#.and he just has like a table with 6 bonsai on it

[everyneji]

[the-bar-sinister]

In Justice We Trust (149799 words) by thesavagesabretooth

catch up here

With Simon Blackquill and Athena Cykes assigned as their psychologists, the Phantom and Fulbright must grapple with their identity, their deeds, their future, and their love for the twisted samurai whom they betrayed.

All the while, Edgeworth and Wright find their relationship tested as they walk the narrow path between pursuing real justice, and the dark age of the law.

-

December 25, 6:25 pm

"You probably weren't expecting to see me again today," Robert said as he stepped back into the cell. “Not one bit…but I didn’t expect Agent Ash to walk in with some girl, gawk at me for five minutes and leave without saying a word either.” A wry smile crossed her face. “...it’s a day of surprises.” 

"I have another one for you," he said, shrugging easily. "Consider it some information in return for the information you shared with us."

Bonsai souls. Bobby couldn't stop thinking about it in the background. People twisted up and pruned while they're raised until even their soul is small…

His wave of emotion hit Robert, who tried to shrug it off. Bonsai are very attractive, anyway.

24 attempted to lean forward and onto her hands, only for the short chain on her cuffs to stop her short before her hands could reach her chin. She dropped backwards again with a huff.

“An exchange for the information I gave? That’s…novel…Please…surprise away.” 

"It's about a personal experience I've been having," he explained. "An unusual one. Over the past year, I started hearing voices. A voice, rather. And experienced impulses that I had difficulty controlling."

They watched her face carefully as they spoke.

24’s expression, to anyone else, would have seemed unchanging in its neutral mask…but Robert knew better than anyone how to spot it. Her pupils constricted, her shoulders squared minutely…a surprised downturn of her lips that was only barely aborted.

She was surprised to hear him say it out loud.

“That’s..odd.” she managed to murmur. “Voices and impulses inside your head would be troublesome to hear…and troublesome to the mission.” 

"Extremely troublesome, in fact," he said. "Many if not all of these impulses were either completely pointless, or entirely counter to the mission. They became more difficult to ignore the longer they went on. They also seemed to develop their own identity."

Her fingers flexed in the air before they balled into fists, and her gaze broke off his and turned down towards the table. “So what’d you do to the voice? How’d you make it stop?” 

He shook his head. "I was not able to do such a thing. Eventually, I stopped trying. Since my capture five days ago, I've been evaluated based on this experience by both a psychologist and a spirit medium."

“No wonder you’ve been so erratic.” 24 mused quietly. She still wouldn’t meet his eyes, and her fidgeting only got worse. It was a dangerous habit for a clandestine asset…but likely a pleasant quirk for a young agent of interpol. “A spirit medium? A psychologist I can understand…” 

"There happened to be one on site, and it seemed prudent." He slid his hands performatively into his pockets. "The voice has, after all, repeatedly claimed to be the ghost of the last man I had killed."

You know, Robert. For a man who doesn't have strong emotions or enjoy a lot of things, you sure like putting on a show.

Robert almost smiled. It's what I know, Bobby.

“Hh… “ the quiet sigh of breath was slight, but present, as was the faint trace of a grimace on 24’s face. “Scary. Real ghost story stuff.” she murmured blandly “but ghosts are as real as true sympathy.” Her head tilted to the side “...though we did talk about that earlier, didn’t we?” 

"We did indeed. These people believe many strange things." The edge of his lip quirked just barely upward. "It's the medium's professional opinion that my soul is too small, so it's the perfect space for a ghost to move in. What a funny thing to say, isn't it?" “Your soul is too small…so a spirit moved in. Like what–you were a mouse living alone in a huge apartment?” Her voice took on a trace more life for a moment, and there was almost a laugh before it smoothed into the same slight grimace as before. “Do we even have souls?” 

Like a mouse living in a huge apartment. I like that metaphor, Robert.

Because it's as ridiculous as you were.

I think you're kind of enjoying it.

"It is the medium's professional opinion that we do. And I witnessed what I have to confess was a fairly convincing demonstration." “Well…if souls are real, I have little doubt ours are as small as she says.”She spread her fingers with a bland and empty smile. She paused a moment. “...the young lady. That was the medium? The one who screamed when the door was closing?” 

"That's correct."

Oh no… did she hear all of us laughing, too?

No, Bobby, the cell is soundproofed.“She seemed nice,” 24 had started to say. “Sorry I…” The sentence stopped partway through and she shook her head subtly before speaking again.

“So why are you telling me about the size of our souls? You think the voice you’re hearing is Bobby Fulbright? Mr. ‘In Justice We Trust’, the hero of Justitia?” She laughed quietly “You did make a convincing performance while I was observing you from afar.” 

He laced his fingers behind his back and smiled. "I'm convinced of it, yes. And I'm sure that's why I did such a good job on such a long assignment, which I was put on with the expectation that I would fail. My psychologist says that whether the voice is psychological or supernatural in origin, she thinks it's– healthy, for me." “Your psychologist– the pretty redhead, yeah?” ” she trailed off, and her eyes downcast again. “...we were both put on assignments we were never meant to succeed in, weren’t we? But the voice in your head carried you through. Is that why it’s healthy? Because it helped you survive?” 

"Because he helped me survive," he agreed, "and because he helps me adapt and understand the real world, and the people in it. How they feel, and… how I feel, even."

Robert! I'm touched!!

Please don't cry right now, Bobby. Not in front of her…

He couldn't stop himself from tearing up at the corner of their eyes.

Her shoulders had started to shake. 

“They way they feel is…concerning, 1—” she cut off the number and murmured “Mr. Halblicht.” The fidget of her fingers began again as she continued. “I’ve been hearing things too. It started small…”

He stepped near her, and knelt down beside her again. "But it's getting bigger?" 24 nodded, taking a deep breath. “Yes. It started with little things, like knowing a waitress’ name at the restaurant. Or the nagging…devotion and respect towards Agent Ash and her circle…a craving for fresh coffee.” She turned to look at him, watching him with her careful gray eyes. “things like that…the knowledge that Kelso would flirt on a crime scene, often with girls. I thought it was just good fortune and good guesswork, but it’s only getting bigger.” She shifted. “She wanted to cry earlier.” 

Bobby rubbed their neck awkwardly as he surged to the front. "I'll bet she did. It's a tough situation for a person to be in… Uh. Hi. It's Bobby." 24 reacted like a life wire had sparked at her fingertips, and she turned her pinpricked eyes towards him before she swiftly relaxed.

 “...” Her head bowed slightly. “...hello, Bobby.” she murmured. “enjoying the spacious apartment?” 

He grinned awkwardly at her and wrung his hands together. "Well, you know, I've kind of made myself comfortable. Hung up some new curtains, put my feet up. I got unexpectedly kicked out of my last apartment, so… now I'm crashing with this guy!" She laughed, actually laughed–or perhaps Kelso did, considering the look of muted surprise that crossed her face. “Ahh…ahhahh..hahh..” she tried to raise a hand to wipe near her eyes, only to be stopped by the cuffs. “Wow. Sounds comfortable.” Her voice wavered strangely, unsure and thick with the confusion that seemed to break through her otherwise cold and composed affect. 

"Well, you know. No roommate situation is perfect," he admitted with a chuckle. "But we've started getting along. He can do stuff I can't, I can do stuff he can't, you know?" 24 composed herself, murmuring quietly. “Mutually beneficial.” She tried to look at him again, not seeming to be aware of the start of tears in the corners of her eyes. “Sam Wan Kelso is an emotional woman…even if she plays it casual and amused. Even right now I can feel her trying to reach out… she’s scared that I’ll try and erase her.” 

"You can reassure her that even if she left, she would still exist," Bobby said gently. "But I think if she wants to stay, that you should keep her. I think you'd be stronger together." 

Carefully, he put his hand on hers–theirs. Her fingers twitched, but swiftly relaxed. 

“Stronger together, huh?” A slight twitch flickered across her lips before she smiled Kelso’s lazy little grin “It’s a big apartment but it could use a little TLC, Bobby. I don’t think I…” Her voice evened out “...she…is keen on leaving. ‘It’s not like my body’s in any shape to return to’ she says. Besides...she’s angry at our handlers, too.” 

He squeezed their hand very gently. "I bet. Me too. So let's bring them to justice together, alright? The four of us– and everyone else." “The four of us…” 24 murmured quietly, before she nodded and turned her hand as much as she could to squeeze back “alright, sir. I’m…interested…in what we can do. You’ll have Sam Wan and my help…on a single condition.” 

"Name it." 24 scoffed softly “...she’s been whining for a cup of ‘good black coffee’ for hours” 

Bobby grinned and snapped into a peppy salute. "One good black coffee, coming up!"

December 25, 6:40 pm

Halblicht and Simon had remained at the precinct to discuss the case for longer with interpol, while Athena, Apollo, and Pearl had gone back to the hotel.

The car ride was quiet, with Pearl sleepy, and Apollo and Clay's emotions finally calmed to something less than a raging tumult. The anger had finally settled to a low, keening anxiety.

Athena took to looking out the window when the light conversation turned into a complete lull, reflecting back over the day so far…from the startling conversations, the confirmation of ghosts and multiple possessions, to the long and heartfelt conversation with her mother. Her own emotions weighed heavily on her in a way she couldn’t really comprehend. So she sat with them, reliving the moment her mother told her she was proud of the woman she became in her mind as she turned over the many twists her life had taken until this point… Apollo was on a timeline. They had a dead Interpol agent in custody sharing a body and mind with her killer. Her mother was ‘asleep’ in death and not ready to move on to heaven or a new life… And Simon and Halblicht had repaired their relationship. Things had changed so much, yet in some ways they seemed to be returning to normal. At least there was that. A merry Christmas could be had…maybe she’d buy herself a slice of cake. 

When they got back to the hotel, Athena’s first order of business was taking Pearl to her room to rest. Apollo had followed along with them.

"Thanks, Miss Athena," Pearl said as they stood at the door. She flashed a bright, if tired smile, to all of them. Athena could tell that she was honestly happy, even with how wrung out she was. "And you too Mr. Apollo. And company. I'm gonna call up some room service and call it a night." “That sounds like a pretty relaxing Christmas to me!” Athena chuckled gently with a bright smile. “Rest up okay? And thanks for all your help, you did great!” 

"Thanks!" she giggled and saluted. "You guys have a great rest of Christmas too, okay?"

Apollo gave a slow thumbs up. "Will do, kid. Hey– do me a favor and tell Trucy I'd like to talk to her. If not tonight, tomorrow."

"Promise!"

There was a little round of hugs and thank yous again, and Pearl slipped into her hotel room. Athena put her hands on her hips. 

“Alright. That’s that…which means I need to figure out how we’re gonna spend the rest of the night.” She tilted her head to the side “...my usual Christmas tradition’s kinda shot, but I’m sure we’ll find something.” 

"If you're looking for an offer, we could grab some dinner," Apollo– or could it be Clay?-- offered. Athena had a lot more trouble distinguishing the two of them than she did Bobby and Robert, despite the fact that she had known Apollo at least for much longer. "Unless you were planning on waiting until Prosecutor Blackquill gets back." “...I mean, I was hoping to talk with him tonight, yeah..” She started brushing her fingers through her ponytail, and chuckled. “But he’s probably gonna be busy for a while between the Interpol business and other matters…and I don’t think Ema would be pleased if she walked in on me eating a cake by myself and watching old sci-fi movies and historical dramas…given that she probably just wants to collapse for the night.” She smiled “..honestly I’d love some dinner?” 

"Let's get some dinner, then, Athena." He slapped her companionably on the shoulder. "Even if I have more on my mind than when we usually do. Twice as much, even."

The attempt at humor was genuine, but it only barely masked his internal confusion. Athena laughed. 

“I think you’ve been hanging around the Blackquills and my mother too much, guys…you’ve already picked up the sense of humor.” She stuck her tongue out “hopefully it doesn’t make ordering extra annoying, huh?” 

"As if you get to pick on me for hanging out too much with a Blackquill," he teased back. 

“I do, because …” She thought for a minute before she grinned. “because I can.”

"Anyway…" He huffed a laugh and waved for her to follow him down the hall as he started working. "I wouldn't worry about the food thing, honestly. It never even occurred to me…" She followed alongside him with a curious tilt of her head. “Really? I think having two people in there would make choosing a meal…you know…complicated.”

"Apollo and I mostly like the same foods," he answered. "His tastes are maybe a little broader than mine because of all the time he spent in uh–"

Clay seemed to suddenly realize that he was the one doing the talking, and trailed off as Athena felt his embarrassment spike.

Athena tilted her head to the side. “Hmm? Hey Clay.” She stretched, arching her back as she walked down the hall, “don’t worry…don’t get too embarrassed, okay?” 

He glanced over at her with an apologetic smile. "It's hard not to. I'm not supposed to be here, you know? Talking out of Apollo's mouth– admitting that I'm here– it feels like breaking a taboo." Athena nodded. 

“I kinda get that. It feels…I dunno, invasive? LIke you’re telling a secret that you weren’t supposed to?” She rubbed her neck “but I think it’s fine you’re here. Good , even…and I’m gonna treat you like anyone else, sharing a body or no, okay? Just uh…if I don’t notice right away, forgive me. It’s much easier with Robert and Bobby. They’re a little obvious.”

"That makes sense," he nodded. She could feel a spike of anger at the mention of Robert, but it was small, and confused with other feelings. "It's kind of nice in a way. Confirmation on something we always knew– how alike we are."

They made their way down toward the dining room, and even though there were few people around, his voice dropped even lower. “You two really are close, aren’t you?” Athena asked with a smile. “I used to always see you around the Cosmos center with one another…It’s nice to know you stayed close…stayed similar like that.” 

They chuckled softly. "Yeah, we stayed very close. We were a big part of each other's lives ever since we met."

In the restaurant, they waved Athena to a table far in the corner. Athena followed eagerly…she wasn’t exactly looking to be the center of the restaurant’s attention, so the corner table suited her fine. “Which was back in jr. High School, right?” 

"Yeah. We were maybe 12, you know? So it's been most of our lives." They settled down uncomfortably in the chair across from her. It would have been clear to Athena how anxious they were even without her special talents. “Most of your lives is right.” Athena smiled at them, leaning on her hand. “...it’s good that you’ve got a friend like that. The both of you…me and Junie were like that once before I ah, vanished.” She brushed her hair over her ear “Hey, Clay. Like I said to Apollo, if you ever have anything on your mind, you can talk about it with me, no judgment.”

He leaned on his hands and shrugged. "I appreciate that. I mean, we've still got each other, in a way, but… it's different. The way it's different hurts, you know?" “Because you can’t be there physically for one another anymore? You were close, but now you’re…well. Close in a different way?” 

"We are," he nodded. "It's funny, it's already sometimes hard to tell where one of us ends and the other one begins, until we happen on one of those little points of difference that makes it obvious. We've been thinking… talking about that, since hearing…. the news."

“About how you’re going to grow…together?” Athena asked, “if you don’t leave?” 

They nodded. "Yeah. That. Kind of a heavy thing, huh?" “Incredibly heavy.” Athena agreed as she brushed her fingers through her hair with a concerned hum. “Especially with it being on an unsure timetable with a pretty permanent deadline.” 

"Yeah," he breathed. She watched him lay his hands flat on the table. His fingers were trembling. "Knowing that it's real… that ghosts… that souls exist… it helps. It seems like we could… move on. I could get reincarnated or whatever. Maybe have another shot at going to space. But… we'd probably never see each other again."

Their voice was thick, the sorrow in it heavy and obvious, pulsating in and out with anxiety. Athena listened quietly, before she reached out and placed her hand atop his. “And that gives you both anxiety…hurts you both to think about, right?” She smiled weakly at him. “It's both a comfort and a pain at the same time. Ghosts are real…you’re real, but the idea of moving on and missing one another is hard to face, yeah?” 

Clay nodded, running his fingers nervously through their hair. "It's scary. It hurts. If I left, right now, and came back– he'd be 24 years older than me. If he recognized me. If I recognized him. If his life still had room for me. If we hadn't both changed beyond–"

Tears had beaded up in their eyes and spilled over across their cheeks. Clay stopped talking abruptly, and Athena watched them put their arms around themselves tightly again.

"Hey, hey hey, no–" when they spoke again Athena knew it was Apollo. "Of course we'd know each other…" Athena bit her lip, her hands folding together on the tabletop. She’d reached out to try putting a comforting hand on their shoulder, but when they moved to hug themselves, it faltered and rested on the tabletop instead. “You two really do love one another,don’t you?” she asked in a quiet voice. 

"Guess the secret's out," Apollo murmured. He sniffled and wiped their eyes, grabbing a napkin to mop up the tears. "Sorry, Athena. We're a mess." Athena’s eyes were welling up with sympathetic tears “it’s okay..I mean…it..it’s been a hell of a week Apollo. Sorry…I, I could tell whenever you talked about him. I just didn’t want to say…” 

"Yeah." He took a shuddering breath and tried to still their tears. He gave her a wan smile, his sadness tinged with embarrassment. "Probably wasn't as subtle as I should have been the last week or so. Did a good job keeping it out of the office though, I guess. Trucy was shocked when I told her." “I think you did a pretty good job, even if it’s sad you felt you had to..” Athena gave him a sympathetic grin. “I could only tell because I could hear the emotions in your voice…it’s no wonder Trucy was taken by surprise.” 

"Yeah," he nodded again. "Can't hide anything from you, huh, Athena? Thanks for being understanding." “It’s my blessing and my curse.” she chuckled quietly before she shook her head. “...I get it. I understand it…love is complicated, especially when souls, the living and the dead are entwined…it’s only natural to feel difficult emotions at this time..” ” 

"I don't know what we're gonna do, Athena. The idea of letting go is so hard. But Clay keeps worrying about 'ruining' me, or 'taking over my life'. " “Are you worried he’ll ‘ruin you’ or take over your life?” Athena asked as she leaned on her hands. “Either way…you have time. A year, at least, to try and sort through your feelings on it. You can take a little time to process this.” 

"I'm not worried about it at all," he said. His voice was shaking and he dabbed at his eyes with the wet napkin again. "I know you probably don't have a lot of experience with love yet, Athena, but sometimes when you're together, there's a moment when you're close– laying in bed, or watching the stars, or just holding each other– and it feels like there's absolutely nothing separating the two of you at all. I think… maybe it would be like that. Forever."

He twisted the abused napkin back and forth in his fingers as he spoke. Tears rolled down Athena’s face as she stifled a soft hiccup…both the backwash of Apollo’s emotions, and the description tugging at the strange beat of her heart. It was beautiful, it was heartbreaking how much they loved one another. It was true, she didn’t have much experience with love…not direct experience, not yet…but she could understand the sentiment as it pounded in her chest. “Beautiful.” She whispered “that’s…that’s beautiful, Apollo…m-maybe it would be.”

He bobbed his head bashfully and gave her a teary smile. "Thanks, Athena. A-anyway, you're right. No matter what happens, we have time. It's not something that's going to happen or not right now." “Exactly.” She sniffed again, and wiped at her eyes. “For now…just try to relax knowing you’ve got one another in there..and…and take it one step at a time. I’m gonna support you with everything I’ve got…” 

"It means a lot." He reached across the table for her hand this time. "I feel like we… sure learned a lot in the last couple of hours." She took his hand and gave it a firm squeeze “We did, a whole heck of a lot, really…ghosts, my mother, Kelso, you and Clay…we actually met Miss Mia, the legend of the office…” 

"We sure did," he said, squeezing her hand back in turn. "I feel like I can see the impact she had on the boss, just from those few minutes. But…" “But…?” Athena tilted her head to the side.

He shook his head, hand still entwined with hers. He murmured quietly. "What she said about them– the spies, the 'assets'-- that was…. pretty fucked up." Athena nodded slowly. 

“Y-yeah.” she bit her lip “I’ll be honest that’s basically what I was getting too…what was done to them, it was done to make them as little of a person someone could be before they simply perished. It’s…it’s no surprise it makes them perfect hosts for sharing space with a spirit.” Her voice cracked softly, hushed and low so nobody could hear but them. “They’re tragic…genuine victims in all this…I got the sense when I talked to Robert for the first time…and then later saw that interview with 24…” 

"We're still angry," they said. "I don't know if we're ever not going to be but– the idea that they literally had their souls broken by what they went through? I don't– I can't even comprehend it. You can tell the Ph– you can tell Halblicht that he doesn't have to worry about us coming after her again or anything. Especially since he's got the real Fulbright in there breathing down his neck." “I’ll tell him..” Athena squeezed his hand as more tears began to drop down her already tear-streaked face. Her breath shuddered. “I can’t blame you for being angry, he took a lot from you but.. It was bad enough when I thought it was just his mind that was broken…but these people are pruning and shattering souls to …to make weapons they can point and shoot. There’s no justice in that…no possible excuse they could make to justify it. It’s…it’s inhuman.” She sniffed “...I like Robert, Apollo. I’m sorry, but he…I want to see him become a person in his own right, and for Bobby to help him find balance.” 

Their hand trembled against hers, but they squeezed her hand again.

"I can't say I get it, Athena, but, I guess that's good. Maybe it'll help make sure no one else suffers the way we did because of him. And hopefully we can get to the top of the chain, and shut the whole thing down." Athena nodded. 

“With his help, and…and Miss Kelso, or 24’s help? I think we can manage…we have to.” She smiled nervously at him as her fingers gave his hand a tight squeeze. “He won’t hurt anyone else…and neither will that horrible organization by the time we’re done with them.” 

"Good. That's all we can ask. And you'll have our help to do it."

She smiled at them. “Thanks guys. I care about you a lot. So…let’s help one another till the bitter end.” She snapped a salute. “Nobody's a match for us!” 

December 25, 7:15 pm

When they were done at the precinct, to Halblict's surprise, Simon had declined a ride back to the hotel from Agent Badd and called a taxi himself instead.

"I'm hungry," he growled. "And I'd prefer to avoid the hotel restaurant tonight. Besides…"

Simon gave them an appraising look, with a sly smile on his face.

Robert had no idea what he might be thinking. "Besides?"

"We've never been on a proper date– have we? And no– the aquarium doesn't quite count."

The sudden rush of joy and excitement from Bobby practically knocked Robert over in their shared mental space as he rushed forward.

"A date, Simon?" Bobby grinned, leaning shoulder to shoulder with him with stars in his eyes as they walked out of the precinct.. "You don't think… that'll be a problem?"

Simon leaned against the exterior of the building just outside the reach of the streetlamps as he waited for their taxi to arrive, and Bobby went to lean beside him, cocking his head curiously.

"I don't see why it would be?" Simon shrugged. "We don't have any pressing reason to get back to the hotel immediately."

Bobby shifted uncomfortably. "Ah, I more meant…"

I can't believe you're still uncomfortable with this, Bobby.

I know it doesn't make a difference to you, Robert, but I was raised to believe it wasn't done, you know? It's looked down on for a man and another man to be… seen being intimate.

And I was trained to understand that homosexual desire was a significant, if taboo reality, and how to use that behavior to my advantage. Do you believe that either of the things we were taught are correct?

Well…I mean…

"Meant what, Fool Bright?" Simon snapped, and for a second Bobby thought that he had somehow overheard his internal conversation, before he remembered where he'd trailed off.

He flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "You wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen out with me, sir? Given that we're both men?"

Simon scoffed loudly, and Taka made a startled noise on his arm. "Bobby, you being a man isn't even in the top three reasons to be embarrassed to be seen out with you."

Bobby flushed even brighter. "Sir…"

He's got you there, doesn't he?

Simon leaned over, shoulder to shoulder with the two of them. "I'm joking, detective. Obviously I'm not embarrassed to be around you. Do I strike you as a man who has any shame whatsoever?" 

Bobby laughed softly. "I don't know how to answer that, sir," he said, nervously wringing his hands together.

"The answer is that I am not, detective. I don't give a damn what speculation or assumptions people make about me, right or wrong. What matters to me is who I am, not how people perceive me. But if the two of you would prefer not to be perceived, I suppose I can accommodate you."

Bobby could tell that Simon wasn't pleased with the idea, and while he was feeling ashamed of it, Robert rushed past him.

"No." Robert's voice was thick with firm insistence that Bobby rarely felt from him, and he put his arm around Simon.

Simon raised his eyebrow, his lips drawn. "Robert?" he hesitated.

He nodded. "Yes, it's me. Bobby was raised with a lot of shame around homosexual relationships. I have no such compunction, as you might expect. So I'm not interested in changing your preferred behavior."

Simon leaned back against him, but frowned. "I'd rather not make Bobby uncomfortable, either."

"I'm not uncomfortable, per se," Bobby murmured. His fingers ran up and down Simon's arm as he fidgeted. "I just don't have any experience with openly dating."

It's not as if I have any experience with it either, Bobby.

"Well, it's easy enough to ask your preference then," Simon huffed. "Would you like to have experience openly dating, or would you prefer to preserve your reputation?"

He flushed hotly. "It's not as if I really have one to preserve anyway. It's not like my parents are going to find out or something. So… if you don't mind being open with me, sir, then that's what I'd like to do."

"Good!" Simon grinned and leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Let's have a scandal, then."

He seems excited about it, doesn't he, Bobby?

I think he thinks it's romantic…

Is it?

Bobby smiled, and agreed out loud. "It is pretty romantic."

"I'm thrilled that you agree."

[btssavedmylifeblr]

Void - Part 7 (M)

title banner by @rude–jude♡

Genre: Sci-fi with a little angst and a LOT of smut

Pairing: BTS x Reader (yup - all seven)

Summary: You are the only female crew member on a 12 year space mission with seven handsome men. The sexual tension is real, y’all.

Word Count: 10.9k

Part 7 / ?

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Warnings: explicit sexual content, alcohol masturbation, voyeurism, more non-monogamy

The men at the table stare at you, dumb-founded. Jungkook’s mouth hangs open. Hoseok hides his mouth behind his hand; his eyes are wide with shock. Jimin spins around, trying to gauge the others’ reactions. Namjoon leans back in his chair, face unreadable, his chin resting on his hand as he looks from you to your powerpoint. Jin laughs uncomfortably then clears his throat and silence falls again.

Yoongi speaks first. “You put sources on your powerpoint about how we should all start fucking?”  

“It’s important to cite your sources,” you mutter, shuffling your feet.

Taehyung sits up straighter on his cot. “Are you saying we should start fucking you or each other?”

“Well, the bonobos do both. They are fully bisexual. Almost all aggressive contests are settled by sex. Even when two males squabble over a female, they often resolve it by rubbing their genitals together.”

“What?” Hoseok injects. “You want us to start rubbing our genitals together?” His cheeks blush.

“No, no, no.” You shake your head. “I meant you all should have sex with me.” Your own cheeks heat up as you say it. “I can’t control what you do with other people. In an ideal world, it would be both. But it seemed best to start with me.”

Jungkook mouths the words “start with” to himself, still staring at the table.

“But like, how would that work logistically?” Taehyung asks.

“Well, there are seven of you, so that could be like one per day. Take a week off for my period.”

Jimin splutters, whirling to face Yoongi. “Did you put her up to this?”

Yoongi shakes his head, frowning.

“No one put me up to this!” you argue. “This is what I think is best for the mission.”

An explosion of opinions pours out of all the men at once. Hoseok is swearing under his breath. Taehyung is trying to get Jimin’s attention, but Jimin is arguing with Yoongi. Jungkook wants to know how you decide who goes first. Jin says something to Namjoon that you can’t hear.

“So, um…” You struggle to regain command of the room over the chatter. “My period starts tomorrow, so take a few days to think about it.”

“Officer.” Namjoon’s deep voice cuts over everyone else and the conversation at the table ceases. “You and I need to speak privately. Now.”

The commander stands up from the table and gestures toward the door. The rest of the crew looks back and forth between the two of you wearing expressions of shock and confusion.

You avoid their gazes as you follow Namjoon’s direction out into the hallway. He steps out after you, closing the door behind him. A flurry of chatter resumes after the door shuts, but it’s too muffled to hear what the rest of the crew are saying. You and Namjoon stare at each other.

“So…” you say, shifting your weight between your feet.

“Let’s talk in my office,” he says, squeezing past you and moving in the direction of the sleep pods.

You examine him from behind as you follow him to his office, trying to gauge what he’s thinking. Are his shoulders tense? Is he angry with you? Are you about to be scolded?

His office is also his bedroom. And you did just offer to fuck him, no strings attached. But of all your crew, Namjoon is the one that you have the most strictly professional relationship with. His walls are almost as impenetrable as yours. But he is a man, right? And men like sex, right? It would have been more awkward to not include him. This wasn’t about personal feelings. It was about the mission. And you were all in the mission together.

________

Sweat pools at the base of your spine under the hot studio lights. A reporter drums her long red nails on her clipboard as the sound technician adjusts the microphones between interviews.

Press junkets are your least favorite part of the job, made all the worse by your mission director insisting you all dress in full launch gear, despite the launch still being two weeks away.

“This is the last one.” Namjoon turns around from his front and center seat to whisper to the rest of the crew.

Yoongi groans, rubbing his face with his hands. “Why do we have so many of them when they all ask the same questions?”

The eight of you have been trapped in this room all day as a parade of different reporters trail in and ask the same inane questions.

This new reporter opens with a softball. “How’s the food?”

“Good!” Namjoon patiently answers this question for the third time today. “The ICSE has recruited the top food scientists to figure out which foods hold their flavor and nutrition best in long term storage. And our chief botanist here is going to keep us well stocked with fruits and vegetables. Right, officer?” He gestures for you to chime in.

“Yup!” You are grateful to Namjoon for pitching you a question that isn’t about you being the only woman in a crew full of men. You’ve already had to explain how periods in space work twice today (short answer: pretty much the same way they work on Earth). “We have lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, bean, soy, carrots, cabbage, chilis, potatoes, lemons, oranges and strawberries, plus a bunch of fresh herbs. They even found a way for us to grow mushrooms out of our culinary compost.”

The reporter makes a disgusted face at the idea of compost mushrooms and pivots to a new line of questioning. “What will you miss most about home?”

“Why don’t we go around the group?” Namjoon prompts. Even your commander seems to be fading in enthusiasm by this point. “I’m going to miss long walks in the fresh air, and my family, of course.”

Most of the crew answers with some variation of friends and family. Yoongi will miss his brother’s cooking. Taehyung will miss his dog who is going to live with his parents. Jungkook will miss long showers and his mom.

“What’s one personal item you’re taking with you?” she asks.

Namjoon is bringing a Chinese elm bonsai tree that he calls his tiny friend. Hoseok is bringing a stuffed Earth plushie given to him by his niece. Jin is bringing vodka.

The reporter narrows her eyes at the mention of alcohol and leans forward. “So what do you do if you feel a crew member’s judgement has been compromised?”

“We have protocols in place,” Namjoon answers. “Tests of cognitive impairment and such. We’re also coached in what we call “expeditionary behaviors” which are key to maintaining peace and cooperation on board.

Yoongi chimes in. “The key to solving all disputes is our ability to be honest with each other. When there is a problem, we sit down as a group and discuss it.”

“Our readers are saying what a tragedy it is that we are shipping seven of our most eligible bachelors off to space for a decade.” She laughs. “Any broken hearts being left here on Earth?”

“Oh!” Namjoon draws back and looks unsuredly at the rest of the group. This was not a question he was expecting to be asked today. “Umm…” he laughs nervously.

“My mom is devastated!” Jin cracks from the back row and the rest of the crew laughs in relief.

But the reporter doesn’t want to let go of this idea so quickly, so she turns to you. “Well, you must certainly enjoy having such handsome crew members.”

“Uh…” To your complete mortification, you actually blush in response. You clench your fist to try to get a grip. To your right, Hoseok’s hand flinches, as if he can feel the need to hold you back. “I’m going on this mission to find life on other planets.” You grit your teeth. “My only interest in my crew is whether or not they do their jobs.”

The woman shakes her head, laughing. “Doesn’t hurt that they look good doing it.”

_______

Namjoon opens the door to his office and gestures for you to enter. The number of papers on his desk seems to have multiplied, which theoretically shouldn’t be possible.

“I’m going to say three words to you,” Namjoon says as he closes the door behind him. “And then I need you to repeat them back to me: banana, river, finger.”

“Namjoon,” you cross your arms. “I’m not cognitively impaired right now.”

He mirrors your closed stance. “Please repeat the words.”

You sigh. “Banana, river, finger.”

He pulls a piece of paper from his desk and wipes it clean, before handing it to you, along with a pen. “I need you to draw a clock face.”

“Seriously?”

“Set it to quarter past eight.”

“This isn’t necessary, commander,” you grumble as you take the pen and paper, drawing a rudimentary clock face and setting the hands to 8:15. “See?” You hand the paper back to him and he inspects it.

He nods, rubbing his chin. “Repeat the three words again.”

“Banana, river, finger.” You put your hands on your hips. “You think my judgement is compromised?”

Namjoon sighs. “Everything seems to be in order. You must admit, your behavior recently has been uncharacteristic to say the least. Are you sure everything is okay?”

“Well, no, everything is not okay, that’s why I’m doing this.”

He leans against his desk, looking you up and down. “I fail to see how fraternizing with the entire crew will improve things.”

The back of your neck heats up in embarrassment, but you press on. You need the commander to be onboard with your plan.

“You admit we have a morale problem, right?”

He nods. “Hard to suggest otherwise. What with all the recent events.”

“Okay, so I was going through the principles of expeditionary behavior last night as I figured out what to do. Principle One:  Communication - talk so you are clearly understood, talk about intentions before taking action, share information freely.”

“I know the principles.” Namjoon interrupts.

“But don’t you see? That’s why I had to call the meeting. Why I had to get everything out in the open, share information freely.”

“That explains why you needed to inform the crew of your relationship with Jimin. It doesn’t explain why you think it would be good to involve everyone.”

“Principle Two: Self-care - manage psychological and physiological health, balance work, rest, and personal time, be proactive to stay healthy and mitigate stress.”

Namjoon arches an eyebrow. “A lack of sex doesn’t damage your health.”

“With all due respect commander, I think it does.”

“There are outlets to relieve sexual urges other than exploiting our only female crew member.”

“Well, they were all trading porn with each other. That’s how this whole thing started.” Namjoon purses his lips in thought. That seems to be new information to your commander. You continue your argument. “Principle Three: Team-care - monitor team for signs of stress and fatigue - which we have a multitude of, cooperate rather than compete, encourage participation in team activities.”

“Are you considering this a team activity?”

“Well, yes. Like the bonobos do.”

Namjoon shakes his head. “Let me speak so I am clearly understood. I can’t prevent you or the rest of the crew from doing what you want to do with your personal time. But I can’t participate in it either. I’m the commanding officer on this ship. It’s inappropriate. We can’t have an equitable relationship.”

“That’s why it’s not a relationship though, it’s just sex. And if everyone involved is consenting...”

He rubs the back of his neck. “Let’s be honest about intent for a minute. Is that really what you want? You want all seven of us?”

“Umm…” Your stomach churns as you are unable to admit that, yes, that is what you want. “I think it’s best for the mission.”

“Part of principle three is to volunteer for unpleasant tasks if they benefit the team. Are you sure that’s not what you’re doing right now, officer?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Though embarrassing to admit, boning your attractive colleagues is not an unpleasant task in the slightest.

“You should also consider the fact that whatever forms do get signed will have to be sent back to mission control. And may get out to the press.”

“I thought HR decisions were confidential.”

“Juicy stories have a tendency to find their way out. Especially when they distract from failed missions that added years on to our trip.”

“I understand, commander. Information must be shared freely. I still think this plan is necessary if we’re going to complete this mission successfully.”

“Okay.” Namjoon sighs, dropping his hands to his sides. “It would seem there is no talking you out of it.”

“No, sir. I intend to implement with full commitment.”

The two of you stare at each other for a minute. An immovable object and an unstoppable force.

“So… should I go?”

“Yes, you’re dismissed.”

________

After the press junket is mercifully over, Hoseok catches you in the hallway.

“Hey, you coming to Tae and Jimin’s quarantine party tonight?” Tonight is the last night you all are allowed to see other people before you enter your two-week quarantine prior to launch. “Seems like you could use a drink.”

“I don’t know,”  you sigh, leaning against the wall.

“What’s on your mind?” He leans next to you.

“That last reporter, she got in my head.” You rub your forehead.

Hoseok rubs the back of his neck. His jawline tenses as he mulls over what to say.

Hoseok is so handsome. And smart. And newly single. He broke up with his girlfriend a couple of weeks ago before signing the final mission papers. And now he was going to be the one of only seven people in your whole world.

In another life, you would want to date him. You’d be dying to go to a party with him and plot how to get him alone for part of the evening. In another life, you would have fallen in love with him. But in this life, he’d been dating someone else for the whole time you’ve known him. And you have a mission.

What’s most grating is that the gossip columnist isn’t wrong. You’d be hard pressed to find a better set of men anywhere on Earth than the seven you were leaving with. They were all attractive, smart, kind, disciplined, athletic young men. It would be much easier to be entirely professional if you had a crew of balding middle-aged men.

“Do you think it's a mistake? Me going on this mission?” you finally ask.

“What?” Hoseok gasps. “No! Why would you think that?”

“The mission director said it was supposed to be only men. That mixed gender crews are too complicated.”

“Have we ever done anything to make you feel like we don’t view you as a professional?”

“No, no, of course not.” Other than being ridiculously good-looking.

Hoseok’s fingers twiddle nervously. “And we won’t. We’re a team. You’re our colleague. This mission is so much bigger than any one of us. And you’re the best candidate for this position.”

“I’m the only candidate.”

Hoseok smiles. “Well, that’s exactly my point. We’d be lost without our biologist. Besides, you were better than all the male candidates even before they dropped out.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Oh yes, I do. Are you forgetting how badly you kicked my ass all over organic chemistry? And I was the chem major! It was such a disgrace.” You both laugh.

You smile at the memory: early morning study sessions, Hoseok bringing you coffee in exchange for your homework help.

“Come on,” he insists. “I know you. You can’t not go. You’re going to be the first woman on Europa. It’s been your destiny since college. Don’t you want to see it with us?”

Yes, you wanted to see it so badly. You picture the two of you looking out over the icy surface together.

“Come tonight.” Hoseok insists. “It’ll be fine, you’ll see. We won’t mess this up for you.”

“Thank you, Hoseok.”

_______

You leave Namjoon’s bedroom and climb into your own sleep pod, the question of what mission control or the press know about what’s happening on this ship weighing on your mind.

Unfortunately, googling it for yourself won’t work. It takes between 10 and 20 minutes for a single signal to get from your ship to Earth, depending on exactly where you both are in your orbits. Then it takes another 10-20 minutes to return. Usually if you wanted to research something, you’d submit a formal request to your research assistants back on Earth,  who would gather a collection of relevant documents for you and send you a bundle of them all at once. But asking your research assistants to assemble a dossier on your rumored sex life was out of the question. You need someone you can trust.

You pull out your laptop and compose the following email.

Hi Dianna,

How are you doing? I’m sorry I’ve been slow to respond to your messages lately, things have been a bit messy out here. I was wondering if I could ask you a favor. Are there rumors about my personal life going around the ICSE? Or in the press? I was wondering if you’d be willing to run a quick google search and let me know what you find.

Thank you! I hope you and Melissa are doing well.

Dianna should have been on this mission with you. You wish you could talk to her in person. You’ll have to send her a video message when you have more time. But you are interrupted in your thoughts by a knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Jimin.”

You hit send on the email and open the door.

“Can we talk?” he asks.

You nod and stand to one side to allow him into your pod.

He sighs and rubs the back of his neck. “So I’m confused.” He runs a hand through his hair as he steps into the pod. “Last night you were mad at me for suggesting you date Taehyung. You said you wouldn’t be passed around between crew members. But now you want to have sex with the entire crew?”

“I’m not being passed around. This is my plan. I’m in control.”

He shakes his head. “The end results seem to be the same though. I don’t understand.”

“This way we don’t have to pretend this is something it’s not. It can just be sex, just release. We don’t have to pretend it means anything more than that.”

“But it means something to me.” Jimin frowns. “I have feelings for you.”

You sigh. “They’re not real though. It’s hormones and boredom. It’s just because I’m the only woman here.”

“No it’s not!”

“Yes it is! You didn’t feel this way about me on Earth, right?”

Jimin stammers for a minute. “People can change. Relationships can change.”

“Jungkook and Taehyung didn’t have feelings for me on Earth either and now that they’ve seen me naked they’re suddenly 'in love' with me. That’s not real. That’s just biology. We’re just apes in space with too much time on our hands.”

“Jungkook’s in love with you too?”

“I don’t know. He thinks he is.”

Jimin frowns, but seems less sure of himself. “Is this because I suggested sharing? Cause that was a dumb idea and I take it back.”

“No! You were right. It’s what’s best for the mission.”

“So what? It’s like this or nothing? I have to share you to have any of you?”

You don’t answer him. Currently, no one else has actually signed, so Jimin might get you all to himself anyways.

“Am I… am I not enough?” Jimin asks. “I can be more. I can do better. I can do whatever Yoongi does that you like so much.”

“This isn’t about Yoongi. It’s about the mission.”

“You said you liked me. You said you wanted to be with me. Was that just about the mission?”

“It’s not about what I want.”

“Yeah, yeah… it's about the mission.”  

He turns to go, but you catch his hand in yours. His thumb rubs across the back of your hand. All the men are just as touch-starved as you are. It’s probably unfair that you are playing to that now.

You see an idea flash across his face right before he scoops you up into his arms, kissing you passionately. “I’m going to show you,” he whispers between kisses. “I’m going to show it's real. I’m going to be what you need. My feelings are real.”

Then he places you back down and leaves. You lean against the door breathless.

________

Mistake number one: You should not have challenged Jin to beer pong.

Mistake number two: You should not have said goodbye to your parents and dog right before going to a party full of strangers and booze.

Mistake number three: You should not have gone to find Hoseok when you are this drunk and he smells that good.

You collapse onto the couch beside Hoseok, too tired to stand up anymore. Hoseok smiles to see you, face flushed red.

“Hoseok,” you whisper, even though he’s already looking at you. “Hoseok, I have something important to tell you.”

He leans in closer. “Yeah?”

“Europa’s oceans are ninety-six kilometers deep.”

He laughs. “Of course, I know that! I wrote my graduate thesis on Europa’s oceans!”

“Yeah, but like…” You wave your hand. “That’s like soooo deep. Like not intuitive, you know? Like that’s ten times deeper than any ocean on Earth. I can’t even conceive of how deep our oceans are, let alone Europa’s.”

You scoot closer to him on the couch. “That’s like…” You pull out your phone to do some basic math. “That’s like 120 Burj Khalifas!!”

Hoseok nods. “Yes… It is super deep.”

“Stacked on top of each other!” You slap your knee in emphasis.

“Yes, I know!” He laughs again.

You sigh. “Can I tell you a secret?” You lean in closer and put a hand on his thigh. He leans in too. “There just has to be life down there. I know there has to be.”

“I hope so.” He rests his hand on yours.

“We’re going to find it together, you and I.” You grab his hand and squeeze it.

Hoseok looks down at your joined hands and you worry that maybe you’ve gone too far. Maybe tomorrow this will be an awkward and embarrassing moment. But right now it feels nice. His hand is warm. You wonder if it would be too much to lean your head on his shoulder.

But then Hoseok’s phone buzzes in his lap. His ex-girlfriend’s name flashes across the screen and you drop his hand.

“Sorry,” he mutters, getting up off the couch. “I should take this.” He leaves and the couch next you is colder.

“Hey!” Jin stumbles over to your seating area. “Have any of you guys seen Namjoon?”

“I think he went to meet that girl he won’t tell us about,” Yoongi answers from a chair a few feet away. When did Yoongi get here?

“So everyone is getting laid tonight, huh?” Jin laughs.

“Not everyone,” Yoongi mutters, nursing his beer.

“Don’t be such a grump, Yoongi. It’s basically our last night on Earth! Take advantage!” Jin laughs before wandering back into the crowd.

“I’m not getting laid tonight either!” You yell across the room at Yoongi. More direct than you would be when sober.

He cracks the first smile you’ve seen from him in days, raising his beer into the air in a little clinking motion. You do the same with your plastic cup full of what Jimin had described as “Tae’s jungle juice”. It was red and smelled like tequila.

“Why aren’t you getting laid?” you ask, taking a swig of the juice for courage.

“Got dumped, not really over it yet,” he answers matter-of-factly. “What about you?”

You shrug. “The only men here are about to be my only companions for the next twelve years. Seems like a bad plan to fuck them.”

Yoongi laughs. “Suppose so.”

“Well, don’t you worry. If that reporter is right, we’ll all be having space orgies in a month anyways.”

Yoongi chokes on his beer. “Shit.” Beer dribbles down his chin as he laughs. “I think we need to find you some ice water and a cab.”

“Probably a good plan,” you mutter as you lie down on the couch and close your eyes.

________

When you wake up in the morning, there are still no signed HR forms in your messages. Had you been a fool to think any of them were interested? How much time does it take to decide such a thing? Perhaps by putting the idea out there explicitly, it had lost all of its taboo appeal.

There are two other things waiting for you to notice though: your period and a calendar reminder that today is chili pepper pollinating day. After dealing with the first of those problems in the bathroom, you head for the lab to find Hoseok.

You find the science officer in the lab as always, sitting with his knee tucked up against his chest.

“Hey, um…” You shuffle your feet. Want to fuck me? No wait…

He blinks at you, bleary-eyed.

“Oh, you don’t look good. Were you here all night?” you ask.

“Um, was I? Yeah. I suppose. Lost track of time.” He rubs his eyes, before looking you up and down, then casting his gaze back to the floor.

All you want to do is ask about the forms. Or the meeting. Or what he thinks of you now. But you don’t.

“I need to pollinate the chili peppers today.” Usually Hoseok is the person who assists with that. “But I can get one of the other guys to do it if you need the sleep.”

“No!” Hoseok lurches forward, standing up a bit too rapidly and needing to put his hand back on the bench to steady himself. “I mean, I’m fine.”

You should disagree with him. He is exhausted. But you’d like more time to talk to him.

Pollinating the chili peppers is both time-sensitive and time-consuming, hence why it took two of you to get the job done. There were no insects on your ship to do the job for you and if the plants didn’t get pollinated, they wouldn’t bear any fruit. Chili peppers were your favorite crop. Not only a vital source of Vitamin C, but all your food benefitted from having a bit of spice added to it.

You and Hoseok head for the greenhouse together. The initial set-up gives you something to talk about in the beginning. Hoseok gathers the pollen from one flower onto a paintbrush, then hands it over to you to paint onto the stigmas of each little flower on the next plant.

Slowly the conversation dries up as you fall into a silent rhythm. Other than enjoying the chili peppers, this was also one of your favorite tasks on the ship because of the high likelihood that the two of you would brush hands periodically. It always gave you butterflies. But today he seems extra intent on keeping his distance from you. Was he disgusted by you now? His hands are trembling.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

His hand twitches so hard that a little rain of yellow pollen cascades onto the floor. He curses in frustration before turning to face you. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

"I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“This, um, plan of yours…” he gestures to the vague tension in the air. “It doesn’t feel like you.”

“I’m trying to save the mission. That has always been my top priority.”

“Yeah, I’m still not clear on how this benefits the mission.”

“I outlined it all in my presentation. Plus Yoongi said…” you start to say, but are cut off by Hoseok's derisive snort.

“Look, if you’re in love with Yoongi, go date him, okay? Don’t feel obligated to include the rest of us out of pity.”

You frown. “I’m not… I’m not in love with him. It’s just sex. Just biology.”

“This isn’t you!” Hoseok argues back. “You hated the idea of anyone ever treating you that way. And now you want all of us to… to… use you like that?”  He splutters out the end of the sentence.

“No one is using me! This is my plan!”

He sighs. “Well, I can’t be a part of it. Excuse me.” He leaves you alone in the greenhouse.

Your lower lip trembles and you bite it to stop it. He’s disgusted by you. Yoongi was wrong; Hoseok doesn’t want you. It takes you the rest of the day to finish the pollinating on your own.

_____

There are no forms waiting for you when you wake up the next morning either. Perhaps this was a mistake after all. If the men aren’t looking for release in the same way you are, then there’s no point to any of this. Even Jimin has been keeping his distance, so all you’ve done is mess up the one relationship you did have and offend your commander and colleagues.

Your tablet buzzes with a notification. It’s a reply from Dianna.

It’s great to hear from you! I hope things aren’t too crazy up there. I haven’t heard any rumors at work, but I’ve not been directly involved with your mission. We’ve started the plans for Titan and it’s taking most of my focus. I can ask around though if you want me to. I was surprised to find this article when I googled. Is this accurate? I assumed you would have said something.

Hope you are well! Melissa and I are going to send you a video of our new puppy.

Dianna

There is a pdf of a magazine article attached to the email entitled “Love Amongst the Stars”. At the top is one of the official launch photos of the whole crew that has been zoomed and cropped so that it’s only you and Jimin sitting next to each other. The tagline reads “How two astronauts had to leave Earth to find each other”. It makes you cringe so hard you have to put the tablet down for a minute before you can read on.

It’s some sort of fluff piece about a secret affair between you and the mission specialist. You scan the article, trying to figure out what they know. “A source close to the couple spoke with us...” Who is their source? You haven’t told anyone on Earth about what's going on with Jimin.

“Coworkers said they always sensed a special connection between the two…” This is nonsense. Jimin is one of the crew members you knew the least about prior to launch.

“Other crew members are very supportive…” Uh, sure.

“Maybe we’ll even get our first space wedding…” You groan out loud, closing the pdf.

Maybe that seals it then. You’ll just be space-married to Jimin for the next 12 years and that will be that. The idea makes you feel a bit claustrophobic in your tiny sleep pod, so you throw on your exercise clothes and head for the gym to try to clear your head.

_____

What you call “the gym” is actually just a bunch of resistance bands and cardio equipment stashed into the walls of one corner of the hangar. When the gravity was off, you had a variety of different choices for which equipment to use. There was a treadmill in the ceiling and an elliptical in the wall so multiple people could use the equipment in your off hours. But with the gravity on, the stationary bike on the floor is your only option.

As you begin your warm-up on the bike, you mull over your next move. Why hadn’t any of the other men come and talked to you yet? Jungkook had confessed to you, why wasn’t he signing up now? And Yoongi? Yoongi said he wanted a form only a few days ago. Why did it feel so different now?

Were you stupid? Had you embarrassed yourself in front of your entire crew for no reason? Maybe Namjoon and Hoseok were right and this was a bad plan. You pedal faster, trying to burn out some of the tension in your lungs.

The radio buzzes and Taehyung’s deep voice sounds in your in-ear. “Looking for a location for our biologist.”

“I’m in the gym,” you radio back, pausing your bike ride to catch your breath.

Moments later, Taehyung pokes his head in the door of the hangar. It’s good to see him up and about, even if his arm is still in a sling.

“Hey.” He steps into the room, adjusting his hair with his one good hand. “I need to talk to you about this, um, ape sex thing.”

Oh my gosh, is it finally happening? Maybe Jimin was right. Maybe Taehyung is more interested in you than you had realized. He fishes into his pocket and pulls out his tablet. You wish you weren’t so sweaty and gross for this conversation. Taehyung is such an intimidatingly attractive man.

Taehyung opens up the tablet and flips to the form as he walks closer to you. It’s happening. He’s going to sign the form. Shit. Then what will you do? It’s one thing to say you want to have sex with your whole crew, but what if he’s hoping to go right now? You need a shower.

Taehyung has nice hands. Long strong fingers delicately navigate the touch screen. It seems totally improbable that a man this attractive would be into you, even if you were the only woman in the universe. It adds to your suspicions that hormones are driving everyone crazy. Perhaps if you slept with him once, he’d lose all interest.

He finds the form and then turns his gaze up to you, staring you down with those eyes. It’s a good thing  Taehyung rarely turns his full gaze on you, because it is almost too much to bear. Shit, is he going to sign it? Is he waiting for you to give him some sort of signal?

“You can’t do this to Jimin,” he says.

“What?” Not what you were expecting. “Do what to Jimin?”

“This.” He gestures over the HR form. “Signing these forms with everyone. Having sex with everyone. You’re going to destroy Jimin.”

“Jimin’s the one who suggested this whole thing in the first place.” It’s a lie. You know it's a lie. Or at least a gross exaggeration. But Jimin was the one who first brought up the idea of sharing. All for the benefit of the man in front of you now.

“No way.” Taehyung scoffs, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. “No way was it Jimin’s idea that you sleep with the whole crew.”

“Well…” You can’t bear his gaze anymore and look down at the floor. “He wanted me to sleep with you.”

“What?” He puts down the tablet. “Why would he want that?”

“He, um…” You rub your arm. “He thinks you’re in love with me.”

“What?” There is only surprise on Taehyung’s face. It’s actually a relief to see that Taehyung is as shocked by that idea as you were. “Why does he think that?”

“I don’t know…” You feel kind of dumb now. Of course, Taehyung doesn’t feel that way about you. Look at him. “Cause you told him you were jealous. Cause you can’t stand to be in the same room as us.”

Taehyung bites his lip. “Oh, um, shit, sorry, that’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean?” you ask. If Taehyung wasn’t jealous of Jimin, then...“Who are you jealous of?”

“Nevermind…” Taehyung stumbles backward, putting his tablet back in his pocket. “Forget I said anything.”

“No wait,” you get up off the bike to chase after him, catching by the sleeve. As he turns around, you make a show of turning off your microphone. He does the same. “Are you jealous of me?” you ask. “Do you like Jimin?”

Taehyung’s eyes widen and he bites his lip. He glances toward the camera in the corner of the room, then stands up and begins unzipping his jumpsuit.

“Um…” You are distracted by the golden arms that peak from either side of the tank top as the zipper reaches his groin. “What are you doing?”

“Need something to block the camera.”

“We have towels,” you mutter.  But now he’s attempting to peel the tank top up over his head.

“Yeah, but this way anyone watching will think we’re having sex.” He answers. “Shit, can you give me a hand?” In his attempts to remove his shirt, he seems to have forgotten he is wearing the arm sling and is now stuck with his shirt over his head. His injured shoulder is black and blue from his accident with the ROV.

You gingerly try to disentangle him without getting too close to his warm, bare skin. You succeed in freeing him from his shirt and he tosses it up and over the camera.

“You want them to think we’re having sex?” you ask.

“Don’t you? It plays right into your whole ‘save the mission with bonobo sex’ plan.” He zips his jumpsuit back up as he turns around.

“I suppose.” Though the plan was also supposed to be that there would be no more secrets between the crew. “What plan of yours does it play into?”

“The one where Jimin doesn’t realize I’m in love with him.”

Of course, Taehyung is in love with Jimin. That makes so much more sense. They’ve been so close for so long. And Taehyung has always paid very close attention to anything going on with Jimin. “You’ve never tried to tell him?”

Taehyung laughs wryly and shakes his head. “How would that conversation go? Hey man, I know we’ve known each other for years and I’ve already seen you naked and that you just think of me as a friend, but I’m in love with you. I know that’s awkward but now you have to spend the next twelve years with me, knowing that I’m attracted to you when you don’t feel the same way.” Taehyung sighs. “Doesn’t sound like a good plan to me. If he doesn’t feel the same way, I’ve ruined the friendship for nothing and then I don’t even have that.”

“Yeah… I get that.”  There’s something touching about realizing that Taehyung has been fighting the same battle as you for the last two years.

“I couldn’t tell anyone before launch because what if they wouldn’t let me go then? You know?”

“Yeah, the director wasn’t big on sending anyone who might ‘complicate’ the mission.” The two of you share a sad knowing smile.

“Yeah… And I thought it would be fine, you know? I like women too. I’d just date women until launch and no one would know. I wasn’t planning on falling in love with my roommate.”

“I don’t think any of us knew what this would be like.”

“I knew it was going to be a problem. I should have pulled out…” he continues.

Your mind flashes back to your own moment of doubt when Hoseok talked you into still coming on the mission.

Taehyung sighs and leans against the ice drill. “But I couldn’t just let him go off into space without me. Even if he’d never feel the same way, at least he’d still be in my life.”

The emotion in Taehyung’s words makes your eyes begin to mist. “You really love him.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung sighs again. “But he’s in love with you.”

“Well, he thinks he is.”

“What does that mean?”

“He only feels that way about me cause he thinks I’m the only option.”  Maybe he would feel differently if he knew about Taehyung’s feelings.

Taehyung frowns and shakes his head. “You don’t give him enough credit.”

“Oh come on, you know him. How many women did he date while we were in training?”

“A few…”

“And how many of them was he in love with before he found the next one?”  

Taehyung purses his lips. He can’t argue with that. “So why are you with him then, if you don’t think it’s real?”

You shrug, rubbing your arm. “I like him. Lord knows he’s attractive. And he wants me. It’s nice to feel wanted, I guess.”

“You could have that with any man on this ship though...”

You scoff. “They’re all suffering the same delusion. It’s only-available-vagina syndrome. I just want us all to fuck and get it out in the open. Maybe if we could get it out of our system, they would see I’m nothing special. And then we can get back to the mission.”

Taehyung eyes you up and down. “You don’t give yourself enough credit either.”

You shrug. “You wait and see. Jimin will get bored of me. They all will.”

Taehyung pulls his tablet back out of his pocket. “Do you really think that if everyone just like, banged it out, that it would help morale?”

“Well, it certainly couldn’t get any worse.”

“And Jimin thinks I’m in love with you?” He reopens the HR form and stares at it.

You nod.

“What if I signed this? And we let him think that for a little longer? Just until I figure out how to tell him the truth?

“Like we’d pretend the two of us are involved?” Maybe that would help you get the other men on board with your plan.

Taehyung nods. “Would that be okay?”

“Yeah, that would work.”

Taehyung smiles and signs the bottom of the form, then sends it to you. “Thank you,” he says before he leaves you to resume your workout.

______

Other than Taehyung, no one else approaches you over the next few days. If anything, the crew seems to be treating you more professionally than they did before you announced your plan to fuck them all. You have signed forms from Jimin and Taehyung and have been rejected by Namjoon and Hoseok, but you’ve heard nothing either way from the other three. What are they waiting for?

By the time you reach the end of the Monday morning weekly meeting, you’ve had enough waiting.

Namjoon finishes his debrief of the week’s goals and claps his hands. “Anyone have anything else mission related we need to discuss?”

“My period is over,” you announce to your assembled crew.

A muscle pulses in Namjoon’s jaw. “Officer, I wouldn’t consider that mission-related.”

You cross your arms and lean back in your chair. “Just freely sharing information.”

“Already?” Jungkook asks. “I thought you said it would take a week.”

“No, finished this morning. It varies a bit from cycle to cycle.” you answer. Hoseok’s leg begins aggressively bouncing up and down next to you, but you press on. “I need to make a schedule. So I need to know who’s in and who’s out.”

“Ooh, what if you shared out your tracker info so we’re all on the same page.” Taehyung enthuses.

Yoongi scoffs. “Why don’t we just add it to our mission task list then?”

“I’m not clear on why menstruating means we can’t have sex,” Jimin interjects.

“Enough!” Namjoon regains everyone’s attention. “We need clear boundaries between what is personal and what is professional. Right now, you all have jobs to do. Dismissed.”

________

By the time you finish your chores for the day, you have convinced yourself that getting the rest of the team on board is essential to your successful completion of the mission. So you go in search of Yoongi.

You find him in his workshop. Pieces of an air filter are spread out on the workbench and he’s in the middle of cleaning it. You had forgotten that is the actual purpose of the workbench. So much for climbing on top of it and seducing him that way.

He looks up when you enter and you decide to cut to the chase. “I haven’t gotten your HR form yet.”

“Yeah…” He goes back to inspecting the clogged tube in front of him.

“You said you wanted to sign one with me.”

“I did say that, yes.”

“And now you don’t?” You thought if anyone was going to be supportive of the plan, it would be Yoongi.

He sets down the part he had been inspecting. “Have you really thought this through?”

“Yes!” You put your hands on your hips. “I made a whole powerpoint! With sources!!”

“I think it's a bad plan.” He picks up another long tube full of dust and threads a brush through it.

“I thought you’d be onboard with this plan. You said if I was fucking everyone, there’s no need for jealousy.”

“Yeah, well, I was wrong.” He sets the tube down and turns around to look at you directly. “ Is that really what you want?”

Why is he questioning you now? He was the one who put this whole idea in your head. He was the one who knew all your fantasies. “But you said…"

“I know what I said.” He begins pacing back and forth in front of the workbench. “But there’s a difference between a fantasy and a reality. You really want to have sex with a different man every day for 12 years on some kind of rotating daily schedule? Like how we water the crops?”

“You’re mad there’s a schedule?” You try to come closer to him, but he backs away from you, turning back to the air filter.

“Sexual desire doesn’t run on a clock, you know,” he says as he starts to pack up the equipment. “What if you’re not feeling it that day? What if they’re not?”

“I’m just trying to be fair to everyone.”

“But nobody actually gets what they want!” He throws his hands up in exasperation.

“And what do you want, Yoongi?”

He pauses, then deflates, dropping his hands to his sides. “Nevermind, forget about it.” He grabs a wet wipe off the shelf and begins cleaning the dust of his hands, not looking at you.

“No!” He’s the one who has been egging you on this whole time. “You were the one who was all ‘you have to fuck Jimin to save the mission’. You said you didn’t care if I fucked Jimin too. What do you want from me, Min Yoongi?”

“I’m going to go get some dinner.” He mutters, throwing the dirty wipe in the trash and turning to leave.

Oh no. He’s not going to escape you that easily. You need some straight answers. “You started all this, Yoongi! You said every man on this ship wanted to fuck me and none of them do! What was that?” You follow him down the hall toward the kitchen.

He stops and turns around in the middle of the hall. “This isn’t all on me! You made choices too!”

“Because of what I thought you wanted!” you yell back. “What is your deal? First you want me to fuck you, then you dont. Then you want me to fuck everyone and then you don’t. What do you want from me?” Your voice is echoing down the hallway but you are way past caring about it.

Yoongi opens and closes his mouth, then spins back around and heads for the kitchen, with you trailing behind him.

Jungkook is sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of ramen. He looks up, startled as the two of you barge in.

“And what about you?” You fire the question at your youngest crew member. “Don’t you want to fuck me?”

The poor boy nearly chokes on his noodles. “I, um…” He swallows, wide eyes glancing between you and Yoongi.

You lean against the table next to Jungkook as Yoongi steps around the two of you to head for the pantry, but you see his fist clench as he walks by. You lean closer to Jungkook. “Didn’t you enjoy my video? Don’t you want to see the real thing?”

“Uh...” Jungkook glances at Yoongi again. “Maybe the two of you should talk this out…”

Yoongi’s hands tremble, but he doesn’t turn around, intent on starting the rice cooker. You turn your focus to Jungkook instead. “This isn’t about him. Whatever the flight engineer wants to do is up to him. He knows where I stand. This is about you and I.”  You are going to get a man on this ship to fuck you. Today.

“It’s not like I’m not interested…” Jungkook’s knee bounces up and down rapidly as he watches you. “But I told you I was in love with you and you literally had a panic attack.”

Oh right. That was back when you thought you still had a shot of stopping all this. Before half your crew had seen you naked. Before all of them had heard you having sex. Before you’d announced that you wanted all of them to fuck you. But you can still control this, if you can get them onboard with your plan.

Your tablet buzzes in your pocket. You pull it out to give yourself a moment to think. There’s a message from Jin.

Hey, come find me when you get this and we can talk. I’ll be in the kitchen.

You brace yourself for yet another rejection note. But you click on the attachment to instead find your HR form, Kim Seokjin’s signature scrawled right next to yours.

Holy shit. He signed it. Under no false pretenses. What do you do now?

“What is it?” Jungkook asks.  

But then Jin appears in the doorway. He startles when he sees you. “Oh! I thought you’d still be on shift.”

You shake your head. “You signed the form.”

“What? He did?” Jungkook asks.

“Oh, um, yeah,” Jin answers, laughing nervously. “That’s what you wanted right?”

“Yes, that’s what I wanted.” You stand up and move closer to your pilot. Jungkook crosses his arms. Yoongi finally turns around to observe the three of you.

Jin. Jin with his broad-shoulders and plump lips. Your friend. Your very handsome friend. He’s going to help you save the mission.

“You’re the first one I’ve gotten, so you can go first.”

“Wait, what?” Jin stammers. “But you and the commander?”

You shake your head. “He didn’t sign.”

“You and Taehyung though? I saw him take off his shirt and then cover the camera.”

“Oh right… sorry… I guess you’re the second one. But Tae’s still on shift.”

“Don’t forget about Jimin.” Yoongi helpfully chimes in.

Jin takes a step backward. “But I thought for sure these two…” He gestures at the other two men in the kitchen.

“Nope,” you move toward him. “Not yet.” You suddenly see a way to get them all on board at once.

“Oh, well, um...” His ears are bright red. “Maybe we can talk more about this after dinner?”

“That’s one option…” You lick your lips and find the top of your zipper with your hand, blushing as the next part of your plan unfolds in your mind. “Or you could fuck me now.”

“What?”

“Holy shit.” Jungkook mutters beside you.

Jin dives around you, moving toward the other side of the kitchen. “There are people eating here!”

“Nothing they haven’t seen before.” You begin unzipping your jumpsuit in what you hope is a seductive manner, rolling your hips as you follow him across the kitchen. You have both Jungkook and Yoongi’s rapt attention.

You take a cue from Taehyung and peel off your tank top, throwing it over the camera behind you, leaving you in a bra and the bottom half of your jumpsuit. “Though if these two are going to stay and watch, they better sign the forms as well.”

“Stay and watch?” Jin swallows, hands clenched at his sides.

You grab the waist of your jumpsuit, teasing it down just slightly as you make direct eye contact with Jungkook and then Yoongi. “What do you think boys? In or out?”

Jungkook lunges for his tablet. A satisfying ping on your own tablet confirms that this plan is working. Yoongi just crosses his arms and leans back against the counter.

You drop the jumpsuit, leaving you in nothing but your bra and underwear. You prop yourself up on the kitchen table next to Jungkook’s now cold bowl of ramen.

“What are you doing?” Jin asks, whole face beginning to turn red.

“Look…” You shimmy out of your bra straps so that your bra is only held in place by your hand. “I’m going to need you to fuck me right here on this table, Kim Seokjin. For the good of the mission.”

“Why does putting your bare ass on the surface where we eat help the mission?!”

“No more secrets. No more jealousy. Everything will be out in the open. Like the bonobos do.”

Your fingers tease at the clasp of your bra. All three men stare at you. You lock eyes with Yoongi, daring him to look away. Implement with full commitment. You drop your bra to the floor.

“Stop, stop!” Jin moves toward you as you slide your fingers into the band of your underwear. “Just hang on for one second.” He picks up your jumpsuit from the floor and comes closer, draping it around your shoulders in an attempt to cover you. “Look at me.” He grasps your chin and turns your gaze to meet his. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

You lick your lips. “Yes.”

He kisses you, hard. It’s aggressive, urgent even. His hands are on your shoulders, then sliding down your back, pulling you toward him. Your eyes close as you momentarily lose yourself in it. Despite you begging him for it, it still surprises you how insistent he is. His hands keep sliding down your back, until they reach your buttocks, running over the thin cotton of your underwear and scooping you into his arms. You wrap your arms around his shoulders for balance, and then he is lifting off the table.

He breaks out of the kiss to pick you up even higher and then proceeds to throw you over his shoulder.

“Jin! What are you doing?” You kick your feet into the air.

“I am a man, not an ape,” he says, picking up your jumpsuit and bra and tossing them over his other shoulder.  “And if I’m going to fuck you, it’s going to be in the privacy of my own sleep pod, where the only man enjoying it is me.”

He hauls you ass first out into the hallway, with Jungkook and Yoongi both watching wide-eyed as you are carried away.

“I can walk,” you argue as Jin turns for the sleep pods.

“Nope,” replies Jin, readjusting you on his shoulder before carrying you down the hall.

As you reach the junction to the bridge, your ass runs into something warm and firm.

“What the-” says Namjoon. Your whole body flushes hot as you realize you’ve run butt-first into your commanding officer.

“Shit, sorry commander.” Jin laughs. “Excuse us,” Jin says and continues down the hallway, not setting you down or stopping.

Namjoon has pressed himself up against the wall with his hands in the air, a look of shock on his face. He looks like he is about to say something, but then Jin reaches his sleep pod and sets you down inside and you can’t see the commander anymore.

“Well, that was the best thing that has happened in a long time.” Jin chuckles as he closes the door. “The looks on Namjoon’s and Jungkook’s faces will power me for a year. You okay?” he asks, handing your bra and jumpsuit. “For the record, I’m not expecting anything else to happen here.”

“You don’t want to do anything else?” You hold up your jumpsuit to cover yourself, more disappointed than you would like to admit.

Jin eyes you up and down. “I mean… I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested, but that wasn’t my intention in bringing you here.”

“You hauled me half-naked to your bedroom and your intention wasn’t to have sex?”

“I know, I am such a gentleman, aren’t I?” He laughs, then shrugs. “Seemed like maybe you needed an out. Things were getting kind of crazy back there.”

“But you signed the form? Doesn’t that imply a sexual relationship?”

“I guess I’m not really a ‘sex in front of two other men before we’ve even been on a date’ kind of guy.”

“How about a ‘sex in the sleep pods’ kind of guy?”

“Are you even actually interested in me?” Jin asks, getting more serious. “Because none of what happened in the kitchen felt like it was about me. I don’t want to be some pawn in your plot to make Yoongi jealous.”

“It’s not about Yoongi!” You groan. “Why does everyone think this is about Yoongi?”

“Have you seen the two of you interact recently? There are some seriously repressed feelings going on there.”

You bang your head into the door of the sleep pod in frustration, before looking up at him. “You’re a very attractive man. Maybe I have feelings for you?”

He sighs. “Yeah, but you don’t. You can’t swap us out for each other.”

Shit. The way you’ve been treating the men is exactly how you feared they would treat you. While you fear being wanted because you’re the only woman, you’ve made all the men on the ship feel as though you think them interchangeable simply because they’re men.

“It never occurred to me that any of you would have real feelings for me.”

“Well, you are very dumb.”

“Hey…” You hit him gently on the chest. He catches your hand in his.

“Amazing they would trust such a crucial mission to someone who is so very stupid,” he teases, still holding your hand.

“I’m not this stupid about mission related stuff, just all this relationship crap.” You laugh softly.

“So tragic. Someone with so much training ought to have better sense.”

He squeezes your hand and you look into his eyes again. He smiles a soft reassuring smile and for the first time in weeks, you feel like maybe everything will be okay again at some point in the future.

“You’re a good man, Kim Seokjin.”

“Best man on the ship.” He chuckles.

“Kiss me again.”

He arches his eyebrows. “Why?”

“Because I want you to.”

“Are you sure?”

“Look there’s no one else here right? This is only about you. I want you.”

He kisses you again, tenderly this time. His warm arms wrap around and you realize you’re still naked except for your underwear. You curl into his embrace. He smells good, warm and manly, like good cologne. You run your hands over his muscular shoulders that you can feel through his clothes. It’s slow and leisurely, like you’re savoring each other.

“You sure you’re not a ‘sex in the sleep pods’ kind of guy?” You tease as you slide your thigh in between his legs and feel his erection pressing against you.

He groans, resting his head on your shoulder as you grind against him. “I’d like to think of myself as more of a ‘sex in the sleep pods after the third date’ kind of guy.”

You pause and look up at him surprised. “You want to go on a date?”

He nods. “At least three of them, in fact.”

You smile. “That would be nice. I’d like that.”

He kisses you behind your ear. “So are Mondays my day then? Can I take you on a date next Monday?”

You gasp as he rolls his hips against you, the heat of him seeping through his clothes. “That’s a long time to wait, especially if you’re going to make me wait through three of them.”

“I’m sure we can find other ways to entertain ourselves.” He cups your naked breast in his hand, massaging gently.

“Is there anything in particular you want to do today?” You palm his erection through his pants and he gasps.

“Stop that, you temptress…” He grits his teeth. “I’m trying to be a gentleman.”

“Aww, come on, there must be something I can do for you.”

“Well…” He bites his lip. “I will admit that I am awfully curious what was on that video that got five of my crew members suspended.”

“I could show you.” You start to shimmy down your underwear. “But there was no touching in the video.”

He kisses you one last time on the cheek, before pulling away and pressing himself into the opposite wall of the sleep pod. “Okay, show me. I’ll be good.” He puts his hands up by his head in mock innocence.

You finish removing your underwear, spreading your legs apart as best you can. You trail a hand down between your legs, finding yourself wet already. “It was me masturbating.” You tease around your clit without touching it directly.

He groans, hips kicking forward as he stays up against the wall. “Show me.”

“Well, first I took my fingers and sucked on them.” You narrate your actions as you wet your fingers. “Then I touched my nipples.” Your nipples harden before you’ve even touched them, but you continue to tease them for his benefit.

His eyes dart back and forth between your face, your breasts, and your spread legs, as if he can’t decide where he wants to look first. He licks his lips like a man starving. “Keep going.”

“I’m very wet.” You continue your narration as he clenches his fists. You run your fingers through your wet folds, then hold them up to show him. His hips buck again as he groans, still fully dressed and pressed to the wall. “And then I touched my clitoris.” It’s your turn to moan as you finally touch your swollen pleasure center, stroking slowly and keeping your eyes fixed on Jin.

“Goddamn…” He drops to his knees, hands resting at his sides, eyes fixed on your hand as it strokes around your clit.

“Do you wish it was your fingers right now, instead of mine?” you ask.

He nods, tongue darting out of the corner of his mouth. He begins inching toward you on his knees. “Do you think… maybe…?”

“I thought we said no touching,” you tease when he gets to your feet, his head level with your hand, eyes fixed on your wet cunt as you continue to touch yourself.

“I just…” His eyes flick up to meet yours. “I want to smell you.” A pulse of arousal rocks through you at how eager he is. You nod. He moves his nose right over your pubic mound and inhales a long slow savoring breath, tickling your hairs.

“Ah…” He releases a long, loud satisfied moan. His knuckles turn white, but his face is relaxed. “You smell amazing.” He inches even closer, just millimeters separating you from his face and inhales again.

“Oh shit.” You feel the pleasure skyrocketing as your orgasm catches you off guard. You grab him by the back of the head to stabilize yourself and his nose bumps firmly against your clit.

He groans again, loudly right against you as he grinds his nose into you, letting you ride his face as your orgasm washes over you. You thread your fingers through his hair to hold him in place. He wraps his hands around the back of your thighs to press himself into you harder. You cry out as waves of muscle contraction course through you over and over.

“Fuck…” you both say in unison as you collapse back against the door. Your eyes meet and you both start laughing. He places a light kiss right below your belly button before he gets up.

“Well, I see why that was worth getting suspended for,” he says, unzipping his jumpsuit and using the bottom of his shirt to wipe his face.

“And you didn’t even come yet.” You slide your underwear back up, wondering if he would consider a blowjob to be a step too far before your first date.

“Um, actually…” he gestures down at his crotch and the new wet spot you find there makes your pelvic muscles clench.

“You came in your pants? Over me?”

Jin laughs. “God, you have no idea how sexy you are, do you?” He picks up your clothing off the floor, before kissing you softly on the forehead. “I will have a hard time waiting for Monday.”

“Me too.” You mutter and get a sudden sinking feeling. You don’t want this to be over right now. You want to stay here with him, to cuddle and be held by him, but you have made this very clear to everyone involved that these dalliances are not relationships. It’s just sex. And now the sex is over. Until next week.

You slip back into your clothes and give him one last kiss. You tablet pings as you head out into the hallway and you fish it out of your pocket.

Yoongi: Okay, I’m in.

Below his message is his signed HR form. A swell of smug satisfaction makes you smile as you cross the hall and climb into your own pod. You open up a group message for the five men whose signed forms you now have in your possession and type out the following:

Mondays: Jin

Tuesdays: Jungkook

Wednesdays: Taehyung

Thursdays: Jimin

Fridays: Yoongi

“Saturday and Sunday to be determined,” you whisper to yourself as you hit send.

____

Next part

[neonponders]

✨Hogwarts Harringrove ✨ pt. 5 (pt. 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 6 • ao3)

Billy looked up with everyone else when they received a visitor to their class. But all eyes turned to him when the teacher proclaimed, “May I see Mr. Hargrove for a moment? You may leave your things, this won’t take long.”

So he stood out of his Transfiguration Class, grateful for a break from the difficult class...

“I have good news!” his House teacher declared. She was a portly woman who looked like she might’ve been grandmotherly her entire life. She’d gifted him with a tiny Psyche plant when he’d arrived: similar to a bonsai tree in structure, the leaves were black during the day, but glowed iridescent in the dark, and were shaped like butterflies. The note read:

Welcome home, hufflepuff. Keep this by your bed for pleasant dreams.

He’d almost given it to Max. Instead he broke the nose of the roommate who picked it up with some kind of careless comment.

“It has been noticed how you’ve been practicing with Mr. Harrington, and the Quidditch coach has verified that you may opt out of the first years’ lessons. Congratulations!”

Billy visibly deflated, exhaling a year of work right out of his lungs. “So that’s one less class I have to make up for, right?”

“Quite right. But I do want you to know that we have intramural quidditch outside of the league, should that ever interest you. We’re past try-outs, and the Hufflepuff team is full anyways, but you have options.”

“Options, but not time,” he reminded, “if I wanna have any chance of catching up. I’m already taking three extra classes.”

She grew stern, grey eyes boring into him. “And I won’t have it any other way. It’s dreadful, the way some students are allowed to time travel for extra courses. They completely neglect their stamina. Just because you’re cheating more into the day, doesn’t mean you’re not overworking yourself. Besides. that’s technically illegal.”

Billy couldn’t help but smirk. “Technically.”

She giggles and gave him a pat on his shoulder. Considering the woman liked him despite the trouble he continued to cause, he reckoned she was made of more steel than she looked. “Congratulations again, Billy. I’ve asked the kitchens to make you something special for dinner. Just a dessert or something.”

He sincerely thanked her and went back into class, feeling lighter even if this goddamn transfiguration was like the calculus and physics of magic.

* * *

"ROBIN!”

Dustin was the one who perked up, his head swiveling to see the entrance to the Great Hall over the heads of people eating their lunch.

“ - the shoes are whatever. Just paint them - ” Robin was saying, but Dustin intervened.

“Did you not just hear that?”

She shook her head sassily at him. “Hear what?”

“ROBIN!” someone hollered, closer this time so she too straightened her spine to see over the tables.

Steve skidded into the doorway, hair flying around his head as he recovered and ran to their table. “Robin! Robin!”

“What? What? What’s the matter with you?” she exclaimed, pushing her lunch out of way of danger. Dustin had stood up, ready for whatever Steve threw at them.

It was a paper. Preemptively folded like a letter, which he shoved in Robin’s direction. She blinked melodramatically, trying to focus on the letter before she recognized the ornate header. Her reading slowly bloomed into her voice, mumbling until she finished in louder and louder words, “ - Mr....ington...our pleasure to invite you to the honor and responsibility of being A PREFECT!”

“ME!” Steve beamed.

“US! I got one too!”

“WE’RE GONNA BE PREFECTS!” Steve all but screamed, slamming into Robin’s hug as much as they could over the table.

Will’s lower voice wondered aloud, “Isn’t that supposed to be, like...a secret until it’s finalized?”

Robin and Steve ignored him to ask, “Who’s the other one? Every house gets 2!”

“STEVE!” Nancy hollered from their original table. She waved a letter in the air.

Without hesitation, he jumped onto the Ravenclaw table with his own. “No shit! DUH!”

“Get the hell off the table,” Mike Wheeler complained from beside Will.

“Shut your face, pip squeak! I’m gonna be a prefect!” Steve declared, earning loud guffaws from Dustin’s batch of friends, including Mike.

Before Steve could moonwalk too far in celebration, Robin and Dustin yanked him off the table in time with Billy sauntering over. “Did something happen - ”

Steve landed against him, hugging him without warning but Billy caught him despite the flurry of hair and paper in his face. “You! You gorgeous bastard! You got me the prefect job!”

Then Steve gripped his face, planted a hard smooch on Billy’s mouth, and spun around to run out of the Great Hall, arms up in the air like a kid. “I’M GETTING A NEW ANIMAL FOR THIS!”

It was a testament to the student body of a magical school that their laughter faded in record time in favor of eating. Or they were simply used to witnessing stranger things.

Meanwhile, Billy coughed a short, “Um,” and felt Robin’s eyes on him. “Does he do that often?”

“Nope.” He could hear her smile.

“Oh. Good.”

[oftenderweapons]

Mold Me New (5) — Kim Taehyung

A Small Town Swoons Story

Pairing: Taehyung x reader (nicknamed Frog — for now)

Wordcount: 5.2k

Genre: ceramic artist!Taehyung, divorced!reader, Strangers to Lovers, Fluff, Smut, Slice of Life

Rating: 18+

Hello to my readers!!! Welcome to the Small Town Swoons Universe!🥰✨

In this episode: Frog gets to see the final results of her hard work. Taehyung, feeling extremely proud of her, is in the mood for celebation. He invites her for dinner, but eventually the lasagna in the oven is not the only tthing getting hot — and the cheesecake is not the only sweet thing on the menu.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: swearing. mentions of alcohol. smut: making out, grinding, humping, groping (ass, breasts) hair tugging, fingering, very soft overgrown teenagers being inappropriate and horny and tenderly feral on the sofa. Also cramps cause topping ain't easy folks.

A special thank you to @taegularities, my cutest, most adorable, Taehyung stan, The Radiant Rid. I love you, babe. Can't wait to read your next masterpiece 💕

In case you like my writing, here is my directory for idol!AUs, scenarios and imagines. And in case you need it, here’s the Spotify music companion.

Navi: Chapter 1 — Chapter 2 — Chapter 3 — Chapter 4 — Chapter 5 — Chapter 6 — Chapter 7

Enjoy 💜✨

You were falling for Kim Taehyung.

This was by far an undoubtable truth, like the butterflies in your stomach, like the softness of his hair and the plump curve of his lip, like the excruciating, painfully perfect beauty of his face.

He was a gift to humankind, you realised.

You were sure that by now your heart eyes showed in a three-mile radius, and from the way he looked at you in return, you could tell the sentiment was somehow returned.

What made you insecure was his lack of initiative.

You noticed he enjoyed being on the receiving end — which had actually shown a few days before, when he’d fallen asleep in the comfort of your lap, you reading your book while he recovered from the stressful day.

You could still remember the soft golden light coming in through the window, the way his breath got heavy with sleep, his hand laying just an inch above your knee, growing clammy with sweat as he heated up under the blanket. And the feel of his fluffy locks under your fingertips.

He’d looked adorable, a gentle blush on his cheeks, his cherub face relaxing, chubby and plump with the sweet abandon of sleep.

His hands suddenly laid delicately atop yours. “The kiln has cooled up. Would you like to see?” Taehyung asked quietly, trying not to wake you from your reverie too abruptly.

“Oh, yes!” you replied as briefly as possible, hoping he didn’t catch you daydreaming while staring at him with a fond expression.

“Be very careful, they’re hot,” he said, lifting the top of the kiln slowly and letting the remaining hot air come out a bit at a time, without having to feel the heat hit his face.

“Are they going to be good?” you asked curiously. Not all your pieces had made it through bisque firing, and the idea of having something that actually looked like a finished, real work of art was getting you excited. You had been taking lessons for six weeks now and it felt about time to see some results.

“I think I can spot a good one,” he mused as he lifted the lid, bright blue glaze immediately catching your attention.

“Did the bowl survive? The one with the golden swirls? Please, tell me it did, I love it so much!” You felt ready to beg, pray, cry if something had gone wrong.

“It’s on the middle shelf. Be patient, you golden retriever,” he joked, wearing a pair of latex gloves to make sure the temperature was okay without damaging the glaze.

“It was my first to survive bisque, I am invested!” you argued back, peering from over his shoulder, noticing that your vase for Terry had survived.

“Vase accomplished, Frog. You should be excited about that one,” he said, moving it to a shelf. “It means you worked it nicely.”

You shrugged. It was one of your latest pieces, so you weren’t too surprised about it. Still, considering that shaping a vase with consistent walls is a feat in itself, you smirked. “You taught me well.”

“I did,” he replied, lifting a large, low bonsai plate. “Ready to see your bowl, Frog?”

“If anything happened to it, I’m going to kill you.”

Taehyung turned to you, grinning, his nose scrunched in a way that made you sure you would never lift a finger on him.

Your eyes closed: because you were nervous about the bowl, you told yourself — not because you couldn’t stand Taehyung’s expression without pressing your lips to his.

He lifted the shelf from the kiln. He turned to look at you.

He did not resist.

It was like you were waiting for him to kiss you, fist pressed underneath your chin, eyes screwed shut in excitement and fear.

He touched his lips to the apple of your cheek. Your eyes shot open, but the gentleness on his face calmed you. “Congratulations, miss Frog, you have a beautiful blue baby,” he declared in a very medical fashion.

You threw your arms around him, jumping up and down as you giggled hysterically.

“And she cheers for the bowl,” he said, shaking his head in disappointment. “As if she could mess it up after that vase.”

“Screw the damned vase, show me my baby,” you said, going grabby hands to the kiln.

“No, Frog. Wait,” he said, picking up the piece and bringing it to the table, you in tow like a tail-wadding, restless puppy.

“It’s so pretty,” you mused as soon as he set the bowl down. “It’s so sparkly. So glittery. Taehyung, it’s perfect,” you whispered in awe, feeling tears well up in your eyes as you turned to him.

Fondness overwhelmed him as he saw your amused look, so dreamy and happy and satisfied.

It was your baby. Your special creature. Selfishly, he felt like he had contributed to the creation.

For a second he thought that’s what it must feel like to be a father. “Watch over it while I finish the rest,” he said, taking a step away.

You grabbed his wrist.

He turned, waiting for you to explain.

“Thank you,” you murmured, voice emotional.

He twisted his arm in your grip until his hand could reach for yours, engulfing it.

And right in that second, he felt he belonged. Somehow crazily, stupidly, innocently, he felt at home. “Anytime, darling.” He rubbed his thumb against your inner wrist before letting you go. He still had half a kiln to unload.

Bowls and mugs came out easily, some of them even presenting unintended variations that would for sure attract buyers. He felt proud.

But most of all, he wanted to go back to your bowl, to you worshipping it like a little miracle, the poor vase sitting unattended on a high shelf, out of harm’s way.

He closed the lid and took the vase, bringing it to you and placing it on the table.

“You did a very good job, Frog,” he complimented you, placing his hand close to yours, hoping to rekindle the affection he had felt only a few minutes ago.

“It’s not like I did it by myself,” you admitted, beaming up at him.

“Stay for dinner,” he blurted out, “Seokjin brought a cheesecake this morning, I still have half of it. And I have his lasagna in the freezer. We could cook it and eat that — I don’t trust myself making anything edible.”

You snickered. “You don't want me to cook?”

He shook his head. “I wanted to… To celebrate.”

You smiled, standing up, his mouth right before your eyes, “What are we celebrating?”

He looked at your lips as they moved. “The vase,” he replied seriously, although the tone of his voice meant a thousand other things.

“Of course,” you conceded. “Let’s go. I’m hungry,” you confessed, grabbing his hand, tugging at his arm.

Taehyung could swear he was floating a foot off the ground out of happiness. He realised he’d been happier than usual lately; he’d been selling more pieces and his part time job was finally giving him some satisfaction.

He felt like he was drifting across the kitchen as he put his phone in a wooden box as an amplifier, playing an old jazz tune as he put the lasagna in the oven.

You sat at the table, watching him move around with a small smile, your head leaning on your palm. You were such a sucker.

“Wine?”

You shook your head. “You’re gonna get me drunk,” you smiled.

He sat at your side, “why not,” he teased, “just vaguely tipsy. I promise I’ll be a gentleman.” He placed a hand on his heart and bowed his head slowly.

“It’s not you I’m worried about,” you murmured, looking down before meeting his eyes again.

He licked his lips. “Who is it, then?”

“Me.”

“What about you?” His fingers skimmed the surface of the table, sliding all the way to your elbow and tracing your inner forearm.

A shiver ran down your spine. “I get clingy. And slightly inappropriate,” you chuckled embarrassedly.

“I could never be bothered by that,” he whispered, wrapping his fingers around your wrist. “I bet you’d look so adorable.” His hand opted to cup the back of yours before you slipped your hand away, making his palm touch your cheek instead, your face leaning in. “Which would make you absolutely irresistible,” he admitted, nodding fondly at your display of trust.

“Thank you,” you replied to the compliment, feeling your face heat up.

“Let’s lay the table.”

Let’s lay down and make out for three hours and fall asleep under the stars in the back of a pickup.

You gave your brain a second to calm down. “Sure. How can I help you?”

In twenty minutes, the tasty smell of lasagna began drifting in the air, making your mouth water as you and Taehyung talked about his other job — the one that actually paid the bills and brought food on the table. “I just love them, they’re adorable. I managed to practice when my granny used to babysit.”

You pouted, starry eyed as he talked about the children, going on and on about the five year old that always wanted to curl his hair and paint his nails.

Most of all, you loved the idea of him sitting on a baby chair, all curled up, giant hand sprawled on the table while the girl spread lacquer on his pretty nails.

“Your granny babysat?”

“She raised a few of us, yes, and then she was the babysitter for all the kids of the street,” he explained.

“I thought you grew up with your mom?” you said confusedly.

“Yes, we stayed with my mom until we turned four, but then she went back to her job and we started staying with my grandmother. And when I was ten, my mom started dating a good man. He’s one of the greatest people I know, but unfortunately, he was transferred out of state and my mom decided to go with him. I didn’t want to leave and my granny let me stay with her.”

You nodded, taking in more details about him. “Are you happy about the situation with your mom? Do you miss her?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes. But I like seeing her happy. She got married and she’s safe. Her husband spoils her, he takes care of her and he’s well off. She won’t need to worry about her health.”

“That’s a good thing,” you nodded, getting startled once the timer rang.

“Thank God,” he muttered, getting an oven glove as you stepped away quickly.

Dinner was a quiet ordeal, with easy chatting and small pauses. Silence was more than welcome as you slipped into the quiet comfort of sharing a meal. It was all so natural, effortless. And the food was delicious, filling your stomach but also pleasing your tastebuds; Seokjin was famous for his culinary skills, but he really outdid himself with the cheesecake, so creamy and perfectly sweet that you asked for a second serving, Taehyung more than happy to comply.

You kept chatting as you helped him clear the table, washing the dishes while he dried them.

“Last one,” you called, rinsing a plate before passing it to him.

You watched him as he diligently dried it, your gaze meeting his in his peripheral.

You tried to find something to say as his stare focused on you, his hands placing down the plate as he fully turned towards you.

“What?” you murmured hesitantly.

“I might do something stupid,” he said, his voice deep and barely audible, his face getting closer to you. “But I haven’t done it in a very long time.” His hand landed on your waist. “Stop me if you find it outright idiotic.”

There was nothing idiotic in the way his mouth looked so inviting from up close, all its curves too inviting for you to stop staring.

The mole on his lower lip teased you in ways that made you want to throw yourself at him. You couldn’t even understand how the attraction worked, you were simply needy, praying for his mouth to finally meet yours.

“Close your eyes,” he breathed out, trying to find courage.

You followed his suggestion, putting yourself out of misery and standing on your tiptoes before leaning in, finally joining your lips with his.

He didn’t even pretend to keep calm, both arms wrapping around your waist as he held you, delivering a string of small pecks with his lips slightly ajar, offering you the soft plumpness of the inner flesh, vaguely humid and hot.

You loved it.

All you could do was exhale, a tiny cry leaving your throat as your vocal cords caught the breath leaving your lungs. Your hands flew to his hair, hiding in him as embarrassment set you aflame.

A low grunt echoed through his chest as he felt you tug the locks at his nape gently, your body pressing harder against him.

He tried to hold you back, not sure he was ready to admit the carnal way his body reacted to you. He wanted to be gentle, delicate, cautious, but the tightness of his trousers around his crotch was anything but.

“Darling, I need a minute,” he mumbled against your lips in an almost tickling motion.

“Just one more,” you replied, your voice so heated and thin.

He tutted. “Let’s not go too fast.”

You stood straighter and chased his mouth as he tried to retreat, your eyelids lowered as you stared at the sweet, tempting mole.

“Just one…” you whispered before sucking his lower lip, licking it with the tip of your tongue.

His hand moved to your tailbone, pressing you closer. Rational thought abandoned him as he pushed his tongue against the seam of your lips, rubbing it against your palate before letting it tangle with yours.

That’s when you noticed the hardness between your legs, his thigh slotted there comfortably as you pressed your hips to it, eliciting a moan from Taehyung.

“Sofa,” you murmured, trying to hold him to you as you walked backwards to the door.

“Wait,” he breathed out, trying to part from you, causing you to whine.

“Don’t go,” you said with a pout. “I need you,” you almost whimpered, touching his nape, his neck, his chest.

“I’ll be there in a second. Don’t go all cute grumpy on me, I just need to grab my phone,” he explained, unglueing your body from his. Reluctantly made your way to the kitchen door, waiting for him before heading to the sitting room, refusing to let him out of your sight anytime soon.

Once he’d pocketed his phone, he turned towards you, his eyes getting dark and lascivious as he studied your frame while you leaned against the door jamb.

He strolled casually towards you, your eyes following his sinewy limbs.

You realised you were eager to see him naked, the thought making you pause mid-breath.

Once he stood in front of you, his arm slipped between your back and the wooden frame of the door, holding you as he leaned down. “Smartest thing I’ve done in a while.”

“Even smarter if you’re gonna do me,” you quipped, biting your lower lip and cringing once you realised you had said it out loud.

He snickered and kissed you, your hips pushing forward to grind against him, his cock too hard and large for you not to notice it. His hand wrapped around your asscheek, helping you grind even harder, his lean, strong fingers squeezing and kneading your flesh deliciously. Carefully walking towards his destination, he helped you navigate the corridor in a slight penumbra, a thin ray of moonlight slashing the floor before he pushed the door open and entered the sitting room. The space was illuminated in a blue-grey light coming from the full moon shining outside the windows.

Haphazardly, you managed to sit down, pulling him with you, making him lose his balance and stumble a little.

“Are you okay?” you asked, worried about the stupefied look on his face.

“Yeah, just thinking how to…” he fixed his stance, wondering if he should pull you on his lap or make you lay down or…

“Come here,” you murmured, kissing the mole on his cheek. “I’ve got so many kisses to give you.”

“They’re all mine,” he cooed, turning adorable for a second.

You melted. “Yes, now come here, don’t make me beg.”

He turned and leaned into you, cupping your jawline and holding you still before he slipped his tongue across your mouth. “You’re too far like this,” he complained, ignoring the fact that your bodies were literally touching shoulder to ankle.

“Wait.” You quickly bent your legs underneath you, thankful for the no-shoes rule in his house as you sat on your heels. “Like this?” you asked as he mirrored the motion almost too rapidly, his body rocking dangerously.

He immediately realised his trousers were tighter like this. He tried to ignore it, his only goal being for his mouth to meet yours, feeling the hot, milky taste of your tongue that still held some memory of the cheesecake. “Come closer,” he breathed, hoping to get some friction, the softness of your breasts against his torso, crying out at how much he missed the stand-up position, allowing the front of his body to adhere to yours with alarming precision.

“Can’t get any closer,” you chuckled desperately. “Can I lay down?”

He nodded, he needed close.

You untucked your legs from beneath you, bending them at each of his sides. “We can go to my room—”

“I like it here,” you replied, tugging him into you, his eyes shooting open once he’d risked falling from the sofa.

You managed to catch him, thankful for the wide cushions of the seats. “Be careful,” you giggled fondly, kissing his brow, his nose, following his moles like fire flights. The whole night felt magical. It felt even more magical once you managed to get his playlist to play again, placing his phone on the ground and enjoying the round fullness of his backside.

“You really have hands made for pottery,” he mused as he kissed your brow, your cheeks, the bridge of your nose, your chin, the shell of your ear. “I like them there,” he confessed, pushing his pelvis against yours, meeting it mid-thrust and coaxing a whine from your throat and a growl from his.

One of his arms lifted from beside your head. “Can I?” he asked politely, letting it hover just a few inches over your breast.

“Please do,” you replied, leading his hand with yours, his wrist and fingers immediately catching up on how to grab it, squeeze it, roll it in his palm and toy with the nipple.

“Harder? Softer? Just like this?” he checked in, attentive and concerned.

“Just slightly harder,” you panted. “Slower too, please.”

His pace changed immediately, getting you to whine as you completely connected with his touch. The soft, slow massage was making you hyper-aware of every inch of skin, every single part of your breast, every nerve ending and hard edge and soft curve.

“I wanna take off my bra. Can I?” you asked in the heat of the moment.

Taehyung was vaguely confused for a second, so lost in the feel of you that he barely understood the question. “If you want that, I want that,” he replied, his breath laboured.

Quickly, you arched your back, Taehyung’s lips reaching the column of your throat and peppering it with soft pecks. “Do you need help?”

You tutted and moaned as his teeth scraped your skin lightly.

With some gymnastics, you managed to tug the garment out of your shirt, Taehyung moaning at the increased softness underneath his palm. “Goodness, they’re incredible,” he murmured, pressing his face against one, rubbing it as he turned his head side to side.

“Please, keep touching them,” you mumbled, your voice rough with the way you struggled to breathe.

He changed the arm propping him up, switching sides as he started to tease your other breast. “Does it feel good?”

“Yeah,” you managed to confirm before your hands grabbed his ass to push him against you.

He paused for a second.

“I’m getting out of control,” he warned you.

“And?”

“I’m gonna cum in my pants if we keep this up,” he confessed, purring as you nibbled his jaw. “Slow down, please,” he panted, lifting his hips away from you.

“Tae,” you called, breathing heavily, almost begging him.

“I want you a lot, ____, please tell me you do too,” he was almost feverish with need, his brow furrowed, his beautiful eyes glittering in the dark.

“Isn’t it clear?” you asked in return, trying to chase him on his retreat.

He tutted and pushed you down. “I want to hear it.”

“I want you, Taehyung. I need you. I want to see you lose control.” Your mind was gone, far far away, your brain malfunctioning as his curls tickled your upper chest.

“I don’t wanna go all the way,” he murmured, “I just… I just wanna—” he huffed out frustratedly. “I just want to make you feel good. And to feel you close to me.”

You bit your lip. “Maybe—”

“It’s not that I don’t want to make love to you. I really want to. But this is going so fast and I wanna savour every step. Take my time.” He pressed his forehead against your chest. “I just like you so much and I want you to know it means something to me.” He paused and you waited for him. “I don’t want you to think this is just a random thing to me, and I don’t want to be a random thing to you.”

“You’re not.” You cupped his cheek and pressed a soft kiss on his lips. “We can take our time—”

“You must think I’m a coward,” he murmured, voice filled with self-hatred.

You held him closer, trying to convey all your affection. “No, it’s okay. You’re okay. You’re safe with me. I get you, baby.” You rubbed the tip of his nose with yours. “Let’s take baby steps. We can just mess around. You want to make me feel good, and I you. No need to have sex to go there.”

He nodded. “I wanna keep touching you,” he murmured. “I wanna feel you with my hands.”

You blinked slowly, eager to feel his fingers on you, inside you. “That sounds great, baby,” you encouraged him, watching his shy smile and the gentle blush on his cheeks, out of exertion and shyness.

“Tell me if you need to stop,” he whispered in your ear before kissing the soft spot underneath it, his free hand moving down, from your breast to your stomach, slipping underneath your shirt, moving up against your naked skin.

You gasped once his palm cupped the underside of your bosom.

“Did I hurt you?”

You shook your head. “Feels very good,” you answered, caressing his hair out of his face, his eyes moving from your chest to your lips to your eyes.

“Are you okay with this?” he asked, reaching for your nipple with the pad of his thumb.

“Bless you, yes, baby. So good.” It was natural to trace his mouth with your finger, his lips parting to welcome it into his mouth. Your hips arched up, meeting his thigh to grind against him. You needed more pressure against your clit, your entrance clenching and widening as you felt wetness coat your folds uncomfortably. You refused to pressure him into leading his hand downwards, still you thanked several deities when his gentle fingertips started making their way to your belly button, dipping his digit in to study its shape, feeling all the ridges and tender skin. “It feels so cute,” he said after letting your finger out of his mouth, watching as you brushed it against your neck to dry it up. “I wanna make a little sculpture out of it.” He giggled. “Sorry, that’s so childish.” He shook his head.

“It’s adorable,” you replied, “it’s— Mmh, Tae. Yes.” He managed to scatter your thoughts across the universe once his fingers dipped into your jeans.

“Undo the button please,” he growled, reaching for the wet spot on your panties. “Darling dearest, you’re fucking drenched,” he said, a deep cry giving away just how desperate he was. “Can I get in your panties, precious?”

Mouth gaping, you nodded, an embarrassing mewl echoing across the room as he touched a slightly delicate spot. “That’s too sensitive,” you keened, a strangled purr leaving you once your back arched, his thumb relieving the disturbing pressure and wetness.

As slight friction began to build, Taehyung bit his lip, the vision of you so erotic and calming at the same time. It felt right, oh-so-right, to have you underneath him like that — maybe slightly overdressed, but adorably pliant and needy.

“Want them inside, darling?” he asked you, your head nodding yes quickly, without a shred of doubt. “Here, talk to me, sweetheart. Like this?” he murmured, waiting for your feedback.

“Yes,” was all you managed to utter, his digits hitting your sweet spot without even trying. “Rub there, please, stretch me,” you told him, guiding him as your hips started to roll, his thumb meeting your clit and causing a small whimper to exit your mouth before you clamped your lips around his neck.

“You feel amazing, darling. Soft and so hot and so velvety. You’re so dang slippery, it feels insane.” He kissed your head. “Want to make you cum so fast. I want to keep you up for hours like this, and then kiss you until you fall asleep. You’re spectacular, ____. I can’t take my eyes off you, my precious.”

You felt overwhelmed with the way he pushed his fingers inside you, pressing his long, strong, skilled, digits against your walls, stretching you so impossibly wide that you felt like you could probably fit four fingers in to the knuckles. But you didn’t have time to think much, simply arching your hips up and pushing your jeans and panties to your mid-thighs, trying to give him more space for action.

“Is the angle alright?” he checked in, binding his wrist a little lower, getting better leverage to finger you harder.

“Keep going like this,” you exhaled, your hand moving down, fixing his thumb as he struggled to find the right spot, “let me handle this, focus on the inside, please.”

He nodded and kissed your lips. “Sorry.”

You kissed him again. “No need to apologise— Yeah, right… there…” you said, starting to thrust up in earnest. “Clits are complicated but you’re doing so good inside,” you licked your lips, trying to ease the pain of them drying up with your and his breathing.

He bent down and chased the tip of your tongue as you ran it across your mouth, drinking in your soft hiccups and gasps as you neared your climax, his mouth crashing onto yours as you finally came apart underneath him, his kisses muffling your moans and cries.

Taehyung felt desperate as he slipped another finger inside you, giving you as much fullness as he could offer while you clenched around his digits, actually sobbing once you processed his generous offer.

It took you maybe thirty seconds before you could calm down, taking your fingers off your clit, whispering an “okay, slow down” to Taehyung, who halted the arching and pistoning of his fingers to simply press against your g spot and cup your mound with his palm.

“All good?” he asked, grunting a little as his arm cramped up.

“Yeah, are you?” you murmured back, noticing his wince.

“Cramp,” he huffed, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Want me on top? You’ve strained yourself already as it is,” you scolded him apprehensively.

He shook his head and withdrew his hand from your crotch, cleaning his fingers with lewd, erotic swipes of his tongue. You felt ready to begin all over again. “I need to be on top,” he said, drying his hand against his t-shirt before propping himself up on both elbows before bending down, hiding his face in the crook of your neck. “I kinda want to grind on you, if you’re okay with it.”

Nodding, you helped your hips up, fixing your clothes back in place but also leaving your zipper and button open. “Clothes on?”

You felt his head move in an affirmative motion, his hips starting to press against you. “I know I must look like a teenager to you.”

“It’s adorable. Makes me feel very young,” you said before chuckling. “It’s been so long since I felt this good with anyone,” you confessed, holding him to your chest, assisting his motions by moving your own pelvis in a wavy pattern. “It’s so comfortable. So familiar and nice,” you whispered in his ear before biting it gently. “You make me feel like I’m not an utter mess in this attraction thing.”

“You’re not a mess. You just feel attraction differently.” He managed to gather his thoughts and words long enough to reply to you. He thought it was important for you to feel that it was okay, that he didn’t mind, that all he cared about was how happy he felt by your side. “You’re hot, you’re smart. And you’re so…” He grunted as he found the perfect angle and pressure, his high rushing towards him. “So magnetic. And good…” Another purr left his mouth as he started humping you in earnest, going so fast you doubted you would survive having him inside you, his torso crashing on you as he hummed and bit the crook of your neck, crotch attached to your thigh as he pushed, harder and harder, his glutes impossibly tight under your palms.

“Yes, baby. I’m here, Tae. It’s all okay, babe.”

“So good,” he rumbled, still hiding against you. “So, so good,” he moaned again, your face tensing in a kind, elated smile.

“Lay on me, baby,” you kissed the crown of his head. You felt as if you were on cloud nine, and it had little to do with the orgasm and the freaky show. You loved his tenderness, his gentle approach, the way he had checked in on you throughout the whole night, wide puppy eyes staring at you in focus and adoration and wonder. And the way he had asked to take it easy, the way you had felt no pressure, no need to search for attraction, but finding it there, in the way his hands felt familiar and welcome and so, so loving, in his face and his smile and his stupid, stupid, ridiculously fluffy hair. There was attraction and even though you had asked yourself why at the beginning, you didn’t dare doubt it now. It was just like oxygen in your blood, like black holes and shooting stars and the moon phases. Undoubtable. Solid. Proven. Undeniable. It had become a main axiom to your existence.

I’m in love with Kim Taehyung.

It was like the world suddenly spinned the other way around. You let the revelation sink in, your hand running up and down Taehyung’s spine.

“You’re safe with me, babe.”

He nodded and nuzzled in closer. “Are you staying?”

“Yes, sweetie. You’ll be sleeping in my arms tonight, baby.”

You felt him smile against your neck before he found a comfortable position and closed his eyes.

Taglist is open

Navi: Chapter 1 — Chapter 2 — Chapter 3 — Chapter 4 — Chapter 5 — Chapter 6 — Chapter 7

[all-that-tmnt-jazz]

Valentine’s Day Challenge [14/14]

Warnings: None

Incarnation: Bayverse

Extra Info: Day 14 out of 14. None of the prompts/scenarios are related. This is the last post of my Valentine’s Day Challenge- I hope you all enjoyed it.

Posting: 3:30 PM Each Day

Prompt: Their First Valentine’s Day with Their S/O

Leo:

He had wanted to make you a gift

He didn’t want to have April/Casey/Vern get him a cheap card to give to you and call it a day

No, not this lad

He wrote out many drafts of a letter

Then drafted at least 4 sonnets

Then drafted at least 6 poems

He gave up, then trying to make an actual gift instead of something written

He tried to make a few different things

He borrowed some wood from Raph’s woodworking station to make a couple of carved trinkets

He borrowed some of Donnie’s vinyl mesh to make a messenger bag so you could carry your school books easier

He borrowed some spray paint and a small canvas from Mikey to try to make you a small portrait

All of these didn’t turn out as he planned, so he gave up on them

Valentine’s Day was creeping closer, and he had a blank slate

Nothing

No ideas

“Useless, empty brain!” he would often tell himself

“Wow, washed up. So sad,” Donnie said to him, sipping a cup of coffee

“I’ve got nothing! I’m done!” he groaned

“Hey, you got this. Shake it up, find a new angle.”

Leo chuckled dryly

“And what does that mean?”

“Look around, use anything to your advantage. I’m not giving up on you.”

With that, Donnie left Leo’s room

Leo just scoffed

“‘Use anything to your advantage,’” he imitated. “I’ve got nothing that’s inspiring…”

He looked around his room to confirm his theory

But then, something caught his eye

He saw something on the corner of his desk, and he had a thought 

He knew right then and there what to do

Then, Valentine’s Day came 

He arrived at your apartment and was quick to join you in making dinner

You had also gotten a small cake, which you two shared after dinner

You then gave him what you had gotten

You got him a bonsai sapling and a new blade sharpener- he had mentioned recently that his current one was becoming dull

He kissed you gently

He hesitated before pulling out what he had brought for you

But then, he placed his journal in front of you

“I… I know that I have trouble opening up about my emotions, but I’ve always written them down… I trust you with my heart, Y/n.”

You saw the look in his eyes

He was nervous, and you could see how much it took for him to do this

You hugged him, placing kisses all over his face

He flustered

“Thank you for trusting me.”

Raph:

This guy has everything planned out

He had never been as someone who is a romantic, but boy is he

He’s a sucker for romance 

For six months before Valentine’s Day, he found out your favorite dish

He had never told you his plan, of course

He also found a way to figure out your favorite love songs

And your favorite flowers

(Red Peruvian Lilies- image Here)

So, when he texted you to go to the roof of your apartment building, you were pretty shocked with what he pulled together

He had a speaker playing a playlist of purely love songs that he heard you say “I love this one” about

He figured out how to make your favorite dish from scratch and had it set up on a small table with two chairs

On the center of the table, he had a small bouquet of Red Peruvian Lilies

You were so flustered when you saw everything

“You really did this?”

“Well, I didn’t want to not do something,” he said a bit nervously

You couldn’t help but smile

“I cannot believe you…” you whisper

You approach him and wrap your arms around his torso

He wraps his arms around your shoulders

“I love you, Y/n.”

You just hold him a bit tighter

“I love you, too.”

Donnie:

He had every fine detail planned out

Every tiny thing that one normally wouldn’t find important

(he’s a perfectionist, cut him some slack)

He had turned your rooftop into a place that was equivalent to a movie set

He had his brothers help to install a “ceiling” and four “walls” that were painted to mimic a restaurant, but made sure there was still plenty of airflows

(it would get really warm in there if there wasn’t, despite the cold weather)

He made sure everything was perfect

He convinced Mikey to borrow a record player, then had Casey get your favorite albums

When you got home from work, you texted Donnie to let him know

He responded quickly, letting you know that he was already ready

You quickly got into a different outfit- one ready for a date

You made sure to grab the gift you had gotten him

It was a piece he absolutely needed for a gadget he had been talking non-stop about

When you got to the rooftop, you were shocked

Your jaw dropped, and you smiled

“Hey,” he said

His voice was shaking

“Hey,” you said, still looking around. “This is amazing, Donnie…”

He smiled.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it, Donnie. Your mind never ceases to amaze me…”

He gently took the box from your hand and put it down, then taking your hands

You look up at him

He placed one of your hands onto his shoulder, then placed his onto your waist

You two just slow danced around the “rooftop restaurant” 

(as he called it in his mind)

“Happy Valentine’s Day, my love.”

You place your head into his plastron

“Happy Valentine’s Day.”

He kissed the top of your head, grateful to have you in his arms

Mikey:

He is the only one of his brothers who invited you to the Lair

He was able to convince Splinter to let him use the dojo

He set up several strings of multi-colored fairy lights around the dojo

He had printed out every picture you two took together and clipped them to the fairy lights

There were hundreds, so this took him several days

His brothers were almost uncomfortable with the silence in the rest of the Lair because of how much time he spent in the dojo

(Raph would actually go in there to “train.” In actuality, he just wanted to hear Mikey’s voice as he talked to himself- and occasionally to Raph)

Not only did Mikey do that, but he also spray-painted a portrait of the first picture you two took together

And he convinced April to get him a bouquet of roses to give to you

He was actually incredibly nervous before you arrived

He started pacing

He checked your location often, just to make sure you were safe as you walked over

His brothers had never seen him so high-strung

When you arrived, his eyes turned into hearts

You were wearing orange

His color

His heart would not stop pounding

When he showed you his setup, your heart swelled

And then when you saw the portrait he made, you could have married him right there

That night, his brothers had never heard him laugh so much

Neither of you could be happier.

[transrightsjimin]

@trespassers-will​ ok here we go

i also watched the various videos hidden inside each photo and the videos that were posted today as well and took notes too hjfhk

1. hobi’s room

okay so i thought i would rank jin’s room first but then i saw hobi’s room and i saw that couch nd went OMG okay thats no.1!! i love this interior so so much, like i normally hate orange and blue as a combination but this seems almost more like red and blue and it really reminds me of hopeworld. there’s many pop art-like graphic design posters adorning the walls, showing lines like ‘hope‘, ‘sweet’ and ‘my way‘. the shoes on the closet(?) behind him were disaplayed bc those are the colours we wears the most in his fashion. and then there’s this iconic inflatable clear pink couch and him wearing a pink robe and just GOD what a mood, i want a room like this!! the chair reminds me a lot of the type of fun quirky furniture i fantasized about and incorporated into my drawings as a kid when i was around 8-11, probably because i got inspired by stuff like totally spies and polly pocket, which had all these designs clearly inspired by 60s and 70s space age design but more in pink and purple i guess.

also i hate the search for such stills bc even w safe search on, you still have godawful f3tish drawings depicting those kids from totally spies ending up in search results and it’s disgusting. but yeah it reminded me of that

when i say polly pocket, i particularly mean this quik-clik (magnetic clothes and hair) era in 2005 which was what i had some stuff from. i had that couch / movie night! set and the pool and that

also i just really like hobi’s room because with all the posters and cabinets and clothing items laid out and a carpet and fun colours and whatnot, it really feels like an actual room you could live in, unlike any of the other rooms which feel very empty or too minimalist to me. but YEAH hobi’s room is my fav, i love the way a fuller room feels more cozy and habitable and floaties and inflatable floaties are AMAZING

2. jin’s room

jin’s room is so prettyyyy!! jins explanation of the room was very uhm confident and funny but i love that. the couch looks like a lilac shell, which makes sense as everything else looks very pearlescent. i really love cool-toned pastels like lilac, powder / baby blue, periwinkle and everything just looks like it’s part of a waiting hall for mermaids or something. there’s also gems in it which took me a while to realize bc i only noticed the glass chandelier and lamp but then i saw them in his hand nd on the table. i dont rly care abt gems / jewels but overall i just love how this whole room speaks ‘pretty‘ to me. robes are always a plus. as i was writing this, i was also reminded of hair extension mullet jin with iridescent clothing and all and that is actually my all time fav photoshoot / look of him. him saying he’s the gem of the room makes sense too as he’s sitting in the shell like a pearl. jin pretty pretty mermaid

ok from here on its getting harder bc place 3-8 is not so much abt which is nicer but which one actually makes me feel any emotion bc i just feel too exhausted for excitement over comebacks or anything really. also minimalism doesnt make me feel anything either. but ill try

3. jungkook’s room

ok ive been staring at a screen w few sleep for too long so ill try to go through my ranking faster bc ive been working on this post for too long, also partially bc i cant focus nd partially bc theres some i just rly dont feel much for but i feel bad for ranking one lower than the other or ranking smth higher when ive talked to someone who dislikes a room i like dghkfdf

but yeah i like jungkooks room! its a very intense blue tht might make you depressed if youre in it too long but again i love how theres multiple items stacked in the bg and intense blue lights, and the ceiling looks like it has soundproof padding. its like youre in a recording studio or at some vaguely nostalgic party of a friend of my mom, who had plants in her home nd rock music nd the tv on and was smoking nd it was a bit dark and mysterious. i like it, it intrigues me a bit nd makes me miss going to concerts. also this pic rly just reminds me of 2008-2010 pop music videos where theres always a party and dj and people are wearing sunglasses or something and theres a dance break at the end

4. yoongi’s room

also blue!! the first time i saw this pic it was bc someone sent it to me to say how ugly they thought the decoration / editing looked w the metallic dripping stuff from the couch and whatnot but i kinda like it :( i like his velvety clothing and the light blue in the rest of the room is really pretty. i like mirror themes when done well nd i like how the reflectiveness shows also in the metallic dripping nd metallic spheres and the mirror hes standing on nd the way light reflects on his clothes and from the lamp. only the lamp feels a bit too much like a contemporary art installation for me nd his room already is a bit too empty for my liking nd i had the feeling when i watched the vid of him walking through the room that there was not much to interact w in the room like it was a bit dull. his voice in the explanation videos made it feel more like a place of peace / solitude rather than boredom or loneliness though.

5. namjoon’s room

ehh i think place 5, 6 and 7 are interchangable at this point. namjoon woulve ranked lowest but i listened to his explanation videos and saw him goof around in today’s video and appreciated it a bit more. the room still looks quite minimalist and not super comfortable, like youre not allowed to touch anything there (which is the same for jin i guess but i dont view that as smth meant to look like a living room). i do like how the wood theme is present throughout each wall nd in various items and w the windows nd use of space it feels a bit inspired by japanese interior design and that that is inspired by his bonsai tree nd love for woodwork, but im not sure. i was actually quite shocked some of his explanations were so short. so yeah i place this 5th bc i like how coherent the theme is but it doesnt feel cozy or inviting nd still very cold to me, maybe bc it looks too expensive or minimalistic in terms of colours.

6. jimin’s room

i like the flowers but also i dont like tiny flowers nd they tend to be the stinkier ones. i kind of like how jimins room feels the most like a grandma one w all the flowers nd offwhite and the lamp and beige i think? but the colours are so muted and if anything it feels like a place for a bridal photoshoot nd im just so bored. i love jimin nd feel bad for ranking a room he curated so low but it rly creates no serotonine in my brain, just melatonine bc im sleepy. i like how the room i obviously quite packed w stuff, but then the washed out colours make everything still look very bleak. hmm. i do like how the flowers reach outside the borders unlike w any of the others’ photos. im about to fall asleep so let me quickly finish this post

7. tae’s room

the picture in the middle behind him is interesting nd i dont know how he made that, nd i do like how he described his room as a place where there would always be enough food for visitors. i know it’s meant to communicate some highbrow, artsy vibe but w the weird editing and lightning nothing looks real in the room he’s in (including himself, like it doesnt even look like hes in the room) and it just looks kitschy instead of artsy. yeah i dont gravitate towards this one, it’s like deep-fried and desaturated at the same time nd i tend to avoid looking at it subconsciously

8. the first room photo

i first posted a long description here why but it disappeared but in short. this photo evokes no emotional response to me other than think of kind of crappy hotel rooms i was in w my parents while on vacation nd we slept in the same room or something nd the beds were awful nd made my moms chronic pain worse. the clothing is very boring and so r the colours of the room. i know bangtan curated stuff but its still the least interesting photo to me, maybe im too depressed to feel anything idk

im sorry this was prob very boring TT_TT i tried my best to make a ranking but i rly dont know nor care as much as i would want to

[tinyshe]

Garden Report 21.01.21

We have the older plum tree pruned ... radically. We call it the Big Bonsai now.  It is budding up to bloom in a week or so if the weather stays above freezing. Started on the quince that is starting to leaf out, as a little trim on the Queen Cox apple and the European pear was in order as well. Asian pear received a light trim to get rid of some weak crossing water spouts. So much branches trimmed from the Burbank/older plum that we have to get rid of the brush so we can move in an orchard ladder. Still many things to cut back in the back and side garden.

Pulled out all the bok choy as its not growing and just getting slimy with cold and damp. Pulled Asian style stir fry mustard greens as they are starting to bolt. Gave to the chickens. They aren’t impressed. The cage for the greens took a hit with the cold and all the joints are unglued. Rebuild using screws perhaps.

Chickens are being picky eaters. I think they are bored. No meal worms, no fresh water freeze dried shrimps, no table scraps and no fresh greens interest them. They can free feed on their protein pellets and I have cut back on their scratch to zero. Bronte talks alot... or complains a lot. I stay a little with them but not much as that my breathing is still an issue. They are not fond of my gasping :) The neighbors smoke excessively along the fence and that just exasperates things. Bronte is the one-a-day egg champ. I really am looking forward to warmer days and getting to sit with them.

Camellias and rhodies are blooming. The fruitless plum has a beautiful crown of fuchsia coloured blooms. A few of the roses are starting again. I really need to get them trimmed up before they leaf out and start laying in many blooms. The feverfew on the southend is starting to bloom. The rosemary is blooming more. The African daisy that is being overrun in the hedgerow is putting out a few flowers and actually looking great. Transplant? The magnolia is putting forth their little fuzzy pods that hide their wonderfully scented simple blooms. Found a home for all the standard iris I have. I don’t get enough sun/heat for the to so anything flower-wise.

The grow closet peas are about a meter and a half, not quite 2m (approx 5 1/2- 6 ft) and laying on more blooms. The lettuce is not happy and keeps trying to die. The black radish are in too small of a containers and refuse to grow more than 4 leaves and have tiny bulb root. The leaves look wickedly course and stickery. Sat out the chard and broccoli/brussel sprouts -- no body touched the chard but the others are mowed down to numbs. So much for transplanting those.

Something has been digging in the front hedge along the walk this week: Rats! found their droppings. They have gnawed their way into the neighbors ‘garage’ and are living there. Will have to set traps but then I guess I need to post signs because stupid people let their dogs and cats run amuck on other people’s property. Will be just my luck that they get trapped. The woman that brings her dog across the street to crap in my front garden daily now has an outdoor cat. I wonder if she knows people poison the rodents around here? I can’t approach her because she is all bent out of shape I asked her to keep her dog out of my front garden. She is also the one that has the pervy drone operator adult-child. At least he stopped fly around peoples gardens and homes like a peeping tom.

Getting eager to get my other bare root plants. They are thinking they will ship February; March at the latest. I still have so much work to do to get spaces ready!

[rhimorechill]

1-30 can i just have your opinion on all of them please

KDHSKHFKFB whoever u are anon ur actually my only follower ever

1. are you of the “tom nook is a crook” or “tom nook is an honest businessman” opinion ?

HES AN HONEST BUSINESSMAN !!! ur loans have NO interest and he was handing out 100k interest/month for a good while there !!!!! the only reason it dropped to 10k is b/c i accidentally made a mil while tryna get dreamies ok. the whole "nook inc owns the entire island" thing is KINDA WEIRD but like ! i mean. its still a pretty sweet deal

2. do you play as yourself or a made up character ?

i play as me !! and then everyone tells me my character is cute which ROCKS

3. where is your house located ?

well CURRENTLY. its just at the center of the island. but once i get terraforming (which will be as soon as i get lolly, mitzi, and purrl) it will be on its own little island in the middle of the island

4. who were your first villagers ?

hamlet and renee ! and bea and agent s and broccolo. oh and quillson. theyre all gone now but i moved bea into a friends island so i can visit her later !!

5. preferable method of earning bells ?

turnip runs babey !!! srsly i will pay like 500k tips and make a million in PROFIT (per run !!) its fucking awesome. i never use turnip exchange tho that shit website always stops telling me where i am in the queue

6. what villager personalities do you typically get along best with ?

i love all of them. so much. normal and lazy villagers might take the cake, but ankha was on my island for 2 days and nearly stole my heart, so snooty villagers r up there too. smug villagers ? like i mostly have experience w raymond b/c i fucking HATED quillson and keaton n ed i barely paid attention to (ed gets points tho. he shares my bday) but that goddamn nerd has a war with slugs. we love to see it. peppy villagers rock (i have THREE on my island rn... but ugh i gotta kick out merry sometime..... i love her but i just !! have too many). i CANNOT hate jock villagers those guys just wanna work out !!! and talk abt working out !!!! theyve done nothing wrong in their whole lives. uchi villagers are great too and cranky villagers r trying their best !!! every villager is good is what im saying. even quillson (i guess)

7. who is your current best friend in the game ?

MGHGSHGD felicity or raymond !!! they send me mail all the time and also i really like raymond. b/c hes such a fucking NERD of an accountant. and felicity was the first of my dreamies to move in so im 💚 when it comes to her...... SOMEDAY. lolly will also be my bff. lolly come home

8. is there a villager you want to get rid of ?

MERRY WHITNEY VELMA. PLEASE GO AWAY. U R ALL SWEETIES BUT NONE OF U MADE THE CUT. ONLY ONE OF U IS EVEN A CAT. (if you want whitney or velma pls dm me !!! someone asked for merry already but id love for them to be on islands where ppl love em)

9. do you hoard a lot of items ?

YES. i did a purge the other day and laid a fuckton of items out to give away. it did not fit and i had to shove some on the cliffs. i still have a big pile waiting to be taken. meanwhile my storage gets new items added

10. take medicine or save & restart ?

medicine is for chumps.

11. where is your favorite spot in your village ?

HMMMM i rlly like my entrance !!!! its rlly neat and has green AND pink mums + trees..... and fencing and a path. IDK i worked hard on it and think it turned out rlly well !!!! other than that maybe my shopping area ? i dont have terraforming yet so theres a lot i Havent Gotten To wrt my island (like my cliffs are almost entirely undeveloped b/c i havent placed any inclines. so theres no pathing)

12. what achievement do you want to hit the most ? (ex: golden equipment, all fish / bugs, etc)

its not REALLY an achievement but i want all my dreamies real bad. after that i want a 5 star island !! i would like a lily of the valley. or 20.

13. do you know any secret tips ?

HMMM i dont think so ?? i dont really know any secrets. ive been trying out campsite cycling and it has Not been going well tho. if u need tips on tting to move villagers out or smthn i can help w that !! this is such a vague q that im like DO i know smthn ??? that is a secret ?????? i also vaguely know abt *m**b* sp**f*ng but im not allowed to do that soooo. thats a pipe dream. fun fact: its not a secret but gardening is SO fucking complicated theres genetics n shit. its wild. thank god someone straight up gave me blue roses so i dont have to go thru that shit. also do not tt backwards when dealing with turnips. not even 30 mins to save ur 600+ prices frm closing time. They Will Change

14. who are your dreamies ?

THESE CATS (i know major shocker from tumblr user pumakittycat. app is acnh life)

15. favorite furniture item ?

HMMMM THIS IS A TOUGH ONE. maybe mum cushions ? those r cute as fuck. i love every flower item, honestly, frm garden wagons to flower stands to pansy tables to hycanith lamps to. idk the bonsai shelf ? i have one of those. i also love my sea globe. its great. WAIT DO RUGS AND WALLS/FLOORS COUNT THERES NO QUESTIONS ABT THOSE i love so many FUCKING items. also autumn woods wall, if ur out there,

16. favorite clothing item / outfit ?

my green clover dress !!!! its the best thing EVER. my full outfit also consists of a silver tiara, a cherry blossom pouchette, white fishnets, and green rubbertoed sneakers. and, ofc, clover facepaint. ALSO FOR CONTEXT. my island is named clover bay thats why im like Clover Time. Theyre Important To The Aesthetic. im also an aro bitch who loves overall dresses. b/c they slap

17. favorite museum room ?

I LOVE THE LITTLE BUTTERFLY ROOM do not even TALK to me unless ur the butterfly room in the museum THERES SO MANY AT ALL TIMES ITS SO NICE

18. cedar, fruit, or palm tree ?

FRUIT. i literally chopped down every single hardwood tree on my island and replaced them w orange trees

19. favorite fruit ?

.......Oranges

20. favorite fish ?

HM. bitterling has a special place in my heart for being my Only fish model. whale sharks also rock tho. and thats only of the ones ive caught !!! i also love frogs, turtles, and obligatorily catfish. oh and seahorses and bettas

21. favorite bug ?

HM. ladybugs maybe. and both birdwings ! maybe also emperors butterflies. possibly others as well

22. favorite flower breed ?

MUMS !!!!!

23. favorite crossbred rare flower breed + color ?

GREEN MUMS.

24. favorite villager personality ?

havent we been over this ? im a dumb bitch who likes all of them way too much

25. favorite time of day to play ?

i uh. play. all the time. i tt a Lot tho so i like setting my time to 1pm ? idk it Feels like a good time

26. favorite special visitor event or reward ? (ex: selecting an art piece from redd, aiding guliver and getting a special item, etc)

SAHARAH. im obsessed w the fucking rugs and the tickets and the lottery. i also love celeste, and gulliver has a spot on the faves list for providing lucky cats sometimes (also a fave item) and for having been to space

27. favorite kk song ?

call me basic, but bubblegum kk plays at all times in my living room

28. favorite animal crossing game ?

ACNH lmao. i never really sat down and got Dedicated to city folk, which is the only other game ive played

29. if you’ve played animal crossing before, are there any animals you’re nostalgic for ? if this is your first game, has any animal in particular left some effect on you ?

ROVERRRRR come home :( also harriet.... i Miss Her. and resetti (i REFUSE to use rescue services dont @ me). and also the bus driver guy who took u to the city. If You Were An NPC In City Folk I Miss You Now

30. share a story from your gameplay

SO. i love the little alien easter egg. i set up a photoshoot and made like a little storyline abt the aliens and stuff. i even got a flying saucer and put that down and used it. and every fucking time !!!! i do shit with aliens !!!!!!! gulliver shows up on my beach. i know he went to space in cf n stuff (I GOT FLAVOR TEXT ONE TIME-- DURING NH-- ABT HIM NOT WANTING TO GO BACK EVEN) so i think its fucking hilarious that the aliens show up.... so does he

[ruvelle]

errr sorry

ever since i read this fanfic idea from i don’t know where its been on my mind and i don’t know if anyone’s actually written this fic before so i will :,) 

Luisa said goodbye to everything she knew and loved. While Rose was the only person who truly loved her, every part of her, she’s the reason Luisa had to leave everything behind. Her family no longer cared about her and she was just seen as a total trainwreck and a burden so it was important for Luisa to start over.  To start fresh in Chicago. 

Luisa wanted to keep the urban lifestyle because she’s always liked the busyness of the streets. For her, that meant no matter what hour it was, she wouldn’t be alone. Luisa betraying Rose was weighing on her consciousness. It wasn’t easy for her to go against the woman she has loved her all these years although they had gone through thick and thin together (including Rose killing her father). But Luisa realized that over time, her addiction with alcohol turned into an addiction with Rose. Going back to Rose was easier because Rose loved her and accepted her no matter what but it wasn’t healthy. At the time, Rose being a criminal seemed like a little flaw but that flaw meant they could never realistically live a normal life. They could never settle down and stay in one place, celebrate holidays with family, or not worry about the police finding Rose. Betraying Rose and finally saying goodbye meant that Luisa could get a chance at a healthy love life. 

Once Luisa reached Chicago, her instincts were telling her to drink. Numbing her consciousness of betraying Rose was making her physically nauseous and so an hour later, she’s sitting at a bar, ordering a drink, praying that she could handle just one drink. Just one drink to blur the line between reality and fantasy. But before she could take the drink, a man sat down beside her. 

“Do you come here often?” he asks

Luisa, lost in thought, staring down the drink, doesn’t realize this rather tall man was talking to her. 

“Come on, don’t leave a man hanging” 

Luisa looks up from the drink, “Oh I’m so sorry, I just, I don’t think I should be drinking,” 

The man sighs, “I get it, I shouldn’t be drinking either. 2 years sober! Yet here we are” 

“So what’s making you want to throw all that out the window?” 

“More like who. My fiance. We got into a fight and I don’t think we’re going to get married anytime soon. My name is Schnieder by the way.”  Luisa giggles, “Hi Schnieder, I’m Luisa” 

“You know what, I think we should ditch the drinks, get out of here. Save what’s left of our dignity.” 

“If this is a ploy to get with me, sorry buddy, I’m gay.” 

“It’s not like that! You did just hear the part about my fiance right?” 

“Alright then Schnieder let's get out of here” 

Luisa wakes up on a couch in an apartment to the sound of a pan sizzling. She sits up taking in her surroundings. She sees a case of snowglobes against the wall to her right and the coffee table is decorated with a bonsai tree. 

“Good morning sleepyhead! I figured I’d make you some breakfast and if you’re not busy, maybe you’ll consider coming to alcoholics anonymous?” 

Luisa is hesitant but she agrees anyway because Schnieder is kind and giving. She thinks it would be good to have someone like him in her life who would support her in her sobriety. I mean, he’s already saved her once. 

-------------------In alcoholics anonymous meeting------------

Everyone is sitting in a circle to make them feel included. Its reminds Luisa of the many group therapy meetings she’s been to when she was committed in the mental institution back in Miami. The only difference being, everyone was sane. 

“Hi, my name is Luisa Alver. I just moved here from Miami yesterday and I’ve been sober for three years now. Last night I almost relapsed but this 6-foot angel saved me and he brought me here” she says with a smile. Talking openly was always easy for Luisa. Being the daughter of a successful hotel owner called for being socially extroverted. 

“It is a pleasure having you join in our meeting today Luisa but if you don’t mind sharing, what made you want to relapse last night?” 

“The same reason I left Miami,” Luisa was careful to exclude Rose being a major drug lord, “I had a girlfriend who I loved very much and loved me too. But after being with her for years in an on-again-off-again relationship, I realized that my addiction to alcohol had become an addiction to her. Even though she loved me, she had done some terrible things to me. Despite those terrible things, I continued to stay with her because I had no family left. They didn’t exactly like her and they thought I was delusional for staying with her. But I loved her. Being with her meant I was loved and accepted but it also meant I had no family. But those things she did to me, they continued to affect me so I decided I just had to leave and start over,” Luisa had tears in her eyes. She hadn’t realized that she had missed Rose. When she was in Miami, although Rose was behind bars, she could always visit but this time, it’s goodbye forever. This time Luisa had betrayed Rose. 

“Whatever Rose did to you, whatever pain she’s caused you, we hope that the wounds are healing and we hope that we’ll see you again next week” 

Luisa felt relief. Like a weight had been carried off of her. She was no longer suffering in silence and finally felt like she belonged and that she was accepted to a healthy environment despite the mistakes she’s made. 

After the meeting, Schnieder hugs Luisa. “There are some people I’d like you to meet. My family. I know you don’t exactly have a family at the moment so I’d like to welcome you to mine” 

[holidayclownsinc]

the last intro is here finally! and it's my boi, gideon, the whole ass man™. like idk man, he's funny, smart, handsome, strong, and sensitive, he's so much and i love him so dearly. 

oh hi there, welcome to holiday, GIDEON WOOD. oh wait, you’ve been here. has anyone ever told you that you look like WINSTON DUKE? you’re MALE and use HE/HIM? just checking. and you’ve been here for ALL YOUR LIFE-ISH? you’re 32 too, right? just curious. you work as an ARCHITECT still? you know people say you’re ENCOURAGING, KIND, but LOST IN THE CLOUDS, OBLIVIOUS so i guess take that with a grain of salt. well, at least i do know you’re excited for CHRISTMAS. bye now! [it be ash, the gremlin]

holiday native

he always loved reading and learning

preferred going to museums and libraries over the park 

he still liked playing and being active, but like 8 times out of 10, he'd choose the library or reading or watching educational tv

always did really well in school and was typically quiet and calm during school 

he was always really sweet though and if you needed help or just to talk to someone you knew wasn't going to mock you or talk behind your back, you could always turn to gideon 

didn't really do sports in high school though he was active, he just didn't like competitive team sports 

he loved competitions of the mind though, he was on the decathlon team, the speech and debate team, won the state spelling bee, the chess team, you name it

passion was the engineering club though, and though that wasn't his speciality so to speak, he still loved it 

he was the valedictorian of his year

was accepted and went to MIT to study architecture 

graduated with two degrees, one in architecture and the other in architecture history 

he worked in europe for 6 years, working in restoration of buildings but also consulted for gensler and other top us firms on the side 

so what i'm saying is this guy is a literal superstar in the field and no one can design unique buildings like he can and no one can design restorations with such finesse and style like he can 

may or may not be a consult on the restoration of notre dame 

so anyway, what i'm saying is that he has made a name for himself, so he can basically live anywhere in the world and just consult and at most, he has to take short trips here and there

so gideon's back in holiday, working on his dream house and wants it to be done to spend this christmas in it

but he currently has a nice apartment on the town square 

fun facts 

he loves to garden and he's very hands on with his house 

absolutely loves jazz

makes dad jokes 

is a massive nerd, definitely played dnd all through out college

he's got his doggo, an austrailian shepard, named rover 

is an absolute hopeless romantic, but not great at relationships, mainly because he falls in love with ideas and less with the person that's in front of him 

always has to have a cup of tea when he's drafting 

still prefers to hand draft over drafting on his computers 

has a beautiful drafting table 

totally has a bonsai garden 

also, that's not the only thing he dedicates his time to 

he's got a foundation that helps build sustainable housing for the homeless and underdeveloped parts of the world 

he designs that housing himself 

it's called stronger foundations 

texts like your dad 

is sweater daddy

all of his clothes are made out of boyfriend material

[fedorasaurus]

Tagged by: @ex-blue-beetle

Rules: Answer 11 questions, make 11 of your own, Tag 11 people!

QUESTIONS:

-What was the best thing happened in your life?

So far, moving in with my partner, @theflib, was a pretty major step in my life. Finally being able to live on my own, as opposed to with my parents, was very liberating. All the better when you live with someone that you are 100% comfortable with!

-What is your second language? (if you don’t have one, what language do you want to study as a second language?)

I’ve tried several times to learn another language (Japanese, French, German) while in highschool/college, but I struggle with it, unfortunately. Recently, I’ve been trying to learn Tlingit by using online resources.

-Do you like Ted Kord?

I love him! Not as much as Booster Gold loves him, though. Ted Kord represents a time in comic book history when writers weren’t afraid to have a little levity in their stories. He is/was a very important character in the DC Universe.

-What is your favorite food?

I’m not sure if I have a single favorite food, but I’ll eat anything spicy. Sometimes I add hot-sauce to whatever I’m eating just to get that flavor!

-What do you think life is?

What a deep question! What is life/living, in general? I suppose it’s an ongoing process of bettering one’s own life, and in turn the lives of others. Like, leveling up as new challenges arise. Not to imply that life is a game, but it has game-like elements, and in that respect, I’m going for the “good ending.”

-What will you do on this Christmas?

Having dinner with my mom on Christmas Eve, then going to spend Christmas Day with Flib’s family.

-Happiest memory

I have a lot of positive nostalgia about visiting my aunts for Thanksgiving when they lived in New Jersey (they are in Arizona now). We used to do it every year! We would take the train and stay in NJ for a few days, doing homework while there so we wouldn’t get too behind in classes. I distinctly remember being very young, sitting at the kitchen table in the morning, doing some English homework out of the textbook. It was something like, you know, identifying the verbs in a sentence, very basic stuff. Anyway, I remember looking out the window and seeing some fluffy sheep walking by. I guess the neighbors had a farm! 

Another thing I always liked about our Thanksgiving trips was that my mom would buy my siblings and I a video game to play while we were on the train (for Gameboy consoles). I still get memories of hanging out at my aunt’s house every time I boot up a game of Pokémon Crystal, Aria of Sorrow, or Onimusha Tactics. My aunt had this awesome basement/guest bedroom that had a bar with like... a vintage gumball machine on it. I think it was also the first time I’d seen a bonsai tree? It was so tiny and beautiful!

-You have 10 dollars in your pocket now. What will you buy?

I’m a little impulsive and I love a surprise, so I’d probably buy a few packs of trading cards, especially if I liked the artwork. 

-Who is your favorite character?

Booster Gold is very important to me.

-What do you want to do to your favorite character?

*sweats* Haha... 

But in all honesty, if I had control over his character in the comics, I’d definitely give him a happy, silly adventure with Ted Kord. And they would both live a long and happy life as an awesome superhero couple!

-Are you a writer or a painter?

I used to write a lot, and would love to get back into it if I could find the motivation to do so, but for the past few years I have mostly expressed my creativity through drawing and digital painting.

Thank you for the questions! They were very thoughtful.

My questions:

1. What pets do you currently have, if any? Feel free to include a photo!

2. You can have one pokémon as a pet or traveling/work companion. Which do you choose?

3. What is your favorite cryptid or fantasy creature?

4. You don’t have to say whether you believe it or not, but has there ever been a conspiracy theory that really intrigued you?

5. Can you play any instruments? If not, what instrument would you like to learn?

6. Do you have any side-blogs? If so, name one of them and/or describe its contents.

7. Do you play Dungeons & Dragons (or other tabletop role-playing game)? 

8. If you partake in Christmas traditions, do you prefer a real or artificial tree? If you do not celebrate Christmas or decorate a tree, what is your favorite winter tradition/activity?

9. What is your favorite board game or party game?

10. What is your favorite pun or other wordplay?

11. What is one thing today that made you smile?

Tag:

1. @osiiria 2. @daredevil76iscanon 3. @theflib 4. @shepardsorey 5. @mattsmanpain 6. @tintlet 7. @zionmantis 8. @theoexplores 9. @okapiandpaste 10. @macgyvertape 11. @mary13design

[twilightpony4]

Ola Americano... Turtle?: 26. Back Home

Today in the lair was very slow. Although it was filled with the people that the family knew (besides Vincent) and sensei, they kept it very mellow. Out of the five people there, only three of them knew something that the other two did not. The three adults were in the kitchen and talking with one another. April and Vern sat at the table as Casey leaned against the countertop with a bag of Doritos that he was definitely stealing from the boys. Splinter was tucked away in his quarters in meditation after he had a good bonsai maintenance session with Angel. The girl, however, decided to relax in the living room with Bambi 2 playing on the big screen. Girl couldn’t help that she found the OG movie in their movie stash. Let a girl have her fun.

The current scene was of the little baby bunny who went racing to find the father of the young Prince who wanted to prove to him how brave he was. Thumper was always the wingman. The young bunny huffed out of breath as he approached the Great Prince who stared down at him with great awe. As the chicana watched with fervor, she did not detect the surprise. Ever so slowly the door to the secret lair opened up. Coming out of it were the returning heroes from Brazil, bags slung over their shoulder yet just as silent as if they weren’t wearing them. Quietly, they executed their plan without hesitation. Slowly, they snuck around their own home with Leonardo leading the way as the rest acted as lookouts for the intended subjects to ambush. They heard the TV playing the movie as they kept on creeping. Donatello was the first to peek into the kitchen while the others stood back to make sure the coast was clear. Seeing the three nearly gave him a heart attack but he was really good at hiding his internal screams. The brightening and direction of Casey’s eyes prompted the other two adults to turn around in their chair. They were ecstatic but had to keep quiet. Donatello took a step from the wall to show the others that it was clear. “Splinter” he mouthed to them. April shook her head along with the other two and pointed towards the living room. “Angel” she mouthed before pointing to where Splinter was an mouthed it as well. The techie turtle gave her a thumbs up before proceeding. As he moved, they got to see the rest of them and waved them hello. When the last of them passed, April got up to follow far behind them. Casey began to wrap up the Dorito bag so he can come too. The loud crunching made the girl turn and scowl at him. He shrugged and whispered.

“She’s not gonna turn around for that!” But April only shushed him in annoyance. Defeated, he sighed and dropped the bag on the counter as the bag slowly unwound itself.

“There’s this thing! And it’s got these eyyyyyes!” The little rabbit began to talk quickly to the grown deer. Michelangelo pulled ahead of the group, tiptoeing a little faster and taking the risk but to the group’s confusion. “And! And these claws like ‘grrrr’! And it walks around like this.” As it gave a little dance, Michelangelo stood right over the back of the couch. Angel’s hat blocked the turtle’s view from seeing her face, which probably aided him in which she couldn’t get a glimpse of him from behind her. She was totally oblivious. “And well-.”

“YOU GOTTA SEE IT!” Michelangelo shouted as he took her by the shoulders and shook her. The girl got off the couch and whipped around with her hands up and legs spread wide in a defensive position while screaming her lungs off. The laughter caught her off guard as she quieted down when she saw her friends who had returned from their trip were all standing behind the couch with the adults strolling in with equally amused expressions.

“My boo!” She lit up before stomping onto the couch and standing on top of the ‘cushions’. She scowled at her best friend, staring him down. “Imma tear yo head up!” She threatened. “Right after I love on ya.” Again, her expression changed quickly as she lunged for him. Her arms and legs wrapped around him as he chuckled and held her up.

“Just wanted to surprise my girl.” He laughed, squeezing her hard.

“I guess that’s not me then.” April stepped in, cocking her head to the side with her arms crossed like she usually does when questioning others sarcastically. Angel let go when she felt him turn to the woman. He kept her on his hip to explain himself. His other arm brought April in close.

“April, you the bae. Tell your bae, surprise the side chick.” He bounced Angel before letting her down. The older woman placed her hand behind his shell.

“I see that.” She smiled, playing along.

“Shell-shock!” Donnie called happily. The mutants “awwww”ed in a hyped up monotone before engulfing the two girls in a massive hug that was an experience exclusive to only their mutant friends. Imagine being engulfed in so much love that large, 6 ft. plus reptiles. A one-in-a-million experience.

“Jump in here!” Mona peeked through a small opening between Donnie and Raphael. Her arms beckoned towards Casey who was just standing a few feet away and awkwardly watching them all. The question caught him off guard.

“Nah, I’m good.” He put a hand up while facing the floor. “I feel the love over here.” Mona rolled her eyes but continued to participate in their love-fest.

“Yeah don’t worry, I’m good.” Vern validated as he stood next to Casey. He exchanged a quick, cocky yet subtle expression towards him.

“We didn’t really want ya anyways.” Raphael’s comment brushed that whole look off of his face, prompting Casey to keep in his laughter.

“Aye! I love ya’ll but you can stop this ‘cause ya’ll smell like Jungle Boogie, back up!” Angel began to push the two boys that were pressed up against her. They began to back away from her and unleashed their grips on one another. Honestly, it has been all river water they’ve been bathing in. Not the nastiest but also not the cleanest. Naturally, there was going to be some type of foreign and unpleasant smell coming from all of them. When they moved, so did the smell and Angel couldn’t be more happy to smell the incredibly faint sewer smell being masked by the much stronger Pine Sol scent that had been established by the women in their lives.

“Did ya’ll get what you needed from that chick ya’ll had me translate?”

“Oh yeah we did!” Mikey exclaimed ferociously followed by a light laugh as he pointed towards his red banded brother. “She and Raph were going at it and it was hilarious ‘cause she dragged Donnie into it.”

“That girl was a bisssssh…” Raphael was going to finish his sentence until he saw the snout of his father descending from his quarters. His eyes were wide and his voice carried on as he leaned forward, waiting for a way to get out of this possible cursing situation out of the ears of his rat master. Suddenly, he straightened himself up and towered over the young turtle. His fist was clenched and up towards his face. “Bishou.. up for bringing it up!” He growled while Michelangelo was shook by this turn of his tone. Nice save.

“For real?” Angel continued, acting oblivious to the current situation. “What was that address she gave you? Secret lair?” Angel leaned in, quieting her voice as she was attempting to extract every single detail. “Government facilities?” Collectively, the group showed their clenched teeth and exchanged glances with one another. There was even a soft hiss emitting from them.

“Dance hall.” Leo blurted out. Another good answer. This time, Angel was able to read what was going on since most of their eyes touched the presence of Master Splinter who was taking his sweet time to greet his family. Angel looked over her shoulder quickly before hunching over and whispering.

“Tell me later, boo.”

“I’d rather not.” Mona crossed her arms over her chest as she spoke deadpan.

“Sensei!” The boys shouted collectively. They met their father a quarter of the way before all six of the mutants engulfed their rat master with their bodies. April came to stand behind Angel with her hands on her shoulders as they smiled warmly at the family affair.

“My children.” The humans in the room can hear his soft voice being engulfed in his children’s embrace. “It was... quiet when you were gone.” The mutants disbanded from him, either smiling or appearing somewhat insulted by his teasing.

“We missed you too, Splinter.” Raphael spoke low while nodding his head and keeping his hand on his father’s side. The older rat gave a soft nod and acknowledged him with a soft chuckle.

“I have gotten word from Vincent that your mission was successful,” His hands dropped in front of him, intertwined. “as you assured me upon returning.” Yes, they did tell Splinter that they were returning home, but they did not say when. Hence, this surprise is valid.

“Chapelin was shipped over and is being interrogated by Vincent and her team.” Venus explained as she crossed over to sit down on their couch. She really did miss her family but the trip was very much draining. Her legs crossed with one another on the cushions as she closed her eyes and rested her head on her hand while her elbow supported it. Raphael removed his hand from Splinter and crossed it over his chest.

“Shredder and Stockman are still running around but we can’t do anything about it right now. She wants us to rest up though since we’ve been gone for so long.”

“I can go for a nice vacation.” Mona chimed in, arching her back as her hands pressed it in a stretch. Donatello laughed to himself, shaking his head.

“There’s never a vacation.” he responded humorously. Leonardo nodded with an equally humored chuckle. “We’re still going out on patrol.” The lizard lady hunched over slightly and contorted her face. The upper corner of her lip rose while the eye of the same side squinted,  followed by an annoyed sigh.

“But we’ll be home” Raphael rocked his body, tapping her with his shoulder. “and deal with the criminals who in comparison to Shredder look mediocre.” Her head rocked, weighing her options.

“I can deal with that.” Still not as fun as total relaxation, but you can’t always get what you want.

“You went to Brazil during their Carnival!” April cut in, reverting all eyes on her. She was a lot more expressive and excited than the rest of her tired crowd. “Hello?! How was that?”

“Colorful. Loud.” Donatello listed with his fingers.

“Block parties!” Michelangelo shouted in a deep tone as he moved over to sit with Venus on the couch. Keeping anyone else from joining them. He placed his body across the couch while he leaned on his turtle sister. “Annnnd having to fight Chapelin with a gun to Mona and Raph in front of a stadium of thousands.” The statement was so casual yet those who were in New York this whole time had a jaw-dropping moment.

“See? You can’t miss out on these big details.” April defended.

“Report much?” Donnie teased. The woman rolled her head.

“You guys like to leave the fun stuff out a lot.” She pouted. Whenever she needed extra details on her stories to use for her day job, she’d have to milk it out of them. April never knew why. Maybe to keep her longer? Donatello placed a hand on his hip.

“It’s like this everyday. There’s no regular day in our lives.” April mouthed ‘oh’ silently and sassily, in which Donnie humorously returned the favor.

“Venus messed his gun up with her powers.” The leader in blue gently placed his hands on both sides of the resting turtle’s head to show the people. “She deserves the credit.” Venus kept her tired eyes closed but showed them an enthusiastic smile. Then, she lifted her head on her own and opened her eyes to speak.

“Ah, as much as I would accept it, we cannot forget Raphael” She turned her body the other way to point. “was the one who ultimately defeated him in the end.” The big brute smiled similarly to Venus’, which was endearing since both of theirs were sweet little smiles of their achievements.

“And then what happened?��

“Raph kissed Mona!” Michelangelo belted out. That smile Raphael faded into udder horror. The rest of the family had a little jump in their soul. Mona shifted her shocked gaze to Raphael, who matched her looks. Quickly, Leonardo retaliated by pointing.

“Mona kissed Raph!” he yelled. Another jump, but more subtle this time.

“Wait, what?!” April blinked.

“Holy sh*t!” Casey shouted before aggressively slapping his hand over his mouth. “Sorry about the sh*t.” He closed his mouth again after trying to apologize to the sensei. “I’m going to stop saying sh*t.” This time his hand slapped his forehead before shuffling in place to keep himself from speaking anymore. Vern, seeing his struggle, stepped within his space and tried to whisper advice to him and seperate them from the rest.

“When you say you’re going to stop-.” He began before a frustrated Casey Jones cut him off.

“I got it. I’m good.”

Master Splinter had yet to speak or show any serious sign of emotion of how he felt about all this. Donatello made it by his father’s side. His arms crossed over his body and he leaned over his side to add:

“Turns out they’ve been doing that for a while.” matter-of-factly.

“Sensei?” Mona took a small, creeping step towards him with concern. He did not respond in any sure way. Raphael put his hands up in surrender and stood up as straight as he could.

“Dad, before you-.”

“Beautiful, my children.” He stated. Both Mona Lisa and Raphael were taken aback by his answer and quite honestly were skeptical about it. Splinter was the master of deception and even his answers for things could be misleading. “I would like to believe that in the possible case that you no longer choose to be together that you will remain on neutral terms?” He questioned. Mona Lisa was the first to shake off that this was not some sort of trickery.

“We are a team. All of us. You can’t mess with a formula that’s already working.” Her smile pulled Raphael out of his shocked state and nodded.

“Despite any differences.” He concluded before giving her a reassuring glance.

“I do believe in such bonds” He reached out and took them both by the hand. Pulling them forward, he put Mona’s clawed hand into Raphael’s large palms. Them, he closed it over hers. “and I gladly accept you both.”

“Excuse me!” April pushed herself against Raphael. “Wait, what?!” She repeated. Her soul was still shook, but then she warmly wrapped herself around his arm. “Raphieeee!” April exclaimed while she squeezed the heck out of him. Ah, that name. Mikey called him that sometimes and April caught on. It was always an embarrassment when he heard it, which made him flush.

“Look!” The techie turtle followed by a sound effect that was similar to that heard on The Three Stooges. “I think he’s blushing!” Donnie pointed.

“Am not!” His voice was shrill while trying to hide his face from them in the most inconspicuous way possible. Coughing also didn’t help to get rid of his high pitched voice. Even with everyone basically surrounding and looking at him, the big turtle couldn’t escape for Mona and April were on either arm and smiling up at him to see his adorable vulnerability.

“I think he’s turning red like his bandana!” He continued teasing. It’s not an everyday opportunity you could get at Raphael like this. He was going to take his chance. Raphael released his grip on Mona. Suddenly, Raphael whipped something across his body. Donnie’s knees buckled as he saw a quick glimpse of his brother’s sai just barely wanting to glaze by his calf. Instead, it chose to stab itself into an opening of a chair’s frame. The metallic “schwing!” shook his core as he gulped and turned back around. “Hm... Maybe not.” April let go of Raphael and cocked her head at the newly stabbed chair. Best not to tease him in this subject matter, noted.

“That’s alright,” Angel walked towards the chair. The weapon was well stuck in there in which she had to put her foot on the cushion and pry it off. It came out so quickly that she stumbled back. When she caught herself, she held the sai by the handle and used it as a pointer. It was a lot heavier and bigger in her hand rather than what she would see it in Raphael’s hand. “I’m already on top of it with the ship names.” She smiled deviously.

“Oh jeez.” Raphael groaned. He shook his head within the palm of his hand while the other snatched the Sai from her grasp. The large turtle kept walking past her and towards his bedroom. Angel began to call to him.

“Raphona. Raphalisa.”

“We don’t need to hear this mess.” Donnie waved her off, thus beginning a movement of a disbanded family in all directions. Most went towards the kitchen while Venus got up to go to her own room, thus pushing Michelangelo off of her. The young turtle’s torso got dropped on the couch cushions, which surprised him greatly.

“Wait! Ya’ll need to help me!” Angel yelled in place as they all moved away from her. Even Vern and Casey escaped from her ‘girly’ need to name their romantic friends. “Where you goin!?”

“Monaphael.” Michelangelo peeked over the couch with the suggestion. He looked like a child, but when did he not? She took it into consideration.

“That’s a mouthful.” She admitted. “Mophael.”

“Raphalisa.”

“I just said that!” Does the boy ever listen? Then, the chicana slapped her hand to her forehead. Her eyes were as wide as her mouth. “Duuuude! I’m so dumb!” Her voice was deep. “Ramona!” She exclaimed. As great friends are, their expressions slowly brightened in accordance to the other. They began to quietly squeal and slap eachother’s hand in an almost digging motion.

“Yooooo! We got it!” Michelangelo bellowed. “WE GOT IT YALL! IT’S RAMONA! WATCH OUT FOR RAMONA!”

[underimagines]

Roommate headcanons for the main 6 + mettaton and Napstablook?

This is going to be really long, so I’m putting it under a readmore:

Sans Roommate Headcanons:

- He’s always asleep. At the very least, that’s what you see of him. Just asleep like 90% of the time. Well, when his brother & friends aren’t around, at least. But sometimes even then, he’s sneaking in a few Z’s. Listen you can appreciate a good nap now & them, but sometimes you wonder just how much one person (or skeleton) can sleep.

- His brother is...so loud. & so is his brother’s best friend, that fish lady. It’s best to immediately make an excuse to leave for the day once they show up, & it’s not all that big of a shock to come back to a thoroughly wrecked apartment. At least it’s not on fire.

- Sometimes when you’re really busy between classes or work shifts, you’ll come back to some sort of dish waiting for you on your desk. Sometimes it’s pretty good. Sometimes it’s not.

Papyrus Roommate Headcanons:

- He’s always cooking for you, so you’ve either got to learn to fake it till you make it, or upgrade your stomach to Steel, because hoo boy. His classes are making very, very slow progress.

- Sometimes his brother comes by! & makes terrible puns. Ohmygod, he never stops making puns, you can see why it drives Papyrus nuts. At the very least he can hold a decent conversation without screaming. But the puns.

- He’s very clean, so you’ve never got to worry about the apartment getting too dirty. Unless Undyne comes over. Then it’s best to just. Get out for a while.

Undyne Roommate Headcanons:

- Even if you’re not one for exercise, you’d better make room for it. She’s going to get you active, even if it kills her! At least give her one day out of the week for it, she won’t stop bugging you, otherwise.

- Sometimes her friend Papyrus stops by. He’s pretty cool, but they get really rowdy. Keep all your fine china hidden.

- & then there’s her girlfriend, Alphys! She’s sweet, but they watch so much anime. If that’s your thing, you’ll get along great. If not, you’re going to have to blast your music at 100% to drown out the hundredth opening of that “Mew Mew” show they’re always watching.

Alphys Roommate Headcanons:

- Anime. There’s anime everywhere. Posters, pillows, figurines, dvds, manga. It’s everywhere. She is unabashedly an otaku, & you’d better be okay with that or your entire living situation is going to be Absolutely Awkward.

- She doesn’t go out much. Even on the nicest of days, she’d rather just stay huddled in front of her computer, watching her shows or blogging. Which is fine, but sometimes you’ve just gotta get out, you know? If you can persuade her to go with you, you’ll find that she’s actually much better company away from a screen than she is with it.

- Her girlfriend is so cool? & loud. Good golly is she loud. But she makes every visit an interesting one. Something probably gets broken. It’s probably yours. Welp.

Toriel Roommate Headcanons:

- At the very least, you’ll never go hungry. She’s a wonderful cook, & is always trying out new recipes for you both to enjoy. Just watch out for the uh...”Snail Pie.” That’s a personal favorite of hers, but if you’re not someone who likes escargot, then...well, you probably won’t like that either.

- She’s not much one for social media, but she does love to read. The biggest electronic thing she owns is a cellphone, but after some pushing from Frisk, she ended up buying a Kindle. She carries it everywhere, & is always talking to you about the wonderful stories she’s discovered on it.

- Speaking of Frisk, they’re a package deal. You get Toriel, you get Frisk, too. Living with a mom & her kid isn’t as tough as you’d think, but things can get a little awkward at times. If you’re good with kids, though, there’s not really a problem.

Asgore Roommate Headcanons:

- Your room is full of plants. Flowers, cacti, bonsai trees, the walls & shelves are just stuffed to the brim with pots & planters. The man likes his gardening, can you blame him? If you’re the type with pollen allergies, it’s best to start investing in Allergen or something similar, stat.

- Somehow he’s always got tea on hand?? Even if you swore the pot was empty by the time you went to bed, you wake up in the morning to it completely filled with some sort of tea. Golden Flower, mostly, but he’s also growing an attachment to Orange Blossom.

- He’s overall a very quiet roommate, but he’s also very curious (in a kind of embarrassing way). If you’re talking with your friends online, video-chatting, or something like that, he’ll try to initiate conversation with them as well. It’s actually kind of cute, in the same way that a dad trying to “get in” with his kid’s friend group is horrifying-ly charming.

Mettaton Roommate Headcanons:

- Your room is 90% pink, yes, even your side of the room. Listen, darling, he’s got a reputation to uphold, he can’t have you both looking like you live in a pig sty! That means, despite your complaints, the frilly curtains & sparkling throw rugs are staying put.

- Also, get used to waiting a few hours before you can use the bathroom. Beauty takes sacrifice after all, not everyone can leap out of bed looking as good as him! & if that means one of you has to sacrifice hot showers (read: you), then so be it.

- Sometimes Alphys visits, but for the most part she’s very quiet, & keeps to herself. She does try to strike up conversation when Mettaton decides he has to “run out” spontaneously for hours at a time, but if you’re not a fan of anime, things are going to get awkward fast.

Napstablook Roommate Headcanons:

- Listen, they’re messy & they like it that way. It’s called “organized chaos.” Things might seem cluttered to you, but they know exactly where all their stuff is, & they get a little frustrated when you try to constantly clean up behind them. At the very least, you can throw out all the trash. Everything else stays, though.

- Get ready for spontaneous visits from the Underground’s #1 Superstar!! Mettaton visits you two, constantly--so much that you actually might get tired of him. Most of his visits are brief, as he’s sweeping Napstablook out for some band practice & stuff, so at the very least, you don’t have to worry about him constantly posing seductively on your coffee table or whatnot.

- They like background noise. Mostly Spooktunes of some sort, but if that’s not your style, they’re willing to take requests. They’re sure they’ve got something in their collection you’d like.

[cowboy-crimez]

title: gifts to give and ones to keep

no warnings

Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Married Couple, Anniversary

Summary: seokjin and namjoon's anniversary presents throughout the years

Read it on Ao3

0: wedding

7 hours after Namjoon turns 20 and he’s slipping a wedding ring onto Seokjin’s finger. Both of them are grinning wide, and Namjoon is so excited that his hands shake as he slides the ring onto Seokjin’s long, delicate finger.

They’ve only been dating for a year and a half, but Namjoon knows that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Seokjin; can’t imagine a day when he won’t be in love, or when he won’t want to kiss him goodmorning and goodnight. They’ve been moving pretty fast anyways, Namjoon moved out of his parent’s house and in with Seokjin after only 5 months.

Namjoon’s parents don’t know he’s getting married; don’t know that he saved up all his money from his god awful job at Lululemon to buy a boring engagement ring and a slightly less boring wedding ring. Their friends know, but only because Yoongi and Taehyung are the witnesses. Yoongi thinks getting married young is a bad idea, but Namjoon just shook his head and said, “You don’t get it. It’s fine that you don’t, but, you just don’t get it.”

They can’t afford a honeymoon or a fancy reception. They’re getting married at city hall, their pictures taken with the tacky set up that is out.

Later, Seokjin passes Namjoon a wrapped gift, and says, “Happy birthday, sweetheart!”

Namjoon says, “I thought you were my present?”

1: paper

Money is still tight when their first anniversary comes around. Seokjin gets a little bit pouty because Namjoon tells him that he doesn’t need a birthday gift, when their anniversary is on the same day.

“Your love is the greatest gift of all,” Namjoon says, dramatically, flinging his arms around Seokjin’s shoulders. He’s only half joking when he says it.

Seokjin stills gives Namjoon a birthday gift of a new phone case. His anniversary gift is a poster and a handwritten card. Namjoon gets him a book that he’s been wanting for a while, and a hand folded paper crane that is covered in the words I love you!

Seokjin feels a little inadequate, but the genuine excitement that appears on Namjoon’s face when he unrolls the poster makes him feel good.

Seokjin doesn’t even remember that it’s also the one year anniversary of the last time his parents spoke to him.

2: cotton/china

Namjoon finally got promoted to manager of Lululemon, which he hates, but it means that for his second wedding anniversary he has enough money to purchase a set of fine china for Seokjin, since it is now very apparent that he will not inherit the set that has been in his family for 4 generations. Seokjin gets so excited that he insists on serving dinner on them, so they end up eating lasagna off fine china, taking sips of wine out of tea cups, making sure to stick their pinkies out as they do so.

Seokjin buys Namjoon a designer jacket, along with pants and socks. He wears them to college the next day and is horribly overdressed for his physics and architecture lecture.

3: leather/crystal

They’re fighting on their third anniversary, so it’s a much tenser affair. Namjoon is trying to finish his degree, and trying to look for a new job since he got fired when the Lululemon store in the mall closed, so he’s stressed and agitated constantly. Seokjin is just tired from the long hours he works in a hotel kitchen; wants to be able to come home after a day of hard work to a quiet house and a calm, loving husband. They’re both fed up with the amount of petty arguments that turn into full scale fights.

Namjoon isn’t even expecting a gift this year - for his birthday or anniversary - because he’ll be the first to admit that he’s been a pain in the ass for at least two months. So he’s surprised when Seokjin interrupts him from his homework at the coffee table with a tap on the shoulder. He sits on the couch cushion just behind him, and passes Namjoon a wrapped box.

“Happy third anniversary, babe.” Seokjin says, with a small smile. Namjoon almost cries. He opens the box quickly, Seokjin muttering a soft, “Careful!”

He pulls out a small glass sculpture wrapped in bubble wrap. It’s abstract, a combination of clear and coloured glass, but it’s beautiful.

“It’s by that artist you like, the one you were telling me about the other week,” Seokjin says. Namjoon looks at the piece then to Seokjin then back to the piece.

“Thank you,” he says, before putting it on the table, making well sure it won’t fall off. “Wait a second.” He pulls himself up and goes to the bedroom for a few minutes.

When he comes back he passes Seokjin a leather choker necklace and matching bracelet.

“Sorry that I didn’t wrap them,” Namjoon mutters, as Seokjin plucks them out of his hand and starts putting them up. He doesn’t say that he didn’t wrap them because he wasn’t sure if they were going to be celebrating their marriage this year.

“They’re perfect,” Seokjin says, leaning over to place a kiss on Namjoon’s lips.

It doesn’t solve their problems, but Namjoon thinks that that day made them seem more manageable.

Namjoon dusts the statue and keeps it clean for nearly ten years before it breaks during a move.

4: silk/flowers

They decide it’s time to move apartments, now that Namjoon doesn’t have to go to school. They finish moving only a week before their anniversary.

They decide to stay in the whole day, not bothering with going on a fancy date. Seokjin pops out at one point to buy a few grocery, and presents Namjoon with some flowers when he returns. Namjoon hates to admit it, but there’s photo evidence that shows his fancy being bright red when he holds the bouquet.

In the evening they sit on the couch and Namjoon hands Seokjin his wrapped gift. He excitedly opens the package to show expensive silk sheets. For a second his face goes blank.

“Get it?” Namjoon says, a little nervous at the lack of reaction, “Because we’re always saying that our sex is too good for normal sheets?”

Seokjin just looks up at Namjoon, before pulling up the gift that he wrapped. Seokjin tears off the paper, and shows Namjoon the exact same set of sheets.

“Oh my god,” Namjoon says, laughing so hard he’s almost crying. Seokjin finally starts laughing too. “Oh my god, I love you so much.”

They spend the rest of the evening drinking wine, and before they go to bed, they change the sheets on their bed.

5: wood/silverware

Seokjin tells Namjoon one day that he misses the trees that were in the backyard of his parent’s house. They haven’t visited Seokjin’s parents since they got married, and Namjoon is pretty sure Seokjin hasn’t spoken to them either. Namjoon’s parents are finally coming around, but it’s tense and awkward and Namjoon doesn’t expect, nor does he receive, any invites to holidays or gatherings.

They live in an apartment, and there isn’t anywhere that they could plant a big tree, so Namjoon finds a cute bonsai tree, and a nice pink pot for it to grow in. He ties a bow around it so that it looks nice when he gives it to Seokjin.

The look of pure joy and affection on Seokjin’s face when he puts the potted plant on the living room windowsill makes Namjoon’s knees weak. Namjoon receives a kiss and a cutlery set that’s themed after a movie he likes.

Namjoon thinks that the fact that he’s excited over cutlery is a testament that he’s getting old, but he doesn’t mind so long as he’s getting old with Seokjin.

6: candy/iron

Both Seokjin and Namjoon are overly busy during their sixth anniversary. Seokjin is in the midst of opening his own restaurant, and Namjoon is finishing a handful of projects at work. They almost forget about their anniversary, until Yoongi brings it up. It took a few years, but he finally stops mentioning that they got married too young, too quickly, without thought anytime they mention that they’re arguing. Namjoon thinks it’s partly because Yoongi started dating Hoseok and is already so clearly in love with him.

After a brief freak out of ‘how could we forget? Does this mean we don’t love each other? Does it mean we’re stagnating?’ and slight ‘we got married on my birthday, what’s my excuse?’ from Namjoon, they both laugh about it and decide this year it can be small gifts.

Namjoon buys Seokjin a heavy cast iron pan, since he was saying that he needed another one for his restaurant, and Seokjin takes them both out to a small carnival and pays for all the cotton candy and junk food that Namjoon wants.

They go on the ferris wheel and it’s very romantic, sitting at the top, holding hands, saying ‘I love you’ until Namjoon almost throws up over the side.

7: wool/copper

For their seventh, they buy presents not only for each other, but also for Jimin, their new son. He’s seven years old, but small enough that he could be five. Namjoon loves to pick him up by his middle and throw him into the air, laughing at Jimin’s shrieks of joy when he catches him safely and lowers him to the ground. Seokjin, despite being stuck with the roll of Responsible Dad, is always ready to give Jimin piggybacks and sneak him an extra cookie for dessert.

They buy matching sweaters for all of them, and wear them as they exchange gifts with each other. Jimin insist on being the one to pass around presents, so they hand them to him before he passes them along.

“This one is for daddy Jin.” Namjoon says, giving Jimin a small box. He dutifully takes it and turns to Seokjin.

“For daddy Jin!”

“Thanks, baby.” Seokjin smiles, as he takes the box. He can’t tear open the wrapping anymore - he needs to set an example before Christmas - and when he opens the box he sees a pretty copper ring.

“I know that if you wear it too long it’ll turn your skin green,” Namjoon says, as Jimin gasps and yells, ‘Green?!’, “but I thought it would be pretty on you.”

Seokjin smiles and takes out the ring. “Jimin, would you help me put this on?” Jimin nods, and is a little too rough with sliding it onto Seokjin’s middle finger, but he ignores it.

“Pretty!” Jimin exclaims. Namjoon smiles and gives him anther box.

“This one is for Jiminie!” Jimin gasps.

“For Jiminie?”

“For Jiminie!”

Jimin smiles and tears open the package, and sees a small copper bracelet.

“Now you can match with daddy Jin!” Namjoon helps put it onto Jimin’s small wrist, as Seokjin passes Namjoon his present.

He smiles as he opens the set of copper plated drawing instruments, knowing that Seokjin remembered him saying that he lost about five pens in the course of two months. He’ll have to remember to take good care of these ones.

“Thanks, sweetheart.” Namjoon says, as he leans over to kiss Seokjin over Jimin’s head.

A few hours later, Jimin bursts into there room screaming that his skin is green and he’s turning into a frog.

8: salt

It’s the first and only year that Yoongi has given them a gift, and it’s the first year that he’s married. They watch as he and Hoseok carry bags upon bags of sea salt into their apartment, dropping them onto the floor of their doorway.

Jimin thinks it’s a game so he starts helping, which makes Yoongi crack up. Once they’re finished, they don’t say anything, and leave quickly.

Seokjin just takes it to his restaurant and cancels that month's order of salt.

9: willow/pottery

Seokjin thinks that Namjoon is getting too wound up when it comes to his job, his role as a father and husband and with life in general. His family is finally talking to him openly now, but Seokjin knows it’s hard for Namjoon to reconnect with the people who shunned him for so long. He buys him a hand carved wood chime, knowing that Namjoon will appreciate the reminder to slow down and just listen to the wind for a moment.

Namjoon talks Yoongi and Hoseok into babysitting Jimin every thursday night for a few weeks, and signs him and Seokjin up for a couple’s pottery class. He doesn’t know when he became to domestic that he saw the flier and immediately thought, ‘this is a great idea!’ They enjoy the small break from being parents, and usually go on small dates after the lesson.

They make mugs for each other in the class, and every morning they grin when they see the other drinking coffee out of them.

10: tin/diamond jewelry

Namjoon is only freaking out a little bit this year. Not only is he finally turning 30 - becoming what Jimin calls ‘an old man, dad!’ (Namjoon only mourns briefly that Jimin is at the age when he calls both of them ‘dad’ instead of daddy Jin and daddy Joon) - but he’s been married for ten years. He doesn’t regret it, but god, it seems like the years have just rushed by, like only yesterday he was a blushing 18 year old trying to flirt with the pretty 20 year old that was in his debate club.

He decides that this year, he’s going to spoil Seokjin mercilessly. He buys him a cute wine bottle holder that looks like a cat - Seokjin pointed at it in the store and laughed - and all new appliances for the kitchen at home. He gets Seokjin to take off his wedding ring, which caused the older man to frown, but then laugh when he saw the tan line in the shape of his ring on his finger, and Namjoon took it to the jewelers to get it cleaned and fixed. He doesn’t tell Seokjin, but he asks them to replace some of the smaller chipped diamonds with brighter, bigger ones. He even buys Seokjin a new watch with diamonds encrusted around the edge. It’s so luxurious that Seokjin blushes any time he wears it out.

Seokjin takes Namjoon out to a piercing parlor on their anniversary, and he pays for them to get matching ear piercings. Seokjin holds his hand when the needle goes through his skin. For Namjoon it feels like a bit of a rebellion, he’s turning 30, he has an office job and a kid, he should be too old to get his ear pierced! But he still smiles when he looks at the mirror and sees the diamond stud in his ear lobe. Seokjin is just happy to see Namjoon happy, so he sucks it up and tries not to wince too hard when it’s his turn.

They hold hands when they walk home, and Namjoon doesn’t know how they could get any happier.

20: platinum

Jimin comes back from college for a visit to celebrate his dad’s twentieth anniversary with them. He teases Namjoon an appropriate amount for his grey hairs, since he gave up dying them when he was 32. He takes his dads out to a nice restaurant, and insists on being the one to pass the gifts, just for old time sakes.

“This one is for daddy Joon!” Seokjin says, as Jimin rolls his eyes at the old name.

“For dad.” He says, pointedly not saying the whole name. Namjoon laughs as he opens the gift, smiling when he sees finely crafted cufflinks.

“Thank you, love.” He says, reaching over to give Seokjin’s hand a good squeeze.

He gives Jimin Seokjin’s gift, “For daddy Jin!” he makes sure to say. Seokjin receives a pair of pretty earrings, since he got his other ear pierced a few years after the first.

“They’re beautiful, sweetheart, thank you.”

They give Jimin a platinum ring, and for that, Jimin says, “Thank you, Daddy Joon and Daddy Jin.”

His dads smile the rest of the night, so he doesn’t allow himself to be embarrassed.

30: pearl

At 50, Namjoon can feel him and Seokjin slowing down. They don’t enjoy going out on long evening walks as much now, and time together is spent with more of comfortable silences now. They’ll glance at each other every so often, smile and press a kiss on the others cheek and go back to just sitting and holding hands. It feels like they don’t have as much to share anymore, they’ve spent so much time together that they know what the other is thinking.

If he were younger that would scare Namjoon, but at this age, it comforts him more than anything else.

Seokjin is starting to step back from his restaurant, still very much involved, but he’s been training a younger chief named Jeongguk for a number of years now, and spends less time chopping the food and more time at home thinking of new recipes and cooking them just for him and Namjoon.

They agree for 30 nothing too grand - both of them are starting to appreciate a simpler, less flamboyant style now. Namjoon buys Seokjin a few decorative spoons and bowls with a pearlescent finish. He also gets him a cute button up shirt with fake pearls instead of buttons.

Seokjin decides to cheat, and instead of going small, buys Namjoon an expensive black pearl earring. Namjoon gasps when he opens the box, looking at Seokjin, then the pearl, then Seokjin again. Then he smiles, and says, “You broke your own rule!”

He’s a bit sad to take out his tenth anniversary present, but wants to see how the new one looks. He decides that it’ll be the earring he wears to any fancy event.

40: ruby

Jimin visits with his own family on their fortieth anniversary, and they adore it. They slip out of the commotion for a short walk, just to get a moment to themselves. They walk slowly - partly because they want to enjoy the silence and each other's company, but also because over the years Namjoon has acquired many injuries, and at his age the result means that his legs get sore much faster.

“I should have bought you a cane this year.” Seokjin teases, walking faster. Namjoon frowns and catches up, ignoring the ache in his knee.

“Don’t you dare,” he warns, putting his hand on Seokjin’s shoulder to slow him down.

They stop at a bench and sit down to exchange gifts. Namjoon already gave Seokjin a ruby red scarf, in preparation for fall, but Seokjin knows that isn’t it. For a few moments they just enjoy the calming evening breeze, before Seokjin puts his hand in his coat pocket and takes out an unwrapped bracelet. Wrapping presents started to hurt his hands a few months ago - years of kneading doughs and whisking resulting in slightly arthritis. He ties the strands of leather around Namjoon’s wrist, the small ruby in the center pulling it downwards. Namjoon smiles at it, then at Seokjin, and kisses him softly.

Namjoon has given Seokjin many rings over the years. But the amount of care that Seokjin gives each one, the way that he plans out which he’s going to wear on any given day, and the way that he still points at rings when they’re window shopping always makes Namjoon buy him more. He passes over a silver ring with a small ruby embedding in the middle. He slides it onto Seokjin’s right index finger, and he takes a moment to admire it. Seokjin still has the prettiest hands.

They sit them for a few more minutes before getting up (with a small amount of groaning from both as they stand) and walk back to their house, hand in hand.

50: gold

Seokjin has difficulty opening and closing small clasps now, and Namjoon needs to put on his eye glasses when he clips the gold chain around Seokjin’s neck. He doesn’t take it off, partly because it’s pretty and small enough to leave on, and because it’s such a hassle.

“Still the prettiest boy I know,” Namjoon says, hooking his chin over Seokjin’s shoulder. Seokjin has deep crow's feet around his eyes, but they still sparkle brightly like he’s twenty years old.

Namjoon still likes to write to their grandkids and friends every few weeks, so Seokjin gives him a gold plated pen.

The first thing that Namjoon writes with it is ‘I love you!’ on a piece of paper, and folds it into a paper crane. Seokjin puts it on his bedside table, and looks at it every night before he falls asleep.

55: emerald

Jimin finally talks them into downsizing their home to one without stairs. They’re both disgruntled at the idea of moving out of a house that they’ve lived in for almost 30 years. But once Namjoon starts having to call Seokjin to help him walk up the stairs to get their bedroom at night, they admit that it’s not a bad idea.

For the first time they’re both at a loss at what to get each other. They don’t go out as much, so neither of them needs jewelry or watches. Seokjin’s arthritis means that he doesn’t cook many fancy, labor intensive meals as often, so he has no need for any new kitchen appliances.

They end up buying present together, for both of them. It’s a set of emerald coloured mugs, since their old ones are chipped and faded. Jimin comes over just by himself, and they sit around drinking hot chocolate out of them, just like when he was young.

When he hugs them before leaving, he says, “Happy anniversary, daddy Jin and Daddy Joon.”

60: diamond

Namjoon’s leg finally gave out, so he spends most of his time in bed or sitting. He finally admits that he needs a cane.

“Don’t you dare get me a fancy one for any holiday, every.” He warns Seokjin, who laughs. He was totally thinking about doing it, so he isn’t acting like it was a baseless claim.

Seokjin takes both their wedding rings to a jewelry, gets the stones taken out and the metal remelted, and gets new rings made of the parts. The rings had gotten worn down over the years, the gold gotten tarnished even though they both put much care into keeping it nice.

He slips the new ring onto Namjoon’s finger, as they lay in bed. Namjoon blushes a bit and slides on Seokjin’s.

“Just like we’re getting married again,” Namjoon says, bringing Seokjin’s hand up to his mouth, pressing a kiss onto the knuckle.

Seokjin smiles, and lets out a happy sigh, “If I had to do it over again, I’d still marry you.”

Namjoon grins, and kisses Seokjin’s lips this time. They cuddle up against each other, wondering what they’ll do for their next anniversary.

[bunnyribbit-ow]

Tired...

Title: Tired…

Rating: K

Word Count: 2,961

Genre: Fluff and Angst

Ships: Bunnyribbit (Lucio/D.va of overwatch)

Summary: Often I see a lot of art and fics where Lucio comforts D.va about her PTSD, well now it’s Lucio’s turn. Also I got inspiration from this piece and this piece. *Edit* Oh yeah, I also headcanon Lucio as Catholic (like most Brazilians).

“GG team! That was great round!” D.va says into her headset. The chatter from her League of Legends teammates drones out as she reaches for her now cold insta-ramen next to her. Not minding the luke warm noodles she munches on while reading over the exp. she earned for…what the 17th round in a row so far? D.va then looks over to digital clock next to her on the desk and sees it reads 3 a.m.

“Yikes guys, I gotta get off. I gotta be up earl- er, be up later today, I guess.” Her teammates tell her goodnight as she signs off. She reaches over for her can of soda only to find that it’s empty. Ugh, the salt from the ramen made her throat thirsty. The young gamer walks across the room to her mini-fridge only to see it holds to-go ketchup packets and travel size mayonnaise.

“Drat…” This means she’s going to have to leave her room and go to the Overwatch HQ’s common area fridge to get something to drink. D.va donned on her bathrobe to protect her from the chill of wearing just a tank top and pj-shorts. Why does the HQ have to be way up in the mountains? D.va thinks to herself as she enters the dormitories’ hallway. As she nears towards the elevator she passes her boyfriend, Lucio’s room. The lights are on and the door is open, D.va smiles.

“It’s always good to have an extra set of hands…” D.va thinks to herself, “…think of all the junk food the two of us can carry back up!” D.va continues to fantasize about her and Lucio pigging out in his room until the two were stuffed, fall asleep on top of each other, and then to be comically chastised up by Winston to get ready for Overwatch’s morning briefings. However when she finally reaches his doorway, Lucio is nowhere to be found. 

“He can’t be at the studio…” she thinks, “…he just released his album. Lucio wouldn’t stretch his creativity that far.” D.va notes to herself that Lucio is a morning person. When D.va doesn’t have responsibilities in the morning her gaming marathons can go into 6-7 am and when Lucio wakes for his 7 am jog he’ll come into her room and playfully scold her about throwing off her sleeping schedule.

“I doubt he’d go jogging at 3 am…” D.va wonders, “…it’s pitch black out.” D.va passes Lucio’s room and heads toward the elevator. While riding the lift down she tries to think of other possibilities of where Lucio has gone. 

“Maybe he’s in lounging on a couch, drinking a decaf coffee or something.” D.va thinks back to times where she’s seen Lucio sit at the common area’s table drinking coffee, completely silent, eyes closed, and with a wistful smile on his face. After enough times, D.va finally asked him what he was doing. He’d slowly open his eyes, look straight at her as his smile widened,

“Just listening to the beat.” 

D.va shook her head and laughed at him,

“What beat, Lucio?”

“All of it.” D.va was still confused but she tried to relate.

“You um, mean like the birds chirping and the wind blowing? Nature’s beat?” Lucio gave a little chuckle.

“I guess that’s a nuanced way of looking at, Hana. Though I’m listening past that.”

“Sorry Frog Boy, you lost me at this point.” D.va said with a shrug. Lucio gave a heartier laugh this time as he got up from his seat. 

“C’mon…” Lucio said as he took her hand and lead her outside. That day was nice, it was a little cloudy but still warm out. Lucio lead her to a grassy area next the Overwatch HQ’s communal garden. Then he stopped, got on his knees and laid his ear to the ground. D.va furrowed her brow in confusion which only got worse when he motioned at her to do the same. D.va sighed and did as he asked. The ground was cold and slightly wet being pressed up against her ear, which made her made her shiver a little with discomfort. 

“Hear it?” Lucio asked.

“All I can think about is a worm popping out of the dirt, slipping into my ear, burrowing into my brain and mind controlling me.” Lucio laughed again.

“Eh, it’s possible but try not to think about that. Listen, can you hear that beat?”

“What? You mean the earth’s beat?” 

Lucio’s eyes lit up.

“Yeah that! Can you hear it?” D.va shook her head. Lucio gave her an encouraging smile and then closed his eyes again.

“I can hear it clear as day, babe. Just close your eyes, Hana. Try to drone out everything else, even still your breathing. Go past the dirt and try to listen to it as a whole.” As ridiculous as D.va felt, she tried again. She closed her eyes, cleared her mind and relaxed while slowing her breaths. Then faintly, almost like an echo she heard a “thum” in the earth. D.va’s eyes shot open.

“I heard it! I heard it! It was really soft, but I heard it!” D.va sat up excitedly.

“Aye! There you go, meu coelhinha!” Lucio applauded sitting up as well. As D.va came down from her congratulated high, her face went pensive. 

“What was that, Lucio? And don’t tell me you could hear that standing up and through the concrete floor while inside?” 

Lucio shrugged.

“Who knows. Some Indigenous call it the earth’s heartbeat, some people in Africa say it’s God beating a drum, I’ve even read that some monks in Asia  believe it’s another monk under the earth striking a gong and that allows them to meditate.”

“And what do you believe?” D.va asked. Lucio gave another nonchalant shrug.

“As far I’m concerned, they’re all right. I just call it: This-Really-Cool-Thing-My-Father-Showed-Me-As-A-Kid or The Beat if you’re in a hurry. And to answer your second question, yeah I can feel it through my feet, even when I’m inside a building or surrounding by a lot of other noise. I can always pinpoint it out from some reason, it’s kinda comforting.”

“Feel?”

“Yeah y’know, like vibrations. That’s all sound is.” D.va tried to focus for a moment on the earth pressed against her knees.

“I can’t feel anything…” D.va said defeated. Lucio scooted closer and put his arms around her.

“Awww it’s okay, Hana. I’m talking about years practice here. I’ve listening to this beat everyday since I was four.” D.va flatten her palm against the earth, trying again. However she came to a small epiphany.

“You base all your music around this, don’t you?” Lucio smiled, so proud of his girl.

“You know me too well.”

D.va comes back to the present after reliving that memory. She then realizes she was so lost in it that her body was on autopilot and it took her right in front of the HQ’s refrigerator. She didn’t even remember getting off the elevator. “Oh well,  at least I took myself to the place I wanted to go.” she thought taking a couple of sodas out. She looked behind her hoping to see Lucio sitting at the kitchen table ready with a smart comment about her acting like a robot, but he wasn’t. D.va then looked the communal lounge area, he wasn’t there either. Worry started to creep into her gut. Where on earth could he be? Lucio wouldn’t leave with out telling her or at least someone at the HQ. D.va started walking towards the intercom button to connect to Winston’s room.

“No stop it, D.va! Let’s not do anything drastic here.” she muttered to herself. Suddenly her overact imagination decided to take that as a challenge by giving her scenarios of Vishkar stealing Lucio away, ready to do who-knows-what to him. Her finger instantly hit the intercom button, a long electronic beep followed but she couldn’t say anything. 

“H-hello?” Winston said groggily on the other line. D.va felt like an idiot.

“Uh, whoops sorry, Winston! I accidentally hit the intercom looking for a light switch.” D.va ends the sentence with a half-hearted chuckle. 

“S’okay…” Winston yawned, ending the call. D.va slapped her forehead in embarrassment. 

“Stupid…” She sat down at the communal table and opened her soda trying to slow her mind. 

“Stay calm, Hana. Lucio’s a big boy. I’m sure he’s fine…” Suddenly the young gamer hears a tapping. She looks at the nearby window and sees Ganymede. The E-54 unit’s favorite friend. Much to D.vas’ dismay, Winston recruited the wandering omnic a while back, but this strange bird seemed to always tag along. The two had a strange relationship. It was clear the bird wasn’t the robot’s pet. It didn’t keep the yellow bird in a cage, in fact it flew away every night only to return in the morning of it’s own free will. Ganymede (which the robot wrote in the dirt when asked about it’s companion) was the only thing D.va liked about the E-54. D.va opened to window, indicating that the bird could come inside, but it flew away to a nearby branch and then stared at her. D.va’s puzzled for a second and then realizes.

“Dude, does it look like I want to go outside?”  Ganymede chirps in response and then points it’s head towards the left. D.va follows his gaze and notices a dim source of light within the communal garden. 

“Lucio?” D.va asks the bird with hopeful eyes. Ganymede stares at her and tilts it’s head. D.va rolls her eyes and mentally berates herself for asking about her boyfriend to a damn bird. 

“Aaaaaaand yet, I’m still gonna go outside and check it out because I’m now a 바보야 apparently.” she mutters picking up her soda. 

While D.va didn’t like E-54, she did have to admit it was useful. It seems to really like vegetation so during it’s free time, it worked on a plot of land devoted to flowers, long stalk vegetables, and saplings. It was such a feat that other Overwatch members started to join in. Each member had their own little plot. McCree grew cacti native from his hometown in Arizona, Reinhardt grew vegetables that he’d use when it was his turn to cook dinner, Genji and his master Zenyatta grew juniper bonsai trees and even made a little sand meditation area. Lucio of course was part of it too, trying to use the garden to help D.va warm up to the E-54. While the soil wasn’t rich enough to grow mangoes and papayas, which Lucio missed of home. He grew other fruit such as oranges, grapefruit, and grapes to compensate. For the finishing touches Lucio placed a knee high statue of Saint Fiacre and chest high statue of the Madonna. D.va admitted that she had a black thumb so the most help she could do was pull weeds. Still, she cherished the moments of talking with Lucio while helping with his plot. 

As D.va got closer to the communal garden she saw the light was coming from Lucio’s plot no less. Getting closer, she finally saw him. Lucio on his knees -two lit candles beside him- praying in front of the Madonna with rosary beads clasped in his hands. D.va had seen Lucio pray many times; a quick one before eating, one where that he grumbles under his breath to keep himself calm around people that annoy him, and then the slow and compassionate one that he prays for her when asking for protection when she goes off for duty. This one looked much different. 

Lucio’s body was tight, head bowed, and his back was so hunched over that D.va could bones from the curvature of his spine. His hand were shaking while clutching the rosary beads so tightly, D.va thought the thread would snap. But what drew her attention was his tone. He spoken hurriedly as if he was trying to say his prayer in one breath. While he was speaking in Portuguese, by his inflections he sounded panicked, but what worried D.va most was that he sounded…penitent. Lucio wasn’t always upbeat, he had his down days, but this was something D.va had never seen. D.va made sure she was still so she couldn’t make any noise and listened. While the two of them hadn’t taught each other their mother tongues, both picked up bits and pieces from just the exposure to one another.  D.va knew Maria is ‘Mary,’ cansado meant ‘tired,’ D.va  was pretty sure me perdoe meant ‘forgive me’, but wasn’t quite so sure. “’Me dê força was ‘give me strength’ which was a phrase Lucio said frequently, so that one was easy. However he was saying the word pecador a lot and his inflections stressed on the word as well so while D.va didn’t know the translation she knew it was important. Then Lucio suddenly started repeating a phrase. Lucio kept repeating it so quickly D.va thought it was one word and it didn’t help her brain kept on switching from Korean then English and so forth to find the translation. She kept hearing the word, sacrifício which was easy to translate, but the words before it weren’t.  She started to sound out the phrase to help herself.

“ayy ooh soooow saaay ooooo, sacrifício?” thought to herself, “What does that mean-” Suddenly it clicked, and it scared her.

“L-lucio…you okay?” D.va said cautiously. Lucio’s fervent praying stopped and he slowly lifted his head as he turned around. Lucio tried to put on a smile, but D.va could see he was failing. His eyes had fresh wet streaks. 

“H-hey Hana, why you out here? Everything okay?” D.va gives him a pitiable laugh. 

“I asked you first, dummy. And no, everything's’ not okay and it’s sitting right in front of me.” Lucio gives a defeated laugh while wiping his eyes.

“Yeah I do look like a mess, huh?” D.va walked towards her boyfriend. He was still on his knees so his face came up to her stomach. D.va used the loose part of her bathrobe to delicately wipe his eyes and nose, like a caring mother would to her child. Lucio stayed silent and closes his eyes, he enjoys her soft touch. Once D.va is finished she cups his face with both her hands, and looks down at the man she wants to help desperately but isn’t quite sure how so she says silent. The silence is awkward to Lucio and he tries to break it.

“Heh, sorry for getting snot on your bathrobe.” D.va doesn’t say anything, she just gives a gentle smile. Lucio hangs his head, he knows his comment to fill the silence was inappropriate and useless. He doesn’t feel like talking yet so he just presses his cheek against her stomach and wraps his hands around the small of her back. D.va relocates her hand to the top of his head and she slowly strokes his locs. The two of them stay quiet for what felt to them an hour, but was more likely 20 minutes. Not removing his cheek her stomach, Lucio says,

“It’s just getting a bit much, Hana. Sometimes I feel like a martyr for a endless cause. Vishkar’s like a hydra, I knock ‘em down then two more of ‘em pop back up. I ask the Lord for guidance, but sometimes I feel like I’m falling on deaf ears. I’m not Christ, I don’t want to be Christ, but I think…” Lucio pauses, “…I think this fight with Vishkar won’t end till I’m dead and if that’s God’s plan that I must abide by it. But I don’t want to, Hana. I don’t be forever locked with Vishkar, but I don’t want to disobey God. I want to protect my people and protect others, but I’m just…really tired, Hana. I’m really tired.” D.va stays quiet still stroking his hair, trying to come up with something so say. Finally she kisses the top of his head and whispers,

“Remember how you said you find The Beat comforting because you always know it’ll be there?”

Lucio gives a small “Mhmm.”

“Well I’m that way too. Got that, Lucio?”  D.va can feel Lucio’s lips smile against her stomach. 

“Got it.”