#( her happiness is lower than normal because of her circumstances )

[sharp-teeth-and-archived]

Likeable person & dislikeable person test

* Cassie Roosevelt

[gladiatorcunt]

I want to be non conned by Anakin ☹️

the first time i saw this ask, i was eating chicken nuggets (safe food moment) and was like "damn me too 😔." (obvious tw non con, choking, canon sw universe ani, delusional and obsessive behavior, forced pregnancy/baby trapping, reader has a pussy, use of the word “wife” in a gender roles way and “pillow princess”)

anakin can do nearly every variation and flavor of non con imo, his canon character allows for a lot of flexibility in that area. there's the soft and sweet gentle non con where he's smoothing his hands up and down your back as his thrusts bury you in the sheets. he's not crying, just a little teary because it feels so good and maybe you'll finally listen to him about how the two of you are meant to be together. that's very aotc anakin coded to me, not that rots!anakin couldn't do it like that in the right circumstances (and how you behave and react to certain situations).

for example in the beginning of aotc, and you're another padawan who's formed an unnatural bond with ani over the years. he's anxious to be knighted and you can tell that his mood is dampening more and more every day. all he says is that he has trouble sleeping, nightmares and obi-wans' karking loud snoring. you giggle and fall for the misdirection, tugging him over to the sparring mat. the next time you meet, you hear more about padmé and their history. he's being assigned to protect her so he can't be your training partner for the time being.

it's noble, of course, it's unbecoming of a jedi to be anything other than happy to see anakin follow the path you always knew he could. he has a light in his eyes you haven't seen in weeks and you attribute that to a person rather than considering the possibility that he's happy because he finally has a purpose. but you're 20 years old, being a (hopefully) future jedi master doesn't grant you any extra wisdom when it comes to love. you don't think much of pulling away, ani is going to have his hands full (of what you refuse to think further on) and you should start sorting out your priorities.

you've just made the biggest mistake of your life. outside the room where the senator is peacefully slumbering away, anakin can't stop overthinking and wondering what he did wrong. why haven't you been answering his messages, he's told you so many times that he could fix your holopad for you. he's so deep in thought that he barely makes it in time to terminate the insects deployed to poison padmé and chase after the assassin. he doesn't know that this time apart has allowed you to have an epiphany, and that you'll be gone by the time he comes back from naboo. perhaps there was more to the galaxy than being a jedi.

he tracks you down after his mother dies, feeling adrift without you and high off the adrenaline of indulging the darker parts of his soul. he wouldn't even have known you were leaving had it not been for a concerned message from obi-wan. you didn't even leave coruscant, you wandered down into the lower levels like you were waiting to die. well you don't get to do that without him, so he pins you down on the sorry excuse for a bed you've bought yourself and tells you that this must be what it feels like to make love. your tears mingle as you kiss slowly and flames lick at his back as you drag your hands down his flesh. he murmurs that it's okay, he can't lose you too and he knows just what to do, plenty of couples in the galaxy settle down young. he'd never abandon you, to leave behind what he has allowed to grow into his skin like an abscess is aberrant to the core of anakin's very being.

your pussy parts like the petals of a flower as he pushes his leaky cock into you, and it's so beautiful with his cum seeping out that he knows the force incarnate is between your thighs. you're still sniffling, and your nipples feel bitten to shreds, and that's alright. marriage day jitters are normal, he can only imagine how much more you'll glow when you have a piece or two of the force's son growing in your womb. he blushes and stammers when he asks you to keep his cum in and not touch yourself while he's gone, excited at the prospect of playing husband and wife until the mission is over and you can have a real wedding.

you tell yourself that you hated what your best friend did to you, but you keep your hand away from your begging cunt and smother yourself with the spare cloak he left behind. in a way, desire pools in your gut at the thought that you have to be forced to come out of your shell. you know anakin has grown up too hungry to hate fighting for his meal, and he has done enough proving himself. the flecks of blood matting the hair at the nape of his neck flashes through your mind as you grind your hips up against nothing. his movements were awkward at the first, but his sheer determination and passion had your brain leaking out of your ears by the end.

you remember feeling his dick twitch when you tensed, and he thought that you would attempt to fight but you only moaned and kept his head tucked away in the crook of your shoulder. the force radiated of embarrassed satisfaction that grew more confident with every squeak and groan. he liked seeing the fight drain out of your eyes more than the idea of you actually following through on it. your soresu never quite matched up to his anyway.

then there's the harder version. you resist more in whatever scenario and you delude yourself into thinking that anakin is the kind of dog that would throw away the bone he's chomping down on when he's bored of it. he manhandles you and tosses you around the room, shoving his cock up to the hilt and snarling at you to know who is doing this to you and love him anyway. your snot slides down the wall and your face is smushed against the peeling paint, blood drips down his length when he pulls out and he actually pouts in disappointment when he misses a few drops as he scoops it up with his fingers and takes them into his mouth. you're dizzy as he chokes you, your head spins when he spanks you while forcing you to ride his face. you will stare down the lightsaber handle of his devotion and push the button without hesitation.

you'd likely end up pregnant and waiting on your jedi husband to fall from one pedestal after the other. but the one reserved for the man of the house is guarded by you and your children, he bends over the gilded railing and kisses the breath out of your lungs. even when that pedestal drips with tar and becomes an ominous throne. this is a story that happened so long ago after all, nothing can be done to alter events that have already come to pass.

BUT ANYWAY, his prosthetic arm would also be a big focus in non con. no matter how hard he's ruining you or beating your body up, there will always be undeniable and inevitable love in it for anakin. punishments involving impact are dulled down and reduced to only his flesh hand. even in the gentler non con situations, he's so careful and aware of where his mechanical arm is at all times and what it's doing. there is no bruise he wants to give you when you did not deserve them, he offers it as a cooling balm of sorts to your heated skin in the aftermath. he likes to watch you lather the metal digits in spit as you suckle while you come down from your forced high, sometimes he swears he can feel the ridges of your tongue slide along the smooth surface.

he's so in love.

even with non con, i actually don't see anakin being all that verbal right after he cums. he'll have to calm down a bit before he can start speaking. but he'll silently nuzzle you and caress the spots on your body you wouldn't really think about, like the side of your sore tit and right on the plush flesh above your left hip bone. very touch you know and if you're able to pick up on it i imagine he would send out calming energy and just pure love into the force. but it's so intense you think you can see the smoke vapors rising up from your skin. visions of the future are shared between you, as well as eventual whispered promises of you being the crown jewel of his new empire. imagine the elaborate nurseries, putting the children to bed and then getting countless orgasms as thanks for being the best wife and parent in the galaxy. but he's sure to remind you that no one would ever love you more than anakin, even your children.

and i don't see him dipping into non con somno much other than the initial tease to your wet cunt and inserting his hard cock into your hole. the slow creep into your room, the creak of your bed as he settles his weight down, the soft woosh of the blanket being pulled off your gorgeous body. he'd want you to wake up and thrash around for a few seconds before giving in to how good he knows he's making you feel. because he knows perfectly well he could send out suggestions into the force that you put you deeply asleep and without chance of ever waking up until he wants you to. but your genuine reactions are so cute, playing with his soulmate is only fun if you can actively participate.

whether that be by crying or humping him desperately or clawing trenches down his back or riding him on the rare occasion your hormones have overpowered your pillow princess tendencies.

also this isn't non con related but in terms of love languages: other than physical touch, i think words of affirmation is a big one for him. actually being verbally reassured and given sweet nothings of his own to tuck away between his robes for him to focus on as he cuts down any threat to your eternal happiness. being told that he is worthy of love and that he's an incredible jedi, i think just being told that you're proud of him and that he hasn't spent years trying to be somebody to someone for nothing. blah blah he internalizes so much that it would help him to be given an opportunity to express those feelings blah etc etc and having you validate him would render his need to be on the council largely useless etc.

(he would unironically kill to be your alpha in an a/b/o setting i fear)

[sugoi-and-spice]

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Chapter Twenty-Five - Leap Without Looking

Summary: Tomura Shigaraki was her dad’s boss’s son. He was the creep that stole girls’ underwear and tried to grope her in his room. But it’s not like he could get her Dad fired just because she wouldn’t sleep with him, right? …right?

CW: Quirkless!AU, Explicit Smut, Dub-Con, Coercion, Blackmail, Cheating, Sexual Guilt, Humiliation, Unhealthy Relationships, Virginity Kink, Groping, Power Play, Hate to Love, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Animal Death, Slow Burn, Misogyny

Notes: Happy 2024 friends! We have officially crossed the 600 page threshold with this fic and my husband has informed me that in that amount of words, I could've finished three novels by now... I think I've spent my time wisely on this xD

Anyway, thanks as always for following the progress of my long-ass, over-emotional dub-con fic!

Read Full Chapter on AO3

[excerpt]

What was she doing? No seriously, what the hell was she doing?

That’s all she could think as she paced anxiously in her living room. She hadn’t even planned on calling Shigaraki, her fingers had just moved before her brain could. She’d been so worried about leaving him hanging the way she had at the arcade, that he was going to do something drastic, she knew she needed to get back to him as soon as possible. That action, she didn’t kick herself too much for.

But then he had texted her.

Shigaraki

[on the train]

[b @ ur place in 20]

She should’ve corrected him. Told him to meet her at a restaurant or a train station or a diner. Wait, yeah! A diner! That’s what she’d told him earlier, they’d go to a diner! A public, safe place that would pose a much lower risk of clothes being lost (although, not a zero chance, she admitted bitterly as she remembered one of their last serious talks over dinner). 

But no, she’d been too preoccupied trying to work out what to say, that when she’d finally gotten her head put on straight, about fifteen minutes later, she’d found a new reason to lose it. Tomura Shigaraki was going to be in her house, in the middle of the night, when her parents weren’t home. 

Nevermind the rather important question regarding how exactly he knew her address already, just what expectation was she setting with that?! Especially right after telling him that she and Mirio broke up. There’s no way Tomura Shigaraki of all people was coming over with anything other than sex on the brain. 

All of the fully rehearsed words she’d had suddenly didn’t feel sufficient anymore. This was way more serious than she was ready for. It was all happening way too fast. She didn’t even know what she wanted. She hadn’t even had the courage to fully admit to herself that she had very serious feelings for him, didn’t even know if she wanted to date him, so just what the hell was she supposed to say now in her house?!

Her heart just about beat out of her chest when the doorbell rang. That terrible cheerful little jingle that signaled the demise of her self-control. What was going to happen when she opened that door? How could she stop whatever he tried to make happen?

Especially when it was something she deep down really wanted to happen.

Luckily, she didn’t have to think of a solution. Because when she opened the door, she did not find Tomura Shigaraki holding flowers or video games or ready to sweep her off her feet (and into her bed). She saw him instead, hunched over panting, soaked to the bone, and not wearing shoes.

“O-Oh my god!” she practically shrieked.

“I didn’t bring anything,” was all he managed to say through heaving breaths. 

As if she would’ve expected him to bring a home gift under normal circumstances, let alone when he was hunched over and dripping onto her welcome mat.

She huffed in confused exasperation and pulled him into the house by the front of his sopping wet shirt, “Get in here right now!”

“W-Wow. It’s warm…” he muttered, looking around the living room in a daze as she closed the front door behind him.

“Yeah, I’m sure!” she snapped, “What happened to you?!”

“You said you wanted to talk in person.”

“So what, you ran all the way from Roppongi?!” she demanded.

He looked away, a blush dusting his cheeks, “I took the train too…”

She shook her head in disbelief, “You’re not even wearing shoes…”

Before he could say anything more, embarrassing himself further, she pressed a hot hand to his neck with a quickness that had him shuttering out a sigh. But she didn’t notice what she was doing to him. 

(She never truly did, did she?)

“Oh my God, you’re freezing!” she grabbed his shirt suddenly again, this time pulling it straight up over his head, “Take these off— take them off now!”

It all happened too fast for either of them to really process or be embarrassed about. She peeled his clothes off piece by piece, all while shoving him frantically down the ever-warmening hallway of her home. At some point he blinked and found himself stripped down completely and standing alone in the middle of her bathroom, fluffy beige towel in hand.

Shigaraki blinked as he finally had a coherent thought for what seemed like the first time in the last five hours. That thought being that when he’d pictured himself naked in her house, this is not the way he’d thought it’d go. 

He looked around the room, still in a bit of a daze. It was a typical Japanese bathroom, a nice one, he supposed, with its auto-filling tub and real tile, notably not laminate. But it was cozy (the nice way of saying small) and the only one for the whole household. The whole house seemed to be that way, from the quick glimpse he saw of it all. Simple, modest, warm. Quite a difference from his own luxurious and picture-perfect, but admittedly cold household. 

It surprised him a bit, the modest part. Though maybe it shouldn’t have. The more he learned about her and her family, the clearer it was that maybe she wasn’t as overtly privileged as he’d once assumed, as he was used to. Sure her family was comfortable, but there was a much wider gap between them, the family that packed onigiri and Don Quixote-purchased lawn chairs for swim meets, and he who had a Kurogiri at his every beck and call.

By the time he got to running his fingers along her slew of floral body washes and shampoos, he couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh over the situation. The ridiculousness of it all. How panicked he’d been, how undoubtedly panicked she’d been waiting for him. How all of it seemed to go instantly out the window the moment she saw him and had something all new to worry over. No, not just something. Someone. Him. Him and his well-being. 

Well wasn’t that something new.

Continue on AO3

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

Ok a hot take maybe i don't know if anyone has ever said/confessed something like this before or not -

I don't think Arnav was anyway wrong in trusting Shyam. Shyam was his brother-in-law so Arnav respected him for the relationship they shared. Also we weren't shown or told much about their dynamics before Khushi. They weren't really close but they trusted each other. And it came normally to Arnav just like any of us. We too trust people only because we share some relationship with them (be it blood relation or friendship) and Arnav certainly was not some mind reader that he would know what was going on Shyam's.

During that terrace scene as well, he was nowhere at fault i believe. He was starting to realise that he really felt something for Khushi, something more than a simple attraction. And when he was going to confess that, he saw Khushi and Shyam hugging. Now one can say why he didn't question Shyam. Then again Shyam was his relative, someone he trusted. He had known shyam for 3/4 years and in that time period Shyam never did anything to raise any suspicion in Arnav or anyone's mind. So Arnav was least bothered about Shyam cheating on Anjali because he thought Shyam could never do that. He had that picture perfect image of Shyam tattooed in his mind. Also he felt much more betrayed by Khushi than shyam because with khushi, there were romantic feelings involved.

Jyada lamba ho gaya na 🫣

ANON WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THESE DAYS?

Yes, exactly.

I don't think Arnav was anyway wrong in trusting Shyam\

AGREE. Arnav knew Shyam for years, nearly saw a paternal figure in him. Shyam kept Anjali the happiest. THIS was Arnav's go to guy. Everyone in the family knew that if anyone who could convince Arnav about something, it was Shyam. He played the role of Arnav's advisor as well.

Arnav is soft, vulnerable, indulgent and happy when Shyam is around because Shyam is what fixed his Di's life. Hence he's the source not just of Anjali's happiness but Arnav's as well.

And if THIS man could betray him, just on what grounds does Khushi stand on?

Khushi and Arnav have always met under circumstances that's suspicious for anyone. A woman like Khushi is the exact one to be after his money. She belongs from a lower class. She has wormed her way into his office and family and somehow no one apart from he doubts her for the reasons he does (Lavanya is petty and Mami is a classist - that's the least of Arnav's concerns with Khushi).

The funny thing is Shyam HAS done what Arnav thinks Khushi is trying to do throughout the show. Which again shows that Khushi had the worst luck and Shyam... perhaps had the best.

And yes, the betrayal was double edged because romance was involved.

I like to believe he got retraumatized all over again at that point.

Aap zyaada nahi, sahi bol diye!

[headfullofpresley]

i have a request if you are comfortable with it?

maybe you could write a little something about y/n, elvis and caroline having a family portrait photoshoot taken like the presleys had in 1973 by frank carroll in their hillcrest home in beverly hills!

i just know you could make something really sweet out of it your writing is so beautiful! x

𝐃𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐥

Word count: 3,3K

Warnings: Elvis being a soft dad, that's about it.

A/N: rose, i always love your requests sm and even though this took me years to post, i loved writing it! 💕

masterlist

A busy, chaotic household wasn’t strange to you or Elvis. You both liked having a lot of people around the house despite the lack of privacy at times and in some strange way, you had grown fond of grown men running around the premises and playing with your daughter.

Caroline loved it just as much- she especially took a liking to Lamar because he’d play airplane with her whenever you weren’t looking and Jerry who she simply couldn’t stay away from every time he was around. To some people it might be strange to raise a child in these circumstances, but Caroline was happy and you and Elvis gave her the love and care that she needed to grow into the independent woman she was bound to become one day.

Her life was anything but normal, but at five years old she didn’t quite seem to realise that yet. Both you and your husband wanted to keep it that way for a little longer.

 

Elvis was a good father- while he had sometimes wondered what it would be like to have a son, he loved his little girl more than anything in the world and if he could, he would bring her the moon.

But there were certain things he couldn’t do, things that he was simply terrible at. One of those things being making sure his daughter’s hair looked decent and today, it had to look better than decent. Frank Carroll was coming over in less than an hour to take the family portraits you had arranged to be taken and Caroline was currently sitting on the sink in front of him, glaring angrily at him through the mirror she was facing.

Thank God she allowed him to wash her and put on the dress you picked out for her, but doing her hair was always a hurdle. Not only because he was bad at it, but because Caroline was sensitive about her hair. She had been a little fuzzy all morning- up to the point of greatly frustrating you and leaving your daughter in her fathers’ hands, hoping she would go easier on him while you took care of everything in the living area where the photo’s would be taken.

“Ow, Daddy! You’re hurtin’ me!”

He sighed deeply, looking at the blonde through the mirror as he once more lowered the brush and grabbed some detangling spray he knew you always used on her and yourself. Spraying some on the monster knot in her blonde locks-which he certainly was not going to tell her or you about- he looked at her as he spoke.

“You know your mama is way more rough than me- you want me to call her?”

She immediately widened her eyes, shaking her head which he stopped by putting a gentle hand on top of her little head. She knew that whenever you did her hair she’d be in more pain because you did it faster and without thinking, which ended with Caroline screaming and crying most of the time. There were days where the little girl would sit still and oblige, but with the state her hair was in right now, that wasn’t going to happen.

“That’s what I thought,” Elvis chuckled, pressing a firm kiss on her cheek which she giggled at before wiping it off playfully. He laughed as he put the spray down and inhaled deeply, going back to combing the tangles out of her hair. He decided to leave the worst for last and aside from some small whimpers, Caroline had been good the entire time.

Until he was forced to face that birds nest in the middle.

Caroline’s cheeks were flushed, eyes squeezed shut as she cried so loud it made Elvis’ ears ring. If she wasn’t in actual pain right now, he might have laughed at the sight- but his little girl was truly in pain and it made his heart drop and curse you for letting him do this. He put the brush down, wrapping his arms around her tiny frame as her cries were starting to come out soundless, a sign that she was truly over it.

“I’m sorry, baby- Daddy’s sorry. It’s almost done, almost,” he whispered as he rocked her from side to side, kissing her cheek and wiping her tears away. His large hand found its home on her back, rubbing it soothingly as he told her to breathe. She inhaled shaky breaths as she turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He comforted her for a little bit before he gently pushed her out of his embrace so he could look at her, thumbing away the tears that rolled down her cheeks. She was still sniffling and trembling as if the world was coming to an end.

“You wanna give it one more try? If it hurts too much, I’ll stop, okay?”

Caroline looked at her father through her teary lashes, her fingers pulling at her lower lip nervously. It took her a few seconds to nod- her father was like her big hero, he had never told her a lie so in her logic, he would definitely not be lying now either. Elvis smiled at her and gently pulled her hands away from her face, pressing a kiss on her lips before he turned her around again and grabbed the bottled spray, throwing it up in the air before easily catching it again. The blonde giggled through her tears at her fathers’ antics as he made a show out of it, spraying her hair and distracting her by singing a theme song of some cartoon she liked to watch.

It seemed to be working, because rather than crying while he was combing her hair, she was now singing along and talking his ear off about said cartoon. He was barely listening, but he was glad that she wasn’t in pain anymore.

You had told him what to do with her hair, but after failing at the braids he was supposed to give her over and over again, he settled on twirling two locks at the front around his fingers and clipping them back with two small butterfly clips Caroline insisted on wearing. It wasn’t any over the top hairdo or whatsoever, but Caroline seemed to be happy with it and to him, that was all that mattered.

“Good job, Daddy!” she complimented him, laughing as he lifted her off the sink and put her down, peeling some stray hairs off his royal blue jacket.

“Better than your mama?” he tried, raising an eyebrow at his daughter which she mimicked while shaking her head. Ofcourse it wasn’t better, he knew that, and Caroline wasn’t the type of girl to sugar coat anything. He playfully poked her sides before lifting her on his hip again, walking out of the bathroom. “You little rascal,”

 

“Oh, you’re just gorgeous, my little Care bear!” you exclaimed with a gasp as your daughter asked you how she looked, wiggling herself out of her fathers’ arms and into yours. She giggled excitedly as she snaked her arms around your neck, pressing her cheek against yours.

“Look, Daddy gave me butterflies!” pointing at the clips in her hair, you and Elvis laughed. You hummed and nodded, widening your eyes in excitement at her as she looked at you with the same look on her face.

“I see that, they’re adorable, baby. And what happened to the French braids I told Daddy to give you?” you asked, turning to Elvis with a grin on your face. Caroline giggled and cupped her hands over her mouth, whispering in your ear.

She wasn’t very good at whispering, so when she told you he wasn’t good at doing her hair, he heard it. Caroline let out a squeal as Elvis playfully poked her sides again before taking her out of your arms, looking at her with a feigned pout.

She smiled as she grabbed his face in her little hands. “Don’t worry, Daddy. You’re good at other things,”

“Like what, hm?”

“Reading! You always do the voices, but Mommy never does. She’s not very good at that,”

Elvis threw his head back as he let out a hearty laugh while you gasped, taking a step closer to the duo and squeezing Caroline’s feet through her shoe softly. “Go play with Jerry- I’ll call you when it’s time for the photo’s,” you told her, to which she nodded excitedly as she wiggled her way out of Elvis’ arms, who put her down just in time.

“You don’t do the voices?” Elvis smirked as he walked into the kitchen with you, taking off his jacket as you handed him a cup of coffee. You rolled your eyes with a laugh as you poured yourself a cup too, leaning against the counter.

“You can’t make a French braid?” you shot back at him as you blew into your steaming coffee, a small grin raising the corner of your mouth.

“Honey, that’s a woman’s job- ‘course I can’t,”

You raised both eyebrows at your husband, taking a small sip of your coffee as you hummed softly. He chuckled as he watched you nod to yourself before taking a step closer to him.

“You’re right,” you told him with a smile, stealing his cup of coffee out of his hand. “But so is drinking coffee in the kitchen at 11 in the morning,” you shrugged, pouring his coffee down the drain and placing the cup in the sink. Elvis gawked at you, his now empty hand still in the same position.

Oh God- he wished Caroline would just stay tiny. Because even now, she was already a lot like you and he knew the older she'd get, the more back talk he was going to get.

You knew Elvis could never really tell if you were serious in these kind of moments or not- most of the time you weren’t, but you liked to keep him on his toes. And as you were starting to laugh softly to yourself while drinking your coffee, he sighed deeply and shook his head, a chuckle rolling off his tongue.

“You’re a menace, you know that?” he told you as he stepped forward, snaking his arms around your waist to press you against his chest. You put your cup down on the counter and smiled lovingly at him, running your hands up his chest and fixing the collar of his shirt.

“I know,” you said, bringing your hand up to fix a lock of his hair behind his ear. “I learned from the best,”

“Nuh-uh. You were born this way, I know that’s a fact,” he grinned, pecking your lips. “And I also know I ain’t never doing Care’s hair anymore- not when it’s in the state it was in. She was screaming bloody murder!”

You laughed as you slapped his chest playfully. “Oh, you big old softie- she isn’t made of sugar. You should’ve seen me as a little girl, I put my mother through hell every morning and I guess I’m gettin’ my karma now. Now you know what it’s like,”

It wasn’t like every morning with Caroline was terrible, but most mornings… yeah, they were. To Elvis, Caroline was a perfect little angel that could do no wrong but you always saw yourself in her. You knew all her little tricks, because you had once used them on your own mother. Her crying those crocodile tears because she didn’t like to get her hair done wasn’t the end of the world.

“Evil, evil woman,” Elvis grinned as he shook his head, slipping his hands down to your ass to give it a playful squeeze. “I’m glad I’m not the bad cop though,”

“Oh, don’t get it twisted, baby- you just wait until she’s sixteen and starts dating, then we’ll see who’s the ‘bad cop’,”

He was just about to take a sip of your coffee which he stole from the counter as he gasped, making you laugh. You gently pushed him off of you and slipped out of his embrace, smiling at him.

“I oughta spank you for that,”

You managed to step away from him before he could grab you, laughing with him. “Tonight- now, don’t get coffee on your shirt. Frank will be here any minute!”

He rolled his eyes as he watched you sneak out of the kitchen, taking a sip of coffee as he leaned against the counter. The both of you knew there was no ‘good cop, bad cop’ in this household because Caroline loved you both just as much. Even though Elvis allowed her to get away with a little more than you did, didn’t mean he didn’t have his rules. And just because you were perhaps more strict than Elvis, it didn’t mean you didn’t like to spoil and baby her at times too. Still, Elvis did not want to think about his baby girl ever dating but now that you had planted the idea in his head, it was all he could think about.

 

“Carolineee, look here!” Frank chimed from behind the camera, wiggling his fingers at the five year old who was currently dancing around her fathers’ cane that was resting under his palm.

You should’ve known that taking professional pictures with a five year old wouldn’t be easy.

At first, she started crying because she had never seen the photographer before and needed a little time to get used to him. Then she got distracted by the Mafia that was wandering through the house, begging for Lamar to pick her up and twirl her around above his head. Now it was Elvis’ cane that suddenly seemed to be the most interesting thing in the world.

“Care, come sit,” Elvis told her, grabbing her arm and pulling her onto his lap. He didn’t mean to be as rough as he was or sound as impatient as he did, but it was enough for the blonde to glare angrily at him and crawl onto your lap instead.

Frank waited patiently as you softly and gently scolded your daughter, telling her it would all be over if she’d just sit still and do as told. Luckily her mood shifted as quick as the weather and she was giggling when Elvis tickled her sides, making her laugh out loud which made Frank take the opportunity to snap pictures.

The photographer figured the pictures would come out better if you’d just do as you always did rather than posing for the camera and Caroline seemed to prefer this as well. She gasped as you and Elvis kissed each other, hiding her eyes behind her hands before she squeezed herself in the middle and pressed a kiss on Elvis’ cheek and then on yours.

You took a few pictures with Caroline alone, which she seemed to enjoy a lot, but as soon as Elvis came back for his turn, she immediately crawled onto his lap as he sat in the chair again. You got up and stood next to Frank, laughing as you crossed your arms.

“The glasses? Are those necessary?” you questioned. You liked your husband’s fashion choices, you did, but you had hoped that maybe once he would keep the glasses off.

“Keep them on, Daddy! They’re cool!” Caroline giggled excitedly as she swung her legs back and forth while sitting on Elvis’ knee, tapping her small finger against his glasses.

Elvis grinned as he looked at you, shrugging as he rested his cane against the arm of the chair. “You heard the boss,”

Caroline smiled so bright that her little cheeks were aching and you laughed, watching your daughter and husband pose a little for the camera before Caroline once more started talking about cartoons and other random things that interested her at the moment. The moment her little hands reached out to Elvis’ glasses and pulled them off his face to put them on her own, your heart swelled. She managed to make everyone in the room burst out in laughter as she slipped off Elvis’ lap and grabbed his cane, posing with her fathers’ belongings. Elvis couldn’t stop laughing in the background, cheering her on as his eye caught yours, shooting you a wink.

 

A week later, you, Elvis and Caroline sat on the couch as Joe tore the paper off the huge picture frame that was being held upright by Vernon. You had seen all the pictures (and made sure they’d all be put in a photo book), but the one that was currently revealed was your favorite and you wanted it to have a place in your home.

Even if you would move out of Hillcrest, you’d take this picture everywhere with you and hang it up because it was simply adorable.

The three of you all wore big smiles in the picture, Caroline ofcourse sitting in her fathers’ lap. You looked like a perfect, normal family and although you were anything but, you wanted Caroline to have fond memories of her childhood and of her mother and father.

This picture would hopefully hold a special place in her heart when she’d get older- it already had in yours.

“Elvis is so cool!” Caroline squealed as she jumped from the couch and walked over to the picture, admiring it from up close. Everybody laughed, Elvis getting up to throw his daughter in the air before catching her and placing her on his hip.

“What’d you just call me?”

“Elvis!” she grinned playfully at him, already knowing what was coming as he tickled her tummy, her little hands trying to stop his bigger ones. “Elvis, Elvis, Elvis!”

“I’m your Daddy, you little rascal,” he laughed, squeezing her in his embrace before putting her down and kneeling in front of the picture. She immediately took the opportunity to plant herself on his knee, wrapping her arm around his neck. She looked at you as you kneeled down beside Elvis and smiled brightly.

“Can we hang it in my room?” she asked, making you chuckle as you kissed her forehead.

“It’s a little big, Care bear. I’ll get you a smaller one of you and Elvis, okay?” you grinned, calling him by his name on purpose. He glared at you as Caroline laughed and nodded, though was immediately distracted as Lamar came into sight and ran toward him.

You and Elvis stood up straight, you pressed against his side as he slipped his arm around your waist.

“Caroline, what’s your Daddy's name?” Lamar joked as he raised her from the ground and held her above his head. She spread her arms as she laughed, looking at her father.

“Elvis Presley!” she squealed, giggling uncontrollably as she was spun around in the air.

Elvis rolled his eyes, laughing softly as he turned to you, leaning down as he looked into your eyes.

“This is your fault,” he whispered, the corner of his mouth rising into a smirk as he guided you out of the living room and into the hallway. You knew where he was taking you, but you didn’t stop him- couldn’t stop him because you were laughing so hard. “I think now’s a good time for that spanking,”

 

Your husband didn’t spank you when he got you into your bedroom- you wouldn’t let him because your daughter was in the other room. But you did have a quick make out session that felt as if you were teenagers again, having to keep your ears perked for footsteps coming down the hall.

Only this time it weren’t the footsteps of worried parents or nosy friends, but tiny ones that belonged to your daughter. You were off of your husband before she could burst through the door and little Caroline had no idea what was going on or what her parents had been doing, simply grabbing your and Elvis’ hands to pull you out of the room and show the portrait that the boys had hung on the wall.

Every time she saw her father in that picture she would call him by his first name- neither of you had any idea why she did it, but Elvis figured as long as he was the only man on her mind, he had nothing to worry about.

At least, not for a few years.

taglist: @breadsquash @generoustreemystic @woundmetender @returntoelvis @prayerstopresley @ab4eva @marriedtopresley @steph-speaks @wonka-gifs @notstefaniepresley @ellie-24 @dollksj @webbedwebs @re3kin @wivette @eliseinmemphis @18lkpeters @rosepresley @septembersghost

[ladybug-love-square-enthusiast]

So enemies reverse villain AU where super villain Toxinelle faces off against super hero Chat Nior

Marinette is the daughter and heiress of the Agreste fashion empire. Gabriel married Sabine, oldest daughter of the Chang corporation, in hopes of expansion the brand in Asia. Meanwhile Adrien is the one born to a happy normal family from Emily and her husband, but Marinette absolutely hates Adrien since her father is pining for Emily and would prefer to adopt Adrien than to properly raise her.

FYI I was totally inspired by this song Cristina Vee sang:

Marinette grows up under the strict schedules and expectations of both her parents, she's much more cold and comes off as a bit demure (very mindful very demure jkjk) to the public. She knows that what she wants, thinks, and feels is not important in her household, as long as she keeps up appearances and can compete against her other cousins successes between her hyper competitive two faced relatives on the Chang side of her family.

(minor aside: NGL as someone coming from an Chinese immigrant household, the cannon Chinese Chang-family dynamics are Hella unrealistic IMO, what I could guess of Toxinelle's version seems more realistic and goddamnit I'm exploring that in this AU idea)

She became super closed off and selective and calculative of her words because of how careful she had to be around her relatives, one mis spoken phrase or word and she would be ripped to shreds, note: she was also forced to be perfectly fluent in Mandarin as well. With cultural differences, and especially as both a "foreigner" and the daughter of a daughter, the Chang family pretty much dismisses and cuts off Sabine and Marinette. The rest of the relatives view Sabine as someone who threw away their culture to move to the west/France, who thinks she's too good for the rest of them who choose to stay in China, and they view Marinette as being spoilt (which is rich (heh rich) coming from them since they're all second generation rich kids) for being brought up living the "cushy" life abroad.

Meanwhile on the Agreste side, she and Sabine were never really accepted since obviously neither of them have the classic Agreste family resemblance and her parents marriage was for political/business reasons. Gabriel meanwhile also doesn't really care or do anything about that. (Not really sure what to make of the relationship dynamic between Marinette and Felix?)

Marinette absolutely hates Gabriel, she thinks he's cheating on Sabine, with his old flame Emily. (Reality is that Gabriel tried to but Emily was having none of it, he choose his business plans over her and she certainly was not going to lower herself to become someone's mistress and a homewrecker even if it was a loveless political/business marriage. Honestly this is worse because Gabriels would be a cheating scumbag if Emily weren't so firm) Even though she has a rocky relationship with Sabine in this AU and she knows her mother doesn't care, it's the principles and disrespect to the family and the humiliation it brings on both her and her mother that pisses her off (the tabloids have a field day every time and it certainly doesn't help their standing in the Chang family).

Gabriel also doesn't care to hide his anger issues in front of either her or Sabine (since he never loved either of them, he's always regretted leaving Emily, and they're both just a reminder of the bed he made himself and had to lie in). Marinette hates it but she knows deep inside that she's terrified of him. She freezes up on the inside but tries to play it off as if she doesn't care and is blank faced. The blank face mask works for a while but it actually further infuriates Gabriel and he keeps going untill he does manage to make her crack. Sabine does fight argue back but never comforts Marinette more than telling Marinette that Gabriel tooootallly cares about her underneath it all and that she under no circumstances should rebel against him

Marinette's plan is to pretend to stay as the doll-like heiress and continue doing as both parents/families dictate while she secretly takes over more of the Agreste empire (she starts with modelling, she expands into creating her own side fashion design brand and tries to cut off control from the main brand/her father, one route is to have her take over the main line using hers if it's possible in the future) (she has no chance with the Chang family, they're all but outcasts). But she's also too nervous deep down inside to make major moves currently.

Tldr: she's scared trapped and angry but has learnt to be calculating and has an ice queen mask thanks to her shitty family

(Note: I don't want to make her self pitying, I think she would know that she has a super comfortable life in terms of superficial materialistic means, and since she has never known what it's like to have real meaningful connections that aren't toxic there's not anything to make her miss that, but that doesn't stop her from all the negative emotions she has including hating her relatives, father and herself for being weak)

In this AU Adrien is still the son of Emily but between her and another normal guy (whom she loves, she was healthy and moved on unlike Gabriel). His family are pretty well off and does run in some of the same circles as the Agreste family (which is how Emily and Gabriel still know eachother) but they're relatively a normal and loving family (compared to the Agreste-Chang household). The only issue is Gabriel, which has caused a couple arguments between Emily and her husband but in the end her husband trusts her and the three of them weather the paparazzi shit storms together. There has been a few times where Gabriel tries to barge in and get to know Emily's son, but Adrien hates him and Emily is pissed off about this and tries to stop those whenever she can.

This has the knock on effect of Marinette absolutely hating Adrien out of jealousy (even though she doesn't want her father's approval actually but it's the principle of the situation). Adrien feels sorry for Marinette but they're not close at all (in the same course at university but that's it) so he doesn't say anything to her (he thinks it probably would come off as weird). He's also a bit intimidated by her stone face and cold facade, and he's put off by how she's friends with Chloe

(slight Chloenette agenda coming in)

Chloe ends up trying to suck up to Marinette and tells everyone they're besties. Marinette doesn't care for Chloe much as she thinks it's to use her, and it was at first but then Chloe actually came to admire her (for her poise, calm calculating nature, and for all the things she works for like the modelling and her business) and became sincere in trying, in her awful fucked up spoilt rich kid way, to be real friends. Chloe is a friend simp for Marinette

Meanwhile, with superhero/villain side of the AU:

This AU Gabriel is still after the miraculous but this time to rewind time to get back Emily. (Gabriel big incel dumbass energy)

Marinette (as Toxinelle, could be another name but I'll go for that for now) doesn't know this is the goal, she's just forced to in the situation, and is against her will Akumatised (but still has some of her consciousness) to do as Gabriel commands.

She only became a super villain under Gabriel/Hawkmoth's direction. She has no choice and she knows who it is. He choose her since he can easily sense the crazy insane amount of negative emotions around her and it's perfect because she's his most powerful minion. Marinette hates it because it's just another way she's trapped, but is slightly apathetic to what she's actually doing since she's only seen the worst in people so far in life and there's no real friends to show her that not everyone is like that.

Chat Nior has no partner in this world and usually faces off against Toxinelle. He hates her because she's harming people, but Toxinelle doesn't really care about Chat Nior since she's just here because she has to. Slowly Chat realises she doesn't want to do it but they he gets frustrated that she doesn't try to break free from Hawkmoth, he doesn't understand. That annoys Toxinelle because she doesn't want to listen to his preaching and prying, she prefers when they don't speak to eachother and just tried to kill eachother

Toxinelle + Adrien: Uses him as hostage or something one day (trying to test out a plan against Gabriel) and is very aggressive against him. He gets suspicious, asks if she knows him (maybe she lets slip something only close people know about him as well? Bit it's mostly just how weirdly personally she seems to hate him?). She retorts that she's cruel to everyone, she's a supervillain for crying out loud. But inside she tries to talk to him less since she doesn't want to give him clues. Because of this Adrien becomes more talkative trying to weedle out any information he can from his enemy (her goal, if he can convert her).

They meet more. Either she ends up make a couple of visits to Adrien to test things for her plans or it's whenever he detransforms after a scuffle and he "bumps" into her. She realises she enjoys the banter a bit but doesn't like that since she still hates him. She's forced to put up with him because she wants to use him in her plan against Gabriel, and Adrien realises she's holding back for some reason and takes advantage of that. He teases her saying he noticed how she hasn't torn his head from his shoulders yet, could it be the nastiest supervillain in Paris fell for his charms. Toxinelle tells him there's still time for her to change her mind. Their banter goes from trading barbs to more friendly teasing (as friendly as Toxinelle gets at least).

Wayyyy later when they become friends (not that they admit it believe it themselves, and it's still super complicated for Toxinelle), they both feel bad about using eachother (Adrien for information on her, Toxinelle for her future plans)

Marinette + Chat Nior: When Marinette detransforms Chat thinks she's caught up in the aftermath and tries to make sure she's okay (he feels guilty towards her so is try to keep an eye out for her). Marinette has to be cordial to not give away her identity and through that ends up enjoying talking with Chat when they're not fighting. She likes Chat more than Adrien at this point so she's more open to talking.

Maybe Chat comes to regularly check in on her later on (since she keeps getting caught up in the aftermath for some reason haha how unlucky), and after a while Marinette thinks they would've been good friends in another world where they weren't enemies.

After a very long time, she admits that Chat is the closest friend she has.

(Pleae ignore my smooth brain moment where I called Sabine Sabrina and probably didn't catch all the mistakes)

[jinx-on-mars-19xx]

Invincible

(Kill Somebody Like You Part Two Chapter Nineteen)

🔪Previous Parts Here🔪

Dom x Colson (Yungblud x Machine Gun Kelly)

Warnings: ABO dynamics (knots, slick, heats, mpreg), alpha serial killer/hitman Dom, omega mob boss Kells, cursing, past abuse, past SA, past miscarriage, past child abuse, trap setting, trap failing (ish), boys in skirts, dancing, playful touches, teasing, unwanted touching, threats, sexism (against omegas), abuse, blood, weapons, fear, omegas being badasses, alphas being assholes, past voyeurism, past hormone cycles (mentioned), past murders, alpha posturing, family duty, power struggle, trying to find an agreement, past age gap relationship, past underage, Kells being a boss bitch, enemies to lovers ❤️‍🔥 Rating: mature

All ideas helped by @iamnotanearthlingmotherfucker 🩷

The night felt wild and electric around the young omega although that could have been the neon lights of the club and soft pulsing music. Since they were throwing a private party the sound was lower than normal but the girls were still dancing because no one was supposed to know it was all a ruse. He felt free and terrified, it was the first time they'd all left the flat in quite a while and he felt strange away from his brother. He felt even more thrown knowing they were at the bar to catch someone he could reasonably call his ex. His heart was racing but that could have been from his dancing. He didn't think he could call it that, more than anything he enjoyed spinning. They'd let him dress however he wished and he'd run with that permission. His black distressed tulle skirt flowed out around him with every spin, his oversized Sex Pistols crop top kept him from overheating, and his platform boots went perfectly with his fishnet tights. It all served to make him feel like a badass. He'd been so anxious getting dressed until his adoptive father went back into his bedroom and came out five minutes later in his own knee length skirt. The boy had never felt quite so accepted.

The couple was sitting in the VIP section and even though Dom’s rut had passed two days before, they couldn't seem to stop touching each other. The Alpha had always been obsessed with his mate but his recent hormone cycle had pushed them somehow even closer. The skirt he was wearing didn't seem to help matters, he'd put it on to make their son feel safer but his fiancé obviously liked it. The omega kept his lover in his lap and his hands kept sliding up under the fabric to tease his upper thighs and ghost over his cock. They weren't supposed to be playing, they were meant to be paying attention and part of the killer was. They were surrounded by their people though and basically everyone had a weapon somewhere on them. The whole of the club had their eye out so the pair thought they didn't have to be perfectly on guard.

For the first time in months Colson felt like the boss he'd been since Travis went missing. Everyone in the building was someone he trusted or owned or controlled. He could look out and see men who were part of his inner circle, guys who ran the streets for him, and omegas they'd saved from dire circumstances. Trav himself was in the VIP section with him, Collette on one side and Tim on the other. Col was still on shaking ground with his mother but it was nice to see her so happy in her thruple. They had wanted to make a show of their power and they certainly were, there were probably more guns in the room than at an NRA conference but mostly for the time being he was enjoying playing with his partner or watching their boy spin on the dance floor. When Blain stepped away eventually and made his way to the bathroom he wasn't worried. There were so many people around and they were all keeping their eye out for the posh dressed bastard.

“I almost missed ‘em shades. You look like when we first met.” Dom purred in the boss's ear.

Kells laughed, he didn't even know why he wore them. For years they were there to keep him from being discovered but now it was just part of his armor. He didn't need them but when he was getting dressed they just felt like part of his routine- belt, rings, holster, sunglasses. “And you don't.” He teased back. It was true though. While he was dressed in one of his suits, Dom was in something completely different than his usual slacks and hoodie attire. He looked more himself somehow and Col knew it was because the boy was finally allowed to find out who that was. There was no ‘Alphas/omegas should’ between them and they wouldn't raise their kids like that either.

“Fanks.” Dom smiled. It was a simple response that meant so much more. His lover allowed him to find who he was and he was the one to lavish him with a closet full of clothes he could be comfortable in. Col let him feel safe and beautiful and ‘thanks’ would never be enough. Hell, the man let him take almost a year to find his more dominant side and accepted it probably wouldn't constantly exist. The omega loved him no matter what and they fit together like the perfect puzzle. He couldn't say all that though, not when they were sitting in the middle of a trap they set up for someone. They might be playing with each other but they had to stay alert and ready. Getting corny wouldn't benefit the situation.

Blain wet a paper towel to pat his neck with cool water and leaned down to take a drink from the tap. He knew logically he could go to the bar and order anything but it felt nice to get a moment alone. His calm vanished a moment later though when he felt someone step up too close behind him. A heavy hand fell on his hip and his gaze snapped up to find the other's reflection in the mirror. He knew before looking it wouldn't be James, the man was slim and this body felt huge. His instincts screamed to run but he was blocked in. He tried to handle it as carefully as he could. He recognized the man immediately and he cursed mentally. He didn't know how this fuck slipped inside but they couldn't deal with Colson's uncle when they had to worry about the Brit bastard.

“Not exactly child bearing hips but we can make them spread. That bitch shouldn't have stolen you from me.”

The omega took a breath and swallowed hard, he felt bile rise in his throat at the stench of the Alpha. He wanted to run but he had to be careful. He didn't know if he could get to his weapon at the small of his back. “Mum didn't steal shite. From wha’ I understand you killed wha' you made, you and ya bruv. Believe me, it ain't me.” He wanted to spit venom at the guy but he didn't want to push too hard. He understood his situation, he was alone in a room with a giant and quiet or not the music was still loud enough and the bathrooms soundproof. If he screamed he wouldn't be heard.

He watched the fucker roll his eyes and his oversized meaty hands slipped up to paw at the boy's chest. Of course there was nothing there but it still felt all wrong. He wanted to throw up all over him. “You're still sticking with that fake ass accent and bullshit story? I know you're mine. You're going to come home with us and we'll raise you right. You need to learn to be submissive to your betters.”

Blain couldn't help it, he snorted at the term that made him feel like he was home again. He could see the man look over every scar on his back that showed someone had tried to teach him just that already. “Sorry but I've been told I'm unteachable. You should probably get the fuck out before my family teaches you.” The man growled and palmed the back of his head and the next moment happened too fast to stop. His head was thrust forward and smashed into the mirror, breaking it and busting the boy's mouth. He felt other cuts but that was the worst and with crimson lips and fangs he grinned in his shattered reflection. “I know I'm pretty but ya don't ‘ave to make me kiss me’self. I'd do it anyway, especially over you.”

When the bastard moved to hurt him again the omega took advantage of his small stature and elbowed him as hard as he could in the stomach. When the grip on him loosened he made a run for it, dashing out the door and into the club proper. Of course the lumbering dick followed but when he bellowed for the boy he set off every instinct in the club. Every weapon in the room turned on him and all the acting stopped. Even the dancing girls had guns at the ready.

Dom and Colson noticed the interruption and stood the moment they realized it was over their boy. Of course they expected James but Col scoffed when he realized it was his uncle. He wasn't sure how the fucker got in but he wasn't surprised he was ruining their entire plan. It was just his luck. His lover vaulted over the railing and rushed for their boy, fully ignoring the man to let his mate deal with him. Jimmy would be their fight, this was his fiancé’s. He was pissed they'd have to deal with both in one night.

Kells made his way closer slowly, his gun drawn and pointed at the floor. There were so many weapons already on his uncle, he didn't need to add his. Besides, he wanted to show how little the man scared him now. “What are you doing in my place? Hell, in my town anymore?” He asked when he reached the three. Blain was bleeding but it didn't look ER worthy. He'd hold and soothe his boy as soon as the trouble was passed but Dom was doing a damn good job of it.

“I came for what you owe me.” The asshole responded simply. Somehow he couldn't get it through his head that Blain wasn't his.

“I don't owe you shit. Even if that was your kid I wouldn't owe you anything. You destroy everything you touch, or at least you fucking try. What's fucked up is that you try so damn hard to break everything but the only one you really succeeded in ending was your own kid. Mom and I survived you.” He didn't mean to be so honest but he couldn't stop himself. He wanted to hurt the man who didn't care about anything. “You need to get the fuck out of my sight before I allow someone to end you too. There's a lot of guns on you right now and I know a few of them might be tweaking. One wrong move and oops. No one but your brother would even give a shit. You're not my problem tonight though and you need to go. Now.”

The man started to respond but one of the guns on him was shoved into his temple. It took Kells a moment to realize he didn't recognize the man holding it. “I suggest you listen, sir. I don't know what brought you here but my mate isn't yours. You hurt what's mine and I am not as forgiving as Mr. Baker.” Oh. Oh shit. There were only so many Brits that would enter the bar for the night and most of them were family. He could only think of one person that could be behind that gun and it drove him crazy that this was how they were meeting. They weren't supposed to be on the same fucking side.

“Who are you to talk to me about my omega? When did the British invasion happen again fucks sake?” Col’s uncle glared at the other Alpha as if they both couldn't help posturing, which pissed the boss off more. He had meant to bring James here to prove that he, an omega, was more terrifying than any Alpha but here he was, butting heads with the Alpha that caused him the most strife growing up.

“I don't know where you gathered the belief sir but I can swear to you this omega is already promised. From what I have heard here tonight it sounds as if you tend to put your hands on many things that don't belong to you but I will not allow it for this one. You are no longer simply messing with an American family, ours is far older and more frightening. If I shoot you I will get away with it, but I'll ruin my suit.” The pompous ass confused Col when he tilted his head in Dom's direction with the word 'our'. It felt like an answer the killer wouldn't want but he could already see it. While the hair was long and softly ginger he had almost the same eyes as his mate. There were things about him he couldn't ignore that reminded him of his love. It was strange to see what Dom could have ended up as. He was happy he hadn't.

“Speak for ya’self you self righteous fuck! You don't own me neither.” Blain spit blood on the Alpha's suit just to spite him. “And I ain't part of neither of ya families, I got me own.”

James rolled his eyes and arched a brow as he looked down at himself. His barrel never wavered as he inspected the mess but instead of being too upset it seemed to make the man smile. “Happy to see your spirits returned my love.”

“Fuck you!” The young omega tried to launch himself at the man but his father caught him in the air and spun him around before settling him back down. It made their skirts flare and looked more like a dance than the beginning of a fight. “No, let me! It's my bloody fault! Let me take ‘em!”

Dom's heart ached at the pain in their boy's voice. It felt all too familiar to his own so many times in the past. He turned them until his body was blocking the sight of the other two Alphas and he laid his palms on Blain's shoulders. “It ain't your fault. If anyfing it's mine. You ain't responsible for nuffin ‘ere. Don't let ‘em fuck wiv ya ‘ead. When he says you ‘is jus’ remember, you was mine first and always.” With the implication from James about their relation he felt even weirder to remind them both of that fact but he wouldn't let his boy feel the weight of the world.

“It is your fault if I do say so myself. You stole everything from my family. Everything! You widowed my mother and left me to pick up the pieces.” Jimmy spoke out of turn and the killer huffed. He felt rage through every fiber of his being and the smile that Blain had given him started to drop as his eyes flashed red.

Dom turned to face the other Alphas but he knew he wasn't supposed to step into this fight. Not yet. His lover was supposed to run him off. “And if you ‘ad bloody well been strong enough for the weight of it and not turned out jus’ like ‘im I wouldn't ‘ave to add you to me list.”

There. There it was. A small flinch under the man's green eyes. A gentle shake of his hand. That threat did something to James and they both caught it. Dom shared a look with his lover and stepped back. First one bastard, then the other. They could both understand the nerves if James ever looked up even one picture of Dom's kills. Even the omega could get overwhelmed by the darkness his partner carried, he just loved all of him so it became a beauty instead of making him a beast. Colson stepped closer to the man who nearly destroyed him, he found it interesting how his old fear was lessening the longer he was around him. He looked old, tired, lonely, and broken down. What he didn't look like anymore was the boogeyman who haunted his dreams for over a decade.

“You need to leave. You and your brother both need to pack up and get out of LA. I might be under watch but not everyone in this room is. Get the fuck out. Because I could very easily slip my family out of here and let my people take care of you. So…” He paused, slipping down his glasses and letting his eyes flash the color that betrayed his designation. He wanted the man to know it was an omega that demanded him gone. An omega he'd tried so hard to make feel small. An omega he'd used and tossed away like trash. It was that creature that turned it around on him now and proved who the trash really was. “What's your decision?”

The old Alpha stared daggers back at his nephew but no one was allowing him to choose. A few of Col’s boys came up to push him along but he took his first step to go by himself. He backed down. The boss let it be the win it was and he felt it down to his soul. The room quieted until he was led out and all the weapons turned on James. He scoffed softly and tucked his own gun away before running his hands down his lapels and straightening his jacket. “You realize that we were just on the same side, yes? I helped you.”

“Am I supposed to think that means you're done trying to kill us or just that you didn't like someone sniffing around what you wrongfully think is yours?” Kells was already tired. All the strength he'd gathered in himself to face James and set this plan in motion had faded with his bastard uncle walking out. There was a high of his win thrumming through his veins but more than anything he wanted to go home and curl up with his mate and children.

“I'm not trying to kill you… exactly.” The other Alpha explained. “But as I've said, your attack dog killed very important men, it's my duty to find their revenge.”

“I thought you wanted your omega.” Colson felt as if the wind had gone out of the stranger as well but he couldn't explain why he thought so. He didn't know him well enough to know the difference but there was just something about his aura that felt.. off. For lack of a better word. Though that tease seemed to get a reaction out of him it was one he didn't expect. The man glanced to Blain and clenched his jaw, swallowing hard. “Or not.”

“I've come to realize wedding a child bride who understands nothing of duty will not suit me. Though if he changes his mind-”

“I'll change your bloody mind wiv a fucking bullet!” Blain hissed from beside his father.

James started to smile before he seemed to remind himself of something and found his control again. “A willful child bride to be sure and I have no time to raise him properly.”

“So let me get this straight, you no longer want the omega you were just claiming to my uncle, and all you want now is justice for your family because of a fucking duty?” Kells didn't mean to growl but it pissed him off how simple this man was. Every time he said ‘duty’ it seemed like pulling teeth.

Before Jimmy Boy could answer Dom stepped closer. Something was bugging him about the way the other Alpha was acting. “You'll so fucking quickly drop who ya claim to love but not some revenge plot you don't even believe in? You barely older ‘an me, if you even is. Do you really even give a shite? I know ‘ow me dad was. I know ‘ow Blain's was. I can't imagine yours was any better. Why do you care more about duty to people who don't exist anymore over a boy you told you love ‘im? I ain't saying I'd allow ya anywhere near ‘im but bloody ‘ell you proving me right.”

“I don't have to prove anything to you. I just have to kill you. I have to. You don't understand.” There was that twitch under his eye again and a strain in his voice. Dom would almost feel sorry for him if he wasn't so fucking annoying.

“You've failed. Repetitively. Seriously, multiple times. If you want to keep flirting with my mate through text over your shitty attempts I guess you can. But eventually the feds won't be watching us anymore and well…” Colson paused, his gaze flicking to his lover. “I can't keep my attack dog on his leash forever.”

“Now now luv, don't doubt you always got me lead in ‘and.” Dom purred, putting his arms around his mate's neck.

Kells smiled and opened his jacket, tucking his weapon away to prove how little the man worried him. His hands settled on Dom's forearms and he turned his head to kiss the killer's cheek. He wanted to drag him home and take him straight to bed but he'd have to wait. Not long though, he wouldn't stand for it. “I guess you're right, baby. I'll be the one sicing you on his ass.”

His Alpha chuckled in a way that felt so close to how he'd acted during his rut that it made Col wet between his thighs. It was almost a pavlovian response now and he wondered if it would be forever.

“So what was tonight? You just wish to show off?” James demanded after clearing his throat. He kept looking between the pair and their boy who Dom had left to his own devices. Blain had plucked a blade from his boot and was biting on the end while swinging his skirt back and forth like a bell tolling out the late hour. Or the man's end. It obviously ruffled his feathers.

“I don't have to show off. Your family doesn't exist anymore. You have a name and a history but nothing else. We can be acquaintances or enemies, it's your choice. But I will say it was nice of you to give us a few days break.” Kells admitted.

James arched a brow and fidgeted with his suit again. His cheeks went pink and the pair had to fight not to laugh. “Quite right. It didn't seem a fair game when two of the players were… indisposed. But you're free of your cycle now. I didn't say I would stop forever. I just want him to be of sound mind when I kill him.”

“I'm sure tha's it.” Dom snorted.

“Think about what I've said. I rarely offer to let someone go who fired a gun at me. No matter how shitty their aim. Just think about it. I'll take you out if I have to but at least some of us still care about hurting Blain. He obviously thinks there's something in you or he wouldn't be so pissed. Now…” Kells paused for a moment and James took the moment to speak up.

“Let me guess, ‘get the fuck out?’” He sounded bored but there was pain in his eyes as he looked at the young omega.

The age gap made Col sick but if it saved them trouble he'd use the past relationship to break the fucker. He wouldn't allow him near the boy but he could at least gauge how serious the Alpha had been. It hurt him to see his son hurting. “Something like that.”

“And do I have a time limit on your offer?”

“As long as you're not actively trying for us I won't push you. But try us again and I'll accept that as your answer. Thank you for your help tonight, though I'm surprised you sounded like you had something against forcing young omegas to do what you want.” He couldn't only be nice to the man, not after everything he'd done to his boy. His words obviously wounded the fuck but he couldn't tell how deep. It could be as simple as he didn't like an insult or as deep as he actually had regrets. He didn't know and he didn't much care. He just wanted the bastard gone and since they couldn't kill him easily this was his only real choice. He wasn't a fan of being mature honestly.

“I'll um… I'll get back to you.” James sighed before actually bowing and turning to leave. It was hard for them to believe it would be so easy but it seemed at least for the night it would be.

It was almost comical for Dom, the sound of so many guns being locked and holstered made the itch in his brain settle a little. “I fink it's time we get ‘ome?” He asked softly, whispering against his mate's ear. The omega shivered and pressed against him, his stiff form going lax in his partner's hold. He couldn't seem to look away from the door as if he were waiting for one of them to storm back in saying ‘ha ha you thought!’ before blowing them all up.

He finally looked away when their son burrowed into his chest for a hug which he happily gave, wrapping his arms around him and patting his back softly. “I didn't know he was like all of ‘em.” Blain whispered and Kells decidedly stayed quiet. He didn't want to say the wrong thing but something felt off about the way the man had spoken. “Can we please go ‘ome? I need to clean up.”

“I'm sorry he ruined your outfit. You look amazing tonight.” He tried to soothe.

“You really fink so?” He sniffled. “It were really expensive.” Blain made a noise between a laugh and a sob that made Colson hold him tighter.

“I don't think I've ever been so fucking proud of you kiddo.” He joked, making both his Brits laugh. Dom wrapped his arms around them both and held his family together.

“Your uncle may be wrong about where our boy comes from but you certainly ‘is mum.” The Alpha tried to lighten the mood.

“Let's go home. I think maybe tonight we all have a sleepover in the living room, huh? You can pick the movie.” Col needed his mate but he needed his family too. They could fuck any time but their son needed them. Hell, they'd probably have time for a quickie while Blain bathed. He needed to take care of everyone, not just himself and Dom.

“Will ya make me cake batter for the popcorn Da? Like you used to?”

“Cake batter? On popcorn?” Kells grumbled as he started to lead them out too. Others could take care of shutting the place down and dismissing everyone. He had better things to focus on.

“Yeah. When I was little he would make movie theater popcorn and chocolate cake batter. You mix it together and it's delicious. I ain't ‘ad it in a long time.” The boy explained. It was always so comforting.

“I'm divorcing you both, I swear.” The boss laughed as they left the neon lights and pulsing music behind for a family night in at home.

Author's Note/Tags: @iamnotanearthlingmotherfucker @hollywoodxwhore @jaxbreaker @fenoy7 @cole-way-iero28 if anyone wants tagged let me know 💛

The plot is plotting and the boys are being badass. I'm so proud of Blain for standing up for himself but I hope they can fix this without too much bloodshed (though of course there will be some somewhere). I hope you're still enjoying this because I certainly am ❤️‍🔥🖤

[footballffbarbiex]

Tear You Apart. Ch 3.

Summary: In a world where you don’t physically age past 25 unless you meet your soulmate, at 39, divorced and trying his hand at coaching after retiring from football, Antoine really isn’t looking for love; especially not with his daughter’s friend who is about to stop her own aging process. With his moral judgement compromised and fate trying to intervene, Antoine quickly learns that meeting a soulmate doesn’t mean that happiness comes easily. Warnings (if you don’t like these, do not read the fic. You’re responsible for what you consume): age gap (39-25), voyeurism, angst, oral sex (male and female), squirting/multiple orgasms, cream pie, secret dating, sexting, exchanging of pics, dirty talk, mutual masturbation, mutual pining. (More may be added later)

words: 1,645 warnings: none i don't think. 

___

PREVIOUS CHAPTER

___

With your feet curled beneath your body, you lean into the arm of the sofa as you watch the screen. Lottie has cooked and the plates are on the coffee table in front of you both. A glass of water, and mostly melted ice now, is in your hand as your eyes remain on the TV. Antoine’s face fills the screen, his serious expression taints his face as he concentrates on the questions being said, nodding occasionally as his brows furrow and his tongue swipes between his lips as he focuses.

“Yeah, erm” he begins, something which brings a small smile to your lips as you realise he starts a lot of sentences like this when in interviews. His hand lifts, thumb scratches at his forehead as he begins to answer but you find your own attention lowering to his lips.

You’re no longer taking in his words; you’re zoning out of what he’s saying and in on his mouth. Ever since that night, and the way that he’d caught the drip and given the look that he had. You’d find yourself waking up in the middle of the night with the memory of him doing that, the expression upon his face when he spotted you wearing his shirt and the more that you think about it, the more your belly erupts with butterflies.

“How’re you feeling?” Lottie’s voice brings you out of your thoughts and makes you look at her.

“Yeah, I’m good. Why do you ask?”

“Seeing dad on there,” she gestures with her water glass towards the screen and extends her finger to deliver her point. “When you just know him as the fun sucker with good wine.”

“It’s weird.” You admit, casting your eyes back over the man you’d grown used to seeing around in a somewhat normal circumstance. The man discussing his team and the way the season is progressing and how he hopes to continue the good run his team is on, is not the man who you’ve watched walking around in casual wear or making you breakfast. “I know you said he is who he is and I kinda get that. But seeing him on TV? That’s not the man who looked at us disapprovingly for being drunk.”

“More me than you. He couldn’t be mad at you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. I think he wants to make a good impression because he knows I talk about you highly.”

“You do?” The words cause a rush of warmth to spread throughout you, and watching the smile that spreads across Charlotte’s face brings one to your own.

“Always. I think he was starting to think I was making you up.” She chuckles to herself, “you’re the only friend I hadn’t brought home and I don’t think he could understand why. But,” she grins again, “you’re here now.”

“I like this. Being here with you,” you take another drink and try not to make it obvious that you keep trying to watch the screen instead. “And I don’t think I’m getting lost as much here now.” You tease and she laughs. Far too many times you’d taken the wrong turn and ended up in a spare room, the games room, or somewhere else entirely to where you needed. Especially as you tried desperately to navigate the house in the dark.

“Could be worse. You could have got in bed with dad instead of me. And you’re a cuddler, he’d have a heart attack in his old age.”

The thought of slipping between his sheets and the panic he would have makes you chuckle. “It’s actually my biggest worry,” you confess, “though the perfume in your room gives it away and is a huge help.”

“I’ll give an extra spray just to make sure it helps.” She says playfully and the two of you lapse into silence.

“Is it strange seeing him on TV, or are you so used to it now?” You ask after a few minutes when shots of his team begin to fill the screen of them waiting in the tunnel.

“Both. You think I’d be used to it because it’s all I’ve ever known. It was worse when he was a player.” She pauses as she puts her glass down. “There was always something he’d get pulled for. Always something he couldn’t do right for some. But to me, he was just daddy. The one who would come home and play with me, let me put make-up on him and paint his nails. It wasn’t until I started noticing the cameras every time we’d go out that I realised things weren’t the same for my friends. Any time we went out, I remember being scared.”

“It’s strange to think that was your upbringing. I’ve seen enough gossip mags with children in them, faces blurred, being ushered either into the car or building and didn’t really think how it would be for them.”

“It’s scary. Sometimes terrifying. I think it’s different for footballers because they can go from being the most amazing player one week and then should be sold a week later because of a bad match. So we never knew what was coming when fans approached. Hearing them abuse him when I was little, it hurt. I couldn’t understand why they would say such things, especially where his family could hear too.” The idea of her clinging to him as he carried her to safety saddened you.

“So it wouldn’t have become easier when you got older because you understood it all more.”

She nods. “Exactly, it was the opposite, it just got harder. And then I’d get pissed and want to step in but he never would let me. But there’s only so much you can hear wishing hurt or death on your dad. And for what? Over a damn football game? When he “retired”, it became easier. He wasn’t at the front of people's minds, hate wasn’t aimed at him anymore and we had more positive fan encounters. Not that it mattered to mom, she’d already left him and it was just us two.”

She’d always spoken highly of him and the way she felt much safer with him than her mom, so it was no wonder she was so protective over him.

“Was he a good player?” You find yourself asking.

“You really haven’t looked him up have you?” She asks, amusement clear in her expression and tone.

“I’d debated it but it felt kinda wrong?” It was true. You’d googled his name but a sick feeling had crept in and you’d had to click off before you’d really began to dig deep. Anything you wanted to learn about them, you wanted to learn from them. Not from the media, from fans but from them. No-one else’s opinion mattered.

“A bit stalkerish? I get that. Come on. I’ll show you some footage.”

—

By the time Antoine arrives home, his World Cup match highlights are on. You’ve already watched him play the Euros, watched an even younger looking Antoine zooming around the pitch, a playful, childlike innocence about him as he celebrated which only continued into the next huge sporting event.

“I’d have liked to know your family then. He looks happy.” You comment.

“I was.” You visibly jump at his voice, and judging by the cuss and sloshing sound as liquid hits water, so did Lottie. “You better clean that up.” he says in a tone that’s so casual but you know the look on his face. It’s a look you’ve seen from your own family many times. Leaving the room, but not without a roll of her eyes, she goes to get a spillage cloth, leaving you with him.

“Some light entertainment at my expense?” He asks, nodding towards the screen.

“She was...well you can see. I didn’t realise what you’d accomplished. This is incredible. You played amazing.” you reply and then cut yourself off from contining when you realise you were no doubt falling into the fan category.

When his lips curve, you’re not as embarrassed but your cheeks still burn when you realise how you may have come across. “Thank you. It’s nice seeing it on someone for the first time. It’s so easy to see it when you’re in this environment because games happen a lot, and this was years ago now,” he gestures with one hand as he stuffs his other into his pocket, “but to see someone else watch it and comment with fresh eyes? It’s nice.”

“Charlotte said the same thing.”

“She did?”

“Uh huh. She said she was able to have a clean slate with me.”

“It’s refreshing.” He nods in agreement and smiles when she comes back in.

“What is?” She asks, getting to her knees and begins to wipe up the spillage.

“Having a friend who doesn’t know everything.”

“Like…” she trails off and looks at him as he nods and repeats her. Neither say the name but the look and the way they both knew, says that someone had taken advantage and got close for very different reasons.

“What have you watched?”

Lottie looks up at you, I’ll let you take this.”

You tell him, and watch as happiness pours from him. “I loved those games.” He can’t help himself, taking the spot at the end of your sofa as he looks at the screen where the France team at the time were paused on a hug. “This was such an incredible moment.”

“It’s the final next.” You both say at the same time.

“Do you have a favourite match that you’ve seen?” He asks, unable to help himself from asking.

“Promise you’ll tell me if I sound like a fan? Because I got a little excited earlier.”

“She did.” Lottie agrees and laughs. “It was adorable.”

“I promise.” He grins and makes himself comfortable.

“Ok, so, Atletico...”

[thegeminisage]

now it's time for a proper star trek update. i am sooo behind. monday we did voy's "the q and the grey," made it about 11 minutes in before quitting and switching to ds9's "the ascent" and then did ds9's "rapture," and then later that evening i finished "the q and the grey" on my OWN, then on tuesday we did voy's "marcocosm" and "fair trade" which means we accidentally went a little out of order (we were supposed to hit another ds9 ep first).

the q and the grey (voy):

as mentioned above, we got. 11 minutes. into this episode. rough!

there's normally very little sexism on this show which is like. despite this show's tone being similar to tng's, a better cast and less sexism put it MILES ahead of tng in my opinion. but for some reason you put q in a room with janeway and WOW. the harassment, the casual "kathy," the belittlement...like, it was kind of funny in CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES when it was picard but it looks sooo different when he is doing this to a woman. like, he wasn't trying to have picard's baby, was he

not to mention he's always a little racist to chakotay, which is even more unfunny than him being fantasy racist to worf. him stealing the tattoo wasn't like. funny or quirky. jesus

also. CIVIL WAR COSTUMES? REALLY? REALLY??? they cast q's side as the yanks but like...he's rebelling against the government, so............

anyway, this episode had two redeeming moments for me. first was when chakotay was jealous i did holler. second was when janeway decided to "watch" the two qs procreate and then it was just a little zap, which i did think was really funny. other than that, it was ALL bad. i checked and we have one q episode left and then thank god i don't see his ass again until lower decks

the ascent (ds9):

THE MOST EP EVER. i'm normally "eh" on quark/odo but i really enjoyed this episode mostly because even when they were trying to survive they could NOT stop arguing

also, it did wonders for quark, like...he's the reason odo's leg got broken and he made it to the top and saved him. furthermore, he hates root beer, but bought some for nog. i love when quark has little hints of having a soul. like when he sold food at cost for bajorans. we don't need much, just more than we got in season 3

also, rom was in this ep :')

going from like the existential mountain climb back to the silly little odd couple b plot was INSANE whiplash, by the way

i do love how much of an artist jake is. he wants to wake up at 1pm have junk for breakfast and spend all day working on his fanfic while cleaning never. maybe he wanted to move out so sisko wouldn't nag him to clean so much

ALSO, AWW, JAKE MOVING OUT...my best friend sisko was so emotional. please. i love him so much

i did also like that the solution to the odd couple problem in both the instances of jake and nog and odo and quark was to simply invent a bigger problem. for odo and quark it's the mountain but for jake and nog it's not being roomies anymore. they were so happy when sisko forced them to get back together they instantly forgave each other's flaws which is heartwarming but also extremely fucking funny

rapture (ds9):

the title, i know, i know, i KNOW. i almost typed "THE rapture" like twice, nobody say anything, fuck

did not love this episode BUT i made it through the entire thing without calling kai wynn a bitch

i actually liked the depth they gave her in this ep, though it's not enough to make the character fun for me. she just takes such relish in being cruel for the sake of her faith, i can't stand it

kira also wearing blinders this episode :/ it's not that i don't think she should have a faith but i wish it didn't make her stupid. like, oh let's let sisko die from his visions! let's be an artist instead of a soldier! because some guy said to! come on

poor kassidy having just got out of prison and now she gets back to sisko being like. totally fucking crazy. i do like that she and jake have bonded though. i hope she makes him a great stepmother someday

i feel like this plot is gonna come back later...? i've read Some Things about sisko. i will say i'm curious to see where it goes. at the same time, i can't believe he chose his visions over JAKE when we all saw how jake was in the visitor and i'm kind of mad he didn't so much as apologize for putting jake in that position. it doesn't really feel like he ever came back to his "right mind." i hope he's not like that for the rest of the series lol

macrocosm (voy):

JANEWAY HOT!!!!!!!!!! this is so rough for me because i've never found her like stupid attractive before but wow the laura croft look really did it for me. i wish chakotay could have seen it 🫡

sorry i know there are other things to say about this episode. ummm it's much funnier post covid. the giant viruses. i wish they hadn't made them so buglike though

very fun that the doctor had gone full apocalypse mode. it makes absolutely NO sense how he was able to infect everyone if he wasn't real though...that's the whole reason they sent him down

the prosthetics in this were very cool. the cgi effects were very silly

fair trade (voy):

SSSSSSIGH

the conceit of this episode was so fucking stupid. like, what about any of them makes neelix think they're gonna toss him out for being useless. kes is also useless, they don't NEED a nurse, but they're not throwing her out. a single conversation could have solved all of this

i thought that guy wix looked so familiar i was struggling to remember what he did in voyager, but no, i made that up.

on the other hand, i did like seeing vorik again! i remembered him from tng because of how fucking good his spock mannerisms were. like, not his name or anything he actually DID on tng, just how good he was at being a vulcan. i hope he comes back trek DESPERATELY needs more vulcans. maybe he and tuvok hang out and find peace in nobody pestering them about having emotions lol

anyway, i do love that janeway gave him hell at the end for it though. like that time she lectured b'elanna and tuvok and they wanted to die. AND she did it to chakotay once too. one thing she will do is shame somebody for being fucking stupid <3 may everyone on the cast get one before the series is over

TONIGHT: voy's "ater ego" and ds9's "the darkness and the light"

[love-kurdt]

Thick Skull (byler): III

word count: 3,560

warnings for this chapter: underage drinking, descriptions of racism and racially motivated violence, consensual underage... activities

Only I know where all the bodies are buried / Thought by now I'd find 'em just a little less scary Might get easier but you don't get used to it / Keep on autopilot, hey, hey

Eddie Munson and Steve Harrington arrived at the basement entrance of the Wheeler house with their construction masks and goggles on, carrying two bags full of beer and some stolen vodka from Steve’s dad’s liquor cabinet. He figured that the kids should still be able to have the typical high school party experience despite the fact that their high school had been turned into a temporary homeless shelter slash soup kitchen. The reasoning was pretty sound— well, that, and the kids harassed him until he caved. Steve and Nancy had, of course, protested the idea initially, but Eddie convinced them in the end; the world was ending, so what bad could a little alcohol do? All they had to do was keep Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler away from the basement and keep the kids within the four walls of said basement, which wouldn’t be that difficult since the gremlins were always down there anyway. So while the teens got shit-faced and Eddie supervised, Steve and Nancy helped Karen reorganize the Wheeler family scrapbook collection with Ted’s snoring serving as background music.

The kid probably most eager to get drunk was Dustin. Despite his excellent grades (with the exception of Spanish, obviously, but thanks to Suzie, that went away) and his nerdy perspective on life, Dustin Henderson was a daredevil through and through. He’d arrived on the scene convinced that everyone had an alcohol-induced alter ego, and was determined to classify everyone by the type of person they were while drunk. There were three categories: the happy and affectionate drunk, the sad and sappy drunk, and the reckless and irresponsible drunk. He had an inkling of a feeling as to which category everyone in the group fit, but in order to test his various hypotheses, he needed to see them in action.

El often kept to herself while sober. Her vocabulary was still a bit jumbled– like a robot in the process of programming. Obviously, that was due to the uncontrollable circumstances of the environment in which she was raised, and the fact that her brain blocked out trauma from that area of her life. The way Eleven spoke was a sensitive subject; she often felt self-conscious and resented the way she sometimes sounded like a six year old. Dustin figured that if her inhibitions were lowered, she’d either start talking a lot, not caring what she sounded like, or she’d stop talking altogether to prevent any further embarrassment. He hoped that El would be the happy and affectionate drunk. Having Max around would likely help.

Max was bold to begin with. She was not afraid of sharing her opinion with the group, even if she were the first or only one to mention it, because she was confident that the rest of the Party would agree with her. She found love in Lucas again, and El was back in her life, so things seemed great. But Max also had some unresolved trauma that drew Vecna to her in the first place. Her stepbrother died a gruesome death, her stepfather left, and her mom drank more alcohol than water. People like Max tended to push any type of negative thoughts onto the back burner, and in turn, it came out when they were most vulnerable; in Max’s case, six vodka shots deep. She’d probably be a sad and sappy drunk, hanging off Lucas or El’s shoulders and talking about what could have been.

It was difficult for Dustin to pinpoint which category Lucas would fall into, mostly because he seemed pretty okay. Apart from the Party’s shared experiences, Lucas had a pretty normal life. He had a loving family and a great group of friends who would stick by his side forever. Dustin knew that Lucas encountered racism on a daily basis– something no one else in the party had to endure– and that definitely influenced his behavior and personality. Lucas would often express how he was “othered” by his peers. The feeling of being othered was horrible enough without a gun in the equation. When Jason pulled a gun out and pointed it in Lucas’ face that spring night, his reality became crystal clear. Nearly being shot would change anyone, but Lucas felt like any other stereotypical Black man, facing down the barrel of a gun. And he hated the fact that the basketball guys went after his twelve year old sister and basically ended her childhood, whatever was left of it. As a result, he was more guarded than the rest of the group, and quick to come to the defensive whenever he was confronted. Which was understandable; no one in the Party could truly know what it was like to be a Black person, but they all had his back and loved him exactly the same, if not more. Dustin watched from across the room as Lucas took another shot with Max before pulling her into a kiss, and he smiled to himself. It was going well. Happy and affectionate drunk it is.

Anything that might cause harm to an individual, you name it, Will had been through it. That didn’t stop him from living his best life. Dustin believed it had something to do with dying and coming back, and having a new outlook on the world, as fucked up as their current world was. And he applauded Will for that, truly. Everyone did. It was a miracle that Will was able to hold himself together after everything involving the Upside Down, but Dustin knew that something, or rather someone, was helping him in doing so. Will was never the type of person to hate someone, but when it came to Mike, it was physically impossible. No matter how many times Mike would try to get Will to hate him, breaking his heart time and time again, he would always forgive Mike, idiocy and all. Mike Wheeler was Will’s entire world. His crush on Mike was far from obvious; he hid it pretty well. Dustin just happened to be good at analyzing people and their body language. Despite being on opposite sides of the room, and the fact that Will was talking with El on the couch with his focus on her, Will’s feet were pointed directly at Mike. The mind’s subconscious was the strangest concept. Dustin wasn’t sure how long he’d been staring at Will’s checkered Vans before he heard someone clearing their throat, and he lifted his gaze to see Will looking right back at him with a confused expression on his face. He looked away, blaming the alcohol on his prolonged staring. 

Dustin grabbed a handful of small, skinny pretzels from a bowl on the table and chewed each individual pretzel into one millimeter pieces. I should call my mom and tell her thank you for saving up her hard-earned money for these pearls, he thought. He ventured across the room to the phone to call Steve’s house, only to discover that the cord was wrapped around the corner. He followed the stretched out cable into the laundry area, where Mike was seated on top of the dryer, phone in hand.

“Hey man, are you good?” Dustin asked, and Mike’s head snapped up to attention. Dustin could read Mike quicker than Fellowship of the Ring. From what he could observe, Mike was all over the map, mentally speaking. He had been since their return from Lenora. His eyes looked a little misty, and he was unconsciously swaying from side to side. How much had he had to drink?

“Shh, I’m calling Will, he might pick up this time,” he whispered, holding out his hand with his pointer finger extended, signaling Dustin to wait. Oh, so Mike was gone, gone. He’d apparently forgotten that Will was less than ten feet away from him, and had decided to call the Byers residence in California, just as he had every single day for months after they left town. Dustin concluded that Mike was most definitely the reckless and irresponsible drunk of the Party.

“Uh–” Dustin hesitated, not sure how to approach the conversation. Before he could get a word in, Mike held his free hand to the mouthpiece so “Will” wouldn’t hear him in case he picked up, and shook his head.

“There’s no way Mrs. Byers could be working at this hour.”

“Mike, I–”

“Maybe Will just hates me. Do you think he hates me?” Mike asked, his voice breaking a little with immense sadness. It hurt Dustin to see Mike like this, in such intense emotional pain and unable to name those feelings. It didn’t help that whenever the topics of Will or his breakup with El were mentioned, he’d shut down.

“No, Mike, I don’t think he hates you. Quite the opposite, actually,” Dustin reassured his friend, whose eyes filled to the brim with tears at the mere thought.

“Really?”

“Really.” Dustin slowly moved towards Mike, taking the phone from his hand and hearing the dial tone on the other end; he hadn’t even called anyone. “But let’s get back to it, huh, bud? We should get you hydrated, have a snack, maybe?”

“O-okay,” Mike whispered. Dustin held out his hand, and Mike took it, letting him help him down from the dryer and get back to the party that was… frankly, dying down.

And Dustin knew exactly what to do to keep it going.

“Guys, I have an idea.”

“It better not be to chug another one of those wine coolers, that shit is not sitting well with me,” Lucas said, eyes wide and slightly panicked. Dustin sauntered over and placed his hand on Lucas’ shoulder, addressing the group as a whole. 

“No, my dear Lukey, it’s even better.” Cicadas. Could they be any less excited? “We should play spin the bottle.”

“Jesus, Dustin, you can’t be serious,” Eddie said from his spot in the corner. Dustin had almost forgotten Eddie was there, given that he was so damn quiet while writing his newest campaign. He couldn’t do much else otherwise; he was still in the process of fully healing from being mauled nearly to death by demobats. Regardless, he was supervising, and Dustin was certain that Eddie wouldn’t dare put a stop to his usual antics. He loved the kid too much.

“Actually, as a matter of fact, I’m being totally serious!” Dustin retorted, “I mean, you only live once, am I right?”

“Bold assumption, given that most of us are on our second lives,” Max said, deadpan.

“Oh, Max. My sweet, pessimistic friend…” Dustin waltzed over to Max’s side, patting his hand on her head a few times. “Do it and you’re cool. Or… you can sit this one out.”

Everybody knew Max would never turn down a challenge. That’s why they were not the least bit surprised when she squinted at Dustin with a smirk on her face. “Over my dead body.”

“That’s the spirit, Maxine! Now, everybody form a circle! Who has an empty bottle?”

What's the body count up to now, captain?

“Alright, Mike-a-Rooney, you’re up!” Dustin grinned as El and Max sat down in their respective spots in the circle. “And remember, you either take the challenge or chug!”

Oh God. Mike resisted the urge to throw up. Please be Will. Please be Will. Please be– what the fuck was he thinking? He’d essentially been praying for his own self sabotage. Would it be that horrible if he just said “pass” and ran up the stairs and through the front door and down the street and out of Hawkins? Pretty damn likely. Mike shook his thoughts out of his head and leaned forward into the circle, spinning the bottle and trying to maintain a neutral expression on his face. He didn’t even have to look up when the bottle stopped moving and everyone gasped.

“Will, do you accept?” Dustin asked, to which Will hesitated, cheeks flushed. He watched as Mike, equally red in the face, slowly ripped his eyes from the carpeted floor up to Will. He looked… embarrassed? Eager?

“Uh… sure?” he shrugged, and Mike’s immediate response was, “No!”

So much for looking neutral, Mike thought, I might as well have a neon sign that reads ‘THIS BOY IS A CLOSETED HOMOSEXUAL’ over my head.

Shit. He had to cover this up, and quickly. He cleared his throat before speaking. “I– I mean, it’s just, he hasn’t had his first kiss yet, and I don’t want to ruin his first kiss, I’d rather him have it with someone who–”

“Mike, no, it’s okay,” Will interrupted, and Mike felt his heart beat faster in his chest. Why would Will want this? How could Will want this?

“But–”

“It’s fine,” Will told him, looking calm and cool as a fucking cucumber. “I’m serious. Plus, I’d rather kiss someone I know rather than a random stranger.” Will knew he was digging his own grave, but if this was his only chance to kiss Mike in his life, like hell would he give up the opportunity.

“Okay.” The party cheered.

Mike and Will met in the middle of the circle, and Mike audibly gulped. He moved his hand up to cup Will’s face. Will nearly flinched at the contact, but his nerves were instantly calmed as he felt Mike’s thumb caress his cheekbone as if it were made of glass. He leaned in, and Will tilted his head up a little bit to accommodate Mike’s height. The kiss was light at first, just lips on lips, testing the waters.

Will became concerned for a second, because he didn’t feel anything. He definitely assumed that too soon; within a matter of seconds, the kiss was deepened, and gravity ceased to exist. Mike’s hand that wasn’t on Will’s face grabbed Will’s hip and pulled him closer, so they were almost chest to chest, and Will needed to hold onto one of Mike’s shoulders to stabilize himself. He pressed further into the kiss, but not too hard, because he wanted to savor this moment for as long as he could, but he didn’t want to seem like he was too into it—

But Mike definitely wasn’t showing any signs of holding back. In fact, the two had been at it for a whole minute and Mike hadn’t stopped. The cheers had melted into silence, very much like Will’s heartbeat that he initially felt in his ears but now he couldn’t hear at all. Mike slipped his tongue into Will’s mouth. Will ran his hand through Mike’s hair. Mike held Will in his arms and pulled him impossibly closer. Everything seemed to move at simultaneously lightning speed and in slow motion and Will couldn’t wrap his head around what the hell was happening.

That was until Mike pulled away. Will glanced over at the corner where Eddie sat, hands clasped together and over his mouth in surprise. He looked down at their friends, whose jaws fell agape, and for once in his life, Will felt like he wasn’t going completely insane. They all saw what Mike had done on his own volition. This wasn’t just a Spin the Bottle kiss. This was a real kiss. He looked back up at Mike, who ran his hand through his hair before turning back and sitting down, leaving Will standing in the circle, speechless. It wasn’t that he was surprised, per se, it was just that prior to that night, he’d only been able to dream about kissing Mike. Now he had. He returned to his own spot and ran the kiss over and over in his head while Lucas spun the bottle. Lips. Deep breaths. Hand on hip. Shoulders. Tongue. Fingers in hair. Arms.

Will snapped out of his thoughts and blinked a few times. He couldn’t let himself get too wrapped up in his wishful thinking. They were drunk. Fucking around with their friends. He’d always had to deal with the fact that Mike was straight; he was used to it by now. It was like he’d been on autopilot all these years, obeying the voice in his head that told him “no.” But that didn’t make it any easier now that his previous sliver of hope had become somewhat tangible.  

Hit over the head, epiphany / Over my head, repeatedly Thick skull never did nothing for me / Same lesson again?

Spin the Bottle got old after a while. There were only so many people in the circle, and after everyone had kissed, it seemed slightly pointless to continue. Mike suggested they watch Fast Times, so the party gathered on and around the couch while Eddie bid his goodbyes and headed upstairs to Nancy and Steve. Mike rested his arms atop the back cushions and watched the television come to life. Will knocked out in seconds.

Where Will knocked out, however, was Mike’s primary concern. When Will’s head met Mike’s shoulder, he nearly jumped fifty feet in the air. He shifted a little bit, with the hope that Will would stir and realize what was happening, but of course, it only caused Will’s head to fall further down so his ear was resting on Mike’s heart. How apropos. Mike took a deep breath, as quietly as he could for both his friends’ and Will’s sake, and settled into the couch, lowering his arm from the cushions and onto Will’s shoulders. If this was all he could get, even if it made him a slight creeper, he wouldn’t take it for granted.

A few hours later, the movie ended, and everyone was passed out across the living room, leaving the two boys on the couch by themselves. Mike didn’t have the heart to wake Will. He looked way too peaceful. Part of Mike wanted to enjoy this, and the other part dreaded what would happen after the fact. Will and Mike barely spoke to each other any other given day, not since their argument on the day that Mike and El broke up. He wasn’t even sure if it had ever been cleared up that it ended well, with an even stronger friendship. Would everything just go back to normal?

Will exhaled in his sleep, a frown forming on his gorgeous face. That wouldn’t do. Mike looked around to see if anyone was watching before gently pressing his lips to Will’s forehead, running his nimble fingers down Will’s arm and back up again. This felt nice, even if it would only last for a little bit.

Or not.

Come on, give it to me Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me

Will felt something tickle his arm, causing him to shiver and wake with a start. He took in his surroundings and realized that it hadn’t been vines running up and down his biceps. It had been Mike’s fingers. He slowly lifted his head up and met Mike’s eyes, which seemed darker than usual. He went to speak, but Mike lifted his free hand to put his finger to Will’s lips. Will complied. Mike’s hand didn’t stop brushing Will’s biceps, but the hand that had been on Will’s lips found a new position on the side of Will’s head.

He sat there, lips slightly parted, watching with wide eyes as Mike’s face moved closer, and closer, and even closer, until their lips collided for the second time that night. He could feel Mike’s breath fanning on his face, and Will responded immediately. He wrapped an arm around Mike’s shoulders, guiding him into a position where Mike was now leaning over Will, legs straddling his own.

He leaned down on his forearms to reach Will’s neck, pressing kisses down until he hit the collar of Will’s shirt. He brought a hand down Will’s chest, under his shirt, and up his torso. Will wrapped a leg around Mike’s waist and he went along with it, lowering the rest of his body onto Will.

Mike returned back to Will’s lips, kissing them with all the pent up emotion he had. He wanted to feel every part of Will. He wanted to see every part of Will. Before he could stop himself, he rutted down and felt something against his own inner thigh. He was hard.

Will gasped at the contact, instantly getting hard as well. He heard Mike repress a groan. Was this a dream? This had to be a dream. It couldn’t not be a dream. All thinking came to a screeching halt when Mike’s hand that had been under Will’s shirt was suddenly dipping down into his sweatpants. 

“Mike, I–”

“Do you want the others to hear? You gotta be quiet.”

Mike pulled the blanket over his head and Will felt him moving lower and lower until he felt his brain turn to putty. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed between silencing his panting with his arm and when Mike returned to meet him face to face, but he had one question burning on his mind before he succumbed to his exhaustion. So he asked.

“Is this real?”

Mike pressed a feather light kiss to Will’s lips before settling down next to him.

He brushed some hair out of his face before he replied, “No.”

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[thessalian]

Thess vs Fuckboys

As I may have mentioned, I occasionally dip my toe into Reddit. Sometimes this shows me the absolute shitstorm of humanity. However, given that I very strongly curate my online experience, often I see said shitstorm with a whole lot of people making fun of it.

Like, today there was a post on the subject of Baldur's Gate 3 - a screenshot of this guy (and it had to be a guy) who was stating that "all these girlbosses effortlessly killing all in their path is unrealistic because they're WOMEN" and something about how this amount of strong women is "destroying normal gender roles and lowering the testosterone of men and making them weak, and this will reduce our military strength and be a real problem if World War 3 ever happens". Which ... was getting a lot of laughs. And one person was asking, "Wait ... where are these girlbosses in the game, exactly?" - I'm assuming largely being facetious, or deciding that we weren't going to count companions (because obviously it's not exactly easy to defeat all foes depending on game difficulty chosen). And of course everyone flagged up all the female companions and Isobel and Aylin (because Aylin wrecked shit UP) and so on and so forth.

...Which made me the first person to point out that almost every deity (or wannabe deity, in at least one case) that we have direct encounters or personal relationships with as a squad are goddesses. Vlaakith. Mystra. Shar. Selune. And, I mean, with Mystra it's all, "My boy-toy did something irredeemably stupid and he is now at my mercy because without my intervention he is going to literally explode", so that must really freak out a fuckboy, having a woman (godly power notwithstanding) having a man at her mercy.

...Which made me the first person to flag up Mizora. She has the upper hand with Wyll at all times, even when it doesn't look like she does (*coff*specificmomentinact2*coff*), and thus Wyll is utterly at her mercy because ... well, he hasn't got the brains the gods gave a string bean when it comes to navigating contract law (not that I blame him, given the circumstances of the original pact, but seriously, neither his INT nor his WIS are exactly stellar). And that, of course, lead to "And then there's Zariel, who is literally ruling the Hells just now".

Of course, someone else did flag up that I'd left out the Absolute, but I honestly hadn't remembered people using "she/her" for the Absolute, so there you go. I mean, given what the Absolute is, gender presentation is a crap-shoot at best, but if that's what she's telling her pawns, fine.

Either way, see, I'm obviously perfectly happy about this. It's not like there's a shortage of powerful men in this whole situation. Cazador. Raphael. Lorroakan. Balthazar. Gortash. Ketherick. Nere. Dror Ragzlin. ...Though now that I think on it, two out of the three generals you kill in the goblin camp (or knock unconscious if you want to try getting Minthara into the party) are women.

I mean ... is it wrong that I'm kind of living for the tears and wailing and gnashing of teeth of pissed-off fuckboys maddened to the point of weird conspiracy theories like "strong wimminz in muh vidya games makes men WEAK and we will LOSE WARS"? Like, they've driven me nuts for decades, and I guess it's nice to see they're driving themselves crazier than they drive any of us.

Now, if anyone needs me, I'll be in bed, in preparation for tomorrow's plan of "get the usual work done and probably end up having to deal with Elminster in my leisure time, yay".

[rocorambles]

Reciprocate

Pairing: Akaashi x Reader

Genre/Warnings: Yandere, NSFW, Mafia AU, Kidnapping, Rape/Non-Con, Forced Impregnation, Objectification, Degradation, Humiliation

Summary: You should have known better than to think you could ever truly escape from him, especially when you carry something he treasures so dearly inside of you. 

You reminisce on the early days when you had met the beautiful dark-haired man, when you had been swept off your feet by striking blue eyes and a serene composure. 

Akaashi had never been just normal to you and you remember how he had made your head spin with the air of mystery he carried around him, how your heart whipped back and forth between the always surprising mixture of sharp blunt words and eloquent poetry he entrapped you with. He was a man full of surprises, truly multi-faceted and you remember watching in awe at how quickly he could go from easily and agilely maneuvering his toned athletic body in the gym to lazily reading classic literature with a hand posessively but gently wrapped around your waist as you curled up besides him on the couch. 

There are many words you could have used to describe Akaashi. But dangerous? Dangerous was not one of them. 

Funny how quickly things can change. 

Even as careful as Akaashi is, even he can’t foresee unexpected circumstances, especially when you are more entangled in the webs of his life than he ever meant for you to be. And he is forced to reveal who he truly is to you or kill you when you get caught up in things and with people who shouldn’t have ever even known you existed. 

You wouldn’t be the first woman he’s killed and his mind flickers to numerous dead bodies, corpses of prostitutes and other unfortunate women strewn about when things became too complicated, when they threatened his position and the safety of his clan. But he can’t bring himself to pull the trigger, can’t even bring himself to think about aiming at you. 

You’re not like the other fleeting distractions and for the first time ever, Akaashi Keiji breaks Fukurodani policies by revealing everything to you in the hopes that you’ll accept him as everything he is, that you’ll join him for the long run. 

Blue eyes storm over when you don’t look at him with the love and acceptance he expected of you, only fear and disappointment apparent in your eyes, and his hands instinctively clench into fists when you flinch away from him, scrambling to create space between the two of you when he reaches out to reassure you that underneath the terrifying family name and insignia, he’s still just him. 

Fine. You’re scared? He’ll give you something to actually be scared of.

His fingers dig deeper than necessary as they roughly drag and shove you, movements harsh and rough enough to make a very clear point, but never enough to permanently mark you. He likes his possessions as pristine as possible after all. And he smiles at how quick you are to go limp in his arms, obediently letting yourself be led when Akaashi’s silky voice patronizingly tells you what a shame it would be for your beautiful body to be decorated with bullet holes. 

You know who Boktuo Koutarou is, even if you’ve never physically met him. Everyone in your city knows who he is, his name whispered and murmured in the streets, tales of his erratic temperament and ruthless wildness spread far and wide. The Fukurodani clan has always been a powerhouse in the underground world, has always controlled your city with an iron fist, and Bokuto, even by Fukurodani standards, has more than risen to the challenge of continuing his family’s undeniable reign, garnering respect and fear even among the monsters that share his insignia. So even though you’ve never met him, you know exactly who you’re shoved to your knees in front of, who Akaashi reverently speaks to and asks for permission from to keep you at the base as his pet, and you don’t dare open your mouth or raise your head, absolute terror paralyzing you. 

Gold eyes peer at you in interest. Whores aren’t uncommon in the base, lewd moans and slick sounds sometimes making the base seem more like a brothel than the home of illicit dangerous business and Bokuto has always encouraged and rewarded his men with the best cunts money can buy especially after particularly successful or tiresome raids. But for as long as he’s known Akaashi, he can count the number of times the younger man has partaken in those base pleasures on just his fingers and even then, they’ve always been one night stands, brief flings. So he’s surprised, to say the least, when the dark haired man asks to keep you around as his little toy and he has a gut feeling that you’ll become a permanent extension of the family, but how can he deny the man who’s resolutely stayed by his side all these years, who’s pledged his life and loyalty to him? Akaashi asks for so little and if all he wants is for Bokuto to provide protection and surveillance for one more body to be happy, then so be it.     

You’re no stranger to sharing a bed with Akaashi, but this is different. You had always thought that he had been holding back with you, swearing that you saw a hint of something darker gleaming behind blue orbs only for it to dissolve away as you were swept away by sensual languid pleasure and gentle, attentive words. And you hate that you were right, voice going hoarse as you scream at the top of your lungs as you’re ruthlessly taken over and over again, a coldness in the eyes you had once loved that pierces deep within you, animalistic possessiveness in the way he marks you, long slender fingers leaving bruises in their wake as he holds your writhing body in place as he thrusts in and out of your abused lower lips. 

Day in, day out. All you know is a fitful sumber that exhaustion forces you into and Akaashi. His scent, his touch, his voice. You’re drowning in his essence. Dying. No. That would be preferable. At least there would be an end. And you silently grieve, unable to even cry real tears anymore when you wonder when this will ever end, if this will ever end. 

As much as Akaashi would love to permanently lay beside you, duty and appearances do call from time to time and he reclines across from Bokuto, watching the black and white haired man boisterously chat with Kuroo Tetsurou, the current head of Nekoma as scantily clad women surround the two men, dragging fingernails down their chests and shamelessly shoving their breasts into their faces in the hopes of gaining their favor. They sure do seem to be enjoying themselves and Akaashi grimaces when one of the prostitutes begins to loudly moan as she grinds against his leader’s swelling erection which doesn’t go unnoticed by sharp eyes. 

“Akaashi, don’t be so uptight. Why don’t I send some of them to your room tonight to help you loosen up?”

Bokuto knowingly smiles in amusement when he’s promptly rejected. 

“Ah, that’s right. You still have your cute pet. But you know Akaashi, pets are temporary. Don’t you think it’s time to make it a little more permanent? Maybe put a ring on it? Hell, I love kids. I wouldn’t mind having a few runts running around the base, especially if they’re yours.” 

Their conversation is interrupted by a rude scoff and Bokuto snarls at Kuroo’s taunting words. 

“Because God knows Bokuto isn’t having kids anytime soon. No woman could stand bearing his kids and listening to his loudmouth for the rest of her life.”

Akaashi tunes out their bickering as the gears in his mind churn. 

He had kept you on your birth control pills, not wanting to disturb his time with you as he broke you in and figured out exactly what his plan for you is. He knows he loves you, knows there’s no life for him without you. But he wasn’t a dreamer. He’s fully aware just how dangerous his life is, how impossible it is for the both of you to be able to grow old together, how much more likely it’ll be that both of you end up dead side by side in a turf war gone wrong. Yet now all he can think of is what you’d be like as a mother, how you’d look pregnant with his children and when your pills run low, he tears your prescription to shreds in front of your eyes. 

You have more fight left in you than he thought you would and he’s enraged by how much you despise the thought of carrying his children, every desperate plea for him to not cum inside of you while you’re unprotected, a direct insult to him and his love for you. All he sees is red as he breeds you over and over again, stuffing you full of his cock and his seed, never stopping until you’re filled to the brim with the sticky proof of his adoration, stomach heavy and sloshing with his declared affection. 

Turbulent emotions ransack you and you wish you could blame it solely on the hormones raging throughout your impregnated body, but you know it’s deeper than that. It had been so easy to become numb to being used, being known as nothing more than Akaashi’s pretty pet, being the victim of a cold, ruthless stranger you realize now that you never really knew. But it’s agonizing to once again see the hints of the man you had fallen in love with and your heart aches at how gentle and considerate Akaashi is to you once more as your belly begins to swell, a comforting hand rubbing your back and holding your hair away from your face as morning sickness has you heaving over the toilet bowl. And you feel something break and shatter into a million pieces inside of you when one night, as your due date quickly approaches, he kneels in front of you, slipping the engagement ring of your dreams onto your trembling hand. 

“I know this isn’t how you dreamed of any of this happening, but I promise you, once the child is born, I’m going to give you the wedding you always wanted and do my best to be the husband and father you deserve and want. I love you.”

You sob, tightly returning Akaashi’s embrace, burying your face in his chest, wishing with all your heart that things could have been different, that you could go back to those early days, that everything in between was a dream, a nightmare. 

But this is reality and as you cradle your baby bump, you know that you need to do something, anything, now that it’s not just your life on the line anymore. 

For the first time in a long time, it seems like fortune is finally on your side as Akaashi relinquishes his leash on you, trusting that your growing bump will permanently tie you to him, that you won’t even think of trying to escape in your current state. And you play your role perfectly, smiling and leaning into his careful touches, accepting the gifts and attention he lavishes you with, looking to all the world like an excited expecting mother perfectly matched with her doting fiance. 

Akaashi resumes taking up longer projects and jobs, no longer seeing a need to keep as careful of a watch over you or a need to remind you of your place besides him every night. And seeing one of their higher-ups relax makes everyone else careless, no one paying you much attention, no more armed men outside your door and windows when Akaashi is away. 

Really, it’s embarrassingly easy for you to escape, so easy that you wonder if this is a trap, almost expecting Akaashi to appear from around every corner and drag you back to the prison he had created for you, and you shudder when you can almost feel his hands against your skin, his voice murmuring cruel cutting words into your ear. 

But no one stops you and you slowly, but steadily make the long journey to Inarizaki territory, discreetly settling in and making a new home for yourself, starting a new life. Inarizaki and Fukurodani have never dealt much with each other, their territories so far apart that it’s pointless to clash or ally with each other when there are so many other enemies and friends closer to both their homes to deal with. You pray that it’s enough to hide you, to allow you to leave your wretched past behind. 

It seems like your prayers are answered as month after month passes, as your belly grows and grows, as you give birth to a beautiful baby girl. You can barely remember a life outside of motherhood, your heart overwhelmingly full of love and happiness as you watch your daughter grow. And as you watch her take her first few wobbly steps as her first birthday passes, you let yourself finally believe that you can really move on and look forward, locking the blue-eyed demon of your past behind you once and for all. 

Except that demon doesn’t want to be locked up, that demon is far too strong and cunning for your flimsy padlock, and you clutch your daughter to your chest when your door slams open one night and your apartment is swarmed by men with the Fukurodani insignia, tears pooling in the corners of your eyes when one last final figure makes their way past your threshold and you stare into familiar blue eyes. 

As if your daughter can sense your anxiety, your fear, your hopelessness, she begins to loudly wail and bawl, wrapping her little arms around your neck and drenching your neck and shirt with her tears and snot, reminding you just how much is at stake right now. 

You do your best to fake some semblance of calmness, drawing on your maternal instincts to still the quivering of your voice as you gently whisper soothing words in her ear, telling her everything will be fine, telling her that these are just mommy’s old friends, all the while watching your ex-lover gracefully make his way towards the two of you, subtly shielding her little body with yours as he approaches. 

Realistically you know there’s not much you can do if he does mean harm to her, but you’d gladly die defending her to the best of your abilities if it came down to it, already ready to beg for her to be spared and for just you to be punished for your transgressions and your betrayal. You finch when you feel his weight settle besides you on the bed as he sits on the edge of the mattress, heart pounding as you feel his familiar presence, and you quickly turn to face him, only to be completely stunned by the softness in his eyes as he gazes at your daughter. 

Relief floods through you and you hesitantly shift, allowing him easier access to see her, something bittersweet trickling inside of you as long slender fingers gently reach out to caress tear-stained cheeks, as your daughter’s sobs die down and curious eyes peer at the stranger who’s touching her. And deep inside you know Akaashi won’t harm her, will fiercely love her, as he tugs her out of your arms and pulls her into his lap, a sad smile pulling on your lips as you watch father and daughter reunite. 

Deep inside you also know that you won’t be as lucky and your fears are confirmed when Akaashi stands, still cradling your giggling daughter in his arms, blue eyes pinning you down with a look you recognize all too well. There’ll be hell to pay for your actions. 

You feel nauseous, body already aching and throbbing in anticipation of your punishment. But you plaster on a smile for your daughter as she happily plays with one of her favorite toys in the backseat of the car between Akaashi and you, peppering her tiny face with kisses as Akaashi and you tuck her into the gorgeous nursery he’s prepared for her, and wishing her good night as Akaashi leads you back out, continuously waving until the nursery door is firmly closed. And only then does your act drop and you sob as a hand harshly grips your wrist, tears only flooding down more as you recognize the hallway you’re being dragged down, body shaking when you’re shoved into a room and a bed you had tried so hard to forget. 

Clothes are being torn from your body and you thrash around as lips descend upon you, a mouth hungrily molding with yours, yelping when teeth harshly bite on your lower lip before pulling apart. You feel so exposed, so helpless, so vulnerable as icy blue eyes glare down at you, Akaashi’s body pinning you in place as he takes in your figure, scrutinizing every line and curve of your body, mapping every familiarity and difference from the last time he’s seen you. But you lay still, wincing when his grip on your wrist becomes bone crushing when you try to instinctively cover yourself from him. 

“I trusted you. I love you. And this is how you repay me? Running away from me? Keeping my daughter away from me?” 

You open your mouth to stutter out some feeble excuse, but gasp when a hand wraps around your neck, warningly tightening before relaxing. The weight of his palm still against your throat keeps you silent. 

“There’s no excuse for what you did. But I promised you that I’d be a good husband, so I’ll forgive you if you show me how sorry you are.”

You nervously watch as he completely lets go of you, eyes trailing after him as he settles his back against the headboard of the bed, beckoning you over to him with a single finger. And you can’t help but feel like foolish prey walking into a trap as you obey, body quivering in fear as he pulls you in and positions you so that your legs straddle his thighs, back arching and a cry slipping past your lips as he teasingly captures one of your nipples in his mouth and sucks. 

“Still so sensitive.” 

You hate how well he’s trained your body, how easily your body betrays you even after being separated from him for over a year, how well he knows every inch of you inside and out and shame and humiliation lance through you when a long digit easily slides into your already dripping heat. 

“I think you’re more than ready, darling.”

Even past your wanton moans, the clanging metal of his belt unbuckling echoes throughout the room and you whimper as something hard presses against your entrance. 

“Come on, love. It’s time for you to apologize. Do you know how much effort and time I spent searching for you?”

You yelp as the hands resting on your waist dig into your flesh before relaxing and rubbing soothing circles into your skin. 

“But it’s okay because you’re here now, you and our daughter are here now, and neither of you are ever leaving me again. Right?”

You vigorously nod your head as blue eyes sharply stare at you, relaxing when they soften and a small smile plays on his lips. 

“Good girl. Now prove it to me.” 

You almost wish Akaashi had just forced himself upon you, finding it so much more demeaning to sink down on his cock all by yourself as he impassively sits back and watches you. But you’re sure that’s the whole point of this, for you to show your submission and acceptance through your actions. After all, nothing he ever does is meaningless. 

And you truly do feel broken, like nothing more than a good wife, a good pet as you wildly shake your hips, bouncing up and down on his cock in a way that makes your breasts jiggle, pussy clenching even tighter and gushing even more when he orders you to look him in the eyes all the while. 

“You’re making me feel so good, sweetheart. You’re so beautiful. You were made for my cock, made for me. Tell me who you belong to.”

In hindsight you’ll be embarrassed by how quick you are to babble his name over and over again in response. But here and now? All you can think about is the warmth in your chest as he praises you, the warmth in your belly as something pleasant and overwhelming builds inside of you. And Akaashi groans at how tightly you squeeze around him as your peak nears, almost cumming from just the hazed over arousal in your lust-filled eyes, pulling you in for a sloppy kiss and swallowing your cries of ecstasy as you reach your high, body convulsing and twitching in his arms as he holds you steady, lips still locked with yours as he thrusts up a few more times before finding his own release and spilling deep inside of you. 

You slump onto him, exhausted body collapsing and still twitching from the onslaught of pleasure. But as the fog from your mind begins to ebb away, you involuntarily tense at the whispered “I love you” that sounds like nails scraping against a chalkboard, hesitating too long to respond in kind. And you know you’ve made a huge mistake when blue eyes are coldly regarding you once more, shivering from both the cold and fear as he pulls back from you before shoving you onto your back and settling between your legs.

“Looks like you need a little more encouragement to reciprocate my feelings. That’s okay. We have all the time in the world for me to show you just how much I love you.”

[skzsauce01]

Bird Is the Word

Synopsis: A series of drunk texts leads to one of the best and worst things that has ever happened to you. Or, Han Jisung is never going to let you forget the time you forgot the word ‘bird.’ College AU. Not a text fic but does include some texts.

Warning: alcohol, a lot of bird puns

Word Count: 8.1k

Pairing: fem!reader x Han Jisung

2:23 AM [Me]: sOS SOS SOS SOSOSOS 2:23 AM [Me]: I NEED HELPPPP 2:23 AM [Jisung Bio]: You okay?? 2:23 AM [Me]: YOU SMART HELPPPPP

2:24 AM [Jisung Bio]: Do you want me to call the police?? 2:24 AM [Me]: WHAT ARE THE FLUFFY ANIMALS THAT GO FLAP CALLED 2:24 AM [Jisung Bio]: Is this a code word? 2:24 AM [Me]: THEY GO FLAP AND EAT SEEDS 2:24 AM [Jisung Bio]: Do you mean birds? 2:24 AM [Jisung Bio]: Are you drunk?

2:25 AM [Me]: [blurry_photo_of_your_window.jpg] 2:25 AM [Me]: HERE LOOK 2:25 AM [Me]: YES BIRDS 2:25 AM [Me]: THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH 2:25 AM [Me]: LOVE YOUUUUU

In your defense, you were drunk. And when you are drunk, your critical thinking skills disappear and are replaced by pure, uninhibited stupidity. It’s like some twisted Jekyll and Hyde situation, but only when you drink, you transform into this other version of yourself instead of suppressing it.

You mostly remember the things you have done and said while under the influence. The most embarrassing ones tend to be fuzzy. If it weren’t for the grainy phone video taken by Seungmin and your own voice cheerfully declaring that you had an idea, you wouldn’t have realized that you were the idiot who tried to make a chalk mural at the four-way intersection in the middle of the night. You didn’t even have chalk, but that didn’t stop you from drawing on the asphalt with a broken pen you found on the sidewalk.

Good thing Seungmin had the foresight to drag you back to the crosswalk before a car could come speeding by.

However, that legendary act of idiocy doesn’t even compare to this new one. Forget the fact that you could have died.

Your biology class just went over survival of the fittest using Darwin’s finches as an example. How in the world did you forget about the word ‘bird?’ Why did you think it was a good idea to ask the cute guy in your bio study group about “THE FLUFFY ANIMALS THAT GO FLAP?” And why, why, why did you insist on telling him that you loved him? The ‘THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH’ was already enough.

Jisung is never going to let you live this down.

It’s fine. You’re fine. It’s not like you spent the entire Sunday morning knocking back glasses of water and wishing it was vodka instead. It’s not like you drafted about five different apology messages and deleted them all. It’s not like you have to see him in class tomorrow.

Really, you’re fine.

You go out of your way to make yourself as inconspicuous as possible, which probably means you are very conspicuous. Do normal people not wear hoodies and sweatpants to class now, or are you just overthinking everything? The two people in the row in front of you are wearing jeans, and the girl heading down your row has a polka-dotted dress on. A secondary glance at the girl tells you that it’s another member of your study group. Speaking of the study group, maybe you should find another one. Preferably one without Jisung in it.

“Morning,” Lia says as she takes the seat beside you. She sets down her purple water bottle on the floor with a light clink. “How was your weekend?”

Terrible, but you say, “It was fine. I finished up the readings and did some notes. How about you?”

“Those readings took me forever!” she groans. “I was trying to finish everything on Saturday, so I could go out on Sunday. Which I did manage to do, so it all worked out. I got a new dress!” She plucks at the bodice of her dress, and you finally take a closer look at the pattern.

They’re not polka dots. They’re freaking birds — swoopy doves with outstretched wings. Or at least you think they’re doves. Your lack of bird knowledge speaks for itself.

“It’s pretty,” you hollowly say. The universe seems determined to remind you of your texts. Lia’s face falters, and you realize your disdain came across as you lying. “No, it’s not like that! Just… bad experiences with birds. You look really nice in this.”

She brightens up. “Oh, thanks! What do you mean by ‘bad experiences?’ What happened?”

“Good morning, birdbrain!”

“That happened.”

Looking far too happy for a Monday morning, Jisung takes the other seat beside you. He has a cup of coffee stacked high with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle, and you wonder if his extreme cheerfulness is from the caffeine or from your impending public humiliation. Why did you have to pick this guy to have a crush on? Sure, he’s cute and smart and sometimes nice, but there are plenty of people who have those traits without his witticism.

Lia looks at you with more amusement than concern. “So what happened?”

You tell her about what really happened during the weekend, and Jisung laughs all the while, reenacting his facial expression when he received your first frantic SOS message. Meanwhile, you sink lower and lower into your chair, ignoring your tailbone’s cries of pain as you slide further down the thin cushion.

“You can’t hide forever,” Jisung remarks as he looks at your slumping form. “C’mon, it wasn’t that bad. And you were drunk anyway.”

Yeah, you were, but the whole thing is doubly embarrassing because of how much you want him to like you. The overenthusiastic, all-caps messages are normal whenever you text while drunk, but ‘I love yous’ and the even rarer ‘I LOVE YOUUUU’  are few and far between. Only six people excluding Jisung have received them: your parents, your best friend, and your statistics group project members because you accidentally sent the message to the wrong chat.

On the bright side, seven is a lucky number. It means absolutely nothing in this case, and it’s hardly relevant to how you’re feeling, but everyone copes differently. Yours just happens to be clinging onto any silver lining available for solace.

“Anyway,” Lia cuts in, saving you from replying, “you’re here early, Jisung.”

He shrugs and flashes her a playful smile. However, his eyes are focused on you when he says, “You know what they say: early bird gets the worm.”

You give him a pitiful attempt of a withering glare. “I hate you.”

“Okay, fine.” He tugs at the shoulder of your hoodie to motion for you to stop trying to melt into the ground and to help you up. “It’s ‘cause I knew you would be here early.”

You are calm, you are fine, you will not be flustered. He just teased you five seconds ago; you should not be this willing to forgive him under these circumstances. Nonetheless, you slide back up to a more normal sitting position and try to pretend that you are still mildly upset. His next sentences make that impossible.

“You guys want brownies? Felix was stress-baking again.”

One may call you easily swayed by food, and they would be right. Jisung lets you have a coveted corner piece, and you decide that he’s alright again. He stretches an arm in front of you to get to Lia, and you lean back to avoid bumping into him. It also gives you a clear view of his profile. Wow, is he pretty. Look at that jawline. Suddenly his eyes go wide, and his mouth splits into a familiar excited grin.

“Are those birds?”

“Yep,” Lia answers, looking over at you to check your reaction. She tries to hide her smile, but it’s clear as day. You’re not entirely sure what she’s going to say next, but you already know it’s going to involve your current least favorite animal species. “Pretty… dove-ly, don’t you think?”

At least you were right about them being doves. “I hate you both.”

Jisung laughs at her pun and holds out his palm for a high-five. “You know what they say: birds of a feather flock together.”

“I really hate you both.”

Your initial prediction that Jisung is never going to let you live this down is correct. When you meet your bio group again Thursday night to study for the upcoming quiz, Jisung brings lemon poppy seed muffins for seemingly no other reason than to tease you. His housemate is still stress-baking, and judging by the bird silhouette made of glaze, Felix is very stressed and very eager to indulge in Jisung’s ideas.

“They’re finches!” Jisung proudly announces as he sets one right in front of you. The stupid decoration on top mocks you, but the muffin looks and smells delicious.  

Hyunjin, who does not know about your current plight but does know about Darwin’s finches, appreciatively coos at them. “They’ve even got different beak shapes! These are so cool. Man, Felix must hate econ right now.”

“No kidding,” you mutter as you begin peeling off the wrapper. Felix must hate you as well because one bite of this is almost enough for you to forgive Jisung again. It’s that good. How are you supposed to stay mad at Jisung when he gives you free delicious food? “Forget college, he needs to be in culinary school.”

He smirks from across the table, and it takes a lot of willpower for you to pretend you’re unphased. “What if I told you that I made these?”

“Then I would call you a liar.” He better be lying. You do not need another reason to justify your crush on him.

“And you would be right.” He slides his plastic container down to Lia, who has just arrived and is eyeballing the muffins like a predator. “But I did help him.”

“It’s really good,” you admit. You continue nibbling on it, determined to make the muffin last as long as you can. “What part did you help him out with?”

“The birds on top. Turns out drawing them with runny glaze is hard. I gave you the prettiest one, so don’t get mad about the whole bird thing. It goes with what we’re studying too.”

“Fine,” you sigh as you fold the wrapper into halves over and over again. “But only because these are amazing.”

Hyunjin leans in closer, effectively popping the intimate bubble you and Jisung were in. “What’s ‘the bird thing?’”

Fortunately, Yeji has finally arrived, which gives you the perfect excuse to stop Jisung from letting another person know of your drunk texts. You make a big production of pulling out your notebook from your backpack and rifling through your pencil bag for a pen.

“Should we get started?” you ask. Lia nods and uncaps one of her many highlighters.

“I’ll tell you later,” Jisung whispers to Hyunjin, winking at you. You could cry, melt, die. You could do a lot of things, but you opt to stick your tongue out at him. So what if you’re being childish? You can barely concentrate on the real world after that wink. To Yeji, he says, “There’s snacks, if Lia hasn’t eaten them all yet.”

“Hey!”

Hyunjin laughs at her notorious sweet tooth before turning to Yeji. “He gave Y/N the prettiest one, so there’s probably only his fails left.”

“They’re not bad!”

Lia has only had two, so there are more than enough to choose from. Yeji peers inside the container before selecting the one closest to her.

“Is this a plague doctor?” she asks as she suppresses a laugh. “It’s got a top hat.”

Jisung shakes his head and groans. “You chose the worst one on purpose. It’s one of Darwin’s finches. You would have known if you studied.”

“It’s not my fault you can’t draw.” Taking no notice of Jisung’s affronted expression, she takes out the textbook the five of you split the cost to buy. “Okay, plague doctor cupcakes out of the way, what are the four main theories of evolution?”

“They’re lemon poppy seed finch muffins,” he clarifies.

“That’s not an evolution theory,” Hyunjin cheekily replies, earning him an elbow nudge from Jisung and a laugh from everyone else.

You end up answering Yeji’s question and reward your correct answer with another muffin. Besides them being addictive, you’ll need some energy for the rest of the study session if all this talk about birds persists. You select the most plague doctor-ish one out of the box, and Jisung notices.

“Seriously?” he pouts. “I give you the best one, and this is how you repay me? I thought you said you weren’t mad about the bird thing.”

You ignore the last sentence. “What? You’re not proud of these?” you say, mock astonished as you give him a good view of the glaze on top. “They look exactly like plague doctors.”

“I hate you.”

You smile and shrug before returning back into the discussion about Lamarckism. Let him get a taste of his own medicine.

Unfortunately, as promised and as possible revenge, Jisung tells Hyunjin about ‘the bird thing,’ and Yeji overhears since she is only two chairs away. You try melting into the ground instead, but Lia holds you in place as the story continues, so you are stuck reliving the memory. You knew Jisung wouldn’t let you forget, but you didn’t account for everyone else in the group finding out and joining in on the torture.

But thanks to Jisung’s brilliant idea to bring those spectacularly decorated muffins, he doesn’t go unscathed either. It’s a mediocre consolation prize, but you’ll take it.

All around, it’s a productive study session, if a bit long, courtesy of everyone’s unrelenting shots at you and Jisung.

Your study group splits off in three separate directions once you’re all at the library entrance: Yeji back to the on-campus dorms where she’s an RA, Hyunjin and Lia to the off-campus apartments a few streets down, you and Jisung to the bus stop to your apartments on the other of campus. There’s a few people already sitting at the bench, so you and Jisung stand under the streetlight nearby. A moth intent on reaching the light source rams itself repeatedly against the glass covering, and you tiredly watch it. You yawn.

“Not much of a night owl?” he asks. With no clever reply ready, you gently shove him towards the bushes, but he only sways at your push. He throws his hands up in surrender. “Alright, I’ll stop for today.”

“I’m really sorry for sending you that,” you say. You haven’t touched the chat between you and him since the incident. “And for not apologizing earlier.”

“It’s alright. Although I almost had a heart attack when you sent me ‘SOS’ like five times.”

You grimace as you remember your frantic texts. If you think back hard enough, you remember furiously tapping at your screen, trying to get his attention as quick as possible because you really, really, really needed to know what the animal that landed on your windowsill was called. Your housemate was in the next room over. You could have asked her instead, but no, you decided that Jisung from bio was the best option. Not even the group chat, just Jisung himself.

“Sorry again,” you weakly reply.

“It really is alright. Finding bird puns is my new favorite hobby now.” He wryly smiles. “I have so many more to try on you. You’re gonna love it.”

Is that endearing or annoying? Living rent-free inside his head isn’t terrible, especially since he seems to do the same in yours. You’ll probably have to endure lots more puns from him in the future, but for now, you’ll decide that it’s endearing.

The bus arrives, and you sit in the back with him. The ride to the apartment complex is quiet; only a group of people near the front are speaking to one another in low voices. Jisung makes no attempt at continuing the conversation, and you are content to stare out into the neon lights outside the window. You can see him in the reflection on the glass. The empty container devoid of muffins sits on Jisung’s lap, his phone placed face down on the lid. If it weren’t for all the other passengers on the bus, you would be convinced that it was just you and him, enjoying each other’s company.

You’re almost sad when you reach your stop.

“Do you want me to walk you to your apartment?” he asks as you step down to the pavement. “Yours is farther down, right?”

“Isn’t your place right here?” you say. You’ve seen him walk out from this particular complex several times while waiting for the bus. That’s not stalking. “You don’t have to go out of your way. It’s just a block away.”

“Yeah, I’m definitely walking you home.”

You hesitate a bit, but Jisung is already taking small steps in the direction of your apartment. A little more time with him doesn’t sound too horrendous right now. “Okay.”

Just like the bus ride, no conversation, which suits you fine. Jisung seems more enthralled by looking into the windows of apartment residents anyway. You can’t blame him, especially when it appears that someone is having their own mini rave in their living room. Once at the doors to your building, you thank him and tell him good night.

“No problem and good luck tomorrow.” His voice is softer at night, or maybe it’s because he’s tired as well.

Your tone matches his as well. “You too. See you in class then.”

“Good night.”

A few minutes after midnight, just as you’re about to get into bed, a message from Jisung pops up. Not Jisung in the study group, just Jisung.

12:04 AM [Jisung Bio]: Hey, I know you’re not much of a night owl, so would you call yourself a morning lark? 12:04 AM [Jisung Bio]: You’re always an early bird to class 12:04 AM [Jisung Bio]: Are you emu-sed? 12:04 AM [Jisung Bio]: :D

Well, he did say he would stop for the day. It’s technically the next day. You reply with an annoyed face before burrowing yourself under your blankets. There are other things to worry about, such as your quiz in nine hours.

You dream of birds, namely finches, that night. Thanks, Jisung.

“This is why I tell you to never drink alone,” Seungmin laughs. He picks up the last slice of pizza from the pan and folds it in half like the heathen he is before taking the first bite. “Bad things always happen.”

“To be fair, Ryujin was home.”

“In a completely different room from you.”

You groan and supplement your exasperation with an extra aggressive tear on your crust. “Okay, fine. I’ve learned my lesson. The point is, he won’t stop with the bird jokes, and I’m going insane.”

Seungmin, having been collateral damage from your drunken mishaps before, is unsympathetic. He still hasn’t quite forgiven you for the time you tried to make a Molotov cocktail in his kitchen. Look, the clickbait video you watched online promised that it would be a fun and easy science experiment, and your other self decided that it was a fantastic idea. Nothing bad happened in the end though since you couldn’t find a lighter. So, Seungmin, it really wasn’t that big of a deal.

“You have a crush on this guy. Why are you upset that he’s flirting with you?”

“He’s cute until he opens his mouth and starts giving me grief about birds.” You sigh as you remember the last text he sent: a photo of the sunset from his apartment window with the caption, A bird’s eye view of the neighborhood. On one hand, you were thrilled to have received a non-homework related picture. On the other hand, bird joke.

“You would do the same.”

“I know, but it still sucks.” You wipe your fingers with a napkin and amuse yourself with spinning the empty pan as Seungmin (slowly) finishes eating. “No more Jisung talk. How was your date?”

Seungmin turns flustered, just like you knew he would. “It wasn’t a date! I’m just her photographer. This is a business arrangement, nothing else.”

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say.”

“Hey, is that Jisung over there?” he asks, nodding over your shoulder.

“I’m not that gullible,” you sigh, though you can’t say you aren’t tempted. Seungmin loves to make fun of you, and he probably wants to get back at you for teasing him about the girl he’s been spending a suspicious amount of time with.

“Gull-ible?”

“Not you too," you plead. It's already awful with one person. To deter him any further, you continue, "Anyway, back to your definitely-not-a-date date—”

“Hey, Y/N, is that you?”

Seungmin has his “I told you so” face on. After sending him a glare, which he promptly pretends not to see, you turn around, resting your forearm on the back of your chair. Jisung, holding a pan of oven-fresh pizza, smiles back at you.

“Hey,” you greet. He's wearing the same black and red sweatshirt he usually has on, but why does he look so much better in it when he's in a pizza place than in class or in the library? “How are you doing? How’s your Saturday so far?”

“I just woke up like an hour ago, so it’s been pretty good, I guess.” His eyes go to Seungmin, who is now sipping on his soda, pretending to not eavesdrop. “Is this your…”

“This is my friend, Seungmin,” you quickly answer. Other than the fact that you need to make it abundantly clear that you are available, there is no way you’re ever going to date Seungmin. Apart from the girl he claims to not be dating, he’s even more merciless when it comes to reminding you about your drunken ideas. You can’t pass the intersection without him nudging your arm. “Seungmin, this is Jisung. We have bio together.”

Seungmin nods like he hasn’t heard of Jisung before. “Hey, nice to meet you. So, do you guys learn about birds in bio?”

Jisung lights up like a Christmas tree, and you want to cover yourself with the pizza pan. Praying for the ground to swallow you up also sounds like a decent option. In the midst of debating whether hiding under the table would be too odd, you notice that Seungmin has finally finished his slice.

“We should get going,” you interrupt. You do not need Seungmin to start sharing other stupid things you’ve done. He’s about five seconds away from telling Jisung about the intersection chalk mural. “And you probably want to eat dinner.”

Jisung sees right through your act, but he lets it go. “Yeah, Felix is probably starving. See you on Monday?”

“Yeah, see you.”

You expect him to go to wherever Felix is, but he still remains behind you. With a lopsided grin, he asks, “Should I expect any quail-ity texts at 2 AM tonight?”

Seungmin laughs, Jisung laughs, and you stare at the ceiling, wondering what you did to deserve this. Surely there were other people you could have in your life besides these two jerks.

“Winner, winner, chicken dinner!” Jisung sings as you correctly answer his question. This week’s study session consists of a game show Jisung has created, and you almost want to believe that he put in all this effort just to say that phrase. “Another point for you.”

You sigh as Yeji slides a wrapped piece of candy towards you. It’s her turn to bring snacks, and though milk chocolate the size of golf balls are great, you’re still dreaming of those wickedly delicious cake slices Jisung shared with you yesterday. Hummingbird cake, he claimed, it was called. Bananas, pineapples, and pecans, all combined together to make a sweet treat. When you cheekily asked why his housemate was so stressed all the time — you really don’t mind. Sorry, Felix — Jisung cheerfully informed you that he made the entire thing himself. After you picked up your jaw from the floor, you stammered something about it being passable. Not nearly as good as Felix’s stuff, you said, lying through your teeth. Jisung, again, saw right through it but let it slide. See? Sometimes he’s nice. However, you did not need another reason to be attracted to Han Jisung, but here you are.

“Seriously, Yeji?” you mumble as you pull apart the blue foil. “You just had to pick the brand named after a bird?” It doesn’t stop you from popping the chocolate into your mouth though.

“They were on sale!”

While you and Yeji bicker about Dove chocolate and how the universe is conspiring against you, Hyunjin answers the next question correctly. Yeji absentmindedly pushes his reward towards him.

“No chicken dinner for me?” he asks.

Jisung shakes his head. “Your question was easy. You get a pheasant instead. Or a quail. Any bird smaller than a chicken works.”

“A hummingbird then?” you suggest. You really need to stop thinking about that cake. “But I hear those aren’t that great.”

“You already ate every single crumb of that cake I gave you!” Jisung says, but there’s not a drop of displeasure in his tone. In fact, he seems rather happy that you liked it so much that you remembered about it. “All my hard work gone in five seconds.”

“You made her a cake?” Lia gasps in disbelief, secretive note checking forgotten. She’s in last place with only six points, so no one cares too much about her cheating. “What about us? We’re your study buddies too!”

Hyunjin and Yeji chorus their agreements, and you realize that he only shared his cake with you. He followed you out of the lecture hall and gave it to you in a plastic container, so you assumed that he also hand delivered a few slices to everyone else. Never mind that he oh-so-conveniently had a fork with him. Never mind that he sat with you at a bench and watched you try a few bites before devouring it all. Never mind all that.

Wait. Does this mean he likes you too?

You fold and unfold your discarded foil wrappers as you contemplate over this revelation, sneaking glances at Jisung all the while. He looks… normal. Infuriatingly so. Same carefree smile, same arguments with Hyunjin, same lackadaisical chair leaning even though he fell backwards that one time. How is one supposed to tell if someone actually likes you when said someone is the same all the time?

Jisung promises to bring something for the next study session to make up for not sharing his cake and continues on with the review game like nothing has happened. However, those thoughts are still in the back of your mind when the session ends. You have gained five more pieces of chocolate and no further information as to whether Jisung is actually into you or not. As per usual, you and he head to the bus stop together. It’s more crowded than last week since it’s only eight.

“Did you have a pheasant time today?” he asks, pausing next to a hedge.

You keep your eyes on the asphalt instead of looking at him. It’s much easier to pretend you’re calm when you don’t have vision of his face. “I see you discovered pheasants recently. And yes, it was fun. Thanks for making it.”

“You don’t want to crow about winning the game?” When you grimace — you did kind of want to point out how amazing your score was but now you don’t — he quickly adds, “Okay, okay. But you’re going to ace that quiz tomorrow.”

And you simply say, “I know,” because you are and because you have nothing else prepared to say.

It goes quiet, and with only the sounds of cars racing by, Jisung abruptly says, “This is a little awkward now. Or should I say… hawk-ward?”

You groan and break your staring contest with the road to give him an exasperated look. A mistake because he’s smiling so wide, squirrels would be jealous of his cheeks. He has no right to be so cute after those jokes. “Why do I feel like you searched up ‘bird puns’ online and are trying to insert them in every possible scenario?”

“Because I did and because I am.” He sighs in contentment. “Those were the best texts I’ve ever received. I’m never letting you forget it.”

You were right about that, and now you have verbal confirmation from the man himself. Another mediocre consolation prize you will gladly accept. But for now, you say, “Well, toucan play at that game, plague doctor Han Jisung.” The only perk of hearing all these wretched jokes is that you are now rather knowledgeable about them. Thank you, Seungmin, for making that one a few days ago.

“They looked just like finches!” he protests, but he’s laughing along, head tilted back. He sighs again. When he turns to face you again, his eyes are soft. “That was a pretty good one.”

“Seungmin came up with it.” There’s a warm feeling spreading across your chest, constricting your air flow and making all your blood rush to your cheeks. It was one compliment; why are you like this? What are you going to do if he keeps looking at you like that? You swiftly go back to the road, counting the number of cars that pass by. One, two, three, four…

And a gray bus pulling up to the curb.

“Bus is here,” you uselessly announce. Jisung follows you into the growing crowd surrounding the entrance. He hovers behind you as the two of you wait for the people in front to board, and his presence is more palpable than usual. “There’s a lot of people today,” you remark in a vain attempt to distract yourself.

“Yeah, everyone’s heading home for the day.” He pauses dramatically before adding, “The birds are all going back to their nest.”

The joke successfully snaps you out of your haze. “That’s not a real saying.”

“I think it should be. It makes perfect sense!”

“You’re—” As the line shuffles forward, you try to think of something bird related, but he beats to the punch.

“Cuckoo?”

It’s almost impressive how much time he has invested in annoying you. Does it make you fall for him more? No, not really, or so you try to convince yourself. It’s strangely endearing, just like everything about him. You merely answer, “Yes.”

He chuckles and nudges you forward up the steps of the bus.

Even though there’s a little bit of daylight left, Jisung walks you back to your apartment building. You’re not upset by this, but where was this chivalry two weeks ago after the first study session? You teasingly ask him about it, and he turns bashful. How unlike him.

“I thought you lived in my complex, for some reason. You were always at the bus stop before me, so I assumed you lived nearby. I didn’t know until I overheard you and Yeji talking about it,” he says, hiding himself with his collar.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Well,” you say, stopping in front of the walkway to your building, “see you tomorrow then. Thanks for walking me back. Good night.”

The Jisung you’re used to seeing, is back with a mischievous smile and yet another joke. “Good night-ingale.”

You bite the inside of your cheek and try not to seem too amused by it. He’s not charming, not even a little bit. “That was awful.” It’s the smile, you tell yourself. No one should have one like that. It has too much power.

“Yet I can see you smiling at it.”

Remain calm. You can do that. You’ve faked this before, so why is your head not cooperating right now? Jisung really needs to stop looking at you with anything more than a neutral face. It’s bad for you, like really, really bad. No witty remarks at the ready is typical, but you can’t even think of anything to say.

After an excruciating five seconds, you manage to stammer out, “Good night.” Cheeks aflame and your heart threatening to pop out of you like a cuckoo clock, you roughly yank open the door and bolt up the stairs. You have too much adrenaline in you right now. Waiting for the elevator knowing that he could be observing your twitchy movements, would be too nerve wracking.

Ryujin asks if you’re alright when she sees you hunched against the kitchen counter, out of breath and muttering to yourself.

“I decided to take the stairs,” you say, which only partially explains your dishevelled state. “I’ll be alright. I think.”

“I’ll get you some water. You look like you're about to collapse.”

Then your phone chimes with a new message, and you decidedly won’t be alright.

8:22 PM [Jisung Bio]: Did my nightingale pun quack you up that badly? 8:22 PM [Jisung Bio]: Was it that ducking good? 8:22 PM [Jisung Bio]: :D

8:23 PM [Jisung Bio]: Anyway, good luck tomorrow. Sleep well and sweet dreams, morning lark

There is no food in the fridge. Well, no proper food. A bag of spinach that expired three days ago but still seems okay, does not count. The same goes for the half empty jar of peanut butter, but Ryujin would likely disagree with that. There’s a reason why the jar is half empty. However, if you actually want to eat something for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow, you need to go shopping.

For some strange reason, it does not occur to you that you can run into Jisung at the grocery store. Jisung belongs in four locations: the bus stop, the lecture hall, the library, and the pizza place you saw him at last week. Not the dairy aisle on a Wednesday night.

“Hey.” You stop in front of him, basket at your feet and hands folded in front of you like the world’s worst defense. Heart, stop beating so fast.

Jisung looks up from his phone to search for the owner of the voice and brightens when he sees that it’s you. “Hey, morning lark.” He has taken to calling you that ever since he sent that particular message. You wish it produced another reaction from you besides pure bliss, but that is the price you pay for pretending to be still annoyed by his jokes. That’s how bad your crush on him now is; you are increasingly beguiled by the puns. “Oh, did you need milk?”

“Yeah.” You grab a blue carton with a picture of a smiling cow from the shelf and place it in your basket. In the meantime, you can’t help but peer into Jisung’s. There is a bag of chocolate chips and a packet of gelatin. “Is this stuff for tomorrow’s study session?”

He nods and grabs the same brand of milk as you did. You get a rush of excitement, much to your chagrin. It’s just milk, and this is the most popular brand too. “Yeah. Felix is trying a new recipe, so you guys get to have some of the failed ones too.”

“What is it? Cheesecake?”

“You’ll see,” he mysteriously says. Then he adds, “You’re gonna love it,” which immediately gives away the theme.

“It’s something to do with birds, isn’t it?”

“You’ll see.”

And when you do see, you’re wrong. Library food rules ignored, at each seat, Jisung has set a slice of layer cake topped with chocolate ganache, no bird motifs of any sort. You take your usual spot at the end of the table and find that yours is slightly larger than the others. Well, except for maybe Lia’s. He has to placate her sweet tooth and her disappointment of not being able to have hummingbird cake.

“Did I not get a message or something?” Hyunjin asks when he takes in the over-the-top display. “Is this a dinner party?”

“Isn’t this against the library’s rules?” Yeji asks as she surreptitiously looks around for any librarians. The surrounding tables of fellow students won’t care.

Jisung elects to not answer Yeji’s concerns. “This is tonight’s snack,” he proudly replies. “Also, Felix wants feedback on it.”

You cut a section off with the plastic fork and marvel at the airiness of the cake. It’s unlike anything you have ever had. The frosting in between the sponge layers is so light, and the ganache is so dark and rich. “This is really amazing. It’s so fluffy. Wow. Tell Felix that he really needs to consider culinary school.”

“Wanna guess what it’s called?”

“Isn’t this just an extra fancy vanilla cake?” you ask. You take another bite, but other than the chocolate ganache on top, you can only taste vanilla. “I don’t know. The… vanilla fluff cake?”

“Nope.” He leans forward, face inches away from yours, lips curled into a smirk, and slowly says, “Bird’s milk cake.”

This can’t be real. Birds don’t even produce milk. “No way. You’re lying.” Even as you say the words, they sound false to your ears. Jisung has made it his mission to find anything and everything bird-related for you, so you doubt he’s lying.

“It’s called this” — he holds up his phone screen — “in Russian. It translates to ‘bird’s milk.’”

Ptichye moloko.

“You convinced Felix to make this, didn’t you?” you say. What are the chances that Felix conveniently wanted to make bird’s milk cake without any nudging from Jisung? Absolutely none. You have never even heard of this dessert before, let alone by it’s Russian name, and you’re willing to bet that Jisung searched up ‘bird cake’ or something of that nature just for this. Maybe that’s how he found out about hummingbird cake too.

“It’s all for you, morning lark,” he cheerfully replies, winking at you. He leans back in his chair again, precariously balancing on the two back legs. “I knew you’d like it.”

Jisung is really not making this easy for you. Forget subtleties, he’s just shamelessly flirting with you now. And in the sanctity of the library of all places! In a poor attempt to save yourself from this mess, you unconsciously begin to slide down the chair, trying to shield your hot face with your raised shoulders. Lia notices this — one of the perks having sat next to you for nearly four weeks during lectures — and grabs your forearm.

“No melting,” she reminds you, “or else you’re going to hit your head on the seat again.”

“I wasn’t melting,” you protest as you wriggle back up. Slowly dying might have been a better descriptor. That wink shot arrows into your already fragile heart. “We’re gonna get in trouble if one of the librarians sees this.”

“Guess we should get started then,” Hyunjin says. Yeji, the only responsible one in the group, begins pulling out the textbook, and everyone laughs at her eagerness. “Not what I meant, but that too.”

After you’re done with the cake and while the others are preoccupied about the timeline of human evolution, Jisung whispers across the table, “Did you still like it?”

“Yeah. No hard feelings about the name because it was good,” you whisper back.

“I thought it would turn out like this, morning lark. I know you love free food too much to be mad.”

The nickname again. You rest your cheek against your palm in a vain attempt to tamp down the growing heat. “Can I get a different name, plague doctor?”

He’s not at all phased by his own nickname, which doesn’t bode well for any future snarky remarks from you. “What, you don’t like birds or something?” He blinks so innocently back at you that you have to stifle a giggle.

“Yeah, well, that’s the—”

“Hey, lovebirds,” Hyunjin interrupts, making you profusely blush and Yeji lightly laugh at the expression, “we’re gonna move on to the next section now. Is that okay?”

“It’s okay,” you reply even though you are most definitely not okay. Jisung, who you notice is uncharacteristically sheepish, echoes your sentiment.

It’s difficult not to stare at Jisung during the remainder of the study session. It seems to be true the other way around as well.

You’re sober when you read the messages, but you don’t think Jisung was when he sent them. Oh, how the tables have turned.

3:02 AM [Jisung Bio]: Good morning morning lark!! 3:02 AM [Jisung Bio]: Winner winner chicken dinner remember? So yes or no?

3:03 AM [Jisung Bio]: Or maybe yes or yes? 3:03 AM [Jisung Bio]: I really want to go on a date with you 3:03 AM [Jisung Bio]: Not lying I swear

3:04 AM [Jisung Bio]: I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re always on my mind and every time I see a bird, I think about you 3:04 AM [Jisung Bio]: I bought grey goose because of you 3:04 AM [Jisung Bio]: [jisung’s_hand_holding_grey_goose_vodka.jpg] 3:04 AM [Jisung Bio]: I don’t even like it that much

3:05 AM [Jisung Bio]: You make me dizzy sometimes and I don’t know what to do 3:05 AM [Jisung Bio]: You’re probably sleeping so good night larky 3:05 AM [Jisung Bio]: Or morning

3:06 AM [Jisung Bio]: Fly high in your dreams!!!

He must have been wasted and under no responsible supervision because this is what you would have done if you were in his place. Does he not have a Seungmin in his life? Or a Ryujin? There’s a Felix, so where was he when all of this happened?

But forget about Jisung’s own problems.

He wants to go on a date with you. A real date, not a study date with three other people and fake quiz questions. If his words are to be taken literally, then one involving a chicken dinner. Possibly a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, but a chicken dinner nonetheless.

He can’t stop thinking about you. All those bird jokes had you charmed, and all those cakes were baked with you in mind. They weren’t just for show. They were all about you.

You make him dizzy, which is hilarious because he does the same to you. He smiles at you so brightly, laughs so easily, and flirts so shamelessly that you never realized that you could ever make him feel that way.

And “fly high in your dreams?” You’re practically soaring in real life. Han Jisung, cute bio boy, plague doctor, pun enthusiast, surprisingly decent baker, wants to go on a date with you.

You, you, you!

While you alternate between hyperventilating and forgetting how to breathe as you process all this, three gray dots appear at the bottom of the chat. You clutch your phone as you wait. Apparently, your body is on the ‘forgetting how to breathe’ cycle.

11:14 AM [Jisung Bio]: I am so sorry about that. I was very drunk when I sent that

11:15 AM [Jisung Bio]: You can just ignore them or delete them 11:15 AM [Jisung Bio]: Highly recommend deleting 11:15 AM [Jisung Bio]: Also sorry if I woke you up

Your fingers hover over the keyboard. Should you answer him over text, call, or in-person? Is in-person too dramatic though? You feel like something like this is supposed to be done face-to-face, but he’s probably hungover beyond belief.

11:16 AM [Me]: It’s okay. A morning lark is always up early anyway :) 11:16 AM [Me]: Were you serious though?

11:17 AM [Jisung Bio]: Can we meet up in an hour? At the bus stop? I want to talk to you 11:17 AM [Me]: Yeah. Me too

The bus stop is neutral territory or maybe just the closest meeting spot you and Jisung have. If it’s supposed to be neutral territory, it most definitely is not since his apartment complex is right behind it. Despite his close proximity to the spot, you arrive first, so you make yourself as comfortable as possible underneath the sign, standing in its shadow. It’s silly when you think about it, but you wish you dressed in something nicer than a hoodie. In your rush to leave the apartment, you threw on whatever, but maybe you should have worn something prettier for this confrontation. Make Jisung go dizzy and gain a little bit of power from that.

This is even worse than when you had to face him after you sent your drunk texts. At least then it was just a middling attraction and not a full-on crush.

“Hey, morning lark. You’re early. As expected.”

“Hey. You’re… alive.”

Jisung is strangely fresh-faced, not a hint of hungover clouding around him. Why can’t you look like him after a night of seemingly heavy drinking? Where are the pinched eyebrows from the blinding lights? The ghostly gray face? The haunted eyes as one remembers all the incredibly stupid things they did the night before? Unfair. Completely unfair.

“Yeah.” He’s wearing his usual sweatshirt, but his hands are stuffed into its pockets instead of being out and about. He rocks back and forth on his heels. “Well, uh, I meant everything I sent. And I’m serious about taking you to dinner, so do you want to go on a date with me?”

You anticipated this. Why does it feel like you have just finished running a marathon? “Yeah, I do. I really want to.”

He smiles so brightly, the sun would be jealous. Correction, should be jealous. You don’t think you’ve seen a prettier sight than this since he sat down next to you on the first day of class and asked if you wanted to start a study group. He pumps his fist in the air like he’s a movie character, and you hide your laugh behind your hoodie sleeve. You’ve never seen him so happy before.

“How are you not hungover?” you ask as he raises his face to the sky, taking in the afternoon light, basking in the moment. He’s really living his movie character dreams. “You said you were really drunk.”

“I kind of lied?” he says, sounding more wistful than you would expect. When he looks back at you, you finally see dark circles underneath his eyes, but he is still as jubilant as before. “I was more tipsy than drunk. So, when do you wanna get that chicken dinner, winner, winner?”

It’s amazing how shy, excited Jisung disappears and how the usual casual, teasing Jisung reappears. That’s his Jekyll and Hyde moment, you suppose. And the switch is all activated by his one-track mind of bird jokes. How wonderful.

“Next week, after midterms? I’ve got two this week to study for. I should be free on Friday night.”

He enthusiastically nods. “Sounds good to me.”

2:57 PM [Me]: I’m done with all my midterms! Are you free tonight?

2:59 PM [Jisung Bio]: Free as a bird :D 2:59 PM [Jisung Bio]: Also congrats on being done 2:59 PM [Me]: I hate you

3:00 PM [Jisung Bio]: So chicken dinner? The restaurant next to the pizza place just opened 3:00 PM [Jisung Bio]: I heard it’s really clucking good 3:00 PM [Jisung Bio]: A hen out of hen

3:01 PM [Me]: I might actually kill you during our date

3:02 PM [Jisung Bio]: Don’t you mean 3:02 PM [Jisung Bio]: [flock_of_crows.jpg] 3:02 PM [Jisung Bio]: Murder :D

3:05 PM [Jisung Bio]: I’ll see you at 6? 3:05 PM [Me]: See you then

You do not end up murdering Jisung on your date, though you do come pretty close after you audibly ask the ground to swallow you up when he compliments your egg-cellent outfit.

“Swallow?” he slyly says. “Like the bird?”

Instead of committing a crime, you kiss him on the cheek, effectively silencing him. You’ve been waiting to do both those things for some time now, and look at you now, killing two birds with one stone.

Jisung turns a delightful shade of pink and mutters something about needing to get to the restaurant before it gets too crowded. All of his bluster from just five seconds ago is gone. You merrily follow him down the pavement, feeling a little bit like the cat who swallowed the canary.

Yes, you did search up bird expressions beforehand. Jisung will be Jisung, and like you told him before, toucan play at this game. You will not spend your first date with him being humiliated by his large repertoire of puns. Besides, if he retaliates like you expect him to, you will have the perfect excuse to kiss him again.

See? No fowl play at all.

Then he takes your hand into his, his warmth enveloping yours, and everything suddenly isn’t fair again.

And based on his all-too-pleased grin, Jisung knows this as well.

~ ad.gray

[alygatorwrites]

can I request a lil something? during the end of the manga or after the timeskip if you haven't read it yet, reiner still has feelings for historia and reader has one-sided feelings for him.

pieck gives reiner a small hint, saying he's wasting time while there's someone close to him that cares for him and points to you. he doesn't understand at first and maybe is conflicted about his feelings for you because of historia. reader is cool about it as she doesn't expect him to reciprocate her feelings.

a rollercoaster of emotions later, maybe there is a happy ending tho? i am curious to see what you can come up with 😭😭 i have dreaming of this scenario before bed and i can't help but get jealous of his crush on historia abjdsndks maybe you can help reiner reciprocate reader-chan's feelings or not

thank u so much aly 💖🥺

reciprocation

pairing: reiner braun x reader

a/n: OMG yesss! honestly, i was kinda annoyed at how reiner still had a crush on historia. i know that isayama wanted to show how everything went back to normal, but i was hoping that reiner would have a bigger role in the allied nations instead of being "dumbed down" to having an obsession with her. MAYBE THATS JUST THE JEALOUSY SPEAKING LMAO 😭 i was hoping this would be longer, although school has been killing me so im really sorry!! i hope its okay 💗💕 thank you honey!

↳ to be added to my taglist, please fill out this ♡form♡

as reiner is handed historia’s letter, you fold your hands on the table and watch him without a word. when he reads the lines and smells the parchment - jean saying something snarky afterward - you say nothing.

you want reiner to be happy: you want to see him at ease like this more, face soft as the leaf of the page flits from his pinched fingers.

and so you let the man speak about historia like she’s a damn goddess, gushing over her handwriting, and keep your goddamn mouth shut. ignore your jealousy. your feelings.

the truth is, you’re in love with reiner.

you can’t even remember how it happened, but you can remember the first time you looked into those hazel eyes, and how you knew that they were going to stick with you for eternity.

you’ve come to accept his crush on the queen, though. reciprocation was never an option in your mind.

when jean begins to chew reiner out for lusting after a married woman, and reiner says something about jean being a horse, pieck’s gaze lands on you. “you’re rather quiet,” she says softly, resting her head on her palm.

you shrug, turning away from her. “i’m just tired.”

pieck catches your chin between her lithe fingers, and turns you to face her with a tiny smile. the young woman is very perceptive, and you’ve known her long enough. 

that’s when you notice the twinkle in her eye. she’s planning something.

pieck releases your jaw then, sitting up in her chair. “you’re wasting your time, reiner,” she says suddenly. “there’s already someone you know who cares for you.”

you pretend to not hear pieck - and definitely pretend you don’t see her faintly point at you through your peripheral. the movement of her fingers is barely there, but you catch it.

damn you, pieck.

the way you’re now pinned underneath armin, jean, connie, and reiner’s stares makes your stomach tie itself into knots with bubbling reluctance. shit, this is awkward. you want to run away.

still, you peer over to study reiner’s reaction. he looks confused at first, the contours of his face unreadable. you swear you see connie facepalm at the man’s cluelessness.

then reiner’s expression slowly changes: his eyes widen in awe, lips parting slightly, and brows knitting together. he seems genuinely surprised - and conflicted.

conflicted? why?

there’s no time to explain yourself though, because the door creaks open and annie steps in. her words fall on your deaf ears, and when everyone stands up to leave, you’re the first one out of the room. work beckons you as always.

two days pass.

you’ve been busy filling out tons of paperwork pertaining to the allied nations, so when you’re finally given a day off, you take it with open arms. 

freedom at last.

you lean against a bench outside of headquarters, enjoying the salty breeze that flutters along your skin. it’s dusk, the sky covered in a gradient of neon colors as the sun dips below the horizon.

you haven’t seen reiner since that day in the conference room. you wonder how he’s doing, what he’s thinking, how he’s holding up -

“hey.”

speak of the devil. you glance over your shoulder toward the voice, low and familiar.

reiner approaches you, clad in his uniform: the suit hugs his large frame perfectly, showing every flex of his muscles, and his blonde hair is neatly parted. the black tie looped around his neck just pulls it all together. it has you weak at the knees every. single. time.

“hey,” you answer, giving reiner a smile as he stops beside you.

and that’s when your heart lurches at the sight of him.

the sunset highlights reiner’s profile in gold, a heavenly shine that settles upon his blonde lashes and the flawless slope of his nose. the flecks in his irises sparkle – a beautiful mixture of soft browns and muted greens. the only thing you can do right now is admire the man. 

his words are what breaks you out of your daydream.

“work has been crazy lately, huh?” reiner says, focused on the candy-floss clouds and their fluffy shapes.

“well - yeah, pretty much. i don’t want to look at a pen or a piece of paper ever again.”

“that bad?”

“you have no idea. i almost regret marley and paradis reconciling.”

reiner chuckles gently at the joke, but it’s strained. his forehead remains creased, and he’s not really smiling. the emotion there is more … doubtful. it’s like he’s having some sort of inner conflict.

hopefully reiner’s not acting cautious because of the other day. you know he doesn’t return your feelings, and that’s totally okay. you’re happy enough being with him like this. “i’m not mad or anything, y’know.”

reiner stiffens at that. there’s a white flash of teeth when he chews on his lower lip. “i know.”

“good,” you hum, breathing out a sigh of relief. your core twists with envy when you force a grin. bite it back. tease him like always. “so about historia … ”

reiner’s eyes go wide almost comically, and you hear the breath in his lungs leave his firm chest in one exhale. there’s a light blush staining his cheeks now. it’s funny; he’s so goddamn big, yet he’s such a teddy bear.

“y-yeah,” reiner mutters. you observe the way his brows pinch together as he awkwardly shifts in place. it takes a while before the man composes himself again, which is strange.

is he scared or something? what the hell?

“pieck,” reiner hesitates for a moment. the golden strands of his hair ruffle in the wind and he appears ... well, lost. “was she being serious?”

the question is a shocker - jeez, he could have at least let you prepare yourself. a firm ‘no’ almost slips out, but you’ve never been much of a liar. not to reiner, anyway. crossing your arms against your chest, you inhale sharply and nod. avoid staring at him face-to-face. “yep.”

“ … why me?”

reiner says the words with a mixture of spite and anguish, a casual and rumbling voice. you immediately turn your head, frowning. “what?”

“i’ve done so many horrible things.” reiner exhales heavily and stares down at his hands; perhaps he’s imagining all the blood they’ve been stained with. “i betrayed everyone. i killed innocent people - all because i was selfish.”

it’s no surprise that reiner is broken after everything he’s been through, but it pains you to know that he continues to suffer in silence. whatever war is raging inside his ribcage tears him apart piece by piece, and you wish you could carry the burden. 

there’s probably nothing you can say to convince reiner that he was just a kid, a victim of circumstance. there’s nothing that can persuade him to see himself the way you do.

so you decide to tell reiner why you love him. 

you explain the amount of admiration you hold for him. tell him that you love the way he just wants to be someone his comrades can lean on, like a big brother. tell him that you think he’s the most gorgeous person you’ve ever seen and how you think he deserves the world.

the way you spill your guts out snaps every nerve in your body. you don’t say everything you want to – but you tell him enough. a dark flush spreading across your face, you find the courage to look at him.

the world seems to stop on its axis when you find reiner staring right on back. the intensity of his eyes is stunning; they’re lit up with astonishment and affection.

god, the affection. you see it clear as day. maybe one of the greatest regrets in his life is how he forced himself to see you only as a friend.

that’s when he reaches out to you.

reiner retracts his hand twice, unsure, before slowly brushing his fingertips against yours. the touch is so feather-light that you almost can’t feel it. it’s a test - he’s waiting to see if you pull away. you can’t even move if you wanted to, because his fond gaze keeps you rooted to the spot before him. 

when you don’t recoil, reiner finally moves to gently hold your hand; his palm is so much bigger than yours, and your fingers slot together perfectly, like a jigsaw puzzle’s final piece. 

heart thrumming like a hummingbird has been stuffed into your chest, you’re almost at a loss for words and come to a realization.

this utterly amazing man likes you. always has. 

but reiner shoved away the feelings for one simple reason; you deserved ‘better.’ focusing on the old crush he had on historia was a distraction - an attempt to convince himself to stop thinking about you.

because looking at you everyday and not being able to act upon his feelings was too painful.

“is this okay?” reiner asks lowly. there’s a slight pinkness to his cheeks, the color of a selfless love.

by some miracle, you manage to nod dumbly. “yeah, of course. it’s fine.” it’s amazing is what you actually want to say.  

reiner squeezes your hand at the reassurance, a sigh escaping from his throat. “i really—”

you wait for him to finish, but he doesn’t. reiner just searches your profile for signs of discomfort, and then untwines your hands to bravely swipe a thumb along the length of your cheekbone. 

there’s no time to speak because he’s already leaning down.  

the sensation of reiner’s lips pressing against yours lights your skin ablaze; you can feel the curling flames of passion sear your soul, made even more intense by the warmth of the sunlight on your back.

it’s natural, it’s tender, it’s warm.

reiner’s breath rattles into your mouth when you rest both palms against his solid chest and deepen the kiss. the musky smell of his aftershave and cologne envelops you completely, and fuck, it’s so good. your arms wrap around him, fingers passing over the sharp slopes of his shoulder blades.

as much as you wish the kiss could go on endlessly, there are people gathering outside. avoiding any unwanted attention from nosy strangers is very much appreciated.

you pull away to nuzzle your nose into reiner, and he rests his chin on your shoulder, protective arms moving to loop around your waist. it’s such an intimate caress that it sparks your brain into overdrive.

as the rushing sound of the breeze comes back to your ears through the quiet, you tuck the kiss away to be remembered forever. that’s all there is to it. being close to reiner like this - swaying together like wildflowers in the wind - is more important than anything else.

“i like you,” reiner murmurs.

the suddenness of it makes you laugh, and you can feel the upward quirk of reiner’s lips - a whisper of a peaceful smile and a sweet, sweet promise.

[jae-canikeepyou]

| adjacent | j.jh

pair: jaehyun x fem!reader

word count: 18k+ (unedited & not proof read)

summary: jaehyun turns into a golden retriever whenever the day reaches the most beautiful time; golden hour. a secret he kept his entire life & always wonders how long he could keep it, especially when you suddenly showed up.

genre: au + golden retriever!jaehyun + hs!nct

a/n: idk what came to me as i brainstormed this but by now, nctzens and valentines should know jaehyun’s a golden retriever :3 so i decided to write a plot for this adorable fact T^T heavily inspired with fruits basket and beauty & the beast! i really hope you’ll like it. lmk what you think! enjoy reading lovelies! ~j

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

time was ticking real quick.

he rushed through the bustling people, avoiding the narrow crowds and jay-walked countless pedestrian crossings. he needed to hide. no one should see him transform. there was little time left. why was he so careless each time this happened? his parents and younger brother warned him to be alert at all times. did he listen? no, never did. they compared him to a rock— hard headed and stubborn. but all he ever wanted was to be free.

curses! just a little more, a few metres more! he pant as he tried to catch air. he felt his flesh tingling, his senses doubling and tripling. jaehyun peddled as fast as he could, at least reach the line of bushes by the basketball court. hopping over the plants, he threw his bag aside and jumped off his bike before bracing for the fall.

the now broken bell sounded horrible as jaehyun’s brother caught up to him with his skateboard. “dad’s gonna kill you if you ask for another bike for your birthday.” he sighed looking at the loosened chain while picking up the single-track vehicle and the scattered clothes.

jaehyun transformed to a golden retriever puppy and struggled to come out of the bushes with his tiny paws and body. when he succeeded, he scratched the back of his ears to brush off the leaves stuck to them. “won’t happen, sungchan. i’ve already saved up enough by then. i’m not gonna burden dad for my wants.”

sungchan pressed the bridge of his nose. “you’re kinda being a burden now.” he picked the animal— his brother— up and put him inside his coat, as well as the belongings on the ground. he hopped on the bike and headed towards jaehyun’s campus.

“what did you say?” jaehyun barked tried opening the zipper from the inside of sungchan’s coat.

“nothing.” the younger excused. “but can i have your bike if you actually plan to get a new one?”

“ugh just bring me to the court. i’ll be late for my morning practice.”

the brothers were able to communicate telepathically as they’re related and were both cursed. instead of golden hour, sungchan transforms during the blue hour, which occured at twilight. tracing back to their ancestors, all were cursed for unknown inexplainable circumstances. they tried breaking it with all they could. every idea ended a failure. so they had to live through it, adjust, adapt and be alert.

they bumped into ten, kun and jungwoo, who were doing warm-ups and they simultaneously trailed their eyes and heads towards the jung brothers. seeing the huge pouch on sungchan’s stomach area, they all cracked up and checked the time. “oh yeah, it’s sunrise.” jungwoo spun the ball on his pointer finger.

ten grabbed the pup with one hand and jaehyun barked at him but he couldn’t understand a thing. although he was confused, he continued to carry him in his palm because jaehyun’s response was funny. “what is he trying to say?” he chuckled and poked the pup’s snout.

“he said ‘it hurts. put me down idiot’. i have to be honest with you hyung. holding us by the back of the neck really hurts.” unlike his brother, he was rather calm and collected despite already imagining the pain.

“you’re a blue holland lop bunny. it’s normal to carry you like this too right?” ten showed the pup to sungchan.

kun facepalmed at the question and took jaehyun. “no dimwit it’s not normal. sorry jae. you know he just likes teasing your puppy form.”

“‘wait until i turn back’- ugh seriously do i really have to translate hyung’s words every time?” sungchan gave jaehyun’s clothes and bike to jungwoo. “you know what to do when he transforms back yeah?”

they nodded and upon seeing the kid leave and headed towards his campus, jaehyun couldn’t wait to turn human. he would always beat ten up almost immediately— sometimes forgetting that he was naked. for the dudes it was alright. the problem was if he was with girls, though he hasn’t encountered anyone so far. he hoped he didn’t have to.

the harsh drills from basketball practice already sucked the energy out of jaehyun. not only that it was physically tiring, transforming into a dog twice a day before that have doubled the strain. then him transforming back would cause migraines and painful joints, as they were the aftermath of the curse. he had to keep his title of m.v.p and captain since the told them there was a possibility of him of having a scholarship for college. he couldn’t let a minor pain hinder that chance. not ever.

however, ten and the others could read his suffering. to them it was obvious through his exhales and slowing speed. hiding it was of no use. jungwoo ruffled his hair with a clean towel after shower. “can’t you just be like that dog in the movie ‘up’? have a collar that translates barks into actual language?”

jaehyun rolled his eyes and wore his black t-shirt. “it’s a damn movie, jungwoo. the world might’ve evolved and advanced in technology and even if they were to exist they’d be expensive. can’t afford that.”

“you sound negative, don’t you have any hope at all?” kun joined the conversation.

“never had any. stopping this curse is impossible. it’s been generations. my dad’s still suffering too. i have to find a way.” he fixed his black cap in front of a mirror.

but he knew there wasn’t. silence loomed above them as the team struggled to continue the topic. they tried not to bring it up yet each time they did, it always ended awkwardly and badly. it was either they riled jaehyun’s mood— mostly ten— or jaehyun himself was building his own raincloud by sulking about it and not looking at the bright side.

how ironic it was, he thought. generally speaking, even though being golden had good intentions and the breed was meant to bring happiness to others, he felt the total opposite. if he had to describe it, it was all insecurity, lowered his self-esteem and hopelessness only increased over the years as he grew.

thinking about it, he slammed the locker a little too hard that its components caused it to bounce back.. and also added to fuel of his anger. “break that again you’ll be in the coach’s office.” kun tied his shoelaces and the others agreed.

“my dad is the coach, what do you mean?” he questioned at the stupidity.

“you didn’t show up the last time it broke. we got the punished in your stead. uncle wasn’t happy.” ten got out of the showers last, a towel was wrapped around his waist before the younger ones were scarred for a second.

“it was sunset and i transformed! of all people dad’s supposed to understand! i-” jaehyun rubbed his face quite agressively and headed straight outside.

“oi i’m still changing! wait up!”

jaehyun kicked the bike’s stand attached to the rear wheel. he and his father didn’t have the best relationship compared with other kids, but he could say that it was better than the relationship he had with his mother. she loved her little family, yet over time the curse grew onto her. her husband would turn into a werewolf at full moon. and until now, even though that happened once month, she thought a part of him wasn’t the same person she loved before. even more so, when her sons were just the same as him.

your mom’s delusional! she doesn’t love us! she fears us!

that feeling stayed in the boys’ mind until they were old and mature enough to comprehend the situation they’re in. why couldn’t she love them like any mom would? she was no different from an animal mother abandoning her calf/pup just because they were or had defects.

mr. jung tried his best to be the perfect father, for only he understood what his two sons were going through, as they might go through decades with it, just like he was. jaehyun still remembered his first transformation, he only had puppy paws, but that was a sign to mr. jung that he indeed inherited the curse. when sungchan grew a tail at a fine age of one, their father gave up his 9-5 hour office job to tend the boys. and that was before he became jaehyun’s basketball coach. now he could monitor them at a close range.

much to jaehyun’s dismay and for that reason, he felt more caged and overprotected.

—

“y/n! coach’s looking for you!” your classmate called.

no.. you groaned. again?..

it was already after school hours. you slouched on your desk as you covered your ears, remembering the errands he asked you to do previously. you didn’t know why, but ever since you had detention because you refused to run a 1600m marathon for an assessment, seemed like the other punishment was that he passed his job to you. that was a month ago, and today was the tenth time.

but curious as you were to find answers, you brushed it off and tried not to show any remorse. it’s all for conduct, you kept telling yourself. the whistle echoed the entire hallway and jolting you up in your seat. “okay, okay! hold on!” you yelled from the back of the classroom.

as coach jung stood rather comfortably outside the room, he gestured you to walk faster with a dimpled smile. “y/n! took you approximately three minutes to walk here.” he laughed and handed you several files and a zipper folder.

“thanks for counting?..” you replied with a confused and questioning tone. “coach, what’s this?”

“all school sports teams will have an annual retreat before their playoff seasons. i need a representing manager since ours was admitted to a hospital just today.” he pointed at the list. you followed his finger and it landed on your name.

“sounds like to me it’s more practice. and you want me to go because?” you raised your brows. he asked you to follow him to the gymnasium, in which it was making you recall all those extra detention after school.

“to make up with all of the p.e assessments you ‘purposely’ missed.” he said proudly while looking at his team doing drills. but he didn’t get any response from you. when he looked on his side, you were gone and ran across the basketball gym. “y/f/n!”

you squealed as embarrassment crawled your entire body. not only were you escaping from coach, you were disrupting the team’s practice and hitting couple of duffel bags and water bottles. “ah! sorry! coming through!”

*whistles* “after her!” coach jung’s voice added an extra chill to your spine.

“ugh why us?” ten groaned with sore muscles as coach gestured to them widely.

“just go.” kun panted.

then you heard a several footsteps turn into drums until they sounded a stampede. you jumped on your toes as you passed the line of showers cubicles. good thing you haven’t seen a naked man, or else you’d faint without knowing. you turned around and went straight ahead then to your right, and hid in a random room. the echoing voices and squeaking friction between shoes and waxed floors were cut to a silence, like your ears were muffled instantly.

your wobbly legs were tired and you were sighing in exhaustion and crouched down against the door. great, i’ll stay out of their sight- “what are you doing here?” you heard a low voice and froze on the spot. “only members of the basketball team can access the meeting room.”

that sounded like the captain.

“did you hear what i just said?” he raised his brows. you slowly lifted your eyes from his shoes to his legs, then to his built and face. “well if you’re a nobody you might as well leave before coach arrives. you interrupted my recording-”

“i heard you jung jaehyun.” you tsked and realised you had the name list on your hand. “ah, as a matter of fact, i can be here because i am part of the team. my name’s on the list.” you grabbed a pen and ticked the empty box on the paper.

what are you saying, stupid?!

“uh-huh..” jaehyun trailed, putting down his camera.

“y-yeah!” you stuttered. “you heard me.”

the door shook by the loud knocks from the other side. on the frosted window, you could see four figures. orange and black jerseys, they must be the team members. “ah! the door’s locked! she’s definitely in here coach!” one said.

“i’ll toss you the keys!” he yelled. oh crap. you were caught in between. your heart patterned with the knocks.

“you look terrified after hearing coach, y/n.” the chair squeaked from the weight. “i’m guessing you’re that troublesome student he has a hard time dealing with recently?”

of course captain knows you. great reputation you have, y/n.

“so? what’s your point?” you stood up to see his amused grin.

“say hello to a term’s detention.” jaehyun waved as the door swung open, revealing ten, kun, jungwoo and.. the coach.

you sighed heavily and dropped the papers. the coach crossed his arms and you lowered your head a little. “you plan to escape again y/n? then i shouldn’t hear any excuses from you. you’ll join us for the twelve day retreat. period.” he picked the papers up and wrote something.

“sir i can’t be with a bunch of jocks for that long!” your whine had the captain blocking his ears. “i have debate finals to attend to.”

jaehyun flinched at the high pitched sound and rolled his eyes. what was your deal? it was rude of you to suddenly barge into athlete’s quarters but judging them for that was even more rude of you. he had to shut you up at some point.

“so much excuses.” he played with his nails and to you he looked more amused than ever. you rolled your eyes at his chuckle and know he would target you from now on. “dad, y/n told me she’s ‘part of the team’.” he played his video that recorded your voice, clearly saying what jaehyun heard.

coach jung looked rather surprised, but his smile definitely screamed happy. “oh? that’s all i needed to hear. welcome, uh- temporarily. i’ll inform mrs. park about the situation.”

nononono- “i did this.” you were at a loss for words. “i won’t be able to compete in the debate.”

“yeah pretty much you made the wrong decision.” jaehyun stood to tower over you. “i’d like to see you suffer our drills-”

four knocks cut jaehyun off. “oh no, she’ll only do those for two days.”

you swifted your head in confusion, seeing coach jung wrote down your schedule on the white board. you were packed and it’s a lot worse than the actual assessment planned in school. “and what about the rest of the ten days?!” you exasperated that your hairtie snapped at the right moment, and your hair fell in sightful way.

“ooh that was hot.” ten commented in soft whisper, causing kun and jungwoo nudge him on the each side.

“she’ll be our manager for the remaining days, keep track of our drills and score points, or other extra things i needed a hand with while taeyang’s in the hospital.”

jaehyun rested his palms on his waist, swirling his tongue inside with a provoking gaze at you. “see if you can keep up, manager.” he chuckled.

you checked the time, it was nearing 5 p.m. “you know what, give me a day to process all this sport thing. it’s close to evening and i have to get going-”

“it’s evening already?” jaehyun cut you off as he looked outside the window.

the sun glistening at the distance while the sky showed a pretty ombré of warm colours. his senses doubled again and his whole body ached. he had to make you leave. it was already enough that his friends knew about his situation. there’d only be more trouble if you knew too.

“uh duh? the clock’s right there.” you pointed.

“hm, anyway you have to leave now.”

“sheesh i was going to anyway.” you rolled your eyes, but felt jaehyun’s palms behind your back. “hey stop pushing!”

“you’re too slow!” his tone changed. different than the usual because panic was what you felt from his palms. “quickly!”

the rest of the boys could tell you were pissed. they couldn’t understand why jaehyun had to make a fuss out of it when all he had to do was to kindly ask you. using force would only cause misunderstandings, like what’s happening now. “hey what’s your deal?!” you flicked his arms. “do you like to push people around? just because i’ll be with the team for the next two weeks, that doesn’t mean you could treat me like this already!”

“tsk so noisy! you’re wasting time! just leave would you?!” jaehyun turned you around towards the door.

this time you wouldn’t budge. “no jung jaehyun i need an explanation with this stupid attitude of yours!” you wriggled off of his hold, pushing him back with pats several times more that he stepped backwards.

“i don’t owe you an explanation!”

“you definitely do?!”

“why can’t you listen to what i say?”

“why can’t you stop being pushy, pushy?”

“you’re the one pushing me! time’s ticking y/n!”

the continuous back and forth of bickers and the war of pushing each other was an idiotic sight. your wrist was in jaehyun’s palms as he gripped you tighter. “i don’t care captain jerk! it wouldn’t bother you or hurt you to just give me one reason- and he slammed the door at my face! argh!”

jaehyun smirked wide and proudly knowing that he ‘won’ argument. silencing you was better than letting you see his other form. the boys stared him once he turned around to face them. “what?” he questioned,

“definitely not the right way to treat a girl.” they all said simultaneously.

“you know how bad it makes me feel when you all said it at the same time?” jaehyun pressed the bridge of his nose.

he knew well enough that this wasn’t his usual self. he’s good friends with you despite being in different teams of the school. you both took literature as your electives. sometimes you’d let him copy your notes when he had matches or leave small appetisers and juice cartons when he was tired and vice versa.

but no matter how close you both were, he couldn’t afford to let you see his other self.

not just yet.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

waking up so early in the day to assist the team was way more annoying than birds chirping by your bedroom’s window. instead of hearing their tuneful tweets, you had to endure endless phone calls every minute. you couldn’t remember much from that day because you passed out. and the team didn’t look for you until yesterday.

coach jung waved to catch your attention, only to be greeted with your huge yawn and a disinterested face.

“ah there she is! c’mon now, i got the green light from mrs. park. she agreed that p.e is the only subject you’re likely to fail this semester, so she’s giving you a cool-off from the team and focus on here.”

“yep. heard you coach.” you tied up your hair, only listening to half of what he said. “where’s the captain?”

kun did few stretches & jumps, his expression mirrored the other two boys who were also doing the same. you had a feeling about this— their telepathic gaze and awkward silence. you took a basketball to pass it to ten. “is he still mad about me calling him a jerk? that was a few days ago and i didn’t expect him to be that sensitive.”

they laughed because they couldn’t deny his obvious trait. “he doesn’t show it but somehow you know he is.” ten passed the ball back to you. “but not this morning y/n. he’s late for.. another reason.”

you hopped to catch it yet you were a second late, and groaned as you had to run far to retrieve it. “uh-huh. nature calls in the morning, again?” you yelled.

“do you think she knows about jaehyun?” jungwoo asked the older ones. they eyed you rummaging in the bushes for the ball, later looking back at each other for answers, but no one knew how your mind worked. “it’s been five days and no word from her at all.”

“if she actually does, i guess she just doesn’t want to be involved? i think we can trust her for that.” kun drank from his bottle.

ten didn’t look convinced. “involved or not, we have to make sure she doesn’t tell anyone about jaehyun’s curse. keep an eye on her-”

“ah!” they heard your squeals and ruffles from the bushes. “guys look what i found!”

kun sighed when they saw you running back with a golden retriever puppy in your arms, taking back his words said earlier.

“uh-oh. that scream means she has no clue at all.” jungwoo brushed his hair up.

“this puppy is so cute! i wonder what it’s doing here? are you lost?” you hugged and sniffed into its fur and gosh it smelled like vanilla shampoo. there was a metal collar around its neck, the piece spelled “jj”. “aww it has a name!”

no matter how happy you looked from the boys, they couldn’t help but take a photo of you and ‘puppy’ jaehyun. they had to tell you before it was too late. the golden hour in the morning was shorter than sunset, so either they would tell you straight up, or let jaehyun transform back to human.

but guess what? they were too late. they shouldn’t have second-guessed.

what had happened was way beyond your comprehension. it was in an instant. all it felt in totality was that, you weren’t carrying a puppy anymore. you lost balance and the weight in your arms doubled or tripled, you couldn’t tell. but you knew you were falling backwards. was there to brace for impact? none.

you blinked several times from the orange sunrise blinding your vision from the window. slowly you got up to sit and soothe the pain. that hurt..

here’s the thing. remember you mentally told yourself you hoped you didn’t run into any naked boy in the basketball team’s showers? there you have it. you jinxed it. jaehyun’s figure was on top of yours and you knew he had no clothes on. oh goodness.

“hyung? you forgot your lunch box- oh.” sungchan barged in the scene and everyone could tell he sort of malfunctioned. he froze then facepalmed.

you took turns into looking at the embarrassed jaehyun and at the boys who whistled to avoid the numbers of questions you were going to ask.

kun quickly shielded your eyes where your doubts were showing in your face. and no matter how much thought hard, you just couldn’t believe it. with fear written all over you, you dusted your pants and hands reached kun’s arm to support your weight.

“oh so you shielded her eyes but not my body?!” jaehyun’s voice entered your ears and you swore there was a hint of puppy whimper.

“this is a dream.. right?..” you asked before you fainted.

sungchan managed to save you from the fall. “whoa! ah, i had a feeling something like this would happen.”

—

“was she always like that?” minnie took a peep of your classroom, her eyes showed confusion. “is she tired?”

lisa shrugged and in her innocence she pursed her lips. “i don’t know. she’s been sighing a lot for the past hour? i wanna ask her but it might be too personal.”

you could her them and they were wrong. it was nothing personal at all. you’ve been sighing because you didn’t know how it was possible but it just happened— right before your eyes. since then you hoped that science could explain but not even the smartest people could give you a conclusion. you’ve been called out from lessons that came in the day and not that you didn’t blame jaehyun.

because for one thing, he at least told you the truth and the answer to your question as to why he had to make you leave that day. you propped your chin on your palms from jaehyun’s warning: “tell anyone i swear i’ll make you run a hundred laps with no water breaks.”

but the other thing? he was naked. and that’s not something you could erase in your memories overnight.

you let out a small whine that led to minnie and lisa copying your position, obviously making fun of you. “seriously, not a good time.” you laid on the table and hid from them. “don’t ask me anything.”

minnie and lisa looked at each other as you were being unreasonable and already gotten them curious with your remark. they both grabbed each of your arm, tugging on your sleeves where they begged nonstop for you tell them what had happened. they knew it was about the basketball team.

since you started to train and be with them, you’ve never complained. because if you did, coach jung would add another exercise for you, in which you knew you couldn’t handle. broken bones and sore muscles awaited for you. so you chose not to utter a single sigh, but you were careless just now and there was no escaping from these best friends of yours.

“c’mon y/n! tell us the deets! you sighing could only mean one thing.. did someone confess to you?” minnie closed her eyes and a wide smile suddenly became shrieks of laughter when you facepalmed. “oh who in the basketball team confessed?” she singsonged.

it’s not really a confession, jaehyun being a golden puppy is a secret that was never meant to be revealed but i happened to see him transform-

“what if it’s not a guy? maybe two? or three? oh gosh this is like a reverse harem anime-” lisa began to hype an awful assumption but you covered her lips. and plus? her voice was loud and how embarrassing it would be when the rest of the class heard it.

you were already restless at their energy. “none you idiots. i was sighing because i didn’t know that people with dimples would be that attractive.” you tried to divert the topic.

“pfft you’re talking about jung jaehyun?” lisa raised her brows and grinned teasingly to get a reaction from you.

“no, i’m taking about coach jung.” you hit her arm.

“but jaehyun’s his carbon copy, so you’re basically saying he’s handsome too.” minnie quickly rebutted.

“i mean, coach’s the original face so he’s definitely more handsome-” you paused. shoot they nearly got you to a corner. “wait- why are we talking about this? i thought we’re talking about me.”

“ah you were paying attention to our conversation?” minnie’s eyes grew.

“you’re not telling us anything dimwit.” lisa hit you back.

couple of squeals echoed the corridor and your classroom door crowded with people. apparently jaehyun stood by the door frame and scanned the room looking for you. when he spotted you, his face bubbled up and literally glided his way to your seat. you could tell he was slightly fuming, but you didn’t know what reason. “y/f/n! come here for a second!” he grabbed your wrists and pulled you up from your chair.

you tried to catch up with his pace as he continued to pull you. “let me go!”

jaehyun did in fact let go of you, but he instead led you to hit your back against numerous lockers. the squeals didn’t stop there and how that you were the centre of attention amongst all of the students, you had endure this for a little while. he was staring into your soul, eyes piercing that could strain yours, you knew he was pissed about something.

he slammed his forearms at the space right above your head, then the screams of giddy began to grow louder. you managed to see your friends at the far end of the corridor. they were smiling and lisa mouthed ‘kabedon’, making you flustered than you already were. “what do you want?” you asked.

“i thought i made myself clear?” jaehyun smirked as he felt you quiver against his skin. he leaned lower that his whispers tickled your ear. “did you tell anyone? your friends?”

“i’m not gonna risk my health for some dumb secret.” you rolled your eyes and crossed arms.

“please it’s not like our training puts your life on jeopardy-” jaehyun butted back.

“it’s safe with me. if there’s anything you’re worried about, just look at your fanbase. you’re making them sad.” you sighed, walking away and through the girls who has been following jaehyun around.

jaehyun exhaled at a rather slow pace. he liked your reaction and was aware of their presence. and in order to shoo them away, he had to do what he did. he just hoped you’d notice that too. “see you after school!” he yelled.

you briefly stopped in your tracks at his greet, you continued walking and pulled your girls away from the scene. you didn’t pay any attention, but you knew they couldn’t contain their smiles appearing on their faces.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

the bags full of foldable cones fell to the floor. the rest of the team turned to your direction, who already made mistakes on the first day of camp. they knew that you were obviously flabbergasted with your encounter. it was funny that you managed to stride your way so quickly towards jungwoo— he was very much entertained with your expression. “i know right? that was me earlier.” he stroked the large pup.

“h-how did puppy grow so big? that’s an adult sized dog! you stuttered but hiding your love for golden retrievers just wasn’t possible. there were times you forgot that this was actually jaehyun. “it’s only been a week.”

“yeah i’d like to know the reason too.”

suddenly you heard jaehyun’s voice. it felt like he was close to your ears again, but he wasn’t anywhere near you.

remains of memories probably were still in you head. you wouldn’t say you were traumatised, just surprised. why the hell am i hearing his voice? you shook the thought off at first but then again-

oi y/n. beside you. i’m talking to you!

what?

you gasped and fell on your butt. the pup’s ears were on alert and you knew he was hearing you too. “you can hear me?” jaehyun’s dog form practically towered on your fallen self. you avoided his look although the pup was so cute. his paws poked your shoulders, whiskers twitching as he waited for your response. “don’t look away! you can hear me right??”

all the guys could see was jaehyun staring down at you. and while you did the same, your knitted brows only meant something was definitely going on. they wanted to know. “what’s wrong y/n?”

your lips shook in heavens knows it was fear. “you’re asking me what’s wrong? why can i hear jaehyun? can you hear jaehyun? oh my g- this is really really weird-”

“you can?” they scooted closer to you, very much intrigued with your gift.

“and you all can’t?” you pushed jaehyun away for his body was weighing you down. he whimpered and got up to sit in front of the boys too.

they shook their heads vigorously. “only sungchan and coach were able to hear him.” kun stated, typing on his cellphone to inform his family.

“y/n! let’s talk when i transform back!” jaehyun’s paws kept poking you again. you glared at him with a loud hiss. his ears were alert, he didn’t realise that he was clawing you already, and turned a few rounds before he was laying like a bagel-shaped position.

jaehyun thought it was pretty strange. never in his life were there any people who could actually converse with him telepathically. other than his family, you were the first and he was determined to find out why this impossibility was made possible. there was a spark of hope forming in his heart at this sudden revelation. the glow from the orange light then shone above your head, marking the end of sunrise.

you looked at jaehyun’s dog form, it was- correction, he was.. quiet, and was still staring at you as if you were his master. he laid on this front legs, snout on the ground. huh, he can actually be behaved. footsteps were closing in. at the distance, coach jung walked with lisa and minnie, who were in their cheerleading uniforms. right, you forgot that they were also included in the annual athletes camp.

for a moment you panicked because you knew jaehyun would transform back from being a dog. ten and rest knew more people shouldn’t know about jaehyun’s curse. they were glad you read the atmosphere too. seeing jaehyun’s jersey in his duffel bag, you grabbed it and wore it on the animal.

coach jung made eye contact to your direction. he diverted the girls’ attention, and led them away from the basketball court. they headed towards the storage to “retrieve” some equipment.

jaehyun grunted and growled, his fangs tried to bite your skin. however, goldens were known for having a soft jaw, so his bites weren’t that painful. when you finally managed to put the jersey on him, jungwoo couldn’t catch up. “why let him wear the jersey?” he questioned.

“so he wouldn’t transform back naked when lisa and minnie arrives.” you pointed out the obvious.

ten held his laugh in. you recognised this tone, and prepared what came after. “heh..” he trailed off. “is it because you want to keep jaehyun to yourself?”

you continuously threw random items at him as heat spread to your cheeks. “screw you!” you scoffed. “get jaehyun to wear his pants. i have to pack a lot of things before we head onto the bus.”

“yes ma’am.” ten nudged your shoulder. “i’m kidding y/n. don’t take my jokes seriously.“

“it’s fine.” you picked up the fallen cones. “you’re worried about people knowing his curse. so i’m just doing my part to keep it secret.”

he pursed his lips and his heart softened at your willingness to help. “hm, i guess i can trust you after all.” ten opened the bag to help you pack. “oh! and also, jae in his dog form already is naked anyway.”

“you think i’m not aware of that?” you rolled your eyes.

your friends already have settled themselves inside the coach bus and you were seated in between them. now they would get to witness you with the team and hoped for a budding romance with any of the boys. you lowered your face under a cap to pretend you were sleeping, but in reality you just wanted to avoid lisa and minnie’s bombardment.

few rows at front, jaehyun stared by the window, deep in thought. rarely spoke a word since they started their journey to the retreat campsite. why was his hunch telling him to get closer to you? why could you hear him and he could hear you? he slightly turned to his side between the gaps of two seats. seeing you giggling with your friends had him rethinking if what happened earlier was just his imagination. he wondered why you purposely ignore him after he transformed back.

he slid lower from his seat. “i’d understand if this was a soulmate thing, but it’s not.” jaehyun sighed heavily where he broke the silence and supposedly ending the conversation earlier. now that he wanted to talk about it, his friends were still up for the news.

“oh yeah. those things are going on. except it only happens to some people.” kun popped a chip in his mouth.

“i just don’t get it. dad told me that never occurred to anyone with this curse.” he stole the bag of chips from the younger one to relieve his emotions.

jungwoo’s pursed his lip in wonder. “maybe the curse in another light has its own blessing? maybe you guys are soulmates?”

“nah, impossible.” they all said simultaneously.

“it’s a possibility-” jungwoo’s face soured where wrinkles appeared on the sides as the boys flared at him.

jaehyun shrugged not knowing what to say. his friends have bizarre ideas throughout the journey, and he wouldn’t say they were wrong either. all he could do was to wait until the next transformation. maybe you would say your thoughts about it through telepathy.

he would know if time passed quickly when he didn’t pay attention to anyone. one of them was the number of times you waved in front of his face to snap him back to earth. “jaehyun?” you laid on the ground and called out, panting to catch air after your successful reps. you tugged the ends of his track pants.

“hm?” he hummed, looking for your voice until he got annoyed with your repetitive pulls of his clothes. “ah stop that. i have to report your record to coach. come with?”

“do i really have to?” you whined. “i could barely stand, my legs are wobbly and i’m hungry.”

jaehyun rolled his eyes and took your hand, pulling you up on your toes. “then let’s grab something to eat on our way to the camp, hm?”

you gulped at the sudden gesture, even more so when you noticed your heart beating faster around him. somehow your sixth sense told you your friends were somewhere in the woods looking at you, and you were right.

minnie had her binoculars by her eyes as you and jaehyun headed in another direction back to everyone else were. she held in her excitement with a huge inhale. out of curiosity lisa stole the binoculars from her. a growing smile showed her pearly whites when within its frame, jaehyun was pushing you from the back before he took your hand again because of how slow you were. “min, consider your reverse harem dream for y/n over. we found her leading man.”

—

“few more reps y/n! do it properly this time?”

jaehyun rubbed his face, raising his tone in question of your athleticism. it was the second and final day of your assessments. your core should be able to get used to the pressure if you’ve done the reps for two straight days. so as of today you salute to all people who persevered and with great stamina. you just.. weren’t that person.

you’ve grown conscious now that jaehyun’s friends were watching a few metres away. you’d prefer kun counting and timing your exercises over him. in contrast, kun’s a little more understanding than the hotheaded jaehyun. “if i say i can’t, shouldn’t you consider stopping here? it’s the last one anyway so put random number on the blank or something.” you struggled to lift yourself up from the ground, arms in an ‘x’ position over your torso.

“is that so? then you wouldn’t mind if i write ‘0’ for the final count?” jaehyun checked the stopwatch while his knees put enough weight on your feet. “at least do five more?” he sat on the soles of his shoes.

“ugh! fine!” you tsked and did sit ups slowly, eyes shut closed.

jaehyun smirked with how determined you were in finishing. and he has gotta credit you for having the last brain cell to endure his overly playful bossiness and plans up his sleeves.

but even his friends has something up in their sleeves. they whispered to each other and nodded heads as excitement already boosted their anticipation. ten cupped his mouth then giving the raised brows as signal to start. “y/n! jaehyun’s recording your expression with his phone!” ten yelled.

jungwoo’s mouth widened and followed along. “jae! there’s a bee behind you!”

“what?!”

“where?!”

the moment you froze and opened your eyes after bringing yourself up, and jaehyun leaned forwards to avoid the insect, was way too hilarious for the guys to see. both of your faces were centimetres away from each other and jaehyun’s ears already tinted pink. jaehyun already found it awkward to help you for three days, but he never prepared himself for something like this.

as his friends bursting out laughing, that was when he realised it was all their plan. you were still too close to him, so he cleared his throat to cut the gap between. “is that a pimple on your nose?” he asked, only for his nose to be smacked and soon be numbed. “agh!”

what the- “jerk! don’t point it out!” you kicked him and rolled sideways to stand up, angrily leaving the area with the sheet in your hands. “i’ll give this to the coach!”

jaehyun held his nose and walked back to the guys, who were still laughing their butts off and rolling on the ground. “you can stop now.”

“oh that was funny! it was like a typical ‘ba-dump’ scene in a rom-com!” jungwoo wiped a tear.

“should’ve recorded it!” kun threw his head back while his hand rested on his heaving chest.

“no worries! at least it’s recorded in jaehyun’s mind!” ten cheered with closed fists.

“it’s embarrassing!” jaehyun threw his towel.

bonfires were mandatory at the start and end of the camp. however, because of your assessment, coach jung had negotiate with the other members of the basketball to get to the campsite a day before the other teams actually arrived at night. so for the kun and the rest, they had a little more free time than jaehyun. and him being the coach’s son.. he didn’t have the same benefits. he was stuck with you because he had to keep an eye on you while

he thought being with you would only be for the first two days, then he would go for his training. and yet here you were, sitting beside him in front of the bonfire while everyone else arrived and other danced to their hearts’ content. maybe he could ask you about the telepathy thing? but figuring you were cranky from earlier, he held back.

“can i ask more about your curse? if it’s okay with you to tell me.”

jaehyun nodded, you had the right to. not because you accidentally picked a random puppy then saw him naked few moments later. you could hear him in your head, and that was enough reason to tell you rather than a general information about it. “yeah. i’m okay with it.”

“you said your ancestors had the curse too. was there any specific reason why they had to suffer that your family and you had to be the..” you paused for a while. jaehyun was waiting for your next words, you guessed it was alright to say it. “..collateral damage?”

“right. i didn’t tell you more of it yeah?” he sniffed from the chilly night. “i don’t know how far back in the years it happened. but they said the head of the family casted out his wife because he assumed he cheated on him. he was the only person the wife ever treasured, so when she was accused, she took his pet and killed it. the head found out, he cursed her that her descendants turn into animals. and we’re the descendants of that woman.”

“that’s awful.” you cleared your throat. “i’m sorry you have to suffer the curse.”

“you don’t have to be. i’m just trying to cope with it.” jaehyun chuckled. “how awesome would it be if there was a way to reverse everything.”

“gotta find the blessing then.” you laid on the grass.

jaehyun’s face wrinkled in disgust. “okay you sound like jungwoo.”

“at least appreciate me for trying to lift your spirits up.”

he hummed in agreement.

“or you can just.. let the blessing find you.” you singsonged as you realised how corny you actually sounded.

“fine, and if it’s you?” he had to give a hint of the telepathic communication.

“because i can hear you when you’re in your retriever form? i’m not exactly a blessing but yeah i’d like to know how telapthy works too.” you stared back at the bonfire, flames flickering as the smoke flew in the air. as of tonight, you wanted to be that person who’d be the igniter of that hope he held on. “if i could help out a little, i’ll be happy to help.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

lisa and minnie stared at you, both had their palms under their chins as if their silence asked you to talk. “i can’t eat when the two of you are like this. it’s very disturbing.” you gripped on your fork, hesitant to eat as you took glances between the food and them.

you knew what they were going to ask. not like you didn’t want to share, it was just that you knew them well enough that they wouldn’t stop once they start. the food was getting cold every second passed, due to the wind outdoors, it was more vulnerable. lisa stretched her elbows while holding her poms to be noticed. five days have gone by and even though you were rarely with them in all those days, she had to ensure you’d tell them about the basketball team and your leading man— although you had no idea about that.

“any updates?” she raised her brows.

“nothing is happening with me or anyone in the team, if that’s what you both wanted to know.” you sighed. “i’m just simply taking down minutes.” you said sternly, kind of regret that you answered her and swirled the noodles with your fork.

“are you sure? twelve members should be enough for that.” minnie tied her shoelaces and bent down with a pressed smile when you pout. she softened her gaze when you were telling the truth and that their teasing should stop there. but they knew that the team should know something about you.

“they’re divided into teams. some did the score board while others practiced on their own. of course i have to be the one- why are you pulling my arm?” you asked and eyed them as if they stained your clothes.

lisa twirled on her toes and posed with her arm rested on her waist. “you’re being quiet again.”

“i’m not?” you said monotonously while you munched on your food.

she sighed and grabbed your chin. “you don’t look at me when you’re lying.” she hummed, yet you didn’t respond. “what’s up y/n? something’s on your mind i can tell.”

in fact a lot of things were.

so far in the week, you’ve helped jaehyun theorise solutions to end his curse after practice. not only for him, but his family and extended family too. some have passed not having to enjoy their lives, while others chose to hide themselves from the world. and a small percentage of the family tree actually tried to live through it— that was jaehyun’s family. coach jung was as determined as jaehyun to put a stop into this curse.

not only that thought alone. to you, jaehyun has been rather noticeable. even if you weren’t thinking of him, he’d appear out of nowhere— during your breaks, on your night-walks alone or even heading to the toilet. you’d always bump into him and his presence seemed to be marked in your consciousness now. not that you liked him around, it was just captain was more friendly than others made him out to be. “really, it’s nothing.”

to say that jaehyun didn’t feel same was definitely an understatement. since the start of the freshman year, he knew you were the loud girl with the two hot cheerleaders, but always wondered why you’ve never joined the team. sometimes he would catch you sitting at one corner, dancing along with the routines aside from cheering your friends on as he was heading to practice.

now he took a peek of you eating alone while lisa and minnie showed off their new uniforms. he was about to call you out to help the team, but the girls pulling you almost immediately once you were done had him holding back. “chaeyeon will be arriving soon, and remember the dare was to wear our uniform.” minnie giggled while you begged her to stop, to the point you nearly cried thinking about it. “you agreed to it-”

“i didn’t agree to it! you agreed for me! i had no say!”

jaehyun’s eyes widened at the thought of you in uniform. your yells were getting louder and pitchier. should he be your knight and shining armour? probably not. he’d like to have something to tease you about. for a moment there was silence, he hid behind the corner of a storage building. you were still telling your friends to stop doing what they were doing. but it was two against one, and he knew you were at the losing end.

the door slammed open, your huffs and puffs getting heavier and closer to where he was. jaehyun’s heart beat so fast that when he finally decided to call out your name, you bumped into him and he caught you to prevent you from falling. “i was about to fetch you, manager.”

you felt heat spread your entire cheek because of the attire you were forced to wear. “well you did and i’m here. can we go? my friends are giving me the stares.”

“fiesty, but i think you look alright.” he chuckled when you grumpily walked ahead. jaehyun followed you from behind with his hands in pockets.

what does he mean by that?

lisa and minnie pursed their lips, soon bursting into giddy squeals and continuously fanning each other from what they saw yet the second time. “he was really checking her out.” minnie laughed.

“his ears said it all.” lisa checked her watch on her wrist. “basketball team’s practice match is starting soon. wanna sit in?”

“girl you bet i will.”

even hours later you blew your baby fringes blocking your view. as you flipped the score board and whistles for a time-out echoed the outdoor gym, your friends could tell how uncomfortable you were but they’d do nothing to get more reactions from you. they liked that you entertained them. and what choice did you have? chaeyeon was already taking pictures of you in the uniform you despised wearing.

coach jung briefed the team information on their opponents this season. you wrote down important points, feeling the chill of the early sunset. you couldn’t wait to change into actual soft and comfy clothes, mosquitoes weren’t your friends.

jaehyun listened to his dad repeating the same points- mostly because he got the advice first before others. he heard you hiss several times, you were supposed to jot the notes down. then it got frequent. he tiptoed to see you opposite from him, shooing the bugs away. of course you were still wearing the cheer uniform. he didn’t want to draw attention, so he stealthy walked behind the guys and straight to you.

“trouble?” he asked.

“just a little chilly, that’s all. meeting’s nearly done yeah?” you hugged the file to your chest.

“say so if you’re cold.” he took his jacket off and draped it on your shoulder.

“and who am i to tell to?” your voice challenging him.

he hummed so low that it almost lulled you to sleep. “me. i’m not the captain for nothing.”

you were both busy talking that you and him weren’t aware of time nor anyone else close by. mind you that minnie and lisa were watching the whole thing. you managed to smile even if you were crossed with how you were dressed. like you enjoyed his company.

they couldn’t hear your conversation, nor were your lips were moving. but the body language they saw already proved and confirmed their assumption. they had to tell you. they went straight to you once the meeting was over, and pulled you aside whilst jaehyun was talking about his childhood.

jaehyun raised a brow and chuckled as you were being pulled away. his friends immediately surround him, bombarding him with questions that he wasn’t paying attention to the meeting. “dude, your time’s near.” ten smacked him on the back.

“don’t make it sound like i’m dying, ten.” jaehyun rolled his eyes, but whenever he did, they were always fixated on you. he couldn’t shake off the feeling you were that something to solve the curse.

“be alert than be busted.” ten shrugged, head tilting to where you were. your friends were busy recording you and giggles filled the air. “how are you so calm now jae?”

jaehyun pursed his lips. “with her, there’s no way i’m calm at all.”

“okay now i can’t tell if that answer was from human jaehyun or doggy jaehyun.” jungwoo pointed out.

his friends all looked at each other, jaehyun wasn’t his usual self. it was as if he was dazed but was able to converse with them properly. slowly his naturally peach-like fuzzy cheeks grew more fur, his tail started to reveal. although they were quick enough to hide jaehyun, they didn’t realise the commotion that came afterwards and drew everyone’s attention.

you swifted your head at the boys’ yells and gathering circle, faintly hearing jaehyun’s refusal into whatever they got him into. “stop it! hey!” he hissed.

jungwoo, a little too excited of the drama going on, spotted you looking at them and gestured you to come over too. your friends built up a curiosity and went ahead of you. as for you, you were mentally tired to think of anything.

not until you heard kun’s wavering yet convincing words. “uh.. y’all wanna see magic?” he chuckled nervously as he knew what jaehyun would do to him after all this was over. “quickly because it’ll happen soon!”

you held in a laugh at jaehyun when he was forced to sit down on the grass to hide his tail. “i’ve been trying to master this for months and i thank jaehyun as my participant. who loves animals? give me a name.”

most hands were up and the answers were said at the same time. some didn’t believe him, but others have seen kun’s little magic tricks over the days. so something of a huge scale like this already got them curious than ever.

“ah i hear great ones but i’ll choose dog. now i’ll turn jaehyun into a golden retriever.” he draped a blanket above his friend.

ten and jungwoo bit their lips to contain themselves, holding onto each other as they filmed this once-in-a-lifetime event. the circle enlarged in scale with the poor lad at the center and the golden hour shone over everyone.

“in 3.. 2.. 1..” kun only snapped his fingers then the blanket shrunk in size. your schoolmates were convinced that something was actually happening.

and it was amusing because you were able to hear jaehyun swearing so much in your head.

you let out a giggle. jaehyun was soon surrounded by everyone who wanted to pet him. even your friends went over to the animal. “at least pretend to be happy for them. goldens are known for being clowns.” you told him.

*sighs* “tell kun i’m gonna kill him.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

the silence was all jaehyun ever wanted after the shock he had to go through from kun’s improv few days ago. he’d be thankful for a moment because he actually forgot the gideon hour at the time, but he would soon later be clouded with annoyance that he should’ve been informed beforehand of his actions— not only kun, the others included. they’ve got a part in this too.

his friends seated side by side with bruises and bandages on their faces, jaehyun still giving them the silent treatment. he was cranky about that, yet even more so when there was no progress into finding a solution to his curse. “jae. we said we’re sorry.” jungwoo apologised and felt that he was the only one giving effort to talk to jaehyun compared to kun and ten.

“and i said it’s fine. so stop saying that before i actually don’t forgive you.” jaehyun pressed the bridge of his nose.

after walking up the slope to the cabin with heaves of breaths, you managed to hear their conversation before opening the door. “i refilled your bottles.” you threw them on a duffle bag, not caring whether either of them rolled away. “i have to apologise too, jaehyun. i haven’t come up with anything to help you.” true enough because you couldn’t think straight or have the energy to use your remaining brain cells for that matter.

“ugh it’s fine. i’m not in a rush or anything. not even assigning you to solve within the duration of the camp.” jaehyun squeezed the bottle as thirst continued to drive him crazy, the heat as well, so he removed his tshirt. you averted your gaze and looked elsewhere. maybe you were still a little bothered seeing him half naked after the incident?

ten sought the opportunity and decided to fan the flame even more. “why look away when you’ve seen him already?”

he managed to dodge your hits and you turned around embarrassed. jaehyun could see you fanning yourself from the heat. “it was an accident!” you cleared your throat.

“gah i’m tired. we’re done with practice. we get a day off tomorrow, so can’t we watch a movie? who has disney plus?” jungwoo wiped himself with a towel.

“i do.” kun brought out his ipad. “what do you wanna watch?”

“i haven’t watched that one.”

“beauty and the beast?”

“o-kay, i’ll be going now.” you yawned as you began to feel the exhaustion take over your body. “see you tomorrow.”

the door closed and suddenly you remembered a funny memory last halloween when taeil dressed himself as belle. he blended in with the other ladies that you didn’t realise it was him. either it was the wig’s work or just taeil in general. you found it funny when a bunch of young teens become children again as disney’s mentioned.

your phone vibrated with your friends asking to help them out with their practice. “i came to the camp for the basketball team, not you two.” you left a voice mail. all you wanted was to rest up today. not until a certain realisation hit you hard.

because what if?

it hasn’t been that long since you left the cabin when the boys jolted from their positions. their peace and concentration on the movie already ruined by you. “oh my goodness i think i got it?” you slammed the door.

jaehyun sat up and set his phone aside. “you’re saying it a question rather than a discovery. not convinced.”

“will you be when i tell you if it’s based on that movie?” you pointed at the tablet.

he trailed his eyes to the screen then back at you, a more confused expression on his face. “you expect me to find someone to love me so my curse will be lifted?”

“pfft nah kidding, you don’t seem that loveable anyway.” you stole a lollipop from ten. “okay bye for reals.”

as the door closed, ten unwrapped another lollipop. “bet you he’s thinking of his potential ‘belle’.” ten nudged the boys.

“shut up. i’m not going to base my life on a fictional movie.”

“but it could be y/n. i mean she can hear you.” jungwoo paused the film.

“it’s not going to be her and it doesn’t prove anything.”

jaehyun thought a lot for two things— you keeping his hopes up, the other was you setting his heart in a frenzy and he always hated that feeling. he groaned and dragged himself to bed to place a towel over his face. sure he’ll hold on to that idea you came up with for now. however it didn’t prove on telepathy.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

your heart missed a beat when jaehyun waited for you in front of the cabin you stayed at. he thought you bumping into his torso wasn’t a good way to greet in the morning, whereas you feeling some fur on his tshirt as greeting was any different. jaehyun handed you a file and a little note from coach.

while you read it, you could sense jaehyun was staring, like he had something to say. he retracted his lips when your friends appeared behind you with grins annoyingly appearing on their faces. “make it quick captain. we have things to discuss with y/n.”

“yeah sure. i just dropped by to pass this to you. coach said to make copies. i’ll come back after you’re done with breakfast.” he cleared his throat and announced his leave.

“hm. fishy. he could’ve just left it here outside but he seems like he waited for you.” lisa drank from her cup as you all sat and ate breakfast together.

“right? it’s been days he acted that way!” minnie walked back to the table. “he’s indeed a gentleman, but there are times he’s very hard to approach.”

you unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. “anyway, what is it you guys wanna talk about?”

“lisa will go first. she couldn’t wait.” minnie giggled.

lisa laid out series of pictures of nature she recently took and were indeed beautiful. “oh my goodness they look amazing!” you sat up. “as expected from someone in the photography club. i bet if you submit these to johnny he’ll regret putting you as backup-”

“really?! i took advantage of the retreat and i made sure they were pretty!” lisa interrupted you and placed more pictures down. “these are my favourite! i’m thinking of sending these to johnny instead!”

however your face turned sullen at the next pictures. they were blurry and almost gone, but it was definitely jaehyun at the background, each one showed he was transforming from human to dog. you paused and your heart did the same.

the silence got longer, you knew you had to speak up, but no words came out. “what’s wrong y/n?”

“you can’t submit these to johnny.” you brushed the first batch of pictures aside and bind latest pictures together.

“why not? you supported the rest of them! how could these be not good enough?” lisa’s voice changed in an instant, like you’ve taken away her pride. she sat back with folded arms, her behaviour scared you a little.

minnie slightly wiggled your hand. “hey, are you hearing to yourself y/n?”

“sorry, i know i sound stupid-”

“you are!” lisa huffed where her cheeks blew up. it was cute though.

“but you have to hear me out.” one thing was for sure, your stress levels shot up high if word gets to jaehyun. you had to prepare for the consequences.

“okay, so why can’t i submit them?” lisa sighed.

you held her hand. “it would be alright to, only if these are not in the background.” you said, pointing out a figure at the background of the subject. it all became clear as day to them when they looked closely. “did jaehyun just.. transformed?”

you were surprised with how quick they were able to catch on. as much as you wanted to protect jaehyun’s family curse, things would’ve turn for worst if someone else had noticed it. i’m sorry jaehyun, this is for your own good.

“we believed kun’s ability of illusion and his magic tricks. ten sent us a video of it and it didn’t really occurred to us that the golden was actually jaehyun.” minnie pursed her lips. “if you think about it, he does look like a golden.”

“how is this possible?” lisa asked with a growing smile, but refrained since transforming twice everyday was nothing good anyway.

“i found about his family curse accidentally. he turns into a dog when it’s golden hour, like sunrise and sunset.” you propped on your elbows.

“it’s a curse? poor lad.” minnie gasped.

a rather sad nod caught them off guard. “the coach signed me up to join this retreat. it’s not only for my missed p.e assessments but it was to keep his curse a secret. a-and now that you know, i’ll be damned if word gets to him. so you have to promise me you both don’t say or do anything..“ you sounded as if you begged. that was how much your the friendship you have with jaehyun meant to you.

“and yeah, that’s my answer. the magic trick was just a cover up to hide jaehyun’s dog form.” they listened and were surprised to hear you like this.

your fidgety hands and nervous breathing was too obvious. if jaehyun was just a friend, you wouldn’t act as if he was your- “oh no.” you slumped down on your arms. “why did i..” you mumbled as your feelings for him became clearer to you.

“oh my gosh. you like him! you like jaehyun!” lisa covered her mouth and changed the lingering negative atmosphere.

ba-dump. i..

“then that means your love for golden retrievers doubled!” minnie hugged you.

“no! it’s b-because you’re putting m-me in the spotlight-” you stuttered when they leaned towards you. “i’m gonna go.”

jaehyun flinched even though he was at a distance. your friends were yelling quite excitingly. you were being chased by them and although it was inaudible. he answered his phone as it was ringing for a while. “what, ten?”

“don’t ‘what’ me!” jaehyun tilted his head from his friend’s volume. “jae where are you?”

“i’m at y/n’s cabin and on my way bac-”

“nevermind that. i can see you.”

ten rushed towards him and looked at the cabin. “where’s lisa?” he squinted his eyes.

“just her and minnie chasing y/n out. i don’t know how but they left the door open. what are you doing here anyway?”

he mimicked a photographer’s gesture and pointed at the cabin. “lisa told me her pictures have developed and i’m here to get them.”

jaehyun flicked his forehead. “and you could’ve asked me instead.”

“they’re confidential and i’m shy if anyone sees it.” ten walked to the cabin.

“gross. just get them and head back quickly.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

you lost track of the days that have passed and there was an unsettling feeling that stayed in your chest. had it been two or three? you couldn’t remember. the basketball team’s practice matches and drills were normal. but there was a difference in air lingering around jaehyun. he still talked to you, kept the same gentle smile and was caring as usual. except whenever he did those, it seemed like he was distancing himself from you, creating an imaginary wall just to let you know your limits and boundaries.

you’d like to think it was because of the pressure coach has been giving him since the play-offs were close to date. but, it wasn’t all jaehyun who behaved that way. ten also distanced himself, his gaze pierced against your skull and thinking about it only caused you to have migraines. you were more scared of ten.

coach jung have asked you to help the cheerleading team, saying you’ve helped them enough. the amount of appreciation he had for you was too much, you couldn’t ask him about how jaehyun recently. yet this was all too sudden that your gut feeling told you otherwise. you planned to talk to jaehyun after the day ends. because in all honesty, something definitely happened.

and the boys left you out of it.

approaching jaehyun was harder than you thought. now you’ve realised it, he was always the one who took the initiative and you on the receiving end took the benefits of his kindness. it was supposed to be the other way around, so why were you taking advantage of this?

if having feelings for him was the reason for that, then you’re really stupid y/n. you laid on the grass in defeat from your thoughts and closed your eyes. you decided to have some peace and nature was your best friend in time like these. chirping birds and crashing riverbanks-

“jaehyun where are you?!”

ah crap. you twitched hard enough that swarms of goosebumps appeared on the majority of your skin. on your stomach, you hid behind the bushes to see jungwoo and the others struggling to find him. even at the mention of his name you were already feeling shy and flustered.

“is he skipping practice again?”

“ah whatever let’s just leave him.”

“i understand why he’s like that.”

“even i would feel hurt if i were him.”

a heavy and deep audible breath from their sudden entry was difficult to hide your response. you tried to leave as quiet as possible. not wanting to get caught, you had to move stealthily with few glides backwards on your knees, eyes glued to the boys’ actions if they looked elsewhere. when you felt something blocking the soles of your shoes, somehow you knew what it was.

“you’re blocking my way.” jaehyun’s irritated tone made your chest ache— in the most painful impact you never expected from him.

quickly you stood up and made sure you stayed out of sight from the boys. jaehyun scratched his temple at your awkward behaviour. he was already in front of you, why were you hesitating to ask him questions he left unanswered? jaehyun pulled a long face when you still remained silent. “if you’re not gonna speak when you clearly have something to say, do i really have to say it for you?”

what the hell is his problem? what’s with his tone? “yeah as a matter of fact i do. the thing is, i don’t understand why you’re being like this. you ignore me but still talk to me when i don’t help with the team anymore, and for some reason you’re mad at me?” you grimaced while leaning on a tree trunk.

there was cynism in jaehyun’s nods and the swirls of his tongue evident on his cheeks. you hated his attitude and all you wanted was an explanation. “whatever this is, i’ve got no reason for you to doubt me, jaehyun.”

“ah, really? ‘cause you just gave me one.” he fished out something from his pockets and as you watched, the item he was holding was too familiar and they were obviously not his. he flicked the sheets and that was when you confirmed they were the new pictures lisa developed.

why were they with him? at the pit of your stomach, a whirlwind of emotions and stressing pressure began, and you didn’t like the feeling at all. “what-”

he threw the pictures on the floor. “other than my family and friends you’re the only one who knows about my curse! and at some point you go against my back telling them to picture me when i’m left clueless?!”

right now you were really afraid jaehyun’s mood would attract attention.

you closed your eyes as he raised his voice. “look i have no idea how you got those but i promise you i had nothing to do with the picture-” you insisted and could feel your blood pressure rising.

“how- how could you betray me like this?!”

your heart fell and instead of feeling bad about him knowing, you felt your head ache with so much anger building up inside you. because jaehyun didn’t bother to listen or let you explain yourself.

“i found you in the background before lisa actually showed those to johnny! it would spread if she did! where’s the betrayal in that?!”

he stepped closer to you, your entire was itching to run away. “i don’t care! you still told your friends! you could’ve said another excuse like kun’s practicing his magic trick or something! you promised me my secret’s safe with you!”

that’s messed up. i did tell lisa and minnie but not because it was to mock him!

“kun was no where to be seen in the picture! what else can i do? lie to them? i know my friends more than you do and they won’t tell anyone!” you raised your voice as well.

jaehyun scoffed, rolling his eyes. “i don’t trust them!”

“well, i do! and you should trust me!” your tone wavering at all emotions hitting you at once. especially coming from him— the guy you developed feelings for.

“the moment you told them you broke my trust already! what else did you tell them, hm? my dad and brother having the curse too?” he brushed his hair in anger when your silence meant yes. “ugh is this really happening?! you told them everything!”

“okay that’s enough-” your vision blurring from the tears wanting to fall.

“i’m asking what else did you tell them?! dammit y/n what could be so important to you than my secret?!”

“well- i-”

“i what?!”

other than the secret, you knew what went after the reveal. then you realised the weight of your words, you couldn’t tell him that you actually like him. you wanted to be selfish this once. “i can’t.. tell you.”

jaehyun started to harbour more resentment towards your reasoning. he found it ridiculous of you to even continue with this conversation. ten already warned him that the secret wasn’t safe with you in the first place. the glimpse of hope faded when he thought you’d be the key, even if you were, trust was still important to him. it was the very thing his mother lacked and you doing so reminded him of it.

his expression darkened and you were afraid of him— excluding of how cruel he was with you on the exercise reps. you were afraid you just broken a promise and put your friendship on a rocky end.

“so that’s it? i’m begging you with my life on the line and you just gave me the most bullcrap answer!”

“you’re being unreasonable!” you yelled.

“shut up! you found about my curse so you should be the one compromising!”

“y/n!” lisa came running with a panicked face.

tsk, wrong timing. “not now.” you mouthed.

“have you seen my pictures?! i told ten to get them the other day but he got the wrong envelope! it’s the one with jae-” she bent down to catch her breath and was taken aback with jaehyun’s presence. “..hyun.”

the boys followed lisa and once they found their friend, you could tell ten’s stares that felt like daggers. he pulled jaehyun away but eyes still locked on you. “what happened?” lisa asked as you mirrored ten’s expression, but your friends could see the hurt in your eyes.

“he has the pictures. i think ten saw them and gave them to him. jaehyun’s mad, he thinks i betrayed him for telling you-”

“no that’s not it!” lisa held your hand and glared at the boys, especially ten, since he was her childhood friend. “you had every right to tell us because the pictures are my works-”

“shouldn’t have said anything further y/n! you should’ve gotten the pictures and told us instead of them! you promised, remember?” ten finally spoke up.

you rolled your eyes. “and what?! you’re like saying i should risk my friendship for his stupid secret!”

his friends turned heads to jaehyun to see his tight-knit brows and softening demeanour. jaehyun frowned and hurt was evident in his face. he was hurt by you, someone he developed feelings for in a short amount of time. “i believed it when you said you’ll help me. or were.. were all those just words to you?”

ah.. that came out wrong.

you bit your lips to say something, but they left so soon after, making your chest squeeze as if your lungs let out the last bits of oxygen from your body.

shortly over an hour, jungwoo watched his friend pace back and forth, nibbling on his nails when the tension grew in their cabin. “aren’t you too hard on her? you didn’t let y/n explain further-”

“i can’t believe her!” jaehyun crumpled the picture after looking at it. “how could she do this to me?!”

“honestly i just don’t think she’s that type of person to go behind someone’s back for her own entertainment.” kun spoke up and tilted his head, avoiding the cup that smashed on his side of his cheek. “perhaps you’re mistaken.”

jaehyun wasn’t in the right headspace whenever his past trauma was reminded or brought up, so no matter how much reason was given, he wouldn’t listen. “do i have to repeat it? she already had her fun when she told her friends to picture me!”

“your explanations are always so conclusive.” kun sighed.

“and your heart’s too soft as usual, kun! so back off!” jaehyun grabbed the older one’s shoulder and shoved him against the wall.

he released him soon after realising that he didn’t once listen to you, but he was too stubborn to take any more excuses. there was one thing he thought you were wrong— weren’t you risking your friendship with him by exposing his secret he kept so dearly? maybe distancing himself more than he did would clear his mind off from the mess.

—

when all sports teams lined up with their designated coach buses the days after, jaehyun slightly put his chin up to search for you in the crowd— in a subtle manner, since he still stood in his decision into having his space from you yet didn’t want it to be obvious to others that he cared for you still.

you knew he was staring from afar. it was a stupid misunderstanding, both of you were in the wrong, but he made you feel as if you carried the blame for this.

sure that was a given, that he would react worse than expected. you were going to take the pictures from lisa anyway, and the guys wouldn’t know that your friends knew. you didn’t expect you’d burst out of anger or that ten took them before you did and made the assumption. it still drove you mad, ten probably convinced jaehyun of your doing since he didn’t trust you at first.

that aside, you decided to ride the coach bus with the cheerleading team. “when we reach school, you can forget about the basketball team and camp. how dare they hurt you?” minnie hugged you as you stared out the window.

“if i had to weigh it, it’s not me who’s hurting. jaehyun is.” you sighed and pat her back. “how do i act if i bump to any of them? i’ll probably do something stupid again. at all cost, i’mma just- *sigh*”

“she’s talking about jaehyun right?”

“yeah she’s still not straightforward about him.”

“we know she likes him. she doesn’t have to hide it.”

“i can hear you both.” you lowered your hat to avoid their gaze.

jaehyun sat beside his father at the front for a change, playing with the blinds to cover sunlight. coach jung knew his silence more than anyone, even if jaehyun didn’t plan on telling him. “i’ve done what you told me to do. you didn’t want to see y/n after the fight. so? did it to any change?”

“no. i kept my distance and i’ll see if she’ll admit her mistake.” jaehyun adjusted the fan above him.

“jae, if only you saw her reaction when i told her to not come see the team. i know you’re smarter than this. you know it’s not all her fault.”

he clenched his palms hard. crescent moons soon showed themselves on the flesh. “where exactly in this is my fault, dad? have i not been patient to wait for curse to be broken? who said that y/n might have a contribution in this? it’s you, dad. i’m not holding any grudge against y/n. i’m just disappointed at her because she’s nothing i ever imagined her to be. goodness’ sake i even like her.” he mumbled at the last sentence, missing the point that his dad could hear it.

coach jung let out a short laugh at the remark. “not sure if you noticed, you haven’t seen y/n working hard at researching about our curse while you boys practiced. she’s always brainstorming at the possibilities, science or not, she’s always looking for ways. don’t let anger cloud you.” his father paused and had a pressed smile. “..don’t end up having small fights like me and your mother. you wouldn’t want it to be bigger than it already is.”

“yeah.. i know.”

you woke up with a thud and saw a rather prominent bump on your right temple through the reflection of the window. arriving at the campus grounds was quicker than you thought, despite being almost a half day journey. you overheard that the basketball team would stay there a little longer and you had to leave immediately because once everyone has gone home, you’d see him. you didn’t want to risk yourself from being spotted after you both fought.

it was a small matter now that you think about that day. stubbornness outweighed understanding in the two of you, and that resulted in immaturity. and if neither of you were willing to admit, might as well make the first move.

but you were stubborn as he was.

once the coach bus was nearing the parking area, the first and only thing you decide to do was get out of the vehicle and head straight home. you wouldn’t let your friends speak and looked at their bus. there sat jaehyun fiddling with the curtain. you then rushed out, covering your face from the basketball team as they too were getting off. “is that what she meant ‘at all costs’?” minnie facepalmed as she saw you walking away quickly.

“oh look, there’s y/n.” coach jung tapped the window to make jaehyun notice you. the way you behaved was weird for him, because it was too obvious you were avoiding getting seen.

“i don’t care.”

“it means you do.” his father messed his son’s hair. “okay, off you go. i’ll cancel the extra practice today and let all of you rest up during the weekend.”

jaehyun’s lips agape at his father’s last minute decision. he wore his cap and slung his bag. “if you’re doing this and expect i’d make up with her, you’ll regret ever cancelling practice.”

“ah c’mon. your old man is helping you out with a girl. can’t you tell what i’m doing, jae?” he laughed at his son’s reaction. he could see himself in jaehyun and knew things would get better.

“it won’t work dad.”

he rolled his eyes and went to where the bikes were parked. he kicked the stand at the rear wheel when his friends caught up to him with their own bikes. goodness why can’t they just leave me alone? “what do you want?” he stood a little to pedal ahead.

kun rode along beside him, eyes alternating at and on the road. “what now? you’re just going to pretend you didn’t see y/n? like nothing happened?”

“how can i ignore that when her figure’s so obvious and literally running away from here? i’m not going to do anything about-”

jungwoo then sighed heavily, causing jaehyun to knit brows. “she looked over our bus you dimwit! that means she thought of talking to you but held back because of-”

“i’ll talk to y/n in my own terms and in my own time! stop forcing me to do things when you think it would work well for me!” jaehyun pressed on the brakes with his palms.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

kun and jungwoo’s eyes followed your swirling fork and the silent air that had been going for half an hour. they thought knocking onto the doors of jaehyun’s closed heart was hard, never expected yours was harder. you wouldn’t say anything after they invited you, claiming they missed you around them.

because it had been two full semesters since then. from what the boys told you, jaehyun lost focus and couldn’t lead the team to the championships. he always fought with his father and would burst in anger, throwing unnecessary fits towards them even though they worked hard to reach the quarterfinals.

this behaviour would happen so often that it began to strain his relationships with everyone on the team. the transformation did a lot worse to his body, he’d get sick and weak, and for over months, he would not transform back immediately within the golden hour ended. it lasted longer. sometimes even the morning after.

it worried them that if jaehyun given up all hope and continued to act that way, the urge to find the solution would never take place. and that he would remain an animal forever. even so, you knew their intentions to invite you today despite feeling sad for jaehyun. and you prepared your answer before they could speak.

“y/n-”

“as much as i love to stay, i’m here to tell you you’ve wasted your efforts. if jaehyun won’t talk to me.. then i’ll just keep giving him space until he apologises first.” you were already losing appetite talking about it.

“and you think waiting game would pull off too, hm?” kun’s dimple deepened, a flat smile seen on the exterior.

you put down your fork. “i didn’t think we’ll last this long not talking-”

ten smirked in disbelief, you forgot he was there too. his presence was almost non-existent as he kept quiet the whole time. “keep it like that. you’re held accountable for making jaehyun the way he is now.”

“ten!” kun scowled at the guy. “i told you not to talk.”

you rolled your eyes that his words hurt more than the eye roll. “why is he here anyway? you said it’ll only be the two of you. unbelievable.”

“to see if you came up with a solution to lift jaehyun’s curse. looking at you now, i guess you didn’t.” he said and you tried your best to refrain yourself from hitting him. “were you mocking him when you suggested it might be the same answer as that disney film?”

“i said as a joke but it might be a possibility. we live in a world where people go through inexplainable experiences that science couldn’t dive in deep.” you sighed.

jungwoo tapped the table to stop the bickering you and ten were starting. “like my hunch says, maybe it’s another soulmate thing i’ve mentioned to you guys at the camp.”

“it’s not a soulmate thing, jungwoo.” kun and ten said simultaneously.

you brought out an a5 sized sealed envelope and the action alone made the boys stunned. “don’t open this. just give it to him. anyway, the sun’s setting. i really have to go.” you passed the item to kun.

it’s suffocating. i can’t stay here long. they saw how hesitating your limbs were, your eyes averting them and clearing your throat several times.

“ten, does this look like she didn’t do anything? this proves she’s trying.” kun took the envelope and hit it on ten’s head.

as you put on your coat whilst standing next to the table, ten sat back with arms crossed. “acting smart, aren’t you? you really think you’re the belle for jaehyun huh? i wouldn’t believe that for a second.”

“i didn’t say anything about me being the solution. i’m still keeping my promise to help him. and trust me, i don’t think i’m belle either.” you grabbed your bag and left, your food gone cold and jungwoo sighed at the air turning worse thanks to ten.

the cash money was placed on the table when kun called the waiter. “please keep the change.” he looked at your slouching figure by the bus stop across the restaurant. it screamed sadness and hurt all over.

the reason for suddenly leaving wasn’t because you were offended with what ten said. of course there was truth in his words. at some point you thought you were someone important to jaehyun, since you could hear him.

you thought you both were soulmates.

you left because you spotted a familiar figure standing by the door. haven’t been seeing him lately only made you feel angry at yourself. you were a coward, you even passed the envelope to the boys instead of giving it to jaehyun yourself. your friends already encouraged you about it, that that was the only thing to narrow the gap between you and jaehyun. it was to show that you were still supporting him.

why are you like this y/n? if you like him, you’d do anything to get his attention and forgiveness. why are you doing things to push him away, rather.. why are you forcing yourself to not care when you still do?

you continued to walk with your head low for another hour, troubled in your thoughts as they’ve been bothering you for many months. snap out of it y/n-

*tug*

*scratch*

the hems of your baggy jeans were pulled and torn with minimal, adorable force. it took you a while to process the animal before you. a blue bunny, what’s a bunny doing here- oh.

“sungchan?”

—

he rose from the bushes in front of their house. you stood there awkwardly while he figures to cover his body after the blue hour. “i’m sorry for asking you to bring me home. i get tired from hopping sometimes.” he grabbed a towel that he was hanging by the gate.

“no worries. i-i’ve seen- nevermind.” your voice softened at the latter.

sungchan pursed his lips to refrain himself from smiling since he was there and witnessed when it happened. “come in, i’ll make you some tea. it’s my way of thanks.”

although he was kinder than his brother, probably more mature, he was still young that you could see through his intentions. you knew he wanted some patching up done between you and jaehyun. you hesitated for a while, but since you were there already, might as well try to talk to him—

even if there was a slim chance of making things work.

you sat on the sofa, slightly still and awkward being in the residence. little sips, light breathing and the soft wind from the fan were only heard within the living area. “did my brother cause you a lot of trouble during the camp?” sungchan asked and knowing that you were silent, he knew jaehyun probably did. “how about now?”

“actually, i think i’m the one causing more trouble for him because i feel like i’m not doing anything to help when i said i would.” you sighed as he continued to listen.

“really? i heard from the others you’re helping so much that it changed my brother.. at the least he’s not cranky.” his nose twitched so adorably that you thought it was derived from being a bunny almost his whole life. “also, there’s that envelope-” he paused while realising how your expression caught him off guard.

maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned it, but he wanted you to know he wasn’t spying on you. he made that clear with his silence.

if he saw that back at the restaurant, that only meant he was there for quite some time. you let out a small smile that he was probably there not for you, but to wait for his brother’s friends. instead of bumping into them, he bumped into you.

“oh, that. it.. has a bunch of handwritten letters i’ve compiled when i struggled talking to jaehyun. i just felt that maybe it’s more sincere if i had to apologise.. y’know, eventually.”

he pursed his lips and nodded. “then why not put those words into actual words? like verbal words.” sungchan’s fingers pointed upwards, hinting that jaehyun was up in his room. “for all i know it’s the most sincere thing to do.”

crap, he’s not expressive but he’s so so mature for his age. it made you feel inferior for a moment.

“but before you do that, i have to tell you something that my dad and brother missed out about our curse. why jaehyun-hyung is more pressured than i am.”

(few minutes later)

you slid against the wall while sungchan went out to do grocery shopping. at the other side of the door, in between the thin gap, you could hear soft breathing; jaehyun was on his bed, sleeping in his dog form and it hurt you since time already passed both golden and blue hour, he should’ve transformed like his brother did. instead he laid there as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

meanwhile, jaehyun knew you entered his room. he pretended to be sleeping and expected he wouldn’t know how to act when he gets to face you. he decided to stay as he was.

until you pat then caressed his head.

he didn’t want to settle or give in for the fact you loved golden retrievers. he blamed on the shallow euphroria dogs easily feel. and because he was in his dog form, the anger he held for you disappeared. but at the same time, was your touch out of care or pity? he couldn’t figure it out. then he could hear the beats of your heart, and that made him sit up. your heart was fast. it was worrying. it was—

“why didn’t you tell me the whole story?” your voice wavered in heaving breaths as he finally looked you in the eye. his ears twitched and he faced the door, knowing that sungchan told everything.

jaehyun shook his body and whiskers moved before he telepathically answered you. “believe me i tried. i hate myself for being sensitive and i couldn’t bring to tell you because i got angry. but you have to know that i value trust more than anything.”

“you know what’s ironic?” you sighed, pressing your forehead as pain began to form. “you didn’t trust me first and and we fought because you didn’t do that. and you didn’t trust me enough that you only told me what, like 50 percent of it?”

of course he knew what you referred to.

he was going to tell you the day he visited your cottage at camp. but he didn’t get to, because ten told him news ahead of him that it ruined the purpose to talk to you. it wasn’t that he blamed him, it was due to the fact he wasn’t prepared for something like that. even for something like this.

because there was that prophecy weighing on his shoulders.

“sungchan said that it has to directly come from you, so you better tell me now before our friendship falls out.” you warned and leaned back against the headboard.

currently your friendship was on the line, wobbling on tight ropes. pushing you further away would do no good.

jaehyun sat and his paws were dignified into a comfortable position. his head laid on a cushion pillow, facing towards you. “fine. most of my family turns into wild animals, and they couldn’t control themselves in that other form. their wildlife instincts overpowers their thoughts.” he yawned.

“and it’s different for me and sungchan. when we were born, when we had our first full transformation, they were shocked to know we turn into domestic animals. we’re able to remember, think and live as if we’re still humans. at the end, it’s either of us to stop the curse.”

“so why did your brother mention that you’re the most pressured? why did it only have to be you?” this time you spoke, there was more depth into your feelings if you spoke. as sungchan said, verbally was more sincere. “you could share the burden with him.”

he sighed at the tone of your voice. “isn’t it obvious? the role is immediately passed onto me not because i’m the first born.. it’s because you suddenly could talk to me.. telepathically.”

“yeah and we couldn’t even figure that one out yet.” you scoffed remembering the times you’ve placed your efforts on that matter and now it had gone all to waste. all because you both had that fight.

he read through your eyes and sensed the intention from your words. plus he hated how you delivered it with that certain tone. “i didn’t bring this up just to blame you for my own satisfaction!” he groaned. “i brought it up so that i can apologise! i was wrong, okay?! i should’ve listened to you instead of carelessly listening to ten-”

you refrained yourself from showing any further hurt. recalling it would only make you cry. “well you were manipulated with ten’s assumptions. you believed him more than me. he had proof while i didn’t. i was in the losing end! not like i expected you to change your mind. so can we just.. get this overwith and tell me what the prophecy is?”

he was speechless for a while. you being straight-forward yet in a pained voice was too much for him. he was already softening his feelings for you and you had to tense it all up again. “‘only one could save those who lay under the curse, for they must be in the correct peace of mind and body to break it before it turns for worse.’”

“and the ‘worse’ means you won’t transform back anymore?” you asked, the prophecy already piercing your heart as you waited for more explanation.

“that and..” he trailed off. “..we lose our humanity too. we won’t remember anything. memories erased like a snap of the finger. and we’ll just be.. another animal.”

you pushed yourself to sit up as your heart clenched tight. “jaehyun! why say it now and not before?”

“because! what is there for you to do-”

you squished the dog’s into a wrinkly mess, to the point jaehyun couldn’t see anything. his paws tried to put your arms down, but even clawing was hard for him to do. then he felt you lean forward to hug him. “y/n? what’re you doing?” you didn’t answer.

crap, this is warm. it feels.. nice. embarrassed, he put his thoughts at the back of his mind. “are you doing this out of pity? do i look that helpless-”

what crossed his mind was that you thought he needed a hug and was the only thing you could do. but you proved him wrong, so, so wrong. and why didn’t he realise it sooner in his life?

“you have to treat yourself like someone you love!”

what?

“you have to fill yourself with it! have you been thinking half-heartedly or do things half-assed because you’re different from people? do you not realise there are people who loves you? you trust them so less that you’re not confident into breaking the curse! because you didn’t really try!”

he froze in his stance, like a bullet pierced through his chest with how true your point was. he didn’t know what love was when his mother left the family. he didn’t dare to open up with his dad and brother, not his friends as for so long he didn’t do that one important thing— trust.

jaehyun thought he did that. he had enough encouragement but only to the level of content. he didn’t expect more as what else was there for people cursed like his family? “why are you so worried or do this much for me?”

“because no one actually helped you!” your arms tightened around him. “your friends were occupied into thinking that protecting you and your curse from others was the safest thing to do. it’s not! it just gets you self-conscious, conceited and too comfortable to not to do anything at all!” everything you said knocked down the pillars of his pride. he wasn’t at all living in humility if his friends did ever help.

“y/n we’re nothing more than friends. how could you be pushing yourself onto my problems-”

“i’m one of the people, jaehyun. don’t you get it now? i l-”

as if the phone line got cut off, he couldn’t hear the rest. you appeared like a television who lost its voice, however, somehow he knew what came after that. he didn’t want to admit it, after spending time with you at camp, he realised his heart felt the same.

you were quick to catch on. the golden retriever just stared at you, you couldn’t hear him as well. not even telepathically. jaehyun laid back down, ignored you and went to sleep. you nudged him, he wouldn’t move. you felt a swarm of blame towards him. if only he told you earlier, he wouldn’t be in this state where he was just another dog. mostly you blamed yourself for not taking the initiative first to fix things. you went along with your anger and his waiting game.

where did it get you? to this.

the one second revelation he heard from you and then fell into slumber, he was standing in front of himself, before a mirror. a series of himself switching from human to animal throughout the years. the glass cracked over his face. as if he entered a new world, he had to prepare mentally for what was to come.

instead he awoke like he only passed out from exhaustion. to only see you hugging your legs, head down with soft sobs and hiccups, he reached out for you yet hesitated. he checked the time, the golden hour was to arrive.

“y/n.” he called out in a low voice.

“no.” you mumbled. “i shouldn’t be hearing him.”

“but you really are, though.”

you shot your head up, tears rolling down your cheeks when you felt his touch— his large palms holding yours. he transformed, you had many questions as you thought it was too late.

confused and tired, you stared at him blankly. processing the guy before you took a whole minute to realise jaehyun transformed back. “is.. is this a joke?” you coughed and rubbed your tears. “i saw you faint- i saw how you lost the light in your eyes- i saw-”

he’s blushing. his ears are red.

jaehyun pulled you into an embrace, he caressed your head as if he held a newborn. “the curse broke around the time i realised i lacked self-care. it was the same time you said it too.”

looking back, he didn’t treat himself right since the beginning. he realised he shouldn’t have looked for a solution or someone to love him. he was the someone he was looking for, and should’ve reflected on himself than to rely too much on others.

“you’re still hugging me.” you said, stopping his trail of thoughts. you pat his back quickly and he was holding you tight. “you’re squeezing the oxygen out of me.”

“can’t i hold you longer? you’ve been so helpful even when i pushed you away. now i don’t really want to let go.” jaehyun whispered. he never felt something like this before— this urge to love someone. “what if the curse comes back when you go away?”

you felt your head bursting with temperatures your body was experiencing now. “you really have to let go!” clearing your throat, you tried to shove him away.

“no. don’t be stubborn.”

“don’t be clingy, clingy!”

“you want me to hug you though.”

“i do but- wait no that’s not- i-”

he squeezed your face between his hands. “you love me, don’t you. and you said i’m not loveable.” he teased and goodness his dimples shot you at the heart. you kicked him in the chest yet he leaned forwards, closer than usual. “i can feel your veins beating crazily.”

ah for crying out loud! “jung jaehyun.” you called him with a stern and plain voice. “get off me.”

“tsk i said i wouldn’t-”

“jaehyun you’re naked.”

hm? he pulled himself away from you, looked down and covered his lower body. ah heavens- “i’m sorr-”

a thud was heard by the door. you both turned heads to sleepy sungchan dropping a parcel delivered to jaehyun while holding a toothbrush with his mouth and prominent bed hair. “uh bro, this is-”

“dad! i think hyung’s in his mating season!”

“i’m so not!”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

because the curse was lifted and jaehyun made it happen, all those who fell under it soon experienced freedom and joy after years of agony and pain and fear. feelings opposite to them showered upon them that morning like spring rain.

you sat in between jaehyun and ten, who haven’t been talking to each since they fought over little things, mainly about you. ten still didn’t believe that you were jaehyun’s girlfriend, because he recalled you guys were not going to mend things.

“so that’s it? it’s so hard to believe. she just hugged you and the curse’s gone? even more so you’re both dating?”

“ten, c’mon dude.” kun brought out his fist to bump yours. “she’ll be hanging with us from now on. you have to stop being a stuck-up.”

ten shrugged in defeat and finally nodded in acceptance. “fine. i’ll let it go. i mean the curse’s broken won’t bother jae anymore.” he turned to you. “i’m sorry y/n. jae and i have been best friends since kindergarten. so it’s kinda a brotherly instinct to protect him. it just comes out.”

“you do seem like the leader of the pack.” you fiddled with jaehyun’s fingers while he draped his arm around you.

“i thought i was the leader?” kun sounded offended, but not entirely.

jaehyun remained quiet. he told everyone what had happened. however, there was still one question left unanswered. what was the telepathy about?

what did it have to do with you and him? he thought about that real hard. were you actually a missing piece in the prophecy or did he misunderstand it? there were a lot of possibilities, a lot of ideas coming up that maybe he figured it wrong. maybe you did contribute to the breaking of the curse-

“ah!” jungwoo exclaimed as flicked the paper back and forth. he proudly showed what he found, putting the pieces together. the paper was moving quickly that the pairs of eyes couldn’t focus or see anything. “i’ve been telling you guys since camp but you wouldn’t listen to me!”

you squinted your hardest to see the words. all you got from the sheet of paper scribbles and connecting lines. the boys started to fight for the so they could read the younger one forcibly shoved in front of their faces.

jungwoo wanted his friends to feel their pride stepped on them, and held on the paper. “read the prophecy again. i’m excited-”

“you being excited about these things is nothing new-” ten yelled, and kun covered his mouth at the loud volume.

“‘only one could save those who lay under the curse, for they must be in the correct peace of mind and body to break it before it turns for worse.’ guys, it’s already hinted in it!” he pointed at the parts he was scribbling on earlier.

he expounded the prophecy was a little misleading. it wasn’t being literal about the right mind and body. they were the results of the having the correct heart, as the two would only be affected greatly if not for the heart.

jungwoo scooted next to you. “y/n, you weren’t only the key to solving it. you were the only person who gave him that push and made him realise he should love himself for who he was. you gave him that peace of mind because you are the heart. as we all know, the mind and body can’t function without the heart.”

“that sounds sweet?” kun blushed even though he wasn’t supposed to.

“yeah sure but the telepathy happening at the same time with my curse was just a coincidence though?” jaehyun asked.

“onto my next point!” jungwoo drew on the paper again. “i realised you told us before that only family members of the same curse can talk to each other telepathically.”

jaehyun’s brows only furrowed narrower. “which doesn’t make sense because she’s not part of my family.”

jungwoo grinned widely, it almost made you nervous but if it was coming from jungwoo, it always had to be something good. “not even us lads can even talk to you with our minds though we’re close like brothers. what if it’s a sign that she will be part of your family? even if the curse’s broken, it still proves my point that you were soulmates all along.”

somehow you knew it was headed to this. what jungwoo’s saying was similar to your hunch. you weren’t confident as he was because at the time, the curse wasn’t lifted. now that it was, you never knew you were actually right.

jaehyun shrunk in his seat after hearing jungwoo’s theory. he looked at you; who was now giggling with the others. he never thought you were his soulmate, it never crossed his mind. you appeared in his life as a shadow at first, before you resurfaced and made it a roller coaster ride. it was an eye opener for him too, you loved him for who he was, his flaws— that being the curse. although there were frequent bickers, that didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy or hate them. he was afraid you’d leave after knowing his transformation.

you didn’t. you stayed. not because you were forced to just to keep his secret, you stayed since you said you’d help. and that lifted weight off of his shoulders. colours came into view more spirited, clouded thoughts in his head faded and everything he heard that were once muffled became clear. he had to compare it like he was reborn.

in the end, you were still beside him, adjacent to him.

[antebunny]

never fear, your fairy godmother is here!

(It's Wei Wuxian. He's the fairy godmother)

Wei Wuxian is riding high off a difficult case finally closed when the next call comes through. He’s staring aimlessly into the beautiful delta waters of Lotus Pier with Jiang Cheng when the tingling begins, a familiar sensation somewhere in his chest that tells him that somewhere is a worthy human in need of a guide for their happy ever after.

“–So then I thought, well what am I supposed to do? She doesn’t want a lover or a partner, but her future isn’t fame or riches either.”

Wei Wuxian isn’t sure that Jiang Cheng is actually listening to him, but he’s very proud of himself, so Jiang Cheng can suck it up. He’s used to finding his new charges in difficult and tragic circumstances, but he’s rarely found someone in quite such a sticky situation as poor Qin Su.

“And she insists that she doesn’t have someone in mind,” Wei Wuxian continues. “So you know what I did?”

“Uh-huh,” Jiang Cheng says vaguely, because he’s not listening at all. “Very cool.” He’s not a very good brother, Jiang Cheng. Well, they’re not related, but they also weren’t really born, they just kind of exist, so Wei Wuxian doesn’t worry too much about it.

“I found her a whole team!” Wei Wuxian finishes proudly. “I got a doctor from Qishan, who was looking to get away from her family, and her little brother, and a top disciple from Lanling, and boom! Team of four! That’s a family right there. They’re going to be friends for life.”

“Do you ever consider not boasting about yourself?” Jiang Cheng wonders out loud.

“Hey,” Wei Wuxian objects. “I’ll have you know I’m the number one fairy godmother!”

Jiang Cheng merely rolls his eyes. “As you haven’t stopped saying for the past hundred years.”

“Well, it’s–” Wei Wuxian stops mid-sentence and puts one hand behind him on the wooden planks of the boardwalk so he doesn’t collapse when his stomach rolls.

“Another one?” Jiang Cheng demands. “So soon?”

“I’m in high demand,” Wei Wuxian says weakly.

“But jiejie and I have spent all day making a celebratory dinner,” Jiang Cheng says, dismayed. Then he corrects himself. “I mean, jiejie’s spent all day making dinner for us! Do you want to disappoint her? Do you?!”

Wei Wuxian stands up. If he wasn’t still flushed with success, if only he’d listened to the odd, twisting sensation that said this was not a normal case of a damsel in need of true love, perhaps he would’ve stayed. Perhaps none of what followed would have happened. But perhaps it was always destined to happen.

“I’ll be back before dinner,” Wei Wuxian declares foolishly, and vanishes.

He appears in a thematically dark and twisted forest near sundown. The wind is whispering ominously through the leaves. Wei Wuxian pushes aside a branch in order to enter the clearing from which an ugly sobbing sound is coming from. It must be his new client.

By the light of the dying sun, Wei Wuxian can make out a hunched form dressed in fine white robes. The crying is quiet, but the person’s back shudders. They seem to be holding something. Wei Wuxian takes a moment to adjust. A great pair of black and red butterfly wings appear on his back. Humans more readily accept that he’s capable of inhuman feats if there’s something inhuman (but non threatening) about him. He usually goes for crow or raven wings, but he thinks the current setting might be a little inappropriate for that. Many of Wei Wuxian’s fellow fairy godmothers also opt for fancy robes, but Wei Wuxian’s never really felt comfortable with them.

Wei Wuxian clears his throat. “Hello,” he calls.

The man–because it is a man, Wei Wuxian quickly realizes, with a beauty he’s come to expect from his clients, and a cultivator’s sword–whirls around. He hasn’t got a very expressive face, but Wei Wuxian has spent hundreds of years around people. His client’s eyes are wild, disbelieving. He’s got a Lan ribbon on his forehead, one of the inner clan, if Wei Wuxian isn’t mistaken, and he never is. There are two tear tracks running down his cheeks, but he doesn’t seem to notice.

Wei Wuxian steps closer. His new client staggers to his feet and looks away, but whatever he was holding or looking at is gone. When he looks back at Wei Wuxian, there’s an awestruck look of recognition on his face. Wei Wuxian grins, pleased to see that his influence has reached the ears of humans.

The man takes one shaky step forward. He seems to be trying to drink in Wei Wuxian’s presence, soak him in just by looking at him. Wei Wuxian can’t blame him. He is very impressive.

On that thought, Wei Wuxian spreads his arms wide. “Never fear, mortal! Your hour of distress has come to an end!” Above their heads, a cloud drifts away and allows the moon to beam through, bathing Wei Wuxian with soft light. “It is I, Wei Wuxian, your fairy godmother!”

Now his client is just staring at him blankly. Wei Wuxian’s grin falters. He lowers his arms and clears his throat. “Perhaps you didn’t h–”

“What’s a fairy godmother?” The client interrupts.

Really?

Wei Wuxian sighs. “I am in charge of finding you a happy ending, in whatever form that may take,” he answers.

He waits another beat. This is usually where his clients start thanking him.

The man does not look very impressed. “How does that involve butterfly wings?”

“I–!” Wei Wuxian starts, very offended and very taken aback. “I…thought they would be less threatening than crow wings?”

The man stares at him. Wei Wuxian vanishes the wings with a thought.

“Well, if you have a preference, just let me know,” Wei Wuxian grumbles sulkily. “I am at your service, after all.”

“That is unnecessary,” the man says flatly. The tears haven’t dried but he’s composed himself. He turns away from Wei Wuxian deliberately.

“What do you mean?” Wei Wuxian asks, chasing his client through the clearing when the cultivator starts to walk away.

“I am not in need of your help,” the ungrateful bastard says.

“Wh–! Yes, you are!” Wei Wuxian argues. “I wouldn’t be here if there weren’t a worthy damsel in distress in need of my services.”

At that term damsel in distress the man turns and gives him a withering, wintry glare. It’s under-cut by a deep well of loss, pain, and sadness that Wei Wuxian is convinced he can see on his client’s face. And to the rejection of damsel of distress, he can only shrug. It’s true.

“I’ll have you know I am the top fairy godmother,” Wei Wuxian says, in reply to the glare, as pretentiously as he can. “For the past hundred years. I have never failed a client. Whatever it is you want, true love, honor, treasure, a kingdom, I can find it for you. I promise you I have seen it all before.”

His client finally stops running away from him. Wei Wuxian saunters up to him. “If it’s love you’re worrying about, people are less narrow-minded than you think. There’s bound to be someone out there who’s exactly who you’re looking for. Well, most of them. Actually, my clients are sometimes a little narrow-minded. One of them specifically requested that I find a true love for him that had never been turned into an animal. A little narrow-minded, don’t you think?”

At this point, Wei Wuxian is up in his face, and his client is starting to look a little overwhelmed. Wei Wuxian backs up, gives him a little space. The Lan cultivator turns to look at the spot in the clearing where he’d been kneeling before Wei Wuxian showed up.

“Can you bring back the dead?” His client asks abruptly.

Wei Wuxian falters. “That’s–ehhh, that’s a, uh, gray area. Kind of depends. I’m going to lean towards no. Yeah, feels like a no. No necromancy here. I have definitely never done that before.”

The righteous Lan cultivator actually has the nerve to look disappointed in him. “Then I have no use for you,” he says stiffly, and starts to walk away again.

“Okay, hold up!” Wei Wuxian splutters, hurrying after him. The man does not hold up, forcing Wei Wuxian to keep pace through the dark forest. It’s no problem for Wei Wuxian, but rather rude, all things considered. “How rude! Here I am offering to solve your life’s problems and you question my abilities–you know I once created a whole celestial mountain for one of my clients–hey! Think of my reputation,” he begs, when his rude client continues to walk away. “I have never, ever failed a client before. Think of how it would look if one of my clients just walked away! Just give me a chance. Please. Please?”

His runaway client finally stops running away, right in a thicket of trees. Wei Wuxian almost bumps into him.

“This is important to you?” His client asks finally, without looking back.

“Oh yes, very,” Wei Wuxian knows immediately, because that’s the thing about his clients. They’re all good people, whether they’d like to admit it or not. The only people who like to help more than them are the fairy godmothers. “It would make me very happy to make you happy.”

The man’s shoulders relax ever-so slightly. “Very well.”

“Yes!” Wei Wuxian fist-pumps. He glances up at the moon, reminding himself that humans have to do things like eat and sleep. “Okay, first things first, I’ll get you home,” he decides. “Tomorrow we can–”

“I have no home,” his new client interrupts in a dispassionate tone that suggests this subject has one too many emotions for him to handle.

Wei Wuxian raises an eyebrow internally and thinks of his Lan clan ribbon, but says nothing. He merely mentally files this client into the hundreds of lost-their-home clients that have come before him. There’s no telling why his new client lost his home. Usually they tell Wei Wuxian about their woes willingly, without Wei Wuxian having to beg them to burden him with their problems. But there’s a whole host of solutions to the no-home problem, exactly none of which Wei Wuxian can think of when the man reaches up and pulls his forehead ribbon off with trembling fingers.

“Um,” Wei Wuxian warbles. He averts his eyes from the now bare forehead. Later he’ll chalk it up to the difficulty in acquiring this client and the subsequent need to prove his powers that leads him to suggest: “W-what about my house?”

His client turns to face him. He looks a little shocked, but mostly confused.

“I live in the heavenly Lotus Pier,” Wei Wuxian says grandly. Well, he tries to say it grandly, but it comes out matter-of-fact. “I’ve got plenty of room. And you needn’t worry about politics up there.”

Slowly, his client nods, his face unreadable.

“Great,” Wei Wuxian says brightly. He reaches for his client’s hand, ignores the scandalized look he receives, and vanishes both of them to Lotus Pier.

They appear in a pavilion at the end of one of the many boardwalks. Enormous pastel lotus flowers dot the still waters. In the distance, the still waters cascade into a roaring waterfall that pours off the edge of the heavens. Above them, the sun is setting. Wei Wuxian’s client is winded from the sudden travel, so Wei Wuxian doesn’t let go of his hand. The scent of fresh water and spice sets in.

When the client steadies himself, Wei Wuxian tugs him out of the pavilion. The human’s eyes widen as the halls of Lotus Pier come into view, and Wei Wuxian smirks to himself. That’s the only reason why he’s sad that humans don’t come to Lotus Pier. He’d love a chance to show off his home more.

His client is still trying to take in the magnificent sloping roofs, the purple clouds and the dusk orange sky, when Wei Wuxian urges him into a walk.

“Come on,” Wei Wuxian says, still smiling widely. “We’ll be late for dinner.”