer Camp Island, and the aforementioned COTC. Oh, and Clarence! Almost missed him in the bottom.

I got the stickers because there are more COTC characters, and again, the designs are nice. The SU pin was cool, and if there was a similar one for AT or Gumball, I would have got that as well. And I got the Anais keychain because Gumball merch is strangely rare despite its popularity, especially for her. There were also some pencils, notebooks, a couple of T-shirts and a hoodie. I almost got some pencils.

There’s also an arcade and an activity center, but those do seem mostly for kids, plus you have to pay for most of the crafts. I think the coloring is free at least, and there are a couple of nods to classic shows I found that I’ll share on another post.

Just as there are some nods to classics around the place, primarily the elevator and kitchen, but the people who want to see Dexter and Johnny and the Eds aren’t the target audience for this resort. Which is unfortunate, but the thing is, besides the fact that we’re getting old and today’s kids need their own shows, Cartoon Network has become a big deal internationally over the past decade, moreso than during their supposed heyday in the late 90′s-early 00′s. The six shows featured aren’t just picked for being the most popular, they’re all big draws overseas. We Bare Bears sells a LOT of merch in Asia and parts of Europe, even if it doesn’t seem that big of a draw stateside. Hopefully they can make this a tourist spot.

That said, I do hope that they consistently update things in the years to come. Part of the problem with the Nickelodeon Hotel over in Orlando was how stuck it was in the mid-2000′s. Sure, SpongeBob has remained a big draw over the years since, but when I visited the place around 2010 (didn’t stay, but took a tour), it was apparent that if your kids weren’t big fans of Rugrats or Jimmy Neutron, and they probably weren’t around that place until its last days, there wasn’t much reason to stay over.

I do think that Craig deserves his own themed room, and it may be time to swap out Powerpuff for it. Let’s admit that the 2016 reboot was a failure and move on. Or maybe just double down and replace the reboot designs with their classic look.

But hey, my final thoughts on the Cartoon Network Hotel? I had a lot of fun, and got the best sleep I had in ages. I’m not sure if I’d go again, though. At least unless it changes things up a little. Part of the thing is that this is really for the kids who love today’s new shows. And I do really love three of the six shows heavily featured here- four if you count the original Powerpuff. But I’m just not the right age for this place.

If you love any of these shows and/or Cartoon Network’s brand as a whole, I recommend checking this place out, but only if you’re near the area. Don’t make it a pilgrimage. Unless you have enough friends to make grouping up on the Steven Universe Dream Suite worth it.

That said, look at these Bear macrons. So damn cute, and tasty, too!

[gaawachan]

Critical Role 135 Discord Convo (Topic: Shipping?)

Some pre-convo context: This conversation meandered a bit so there's a lot of stuff that may turn up in other conversations later; it was really late and so a lot of things were only briefly touched on.

Me: You know... people are gonna freak out if LoB doesn't just cave and romance Essek at this point. If he wasn't planning on doing so then his roleplay during the past few episodes is gonna cause backlash, I think.

Sibling: I think he was on the fence and then Matt was like, "Okay, I have to push this because I currently have plans to make Astrid a victim of Trent and/or the big bad of Caleb's arc."

Me: Certainly feels that way, lol.  Matt's definitely the one that's been doing the pushing post-boat scene.

Sibling: Pretty much-- Matt has kept Essek near Caleb for every moment that he can

Me: (Caleb did tell Essek to stay close, lol) But in the past couple of episodes Liam's gone back to reciprocating. If he isn't planning on shipping it, he shouldn't do that.

Sibling: Despite Lucien's eyes. Oh for sure. I think he is though. Why else would LoB post stuff like *examples of LoB's twitter activity*? He doesn't egg on Astrid/Caleb shippers lol

Me: That's true.

Sibling: Plus, Essek is purple.

Me: Of course we weren't in the fandom when Vaxmore happened and then dropped, so we don't know if Liam did the same thing with that ship.

Sibling: God I hope not... C'mon, give us a bit of beeg yoshi

Me: Having watched half of season 1, I can say that there was way, waaaaaaaay less tension and such between Vax and Gilmore. Vax liked Shaun a lot, and Shaun was in love with Vax... but they had nothing in common, they didn't have any real theme/plot/setting/interest ties or anything. Just a vanilla relationship, like, they went out on lunch dates.

Sibling: It's funny because OTHER non-shippers came onto that ship-positive trend and started talking about Vaxmore and how more "real" it was. And I'm like, I feel like slow-burn romances are far more "real" than people hopping on each other as soon as that they get a chance (COUGH COUGH BEAUYASHA I'M SORRY COUGH). Don't disparage lunch dates, btw; there's nothing gayer than that.

Me: No, don’t get me wrong, I was actually about to post that "I can see why people like that because it feels realistic" The bigger problem with Vaxmore was simply that they didn't see Gilmore very often.  I think Liam would have been more interested in continuing that ship if Gilmore had not been... well, the Pumat Sol of the campaign.  Just not very relevant.  This isn't the case for Essek; he is THE npc of this campaign, basically. He's more involved than any other NPC in either season. Side note: if C1 and C2 had happened concurrently, I'd have totally shipped Gilmore with Mollymauk.

Sibling: OH TOTALLY

Me: Lol

Sibling: Essek and Caleb have many interests in common, and Liam has CANONIZED Caleb's attraction to him, both intellectually and physically. They have expressed a desire to spend time together, platonically? to improve their craft. They have worked to improve with each other, speak with each other in a way that they don't with others-- not even people they're supposedly closer to. Essek has had a turn of his morals BECAUSE of Caleb's actions... What do other ships in this season have? Caleb and Astrid; they have shared misery and a past that stains ALL of their interactions. Maybe there is love left, but it would need a TON of work, and she is never onscreen long enough for that to be established. There's not really any tension aside from the viewers' "is this a villain" tension. Not even the dance felt good, it was transactional and there to hide information being exchanged and then they LEFT. Caleb and Eodwulf; Caleb said his forearms were hot, lol? But Eodwulf has even less time than Astrid, and hasn't even really piqued the rest of the cast's interest, in spite of Caleb's history with him. Caleb and Jester; Might have worked if JESTER WAS EVER INTERESTED IN HIM. AND SHE NEVER WAS AND STILL ISN'T. She was smitten with Fjord the moment she started projecting him onto Tusk Love lol. Caleb and Nott; I'm not touching this one Non-Caleb ships are like: Fjord and Jester; Sweet, predictable, pretty much how I pictured it being when it became canon. Jester being exactly the same and Fjord being openly affectionate. Maybe some priorities being changed around. Beau and Yasha; I'm NGL, I feel like they're together... because they're lesbians? And not because they actually have much in common aside from that? It's sweet, but if we're speaking purely from a like... chemistry standpoint? This one falls on its face. But, no, I'm sorry. Just because Caleb isn't literally devouring Essek's face whenever he's on screen  (though he slobbers like he wants to whenever Essek uses Dunamancy), doesn't mean that the ship is "invisible". It's invisible to people who are only used to overt ships I guess But I'm sorry, I need to go back through and make a "Caleb slobbers over Essek doing magic" compilation. Because it doesn't exist yet, and yet it happens all the time lol And people are like "where attraction" RIGHT THERE, GUYS

Me: Speaking of Jester, actually.  Jester's funny because early on she actually did tease/flirt with Caleb quite a bit... but then she stopped doing it.  When?  I'd say it happened right around the same time Caleb started having feelings for her, imo, after their waltz, when he said Astrid's name.  Jester and Fjord were caged together in the Sour Nest and I think that, followed by the Fjord/Avantika arc, really sealed the deal for where her interests went.  Also, Jester and Nott wrote that letter to Astrid, so by that point I think it's pretty safe to say that Jester not only was not interested in Caleb; she wasn't even interested in teasing/lightly flirting with him anymore. Also Caleb eyescrews Essek a lot... so yeah what are these people smoking?  Even LoB, who has been wishy washy about the ship, has been pretty upfront about Caleb's interest in Essek.

Sibling: I don't think Widojest people want Caleb to be with someone happy and who makes him happy. Essek is not a happy man but Caleb's mood certainly seems to brighten whenever he shows up.

Me: I mean, there IS chemistry between Caleb and Jester but the issue is that the two characters view each other completely differently. She just doesn't see him that way. The other half of the equation is that Caleb tends to treat Jester as being more than just the cutesy trickster and a lot of the other cast members haven't really shown that? They tend to undermine her a lot actually. It's most obvious with respect to the Traveler. Caleb actually respects her relationship with Artagan. Other members of the group just hate him and have made it clear to her that they feel that way.  That includes BOTH Fjord and Beau. Like if you compare the conversations she had with Fjord and with Caleb on Rumblecusp, it's night and day, but it doesn't matter because she just doesn't view Caleb as a prospective partner at all. She tends to frame their relationship in the same way several of the characters in the party frame their dynamics with Caleb. "I want to help him but I have no idea what the fuck to say or do."  She'd still above average compared to the group at doing so but that's because of her mother's influence, not because she has feelings for him. Ngl, if I WERE to ship Caleb with someone other than Essek at this point I think I would pick Jester just because they have a mutual respect for each other. Oh oh here's an example. Okay, so Caleb's room for Jester in the tower right? It's very similar to her childhood room, but he deliberately "adults" it up, because he respects her as an adult. What was Fjord's gift to her in Rexxentrum? A child's toy.  A unicorn statue. And that's cute and all, but... uh...

Sibling: A little infantilizing?

Me: Yes exactly, and it's the same way he behaves about her relationship with Artagan. One could easily argue that Fjord treats Jester sort of like she's the pixie girl stereotype, but that's just surface-level stuff about Jester. You'll notice that Fjord and Jester's conversations tend to lean cutesy and immature, but when Jester talks with Caleb, it's very often a thoughtful and deeper conversation, so I DO see why people ship it.

Sibling: I mean, but that's my problem with it. Maybe it's better than Fjorjester, but Liam doesn't lick his lips every single time Jester breathes too hard.

Me: Lol. Personally I think that part of the problem is that 1) Travis isn't comfortable with doing romance, and Fjord is awkward af, and 2) Jester/Laura has tried to get him to talk with Jester on a deeper level and it hasn't really been successful, and she's let some opportunities slip by, but Liam rarely passes up the opportunity to have a deeper conversation with other players, so he ends up having more serious conversations with Jester simply because Liam seeks out those conversations.

Sibling: Well Liam loves character romances. It's why his second character left as many options open to him as possible lol. It's the stark difference between Liam and Travis. Travis is only comfortable romancing his wife fictionally lol. Liam loves the way you can reexamine a character and reshape their ending with those choices and I think he's way more willing to just go "screw it, my character is horny AF for this wizard boy, what are you going to do Matt?" "my character is also horny for my party member, but it's probably unrequited, but I'm going to stick with it for character depth"

Me: Seriously though  go back and rewatch the Rumblecusp conversations Jester had with Fjord and with Caleb.  You could SEE it in Jester.  Fjord was NOT saying anything she wanted or needed to hear.  I thought she actually looked pretty hurt.

Sibling: Oh, I remember being like "well that was deflating" and it's why she kept asking people. She's looking for answers, and pretty much everyone pussyfooted around it becawuse she's such a cuwuty.

Me: Yes, props to Caleb for stepping up, even though he didn't give her the answer she wanted either. That's precisely the problem with her dynamics with other characters. They're too busy fawning over how cute she is and trying to shield her to get to anything much deeper.

Sibling: Whereas Caleb thought of her as a woman- someone he really liked, from... like super early on.

Me: Oddly the end result is that the non-stop shielding of Jester has inhibited Laura's ability to grow Jester as a character. Which has to be frustrating as a player.

Sibling: I think it probably has been. Especially because I think she wanted to explore how being in a romance would change her. She even hinted to that way earlier: "That's not at all how love is depicted in the books we read..." "You mean the porn books we read?"

Me: The character is rarely challenged and hasn't really been forced to change.  She has changed in that she's matured from experience, but it's subtle and it isn't really acknowledged much. Nothing screamed this more than the climax of Traveler-con, where she was staring down the barrel of a monumental life-change and her cutesyness somehow convinced the planetar to be like... "fine, bye." Even MATT regretted that decision in the Talks afterward.

Sibling: Oh for sure! She just gets everything and you know what sucks? I think LAURA wanted Artagan to be taken. It would have devastated Jester but it would have forced her to change.

Me: Well actually, Laura said that she was going to offer to worship the Moonweaver instead of the Traveler if it meant she'd spare him punishment. When she said that, Matt's whole face just dropped; he was so upset that he wasted that opportunity, but that's the cost of treating Jester like she needs coddling. It's like... bro... she ax murders people... come on.

Sibling: She burns people to death with sacred flame and gets people lost in the woods by messing with road signs.

Me: She's been tortured and barely shows the trauma of it at all (can't believe that went unaddressed btw)... She can handle pushback... Like again, Caleb. Early on she butted heads with Caleb because she's a spoiled rich kid, but you'll notice that after offending him like that?  She never did it again.

Sibling: Because she's a good person capable of introspection and changing her behavior to help people.

Me: It's a small thing but Jester actually became a better person precisely because Caleb didn't handle her with kid gloves.

Sibling: That even ties back to her dropping her flirting when "Astrid" was brought up.

Me: Yep

Sibling: ... Shadowgast is still better.

Me: Yep. I don't hate widojest and I think that of all the jester pairings it's probably the best, but of all the Caleb pairings Shadowgast is best.

Sibling: I mean, Shadowgast is best even by virtue of like... who else would you pair Essek with that he could still stick around the party for? He's only interested in Caleb lol. That's not to say he doesn't LIKE the rest of the cast, but back to the deep conversations thing...

Me: I've seen some people shipping Widojessek, lol.

Sibling: There's really only one person (and one group chat) where he had those sorts of opening up moments. Poor Fjord- just got a GF and people are already cucking him.

Me: Lol. Oh, man... Caleb and Essek really need to talk about the assembly. Specifically Caleb's past and what Essek's dealings with them were like in more detail.

Sibling: Matt tried to lol and Caleb was like "yeah okay i got plans, but also paper"

Me: Essek needs to be more direct because Caleb doesn't WANT to talk about it.

Sibling: He can't, he's a wizard. No melee attacks, emotionally or verbally.

Me: Well, the issue is that Essek prods at Caleb's goals, which are nebulous (so Caleb really can't give a satisfactory answer, and he also can't answer without talking about his past first).  And when he prods about Caleb's past, he's too indirect.  He needs to directly ask about Caleb's past FIRST if he wants more information about Caleb's goals.

Sibling: The next time they're in the tower (which I fear won't be for a while) Essek literally needs to be like "I'm drowning in guilt, you need to tell me about what I was involved with so I can manage it" He'd probably give him a few crumbs lmao.  If Essek makes it about himself, Caleb is less likely to close up.

Me: Yes, that is exactly how Essek needs to frame it. "I don't have a full understanding of the nature of the people I gave power to.  I know now that they're more terrible than I thought, but not exactly how. I think that in order to fully grasp what I have done, I need to know more about them." It's pretty blatant bait but Caleb would probably be convinced by it anyway.

Sibling: Oh for sure. Caleb can't exactly run away from that either; he's too chicken to flee from conversations. He freezes and either spills or clams up.

Me: At this point, there's really no GOOD reason to NOT tell Essek about his past. There's nothing to lose from it, and a decent amount to gain; it could turn Essek actively hostile towards the Assembly rather than keeping him cowering in Eiselcross.

Sibling: He's uncomfortable with it (trauma will do that) Doesn't want to get sidetracked (Essek told him not to) Haven't had a good time to do so (no privacy) Doesn't want Essek to distance himself from him (most likely)

Me: This is true, but he's already told the people who he least wanted to tell (Jester and Caduceus) ... Actually, my suspicion is...

Sibling: And neither of them pulled away from him-- eh? Me: ... that Caleb doesn't want to tell Essek because he's worried that Essek will, well... uh, treat him like a child. Caleb was so young, and telling the story of his past also means admitting that he's 11 years younger than he appears. And there is some amount of Caleb's view of his past that is irrational and he chafes viciously whenever someone tries to downplay his culpability by pointing out his age at the time.

Sibling: I think he already has. Don't try to tell me about how not patronizing that "Young Man" line was lol. It was meant in good faith but... I think Caleb does the abuse victim "the idea of ever being young and vulnerable again is terrifying" thing pretty convincingly. It's also sort of a rewind back to his respect for someone who seems outwardly childish, but is an adult whose choices need to be respected.

Me: There is another matter which... Well, Caleb is slowly coming to terms with his status as a victim (veeery slowly) but I think if Essek were to learn about his past, and taking into account their different cultural perspectives on age, Essek might have a hard time not reacting more in line with Beau/Nott's initial reactions to the full tale.  Beau said she thought it was nothing to be ashamed of (and Caleb started laughing hysterically) and then Nott just full-on denied that any of it was his fault (which is completely at odds with his own belief), and since Essek's gut reaction to hearing the story is probably going to be something like "Trent is a baby torturer" ... That's not an easy thing for Caleb to stomach.

Sibling: And yes, Essek will absolutely have that reaction because at that age humans are still fetuses to him.

Me: This brings me to my final point. Caleb may be worried that Essek learning all of this and thinking that way will damage Essek's ability to see Caleb as his mirror. He may view it as a threat to the life-line he threw Essek that night in Nicodranas.

Sibling: And then it's not about bettering each other... It's about Essek being alone again and Caleb being alone.

Me: However, Essek's insistence that he is sure nothing Caleb has done could compare to what Essek has done does mitigate that risk significantly.  It's just a matter of whether or not Caleb can see that and Essek can be pushy enough to get him to crack.

Sibling: I know Essek has it in him. He can forsake his country's precious artifacts to an opposing nation, he can push his BF to open up to him about his problems. Caleb, on the other hand, has been exceedingly fragile... since you know... GOING BACK TO THE ASYLUM, so I don't know if he's in a state to have that discussion, but if they don't have it soon, by the time Essek talks to him again Trent will probably be dead.

Me: Caleb is pretty blatant about his compartmentalization and deflection.  He feels it's necessary in the current circumstance with the Tomb Takers, but somebody really needs to step up after Lucien's taken out and talk to Caleb about this stuff.  Essek would be ideal because Caleb could benefit the most from Essek's perspective, I think, but really... anyone other than Veth is better than nothing. Going back to the Asylum was very obviously a severe triggering event and NO ONE TALKED ABOUT IT. Like, jfc, guys, Beau is right.  She asked if Caleb was even capable of working alongside Trent, and Caleb said yes (if he thought it was necessary), but we all, WE ALL know that he can't.  Not after that disaster.

Sibling: Especially because both Veth and Jester saw him go straight into "OH GOD WE'RE GOING TO DIE, HE'S HERE AND WE'RE GOING TO DIE, I'M GOING TO KILL HIM BEFORE HE HURTS ANYONE" and they were like "he can probably handle this"

Me: He was already borderline in that headspace BEFORE Trent showed up.

Sibling: And then afterward, he went straight into a dangerous self-destructive spiral. Like... I know we've said this before but thank GOD for that failed persuasion check.

Me: That nat 1 was poetry on so many levels. On a meta level the sheer luck of it was a delight, but within the context of the story I think it was great that Essek is just like... "No.  I am not crossing this line, not even for you."

Sibling: It worked narratively, meta-narratively, and saved Matt from having to draw up a bunch of ambush situations made by Volstruckers when Trent inevitably backstabbed them.

Me: Can you imagine poor Matt trying to play the Tomb Takers, Trent, Astrid, Wulf, and Essek... AND Charlie/Devexien?

Sibling: He already forgets to play Essek, and he only had a few NPCs to deal with.

Me: Even purely from a gameplay standpoint, can you imagine all the loot they Nein would lose in Aeor if they had brought scourgers with them? What if they found that dunamis machine?

Sibling: EXACTLY.

.

Convo ended here, but I had some more thoughts.  It was just too late to keep talking.  For example, I like FjordxJester and BeauxYasha.  I think they are actually complicated relationships but they just haven't really had the room to be deeply explored/examined, for example.  I also did not go into nearly as much detail about my thoughts on VaxxShaun as I would have liked to mostly because that ship wasn't the point of the discussion. ... oh god how do I even tag this?

[starlightxsvt]

weight of a crown

Pairing: king!seokmin x female reader

Genre: angst, romance, royal themed

Warnings: nothing if I remember correctly

Word count: 2k

Like it's a daily matter to him, Seokmin easily jumps over your window and into your room- not that it was a big hassle in the first place.You gasp softly before helping him into your room, "Were you a theif in your past life?" You hiss, sitting beside him in your bed. He puffs up his dark brown locks, chuckling, "Maybe. I promised you I'd visit at night, didn't I?"

You smile fondly at him, squeezing his hand, "That you did." You rest your head on his shoulder, "Did you snuck past the guards again?"

"Yes."

"You do know that His Majesty will be furious if he finds out, don't you?" You murmur, drawing soft circles on his knuckles.

"Only if he finds out, darling. And I've no intention of being caught." Seokmin whispers before softly titling your head up to a kiss.

Having an affair with the prince was something you never thought of, yet, somehow it begun after you started accompanying your father to tend his duties in the royal palace as the garderner. The prince, Lee Seokmin, weirdly took interest in you and since then it has been a common occurrence for him to sneak out of the palace and visit you in the middle of the night. You both couldn't make much noise since your parents slept in the other room and by God, if they ever found out, they were gonna offer you up to the Gods.

"I wish I could visit more often," Seokmin's voice wavers as he strokes your arm through the worn out night dress on you. "It's enough that we can meet, Min. We shouldn't wish for more." You remind to which a sigh escapes from his lips. He hugs you closer as you both look into the night sky from your window, hoping the strings of your fates will be entangled somehow.

-

The King's untimely death stirs a wave of agitation throughout the whole kingdom, including you but for some slightly other reason. It not only meant a dysfunction in the royal family but also that in the near future Seokmin is to be crowned king. Which would mean that your secret meetings would have to stop eventually. The thought pains you to an extreme extent but you prepare yourself for it.

Couple days later when Seokmin visits you, it's mid-day. He wordlessly guides you to the small stream present in the middle of the forest- a place you two often visit. You both take a seat by the rocks and you focus your gaze on Seokmin. He features are exhausted, bags under his eyes, far from his usual cheerful demeanor. "I'm sorry," you croak, trying to offer some sort of solace. Seokmin exhales deeply before turning to you, "You know what this means, ___." You swallow and nod softly.

"I'm sorry but I can't visit you so often now. In fact I don't know when I will visit you again. Everyone is looking up to me now and there's so much to do, so much to prepare that I can barely sleep at night." He whispers tightly holding your hands.

"It's okay, Min. You don't have to be sorry. It's your duty now and it comes before anything else. The whole kingdom looks up to you."

"I know darling, I know. But I want you to know that my love for you will never change. No matter where I am, who I am. Please have some faith on me." His eyes desperately search yours.

"Oh Min," you cup his cheeks. "I believe in you. Everything is going to be okay. And I'll wait for you, as long as it takes."

Seokmin smiles, his eyes shining. From his pocket he produces a brass necklace. "This is for you. I'm leaving a part of me that'll always stay with you." Seokmin gently puts it on you, a simple chain containing two hearts entangled. Your heart constricts. You knew he loved crafting. This is the result of his fine handiwork.

"Thank you. It's beautiful."

He pulls you into a hug, stroking your hair before pulling your lips in for a kiss. A kiss so deep, so passionate it lit a fire throughout you. A kiss that tasted like goodbye. Your gaze matches his- pained, scared. He kisses your knuckles one last time before standing up. You whisper, "You're going to be one great king, Min." He smiles at you, "I love you, my darling ___."

"I love you too, Lee Seokmin."

As he disappears into the forest, leaving you alone by the stream, you squeeze the ornament in your neck. You'd probably never see him again but you held onto the last bit of hope.

Maybe you shouldn't have.

5 years later

Being invited to the royal palace by the queen is something you never even dreamt about. You still don't clearly know why you have been called- only being told that the queen wanted to see your designs. You wonder how the queen came to know about your small clothing shop and why someone like her would be interested in your work. You hands get more sweaty as the palace nears not only because you're gonna meet the queen but also you might, just might come across him.

Your first impression of the queen is that she looks far younger than her age. She carries a bright, youthful aura around her, the complete opposite of grumpy and reserved you expected her to be. She doesn't immediately get into business, rather asks you about yourself over tea.

"So your mother owned this shop?"

"Yes, your Highness, she used to make dresses. I learned from her and I wanted to continue what she started."

"I see. I have heard your name a lot and I could not resist calling you over to see myself. All the ladies in the palace say that you design their dresses and my God, are they beautiful." She speaks.

"It's really nothing, Your Highness."

"May I see your catalogue?"

"Of course."

-

You're in the middle of discussing a neckline with the queen when you're interrupted. The doors open to reveal none other than the king, Lee Seokmin.

Your heart jumps to your throat as your eyes meet his, your heart beat so loud that you're afraid it can be heard. Seokmin's eyes go large as they land on you, shock evident on his face.

He has changed, a lot. He isn't the cheerful 18 year old boy, no. He's grown taller, broader and the aura around him has completely changed. His face has structured beautifully, sharp nose and a defined jawline, a scar on his left cheek bone, black curls spread across his forehead. His crown glints amid his black locks, shiny and proud.

You swallow.

"Hello, son. What brings you to me?"

"Hello mother," he steps into the room after thoroughly eyeing you and embraces his mother. "I wanted to let you know that I'm going for hunting."

"At this hour? It's going to be dark soon."

"It's alright. I will be back before dinner."

"Okay," the queen smiles at him before gesturing to you, "Oh this is the designer I was talking about."

You abruptly stand stand up and bow, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness." Seokmin's eyes go hard on you before he nods and murmurs, "Likewise."

He bids goodbye to his mother before leaving as all the air returns to your lungs. You breathe a sigh of relief. The queen claps her hands, eyes twinkling, "So where were we?"

-

You can't deny when the queen asks to you spend the night at the palace, insisting that it's already too late to leave. Her servants show you out of her chambers and into your own room, providing you with towels and dresses to change into. The gigantic room leaves you breathless as you plop into the huge bed, collecting your thoughts. This night did not turn out the way you imagined. You've met Seokmin and now you can only pray that you won't meet him again.

-

Your prayers remain unanswered as the queen asks you join her for dinner and of course, Seokmin joins too. His hair is still damp from his bath as he takes a sit opposite to you in the large dining table, answering his mother's question about the hunting. You try to remain invisible the whole time, quickly finishing probably the best food you ever had in your life. You quickly excuse yourself from the dinning hall- staying at such a close proximity to Seokmin becoming unbearable for you and you rush into your room. However, you are not blessed.

"___,"A voice calls you before you can enter your room. A voice you know too well. You jump slightly and gulp before turning, "Y-your Highness." Seokmin stands in front of you, frowning, "That's not what you used to call me."

Oh my god. This could not be happening.

You stand quietly unsure what to say. Seokmin brusquely pulls you into your room and locks it before pressing you against the door. "Why are you avoiding me? Pretending like you do not know me?" He questions, titling your head up.

"I- I do not, Your Highness. We should not be doing this."

"What? Talking? You're joking right? Stop doing this, stop ignoring me, ___." He pleads.

You bite your lip, "What do you want me to do?"

"Talk to me. Where have you been? I've looked for you after my coronation. Where did you go? Why did you move?" His desperate eyes meet yours.

"Please, it doesn't matter anymore, Your Highness. It's in the past."

"Stop calling me that!" He snaps before sighing, taking off his crown and raking a hand through his hair. "Please, do not act like a stranger. It pains me."

Oh it pains you too. Unbearably.

"...We had to move, after the flood. Our house was destroyed and my father was sick. We went to live on the other side of the village." You whisper.

"How is he now? How's your parents?" Seokmin asks gently.

"My father passed away after the flood, he was sick. My mother died a couple years back." You reply.

"Oh darling," Seokmin whispers before engulfing you in his strong arms. He holds you tighter as you try to break free, "Don't resist me, darling. Please, let me hold you. I've looked for you myself for so long. I didn't even had a picture of you so I eventually had to stop the search. If only I found you earlier."

"It's okay...Seokmin." You whisper. "You are a king, you've a lot on your hands."

"Still, I gave up on you. I broke my promise."

"No, you didn't. A commoner such as myself should not be your concern."

"What?" Seokmin pulls back, hurt flashing in his eyes. "You are not a commoner, ___."

"It's okay. We're not teenagers anymore. You should not worry about an affair of five years ago." You push yourself away from him.

"An affair?" He whispers, "Is that what it really was? An affair? Do you really think so?"

"Yes!" You sigh, frustrated.

"No," Seokmin states before holding you by your arms. "No because you are still wearing my necklace. You still carry a piece of me with you. It was more than an affair and you know it, darling."

"But it doesn't change anything now, does it?" You question.

"I told you my love for you will never change, no matter who I am." He replies, cupping your cheek. You look away, all the emotions swirling inside you and you have no idea how to repress them. "Give me chance," Seokmin speaks, making you look at him. "Now that I have found you, I'm not going to let you go. Or...is it that- Are you betrothed to someone?"

"What? No!" You deny, blushing, "That's not it."

"Then there is nothing that can set us apart." He whispers. "Let me kiss you. Let me kiss away all the pain. Let me make everything okay."

You don't really get to reply before his lips encase yours, matching perfectly, like it did years ago. His tongue tangle with yours, moving in perfect sync as he tilts your head and controls the kiss. He kisses you like there's no tomorrow, like you're the most precious thing to him, until you both are out of breaths.

He spends the night with you, talking about nothing and everything, wrapped in each others arms. You cling to him dearly, like he's a lifesaver and for one night you let go of all your worries.

When he visits you next morning after tending to his royal duties, he has a blinding smile in his face, a contrast to what you were experiencing. "Why do you look so happy?" You ask tentatively.

"Why do you look so troubled?"

"I asked you first."

"Mother knows about us," Seokmin announces like it's the most natural thing. You gasp audibly, covering your mouth, "Oh my god!" "Easy! Why are you so worried?" Seokmin laughs.

"What do you mean Seokmin!" You howl. "Her Majesty knows about us! What are we going to do!"

"We're going to start planning our future, my darling," Seokmin smiles, pulling you close by the waist. "I'd say, it's a step easier for us."

"Wha-... I..."

"My mother may look naive but she's very sharp. She noticed how stressed I was during the dinner last night and the necklace on you. She recognized my work." Then he adds sheepishly, "Also, she knew I used to snuck away."

"Oh my God," You put your head in your hands. "So that's why she said that."

"Said what?" He frowns.

"I met her earlier this morning and she said that I'm welcome to stay here as long as I want." You murmur, blushing. Seokmin laughs, his eyes crinkling in happiness, "I guess there is nothing to hide now?"

You bite your lip, "Are you sure..Min? You're a king now and I'm just-"

"Hush" he plants a soft kiss on your lips. "You're the woman I've been looking for all these years, the love of my life. And now that I have you, I'm never, ever going to let you get away, darling."

You sigh, your eyes welling up, unable to process so much. Your simply rest your head on his shoulder, wrapping your arms around him. He smiles.

"Now we have a wedding to prepare for."

A/N: Hellooo~ and I'm back! So, I've always wanted to make a royal au and Seokmin seems like the perfect person, you know what I mean? I kinda wanted to make this more action themed but I couldn't put together an ending so I went with good ol' romance :'). Pls like and reblog if you enjoyed. And if you've made it this far, here's a cookie for you 🍪 . 💖

[1oserjk]

— full stop | still good without luck

when life was becoming a bit steadier

+ here is a clearer puzzle piece of oc n jk’s backstory :D

word count: 2.4k

x full stop masterlist | x masterlist

Three years after he finally landed a solid grip on the shop and enough money came in to pay back the bills including the newly bought house and his studio, is when he came barreling in your shared bedroom door with a complicated-looking bouquet in his hand.

Your first instinctive reaction was to recoil and question the cheesy gesture.

“Oh god. What’s this?” You stupidly pointed—poked towards the obvious. They were very living, giving them a long appreciative look knowing in a matter of days they would wither and fall off if you didn’t snip the stems and soak them in water soon enough. 

“Flowers, obviously. For you.”

You reluctantly took them into your arms, listening intently to the way the thin plastic rubbed against your bare skin.

You wondered if he would be okay with you picking off the petals of some of the white flowers to set out in the sun for a day, before soaking them in oil to preserve the fragrance.

Stupid crafts like that always made you happy. He knew that.

“It’s a pretty pairing,” you honestly said, staring at the stark contrast between the white and the slightly familiar dirty orange. You think you’ve seen it in one of the pages of your A-Z Of Perennials book your mother gifted you last summer.

“They’re your favorite,” he explained as if it was a fact you never knew about yourself.

You nodded. “They are.”

He took a slight breath in before fully releasing to say, “And this lily is my birth flower.” He put his hands in the pockets of his slacks to stop himself from anxiously fidgeting. You thought it was cute. “I’m personally fond of the meaning of them.”

You smiled. “And what exactly could that meaning be?”

“Please—“ his eyes set out for yours when he finished, “—love me.”

The message you received through each petal achingly clear: that Jeon Jungkook was a man made solely for you and nobody else. Somebody so incredibly needy in only the best ways possible, eager to hand you the world — that was your husband and the father of your child.

“Corny, huh,” he attempted to brush off, but you saw right through his prideful facade, the tint to his cheeks lacking in help for the man standing right in front of you.

Jungkook was always the type to go soft at the romanticization of things, as if you were watching a Studio Ghibli film right at the center of his dark-colored orbs, the projection of the simplicity of all things beautiful. It was a solid contrast to your realist characteristic you held, but being with Jungkook all those years only made it easier to fall back and dream for a bit with him.

You carefully set the flowers down on the dresser beside you to wrap your arms around him, his eyes being the easiest thing to fully immerse yourself into.

“Not at all,” you said, shaking your head, “I think they fit you well.”

He hummed, hands easily finding the curve of your hips and landing them firmly atop the thin layer of your dress. He was automatically up to no good when his lips had quirked to one side and his eyes flashed a gleam for a millisecond. “Being pretty?”

You hit at his arm, leaning your head closer to his until your noses met and intuitively slotted at just the right angle. “No,” you lead, lips brushing at the single syllable, “being needy.”

He scrunched his and pulled away from your lips as a form of punishment. Eyes set on the prize, so driven for the one thing you find yourself craving the past week, standing on the tips of your toes and eagerly reaching for a kiss.

He scoffed quietly, putting up a false front. He gave it to you easily and without even a fight, “I’m the needy one? Look who’s kissing me.”

“Please,” you reasoned and puckered up for another, “This is me showing my appreciation and affection for the flowers. Really, thank you.”

He dug his face into your neck and traced the bare skin of your back with the tip of each of his slender fingers. He said something quietly about liking that particular dress on you, his fingers playing along with the open slit to emphasize his appreciation. You shivered slightly from the contact and leaned most of your weight against him to compensate for your legs suddenly weakening.

“I’m glad you liked them,” he murmured into your skin, leaving goosebumps against the rest. “I thought it would be a nice addition to our date night.”

“Speaking of,” you began to mutter at the reminder, “It’s been so long since we’ve had a decent amount of time alone. I was surprised you were free this weekend.”

“Sorry,” he sheepishly said, “As much as I trust those two back at the shop — I don’t. But, they told me I at least needed a small break and that they would take care of interviewing for our receptionist position over the weekend.”

Your head tilted curiously to ponder, “You’re still looking for someone?”

He solemnly nodded.

“Then I might just quit and apply at yours,” you teasingly smirked, “Sounds kind of fun.”

He groans. “As much as that would go appreciated..” His hands suddenly drift down to roam your ass and hips, giving it a solid pinch to make you yelp out loud. The corner of his lips quirked. “I don’t think your mother will appreciate you wasting a degree like that. And to be honest? I don’t think I’d get much work done if you were working under me either.”

“Why not?” You didn’t exactly have the opportunity to be as creative as he was, to interact with new people, and share art the way he did. You were organized and clean though. “I’ve had to take a leave at work to focus on Yeona while you were kept busy with the shop, I want to get back to working again. Want to spend more time with you..”

He landed a solid kiss on the edge of your temple and sighed. “Baby, I promise that once business gains momentum without me having to be there, I’ll take some more time off. I feel better that you’re with our daughter for now.”

Your mouth formed to a downturn. “What about you? Jungkook, she needs her own father.”

There’s a moment of silence between the both of you, a thousand of unspoken words floated in between. Yours surrounded him with question marks.

“Do you really want to start that tonight?” He asked, tiredness stirring in his eyes.

You blinked in slight pain before erasing it completely away from his view to read it as anything more and mustered a weak smile. Your hands fidgetted but stick to simply smoothing out the lines of his dress coat.

The bite on your tongue is harsh and punishing.

“Okay,” you answered, a mustered smile easily stretched out, “Fine.”

You wondered how much longer you both would suppress the looming subject until the next argument would find its way back into conversation again.

You stepped out of his hold and observed him from a distance. His expression is given with the way he held back the same as you.

You didn’t push it for the sake of that night.

With your back turned, you grabbed for your purse and handed him a smile before offering your hand. “Let’s go before it gets too late.”

You’ve encased his hand into your hold at the beginning of the drive, probably slightly dangerous to do but a foolish and selfish habit you had when it came to him. He doesn’t mind when they folded in between the warmth of your thighs, anyway. His driving skills were well off enough to stay stable and to occasionally run his thumb against your skin whenever he pleased.

Just feeling the span of where your short dress had risen had him stirring in his pants and already questioning, “When was the last time we had sex?”

You didn’t flinch at the abrupt question, humming to think. “Maybe about—a week ago?”

His eyes widened. “Fuck, really?”

You nodded. “Your perception of time has always been fucked..” Sitting up, you pinned him a stare, “Come on, you really don’t remember?”

Mindless sex was one of the many ways he would vow out his apology after all. He spelled out his sorry by drawing out an orgasm after orgasm. 

“No, no, I do,” he answered, “I just—didn’t expect it to be that long ago.”

Your mind begged to comment out that it was his fault for always being so damn busy.

“Okay,” he said, arm extended out, having it be enough of your fidgeting and sudden silence, “Come here and hold my hand again.”

It’s his cluelessness to note the way you felt that frustrated you the most — maybe it was just your fault for not properly voicing it out.

“Let’s not think about the last time and look forward to tonight, yeah?” You bit at a remark, reluctantly obliging, only quickly regretting it when his long fingers flexed, unattainable to let go of the raw thoughts that clumped into your head right after. Cheeky bastard. You gripped them tightly to make him hiss out, rubbing the stupid initials of yours on the back of his hand a second later.

He went on with the conversation about some big time client who was willing to spend a fuck ton of money for him to ink his whole entire back. You weren’t too surprised to hear him say that he was informed it would be free game, a general idea and vibe but overall letting Jungkook’s creativity roam free. There was a fond smile stretched upon your lips when he got giddy over it, sprouting out all of the sketch ideas he planned for his work to splay out on the man’s bare skin, eyes twinkling like a fucking kid and it’s beautiful. He’s beautiful.

The car turned to an unfamiliar road and it’s only then your eyebrows furrowed. Your mind perked at the fact you’ve been clueless for that long, not even recognizing the route to your unannounced destination. “I don’t even know where we’re going.”

He turned the wheel again. “Somewhere nicer.” That was the theme for that night, nicer—better—greater than usual.

You eagerly started to look around, like the GPS in front of you didn’t indicate you would be there in the next ten minutes. “Where? What’s the name of the place?” 

He chuckled. “Sit back and wait for it, alright? I promise you’ll like it.”

Of course, you took his word for it.

The tower sat at a painstakingly high height.

“Jungkook,” you deadpanned, “What are we doing here?”

He smiled widely. “Do you remember this place?”

The breeze blew through you and you could only hug yourself tighter with a meager nod. “You took me here for my birthday that one year?”

He nodded, hands in his pockets. “And I only had enough money to pay for the admission fee and nothing else. Not even enough to get a decent souvenir from the gift shop.”

“Hey, no,” you denied with a pout, clearly offended, “You got me a small magnet that’s still hanging on top of our fridge. It’s cute and I love it.”

His tongue ticked against the roof of his mouth and he reluctantly agreed. “Alright, fine. But—”

You gaped at the tower, mindlessly sputtering when you realize, “Is this where we’re having dinner?”

Finally, he confirmed with a solid nod and a sheepish smile. “We have a reservation.”

Blinking, you repeated, “Reservation? Why would we even need one—”

His arm suddenly swooped down and curled your body next to his as soon as you began walking up the intimidating structure. “Because I have the money to do so now, can’t you see? I can finally spoil the fuck out of my wife the way I’ve been wanting to this whole time.” Nicer—better—greater than usual

“Gguk—”

“I know that it might be a few years too late to make up for it, but I want you to realize how much I love you,” he said sincerely. “That I’m doing all of this for reason.”

You tugged his hand and called for him again.

Ignoring your pleas, he continued, “I’m shitty for not doing this sooner, and I know some nights get lonely without me, but I want to pay you back with everything I can possibly afford — I’m working hard. For you. For Yeona. Only for the both of you.”

Impulsively, your heel stomped against the pavement until his attention finally shifted towards you. The action immediately turned regrettable when the impact vibrated and bounced off of your ankle. You winced.

“Jungkook,” you pathetically mumbled, reaching out towards him.

Mid-talk, and it was your eyes that glossed over to throw him off, putting him on high alert. He had no choice but to stare down nervously at you with a bitten lip. 

You exhaled slowly and eventually circled your arms around his neck to pull him closer. You were still just outside of the front doors to climb in a beautifully long elevator ride, the gift shop beside the admission booths light blinking brightly to let visitors know it was wide open for them to waste money on overpriced, useless trinkets and tiny magnets.

Your fingers softly pulled at the hairs of his nape, urging him to give you a kiss right then and there. “I appreciate and love everything you’ve bought and done for me tonight.” Just for even allowing some time for the both of you that weekend — it was way more than enough. Your fingers softly ran over the edge of his jaw and went a bit further up to cup his cheek. His hands slid up to your wrist in return and squeezed, angling his head to put a few kisses on the center of your palm. “But you know I love you regardless, right? I don’t need you to pay back my love I’ll always have for you. Always, Gguk. We maintained a shitty apartment together for so many years, still got married when the circumstances weren’t always the nicest, and continue to raise a beautiful little girl together. Nothing changes when I’m with you.”

He eagerly bent down to encase your lips with his own. “I love you,” he said with utter sincerity, his silent ode to you he would carry along for the rest of his life hung somewhere within the tone of it. Always.

[midnightseonghwa]

𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭 | 𝐤.𝐡𝐣

𝐖𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐮 - 𝟏  

✕𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Witch!Hongjoong x Heart broken!Reader ft. Cat Shiter Familiar!San

✕𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Magic, Halloween, Witch Au  

✕𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 4.0k+  

✕𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭: Hongjoong finds himself lonely, working day in day out to make human money. But what happens when someone comes into his workplace and asks for a temporary fix? Only Hongjoong knows how to make it permanent. Alternatively: “To taste a poison as sweet as love and the mist that clouds your sense.”  

✕𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Mentions of physical abuse (not from Hongjoong though). Hongjoong is a little softie at first. Love at first sight and ‘I love you’s are exchanged quite fast. Slight obsessive themes towards the end, he takes a advantage of your broken heart and mentions of magic...because it is a witch au. 

✕𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Unedited 

✕𝐀/𝐍: This took me three days to write and a reupload but I’m finally here. Okay, welcome to the first installation of the Wonderland Halloween Au series!  I’m so excited so please don’t let this flop :(... Do remember that this fiction and I don’t actually see Ateez in this way. I know this is different from my conventional tooth-rotting fluff but I’ve always wanted to dabble in a bit of fantasy au-s. I hope you like it as much as I do! 

✕𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @pancakes-for-teddy​ 

✕𝐀𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜: Here 

As Hongjoong fake smiled at the customer and turned around to make yet another damned pumpkin spice latte, he found himself hating this part of the year more than any other.

It was a curse in all its worth to live in the human world, having to make mortal money. But no matter how much Hongjoong cursed his existence, he took slight comfort in the fact that at least he wasn't on the street starving and dying.

"Here you go, miss," he smiled and handed the paper cup to the lady and moved onto the next customer. It had been the same routine for the last few years Hongjoong had been cursed to the mortal world by his witch coven and it was getting boring, to say the least.

"Next customer, please," he said and tapped the register before looking up at you standing in front of him.

"What can I get for you today?" He asked after you didn't utter a word and just stared at the menu while fiddling with your hands. Your face was covered with a grey hood, and all Hongjoong wanted to do was yank it down and hex you for taking so long.

"Why don't you wait on the side while I take the rest of the orders?" He suggested, and a chorus of agreements for you to step out of the line was heard from the back.

"When you're done deciding, I'll help you out."

With that, he saw you move out the line and get cursed by the obnoxious and uptight people behind you, who were probably running late for their "important" meetings.  

After shuffling about and preparing drinks behind the counter, he finally saw you stand in front of the register and right the little bell that was kept there to attract his attention.

"Are you finally ready to order?" He asked and you muttered a low 'yes' in response.

"What will you be having today?" He said and watched in annoyance as you brought your hands up to your hood and lowered it down to reveal your face.

"Just a black coffee, please. As strong as possible." Your voice was small and almost came out as a whisper. All the ill-will that Hongjoong had harboured against you vanished the moment he saw your blotchy face with dried tear streaks and small cuts.

"I'll get right on it," he said and mustered up a genuine smile, with his teeth showing.

You took out a crumpled note from your hoodie pocket and thrust it into Hongjoong's hand who just smiled at you again and put it in the tip jar, claiming your coffee was on the house.

When he stepped behind to attend to your drink, he made sure to provide extra attention to it. It looked like you had been through a rough day and all Hongjoong wanted at that moment was to make you feel better with his coffee. His coffee, crafted by his hands, made only for you.

An odd feeling churned at the bottom of his stomach as he lidded the paper cup and carrying it towards the end of the counter.

"Here you go. Strongest black coffee I could prepare," he said and you gave him a thankful nod.

You turned to leave, pulling your hood back over your head before Hongjoong called you out.

"Listen!"

You stopped in your tracks and shifted to face him. His red hair was falling into his wide eyes as he called out to you.

You approached him slowly and looked up to meet his eyes. They were a burnt umber colour, almost a warm reddish-brown and you found yourself getting slightly lost in them.

"If you don't mind," he started and you backed away a little, knowing how this would go. He was surely going to ask you for your number and you had no intention of giving it.

"What exactly happened? Who made you so sad that you couldn't sleep?"

The question startled you. You thought you had washed your face enough times to get rid of any lasting evidence but it seemed as if you were wrong.

"I-" you mulled over your words. Was it really alright to dump your problems on the barista of your local cafe?

"I stayed up all night fighting with my boyfriend," you admitted sadly and looked down at your hands that were clutching the coffee cup.

"Oh," Hongjoong frowned and felt that odd churning at the bottom of his stomach. Only this time, it was more fierce.

"It's not a problem, really. He just tends to get angry really quickly," you said and shrugged your shoulders as if it was no big deal.

Hongjoong didn't say anything but he had a small inkling as to what you were going through. While he may not have an immediate fix for it, he thought of something that would help.

"Hey, San!" He shouted and you watched as a lanky black-haired boy trudged out from the kitchen area.

"Can you please pack two cookies from the display case," he said and the boy meekly nodded before going off to do his task.

"I'm not sure of how much it will help..." Hongjoong trailed off and gave you a small knowing smile.

"But, I assure you, for as long as I have been living in the mortal world, I have never found any other cookie better than this."

You furrowed your eyebrows at his comment.

'Mortal world'?

Deciding to ignore it nonetheless, you lowly thanked the red-haired man in front of you before taking the paper bag out of San's hand, exiting the cafe.

As you soon as you exited, San clutched Hongjoong's hand and dragged him back to the kitchen area.

"I know what you're thinking," he said and Hongjoong watched the lanky boy turn back into his cat form and jump into his witch's arms.

"And what exactly am I thinking?" Hongjoong mused and raised one of his eyebrows, petting San's black fur and scratching behind his ears.

The cat hissed and bared its teeth at the witch who just laughed and ushered the cat back onto the floor.

"Sometimes San," he started and untied his apron, hanging up on one of the hooks, "You're too smart for your own good."

Hongjoong inhaled the scent of burning sage as he opened the door to his apartment with a small opening incantation. You could never really be too sure with these pesky humans. All pesky...except you.

Ever since Hongjoong's interaction with you at the cafe, he had set his heart on making you feel better, even if it does create a small dent in his supplies.

"San!" He called out once again and the cat made its appearance in front of him at once.

"Come on," Hongjoong said and stood in front of his bedroom door, muttering a quick spell before turning the handle and walking in.

The room was lined with wooden shelves from top to bottom with all types of witchy paraphernalia.

"Really? You're going to make that pesky human a potion?"

The cat turned boy was now leaning against the back wall, watching his owner word about his brewing room with a certain determination he had never seen before.

"Why not?" He said and dropped strawberry leaves along with a few dried jasmine flowers in a pot that was situated in the middle.

Hongjoong stood on one of the stools searching the higher shelves before he turned to San.

"We're out of willow barks," he said and San rolled his eyes before pushing himself off the wall and exiting the room through the window in cat form.

Hongjoong bustled about the room, adding different elements to the pot which had now turned an ugly black mixture.

Throwing in some dried butterfly wings and yarrow flowers, he sat down in the corner and waited for San to come back with his bark.

The night wind whistled through the room and Hongjoong's idle thoughts floated back to you. Even in your miserable state, he thought you mesmerising and while he wouldn't call it love at first sight, it was definitely love at first sight.

Everything about you set Hongjoong's nerves on fire with some kind of aphrodisiac. The poison of love slowly making its way through his system, flushing out all negative thoughts and replacing them with happy ones instead.

San meowed as he made an appearance in front of Hongjoong and dropped the willow bark into the pot. The potion turned a sweet dark pink and Hongjoong tipped the entire thing into a vial before shifting back to his room with a snap of his fingers.

When Hongjoong saw you next, he was more than prepared. But what he wasn't prepared for was for you to be in a worse situation than you were previously. The tear streaks had turned into cuts and the puffy eyes had turned into black-purple bruises that peeked out from under your makeup.

"What happened?" Hongjoong whispered and ghosted his fingers over a particularly nasty bruise. You flinched back and closed your eyes, thinking he was going to do exactly what your boyfriend did to you. Instead, he lightly caressed your cuts with his fingers, almost butterfly-like touches that you made you want to press your face into his hands.

"Was it him again?" He asked from behind the counter, leaning forward a bit to make sure that no one heard him.

You didn't say anything, the words getting horribly stuck in your throat. But your silence was answer enough for him.

"What's your name?" He asked and your eyes widened.

"(Y/n)," you whispered and looked down at your fiddling hands.

"Well, (y/n). My name is Hongjoong," he said and pointed to the small enamel plate pinned on his apron.

You nodded and gave him the most genuine smile you could muster in your state.

"Now, I'll make you some coffee and we're going to sit at that table over there and talk. Is that alright with you?" He asked and you nodded once again, hair covering your eyes a little.

He painted fingernails brushed the hair out of your face and shooed you out of the line with a sweet grin before turning around to make your coffee.

Slipping the small vile out of his apron pocket, he tipped in a capful of the potion he had concocted and watched as it slowly fizzled pink inside the blackish-brown liquid before settling down.

He set a small cookie on the saucer of your cup and set it down in front of you while seating himself in the opposite chair.

"How long has it been going on?" He said and you choked a little on the hot liquid, not expecting him to cut right through the chase.

"This is the second time," you responded, nibbling on your cookie.

Hongjoong didn't say a word. Except, he motioned for you to continue with your coffee while he just sat opposite you, admiring the way you looked so perfect. Save for the injuries here and there.

Slowly sipping the caffeinated liquid, you felt it soothe your oesophagus as it gushed down and settled in the pit of your stomach. The feeling was warm and it was almost as if it was temporarily fixing all your problems.

Oh, if only you knew.

"Do you like it?" Hongjoong asked and you nodded enthusiastically, the bitterness of it still stinging your tastebuds.

"There's something very flowery about it," you said and Hongjoong just gave you another one his innocent smiles before letting out a sheepish laugh.

"It's a special type of bean we get imported," he said and you completely believed it.

The conversation stopped there as Hongjoong had to go back to work. Picking up your now empty cup, he greeted you with a soft goodbye which you returned as you exited the cafe and walked down the street. It was a puzzling revelation to you but you found yourself feeling much better; half a heartbreak almost cured.

"You're falling in love with her, aren't you," San hissed from his corner in the room as Hongjoong grabbed the butterfly wings from his shelf and placed them on his work station.

"Absolutely... yes," Hongjoong said and smiled at his table that was scattered with handwritten notes for you. All declaring his love like some Romeo lost in time and oh, how jealous Juliette would be.

San sighed and turned back into his cat form, jumping up onto his witch's tables and scratching through some of the letters Hongjoong had written.

"Hey!" Hongjoong yelled and threw his body over the paper to shield them from San's claws.

"Mind your paws," he said and San just trudged off the table with an indecent flick of his black tail.

Over the past few weeks, Hongjoong and you had gotten close. It was finally yesterday when the last straw of his healing potion had worked and you broke out the courage to dump your stupid boyfriend and report him for abuse.

With him rotting in prison, you had a lot of time on your hand and what better way to spend it than with your precious Joongie.

"Why are you even making her another healing potion? Didn't (Y/n) dump the guy already?" San asked as he slinked over one of the chairs, his legs jutting over the arms.

"Silly kitty," Hongjoong started and San hissed in reply, baring his teeth.

"This," he gestured to the pot and then smiled, "Is not a healing potion anymore. It's a love potion."

At Hongjoog's words, San jerked straight up and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Are you serious?"

Hongjoong scoffed as he neatly folded his handwritten letters and placed them under one of the jars.

"Yes, very. I am very serious about my love for (Y/n). Now hand me the scissors."

San rolled his eyes and passed the scissors which Hongjoong used to cut up the rosed into small fragments of petals.

Flinging the roses into the boiling potion in the pot along with some bay leaves and lavender, his heart bubbled with excitement at the deep red colour it took on.

Taking all of his handwritten letters, he shredded them to pieces before adding them to the pot as well.

San and Hongjoong both moved away from the pot as it bubbled furiously and then shot out a bloody red mist in the air.

Hongjoong inhaled deeply while San hacked a cough here and there, changing into his cat form to hide from the poisonous mist.

Tipping the final step of his plan into a vile, he stored it safely in his jacket pocket for tomorrow before stepping out of the room.

"Good morning Joongie," you piped as you smiled at the red-haired boy in front of you.

"(Y/n)," he acknowledges and taps the screen of the register before clapping excitedly.

"Oh! We just got some new tea that I would love for you to try," he said and ushered you to one of the tables before getting behind the counter to prepare your tea.

Setting the prepared drink under your nose, you marvelled at the gorgeous colour. The way the sun hit just right to make the red seem almost pink and the way the steam from the cup had taken on a misty red hue.

"What is this called?" You asked and Hongjoong laughed, setting himself down in the opposite chair.

"It's a love potion," he said and you laughed, thinking he was joking.

"Well, let's hope it's my lucky day and I fall in love with the one I'm looking for," you joked back but Hongjoong just frowned and fiddled with his hands nervously.

Did you like someone else?

"Drink up," he said and you pushed the cup to your lips, drinking in all of the liquid at once.

Hongjoong almost squealed in excitement but he contained it and reached out to stroke your hand with his thumb instead.

"You know, (y/n). There's something I've been meaning to tell you," he started and watched with bubbling ecstasy as he saw your pupils dilate with a reddish tint before returning to normal.

"Go on," you smiled and clutched his hand. The rings felt cool against your skin and a slight buzz between both your hands caused your skin to tingle.

It was a refreshing feeling; the feeling of cliche love.

"I... I really like you (Y/n) and I was kind of hoping I could take you out?"

There, he had said it. Hongjoong had confessed the smallest part of his undying love for you.

"Oh..." you trailed off and Hongjoong furrowed his eyebrows.

Did the potion not work?

"Just think about it and let me know. You have my number," he said and got up to continue his work.

You, on the other hand, were at war with your inner self. There was a coworker that you had been crushing on for the last week or so and were planning to ask him out but why a clouding sense of Hongjoong had left you occupied with thoughts of him instead.

The walk back to your apartment was spent in a perplexing self argument. Every time you forced the thought of your coworker in your head, a repulsive feeling washed over you and only Hongjoong's face brought you to ease.

Instead of walking back to your apartment, you circled the playground near it the entire day before a ringing from your pocket interrupted your thoughts.

"I was wondering," you heard Hongjoong's smooth voice over the line and instantly found yourself smiling.

"If you had made up your mind?" He said and you sighed at the fantasy of him whispering 'I love you' to you in that voice. A rosy feeling poured out of your heart and rubbed the part over your chest to ease the excitement that was thrumming under it.

You looked around the playground and watched little children run and play with their parents. Suddenly, the world seemed to take on a rosy mist as if you were viewing it through red-tinted glasses.

"Hongjoong, I-" you spoke but your fingers tingled a little when you heard him laugh over the phone.

"Okay, alright. Take your time. Good night, (Y/n)," he said and hung up. You stood in the middle of the street, blinking as the shit-stained world was revealed to you once again.

Where did all the wonder go?

Your breath hitched as you started taking steps to the cafe, breaking out into a full-on sprint midway.

All the lights of the cafe were closed except for the spotlight on top of the counter. You saw Hongjoong clearing some things and quickly tried to push the glass door, only for it to not budge.

Frantically, you hit your palm against the glass causing Hongjoong to get startled and look up at the source of the noise. You locked eyes with him and it was as if at that moment, it was la vie en rose again.

Hongjoong hurried over from behind the counter, unlocking the door and pulling it open as you pushed from the other side.

Barrelling through the door, you locked your arms around his neck and buried your face into the crook of his neck. You exhaled shakily and Hongjoong almost fainted due to your warm breath that was hitting his neck.

"(Y/n), what happen?" He said and stroked your back with almost the same affection that a mother would give to her sobbing child.

Hongjoong tried to pull back but you only hugged him tighter, winding your arms tighter around his neck and pressing your body into his.

"I-I...I wanted to see you," you exhaled and Hongjoong's heart leapt at your words.

You wanted to see him!

"I'm right here," he said and led you to the back of the cafe where you saw San lazily sipping on a cup of milk.

"Hey (Y/n)- oh," he said and gazed at yours and Hongjoong's intertwined hands.

Hongjoong leaned against the counter next to San who had now shifted back into his cat form, nuzzling into Hongjoong's side.

"Is this your way of saying yes?" He asked and you just giggled. Hongjoong seemed ethereal to you under the rosy mist and his red hair complemented the flowers of love perfectly.

"No, Joongie...let's just skip all the initial formalities. I want it to be just you and me forever," you confessed with absolute determination in your voice and Hongjoong pulled you closer to him at your words.

"(Y/n), I love you," he whispered and San made a gagging noise at the side as Hongjoong yanked on his tail lightly, causing San to yowl and then scatter away.

"Joongie, I love you too."

For the people who said that the honeymoon phase never lasts, you and Hongjoong proved them horribly wrong.

Now, a year and a half into your relationship, you had shifted into Hongjoong's apartment with rosy dreams of marriage, little children or even more cats. You had quite your job, believing Hongjoong's claim about his job being more than enough to support the two of you. You spend your days lazing around the house with San who mostly stayed in his cat form unless he needed to stretch. During those times, instead of San the cat, you would hang out with San, Hongjoong's coworker and friend from the cafe who had decided to pay a visit.

Hongjoong never let you leave the house unless it was with him or unless he had given you an extra-strong cup of tea in the morning. You were perfectly content with being left to your own devices at home, dreaming of Hongjoong and bathing in the love you had for him.

"Here you go, love," Hongjoong said as he handed you the familiar red tea he had deemed a love potion. Over the months, the red tea had become your one source of liquid courage, comfort and support, completely oblivious to its side-effects.

Hongjoong watched you with a lovestruck smile as you sipped the tea he had concocted. Your pupils dilated with a red tint like every other time he had given you the tea, the rosy mist clouding your senses and mind.

An overwhelming amount of love spread through your body like fire as you leaned up to kiss Hongjoong on the lips. The sweet residue of his tea lingering between the two of you before you settled on the sofa to take a small nap.

"(Y/n)," Hongjoong called as he appeared in the doorway all dressed.

"I'm going to the cafe for a bit. Some stock has come in that the boss needs me to run it through."

You sighed dreamily before your eyes opened in panic and shock.

Hongjoong was leaving?

"Joongie, it's your day off. You said you would stay."

The male laughed and walked over to where you were lying down, stroking your cheeks and hair affectionately.

"I promise I'll be back as soon as I can," he said and brought your hand up to place a sugary kiss to it.

He picked up his things and moved to the front door as you launched yourself from the sofa and grabbed onto the back of his shirt.

"No, Joongie, please. I get so lonely and I just- you said you wouldn't go. Today's your day off," you begged and fisted his shirt in both your hands, preventing him from leaving.  

Hongjoong felt slightly alarmed but he would be lying if he said he didn't like it. He had never seen you act this way but it was something he wanted to keep.

"Alright (Y/n). I won't go," Hongjoong said and ushered you back into the house, brushing a few stray tears from your face.

"Thank you, Joongie. Can I please have some more tea please?" You asked and pouted, trying to woo the male in front of you.

Needless to say that he was already very whipped for you.

"Of course, my love," he said and moved to kitchen as you attached yourself to him like a koala.

"I love you, Joongie," you said and hugged him tighter, "Promise you won't ever leave me?"

"I love you too, (Y/n) and yes, I promise I'll never leave you."

[yungidreamer]

Claimed

Summary: An intruder enters the territory of Chan and his pack, attacking people and causing havoc. Seemingly by chance he saves a victim that turns out to be his mate, but as fate would have it, he happens to be a wolf at the time. How will he protect her, come clean, and claim his mate?

Word count: 8.2k

Content warnings: slightly dark themes, a werewolf serial killer who is a vindictive asshole, impregnation kink, marking, minor descriptions of violence, sort of stalking, sort of possessive behavior. Some cursing.

Music: Come Out by Lenise Morales and War of Hearts by Ruelle

“Come on, boy,” she said, patting her leg and holding out the leash. “Let’s go on a walk before it gets too late.” Chan hopped up off his round dog bed near the couch, wagging his tail as he came to her. He sat patiently, turning his head to let her reach the leather collar she had put on his neck. Jesus, his pack mates would be in hysterics if they saw him like this, he thought to himself. But he could have endured the embarrassment for her.

How had he ended up like this? Really, it was a mix of destiny and bad luck on  both of their parts. He honestly never thought he would meet his mate when he was in his wolf form and hurt on top of it. Fights weren’t something he got into that often and something he avoided when he could, but that night three months ago he had caught that piece of shit lone wolf stalking her.

Why the loner had picked her, he had no idea, but Chan had to be grateful in some ways. How long would it have been before he ran across her if not for that? Jesus, what if he had gotten there too late? He didn’t want to think about it.

That night he had been sent to track the interloper that had been causing havoc in their territory. He was the first of the pack to actually find him, which must have been luck since Minho was generally the best tracker and Changbin a close second. They had taken the two days before and barely missed catching him at the no-tell motel he had been staying at and at some restaurant where he had mauled some poor woman heading home after her shift. Changbin had been furious with himself for not tracking him fast enough and had been the one to find her bloodied and crying near the back door of the restaurant. He had shifted back to human and called 911, telling them he had been passing by when he heard her crying, a plausible enough story not to raise any suspicion. Besides as far as anyone involved knew, it was a rabid dog attack… a massive rabid dog.

Tracking was exhausting work and got shared amongst all the members of the pack. The third night had been his job and he had taken a neighborhood near the one he had been stalking, suspecting he had moved his hunting grounds but not that far. His hunch had been right, but it was pure luck that he had come across the scent of the intruder as he patrolled, just hoping to catch some hint, some clue.

That whiff had pulled him down an alley and into the strip mall parking lot of the craft store. For the life of him, he could not figure out why on earth he would pick this sort of place. The parking lot was half empty since most of the stores were already closed… except the big hobby shop. The sodium orange lights of the parking lot had flickered and buzzed, bothering his sensitive senses and it must have done the same for the lone wolf… so why on earth would he choose to hunt here.

Chan had spotted him, in human form, leaning casually on a planter half a dozen meters from the entrance to the store taking a drag on a hand rolled cigarette. He had let out an involuntary huffing sneeze, hating the smell as it drifted to him. That had given him away. Even if he hadn’t been able to sense that he was a fellow werewolf, no dog would have been wandering around alone in a parking lot here, like this, at this hour.

“I’m surprised you found me, rover,” the loner had chuckled, self-satisfied and amused. “I would have let you guys be, but you couldn’t just let me hunt a little.” Chan had growled as he watched him stand up, letting the shadows and flickering lights obscure his face as he pulled himself into a standing position. He had moved fast, charging at Chan and drawing a knife just before he got within an arm's length of him. Chan dodged but not fast enough, and the knife caught him in the ribs, grazing over a couple of them before he could dig his teeth into the man’s arm.

“Fuck,” the man yelled, punching Chan in the jaw to force him to let go. Stars sparkled in his vision and pain sliced through him as the knife slid along his collarbone and upper leg. He had gotten one last swipe in before retreating, leaving Chan bloodied and limping.

A safe place to shift was what he had needed, there surely would have been someplace nearby, a little alcove or alley between a couple of the shops, but before he could get very far, she had stepped out of the store, locking up and leaving for the night.  Chan froze. He had been slinking away, slowly trying to get out of view, but was still very clearly in view when she had stepped out. His pain had blinded him to other sensations at first, but even before she turned and saw him, it hit him like a freight train.

Mine the sensation said with a ferocity he had never felt before. Why he had to find his mate like this, he had no idea. He wasn’t particularly unlucky. He didn’t spend tons of time as a wolf either. His pack was pretty chill and was pretty careful to stay below the radar. Their territory was safe and they were known for not being overly territorial, letting people pass through without a problem so long as they left and didn’t make problems. So how he ran across her while he was shifted and injured was just stupidly bad luck.

She had gasped when she finally turned around and saw him, but who wouldn’t when they turned around to see a massive dog behind them limping and bleeding. A moment’s fear had shot through her at the sight until Chan had whimpered, flattening himself on the pavement to look as unthreatening as possible.

“Hey puppy,” she said softly, putting out her hand for him to sniff as she leaned down, slowly coming closer. “Can I take a look at you?”

Yes please, he thought, rolling gently onto his uninjured side.

“What on earth happened to you… boy?” She asked, catching sight of his belly. “I don’t suppose you are going to make this easy on me and would just get in my car if I brought it around?” She sighed and patted his head. Rubbing his head into her hand, he rolled back over and pulled himself up to stand again. “Maybe you can just come with me, hmmm?” Standing up, she started to move towards her car, keeping an eye on him as he slowly limped behind her. She opened the back door to her car and patted the seat, inviting him to hop in, which he did quite happily. “Well at least that was easy.” She observed, closing the door behind him as he laid down on the back seat. “Now we just have to go spend my whole paycheck at the emergency vets.”

Sorry, he said to her in his head. I’ll pay you back when I can. Pain pulsed through him as the city lights swished over him in the back seat. The emergency vet clinic was only a half an hour away but that was way longer than he would have ever wanted to have to lay bleeding in the backseat of a car. In fact, he really was sure he could have gone his whole damn life without knowing what that felt like.

He was tough, he was the alpha of the group, though he didn’t enforce a hard hierarchy like some did. They were more family than anything else. They looked out for each other, did their part, contributed in any way that they could. It worked well for them and everyone was pretty happy with the arrangement. It was just his job to be the final voice when decisions needed to be made or to speak for the group when dealing with outsiders.

“Can you get up, pup?” She asked when she opened the door in the parking lot of the vet’s office. Chan nodded, though it probably didn’t look like it, what with being a dog and all, and stood up on slightly shaky limbs. Thank god they were close, he thought to himself as he stepped out the door and onto the pavement.

“I need some help please,” she said as they stepped through the automatic sliding door of the clinic.

“Oh my god,” the woman behind the counter said when she caught sight of him, picking up the phone on the desk and hitting a couple of buttons. “Doctor West we need you in reception now please, and bring whoever is back there to help.” She hung up the phone and dashed out from behind the desk. “What on earth happened?”

“I don’t know,” she said looking down at Chan as she kept a hand on his head. “I was just coming out of work and found him like this in the parking lot. Maybe he got cut getting out of a yard or went through a window or something?”

The receptionist had shrugged, it seemed like as good an explanation as any. They had taken him back, stitched him up and scanned him for an ID chip, which, shocker, he didn’t have. With no one else seemingly accountable for him, she had decided to take him home, saying she would try and find his owners. For now, she would pay for the vet bills and she just had to hope whoever owned him would pay her back. Though honestly, given the shape he was in, she wasn’t holding out hope there was someone, or at least someone responsible.

That was how he had ended up here and stuck in his canine form way more than he was used to. The one upside was that he was with her. She had spent a couple of weeks hanging up posters with his picture, but eventually just decided to adopt him herself, leaving him in the weirdest bind he could imagine.

The first few days he had stayed just because everything hurt too much to do anything else. I’ll change back soon, he told himself, I just need the stitches to heal a little first. Then one evening when she came home he could smell him and cigarettes on her and his heart had clenched. The loner had been there for her? For his mate? At that moment, that realization he had a feeling he never would have thought possible. Thank god I was the one that got stabbed. That had settled it. He had to be there, he had to stay and protect her, at least until the intruder was caught.

Not long after that he had shifted when she was off at work, finally getting in touch with his pack. After the understandable chewing out he let Jisung give him since he had basically disappeared without a word for DAYS, he explained what had happened and told him to pick someone to shadow her while she was out or at work. Jisung agreed, letting out a low whistle at the story and the news that he had found his mate. Chan left the details to him and the others, still not feeling even 50% if he had to be honest. He trusted them and for now, he was stuck.

Now it had been three months and the loner was still on the loose and still in their territory. They had no idea why and he had only attacked one person since that night. Now and again, when she came home from work, he would smell him on her, and still other times, he would catch the smell of the loner when they walked through the neighborhood. But it was never enough, never that fresh, and he had no idea how he was flitting around so close yet so far.

Jisung had the brilliant idea of getting one of them hired to work with her at the craft store. Chan had to admit, it had been a good idea, it kept someone close, but it probably wouldn’t have been the solution he would have wanted. Smelling Changbin on her every night when she came home from work rankled him an unbelievable amount, despite the fact that he knew nothing was happening with them. But between smelling his pack mate and the loner on her, and being unable to do anything with her aside from pretending to be her pet was going to drive him mad.

How on earth was he supposed to tell her who he really was? Buck also couldn’t just disappear. And yes, she had named him after the dog in Call of the Wild which was both adorable and painful. She was attached to him...just the wrong him. He needed to come clean but, aside from breaking to her that werewolves existed at all, something that would most likely freak her out, saying, surprise (!) you know that dog you’ve been letting sleep in your bed and changing in front of… well, he’s actually a guy. Because, you know, that would go over really well.

So that was how he ended up on the end of her leash, heading out for a walk. If he didn’t have to do this as a dog and have to make a show of going to the bathroom on these walks, he would be far happier. It was nice being out with her, he just wanted to be able to do it as a person, maybe holding her hand, though he might have tolerated a collar and leash if she really liked it for some reason.

Chan walked ahead of her, scenting the air as they made their evening loop of the neighborhood. All seemed well and normal for the most part, at least for the first half of the walk. But as they made the turn that would head them back towards home the scent of the loner drifted across their path. Chan stopped, causing her to bump into him and make a little sound of surprise as she accidentally stepped on one of his back feet.

“What’s the matter, Buck?” She asked, looking in the direction he was looking. “Did you see something?” Unsurprisingly, he didn’t answer and, after pausing for a few seconds, she moved past him, trying to snap him into moving again. Chan stepped in front of her, preventing her from going as he tried to place where the scent was coming from. “Come on, boy, I want to go home.”

I know, he said mentally, willing for her to understand him. Trust me, me too. Suddenly he saw it, the shape of another of his kind skulking on the other side of a cinder block wall. It’s dark chestnut fur moved slightly in the breeze as the animal stayed stock still. In a split second, it dashed back behind the wall and Chan gave chase. He pulled his leash out of her hand, sending a mental apology to her, and immediately gave chase. He couldn’t let this just keep going on. She called out his name, well the name she had given him, as he disappeared behind the wall, giving chase.

Quick as a flash, he saw the tail disappear around the back of the house on the other side of the block wall. He skidded around the corner, keeping the scent trail of the intruder under his nose. The chase led him through alleys and back yards as they ran and dodged. Finally he saw him disappear over a high fence and Chan lept after him, feeling like he was finally gaining on him.

When he landed he heard a snap and knew immediately that he had made a mistake. A sharp pain shot through his front leg. It had all been a plan, been a trap to get him here, to get him trapped… and to leave her alone. He had never really felt as stupid as he did right now. He finally gathered the will to look down at his leg to see it clasped in a leg hold trap, cut and bleeding, but thankfully not broken, probably by sheer luck. He couldn’t run like this and he had to get back to her.

With a gulp, he changed back, needing the dexterity of human hands to get out of the contraption. It pinched harder, stinging his nerves as his leg turned into an arm, thickening in the vice like grip. It took him a moment to stop seeing stars and then another to figure out how to press down the sides of the trap to open it. When he was finally free, he looked around. He had to get out but running around naked and bleeding was a great way to get the cops called on him.

Making his way to the edge of the neighboring yard, he looked over the wall to see laundry hanging on a line outside. He hopped over the wall and took a t-shirt and some pants, promising to try to remember to bring them back when he could. Once he was dressed, he ran. He ran towards where he had left her; ran like his life depended on it. Ran because hers probably did. His feet barely touched the ground as he rushed back to where he had left her.

Suddenly he heard a scream rend the air and he felt his whole body go cold. So stupid, he berated himself as he willed his body to move faster. Turning the corner a couple of blocks from where he had left her alone, he saw her… and him. The loner had cornered her against a fence in the front yard of some house, a hand around her throat and a knife pressed against her ribs. Without a second thought, Chan rushed forward with a guttural growl. The loner heard him and turned. Momentarily distracted from her, he didn’t notice when she jerked herself down, loosening his grip enough on her neck to fall in the direction opposite the knife he held on her. With his attention torn between two people now, Chan had the upper hand and wrestled him away from her.

“Run,” Chan commanded her as he tackled the loner to the ground. They rolled and grappled like gladiators, vying for dominance, both ignoring her. Something that turned out to be a mistake on the part of the loner. Just as he rolled on top, pinning Chan by gripping his injured arm, she rushed toward them, picking up the dropped knife and driving it into his back. The loner let out a rage filled scream and rolled away from them both as he changed back into his wolf form. Running away as quickly as he could manage and disappearing into the neighborhood.

“Are you okay,” Chan asked, getting up and grasping her upper arms. Her face was a mask of shock, eyes wide and not really seeing anything. “Look at me. Tell me that you are okay.”

“I have to find my dog,” she said, her eyes flashing around them, yet she didn’t pull away. “I think he tried to chase that thing away. He ran off and I need to make sure he’s okay… he was already hurt and…”

“I’m okay,” Chan said to her, giving her a little shake to get her attention. “I’m Buck. You found me in a parking lot and saved me. It’s me.” Her eyes snapped to his face and she went white. “I was following him that night, trying to figure why he was here. That’s how I got hurt, but that’s how I found you.”

“You were looking for me, too?” She shrank back, her eyes searching for something in his face.

“No, but,” Chan sighed. He needed to come clean but this wasn’t the place. Not in the open, not in someone else’s yard. “Let’s go home. Please. Can we talk there?”

“Home?” She asked, looking at him suspiciously.

“Your home,” he corrected. “Just, let me explain. Give me a chance.”

She looked down at the arms that were holding her, finally noticing his cut arm. “You’re hurt.”

“It’s not that bad,” he let go of her arms, trying to hide his injury a little.

“Let me take care of it,” she offered timidly. “Then we can talk.” Chan let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. With a nod he led them both back to the house, keeping a gentle hand on her wrist as they walked. He needed the assurance that she was there, that she was safe.

She followed, letting him take the lead, slightly unsettled by how well he knew the way to her house. Part of her still didn’t believe him. But then again, she had just seen a man change into a dog or… wolf maybe, and she couldn’t explain that. She had never seen him before and yet he knew her dog, he knew where she lived, he had saved her. She wasn’t 100% sure, but something told her to trust him.

When they got to her house, she let them in and Chan pulled her inside, locking the door behind them before tucking her behind him as he scanned the room and tested the air inside the house for anything amiss. When he was satisfied that it was safe, he stepped further into the living room and headed towards the bathroom to care for his arm. He really knows where everything is, she thought as she watched him head there without hesitation. Stepping up to the sink he started running warm water, dipping his arm under the spigot to rinse it. He hissed as the water hit the wound, a tingling pain shooting outwards from it.

“Here,” she stepped up beside him, dampening her hands and lathering them so she could gently wash his wound. Chan sucked in a breath between his teeth at the sting. “Sorry,” she said softly.

“No, it’s okay,” he assured her. “I appreciate you helping me. I owe you my life twice over now.”

“Seems like both times it was because of me anyway so…” she didn’t meet his eyes, focusing on what her hands were doing.

“It’s not your fault,” Chan soothed. “We should have gotten him out of here long ago. He just… he keeps slipping away.”

“So what are you?” She asked as she patted his skin dry with a towel. 

“Werewolf,” he replied softly. “But I won’t hurt you.”

She nodded and pulled some gauze and tape out of the cabinet behind her. Kneeling down in front of him as he sat on the toilet, she spread some anti-infection cream over one of the wounds before putting gauze over it and taping it down. She did the same with the other side, then wrapped both with a sports wrap to keep it secure on his arm.

“What’s your name?” She asked, finally looking up at him.

“Chan,” he replied gently, reaching out to cup her cheek. “My name is Chan.”

“That fits better than Buck,” she gave him a nervous smile and laugh.

“God I love hearing my name on your lips,” he admitted. He leaned forward hesitantly, giving her a chance to pull away, taking her lips with a gentle firmness. She tasted like heaven, even better than he had dreamed those nights when he lay beside her in bed pretending to be her pet.

What am I doing, she asked herself, feeling a fuzzy, intoxication filling her brain as his lips pressed against hers. His tongue darted out against her bottom lip, begging her to open to him. Why did he taste so good, she wondered as she shivered under his touch. He was hardly the first guy she had kissed but he felt different and she didn’t understand it. She didn’t know him at all, despite the fact he seemed to have been living in her house for months.

“Love, I… I need,” Chan pulled back and stepped away from her. “We need to talk.”

“Sorry,” she leaned back, not meeting his eyes, wiping her lips to try and erase the distracting sensations.

“No, don’t apologize,” he soothed, reaching out to her. “I just need—” he broke off. “I need you to understand.”

“What do I need to understand?” she asked him, frustration coursing through her.

“You’re mine,” he said, taking her face in his hands. “I knew it the moment I saw you that you were supposed to be mine. I protect what’s mine. But I need you to choose me. I can wait. I can send someone else to stay here and protect you. Just… I need it to be your choice because once I have you. I’m not letting you go.”

She should have been afraid, she should have made him leave and run as far as she could as fast as she could. But something in her trusted him. No that wasn’t strong enough. Something said he was right, they were a part of each other.

“Okay,” she nodded as much as she could, still restricted by his hands on her face.

“What?” He asked, his eyes searching hers, trying to divine what she was saying.

“I understand,” Her hands came up to loosely grip his wrists, guiding his hands down from her face. She leaned forward, bringing her lips to his.

“Wait,” Chan took a step back, having to use all his willpower to do so. “You’re sure?” She nodded and his will broke. It had taken so much of him to pull away, to do the right thing. He hadn’t expected her to accept him and what he was. With a desperate hunger, he smashed his lips into hers as he lifted her and carried her to the bedroom. He already knew the place well enough he didn’t have to take his lips from hers as he took them both to her room. He tossed her onto the bed and crawled in over her, pressing her into the mattress with his body. He was pure muscle as he pressed himself against her, she could feel it even through the odd mismatched clothing he was still wearing.

“Chan,” she breathed when he shifted to kiss along her cheek.

“Say it again,” he groaned, grinding himself against her. “Say my name.”

“Chan,” her hand tangled in his hair, holding him close. He pulled back, only long enough to strip off the shirt and to slip the borrowed jeans off his hips. He covered her still clothed body with his, drawing her arms around his neck. She moaned underneath him, parting her thighs to let him settle between them.

“I think I’m a little overdressed,” she pointed out.

“I can fix that,” he grinned, rolling them both over. With hurried hands he pulled off her shirt and unhooked her bra before sliding it off her arms and tossing it across the room. His pupils widened as he took in her bare breasts. They looked soft and inviting and he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to cup them. She giggled and covered his hands with hers. Sliding backwards off him, she unfastened her jeans and stepped out of them.

“God, you’re beautiful,” Chan propped himself up on his elbows and took all of her in with his gaze. Her hands lifted to cover herself and he sat up, grabbing her wrists to stop her. “Don’t hide…” he blushed slightly as he admitted it, “You’re so beautiful.” He pulled her down to straddle him, running his hand over her waist and thighs.

She leaned down, bringing her lips to his as his hands wandered over her body. He had thought about this moment for months. Being so near her and having her not notice him, not see him had been killing him. So close, yet so far. Every night when she changed for bed, he had done his best not to stare as she stripped and put on her pajamas, only peeking a few times. Everytime she wrapped her arms around him and cuddled into his fur as she went to sleep. He had wanted to change, to confess, to throw himself on her.

Now he had her holding him as his human hands wandered over her soft curves and it was even better than he had dreamed. She smelled like heaven. Like the forest in summer and fields of wildflowers. He wanted to take her in every way possible. Kissing along the side of her neck, he buried his face in her shoulder, pressing her body against his tightly. He wanted to taste her, to feel her flesh in his mouth, to see if she tasted as sweet as she smelled.

He knew why. It wasn’t that he wanted to eat her. The bite would mark her as his to any other wolf that might cross her path. It would meld them together according to their customs and the rules of the pack. The mark would claim her as his alone and give her the protection of the pack.

Breathing deeply, he fought the urge. He needed to do this right. I’m not an animal, he reminded himself, rolling over and moving them both to the center of the bed. Her pleasure had to come first.

“Close your eyes,” he commanded softly. “I just want you to feel me.” She looked into his eyes for a second before nodding and closing her eyes as she laid on the bed beside him. Kissing her lips, he tasted her with a slow and lazy sense of leisure, reminding them both they had all night. He licked and nibbled at her lower lip, letting out an involuntary whine as he asked her to open to him. She parted her lips and let him in, still allowing him to set the pace, to guide her. His tongue thrust into her mouth with a hungry confidence. He devoured her like a sweet dessert, enjoying her taste with a slow deliberation. As he did, one hand played lightly over her chest and collarbone. His touch was as light a feather, teasing her with the contrast of sensations.

Leaving her lips, he slid himself down her body, dragging his lips and tongue over her neck to the center of her chest. He could hear her heart beating under her delicate rib cage, fluttering like a wounded bird. The sound stirred the animal inside him. Was she afraid? Her scent tickled his nose telling him that she was mostly aroused but underneath it was a faint sliver of fear. It wasn’t a fear of him, or at least not a real fear of him. It was the type of fear that makes a rollercoaster fun or that tickles your stomach when you stand near the precipice of a mountain and take in the wonder of the view. That frisson of a potential danger that was entirely unlikely, but not impossible. Looking up her body, he saw her bite her lip in anticipation of… something, of him.

He slid between her legs and moved lower on her body. He kissed and nipped at the flesh of her belly; so soft and vulnerable. The wolf in him loved that she trusted his teeth there. His wolf could have ripped that flesh with such ease and the fact that she trusted him like this made pleasure rippled through him. Moving lower, he settled himself between her thighs, lifting her legs to rest on his shoulders.

“Can I taste you?” He asked, nuzzling against her inner thigh.

“Yes,” she nodded, squeezing her eyes tightly as her hands fisted around the blanket beneath her.

“Show me what you like,” he instructed, licking a line up the slit of her body. “Let me know how to please you.” She nodded, her hands fidgeting with anticipation. “Baby girl, you can look at me now.”

Opening her eyes, she looked down the line of her body to see his hungry eyes fixed on her. Chan’s hand reached up to take hers as he held her hips down with the other, keeping eye contact as he made a testing thrust of his tongue into her. She gasped and squeezed his hand. Satisfaction settled in his chest and he threw himself into pleasing her as he read her body. He licked and nipped and sucked at her until she came apart underneath him with a strangled cry. She was beautiful and he had never felt as powerful as he did in that moment.

He needed to take her, to fill her with his seed until he was sure she would bare his child. An image of her, round with child, floated through his mind. Yes, the wolf inside him growled, take her. Chan slid up her body and positioned himself at her entrance as he pulled her into a kiss. She could taste herself on him as he stole her breath.

“Are you ready for me, baby girl?” He asked, brushing hair off her face.

“Yes,” she nodded, eyes hazy as she looked up at him. “Please, I want you in me.”

“I would give you anything you asked for,” He admitted, coaxing her thighs around his hips. “Have you… done this before?”

“Yeah,” she assured him. “Don’t worry.”

“Okay,” he nodded, a little relieved he wouldn’t have to hold back. Holding her face in his hands, he looked into her eyes as he curled his hips into hers with a slow deliberation. He watched as her face filled with wonder at the feel of his invasion. When he was finally seated fully inside her, he paused, taking a moment to enjoy the way her body stretched to accommodate him. It was like she was built to hold him.

“Can I move?” He asked softly, running the pad of his thumb over her cheek.

“God, yes, please,” she nodded, digging her nails into the skin and muscles of his back. Smiling down at her and keeping eye contact, he pulled himself half way out before thrusting back inside her. She sighed at the delicious friction. His body felt so good inside her, felt like it belonged, or perhaps that they were becoming a part of each other. Chan moved slowly, relishing this moment. She shivered, her hands grasping at his wide shoulders as he moved.

“Please,” she said again. “I need more.”

“Anything for you,” he soothed, placing a few kisses across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. He pulled his hips back and plunged inside her, going as deeply as he could. Setting a steady rhythm, Chan buried his face in her neck as he began to let go and lose himself in the feeling. She filled every sense of his. Her smell, her feel, and the taste of her skin under his lips. Even her pants and moans filled him as they teased his ears in the quiet of the room. Her limbs held him close, gripping him like he was the only thing keeping her from falling. 

Pleasure rose inside him and he knew there was only so long he would last like this. He wanted to feel her come around him, feel her body milk him as she came beneath his touch again. Her heels hooked around the back of his thighs as she arched against him. The slight change in angle let him brush the sensitive spot inside her, making her quiver and gasp.

“Harder, there,” she begged, a desperation growing inside her.

“Are you close,” he questioned, his face tucked in against her neck.

“So close,” she whimpered, her nails raking his spine.

“Cum for me, baby girl,” Chan panted. “I need to hear you cum.” She whined and moved restlessly against him as the warm pleasure pooled in her stomach. He put his lips to the thrumming pulse of her throat.

“Chan,” her voice was barely a whisper when the knot of delight finally snapped inside her. As her body gripped him, he bit the flesh where her neck and shoulders met marking her as his. The shock of pain melded with her orgasm sending a cascade of sensations through her. With a final thrust he came inside her, filling her body with his emissions. He stayed like that until he felt her move restlessly beneath him and only then, reluctantly pulled out and moved to curl up beside her on the bed.

Her hand went to the bite on her neck. It still stung slightly but not nearly as much as she thought it should. Chan splayed a hand over her stomach, rubbing it in small circles.

“Are… are you okay,” he asked, looking at her lovingly as he laid beside her.

“Yes,” she nodded, taking her hand from her neck. “I didn’t expect you to bite me.”

“Just this once,” he promised, pulling himself closer to her. “It marks you as mine, gives you the protection of my pack. You’ll carry a little of my scent now.”

“Oh,” she blushed and looked at him. “Am I supposed to feel different? I don’t feel any different.”

“No,” he chuckled and smiled at her. “It’s something only my kind would notice.” She nodded and laced her fingers with his where they laid on her stomach.

“Did you do it so that he, whoever he is, would know?” She questioned. “Was this all just to, I don’t know, put him off?”

“No, although I would be happy if it did,” He gave her an adoring look. “This was because you were meant to be mine. Meant to be the mother of my babies; to be by my side for as long as we live.”

“So you want children,” she laughed.

“I want to see you filled with my child,” he admitted, his eyes going to where his hand lay on her. “I want to see it grow inside you. I want to raise it with you, watch it grow into someone as beautiful as you are.”

“Someday,” she nodded. “But I’ve been on birth control, so I don’t think we could just yet.”

“The bond,” he explained. “When I claimed you with my mark, it sort of…” he paused, searching for the right wording. “It opens you to me.”

“Oh,” she blinked at him a few times, trying to process what he was saying. “Even if we just… this one time?”

“Maybe,” he furrowed his brow slightly. “If  you don’t want, at least not yet,” sitting up, he moved to help her walk to the bathroom. “We can try to clean you out, maybe prevent it.”

“No, it’s just a lot to adjust to,”  she explained. “A lot has sort of happened since this morning.”

“I know, baby girl,” he laid down again and pulled her into a spooning position against him. “Let’s go to sleep for now and figure out the rest in the morning.”

Over the next few days neither of them left the house. She called in sick to work, not wanting to put either of them in danger by going out to a place he could so easily find and potentially corner her. Even with Changbin there, with so many people and such a big space, it would be possible to miss him, or at the very least, to not notice him until it was too late. Instead his pack mates came over to plan their next move. Chan spent most of his time planning with Minho and Changbin, setting patrol schedules and scout missions for everyone. Hyunjin was assigned the duty to investigate at the hotel and talk to the woman who had been mauled. Maybe it wasn’t a random coincidence that he had picked her, Felix had suggested after their second meeting. After all, if he was just looking to hurt people and just stir up trouble here, why target her? Sure it could have been a coincidence if he had just been foiled and chosen another target, but he hadn’t.

The suggestion had made Chan go cold. It made sense, but what had made him target her? There wasn’t something particularly special about her, except that she was his mate, but even he hadn’t known that yet. Was it possible the loner had some way of knowing even before Chan did? As far as they knew, it wasn’t possible to know but, still the thought lingered.

As the meeting was drawing to a close, Chan’s phone rang. Hyunjin was calling him from the hospital where he had gone to talk to the other victim.

“Chan?” There was a slight edge of panic to Hyunjin’s voice as he spoke.

“What’s the matter?” Chan asked the other boy, worried immediately by his tone.

“She’s… she’s my mate,” Hyunjin whispered into the phone.

“What?” Chan had a sudden sinking feeling in his chest. He stood up, needing to see his mate, to touch her and know that she was there and fine. He found her sitting at the table in the kitchen, snacking on something as she read.

“I’ve never met her before,” Hyunjin started to explain. “But I felt it the moment I walked into her room. She was just lying there, still sleeping, so hurt, and it just hit me. Her scent and just her presence; I know she’s mine.”

“How did he know?” Chan asked, pulling his own mate against him as he spoke.

“I don’t know, but this can’t be a coincidence,” Hyunjin insisted.

“I know,” Chan agreed.

“Look,” Hyunjin sighed. “I can’t leave her alone here. I have to stay for now.” Chan understood, letting him stay with the promise to send someone else to keep watch over her tomorrow so he could get some rest and come back to discuss what to do next.

“I hate this,” Chan said, as he sat at the cafe a block away from the craft store.

“We can hear everything that is happening,” Jisung assured him. “She’ll be fine, but we need him to come out.”

“I know,” He shifted in his seat. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

They spent the afternoon waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Over an open line, Chan, Jisung, Changbin and Jeongin listened as she went about her day like everything was fine and normal. She helped customers, stocked shelves, and worked at the register, all while Chan was on the edge of his chair, waiting for something to happen. But, it seemed, it was all for nothing. The sun set and the store closed and seemingly all was well. She locked the front door and set about closing everything down by herself.

Chan relaxed a little, hearing her calm humming as she closed down the register and counted out the money in the back of the store. After the money was counted and locked in the safe, she just had to make one last pass through of the store to make sure no one had left something behind or left a mess and then she could head home. Over the radio, Changbin and Jeongin started joking around, getting playful after a tense day. Everyone was relaxing, at least until a loud crack broke over the mic followed by her surprised squeal. The jokes stopped and everyone froze.

“I know you all are out there,” the loner’s self-satisfied voice cut through the silence. “Don’t worry. I won’t make her suffer, but sadly, you will.”

Before the words were even finished coming out of the loner’s mouth, Chan was up, running as fast as he could to the store. He had to get in, he had to protect her. Jisung was on his heels as they ran across the street and into the strip mall parking lot.

“Why?” She asked, her voice slightly strained.

“Why should he have you when my mate was stolen from me?” He growled.

“What did they have to do with that?” She asked, keeping him busy for as long as possible. If he was explaining things, he wasn’t killing her.

“Nothing,” he admitted, dragging her towards the back door. “But neither did anyone in the last three territories I went through. This one was the first one that figured out it was me though.”

“What the hell is the matter with you,” she spat. “You think you can take something from others just because it happened to you?”

“Why should I be the only one who has to be alone?” He demanded, pushing her against the wall by her neck.

“The only one,” she scoffed, realizing this was probably not the ideal way to handle this, but she couldn’t help it. “You know most people don’t have some beacon to tell them who they are supposed to be with. Even those who do, people lose the people they love all the time. Car accidents, illness, crime, no one needs your help suffering, you selfish, shitty person.”

“What do you know,” he hissed back. 

“I know that your mate was lucky not to have had to spend a lifetime with someone who would do this,” she challenged. “No one deserves that.”

Shock and rage vied for dominance in his expression as he stared at her. He made a sound of pure rage and pulled back a hand to strike her. Never having been the sort to just lay down and give up, she kicked out catching the side of his knee. It didn’t really hurt him, but it was enough to unbalance him and make him catch himself, giving her the chance to break out of his grip. She knew she wouldn’t get far, he was faster and stronger, so she just tried to get as close as she could to where Chan and the others were. They would come, she had faith.

The loner came up, grabbing her from behind. “I’m glad, even if this is the last thing I do, I’m not just denying him his mate, but I’ll take his child, too.”

On the other side of the glass door, Chan felt half a second of numbing terror. He had to get inside, for both of them. Changbin picked up a part of a broken concrete curb stop and smashed it against the window, cracking the safety glass into a million little pieces, still stuck together by the coating, but weakened. He hit it again, opening a hole the size of a fist, and again, until the tear in the inner plastic layer got bigger. Impatiently, and perhaps a little recklessly, Chan covered his hand with his jacket sleeve and tore at the shattered glass. Finally the hole was big enough and he crawled through onto the display on the other side of the glass. He had to find her.

Their scuffling was audible and he found them quickly, rolling on the floor a few aisles into the store. She had curled into a ball, only moving to thwart his attempts to move her or drag her further to the back of the store. They all leapt on him, pulling him off her and dragging him away before they made sure he could never hurt another person. Chan stayed with her, trying to get her off the floor where she lay. He needed to hold her, make sure she was okay, make sure the loner hadn’t done anything to her that needed an ambulance.

She peeked out from under her arm, checking who it was before throwing herself into his arms. Relief coursed through her like she had never felt before. She breathed his name and threw her hands around his neck. Pulling her to his chest, he held her close for a moment before pulling her back to get a better look at her. Bruises were blooming on her neck and wrists, but that seemed to be the most serious injuries inflicted upon her.

“Baby girl,” he looked into her eyes, trying to find the words to express how sorry he was he hadn’t been there.

“I knew you would come,” she assured him.

“I will always come for you,” he promised, his hand dropping to her stomach. “For both of you. I will always protect my loves with everything I have.” Over the past few days he had been so preoccupied with their hunt and their planning that he hadn’t noticed the subtle change in her scent.

“How do you know,” she shook her head. “I don’t feel any different.”

“Nothing much, just a little change in your scent… hormones and all that,” He smiled and shrugged. It wasn’t really something a person could sense themselves. “Are you happy? I know this has been… too much.”

“I am,” she nodded. “I may not have chosen this way to meet you and fall into your world, but I don’t think I can imagine ending up anywhere else.”

“You’re mine,” he assured her. “And there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do just to see you smile.”

Masterlist

[mint-yooxgi]

Folie À Deux - Yandere!Prince!Jongin X Reader X Yandere!Prince!Kai

Twin!AU & Yandere!AU - Merry Christmas @ninibears-erigom​, hope you enjoy~

Folie À Deux - Madness of Two

Genre: Mature, Horror, Angst, Smut (threesome, some spanking, naughty times)

Pairing: Jongin X Reader X Kai

Words: 9,056

Warnings: This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

A/n: On the eight day of ficmas, Jackie gave to me~ haha, sorry the gift is late boo, but here it is! Also, I've never written a threesome before, so bear with me and I apologize if it’s awkward lol. As always, I do not believe Jongin would act like this, this is just my interpretation of the archetype. Feedback is greatly appreciated. Enjoy!

“You know what to do when we get there, right?” The worried voice of Jasmine reaches your ears.

“Yes, my lady,” you reply with a kind smile, seemingly easing her worries as she lets out a sigh of relief.

“Good,” she nods briefly. “I’ve heard that the prince’s are very particular with who they allow to visit their palace, so I want you on your best behaviour. After all, if I’m to marry one of them, you’ll have to make a good impression in order to stay as my personal servant.”

“Yes, my lady,” you repeat, voice slightly strained this time in irritation, which goes unnoticed by her.

Currently, the two of you are sitting within her personal carriage on the way to the Kim’s palace estate. Jasmine, the princess of the neighbouring kingdom of which you serve, has been cordially invited to stay for a week in order to see if she is a suitable wife for one of the two twin princes, Kai or Jongin. You just can’t wait for this week to be over.

You are her personal servant, but also her personal guard. You’re one of the most skilled swordsman of your kingdom, assigned at a young age to tend to every one of the princess’ needs. She’s one of the the closest friends you’ve ever had in this line of work, other than your fellow swordsmen whom you’ve trained alongside, but you have a feeling you won’t be seeing them for quite some time.

As the carriage draws closer to the front gates, Jasmine begins to become more antsy.

“How do I look? Is my hair nice? I want to make sure we make a good first impression, should I wave with my left or my right hand first?” She begins to ramble, only making you sigh.

“Relax, you’ve got this. If neither of them like you then they’re crazy,” you reassure her, watching her eyes widen sightly at your words. “Besides, we can always leave early if they turn out to be rude. I’ll even step on one of their feet. On purpose.”

At this, Jasmine gasps, “you wouldn’t!”

“Oh, but I would,” you wiggle your eyebrows at her as the steps of the palace come into view. “Now, straighten your back, head tall, and don’t forget to smile.”

Your little coaching session is met by an enthusiastic Jasmine following your every word. She plasters on a brilliant smile just as the carriage stops in front of the palace stairs, the door being opened by one of the palace guards who has announced your arrival.

Jasmine is the first to step out of the carriage, using the helping hand the palace guard lends her to stand tall on the ground. You can see her looking around, slight disappointment in her eyes as the palace guard informs the two of you that the princes are waiting inside.

“So much for a prompt meeting,” you mutter, but Jasmine still manages to hear, causing her to nudge you in the ribs.

“Be grateful I was even invited here,” she whispers as you ascend the front steps. “Don’t let them overhear you.”

You just huff in response, shaking your head slightly as you reach the grand front doors. You half expect the doors to make a sound when they’re pushed open, but surprisingly, they don’t. Instead, they swing open silently, revealing the grand foyer behind them with two elegant staircases on either side of the room leading to the second floor.

“If you’ll follow me, the princes are waiting in the ballroom,” the guard escorting the two of you says, to which you simply nod in response.

The only sound which can currently be heard is the clicking of Jasmine’s heels on the polished floor of the estate. The closer you get to the closed doors of the ballroom, the more you can overhear a faint conversation being held. Your brow furrows slightly once you hear the voices cut off just as the guard reaches for the handle of the door.

As soon as the door opens, in walks Jasmine with you following close behind. Your eyes scan the entire area, making sure it’s secure before landing on the two males standing at the head of the room. You’re taken aback slightly for they already seem to have their gazes fixed on you.

You meet each of their eyes, taking a moment to scan their figures and take in their appearances as well. The one to your left stands tall with his head held high, hands resting behind his back. He wears a welcoming smile on his lips, of which extends to his warm brown eyes. His golden brown locks are parted in the centre, gently styled to perfection. 

The one on your right stands with a slight smug air surrounding him, smirk on his lips. His hair stands a vibrant blue on the top of his head, falling just above his eyes. He currently has his arms crossed in front of his chest, eyes still glued to your figure.

“Good afternoon, Princess Jasmine, it’s an honour to meet you,” the honeyed voice of the one on the left begins to say while bowing his head in greeting.

“The pleasure is all mine,” she bows politely back.

“Princess Jasmine, I’d like to formally introduce you to Prince Jongin,” the one on the left smiles politely, “and Prince Kai,” the one on the right tilts his head in acknowledgement, “the two crown princes of this kingdom.” The guard introduces the two of them to you, standing at attention shortly afterwards.

“And who might this be?” Kai grins, gaze never leaving your figure for a moment as he motions towards you with his chin.

“Oh, excuse me, where are my manners,” Jasmine chuckles slightly. “This is my personal servant and guard, (Y/n).”

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” you say, bowing politely out of respect.

“The pleasure is all ours,” Kai’s grin only serves to widen as his eyes twinkle with hidden amusement.

“What he means to say,” Jongin interjects, clearing his throat slightly, “is that we’re grateful the both of you could come. We’ll be having a small dinner in about an hour and would love for the two of you to join us. Just a simple gathering to further welcome you to the palace with a few of the higher ups.”

“That sounds lovely,” Jasmine replies, clasping her hands in front of herself gently.

“Wonderful, we’ll see you in the dining hall soon, then,” Jongin nods, and without another word, grabs his brother somewhat harshly by the arm and drags him out of the room.

Your eyes narrow ever so subtly at their odd behaviour, but Jasmine’s voice manages to pull you out of your own head before you can think too much about it.

“Aren’t they just so handsome?” She swoons, clasping her hands in front of her chest as she leans to the side with a twinkle in her eyes.

You simply hum in response, your own eyes twinkling in amusement as you watch her gush over the two princes’ good looks. You’ll probably never admit it to her, but even your heart fluttered at the sight of them. If perfection ever were to be personified, it would be the Kim twins, with their sculpted features, almost as if they’re hand crafted by the universe itself.

“Let’s go get ready for dinner then,” she says, the guard nodding as he begins to lead you both to your private quarters you’ll be staying in while at the palace.”Though I’m surprised they invited you to the dinner with the officials.”

At this, your quirk a brow at her, “what is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, nothing! Just that since you’re my personal guard, usually you’re not allowed to eat with the royals,” she replies. “Maybe their customs are different here.”

“Maybe,” you hum, though you have a feeling that’s not the case.

You, being the keen observer you are, can’t help but think back to the way the two of them looked at you, and could hardly keep their eyes off of you the entire time you had been in the ballroom with them. You know yourself to be fairly good looking, having no problems with your confidence throughout your life, but the fact that not just one, but both of the princes could not take their eyes off of you has a heat spreading through your body.

“Would you like me to help you get ready?” You ask, turning to face Jasmine once you’re both outside the door to her room.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see the guard motion to the door across the hall, letting you know that that is to be your quarters during your stay here. You nod at him in thanks as he turns to leave.

“Well, duh! I need to make sure I look good enough for dinner tonight,” she winks at you, and you catch the double meaning of her words.

You let out a small sigh, shaking your head while letting out a chuckle in the next moment, “come on, let’s get you ready.”

Opening the door to her room, you quickly scan the premises for anything out of the ordinary. After making sure it’s secure, you allow for her to walk in, closing the door gently behind her.

The next hour is spent getting her ready for dinner, and by the time you finish the final touches on her look, a knock sounds at the door. Your tired gaze falls on the slowly opening door, revealing another palace guard.

“If you’d both please follow me, I’ll be escorting you to dinner,” he says with a polite bow of his head, of which you return.

The two of you follow him down the hallway in silence, and you mentally sigh. You spent all that time getting Jasmine ready for dinner, and you didn’t even have time to fix your hair. You want to make a good impression on the others for her sake, considering usually personal assistants aren’t allowed to attend such high function dinners like this, but you’re not quite sure if your simple outfit consisting of pants and a regular guard’s shirt in your kingdoms’ colours will cut it.

Once you reach the dining hall, the guard opens the door for the both of you, announcing your presence. You make a point of searching the room over for anything or anyone suspicious, making eye contact with anyone who catches your gaze. Again, you find it odd that the two princes are already staring at you once you meet their eyes.

“Good evening Princess Jasmine, it’s so lovely to have you join us,” a woman dressed in elegant garbs approaches the two of you.

“Thank you for hosting me,” she bows politely, making the woman smile.

“If you’ll follow me,” she motions for Jasmine to follow her to the main table. “Your guard can stand at the side with the others.”

“Oh-“

“That won’t be necessary, Kimberly,” the voice of Jongin cuts off Jasmine’s reply. “They are both to join us at the head table tonight.”

“I beg your pardon-“

“Then beg,” Kai cuts her off, eyes daring her to challenge their wishes.

Immediately, she backs down, shooting you a side eyed glance as you walk past. You’re even more surprised than she is, given the fact that both the princes came to your defence before anything could happen. You still don’t understand why, and suspicion begins to grow in the back of your mind.

“We’re so grateful the two of you could join us tonight,” Jongin smiles from over his shoulder, soon pulling out Jasmine’s seat for her while Kai does the same for you.

“We’re flattered and grateful for the invitation,” Jasmine replies, batting her eyelashes almost flirtatiously at Jongin as she slips into her seat. She turns to you, sending you a pointed look, “aren’t we?”

“Oh, yes, very,” you smile, and you can hear the breath get caught in both of their throats. “Though I’m personally a little bit surprised.”

“Oh?” Kai quirks a brow, taking the seat directly beside you as his brother takes the one beside Jasmine.

“(Y/n),” Jasmine shoots you a warning look and you have to bite your tongue.

“No, let her speak,” Jongin faces you with an encouraging nod. “We’re both curious to know what she has to say.”

At his words, your own brow quirks, “I’m surprised that you’re allowing for me, a servant, to sit with you for dinner.”

“Well, what kind of hosts would we be if we didn’t treat our guests properly?” Kai grins, Jongin smiling softly in your direction.

“And we both appreciate it,” Jasmine smiles, though it seems slightly forced.

“After all, if you’re both going to be staying here, might as well get to know you better,” Jongin says, meeting your gaze briefly before turning his attention to Jasmine, causing her to nearly swoon.

The whole time during dinner, you keep your guard up. You’re not too sure why the two princes are treating you like this still, as it is not common for any kingdom to be treating a servant like an honoured guest. Especially since Kai did not stop talking to you once during dinner, and even went so far as to stare down any person who shot a questioning look your way, or dared to voice their concerns.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you’ve also noticed Jongin glancing in your direction all throughout dinner, seemingly disinterested in getting to know Jasmine despite her being a potential suitor. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he’s mildly jealous of his brother for holding your own attention for the evening.

Soon enough, dinner finishes, and you’re walking Jasmine back to her room for the evening. She continuously goes on and on about how handsome and kind Jongin is. You can tell she’s starting to like him a lot, despite not getting a good enough chance to spend time with his brother yet.

“Before we left, Kai invited me to go horseback riding with him tomorrow,” she gushed, a twinkle in her eyes. “I think they’re starting to get serious about me.”

“I think so, too,” you hum, amusement shining in your eyes as you watch her enter her room. “Just be careful.”

“Of what? Them? They’re so kind though, I don’t think I need to worry about them,” she replies, starting to strip herself of clothing as you prepare a bath for her before bed. “I really like them.”

“You’ve only known them for less than a day,” you remind her. “Besides, I have a nagging feeling that something is off. It’s been bothering me since we met them.”

“Oh, calm down,” she rolls her eyes playfully. “Let loose a little, and relax. They don’t mean any harm.”

“Just be careful, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt,” you say, worry clear on your features.

“I’ll be fine,” she huffs, crossing her arms slightly in front of her chest. “Just don’t plan to take them away from me anytime soon.”

Even though her tone is light and teasing, you can sense the seriousness behind her words, making you grimace, “wouldn’t plan on it. Besides, I’m not a princess, remember?”

You barely miss her small ‘good’ that she whispers under her breath, but you still manage to hear, causing your brow to furrow slightly. Ever since you’ve arrived to the palace earlier in the day, Jasmine has been acting a little standoffish towards you, and you have a feeling it’s due to the fact the princes can hardly take their eyes off of you. You bite your lip.

Once you’re done preparing her for bed, you wish Jasmine a good night, turning off the lights and securing her room for the evening.

Closing her door behind you, you let out a small sigh. Shaking your head, you step across the hall and into your quarters for the evening, thoughts running wild.

You have no idea why the twins have taken such an interest in you, but if they continue their actions, you’ll be greatly concerned. The entire reason you came to the palace was because Jasmine, well, more like her father, insisted you be the one to accompany her, not one of the other maids or guards. However, if one of the princes doesn’t agree to marry her by the end of the week, you’re worried about how she might feel, as well as the state of your kingdom when you return home.

Before you left, Jasmine’s father was very clear to the both of you that she had to impress one of the princes, and secure their kingdom’s future by marrying into the prestigious Kim family. You worry what might happen to her if she doesn’t.

Hopefully, if there are any more instances like tonight, you can just deflect either Jongin or Kai towards Jasmine. Maybe even hype her up a little since they both seem so keen on talking with you. You’re hoping that her outing with Kai tomorrow goes well, too. The last thing you need is to have to deal with an upset princess.

Sure enough, by the time the early afternoon rolls around the next day, Jasmine is nearly prancing up to your side in the main hallway where you sit reading a book. She takes the spot next to you, letting out a dreamy sigh as she relaxes her shoulders.

“I think I have a problem,” she says, causing you to mark your page and put down your book in order to look at her. Once she notices your raised eyebrow, she continues, “I can’t choose.”

“You can’t choose?” Your face reflects mild disbelief as you stare at her, head tilted slightly to the side.

“Jongin is just so sweet, and after last night, and the conversation we had over dinner, I just-“ she giggles, her face turning thoughtful soon after. “But then there’s Kai, who, after the morning I’ve had, is charming in his own way, and a little bit more assertive than his brother is. At least from what I’ve gathered.”

“Jasmine,” you sigh, but she cuts you off before you can continue.

“Is it bad to say that I want both of them?” She chuckles nervously, letting out another wistful sigh as she stares off into space.

“I don’t think you can marry both of them,” you say, and she whips her head over to face you, a frown on her face.

“Why are you always so honest all the time? Why can’t you just indulge my fantasies once in awhile?” She huffs, almost as if she’s scolding you.

“You’ve always appreciated my honesty,” you counter, eyes slightly narrowing at how she now sits, tense and almost angry beside you.

“What makes you so special?” She stands, voice harsh as she leaves you sitting there all alone.

To say you’re stunned would be an understatement. You have no idea where this is coming from, but you know Jasmine, and there’s no talking to her when she’s like this. You wonder what has happened to make her this upset.

You’ve always known Jasmine to appreciate when people are honest with her, so her outburst about this situation is strange, especially since you’ve only been in the palace around these two men for about a day. You just hope nothing bad happened while she was out with Kai this morning, though judging from her initial reaction, you think things went well. However, now, you’re not so sure.

Letting out a sigh, you grab your discarded book and begin to make your way back to your quarters. You also need to check on Jasmine to make sure you know where she is, just in case anything is to happen.

Frowning at the ground, you’re not exactly watching where you’re going when you feel yourself collide with something firm. 

You recoil, a soft ‘oof’ escaping your lips as you look up, only to be greeted with warm brown eyes staring down at you, concern clearly etched onto his features.

“I’m so sorry, Prince Jongin, I was not looking where I was going,” you bow politely to him. “Are you alright?”

“No, no, it’s okay!” He says, hands coming to rest on the sides of your arms as he looks you over. “It was all me. Are you alright?”

“Yes, I am,” you nod once, lips tugging upwards briefly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me Prince Jong-“

“Call me Jongin,” He interrupts, and you see something flash behind his eyes, but it’s gone as soon as it came.

“Pardon me?” You blink at him, clearly surprised by his words.

“Just Jongin is fine,” he sends you a reassuring smile. “You don’t have to add the formalities around me.”

“As you wish, Jongin,” you smile back at him faintly. “Please excuse me.”

Before he can say another word, or stop you for that matter, you’re moving around him and down the hall. His eyes follow your figure until he can no longer see you, a longing sigh escaping his lips.

Ever since he first laid his eyes on you, he knew he and his brother made the right choice in inviting you to the palace. Once Jasmine’s father accepted the unexpected, yet oddly specific invitation, the two anxiously awaited your arrival.

Exactly two months ago, they had been at a council meeting in Jasmine’s kingdom, and had spotted you doing your morning rounds. Both of them were intrigued by you, since they don’t have many female guards in their own palace. 

What really made them fall for you was when they saw you sparring in the courtyard with the new recruits. Your strength and intelligence attracted them to you, and they begun plotting a way to get you to their kingdom so they could get to know you better. Thus, inviting Jasmine and her personal guard and servant for a week to stay at the palace happened.

As soon as Jongin saw you again, he could barely contain his excitement. He could care less about wooing Jasmine, you’re all he really cares about, but for the sake of appearances, he’ll play his part. He just hopes his brother keeps his side of the deal.

Walking back to his room, he allows his mind to wander, thinking about you and what he knows so far. He knows that you’re loyal to Jasmine, and your kingdom, so if he wants to have you stay with him, and his brother, they need to drive a wedge between the two of you. From what he saw this morning, it looks like Kai has already put their plan into action.

A subtle grin pulls at his lips as he walks into his own private chambers. Soon, they’ll have you all to themselves. Soon, you’ll be theirs.

Meanwhile, all your attempts to talk with Jasmine for the rest of the day about what’s bothering her are futile. For whatever reason, unbeknownst to you, she’s ignoring you. You’re becoming even more concerned, considering your bad feeling just keeps growing in the back of your mind.

The next few days pass by in a blur for you, Jasmine finally talking to you again after a solid day of what you can only assume to be sulking around. By now, it’s been about six days since your arrival at the palace, and you’re set to leave early the next morning to return to your kingdom. That is, unless one of the princes makes an offer for Jasmine’s while the two of you are still here.

You’ve noticed that over the past few days, whenever one of the brothers spends time with Jasmine, the other seeks out your company. Normally, this wouldn’t bother you, thinking that they just want a chance to get an outsiders perspective on Jasmine, of which you use every opportunity you can to hype your friend up. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case.

Every time you attempt to talk about Jasmine, they deflect the conversation and make it about you. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say they wanted to get to know you better, not Jasmine.

All of the attention the two of them have been granting you the past few days is quite shocking to you. You aren’t used to this kind of attention, and as the days went along, the two brothers even grew so bold as to compliment you. Comments about your intelligence, bravery, strength, you name it, are tossed your way, only making your suspicions on their intentions grow. 

That’s not to say that you don’t like the attention you’re getting. Not at all. They are very handsome men, and your heart can’t help but flutter with each word of praise they offer you. However, you don’t want to get your hopes up to watch them fall. For all you know, they could be testing your loyalty to Jasmine, wanting to make sure her personal guard is trustworthy and won’t go after one of them in hopes to break apart the relationship.

Another thing you’ve noticed is that even though Jasmine is talking to you again, she’s grown more distant towards you, acting colder towards you everyday. To you, you’d swear she’s jealous, though you’re unsure of why she would be jealous of you. You just wish she would talk to you, and tell you what’s bothering her so you can help in any way you can.

Soon enough, you’re in the dining hall once more for your final dinner of the week with everyone. You eyebrows furrow in mild confusion as instead of seeing all the usual people you’ve become accustomed to the past week, only the two princes are sat waiting for the two of you to arrive. You shoot Jasmine a look, raising one of your eyebrows in question now, of which she rolls her eyes, opting to ignore you.

Reaching the table, the two men pull out your chairs for the two of you, Jongin pulling out yours while Kai pulls out Jasmine’s. Since you haven’t been talking too much with Jasmine lately, you don’t know how she’s feeling about this whole situation, or who she favours more. You let out a small sigh.

“Is everything okay?” Jongin’s voice beside your ear sends a shiver down your spine, of which doesn’t go unnoticed by him. He smirks.

“Yes, thank you,” you reply with a small nod, quiet enough to not alert Jasmine who now sits across from you.

Within the next moment, the two of them are joining you at the table, and a small conversation is underway. You remain silent for the most part, only speaking when spoken to, and allowing Jasmine to lead the conversation. Unfortunately for you, it doesn’t seem that Kai, nor Jongin, wants that to be the case.

“What are you looking forward to most once you get back home, (Y/n)?”

“What’s your favourite food?”

“Do you ever think about your future? About what you want for yourself and your life?”

All these questions, and more are thrown your way, the two of them hanging on to your every word and response when you offer them, only serving to put Jasmine in a sour mood. You do your best to include her, and deflect their questions, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult as more time passes. 

Your brow creases in worry as you see Jasmine abruptly stand up from the table, her chair creating a loud screeching sound which echoes around the hall. In the next moment, she’s hastily exiting the room, the door slamming behind her.

You stare after her in shock, immediately standing to your feet once you’ve regained your senses. You fail to see the subtle smirks resting on both of their faces as Jasmine is now nowhere to be seen.

“Thank you both for the meal and for all your hospitality over the past few days. I apologize for Princess Jasmine’s behaviour just now,” you begin to say, stepping away from the table to bow towards them. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must attend to her.”

Without another word, you’re exiting the hall, leaving the two men staring after you in slight shock. You left before either of them could stop you, causing Jongin to frown and Kai to scowl. Dinner was going great until Jasmine caused a scene and ruined it.

“What a shame,” Jongin sighs, taking a sip of his wine.

“Things were going so well, too,” Kai shakes his head, locking eyes with his brother in the next moment. “I warned her.”

“That you did,” Jongin hums, swirling the red liquid in his cup, the corner of his mouth turning upwards.

“Shall we prepare then, for what is to come?” Kai smirks, a dark gleam shining in his eyes.

“If our calculations and planning is all correct,” Jongin nods once. “I’ll be waiting for the two of you in the grand chamber.”

“See you soon, then, brother,” with those words, Kai stands up from the table and exits the dining hall, smirk ever prominent on his lips as he begins to make his way towards your chamber, knowing already what Jasmine has started.

Meanwhile, you knock lightly on Jasmine’s door, hearing her muffled cries coming from within. Your heart pangs for her, not knowing what has her acting like this, and wanting to do anything to make her feel better.

“Jasmine, it’s me,” you say softly, opening the door to her chambers and stepping in. “Is everything okay?”

“Do I look okay?” She snaps, turning her red, tear-filled eyes towards you while sending you the harshest glare you’ve ever seen her give.

“What’s wrong?” Concern is evident on your face as you shut the door behind you, moving over to sit gently beside her on the bed.

“Just leave me alone,” she grumbles, turning her head away from you to bury it in her pillow.

“You know I can’t do that,” you reply, moving to stroke her back comfortingly, but from the way she flinches, you resort to resting your hands in your lap.

“Go see Kai or Jongin, I’m sure they’d prefer your company anyways,” she spits, only causing your brow to furrow more.

“I don’t follow,” you voice, confused.

“It’s clear they both like you,” she turns to glare at you once more, “considering they never stop talking about you, or asking about you, or even looking at you.”

“I don’t think they like me like that-“ you begin to say, before you’re cut off by Jasmine.

“Bullshit! You’ve been planning this the whole time, haven’t you! Making me look like a lovesick fool in front of them while you know they only have eyes for you. I don’t understand why though, what makes you so special?” She repeats her question from the other day, catching you off guard for the second time. “I’m the princess, I’m the one they’re supposed to fawn over. I’m the pretty one, the smart one, the funny one, the one they’re supposed to love. Not you!”

“Jasmine, you know that’s not true, I would never do anything to jeopardize your situation,” you say, as calmly as you can, but her words set off a spark of anger within you. After all these years together, she clearly does not know you at all.

“Say what you want but I know the truth,” she hisses. “Ever since we got here, they both could barely keep their eyes off of you, even when you weren’t looking. Every time I was alone with them, all they wanted to talk about was you, asking me what you like and don’t like. God, I felt like I was the servant, and you were the princess. How is that fair?”

“What’s wrong with being a servant?” You counter, eyes hardening as you see how worked up she gets at the thought. “You’ve never had an issue with it before.”

“Get over yourself,” she scoffs. “You’re not special. You’ve ruined my chances of marrying one of the princes, and now you’re rubbing it in my face?” Your jaw parts slightly in shock, hearing the words come out of her mouth. “You’re nothing, and I never want to see you again. You’re not my friend, you’re a fucking bitch.”

“I-“

“I’m not waiting until morning, you’ve all made it clear I’m unwanted here, so I’m leaving,” she huffs.

Standing up from the bed, she heads towards the door. However, she pauses halfway before turning around to face you once more, causing you to stand up quickly and step towards her. In the blink of an eye, she takes a step towards you, raising her hand as if she’s about to slap you in her rush of emotions.

With all your years of training, you’re able to anticipate her movements. Given that your reflexes are sharp, you’re able to catch her hand just as she goes to strike you. She stares at you with wide eyes as your own harden. Clearly, you know where you stand.

Before you can release her hand, the door opens to reveal a head of vibrant blue locks, Kai stepping into the room in the next moment. He freezes once he sees the position the two of you are in.

“Is everything okay?” His eyes scan the situation, noticing how you immediately drop your hand back to your side, steeling your gaze.

“Kai! You won’t believe what she was about to do-“

His eyes darken as Jasmine runs up to him, clinging onto his side as you stand there, doing your best to suppress your rising anger. His voice cutting her off surprises the both of you, “from the looks of it, you were about to strike (Y/n), whom was merely defending herself.”

“No, but-“

“I don’t want to hear any excuses, I’ve had enough of you,” Kai narrows his eyes harshly at Jasmine. “We don’t tolerate violence of this sort against anyone in the castle, and I’m sick and tired of your lies. It’s really telling when someone throws their close friend under the rug for their own personal gain. You should leave while you still can, I’ll have some guards sort out your carriage, then escort you back to your kingdom.”

You notice two guards immediately coming into the room after his words, standing close to Jasmine as she sputters over her words. You take a step towards her but Kai blocks your path, arm extended in front of you.

“You shouldn’t waste your time on people who cannot realize your own self worth,” he says, which just sets Jasmine off.

“I knew it, you bitch! You stole him from me! Don’t ever show your face in my kingdom again, you hear me?” She screeches, making your eyes widen in shock.

At this point, Kai motions to the guards with his head and they begin to escort her out of the room, her still calling insults over her shoulder at you. Once you can no longer hear her, you let out the breath you didn’t realize you’ve been holding, allowing your shoulders to slump.

“Are you alright?” Kai turns to look at you, concern clear on his features.

“Yeah,” you reply, eyes seemingly unfocused before refocussing your gaze on him. “I kind of suspected something was up with her, but I wasn’t expecting this.”

“Oh?” He quirks a brow. You seem to be taking this much better than he could have anticipated. Then again, he knows you’re not one to let emotions get the better of you.

“I don’t know what she’s talking about though,” you laugh nervously, rubbing the back of your head with your hand. “There’s no way you or your brother have taken an interest in me.”

“What makes you say that?” He tilts his head, genuinely curious as to why you can’t see how beautiful they think you are.

“Well, I’m,” you sigh, lip quirking almost sadly, “I’m just me.”

“Well, just you,” Kai chuckles, taking a step closer towards where you’re standing, “what if I told you that you’re wrong?”

“What?” Your eyes meet his, and you nearly gasp at the way he’s staring at you; eyes filled with so much want and admiration.

“Ever since you’ve arrived, we’ve both taken a keen interest in you,” he admits, close enough now to take your hands into his own. You let him. “Besides, we’d prefer you to stay with us than her.”

“I don’t follow,” you frown slightly. “Why me?”

“Why not you?” He grins. “You’re beautiful, strong, passionate, caring, everything we could ever want. Need I go on?”

“I don’t know what to say,” you tell him honestly, only making his grin widen as you look away from him, bashful.

“Then don’t say anything except that you’ll be ours,” he says, squeezing your hands softly in his.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” your frown deepens, continuing to avoid eye contact with him until you feel his one hand release its hold on yours in order to cup your chin and get you to look him in the eyes.

“Why’s that, love? Why not let us worship you like you deserve. You only need us now, and we’d be more than grateful if you decided to stay here with us considering everything. Certainly you’ve seen the way we look at you,” he says, eyes hooded over as he stares into your own. “We’ve also seen the way you look at us when you think we’re not looking. I’m asking not only for the sake of myself and my brother, but for our kingdom as well: please be ours? That is, if you’ll have us.”

You bite your lip, uncertain of what you should do. You know you can no longer go back to your own kingdom after what Jasmine has said and done, so what other option do you have? Besides, staying here with these two handsome princes wouldn’t be so bad, now, would it?

“Okay,” you say. “I’ll stay.”

“You don’t know how happy you’ve made me, hearing you say that,” the smile that stretches across his face is so vibrant, that you can’t help but smile back at him. You feel him drop his hold on your chin, but he takes this opportunity to lace his fingers with yours, holding your hand as he leads you out of the room.

“Where are we going?” You ask him, keeping pace with his quick strides as he leads you to a section of the palace you have yet to explore.

“As much as I would love to have you to myself tonight, I think Jongin would love to know of your decision,” Kai says, stopping briefly in front of a pair of grand double doors.

Ever so slowly, he turns the handle, opening the door to reveal a massive room with a king sized bed on one wall, along with other furniture fit for a king lining the room. You suppose it’s fitting though, seeing the chairs and tables, as well as some other things that fill the room. It nearly takes your breath away. Though what really steals your breath away is what’s on the bed.

Resting on the bed lies Jongin, shirtless with a pair of fitted black slacks, one leg bent as he rests an arm across his knee. He appears to be reading a book, body turned towards the entranceway of the room. As soon as he hears the door open, his gaze shifts to see you walk in, hand in hand with his brother. 

Although jealousy swirls in his chest at seeing his brother so close to you, happiness from knowing that their plan actually worked soon overtakes his entire being, wanting nothing more than to stand up, take you into his arms, and never let you go.

“What happened?” Jongin asks, though he already knows the answer, especially if you’re here now.

“I’m sorry to intrude like this,” you begin, noticing how Jongin sits up, placing his book onto the side table in order to stand and make his way towards you.

“Nonsense, you could never intrude,” he smiles, holding back a smug smirk as he sees you trail your eyes over his torso, and licking your lips in the next second.

Kai immediately jumps into explaining what happened, with you adding in comments here and there. Jongin nods along the whole time, acting concerned when he needs to be, and comforting you shortly after. He takes the opportunity to pull you into his arms in an embrace, comforting you in the best way he knows how.

The feeling of your cool hands on his back sends a shiver down his spine, pulling away to stare deeply into your eyes in the next moment.

“So, I take it then that you’ve agreed to rule at our side, then?” He asks, looking at you through hooded eyes. The same look Kai gave you earlier.

“Is that so?“ You swallow, somewhat nervously. “Am I even fit to rule a kingdom? I’m only a guard.”

“The moment you agreed to become ours, you agreed to rule at our side,” Kai says, hands finding your hips so he can press himself against your back.

“But I’m not a princess,” you nearly grimace.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t treat you like one,” Jongin hums, pulling you closer into his chest seeing as he has yet to let you go from his embrace.

“Will you let us?” Kai hums, resting his chin on your shoulder from behind, breath fanning over your neck and sending a shiver down your spine.

You bite your lip, still not sure on what you should do. Even though you’ve technically already said yes, is this the right choice? You let out a breath, relaxing your shoulders. It doesn’t matter anymore to you, you’ve decided. You want this, you want them, and nothing is going to change that now.

“Yes,” you breathe. “I’ll do it.”

“Perfect,” Kai hums, closing his eyes as he trails his nose along the side of your neck.

“Now,” Jongin smirks, eyes darkening the longer he stares at you, “let us take care of you.”

Before you can respond, Jongin attaches his lips to yours, successfully taking your breath away as his one hand comes up to tangle itself in your hair. You swear you hear Kai let out a small growl, feeling a separate pair of lips placing small kisses against the skin of your neck.

“You’re so beautiful,” Kai hums against your skin, tightening his hold on your waist.

Jongin takes this opportunity to deepen the kiss, taking your bottom lip between his teeth before tugging gently, eliciting a moan from within your throat. A sound of which they both want to hear more of.

Pulling away from you, somewhat reluctantly, Jongin takes you hand in his and leads you over to the bed. Kai follows behind, crawling onto the bed with you as he discards his shirt. The whole while, Jongin moves to take off your own shirt, revealing more of yourself to them.

Before Jongin gets the chance to, Kai snakes his hands around your body to grasp your breasts in his hands, gently squeezing them before flicking at your nipples with his thumbs. Another low moan escapes your lips as you lean back into his chest, eye fluttering closed in bliss.

“Fuck, what a lovely sight,” Jongin groans, beginning to palm his growing erection through his pants.

“Isn’t she exquisite?” Kai hums, feeling you shiver as he trails one of his hands downwards over your body until he slips his hand beneath your pants, teasing you over your wet folds.

“You’re not so bad yourselves,” you reply, a small grin pulling at your own lips.

“Thank you,” they both reply at the same time, making you smile.

Hovering near Jongin, you take this opportunity once Kai has removed his hand from your pants, to strip Jongin of his. You lick your lips at the sight of his cock springing free, standing proud against his abdomen, the tip an angry red.

Trailing your hands up his thighs, you spread his legs slightly. You grasp him in your one hand, pumping him a few times before leaning down and gently licking at the tip, causing him to tilt his head back and let out a low groan. Ever so slowly, you begin to lick up his shaft, tracing the prominent vein on the underside, making him shiver.

You can feel Kai’s hands tracing the curve of your spine, all the way down to your ass, which he squeezes appreciatively. He begins to pull down your pants, making you halt your movements momentarily to help him get them off of you. 

Locking eyes with Jongin, you smirk, going back to kitten licking the tip of his cock before slowly taking him into your mouth. You sink down on his cock, hollowing you cheeks as you take all of him into your mouth. However, what you don’t expect is a harsh smack to your backside, causing you to hum around Jongin’s cock.

Immediately, his hand flies up to your hair, a low fuck escaping his lips as his fingers tangle themselves in your locks. He makes eye contact with his brother, silently telling him to do that again, to which Kai complies, landing a solid hit to the other side of your ass, making you moan around Jongin’s cock.

“You like that, don’t you, princess?” Kai smirks, kneading the skin of your ass as he watches you push yourself back into him, silently begging for more.

You release your hold on Jongin’s cock, needing to come up for air. You chest heaves as you take in a few deep breaths, Jongin’s hand still buried in your hair. You briefly feel Kai’s hands leave your ass, hearing some shuffling coming from behind you on the bed before you feel something warm and wet prod at your dripping entrance.

Your eyes close in bliss, your mouth falling open as you feel Kai lick a strip up your pussy. A curse flies past your lips as you feel him flick your clit in the next moment, burying his face into your heat. He continues to lick and suck, taking his time to bite some marks into your thighs as well.

Letting out a shaky breath, you turn your attention back to Jongin, who’s chest is rising and falling steadily, just watching you, and waiting to see what your next move will be. His heart pounds as he watches you take his cock into your mouth again, hollowing your cheeks as you bob your head. He lets out a low groan of your name when he feels you hum around him, grip tightening in your hair.

The whole while, Kai continues to eat you out like a man starved. His grip on your thighs is tight, enough to leave marks later on. He makes sure to focus especially on your clit, taking note of how your body reacts, and all the sounds he can elicit from you. After all, he’s dreamt of this very moment for far too long, and he wants to make sure you feel every single thing he’s doing to you, wanting you to experience pleasure like never before.

He can sense you’re getting closer to your release, given the way you’ve started grinding back onto his tongue, as well as how your sounds have started to become louder and more frequent. He makes sure to suck your clit between his lips, flicking it a few times before thrusting his tongue as deep as he can within your tight cunt.

Releasing Jongin’s cock from your mouth, your face scrunches in pleasure, legs shaking as your orgasm washes over you. A low groan escapes your lips, feeling him unrelenting in his movements, even after you’ve come down from your high.

“Fuck, that was one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Jongin groans, releasing his hold on your hair.

“Definitely one of the best things I’ve ever tasted in mine,” Kai say, licking his lips as he leans back onto his knees. He can feel his cock straining against the material of his pants, just begging for relief.

“You two sure know how to treat a lady,” you manage to get out, running a hand through your hair.

“Oh, princess, we’re not done with you yet,” looking over your shoulder, you lock gazes with Kai, seeing the lust and want swirling within his irises, only serving to turn you on further.

“Then what are you waiting for?” You smirk, looking at him with hooded eyes, causing him to let out a low groan.

“Baby, if you don’t stop looking at me like that, I might lose control,” he bites his lip.

“Maybe I want you to,” your smirk widens, sending him a wink which has his heart racing in his chest.

“Alright, princess, enough with the teasing,” Jongin says, sitting up and turning you around fully to face his brother. “My turn now.”

Adjusting his position, Kai leans back onto the bed, Jongin now taking the position behind you. You can feel Jongin push your head down, and you eagerly help Kai strip himself of the rest of his clothing before staring hungrily down at his cock.

You can feel Jongin’s hands kneading the skin of your ass before he aligns the tip of his cock with your entrance. He teases you slightly by brushing the head over your clit a few times before slowly entering you. You can feel every inch of him sinking into you, letting out a low fuck once he’s fully seated in you.

Jongin can feel your velvet walls pulsing around him, drawing him in further to your warm, wet cunt. He lets out a low groan at the feeling, jaw clenching as his eyes close in bliss. He has to control himself now, doing his best to keep from pounding you into oblivion. He’s only ever dreamed of this, and nothing could have ever prepared him for how perfectly you take his cock. Almost as if you’re made for him.

Running your hands along Kai’s thighs, you give him the same treatment as you did Jongin, starting slow and building up to taking his cock into your mouth. Though this time, you make sure to repay the favour of his marks on your thighs by leaving marks of your own on his. Pumping his cock in one hand, you bite down particularly hard on his left thigh, drawing a loud moan from his lips, making you smirk.

Wiggling your hips slightly, Jongin gets the hint and begins to move inside you. At the first snap of his hips, a whine escapes your lips. You can feel his hands digging into your sides as he holds onto you tightly, setting a brutal pace to start, and making sure you feel every snap of his hips into yours.

Taking Kai into your mouth, you unashamedly moan around his cock, revelling in the pleasure you’re feeling. You do your best to keep yourself upright, but with every thrust of Jongin’s cock inside you, it becomes increasingly difficult to support yourself. 

You can feel the coil in your stomach tightening once more the closer you get to your release. Looking up, you lock eyes with Kai, and the look he’s giving you sends another jolt of pleasure straight to your core.

“That’s it, princess, just like that,” Kai praises, hand helping to guide your movements along his cock.

“Fuck, you’re so tight,” Jongin moans lowly, nails biting into the skin of your hips, making you let out another groan.

You can feel Jongin’s rhythm becoming sloppy, signalling that he’s close to his end. His one hand comes to snake itself down between your legs, wanting you to come again for him before he does, needing to feel you milking him for all he’s worth.

Your entire body jolts as you feel his fingers circling your swollen clit, and it only takes a few more thrusts to send you tumbling off the edge. 

Your scream gets lodged in your throat as tears dot the corners of your eyes as your orgasm hits you full force, your whole body shuddering from the pleasure you’re receiving. With the way your walls are squeezing him, Jongin follows shortly after, a low groan of your name slipping past his lips as he stills, spilling his seed deep within you.

Seeing you succumb to your pleasure for the second time that night, as well as the way your mouth feels wrapped around him sends Kai over the edge soon after. He groans as he releases into your mouth, shuddering as he watches you swallow all he has to offer you.

Ever so slowly, Jongin pulls out of you, your juices mixed with his seed dripping down your thighs. His chest swells with pride as he sees this, licking his lips as thoughts about finally claiming you as his race through his head.

“You’re so good to us, princess,” Kai hums, wiping at the corner of your lips where a bit of his come resides. You dart your tongue out to catch any remainder, nearly driving him insane.

“That was, wow-“ you sigh, laying back on the bed and allowing for your muscles to relax, still feeling the aftereffects of your orgasm.

Feeling the bed shift, you feel both of them lay down on either side of you, smiles on their faces as they stare at your face. They can’t help but trail their eyes lower, admiring every curve and crevice of your body, and now, you’re all theirs.

“I hope you’re not tired yet, baby,” Jongin says, tracing a finger along your collarbone and slowly downwards towards your breast. “We’re not done with you, yet.”

“After all, we’re just getting started,” Kai grins, hand tracing the inside of your thigh. 

Neither of them could ever get enough of you, and they’ll take all that they can. Besides, tonight, you’re their princess, and tomorrow, they’ll make you their queen.

[yandere-society]

Candy Man

Synopsis: Stepping into the world-famous Hope World Candy Factory the day of Valentine’s Day, you are filled with an overwhelming number of sweets and surprises. As a confectionary lover, this is your dream, to not only see the inside of the glittering multi-colored building, but maybe get a glimpse of the interesting man behind all the delicious desserts. There’s also something here, lingering behind every jelly bean wall or chocolate cove. After getting separated from a tour group, you think maybe this was a mistake to come in here so carefree. There may be something sinister behind these seemingly harmless candies.

Pairing: Hoseok x Reader

Word Count: 4,300+

Admin: @mintedmango​

Valentine’s Day Event Masterlist

Trigger warnings: Yandere-themes, mentions of death/murder, mentions of gore, blood, passing out/fainting, knives, improvised weapons, being tied down/restrained, hospital beds, unhealthy thinking relationships, cannibalism.

The skin of your lips was being peeled off by your teeth as you nervously flit from foot to foot on your elevator ride up the see-through jelly tube. You could see almost every chocolate cove and red vine tree from the pink tubing your tour group was being brought down to. Your heart was pumping rapidly with a mix of excited and full of tension, and your empty stomach was rumbling as butterflies fluttered, trapped inside. You weren’t sure anymore if not eating this morning to make room for all the sweets that one could possibly enjoy was a good idea. 

You were so anxious you could hardly stand it. Ever since you learned that the infamous Hope World Candy Factory was opening up one day to the public for the first time, you decided you just had to fly across the country and see it for yourself. You’ve loved the company and all the creations that they make ever since you had your first Daydream Bar at the tender age of five. 

All you had to do was buy a ticket for the factory (that costs a pretty, pretty penny, mind you) and you were set for the whole day!

The only catch though was that it was only open on Valentine’s Day and it was strictly for couples to come and enjoy a romantic, sweet-filled day in the candy factory...

And of course, you were as single as single could be. 

That’s just how life goes, right? 

The elevator lurches to a halt suddenly and you almost stop breathing, your excitement overwhelming you. 

“Everyone, step lightly, we have much to see!” Says a stout woman with green hair and carrot-colored skin as she ushers everyone out of the tube and into a dim room with a tiny, tiny door at the end of the hallway. “Now,” she whispers, as she grabs what looks to be different colored (and probably flavored you assume) gelatin keys and sticks a goldenrod one through the small keyhole. “Beyond this door is where you get to roam the marvelous Grand Garden.” 

You gulp, mind full of wonder and awe as you watch her turn the key, and it glitters and sparkles with the bright light beyond the door, much like your eyes right now. 

From the moment of purchasing your own golden ticket, you have been scouring the internet in hopes you would find more info about the Hope World Factory and the mysterious secrets it keeps locked up tight behind its doors. There wasn’t much on the Jung family or the current CEO of the factory. Just rumors of an immense and large edible garden, with so much grandeur and thought put into it, it was something straight out of a fairy tale book. 

“Everything is edible.” She states with a smile before pushing open the door. “But please be advised to stay within the walls of the garden with your partner, or you could end up in some serious… hot chocolate.” 

A few people in your group snicker at her sweet-treated pun, but you can’t focus on anything except seeing what is beyond that bland-colored door, wanting to know if the rumors of splendor are true. Your palms are sweaty and your mind blank with anticipation. 

“Please come back to this door, under the raspberry truffle tree in one hour!” She smiles as she finally pushes the door open for you all to run inside, and see what the Jung family has been hiding for decades. “It’s something out of your purest imagination!”

Speaking of Jung family, you wonder if the rumors are true: the family's youngest son is in charge of the factory now, after his sister got engaged to a rival candy company’s heir. So many whispers and hush-hush with this family, you swear! Deep down you really wanted gossip and drama from them, as selfish as that sounds. You wish they were a little bit messy and spill their internal secrets to the world. So you only really knew what the internet and late-night television hosts would spread amongst the airways, which were usually ridiculous words of slander and vile garbage. 

But what you do know about the famous sweet CEO was that he has an amazing taste in everything from cars, to clothes, especially to candy and you’ve heard that he has an amazing, dazzling smile. Supposedly, and according to the rumors circulating everywhere. 

“Where’s your date, young lady?” The woman with white eyebrows asks up to you with a serious smile on her orange lips, breaking your inner thoughts. Her eyes rake your features up and down, like a human scanner, and you can’t help but gulp. You hoped all your hard work was not in vain. 

“Uh-He’s in...the bathroom.” You lie with a wry smile, hoping she’ll buy it with just enough time to get you into the room she’s so close to unlocking. 

She purses her lips and looks away from you, but doesn’t ask you anything further on the manner. 

“Have fun in the garden!” She says instead of throwing you out and opens the plain door to the grandest thing you think you’ve ever seen. 

Couples scream and laugh as they whiz past you on your journey to roam freely around the edible valley. You can’t be bothered though, as your mouth is going to collect dust if you leave it unhinges for too long. 

There are no words. You couldn’t fathom half the things in this room. Is this even a factory anymore, or are you in heaven? 

It’s… simply breathtaking. 

The online forms were right - there is a giant edible garden - but the words and descriptions on screen didn’t do the real thing any justice. And, of course, they confiscated your phones even before you entered the building so you couldn’t document this creation out of a book come to life scene unfolding before your eyes. 

You are stunned as you walk on the hardened peanut butter cup path towards the giant garden in the middle of four, high walls. Your eyes sparkle, filling with tears of joy upon seeing the beautiful, wonderful sights before your eyes, covering your mouth as the couples in your tour guide pass by your idle body. It is seriously extremely super overwhelming: your senses are going on overdrive as your sockets roam over every inch of the garden that you can see. You just need a moment to take everything in. 

There is so much - so many details and little things going on. 

Trees made of marbled dark and milk chocolate stand tall, protruding into the blue-raspberry colored sky, pastel cotton candy clouds wisping around above you. Most of the whimsical looking plants bear fruit of all kinds and gummy leaves hanging low off their perfectly carved branches. You hear a trickle of something, like a stream of water, and see that there is a tiny clear yet caffeinated creek of soda-pop softly crackling its way through the garden. Following your eyes, you see there’s realistic grey rock-candy gravel and well, rocks, underfoot as well as strings of grass you can only assume are sour green-apple flavored, or even possibly key-lime pie? You can’t be certain but you can’t wait to try it! There’s a fountain spewing caramel in the middle of the garden, surrounded by a pool of white chocolate, and it's held together by what looks to be a brick, but upon a further glance, you suspect that it’s potentially licorice or Twizzlers, or a combination of both. There’s tables, chairs, and benches made out of finely crafted shortbread cookies placed along the peanut butter paths of the edible wonderland. There are colorful flowers made of lollipops and sugared, blown glass softly billowing in the artificial breeze, seemingly waving at you as you gawk on in shock.  

It’s all too beautiful. Your mind is having trouble processing everything until you hear an excited scream about life-sized gummy bear bushes and you can’t help, but want to investigate further. 

Your feet finally start to move as you are openly sniffling and crying: you are such a happy mess. 

A stout figure smiles at your back, a menacing aura surrounding her as she presses a single digit on her smartwatch to the man behind this beautiful room and factory. 

“Fritz?” He questions, nearly shrieking through the speaker with excitement. “How are our esteemed guests doing?”

“Oh… Well, I suppose,” her upper lip curves into something dreadfully evil. “But, we have a lost little crumb who decided to bend the rules and attend the party without a date.” 

The young CEO sighs into the receiver, watching everything unfold from his observation deck placed high above the ground, in order to study the humans roaming around his perfect, edible garden. 

He knows. He’s known since she walked in here that she was alone and didn’t have a special someone to share this day of candy hearts and love songs to. 

Which was perfect because well, you see, neither did he. 

He sighs as he tips his silkened purple top hat up to view the mesmerized crowd down below, throwing up his dark leather boots on the desk in the observation deck. Deep down, the young man was lonely, hiding his family’s recipes and secrets for the rest of his life due to the enigma that was the candy business. His usually jovial smile turns into a sour frown as he watches her stand shell-shocked by the river of soda pop, staring up into the cotton candy clouds. Or, paradise, as he calls it.

It was as if she was looking at him, knowing there was someone watching her admire and take in all the hard work that he and his staff have given to the largest and most amazing room in the factory. He leans into the window, removing his boots from the desk to watch her with her mouth agape take in the splendor and majesty that was his garden. His eyes widen as he studies her expression. She hasn’t even eaten or enjoyed anything in the room yet… Why is that he wonders? Was she a spy for another company? No, it was more like she was in complete disbelief that this was even real. Almost like she was marveling at his handy work...

Suddenly, the young man clad in his expensive purple suit has a wicked thought. Oh yes! If she is a fan of confections of any kind she will be a great asset to the company and myself! A dream only someone of his caliber who’s spent so much of his time up in the clouds could fathom. Or she’ll do nicely for some company if I end up breaking her in the process then! 

“Fritz,” he presses his watch up to his lips that curve into a devious smile. “Bring her up.” His amber eyes turn dark and cloudy as he thinks of his lair, a lab where he designs desserts and candies of all kinds. “I think we found our new taste tester.”

Oh wow! This is really unlike anything you could even dare of dreaming! You don’t think anything can ever compare to the concoctions and creations that the Hope World Factory has let the outside world enjoy for a mere afternoon. It didn’t seem right to you to try anything. If you ate and ruined all the time it took someone to place here so craftily and carefully. No. You didn’t think you could. 

Unlike some...

A playful screech comes from your left and you duck just in time to see a flash of white pass right by your nose. 

You watch with mirth as a couple runs by you, throwing marshmallow fluff off the cherry flavored giant mushrooms placed delicately around the garden. They scream and fly past you, making a mess of the precise and wonderful dessert and bakery items it probably took a whole team of people to create. You frown with judgmental eyes, studying the pair of grown adults act like they were children. 

Though you suppose, candy does revert you back to your childhood, where everything was much more innocent and easy to deal with. 

It was amazing what a room of sweets could do to a group of people. 

They race around, running this way and that, laughing and having the time of their lives with giant smiles plastered on their faces. They disappear from view and you stand watching the space from where they left, under a chocolate tree with gummy bananas hanging off of them. 

Shooting through your body, a zinging pain shoots through your heart feeling like the zap of a thousand volts of electricity that trickles down to your toes and lights its way back up your spine again. 

You freeze watching the pair disappear behind a licorice willow tree. With a tired gulp and a teary blink in your eye, you have to face reality. Truth hurts, as some would say: you are incredibly lonely. 

“Miss,” just then, the shrill voice of the stout lady behind you echoes from where you are standing and you nearly jump right out of your skin you are frightened by the sneaky tour guide. You all but tense up, breathing hitching as your sockets expand, fearing for the worst. “Miss, a word?” Your nerves were on fire as the soda stream pops and fizzles next to you, filling your ears with the carbonated crackling, as well as all the blood that rushes to your ears. Adrenaline running through your veins, like hot-white lightening sparking up and down from head to toe.  

Shit! You think turning to face the orange lady with a sheepish smile. I’ve been caught! 

“Y-Yes?” You mumble as she smiles on at you turning to face her fully. 

“Who can take a sunrise?” She starts to sing an eerie tune and your stomach pits. “Sprinkle it with dew?” Your eyes are the size of the moon as you watch her bring a bag out of her pocket as she continues to smile that weird, twisted smile at you. “Cover it in chocolate and a miracle or two?” Your heart is pounding out of its chest staring at this round orange woman who reaches into her silkened purple bag, pulling up a handful of what looks like sparkling glitter. “The candy man can.” Her mouth continues to stretch across her face, as she makes invisible worms and spiders crawl along your skin that’s turned to ice. She lifts her hand and blows the dusty glitter into your eyes, as you try to recoil from the crazy action the tour guide throws your way.  

Literally. 

“Hey!” You yell, opening your eyes to find the world covered in glistening lights, the garden shiny and bright for some strange reason. “What the heck?!” 

“Because he mixes it with love,” she ignores you and continues chanting her odd song to you. Your eyelids feel heavy, your body suddenly sluggish, “and chocolate,” you can barely stand on your own two feet as you feel yourself slumping forward and backward. You feel like you are stuck in a murky pit of blackness, and will never be able to escape from the throes of this evil she’s thrown at you. Unable to form a coherent thought, sleep seeps into your mind as you start to succumb to the feeling. Darkness creeps around your vision as you start to fall. Two pairs of hands keep your body up as you hear the orange lady say a few final words. “And makes the world taste good.” 

-

When you come to your senses, you have a sneaking suspicion that you aren’t in the garden anymore.  Your eyes are clouded with that weird dust that the weird-ass tour guide blew in your face. There’s more shining, glittering lights floating above you and you realize all the spotlights are all pointed at you. You try to blink the dust away but every move you make makes your body ache for some reason. Why were you in pain? Did you fall? No, you could have sworn there were two people holding you up, carrying you, while you heard… singing, the whole time…

So weird.

Oh crap, speaking of that green-haired tour guide… You gasp a little, foggy brain finally waking up fully, and you nearly grasp. You finally understand. You were caught! You broke the rules though and you deserve to be reprimanded and rightfully so. But, the question still stands. 

With a groan and a small shift of your head, you try to grab your throbbing head, but it was sadly in vain. 

You blink rapidly. No. This had to be a bad dream right? You are not strapped to a metal object, right? No. Your hands around bound and placed above you? No. You try to kick your legs, only to find your ankles confined into shackles connect to the cool metal item. Loud noises of your struggle erupt from your body, echoing throughout the small, sterile room. Metal clanging around itself was the worst thing you think you’ve ever heard.

There’s… no way… right? 

Your eyes expand, practically falling out of your head as your empty stomach flips over on itself. Your tongue sticks to the roof of your mouth, throat running dry. You let out a blood-curdling scream upon realizing that you are tied to a flat, stainless steel table in the middle of a brightly lit, sterile-looking room. You hear the faint melody that evil woman was humming in the distance and you want to throw up you feel physically sick. 

This was something out of a terrible bad trip, a nightmare, a horror movie. Is this a scene from a sci-fi film? Your eyes are shaking in their sockets, unable to focus on anything. 

Sure, you broke the rules. Sure, you should be punished for it or be fined a sum of money. But, wasn’t this a little extreme? What were they going to do? Torture you?  Was the policy for breaking the rules to probe you? With a hard swallow, you honestly hope that’s a solid no. 

“Hi there, little crumb.” Comes the awful, nails on a chalkboard, screeching sound of the stout tour guide flutters in somewhere above you. No! You plead to no one in your head. No please don’t kill me! I haven’t even eaten anything from the garden yet!

Your heart is beating, drumming, pounding at the shackles of your sternum to bust free from your chest. Her sweaty, orange meaty fingers come out of nowhere to twist your face toward her. A twisted smirk forms on her scaly lips, her white eyebrows rising to her wide forehead to reveal her pinked gums and dilated eyes beaming, honing in on you. Her yellow, laser-like eyes lock together with yours, which enlarge in fear. 

“You think you are special, huh?” She laughs, throwing her head back and maniacally cackling. “You think just because the young master has chosen you of all people to be his new taste-tester you think you are something else?” 

“We are going to have so much fun,” she lifts a pumpkin carving knife up to your neck, “together.” She hisses, leaning in, and you nearly taste the bile, the vomit rising in your esophagus while you can’t form a single clear thought as you watch her press the shiny blade to your throat further. Your breathing hitches as she sneers, leaning in closer to practically spit on you. “I’ve loved him for years, since he had dreams to build the garden and you think that YOU,” you wince when you feel the stinging slice of the blade a trickle of blood runs down from your skin and onto the blade. “YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST TAKE HIM FROM ME?”

You are going to die. You are going to die. You are going to be murdered in cold blood by this woman who knows nothing about you. She’s going to kill you and probably play jump-rope in your intestines. 

“Hello, little lady.” A cheerful voice filters in from behind the orange lady, snapping you out of your swirling, disintegrating thoughts of your impending peril and doom. “And goodbye Fritz.” 

Before the round woman could even think to turn around, your vision, that was once white and sterile, is painted in bright sticky red. 

Blood to be exact. 

It drips from the giant blue lollipop-shaped into a knife protruding from the orange chest of the orange tour guide. Red particles splatter upon your body, painting you in the warm, maroon color of her life force that someone is robbing from her. Her eyes roll back into her skull, removing the carving knife from your throat as she spits a lump of clotted blood out of her dry, cracked lips. 

Your lips part in shock, eyes continuing to stay as wide as dinner plates as you watch the lady before you crumple in on herself and slump to the ground in a heap of orange, red, and green. 

A man in silkened purple suit, with a shit-eating grin curving his lips and whose white gloves were speckled and smeared pink from the blood of his staff, was clapping enthusiastically. The sound fills the once sterile room, the noise jarring and ear-splitting as you recoil slightly every time his covered palm connects to the other. 

Why is he clapping? He beams as he steps over her dead, lifeless body as yours tenses up. And who the fuck is he?

You remember where you are and why you were here in the first place and you nearly jump out of your skin. 

He’s… oh my God...

The young CEO of the Hope World Factory: Jung Hoseok. 

He is handsome, there’s no doubt about that. His chestnut-colored hair is barely visible due to the matching violet top hat that covers his head. Amber eyes that sparkle with mischief under the bright spotlight of the medical looking room. You can’t help but drink him in as he starts to loom over you. His slender nose sculpts into a soft-looking smirk, that's curved into a tender smile, shines gently down around you laid out on the cold metal bed. His grin really is magnetic because you are completely captivated by this man who looms lower and lower over you, until you can smell the sweet aroma wafting in around him. 

Enthralled, enchanted, mesmerized… This man has a spell over you and you can't look away. 

But you have to ask, “Are you going to kill me?” 

He blinks at you in disbelief, smile falling only for a moment before he starts scream-laughing. 

“What?” He chuckles as he clutches his sides, cackling himself into stitches. “Oh, no no no, little crumb!” His nostrils flare, honey-colored eyes dilating. “You know who I am, yes? You’ve put two and two together?” 

You nod, with a weak ‘yes’ leaving your mouth. 

“Then you know I’m the infamous candy man, Jung Hoseok.” He sneers, slamming his stained bloody gloves on either side of you on the metal table. “I’m solely going to play with you, little crumb.”

A gasp leaves your lips as you register his words in your head.

You struggle in the shackles, trying to retreat away from the man sneering down at you with mirth. He cocks his head to the side, the bright light being blocked from the man practically climbing on top of you. “Do you know what my main ingredient is here at the Hope World Factory?” His voice drops an octave and his playful eyes cloud over with something dark. 

You swivel your head back and forth in a no.

Hoseok slams his hand down next to your head, nabbing your attention in full force. “Speak when spoken to, pet.”

“N-No.” You whisper, a tear leaves one of your eyes, sliding out of your socket, dripping onto the cold table. 

“Very good.” He caresses your face with the back of his pinkened-color glove. With a menacing and misplaced smirk, Hoseok dips down to your neck where the tour guide shallowly cut you. You whimper with trembling lips, closing your eyes moving your face away from him, which only reveals the pulse point of your neck to him more. “Oh, very good.” You hear him inhale before the warm flat of his tongue laps the trickle of blood that streams out from your flesh. 

Did he just… drink your blood?

Hoseok stands then, lips swollen and colored with your blood, grinning like a wild, maniac above you. “Oh, you’ll do just nicely.”

“F-for-r wh-what?” You shake, tied to the table you are straining, desperate to get out of. 

He raises his hands above you, eyes dark with no sparkle left in them. “I drained my last taste tester, broke her, some would say. But, oh you,” he cups your face leaning in to grin at you with his pearly whites coated in your blood, “you just need to lay here and look pretty while your blood is our secret ingredient for all things sweet in the Hope World Factory.” He shrieks, laughing like an insane person as he cups your face in his sticky palms. “Isn’t that great?” 

Your heart breaks as you silently beg for a quick and easy death like the lady on the ground. This was not what you had in mind for your Valentine's Day, as well as the rest of your life.

“You can’t keep me here.” You whisper, but it sounds like you are begging him more at this point than anything. 

He ignores you and starts humming that dreadfully eerie song from earlier as he leans back over to trap your wounds in between his lips again. “The candy man can.” He hums into your skin, his tongue swirling all over your poor neck. “Because he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good.” 

———

[blankblankityblank]

Just, don’t wake up

Hi everyone! This is my fic for the @starkerkink exchange, dedicated to @vaguekiwi! I really hope you enjoy it :)

Pairing: Peter Parker x Tony Stark

High school AU, with superpowers.

Tony’s home life has never been amazing, but one night, it’s just too much for him. He flies blindly to the first destination he can think of in his battered suit, holding his breath when he realises exactly who’s house he’s flown to. He doubts this evening will be normal, especially when he realises there’s only one bed.

Warnings: Masturbation, Flogging, Name-calling, Restraints, slightly dub-con, both 17. Check ao3 for further warnings!

Read on ao3!

Tony arrived late to class, as usual. Peter sighed, the usual thought flitting through his head: How does he always manage to arrive late, even with a full body suit that flies?

The teacher for their class, AP Bio, glanced at Tony unimpressed but unsurprised-this was a regular occurrence, and it showed.

Tony waltzed to his seat with the usual I-really-don’t-give-a-shit attitude, plonking down and prompt executing a yawn. Peter rolled his eyes; did he always have that look on his hot face? How did he even get into AP Bio when he didn’t even pay attention? Oh yeah, that’s right-Howard Stark’s son, prodigy at 4, bla bla bla. Peter needed a break from the constant ‘Tony Stark made his own suit’ fawning that half the girls, and guys, constantly exhibited. Like yeah, big deal-was anyone gonna talk about Peter’s amazing skills to do with web fluid? Or crafting his own suits, which, well, didn’t always go particularly well?

“And today, we will be taking a bit of an off-topic turn into some neurobiology! Chemicals and hormones produced by the brain!” The teacher sang, trying to mask her own boredom with the unresponsive class, “who can tell me what the four main hormones to do with happiness contain?”

Peter shot his hand up, excited that he for once knew the answer to the question before smart-ass Tony.

“The four main chemicals are endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, often abbreviated as D.O.S.E,” Peter stated. Tony slowly turned around in his chair, and glared at him. Peter just smirked. ‘One day,’ he mouthed at the growingly frustrated classmate.

“Very good! Can someone tell me what each of these hormones’ functions are?” Their teacher again asked. Peter’s hand shot up for the second time, his mouth forming a smirk in sync.

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

“Well well well, if it isn’t smart-ass Parker in a sticky situation?” Tony purred, his smooth voice richoeing off of the poorly-designed science lab. Peter sighed, closing his eyes in preparation before facing the problem.

“Does it look like I don’t know what I’m doing? Wouldn’t wanna steal your thunder now, would I?” He snarked back, trying to stir his web fluid in peace. The teacher had allowed his class 15 minutes of time to work on their various powers, any tweaks or fixes being attended to. Tony had apparently finished oiling up his suit, but Peter had no such privilege.

Tony flicked the back of Peter’s head as he strutted away, going over to talk to Steve and Bucky. Goddamned overpowered mutants. Ok, so maybe Peter was a tiny bit jealous of their friendship, but that was his business.

He dispensed the web fluid with a sigh, getting ready to pack up and head back to his apartment, and hopefully blow off some steam with a Star Wars movie night. He smiled softly to himself; maybe the day wouldn’t be so bad after all. He could chill with may, have some hot chocolate, quote every line of Empire Strikes Back because he totally doesn’t know it word for word.

The bell rang, immediately followed by a cacophony of bags zipping, several whirring sounds as various students fired up their ride home. Peter ducked his head down, knowing his power wasn’t as rich or powerful as his classmates’ privileged ones. And they didn’t even know it, how lucky they were. They’d never know what it’s like to be born with stickiness and a general strength upgrade. No super-advanced knowledge of tech, engineering, how to fly, being able to fly...everything that separated him from the rest of his peers.

Peter swung his backpack over his shoulder, cursing as his AP Bio textbook dropped onto the ground, setting off a too-loud thump on the concrete floor. A few heads swivelled in his direction, and Peter flushed as he hurriedly picked the offending book up, and returned it to its rightful place. Face still hot, he all but rushed out of the classroom, eager to change into his suit and get this day over with.

“Hey! Parker! Wait up, for fuck’s sake. You dropped two books, not one, you blind-ass bat,” Tony hollered, his feet slapping against the linoleum. Peter grabbed the exercise book from Tony’s offering hand, not dignifying the teen with a response. Ok, so maybe it was a bit harsh. But he had to stay ice-cold around Tony; if it got out Parker had a crush, it would not go down well. At. All.

“You’re not even gonna say thanks?” Tony spluttered in disbelief, hand still outstretched.

“Nope,” Peter replied, popping the ‘p’.

“Pretty sure I deserve some recognition, I could have just left that book on the floor for some other snotty-nosed kid to find,” Tony said indignantly, hand returned to his side.

“Well then don’t do it next time. I don’t give a shit, Stark,” Peter fired back, attempting to quell his progressingly noticeable butterflies.

Tony opened his mouth in a retort, but instead opted for an eye roll and spun on his heel. Probably to get back to his fancy 5 star penthouse, Peter thought bitterly. He headed to the bathrooms, diligently fighting his instinct to catch a glance of that ass. God, he was so, so gone.

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

Peter entered his apartment silently, not wanting to disturb May. He kicked off his shoes, deflating his suit and carrying the rest of his belongings to his room. Or, his cave, as May liked to call it. The 16 year old dungeon was another favourite of hers.

“May? ‘M home..” He trailed off when the bright Post-it note caught his eye. He frowned, peeling it off the bench and reading the bubbly handwriting. ‘Picked up an extra shift, be home tomorrow at 7! Sorry I couldn’t make it tonight kiddo xx’ Well. He could kiss his plans of venting to may goodbye, it seemed. Hot chocolate and a movie night still lifted his hopes, albeit less enthusiastic with no one to share it with now. The teen hummed the Star Wars theme song as he boiled the water and got his hot chocolate ready. He finished his task from earlier, dumping his stuff in an impossibly messy room that cleaning seemed impossible. There were things he didn’t want to uncover by doing so.

The TV flickered to life, selecting the chosen movie as directed by Peter. He sipped on his hot chocolate, swearing softly when the liquid burnt his tongue. It’d probably need to cool, considering the loss of feeling in his taste buds. The TV screen suddenly paused the movie, indicating the buffering icon as the infuriatingly slow loading bar popped up.

“For fucks’ sake…” Peter muttered, deciding to take a quick shower to pass the time. He didn’t bother getting clothes, seeing as he was the only one home. He padded to the bathroom, turning the shower on and watching as the water slowly began to produce steam. He then stripped, chucking his clothes into the overflowing hamper and stepping into the soothing water. He let it wash over him, adjusting himself to the temperature as he scrubbed himself with vanilla soap, the day’s events flicking hazily through his mind.

The teen looked down, noticing his growing hard-on. Maybe his thoughts about Tony had taken a...darker turn. He palmed himself half-heartedly, almost jolting when the spark of arousal ran through his body. He groaned softly to himself, putting more energy into pumping his hard on. His precum provided lubricant, his hand going up and down faster and faster until he was right on the edge and it felt so good, and-

Peter pulled his hand off, letting his erect cock bob helplessly in the air. He was breathing hard, not having reached his orgasm. It just...it didn’t feel right. He rubbed soap on his body again, his dick slowly returning to it’s normal size.

The shower came to a close after 15 minutes of staring at the wall, he may or may not have been thinking about a certain black head of hair, brown eyes flecked with gold, the body of a Greek god...maybe he lost track of time, but it was time well spent in Peter’s opinion. He towelled himself off with less energy, suddenly losing the motivation to actually dry himself off-probably because all his brain power was used trying to figure out a certain someone’s personality.

He plopped onto his nest of blankets and pillows, smiling when he saw the movie was ready to watch again. He hit play, content with the world at last.

That is, until some fucking idiot banged, not knocked, banged, on Peter’s door. He resolutely ignored it, turning the volume of the TV to max. Until, the banging didn’t stop. It just kept going. And going. And going-

“This better be a real good fucking reason,” Peter snarled, pausing his movie with more force than he probably needed to, and he stomped to the door.

The assault on the door didn’t stop, even when Peter yelled ‘Coming!’ to try and ease the banging. It did not succeed. He swung open the door, fuming, the epitome of annoyance as expressed on his face. He was ready to give this newcomer a piece of his mind, what, interrupting his fucking movie night, the audacity-

The words died in his throat as he looked up to launch a deadly glare, only to be met with chocolate brown eyes, flecked with gold, a soft pink cupid’s bow, the presence of stubble beginning to form a goatee, and oh wait, he’s seen this before, wait a minute-

“Tony?” He spluttered, taking a step back as he took in the scene before him. Tony, in a banged up suit he probably used as his transportation, his hand poised to bang at the door again. Tony’s expression mirrored Peter’s, a mixture of shock and confusion. Unlike Peter’s, Tony’s cleared quickly, and formed a new expression-one of almost desperation.

“Look, Parker, I’m sorry alright? I just...I need somewhere to stay tonight,” he rubbed a hand over his face, “forget it. I knew it was stupid to come, sorry for wasting your time I guess,” he muttered, already pivoting on his heel. Without his conscious consent, Peter grabbed Tony’s arm as he turned away. They both froze, neither knowing what Peter did.

“Wait, I...you can stay, Tony. You can come in, I just was watching Empire Strikes Back,” Peter ranted, gently tugging Tony inside. The latter seemed to be in a state of shock, obviously not expecting the positive response.

“Empire Strikes Back? You would be watching that, of all movies,” Tony snarked, recovering quickly from his bout of shock.

“You’re the guest, at least try to be nice,” Peter countered, blushing at the tips of his ears from embarrassment. He huffed, flopping onto his comfortable collection of pillows. He raised an eyebrow meaningfully at Tony, who looked a little out of place with his scratched suit. Peter was curious, but didn’t pry-there was obviously something that caused Tony to come in so suddenly.

“Being nice? To Parker? Talk to me when you have an achievable goal,” Tony grumbled, walking around to tour Peter’s apartment. Peter hoped it would be up to his standards. Wait, no he didn’t, Tony’s standards didn’t matter to him. At all.

Peter resumed his movie, soon becoming engrossed in the iconic plotline that he’d seen hundreds of times before, yet it never failed to make him excited. Tony watched his classmate from the shadows, the smile on Peter’s face contagious. His auburn curls, sharp jawline...Picture perfect Tony mused, as the lights from the movie danced across Peter’s angelic features. Tony shook his head, afraid of getting caught in the act-someone that beautiful would never return his feelings.

The depressing thought prompted Tony to emerge from the shadows, gliding over to where Peter was laying down and slumped nearby, resigning himself to the fact he’d have to watch this nerd movie. His suit whirred in the corner, fixing its own malfunctions as Tony had programmed it to.

“I don’t even know what the fuck is going on, Parker,” Tony muttered, the movie’s plot confusing him due to the lack of knowledge in previous films.

Peter just smiled, deciding it would take too long to explain the plot. Tony saw this, and a small smile spread across his face, too. It was nice to have a friend that just accepted you into their home, even if you had no explanation. Well, he couldn’t really tell the boy his explanation. Home was...a bit hard to go to at the moment, not that he’d ever tell Parker. He glanced at the serene expression on Peter’s face again, taking in the pure joy as he watched his seemingly favourite movie. Yeah, he was not gonna spoil that expression. Not ever.

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

The movie’s credits rolled, signifying the end of the movie night. Tony softly blew out through his nose, wondering if it would be overstepping to stay the night. Before he could dig a hole of despair within himself, Peter noticed his obvious inner battle. Deciding to put the rivalry behind him for now, he reached out to Tony, gently touching his arm and effectively grabbing his attention.

“We should head to bed...if you’re ok with that,” Peter murmured, gently tugging Tony’s arm as he stood up.

Tony sucked in a breath at sparks of pleasure that rippled through him as Peter’s hand lingered. He got to his feet, following Peter through the apartment, taking in the few decorations and pictures. He paused at an old picture of an obviously much younger picture of Peter, sitting on a man’s shoulders. He looked so...well, happy. Tony frowned; what had happened? Not wanting to intrude, he tucked the question away for later, and hurried to catch up with Peter.

“So, this is it. The humble abode, I guess,” Peter chuckled nervously, giving a dramatic wave with his hands. Tony looked around, taking in the worn twin bed, well-read books mounted on shelves that looked as if they could fall at any minute, the stained dresser, obviously the victim of many late-night hot chocolate spills. Tony could feel a slight smile tugging at his lips-this felt like Peter.

“Humble, huh. Didn’t know you were a Potter fan,” Tony smirked, gesturing at the aforementioned books. A red blush tinted the teen’s cheeks as he rushed to defend himself.

“I’ll have you know Harry Potter is a very famous series, thank you very much,” he huffed, crossing his arms. The following silence was comfortable, Peter rifling through his dresser as he looked for his pyjamas. He succeeded, muttering a soft ‘aha’ at the victory, and turned to head to the bathroom.

“Get yourself comfy, you can sleep wherever, couch or bed,” Peter stated, trying not to blush for a third time in an hour. He made quick work of changing, exiting the bathroom once he was satisfied with his appearance. A new toothbrush smacked Tony in the back of the head, credits of Peter.

“The fuck, Parker? Why couldn’t you just ask me to turn around,” Tony muttered, grabbing the toothbrush and making his way to the meager bathroom. He cleaned his teeth, checked his face for any signs of, well, outstanding blemishes, and once satisfied, returned to the bedroom. Peter was already in the bed, having turned off the lights and receiving a wave of sleepiness that he couldn’t refuse.

Tony hesitated before quietly sliding in beside Peter, careful not to touch him in hopes of keeping him comfortable. After all, this was Peter’s bed. He shifted, finding the proximity a little too...exciting.

Peter stirred, muttering something incomprohensive that sounded suspiciously like ‘Stop fucking moving,’ which Tony grudgingly obeyed. He found himself drifting sooner than he usually did; maybe it was the company that finally got his eyes to close, who knows. It just felt good to be cared about.

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

“Fuck, harder Tony,” Peter cried out, relishing the feeling of the flogger on his burnt ass, “please. Please Tony, ah!”

Tony whipped mercilessly, painting the teen’s ass and lower back a pretty scarlet colour. He knew Peter loved it, despite the whimpers of pain as he relentlessly assaulted his body, again and again.

“Little slut, begging for me to stop like a good little bitch. Ask me nicely, I might consider,” Tony snarled, drinking in the moans that came tumbling out of Peter’s mouth at the sentence.

“P-please, I promise I’ll be your good little cockslut, please just let me go,” Peter repeated, rolling his eyes back from pleasure. His cock twitched at the constant stimulation, begging for touch, but Peter couldn’t move, the restraints preventing him from relief.

Tony growled, pausing the flogging at 15 hits. “You better live up to that, whore,” he snarled, taking in the sight before him. Peter, bound to the bed face-down, bent over the back, ass on display. His petite frame quivered in anticipation, preparing for more of the flogging.

“Yes, Tony, I promise I’ll be good, no more,” Peter begged, too aroused to care how desperate he might sound. He jerked his hips forward, trying and failing miserably to acquire friction for his painfully hard dick.

Tony untied the restraints slowly, careful not to hurt his lover any more, now that the scene was over. Peter sobbed, reaching down almost immediately to try and relieve his aching cock. Tony slapped Peter’s hand away, taking the matters into his own hands.

“Such a naughty boy, trying to touch yourself without permission. What do we say?” Tony crooned, teasing Peter’s tip. The latter cried out, grinding against Tony’s hand in hopes of release.

“‘M sorry, so sorry, please, please let me-ah!” Peter abruptly cut off his rambling as Tony took him in hand, stroking along his length tantalisingly. Peter sobbed, crying out as the feeling grew. He centered in on the sensation Tony was giving him, pumping his dick with such earnest it was almost too much, the heat building in his lower abdomen, ready to burst-

Peter woke up with a start, acutely aware of his burning arousal. Oh. Oh shit. He just had one of those dreams...about Tony. Who was right next to him. Peter sucked in a breath, his eyes going wide. He calculated his options, quickly realising he couldn’t move without waking him up.

He cursed the lack of space in the bed, horror taking over as his arousal became too prominent to ignore. He whined softly into his pillow, at loss with how to deal with the predicament. How did things go so badly wrong so soon?

As if things couldn’t get any worse, Tony elicited a groan in the silence of the room and shifted to that his hip was pressed against Peter’s...problem. He unconsciously bucked into the stimulation, immediately regretting the action as Tony groaned again and moved, if possible, closer to his dick. Well, wasn’t this just amazing.

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

Tony awoke from his sweet abyss of darkness, groaning in annoyance. What had woken him up? He thought he’d heard a whimper, but that couldn’t be right. He shuffled closer to his warm pillow, which promptly moved back against him. Tony froze; pillows weren’t supposed to move. Pillows...also didn’t have a bulge. He recovered quickly, a smirk slowly growing when he realised what had happened here. Parker was hard. So, so hard.

Tony groaned again, this time intentionally shifting against Peter’s bulge to try and gauge how exactly this was going to play out. He was met almost immediately with a response as Peter grinded against him. Tony stifled a moan; it was insanely hot, how responsive Peter was. He was obviously trying to hold back, covering his mouth as he desperately sought relief against Tony. The latter helpfully shifted again, receiving a small squeak in response. Peter’s hand snaked down to his cock, unable to hold back anymore. Tony closed his eyes, savouring this moment-possibly the only time he’d get to be this intimate with his crush, even if he was ‘asleep’.

Peter palmed against his sweats, the pleasure making his breathing uneven as he neared his climax. He felt so bad for doing this with Tony in the same bed, but he was past the point of being able to control his movements. The pressure built up inside him like a spring coiled at it’s base, as he desperately rutted against his hand, when it all became too much-and Peter went rigid. The white-hot pleasure consumed his body, racking through him in wave after wave as he tried to silently ride out his orgasm. The spurts of come soaked his boxers, but Peter was too out of his mind to care as the high slowly came down. His breathing was hard and his sweats were cold and sticky, but the aftershocks of the orgasm jerked his softening cock.

The world slowly came back to him as Peter blinked a couple times, trying to orient himself. The first thing he thought was oh shit, now I’ll have to lie in this mess until Tony wakes up.

That is, until he realised a tiny detail. Tony’s back and hip was completely covered. In. Peter’s. Cum.

Peter looked up slowly, the horror beginning to consume him. His entire body froze when Tony looked right back at him.