#( also there totally is enough sunlight in my room for a quick picture of a sketch

[crystalkiseki]

i just drew this in my sketchbook but there's not enough sunlight for me to take a picture of it , so for now hear me out -

[delusionalmultifandomwriter]

Batfam Napping HC

requested?: No

HC: How does the Batfamily nap?

I had a very good nap today and it sorta inspired me so here we go!

Bruce takes "im just gonna rest my eyes for a second" naps. He sometimes dozes off in the office chair in front of the Batcomputer with his head tilted back. He totally snores. He will also sometimes fall asleep in WE meetings (this one is canon).

Dick can sleep anywhere and everywhere. Couch, bed, car, sitting in a chair, standing or hanging upside down. When he was younger he used to sometimes nap during the galas Bruce took him to. He would just stretch out over two, as he grew three chairs he moved together and sleep until they would go home.

Jason naps curled up because it reliefs his backpain. It is not as bad as it used to be when he first got free from the Joker, it got better when he started healing, but being Red Hood is exhausting and some days are just bad days. The napping mostly happens on accident, he just wants some pain relief for a few moments and suddenly he is out like a light.

Tim is chronically tired, we all know that. Sometimes he falls asleep at his desk either in the cave or at WE. Dick normally wakes him up or carries him to bed. Sometimes, when Dick spots Tim getting tired he gives him some headpats, some nice words and finally gets him to lay down with him. Dick and Tim like to cuddle, both of them are touch-starved as hell and they fight it off together. They can occassionally be spotted in either Dick's or Tim's room, Tim laying down on his older brother with his head tucked under Dick's chin. Their naps sometimes extend over multiple hours.

Damian sometimes naps in the barn with Batcow. He leans against her warm body and sometimes Alfred the Cat sleeps on his lap or Titus and Ace lay down with him. Damian gets very calm in the presence of animals and because the barn is a little away from the Manor, noone really ever caught him sleeping there. Only Alfred caught him once, he took a picture of it and keeps the moment treasured.

Babs has a couch in the Belfry right under the clock face where the sun shines through the stained glass lightly. She isn't bothered by light so she likes to nap while the sun warms her body. She thinks that warm sunlight is the ultimate weapon against deep aching cold in her bones. It is her treasured place.

Steph is a sucker for car naps. She sleeps best when she sits in the passenger seat of a car with someone trusted driving. When she still was Robin she used to fall asleep in the Batmobile after patrol sometimes. Batman never admitted it but it made him quiet emotional that Steph trusted him enough to sleep near him.

Cass, in general, only sleeps in her room with the door locked and the curtains closed. She naps the same way she sleeps, she needs the safety of her room. She sleeps on her back with her hands over the blanket or without a blanket at all. It's a habit from her assassin training that she can't quiet get rid off. She also puts a timer on 20 minutes because that is appareantly the optimal length for a nap. She sleeps through the alarm at least half of the time.

Duke is basically the only one that is not afraid to sleep in front of the rest off the family. One of the perks of joining the family late, is that they figured themselves out more or less so nothing bad happened between them (yet). Duke sometimes naps when he overused his powers and needs a quick energy refill. He mostly naps sitting up on a couch with his arms crossed on the backrest and his head resting on his arms. The rest of the family is always surprised if they find him sleeping just in front of everyone.

[fific7]

Even His Name - Part 1

Sirius Black x OC

Summary: Friends forever? Maybe. Maybe not.

Warnings: Swearing, alcohol, slight consent issues, 18+ please due to NSFW content including unprotected* sex. The age of consent in the UK is 16, sorry if that’s not in line with the laws in your own country/state.

*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.

A/N: Looking at this photo, I can kinda see why Ben Barnes got fancast as Sirius Black. This story is non-canon and takes place in my imaginary HP AU with OC, Celeste (meaning celestial or heavenly).

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Sirius Black. Even his name was beautiful.

She watched his tall, lean figure approaching as she sat & relaxed against one of the shady trees beside the lake.

She drank in every last detail before he got too close, before her out-and-out staring was noticeable to him.

The lazily slouching but graceful walk, his long legs eating up the distance between them.

The pale, porcelain-like skin, the aristocratic cheekbones, the trendy light scruff of moustache with matching scruff along his jawline, the full sensuous lips, the famed long black wavy hair. And of course, those hypnotic grey eyes, ringed by long dark lashes. Those eyes could change like mercury, from silver to dark pewter within a heartbeat.

As he got got closer, her eyes almost totally closed, but she wasn’t dozing off, it was a ruse to disguise her intense staring. Her eyes continued to eat him up like he was a very large chocolate eclair.

It was Saturday, so no school uniform. Trademark bad-boy attire, then. Her heart sped up at the sight of the scuffed leather biker jacket, the Led Zeppelin t-shirt, distressed jeans & leather work boots. Not properly laced up... of course.

All in black, a living embodiment of his name.

She heaved a long sigh, letting it escape without thought, and her eyes closed fully.

She was aware of a shadow blocking the sunlight falling on her closed eyelids. The sound of somebody settling themselves down next to her, still partly casting a shadow onto her.

Her eyes opened a sliver, and her head rolled to the side towards him of its own accord.

“What’s the big sigh for, Celeste?” in his deep, slightly hoarse, breathy voice. The voice which sent a thousand female hearts beating like drums.

“Sirius.” She sighed again, her eyes opening slowly. “You’re blocking my sun.”

He grinned, chuckling. He gestured to his body with one hand, “This ... masterpiece... of a man joins you for a pleasant interlude by the lake, and all you can say is that I’m blocking your rays?!”

“Yeah.”

He chuckled again. “Ah c’mon, you know you love me.”

She rolled her head back to its original position. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“And maybe it’ll come true?” he smirked.

“When hell freezes over.”

He leant over, placing his head on her shoulder as he did so, puppy dog eyes in play, complete with pouted bottom lip.

“Now, you know that isn’t true. You’re desperate to get me into the sack.”

“But, Sirius,” she said innocently, “there wouldn’t be enough room in the bed for me, what with you and your massive ego already in it.”

His head shot back, his unmistakable & glorious barking laugh issuing forth & attracting the attention of every female within earshot.

“You’re hysterical,” he continued laughing, more quietly. “No, I’m Celeste,” she smirked, throwing her version of his favourite line back at him.

He groaned, “You’d use my own comeback against me? Really?”

“Every time,” she nodded.

He was grinning back at her, when she was suddenly aware of another shadow falling across her. She frowned involuntarily, looking up to see who it was. A tall Ravenclaw girl stood there, confidently smirking down at Sirius. She didn’t spare his current companion even a glance.

“Hi,” she smiled brightly at him. “Thought you’d maybe like to take a walk with me, Siri?” giving him a suggestive sideways look, all the while twirling a strand of her long brown hair round a finger.

Celeste rolled her eyes, smirking & tutting loudly. She muttered, “Pathetic,” under her breath & began to gather her books, getting ready to ‘exit stage left’.

Sirius looked over at her, smiling and laying his hand on her arm, stilling her movement.

He looked up at the other girl. “Sorry, love,” he said with a grin, “spending some one-on-one time with my best girl here.”

She still didn’t look at his ‘best girl’. “Well, why don’t I just join you here while you do that, and then we can go for a walk by ourselves afterwards?”

Sirius looked down, and Celeste knew what was coming next. He’d given her his polite brush-off, now here came the not-so-polite one.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? I’m here with Celeste,” he said, voice harsh, glaring back up at her.

She stopped twirling that lock of hair, recoiling from his glare & tone. “Well, you know, I just thought...”

“You just thought wrong then, didn’t you! Now, run along dear, off you go.” Voice cold, eyes narrowed.

She turned on her heel and scuttled back to her little band of giggling friends. Something told Celeste that her friends wouldn’t be all that sympathetic. If there was one thing almost guaranteed to break up friendship groups, it was who did, or didn’t have, Sirius’ attention.

Celeste laughed, “Lordy, I don’t know how you put up with all that fangirling.... ‘Siri’.” she imitated the girl in a high-pitched tone. “They make me ashamed to be a woman. Don’t they have any self-respect?!”

Sirius laughed, “But Cel, they’re just rightfully worshipping ... this!” Again, one hand gesturing up & down the length of his body.

“What.. a skinny boy?” she questioned, looking him up & down, “Really? What’s the attraction then?” she laughed.

He’d sat up straight as she’d been speaking, faux offended. “Celeste! How could you? Firstly, I am a man, not a boy.”

“Sirius, you’re sixteen. You.. are.. a.. boy!”

“Nah, nah, nah! I.. am.. a.. man!” dramatically emulating her slow delivery before continuing, “And I’m nearly seventeen. Secondly, I am not skinny. I’m tall and athletic.”

“Skinny.”

“Athletic!”

She laughed. “You don’t even play Quidditch any more. So where do you get this ‘athleticism’ from? Running away from Filch and the prefects after a prank?!”

“Thank you for answering your own question!” he said, laughing back at her.

He again leant towards her, eyes boring into hers, changing to dark & stormy mode, lips so close that she felt the little huffs of his breath on her own lips as he spoke.

“Don’t fight it, Cel. Just give in and admit you want me! We’ll head to my dorm right now and spend the entire night together, having hot, sensual, sheet-tangling sex!”

She burst out laughing, turning away momentarily, eager to break the close proximity to him. “The gods love a trier, Sirius. Pity I don’t.” She looked back at him, “And no doubt one of your fangirls is already curled up under your quilt, just waiting on the god that is Sirius Black to arrive and rock her world!!”

“My bed is exclusively reserved for you.”

“OK... curled up in her bed then, waiting on Mr I Never Stay The Night to arrive.”

“You pierce my heart!”

“Sirius, you may be one of my closest friends, but I can honestly say that you, within just the last few weeks, have become a total man-whore. And a barely legal one at that.”

“Celeste!! Just bloody well admit you want me.”

“Can’t that huge ego of yours handle the fact that there’s at least one girl in this school who doesn’t drop her panties the second you look at her?!” her laughter pealed out over the surrounding area, catching the attention of and sparking the venomous jealousy of the Sirius Fangirls’ Club.

He also burst out laughing, inciting the Fangirls even more.

“Ah.... Cel, my ego is perpetually the size of a peanut whenever you’re around.” Innocence personified, wide grey eyes gazed at her. “It never gets the chance to grow any bigger.”

Then the trademark smirk appeared. “Unlike a certain other part of my anatomy.” One eyebrow quirked up at her, long fingers slinking down onto his jeans zip. She couldn’t stop her eyes following them. His lips slid upwards into a pleased grin.

“Urggghhh!” she groaned, closing her eyes briefly before starting to pack up her stuff. “On that note, I’m off!”

“Awww, don’t go! This was just about to get interesting. You almost agreed to give me a quick blowjob!”

She stood up, brushing grass off her denim cutoffs and slipping on her low wedge sandals. Sirius raked his eyes up and down her figure as she did so.

She leant back down to him, knowing full well that he was getting an eyeful down her tastefully low-cut frilly top. She had on a translucent lacy bra, and she heard his breath catch as soon as he spotted it.

Putting her lips right next to his ear, she said, “Firstly, I don’t give blowjobs to sixteen-year-old skinny boys.” She huffed out a breath onto his earlobe, “And secondly, even if I did, it would.. not.. just be a quickie, darling.”

She pulled back and stood up straight, looking down at Sirius. A deep pink blush was spreading up from his neck over the entirety of his handsome face, his mouth hung slightly open and his eyes were wide, a glazed look in them.

She grinned, starting to walk away, “Have fun with the fangirls, Sirius!”

He was still staring after her when the first wave of girlies washed over him, clamouring for his attention in various tried, tested and (to him, at that moment) very tedious ways.

They were all to be disappointed. Sirius swatted them off like they were so many irritating mosquitoes, stretching out & lying on his back with his hands crossed under his head, staring up into the blue of the early autumn sky, deep in thought.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　——————��————-————-««

She leisurely strolled back to the castle, sniggering to herself at how easy it had been to wind Sirius up into a tight spring.

Her smirk dropped somewhat though, when she contemplated the bigger picture. What a shitshow.

She was slap-bang in the middle of the biggest cliché the fates had ever created. Best friend really fancies best friend, but won’t admit it in case it either doesn’t work out and/or ruins the friendship. Yeah... that old chestnut.

Sighing, she made her way to the Gryffindor common room, spotting Lily and Mary on their favourite corner sofa. She plopped herself down next to them, instantly becoming enmeshed in the girlie gossip which was currently in progress.

However her mind drifted to the beginning of that school year, their sixth, when she and Sirius had met up again after the summer holidays on the Hogwarts Express. She’d been frankly amazed at the change in him after such a short time.

From awkward, gawky schoolboy to man-god in the space of a couple of months.

She learned from him that he’d run away from Grimmauld Place at the beginning of the holidays and was now living at the Potters’. She was very glad to hear that, knowing what he’d gone through at the hands of his parents. He certainly seemed to be thriving there, having apparently sprouted quite a bit over the summer.

Everything about him suddenly seemed long & slim. Long legs and arms, with big hands and big feet to match. Long slim fingers. Long slim feet & toes which she stared at, fascinated, every time she caught a glimpse of them.

She’d instantly known that their friendship would change in future. She’d never thought of Sirius as anything except a little schoolboy buddy, but over the summer he’d emerged from his post-pubescent chrysalis as a hot, sexy teenager with shoulder-length hair, designer stubble and attitude with a capital A.

He’d always attracted a fair bit of female attention over the years. He’d never really acted on it though, too caught up in Marauders mischief to care.

But holy hell...now? All the girlies were going to go batshit crazy over him.

He’d also - right there on the train no less! - boxed her into a corner and immediately started flirting up a storm, which had mildly terrified her. This was the guy who, only two months before, had been a kind of surrogate brother figure in her life for the previous 5 years.

Now he was making sexual innuendoes and inviting her into his bed every five minutes. She just couldn’t figure out his agenda.

As predicted, at the start of term, the Hogwarts female population - irrespective of year - quickly lined up behind Sirius and adoringly dogged his every footstep. As did a fair proportion of the male population, it has to be said.

Sirius quickly accepted his new-found godlike status & revelled in it. Flirting his way around school and through classes and meals. Getting caught in broom closets, empty classrooms and corridors, snogging for Britain.

It was only 4 weeks into the new term and she already found it all mildly disgusting. Hence she’d decided to knock the flirtatious idiot back down a peg or two every chance she got.

However, his flirting behaviour with her hadn’t dialled back at all, if anything it had increased, and this is what she was pondering on.

Her name was suddenly yelled right into her face. Lily was staring at her as if she was an alien.

“Uh, sorry - what?”

“We’ve been waiting on you to answer Mary’s question, for like, 15 minutes.”

“Oh shut up! I just zoned out for a minute or two.”

Mary sniggered, “And no prizes for guessing who the subject matter of said zoning out was!!”

She sighed. “OK, OK, alright - yes - it was Sirius.”

Scoffing noises from her friends.

“Look - I just can’t get my head round the way he’s still behaving towards me. Flirting & shit.”

She shook her head, and continued, “This was my annoying little ‘school brother’ 3 months ago! So he’s either had a brain meltdown and actually fancies me, or else he’s practicing all that crap on me to then use on his fan girls! And let’s be honest, one reason’s as bad as the other!”

They both exchanged significant looks, grinning at each other.

She huffed, “What’s wrong now?! I’ve just told you what’s on my mind!”

“Can you, hand on heart, swear you don’t fancy the pants off Sirius?” asked Lily.

“Look, I can see why girls find him attractive, yeah. But you’re forgetting that for five years, he was...”

“Yeah, yeah,” interrupted Mary, rolling her eyes, “..your surrogate little brother.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

@omgrachwrites

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

[lubdubsworld]

City Lights . ( Namjoon x OC)

Pairing : OC x Kim Namjoon.

Genre : Angst. Romance.

Rating 18 + 

Word Count : 2900

Warnings :  Mature Themes , Explicit Sexual Content . Slow burn. Like slower than a snail.

Summary :

Widowed and destitute, Son Yang Mi leaves the comfort of her small , secluded  fishing village and travels to the intimidating city of Seoul with her young son. She has a plan, one that involves finding a job, getting her son into a good school and building a life for herself.

Now, three years later she has a job , working as a live in house keeper for the Kim family, specifically for the son,  Kim Namjoon, a famous rapper and producer. 

Its a job that puts a roof over her head and she’ll do anything to keep it. 

But fate has other plans.

Chapter 1 ~

Akogare (ah-koh-ga-reh)Often translated directly as a sort of frustrated “yearning”, “desire”, or “longing” .

Seoul in summer was a sight to behold. I blinked back against the bright sunlight, staring out into the stunning skyline of the city as the sun rose over it , and although it was just a little past seven in the morning, the air was warm and invigorating. The mid July sun shone down with no mercy, and there was no trace of the rain that had lashed city just the previous night.

It had been three whole years but the relief that came from breathing fresh air, untainted by the damp musk of fishing trowels and sweaty men, was still unrivalled.

I shook off the feather duster in my hand, moving to carefully clean the wicker woven chairs on the artificial lawn in the balcony. Dusting the entire condo down was a mind numbing exercise in patience, so i tried to get it out of the way, early in the morning when my son was still asleep.

At six years old, Junsu was a bright , happy child. Summer vacation meant days sleeping in and evenings spent frolicking with the other kids in the building and he was content with being alone in our small shared room, reading or playing with his toys while I went about the day’s work.

I glanced at the clock, grimacing.

It was almost eight . And although Mr. Kim wasn’t due back home for another twelve hours, I felt a little jittery and nervous.

Kim Namjoon , renowned rapper, producer, writer , poet and what not. The apartment was his but he was usually on tour, traveling all over the world to promote his book and to perform in sold out stadiums. For an A list celebrity, he was surprisingly humble.

For the past three years, him and his model fiancée  Lee Mina had spent a total of maybe seven months in the condo. They were a sweet couple, or so I’d always thought , a bit formal with each other but clearly in love . Mr. Kim was a kind, soft spoken young man and I’d never heard him raise his voice unless he was in the company of his very dear friends.

Just a little over a week ago , both of them  had left Korea for the States , the tabloids screaming about a luxurious destination wedding in the Caribbean and I had been asked to take a few weeks off . The newly weds wouldn’t be back for quite a while and they would let me know when I had to come back to the condo.

I’d been toying with the idea of visiting my in laws in Gwangyog, maybe even dropping by to see some old friends there but yesterday , Mr. Kim’s mother had given me a call letting me know her son was coming home. 

[ 

The conversation went something like this :

Yang Mi, I hope you haven’t left yet?

No, Ma'am, I haven’t.

Joon-ah is going to be back tomorrow.

Oh, is Ms Lee arriving as well?

No, Just him He’s going to be alone.

Yes, Ma'am.

Please don’t mention anything about Mina or the wedding.

No ma'am of course not.

I’ll drop by later . Cook him something warm and filling. And make sure the house is cleaned well.

Yes, Ma’ am.

]

And that was that.

~~~~~~

It took the better part of the day to finish cleaning and setting up the house . I washed the window slats, changed the sheets, arranged the books that had been left scattered all over his bedroom. The walk-in closet was littered with a bunch of his clothes and I made sure his gym bag was stocked with fresh towels, spare clothes and his favorite head and wrist bands. 

For someone so careful and calculated, he was really quite a messy man. 

i did his laundry, making sure he had ample clothes at least for another two weeks, creasing the handkerchiefs and carefully removing lint from his jackets. 

I also carefully sorted out the feminine clothing from the laundry and from the cupboard, folding them neatly and placing them in the lowest shelf of the closet, where he wouldn’t find them. It wasn’t hard, hiding traces of his fiancee from the condo, because it had never really been her home. other than a few spare pieces of underwear and a couple of t shirts and skirts, there weren’t many articles of clothing belonging to Ms. Lee. 

But I still got rid of the bobby pins and hair ties, the spare lip gloss and mascara.

Junsu spent the entire day in our room, reading and drawing, only venturing out every few hours to grab a snack. I left him with his drawing tab ( a gift from Mr. Kim for his 5th birthday )  and his favorite book, asking the security guard at the end of the hallway to keep an eye on the door, while i went out to buy groceries.

Lots of meat, no sea food, healthy snacks and high protein fiber bars. I stocked up on sauces and bought a fresh batch of eggs, oranges and grapes . Mrs. Kim had sent a large amount of kimchi a few weeks ago and that was still in the pantry.

i stopped for a second, staring around at the almost deserted store. Most of the other housekeepers shopped at the bigger, more exclusive store on the other side of the residential complex. But Mr. Kim had a very selective palette, which meant that I had to be very particular about the brands i bought.

When i came back home at around six, Junsu was on the floor in the living space and i felt my heart jump in panic.

“Baby!! I’ve told you not to come out here when I’m not home!” I protested bleakly and he pouted.

“I need to show you my gift for Mr. Kim!!” He said softly. I smiled moving to put away the groceries and glancing at the clock. It was a little past six. I had to call Yungyu.

“Did you draw him something ? “ I asked curiously, checking to see if the beer shelf was stocked. probably should have done that before going out for the groceries, I thought regretfully.

“Yeah! Look!!” Junsu held his tab out and my heart dropped.

For a six year old, Junsu drew very well. And there was really no mistaking the very obvious wedding scene on the screen.

Oh, Good God.

“ That looks amazing honey.” I said gently. “ But, I heard that Ms Lee isn’t coming over this time..”

Junsu frowned.

“Why?”

“Well, I’m not sure. But remember how we spoke about saying the right things? When something upsets someone, we do not bring it up.” I reminded him gently. My son hesitated but nodded.

“Okay. I’m sorry. “ He said softly.

“No baby, its not your fault. It’s just that we want Mr. Kim to be happy right? We don’t wanna upset him...”

He smiled at that.

“When he’s happy, his dimples come out.” He said with a giggle. I laughed.

“yes they do... So let’s try and get those dimples out as often as we can alright? Why don’t you show him that picture you drew of yeontan the other day? He’ll really like that....”

“Okay...but i need to go color it!” Junsu yelled, already running back into our room. I watched him go before reaching for the phone and dialing, Yungyu, the chauffeur.

“Are you on the way here? ” i said briskly.

“Just starting from home...” Yungyu muttered, “ I’m supposed to be on vacation now! Why is he coming back so soon?” 

“Just hurry up !! We can’t keep him waiting!!” I said sharply, before hanging up. 

I made a quick check of all the rooms, filling up water bottles for his gym routine in the morning and stashing them in the fridge before moving to get dinner started. 

i set the water on boil for the stew, before moving to peel cucumbers for the salad. I chopped the cucumber , along with some fresh cherry tomatoes . I watched the water boil, thinly slicing an onion and adding it to the bowl as well. The dressing was pretty simple,  soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and sesame oil . I sprinkled some sesame seeds on the bowl, used the salad tongs to give the whole thing a nice toss and set it aside. 

I braised the chicken first , peeling and chopping potatoes and carrots to add to the stew . In a few minutes, the rich smell of lightly spiced chicken and garlic and perilla  leaves began filling the kitchen and I turned on the rice cooker as well. 

The door bell rang at six forty and i opened the door to reveal Yungyu. 

I grabbed the keys to the Palisade, handing them over to him.

“Did you hear?” He whispered urgently.

I frowned.

“What?”

“They say Mr. Kim called off the wedding!” He whispered, wide eyed. 

I glared at him.

“Who told you that?” i demanded...

“Seojoon from the gate said-”

“Why don’t you ask Seojoon from the gate to mind his own damn business?” I snapped. 

Yungyu looked suitably chastised. i felt a little bad. Yungyu was still young and curiosity was hardly a sin. 

“His flight lands at eight exactly. Hurry okay?” I said with a smile, ruffling his hair.

He brightened, peering over my shoulder into the house.

“Where’s the little one?” He asked curiously.

“ Painting something for Mr. Kim... Go ahead, hurry up.” I shooed him away, locking the door behind him. I fixed a plate of food for Junsu and sent him to eat, before moving to check on the stew. +

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` 

By the time eight thirty rolled around I had the table set and ready. I washed my face quickly in the small bath attached to our room , making sure I was dressed well. Junsu wasn’t allowed in the main house unless Mr. Kim specifically asked for him and my son usually stayed in. 

Junsu and I stayed in a bedroom , not large by any means but big enough for a queen sized bed, a table and chair for Junsu and small dresser where I kept a comb and a tube of night cream. I stared at my face, licking my lips as I smoothed my hair out. 

I glanced at the bed. 

Junsu was asleep , having dozed off while coloring his picture and I carefully extracted the tab from under his fingers, moving him around to lay on the soft pillows. I tucked him in gently, brushing the hair off his face. 

“In peace , I will lie down to sleep, for You alone will let me rest in safety.” I whispered gently against his forehead, kissing the soft skin. I felt my lips wobble , a debilitating wave of affection flooding me as the sweet scent of my baby, filled my senses.

 I would die for you, I thought fiercely, kissing him again. 

The sound of the front door opening made me jump. 

Swearing, i smoothed the fabric of my skirt, running to the kitchen. 

“Thank you for picking me up Yungyu, I’m sorry you had to cut short on your vacation.” Mr. Kim’s deep voice filled the hallway and I quickly grabbed a glass, filling it with water and placing it on the dinner tray.

“Not a problem, Sir. “ Yungyu’s cheerful voice responded.

“How are you going home?” Mr. Kim asked. 

“I’ll take the bus.”

A pause and then, 

“Here’s some cash. Get a cab.” 

I could hear the relief in Yungyu’s voice as he let out a , “ Thank you sir.” 

I fixed his plate carefully, the bowl of rice, the bowl of chicken stew, and the salad neatly arranged next to the napkin and the chopsticks. I heard him move across the condo, the sound of his suitcases as he wrestled them towards his bedroom and I frowned. Yungyu should’ve have brought those in for him. 

I finished reheating all of the food and carefully carried the dinner tray to the bedroom. 

Mr. Kim’s bedroom was right at the end of the hallway and the door was open. The full length mirror on the opposite wall showed him sitting on the small couch in his room, legs spread and elbows resting on his knees as he ran his fingers through his hair. 

I raised my hand, ready to knock on the wood. 

“Fuck!” He shouted, kicking out at the coffee table with enough force to send the furniture skidding half way across the room. 

I froze in the hallways stunned. 

“You’re such a fucking fool , Namjoon !!” He muttered angrily and I swallowed, turning on my heel and quickly walking back to the kitchen. 

Maybe I ought to wait till he asked for dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He didn’t ask for dinner. 

I stayed sitting on the floor of the kitchen, waiting and lightly dozing as I heard him talk to his parents on the phone. I heard him open the liquor cabinet in his room, the sound of ice sloshing against glass, the sound of whiskey being poured carefully and i sighed. 

I had to get to bed. It was already a little past eleven. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometime in the night, I woke up sweating.... 

Wondering what woke me up, I blinked groggily, glancing at Junsu. He was still sound asleep. 

Sighing, I climbed out of the bed, carefully making my way to Mr. Kim’s room, peering in carefully. 

He was asleep on the sofa.

I stared at the way his long legs stretched over the armrest, his lean hips twisted to accommodate his broad shoulders on the couch and I winced. He was definitely going to regret that in the morning. 

I stared at the half empty bottle of whiskey on the table and sighed, moving to take off his shoes carefully. He didn’t stir. 

I grabbed a pillow from the bed, carefully lifting his head and slipping it under. I placed a comforter over his shoulders, pulling it down to cover his legs. 

Force of habit almost made me brush his hair off his forehead but I stopped myself. 

The clock on the wall read three fifty am. God, I was going to feel terrible tomorrow. I carefully tip toed out, shutting the door behind me

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I picked the comforter from the floor, carefully folding it and placing it on the bed, before grabbing the empty bottle of whiskey and glass . i could hear the shower running. The curtains were still drawn in and I tugged on the strings to get them to open. Sunlight spilled in through the floor length windows. The bed wasn’t slept in, so I opened the closet to grab a couple of towels, laying them on the bed for him. 

The bathroom door opened and i quickly straightened, wanting to race out of the room but it was too late. Thankfully he was dressed,  a pair of loose sweats and a loose t shirt . He was running a towel through his hair and his face brightened at the sight of me. 

“Yang Mi! You’re here....” He said cheerfully. 

“Good morning sir.” I said softly, offering him a small smile. 

He smiled brightly, hair damp and dimples deep. The white t shirt he had on was almost fully soaked through and he shook his head, sending stray water droplets all over the place, a few landing on my cheeks. 

“I didn’t see you last night...” He said casually, moving to drop the wet towel in the hamper, grabbing one of the fresh ones I’d laid on the bed. 

“I thought you would like your privacy sir, you looked exhausted.” 

He smiled.

“ Thank you for the blanket and the pillow by the way. And the shoes.” 

I bowed quickly.

“I’ll get your breakfast done, sir.” I bowed again before quickly getting out. 

I moved to the kitchen grabbing the oranges I’d got the previous day . Mr. Kim wasn’t fond of traditional korean dishes in the morning. He preferred freshly squeezed juice and toast, sometimes with an omelet perhaps. 

I fixed his breakfast quickly, setting it all in the tray . He was still moving around in the bedroom and I heard him drag his worktable to the windows, which meant he was going to stay in the bedroom. 

Pouring his coffee into a cup, I carefully picked up the breakfast tray , moving to his room slowly. 

I used my foot to knock on the door.

After a pause of a few seconds, 

“Come in Yang Mi!”

I carefully moved to the small table in front of the couch, placing the tray right in front of him. The scent of his body wash, green apple and strawberries, hit me hard. 

“Where’s Junsu?” He asked casually.

“Still asleep sir. It’s Summer so school’s out.” I smiled, grabbing his phone from the table to make space for his tray. 

The phone buzzed just as I was about to place it back down and I blinked.

 Mina calling.......

 I swallowed, not sure what to do, placing the phone down quickly.

“Uh..you have ...” I waved vaguely at the device before bowing again and moving back. 

“close the door on your way out, Yang Mi...” He said gently and I quickly obeyed. 

I moved to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee for myself. I stayed leaning over the counter and even through the locked door, I could hear him . 

“Just don’t call me Mina...i don’t want to talk about this!!!” 

I swallowed, glancing out of the window again. It was a bright, clear morning. 

A second later, the door to his bedroom slammed open and he stormed out. I watched him from my spot in the kitchen, his fists clenched as he rushed out to the front door.

The door shut behind him and I exhaled. 

Once I as done with my coffee, I moved to his room to clear the breakfast tray. His phone was still on the table.

It began ringing again just as I left the room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mrs. Kim.” i said respectfully, bowing . She gave me a short smile.

“Where’s Namjoon? I’ve been calling him for the past hour.” She pushed past me into the house and I bit my lips.

“He went out about an hour ago. He left his phone behind.” I explained.

She stopped, sighing. 

“Fine, I’ll wait for him. “ She moved to sit on the couch, glancing around the room. 

“Should I get you something ma'am?” I asked softly and she smiled.

“Get me a glass of lemonade, Yangmi.” She said brusquely and i nodded, running to the kitchen. 

“Did Mina come over?” She called out as I got the lemons out of the cooler.

“No ma'am.” i replied.

“Did she call?” 

  I remembered the phone ringing, how upset it had made Namjoon, how he had stormed out.

“I don’t know ma'am!” I said softly. 

She nodded.

“Okay. You can leave.” She said quietly. i bowed and went back into the kitchen. 

I peered out of the window as I fixed her a glass , and my eyes fell on a familiar figure, coming back in through the front gate. Even from this distance there was no mistaking the long legs and messy blonde hair. 

I bit my lips, mind racing.

 Mrs Kim and her son had a volatile relationship, to say the least. 

And something told me that Mr. Kim was probably not in the right frame of mind to argue with his mother, now. The man was upset but apparently, neither his mother nor his ex fiancée understood that. instead of giving him space they were hounding him. 

I hesitated for a second  before making a quick decision. 

I grabbed the tray with her lemonade and moved to her quickly.

“Thank you.” She said sharply. “ Turn on the Air Conditioner for me, will you?” 

I fumbled with the remote, grabbing his phone from the table , turning it on before moving to the front door and rushing out. 

I almost ran into him as he came out of the elevator , and i jerked back stumbling a bit to stop myself from crashing into his chest. He let out a , ‘ Whoa, “  his hands reaching out to grip my elbows. 

“Careful. What’s wrong?” He asked gently and I swallowed.

“Your mother’s here.” I said quickly, “ Sir.” 

“Oh, fuck.” He groaned. I swallowed.

“You can leave.” I blurted out. “It’s Tuesday. She has her charity work meeting at ten. Its almost nine. She won’t stay long....” 

His eyes met mine, lips parting in surprise. 

“I really can’t meet her now.” He said apologetically.

I nodded.

“Of course, I understand , sir. Just be back in an hour , she’ll be go-”

The elevator buzzed , the doors nearly closing over my shoulders and I flinched. He swore and stuck his arm out to keep it open. 

I stared at him before holding his phone out.

“Here you go sir. “ 

He chuckled taking it from me and shaking his head.

“i feel like a kid, sneaking away from my mom.” His eyes reached mine, twinkling, “ Who would’ve thought the quiet, timid Yang Mi would be my partner in crime. “ 

I didn’t reply, just smiled. 

And then he hesitated. “ Is Junsu awake?”

I blinked.

“Uh...yes sir,...he’s playing in the park downstairs with the other kids.”

“Great... Would you mind if i take him out for ice cream?”

I stared at him. 

“Oh..uh...of course not. Sure.. I mean.. he’ll love that... Sir. Thank you.. You don’t have to -”

“Consider it thank you for helping me with my mother.” He smiled again and i found myself staring at his dimples again. i swallowed. 

“in that case, he loves butter scotch.” I smiled. 

The dimples appeared and i bit my lips. 

“Thank you Yang Mi.” He said slowly. 

“Yes, Sir.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note : Finally a hyungline fic !!! ugh... I’ve been wanting to write a Namjoon fic for ages and I really hope you guys will like this one :’( Feedback is much appreciated. 

[haikyuuwriting]

first of all, congrats on 5k!! That's a big achievement, hope you're doing well! Second of all, please do take care of yourself and don't overexert yourself when writing!! So now I'll move on to my request hehe. Can I request the living beside each other AU & reader sees Atsumu dancing in his room to his playlist he's blasting ((his songs are so varied and some are so weird but others are so güd??)) and his dancing is so dorky and one would not expect this of one of the most popular guy in sch!

au prompt: “We live next door to each other and I can see you through the window while you’re dancing to your iPod in your flannel pajamas and disheveled hair and God you’re a dork” AU.

thank you anon!!! I’m doing well and I hope you are too 💖 I am taking care of myself and I promise I won’t over exert myself you’re so sweet 😭 I hope you like this!!!

It had taken Y/N about a day to figure out they lived next to a hot pro volleyball player. They’re apartments were separated by an alleyway— but they were on the same floor and had windows facing each other, which is how Y/N realized he was their neighbor.

They both kept their blinds open during the day to let sunlight in, but Atsumu was never home. Y/N would wander by the window and peek out only to see a blank wall through the opposite window. Never anything exciting. The one time he was home and walked by the window Y/N almost had a heart attack because they’d thought he was a ghost.

After a while, though, once Y/N started staying up later into the night, the light across the apartment would flicker on, and Atsumu would stumble into his room in what looked like workout gear or sometimes his uniform, and collapse onto his bed. From Y/N’s perspective it looked like he just let himself fall to the ground — they hoped it was actually a bed he let himself fall onto. The window would remain illuminated for a while longer until the lights were shut off. It horrified Y/N that he didn’t close the bedroom window like they did, but everyone’s different, right?

On one hotter night, Y/N cracked the window open to let in a breeze and went back to work at their desk, taking short breaks to walk around the room so as to not ache so much from sitting. After the fifth time of doing so (they were getting a bit restless) Y/N realized they could hear music.

Carefully peeking outside of their own window to not be seen, their eyes traveled to the window across from theirs.

And there was Atsumu, his window wide open and letting the music he was playing escape outside into the night. He was wearing the most ridiculous pajamas; he was wearing his her sweet and flannel bottoms, his hair the fluffiest and messiest Y/N had ever seen. Y/N was used to sometimes catching a glimpse of him outside when they left for errands or even on TV. He looked like a totally different person right now.

For one, he’s dancing. He’s roaming around his room jumping up and down to the lyrics, shaking his shoulders to the beat, even singing along to the song. And the song— Y/N recognizes it as a popular girl group song. They have to admit, he has good taste.

When that song ends another quickly begins, and Y/N stays by the window, transfixed on watching their neighbor dance. It’s almost midnight, but a few lights in the other apartments are still on. Everyone else has their blinds and windows closed, though. So Y/N is the only one witnessing this spectacle.

Each time a new song starts playing, Y/N is quick to note how different they are from the last. They all vary in genre, and Atsumu changes his dancing accordingly, violently air guitaring to the punk songs and slowly swaying to the slower ones. From the rest of his outfit and appearance Y/N would guess he’s exhausted, but his dancing does not show this. He looks free, and the look on his face is far different than the small smirk he wears in interviews or the set expression when he’s rushing out of his apartment.

He stops for a second to take a drink of water, running his hands through his already messy hair. God he looks good. It should be illegal to look that good in pajamas—

Y/N freezes when he glances out the window and stares directly at her, mid chug of water. With a small shriek Y/N ducks, collapsing onto the floor in horror. They hear the sound of loud coughing from across the alleyway, and sputtered...laughter?

Y/N peeks out the windows again. Atsumu’s leaning just head outside of it, resting his arms against it to lean forward. He gives a small wave when Y/N straightens from their spot against their own window. Returning the wave, Y/N sheepishly smiles.

“Sorry for scaring you,” they say, just loud enough for him to hear. They aren’t too far from each other.

“S’okay,” Atsumu replies, that lazy grin not leaving his face. “Enjoy the show?”

“Hard not to, your dancing is so good,” Y/N laughs at his cheeky smile. “And your music taste, too! I didn’t picture you as a bubblegum pop kinda guy.”

Atsumu laughs, and the noise is so pleasant Y/N feels themselves getting chills. The smile on his face never wavers, and his eyes stay trained on Y/N as if they’re the only thing he’s ever looked at.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. I’m going to bed now, sorry for keeping you up.”

“Oh you weren’t!” Y/N quickly clarifies, waving their hands frantically. “I’m still up doing work, but I guess I should also turn in.”

Despite their proclamations of finally going to bed, they stay at the window. Y/N awkwardly avoids eye contact, wondering how Atsumu isn’t.

“Hey, wanna go out for coffee tomorrow?” Y/N almost hits their head against the window sill as they whirl their head to look at him again. He’s still smiling - does he ever stop? But it looks softer now, and Y/N realizes they just saw this man dance around his room for twenty minutes in pajamas. He’s nothing to be intimated by. This isn’t the same guy who could easily spike off their arms with one of his hits. Well, it was, but after seeing this other side of him Y/N wasn’t the least bit intimidated. And he was even more attractive after this, even if his music taste was a little odd.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

masterlist | 5k blogiversary celebration

[nsfwsportsanimebabes]

S/O with the best vibes headcanons

Description: can I request kuroo, and the Miya twins w a fem s/o or crush (whichever u want:3) who’s room has just like the most chill vibes, like they have a record player, lots of plants, books, fairy lights, and a cute colour theme that they just adore. Maybe like their first time coming to visit & staying till 2am cause it’s just so welcoming and calm?

Requested: YESSSS OF COURSEEEE🥺🥺🥺 this is so pure and I’m excited to get these hashed out for you🥺🥺🥺 honestly both your admins HARDCORE relate to these vibes. Like we both have these things scattered between our apartments. So you’re really pulling on some great vibes here. I’ll try not to go too overboard 😉☺️

A/N: soooo uhhh. I’m not dead.. lolol. Just kinda reallyyyyy lost any motivation to write for not only this blog, but any writing in general honestly. BUT this blog is still kicking, we do still take requests in, and love seeing them. I plan on doing a few more requests and/or WIPS that motivation comes for. 

Also..I apologize if Osamu’s isn’t the greatest, I did his first and this is the first scenario type post I have done in a longgggggggg time. But regardless hope you all enjoy! ~Admin Crow 💚

Miya Osamu

“and if you push this button on the remote you can totally change the colors to the lights too. Pretty neat right?”

To be honest, Osamu didn’t hear much of your explanation of all the things in your room. Mostly because he was overwhelmed by the pure vibes coming from your room. He was a little surprised that you had invited him over to study. You two hadn’t been dating for very long, so inviting him over to study, in your bedroom no less, had taken him by surprise. But of course curiosity got the best of Samu, so he wasn’t about to turn down this opportunity. Looking around, he noticed the way your lights were set up to give off whatever color you wanted to hit every corner of the room. And how your cute little starter plants overtook your dresser. Candles of specific colors adorned your bookshelf where you had organized them by color to match an obvious theme you were going for. Osamu especially enjoyed the record player that had music softly playing; the record turning slowly to match the music coming out of it. He’d have to investigate your books and records later when you showed him your favorite ones. 

He took in the way your lights had pictures hanging from them, most of them were pictures you had taken with your friends. But he noticed the corner by your bed had ones the two of you had taken together. For some reason Osamu found that really sweet. 

“Samu? Did you here me? Hello, earth to Osamu.” you called out, trying to gain the attention of your boyfriend, who had been staring at your fairy lights after taking in your room for a solid 3 minutes without looking or acknowledging you comments. You were nervous about what his response to your room would be. The way you decorated your room was in a way that really showed who you were, and you didn’t want to just share that with anyone. 

Osamu finally realized you were calling him and turned to look at you with a lazy smile noticing your slightly guarded look and could tell you were waiting for a response. “Come here F/n, there’s no reason to be anxious, I totally think your set up is amazing. Show me more?” 

Miya Atsumu

 “You have so many books F/N! How the hell do you afford all of these!?” Atsumu had never seen so many books outside of a library in his life. The fact that you had two full size, five shelf book shelves in your room side by side. Each bookshelf adorned with rows and stacks of books taking up every possible space that you could cram a book into. 

You rubbed the back of your head blushing slightly “well....I found most of them at bookstores, thrift stores, sales, friends and family who gave them as gifts...” you rambled, not sure what his response would be. 

Atsumu ran to another corner of your room immediately starting to flip through your almost equally impressive stack of records. When you had invited Atsumu over to work on a school paper together, you didn’t know what his thoughts of your room would be. Even though you two had been best friends since you were 6, he had yet to been inside your room. Although your locker at school had a lot of similar vibes as your room, a few mini plants you had snuck into school were on the top shelf, pictures adorning your locker door, and other things gave Atsumu an idea of your inner vibes. 

It was something he really loved about you. He would be lying if he didn’t admit that he was dying to see what your room looked like. Any chance to get closer to you was really his end goal. I mean, he’s been trying to go over to your place for years to be shot down every time. But the opportunity had finally arrived and you had caved, finally allowing him the opportunity into your private life. 

“Hey F/N, got any secret journals hidden amongst all of these books full of secrets you haven’t shared with me?” he teased going back to the books scattered over your desk. 

Sighing, you sunk into your corner of comfy, plushy bean bag pillows and called for him to join you “Knock it off Tsumu, get over here and sit down so we can work on this paper please?” 

Atsumu took one look at the comfy looking pile before taking three long strides and plopping down onto the one next to you, jostling you and your laptop in the process. “I could really get used to hanging out here F/N. I say we start having movie nights at your place. In fact, let’s just do everything over here from now on.”

“Don’t push your luck there Tsumu.”

Kuroo Tetsurou

“can I choose the next record F/N?” 

Looking up from your sketchbook, you noticed your boyfriend looking over at you with a lazy look. To be honest, he looked completely at home, fitting in with the glow of the fairy lights that you had dimmed just enough to allow you guys to see what you were doing. 

Kuroo had been surprised when you suggested doing homework together at your house, since his room was the usual hang out spot, unless you chose to be outside in nice weather. It’s not that he didn’t think you didn’t want him in your room, he was just usually the first to suggest studying over at his place. 

But seeing the way your room just gave off vibes that were purely, you, had Kuroo ready to study and hang out here all the time. He found your room a chill environment, but still productive enough that he wasn’t wasting his time studying. He had particularly enjoyed flipping through your pile of records, and naming off fun facts of all the cute plants you had scattered in perfect places in your room to capture the sunlight. 

You nodded at Kuroo’s question, returning to your sketchbook, immediately getting lost in the drawing you were working on for class again. A few minutes later you recognized the soft melody of your and Kuroo’s favorite song coming from the record player. Suddenly two strong, volleyball and chemistry note taking worn, hands gently took your pencil and sketchbook from you. Setting them down next to you before pulling you to your feet and into your dorky boyfriend’s arms. 

“Tetsu you cannot dance for your life. What are we doing?” you laughed, letting him pull you close and swaying with him. 

“I can’t dance?! Excuse me have you not seen the grace and beauty that I have on the volleyball court? What makes you think I can’t use that to dance with my beautiful girlfriend?” he defended, although you both knew you were right. 

Laughing you took control, despite the obvious difference in sizes between you two, and spun under his arm, enjoying the quick way he caught himself from tripping. Whether the two of you could dance or not, it didn’t matter. Spending this time with Kuroo was like the world had stopped moving around you. If you could spend forever here in his arms in your room forever you certainly would. 

Although it wouldn’t be spent dancing as Kuroo ruined that moment by throwing you over his shoulder and flopping down on your bed deciding it was time for cuddles while enjoying the rest of your album playing your favorite songs. The two of you laughing and sharing special secret moments that would stay inside your four bedroom walls for eternity. 

[vlogsquadssquad]

model for me - pt. 2

summary: a continuation of model for me. David and y/n go out to town for another shoot, will they be able to resist each other for the photos?

a/n: I feel like this one is so short but A LOT of people have asked for a part 2. I think its cute and im thinking of doing a pt 3, ill try to make that one extra long.

warnings: drinking, language, alluding to sex.

mood board:

your instagram post:

- YOUR POV

“so i saw that picture you posted on instagram,” david says as i walk into his house. “you know that’s against our contract for you to post sexy photos on your own instagram.” i laugh now realizing he’s kidding.

“oh, you thought it was sexy?” i say as i head over to the couch where he sat. he clears his throat.

“nope. definitely not sexy.” and then side smiles to me. i roll my eyes.

“what are you working on?” I ask plopping down next to him.

“well i’m trying to find inspiration for our next shoot. i feel like we’ve already done all the big stuff so where does it go from there?”

i take a minute to think and David tries to read my expressions. “you could tape me to your wall naked!” he throws his head back in a big laugh. “or you could put a giant snake on me... naked.” i giggle at the thought. he raises an eyebrow,

“hey those are good ideas.” his tongue poking out slightly.

“no no please don’t take me up on those offers” i laugh nervously.

he looks to me and for a split second i feel almost sexual tension. he glances to his hallway.

“NATALIIEEEEE, ORDER A GIANT PYTHON!”

“NO NATALIE DO NOT DO THAT!!!”

“NATALIE YOU WORK FOR ME DO IT!!”

“holy fuck you guys why are you screaming?” she says as she walks down the hall.

my face goes slightly red and i giggle.

- texts w/ davey😈

< i came up with an idea

oh god what is it? >

< late night, fun, blurry, slightly sexy photos! i’ll send some inspiration.

wow they actually look good! let’s do it! tonight? >

< yes and bring a couple outfits. we’re going downtown and i have a hotel booked to change in.

thank you daddy d!! >

< shut the fuck up 😂

- DAVIDS POV

“hey you ready yet?” i ask as i walk into her house. she texted me to come in. i look around the dark house. “hello? y/n?”

“BOO!” she yells out around the corner

“fuck, i knew it.”

“no you didn’t! don’t lie to me! i totally got you!”

“ok ok you totally got me.” I chuckle.

i take a minute to take in her outfit. she looks beautiful in red.

“i’m gonna go get my suitcase of dresses. i’ll be right back.” she says to break the silence.

- in the car

“im so excited, the pictures you sent me looked sick!” she says to me. I glance her way and flash her a smile. 

“yeah and I have the best model in LA so it'll be breezy.”

she smiles at me and my heart melts. I look back at the road and try to focus.

- at the hotel

“wow David, its beautiful!” she says as she opens the door to the hotel room.

“yeah I liked this hotel as a background. its gorgeous.” 

“hmm, one bed huh?” she raises an eyebrow to me and giggles.

I sigh, “well we’re not staying the night, but if its too weird I can go down-”

“David! calm down I was just teasing you.” she smiles. she puts her hand on my shoulder and I wipe my sweaty hands on my jeans. 

“okay, well im going to go set this down and then we’ll head out?” she nods to me

I nod back. I find myself watching her as she walks away. I felt guilty so I looked down at my hands. already sweating again. these shoots were a bad idea. considering ive had feelings for her for a while. how could I not? she's everything ive wanted. I get pulled from my thoughts when I see her coming around the corner.

“you ready?”

“as ill ever be.” she kinda looks confused but I usher her out the door with camera in hand. 

- YOUR POV

“stand there real quick. look fierce.” 

“okay now maybe lay across the stairs? pull your dress, show some leg, girl!”

I giggle. he's such a goofy photographer. 

“did you shave your legs?”

I throw my head back in a laugh and I see the light flash.

“that one was perfect.”

“can I see it?” I ask.

“damn yeah it looks great.”

he smiles to me. “okay, lets take a few more and then we’ll go change.”

- the hotel room

“listen I know its 9pm but were you planning on feeding me? I don't work for free.” I look at him waiting for an answer.

he chuckles as he sets his camera down.

“yes, im starving. lets get at least one more dress done and then we can go eat.”

“ok cause I was about to have to call my union.” he laughs at my joke.

I head to the bathroom to change. I have a couple more dresses but I decided to go with this pink club-y type dress. as I slide it on I take one more look in the mirror. I sigh and fix my dress. ill never be pretty enough for him. all night i’ve been having thoughts, ‘maybe he likes me too.’ I know i’m not his type so why am I even entertaining the idea? I turn off the light and head out.

I do a playful spin.

“whatcha think?”

“you look like a dork.”

I stop and pout. “what do you mean?”

“well, ive given you enough compliments on how beautiful you are today. i don't want your head getting too big and leaving me for a real photographer.” 

I laugh, “no, no. real photographers would pay me in money,” I grab my phone off the table and he grabs his water. “you pay me in burgers, so im all yours.” he laughs as he opens the door for me and I walk out of the hotel room once again. we take a few photos of down the hall and in the elevator. finally we get outside and David sees a perfect seat for me. 

“aha! sit there!” I laugh at how excited he got. 

“okay, okay, calm down. you'll pop a woody.” I laugh

he throws his head back in an infectious laugh.

“you wish.”

I cover my face as it gets redder and he snaps a photo.

“don't take a picture!” 

“sorry, I love the candid ones.”

I laugh and another flash goes off. at this point its just flash after flash he's laughing and im yelling at him to stop. im sure there's some not so pleasant ones in the bunch.

“hey, lets go back up, get changed, and then eat.” David offers after we settle down.

“we barely took any though!” 

“I know, but im hungry, and we took a bunch in the hall, and its getting late.”

“first reason was good enough for me. lets go!”

- DAVIDS POV

we sat down at this nice place to eat. she wanted steak so I asked Natalie where the best steak in downtown was. she said this was it. she's wearing a simpler dress now. probably still thinking we’ll end up taking more pictures. I just want to be with her, honestly. she's so funny and smart. 

“anything to drink?”

“cosmo please.” she says.

“just a water for now.” 

“a water?” y/n says as the waitress walks away. 

“yeah, I didn't know we were drinking! I have to drive back!”

“we can always take an uber, and ill have you know today has been very stressful. I had to change my dress three times!” she says as she flips her hair. I just laugh at her. she's so great. 

“here's your drinks, can I get you any appetizers?” 

“actually ill have a margarita please.”

y/n gasps, “David dobrik!” I laugh and the waitress smiles.

“coming right up.”

“wow I can't believe I pressured you into a drink.”

“hey, ive had a hard day too. I had to click this little button like 150 times.”

“our lives are so hard” she smiles as she takes a sip of her drink.

we finally start eating but im already feeling the buzz. we’re definitely taking an uber. everything y/n says is so funny.

after many many laughs and drunken slurring we call an uber and head back to the hotel.

“so we’re crashing here?” y/n asks slightly slurred but a lot better than before.

the hallway looks like its spinning in slow motion.

“I guess, I can sleep on the couch though.”

“no, its fine. I don't care.” she says as I open the door.

she's laughing so hard as she stumbles in. she's gorgeous. suddenly im thinking a little clearer. she just said I could share a bed with her.

she jumps on the desk and asks if I want room service.

I chuckle to myself and grab my camera.

“we just ate!”

“oh fuck we did didn't we?” she laughs. I take a quick photo and her eyes dart to me. 

“hey, I wasn't ready!” she throws a note pad at me.

“im sorry, im sorry,” I pause to smile. “you're just so incredible.”

“what...?” she whispers now.

“I know im drunk and tell me im being a creep, but I just have to get this off my chest.” she searches my face for any clue I could give for what im about to say. I step closer. “I have the biggest, fattest, crush on you.”

she bursts out laughing. im a little taken back. is she laughing at me?

“umm... okay..” I say, suddenly embarrassed by my confession.

“no no!” she yells as she's hunched over laughing. “I just- I can't-” she pauses to breathe. “I was in the bathroom today feeling shitty because I thought I wasn't your type.”

“what are you saying?” I ask, slightly smiling.

“ive been crushing on you sooooo fucking hard!” she yells. I go closer to her and put my finger over her mouth shushing her.

“people are sleeping and while I want to shout from the rooftops, I also don't want to leave this hotel room.” I say. she nods her head and looks me in the eyes. my finger still in front of her mouth.

“you make me the happiest guy in the world.” I whisper.

“you make me the happiest girl in the world.” she whispers back.

she moves in closer until our lips are finally connected. she's soft and sweet. my hands find their way to her back. her hands are in my hair. suddenly we’re moving faster and our kiss is getting stronger. I never want to leave this hotel room.

--

my eyes slowly open to the sunlight shining through the room. I rub my eyes and look around the room. I see a naked y/n next to me. her hair falling perfectly around her shoulders as she lays on her side. her naked back looks like art. while I love the view im also confused. then I realize im naked and my heart starts beating out my chest. it starts coming back to me in flashes. our magical night. her breaths are long and deep so I know she's still asleep. I flip over and grab my phone from the nightstand.

JASON: David answer your phone, what's going on?

NAT: call me asap

ILYA: are you guys serious rn?

MEGAN (publicist): Dave we need to talk

TODD: check twitter dude!

why is my phone blown up? I open up twitter and there I see it.

“David dobrik and y/f/n caught in bed!” read the article title.

“fuck” I groan.

“Dave?” I hear a little voice from behind me.

part threeeeeeeee?!?!?!?!?

[xzephyrusx]

SEVENTEEN Imagine

seungcheol x reader

notice! before you start reading, the BLUE texts with underlines are links to show you what I’m talking about. you can click on it or not, it doesn’t matter. it’s just more of a visual just to let you see what I’m talking about. also, here are some terms/abbreviations I used for this imagine so you don’t get confused: (Y/N) your name; (F/N) friend’s name; (U/N) username

plot: the boys are filming a going seventeen episode and your boyfriend seungcheol asked you to come with.

Slowly opening my eyes, I reached for my phone on top of my bedside table. I squinted because of the sunlight beaming through my white and slightly translucent curtains. The bright light filled my room, but not enough that it blinded me.

I rolled on my back and checked to see if I had any important notifications.

30mins ago from FACEBOOK — (F/N) tagged you in a comment.

4hrs ago from FACEBOOK — (F/N) liked your picture.

17mins ago from INSTAGRAM — (U/N) and 12 others followed you.

18mins ago from INSTAGRAM — (U/N) and 25 others commented on your photo.

4hrs ago from iMESSAGE — Cheolie ❤️ : Good morning, jagiya. I’m on my way to the company. My schedule is full today ㅠㅠ I miss you. I hope you’re getting your beauty sleep. I love you, beautiful. 😚

I smiled and tapped on the message from my boyfriend. It wasn’t a secret that he’s always busy, especially since he is in a band called Seventeen which is becoming very popular nowadays.

They haven’t been touring because of the pandemic. That’s the reason why they’ve been busy just preparing for their comebacks, stages and different contents that they will be releasing. I don’t really mind not seeing him as much.

It might sound as if I don’t love him, but the real reason might be too cliché. Although, it’s really because of the fact that he’s happy with what he’s doing. I can see it in the way Cheol’s eyes light up when he talks about his members.

Everytime he calls me or FaceTime’s me after a long day at work, he’s still gonna be smiling. You’d thought after a long day at work just practicing for hours and hours, he would look tired. But he’d be so happy to tell me about his day and how much he had fun with his members.

I quickly replied to him with, “Good morning, oppa. I woke up later than anticipated. ㅋㅋ I don’t have anything planned yet, but I might go to the café I own later just to check things out. I might have my breakfast there too. I know you’re having fun at work. I love you.❤️”

I opened up Spotify and connected my phone to my home speakers. I clicked on my playlist which played their recent song Home Run and stood up to get ready for the day ahead of me. With the song playing loudly in the background, I went in the bathroom to take a shower.

It was about 11:40 when I had finished taking a shower. As soon as I was finished, I went in my closet to find what to wear for the day. Dancing through the song playing in the background, I dug through my closet to figure out what to wear.

About 5 minutes later, I settled on wearing a casual business outfit since I’ll also be checking on my café today anyway. My days usually just consist of working in my café or just staying there while I work on how to improve the cafés menu, ambiance, or managing the different places where people who franchised had put up our café.

Although it’s theirs to take care of, I still make sure to visit and keep in touch with the owners. So as not to bring down the good reputation of my brand name. It’s been about 3 years since I had started this business and I couldn’t be luckier. My sweat and hard work had finally paid off.

After getting dressed, I took the elevator to the parking lot. I walked toward my white Mercedez, then drove to the direction of the café. It’s located near Han River at Apgujeong-dong. It was a really hard spot to get but, thanks to my hard work I convinced the owners to sell it to me.

I finally arrived at the shop, so I parked my car at the back. I took out my laptop and bag, check if I had my keys and phone inside before circling back to the front to go inside.

“Annyeonghaseyo, (Y/N)-nim!”

I was greeted by the two staffs as soon as I entered. I greeted them back and went to a table near the counter to place my things down. Then I walked up to the counter to tell the staff what I wanted.

“Kindly give me a Summer Jam Waffle and one iced americano. Thank you.” I said then gave my credit card. Yes, I own the café but I still had to pay so I won’t mess up the gross sales and inventory.

I proceeded to my table and opened my laptop to check my emails. About 5 minutes in from what I’m doing, the staff handed me my order. I thanked them and continued to eat while I worked.

Standing up, I took my phone with me because I had to go to the comfort room and stretch my legs a bit. I’ve been in the café for I don’t know how long. There were a lot of emails coming in today. I had to read each and every one of them, then send my responses.

After washing and drying my hands, I opened my phone to check the time; 3:28 PM; when I got greeted by a text message from my boyfriend.

Just now from iMESSAGE — Cheolie ❤️ ; Hi babe, you’re probably still busy at work. Don’t forget to eat. I just wanna tell you that you can come by the set if you want. We’ll be filming at for our next Going episode.

I got excited when I read the text. I don’t really go to their filming sets that much since I’m busy most of the times, or just the fact that there’s always a lot of staff with them and I get shy.

“What time should I come and how many people are there?” I replied.

I sat down to continue working while waiting for Seungcheol’s reply. Not a minute later, I immediately got a response.

Just now from iMESSAGE — Cheolie ❤️ ; You can get here before 7pm. I’ll send you the address. It’s only gonna be the staff and the members.

I clicked on the shared directions he sent. It was about a 40 minute car ride. I guess I’m gonna be driving for a long time then. It’s a good thing I always keep sneakers in the trunk of my car.

“Wow, I didn’t know it would be so far. But it’s okay. And I wanna know because I want to bring some food from the café to you guys.” I replied.

I put my phone in my pocket and went to the counter to check the inventory. There were still a lot of cups and straws in stock, so I went to check the back of the house for ingredients. Everything was still okay. I think I can bring them food. My phone vibrated in my pocket so I took it out.

Just now from iMESSAGE — Cheolie ❤️ ; You really don’t have to, babe. But there’s 13 of us, plus the 9 staff that’s with us. Drive safely. I’ll wait for you.

“Alright. I’ll be there. 😚”

Fast forward to how many hours later, it was finally 5:30 PM. I went to the bar to help the barista make 22 iced americanos and heat up 22 croissants. I thought I should just bring snacks since they’ll probably have dinner after the shoot.

While the barista was making drinks, I punched in the orders and swiped my card.

Iced Americano — 22 x ₩ 5,600

Croissant — 22 x ₩ 3,640

Total : ₩ 203,200

I helped the staff pack the orders and made a double ristretto for myself. The coffees and croissants were inside two different thermal bags to preserve the heat of the pastry and coldness of the americanos.

I went to put the drinks in the trunk and sat down to change into my sneakers. It would be much more comfortable to drive with my sneakers on. After changing into my sneakers, I closed the trunk then went off for a long drive.

“You have arrived at your destination.” The app said. The place was quite big, there were lots of parking space. I saw where the staff were setting up so I just parked behind them.

Seungcheol knew what my car looked like, so that’s probably why he was walking towards my car with some of the members. I turned off the car and exited the vehicle, thinking it was best to just keep my bag in the car and put my keys and phone in my pocket.

“Jagiyaaaaaa!” Seungcheol shouted, running towards me. I laughed, facing him. He went to hug me and lifted me up.

“I missed you so much.” He whispered.

“I missed you too, baby.” I told him, kissing his cheek. He put me down and held my face between his hands then have me a quick peck on the lips.

Dino, Mingyu, Joshua and Jeonghan who went with him greeted me. I gave them all a hug, greeting them back.

“How was the drive, (Y/N)?” Joshua asked.

I sighed, “It was long. And pretty tiring.” I laughed. “But it was great. As long as I get to see this big baby.”

I turned to Seungcheol who was smiling from ear to ear. He grabbed me by the waist, “You can’t resist not seeing my handsome face.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Yeah, yeah. Now help me get the food out.”

“FOOD!” The 4 other members yelled at the same time and quickly followed me to the trunk. They took it out as soon as I opened the trunk.

They were going to bring the food to the other quickly before I stopped them, “There’s also food for the staff.”

They all nodded and ran to bring the food to the others. Seungcheol grabbed me by the waist and held a hand to my cheek. “I’m glad you came, even if it was a long drive. You don’t know how much I missed you.”

“I know. I missed you so much.” I leaned in to his touch. He pulled me close and kissed me softly.

After pulling away, he kissed my cheek. “Come on, we’re about to start soon.”

I nodded, then suddenly remembered my coffee. “Let me just get my coffee. I forgot it in the cup holder.”

When I finally got it, he held my hand and led me to the set. When we got there, the staff was thanking me for the food that I had brought for them. I bowed to greet them. “Annyeonghaseyo. You’re welcome.”

Seungcheol then led me to where the members were at. They seemed to be enjoying the food that I brought. He sat down on one of the chairs and patted his lap, signaling for me to sit. I was too shy to do it so I shook my head and just stood by him.

“Thanks for the food, (Y/N). I swear your café has the best pastry and beverages.” Seungkwan said, sipping on his coffee.

“Thank you.” I laughed. “I try my best to establish quality control within the café. Taste is very important.”

“You brought the food just in time. The staff told us we couldn’t eat until we finished filming. Who knows how long that would take?” Jeonghan joked and the staff laughed, along with the members.

“Okay, guys. We need to start filming so we can wrap up quickly.” Their producer announced.

I squeezed Seungcheol’s hand and smiled down at him. “I’ll be behind the cameras with the producers.”

“Okay.” He pouted, then pouted his lips. “No goodluck kiss for me?”

I scoffed at him while smiling. “We’ve have enough PDA for today.”

I walked towards where the staff was at. We greeted each other again and I sat beside their producers. All of them went inside the car.

“Hana, dul, set!” The staff yelled. Then one by one, they slowly went out.

“Someone looks very happy to see you on set.” The producer whispered at me, while laughing. I turned to see my boyfriend Seungcheol smiling while looking at me. I waved my hand to tell him not to focus on me.

The film set was full of laughter. The past half an hour or so consisted of Joshua’s failed attempts at hosting the show, the members getting angry and protesting at their producers. Even I couldn’t hold my laughter in. These boys don’t even need content to have a content, because they are the content.

After Joshua was “fired”, the producers just randomly played Sorry, Sorry for the boys to dance to. Then they went in to get angry and throw the table with bowls, chopsticks, spoon and fork.

Suddenly Cheol stood up announcing that they had to have a meeting with the staff. One by one, everyone started complaining. It was all getting so noisy and I had to bury my face between my arms and knees to hide my laughter.

“Come here, come here.” Hoshi said, gesturing for them to there. “You too, (Y/N). You’re part of this too. Apologize now.”

Seungcheol gestured as well, pointing to the spot beside him. “Babe, apologize right here.”

When it was Dino’s turn, we all couldn’t take him seriously. Everybody was just laughing too hard. Then he showed the letter in front of the camera that was facing the staff, which included me. I gasped but still couldn’t hold in my laughter when one of them brought the camera closer to the producers.

At that point, I was kind of nervouse because it might be an issue. But I ignored it since both of the producers were women and it just looked like I was one of them.

Then the complement festival came. It was a part of the episode where they had to complement each member.

It was time for the each one of the boys to pop up on the sun roof of the van and other other members to speak up one by one. My stomach had been hurting for about 40 minutes at this point. These boys never cease to make people laugh.

“Thank you for being a reliable person.” Dokyeom told Seungcheol.

Next it was Jeonghan. “Hyung, thank you for having a girlfriend like (Y/N) because she always brings us food and is such a great person.”

Everyone laughed and looked at me. I shook my head and hid my face, being shy.

“Mmm,” Seungcheol nodded while smiling and looking at me. “But we can’t air that.”

“Producers, please edit that out.” The boys begged. “We have to keep Seungcheol’s private life in... private.”

We all laughed, then Jeonghan said. “Do I have to say something else then?”

“Yes,” I yelled. Everybody chuckled. “Please do.”

“Okay. Okay. Let me think,” he seemed deep in thought then spoke up. “Hyung, thank you for having the same hobbies as me.”

Then everybody started laughing again.

Unbeknownst to them, the staff had prepared fireworks for them to enjoy. They handed out the candles and fireworks to each of the boys.

“Eonnie, can I light one firework in the back?” I asked the producer. There were lots of fireworks that were set up behind them, waiting to be lit up.

“Of course. Just be careful.” Then she handed me a lighter.

While the boys were lighting up their sparklers, I stood up and dusted myself off. One of the staffs accompanied me to light up the fireworks. There was a song playing, while the boys were enjoying themselves.

I proceeded to go at the back, knowing that they’ll blur my face if I ever get caught on camera. Seungcheol looked at me with a questionable look, probably wondering why I was going there.

I held up a the lighter and gave him two thumbs up. I bent down, slightly shaking. To say that I wasn’t nervous or scared would be an understatement. But I proceeded to light it anyway.

“Woah.” I whispered as soon as it lit up the sky. I was in awe, it was beautiful.

I heard the snap of a camera and looked at the direction of where it came from. I saw my boyfriend holding his phone out, with the camera pointing at me. He smiled, embarrassed that I caught him.

— photo creds —

I proceeded to look up at the beauty of exploding lights above me. After what felt like a long time, someone had finally snapped me out of it. I felt a hand grab my arm and an wrapped around me. I looked to see my boyfriend beside me.

“It’s beautiful.” I told him, looking back at the sky.

“It is.” He answered. I looked back at him only to see that he was staring at me.

“You’re so cheesy.” I giggled, burying my face in his neck.

He kissed my forehead and told me, “Only for you, babe.”

“Alright! We’re done!” The staff announced. Everyone cheered and clapped. Seungcheol and I went back to where they were.

“We’re done for today. You guys can stay or you can ride with us back to the dorm.” They announced.

Cheol went to his members and talked to them. I checked the time on my phone. 9:39 PM

I looked back at him and saw him saying goodbye to his members. Then they went to bid goodbye to me and gave me hugs as well.

“Let’s go?” Cheol asked, his hand waiting out for me.

I held his hand and I looked at him confused. “Aren’t you gonna go back with them?”

“I was thinking, we could drive back together.” He smiled. “Then I could sleep over at your apartment.”

I nodded and led him to my car. I was about to go to the driver’s side when he stopped me. “Give me the keys.”

“What? No! You’re tired enough as it is. Let me drive” I protested.

“Babe, come on. You drove a long way just to see me. Now get some rest.” He tells me.

I tossed the keys to him and went to sit on the passenger side. He sat down and gave me a peck on the lips before starting the car. Then he proceeded to back out of the parking lot and drive the both of us home.

It was a great way to end the night.

[lvllns]

it don't matter to me (wherever we are is where i wanna be) [2/3]

the wayhaven chronicles. felix hauville x kincaid anderson (nb detective). teen and up rating for language. established relationship, mostly fluff with some angst. 2300+ words. (3700+ words total.) — i can be your lucky penny, you can be my four-leaf clover, chapter 2 of 3.

notes: horses! felix! kincaid! somft!

[ao3 link]

—

The walk to the barn doesn’t take nearly as long as Felix expects, it’s not as far from the house as it looks.

Kincaid chatters the whole way, mindless nonsense about the ranch mostly. Felix learns that they breed beef cattle in addition to horses, and some cows specifically for roping. He didn’t think there were specific cows for roping and when he says as much, Kincaid obliges him by explaining the importance of docile cows for rodeo. But apparently, they need to be hazed and seasoned too? They have to get used to horses and people milling about.

Really, maybe the walk doesn’t take as long as he thinks because Kincaid refuses to stop talking.

(Felix is so grateful for him. For the way he seems intent on filling the quiet with whatever he can.)

(He keeps squeezing Kincaid’s hand, grinning when the taller man pauses for a second mid-sentence to look at him with a smile.)

“Anyway, that’s—” Kincaid is cut off with a soft noise. Felix is jerked to a stop as Kincaid freezes in place, eyes going wide as saucers.

“Babe?”

Kincaid shivers. Breaks out of whatever weird trance he’s in and says, “I think that’s Leo.” He whistles. “Mare?”

Another sound, louder this time. A whinny, if Felix remembers right.

And then a red head pokes over a nearby stall door, fuzzy ears straining forward. Her face is mostly grey, but a big white star in the middle of her forehead is still clearly visible.

Felix starts toward her. Ends up dragging Kincaid along because he seems shocked to see her. They get close enough to touch and she immediately, without hesitation, whacks Kincaid in the chest with her entire head. He grunts at the impact but just leans down to touch his forehead to hers.

“You seem surprised to see her,” Felix says quietly, not wanting to break the moment.

Kincaid exhales heavily. Doesn’t lift his face as he starts scratching her neck. “She’s thirty-one years old. It’s just...a lot, to see her again.”

Ah.

That’s it.

Felix slips an arm around Kincaid’s waist. Leans into his side and kisses his shoulder before resting his head against his bicep.

“Anyway,” Kincaid says as he clears his throat. His eyes are shiny with tears and Felix reaches up to wipe a few from his cheeks. Leo has clearly had enough because she whacks Kincaid with her head again, ears flicking back and forth. He rolls his eyes. “Felix, Leo. Leo, Felix.”

Despite all the new white hairs, she looks almost the same as she does in the pictures scattered around Kincaid’s apartment. Where she’s shiny as a copper penny with saddles, buckles, and ribbons around her. Where she’s belly deep in a river, Kincaid sitting on her without any tack. An entire life story between the two of them laid out in photographs on apartment walls, and now Felix is able to meet her.

She extends her nose, nostrils flaring as she sniffs Felix. He chuckles. Reaches out and pets her muzzle.

“Oh, she’s soft!” Felix steps closer, hand moving to scratch at her forehead. She presses into his touch with a quiet snuffle, upper lip wiggling. He can feel Kincaid’s thumb moving over the back of his neck, something repetitive and soothing. “I like her.”

Kincaid laughs. “Good, ‘m glad.” Leo, apparently tired of being pet, snorts and then turns back to the hay in the corner. Kincaid leans on the stall door, elbows crossed. “Real glad you got to meet ‘er.”

Felix slips a hand into Kincaid’s back pocket. “Me too.” He bumps his hip against Kincaid. Grins up at him when he looks over.

“Come on, let’s go put our bag upstairs,” Kincaid says, voice gone soft. He reaches out. Takes Felix’s hand in his and kisses his knuckles. His palm. His wrist. Right over his pulse where it thunders against his skin. “Someone’ll come lookin’ for us soon I’m sure.”

He nods. Tugs and pulls until Kincaid leans down and kisses him, smiling into it. One becomes two and then three before Felix pulls away. He can hear footsteps, the crunch of gravel underneath boots, and he tells Kincaid as much. They slip into a room full of various pieces of tack, saddles and bridles hanging neatly along the walls, and then he’s being led up a set of stairs. The door at the top swings open and—

“Holy shit,” Felix mutters, eyes wide. Kincaid snorts, head tilting to the side. “It’s as big as your place.”

“Were you expectin’ a closet?” He tosses the bag down on a dining chair.

Felix looks around and shrugs. “Nothing like this, that’s for sure.”

It’s huge. Bright. Modern even. It’s an actual apartment above the barn and not some tiny room with a cot. The windows are open, fresh air and sunlight streaming in, and he takes another deep breath.

Somewhere below, a horse whinnies. Kincaid hums and takes Felix’s hand again, lacing their fingers together. “Ready to meet everyone else?”

“Hell yeah.”

Kincaid grins, dimples visible, and they head down back into the barn. They’re barely out of the tack room when: “There he is!”

An older man, hair and beard gone mostly grey, is standing in the middle of the aisleway, a grin on his face. Kincaid’s face breaks as he smiles wide, so wide, and Felix half expects him to rush off alone but he keeps Felix close to his side.

“Good to see you, kid,” the man says. He shifts, leans his shoulder against the wall. “Been a bit.”

Kincaid snorts. “Month or so, yeah.” He finally drops Felix’s hand so he can all but swallow the other man in a hug. It’s brief, a few pats on the back, and then Kincaid is back at his side, hand finding his once more. “Jason, this is Felix. Felix, Jason.”

Jason nods. Holds out his hand and Felix isn’t the tiniest bit surprised to find it rough and calloused, when he takes it. “Glad to finally meet you. Kincaid never stops talkin’ ‘bout you.”

“Oh?” He turns, brow arched, and finds Kincaid looking straight ahead, cheeks pink. “Good things, I hope.”

“Never a bad word.” Another smile but it’s...something. Knowing, Felix thinks. Like Jason is seeing things Kincaid and Felix are too close to each other to notice. It makes his heart trip in his chest. “Anyway, everyone else is grabbin’ horses, and we’ve got some steers that need seasoning. You wanna bulldog, kid?”

And oh, the way Kincaid lights up. Every bit of him flares like a firework. Still, he squeezes Felix’s hand and shakes his head. “I’m happy watchin’, don’t wanna leave Felix by himself.”

Felix blinks. “Oh no, nope.” Kincaid startles. Looks at him with wide eyes, confused. “We drove all the way out here, you have all those pictures hanging up, I want to see you in action.”

It’s delightful the way his partner goes bright red from the tips of his ears down his neck. Felix knows from experience he’s a full body blusher. Knows that his chest is red with it, freckles vanishing beneath the flood of color.

“You sure?” Kincaid shuffles his feet. “I really don’t want you to feel left out or—”

“God you two,” Jason mutters as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “You wanna ride, Felix?”

“What?” Now it’s his turn to be confused. “Like...a horse?”

Jason snorts. Rolls his eyes to stare at the ceiling for a moment before he meets Felix’s eyes. “Yeah, we have broke horses here. If you want to, we can get one tacked up for you.”

“Yes!” Felix smiles wide, grip tightening where he’s still holding Kincaid’s hand. “Please!” He rocks on the balls of his feet.

“That’s settled then.” Jason turns to Kincaid. Squeezes his shoulder briefly before letting go. “Sailor is two stalls down from Leo, grab him for Felix. You get French Fry.”

Felix is so stuck on a horse being named French Fry that he misses the last part of the conversation. Kincaid tugs on his hand and they head down the barn aisle until they reach a stall with a big grey horse in it. It’s quick work, a soft cluck and the creaking of metal as the stall is unlocked, and then Felix is holding a rope in his hands with Sailor on the other end.

Kincaid gets them both situated near the tack room, Felix’s ride for the day standing quietly with one hind leg cocked, eyes half-closed, as he brushes him. He watches as Kincaid mutters to himself. Picks up different bits of tack before setting it back down. There’s a pile growing outside near where the horses are tied up. Boots, blanket things to go under the saddle, really confusing tangles of leather that Felix thinks goes on the horse’s face.

It’s a lot of stuff he doesn’t quite understand yet, pieces of Kincaid’s life that remind Felix he’s new here. A recent development. Part of him is yelling that he’s an interloper, he shouldn’t be here and he’s only making it more difficult for Kincaid.

He shakes his head. Grits his teeth and chases that train of thought far, far away, as he focuses on listening to Kincaid’s explanation of each piece of equipment. Kincaid’s own horse is alert, ears pricked forward and eyes tracking the taller man. He’s also a gleaming gold with bright white hair, a big white stripe down his face, and white on all four of his legs.

They talk about everything and nothing as Kincaid gets both horses tacked up. Felix wolf whistles when he throws the saddles up onto the horses, and is rewarded with one flying right off the opposite side of Sailor, hitting the dirt with a thud. By the end of it, Kincaid’s face is pink, his eyes blown, and Felix knows he’s been staring at his arms for too long. There’s a thread of tension, something wavering just a little, and it almost snaps except someone yells Kincaid’s name and the moment is gone.

Felix is walking around the arena on a big grey horse, and he feels...he feels like he belongs here. That part of him insisting that he should be back in Wayhaven is silent now. Kincaid is at his side, helping Felix adjust his position so his feet aren’t sticking way out in front of him, and he’s grateful for the boots Kincaid had bought him a few months ago. Jason had smiled at him. Another younger man, Jordan, had waved. Someone else had given him a thumbs up, and he’s trying to keep names straight with faces but he can’t help getting distracted by the warm feeling at how quickly he’s been accepted into this family.

He reaches down to pat Sailor’s neck before he turns his head to look (up, it’s still up) at Kincaid. “Shouldn’t you go, I don’t know, run around a little bit?”

Kincaid snorts. “Yeah, I gotta warm ‘im up, but I just want to make sure you’re okay first.”

Felix flaps a hand at him. “I’m fine. Sailor’s no unicorn, but he likes me so I don’t think I’ll get kicked off.”

“You need me, just holler,” Kincaid says.

It takes another nod, another promise to tell him if he needs anything at all, before Kincaid speeds up and leaves Felix to himself. It’s nice, really, being able to slowly meander around and observe. He’s always enjoyed that. Watching. He’s Unit Bravo’s infiltration expert for a reason after all. There’s a flow to everything here. Horses moving around each other, cattle banging around in the pens and gates. People shouting back and forth, good-natured ribbing. It reminds him of Unit Bravo. Of the way they’ve all come together over the last few years.

He’s watching Kincaid lope around, smiling and laughing, and Felix is so lost in him that he doesn’t even realize Jason is riding next to him until the older man clears his throat. Felix jolts, careful not to yank the reins, and flashes the man a sheepish smile.

“He’s a good person,” Jason says with a nod toward Kincaid.

Felix can’t stop his eyes from drifting back to his partner. “He is. He’s something really special.”

“I don’t know what he’s all told you about his childhood, but he...had a time of it.”

“He’s told me a bit. Not all of it, I don’t think, but...enough.”

Jason hums. “He used to drive out here every chance he could after we moved the family here.” Felix blinks. It’s hours to get here. Hours. “Yeah, I know what you’re thinkin’, and yeah. Hell, he’d show up on Friday evening and wouldn’t leave until late Sunday night. Then he left for college and he still drove out here once a week, at least.” Jason turns in his saddle to look Felix in the eyes. “He’s a part of this family, a big part, and he’s never brought anyone here. Ever.”

Felix swallows as he pulls Sailor to a halt. “I…”

“This ain’t me tryin’ to scare you, son, this is me tellin’ you that you’re part of this family now too.” Jason eases his horse to a stop, a gentle smile on his face. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that kid this happy.”

Well.

He doesn’t know what to do with this. Felix looks down at his hands. Finds them shaking, just a little bit. He curls his fingers around the reins and nods. “Thank you.”

A hand claps down on his shoulder. Squeezes and stays put as Jason says, “‘Course.” He grins, wide and toothy. “Now, come on. They’re gonna start throwin’ steers and you need a front row seat for this.”

Felix smiles up at him. Squeezes his legs until Sailor dutifully follows after the other horse. He watches Kincaid haul himself up onto his horse from the ground, eyes watching his shoulders and back, before he blinks and settles in to watch.

When Kincaid winks at him from the chute, cheeks a little pink and heart racing beneath his ribs, something settles in Felix’s chest, and he feels at peace.

[fluffykitty1999-blog]

Dog of the Military- Chapter 35

Chapter 35

A little bit of rest and relaxation for our favorite heroes, and some family bonding time fluff. 

Also- Mustang gets a little ribbing from Hughes and acknowledges that yeah, he’s a dad.

Roy ended up lacking the motivation to carry Ed up the stairs to his room. Or to make himself climb the stairs to get to his own bedroom. He ended up depositing Ed on the couch and flopping into his favorite recliner.

Alphonse had gotten a ride to the hospital at some point, and he puttered into the house behind them, with a bag full of prescriptions for both the other residents of the home.

Al seated himself calmly on the floor and started reading an issue of Cosmo as the Roy and Ed slept.

It was sunlight streaming through the window, the smell of coffee, and voices that woke him in the morning.

Roy blinked harshly, getting to his feet and checking the time. It was almost noon.

He'd thought he was doing good- but as he walked, he realized there was a jackhammer drilling behind his eyes and his headache came back as he became more awake.

Still, he trooped into the kitchen, intent on tracking down some of the coffee he'd been smelling.

He found Hawkeye sitting at his kitchen table, speaking quietly to Alphonse.

"Good morning Colonel!" Al said happily.

"Morning, Alphonse." Gosh, he felt like absolute garbage. Still, if He slammed some coffee and painkillers, he could probably get in a good half day at work, if the Lieutenant was kind enough to drive him. There was no way he'd be able to drive himself in his current dizzy state.

"Lieutenant- mind giving me a ride to work?"

Riza sipped from her mug of coffee, shaking her head. "No need. You've been given the day off. Edward, too."

"By who?"

"General Haruko himself, sir. He and the brass have enough to deal with, he wanted to congratulate you on catching Banks." her gaze flickered to Alphonse for a moment, and Roy knew he wasn't getting the whole story. Still, he knew that Riza must have a reason for keeping the truth from him, and he nodded, grabbing some bread from the breadbox and making himself some plain toast, pressing his palm to his pounding head.

"Take two of these, sir. Alphonse will give you more in an hour." Riza offered him something from a prescription bottle, and he downed both pills dry before nodding, grabbing his toast.

"What about Ed?" Roy asked, thinking of the boy still passed out on the couch. "Has he got anything he has to take?".

"I woke him and gave him his medication about an hour ago. My lunch is almost over, though, I have to get back to the office. One of the men from the office will bring by dinner, Alphonse will call and tell us what you want..."

Riza Hawkeye was, in fact, an angel in human form.

Ed was still out cold on the couch, and Roy took the opportunity to toss a blanket over him before sinking back into the recliner. He briefly considered reading the paper before electing not to, deciding today would be better spent being lazy. He hardly ever got days off like this- and neither did Ed. Might as well waste it sleeping while he could.

LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK

"Yeah- four cheese pizzas, with like, a bunch of shit on them. I don't even care, as long as those little fish aren't on it. Surprise me. I dunno- a soda. Something brightly colored. Yeah, he'll probably eat some too. No, he's not awake. You know what, throw some breadsticks in there too. They're really good. Yeah, he's alive, I totally checked like five minutes ago. Alright. See you soon. Thanks Havoc." Ed hung up the phone and plunked himself back on the couch, looking pleased with himself.

Roy opened his eyes.

"Oh good- you're awake." Alphonse said cheerily.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Bastard." Ed smirked. "You want anything for dinner? You weren't awake, but I can call back and order more..."

All Roy really wanted right now was some tea, and maybe a breadstick or two.

"No- I'll have some of whatever." his headache was still there, but not as intense as before. It was more a quiet sort of misery than a burning agony, now.

"Alphonse- do we have any tea?"

"Yes, we do! I'll go put on the kettle." Alphonse bounded to his feet, setting something off his lap and going into the kitchen. He was glad to be of help.

Roy looked down to see some sort of red yarn monstrosity nearly covering the floor of his living room.

"Alphonse taught himself how to knit today. I'd say that's lame, but all I've been doing is drinking juice boxes and complaining, so he did more than me." Ed spoke up from the couch.

"I tried to read something about the stone, but then I fell asleep again. These damn pills ruin everything." Ed complained, sitting up a little straighter.

Roy smirked. "That's not what you were saying at the ER last night. The pain medication made you act like a little kid."

"Shut up, I don't wanna hear it!"

"It was adorable. You came over and cuddled with me."

"Lalala!" Ed was covering his ears, now, and Roy laughed slightly. The only bad thing was that with Hughes in the hospital, he wouldn't have photographic evidence.

The doorbell rang just as Alphonse came back into the room with tea, and Ed jumped to his feet, excited. "Dinner!"

He came back with Havoc and several pizza boxes, settling himself down on the floor and starting to demolish an entire pizza by himself.

Havoc smirked. "Well. Glad to see the Chief wasn't too badly affected by everything. How are you, Boss?" Havoc looked over at Roy, who shrugged.

"I'll live." he sipped his tea and grabbed a bread stick from one of the take out containers. "How are they resolving this whole incident?"

Havoc shrugged. "I'm under orders not to talk about work with you. Hawkeye says you can get caught up on it yourself." Havoc shot a quick glance at Ed, who was still eating at an insane pace, and once again, Roy realized that there was something he didn't want to tell him in front of the boys. He'd find out soon enough when he went back to work again tomorrow, anyways.

"Hey Havoc- you wanna sign my cast!?" Ed held up his casted arm and continued to eat pizza with his other arm, and Havoc grinned, pulling out a sharpie from his pocket.

"Sure, Chief, let me see.".

LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK

The morning at work was quiet- Hughes had been discharged from the hospital yesterday, and Hawkeye told him he should go visit him friend immediately when he came in, despite the obvious stacks of paperwork on his desk. Roy complied without question- he'd known something was up since yesterday.

Fullmetal was occupied filling out his own share of paperwork about what'd happened, and getting people to sign his cast between forms.

He found it easy to duck out and stride into the investigation's branch, letting himself in and nodding to Scheska before he was knocking on the door to his friend's office excitedly.

Hughes was sitting sideways at his desk, his casted leg propped up on a chair set beside him. He gave a tired smile when he strode into the room.

"I was wondering how long before you showed up."

Roy snagged another chair and pulled it up, sitting down across from his friend.

"Well, I'm here. And I get the feeling something else has happened, but none of my team will say it outright. So tell me what it is. How are they resolving this case? Is Banks in custody?"

"No." Hughes frowned, sliding a manilla folder across the desktop.

"Banks was driving a car with two Drachmans in it and Ed in the passenger seat. They were tailed by a car driven by a single Drachman. Despite the crash, there was only one fatality. A Drachman in the car Ed was in- he was ejected and died on the scene. Everyone else survived the crash."

"So why aren't they in custody, then?" Roy said, not understanding.

"Open the file, Roy."

Roy obeyed. He found himself staring at the pieces of a destroyed car- the black car was upside down, the windows shattered, the front absolutely smashed... Roy found himself nauseas just looking at it, and he had to pull his eyes away.

"Ed... that was..." he could hardly put the words together.

Hughes nodded. "That was the car Ed rode in, yeah. He was the only one wearing a seat belt. He was also the only one uninjured enough to walk away from the crash. And it's a damn good thing he did."

"I don't understand. Ed said Banks was breathing when he left him, they were too injured to run away..."

"Someone else got there before the military, Roy." Hughes said gently. "Armstrong is processing the scene- he's the one who took these pictures. Shortly after Ed left, the wedding band killer surface from a nearby manhole."

Roy continued flipping through the folder- pictures, of a blood trail from bodies being dragged across the pavement, an open manhole cover...

"They were too injured to get away. The wedding band killer dragged every living man out of those cars and took them down into the sewers with him. He's having a hell of a lot of fun right now chopping them up- Armstrong has been able to confirm Banks is dead, though we're still looking for pieces of the other two. The corner is going to get back to me- let me know if we have enough body parts to account for three bodies. He left the dead man in the street- he only wanted the ones that were still alive."

Roy kept flipping through the photos. There were messages written in blood on the sewer walls. Cryptic warnings, some quotes of religious text, and for one, just a large smilie face drawn in blood.

"Are you okay?" Hughes asked, looking at Roy with concern.

Roy took a deep breath, closing the file folder when he was done. His heart was hammering in his chest. "I will be." he said finally, looking up. "I just... didn't expect them to all be dead. And like that..."

"Dragged into the sewers by a madman and tortured to death. Yeah, it's not exactly an ideal ending for anybody..."

"That could've been Edward."

"But it wasn't." Hughes said firmly. "Your staff all knows, but nobody has told Ed, and we're not planning to. All he needs to know is that they've been handled by the justice system."

"What kind of justice is that?" Roy looked down at the folder in disgust.

"Street justice. I know nobody deserves that, and it's horrific, but the one good thing that came out of all of this is that Ed is finally safe in Central again. That's what I tell myself, anyways."

"So- what does the brass think of all of this?"

Hughes sighed. "They have... mixed feelings on the matter. They're glad the whole Banks Fiasco has been dealt with. They're glad the Drachman issue is dealt with and was never publicized. And they're breathing down my neck trying to get me to catch the Wedding Band killer. I've already borrowed a couple of your men and called in as many favors as I could to help locate this guy. We're going to be starting to search the sewer systematically in teams next week." Hughes said simply.

"Enough of the official talk, though- what about the boys?"

"What about them?" Roy asked, looking puzzled. "I'm not planning on telling them about any of this. Now that the Drachmans and Banks are out of the picture, he'll probably start asking to travel again..."

"And what will you do?" Hughes asked, steepling his fingers and eyeing his friend carefully.

"I'll let him go." something painful in his chest tugged as he said those words, but he knew it was the right thing to do. Edward had goals to accomplish, leads to chase- and he wouldn't get anywhere standing still. "There's no reason to worry about him more than usual, now that things are dealt with. Besides, it's probably safer. It means I won't have to worry about him while I'm helping with the Mr. Fingers case. I'd rather have him out of the city while this is dealt with- he's already gotten too close to this killer for comfort a few times."

"Right. That's what I figured. How soon do you plan on letting him go out again?"

Roy paused for a moment, thinking. Ed did have a broken wrist- he was still sleeping more than usual, starting to recover...

"I'll keep him here for a week. Then he can go back out on his search."

"You sound disappointed." Hughes observed.

"It's... more lively with them around. But I'd only be hurting them if I kept them too close. I'm not the only one with goals, Hughes." he wondered about the day when Ed would return to Central city not with a suit of armor, but with Alphonse in the flesh. He realized he didn't know what Alphonse physically looked like- not even in pictures- and something fluttered in his chest at the thought of finally seeing the younger of the two boys for the first time.

"That's what being a parent is, you know. Knowing when to protect them and keep them close, and knowing when to let them go into the world on their own."

"I'm not their father, Hughes."

"No. You're not. But you're the closest thing they have. Ed's probably gonna be back here in two months, pissed and tired because he hasn't found anything. What'll you do then?"

"Tell the kid to go take a shower and let him crash upstairs. If he finds any alchemy that he needs my help with, he'll ask me about it."

"That's what a parent does. You're they're father, Roy, in all but name."

"Somethings are better left unsaid, Hughes. I'm climbing up the ladder- the less people know about who I care about, the better."

"And if Edward says it?"

"He already has."

"He has!?" Hughes eyes widened and his grin grew impossibly wide.

"Yes. He was drugged to high heaven in a hospital, but he's called me Dad."

"And did you correct him?"

"No."

"That's it. I'm starting a damn photo album." Hughes was rooting through his desk drawers.

Mustang sighed, standing and heading for the door. This was probably all the useful conversation he'd get with Hughes today.

"You had two damn kids and I didn't even get to come to your baby shower!"

"Shut up, Hughes!"

Obligatory ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/fluffykitty12 .

[smutbymia]

rule breaker (haechan bratty sub au)

WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT 18+ (no protection mentioned, sexual content)

Word Count: 6.4k 😯

Themes: femdom, friendship, fwb, switch, sub/dom themes, edging, replacement of the title Mistress with Princess* 

Pairing: Haechan/Lee Dong-hyuck  x Female Reader (ft. appearances from mark lee)

PLOT:  Dong-hyuck, the hyperactive and silly class clown isn’t used to following directions -- inside or outside of the bedroom. After his friend (Y/N) goes through a sudden breakup, and the discovery of a pair of handcuffs leads him to the reasoning why, he finds himself in an interesting position. He may be in for more than he expects when she offers to show him just what it was that her ex couldn’t handle. 

PS: Requests are open for fics and short blurbs

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     You absentmindedly doodled in your notebook as your teacher taught the last lesson of the day. Graduation was quickly approaching and it was clear that most other students, yourself included, had mentally checked out.

The sun poured through the massive glass windows of the classroom, putting emphasis on the speckles of dust that danced through the air and even more emphasis on the boy in the row in front of you, one desk over, who glowed under its rays. 

His tanned skin and bronze hair looked even more rich than they usually did at this time of the afternoon. With nothing else around to distract yourself with, you momentarily admired him. Lee Dong-hyuck. I mean, yes... he was certainly attractive -- but you’d hardly admit it to his face. 

“Haechan, that’s enough,” murmured the teacher, in an exasperated tone. He called the student by the nickname most of his classmates used. The name he preferred. 

The classroom was filled with a fit of giggles, coming from the students. You missed the joke. Not that you missed much. This was a typical occurrence. Hyuck was what most people would refer to as a class clown but not exactly in the traditional sense. He didn’t necessarily crack jokes, or aim for the approval of others through his form of “entertainment”. He was quick witted, and mouthy, and quite frankly a bit of an asshole but with a class this boring -- such things were greatly appreciated to lift the spirits of the students who were surely just watching the clock in hopes of the final bell ringing sooner rather than later.

Hyuck shot a quick apology back at the teacher. Mark lee, his best friend who also happened to be seated directly next to him at the desk right in front of you, pulled him into a headlock the second the teacher turned back towards the blackboard and began to ruffle his hair. The boys tried their hardest to quietly withhold their leftover laughter from whatever stupid comment was made earlier. 

“Hyung, relax!” Hyuck jokingly began, “I know you’re used to having crazy hair, but that life isn’t for me!”. He smoothed out his hair as Mark flicked him -- a punishment for his slick comment.  

“My hair isn’t crazy... its just a bit curly!” he said, trying his best to fix the dark ringlets that cascaded over his forehead. 

You reached across your desk and softly pulled at one of his curls. “Don’t listen to him Mark, your curls are seriously too cute,” you whispered as you shot him a quick wink. His cheeks flushed pink and he responded with a shy smile and quick nod of his head in your direction.

Hyuck swivelled his head around, narrowing his eyes at Mark before turning to you with an expression you were far too familiar with. The boy pouted as he leaned his elbow back onto the empty desk next to you before fluttering his eyes as he rested his cheek in the palm of his hand. 

“And what about me, Y/N?” he asked. As lovely as he looked, still glowing in the sunlight, you had no choice but to take him down a peg... but not before having some fun with the little flirt. 

“Hmm...” you sighed, narrowing your gaze as though you were thinking deeply. You brushed your hand across his exposed cheek and leaned closer to his face. The smug look on his face disappeared with each inch you eliminated between the two of you. By the time your faces were directly in front of each other, he looked a little flustered. 

You lowered your voice seductively before speaking. “I think...” you began, “you’re probably due for a haircut.” Mark chuckled under his breath after witnessing the exchange. 

Just as you thought you’d won the battle, Hyuck quickly snapped back “But then you’d have nothing to pull on, Y/N”. With your faces still close together, he dropped his gaze to your lips before licking his own. 

“Okay, gross...” murmured Mark, before turning his attention back to the teacher who was still aimlessly drawing formulas all over the chalkboard. Hyuck’s intense gaze shifted between your lips and your eyes before you decided to break the distance between the two of you. 

“In your dreams, Dong-hyuck,” you said as you leaned back into your chair, sighing deeply and rolling your eyes. He furrowed his brows, annoyed at your refusal to call him by the name everyone else used. 

“Actually, you usually call me Haechan when you’re screaming my name in my dreams...” he mumbled stubbornly before turning back around in his seat. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself, completely impressed by how nonchalantly he admitted to fantasizing about you. Typical Hyuck. 

The rest of the class passed by painfully slow. The final bell pretty much brought every student back from the dead as they jumped up, excited to start their weekends. You gathered your belongings to leave class with both Mark and Hyuck trailing behind you. 

All three of you had gone to school together for years and were considered to be pretty decent friends. Mark and Hyuck were obviously extremely close, like brothers almost, and you were once a big part of their friendship as well until you all hit puberty and the dynamic seemed to shift. Hyuck got more flirty, Mark got a little more nervous, and the time you all spent together was limited to whatever classes you coincidentally shared and conversations at parties or in passing at school. 

This was one of those moments. The three of you navigated your ways through the halls of your school as other students chattered amongst themselves about the parties happening that weekend, while emptying out their lockers for the day.

Hyuck and Mark were discussing some new album that had just been released when you reached the entrance of your school.

“Hey, isn’t that your boyfriend over there?” Hyuck asked, nudging your shoulder. 

All three of you glanced up at a boy hanging by the bottom of the staircase, speaking with a group of students. His smile dropped from his face the second he looked up and met your gaze, replacing it with an expression of... fear, almost. He quickly wrapped up his conversation and turned in the opposite direction before walking off. 

“Jeez, Y/N. What was that about?” Mark asked. 

“Yeah, he looks terrified. What did you do to him?” Hyuck began, “and where do I sign up?” He chuckled at his own remark as Mark rolled his eyes. 

The two boys turned to you waiting for a response but all they got was a shrug. This wasn’t anything new.

“Just another guy who thought he could handle me. The usual,” you stated, pulling out your phone from your pocket to scroll through the notifications. 

Hyuck and Mark both stared at you wide-eyed, not quite sure what to make of your intentionally ambiguous statement. You gracefully pushed past them, disregarding the encounter with your ex, and continued walking down the stairs. The boys fell right into step behind you.

Your mom had sent you a message, reminding you that you were going to be alone for the weekend while she went away with her new boyfriend -- for the second time this month. 

“Ugh, again?” you mumbled to yourself. Hyuck grabbed the phone out of your hand to read the message as mark peered over his shoulder. 

“You’re so lucky you have us, you know. When’s the last time we camped out at your place anyway?” he said, tilting his head while racking his brain. 

“7th grade” Mark responded, “You almost slipped off the roof when we climbed up through Y/N’s window.”

You all chuckled at the memory. You had almost forgotten just how close you all once were. The thought of being home alone for the second weekend in a row did sound boring.

Hyuck slung his arm around your shoulder as Mark fiddled with his cellphone next to the both of you as you walked your way through campus. The sun still broke through the few clouds left in the sky as students lounged around outdoors and others caught their busses home. 

“You know what you need?” he began, “A real man like me. Someone who can  protect you! Someone who can take control and --” the sound of Marks phone cut him off and quite frankly, you were thankful. 

“Oh jeez, I totally forgot that I promised Jaemin I’d help him with something tonight. Is it cool if I meet up with you guys a little later? I’ll make it just before bed, I promise!” he said, as he walked backwards, nearly stumbling over his feet as he responded to the message before breaking off into a run back towards the school entrance. 

You both shook your heads at his hasty exit. “Meet me in an hour?” Hyuck asked. You nodded in agreement before you both went your separate ways for the time being.

                              ♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

      You were just about to step into the shower when there was a knock at your door. You descended the staircase and opened the door to Hyuck standing out front with an overnight bag in hand. 

It may have been a while but he entered your home as if it was his own, kicking off his shoes in the same place your family did and climbing his way up the stairs back towards your bedroom, mumbling about some surprise party Mark and Jaemin were planning for Jeno’s birthday.

Once you got back to the room, Hyuck dropped his bag and flopped backwards into your bed. “Ah, I can’t believe you still have those,” he said, pointing at the glow in the dark stars stuck to the ceiling before pulling out his phone to take a picture that you were certain he’d send to mark. The three of you struggled to get those up there the last time they were over. 

“I’m going to shower -- and before you ask, yes... without you,” you proclaimed. Hyuck, who had been ready to make that exact remark suddenly shut his mouth before nodding his head and returning his attention to his cellphone. 

A few moments later you returned to the room, fresh out of the shower, in a pair of lounge shorts and a white tank top that sat just at your waist. However, Hyuck was no longer on your bed where you left him. 

He had changed into some sweats but stood shirtless with his back facing you, his tanned skin and muscles emphasized by the setting sun that spilled the remainder of its golden orange light through your window. You really couldn’t help but take a brief moment to admire him. As you got closer to him, he turned around with a mischievous grin on his face. That admiration disappeared the second you realized why. 

“You know... I was wondering where those marks on your bed frame came from,” he teased as he held a pair of black handcuffs in his hands. 

“Did you SERIOUSLY go through my stuff?!” you yelled, marching across the room to retrieve the cuffs from him. He lifted them out of your reach and dangled them over your head. 

Your cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink as you jumped up, just now realizing how much taller than you he now was. 

“Y/N, now I see why your ex is so scared of you!” he joked, “Wait.. HEY!”

You had jumped up onto him, wrapping your legs around his waist. He instinctively held onto you to avoid the two of you toppling over. Your handcuffs were finally within your reach again. When the commotion settled, you realized you were still in his arms and pressed against his half naked body. As you began to lower yourself, you were met with the feeling of his erection.

 “Okay, seriously? That quickly?” you questioned, as the bulge grew against your center. Hyuck slowly put you down with a sheepish grin on his face. 

“Its not my fault you’re basically naked!” he retorted. 

“Says you! Besides this is my room,” you countered, slapping his chest. He winced in pain as he rubbed the spot that was now plastered with a faint outline of your hand. 

“Is this how rough you are during sex?” he said jokingly. You furrowed your brows, lips descending into a slight frown, suddenly self conscious about the statement. You weren’t exactly insecure about your kinks, but because they played a role in your recent breakup the topic was a bit sensitive. 

     He noticed the sudden change in your expression and sat himself on the edge of your bed before speaking again. “Hey, I was just kidding. This stuff seems hot, I just --” he began before you interrupted him. 

     “He freaked out and started acting weird, Hyuck. He acted like I was some sort of monster for even suggesting the type of sex I wanted to have. I mean, I get it’s not for everyone but he looks at me now like I’m crazy and we didn’t even try anything,” you confessed. It felt good to get the reasoning behind your breakup off your chest because you hadn’t had anyone to speak to about it yet.

He took the handcuffs from your hand before snapping them open. “Show me,” he demanded. You were taken aback by his sudden proclamation. 

“With all due respect, I don’t think you’re the right candidate for this kind of stuff,” you said, laughing at the thought of Hyuck powerless. Your laugh faded when you watched as he attached himself to your headboard, now laying there with his hands above his head. 

He looked... sexy. Your breathing increased slightly and your nipples hardened through your shirt. You were hoping Hyuck was too distracted by his positioning to notice but his eyes scanned right over your body the second you attempted to meet his gaze. 

“Wow, you must be really into this stuff...” he said, not looking away from the rise and fall of your breasts and their protruding nipples. You were too caught off guard by the sudden change in your rooms atmosphere to speak. Instead, you crawled across the bed before unlocking the handcuffs, and freeing his arms.

“Wait, I thought you were going to...” he began. 

“If you want to see what it’s like, you need to do exactly as I say,” you said in almost a whisper. He stared up at you, still laying on your bed with a surprised look on his face. Your tone had changed. He nodded, and you turned to get off the bed before rummaging through your closet for a box that Hyuck hadn’t yet found. 

You placed it on the edge of your bed and he curiously peered towards it, ready for your demonstration. You weren’t exactly sure how far this would go. You weren’t even sure if you’d end up having sex but you were curious to see how Hyuck would feel about your preferences, and you valued his opinion. 

“Stand up,” you demanded sternly. A smile danced across his face as he excitedly rushed off the bed. “Undress,” you continued. 

“Wait, for real?” he almost yelled. It dawned on you that you were actually about to potentially cross a line between your demonstration and actual sex. You backtracked slightly. 

“Um... just your pants. Keep your boxers on,” you answered. Hyuck’s face fell, clearly disappointed. He sighed and untied the waist band of his sweats before stepping out of them. 

He instinctively stepped forward to tug at the strings on your shorts, assuming that you’d both be getting undressed. You grabbed his wrist in response, with your other hand gripping at his neck. He froze, taken aback by your quick movements. 

“Did I say you could undress me?” you asked, raising your eyebrows. Hyuck was momentarily flustered before his smile broke across his face once more.

“Wow, Y/N. I didn’t think you had it in you,” he laughed, as he freed his wrist from your grasp to rope his hands around your waist. 

“First rule. You refer to me as princess,” you said, as you removed your hand from his neck and swatted his hand away from your waist. “And you seem to be having difficulty keeping your hands to yourself...” you began. 

You returned to your closet to grab a belt -- the solution to your problem. “Can you blame me? Look at you... wait what are you getting that for?” he asked, noticing the leather belt you were carrying towards him. 

“Your actions have consequences, baby. Hold out your hands,” you demanded. He narrowed his eyes at you in defiance, his mischievous smile returning. “I won’t ask you again. Hold out your hands Hyuck,” you repeated. This was already getting exhausting. You knew he’d be a handful but you didn’t expect it to start this early. 

He finally complied, and you fastened the belt around his wrists, tugging at it to make sure that it was secure enough.

“Okay Y/N, what’s next?” he asked.  The look on your face was telling. He knew almost instantly that he had made a mistake and was quick to correct himself, “I- I mean princess,” he stuttered.

“Good, you’re learning. On your knees,” you ordered. He dropped to his knees almost immediately. You sat down on the bed with Hyuck facing you, pausing to stroke his cheek as you examined his face. He looked so beautiful on his knees in front of you like that, even though it took him so long. You could feel yourself getting turned on again at the sight of him in yet another submissive position. 

You took another moment to trail your eyes down his body, pausing at the large erection bulging out of his boxers. “Have you been turned on this entire time, baby?” you asked, still stroking his face. He nodded. 

“Please use your words, Hyuck,” you urged. 

“Yes, princess,” he said calmly. 

“You’ve already given me such a hard time. You like breaking rules don’t you?” you asked him. You had leaned forward to meet him at eye level, your faces centimetres from one another. Your every breath danced against his lips, and his against yours. 

“Yes, princess,” he admitted. 

“If you break the rules, you’ll get punished. I won’t go easy on you, especially if you do it on purpose. Do you understand me?” you said, no gripping his face. 

“Y-yes princess,” he stammered. 

“Undress me,” you ordered. He began to lift himself off his knees before you reached out and pushed him back down towards the floor. A brief look of confusion crossed his face as he looked down at his bound hands. 

“Use your teeth, baby,” you urged. You began by lifting one of your feet towards him. He peeled off your sock before doing the same on the other foot. 

You helped him up to his feet and he proceeded to hook his teeth around one of the straps of your tank top, followed by the other. He struggled slightly but eventually pulled the top down the length of your body, leaving you topless.

He stared at your bare chest, nipples erect, and stepped closer to you with a look of hunger in his eyes. “Keep going,” you demanded. He seemed to snap out of his trance as he glanced back up to meet your gaze. There was a familiar look in his eyes. A look that always came before trouble. 

Hyuck lowered himself to his knees as slowly as he possibly could, blowing air across your nipples, across your chest, and down your tummy. The sensation sent shivers down your body. You didn’t bother stopping him. It felt good. He’d be getting punished for it later anyway. 

As he reached the waistband of your shorts, he untied them with his teeth before dragging them down the length of your legs, followed by your panties. When he was done, he peered up at your naked body. 

“Fuck,” he murmured to himself. His gaze took in every inch of you. “You’re so beautiful, princess.”

Your heart fluttered at his statement. You sat back at the edge of the bed, and he instinctively returned to his position directly in front of you, like an obedient sub. 

“Hyuck, listen. Before we continue, we need to establish a safe word. If you feel uncomfortable, say sunset and i’ll stop whatever i’m doing,” you said. “Yes, princess,” he responded almost immediately, “but i think i’ll be able to handle it.” He flashed a quick wink before running his eyes back over your body again, this time biting his bottom lip between his teeth. 

“I’m serious. I’m not going to go easy on you. Especially since you’ve been such a brat so far,” you said. You slowly spread your legs then reached out and grabbed him by his hair before pulling him towards you. 

Hyuck wasted no time diving towards your heat faster than you even directed him, mouth agape. You had to pull his head back before he could make contact with your skin, no matter how badly you wanted it. 

“Don’t be so eager, baby. Wait for your directions,” you reminded him. You held him centimetres away from your slit by his hair. “Stick your tongue out for me,” you ordered. He quickly complied. You brought him closer to your center and the second he met your hot flesh, he licked the entire length of it. 

You groaned in response at the sudden contact before forcing his head backward. You had to stay in control. No matter how good it felt. 

“I- I didn’t tell you to move your tongue,” you stammered. Your breathing had increased and your chest was now quickly rising and falling. 

“Stick your tongue out. I’m going to ride your face. And you aren’t going to move your tongue until I say you can. Do you understand, baby?” you asked, still out of breath. 

Hyuck groaned, his erection desperately forcing itself against the fabric of his boxer briefs. “Yes, princess. I understand,” he responded, before resuming his position. 

You brought his head back into position, once again moaning at the sudden contact. This time Hyuck followed his orders and remained still. You slowly began rocking your hips back and forth against his tongue. 

“Oh, yes baby. Fuck... You’re doing so well,” you praised. Your other hand reached up to massage your breasts, still moving rhythmically against Hyuck’s face. He stared up at you, wide eyed, admiring the expressions of pleasure on your face. He looked at you like you were the most beautiful thing in the world and it turned you on even more. 

With one hand still wrapped in his hair, you applied more pressure to yourself feeling his tongue slip through your folds as you gyrated your hips faster. His nose brushed up against your clit with every stroke and the higher you raised your hips, the deeper his tongue dove into your entrance. You watched as your juices covered his chin, soaking the entire bottom half of his face. 

“Dong-Hyuck... you- you look so pretty. Like an angel,” you began. It wasn’t like you to shower a sub with so much affection but you couldn’t help it this time. He groaned in response. The sensation increased your pleasure as his mouth vibrated. 

“Do you want me to cum on your face like this?” you asked, getting closer to your orgasm. “I’m so close baby,” you moaned. He groaned once more in response sending the vibrations back through your body, this time shutting his eyes. 

“Fuck me with your tongue. I need you to look me in the eyes while you do it,” you ordered. Hyuck followed your orders, meeting your gaze once more as he altered the angle of his tongue to better penetrate your hole. With your fingers intertwined in his hair, you forced his tongue in and out of yourself. Your free hand dropped from your chest as you began to draw circles on your clit. 

You felt the tension building up inside you. You momentarily threw your head back, enjoying the stimulation -- beads of sweat dripping down the sides of your forehead. One last look at the boy between your legs was all it took to send you over the edge as you reached your climax. It was beyond any orgasm you had ever reached before. You could feel your legs shake as the rest of your body convulsed. Still savouring every last moment, you continued to jerk yourself over Hyuck’s face, body shivering at the overstimulation, before falling back onto your bed. 

The room was filled with gasps from both you and Hyuck, as you attempted to slowed your heart rate and as he caught his breath. After a few minutes, you lifted yourself back up. Hyuck sat there still, gazing curiously at you. He was taken aback by your intense orgasm.

“Are you okay, Princess?” he quietly asked. You must have been laying there longer than you thought. You nodded. His face was still covered in your juices when you got up to grab a towel before kneeling down to him and wiping his chin. 

He watched you, attempting to read your face while you cleaned him up. As you shifted your position to get closer to him your knee brushed against his erection. He winced in pain. The poor baby had been turned on for quite some time now and he shifted his thighs looking for some relief. 

You discarded the towel before motioning for Hyuck to stand. Once he was back up on his feet again, you stripped him of his remaining piece of clothing. 

His erection sprang free from his boxers, nearly hitting you in the face due to your proximity. This time, it was you who was on their knees in front of Hyuck. He looked down at you with an equally pained and eager expression on his face, waiting for your next move. 

“Wow, Hyuck. I didn’t expect you to be this big,” you cooed, as you dragged your fingernails over his length. He shutter in response, moaning under his breath. 

“Did it turn you on when I used your face like that?” you asked, gazing up at him seductively. He shifted his footing before responding. 

“Yes princess, of course,” he said. He reached down, arms still bound by your leather belt, towards his cock. You stopped him immediately. 

“You don’t get to touch yourself. And you don’t get to cum until I say you do, understood?” you ordered. Hyuck groaned in response, clearly frustrated at the predicament he was in. 

Your hands circled around his base as you gripped him. He let out a deep moan and threw his head back, nearly losing his footing. He was so turned on, every touch seemed to numb his senses. You began slowly pumping up and down his length, watching his legs shake. A bead of pre-cum, escaped from his tip as his pleasure increased. Knowing it would push him over the edge, with a quick swipe of your tongue, you tasted him. 

“Y/N... babe, please...” he whined. “I need to come,” he pleaded. 

“You’re breaking a lot of rules, Hyuck. And you know what happens when you break rules right?” you warned.“I get punished,” he responded. 

“So you do know better, after all,” you said, releasing him from your grip. He groaned at the loss of contact. Feeling defeated. You watched as he hung his head, eyes closed. You almost felt bad but you warned him that you wouldn’t go easy on him. 

You motioned for him to lay on the bed and he did. You removed the belt from around his wrists, softly rubbing at the red marks it left behind. Hyuck looked exhausted. 

You raised his arms up and fastened him back to the headboard with the handcuffs he had place himself in before. He complied without complaints. You crawled across the bed to retrieve a black silk blindfold from the box you had brought out earlier. 

Hyuck peered over your shoulder, trying to spot the other objects inside but gave up quickly, overestimating the amount of energy he had left. His head feel back against the pillows on your bed as he awaited his fate. 

You straddled him, with his erection pressing gently against your ass causing him to stir and groan beneath you. Once the blindfold was secure, you directed your attention back towards his erection, once again pumping at his length. 

Hyuck’s body jerked in response to your touch as he raised his hips up, trying to thrust into your hand before you pushed him back into place. “Don’t be fussy. Hold still or else this will take longer than it needs to,” you warned. 

He was breathing deeply now, as more beads of cum gathered at his tip. He was trying his best not to release himself but you could tell he was close. Covering his eyes had probably increased his senses, but it also seemed to calm him down a bit more. You made a mental note of it for next time. 

You froze as you caught yourself absentmindedly thinking about having sex with Hyuck like this again. He groaned again, disappointed at the halt in your strokes. This had been the second or third time you had stopped. 

You had been edging him all this time without realizing and you knew he was nearing his limit. You took the opportunity to lick along base of his cock all the way back up to the tip. He shivered and let out his loudest moan yet. 

“F-fuck. P-please, do that again,” he pleaded. You sunk your mouth over the tip of his throbbing erection and his head fell back onto the pillow. He moaned your name as you slowly took every inch of him into your mouth, feeling the tip brush against your throat. 

Hyuck muttered every curse word he knew, along with a couple of dirty phrases that you didn’t expect to hear. He even moaned your name, which should have warranted another punishment if it hadn’t sounded so fucking amazing falling from his parted lips. Still you couldn’t allow him to speak so freely. 

You removed yourself from his length which generated yet another groan from Hyuck. You sat quietly by his side for a moment, watching his chest rise and fall and a single tear slide down one of his cheeks before picking up the discarded pair of panties he had taken off of you earlier and balling them up in your firsts. 

“You’re too loud baby. I need to fix that. Open your mouth for me,” you cooed as you ran your free hand across his chest. Hyuck whimpered before opening up his mouth. You placed the undies inside carefully. This was it. This was the image you’d have imprinted in your mind forever. The image of Hyuck cuffed and blindfolded to your bed with your panties in his mouth. You couldn’t help but lower your hands to touch yourself. You slipped a finger into your entrance, quietly moaning. 

It took Hyuck a moment to realize what you were doing. it wasn’t until the sounds of you fucking yourself increased that he let out a knowing moan and began pulling at the handcuffs. 

Wetness seeped out of you when you straddled his hips, hovering over his erection. You positioned him at your entrance before slowly sinking down onto him. He let out a deep muffled growl in response and immediately started to thrust himself up into you, hitting your sweet spot. 

“Oh my goodness, Hyuck...” you gasped, with each thrust. You shouldn’t have been letting him move so much. As each stroke became more frantic, you used every ounce of your will power to pull yourself off of him once more. 

This time Hyuck protested even more. He yanked at the handcuffs, rattling the bed frame. You knew you were torturing him at this point. He still hadn’t used the safe word yet but you knew he was at his limit. You reached towards his blindfold first, removing it from his eyes. His eyelids where low but he still shifted his gaze to meet yours. You pulled the panties from his mouth and reached up to free him of his hand cuffs. 

“What are you doing?” he asked in a quiet tone. 

“Sunset,” you whispered. His face twisted in confusion. 

“Huh? But I d-didn’t say it,” he responded.

“I know, baby, But I did. I can’t take it anymore,” you confessed.

“Can I?” his voice trailed off as he moved his hands towards you, hovering them over your skin asking for permission to touch you, as if the rules still applied. He was so well behaved -- the complete opposite from how he was when you first began. You nodded and he let out a sigh of relief as his hands traced the outline of your body, first moving up your arms before gliding over your breasts. 

He delicately ran his fingers over your nipples and then back down your stomach again. He paused at your hips before snaking his hands around you to grip your ass, sighing as though he had been waiting his whole life to do so. 

The pressure was building back up for you both. His erection still hadn’t disappeared and you were shocked he had held off for so long. You reached down as he watched you position yourself to sink down onto him once more before he stopped you. 

“You’re not in charge anymore are you?” he asked, eyes going dark. His demeanour had changed but he still was taking heavy breaths, yearning for his own release. 

“Technically...no,” you hesitantly responded. 

“Good,” Hyuck stated, as he propped himself up on the bed. Within seconds he had repositioned you. Your arms were pressed against your bed frame, as you arched your back. He wanted you from behind. Hyuck wasn’t patient as he placed one of his arms next to yours to steady himself and the other around the base of his cock. 

He thrusted into you, drawing a loud moan from your lips. He wrapped his free arm around you, applying pressure to the lower part of your stomach as he disappeared into you over and over again. 

Your breasts bounced with every stroke. He pulled your hips towards himself, burying himself as deeply into you as he possibly could. 

“I’ve been waiting so long to do this to you,” he groaned into your ear before capturing a lobe between his teeth. The sensation sent tingles down your spine. He proceeded to drop kisses down your neck, marking you, as you approached your orgasm. He quickened his pace, the sound of slapping flesh filling the room. You could feel him throbbing inside you, so incredibly close to his release. 

“Fuck, i- I can’t hold it any longer!” he exclaimed. He reached his free hand down between your legs before rubbing circles onto your clit while thrusting into you. 

“H-Haechan,” you moaned. It was the first time you had ever used his nickname and it was just enough to send him over the edge. 

“Y/N.. baby.. fuck,” he stammered. Your orgasm coursed through you as you felt him fill your insides with his cum. His body went still for a second before he collapsed onto your back, heavily breathing and unable to hold up his own weight. 

Haechan gasped for air as you moved from under him, laying him gently on the bed. Beads of sweat were scattered across his face. Before he could regain his composure, you slipped out of bed to clean yourself up. Minutes later, you returned in a new set of pyjamas and a few other items. Haechan’s eyes shot open as you ran a hot towel over his body, cleaning him up. He simply stared up at you, not moving or saying a word as you took care of him. You rubbed oil onto his wrists, massaging over the red indentations the belt and handcuffs left behind, before massaging his knees as well.

When you were done, you pulled him into your chest and bundled him up under your bedsheets. The two of you didn’t move for what felt like ages. After some time had passed, Haechan had slipped out of bed to put on a new change of clothes. You took the opportunity to grab some water and fruit from the kitchen before you both sat next to each other again, aimlessly chatting as you always did. Things had changed between you two. He brushed your hair out of your face as always, but this time his touches lingered more. He playfully licked the juices off your fingers as you fed him fruit, but still teased you as he typically would. He even stopped to sprinkle your face with kisses before capturing your lips with his own. Neither of you really knew what this meant for your relationship but that wasn’t a conversation that needed to happen now anyway. 

As you giggled with each other, picking at what was left over the fruits, you both fell silent as you heard footsteps on your staircase. 

Marks head popped into your doorway seconds later. “Hey, you idiots didn’t even lock the door, and what happened to your phones I’ve been trying to call you for the past hour!” he complained, dropping his bag next to Hyuck’s. 

“Hyung!” Haechan proclaimed, still taken aback by Marks sudden entrance. 

“Don’t hyung me, what the hell have you guys been --” marks voice trailed off as his eyes zeroed in on the headboard. 

“Yo Y/N, what did you do to your bed... wait,” his voiced trailed off once more as his eyes dropped to the marks on Haechan’s wrists. He tried to cover them up with his sleeves but was too late. 

“Holy shit, you let her use those handcuffs that you showed me on you? WAIT... What the fuck happened here?” he exclaimed, jumping off the bed in shock. 

You and Haechan burst into a fit of laughter at Mark, who looked equally horrified and disgusted. His cheeks were blushing bright red, and the warmth had reached his ears too. 

“You guys are gross, you know that...” he muttered, pulling the plate of fruits away from you both, trying his hardest not to touch the bed. 

Moments later, Marks words registered in your head and soon enough you were pushing Haechan off of the bed and onto the floor to join his best friend.

“I can’t believe you sent him a picture of the handcuffs too! You idiot!” you yelled. 

“It was BEFORE we used them!” he responded. The three of you laughed and bickered back and forth as the sun finally set. 

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

final words: wow this one was a bit tough to write. Haechan is a mischievous little thing in this fic and in real life too but I still couldn’t handle the thought of him suffering too much. He’ll always make me soft no matter what 🥺 also Mark was supposed to have a smaller part in this but he just fit so well I even had to put him in the opening gif! please leave your thoughts/comments or feel free to give any criticism so I can correct anything that may be insensitive/inaccurate in my fics. Thank you!

[a-libra-writes]

Imagine Dating the GoT Characters in Modern Times

okay im still working on that confession request, but this sucker just got away from me lol. couldnt help meself. this is a bit more casual than the others

if i missed any of ya favs, send my ask box a mail pigeon and ill add em!

In this preference, you'll be dating: Ned Stark, Robb Stark, Sansa Stark, Jon Snow, Benjen Stark, Jory Cassel, Dolorous Edd, Tormund Giantsbane, Theon Greyjoy, Yara Greyjoy, Daenerys Targaryen, Jorah Mormont, Missandei, Grey Worm, Tywin Lannister, Tyrion Lannister, Jamie Lannister, Sandor Clegane, Bronn, Petyr Baelish, Stannis Baratheon, Davos Seaworth, Margaery Tyrell, Brynden Tully, Edmure Tully, Brienne of Tarth, Ramsay Bolton, Roose Bolton, Oberyn Martell, Beric Dondarrion

NED STARK

He always worries so much after you, like if you’re unusually late getting home or you don’t call him back for some time. He won’t bother you about it because knows he worries, and he’s always ready to give you a warm hug when you finally get home. He’s very considerate of how you like things in the home and will fix anything immediately - although, you’re convinced he’s going to drop the AC in a lake if it acts up one more time. He has a picture of your wedding day that he absolutely loves and keeps in a safe spot in his wallet. The same picture is in frame on his desk, along with pictures of the kids. It’s the only decorations he has on the desk.

ROBB STARK

He’s convinced Grey Wind is starting to like you more because you’re the one who gives the goodnight treats. His favorite memories are the times when you both were able to get away to the lake or beach for a few days; he has a picture of you both on his desk at work. If you get him something you’d think he’d like, such as a scarf, he’ll absolutely wear it until it falls apart. Before you two moved in together, he really enjoyed calling you in the evening to hear about your day. Before you started dating, he’d send you pics of Grey Wind because you had the cutest reactions to them - soooo many emojis.

SANSA STARK

She loooves trying new things and hobbies with you, even if it doesn’t always end up so hot. The baking fiasco of 2018 shall not be spoken of, the pictures have been erased, it didn’t happen. She likes doing your make-up if you’ll let her, and she loves it when you two clothes shop together, mostly so she can dress you up. Lady is the most spoiled princess in the Stark family; you and Sansa have an instagram for her, she has her own rhinestone collar and custom bowl, it’s a whole thing. Sansa likes to brush her in the evening while she listens to you about your day or you both catch up with your fav TV shows. You two are way too invested in some of them and sometimes you stay up too late angry tweeting about it.

JON SNOW

You two were mutual friends for a while before you started hanging out exclusively more and more and finally someone asked if you were dating... At that point, you basically were. He really likes going hiking in the woods with you and Ghost, and some of his favorite pictures of you are from these trips - obvs they’re his phone background, and he gets shy if someone looks over his shoulder and asks if you’re his girlfriend. You both have gotten Ghost a nice dog bed and couch but he still likes to sleep at the foot of the bed, then promptly wake you both up at 6am for a walk. Jon was nervous but excited to introduce you to his family; he enjoys holidays with them much more because of you. He loves it when you text him cute things about your day or say you miss him.

BENJEN STARK

He caught your attention when you two began casually dating and he absolutely lit up when he talked about his nieces and nephews, and he showed you lots of pictures. It was just so cute. He absolutely loves it when you wear his shirts, especially the morning after - he will pull you back into the bed. He’s a total night owl but is very considerate of being quiet when you’re asleep. If you end up falling asleep after trying to stay up with him, he’ll carefully carry you back to bed. He works evenings too, so when he comes home early in the morning, he’ll cook you breakfast before staggering to bed (obviously he wants a good morning/night kiss as you get up and get ready).

JORY CASSEL

He’s an absolute sweetheart who will adopt all the dogs and fill up the house with them if you don’t stop him. When he’s playing with them or holding them, you like to take sneaky pictures because it’s just so cute and set it as your phone background. He always has the sweetest compliments for you, regardless if you’re dressing up or you just got out of the shower. The easiest way to fluster him is throw your legs over his lap while you’re wearing shorts or a skirt and just casually snuggle up. One day one of your dogs got out and you two were so beside yourself with worry, calling all the shelters and making posters and just stressing out together. The pup showed up a few hours later covered in mud and you both ran to hug her at the same time.

EDD TOLLETT

You’d actually been hanging out with him for a while because of your mutual friends, mostly Jon. You two had such an obvious crush on each other but wouldn’t make a move, so he and Sam did the trick where they invited you both out, then made an excuse and left you two alone. He’s the master of sending a meme in response to a text you sent two hours ago. He won’t admit how much he really likes it when you wear his shirts, either to bed or out on a date. They’re almost exclusively black metal band shirts with really weird art. You both tend to go to a lot of outdoor music festivals; he always wants to hold your hand so he doesn’t lose you in a crowd.

TORMUND GIANTSBANE

His beard and hair are still wild, don’t you worry, and he’s endlessly amused when it tickles you when he kisses you. His clothes are kind of a mess so you always try to straighten them out or iron them, which he really appreciates. Whenever he sees something cool, he has to immediately take a picture and send it to you. Sometimes he’s too excited about something, he just calls you or comes over. He’d totally want to go to nature reserves, zoos and parks for dates; he loves being outdoors and thinks you look best when the sunlight is on you. He’ll take so many pics on these dates but he’s a pretty bad cameraman (he tries!). He’ll go for the tallest rollercoaster at an amusement park and immediately regret it once the drop starts; he’s secretly relieved if you don’t want to go on one. 

THEON GREYJOY

Let’s be honest, he’s kind of a fuckboy so you don’t date him too seriously. He’s the one who gets attached first and starts exclusively dating you. He really likes collecting guitars and would be stoked if you’d play or sing along with him. He prefers outdoor dates, but sports bars and music clubs are fun, too. No matter what, he’d be giving lots of PDA and wouldn’t take kindly to guys hitting on you. He always finds the most bizarre food or drink recipes online that he wants to try, usually resulting in your kitchen being a warzone afterward. Yara totally bullies him on his insta, no matter how much he blocks her. 

YARA GREYJOY

She’s the definition of the types of girls your parents really didn’t want you to bring home but Here We Are. She has the most badass boots that she wears with an eyeliner with a wing so sharp it could kill a man. She loves pulling you close and being touchy with you in bars and clubs, especially when men are bothering you. Her diet 80% microwave so you have to cook actual food for her and make sure she eats. Family gatherings or phone calls always bother her, so you have to help calm her down afterward, usually with lots of making out. She’d like you to go with her when she gets tattoos so she has someone to chat and laugh with, and she’d subtly suggest you’d look cute with a piercing. She’ll kill the bugs in the relationship as long as you give her a thank you kiss, no matter what you’re in the middle of.

DAENERYS TARGARYEN

She absolutely LOVES Christmastime and wants to decorate the whole house, send a Christmas card with you and her three bearded dragons and wear matching Christmas sweaters (she can be surprisingly stubborn about that). Cuddling on the sofa and watching movies usually ends her falling asleep on you, and if you try to move her she grumbles and hugs you closer. The background for her phone is you looking very worried, holding her three bearded dragons after she posed them on you. She’d much rather wear your hoodies and shirts than her own, sometimes only that if she’s lounging at home with you. She tries to plan a really nice date at least once a month, preferably you two going on a little weekend trip to a musical festival or a beach.

JORAH MORMONT

He texts he loves you at least twice throughout the day. When you go out on dates, he’s always worried if you need a jacket or if you’ve had enough to eat. Heel is digging into your ankle and giving you a blister? This guy has band-aids. When he gets home early, he likes to cook a quick dinner that’ll be ready when you’re home. Watching kdramas with Jorah is great because he gets so baffled and ask you if this is what kids watch nowadays, but then he gets surprisingly emotional over the big confessions and love triangles. Walking through a park or boardwalk at sunset while holding your hand is maximum serotonin for him.

MISSANDEI

Her absolute favorite part of the day is the chat you two have in the evening while you take off make-up, wash your faces and fix your hair before bed. Sometimes you talk about your day, sometimes you listen to music or have a show on. She really doesn’t like phones or laptops in bed because she just wants to cuddle or be intimate. You introduced her to theme parks, and now she absolutely loves them. Missandei will find the biggest coaster and pull you toward it, she also would like you to win her one of those stuffed animals at the shooting games. She’ll put them on a shelf in your room. Sometimes she reads a book that bothers her so much, she has to stop everything, march in the living room and tell you all about it.

GREY WORM

You asked him out by writing your number on his cup at the cafe you worked out. You never got a text or call, but he suddenly showed up a few days later, totally blushing and asking you out. It was kind of adorable. He really likes keeping the apartment tidy and totally loves your baking. You didn’t think he had a sweet tooth, and he's been trying out different recipes to share with you. He can be pretty shy around your friends, so you hang with him solo. He has surprisingly strong opinions on movies, so movie dates always spiral into film theory discussions. He's so baffled by social media but he follows and likes everything you because your posts and pics are cute.

TYWIN LANNISTER

You two met at your company’s expensive party, he interested you right away and you had fun flirting and trading verbal spars. You weren’t sure how he got your number, but he’d end up calling you up for dinners and dates and so on. That ended up turning into trips and long stays at his manor and basically you ended up living there. Tywin enjoys giving you all sorts of expensive gifts and clothes, which he of course doesn’t see as a big deal because you deserve it. Eventually you’d bother him about what you mean to him, and that’s when he’d just outright ask if you’d rather be married. Quite frankly, he doesn’t care about his children’s thoughts on the matter. He really prefers the dates and vacations that are more relaxing, especially when he gets to see you smile at something you haven’t seen. 

TYRION LANNISTER

You and Tyrion discuss books like some people discuss politics. Actually, you both tend to have a lot of long discussions, but you both are so opinionated on books. He actually writes quite a bit and dedicates a lot of it to you. His favorite thing to do is make you laugh in public while you’re drinking something; he knows it drives you nuts and it’s adorable how much you sputter and look for a napkin. He blames you for Jamie’s love of ironic emojis, and he likes to send you screenshots of Cersei’s weird facebook rants. When he’s stressing over a writing deadline, he adores it when you give him a massage and help him calm down.

JAMIE LANNISTER

He’d often tease you about using so many cutest emojis in your text messages, so he started ironically using them. You’re positive he just picks them at random but he figured out that eggplant and peach REAL quick. When you first started dating, he tried to impress you with expensive gifts and dates, but he vastly prefers the lowkey cuddles at your apartment. His head in your lap, your pet curled around his legs and him reading off ridiculous shit Cersei posts on facebook … That’s the ideal. He was a nervous wreck when you met Tywin, although he was trying to play it off and be cool. 

SANDOR CLEGANE

He’s such a grumpy bear that a lot of people wonder how the heck you two got together. You both like to hang out at music bars and clubs, and he’s always got a protective arm around you, and as the evening winds down he likes to nuzzle your hair and receive any kisses you give. He sleeps in really late and grumbles when you pull him out of bed to get his ass outside. He’ll always take care of the yard work and grills the best barbecue. He actually really likes when you ask him what he thinks about an outfit, even if he just says it’s fine, because he likes the way you twirl and show off your backside. There’s probably a football team he’s obsessed with and he WILL text you angrily about someone getting a red card or missing a goal. 

BRONN

When you asked for his number, you were shook that he still had a goddamn flip phone. Even after dating for forever, he still has that damn thing. Your favorite date spot is live music bars, even if he starts to get overly affectionate and pull you in his lap. He has leather jackets and sometimes wears black cowboy boots with them and it just … works? He also probably rides a motorcycle but makes sure you have the proper clothes and helmet and actually obeys traffic laws when you’re riding with him. He’ll still flip off drivers, though. He doesn’t go to the doctor, his sick ass shows up on your doorstep half-dead and you force cold medicine down his throat while scolding him. He just likes being looked after, not that he’ll ever admit it.

PETYR BAELISH

You’re kind of surprised he asked you out, he seemed like a very wealthy, prominent person and you were a little worried. But on all your dates he’s nothing but a gentleman and he wants to go places you enjoy to know you better. Even if you both go somewhere more lowkey like a cafe or an art museum, he just has to impress you by picking you up in a nice car. He’s much more genuine in evenings at your apartment when you cuddle with him, or when you send sweet texts that he has trouble responding to right away because they’re just so nice. He likes to follow your social media just to see what you’re up to, and he has a picture of you on his desk, probably one where you’re wearing something he got you.

STANNIS BARATHEON

He’s on top of anything that needs to be fixed or dealt with around the house, sometimes without you even noticing they were broken. He’s very grateful when you plan dates for fun or for anniversaries, because he has trouble with such things. He also totally melts when you bring him coffee in the morning with a kiss, or take his coat when he comes home. Holidays are an absolute mess; last year he was THIS close to throttling Renly with a string of holly. You like changing his phone background to saucy pictures of yourself, because he already sucks at phones and now he’s bright red and it’s taking him five minutes to figure out how to change it. You were pretty bummed when he finally figured out how to set up a phone lock, so now you just text the pictures while he’s at home. It takes a few seconds before you hear him sputter and drop his phone in the other room.

DAVOS SEAWORTH

Admittedly, Davos is a little insecure about the age difference between you two, but he’s always very comforted when you hold his hand and kiss him in public. He always has interesting places to take you, and somehow he seems to know at least one person there. He always has a new story about how he lost his fingers and now it’s just an inside joke between you two. You think its hilarious how worked up he gets about his sports teams, and he cracks up when you yell at competitive cooking shows. Sometimes he needs your help deciphering Stannis’ weird, cryptic texts. He’s very weak when you’re dressing up to go out, especially when you slip on pantyhose and heels.

MARGAERY TYRELL

You didn’t realize how big of an influencer she was until she innocently asked for a selfie of the two of you. You were on a beach date and you kissed her cheek while she made a cute pose. Much later she showed you the pic on her instagram and holy shit is that’s 20k likes what in the seven hells. If it’s a sunny day, she absolutely wants to go out to the beach or an outdoor mall or anything. She likes to show you pics of outfits, ask your opinion, and buy it as a surprise if you really love it. If you both got a pet together, she’d basically treat it like your kid. She loves taking you with her on her family’s expensive vacations, and she can’t stop holding your hand and grinning the whole time.

BRYNDEN TULLY

Brynden is also worried about the age gap between you two, and it often bothers him when people mistake him for your father while you two are out. He loves talking about you to his nieces and nephew. He held off on telling his brother out of spite, because he knew Hoster was going to bug him about proposing. His favorite thing to do with you is go boating on the family’s lake, especially when you’re laughing as you try to keep your hat on. His absolute favorite picture is a selfie you took while you were in his lap, you’re making a silly face while he’s kissing your cheek.

EDMURE TULLY

He loves doing the silliest, most domestic stuff with you. Doing laundry together while joking around, picking out furniture to match in the living room, even adopting a dog or a kitten who would end up spoiled rotten. He’d actually fall for you quickly while you were dating and already think of your wedding and a family, but he wouldn’t want to pressure you at all. He has the worst bedhead and you have to grab him before he runs out to work and try to tame it. You both have the most ridiculous in-jokes and when you watch dramas, you both get way too emotionally invested and try not to cry in front of each other.

BRIENNE OF TARTH

She’s very shy about taking selfies with you until you encourage her and insist she’s adorable. She takes good care of her health and works out a lot, and she’s definitely want you to join her for the latter. She’s great with motivating and praising you! She likes dates where you two just wander around outdoor malls or museums, you just walk and chat about all sorts of things. You’re absolutely her phone background and lock screen, and when her dad calls to check on her she ends up talking about you a lot. You both like to put on cooking shows while you fold laundry or clean and you end up getting so distracted.

RAMSAY BOLTON

You weren’t totally keen on introducing him to your parents, then they suddenly came over while he was hanging out with you and he was such a Perfect Gentleman™ you almost got whiplash. He’s the reason stray dogs always hang around your backyard and porch, he leaves food out for them. He always frowns when you cover up his hickeys with concealer. He’s not the least bit phased by horror or slasher movies, but puts them on TV anyway so you can cling to him and hide your face. He’s absolutely the sort to threaten any male friends he thinks are too close to you, then play innocent when you confront him. He likes date spots that are a little more secluded, so he can grab your body and give you a deep kiss anytime he’s wanting you.

ROOSE BOLTON

In the morning, he always has to kiss you when he wakes up and before he leaves for work, no exceptions. He’s very private so those he works with are surprised to learn he’s married, but once you two are together at some company party it’s obvious he dotes on you. His kinks are even more pronounced now and he loves buying you things he wants to see you wear. He’d like to have a family with you once you’re ready. He’d be super into you sending him sexy pictures during the day, but he won’t respond right away or pretend the picture didn’t load just to mess with you. 

OBERYN MARTELL

He looooves surprising you with thoughtful gifts, weekend trips or even just flowers sent to your work with a loveydovey note that has all your coworkers teasing you. He hangs around at your apartment so much, you wonder why he just doesn’t move in. He will absolutely love any flirty texts or sexy pictures you send him over the phone, and he’ll respond in kind. When your relationship started getting more serious, he introduced you to his family and daughters, and fell even more in love with you because you were so kind to everyone. He always wants to take you places because he thinks you’re the cutest when you’re amazed by new things.

BERIC DONDARRION

A mutual friend hooked you both up for a blind date, which bothered you a lot, but Beric was so nice, genuine and apologetic that you decided to go through with it anyway. You’re grateful you live in a cold climate because he looooves the fireplace and snuggling with you in front of it. He’s not the best at cooking and would appreciate you teaching him, also you look super cute in an apron so that’s a bonus. Expect a ton of different outdoors and camping trips from him, also he’s the worst about getting injured and insisting he’s fine, even when there’s blood all over the bathroom sink.

[itsagutthing]

Places Carrie Mathison Has Lived: New York City Edition

this installment of my carrie’s apartments series is close to my heart because i also live in brooklyn, though not close to carrie. the show actually filmed a scene just a block from my apartment, but for obvious reasons i’m not going to specify which scene. i know, season six is overall meh with the exception of carrie’s blazers, but my lizard brain still goes, “that’s where i live!” so i give it more leeway than i probably should. 

carrie lives in the bedford-stuyvesant neighborhood of brooklyn, which was once primarily home to black and latino families but unfortunately is in the process of gentrifying. some light googling tells me they filmed the interior apartment scenes on a soundstage in another brooklyn neighborhood called greenpoint, which begs the question: why didn’t they just make carrie live there? greenpoint has also been gentrified but is mostly home to eastern european immigrants, so the writers could have avoided the questionable racial implications of carrie living in bed-stuy, particularly when she’s working at a non-profit that promotes racial justice. and greenpoint is also more convenient to her office in williamsburg! i know the answer to this question is probably just “brownstones look pretty,” and there are lots of brownstones in bed-stuy but not in greenpoint, but i’ll still bitch about it.

anyway, we know from quinn’s escape to the bodega in 6.02 that carrie lives close to the intersection of throop avenue and halsey street, which means she lives off of the kingston-throop A and C trains and a sort-of far walk from the bedford-nostrand G. she probably takes the G to work in williamsburg. this is information that’s only important to me, but i love public transit. 

the bike lane sign in the screenshot above reminds me how much i loved seeing carrie biking around berlin. even though nyc isn’t nearly as bike-friendly, i hope she does the same in brooklyn. 

carrie appears to have free reign of the entire brownstone, which must have been two separate units at some point — both where she and franny live and the ~garden apartment~ on the basement level that has both a full bath and kitchen. she obviously can’t afford to rent out an entire brownstone in new york city, even in bed-stuy, so my headcanon is that otto bought it as an investment property and is letting carrie and franny stay in it at a heavily discounted rate.

brownstones are typically long and skinny, as we see here. there are really only two rooms on the first floor: the living room and the kitchen.

i love seeing all of franny’s drawings strung up on the living room wall and her chalkboard/easel in the corner. this fixes an issue i had with carrie’s berlin apartment, which was that there was a weird lack of kid stuff. i don’t think that means anything on its own — we see in 5.01 how devoted carrie was to her seemingly normal life as a mother — but it’s nice to see more little touches in her brooklyn apartment. 

i assume the fireplace in the left-hand corner isn’t actually usable, but it does make the living room look homier. i’m surprised there isn’t more carpeting, since carrie loves a patterned rug. the living room looks a little cold without it. maybe she isn’t done decorating yet, though i think we’re supposed to believe they’ve been in nyc for a few months.

there’s a tv next to the fireplace in 6.05 that isn’t there in 6.01, which is very strange placement. the only furniture opposite the tv is a desk and chair, so there’s nowhere to sit comfortably while watching. i don’t think carrie spends a lot of time watching tv, but that’s still a confusing choice. i do like franny’s fuzzy chair with bunny ears, though. carrie probably ordered it on amazon but i like to imagine her schlepping it in and out of a cab.

now for the kitchen:

one nice thing the show did to convince us that this is an apartment carrie could maybe afford is that it’s not newly renovated: all the kitchen appliances are basic and/or old, and the countertops look like plastic laminate and are chipped along the edges. and there’s no room for the nice cutting boards or espresso machine she had in germany! i always find barstools charming even if they’re just a cheat to make an efficient use of counter space.

my favorite detail in the kitchen is the trio of framed drawings done by franny. again, i love all the “carrie’s a mom, remember?” touches.

the curtains are a gold color and match the curtains in the living room! carrie learned some design lessons in berlin.

even in the daytime the whole first floor feels really dark, which makes me miss the floor-to-ceiling windows in berlin. i brightened the screenshots a lot to see the details, but especially in the living room, the sunlight just doesn’t reach all the way across the house. the lack of natural light (and the fact that they filmed during the late fall) does a lot of quick work to set the dreary tone that persists for the entire season. i can’t help but compare it to the americans, which also filmed in brooklyn in the fall/winter, but at least the indoor scenes in that show were well-lit and generally warmer in both color and tone. 

i associate the early seasons of homeland with warm yellows, probably because they filmed either in the desert or in charlotte in the summertime. the shift to gray winter skies and heavy coats is a little jarring, even with berlin in the middle as a transitional urban, cooler season. 

that door behind carrie goes out to a set of stairs and their little backyard/patio:

it’s common, if a little depressing, to have bars on first-floor windows as shown in the second shot above, both to child-proof an apartment from the inside and to prevent break-ins. our first view of franny for the season is through those bars, but i’m not entirely sure what the symbolism is supposed to be. carrie already feels a separation from franny, maybe? this shot especially feels super foreboding.

carrie continues her trend of killer outdoor lounge furniture (remember the multiple chaises on her DC patio?) with the wooden chair with blue cushions right outside the back door. there are also more potted plants than i believe carrie would purchase/remember to water, especially in the winter, but maybe she figures if they’re outside they’ll get enough rain to survive.

i don’t have a lot to say about the patio itself other than i’m jealous that carrie has outdoor space.

inside by the stairs/front entryway is a framed berlin jazz poster which makes me inexplicably happy, and follows the same trend with the jazz posters she had in her DC apartment. it’s hard to tell what’s in the photos, so i’m choosing to believe they’re pictures of places she and franny loved in berlin, including some of the two of them taken by jonas. there is absolutely a photo of franny and carrie at the birthday party we saw in 5.01 where carrie’s wearing that balloon hat.

we don’t get to see a lot of the second floor, but i’m going to assume it’s just franny’s room, carrie’s room, carrie’s weird conspiracy closet, and a bathroom.

franny’s room is very colorful, with the rainbow sheets and rainbow polka dot curtains. it makes up for the dreariness of the first floor. behind carrie in that second shot is franny’s star lamp, which i love but have many questions about. it’s obviously an allusion to brody, of which there are many in season 6, probably because they’re in new york city and brody would have never served/been captured/turned/bonded with carrie if not for 9/11. assuming that carrie purchased this lamp for franny with brody’s memory in mind, does franny have anything else that’s star themed? if not, why this lamp? did carrie explain to franny that stars make her think of franny’s father, or is it just a secret nod for carrie alone? how often does carrie talk to franny about brody, if at all?

now we move to carrie’s conspiracy closet:

i’ve been in enough brownstones to know that sometimes there are strange inexplicable tiny rooms, which is what we have here. i’m sure this would be advertised as an office space on streeteasy but it really looks like a glorified closet with a confusing number of doors leading off of it. i count three total including the one saul came in — what are all these doors? i think the one on saul’s right goes to franny’s room but i don’t have a great spatial brain and i’m not confident about that assessment.

this conspiracy board reveal was kinda anticlimactic since very little happens with it, but i still felt like i needed to include it as a separate room since carrie clearly spends a lot of time here. 

i wish we got to see carrie’s bedroom because i love to scrutinize the art she has, but sadly we’re limited to franny’s room. i’m going to assume there’s a full bath up here somewhere, and a half bath downstairs that we don’t see. 

finally, we have the basement apartment that carrie allegedly rents out on airbnb. in real life it likely would be marketed as an entire unit separate from the two floors above, but since otto owns the entire brownstone / is in love with carrie he’s just letting her do whatever she wants with it.

the full kitchen is what convinces me it was supposed to be an independent unit — no one has a stove and sink and lots of cabinets in their basement. like we saw in carrie’s kitchen, none of the appliances are fancy and the countertops are nothing special, which makes the room look kinda drab but does help sell the idea that carrie could actually live here. there’s also some water damage in the corner by the fridge. i’m not sure why they decided to be realistic in season 6 — can we all recall carrie’s unnecessary two-bedroom townhouse in DC? — and it’s not particularly fun to watch, but i’m not mad about it.

the living room area of this basement actually looks cozier than carrie’s living room, with all the pillows and the exposed brick wall. i have a weakness for exposed brick walls, as we know from carrie’s DC apartment, and here it goes pretty far to make the space look homey. the couch looks like it matches the chair on her patio (with the wood frame + blue cushions), so does that mean the patio chair is meant for normal indoor use? why is it outside?? 

as we know from her berlin apartment, carrie really loves a two-curtain combo with a sheer under layer. these are dark green, similar to the navy ones she loved in berlin but not the same. i do like the thought of carrie taking her navy curtains with her from germany and relegating them to the basement to avoid the constant reminder of her past life, but i also have no desire to think about what it would mean that quinn ends up living in the basement with her jonas curtains. so those must be new! 

in summary: musings about carrie’s role in gentrification, the color palette of the show, berlin jazz poster + photos, franny’s art on the walls, star lamp, a basement living room that’s cozier than carrie’s actual living room!

[werewolfdays]

first impressions

We’re gonna backtrack in their timeline a bit. Just have the normal Bring Your Werewolf Girlfriend To Meet The Family stuff. Yeah, totally normal. (CONTENT WARNING: abuse mention) - 

We sat in our car, parked in front of the strange house, and I silently stared out of my window to regard it. Nothing about it looked particularly sinister or out of place in the slightest, it was simply another house on the street. There were two stories, a welcoming shade of sky blue with a white trim, the small lawn was perfectly green and mowed. If I had searched for stock photos of a suburban home on the internet, there would be countless versions of this house plastered all over my laptop screen. The entire image was meant to be calming and inviting. But this was the place where Nadya grew up. Where she spent most of her childhood in fear of her brother with no one else besides clueless parents to protect her. I hated this house. And we were about to spend the entire weekend in it. 

I gripped the steering wheel in a white knuckled grasp for an entirely different reason than my loathing of the building. My jaw clenched as I prepared for what was about to come. Without turning to look at Nadya, I spoke, “You’re sure about this?”

“I have to do this, Jay.” Nadya answered. 

“You don’t.” 

“They’re my parents,” Her tone wasn’t as sure as the words she was speaking, “If I don’t at least try... then I know I’ll regret it.” 

I finally turned to look at her beside me in the passenger seat. Nadya’s expression matched the apprehension and dread I sensed coming off of her, but she still managed to look determined. Her eyes implored me to trust her. Of course I would trust her no matter what. I also found it endearing that she was willing to put in this much effort to reconnect with her parents, even if I was certain that they didn’t deserve a daughter like her. 

“Okay.” I relented with an exhale and threw a wary glance at the house again. 

“Are you nervous?” Nadya asked curiously. 

My gaze shot back to her with a frown. “No.” 

She raised an eyebrow at me, not fooled by that lie in the slightest, “You are.” 

“You’re nervous, so I’m nervous.” I deflected. 

While that wasn’t a completely untrue statement, she still saw through it. Nadya studied my face for a few short moments before an understanding dawned on her, “You’re scared to meet them.”

I broke eye contact and focused back on the steering wheel, releasing another sigh, “Well, like you said, they’re your parents… a part of me still wants them to like me.” 

Nadya’s hand reached out and wrapped around my wrist, gently pulling my hand away from the steering wheel and up to her lips where she placed a kiss to the back of it. My eyes locked on to hers yet again while her lips began to caress my knuckles and I felt my muscles slowly relax. I would miss being so candidly affectionate with her while we were here. I knew it would only be for the weekend, but I was already dreading having to keep my urges to touch her and kiss her whenever I wanted in check. 

“I’m sure they’ll like you.” Nadya offered. 

I gave her a grateful smile, “Maybe they’ll like me as your friend.” 

She lowered my hand to cradle against her chest and pursed her lips, “I guess we’ll find out on Sunday…” 

I sensed her anxiety spike at that sentence and it made both me and my wolf restless. Nadya truly didn’t have any clue how her parents would react to them knowing that she was a lesbian, that her and I were together, but she was adamant about telling them before we left. Until then, I couldn’t give anything away about her or us. 

“Think you can pretend that you aren’t in love with me for a few days?” She asked with a small sly smile. 

My head tilted to the side, resting on the seat of the car, and I continued to gaze at her. It was always far too easy to get lost in those warm brown eyes of hers, especially when they caught a single ray of sunlight breaking through the clouds like they were right now, “I hope so. I’ll try my best, at least.” 

Her sly smile grew into a full grin, her cheeks flushing, “Maybe start by not looking at me like that.”

I felt my face grow hot, as I hadn’t noticed I was doing it, and I forced myself to look away. Then I realized this moment in the car with her would be the last place where we wouldn’t have to hide until the weekend was over. Like a magnet, my eyes found hers again, soaking up every bit of her that they could without apology, making sure I had enough of her memorized to keep myself satiated for a few days. There was just one more thing I needed to get me through it. 

“I probably shouldn’t kiss you like this either,” I muttered as I leaned in. 

The sensation of Nadya’s softness against my mouth seemed to slow time itself around us. My senses zeroed in on her, the rest of the world dimming like a dying fire, turning into an unimportant muffled buzz at the back of my mind. Her taste and her warmth pulled me in, pulled me closer to her as my hand reached up to tangle in her hair. The rhythmic thumping of her heart skipped a few beats and her lips parted mine in a silent plea for more. I was eager to give her whatever she wanted while also indulging in what every instinct inside of me was aching for. 

Our passion was just as easy to get lost in as staring into her eyes. Maybe even more because soon it wasn’t just my surroundings that became forgotten, it was our reason for being here. If it were up to me, we would stay in this car until we had to break away for breath, then I would drive us far away from here where Nadya wouldn’t have to worry about a family that didn’t love her like my pack and I could.

But I knew that’s not what Nadya wanted. Not yet at least. So I had to be the one to pull away from her and bring her back from the intoxication that was consuming the both of us. She tried to follow my retreating lips and I couldn’t resist giving her one more soft peck before severing all contact. 

Nadya blinked at me a few times to shake herself out of it. Her fingertips touched her own lips with a small smile, almost like she could still feel mine, “Yeah… probably not like that.” she uttered breathlessly.    

I couldn’t hold back a crooked grin, “You think you will be able to pretend you aren’t in love with me for a few days?”

She released a quiet scoff and lowered her hand, “I can’t make any promises.” 

I noticed her eyes kept shifting down to my mouth like she was fighting the urge to kiss me again. I leaned further away from her in the hopes of lessening the temptation. As much as I wanted to tease her, this would not be the place for it, “Are you ready?”

Nadya took in a very deep breath, holding it for several beats, and then releasing it in a sigh that nearly trembled, “As ready as I’ll ever be.” 

“Okay,” My hand squeezed hers in encouragement, silently promising that this wouldn’t be our last touch this weekend. I would find ways to remind her I was by her side, even if I had to sneak affection like some love-struck idiot teenager, “Let’s go.” 

We got out of the car and I went to the trunk to retrieve our bags. A part of me hesitated to grab my duffle once I slung Nadya’s pack over my shoulder. I was fairly certain I wouldn’t need it, and if I got caught with it somehow, that would result in a completely different level of awkwardness, but I would feel too vulnerable without something. I did a quick glance over my surroundings, making sure there were no witnesses, and then opened the secret compartment in the trunk to pull out a handgun. After subtly checking the loaded chamber and making sure the safety was on, I slipped it into my bag and buried it in my belongings. 

I looked up as I was rearranging things to see Nadya come into view. She looked into the trunk when I zipped the bag up and met my eyes again in a way that confirmed she knew exactly what I had been doing. I offered an apologetic wince, but didn’t remove the gun. Nadya didn’t say anything despite her disapproving expression. A part of me wanted to put the gun back, I really didn’t want to bring a weapon like that into her parents’ home, but I hadn’t survived this many years being hunted without being a little paranoid. I suspected Nadya understood that, which was why she kept quiet.  

“It’s just in case. I don’t plan on using it.” I explained. 

“I know.” She said with a simple nod, then gestured for me to follow her, “Come on.” 

With the duffle’s straps in my hand, I pulled it out and shut the trunk. Every step closer to the house made my nerves prickle under my skin, almost as if my wolf wanted to protect both me and Nadya from the people inside. I had to remind myself that her brother was thousands of miles away, deployed overseas. With any luck, he’d get blown to bits and I wouldn’t have to worry about doing it myself one day. 

Nadya didn’t bother knocking on the front door of the house. I suppose it was her house after all, but I was slightly thrown that I wouldn’t have the few moments to prepare myself that waiting for her parents to answer would have given me. She noticed my hesitation at the threshold and offered an encouraging smile. 

“You’re gonna do great.” She promised quietly, briefly grabbing my wrist to pull me inside. 

“Sure…” I mumbled under my breath. 

“Mom? Dad?” Nadya called into the house, “We’re here!”

Towards the back of the house, I heard a running faucet suddenly shut off. The kitchen, I suspected. Then I heard someone else stir from a separate room, perhaps an office, soon followed by two sets of footsteps approaching us in the living room. 

I cautioned a glance around, appreciating the fireplace and how surprisingly warm the atmosphere in the home was. A collection of picture frames rested on the mantle and I caught a glimpse of a much younger looking Nadya in one of the photos. I smiled to myself as my eyes lingered there, but it quickly faded when I saw Ruben standing next to her. He couldn’t have been older than sixteen in the picture, but I still wanted to tear his throat out. I forced myself to look away and took a deep breath to snuff out my short rush of fury. 

A middle aged man, Nadya’s father, arrived first. The lines on his face that framed light blue eyes seemed to give him a permanent stern glower, even his grin did little to soften it, and his teeth were so perfect and white that it would put the Kincades’ flawless smiles to shame. His light brown hair, that was more salt and pepper at the sides, was gelled and styled almost formally, and he wore a button-up shirt as white as his teeth tucked into khaki slacks. Even the way he carried himself was professional. 

He noted my presence, giving me a quick once-over and sizing me up. It wasn’t a very welcoming feeling to be scrutinized on the spot, but I stood my ground and allowed him to inspect the stranger in his home that was accompanying his daughter. 

“Hey, dad.” Nadya greeted, pulling his attention away from me. 

I watched Nadya’s father inspect her in almost the same manner as he had inspected me. Then I realized it had to be a long time since they’ve seen each other. Maybe it’s even been years. 

He gave her another smile and a nod, “Good to see you, sweetie.” 

It puzzled me when there was no attempt at an embrace. I hardly expected anything over the top, but there was a noticeable awkwardness between parent and child that I’ve never witnessed before, and certainly never experienced myself. My father would have wrapped me in a big hug as soon as he saw me, called me ‘pup’, and kissed the top of my head. At first glance, I would have never guessed these two were even related. 

Before I was able to dwell on it any further, Nadya’s mother entered the living room. Long black hair, with only a few streaks of gray here and there, fell smoothly down her shoulders and to the woman’s mid back. Her eyes were the same warm brown as Nadya’s were and her skin tone was several shades lighter than that, but still noticeably darker than the fair skin of the father. It took me a moment to place the woman as a Native American. 

Nadya shared more facial features with her mother than her father. The eye color, of course, but also the nose and cheekbones. Nadya’s mother also had a natural softness in her expression, just like her daughter did, one that made me more at ease in the strange home. 

The reunion between mother and daughter was warmer than with her father, “Oh, I’m so glad you’re finally home.” Nadya’s mother cooed with a smile, grabbing her daughter’s hands and leaning in to place a kiss on her cheek. 

“Me too, mom.” Nadya said. Her muscles were still tense, but I watched her relax a fraction under the comfort from her mother. Then Nadya turned to me, “This is my friend, Jayde.” 

The word friend made me cringe internally, and I could hear a subtle fluctuation in Nadya’s voice when she spoke it that told me she didn’t like it any more than I did, but I still stepped forward and offered my hand, “It’s nice to meet you both.” 

Her mother shook my hand first, “Nice to meet you too, I’m Winona.” 

“Richard.” Her father said next, giving me an almost delicate handshake. Feeling a little offended that he held back, I squeezed his hand firmly and watched his brow perk up a centimeter. 

A tiny bit of rebelliousness didn’t stop me from being polite and pleasant, “Thank you for inviting me into your home.” 

“Please, it’s our pleasure.” Winona replied, then noticed the bags I was holding, “Here, I’ll show you where you can put your things.” 

Nadya reached for her bag, I handed it to her and followed Winona towards the stairs. Nadya followed close behind me, but Richard remained in the living room. I felt his eyes on me through my entire ascent up the stairs and had to resist the urge to throw him a scowl. He was very unsure of me. Maybe it was my appearance that threw him off. I was a bit rough around the edges, even cleaning up couldn’t hide the scars and my unintentionally intimidating resting expression. If I had done something to deserve it, I could let it go, but I’d hardly done anything to arouse suspicion or mistrust yet, so I was a little annoyed. 

“You can stay in Ruben’s room while you’re here.” Winona told me once we reached the top of the stairs.  

I should have expected that, but the sentence made my stomach drop and the rest of my body recoil in utter disgust beyond my control. I tried to recover when Winona looked over at me, “Oh, that’s okay, I can sleep on the couch just fine.”

“No, you’re a guest here.” Winona insisted. She saw that I was about to argue further and put a hand up, “He hasn’t been home in a long time, I’m sure he won’t mind.” 

“Jayde can take my room and I can take Ruben’s.” Nadya offered. 

“No.” I replied, probably too quickly and too firmly. Both Nadya and her mother looked a little taken aback by my intensity. I forced an easy going smile and relented, “I’ll take his room. Thank you.” 

Winona brushed my behavior off rather easily, “Or course. Why don’t you two get settled and come downstairs so we can figure out where to go for lunch?” 

“We’ll be down in a couple minutes.” Nadya confirmed, “Thanks mom.” 

Her mother gave her a smile and squeezed her upper arm as she walked past us to go back down the stairs. As soon as her mother was out of sight, Nadya looked at me with deep regret. She must not have thought they would just offer up her brother’s room so easily, even in his absence. I simply shook my head with a small smile to ease her worry and made my way to the room Winona had motioned towards as Nadya reluctantly disappeared into her own room. 

While I have never met Ruben, his stench still made me want to retch. There wasn’t anything objectively bad about it, I suppose, but it was so heavily ingrained into his room and all I could picture was his grin in that photo with Nadya. All I could imagine was that story about her confronting him for the first time in this very room and him nearly strangling her to death because of it. I eyed every wall, thinking, Was that where he shoved her? Where he threatened to take her life? 

I did not want to touch a single thing, didn’t even want to set my duffle bag on the neatly made bed. The only thing I could do was stand in the center of the room and silently seethe. After a few long moments of trying to calm myself down, I just dropped my bag on the floor where I was standing, kneeling down to retrieve the weapon I had stashed inside of it. 

“I’m sorry.” Nadya suddenly said behind me, causing me to look over my shoulder at her standing in the doorway, “I thought maybe they would let us stay in the same room or something. Guess this isn’t really like a high school sleepover…” 

“It’s not your fault, Nadya.” I assured her quietly, focusing back on rifling through my bag, “It’s not like I’m actually gonna sleep in here anyway.” 

“Still… you shouldn’t have to be in here.” 

I looked behind me at her again, this time in shock. After a couple of confused blinks, I retrieved my gun, tucking it into my waistband to conceal it, and stood, “You shouldn’t have to be in here.” I corrected, walking over to her and gently leading her away from the room with my hand on her back, “You shouldn’t ever have to set foot in that room again.” 

“I’m fine, Jay.” Nadya told me. 

Surprisingly, her tone didn’t suggest otherwise, “So am I. Don’t worry about me.” 

“Says the girl with the gun hidden in her pants.” She countered with a lighthearted grin.

I matched her expression, “Exactly.” 

As soon as we arrived back in the living room, Richard spoke up, “Have you ever been to the city, Jayde?”

“You mean San Francisco?” I assumed and he nodded, “I can’t say that I have.”

“Perfect. I know an excellent deem sum place.” He didn’t wait for the others to approve before he retrieved a coat and made his way towards the front door, “Maybe we can even show you around a little afterwards, since you’ve never been.” 

“That sounds great.” I agreed amicably, “Should we drive together or separately?” 

“Oh, together.” Richard answered, like that should have been the most obvious thing, “You never want to take more than one car into the city if you can help it.”  

“That congested, huh?”

“Some days it’s worse.” 

“That’s usually why I try to avoid highly populated areas.” Too many people meant too much traffic, too much traffic meant no easy escape routes, no easy escape routes meant capture or death. I usually avoided big cities at all costs for this very reason, but surely I could convincingly act like a human for a few hours with Nadya’s family. I doubted San Francisco will be teeming with hunters. 

He chuckled, “Very smart of you.” 

I glanced at Nadya while we were walking out the door as if to say, Did you see? I can get along! Her response was an amused, yet encouraging, smile. 

Richard owned a very well kept Cadillac. There wasn’t a single scratch on the black paint, its surface so spotless that its reflections were crystal clear, and the interior smelled of fine leather, which was more comforting than I expected it to be. Nadya sat next to me in the back with both her parents in front, making me feel better to be so close to her.

Most of the car ride was spent in a silence that wasn’t exactly comfortable. The closer we got to the cluster of tall buildings in the distance, the more tense my body became. I ran through all kinds of different scenarios, ranging from me completely blowing this entire visit to being jumped by hunters and having to figure out a way to get Nadya and her family to safety. The skyscrapers looming on the approaching horizon was a sight to behold for sure, but all I could see was a death trap. 

As I was lost in my own anxious thoughts, I felt the barest brush against my pinky finger. I risked a quick glance at my hand that was resting on the seat in between me and Nadya to see her pinky subtly reaching for mine. When my glance traveled up to her face, she was silently staring out of her window, giving no indication that she was doing such a thing, besides the hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth. 

The small touch was significant in calming my nerves. I wanted nothing more than to take her hand in mine and pull her close, but I settled for sticking my finger out to caress her back in recognition. We were able to stay like that for a while, until we entered the city itself and Richard finally spoke up again, yanking me out of Nadya’s orbit. 

“There are lots of amazing places to eat in the city, I have a few favorites to stop by on my lunch breaks, but we only go to this restaurant for special occasions.” 

The sound of his voice made me reflexively pull my hand away from Nadya’s, but I was certain he didn’t notice. “You work in the city?”

“Yes, at my family's dentistry.” He answered while navigating the narrow streets, “What do you do for work, Jayde?” 

I expected this to be a question, but I still struggled with an answer that wouldn’t give too much away. All of the overwhelming noises of the city outside weren’t helping, “Um, well, I’m a security guard of sorts.” 

“A security guard, huh? What do you guard?”

“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you.” I replied humorously in hopes to deflect on the topic and I was relieved to hear some amused laughs. 

“Sounds like you’re bound by an NDA.” Richard mused. 

“Yeah, something like that.” 

“You’re gonna love this place we’re going to, Jay.” Nadya spoke, changing the subject, much to my relief, “The food is so delicious and there’s an amazing waterfall indoors.” 

“Yes, it’s the perfect place to bring someone you want to impress.” Winona added, casting a smile over her shoulder at me and Nadya. 

Maybe it was mostly meant in jest, but I couldn’t help feeling a little encouraged by it, “Speaking of impressing people, I hope you guys don’t mind me cooking dinner for you tonight.” 

“Oh, you cook?” Winona asked excitedly. 

“She’s an amazing cook,” Nadya jumped in with the same amount of enthusiasm, “She put together this beautiful dinner for our first- uh, for the first time we hung out together as friends. It was over a campfire and she cooked for everyone that was there. It had to be the best meal I’ve ever had.” 

Winona thankfully didn’t seem to catch Nadya stumbling over her words and nearly mentioning our first date. Instead, she looked impressed by her daughter’s praise for my talent, “Wow. In that case, I can’t wait to taste what you have planned for us.” 

“I hope you’ll enjoy it.” 

Richard announced our arrival when the car came to a stop in front of one of the seemingly endless tall buildings in this city. I reluctantly got out of the car and tried not to get vertigo from looking up at the gargantuan structures all around me. The one we were about to enter wasn’t the largest one by far- actually, its size could be deemed modest compared to the others, but it still stretched several stories up, apart from a couple of wings branching off that only appeared to be about five stories. 

I hadn’t realized how much the inside of the car shielded me from the cacophony of sounds and smells that assaulted my senses. Car engines, sirens, crowds, all flooded my hearing. There were far too many scents to name, almost all of them terrible enough to taste on my tongue, but I hung on to the ones that didn’t make me want to cover my mouth and nose to avoid gagging. Like the scents of restaurants serving food carrying through the wind. And the comforting scent of Nadya as she inched closer to me. 

I met her gaze to see her studying me with a concerned frown. The corners of my mouth perked up to reassure her that I was okay. It was only a little overwhelming. I’d get used to it eventually. 

We followed her parents into one of the shorter wings of the center and my line of sight was immediately drawn to the impressive glass ceiling. It rose up as high as the building, letting massive rays of light pour in and reflect off of the spotless tiled floor. It made the entire interior of the building look incredibly open and lively, almost like we were outside and not confined to a space. Then I noticed a square in the glass ceiling that was dropping a waterfall down into the center of everything, a glittering shower that looked enchanting in its own right. 

I couldn’t hold back a grin at how beautiful this was. It calmed whatever anxiety was lingering in my head. “Wow…” I mumbled as I continued to stare.

Nadya playfully bumped my shoulder with hers, “Pretty cool, huh?”

“I see why you would bring people here to impress them.” I agreed with a nod. 

“Wait until you taste the food.” Richard said with a proud look on his face. 

The four of us sat at a table close enough to the waterfall that I could feel the occasional spray of mist on my arm. The food itself was well deserving of all the praise it had been given, every bite was as fulfilling as the last and I soon found my plate becoming empty. Small talk was the only kind of discussion around the table and I was trying my hardest to maintain a pleasant face despite the fact that it was starting to get unbearably tedious. That is, until a particular question from Richard made the remnants of my food suddenly inedible. 

“So, Jayde, what does your family do?” 

My jaw clenched for a moment as I reached for my glass of water, “My sister is a computer technician.” 

“And your parents?” He pressed curiously. 

“Dad,” Nadya said in a soft warning tone.

“It’s okay.” I told Nadya and cleared my throat before addressing her father, “They passed a long time ago.” 

“Oh.” Was all he said, though he looked slightly embarrassed. 

“That’s terrible.” Winona sounded more empathic, her hand coming up to her chest, “What happened?”

“An accident. I was sixteen.” I answered curtly.

Her head shook, “I’m so sorry for your loss, I can’t imagine what that must have been like for you.” 

You have no idea, I wanted to say sarcastically, but bit my tongue, “It was hard, but it was also a long time ago.” 

“The accident… Is that where…?” Richard pointed at his own face, around the areas where I had scars on mine. 

“Some of them, yes.” I answered truthfully.

“Some of them?” 

“Jayde was in another accident.” Nadya chimed in quickly, “That’s how we met. I was treating her at the hospital.” 

Richard’s eyebrows raised in surprise and he looked back at me, “You don’t have much luck with cars, it seems.” 

“More like I don’t have much luck with people.” I corrected him with a smug grin, “I’m actually pretty handy with cars.”

“Are you?” He asked in a patronizing tone. 

My eyes narrowed slightly, “I was an apprentice to a mechanic for about six months a few years ago. I was in that shop all day, every day, and he taught me everything personally. I even still have the bike he gave me and I take care of it as well as the people you pay to take care of your Cadillac.”

Richard’s eyes narrowed back at me for a few long moments. I could tell he was trying to make me back down for the snide comment, but I held my ground and didn’t break eye contact. Just when I thought the tension had grown too thick, he let out a laugh. It still sounded a bit strained, but it lightened the mood once more. 

“Well, maybe I’ll ask you for some pointers then.” 

I bared my teeth in what could barely pass as a smile, “I’d gladly give them.” 

Then Richard directed his attention to his daughter, “Since you mentioned it, Nadya, how are things going at the hospital? At school?”

The sudden change in topic caught Nadya completely off guard. She had been so focused on covering for me that she must not have predicted that this question would arise, at least not here, because I was fairly sure that her father knew she was no longer attending school in person or working at the hospital. His tone and expression, one of a scolding parent, confirmed that suspicion. 

Nadya slowly sat up straight, her whole body frozen, and her mouth hung open as she tried to form words, “Uh, well, things have changed a bit…” 

I shot Richard a contempt glare for making Nadya uncomfortable, but it was like I no longer existed to him in this moment. He was only focused on his daughter, staring her down for an explanation. Why he chose to confront her here in a public place, and in front of me, was even more puzzling. The only reason I could think of was public humiliation as a form of punishment. That thought made a quiet growl rumble at the back of my throat. 

“I’ve noticed.” He said with a flat smile. 

“Richard…” Winona pleaded under her breath. 

He didn’t take his eyes off of Nadya, “She knows how much I’ve invested to get her into that school. To help her pay rent, utilities, whatever she needs. And suddenly she’s no longer there anymore?”

“I’m still going to school, Dad. I’m still learning.” Nadya’s leg started to bounce with nerves underneath the table, “Listen, I got an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. It’s a doctors without borders program and I’m helping people that really need it. I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do… but I had to leave to do it.” 

“It’s true, I’ve been with her the whole time.” I couldn’t stand by and leave Nadya fumbling to defend herself. I absolutely hated the way Richard was looking at her, the way he was making her feel with the overbearing posture he was exuding, “When she isn’t working, she’s studying. No one works harder than your daughter.” 

After a brief glance at me, he continued his interrogation, “How come you didn’t talk to me about it first?”

“It was a last minute thing. I felt like I could make that decision for myself.” Nadya answered with a more confident tone, though her anxiety still pulsed off of her with every heavy heartbeat. 

Just then, a waiter arrived to clear any empty plates. The momentary distraction allowed me the time to reach under the table and place a comforting hand on Nadya’s thigh without getting caught. I brushed my thumb across her leg a few times and felt relieved when the bouncing stilled under my touch, her body relaxing. Her hand came to rest on top of mine, but then the waiter left with a stack full of dishes and I forced myself to pull away from her before her parents could notice anything. Even though every cell in my body screamed against it, I couldn’t risk outing Nadya before she was ready. 

“We’ll talk about this more at home.” Richard stated as he motioned for the check. 

I didn’t even bother to hide my eye roll. It took more than a little will power not to snap at him. Just because Richard was her father, didn’t mean he could speak to her like she was a disobeying child. Especially when it wasn’t Nadya’s fault that she had to leave school. It was mine. Realizing that I was witnessing one of the consequences to dragging Nadya into my life made my shoulders start to slump in shame. I wanted to redirect Richard’s ire away from Nadya and towards me more than anything. 

I tried to distract myself with some of the sights we ended up driving through, it was a beautiful city after all. All of the colorful houses and overly steep hills were something whimsical and unique to see, everything so mismatched, but it surprisingly fit cohesively. I listened patiently as I was told about this place or that, appreciating the history involved and nodding along like an eager student. Despite being such a large and crowded city, San Francisco had a handful of peaceful looking spots where you could pretend you weren’t in a concrete jungle. 

One place in particular, that we visited at Nadya’s request, looked like something plucked straight out of ancient Rome. A small artificial lagoon surrounded a massive dome structure, flanked by Roman style columns and trees dotted here and there to make it look like it had sprung up in the middle of a forest. The lagoon reflected the whole scene like a mirror, giving the illusion of two separate worlds being connected at the edge of the water. Small clusters of tourists followed a trail around the lagoon that even went under the dome and I wanted to see it up close just like they were. 

I followed Nadya and her parents as they led me down that path, feeling more at ease with the scents of a tiny piece of nature. I could see why Nadya wanted to show me this place. It was gorgeous, and I soon found myself getting so enthralled by everything that I was lagging behind a bit to appreciate it all at my own pace. 

Then we arrived at the central rotunda. The underside of the dome was the most notable. It stretched well over a hundred feet up, the design reminding me of a honeycomb, and the acoustics echoed voices and footsteps in a way that almost gave me the urge to sing. The dome itself was held up by several columns, each had a statue of an angel of some sort perched on top and looking down at the witnesses to their beauty. 

I must have looked like a little kid, staring straight up with an expression of awe as I slowly shuffled around underneath the massive work of art. This was worth coming into the congestion of a big city to see. The only thing that pulled me out of it was the sound of a camera shutter. My gaze shot back down to look for the source and I saw Nadya giving me a sheepish smile after she lowered her camera. I hadn’t even known she had it, but I suppose she secretly stashed it in her shoulder bag the same way I secretly stashed a gun in my waistband. 

“I couldn’t resist.” she stated in her defense.

“I don’t mind.” I told her with a beaming grin and looked back up at the dome before quietly saying, “It’s a bit romantic, isn’t it?”

She nodded, “That’s why it’s my favorite place in the city.” 

“I’m glad I got to see it.” 

“Me too.” Nadya stepped closer to me, filling all of my senses with her presence, and then I felt her fingers lace with mine. 

My eyes darted around in case her parents were nearby. They weren’t anywhere to be found, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t suddenly appear from around a corner. 

“They went back to the car.” She told me, “They’ve seen this place about a thousand times already.” 

Her words filled me with relief, finally allowing me to enjoy some bit of contact with her. I didn’t know how anyone could ever get sick of a sight like this, but I was grateful for their absence nonetheless, “Good.” 

“Thank you, by the way,” Nadya said, caressing her thumb over the back of my hand. When I gave her a look in question, she elaborated, “For what you said at lunch. I was worried he wasn’t going to believe me.” 

My hand squeezed hers protectively, “I hated the way he was talking to you.” 

“I understand where he’s coming from though.” She gave me a sad smile, “He’s done a lot for me and it’s like I just up and left.” 

“But that wasn’t your fault at all.” I pointed out. 

“No,” Nadya agreed with a shake of her head, “But we can’t exactly tell him that without explaining why. And that isn’t an option.” When that made the weight of my guilt feel heavier, she gave my hand a gentle shake, “Hey, I can handle this. I promise.” 

“I know you can, Nadya.” I said fondly. 

She looked at me in adoration, the warmth in her brown eyes nearly glittering with the love she had for me, and I felt my heart swell. Suddenly nothing, not even the impressive architecture around us, couldn’t compare to how gorgeous she was. I would be content to stare at her for the rest of the day, everything else be damned. 

Then Nadya took me by surprise yet again when she leaned in to press a kiss to my lips. The incredibly bold action made my muscles freeze up, but I was soon soothed by the familiar feeling and had to fight with every fiber of my being not to deepen it. It was over far too quickly, but it would have been too risky if we had indulged ourselves any more than that. 

Nadya pulled back and looked at me, her expression becoming smug and amused, “I thought I told you not to look at me like that.” 

“You’re killing me.” 

She bit her lip playfully, bringing my hand up to plant another peck on my skin, and then backed away from me until our contact was severed. My chest pinched, but the smile on her face kept it from stinging too terribly, “Let’s get back.” 

I was less uncomfortable when the awkward silence in the car returned because the butterflies in my stomach were still fluttering like crazy from the brief kiss Nadya gave me under the giant rotunda. Actually, I was glad to not have to engage in many words, for my mind to be free to replay the memory over and over. I couldn’t wait to hold her tonight when I planned to sneak into her room. 

By the time we returned to the Bishops’ house, the sun was starting its descent into the horizon. I could also sense the growing tension in the family, understanding full well that Richard planned to confront his daughter yet again while I was occupied with cooking the dinner I had promised. No part of me wanted to leave Nadya alone to that, but she gave me a confident nod after I hesitated to exit the living room. After a few moments of a fleeting glance between us, I disappeared to the back of the house. 

As time went on, being alone in the kitchen and watching over our cooking dinner while Nadya talked with her parents in the living room started making me more and more uneasy. But then I remembered her insistence that she could handle it. I believed her when she said that, but it just didn’t feel right not being by her side. At least I could distract myself with cooking. My role as chef tonight was one of the few things I was comfortable with. 

The back door to the house came into the kitchen and it suddenly opened. My first instinct was to tense for an attack, reach for the gun that I had stupidly hid back in my bag upstairs, but I quickly calmed myself at the casual movements of the man entering the house. An intruder wouldn’t come into a home like he lived in it. 

The young man was probably a few years older than me and I heard the clinking of dog tags around his neck. Military. When he saw me, we sized each other up curiously. There was something familiar about his features that wasn’t easy to place right away. After a moment, I realized that I recognized the face. I had seen a younger version of it in a picture on the mantle above the fireplace. A large and dark pit formed in my stomach when it finally clicked, swirling like an abyss, waiting to claim a victim. This was Nadya’s brother. Everything that she told me about him came back into my mind with a rush of blood and the blackness of the pit turned into roiling fire.

“Oh,” Ruben said, sounding disinterested, “You’re the friend.”

“I didn’t know you were going to be here.” I replied, grinding my teeth and desperately trying to keep my rage under control. 

He shrugged with an infuriating smirk, “Don’t feel too bad, I didn’t tell anyone. I heard my kid sister was coming home and I just had to surprise her.” 

Ruben’s words utterly disgusted me. I was certain he knew damn well that Nadya would be terrified to know that he was here. The sickening smile on his face made it obvious that he took pleasure in that. That’s when I noticed something slightly odd about him, besides the obvious. He certainly shared a lot of resemblance to Richard, but there was very little of Nadya and hardly anything resembling Winona. Where Nadya’s brown eyes were warm and comforting, his blue ones were cold and cruel. Where Winona’s face was calm and inviting, his was calculating and standoffish. 

I listened for the family a few rooms away. They remained deep in conversation and were most likely oblivious to Ruben’s presence. There was still time to kick his ass out. 

“I don’t think she would enjoy that.” I said, turning to face him completely. “Maybe you should leave.” My expression let him know that it wasn’t a suggestion. 

Ruben’s eyes narrowed as he studied me for a few seconds. Then he scoffed, “What did she tell you?” 

“Nothing.” I continued to stare him down, “I just know a douche when I see one.”

His lip twitched in anger and he took an aggressive step towards me. Ruben’s eyes sparkled with cruelty. It was the polar opposite of what I had grown to love in Nadya’s eyes, that sparkle being something I’ve never seen even a hint of in her. He couldn’t even outwardly hide his intentions for the world and it was shocking to think that someone so closely related to her could be this much of an asshole. Just standing this close to him, feeling the bad energy he exuded, made wolf under my skin bristle.

His body language practically oozed arrogance. “Nadya is a little confused about some things. She’s messed up in the head. Maybe think about that before you believe every dramatic story she tells you.” 

My fury spiked when he mentioned her name, his words wearing what little patience I had even thinner. “This is the last time I’ll say it. You need to leave.” 

Ruben’s grin was both chilling and enraging. “This is my house. The only way you’re getting me out of here is if you make a huge scene and something tells me you don’t wanna do that.” 

I hated to admit it, but he was right. I didn’t know him enough to tell if he was bluffing or not, but my instincts told me he was serious. If a scene broke out, then that would ruin everything Nadya was trying so hard to mend, putting her in more stress. On the other hand, Ruben would force her to relive the trauma that she thought she escaped. I wasn’t sure which option was worse for her right now. If Ruben had to stay, then I could protect her from him. As long as I’m here, he wouldn’t get anywhere near her. 

The moment of silence ended with me swiftly wrapping my hand around Ruben’s throat and shoving him against the pantry. I held back slightly so the impact he made against the cupboard wouldn’t alert the others. My hand squeezed and a huge part of me just wanted to break his goddamn neck right here and now. Everyone would be a lot better off. But then I would have a body to deal with. Not to mention, I would have killed Nadya’s parents’ son right under their roof. Doesn’t really make the best first impression. 

“Listen to me,” I growled, low and menacing, right in his face, “You stay as far away from her as possible. You don’t look at her. You don’t talk to her. Matter of fact, she no longer exists to you anymore.” Each slow word I spoke was dripping with all the rage I felt towards him. “If you break any of these rules, I will kill you. Do you understand me?”

The sudden fear I smelled coming off of him nearly threw my wolf into a frenzy. This pathetic thing in my grasp was weak and all I had was hatred for it. I wanted to rip him apart for everything that he did to her. I wanted to squeeze the life out of him and watch that cruel light of his flicker out. The last time I wanted to kill someone this badly was when I watched my father die. Raw fury made my skin tingle, my body shake, and I could tell my eyes began to shine, but I didn’t care as long as it got my point across.

Ruben’s horrified expression took me in. He didn’t react to my words in any other way, so I shook him roughly, “Do you understand me?” 

When I saw him struggle to nod, I released my grip. Ruben scrambled away from me, desperately gasping for breath. Maybe I’d get lucky and that would scare him enough to run. “What the fuck are you?”

“Your worst nightmare.” I answered and turned back to cooking dinner. As soon as I let him go, I felt my eyes fade back to their usual color. Regaining my control, yet still feeling the burning rage within me. 

“I’ll tell them-”

“Tell them what?” I cut him off with a dangerous look. “Nobody will believe a damn word out of your mouth.” 

Ruben stood staring at me for what felt like minutes. No doubt trying to calculate exactly how many choices he had in this moment. My hard, unwavering glare reminded him that he didn’t have many if he wanted to come out of this in one piece. I may not kill him tonight, but every bone in my body, every instinct and impulse I had, wanted me to end his worthless life. Ruben’s days were numbered. 

The moment passed with him unable to come up with anything to say or do other than try to move past me. I immediately knew I couldn’t let Nadya see him before I got the chance to warn her. My hand reached out, grabbing a fistful of his shirt to stop him in his tracks, “Go outside and come in through the front door.” I ordered, shoving him backwards. He scowled at me, but did as I commanded.

As soon as Ruben went out the back door, I moved out of the kitchen and made my way to the living room. Nadya was still talking with her parents. A part of me felt bad for interrupting, but I had no choice. “Nadya, can you come help me with dinner for a minute?”

Nadya must have seen something in my expression that caused her to give me an odd look. Thankfully, her parents seemed oblivious. “Be right back.” Nadya told them and got up from the couch to follow me. 

Once we were in the kitchen, Nadya asked, “Is everything okay?”

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair, turning to her and reaching to hold her hands in mine. “I want you to know that if we were anywhere else besides here, I wouldn’t have let this happen. And I am so sorry.”

“Okay, now you’re freaking me out.” she replied hesitantly.

“Ruben is here.”

All the color drained from her face as her expression went blank. “He, um… he’s supposed to be overseas.” Nadya’s voice was hollow. 

I gently raised my hands to cup her face. “Listen to me.” I said softly. I might’ve even felt her temperature drop. Her eyes were bright with fear. “You are safe. I’m here and I will not let him do anything to you, okay? You just say the word and we’ll come up with an excuse to leave.” 

Nadya gripped my forearms tightly and shut her eyes. She stayed like that for a full minute while she controlled her breathing. Thinking that my presence was helping, I rested my forehead against hers to let her know I wasn’t going anywhere. 

“We can go.” I eventually said again. “We should go.”

“No,” Nadya shook her head, leaning back to look at me. “No, I can’t leave yet. Just- please stay close to me.” 

“I won’t leave you while he’s here.” I promised. 

Dinner was almost ready, so Nadya stayed with me until it was finished. I waited and listened, but it was almost ten minutes before I heard the front door open and close. Who knows why it took Ruben so long to just walk around the house. It made me nervous. I started thinking of ways to sneak upstairs for my gun. 

“Did you talk to him?” Nadya asked quietly.

I nodded, “Tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn’t without making a scene. He’ll behave though. I made sure of it.”

“You don’t know him.” She warned.

“Well, I threatened to kill him, so,” I shrugged, plating some of our dinner. 

“You did what?”

Her outright shock surprised me. I thought that would make her feel better. “I told him to stay away from you or I’d kill him.” 

“Why would you say that?” Nadya’s voice became a frantic whisper, “You don’t know what Ruben is capable of when he’s pissed off.”

“Nadya, I can handle him. I didn’t just piss him off, he’s afraid of me. I doubt he’ll try anything.” Ruben likes to prey on people that he thinks are weak. He didn’t scare me, therefore he had no power over me. In time, Nadya will learn that she is more powerful than he ever was, but until then, I could deal with him to protect her. 

“Jayde, don’t underestimate him.”

She was still staring at me with a mixture of disbelief and fear when we heard her mother call to us, “Nadya! Your brother is here, come say hi!” 

Nadya finally tore her gaze from me, grabbing my shirt sleeve and tugging at it to get me to follow her. I couldn’t hold her hand, or put an arm around her, or even stand too close while we were here, but I wouldn’t leave her side. Hopefully my presence will keep Ruben in check. As much as I wanted to kill him, I didn’t want it to be tonight. But he had to know I meant it or he would never take me seriously and that was dangerous. 

We got into the living room and as soon as Ruben saw me, he took a subtle step back. Good. Remember your place. 

“Look who wanted to surprise us.” Winona said pleasantly. 

“Wasn’t expecting you.” Nadya forced her fear down rather convincingly, though I could still smell it all over her. I guess she knew how to suppress it around her parents. Years of practice being under Ruben’s threats conditioned her. 

The rage started to boil up again, making my skin tingle. I took a deep breath to settle my fury, making sure to keep my eyes down as much as possible. It was one thing to show some of my true nature in front of Ruben as a scare tactic, but I wasn’t sure their parents would react well to my eyes glowing. 

Ruben addressed his parents even though he made it sound like he was answering Nadya. “Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve been home.” 

“What a nice time for you to come visit.” Winona mused, “How'd you get the time off?”

I’d had about enough with the pleasantries. “Dinner’s ready.” 

“Oh,” Richard chimed in like he had forgotten that I was there. “This is your sister’s friend, Jayde.”

I stepped forward and reached my hand out to shake with Ruben. He looked at me warily, but accepted my handshake. I gripped his hand hard enough that he had to suppress a wince. It was another reminder of what I told him, but instead of cowering like I expected, Ruben’s eyes burned and he squeezed back with all his might. The human’s strength hardly even registered, so all I did was smirk. 

“Nice meeting you.” I told him coldly and he nodded. 

All throughout dinner, I could feel how scared Nadya was sitting beside me. Even placing myself between her and Ruben did little to relieve her anxiety, it lingered in the air around her like a thick invisible cloud. Knowing and feeling what she was going through certainly made me lose any appetite I had. I wanted to reach under the table and place a comforting hand on her thigh like I did at lunch, but there were no easy distractions to hide behind. The best I could do was a subtle bump of my elbow to hers, hoping that reminding her of my presence would help. Nadya bumped me back in recognition.

I could also feel Ruben’s growing fury while we ate. Every few minutes I would throw a glare in his direction, but his jaw was set in such a tight clench that I was anticipating the sound of his teeth breaking any minute. Winona and Richard didn’t seem at all concerned with Ruben, despite him not bothering to hide the mood he was in, and I recalled that Nadya told me what an angry kid he was when they were growing up. This kind of behavior was normal to their parents. Which just made me angrier. I should’ve just killed him. 

I couldn’t even focus on the conversations happening at the table. Richard and Winona praised me for the food I made and that was all I reacted to, giving them short responses to loosen my clenched jaw. It was so obvious that Ruben wanted to test the boundaries that I set for him. I was silently warning him not to, but the guy was just too fucking stupid and arrogant.  

Towards the end of dinner, Ruben stood up, “I’m gonna go for a smoke break.” He announced, coming around to our side of the table, walking behind me, and placed a hand on Nadya’s shoulder. The pat was swift, and even gentle, but Nadya still froze like a statue under his touch. Then he leaned down to whisper in her ear, “I’m happy you’re here, Nadya.” before continuing on his way.

Every cell in me ignited with a fire that burned hot enough to frighten me. Every muscle had suddenly tensed to the snapping point. I actually started to see red and immediately looked down because I knew my eyes were definitely shining. 

No way. No fucking way was he getting away with that. 

“Excuse me.” I growled, getting up a little more aggressively than I intended, causing the chair to screech backwards loudly.

“Jay,” Nadya started, but I was already gone.

Ruben wasn’t out back, but I caught his putrid scent. It led down the neighborhood, behind all the houses. I followed it. He was smart enough to know there was going to be repercussions for what he did and I was smart enough to know that he was probably setting a trap of some kind. I didn’t give a single shit. Didn’t even care that I hadn’t gone upstairs to retrieve my gun first. As soon as I saw him, I was going to beat him to death. Ruben couldn’t stop me no matter what he had planned. 

In his bad attempt at an ambush, I found him pressed up against the side of a garage behind one of the empty houses on this street, tucked in the shadows. My hands gripped his shirt before he could react and I pulled him away from the brick wall only to slam him against it with enough force that must have cracked his skull. Not enough to kill him or knock him out. I wanted to take a little bit of time with this. Ruben grunted, just barely keeping his footing. As I held him up and pulled a fist back to smash his face in, I heard a click.

The barrel of a handgun was resting on my chest. “Not expecting this, huh?” 

I stared down at it, then back up as his smug face. There was a moment of silence and I scoffed at him. My hand quickly snatched the wrist holding the gun, slowly forcing the barrel up towards the sky, and I squeezed with all my strength. The iron vice I had on Ruben was too tight to allow him to pull the trigger. After a moment, with even more unrelenting force applied while he was struggling against me, I heard and felt a pop in his wrist. Ruben let out a cry in pain and had no choice but to release his weapon. The gun clattered on the ground and I tore him off the wall again, shoving him into the alley hard enough that he fell.

“Not expecting that, huh?” I mimicked his tone. Leaning down, I picked up the gun. Ejecting the cartridge and the loaded bullet, tossing them all in different directions. Ruben didn’t deserve a quick death. “What did I say to you?” My rage was still prevalent. Bad enough that I started to feel some of my bones shift. I was dangerously close to turning. I haven’t been this close to losing control since my first few full moons. 

Ruben sat before me, clutching his wrist and looking pissed as ever. “You’re not gonna kill me.”

“I am.” My growl sounded. 

“Jayde!” Nadya appeared, breathing heavily and scrambling to place herself between me and Ruben. “Jayde, don’t do this!” 

I stared at her, completely dumbfounded. “What are you doing?”

“Whatever it is you’re about to do, I am begging you not to.” She held a hand out like she was prepared to physically stop me if she had to, her eyes were so frantic and terrified that all I could do was stare at her blankly. Seeing that I was distracted, Nadya looked over her shoulder. “Go.” She ordered Ruben. He went to say something, but she wouldn’t let him. “Just go!”

Ruben hesitated for another moment, but shot up and stumbled away. I continued to stare at Nadya. Not understanding. It was jarring enough that my anger started to fade, allowing me the control I nearly lost. “Why did you do that?” 

“He’s my brother, Jayde.” It didn’t even sound like it was Nadya who said that.

“What?” I said in disbelief, “He’s your abuser. He put his hands on you right in front of me after I told him not to!”

“This isn’t as black and white as ‘he’s the bad guy and needs to die’, Jayde!” She was trying to keep her voice down so no one would be alerted by our argument. “Think about the consequences!”

“I did!”

“No, you clearly didn’t!” Nadya took a deep breath, frustrated tears running down her cheeks. “I appreciate you trying to protect me, but you just almost murdered my brother in the neighborhood we grew up in, four houses from where our parents are wondering what the hell is going on. Don’t you get it?” 

It made my stomach flip every time she called Ruben her brother. I didn’t know how she could claim him like that, but I understood what she was saying. My rage got the better of me. The timing couldn’t have been worse and I played right into Ruben’s scheme. I relented with a loud, groaning sigh. “I get it. I don’t really agree, but I get it.”

“That’s fine. Just think more, okay?” I nodded and Nadya moved closer to me, placing one hand on my shoulder while the other cupped underneath my jaw. “Now, are you alright? Did he hurt you?” 

“No.” I reassured her as she was inspecting my face, “He can’t fight for shit.”

“He also holds grudges.” She warned, dropping her arms.

I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous concept of Ruben being a formidable enemy, “He doesn’t scare me.” 

A small, sad smile came across her lips. “That makes one of us.” 

My heart seized and I looked at her regretfully, “I’m sorry I didn’t stop it.”

“What could you have done without making a scene?” Nadya pointed out to make me feel better. It didn’t. “It’s okay, he’s done worse.” 

That definitely didn’t make me feel better. I pulled her in for a hug and Nadya eagerly accepted it. I shut my eyes and held her as tightly as she held me. Her scent and her warmth calmed my restless and vengeful wolf, soothing what remained of my rage. Finally, I felt her body relax and melt against mine as she buried her face in my neck. I continued to hold her for as long as she needed to remind her that I was here and she was safe. 

Nadya reluctantly disentangled herself from me and wiped at her stray tears. “Come on, we gotta go explain to my parent’s that you had a reaction to an ingredient in the food or something.” 

“Okay.” I said with a sigh and followed her back to the house.

[trixcuomo]

Love Games

Up next on Desperate Alts’ Lives... Horde B celebrity Trixany Cuomo has finally pulled the lever to A-status, and now it’s like she’s fallen down into a black rabbit hole of gossip and dangerous glam, chasing her dreams. Is this it? Has Trix finally gone too far? One of her friends must be able to save her, but which are the right friends? Haris Pilton? Sig Nicious? Her Night Elf buddy Sharpen? Hopeless causes tend to want dark angels...

Jet black. Haris Pilton thought her once rival in all things, business, modeling, performing, climbing the Silvermoon City social ladder—Trixany Cuomo, soon to be Mrs. Sig Nicious—that Trixany would go with red for her own gossip closet. A cheery, and also dangerous color. But when they were done looking through Haris’s swatches months ago, under their new starlette truce of course, Trixany wanted her gossip closet in complete, knockout black.

Today, Trixany’s hand was on the lever, she just hadn’t pulled it yet this morning. First, she needed to gather all her targets. Haris’ pink knob was honestly so… odd. But Trixany chose a literal disco stick that reminded her of one of her favorite performers of all time. The part at the top was a classic disco ball with large tiles of glossy silver. The effect was going to take over the whole room whenever she was ready to ‘pull the lever!’ The first time she’d done it at Haris’ place was so fun, it was addicting. Yes, so wonderfully addicting.

Trixany crossed legs in her matching leather catsuit. The worker Gnomes with jumpsuits also piped in silver along the smart curves of their bodies? Still asleep. Trixany liked to get up before even they did.

She sat alone inside of the shell at the center of the room. Well, it was raised up for now, or else she wouldn’t be able to see or hear anything. The noise-cancelling, black ASMR shell-that-was-totally-not-like-any-other-famous-villain’s-personal-sanctuary-globe-thing-for-legal-reasons had its uses, just not right now. STNLAOFVPSGTLR or Stan’s Laff Vapors Get’er was a fascinating piece of technology engineered for relaxing starlettes exclusively. So it was perfect for a certain Horde B celebrity. Gotta love quirky Gnomish technology. The laugh vapors weren’t working so at the moment. They were also supposed to help her forget her stressors. Running low… White steam raised from the top of the shell and escaped through the gear-like teeth around the edges, wafting to the ceiling.

Gnomish technology to make you think, ten times, twenty times faster. Consider your options and get maybe twelve moves ahead of your opponent before they’re even out of bed, or grabbed their champagne brunch around 2 pm server… It was like farming for rares, from home, fast, and on felweed! But it was your frenemies you were felling.

Anyway…

The black control screens all around flickered with silent pictures of Trixany wannabes with their rip-off looks or performances, rival divas secretly being watched while they slept—and before you judge, Trixany felt justified; some of them were up in their own gossip closet war rooms, scheming against her even at this hour—and if you’re a true Team Trixany fan, then you also know about the runway fashion show footage Trixany had been streaming all week. All were designs from the newly launched, joint Haris-Trix fashion line. Haris had backed it financially, Trixany had endorsed it, done the leg work promoting and wearing some of the showstoppers. They had been raking in the gold over it until recently. Both their fandoms, for once, were united on the fashion line. Well, not all of the screens were filled with saucy models on catwalks. Trixany was also observing how each new outfit was being received in the market as it was launched, while simultaneously keeping an eye—with her special lace-lensed fashion goggles—for any rip-offs. New clothing that ripped off her rip-offs, if Trixany was every forced to be very honest about how she and Haris got all the designs—but that intel would only get forced out, by Goblin lawyers tougher than her own, in some inter-factional Azeroth court of law. Technically, they weren’t stealing other people’s ideas unless they got caught…

“I can’t stand this…”

Trixanys thoughts were moving more rapidly than she could speak them or even keep track of on her own. Inside the white-hot shell, little electronic flickerings along a web of wires and lights carried them away instantly, recorded them. The rest of the room was dark, so dark… But inside, Trixany was alone with her thoughts. Just merely thinking that she might sue someone for stealing her brand was stored in a databank the moment it occurred to her. A list of commands that would be sent to the ends of Azeroth to the Goblin lawyers, Horde or Alliance pop icons. (Don’t let them tell you Thrall doesn’t consider himself a Horde A celebrity… his gossip closet was rumored to be done over in the hides of his slain enemies, where no one could see of course.) And of course there were a clutch of thugs ready to ‘handle’ anyone normal out there without real connections. Quick, dirty, cheap.

That was the last bit of advice Trixany grudgingly took from Haris Pilton before she mastered the art of ‘gossip watching’ for herself. Before the student became the master. Now, on Screen Five, Trixany observed Haris in her bubblegum pink dressing robes having tea with her breakfast. Actually Haris had been doing that, and elegantly, for a while. A stray thought wondered if Haris had somehow found out about Trixany’s global network of hidden scrying orbs and had set up video loop clips at certain parts of the day when she didn’t want to be observed. And they were supposed to be the best of business partners…

A new, bright white bead of light raced around inside the shell and disappeared behind Trixany’s black chair. Screen Ninety-Eight suddenly flickered on and pulled up a list. White text against a lovely, rich dark screen. The words ‘Check up on Haris, the brat…’ already printing on a new line.

On mornings like this one, Trixany felt more Gnomish tech than woman. Sunlight… what a nice memory. Though they said something odd with the Scourge was going on outside these days. Maybe that was the real reason profits from their fashion line were slowing down? Who knew?

Trixany was a Blood Knight, had the skills of any paladin, she should have a lot of work to do with the Knights of the Blood Nexus, shouldn’t she? Shouldn’t Lady Liadrin call on her then? And beyond that, when was the last time she’d gone for a stroll—well, without Silvermoon paparazzi around her and Sig. And Sig? Sig Nicious, her fiancée… he kept postponing their wedding.

“You’re my butterfly, but it’s taking you ages to come out of your cocoon, do you understand? You’re not ontop of this celebrity stuff, Trix. I love you, but you’re just not there yet. You and Haris Pilton are friends now, why don’t you ask her for more advice? We need this to be a marriage of equals.”

Then Trixany’s own voice, it felt more like it haunted her above the constant jealous, scheming thoughts, it resurfaced. “No. I can’t do this…”

Trixany inhaled deeply of the white vapors, shut her eyes, shut off her deeper consciousness. Just a few more hours of this and she would finally be caught up with everyone else. Maybe ahead.

Caught up… Didn’t she used to like running, catching up with friends on long sunny walks? That time Sharpen took her to Highmountain, hiking so far her calves felt they would burn from sun and walking, she swore to him that they would, but he was too far ahead to hear her. Hear her catching up, catching her breath… that adorable fool.

A Night Elf man was suddenly there in her mind. Sharpen had carefully braided hair, long braids that fell over his broad shoulders. First in green, then in bright blue—he was wearing a “CYANS HAVE MORE FUN” t-shirt in one of her memories—and at last, his hair washed to a rich pink in her mind. Trixany knew all the shades Sharpen was trying these days, she’d kept track of them all, knew the brand, the shade, how many were left in stock…

Screen Fifty-Two flickered on, white lines over a dark surface, suddenly filling with numbers and a silent white web of locations united by lines on a map as a simple display of Alliance lands started to slide by. Trixany had wanted to know what her Night Elf friend’s new hair color would be, just a whim—but the gossip closet was already running the numbers, making a mathematical projection. Based on the number of colors left in the shops Sharpen frequented, the price point he usually aimed for, the favorite colors he was usually wearing.

“Forecast… 90 percent…Black.”

“Black? Really? Sharpen’s such an upbeat guy.”

Trixany hated knowing that. It depressed her. So her friend, who never had much money, who was just curious enough to try new things, not that he’d do it for a living and consult someone like she would… Sharpen was going to run into a wall soon with all the other options he’d tried, because cyan was his preferred shade of all the blues, and he’d already gone with the closest shade of pink-red her liked on his spectrum, and going back to green was too close to his natural color… The machine was printing all this detail as part of its proof… So he would feel bold—think himself just as bold as when he chose pink--and settle on black to surprise his friends. Black like her gossip closet. Black like… some big, empty hole. Trixany could no longer think it through. So she already knew what he was going to do? No surprises, no spontaneity? No reason to talk to him. She no longer had to see him to know what he was doing. It wasn’t required. He was a blip on a screen. And when was the last time she’d spoken to Sharpen, the real Sharpen?

What had he told her? Something silly about animals. Her eye twitched, she curled a fist as she remembered it. “Spiders aren’t supposed to be caught in their own webs, Trix. All these morsels you’ve ever wanted… they’re right there around you. Fixed in your web, you can have them all. But you’re still not happy. Shouldn’t you know why not? Can’t you tell? The old you would have just handled it, she doesn’t—or didn’t take anyone’s crap, whether from some monster down in a dungeon or… the well-dressed blonde bombshell kind.”

“Wait, do you mean Haris Pilton or Siggy?”

Sharpen shook his head at her, “Who are you, anymore?”

And what had she said in response to that? Sig was away from the dinner table at the moment, taking a call on his comm. “I don’t eat bugs, Sharpen.”

“No, but you do like to slay things. You like to find targets and take them out. Fix things for yourself and people, for the world, hell—for the Horde, however you think that still helps thew world. You have a sense of justice, or you did. You like to sit down after a battle, smile at how you’ve helped. But now you just look miserable. You even look unwell—”

“MAYBE BECAUSE I DON’T EAT BUGS LIKE SOME STUPID NIGHT ELF!”

Sharpen and Trixany hadn’t spoken to each other since. It was a bad, tragic gaffe to make at a busy, high-tone Dalaran restaurant. It was like… it built up and built up from… she didn’t know where. And then, like a volcano, the stupid, stupid senseless things she said just exploded out of her. Violent in its own way. It blew a hole clear through a friendship.

Trixany rubbed at the bridge of her nose. That time she and Sig took Sharpen out to dinner in Dalaran… Because Trixany had missed him. Because Trixany had hopped on a motorcycle and blown out of her own engagement party in Silvermoon City, at Sig’s place. Sig’s fancy place with all his perfect friends, all that flawless life. The pressure should have been off, she’d made it. She wasn’t a B-woman. She was A-grade. Like meat. No, an alpha, on top. She was a singer, and he was a singer too. Both of them were good people, actually decent. And he liked her, genuinely. It really felt like the lead singer of the Elite Tauren Chieftans loved her, truly, so why was she so distressed? Why did it feel like she couldn’t get a breath at times…

Trixany inhaled again, breathed deeply a few more times though it felt like she was panicking. “Why! Why is this happening to me?”

This was all she ever wanted, just like Sharpen had said. But it felt like things were hooked into her instead. Bleeding her dry. Trixany always assumed she would feel… filled up.

Filled up with things.

Things.

About forty models of all races, Orc, Goblin, Forsaken, Draenei, Gnomes, women and men of all races strutted in time across her control screens. Surely, they all had different music at their particular fashion shows. But fashion models all seemed to have the same unnerved strut. Now she saw it. They were all terrified of falling, of looking stupid. But they were charging through it while ignoring themselves. Completely disregarding their own fears, that they were hungry or tired, tired of all of it. Or, even if they loved what they did, it didn’t show in their faces nor their movements.

Maybe later. When it was all off, they could be themselves and just smile. Nobody smiled that they liked it while on stage in front of everyone, selling what was on their bodies. First rule of modeling. Since she got her start… in Goblin Gentleman’s Magazine of all places, that was always the rule. She would know. It’s not about you. It’s about what’s on you. Not what’s in you.

Never in.

“What if I’m just a pig inside?” Trixany frowned. “Scrying orb, play Gaga—”

The intercom interrupted what she was saying. A metallic sort of gnome’s voice said, “Visitor for Miss Cuomo.” Trixany hadn’t the heart to change her name over to Mrs. Nicious yet, when things honestly weren’t going well in that area of her life. He kept calling her his ‘butterfly’ yet she was still being treated like some slimy bug stuck in its pod… cocoon  thing.

“What level?”

“Popularity level three—”

“Oh, well then I don’t have the time.”

“Security level 50. Guest is Coco Cuomo.”

Her step-sister. Well what did Coco want? She rarely visited. “Let her in. And I still want you to play Gaga. Play Swine.”

As soon as the door slid open and the short green Goblin calling herself Coco Cuomo looked up and heard her new theme music, she frowned.

“Yeah, I know who’s a swine alright.” The little lime-colored Goblin girl smirked at her Blood Elf sister. Trixany stuck out her tongue.

“Um, can you at least turn down Gaga squealing out that ‘I’m so disgusting’ down a smidge? I came with some important business, you know.”

“Well, I should have assumed it would be about that. More Kaja-Cola crap? I thought I made it clear I was done with them--”

“Yeah right, when they were the ones who fired you? And who are yous, hangin’ out in hea like Darth Vader himself? Mrs. Hot-shot Sig Nicious herself, I see.”

“It’s not technically named for him so I can’t get sued—”

“Enough of this nonsense!” Coco threw her hands up. “This is exactly why I’m hea, you’re totally obsessed! When is your wedding even? Unless you’re really that low ya gonna invite the whole family and not me.”

Trixany snapped her sass-mouth shut, for now. “Sig and I are doing our best to make this… adjustment. I’m not used to being so famous.”

Coco just stared at her Blood Elf step-sister for a while.

“Swiiiiiiiine! Swiiiiiiiiiiiine!” The music started to rev up as if something was about to explode in that black gossip chamber Trixany had sealed herself in, like an enchanted tomb.

“Paint her face and, paint his face and, be a swine for… just the weekend!”

Coco erupted with new emotion, “People are dyin’ out thea, Trixany! And you’re in here plotting some… starlette’s destruction? I been trying and callin and sendin’ messenger pigeons up here for a week almost, so finally I had to come myself. I thought somethin’ real bad happened to you, all I wanted was to get you to hand over the damn Kaja-Cola Fiesta Lime contract for a damn good cause, I don’t care if you fell out with the Kaja-Cola Girls. I need your surplus stash a’ cans!”

Trixany just blinked at her. Three screens over Coco’s head started running a program, but kept coming up with repeating blank lines.

“Trixany, you really haven’t heard? You’ve truly been ignorin’ all the sufferin! We’re trying to FEED thirsty people on the front lines against the Scourge!”

“Oh. Well… I had heard whispers of that trending.”

“Trending? You’re supposed to be a PALADIN! Scourge slayer by birth or something. But you’re out here ruinin’ lives of the uppercrust like there ain’t a bottom to the pie—what’s happened to my sista! What is WRONG with you?”

“…You can’t feed thirsty people?”

“But I can bust up a thirsty trick!” Coco brandished an arclight spanner at Trixany.

“What did you just call me?? And how did you come in here armed?”

Now Coco was screaming it, “I don’t have a sista anymore. I can’t take it, I can’t stand it! You’re goin ta the Shadowlands to help with the fight, if I gotta killa ya and send you there myself! Then, Coco charged Trixany’s villainess globe, making her wild Kezani warcry.

“Yer just a pig inside a Blood Elf body! Time for you to squeal out!!”

[actuallykiwi]

OC-tober 7th: Pre and Post Game Life

OC: Annie Sinclair, Alec Sinclair / Featuring: Codsworth, Nick, Hancock, mentioned names

Enjoy :) 

***********************

Spring would always be Annie’s favorite season, but man she loved fall, too. Especially since the weather was just perfect for a Saturday. 

October 23, 2077 was her first day off from the day care in weeks, and she was looking forward to it. She lie in bed and remembered telling the kids in her class yesterday about how excited she was to go see a movie with her best friend, walk around the park, and then have her favorite meal with Alec for dinner.

So when she rose from her pillow that morning, little did she know her plans would change drastically. 

“Morning, Codsworth!” She said cheerfully as she approached him in the kitchen. 

“Ah, good morning, mum! Your coffee; 173.5 degrees Fahrenheit, brewed to perfection!” The Mr. Handy robot spun around the counter, carefully holding the steaming mug out to her. She chuckled, “Why, thank you! Glad I actually have time to enjoy it today.” She carefully set it on the counter and prepared her blasphemous amounts of cream and sugar. Typically Codsworth would do that, but it was the one thing Annie insisted on doing herself. Mainly because he commented on the sheer amount of sugar and caffeine she poured into it each day. 

“I’m assuming sleepyhead is still asleep?” She wondered out loud to Codsworth. “Yes, mum! Sir Alec is peacefully sleeping his day away, though I did hear him mumble something about space monkeys at around 4 am.” 

Annie laughed. “He is a space monkey. But he did get off from his shift pretty late last night. I’m gonna check on him.” She grabbed her coffee and headed down the hall to his closed door. After gently knocking, she cracked it open just enough to poke her head in. 

His soft snoring drifted into the hallway. Army fatigues littered the floor next to his bed from when he was too exhausted to change last night. “Bless your heart, Al. They’re working you to death. What exactly are they expecting to-?” 

The doorbell echoed from the living room, causing Annie to jump and Alec’s snoring to pause for a brief moment, then resume quietly. 

Annie placed her coffee back on the counter. “I believe it’s that salesman again, Miss Annie. He can’t take ‘no’ for an answer, can he?” Codsworth explained from the window. “He’s just doing his job, Cods. Let’s see what’s up.” She tightened her bathrobe and adjusted her bun before opening the door. 

“Good morning! Vault-Tec calling!” A Vault-Tec Sales Rep approached her with an all-too-wide smile on his face. “Good morning!” She politely smiled back. 

“Isn’t it? Just look at that sky up there!” He paused to gesture also-too-widely, and cleared his throat when she nodded awkwardly. “*ahem*  You can't begin to know how happy I am to finally speak with you. I've been trying for days. It's a matter of utmost urgency, I assure you.” 

“Oh, well, then I’m sure glad you came!” She laughed nervously. 

“Yes ma’am, I am too. Now, I know you're a busy woman, so I won't take up much of your time. Time being a, um, precious commodity... I'm here today to tell you that because of your family's service to our country, you have been pre-selected for entrance into the local Vault. Vault 111.” This man bounced back and forth from being overly excited to clearly being afraid of something. Annie was beginning to be a little worried. “Oh, okay, uh, great! Where do we sign up?” 

“You’re actually already cleared for entry! Just need to verify some information, is all, you know, in case of uh.. total atomic annihilation.” He whispered the last part. 

Now Annie was worried. “Right, okay...” She took the clipboard and filled out the information, while tentatively watching him glance around nervously. “You don’t think that will actually happen, do you..?” 

He took the clipboard from her. “U-uh, well it’s always better to be prepared, right?” He glanced down at the papers. “Wonderful! I’ll just run these over to the vault, and congratulations on being prepared for the future-!” 

The door was closed suddenly as half-awake Alec leaned against it. “That guy again? Annie, don’t tell me you bought anything from him?” 

“No, of course not! He was just telling us that we’re cleared for entry into that vault on the hill, in case of ‘total atomic annihilation!’“ She mimicked the sales rep, and Alec chuckled. “Yep, thanks to yours truly.” He grinned and wandered off to get his coffee from Codsworth. 

“Well, I’m gonna go freshen up real quick.” Annie stretched and went to the bathroom for just that. 

A few moments passed, and she was just finishing tying her bandana up in her hair when she overheard Alec from the living room. “Wait, Cods, turn that up.” 

“What’s going on?” She asked as she entered the living room, finding Alec huddled by the TV. 

“Followed by... yes, followed by flashes. Blinding flashes. Sounds of explosions... We're... we're trying to get confirmation... But we seem to have lost contact with our affiliate stations... W-We do have coming in... That's um... confirmed reports. I repeat, confirmed reports of nuclear detonations in New York and Pennsylvania. My God.”

The TV went black. Silence roared as Annie and Alec exchanged fearful looks. 

Then all hell broke loose when the air raid sirens cried their woeful cry. 

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How much time had passed? 1 day? 1 week? 1 year? She didn’t know. But when Annie opened her frosted eyes, it felt like it had been ages. A horrible gag escaped her throat when her pod suddenly opened, causing her to fall to her hands and knees and retch on the floor. 

She took deep, heaving breaths and shivered. “That... was not a decontamination pod.” She muttered. The difficult part was standing up, as if she had forgot how to. But she was able to weakly get on her feet and stumble to her brother’s pod directly across from hers. Only, she wasn’t expecting to find it already open, and empty. 

“W-what? Alec!?” She cried out, and turned to look around. “Alec!!??” 

Then, ever so faintly she swore she imagined it, she heard it way off in the distance. “Anneka!!”  

They made a promise to each other when they were little. A promise to only say each other’s full names when something was really wrong. And she knew, not only from her full name, but from the plain fear in his voice that something was very, very wrong. 

“ALEXANDER!!” She screamed, and began staggering as fast as she could towards the exit. She only paused when the door wouldn’t open to cough some more, then promptly gained her footing and ran to find another way out. 

The only thing that made her pause again was the site of the roaches the size of small dogs. And the several vault-tec-adorned skeletons littering the vault. “How long has it been...?” When she found the 10mm pistol, she was glad Alec taught her to shoot when she was in high school. It made the rest of her escape easier for her. 

When she eventually found the Pip-Boy and made it to the elevator, it was coming down, when it should have been up this whole time. She called his name again, but when there was yet again no answer, she tentatively stepped onto the platform and let it raise her joltingly to the surface. 

A thousand thoughts were swimming through her mind, so when she adjusted to the sudden sunlight, she wasted no time in jumping off before the platform even fully stopped and frantically began calling his name. “Alexander!!! Alec!! Al-...Al...” 

And she took it all in. The world she once knew, decayed to almost nothing. All the green, gone. All the life, dissipated. She fell to her knees in shock. “A...Alec...” And the tears fell. The tears fell and the vocal cords were strained from agony. 

Moments passed before she finally lifted herself from the ground, dusting off her vault suit, still damp with frost. 

And a new fire burned in her. An inferno of determination to find her brother, and adapt to this new, terrifying world. 

“Don’t worry, Alec. I promise you..” She adjusted her glasses and looked at the sky. “I will find you if it’s the last thing I do.” 

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“And I did... didn’t I...?” She said quietly to herself. 

Annie had been walking around Sanctuary, reminiscing about her promise, and where it’s taken her. In the backyard of her dilapidated house, a small, white handmade cross sit still on a mound, covered in wildflowers. And an aging military picture of Alexander Sinclair was pinned safely in the middle. 

“I just wish I could’ve found you sooner. But, no sense dwelling on that, right? I’m happy for those last few moments I had with you.” She crouched in front of him and rubbed the picture endearingly. Tears trickled down as she smiled sorrowfully at him. “I miss you, Alec. Every day. But we’re making a peaceful Commonwealth here. You’d be happy.” 

“Annie? Time for the speech, doll.” Nick called from the house. 

“Oh, coming!” She wiped her face quickly. “Sorry, looks like I’m needed! I’ll be back soon. Love you.” She kissed her fingers and tapped them on the picture, then scurried back to the street where the crowd was waiting. 

A soap box sat patiently waiting for her underneath the strung lights along the street, and the banner from the tree that read “United Commonwealth 1st Anniversary!” Everyone was chatting amongst each other until Annie took her place on the box. 

“Everyone! Today we celebrate the 1 year anniversary of peace in the Commonwealth!” 

A roar of applause. 

She laughed. “I know our version of ‘peace’ may seem odd, but as tenuous as it is, we must celebrate every moment we have of it, which is why 1 year is cause for such a huge celebration!” Applause. “1 year ago today, I made an agreement with every faction, city, and settlement to compromise in all our endeavors. I met with each of the leaders, including the new mayor of Diamond City, Hancock of Goodneighbor, Preston of the Minutemen, Maxson of the Brotherhood, and yes, even the leader of the Institute, with whom we had the most... animosity. But they have agreed to stop the kidnapping, the experiments, and to leave the Commonwealth alone unless it’s to help us. By their terms, we also leave them alone, and help voluntarily with whatever they need should they need it. The Brotherhood has agreed to help, not control, with building up the Commonwealth defense. And the Minutemen are still setting up settlements, now with the help of the Brotherhood. I know there’s still some hatred amongst us, especially for the Institute. But we need to put that hatred aside if we’re ever going to thrive again. Continue to stand with me, with each other, and let’s continue making the Commonwealth a better place.” Hancock handed her a Nuka Cola. “TO THE UNITED COMMONWEALTH!” 

“TO THE UNITED COMMONWEALTH!” There was another roar of applause, and everyone happily cheered, danced, cried, and just celebrated. 

Hancock helped her down from the box and watched the crowd with her. “Good speech, sunshine. But part of me is kinda worried.” 

“About?” She asked as she took a swig of cola. 

“About this ‘tenuous peace’ you’ve worked so hard to achieve. I know you’ve got an optimistic way of lookin’ at things, but it probably ain’t gonna last. A year is lucky.”  

“I know. That’s why we need to celebrate while we can, before someone disagrees with someone else, and then it’s back to square one.” 

“Right. Then it’s the war all over again.” 

She chuckled sadly. “Well, if it ever comes to that, it’s like Alec always said...” She took a long drink from her cola and sighed. 

“’War never changes.’“