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#Alcohol Delivery Business
prameethsd · 11 months
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foodivsystems · 1 year
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jackethen12 · 2 years
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how to start an alcohol delivery business by learning the five core steps of developing an on-demand marketplace.
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someone-else-entirely · 8 months
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Today was an Adventure:
-ordered alcoholic beverage online a couple days ago, culminating in me running out into the wet street without shoes to catch the UPS truck
-impulse bought a heart-shaped mini Bundt cake maker (not just a pan, but a MAKER - you plug it in and pour in the batter and it cooks the cake for you)
-also impulse bought Lindoor truffles whose flavor was listed as "dark strawberry" and I know that that's just dark chocolate with a strawberry filling but "dark strawberry" sounds amazing as a concept
#gonna tell the Ordering Alcohol Online saga in the tags#mostly for my own sake/posterity#so I wanted to buy a bottle of a particular alcoholic beverage as part of a Valentine's day gift#but they don't sell it around here so I had to order it#now of course you have to show an ID and sign for the package when you receive it on account of alcohol#but I live on the third floor of my apartment and the doorbells don't work#so I had a distinct feeling I was going to miss the delivery#and I TOOK EVERY PRECAUTION#before making the order I called the company and asked if they could call or text me upon arrival#and they were like ''well we work with UPS etc. so it's up to them but try sending us an email about it it might work''#so I made the order and sent the email#yesterday I popped down to the business on the first floor and was like ''hey I'm ordering alcohol''#''if they knock on the door would you be able to sign for it?''#the person was like ''well I'm here from 8 to 4 so if it arrives in that time then sure''#today I see an email: order is out for delivery#THE EMAIL IS IN MY PROMOTIONS FOLDER MIND YOU. I WOULDN'T HAVE FOUND IT IF I WASN'T LOOKING CLOSELY#so I'm compulsively checking the tracking page all day#it says it's supposed to arrive at 7 pm#4 pm comes and goes and no dice#I leave a post-it note on the door: ''dear deliveryperson the doorbells don't work please call/text the number on the back of this note''#6 o clock rolls around. I am still compulsively checking#and then in the middle of watching a Brennan Lee Mulligan video with my bf I compulsively check one more time#''delivery was attempted''#so I hightail it downstairs in the hopes I can catch the UPS people#I don't even stop to put on shoes#I open the door; no one's there but I see the UPS truck across the street#I run out onto the Very Wet sidewalk in my socks#wait for a break in the oncoming cars and jaywalk straight to the truck#it's empty#I sit on a nearby low wall and wait until I see a couple guys in UPS uniforms coming around the corner
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marketing-13 · 1 month
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How to Get an Engaging Online Storefront That Boosts Liquor Sales in 2024
Learn the role of an online storefront in increasing your liquor sales online & how Holiq will help you get an stunning online storefront for your liquor store.
With consumers increasingly turning to the web for their shopping needs, having a standout online storefront can be the transformative experience your liquor store needs. If you want to make waves and grow your liquor sales in 2024, here’s how to craft an engaging online storefront that draws customers in and keeps them coming back for more.
Create a Visually Stunning Homepage
The first impression is everything, and your homepage is the gateway to your online liquor store. Make sure it’s eye-catching and professionally designed. Use high-quality images of your products and create a layout that’s easy to navigate. A clean, modern design with intuitive navigation helps customers find what they’re looking for quickly, increasing the chances of a sale.
Optimize for Mobile Devices
More and more people are shopping on their phones and tablets, so your online storefront must look great on all devices. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly with a responsive design that adjusts seamlessly to different screen sizes. This way, whether your customers are shopping from their desk or on the go, they’ll have a smooth, enjoyable experience.
Feature Advanced Online Ordering
An engaging online storefront isn’t just about looks; functionality is key. With Holiq, you can enhance your online ordering system to make it as user-friendly as possible. Implement features like easy-to-use filters, detailed product descriptions, and an efficient checkout process. Offer options for delivery and pickup to cater to different customer preferences, making it as convenient as possible for them to get their favorite drinks.
Leverage Smart Print and Mail Services
Stand out in your customers’ inboxes with personalized email marketing. Holiq’s smart print and mail services let you send targeted, trackable emails that can boost engagement. Send out promotions, new arrivals, and special offers to keep your store top-of-mind. Tailored emails can help drive repeat business and increase customer loyalty.
Showcase Your Best Sellers and Special Offers
Highlight your top-selling products and special offers prominently on your storefront. Create banners or sections for limited-time deals, popular items, and new arrivals. This not only grabs attention but also encourages impulse buys. Customers are more likely to purchase if they see what’s trending and what’s on sale right away.
Utilize Reviews and Customer Feedback
Trust plays a big role in online shopping. Feature customer reviews and ratings prominently on your product pages. Positive feedback from other shoppers can significantly influence potential buyers. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews and make it easy for them to do so with automated review management tools. Holiq’s review management features, like SMS alerts and personalized review links, can help streamline this process.
Engage with High-Quality Content
Content is king, even in liquor retail. Create engaging content that adds value for your customers. This could be blog posts about cocktail recipes, pairing tips, or behind-the-scenes looks at your store. Regularly updated content keeps your storefront dynamic and gives visitors a reason to return. Plus, it can help with search engine rankings, making it easier for new customers to find you.
Integrate Social Media
Social media is a powerful tool for driving traffic to your online store. Link your social media profiles to your storefront and regularly update them with engaging content. Share promotions, product highlights, and customer stories. Social media integration can help build a community around your brand and encourage customers to interact with you online.
Offer Loyalty Programs
Reward your loyal customers with a well-designed loyalty program. With Holiq’s features, you can implement rewards and incentives that encourage repeat purchases. Offer points for every purchase, special discounts, or exclusive access to new products. A loyalty program not only boosts sales but also fosters long-term relationships with your customers.
Analyze and Adapt
Finally, use analytics to track your storefront’s performance. Monitor metrics like traffic, conversion rates, and customer behavior to understand what’s working and what needs improvement. Holiq’s analytics tools can provide valuable insights, helping you make data-driven decisions to refine your strategy and boost your sales.
An engaging online storefront can significantly impact your liquor store’s success in 2024. By focusing on a visually appealing design, mobile optimization, advanced ordering features, and smart marketing tools, you can create a shopping experience that attracts and retains customers. Holiq’s all-in-one liquor store management platform offers the tools you need to elevate your online presence and drive sales. Embrace these strategies, adapt to your customers’ needs, and watch your liquor store thrive in the digital age.
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Learn about the ways to choose the best wine shop or online alcohol store
Do you know about the ways to choose the best wine shop or online alcohol store? Check out this blog to know about them.
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hookingminor · 7 months
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4 times you took care of him + 1 time he took care of you - nico hischier
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a/n: rewrite of an old fic of mine
cw: brief mentions of blood, stitches, alcohol
word count: 7.4k
summary: nico is the cute neighbor boy across the hall
-
1. 
Sunday nights were your nights. After a long week of studying and working crazy hours, you only had one day to yourself where you weren’t running around like a chicken with its head cut off and could take five minutes to finally breathe. 
Sundays were also the only days you actually took the time to make yourself dinner. Most of your days were either spent in class or at the hospital, so you never prepared anything that couldn’t be done in less than ten minutes. Sometimes you were so lazy that you just counted on cafeteria food and granola bars to hold you over before having cereal for dinner and crashing by eleven o’clock.
Tonight’s specialty was your own take on a carbonara with some grilled chicken on the top. It wasn’t anything fancy, but you had been working on a recipe to perfect this for nearly three months now, and you were almost satisfied with the results.
It was in the middle of adding the finishing touches by combining the pasta and the sauce when you heard a knock on your door. Setting the towel on the counter and reducing the stove heat to a low simmer, you made your way to answer the door.
“Oh, hi, Nico,” you said with surprise when you saw your neighbor on the other side. He lived across the hall from you, but you rarely saw him in the building. Still, it wasn’t hard to notice that he was incredibly attractive.
“Hi,” he greeted you. The smells of your dinner wafted over him, and he peeked over your head to catch a glimpse of what you were preparing. 
“I just stopped by to drop this off,” he said, handing you an envelope. “They keep mixing up our mailboxes.”
“Thank you,” you replied as you glanced down at the letter. “I have a few for you as well, hold on just a second.”
You turned away from the door and walked back towards the kitchen to where you kept a stash of his mail. You’d been meaning to drop it off, but your hours at home never coincided with each other. 
Granted, you could have slipped it under his door, but you really just wanted an excuse to talk to the cute neighbor boy. You were just waiting until you worked up the nerve to knock on his door.
Nico took a few steps into your apartment, not wanting to overstep but also not wanting to stand in the hall awkwardly as you rummaged through some papers. As he waited, his eyes wandered back over to the stove where you were cooking some type of pasta. 
His stomach growled lowly as the smell of seasoned chicken and sauces flooded his senses, and he realized he hadn’t eaten anything in nearly five hours.
“Sorry,” he said with a blush. There was no way you hadn’t heard that grumble. “Guess I forgot to eat something after practice.”
“Did you want some?” You asked almost too eagerly. “I mean, I made quite a bit,” you backtracked quickly, “I usually survive the week on leftovers.”
“No, it’s okay,” he chuckled, but Nico wanted nothing more than to shove a forkful of whatever you had made into his mouth. “I’ll probably just order something for delivery.”
“Please, I insist,” you persisted, “I made a lot, and your food won’t be here for, like, another hour at least.” God, you were coming off as desperate, and you mentally slapped yourself for it.
He looked at you hesitantly, obviously not wanting to intrude, but damn if he wasn’t really hungry.
You didn’t wait for his reply before dropping the mail back where it was and crossing the kitchen to the stove. Pulling out an extra plate, you began piling it with pasta and chicken, and Nico figured it was too late to refuse you again.
“Take a seat,” you suggested as you plated a dish for yourself. “You’re not an intrusion, I promise. I don’t get a lot of company anyways.”
“Busy life?” Nico asked. It was then that he realized he really didn’t know much about you despite having run into you multiple times in the hallways.
“You could say that,” you chuckled humorlessly. It was a combination of being both busy and having no friends, but you weren’t about to tell him that. 
“What do you do?” He questioned as he rested his elbows on the table.
“I’m a nursing student, so I spend all my time studying or working at the hospital,” you explained as you brought the plates over to the table. He mumbled a quiet ‘thank you’ when you set his food down in front of him. It looked delicious. Nico’s skills in the kitchen were subpar to say the least; he couldn’t make anything that didn’t come with box instructions or wasn’t baked chicken and vegetables. So having an actual home cooked meal was starting to feel like Christmas.
“Is that why I only ever see you coming home at midnight?” He wondered, picking up a fork to take a bite.
Nico was right, it was delicious. 
“Yeah, hours are a little crazy for me right now, but they should settle down once I graduate,” you replied as you took a bite. It was your best carbonara yet, but it wasn’t quite perfect. “What about you? Why are you always coming home at midnight?”
You’d never talked to him much after that first day when he helped you with a couple boxes as you moved in. Most of your interactions were restricted to passing each other in the halls and the polite conversation about how your day was going and the weather.
“I, uh, play hockey,” he started, “and we get back from road trips really late sometimes.”
“No shit, really?” Your eyes widened in shock, “like you play for the Devils?” You weren’t well versed in sports in general, and even less so in New Jersey sports. However, you did hear chatter around from your classmates and coworkers about various games.
Nico nodded his head in agreement, “Yeah, I’m the captain.” Every revelation about him continued to shock you.
“So I’m dining with New Jersey royalty then, huh?” You teased after a moment. Even though you didn’t know much, you did know the Devils were doing exceptionally well at the moment.
He blushed at your compliment, “I’m not royalty.”
“Your team’s current record says otherwise given the team’s horrendous past ,” you commented, dropping the little bit of knowledge you knew as you overheard your lab partner go on about the Devils’ hot streak.
Nico raised his eyebrows in surprise at your statement.
“I’m not an actual fan, so don’t test me,” you chuckled at his surprise, “My lab partner is always talking about the Devils, and I may have unknowingly processed some of the information.”
“It’s not because of me. The team’s just doing well in general,” he brushed it off casually, but you knew that wasn’t totally the case. The team may be good, but good leadership can be what makes or breaks them.
“So you’re not a big cook then, I presume?” You asked instead, changing the subject to something else. Nico probably talked about hockey enough with other people, you didn’t want to bore him even more.
“You could say that,” he said, repeating your phrase from earlier. “If it’s not something a seven year old could make, it’s not something I could make.” He had barely registered that he’d finished off everything on his plate by now while you were still finishing yours.
“Did you want more?” You asked, noticing his empty plate, but Nico shook his head.
“No, thank you, this was more than enough,” Nico insisted. “I’ve bothered you enough tonight.”
“Really, I don’t mind,” you said, clearing off your plate. “It’s nice to talk to someone who isn’t asking me about upcoming exams or patient reports or asking for more painkillers.”
“It’s nice not talking about hockey, too,” he agreed.
Rising from your seat, you took his plate and yours to the sink as you were both now finished.
“I got this,” Nico said quickly, following you to the sink and lightly hip checking you out the way. “I do know basic manners. You cooked, so I’ll clean.”
You opened your mouth to argue with him, but the look on his face said the conversation was already over, and he grabbed the sponge with one hand. Deciding to leave it alone, you held your hands up in surrender and backed away from the sink. While he was busy, you packed up the leftovers into a plastic container.
“I make dinner every Sunday,” you said after a few minutes of comfortable silence. “So, if you want, you’re always free to join me.” You didn’t look at him when you said this, trying to keep it casual and so he wouldn’t see the way your face was riddled with embarrassment. You were trying to subtly ask him to come over more, and you didn’t want to be faced with his rejection.
You heard the sink shutoff and saw his body turn towards yours out of the corner of your eyes as he leaned against the counter.
“I’d really like that,” he said, “but I do have one condition though.” You looked up and met his gaze with raised brows.
“You have to teach me how to cook,” he continued with an easy grin as he dried off his hands with a towel.
“You’ve got a deal,” you agreed, matching his smile with one of your own.
You sent Nico home that night with the leftover carbonara and his mail despite his protests, but you argued that he couldn’t live off takeout forever and that you could always make more food whereas he could not.
The next Sunday he had showed up around dinner time once again, this time bringing over a plate of cookies that he most definitely bought at the store but tried to play off as baking them himself. He had said if you were going to be doing a majority of the work, the least he could do was bring you something in return.
Every Sunday after that Nico was at your place. On the off chance he was out of town, he always left you a note on your door saying he wouldn’t be making it and notifying you of when he’d see you next. You didn’t need the notes, he didn’t have to tell you whether or not he was coming, but they made your heart flutter every time you came home and saw a blue sticky note waiting for you. 
You taught him a few staple dishes, mainly how to cook pasta and rice and some salads. His capabilities weren’t all that vast, and he wanted to remain in the realm of foods that weren’t too complicated so he couldn’t fuck up.
Making dinner with Nico turned into messing around in the kitchen for a couple hours most of the time. You teased him about his chopping abilities and he teased you every time your small hands dropped something due to your lack of coordination, to which you complained how not everyone could be a professional athlete. 
And every time you two ate at your same spots at the table, sometimes splitting a bottle of wine that Nico would bring over. 
Every once in a while Nico would arrive with a bag of takeout in his hand, declaring that you needed a break from all the cooking. There was no reason to have dinner together since it wasn’t under the guise of teaching him something new, but you still welcomed him nonetheless.
Sundays were no longer your nights, but that was perfectly fine by you as long as you could keep sharing them with Nico.
-
2. 
Nico was getting a little desperate. 
Two months had passed since he started coming over for weekly dinners, and he was making no progress. It’s not like he was really trying, though. If he was being honest, he wasn’t quite sure how to flirt with a woman without the intention of sleeping with her.
Which isn’t to say he didn’t want to sleep with you because he definitely did, it just wasn’t all that he wanted.
He hoped he conveyed interest on his part, but he wasn’t positive you were picking up on his hints. Or maybe you just weren’t into him.
So, he decided to take it one step further. He bought some plants.
Nico knew next to nothing about plants other than that they needed water, but he’d noticed you kept a few in your apartment near your large window.
Once again, he found himself knocking on your door, but this time you weren’t expecting it.
“Hey, what’s up?” You asked him when you opened the door. It wasn’t like him to show up to your place out of the blue.
“I wanted to ask you a favor,” he replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I’ve got a week long roadie and was wondering if, maybe, you’d look after my plants?”
“Oh yeah, definitely, I can do that,” you said with a smile.
“Do you have a minute right now? I can show them to you really quick,” he asked, gesturing with his arm to his door. You nodded your head in agreement, and Nico took a few steps backward to let you into his apartment.
You followed him through the entrance and paused briefly. His apartment layout was the exact same as yours only flipped. He walked until he hit the same balcony window where you kept your plants, and you saw he had about four small pots along with a large pot that sat in the corner.
“This is the gang,” he introduced, spreading his arms to show them off.
“This is so cute,” you chuckled, stepping closer to get a better look at the plants. You noticed one of them was also one you had.
“I’m going to be honest,” he started. “I only recently bought them, so I don’t really know what I’m doing.”
“Well, they seem to be still living, so you haven’t done anything too bad,” you teased lightly.
“Oh, let me get the spare key for you,” he said suddenly before he turned and left you alone to fetch the key.
Nico returned less than a minute later, small black key fob in his hand. You opened your hand for him to place it in your palm.
“When will you be back?” You asked, stretching back up from your squatted position.
“Next Wednesday,” he clarified, “and I leave tomorrow.” You nodded.
There wasn’t much more to say, so you told him a brief ‘good luck’ on his roadie before leaving. Returning to your own, you made a mental note to check in on his plants tomorrow.
The following afternoon, you let yourself into Nico’s apartment with the key he’d given you. You read the sticky note he left for you on the counter, the words reading ‘in case of an emergency’ along with his phone number.
You rolled your eyes at the note, laughing lightly at his phrasing of ‘in case of an emergency.’ You hardly thought watering plants would cause a catastrophic event, but the gesture was cute.
Filling up a few cups of water, you made your way over to his plants and distributed the water throughout until you’d gone over all of them. Before you could think better of it, you snapped a picture of the plants in the window before opening a text thread to Nico.
You: First day all done! :)
He didn’t reply for a few hours, but that was okay because you hadn’t expected him to reply at all.
Nico: They’re looking better already!
Ever since that first day, you began exchanging messages. His replies were sporadic, but you didn’t mind; he was a busy guy. Still, he managed to text you whenever he could, and your conversations quickly turned away from his plants to other subjects. 
You recommended some new shows for him to watch while he was on road trips, and he told you where his favorite takeout restaurants were when you felt too lazy to cook. 
Honestly, Sundays didn’t feel the same without him, but you didn’t tell him you stopped cooking when he didn’t show up.
Even when Nico was back in town, you found yourself texting him frequently in your classes and also on your breaks, and Nico found himself waking up every morning looking forward to whatever message you’d sent after he’d fallen asleep.
-
3. 
The incessant pounding at your door woke you up from your sleep. You knew who it was immediately as there was only one person who visited you, and you were ready to yell at him after you answered the door. 
Throwing on a sweatshirt, you stomped your way to the door and shouted out, “I’m coming!” so Nico could take the hint to shut the hell up.
“Oh my god, Nico,” you groaned as you threw open the door, “It’s two in the fucking morning.” But it wasn’t Nico you were greeted with.
Or rather, he wasn’t the only one outside the door.
“Uh, hi,” a man said as Nico leaned against him, very obviously drunk.
“Hi?” You asked, your eyes flicking over to the drunken Nico.
“I think he lost his key,” the stranger said, “and then he was knocking on your door before I could take him back to my place.”
“Of course,” you sighed. “You love bothering me, don’t you, Nico?”
“Y/N,” he slurred your name when he heard your voice. “I told you she was beautiful, Hughes.” He clearly meant to whisper the last part into his friend’s ear, but his impaired state changed his whisper into a quiet shout.
“Alright, buddy, let’s keep it down,” his friend said with a chuckle as he tried to spare him from saying something else embarrassing.
“Do you still have my key? I forgot mine,” Nico asked instead, lifting his eyes to yours.
“I left it in your apartment last time I watered the plants,” you answered and Nico let out an annoyed groan.
“It’s fine, he can stay here tonight,” you said, addressing his friend this time.
“You sure? I don’t want to bother you,” his friend insisted. “I can just bring him back to my place.”
“Don’t worry about it, you already dragged him all the way here. I can handle it,” you said and opened the door further.
His friend lugged him into your apartment and led Nico to the couch, plopping him down on the cushions.
“Thanks for doing this. I’m sorry for waking you,” he apologized once Nico was settled.
“No problem, I’m used to him interrupting my nights,” you chuckled lightly, though it sounded more sexual than you intended for it to.
“Yeah, well,” the stranger said with an awkward laugh, “I’ll get out of your hair then.” And then he turned to leave. “Hischier! Text me in the morning!” He called out one last time and Nico grumbled his acknowledgement. Then his friend was gone, leaving you alone with a drunken twenty-something year old.
“Alright, Nico, let’s get you ready for bed,” you mumbled, more to yourself than to him. He was splayed out on his back on your couch, head lolled against a decorative pillow. If it weren’t for his indecipherable sounds, you would’ve thought he was asleep.
You left him alone for a minute as you retreated back to your room to grab a couple extra blankets and a pillow that wouldn’t end up hurting his neck.
When you returned, Nico was now on his stomach with one arm dangled off the couch.
“Feeling okay, bud?” You asked gently, brushing back a few strands of his hair to check if he was still awake. He hummed a quiet ‘yeah’ and you lifted his head to replace the throw pillow with a fluffier one from your bed.
You draped one large blanket over his body and then set another smaller one on top of that. Nico sighed in content and you made a quick trip to the kitchen to retrieve a couple Advil pills and a glass of water.
“Can you drink this before you fall asleep?” You asked when you got back to the living room. 
Despite his intoxication, Nico managed to sit up just enough to swallow the pills down with a drink of water before flopping his head back down. You set the half-full glass on the coffee table and leaned over to turn off the lamp.
“You good to sleep?” You questioned, and Nico nodded his head to the best of his ability.
“I’ll be in my room if you need anything,” you said finally, making your way back to the hallway.
“Thank you, Y/N,” he said quietly before you were out of hearing range, “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Nico,” you murmured with a small smile.
-
4.
“How the hell did this even happen? Sticks are supposed to remain on the ice, you know,” you wondered with curiosity. 
Nico knocked on your door at nearly midnight, hair still damp from his shower and still in his Devils sweats. If it weren’t for the fact that you were awake and watching a movie, you wouldn’t have noticed the knocking. 
When you opened the door, you were met with split stitches and tired eyes. Ushering him into your apartment, you led him to the bathroom where you kept the first-aid. 
Nico pushed himself up so he could sit on your counter and gave you a sheepish smile.
“I don’t know,” he admitted, “They stitched me up after the game, but they came out.”
“So, why didn’t you contact your trainers or something?” You inquired, opening your kit and grabbing the alcohol.
“Because I have a perfectly good nurse here at home to stitch me back up,” he answered with an easy grin. You gave him an incredulous look.
“It seems like I’m constantly getting the short end of the stick in this relationship,” you said as you stepped between his legs to inspect his face. It wasn’t anything serious, just a few stitches that broke. In all honesty, he probably could’ve survived the night without fixing it, but you weren’t going to turn down an opportunity to be this close to him.
“Close your eyes,” you ordered before he could say anything back. Nico followed your instruction obediently, fluttering his eyes shut as if he had all the time in the world.
Using a small pair of scissors, you snipped at the remaining stitches. You took the tweezers next and gently pulled at the broken strands, slowly removing them from his cheek. Nico’s eyes twitched slightly at the discomfort, but he said nothing as you reopened his wound.
“You’re really good at this,” he stated, and you noticed that he had opened one eye to watch you. You blushed at his compliment, your cheeks heating at the warm feeling you got when you looked into his eyes.
Averting his gaze, you muttered a quiet ‘thank you’ before opening an alcohol pad.
“You’re going to want to really close your eyes for this, it might burn,” you recommended. The cut was along his cheekbone, stretching about three inches and oozing just a little bit of blood.
You cleaned along the cut lightly, one of your hands cupping his cheek while the other managed the wipe. After throwing the bloodied pad off to the side, you brought out the small bottle of lidocaine you had stashed away underneath all your bandaids. You squeezed a bit onto a cotton swab and dabbed the area around the cut. The lidocaine took a few minutes to kick in, so you busied yourself by preparing the thread and sanitizing the needle.
“I want you to know that I’m not actually a certified nurse yet. I’m still in training,” you explained. “So, if this hurts it’s your fault.”
“I trust you,” he said simply with a smirk.
“I would hope so,” you scoffed, “You’re letting a nursing student with a needle stitch near the eye of the New Jersey Devils Captain.”
“Besides, if you fuck up, I’ll just blame it on you when we lose after I can’t play because I’ve been blinded,” he teased.
“Don’t even joke about that, Nico. All of New Jersey would burn me alive,” you said, slugging his arm in response.
Was he about to let a beautiful, uncertified girl stitch him back together just because he wanted an excuse to spend more time with her? Absolutely.
He gave you a light chuckle as he leaned back on his hands, the fabric of his t-shirt stretching deliciously over his broad chest. It took everything in you to not linger your eyes over his arms and how large they looked right now.
“Is it numb yet?” You asked instead, refocusing your attention on threading the needle.
“Yeah, I think so,” he replied, bringing a couple fingers to poke at his cheek, but you swatted his hand away before he could do more damage.
Taking the same position as before, you stood between his legs again and angled his head slightly to the side so you could examine it under better light.
“Just let me know if it hurts, okay?” You insisted, holding the needle between your tweezers. You waited for Nico’s nod of agreement before starting.
You punctured the skin with the point and crossed the wound before poking through the other side. Nico’s hands instinctively reached out to grasp at your hips as he breathed in a sharp breath of air. 
“Oh my god, is it not numb?” You panicked, pausing all your movements as you gauged his face for any signs of pain.
“It stung a little bit,” he replied, but the tightened grip on your waist said otherwise. “I was just a little shocked, is all.” He added that last part when he saw the worry spread across your face as your eyes widened in fear of hurting him. “Keep going, I’m fine.”
You gave him a hesitant look, not wanting to continue if it was going to cause him pain. This time when he squeezed your sides, it was to reassure you and encourage you to continue. 
Nico kept his hands where they were, sliding his thumbs just underneath the hem of your shirt to trace soft circles into your skin. Recommencing your movements, you repeated the same crisscrossing threads over his cut, trying to work as quickly as possible.
When you’d finished, you knotted off the ends, clipped the remaining thread, and applied a salve over the sealed wound.
“There you go,” you said as you finished touching him up.
“And my kiss to make it feel better?” He asked with a smirk. You rolled your eyes at his presumptuousness but leaned in to press a light kiss near his stitches.
“Can I trust you to not pull them out again?” You retorted, stepping out of his grip to clean up your supplies.
“I don’t know…” he trailed off as in deep contemplation, “I might need you to spend the night and keep an eye on me.”
“Nice try, bud,” you chuckled, “but it’s not going to happen.” He pouted. 
“And if you do tear them again, I’m not restitching it.”
You finished packing away your materials and walked Nico back to your front door.
“Thank you, Y/N,” he said when you opened the door. 
“Anytime,” you replied, “Goodnight, Nico.”
Leaning forward, he pressed a quick kiss to your cheek in appreciation before crossing the few feet to his door. You hoped he couldn’t see the way your eyes widened in shock, but if he did see, he didn’t say anything about it.
“Goodnight, Y/N.”
-
+ 1 
For the first time since you’ve met Nico, it was finally your turn to cancel on dinner. You really didn’t want to, as the dinners with him were the highlight of your week, but you knew if you broke concentration for even a minute to entertain him, your mind would be thinking about him even after he left. And you were not going to pass the NCLEX if Nico was invading all of your thoughts. You’d been studying for this exam for months, but now it was a week out and it was crunch time.
You: Gotta cancel on dinner Sunday, sorry :(
Nico: Going out of town? Got a hot date?
You: The only dates I’ll be having for the next week is between me and my millions of notes for my board exam 
Nico: Stressed out?
You: You wouldn’t even believe, so if I’m MIA for a few days, don’t worry 
Nico: Are we still on for next Sunday?
You: Yes. We will either be celebrating or commiserating, so get your wine ready
Nico: I’ll bring over the best since we’ll be celebrating :)
You didn’t know how to reply, so you reacted to his message with a thumbs up before leaving him on read.
-
For the next few days, you studied your ass off. Sunday came, but when six o’clock rolled around, you couldn’t help your thoughts from straying from your studies and over to what you would be doing with Nico if it weren’t for this stupid exam.
And as if he had read your mind, your phone dinged with a new text message.
Nico: Open your door
Your brows furrowed in confusion as you read the text, and you were just about to tell him off for disturbing you after you already told him you didn’t have the time.
However, that wasn’t the case because when you opened your door, Nico was nowhere to be found although a paper bag rested on the ground in front of you. 
Cautiously, you picked up the bag and brought it inside, immediately smelling the tzatziki sauce from your favorite Greek restaurant.
You: What’s this?
You texted him, along with a picture of the bag.
Nico: Even if we aren’t making dinner, you should still eat, and I figured gyros were better than cereal 
He was right. You had planned on pouring yourself a bowl of cereal when the hunger became too much and forced you to take a break. And gyros definitely were better than Frosted Flakes.
You: You’re a lifesaver, truly. Thank you!
Nico opened the message and didn’t reply, even though he really wanted to, but he knew you had studying to do and the last thing he wanted was to distract you.
-
After pulling an all-nighter, Sunday slowly turned into Monday, and you had finally decided to go to bed at nine on Monday morning. The few hours of sleep you got were welcomed, but rest did little to calm yourself down. The exam was on Friday, and you still had four years worth of material to remember. 
So, you dragged yourself out of bed around three in the afternoon and plopped yourself on the ground in front of your couch where all your notes were still spread on the floor.
You’d gotten through about four chapters in your review book before you heard a knock at the door. 
Pushing yourself up by your hands, you crossed the length of the apartment to the door. If it was Nico, he was about to be really turned off by how messy you looked.
And once again, it wasn’t him. 
Just like yesterday, something awaited you in front of your door. This time, it was a four cup drink tray filled with different coffees. 
Picking them up off the ground, you walked it back into your home and set it on your kitchen counter. There was a blue sticky note attached to the top in true Nico style, and you were smiling at the familiar handwriting before you even read what it said.
Thought you could use a pick-me-up :)
PS: I didn’t know what you liked, but you’re NOT allowed to drink these all at once
You chuckled at the last sentence. Of course he would send you four different orders because he didn’t know what you wanted. In all honesty, you could survive on just plain black coffee with nothing added if needed, but the fact that he sent you options had your heart swelling. 
You scanned through each cup, reading the labels on each one as they ranged from a standard black coffee to a sweet caramel latte, all of them iced (you had mentioned once that you only drank iced coffee, even in the middle of the winter). It didn’t slip your mind that this was from that expensive shop a few blocks down, the one you could only allow yourself to go to once a month because you knew it would drain you quickly.
Deciding to tease Nico a little bit, you stuck a straw in every single lid. You connected all four straws in the middle and closed your lips over them and took a drink. The resulting taste wasn’t fantastic, but it was worth the funny selfie you took drinking them that you sent to Nico.
You: What was it that I wasn’t allowed to do? Your note wasn’t clear 
Nico: I’m never sending you coffee again
-
On Tuesday, Nico sent you a bouquet of sunflowers. They were massive and bright and you couldn’t see over them as you placed them on the table.
Hope these sunflowers brighten up your day
-
On Wednesday, Nico got back from his short roadie. Maybe it was the constant studying, or maybe it was the little gifts Nico sent you, but your stress levels seemed to calm down as the week went on. There was still the pressure to do well, but every time Nico sent something to you, it was as if everything became a little bit more manageable.
You invited him over to hang out for a little bit, just to thank him for the things he’d done for you. You expected him to stay for a few minutes, maybe a half hour at the most, and then you’d send him home with some cookies you’d baked for him. Instead, he grabbed the plate of cookies and made himself comfortable on your couch.
“You just made these?” He asked with a mouthful of cookie as he picked up a stack of flashcards. You nodded as you took a seat on the opposite side of the couch.
“What’s the therapeutic drug level for theo… theoph…” he began to say, but trailed off, “Never mind. I was trying to help, but I can’t pronounce any of these words.” He ended the sentence with a chuckle before flicking the flashcard over to you.
“The word is theophylline,” you laughed, “and the answer is 10-20 micrograms per deciliter.”
“I understand none of those words, so that probably means it’s right,” he said as he finished his second cookie.
“If you want to help me I know something you can do,” you said eagerly, “And you don’t even have to speak, just sit there and look pretty.”
“That I can do,” he agreed with a nod and sat up to place the cookies on the coffee table. “Where do you want me?”
“Right there is fine. I’m just going to do a standard routine checkup like you’d get at the doctor’s,” you explained, grabbing your small bag of medical tools.
You ran through your procedure, checking your notes periodically to make sure you asked all the questions. Nico had no problem being your puppet, even answering some questions with ridiculous answers.
“And are you sexually active?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He asked with an eyebrow wiggle. You gave him an unamused glare.
“It’s part of the questions, dumbass,” you rolled your eyes and Nico laughed. “Never mind, I already know the answer anyway.”
“That was one time!” He groaned as he flopped his head back against the cushion. You were obviously referring to the one time you had a run in with one of his hookups. “I haven’t had anyone here since then.”
“Thank god for that,” you muttered, “but she did seem like a nice girl.”
Nico gave you a disbelieving look. You’d ran into them as you were returning from an overnight shift at nearly seven in the morning as Nico was trying to get rid of her, but she was hoping to get another date out of him before she left.
It was an awkward interaction to say the least, and Nico immediately called over to you to get your attention. The girl was displeased because you were interrupting their conversation and also because Nico had used you as an excuse to get out of scheduling another date.
“Oh, Y/N, you still needed me to fix that thing for you, right?” He had asked when he saw you walking down the hall. It took you all of two seconds to process the situation and Nico’s panicked and pleading eyes before you were agreeing. You even threw in the fact that it was urgent and that he needed to help right now, to which the girl gave you an eye roll.
Needless to say, Nico thanked you profusely for saving his ass and never called the girl again. That was over three months ago, and you had yet to see another girl leave his apartment.
“Well, I think I’m done with all the questions,” you concluded finally. “I think it’s safe to say you are in impeccable shape, Mr. Hischier.”
“Is this your subtle way of kicking me out?” He asked.
“Technically, I never invited you to stay. You kind of just sat here and made yourself at home,” you replied.
“I’m sorry for wanting to catch up with my friend after not seeing her in a week,” he joked.
“And you’re going to have to wait another few days for that, bud,” you chuckled.
“Fine, fine,” he conceded, “I’ll go, but I’m taking the cookies.”
“They were yours to begin with, idiot.”
-
On Thursday, you received one final package. It was a wrapped box, obviously done by someone who’s never wrapped a gift in their life. 
Opening it, there was Nico’s same scrawl on the familiar blue sticky note.
Something to look forward to after you ace this exam tomorrow!
Underneath the note was a ticket to a Devils game on Sunday against Vancouver, but it wasn’t the only thing in the box. You pulled out a red sweatshirt with the New Jersey Devils logo on the front. There was nothing on the back, but the number ‘13’ could be seen on both sleeves.
The thought of Nico sending you something with his number on it had your cheeks heating instantly. He’d been teasing you about coming to a game, and it seemed you finally had a reason to go now.
-
After you took your exam, it was like a huge weight had been lifted off your shoulders. Your school days were behind you now, and you could now start your career. The exam results still took six weeks, but you were feeling pretty confident in yourself.
Nico had texted you instructions to wait for him after the game on Sunday. He wanted you to try and meet him somewhere, but your navigation skills were terrible and you were sure to get lost in an arena you’d never been in.
So, you met him outside his car in the parking lot where the team parked.
“There he is,” you called out, clapping, when you saw him exit the arena, “First star of the night with two goals, Captain Nico Hischier!” You gave him your best announcer voice.
“Shut up,” he replied with a chuckle, but his face was beaming with a wide smile.
“Good game tonight,” you said with a smile of your own. “Trying to impress someone?”
By this time, Nico had reached the car, and he was dropping his bag on the ground before wrapping his arms around you and lifting you off the ground in a hug.
“I’m always trying to impress you,” he mumbled against your hair before he set you back down.
“Well, consider me impressed,” you gushed. 
“I was thinking...” Nico said after a moment.
“Uh oh,” you interjected with a worried look.
“Don’t be a dork,” he chuckled. “I was thinking that instead of going back home and making dinner I can take you out tonight instead.”
“Celebratory dinner for your win?” You questioned.
“And for your exam,” he added, “And also maybe as a date?” Nico said the last part quietly and quickly averted your gaze.
“Are you asking me on a date, Nico?” You asked for clarification, but the smile on your face was spreading wider as the seconds passed.
“Yes, I am,” he said with a deep swallow.
You squinted your eyes, as if in deep contemplation.
“Well, I’ve only been waiting, like, months for you to ask me,” you teased. “I’d love to go on a date with you.”
“Really?” He asked, eyes bright as he reached out to pull you closer to his body. You hummed in agreement and connected your hands behind his neck.
“I was starting to think you’d never get the hint,” you said quietly.
“I was just waiting for the right time,” he insisted, hands resting on your hips, “And if I’m being honest, I really want to kiss you right now.”
You didn’t answer him in words. Instead, you pushed up on your tip-toes and leaned in to connect your lips to his. The kiss was soft, neither of you wanting to push too far too fast. He moved his lips against yours gently, taking his time to convey how he felt about you.
When you finally pulled back to catch your breath, you both had stupid looks on your face as you were both giddy with joy.
“Atta boy, Cap!” A loud voice shouted across the lot along with some hoots, and you let your head fall against Nico’s chest as you chuckled to yourself.
“Fuck off, Jack!” Nico yelled back before dipping his head down to kiss the top of yours. “Ignore him, he’s annoying. Let’s get out of here before they try and come over.”
“Lead the way,” you said, breaking apart so you could climb in his car. 
-
Six weeks later, your results came in.
You let yourself into Nico’s unlocked apartment. Ever since you started dating, it just seemed a lot easier to leave your apartments unlocked during the day so you could easily bounce between places.
“Nico, it’s here!” You exclaimed, spotting him on the couch. He looked up from whatever show he was watching and paused it immediately when he saw the envelope in your hands.
You basically sprinted across the room and plopped down onto his lap before shoving it into his hands.
“You open it, I can’t do it,” you murmured against the side of his head, your arms slinging over his shoulders as one of his arms wrapped around your waist.
Nico chuckled as he ripped open the paper and pulled out the letter.
“What does it say?” You asked, your head tucked into his neck so you couldn’t read the results.
“Babe…” he said softly, “I’m sorry.”
“What?” You asked worriedly, peeling yourself from his neck to read the letter yourself.
Congratulations! You have passed the NCLEX exam!
You didn’t even bother to read the rest of the letter once you’d read those first two sentences.
“You asshole, that wasn’t funny!” You said, pushing his head away from you as he laughed.
“I thought it was kind of funny,” he replied, “And now my girlfriend is officially a sexy nurse.” Nico pressed a quick kiss to your cheek.
“You better get that idea out of your head right now,” you said warningly, already knowing where his thoughts were headed.
“All jokes aside, I’m proud of you, baby,” he said happily.
“I probably would’ve combusted from stress had it not been for your little gifts,” you admitted.
“What can I say? I was so whipped for you,” he said.
“You really were, weren’t you? The flowers and the sweatshirt with your number on it…” you teased, and he poked your side in retaliation.
“Kidding,” you giggled happily, “and I’m whipped for you, too, Nico.”
2K notes · View notes
munsonthings86 · 7 months
Text
sunshine
pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader
summary: a love-struck steve cooks you dinner for the first time
warnings: cursing, alcohol, bit of backstory, oversimplified summary, steve's parents kinda suck (when do they not), best friends to lovers, mutual pining, fluff, soft!steve
an: i think this is my favorite thing i’ve ever written. i'm so in love with these two. i hope you all enjoy this one as much as i do. * don’t copy my work * (also pretend there's a big city near hawkins for the sake of this pls)
wc: 6.0k
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“Ow!” Steve hissed, nicking his finger yet again as he made his best effort to dice pesky onions. The knife was razor-sharp as it was fresh out of its packaging, having never been used yet. Frustrated, he squeezed the band-aid he'd spent a solid ten minutes looking for, tighter on his finger, earning a harsh sting.
"Goddamned knife," he whispered, tightlipped, but as soon as the complaint left his lips he wished to yank it back in. It was the chef's knife you'd bought him along with many other thoughtful housewarming gifts to celebrate Steve moving into his first apartment. Steve had insisted that you return some of the gifts, noting that "one gift was more than he could ever ask for".
In spite of his pleas, you didn't return a single gift. Of course, you didn't. You had bought items you knew Steve would need but would ultimately forget to buy for himself. Just to name a few, you'd gotten him a trash bin for his bathroom, a record player, and the best utensil set that the rest of your Family Video paycheck could buy.
Peering at the odd assortment of household objects you'd lugged into his barren apartment with a bright smile pulling at the corners of your lips, an expression of gratitude and bewilderment claimed his face. Steve's round, chestnut-brown eyes ogled yours as you ranted and raved, explaining your thought process behind each purchase.
The record player was for nights like these. Peaceful nights indoors, simply enjoying each other's company without the tense presence of his parents who would shout for him to turn that damn music down if he even thought about letting the needle hit the groove of the record.
"Now we can play music as loud and as much as we want to," he remembered you saying, blushing at your use of the word "we". Though you two were only best friends and have been since grade school, Steve couldn't help but fantasize about a life with you. You, drowning in one of his bigger-than-you t-shirts, prancing around the apartment as you listened to some your favorite records.
He'd begun pondering on how he would rearrange the bit of furniture he had, that'd allow for space for your belongings as well, before you lured him out of his thoughts, defending the bin.
From what he gathered, you bought the garbage bin due to his burning inability to keep his bathroom clean. Steve was someone who took great care of his appearance, always well-kempt and attentive to even the smallest of details.
His bathroom did not reflect this, whatsoever. He had a bad habit of harboring empty cans and bottles of Farrah Fawcett spray that littered the already limited counter space he had in his en suite bathroom.
Steve was such a boy when it came to tidiness.
Everyone knew that about Steve, though. What they didn’t know, however, was how skilled he was in a kitchen. After being left to his lonesome whenever his parents would venture off to one of their many business trips, Steve spent his nights learning to cook after his allowance dwindled and he couldn't afford pizza delivery anymore. The second he'd clock in for his shift at Family Video, he'd make a beeline to where you stood, stocking VHS tapes, and instantly began buzzing and bustling about the new recipe he tried the night before.
You had begged him to let you come over one night to taste one of his home-cooked meals, but his response was always the same. "You can't rush perfection, sweets. But I promise, when I'm ready to grace the world with my master chef skills, you'll be the first to know."
You would roll your eyes dramatically at him but admittedly, you felt a sense of pride wash over you whenever Steve would tell you about his cooking endeavors. It may not seem like a big deal to others, but you knew how much his parents being so negligent, so often, bothered him.
Though they were never the most warm and affectionate, there seemed to be a colder chill and heavier sense of loneliness in the house when they were gone. That's why you never denied Steve whenever he'd call late at night asking if it was okay to spend the night at your house.
He always felt at home there.
Steve learning to cook for himself meant that his parents' absence was finally beginning to help him grow; no longer craving validation and tenderness from his family. He got that when he was with you. That's what the utensil set was for. A silent sign saying that though his parents weren't there, you were.
"Don't get me wrong, sunshine, I love the gift, but why's this knife so funny looking?" Steve asked, squinting his eyes at the sharp object that looked like it was from some alien universe. It had three square-like holes infiltrating the blade, and the tip came to an up-turned point that split in two. The handle was the only average looking part about it.
"That, my friend, is a cheese knife," you answered matter-of-factly, gazing at the box that had all of the included utensils neatly labeled.
"They make knives specifically for cheese?"
"Apparently, yeah," you snorted, tossing the empty box off to the side of the room with the other discarded cardboard that you made a mental note to move to the recycling bin on your way out. Steve never recycled. Bad habit he picked up from his parents, you figured.
"Well, I can't wait to use my weird new knife. Thank you. Seriously," Steve smiled softly as he watched you with those big brown eyes that voiced his gratitude and sentiment louder than his words ever could.
"The best weird chef has to have the best weird equipment. You're welcome," you grinned, toying with the loose thread dangling from your distressed band tee, as your eyes collided with Steve’s.
Looking at Steve was hard.
In the midst of quiet and almost intimate moments like these, the nerves bolting through your body screamed at you to look anywhere else, but the greed of your heart yearned for you to keep drinking in the deep chocolate pools that were Steve Harrington's eyes.
The two of you gazed at each other for another second, though it felt identical to a blissful eternity, until Steve furrowed his eyebrows after registering what you'd just uttered. "Did you just call me weird?" He asked, hand on his hip as if he's offended, though he truthfully isn't because he's positive you're infinitely weirder than he is, and he's more than willing to debate with you for hours on that topic.
"Nooo," you sang, quickly turning away to distract yourself with some unpacking that Steve had called you over to help him with, which you happily agreed to. A little extra time with him was time well spent.
"Yeah, okay," he rolled his eyes. He happily tucked away the flashy silverware he'd poached from his parent's kitchen into the darkest corner of the drawer, leaving the less flashy but much more appreciated utensils you bought him, front and center, ready to be shown off.
"Oh those? My best friend got them for me. Aren't they nice? Did you know they make knives for cheese?" He imagined himself saying, hoping he'd get the opportunity to boast about them to his guests some time soon.
Steve smiled to himself at the memory, angling the cutting board that harbored a pile of diced onions that he'd at last conquered, into a bowl, sliding them off with the blade of a knife that was a lot less odd shaped compared to his trusty cheese knife. It didn't even have to be that specific memory. It could've been any imagery of you being the effortlessly sarcastic, intelligent, breath-taking person that you were, and it would be the warm light to inevitably guide him out of whatever dark mood that dared to plague him.
Steve was so helplessly in love with you.
April 14, 1978, he could never forget the day, was particularly dreary. So dreary it made Steve begin to question why the spring time was thought to be such a radiant, pleasant season when all it ever did was bring rain and provoke people with allergies. Steve slammed his blaring alarm off with a groan, never bothering to pry open his tired eyes.
The sky was dark and dreadful, concealing the golden rays of the sun he yearned to see. As he trudged through the house, reluctantly gearing himself up for yet another torturous day of middle school, Steve silently prayed for some unorthodox happenstance that would call for the canceling of school.
But much to his dismay, that wasn't the case.
When the bell pierced through the classroom speakers, alerting the beginning of Steve's favorite class, P.E., he rushed to the locker room, jumping into his gym uniform, as he was determined to continue his unfaltering streak of dodgeball victories.
Steve was in the zone, taking out his opponents left and right as if it was nothing. If dodgeball was an Olympic sport, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he could've won multiple gold medals.
Then you came.
Sauntering into sixth grade gym class, adorning a lengthy, bright yellow dress with your hair done up, looking as anxious as can be. It was your first day at Hawkins Middle and you'd just transferred halfway into the semester, all thanks to your parents decision to move to the small town, leaving New York City and all your friends behind.
Everyone turned their curious heads to peer at you, whispering amongst each other, prompting you to clutch your books tighter to your chest as if to shield yourself. Your soft smile as you looked around at your new classmates instantly made Steve's chest and stomach warm and gooey inside, making him want nothing more than to walk up to you and convince you to be his friend. Steve hated how gossipy his classmates were, as it clearly made you uncomfortable, but he couldn't bring himself to look away either.
The way the illuminous medallion hue complimented your skin tone was nothing short of art. To him, you were the sun personified. The sun he was so eager to see.
Due to your lack of sports attire, Coach Daniels had you sit on the bleachers, watching as the other kids resumed their game of dodgeball after mumbling a "warm" welcome to you, per Coach's request.
Steve lost his first game of dodgeball that day. He just couldn't seem to focus when you were perched just a few feet away, thumbing through your withered book, looking like one of the prettiest girls he'd ever laid his adolescent eyes on. Steve, or the boy with the hella good hair as you dubbed him in your diary later on that night, was too enamored with you to be bothered by the taunts coming from his friends. He jogged over to you, offering to keep you company until fourth period began, which you happily accepted.
And ever since then, the two of you have been as thick as thieves.
"Hawkins PD, open up!" Steve recognized your muffled voice, though you deepened it, to imitate a police officer. Your signature three knocks followed, urging butterflies to erupt throughout his stomach, as he longed to see you. It couldn't have been more than twenty-four hours since the two of you had last seen each other, but even one hour without you was an hour way too long for poor Steve.
"It's open", Steve called, tossing a hand towel over his shoulder, setting the stove ablaze, planting a pot over the flame. Right on time, he thought.
"Hey, Harrington," you smiled as you struggled to enter, cradling two bottles of rosé wine and your purse in your arms, pushing the door open with the help of your hip.
"Hey, sunshine. Lemme get those for ya," Steve offered, stowing your bearings on the counter gently, while you kicked your shoes off, mumbling a "thanks".
A warm amber light casted from the ceiling of the kitchen spilled into the shadowy living room a few feet away, like a neglected can of paint. The only thing that remained un-melted by the darkness was the quiet record player, as if the generous light knew you'd be looking for it the minute you walked in.
"How was your day?" Steve smirked as he watched you rush over to the object he swore was the only reason you liked to come over, sifting through the vinyl's searching for your favorite one. What’s Love Got To Do With It by Tina Turner. Steve spotted it before you did. Absentmindedly, you responded, “Not too shabby, ya know? How was yours?”
“Yeah, it was alright.”
You crouched down to the two tier storage table, running a finger across the spines of the records, searching for your beloved song. It quickly became the song you most adored when you'd bought the tape for your Walkman a few years prior. Your days weren't complete unless you played the song at least twice, so much so that Steve found himself quietly humming the song to himself whenever he'd miss you. He even caught himself doing that dumb little finger dance you normally did whenever you listened to a song you really liked. He'd never tell you that, though.
Much to your dismay, you couldn't seem to spy that sneaky record. You dropped your hand disappointedly, faintly fearsome that it'd been misplaced. Steve's apartment wasn't huge, but it wasn't exactly tidy either. “It’s right there, sweets. To your left.” So you diverted your attention to the left. No Tina Turner. “No, your other left.”
“Here?” you pointed. Steve hummed in confirmation.
“Well, that’s not the left, Steve. That’s the right,” was your response that you punctuated with a roll of your tired eyes. Apart from knowing how to get to Skull Rock with his eyes closed, the boy had zero sense of direction. It was something you found both endearing and infuriating. It depended on the day, really.
“Potato, potahto.” Oh, Steve. Melting butter into the burning pan in front of him that he almost completely forgot about, all thanks to your beautiful presence, he began sautéing his diced onions along with some fresh garlic. "Well, speaking of 'potahtoes' you need to be cooking some, 'cause you promised me dinner tonight," you smiled tight-lipped, cocking your head at an angle.
You felt the unpleasant sensation of your stomach growling, cursing you, at the heavenly thought of food as your shift at Family Video earlier today was unforgiving to your non-existent breakfast. You fumbled with the vinyl a bit as the mouthwatering aroma of home cooking stormed your senses and Steve spoke once more. "Feisty today, aren't we?"
"Just a tad," you laughed quietly.
"Well, I hate to disappoint you but tonight we're not having potatoes. I'm making your favorite," he pointed, shuffling the pan to give it a gentle stir. He made sure to turn to face you in time to see your hopefully delighted reaction. "Alfredo?!" you spun around with a glittering grin, almost knocking over Steve's plant. A fake one, of course. A real plant was a bit too much responsibility for him.
At the nod of his head, your cheesy smile soften to a smaller, less toothy one as you watched Steve while he resumed cooking. What you failed to share with your best friend was that the last phrase you'd actually use to describe your day was "not too shabby". Besides waking up almost an entire hour past the start of your shift (Keith made sure to give you an earful about that) and everyone and their mother in town deciding to be at Family Video today, it seemed like your day was never-ending. The only thing keeping your mood from turning stink to sour was the idea of going to see Steve.
Steve was kind of magical in that way. Anger, sadness, anxiety, you name it, it was no match for Steve. Though he was no poet, he had this way with words that would never fail to make you feel so comforted. So safe. Any instance where Steve had to talk you out of whatever mental turmoil you were enduring, it felt you were being endlessly wrapped in a cozy, tight blanket, sheltering you from all the darkness.
How Steve knew you were having a shit day and needed your favorite meal along with your favorite boy? Lord knows. His ability to read you without even needing to be near you was nothing short of wizardry. But like you said. Steve was magical.
"You're the best," you proclaimed, prompting a mumbled sly remark from your chef for the evening, before the music began. Being here, along with the divine sound of Tina's ethereal voice and pasta boiling in water, was more than enough to make you feel like you were right at home, though your true address was miles away. When the time to depart would make its cursed arrival, it was never easy to leave, especially with the way Steve begged for you to stay, using those unfairly adorable puppy dog eyes that paired beautifully with his lengthy lashes, against you.
And it always worked. Well, not always. You had some degree of self-control. But more times than not, you couldn't help but to cave in to his protests. How could you resist? It was Steve.
With a satisfied grin that carved deep smile lines into his blushing cheeks, he'd tuck his sheets snug around your body, repeatedly asking you if you were comfortable enough. His bed was cloud-like, plush and doughy and his pillows smelled like his shampoo and conditioner, a hint of cologne on his comforter. It was like you were trapped in a cocoon of Steve. You wanted to tell him you were beyond comfortable, that there, in his bed, you were in just about your favorite place on Earth but, habitually, you concluded that a simple nod would suffice.
Crawling onto the empty space beside you, he made sure to face you, leaving a soft squeeze on your shoulder before humming "G'night, sunshine," closing his eyes and tucking his hands under his head. And like always, Steve was a perfect gentleman, dead set on never getting under the covers himself when you'd sleep over.
Guilt would disrupt your relaxation at the sight of the brisk night chill building little hills on his freckled arms, though you selfishly loved the way he'd cuddle up to steal some of your body heat. His plump lips would part as he drifted into a peaceful slumber, light snores and chirping crickets being your lullaby.
You hoped to have another night like that soon.
In the midst of times like those, storms of wonder and doubt raged on. Was Steve like this with everyone else? Were you being silly thinking that you and Steve could be more than friends? Being Steve's best friend for nearly a decade, you knew he wasn't exactly a prude. His King Steve era was honestly one of your least favorites. Though he reserved his usual tenderness and affection all for you, you've witnessed a whole slew of girls enter and leave Steve's life, and none of them looked like you.
You wanted nothing more than to be one of the girls he'd have leaned up against his locker, arm resting next to their head, cheeks fanned by his minty breath as he whispered honeyed words. You craved dates at the drive-in theater in Steve's burgundy 1983 BMW only to neglect the movie and end up making out, like he did with other girls.
When Steve would bring his latest lover around, desperately, you did your damnedest to bury your jealousy and and fill its grave with merriment for him, because if anyone deserved to be happy, it was Steve. But the girls at school only wanted to be with Steve because of his status and all the flashy things he could buy them.
The flashy things were dull to you, though.
You wanted to be with Steve because you wanted to hold his hand and press soft kisses to his cheek. To hug him a little tighter and little longer than a best friend normally would. To run your fingers through his fluffy hair whenever he would grow stressed because you knew it calmed him down. To make him breakfast in bed when he was sick and even when he wasn't. To love him your fullest potential.
But you had to settle for this. Calves tucked under your thighs with a blanket draped over your legs as you stared off into space, longing for someone you thought you couldn't have, not knowing he was stealing glances of you wondering what was running through your pretty little head.
Resting your arm against the back of the sofa, holding your head up, your lips were downturned in a pout, eyebrows pulled together as you studied the throw pillow a few inches away from you. A little pillow can't be that interesting, something has to be bothering you, he thought. He was unapologetically curious to know if pressing his lips against your own would make that frown melt into that sweet smirk you usually had.
Steve hated when you were unhappy. It made his mind race. Did someone say something to you? Did someone do something to you? Did you eat today? How was your shift? Why did you lie when you said your day "wasn't too shabby"? Obviously it was shabby. Look at your face. That tired and troubled, cute little face. What can he do to fix it? You were his sunshine, you deserved to be happy, always.
Giving the pot a final stir and turning the flame off, Steve carelessly tossed the grease-stained hand towel flopped over his shoulder, down by the sink, strolling over to where he'd earlier set down the two bottles of wine. White Zinfandel. Neither you or Steve were wine connoisseurs, but when you called Nancy panicking about how extensive the selection at the liquor store was, she swore by it.
Balancing two glasses and a single bottle of the rose-tinted alcohol, Steve took an extra glance at your face, deciding to scoop up the second bottle into his arms. By the looks of it, it was gonna be one of those nights.
You tried to hide your smile as you noticed he was coming over, a slight grin on his face as he set the glasses down. You and him both knew he was only coming to cause trouble. He set the delicate haul down on to the thrifted wooden coffee table in front of you, slipping you one of those comforting 'Steve smiles' he usually did.
Like the forgotten towel, he threw himself down on the couch next to you, warm hand having a much softer landing on the plush of your thigh; a familiar and welcomed touch. Habitually, you curled up closer to him, no longer able to hide your smile.
"Why so glum, chum?" He tilted his chin down, slightly poking his bottom lip out, as he looked at you through batting eyelashes.
Laughing through your nose and subsequently parading a grin that displayed nothing but teeth and hollow happiness, you remarked, "What do you mean? Don't you see me smiling?"
You were fooling absolutely no one. Steve knew you were sad. And, goddamn it, he was gonna get it out of you.
"You know exactly what I mean, you weren't smiling just a few seconds ago until I came over. You're welcome, by the way, I'm flattered that I have such an effect on you," he smirked, placing a hand on his chest in gratitude.
"Okay, now I'm glum again," you roll your eyes at his not-so discreet cockiness. You hid your face in your hands, resting your forehead on Steve's shoulder. It was hard with muscle, but soft with tenderness and safety. "I was smiling at the wine, for your information."
The palm of your hand that pressed against your face muffled your words, but Steve could still understand what you said, it was evident in the way your tone was laced with satire.
"Ah, yes, that makes way more sense" Steve replied, monotone. His thumb began coasting along your skin as he urged you, "Alright, jokes aside. How are you really feeling?"
Hoisting your head up, you almost answered before he continued, "And don't give me that 'not too shabby' crap 'cause that frown you had going on earlier already snitched on ya."
When the hell did he get so observant? Steve was no idiot, but sometimes things needed to be spelled out for him. But come to think of it, you never had to spell things out for Steve whenever it came to you. He just always had a way of knowing.
"I don't know, Steve. Honestly. Some days are just a bit tougher than others. Today was one of those days," you murmured, avoiding the attentive gaze he was burning into your shifty eyes.
He slowly nodded as he processed your words, head falling on top of yours as you again found comfort on his shoulder. His eyes fluttered shut as you began mimicking the affection he was giving you on your thigh, rubbing his arm through the creamy cotton material of his crewneck. You hadn't seen it before. This one was new. So were the jeans he'd paired with it.
"Why're you dressed so nice, Harrington?"
He laughed more to himself than to you. "Well, the food can't be the only thing that looks good, you know? Wanted to look nice too. It's our first dinner together, after all," he mumbled the last bit.
Steve felt the skin around your eyes tighten against his shoulder as your eyebrows scrunched together. "We've had dinner together before, though."
"This one's different," he replied, almost instantly. You'd hoped Steve's eyes were still closed so that he wouldn't see the bashfulness you were weathering, plucking the corners of your lips into a soft smile.
A silence fell between the two of you. Not unusual. Not awkward. Never unusual or awkward. There was a mutual cherishment of moments like these. Shamelessly invading each other's personal space on the couch as if it was made to only fit one person, music playing lowly the distance, but preferring to listen to the sound of the other's breathing.
"How can I make you feel better, sunshine?" Steve questioned, voice still hushed. The volume of your voice wasn't much louder as you responded, thoughtlessly, "You don't have to ask me that. You make me feel better without even trying."
"Oh yeah?" He craned his neck so that his head was impossibly closer to yours, awaiting your confirmation. Steve knew that you enjoyed his company, as he did yours, but he was only joking earlier when he gushed about having such an effect on you. It was now his turn to hide his blush, when you hum, nodding your head fervently.
These were the warm moments that confused you so much more than any subject in school ever did. And unbeknownst to you, it messed with Steve's head too. He'd never been this close with anyone before. Especially not with any of his "girlfriends" in the past. Sure, they'd cuddle and talk about their feelings. But it never felt the way it does with you. Steve was in love with you. It was hopeless.
And he had to make it known. Soon. If not, he swore he'd explode.
"Ready to eat?"
"Mhm," you buzzed, untangling yourself from the envelop of Steve. As he pressed his knuckles into the sofa, willing himself up, you reached for the bottle of wine and a glass, but your hand only made it so far until it felt the sting of a petty swipe from the boy next to you. "Ah ah, missy, dinner first. Lord knows how many hours its been since you last ate."
You snorted, "Relax, it hasn't been that long."
"Oh yeah? When was the last time?" He looked at you with raised eyebrows and an expression that said he already knew your answer was going to be ridiculous. And if there was anything you learned tonight, it was that Steve was highly skilled at knowing when you were lying, so instead, you left him with a goofy smile and giggle that told him he was absolutely right in his assumption.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," the spot where he sat went cold as he left to the kitchen, fixing two plates for the both of you. You moved the drinks and glasses over to the dining table, using a nearby lighter to ignite the accompanying lavender and vanilla scented candles. Tina Turner's vinyl was replaced with Tears for Fears' album Songs from The Big Chair instead, as Steve used his elbow to dim the kitchen lights, hands full with heavy plates of pasta.
"Oh my gosh, this looks so good! Good job, Stevie," you cheered, as he set your plate down in front of you, pouring you a much needed glass of wine. Your hands shook with hunger or excitement, or both, as you picked up your fork, ready to dig in. "Yeah, don't get too psyched yet. Let's hope it tastes as good as it looks."
"I'm sure it does."
His knee rests against yours as he sits adjacent to you, gathering food on his fork, though his eyes are peering at you, awaiting your verdict. The mouthwatering smell of garlic, butter, cheese and other heaven-sent elements overwhelm your nose and you feel like you can't eat it soon enough. You pause for a beat and so does his heart, hand over your messy mouth as you chew. Steve's hand twitches as he contemplates wiping the sauce from the corners of your lips and licking his finger clean.
"Steve," you begin, eyes flickering shut. "I'm gonna need you to cook for me every night. This is so fucking good." The tension in his face eases at your palpable delight, mission well accomplished. He was proud of himself. Very proud. Almost as much as you were of him.
You throw your head back, the purest form of satisfaction consuming you. "I'm glad you like it, I've been trying to nail it for weeks," Steve laughs, finally taking a bite for himself.
"Well, you've succeeded," you beam, washing it down with a sip of wine. Everybody Wants to Rule the World begins playing and you smile at Steve, knowing it was his favorite song at the moment. You nod your head along as Steve hums. A truly peaceful pocket in time.
Through the large windows opening the living room to the rest of Hawkins, you had the perfect view of the bright lights and mountainous buildings from the neighboring city. It was like the sky had flipped on its axis and the stars weren't in the sky anymore, they were among the trees and high rise properties.
"Steve, look how pretty," you point towards the window as his gaze shifts from you to raindrop-riddled glass. "I love being able to see the city so close. Sucks that we can't see the stars, though. I've always wanted to go stargazing."
"Yeah, I remember you mentioning that a while ago. We gotta go one of these days," he replied, shoving a forkful of alfredo into his mouth.
"Oh, did you wanna go too?"
He shrugs his shoulders, chewing before speaking, "Eh, I'm not really a big stars guy. Besides, if I wanna see a pretty little light, all I gotta do is look at you," he says inattentively, going right back to eating as if he hadn't just said the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to you.
"Shut up, Harrington," you roll your eyes, letting out a half-hearted laugh as you take your last bite. How could he flirt with you so easily? So carelessly? Couldn't he see that you loved him and that whenever he says things like that it does something to you? Clueless boy.
"I'm serious. Why do you think I always call you sunshine?" He replies, not a hint of irony in his face.
"Steve," you warn, sitting back in your chair. You didn't know where this conversation was going, and you'd be damned if you got your hopes up for what you always got whenever you did: absolutely nothing.
"It's why I love when you wear yellow. Reminds me of the first time I ever saw you," he pressed. He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Clueless girl.
"Steve," your voice wavered. "What? Why do you keep saying my name like that?" He laughed, dryly.
He grew worried that he was saying too much. Saying things that a person shouldn't say to their best friend. He took a sip of his wine. Then another. Then another. He was considering just downing the whole glass. Maybe he was saying too much.
Screw that, he was in love with you.
"What're you saying to me right now?" You charged, voice a little harsher than what you'd intended, but you demanded an answer. A straightforward one. "I'm saying that I'm done hiding it."
"Hiding what?"
"That I love you."
The revelation yanks your parted lips shut, unsure of what to say next. You had dreamed for what felt like a lifetime for Steve to say those words to you and at last, it was no longer a dream, but instead reality. The rapid pace of your heartbeat could be felt in your chest and ears, and the butterflies in your stomach were more wild and untamed than ever before.
Steve's eyes didn't leave yours, though the stillness from you was killing him. The silence between you two that was once never awkward or unusual, was now painful and nearly unbearable.
Your dilated pupils scanned over his face, relentlessly. The jokey, teasing grin that he often sported when he was messing with you was unaccounted for. Holy shit. The gate to your thoughts opened once more. "You're serious," you whispered.
"How could I not be?" Steve watched you with adoring eyes, the warm light of the candle giving the melted chocolatey pond the sweetest infusion of honey.
"Kiss me."
Forks and butter knives fall to the ground with several, loud unpleasant clanks as Steve leans over the square dining table, hungrily pressing his lips against yours. His lips are garlicky and a little chapped, as yours probably are as well, yet the kiss is nothing short of perfect.
His mouth does a passionate dance against yours as you follow his lead, embracing the plush little pillows with your own. It was both everything you've imagined it'd be and nothing like you'd thought at the same time. You already knew Steve was an amazing kisser. Anyone who went to Hawkins High knew it. But experiencing it for yourself was completely different and new. It was euphoric.
The two of you have to reluctantly pull yourselves off of each other to catch your breaths. This moment was a long time coming.
Steve's hands are still holding onto to either side of your face, unwilling to let you go just yet. Truly savoring every second of the present. His breath fans across your cupid's bow, as he smiles against your lips. "You drive me crazy, you know that?"
Giggling, you wrap your palms and fingers around his wrists, rubbing your nose on his. "Sorry," you shrug, feeling his thumbs caress your warm cheeks.
"Don't be," he shakes his head, engulfing your soft lips into another kiss.
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message from jojo: pls comment and reblog if you enjoyed! it means a lot <3
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upsidedownwithsteve · 6 months
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12 from the clumsily list please babe?!
12. Becoming their partner’s physical first aid kit. they carrying everything now, alcohol swabs, band aids, adhesive tape, elastic bandages, everything.
“Steve.”
Steve knew that tone and his head swivelled instantly, searching for whatever direction you’d be coming from. He found you to his left, his hands dropping the record sleeve Eddie had been showing him onto the sofa, just in time for you to drape yourself over his shoulder.
“What’ve you done?” He asked suspiciously, his hands catching yours so he could inspect your palms, your fingers. There was no blood, no cuts. “What d’you do?”
Eddie snorted when you huffed and he tutted as Steve continued to inspect your arms. “She’s not made of glass dude, leave her alone—”
His sentence was cut off when Steve tugged you forward and onto his lap, the gash on your knee bleeding ruby on show, a trail of red running down your shin and dangerously close to your white sneakers.
Eddie grimaced, perplexed. “What the fuck, dude?”
Steve made a noise of triumph and you had the audacity to look both sheepish and bothered by his win, your arms crossed as you leaned back into the sofa. “Turns out, I can’t skateboard anymore.”
Steve really did laugh then, already fishing in his front pocket and he pulled out some change, one of your hair ties and a few bandaids. He undid the backing with his teeth, his hands busy swiping the drying blood from your leg, frowning when you hissed in pain, murmuring his apologies with a soft hush. His touch was soothing, a pain relief like no other, gentle and kind and tenderly careful.
You weren’t made of glass, no, despite the way you seemed to break so easily. But Steve, treated you like spun sugar, like something finer and more precious than anything else.
“Baby, I dunno if you were ever able to skateboard at all,” he reminded you gently. “Thought we swore off things w’wheels, huh?”
You grumbled in response, no words, just morose agreement. You had agreed to those terms, especially after the roller skating incident with Dustin and the three day stint you had as the florists delivery service.
Bikes weren’t your thing either.
But Steve was gently placing a bright orange bandaid over your wound, tiny dinosaurs staring back. You hummed when Steve ran gentle fingertips over it, making sure it was stuck to your skin properly. “You’re gonna have to clean yourself up,” Steve was murmuring, almost forgetting Eddie was still beside him. “You’re gonna get blood everywhere, babe.”
“I will,” you replied just as softly. “Thanks, handsome.”
And then like every other time, you leaned in, waiting. Steve was all pink affection, fondness in his eyes and a blush on his cheeks as Eddie held back a laugh, but he kissed your cheek regardless, chasing the corner of your mouth just as you pulled away, grinning.
“My hero,” you cooed, only to make him pinker still, his cheeks rosy as he glared at you, leaving him for Eddie to make fun of.
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foodivsystems · 1 year
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thefanficmonster · 7 months
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Not sure if ur accepting requests for the bear.. but could we maybe get a Mikey x reader where she finds out she's pregnant after he died (big angst tbh) and she comes to the restaurant a mess and tells everyone and it's sad but everyone's shocked or something idk if that makes sense lol, thanks
Ahhh the angst! My favorite genre to write 🙈 Thank you so much for the request, darling! I hope you enjoy the fic 💌
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Too Much, Too Late
Michael 'Mikey' Berzatto x Reader (Female) [The Bear]
Warnings: Mentioned Suicide, Mentioned Past Drug Abuse (dealing and consuming), Pregnancy, Swearing, SPOILERS for The Bear
Genre: ANGST, Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Angst with a happy ending
Summary: see request above
It was a job like any other. It was supposed to be one of those briskly-in-swiftly-out deals. All you had to do was keep it on the down low, distribute your products, get your pay and leave.
However, that didn't happen exactly as planned.
"Why are you in such a rush, sweetheart?" You found yourself accosted by a man who was very clearly three sheets to the wind already. The redness of his eyes, the dilated pupils and the alcohol on his breath suggested he was under several influences. Still, none of that was any justification for his borderline sleazy behavior. "Why don't you accompany me in blowing through this, huh?" He held up the baggie he'd just bought off you, causing you to roll your eyes.
In another setting, preferably under vastly different circumstances you would've probably found him attractive and would even like to uphold a conversation with him. Then again, in those ideal circumstances you imagine he wouldn't have been nearly as obnoxious as he was being in that moment.
Besides, you had a strict rule against participating in drugs with your clients. Or just drugs, period. Anything stronger than weed, that is.
You wanted to get him off your back as soon as possible so, instead of shutting him down in your typical cut-throat manner, you decided to let him down slowly and vanish before his object permanence kicked in. "Another time, pal. I have a busy night ahead."
It worked like a charm anytime someone tried to sweep you off your feet.
However, none of those other occasions had any follow-up. This one, on the other hand....
"Hey."
You had been caught up in your thoughts, making a mental itinerary for the next few days worth of deliveries when a voice startled you out of your tranquility.
It was the following morning and you were headed to the dumpster that was your plug's house - if you could even call it that.
Looking up, you couldn't help but frown at the sight of the 'flirt' from last night standing on the porch of your plug's house, leanings against the fence, smoking a cigarette.
"Hi?" The word came out automatically, a notation of confusion to it which made him smile.
"I don't know if you not remembering me is for better or for worse. I understand I came off a bit....gross last night." His unoccupied hand clasped around the back of his neck, an apologetic half-smile on his lips.
Despite being puzzled by the predicament, you found yourself chuckling, "No, no, I remember you. And don't worry about it, you were pretty tame compared to other shitbags I've had to deal with."
Your wording made him let out a laugh, "Yeah, 'shitbag' sums me up nicely."
Realizing how your words were poorly transmitted, you hurried to correct yourself, "No! That's not what I..."
He laughed yet again, amused by the blush that had crept onto your cheeks, "I know, I'm just fucking with you." He flashed you a charming smile as he tossed his cigarette and offered you his hand, "I'm Michael, by the way, but everyone calls me Mikey."
You were surprised by your own lack of hesitation as you took it, "Y/N, nice to meet you, Mikey."
What did surprise you was his smooth gesture - bringing the back of your hand to his lips, pressing a quick kiss to your knuckles. You could see relief flood his features when you only scoffed in amusement. "Hope you don't mind, I asked around about you at the party last night. You're quite the phantom, you know. Nobody knew anything except your plug and it was a whole other hassle having to track him down."
You would've been lying if you said you didn't find his effort flattering. "Why go through all that trouble?"
There was that charming smile once more, now accompanied by a wink, "Cause that ain't a face you simply forget, darling."
That's how it all started, three years ago. But you can hardly remember any of it now. Everything has quickly been overshadowed by the tragedy that rocked your world.
Losing the love of your life. No one and nothing can ever prepare you for such a thing. No one can take away or aid the pain it brings on. No one can tell you how to move on, if you ever will. No two grieving processes are the same and yours has been very quiet. Too quiet. You can't even remember if you've cried since you found out a week ago. You can't remember having spoken to anyone since that dreadful phone call.
It's all been building up, piling on - the calm before the storm.
And the storm has just crashed down on you, tears finally spilling over past the barrier you're able to hold them at. Sobs scratch up your throat, racking your ribcage, echoing back at you off the bathroom walls. All the agony, all the pain, the regret, the guilt the grief - it all spills out in those harrowing sobs as tears stream down your face, falling onto the sink counter and pregnancy test on it.
The positive pregnancy test.
"No, no, no...." You mumble to yourself in despair, unsure of what exactly you're saying no to.
You don't even have time to process how you feel about it, if you want it, whether you're happy about it or not. All that's plaguing your mind is the gnawing thought of what if?
What if you'd found out two weeks earlier? What if you told him? What if that changed his mind? Would you still have him by your side if he knew he'd be a dad? Would this be a reason for joy and excitement for the two of you? Having your own little family, fucked up in its own way but miles better than your individual families.
You never met his, he never met your. Unlike him, though, you haven't seen your folks in years, five to be exact. He put up with his, you had cut off yours.
You're well versed into his family and their dynamics though, thanks to all the stories Mikey told you throughout the years. You specifically remember him talking about his siblings with such adoration. Natalie and Carmen. The only supposedly sane ones of the bunch.
Wiping the tears off your burning red cheeks, you regain control of your breathing, effectively calming yourself down as you take a long look at yourself in the mirror. You will yourself to put a hand over your belly, taking a moment to let the realization of there being a living thing inside you sink in.
Your and Mikey's baby.
A baby that'll never know the wonderful man that is their dad.
"Don't worry, baby. If they don't want us, we'll always have each other."
* * * * *
After a sleepless night, you find yourself struggling not to nod off on the train.
You thought you'd feel a lot more....well, something more as you approach the inevitable meeting with Mikey's brother. Instead, you're quite numb, immune to whatever you might be faced with once you arrive at the restaurant. Nothing he might say or do can faze you, not after the week you've had. Though you're pretty sure his hasn't been any better. He lost his brother after all. It could be a point of mutual understanding for the two of you or a point of collision and apperhension.
Only one way to find out.
You're surprised by the sheer boldness with which you enter the sandwich shop. Again, you thought you might exhibit at least mild hesitation but you have never been prone to such reservations. You still do things like you used to back in your dealer days - briskly-in-swiftly-out.
This is no different.
Upon entry, the interior feels familiar. You've been here only twice before, always after closing, snuck in by Mikey as a date night. He'd cook for you while you DJed with the restaurant sound system in the office. It was the peak of romance in your relationship.
Never once did you think one day you'd be coming in alone, during work hours, the memories bringing tears to your eyes.
You push the pain to the backburner when a waiter approaches you. "Welcome, what can I get ya?"
You force the closest thing to a smile you can manage, "Carmen Berzatto, if possible."
Just then, as if on cue, sounds of chaos flood out from the kitchen into the seating area. It doesn't really seem to bother any of the three tables enjoying their meal, but you are certainly a little shocked. You remember Mikey mentioning shit would get chaotic in back of house, but you'd never imagined it'd be this bad.
The waiter casually peers over his shoulder, pressing his lips in a thin line, "I can't promise you anything but I'll go ask. Who's asking for him?" He inquires, already uneasy at the thought of what he'll be met with in the kitchen.
"Mikey's girlfriend." You watch, in real time, as the poor guy's eyes hollow out in shock, his eyebrows raising impossibly high.
Despite being rattled by your response, he manages to clear his throat and murmur a quick, "Please wait here" before disappearing out of view.
Less than a minute later, the door to the kitchen swung open again, the man emerging from the kitchen shocking you with his lack of resemblance to Michael. Fair hair, bright blue eyes, overall soft features whereas Mikey was all sharp edges, dark brown hair and chocolate eyes.
He too, quite like his brother, is doing a poor job masking his confusion as he offers you a tattooed hand as a greeting, "Hi."
You take it, "Hi."
The rowdiness picks up yet again, causing Carmy to motion for you to follow him, "It's a little too loud in here." You nod and follow suit as he leads you out through a back exit to a fenced of area. He shuts the door, drowning out most of the noise before he turns back to face you, "Alright, tell me everything."
It takes all the will you have coupled with all the pride within you not to let yourself shed any tears as you sum up five of the best years of your life in front of this stranger. It gets especially hard when you see his eyes gloss over but you manage to keep it together. Your chest feels somewhat lighter once you bare one of the biggest secrets in your life, knowing there cannot be any repercussions now.
Because...well...he's gone.
"Fuck..." Is all Carmy can say to break the silence after you've concluded your story. His gaze is trained on the ground, his hand cupped around his mouth. He suddenly lifts his head to look at you, making you feel a little too exposed. Those eyes stare right through you. "Why didn't he ever tell us about you?"
You shrug, you have no real answer. You don't know why he would tell them but you're none the wiser as to why he didn't tell them either. So, you just stay quiet.
He nods, pausing for a second to collect his thoughts before speaking up again, "I-I gotta ask...did you suspect anything? Like, did you see any signs?"
You were expecting this. That doesn't mean it hurts any less to actually hear him ask it. You force yourself to inhale a shaky breath before replying, speaking around the knot in your throat, "No. I saw him that morning, he seemed fine. Nothing out of the ordinary. We were talking about the game. He was excited the Sox had won. He made us breakfast. I ironed his shirt for work and I sent him off. And...." You take a moment to maintain your composure, "...that was the last time I saw him."
"Fucking hell..." He sighs out, the curse pouring out from the depths of his soul. He takes a pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket, taking one and offering the pack to you, "You smoke?"
You shake your head, "Yeah, but I can't right now." You let out a bitter chuckle as you add on: "Last night...I found out I'm pregnant."
Carmy chokes on the puff he'd just inhaled, coughing out the smoke. He gives you a deer-in-headlights look, trying to gouge your reaction so he can mimic his accordingly. You help him out by giving him a slight smile, allowing him to reflect it back at you ten fold.
"No fucking way." He laughs, prompting you to nod, your eyes filling with tears for the millionth time today. He tosses his cigarette, motioning for you to approach him, "Come here." His arms wrap around you and you damn near break down, finally allowing yourself to shed those tears you've been holding back as you hug him back, squeezing him tightly.
You didn't realize how much you'd needed that hug, that comfort. You had no one to offer it to you. It's funny how quickly people can become important in our lives - in this case, only minutes after entering yours.
You're both startled when the door is thrown open revealing a man you don't recognize initially. His demeanor allows you to connect him to a name soon though.
"Cousin, what the fuck?! We're fighting a war in there...- oh, my bad." He straightens his attitude when he notices you, "Hi there."
Sniffling, Carmy wipes a stray tear before offering Richie a wide smile, "Cousin, we're gonna be uncles."
The confusion on his face provokes a laugh out of you, a genuine one at that. It's refreshing, nostalgic almost. And although you're well aware you'll have to retell your and Mikey's story several more times to catch people up to speed, you know that it'll be a little less dreadful each time.
* * * * *
It's over. The five minutes of utter hell and chaos are over.
You share a look of disbelief with Syd before bursting out in hysterical laughter, enveloping each other in a hug.
"We did it."
"We fucking did it."
Wiping sweat from your forehead with the back of your hand, you beam up at Richie who is equally as high on the feel of accomplishment. His arms wrap around you so tightly, he momentarily lifts you off the ground.
It's finally the calm after the storm. You can finally relax without waiting for the other shoe to drop.
You rush out to the dining are, going straight to Sugar and Pete's table where your one year old son is being entertained by the couple, cackling as Pete tickles his feet.
"Hope he wasn't too much trouble." You say as you approach their side, your voice prompting Sugar to get up and practically tackle you with upmost joy.
"Great job back there, Y/N." She beams at you, holding your hands tightly when she pulls away.
"You too, mama." You smile back, resting a hand over her swollen belly just in time to feel a kick.
Turning back to Calvin, you see him making grabby hands at you, giggling when you pick him up, peppering kisses all over his face, "Hi, baby!" You coo to him, adjusting his surprisingly still clean shirt. A fancy one, curtesy of Richie. Him, Fak and Calvin are in matching suits tonight and it's the most adorable thing. "Wanna go see uncle Carmy?"
It's ridiculous you even asked. The little boy cheers happily, kicking his feet as you carry him back to the kitchen, stopping in front of the freezer door to knock on it.
"What?!" You hear Carmy's rough voice boom from inside.
"Carmy!" Calvin calls out to his uncle, his tiny hands tapping on the freezer door, "Hiiii!"
"Hi Baby Bear." His tone has softened now, raising to an octave higher, "Your mommy is a badass, you know that."
"Oh he knows." You reply, resting your forehead on the cool metal, "We did it, Carm. We took care of it. Everything's handled, don't worry." You take this moment of calmness on his end to reassure him that no matter what anxieties are plaguing him, everything is and will be fine.
"I know you did, Y/N. You're an awesome team. Just wish I was in the fire with you, you know?" He says through a shaky breath, causing your heart to ache.
"Oh this was just the frying pan, dude. You'll be there for the many fires to come." Your words are successful in making him laugh, bringing you relief.
"I cook too!" Calvin proudly proclaims, making you both chuckle.
"You'll cook too, Teddy Bear. You'll be the best fucking chef ever." You gave up a while ago trying to shield Calvin from the sailor mouths of the Berzatto family and the restaurant as a whole. If he has a potty mouth from a very early age, you'll just blame it on his dad and uncles.
You never dreamed you'd find yourself in the cahoots of such a batshit crazy and immensely loving family. It really makes you feel a sense of fulfillment looking back at how far you've come and look forward knowing that you'll never come to a point where you'll be alone.
You'll always have your son, the Berzattos and The Bear by your side.
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mymoodwriting · 6 months
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15.8k, yandere, manipulation, gangs, drugs, guns, needles, sedatives, car accident, alcohol, kidnapping, knives, pills, smut, non-con, dub-con, knife play, aphrodisiac, BDSM, sex toys, fingering, dry humping, gang bang, double penetration, restraints, supernatural power (@starillusion13)
“Welcome to Wingz Express, how may I help you?”
You pulled down your hood as you walked into the shop. The gentleman behind the counter was quite handsome, and more focused on the white cat in its arms. When he looked up at you he offered a smile, standing up.
“What can I do for you?”
“Uh… hi… I was wondering… how much could you give me for this necklace?”
You pulled your fist out of your pocket, holding it out and opening your hand to reveal a small gold necklace. The gentleman asked for your permission to take it and then proceeded to do so. He examined it for a moment up against the light and then handed it back to you, checking under the counter display case for something.
“So, tell me, why’s a pretty thing like you selling something so pretty.”
“I just need the money…”
“What for?”
“Nothing bad!” You quickly remarked. “Just for school… I need new books for the semester and… I don’t really have any other options.”
“I see.”
The gentleman got out a scale, turning it on and testing it out with a few other jewelry pieces. As he did that the door opened, a bell ringing to signify there was someone new entering the shop. You looked over to see another guy with a cap walk in, and before the shop worker could say their greeting he spoke.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome back, Hyunjae.”
“Oh, what do we have here?”
This Hyunjae gave you a smile before going behind the counter with the other, looking around for the item in question. Although you still had it.
“May I?”
The other held his hand out to you, and you handed over the necklace. He put it on the scale and noted down its weight. From there Hyunjae grabbed it and began examining it.
“So, how much are you looking to get?” The worker asked.
“Juyeon-”
“I’m not talking to you right now, Hyunjae.” Juyeon cleared his throat and smiled at you. “How much do you need?”
“Uh… if I could get a few hundred… that would be fine… although I don’t think the necklace is worth that much…”
“Well you’re in luck.” Juyeon grabbed the necklace, holding it up. “The craftsman ship on this is quite unique, the weight is decent, and it seems to be 14k, so I can give you about six hundred dollars.”
“Six… six hundred?”
“Too little?”
“I… no… if that’s what it’s worth… I had no idea…”
“Whoever gave this to you must have really cared for you.”
“I guess… it’s the only thing I have from my birth parents… before they passed away…”
“Oh, something with this much sentimental value… are you sure you want to-”
“I need the money for school… it’s okay…”
“If you say so.”
Juyeon grabbed a sheet of paper and pen, sliding it over to you. He asked for you to fill out your personal information, as they needed physical records of all transactions. He stepped away for a moment to get the money, counting it in front of you so you’d have no doubts. As he handed it over to you he kept his grip on it, confusing you. He reached into his jacket pocket and held out a business card for you, which you hesitantly took.
“What’s this?”
“If you need money, it might be better to get a job. We also run a delivery service and are always looking for new people.” Juyeon let go of the money. “Just a thought.”
“Thank you…”
You politely bowed your head and made your way out of the shop. Juyeon watched you every step of the way until you were out of sight. When he looked back he was met with Hyunjae’s death glare.
“What?”
“Six hundred dollars? Seriously? How much is that necklace actually worth?”
“About a hundred.”
“Juyeon!”
“What!”
“Sangyeon is going to kill you.”
“He can try.” Juyeon looked down at the paperwork. “Let me know when she calls.”
“You mean if she calls.”
“When.” Juyeon corrected. “She’ll call.”
“And how can you be so sure?”
“Cause I’m gonna make her mine.”
❤ 
You went to the shop early in the morning the day before classes started. You made it back to your dorm, ignoring the boxes you needed to unpack and just collapsing onto the bed. You were grateful you had gotten some money, hoping it’d be enough for books. Your stomach growled and you could only whine. You had two meal passes per day, and you’d rather save those for lunch and dinner. For a moment you thought to spend some of the money you had on breakfast, but you quickly shot the idea down reminding yourself you had to save every penny. After some more lounging around you heard your roommate come in, reminding you that you needed to unpack and get ready for the semester.
After the first week you had all necessary materials, and a few bucks left over. You kinda wanted to treat yourself, but you knew you shouldn’t be spending so recklessly. You’d spend your time in the library, working on assignments, or in your dorm. Even though you wanted to go out, even when classmates invited you, the only option you had was to stay in your dorm. It sucked, but you were used to it by now. Especially the morning hunger pains. Which were way worse after pulling an all nighter. 
You laid in bed the next morning, telling yourself you had to get up. You went about your morning routine, getting your things and when you put your phone in your pocket found a business card. For a moment you questioned it, but seeing the name on it reminded you where you had gotten in. The shop worker told you it would be best to get a job, and that they were hiring. You weren’t sure if you’d be able to do it though, considering you’ve seen a lot of delivery workers dropping off big heavy boxes. Not to mention the fact your schedule was all over the place. 
Then again you could do late evenings but you’d sacrifice sleep in the process. You groaned as you debated this, unsure what to do. In your current situation you were just getting by, staying at a constant with no real movement upwards. You were okay, but you could be better. Some money in your pocket would probably make you feel less anxious. Since you still had time before your morning class you decided to call on your way over, hoping to get some information and go from there. 
“Hello, Wingz Express, how may I help you?”
“Hi… I was calling to ask about your open positions.”
“Open positions?”
“Yes. One of your employees from the shop gave me a card, I believe his name was Juyeon. He told me you were hiring.”
“Ah, yes. So, what do you want to know?”
“Well, I was curious about the pay? Does it depend on the department or-”
“Thirty.”
“…” You stopped in your tracks. “Thirty… what?”
“All the work is basically the same, so I’d be paying you thirty an hour.”
“Thirty… an hour?”
“Is that not enough?”
“No! I mean, that’s great. Although, I’m a uni student so I could only really work late in the evening.”
“That’s fine. A delivery service is available 24/7 so that’s no problem. When can you start?”
“… just like that? No interview or background check.”
“It’s a delivery job, don’t need much, just you.”
“Oh… okay then…”
“You think you could come by later today? I know where I could put you.”
“Yeah, yeah I can do that. Does seven sound good?”
“Works for me. Can I get your name?”
“Y/n.”
“I’m Sangyeon, the owner. I’ll text you the address for the warehouse and when you come over ask for me.”
“Got it. Thank you.”
“I’ll see you later.”
When the call ended you found yourself staring at your phone. You easily got a job, and it paid very well. For a moment your heart fluttered with joy but then you thought about it. If it paid this much, and they were hiring, there had to be something wrong with the job. That killed your mood a bit but you told yourself it wouldn’t hurt to check it out. Besides, they were expecting you now so it would be rude not to show up. You put it all to the side for now focusing on your classes. You had an early lunch before catching a bus and heading to the warehouse. It seemed pretty empty, so you began to worry you were in the wrong place, but you saw some trucks with the Wingz Express stamp on it in the loading dock, giving you some reassurance.
You then saw a few people walking inside the building. You called out to them, but they didn’t seem to hear you so you followed them inside. It looked how you’d imagine a delivery service would have their warehouse stocked, rows and rows of items going up to the ceiling. Still, you didn’t see many workers around. You were starting to think this place was fairly new, it would explain why the pay was so high, they needed people. You cautiously walked around, looking for another employee, but it wouldn’t be long before you were called out.
“Ya! Stop right there!”
You turned around to see these two gentlemen walking over to you, concern on their faces. You merely offered a smile, trying not to be nervous.
“Hello.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m the new hire.”
“New hire? Seriously?”
“Uh, yes. I spoke with the owner on the phone and he-”
“Sure you did. Look, you seem nice, so why don’t we escort you out.”
“What?”
“We have no problem dragging you out if necessary.”
“But-”
“Guys!” A third voice boomed. “What is going on?”
“This girl says she works here. That she spoke with you on the phone.”
“I did speak with someone.”
You looked back to see who you believed to be Sangyeon approach. He came up to you with a smile and held his hand out to you.
“You must be y/n, it’s a pleasure to meet you in person, I’m Sangyeon.”
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you too.”
“I’m glad you found the place, now let’s go to the office and get all the paperwork sorted.”
“Wait, why didn’t you tell us that-”
“It’s fine. Just get back to work you two.”
You followed Sangyeon to the office at the back of the warehouse. He brought out some papers for you to fill out, getting you a hat and vest as well. Afterwards he showed you around the warehouse, telling you about the company. They had been around for a while and as you suspected, only recently set up a location in this area. They pretty much delivered everything to anyone, so their services were sought after.
“I don’t expect heavy manual labor from you, so I’ll be partnering you up with Younghoon.”
You went over to the docks, Sangyeon introducing you to your new partner. He was happy to meet you, giving you a big smile as he shook your hand.
“Welcome to the team.”
“Thanks.”
“I expect you to take good care of her.” Sangyeon commented. “And show her the ropes.”
“Of course.”
“Alright, be safe, and let me know if anything happens. See you both later.”
Younghoon closed up the truck and playfully offered you the keys, but said you didn’t know where to go yet. You also mentioned you didn’t know how to drive which he assured you wasn’t an issue as no one really did deliveries alone.
“So, what’s up with you?”
“Huh?”
“Sorry, I worded that weirdly. Tell me about yourself. What do you do with your time, why the job?”
“Oh… well I’m a university student, and I need the money for my expenses… and to pay back my loans someday.”
“Your parents won’t help out?”
“I don’t have any…”
“Oh, my bad.”
“It’s alright. I was in foster care and did grow up in a nice home, it’s just… different…”
“You still live with your foster parents?”
“No, no, I live on campus in the dormitories. It feels more like my home that way.”
“Look at you, miss independent.”
You giggled. “I try.”
“Well, getting a job is a good step.”
“Thanks.”
You arrived at an apartment complex, going with Younghoon to get the delivery items. You had multiple deliveries in the building, and it would go faster with two people. Younghoon pulled out a small cart, handing you these paper bags with numbers on them. He got another cart and did the same, the two of you taking one and making your way inside the building. He gave you a list, and certain floors to attend to, as well as a walkie to keep in touch with, telling you the numbers on the bags corresponded with apartment numbers. You just had to place the bag in front of the right door and take a picture of it, followed by ringing the doorbell and moving onto the next. Pretty simple.
You did this with a few other apartment complexes, returning to the warehouse in the early hours of the morning. To your surprise you could hear music and cheering coming from inside. Younghoon seemed to know exactly what was going on and had you follow him. You saw a bunch of boys gathered around two others in forklifts, they were gonna race. Sangyeon noticed the two of you and came over. Younghoon told him everything had gone well and all deliveries were made. He was happy to hear, asking you how you felt with the work. It was good, and you were glad to help.
“You should stick around for the race.”
“I don’t think I should.”
“It’ll be fun. You can place your bet too.”
“I don’t really have money to bet…”
“Then how about this.” Younghoon suggested. “You bet an hours pay, and if you win, your paycheck gets doubled. You should have some fun with us too.”
“Uh…”
“It’s not much to lose.”
“Sure. I’ll play.”
If you were gonna keep this job, you should make an effort to get along with your coworkers. You joined in the crowd, going over to the front, and being told who the racers were. One was a gentleman by the name of Sunwoo, and the other Chanhee. You didn’t have much to go by so this was truly a gamble for you. In the end you put your money on Chanhee, and then the race began. The gentleman from the shop, Hyunjae, went up to start the race, doing a count down and dropping the flag. It was easy to get caught up in the energy as you watch the two go around the warehouse, and you were overjoyed when Chanhee crossed the finish line first. You screamed in joy and jumped into Younghoon’s arms. He spun you around until you came back to your senses and apologized.
“Congrats to you.”
“Sorry, I didn’t…”
“It’s okay, you were excited.”
“Y/n.” Sangyeon called. “Let’s get you your money, follow me.”
You went with Sangyeon to the office. He gave you a check for your first shift, and your earnings from the bet in cash. You kept yourself together as best you could, but it was hard to hide your joy.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you then.”
You returned to your dorm, tired but satisfied. A bit of a burden had been lifted off your shoulders. You cleaned up and went to bed. Even though you wouldn’t get much sleep you had the peace of mind that everything would be alright. In the morning you even treated yourself to a yummy breakfast before class. You went about your day with a slight skip in your step, and happily returned to the warehouse in the evening. While you made your way to the office you heard a honk and one of the forklifts came over to your side. You recognized the driver.
“Hello, I don’t think we got to properly meet last night.”
“Hi, I’m y/n, a new hire.”
“I’m Chanhee, your lucky charm.” He chuckled. “You made the right choice last night.”
“Thanks for winning.”
“It’s all skill. We should hang out sometime outside of work.”
“If I have the time.”
“Then keep me in your thoughts.”
“Y/n!” You heard Younghoon call. “You ready?”
“Coming! I’ll see you around, Chanhee.”
“Don’t be a stranger.”
Chanhee went off and you went over to Younghoon, going off to work. For the next few days it was the same routine. You went to the same places, and did the same job. Since it was late in the evening going into the morning, you rarely ran into people, although it did happen on occasion. These people usually just said hello, and moved on, but on one occasion things were different. Someone approached you, asking about their order. You were happy to help, and asked for their apartment number. You didn’t have anything on your list, so you used your walkie to call Younghoon and ask him about the situation. He had no record of such an order either.
“Sorry, we don’t seem to have your order. Perhaps you could-”
“Just give me one of the ones you have.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. These are for other people. And-”
“Whatever.”
The person just grabbed a random bag off your cart, and you quickly reached out to grab it as well. You were trying to explain this wasn’t for them, but the other party was not letting go. Eventually the struggle caused the bag to rip, multiple items falling to the floor, and a white powder exploding onto you. The other person immediately dropped the bag and ran, causing you to collapse to the floor. You were upset and as you got up Younghoon came to your side, helping you to your feet.
“Are you okay?”
“I guess. Sorry, one of the orders-”
“It’s fine.” Younghoon tried to dust you off. “There’s a small vacuum in the back of the van, why don’t you go get it and I’ll do some cleaning here.”
“Of course.”
You went down to the van and retrieved the vacuum returning to Younghoon as he got off the phone. He thanked you and got to work cleaning up, telling you they liked to operate like ghosts, not leaving a trace behind. He also told you not to worry about the order that was damaged, Sangyeon was already taking care of it. You continued with the deliveries together, although after a while you began to feel dizzy. You thought you were fine but your legs suddenly gave out. Younghoon was quick to catch you, holding you in his arms.
“Y/n? Y/n, can you hear me?”
You felt strange, as if you were floating on water. Younghoon’s voice sounded so distant, but you were trying to listen. All you could give him was a smile before your body gave out and everything faded to black.
❤ 
Your head was throbbing as you regained consciousness. It took a moment to register where you were, but as you sat up you could see that you were in the office back at the warehouse. You were relieved to be somewhere familiar, although you were alone. Besides the headache you felt fine, and when you checked the time you saw that your shift had ended half an hour ago. You felt terrible for what had happened, but at least it wasn’t bad enough that you needed to be taken to the hospital. It was getting late and you needed to return to your dorm, but you also wanted to check in with Sangyeon to apologize.
You grabbed your things and stepped out of the office, looking around the warehouse. The place was eerily quiet, yet you called out to see if anyone was there. As far as you knew the warehouse never really closed, so someone had to be around. While wandering around you noticed just how many boxes were stacked in the warehouse. You had never really looked into the type of things Wingz Express delivered, and after today’s incident you were quite curious. The boxes were labeled according to what they had, but you noticed the boxes higher up didn’t have a label at all. 
“You should be careful.”
You jumped when you heard a voice, looking over to see Chanhee up on some boxes looking down at you. If he had been there this whole time then he surely had heard you calling for someone, but just ignored you until now. He chuckled and apologized for startling you, hoping down.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better, sorry for what happened.”
“It wasn’t your fault, you were just doing your job.”
“Yeah… so what is it that you guys deliver? What have I been delivering?”
“No idea, big boss Sangyeon takes care of all that. We deliver anything and everything, so who knows, not really our business.”
“I see. I should get going.”
“Right, you have class in the morning. I’ll show you out.”
“I was actually looking for Sangyeon.”
“He’s busy with something, but I’ll let him know you’re alright.”
“Okay, thanks.”
You made it back to your dorm in one piece, feeling a mix of exhaustion and annoyance. People just had to be so dumb and you were sure you’d get a pay cut for passing out on the job. For now though you just needed to sleep and worry about your classes. In the morning you still felt tired, but you had to get on with your day. Although as you were on your way to class you got a call from Sangyeon.
“Hey, how are you feeling?”
“I’m alright. I do need to apologize for last night.”
“There’s no need. All that matters is that you’re alright. If you need anything, you let me know.”
“I will, thank you.”
“Since I have you on the line, could I ask something of you?”
“What is it?”
“I know you don’t usually work weekends, but if you ever have the time you’re always welcome to come by. I could use the help in the mornings and I’d pay you extra too. Which reminds me, I am paying you for your full hours for yesterday.”
“Oh you don’t-”
“I insist. You got hurt on the job and I need to take care of you. I know it’s early so I’ll let you go, but if you can come in this weekend please let me know.”
“Yeah, yeah I will, thanks Sangyeon.”
“Have a good day.”
“You too.”
❤ 
The weekends were normally your days off. You’d use them to catch up on assignments, or sleep, and maybe treat yourself since you had money to spend. Although you didn’t really have friends to hang out with. At least if you went into work you wouldn’t be alone, and you’d get some more money. So you decided to make your way over to the warehouse, greeted by happy faces.
“I’m glad you could spare the time.” Sangyeon commented.
“No problem. So, where’s Younghoon?”
“You won’t be with him today. I’m gonna have you help Kevin out. Nothing too crazy.”
“Sure. That sounds like fun.”
“I’ll take you to him.”
You followed Sangyeon through the warehouse, going back over to the loading docks. He brought you over to Kevin and introduced you.
“Pleasure to be working with you.”
“Same here.”
“Take care of her.” Sangyeon mentioned.
“I got it, boss.”
“Then I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if anything happens.”
“Will do.” Kevin playfully saluted. “So, I know you’re used to working the evening shift, but I promise the day shift isn’t too bad.”
“I guess we’ll see.”
“Truck’s already loaded so let’s go.”
You made small talk with Kevin on the drive, and the job was fairly similar. You were dropping off boxes to apartment buildings or stores. If there was no one to receive it then you set it down, take a picture, and send a message, just like before. The only real difference was politely greeting people around you. The uniform was simple too, which meant it was easy for people to recognize you.
“Y/n?”
“Hm?”
While heading back to the truck you were stopped by a group of girls, recognizing them from one of your classes. You weren’t exactly friends, but you knew each other to be more than strangers.
“What are you doing?”
“Just… working… I need some extra money so I thought I’d pick up a few shifts.”
“That explains a lot.”
“Huh?”
“Y/n.”
You looked back just as Kevin approached you, seeming out of breath. He placed an arm around your shoulder, pulling you close.
“This was our last stop, so we can go.” Kevin smiled and looked over at the girls. “Ladies, if you’ll excuse us.”
“What’s your name?”
“Sorry, I’m not that easy.”
Kevin pulled you along back to the truck. The other girls followed you for a bit, but Kevin didn’t pay them any attention. As you were on the road heading back to the warehouse your phone started pinning. The girls had your number from previous projects and were asking you about Kevin. Before you could even attempt to answer them Kevin snatched your phone.
“Ya.”
“I thought you were keeping me company.”
“Right, sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize.” Kevin said. “Thanks for today, you were a big help.”
“No problem.”
“You got any plans for later?”
“No, not really. Why?”
“We’re having a party tonight down at our favorite spot. You should come.”
“You mean a club?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t really have an outfit for that.”
“Just wear something nice. You should come. Have a few drinks and relax, I’m sure uni must be stressful.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Would love to see you, consider it a work get together. You’d be able to meet everyone.”
“Uh… sure… there’s no harm.”
“Awesome. I’ll text you the details.”
Like you said, you didn’t have an outfit for the club scene, but found something nice. You were a bit nervous, but to your surprise the bouncer let you in without issue. As you stepped inside you could feel the music shaking everything. The lights were low and people were dancing and drinking in every direction. You glanced down at your phone, sending Kevin a message that you were here. While walking around you wound up running into your classmates from before.
“Y/n? Surprised to see you here, it’s not really your scene.”
“I… I know… it’s a work thing…”
“Oh, then maybe we can join you.”
“I’m not sure if you could.”
Despite the crowd you managed to see a familiar face, Chanhee, excusing yourself and trying to follow after them. You called their name, but you can’t hear much besides the music. Although you stopped when you came across two bouncers, realizing Chanhee had gone into a VIP section.
“Hello, I’m here with my friends and I saw one of them just went through here.”
“Yeah, I didn’t know we were doing VIP tonight.”
Your classmates had followed you and come up from behind, trying to sweet talk the bouncers. You weren’t exactly with them, but if they could help you get in then maybe it wasn’t a bad thing. Although you noticed another familiar face and called out to them.
“Kevin!”
“Y/n, glad you could make it.”
Kevin came over and told the bouncers to let you in, although your classmates weren’t allowed. They started pleading with you, but you weren’t sure what to say.
“Are these your friends y/n?” Kevin asked. “And be honest.”
“Uh… well… not really… we’re just classmates.”
“I see, well, ladies, I’m afraid VIP is invite only, have a nice night.”
Kevin wrapped an arm around your shoulder and led you deeper into the VIP section. You were brought over to a private area, seeing many more familiar faces. You got a simple drink from the bar there, mingling with your coworkers and meeting new people. Although some were definitely old faces.
“Y/n! Oh my gosh, it’s so good to see you.”
“Juyeon?”
“Yeah, how’ve you been? How’s the job?”
“It’s good, and the money has been a great help.”
“See, told ya it would work out.”
“Thanks again for the introduction.”
“My pleasure.”
You danced the night away, having a few drinks too. Not enough to be drunk, but you were a bit tipsy. Come morning things were winding down, and you definitely needed rest. Some of the boys offered you a ride back to the dorm, which you gladly accepted. They didn’t all drink as some were the designated drivers of the night. You cozied up in the back of a car, squished between Sunwoo and Eric, while Hyunjae took the passenger seat and Jacob sat behind the wheel. The drive was smooth, Eric having his face pressed against the glass while you leaned against his shoulder. You were half asleep and couldn’t really make out the voices around you.
“She’s so cute…” Hyunjae mumbled, looking at you through the rearview mirror. “Can we keep her? I know tonight-”
“You already know the answer to that.” Jacob interrupted. “We can’t just keep an innocent person around.”
“Yeah, yeah…”
The peaceful ride was suddenly interrupted as you were sent spinning, another vehicle crashing into yours. The car came to a stop when it crashed against the side of the building. All the windows were smashed and you had cuts from broken glass. You groaned as you looked around, seeing that the others were conscious too. Sunwoo was in your field of vision, talking to you, but you couldn’t really hear anything. Next thing you knew the door behind him was yanked open and he was dragged out. Then someone reached in and pulled you out of the wreck. You were laid on the ground, vaguely making out Haknyeon before passing out.
❤ 
You expected to wake up in the hospital, or maybe even in an ambulance. Instead you found yourself in the office back at the warehouse. You felt a few aches around your body, and your cuts stung, but you were fine overall. You slowly sat up, Juyeon and Sangyeon both there to tell you to take it easy.
“What… what happened?”
“Minor car accident.” Juyeon explained. “No one was seriously injured.”
“Shouldn’t we go to the hospital?”
“We’re fine.” Sangyeon assured. “But if you feel like-”
“No, no, I’m fine.”
“Glad to hear. Apologies though, we were supposed to take you back to the dorm, but we needed to make sure you were alright first.”
“I understand, thanks.”
“Why don’t you rest for a bit and then we’ll take you home.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
Juyeon got up and got you a glass of water. You thanked him and laid down, feeling like a good nap would do you well as you still felt kinda dizzy and tipsy. Juyeon gave you a blanket and tucked you in on the couch, saying he’d come by later to get you and take you back to your dorm. You thanked him and closed your eyes, getting some sleep. You were out for a while before you opened your eyes again, feeling more clear headed. You found yourself alone in the office, figuring you might as well go look for Juyeon or one of the others. You found your things and headed into the warehouse.
You called out to the guys, but got no answer. Before you could try again you heard some noises and followed them. You saw the boys gathered around, laughing and smiling. You were about to make your presence known when you saw Chanhee hold up a gun and cock it. Your eyes went wide, seeing he wasn’t the only one with a weapon. You took a closer look at what the boys were doing. Besides weapons you saw needles, jewelry, and other types of contraband. It was clear you needed to leave on your own, and quietly. You took a step back and wound up knocking something over and making noise. You cursed under your breath, intending to run off only to bump into Kevin. He had an amused smile on his face, placing a hand on your shoulder.
“Look who’s awake.”
“Ha… hi…”
“We were just gonna go get you.”
“Right… I would like to go back to-”
“What’s this?”
The others had come to see what the noise was, finding you with Kevin. You offered the boys a smile, but it was hard to act normal when you saw some of them holding guns.
“Hey… I… I was looking for someone… I need to get back to the dorm…”
“Juyeon.” Sangyeon sighed. “You were supposed to give her a laced glass of water.”
“I swear I thought I did.”
“Well clearly you didn’t.”
“Wa… what do you mean…” You nervously laughed. “I’m fine, and I’d really like to go-”
“I guess we get to keep her after all, Hyunjae.” Jacob commented. “Lucky us.”
“Yes!”
“Huh?”
“Grab her.”
Since Kevin was the closest to you he immediately grabbed your arm which caused you to act. You tried to run and free yourself from his grasp but his grip was tight. Then Younghoon came over and grabbed your other arm, the two of them keeping you from escaping.
“What are you doing! Let go!”
“We can’t do that.” Younghoon said. “Sorry.”
“What about the mission tonight?” Sunwoo asked. “Are we going to postpone?”
“No, it will proceed as intended.” Sangyeon stated. “Those bastards aren’t gonna get away with a stunt like that. And we also need to send a message.”
“Then what do we do about y/n?”
“We’ll keep her here until we get back. Put her in the cage for now.”
“What is that!?” You screamed. “Please, just… just let me go! I won’t tell anyone anything! I swear!”
“We should have made her drink more.” Chanhee said. “Things wouldn’t have gotten so complicated.”
“Probably. Now let’s move.”
You tried to argue some more but the boys just dragged you along effortlessly. You were taken further into the warehouse, coming over to the sortation area. You weren’t sure what this cage was, but you were a bit relieved when you saw it. In order to transport packages around there was this cage on wheels to make sure they were safe. Usually it was stacked high with packages but this time you would be put inside. It was hard to fight back as they locked you in. You expected them to use some sort of lock but instead you watched in disbelief as Kevin bent the metal together. He gave you a smirk and a wink.
“We’ll be back later. So stay put.”
You couldn’t resist the urge to try and break yourself free but the door wouldn’t budge at all. Your mind was still processing what had happened, but the proof was right in front of you. There was no way someone was physically strong enough to bend metal the way Kevin just did, but you were living in that reality. You screamed at them to let you out, but none listened and just walked away, leaving you trapped and completely alone. You kept trying to free yourself for a while, but eventually you exhausted yourself. You collapsed and sat in the cage, contemplating your next move.
These guys were something else, and you didn’t know them at all. Now you were their prisoner, and you were certain they wouldn’t easily let you go. Since it was quiet and you were settling down from everything that had happened, exhaustion was catching up to you. Without really meaning to you wound up falling asleep. You didn’t know for how long you were out, but you woke to the rattling of the cage. You jumped awake and quickly scrambled against a corner, seeing Chanhee grabbing onto the cage and giggling.
“You look good in there.”
“Let me out!”
“Sure, but no running away, okay?”
“Whatever.”
Chanhee bent the metal back, allowing for the doors to be opened. You didn’t bother thinking about his insane feat of strength, but you were certainly surprised to see him holding his hand out to you. Reluctantly you took it, finally being able to stretch properly. You didn’t see anyone else around, so this was your chance. You offered Chanhee a smile before shoving him away from you and running in the opposite direction. Unfortunately you didn’t make it far as you crashed into Haknyeon, who you swear wasn’t there a second ago, and fell to the floor. You glanced back to see that Chanhee was still standing by the cage. Your shove really hadn’t thrown him off balance at all.
“What did I say?” Chanhee teased. “No running away. It’s pointless either way.”
“Please just let me go…” 
“We’re going home now, so don’t worry.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Haknyeon helped you to your feet, distracting you as Chanhee came up from behind and jammed a needle into your neck, emptying out its contents into you. Your eyes went wide, and Haknyeon held you still. Once the needle was removed you began to feel a bit dizzy, your legs losing strength. You could vaguely make out the smile on Haknyeon’s face as he lifted you up into his arms, carrying you bridal style. You tried to speak, to stay awake, but it wasn’t long before the darkness swallowed you.
“Let’s go home.”
❤ 
When you regained consciousness you felt a bit sore, but as soon as you had your head on straight your focus was on figuring out what happened and where you were. Unfortunately you couldn’t see much as your surroundings were pitch black. Not to mention your hands and legs were tied together, leaving you with a limited ability to move. So you carefully began to wiggle around, bumping into some boxes. Despite being close to the object, you couldn’t actually see it unless you got really close. Although this didn’t help you much as you had no means of freeing yourself.
A moment later you shake as the ground beneath you begins to move, and you hear the loud roar of a trailer. You were in the back of a truck and being moved to some unknown location. You tried to move around, screaming for help, but you eventually exhausted yourself, deciding to just wait and see what happened next. Since you had no concept of time in that darkness you had no idea for how long you were in there. There wasn’t even a point in trying to remember what turns were made. Eventually you came to a stop and heard the engine turn off. You were left to wonder if you had reached your final destination or if this was just a quick stop.
You heard the sounds of something unlatching, and then you were blinded by a bright light. You lifted up your arms to shield your eyes, taking a moment to adjust. As you suspected you were in the back of a trailer, and there were a bunch of boxes and other pieces of furniture around you. Being able to see it all now, this seemed like a moving truck. You heard voices and saw some of the boys climbing into the truck and grabbing boxes. Although before you could say something Jacob came up to you and tied a gag around your mouth. You began to squirm, but you were powerless in your restraints.
He got you up, getting help from Kevin as they moved you towards the end of the trailer, intending to unload you like the rest of the cargo onboard. You remained restrained as you got out of the trailer, being left with Younghoon for a moment. When you tried to get the gag off he grabbed the rope that bound your hands together, using that as a means to keep you leashed. You looked around, noticing the huge house. They had brought you to their place. All around you could see trees and a long driveway leading out to what you assumed was the main road. As far as you knew this place was in the middle of nowhere.
Younghoon suddenly pulled on your ropes, and the next thing you knew he had you over his shoulder. You squirmed and hit his back, but he seemed completely unphased. You weren’t super light, but even then he was carrying you so effortlessly. You were taken into the house, the others giving you smiles but not saying anything to you. Given the truck and all the items, you thought they were moving in, but upon entering the house you could see it was clearly lived in. This was their home. You were set down on the couch, Younghoon pulling out a knife and setting you free. He reached up and took your gag off as well.
“Welcome home.”
“What the hell is wrong with you guys…”
Younghoon chuckled. “Nothing, why?”
“You-”
“Here.” Juyeon came over with a case. “Before you do anything else.”
Younghoon took the case from the other, opening it up and revealing what looked to be a small dog collar. You immediately thought that was going around your neck, but Younghoon grabbed your leg, taking your shoe off and slipping the collar onto your leg. When you tried to pull away he just held on tighter, really unbothered by your actions. He tightened it around your ankle, and then you heard something click. You noticed a green light emitting from the device, realizing it was some sort of ankle brace, and he just placed you under house arrest.
“What the hell!”
“Don’t want you running off now.” Juyeon smiled. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you or anything.”
“I’m a prisoner in this house!?”
“You don’t have to think of it that way. This place is yours, and that’s just a precaution.”
“I want to go home!”
“We are home.”
“This place isn’t home.”
“I suppose you just have to give it a chance.”
“Fuck you!”
You got up and stormed off, just walking in any direction just to get away from them. No one tried to stop you, probably since you weren’t actually walking towards the door but further into the house. That wasn’t your intention, but at least none of them followed you. After walking a bit you went into the first open door you found. You closed the door behind you, leaning against it and taking a breath. This whole situation was insane, but they were acting so normal, or as normal as kidnapping someone could be. Now you were who knows where in a foreign house with no escape in sight.
You slid down to the floor, feeling defeated. You didn’t even understand how you wound up in this situation. You were just working for their stupid company and saw something you weren’t supposed to. Then again you were probably lucky to be alive. Most people who learn someone else’s secrets wind up dead, but this wasn’t exactly better either. You didn’t have your phone or any means to communicate with the world beyond this house. So in a sense you were dead to the world. You got up and found a window, staring out at the sky and then looking down at your foot with the ankle brace. 
You took a moment to further examine it, but you didn’t see any way to get it off. You really were trapped in this house. You sat back down on the floor, hugging your knees to your chest. You just wanted to go back to campus, go back to classes and be a normal person again. Your situation seemed hopeless, making you tear up, but you had to remind yourself this wasn’t the end. Surely there was a way out, and you were certain you could find it. If you gave up now, then you definitely wouldn’t get out. You took a moment to pull yourself together. This place was huge, but maybe you could find something to use to your advantage.
This would be a process, but you also didn’t intend to be friendly. For the following days you kept to yourself, not speaking to any of the boys, and avoiding them outside of meals. They tried to make conversation and engage with you, but when they saw you were unresponsive they left you alone. You didn’t expect them to just let you be, but you were still glad they did. You were allowed to explore the house as you pleased, discovering all kinds of things. They seemed to have huge collections of expensive and luxurious items. It made sense to have all these things as they did run a pawn shop and delivery service. They had access to so many things.
In that same vein, remembering the weapons, a handful of these items were probably stolen or acquired by illegal means. Seeing all these priceless items made you realize you were practically a living trophy in this house. Another prize they had won, or more accurately taken. It made you feel a bit sick, but you had yet to find something of use. Most doors around the house were open, so you could go where you pleased. Even the boys’ rooms were all open to you, but you already searched them. The room you had given was plain and empty. They told you that you could decorate it however you wanted, but you weren’t planning on setting roots here.
Only a handful of doors were locked and off limits, so you were extra curious about those. By now you had a good idea which rooms you couldn’t get into, so you’d always try to open them throughout the day, hoping to maybe catch one open. It took a bit, but you eventually got lucky. You quickly looked around to make sure you were alone, then slowly opened the door. You quietly listened, trying to figure out if anyone was inside, but it seemed to be your lucky day. You stepped in and didn’t even think to close the door as you realized what was in here. All types of weapons surrounded you. So many guns and blades hanging on the wall, a few things locked behind a cage, but this was what you had been looking for.
Surely something here could help you escape. Although before you could take another step you felt something cold against your neck. You were no longer alone. While you were distracted by your own thoughts someone noticed the open door and found you standing in one of their secret rooms. Of course it was only logical to assume you were an intruder and treat you as such. You swallowed nervously as you realized the object against your throat was a knife. You carefully looked over, seeing Eric gazing at you with a bright glint in his eyes and a cocky smirk. He only pressed the blade further against your flesh.
“Look what I have here. How did you get in here?”
“… the door was open…”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“… you… you think I picked the lock?”
“Hm, I suppose that’s true. So, what do you think?”
“… ah… about what?”
“This room. You must be terrified seeing all this, or perhaps excited. Although I’ll let you know right now, you’re out of luck.”
“I-”
“You better watch it.” Eric growled. “You wouldn’t want to get hurt.”
Eric chuckled and moved the knife away from your throat, although he merely had it ghost over your chest before moving it up to your face, dragging the dull end along your cheek.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”
“…”
“In fact, I really want to do the opposite.”
“… huh…?”
Before you could really process what Eric was talking about he leaned in close and pressed his lips to yours. You tried to move away, but he followed, and ultimately pinned you against a wall. The knife clattered to the floor and he pinned your arms to the wall as well. He only pulled away from you when he needed to catch his breath. A big smile adorned Eric’s face as he pressed his head against yours.
“I’ve been waiting to do that.”
“… why…”
“That’s your question?” Eric chuckled. “You are interesting, but don’t you think the answer is obvious.”
“… is it?”
“Why do you think we went through all the trouble to bring you here, hm?”
“Cause I saw too much…”
“You mean all of this? No, no, if we cared for that you’d be dead.”
“Then…”
“Is it really that hard? I guess I should show you.”
“Wat-”
Eric shoved you to the floor, and soon enough he was on top of you, kissing you once more. His hands were at your hips, one slipping under your shirt, making you shiver from the skin to skin contact. Soon enough his lips were against your throat, sucking and nibbling on the skin, starting to mark you up. You squirmed beneath his touch, your hands above your head, moving about when you felt something against your fingers. It was the blade Eric had dropped. You cautiously reached for it, getting a grip on the handle. Just as you were about to make a move Eric’s hand quickly pinned down your wrist, a low chuckle escaping his lips.
“Did you really think that would work?”
Eric placed a chaste kiss against your cheek, keeping your wrist pinned and reaching over with his other hand to take the blade from you. He remained on top of you, using his body weight to keep you pinned. He twirled the knife in his hands, looking down at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“You know, we want to give you everything, and yet how have you acted? You’ve been avoiding us and giving us the silent treatment, and now you break into our little armory. I think it’s about time you’re punished for your actions.”
Before you could process Eric got off you and proceeded to flip you over, cuffing your hands behind your back. He got you to your feet, dragging you along, out of the room and down the hall. Soon enough you were in the living room, avoiding the gazes of the others who were around. Eric shoved you onto the couch and then the tip of the knife was under your chin.
“How do you think we should punish you?”
“What’s all this?” Sunwoo asked. “What punishment?”
“You know, for ignoring us, and breaking into the armory.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s cause for punishment. Not sure about the knife though.”
“Well, I need her to behave.”
“But there’s still no need for such things.”
Sangyeon entered the room, having gotten a message about the show going on in the house. Soon enough the others joined too and he could see how you tried to make yourself small. He didn’t want you to be afraid, or feel threatened by them, so seeing Eric playing around with a knife was very much not allowed. He went over to the younger boy and took the item from him, throwing it and embedding it in the wall.
“I wasn’t going to hurt her with it.”
“I don’t doubt that, but why don’t you play with something else.”
“Oh, what does the big boss have in mind?” Hyunjae asked. “I’d love to participate.”
“For starters, we have to set the mood. Jacob, you know what I mean.”
“I do indeed. I’ll be right back.”
“She also needs a party favor.”
“Why that?” Juyeon questioned. “Don’t you think that’s risky?”
“It’ll be more fun, for everyone.”
You had no idea what any of that meant, but you knew it couldn’t be good. There was no point even attempting to run off as everyone was in the room with you. A while later Jacob returned with a small case in hand, giving it to Sangyeon. The eldest opened it up, revealing a needle. You instinctively tried to move, unaware of what the contents the needle contained.
“We’re not gonna hurt you.” Sangyeon assured. “Hold her.”
Kevin and Changmin reached over to hold you still as Sangyeon emptied out the needle into your neck. You did your best to squirm, but there was nothing you could do.
“What is that! What did you give me!?”
“You’ll see soon enough.” Kevin teased. “Now the party favor, right?”
“Give her a moment.” Sangyeon said. “Then she can have it.”
“Have what? What are you guys talking about!”
“Just be patient.”
You cut yourself off before saying more as you began to feel different. Your face was beginning to burn, and you felt this heat overtaking you. Now it was obvious what they had given you, and it wasn’t hard to guess what came next. You couldn’t help but squirm in your restraints, starting to get annoyed by your own clothes, but unable to remove them. You felt rather pathetic too, giving in so easily to the drug, but it was really clouding your head and making everything fuzzy.
“Now for the next part.”
“I call dibs!” Chanhee volunteered. “Come here, baby.”
You were vaguely aware of Chanhee as he approached you, but you didn’t know what he was doing. That is until he leaned in to kiss you. At first you thought it was a normal kiss, his tongue forcing your lips to part, but then you felt something in your mouth, and before you knew it you had swallowed it. That got enough sense in you that you pulled away from Chanhee, immediately coughing and bending over, hoping to throw it back up, but that wasn’t an option. Chanhee placed a hand over your mouth, forcing you to sit back up.
“Don’t be wasteful.”
You were worried about what else they had added to the mix. Chanhee didn’t move his hand away until he was certain you wouldn’t be able to throw up the substance you had taken. You still coughed when you had a chance, but you knew it was far too late for that.
“What did you give me!”
“You’ll feel it in a moment.” Haknyeon giggled. “And you’ll like it.”
“… wa… what does that-”
You inhaled sharply as you felt this wave of energy surge through your body. There was the heat of arousal, but this was something else, something more. You were merely taking in the feeling when you snapped your arms free, having broken the chain of your restraints. You fell from the couch onto your hands and knees, shocked over what you had just done. You vaguely made out the sounds of laughter around you, looking up to see the boys with smiles on their faces. Your head was spinning, and you felt a hand on your shoulder which caused you to act. In the blink of an eye you had Changmin pinned beneath you.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?”
“What… what is this… what did you give me?”
“Power.” Changmin chuckled. “At least now we won’t break you.”
The boy freed himself from your grasp and flipped your positions. He gave you a devilish grin before ripping your shirt open. Your hands immediately covered your chest and then you moved to shove Changmin off you. To your surprise you had the strength to do so, knocking him to the ground. He just laughed, not at all fazed by your actions. You stared at your hands again, seeing the remains of the handcuffs on your wrists. If you were really strong like them now, then this was your chance. Just as you were about to run, Younghoon came up from behind, wrapping his arms around you and holding you in a hug. You tried to break free, but he held you tightly, making you question your own strength and his.
“You may be strong,” Younghoon whispered. “But you don’t match us.”
Hyunjae stepped in front of you, his hands gliding over your bare chest. He stopped over your crotch area, his fingers undoing your shorts and a hand slipping into your pants. You squirmed back against Younghoon, but he held you still.
“You’re supposed to be drunk off love.” Hyunjae commented. “Shall I help?”
“Let go.”
“The surge of power probably overtook the aphrodisiac. I’ll fix that.”
You kept your squirming so Hyunjae opted to slide your shorts down, leaving you in your panties for a moment before having them torn off. You shivered from the sudden cold feeling, trying to close your legs but Hyunjae forced them open.
“Be a good girl now, or else you won’t get a treat.”
You couldn’t say anything as Hyunjae’s fingers ran up and down along your folds, making you hold back a moan. You weren’t knowledgeable in this area, and had little to no experience. There wasn’t much time, or interest in the matter, both from you and other parties. This was certainly going to be a first for many things. You still tried to move away, but the more Hyunjae played around with you the harder it was to think.
“… please…”
“Please what? I think you can still use words.”
“… please…”
“Are you a virgin baby? Don’t know what to ask for?”
“…”
“You are, aren’t you? Oh, don’t worry baby, we’re gonna take very good care of you.”
“I wanna do it! I wanna go first!” Chanhee volunteered. “Please, please, I wanna feel her so bad.”
“You guys can fight for it.” Sangyeon mentioned. “Winner takes all. I’ll keep the doll entertained.”
The boys agreed to Sangyeon’s proposal. The eldest took you into his arms, loving your dizzy little state. Your legs were trembling and you were whimpering over the lack of touch. Sangyeon pressed a kiss to your head.
“You good baby?”
“Hm…”
“We’ll play soon, just let the boys have their fun first.”
“We all still get a turn right?” Juyeon questioned. “Even if we don’t win.”
“I’m pretty sure she can keep up with all of us tonight.”
“Good.”
Sangyeon picked you up bridal style, following behind the others. You were subconsciously rubbing your legs together, trying to get back some friction. The moment of power you had was long gone from your mind, the heat engulfing every inch of your skin. It was getting a bit uncomfortable, but the little kisses Sangyeon pressed against your skin felt nice. In your haze all you could think about was them. Even if you had been brought here against your will they hadn’t been cruel to you in any way. They had given you space and let you roam around the house freely, but that was all about to change. You couldn’t fathom the consequences that would come tomorrow, nor did you care. You just wanted to be taken care of in every way possible tonight.
You inhaled sharply as you regained consciousness, feeling a minor throb in your head. You groaned and pushed your head further into the pillow it was resting on, feeling a dull ache all over your body. Once you got yourself together you took in your surroundings. This wasn’t the room you had been given, but going by the decorations and mess, it certainly belonged to one of the boys. Your questions were answered as a hand draped over you and you saw Kevin laying next to you, still asleep or so you thought. He must have felt your gaze on him, or heard you whimpering.
“Morning…”
You didn’t answer, instead moving Kevin’s arm off you and getting out of bed. Although as soon as you stood up you felt dizzy and collapsed to the floor. You managed to catch yourself, getting your hands beneath you, but you winced from a sudden pain in your left hand. You looked down to see a butterfly tattoo on your wrist, one wing blue and the other orange, wrapped up as it was still fresh.
“What… what is this…”
“You might feel sick after your first time…” Kevin mumbled. “Bathroom’s on the left…”
“Huh?”
You weren’t exactly listening, more focused on the new ink you had, but as soon as Kevin mentioned it you felt an ache in your stomach and then you threw up. Kevin groaned when he heard the noise, mustering up the strength to get up. He came over to the other side of the bed, seeing you on your hands and knees.
“My poor baby, come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”
Kevin grabbed your arm and gently got you up to your feet, keeping you close as he helped you towards the bathroom. He sat you down on the toilet, getting a washcloth and holding it under warm water before using it to clean your mouth. You were out of it after throwing up, feeling unsteady and the headache had gotten worse. You probably figured this is what it felt like to be hungover since you never had alcohol before. Then again you hadn’t been drinking last night, something else entirely had happened.
“I know what will make you feel better.”
After cleaning you up and brushing your teeth Kevin helped you onto your feet again, leading you out of the room and towards the kitchen. The others were already up and gathering around for breakfast. A few didn’t hesitate to place a kiss on your cheek after greeting you. Kevin had you sit at the table, letting you put your head down.
“Rough morning?” Changmin questioned. “She doesn’t look so good.”
“She’s fine, but I’m gonna need to clean my room.” Kevin mentioned. 
“Yikes. Well, you choose to take her.”
“It’s whatever.”
You were vaguely aware of all the boys around you, feeling more tired than anything else. You had your arms on the table, and you looked over at the tattoo on your wrist. A part of you still thought you were just imagining things, but the throbbing ache from it told you it was very real.
“Here.” Jacob placed a glass on the table in front of you. “You’ll feel better once you drink this.”
“What is it…”
“Just drink it.”
Jacob helped you sit up, and he held the glass up to your lips. It looked a bit like a watered down blue sports drink, but you parted your lips when you felt the liquid against them, getting a sweet taste and having a few gulps.
“Good girl.”
Your headache certainly wasn’t as bad anymore, so you had no trouble sitting up. Two of the others were finishing setting the table, and the smell of eggs and rice filled the air. You were certainly hungry, but now that you could think straight there were other things on your mind.
“What happened last night…”
“You don’t remember, baby?” Sunwoo chuckled. “Did we fuck you that good.”
“… you… we… we did…”
“You were asking for it by the time we actually got started.” Eric commented. “You were so needy like a bitch in heat.”
“Shut up.” You felt your face burning. “I… I…”
“No need to be shy, baby, we had a good time.”
“I don’t remember…���
“It’ll come to you.” Hyunjae stated. “Just give it a minute. If not, well, I don’t mind jogging your memory.”
“Don’t…”
“Why? You certainly weren’t denying any of us last night.”
“I…”
As the conversation kept going you felt yourself getting nervous. The night must have been insane if you didn’t remember it, especially considering the fact you got a tattoo. You wanted to remember, you had to, because besides the obvious there was something else. You shut your eyes to focus, and when you suddenly felt a hand on your shoulder you jumped, falling out of your seat. That’s when you had a rush of images flash through your mind. Your whole body suddenly felt hot and you remembered what had caused all the aches and pains from last night.
Sangyeon held you close as the others fought for the chance to be your first. He had you on his lap straddling his thigh. He couldn’t help but bounce you up and down, hands on your hips guiding you as he had you gently grind on him as well. It wasn’t long before he had a tent in his pants, but he had enough self control to not act on his own urges. He wanted to make sure his boys still had their reward. You on the other hand were full of sugar, drooling a bit and feeling like cotton candy. You had your eyes shut and head thrown back as you let Sangyeon take control, keeping you so well balanced on the edge. You weren’t aware of the fight going on, more focused on yourself until you felt a kiss on your head.
When you opened your eyes you saw Haknyeon smiling down at you. For a moment you swore he had a busted lip and cut on his cheek but those seemed to fade away right before your eyes. He was out of breath but very happy to see you. He took you from Sangyeon, throwing you over his shoulder and smacking your ass before walking off with you. He took you to his room, tossing you onto the bed. Before you knew it he was on top of you, kissing you roughly and exploring your naked body. You didn’t really feel cold, the heat of arousal kept you warm and now you had Haknyeon to provide you with more warmth. 
He had his way with you for a good while, the feeling of his cock sending you spiraling into your first orgasm. You didn’t need much prep as Sangyeon had already got you feeling loose. Another orgasm or two later there were knocks at the door. The winner had gotten his prize so now it was time for the others to have their fun. Juyeon was the one to drag you out of bed, surprised you could still walk on your own. Despite already having a few orgasms you still had the strength and stamina to keep up, although you were more concerned with getting your next high.
You happily went with Juyeon, getting messy with him in his own room. He was excited to show you new things, wanting more than just vanilla sex. Although he wasn’t alone, having Changmin and Chanhee in his room waiting for you. There were hands all over your body, massaging your breasts and thighs as wet kisses were placed all over you. With all that attention you were getting lost in the feeling of pleasure. The only thing that took you out of it was when you felt someone penetrate your core. One after the other stretching you out and making you feel a joy you couldn’t describe. You don’t know how you managed to take on all three of them, but you made it through their endeavors.
The night was still young, and you weren’t done with them. While you lay among the boys, splayed out on the bed, finally getting a moment to rest you felt a hand caress your cheeks. You opened your eyes to Kevin coaxing you awake. He took your hand and pulled you out of the giant cuddle pile, asking if you were having fun. By then words were difficult, but the smile on your face spoke for itself. You two danced around the hall since you were starting to get uneasy on your feet. You were probably heading over to Kevin’s room, but your arm was suddenly grabbed and you were yanked into Hyunjae’s arms. He had started you off early that night, and it was about time he finished that up.
His fingers trailed along your sloppy center, feeling just what kind of mess you had between your legs and eager to add to it. Of course Kevin wasn’t just going to let him have you all to yourself, shoving the two into the nearest bedroom, getting out of his clothes in the process. Everyone’s kiss was unique, some gentle, some rough, some desperate and hungry for you. Hyunjae was the first one to add to the festivities, tying you up against the bed and limiting your movements. You were already feeling sore, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him. While Hyunjae continued to play with your sloppy cunt Kevin was preparing something else.
You felt him trail his fingers along your lips, teasing you before pushing two digits into your mouth. Instinctively you knew to suck on them, letting your tongue swirl around. Kevin was quite proud to see you acting appropriately, and for that you deserved a reward. He pulled his fingers out with a loud pop, letting you whine for a bit before putting something much bigger against your lips. You opened your mouth without question, taking in his whole length inch by inch. Then you felt Hyunjae filling you up, getting stimulated from both ends. You let them take control, just floating on cloud nine as they got another handful of orgasms out of you, making your eyes roll to the back of your head multiple times.
Once you were finally wrapped up in Hyunjae’s arms you were really feeling sore in your legs and jaw. You did want to rest, but as you were dozing off a hand came down and pulled your head off the pillow. You were met with Eric’s piercing gaze, seeing a rather psychotic glint in his eyes. Of course you weren’t gonna get off easy, he still had to punish you for you breaking and entering. You probably should have explained to him at some point you found the door unlocked, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, nor would it matter to him. Despite Hyunjae’s protest Eric took you to his own room.
Although it wasn’t long before you were joined by another. Sunwoo had crawled into bed, pulling you into his arms and snuggling against you. He wanted to be soft and sweet but Eric had other plans. Took a bit of talking but he got Sunwoo on board. Next thing you knew you were on top of Sunwoo, barely able to make out his words of praise. His hands ran up and down along your chest, taking your breasts into his hands and massaging them ever so gently. You mewled at his touch, gently rocking your hips. You were exhausted, but your body still craved more friction. Eric placed his hands on your hips, guiding you down onto Sunwoo’s cock, making sure you took in everything.
He gave you a moment to revel in the feeling before bending you over. You didn’t know what he was planning until he pushed himself into you right alongside Sunwoo. The stretch was like nothing before, and you swear you saw white for a moment. You leaned back against Eric, giggling as he whispered dirty things in your ear. They gave you a moment to adjust and really feel them before they started moving. They tried to be gentle and slow at first but their own burgers got the better of them. You felt like they were tearing you apart, but in a good way. Your orgasms all blended together, and all you remembered was ending up sandwiched between them, still full with their cocks and cum while you all wound down from your high.
One moment you were in bed, the next you were in someone else’s arms. You could barely make out Sangyeon as he carried you bridal style, but the smile was obvious. You snuggled against him, not wanting to let go when he set you down. You felt hands on your body once more, and not just too. A hand grabbed your chin and you locked eyes with Jacob. He had such a content smile on his face, placing soft kisses all over you. The eldest of the bunch had been patiently waiting to finish you off. You were already at your limits but they pushed you past that, taking you in whatever way you saw fit. 
Younghoon had you bouncing up and down on him, making deeper bruises on your hips. Jacob was gentler and such a tease as he took you from behind while you stayed on top of Younghoon, letting the other watch the show. Sangyeon though, he dragged you out of bed and took you against the wall, surprising you with his strength and resolve. He didn’t let up, making sure you were still enjoying yourself even if you were so far gone. It wasn’t easy to close your legs, and you felt so full you swear your stomach was a bit bigger. You thought you’d finally get to sleep, but you weren’t going to be left alone just yet.
You could vaguely recall Sangyeon getting you into a bath with him, cleaning you up and making sure you were well cared for after such a night. Kevin had found the two of you and helped with getting you dressed. Everyone else was mostly out for the night. Kevin’s room was one that wasn’t used to so he offered to share his bed, happily taking you with so the two of you could sleep together. You didn’t hesitate to snuggle against him, still feeling sore but glad to finally wind down and rest. It was quite impressive you made it through such a night. You knew you’d probably be all kinds of bruised tomorrow, but that was a problem for later.
You couldn’t help the dopey smile on your face as you remembered all of this, all the things you had done the night prior. It was like nothing you had ever experienced before, and you didn’t even know if you’d get close to it ever again. Although you quickly had to tell yourself to get your act together. Even if you now remembered what you had done, you could look back and see what was bothering you. The boys had given you an aphrodisiac, but there was something else too. You sat up, lifting up your shirt and seeing that you had no bruise or marks of any kind. Your skin was untouched, but you knew that shouldn’t be the case. While you were lost in your own head Juyeon and Eric helped you get back in your seat.
“Are you okay, baby?” Eric asked. “Did you remember something?”
“Last night…”
“Oh, that’s good. Wouldn’t want to be the only one to remember how capable you are.”
“What did you give me?”
“Ah that, it was good, right?”
“What was it!?”
“Power.” Jacob stated. “True power.”
“It was a drug.”
“So is ibuprofen, your point?”
“What exactly did you give me?”
“I already told you. Power. Don’t you remember? You broke the handcuffs with ease, you kept up with all of us. Despite how rough some of them might have been, you don’t have a single bruise on your body.”
“…”
“It’s temporary.” Younghoon assured. “You’re back to normal now. Although, if you ever want more, you just have to ask. Only the first one is free.”
You needed a moment, you needed to be alone. Without saying anything you left the table, finding the nearest open room and locking yourself inside. You felt a bit sick, coming to terms with the fact they had given you some sort of unknown drug. Now you only had the lingering taste of that power high. You didn’t want to believe what they had told you, but you had felt, and moreover you had seen it too. That night at the warehouse, the incredible strength they displayed, it was all real and now you knew how. Whatever drug this was, they used it a lot. You had your suspicions about their business, especially once you saw all the weapons. If they were some kind of gang in the area, they certainly had their advantage to stay in power.
All this speculation just gave you more reason to want to leave. Even if they were good to you, the kind of life they lived wasn’t something you wanted to be a part of. After that night you continued to avoid them, not wanting to form any kind of lasting attachment. They certainly gave you space, but were a bit more willing to try for your attention, especially since they had no problem getting handsy with you now. From what you did get, they seemed to be so fun, but you couldn’t just drop the idea of escape. Your biggest problem was that ankle bracelet you had, but it seemed the solution was around the corner.
One day you overheard a few of the boys talking about a potential party at the house. Of course you came up as a subject since they weren’t sure they could trust you to behave. A party would be a great opportunity, so you had to make sure you were allowed to attend. In order for that to happen you had to engage with them and socialize, show them that you could behave. You really had to let your guard down and be friendly with them. You rejected any advances they made and they respected that, probably very happy that you were done giving them the cold shoulder. Eventually the party came up in conversation around you, so you offered to help with planning and set up. They happily agreed.
You made sure a lot of alcohol was purchased, and intended to get them drunk. This was going to be your night, but in order to do this you needed one key ingredient. You needed the ankle bracelet off, and fast, and the only real solution you saw was that drug. You had broken handcuffs with ease, so with that kind of power you’d break the ankle bracelet quickly and then get out before they even knew you were gone. The only problem was that you had to ask for it, and not get denied. You didn’t see why they would say no, but you also needed to make sure you didn’t arouse suspicion.
The day of the party you helped with setting up, popping open a bottle of vodka and taking a small sip before pouring shots for the others. They happily took the drink you offered, cheering to a night of fun. You needed to pick one of them and you figured your best bet would be Eric. You kept your eye on him and waited for your chance. People were starting to come to the house, so you figured things would be getting started soon. You found Eric and got him alone, coming up from behind and wrapping your arms around him in a hug. He was a bit startled at first, but happy to see you, placing a kiss on your head.
“Eric.”
“Hm?”
“I want tonight to be fun.”
“It will be.”
“But you know what would guarantee it?”
“What?”
“If I got to be strong like the rest of you…”
“Ah, you want a special party favor, huh?”
“It should last me all night right? How else am I gonna keep up with all of you?”
“Good point, but promise you’ll behave.”
“Pinky promise.”
“Good girl.”
Eric took your hand and led you to another room. It was another armory they had, and he told you to stay put as he got something out of a safe. He presented a pill to you, telling you to open your mouth. Your plan had been to take it later when you were ready to act, but Eric wasn’t going to let you leave without consuming it. As far as you knew, it lasted a few hours, so you should be okay either way, but you were gonna have to act the first chance you got. You gave Eric a smile and took the pill. After a moment you felt this spark of power run through your whole body. It made you dizzy for a second but Eric assured you the uneasiness would pass and you’d be your normal self, just better.
Soon enough the party began and things got wild fast. You made it a point not to drink, but you still hung around the boys, wanting to engage with them for a bit before disappearing. As the night was getting on, you started to iron out the finer details of your escape. When you had a chance you glanced outside, seeing all the cars parked around. You considered taking one, but you didn’t know how to drive. What you needed was to get your hands on a phone, figure out your location and call a cab. With everyone around drinking and having a good time, it shouldn’t be hard to sneak a phone, and money, off someone.
You kept in mind the time, keeping an eye out for someone vulnerable, and occasionally testing your strength to make sure you were still able to break free. You stuck around those that were drinking, getting friendly with someone and managing to snatch their phone. You cautiously snuck away to get some privacy, finding a bathroom. You managed to unlock the phone and checked the address. Thankfully you weren’t so far from civilization and called for a cab. You had about fifteen minutes to get out of this house, and the first thing you needed to do was get that ankle bracelet off.
You sat down on the floor and figured out a good grip, taking in a deep breath before pulling and breaking the bracelet in half. You thought maybe some noise would be made or something, but it was silent. Lucky was on your side. You tossed the broken thing in the trash and made your way out of the bathroom, needing to get outside. Part of the party was in the backyard, but it wasn’t a good idea to go around, so you had to exit through the front. The door itself might not be the best, but you could give it a shot. If not, you had no problem jumping out a window. Thankfully you got away from the house undetected, checking the phone and then leaving it by a car before heading to the main road.
When you saw the lights of the cab you were finally able to let out a breath. It brought such relief to be moving away from the house, free from your captivity. The cab took you back to the only place you could go, to your uni campus. You had been gone for a little over two weeks, but hopefully nothing had gotten messed up in your absence. You knocked on the door for your roommate to let you in, not bothering to answer them about your recent whereabouts. You were so happy to collapse into your bed, even if it wasn’t as comfortable, feeling like you could finally get some real sleep. 
Thankfully a good amount of your things had been in your dorm room, but you would need a new phone, and new cards. Come morning you got to emailing your professors with some basic excuse of being ill and asking for assignments to make up. Out of curiosity you tested your strength, but you were back to being a normal person. At least you had money, so you could afford a new ID card, and even though you could afford a new phone, that involved leaving campus. You knew the guys couldn’t just waltz onto school property, and they didn’t know where your dorm was, so this was the safest place for you. By now they sure knew you were gone and probably pissed, which meant you were in danger.
Your best bet for now was to wait, just let this all die down and maybe they would forget about you and move on. The bright side to not having a phone was that they had no means of reaching you. As for your classes, you still had your laptop and could email classmates and do assignments. It was kinda hard going back to your lectures as if nothing had happened. Of course you had a decent amount of work to catch up on, and your grades were gonna take a hit, but at least you were free. Even if that was true, you did have this uneasy feeling. You felt paranoid, like you were always being watched. You couldn’t sleep that easy anymore, and you felt quite irritable. Still you did your best to just focus on being a normal university student.
“Nice tattoo.”
You were taking notes in a class when someone had made the comment. At first you were confused, but then you remembered the butterfly tattoo on your wrist. You never asked about it, not remembering how you got it anyway. After that night of passion you were out cold, and they had probably done it then. It was the least of your worries and even now you had completely forgotten about it until someone brought it up. The tattoo wasn’t a bother, but it wasn’t your thing, nor did you want any sort of connection to them. You did a bit of research and made a call to set up an appointment with a tattoo artist to have your tattoo removed. It was risky to go out, but you wanted that thing gone.
You made sure to cover up and hide your face, constantly checking your surroundings to make sure you weren’t being followed. This little outing of yours was dangerous, but if it wall went down in one piece you could probably start to relax. Since you were out, you figured you could get a new phone too. After the tattoo removal of course. Thankfully you made it to the shop without issue, introducing yourself and being moved to the back. You were glad there weren’t any windows where you were seated, so you felt less worried about removing your jacket, hat and mask. The chair you were in was like a dentist chair, but it was quite cozy.
“Alright, I’m Hongjoong, I’ll be your artist today, although I believe you’re here for a tattoo removal.”
“Yeah, just a crazy night, and I made a mistake.”
“No worries. Can you show me where the tattoo is?”
“Sure.” You rolled up your sleeve. “It’s this.”
“Oh…”
“Is there a problem?”
“No, no, not at all. It’s pretty.”
“I want it gone.”
“Yeah, of course. I will need to strap down your arm though.”
“What!?”
“Removing a tattoo isn’t painless and considering it is on your wrist, I don’t want you moving too much during the process.”
“Ah, that makes sense. Alright then.”
“Good. Just give me a second.”
Hongjoong got up and disappeared for a moment, coming back and using a belt to strap down your arm. He made sure it wasn’t uncomfortable, and that it should allow him to work without issue. He got up once again, giving you a chance to collect yourself. Although when he returned he grabbed your other arm and strapped it down as well.
“What are you doing!?”
You tried to fight him, but your other arm was already restrained. Hongjoong didn’t answer you, he just made sure you couldn’t escape and then left you alone. You screamed at him, then started crying for help, hoping someone else would come, but there was no one. You continued your attempt of escape, but it got you nowhere. When you heard the door you started screaming again. You heard footsteps approaching, thinking you were finally gonna get some help but you immediately went silent when you saw who approached.
“Well, well, well, look what we have here.”
“I didn’t harm her.” Hongjoong commented.
“Good. I’m glad we’re still on the same page.” Sangyeon chuckled. “Care to explain yourself, baby?”
You didn’t want to meet Sangyeon’s gaze, but you could feel his eyes digging into you. He didn’t need a response from you. Instead he had the other boys gag you and then untie you, dragging you out of the shop. You wound up in the back of a car, sandwiched between Changmin and Younghoon, knowing very well their strength outmatched you, so there was no escaping them. Of course you wound up back at that house. You were dragged inside and taken down below, thrown into an empty room. You got the gag off yourself and tried to run for the door, only to get tossed back.
“What the hell were you thinking!” Sangyeon yelled. “Did you really think a stunt like that would work!?”
“I got out of this house, didn’t I?”
“Oh, aren’t you quite cocky for a dead girl walking.”
“What?”
“You’re doing much better than we thought.” Hyunjae mentioned. “We thought you’d be hospitalized by now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Did you forget again?” Eric questioned. “The night of the party you asked for power. I should have known better.”
“You were the easiest target.”
“You bitch!”
Eric wanted to get a hit, but he was held back by Juyeon and Sunwoo. You were putting on quite a brave act, but the truth was you were terrified. You had done well to avoid their grasp, but in the end they still caught you.
“What the fuck do you guys want with me! And what’s with this talk about death? Are you gonna kill me this time?”
“Oh no, none of that.” Jacob said. “But the truth is you are dying. Haven’t you felt it?”
“Felt what?”
“The withdrawal.”
“Huh?”
“What? You think taking drugs doesn’t have its consequences?”
“I…  what?”
Chanhee chuckled. “After using the drug you’re supposed to take something else to negate the side effects. Remember the little hangover cure we gave you the first time?”
“… why didn’t you tell me this!”
“Why would we? It’s a means of keeping you in line.”
“You-”
“It seems it hasn’t hit you that hard yet, but it’s only gonna get worse. Surely you’ve had trouble sleeping by now, maybe feeling irritable and jumpy? It’s the withdrawal.”
“…”
“You’re gonna start feeling really sick soon.” Juyeon mentioned. “And it’s possible to get to a point of no return. We wouldn’t want you dying, now would we?”
“Where is it! Where’s this cure of yours!”
“Do you seriously think we’re just gonna give it to you? After the stunt you pulled?”
“You’re the ones who knowingly put my life in danger!”
“You asked for it. You asked for all of it. A night of passion like never before, and a night of power. Don’t blame us.”
“Fine. What do you want?”
“Seriously?” Haknyeon questioned. “Is it not obvious?”
“Amuse me.”
“You, silly. We want you, and we’ll do anything to get you back.”
“So if you want your cure.” Kevin added. “No more running away.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Oh, you really wanna play with your life? We can always come back to this conversation when sunlight starts to hurt you.”
“Wait.”
“Hm?”
“I… I’ll stay… but…”
“This isn’t a negotiation.” Sunwoo stated.
“I want to go back to school.”
“What?”
“I still want to be able to study and get my degree. You can drop me off and pick me. I won’t-”
“I said-”
“Sure.” Sangyeon interrupted. “Why not.”
“Sangyeon-”
“Hand it over.”
The others stared at Sangyeon with questioning looks, not really agreeing with his decision, but he wasn’t gonna hear anything else. Jacob came over and handed him a water 
bottle with a similar blue sports drink color. Sangyeon opened it up and handed it to you.
“Drink it. Every last drop.”
This was what they had given you last time, so you did trust it. You emptied out the water bottle, immediately feeling this tension leaving you body. Perhaps all your worries weren’t just in your head, but part of the side effects to this drug of theirs.
“Better?”
“Yes.”
“Now we can talk.”
“Wat-”
You were suddenly shoved up against the wall, hand around your throat. Sangyeon had you pinned, glaring daggers at you. It was hard to breathe, and you tried clawing at his arm but he didn’t budge at all.
“You know, the second you broke that ankle bracelet we knew, but our guests kept us distracted so you got very lucky. That won’t be happening again.”
“I… I’ll… I’ll come… back…”
Sangyeon chuckled. “It’s funny you think I’m actually letting you set foot outside this house again.”
“You… you-”
“I make the rules here. The thing is, you just don’t get it.”
Sangyeon grabbed your arm, holding up your wrist to show you the tattoo you had. He leaned forward to place a soft kiss on it.
“This right here, it’s how we found you. It’s our mark, it lets everyone know who you belong to. Our people are everywhere, so even if you did end up in the hospital, you’d wind up right back here where you belong with us. It doesn’t matter where you go, we will find you.”
Sangyeon dropped you to your hands and knees and you gasped for air. You coughed as you tried to steady your breathing, realizing everything else that had been said previously was a lie. There was no getting out of this place, not again. After a moment Sangyeon kneeled down and grabbed your chin.
“Baby, I want you, even if I have to hurt you.”
“… why…”
“Cause you came into our lives, and you’re too good to pass up.”
“… please…”
“Don’t lie to yourself. As if you truly want to leave and return to that boring life of yours. Stay. Let us take care of you and treat you the way you deserve.”
“…”
“You’ll come around. In the meantime.” Sangyeon pulled out a pill. “Take this.”
“I… you just…”
“An ankle bracelet won’t work with you, so might as well use different means. Go on now.”
There wasn’t much of a choice here. If you didn’t do it willingly you knew Sangyeon would force it down your throat. So you took the pill, feeling that spark once more.
“Good girl. You can keep up with us better this way, and now you know you won’t last long out there if you were to leave again. Which is not gonna happen, right?”
“No…”
“I need you to say it.”
“I won’t run away again…”
“Good. You won’t regret meeting us, I promise.”
“I do.”
“Watch it. You don’t want us to test your limits again, do you? Or maybe you do. I don’t mind having a brat in this house.”
“… sorry… I… I didn’t…”
“Much better, although we do need to carry out your punishment for running away. Last time was nothing compared to this, so I hope you’re ready. You won’t be sleeping tonight.”
335 notes · View notes
consoledacup · 2 months
Text
Ode to the Street Scene
I really thought my favorite scene was the wedding dance. It cuts away to no one in the room, and my heart just swells from the romance. And that cheek caress at the end? Butterflies!
But every time I rewatch, I have to pause the show and just sit with certain beats of my actual favorite scene because I'm so overcome. The writing is so fantastically good. Verica's directing is perfect. The scoring is angsty and beautiful. And Luke and Nicola deliver incredible performances. The give-and-take of this fight is exceptional, and their chemistry is electric.
This confrontation is one that is years in the making. And as they fight, they address all of it. He's only known about her Whistledown identity for a short time, so this fight was always going to be incredibly heightened and passionate. But we also get so much truth in this exchange, too.
Colin's leaving the saddest stag party ever. I'm sure he also felt weirdly guilty for not being ecstatic about it. Especially because the three gentlemen with him witnessed Colin-heart eyes-Bridgerton not a week ago. So they notice something is wrong, and he really doesn't want to talk about it.
Penelope's leaving her good friend and business confidant. And I love the little hesitation Genevieve has before asking Penelope if she'd continue publishing. She adores Penelope and has been such a fantastic support for her. So although Penelope feels like she's unworthy of Colin after everything that has happened, Genevieve is steadfast in encouraging her to not give up a huge part of herself.
So they run into each other, and Colin is immediately furious. He is shocked to see her, his Pen, out alone at night. And then he's like, well, she's Whistledown. She was doing this all along, right under my nose, having a laugh. And Penelope can probably smell the alcohol on him and is fed up with being the bad guy at this point. So she bates him because good grief, can he just look at her??
And he immediately lays into her. I really love Luke's rhythmic delivery here:
After all of the secrets you have kept, all of the things you have written over the years, all of the damage you have done.
And I love how Penelope immediately takes responsibility and apologizes. Two people have found out about her identity prior to Colin. Genevieve needs no explanation for why Penelope did what she did. And Eloise is so heartbroken and betrayed and humiliated, she has no room for Penelope's motivations.
But as angry as Colin is, he listens. And they go through her past transgressions, point by point. He asks about Eloise, as the protective brother he is, and receives a somewhat satisfactory response.
And then he asks about Marina, and Penelope is essentially like, I was saving you. For White Knight Colin Bridgerton, that is almost too much for him to take. If we go back to that scene when Penelope tells Colin about George, she purposely leaves out her pregnancy. That was deliberate. She might've gotten dismissed by him and interrupted by Marina, but she was always going to lead with, "well, she has a lover back home." Because she was terrified Colin would mount his white horse and see it as his duty to rescue Marina all the same. As a 17-year-old girl, who had incredible power, she saw no choice but to manipulate his future. That was a bad move, and she knows it.
Which is why he's like, do you really have that little respect for me? Because he reveals what cuts him the most. Whistledown called him out, belittling him. And then he finds out that the most important person in his life, his entire world, wrote that about him. And is that truly how she feels about him when he thinks she hung the moon and stars?
And that's when this fight takes a turn as Penelope lays bare everything she loves about him. She was like, I missed you just like you missed me. Here's where I praise Nicola's rhythmic delivery:
It's you. Kind, feeling, occasionally excitable good-hearted man who I love.
Even the way she says "man who I love" is just so matter-of-fact. Of course she loves him. When is he gonna get that?
Every episode this season, we see Penelope subtly gain more and more confidence. Which is why this payoff is so delicious because she has finally developed the confidence, that he helped her find, to stand up to him.
So he takes that all in, and in an almost hopeful way, he's like, well, I helped you gain confidence, and you have me now, so you really don't need Whistledown, right? You don't need to be more powerful than me. And she's a little taken aback by his plea but stands her ground, patiently explaining why Whistledown is important. Which breaks his heart because he feels that, deep down, Penelope surpasses him in talent and ambition.
Remember their engagement party when Penelope and Eloise take turns answering the riddles? He is proud of Penelope, and he is concerned something is going on with her, but he is also, plainly, jealous. Anthony obviously steals the scene with his competitiveness, but you see Colin sitting up a little straighter, wanting to impress everyone else with his quick wit. And each time Penelope or Eloise get the answer right, he deflates a little. He's always known Penelope to be incredibly smart, but now that he's desperately in love with her, he is terrified that she doesn't see him as her intellectual equal. And his fears are confirmed when he finds out she's the sharpest tongue in the ton.
He's honest about how patronized he feels, thinking about her hyping up his journal. His eyes are welling up because good god, he does not understand why she just won't choose him over Whistledown. And he chooses that moment to assert his physical dominance and join her on the step so he towers over her. He goes for broke, berating her for her carelessness, and she's not having it.
And this interplay between Luke and Nicola is like a perfect volley:
I have been careful.
You have been foolish.
Colin, I can take care of myself.
Then what good am I to you?!
And Penelope just snaps. She tells him she loves him which snaps him out of his spiral, and they finally allow their passion for each other to take over. And their physicality shows how relieved they feel in each others' embrace. Their kiss is like coming home, and they're like, thank GOD you want me like I still want you.
They're not thinking much else, but I do wonder if Colin in the back of his mind is like, she may not need my brain or my protection, and I have no title, and I can only provide her a townhome, but by god, I can give her pleasure. I think it says something that Colin's go-to move is his hands. He wants to bring her to ecstasy as expediently as possible, finding his own pleasure in hers.
Thankfully, they are interrupted because they really don't need another scandal. They were debauching each other in the street! That is an absolutely wild thing for them to do, and Colin has enough wherewithal to keep her shielded, quickly falling into his coveted protector role.
He holds her hand and walks her to her carriage. Their goodbye is tense, but he assures her that she doesn't have to worry about him. He will be at the church on time. He is still choosing a life with her, and is, of sound mind and body, intentionally entering into a union with Lady Whistledown. And then he watches her carriage leave.
Perfect, heartbreaking, passionate, angsty, emotional, sexy, honest, cathartic, electric, romantic scene from start to finish.
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macfrog · 1 year
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greetings from austin, tx cowboy like me chapter one
alright hwfg. first part of a dbf!joel series i'm gonna be working on. i hope you guys enjoy 🤍 please feel free to send in any requests or ideas, i'm constantly writing this so would love to know your thoughts!!!! love u all thank u sm for being the best
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pairing: dbf!joel x fem!reader
summary: you return to austin after graduating to find everything as it always was. well, most things...
warnings: age gap (reader is 23, joel is 48), little bit of alcohol consumption, and lotsa flirtin and allusions to...something more
word count: 2.3k
series masterlist | main masterlist | playlist
The doorbell rings and your dad jumps up. “Ain’t got no cash ready. Be right back.” He jogs off past you down the hall, but your eyes remain locked on Joel, who notices you once your dad’s gone. Or so you think. “Rude to stare, darlin’,” he tsks, bringing his beer to his lips. “Wasn’t starin’.” “No?”
Summer. Texan summer. One of the few things drawing you back halfway across the country to your hometown: bright, sunny, so hot the car bonnets burn your fingertips. It had become a running joke between you and your dad: he’d send a picture of Austin’s scorching sunshine, and you’d reply a picture of New York’s grey skies.
You were ready to come back home.
That is, until your flight landed onto saturated wet tarmac, during the rainiest month of the year. It hasn’t let up in the five days since.
You stumble off the bus into a torrential downpour and throw your hood back up, but it’s no use. By the time you arrive at work, your clothes are soaked through, your hair is plastered to your shoulders, and your mood is worse than ever.
Sal hands you a towel from the back when you walk into the office, but not before giving a hearty laugh from his desk.
“You oughta be gettin’ yourself a car, anyway, lady. Now that you’re back home.”
You give him as sincere a smile as your cheeks will allow. He’s your boss, sure, but he’s also a buddy of your dad’s. Gave you a part-time job for some extra cash when you were still at school, and has taken you back on now you’ve graduated. It’s in your best interests to keep him sweet.
The hardware store is the same as it always was. A little dim, a little dusty; same old tools and same old customers, but homely. You get to work unpacking this morning’s delivery, hauling boxes off of the trolley and filling the shelves. The day passes quickly enough, and you’re folding up empty cardboard boxes to waste the last half hour of your shift when a voice hums from behind you.
“Well, hello, darlin’.”
You stand up straight and spin around to find Joel Miller before you, trademark flannel and subtle-but-still-there smile on.
“Hey, stranger,” you reply, smiling back, before he opens his arms and pulls you in for a bear hug.
Joel Miller. Same as always: tall, rugged, handsome, dark hair and beard singed with grey, warm and sweet-smelling, grumbling, mumbling Joel. His chin rests on top of your head for a second before you pull away, and he looks you up and down.
“Been meaning to come over to see you since you got back, your dad said you were pretty busy unpackin’. Thought I’d give you a few days. Everything alright?”
“All good,” you reply with a nod. “I accumulated a lot of crap in New York.”
He smirks, shoulders jerking a little with a laugh. “Didn’t realise you’d gotten your job back in here,” he looks around, “you likin’ it?”
You shrug. “It’s money. And I know how things are run. Sal’s a good guy.”
Joel nods. “When do you get off?”
You glance down at your watch. “Five minutes.”
“You want a ride home?”
You take a deep breath and breathe out a, “Yes, please,” with a sigh. It’s been a long, damp day.
“I’ll just go grab these,” he holds up two boxes of nails, “meet you outside when you’re done, kid.”
He brushes past your shoulder heavily as he passes, something he always used to do when you were younger. You snort when he mutters, “My bad.”
Joel Miller and your dad have been best buds since, like, the eighties. Your dad has a few years on Joel, but they’re as close as can be. Grew up on the same street, saw each other through girlfriends, marriage, children, divorce. Never one without the other, all that.
Joel’s daughter, Sarah – four years your junior – is a freshman out west, somewhere in California. Another of the reasons you thought it was time to come home: your dad and Joel must feel pretty lonely having both of you gone.
When you’ve grabbed your hoodie and bag and made your way back out front, Joel’s being served by Anna, a girl you went to school with. She stayed here in Austin, has some side hustle selling makeup and perfume. She flutters her eyelashes at Joel as she rings him up. You cringe as you find place at his side.
“Ready?” he murmurs, looking down at you.
You nod.
“How’s things, anyways, Mr. Miller?” Anna asks, even as he’s turning to leave.
“Uh, good, thanks. Good luck with the…makeup.” Then he gives a low grunt and makes for the door.
“Not much of a talker,” you mutter to Anna, and flatten your lips against one another in the form of a goodbye.
Joel’s sat out front in his truck, looking down the receipt.
“Girl charged me for three boxes. If she wasn’t talkin’ so damn much about her perfumes…”
You pull your seatbelt over your shoulder. “Why don’t you go back in there and get your money back?”
“What, and subject myself to her battin’ eyelashes again? Almost blew me off my feet.”
Your head falls back against the headrest with laughter. “You know, you were the first thing she asked me about on my first shift back.”
“I bet I was, baby,” he replies, switching the ignition on and reaching an arm behind your seat as he reverses back.
You spend most of the drive home catching up, telling him about New York and listening to what antics he and your dad have gotten up to since your last visit home. It’s easy talking to Joel, easier than with your dad. He hums and grunts, lets you ramble, tells you what he thinks, then the pair of you fall back into comfortable silence until the next conversation sparks. No judgement, no lectures. Just Joel.
When you pull up in your drive, Joel casts you a meaningful look and says, “He’s really missed you, y’know. We both have.”
“You both have?”
“Sure. Gets quiet ‘round here at times. And with Sarah gone…It’ll be real nice to have you back again.”
“I’ll keep you on your toes, Miller.”
“Holdin’ you to it.”
“Joel? Hey, buddy.” Your dad’s voice breaks apart your conversation and you both turn to see him approaching from the garage. “Hi, kiddo.”
“Hey. Joel came in to get some stuff, gave me a ride home.” You hop out of the truck, and Joel wanders round to meet you.
“Well, thanks, man. You say thank you?” he asks.
You glance awkwardly at Joel, muttering a thank you like some little kid. He shakes his head softly in return, giving you a look that your dad misses, but you understand.
“C’mon inside, I was just tidying up. Stayin’ for dinner, Joel? I bet this girl’s been chewing your ear off about NYC…” Your dad’s voice fades away as he wanders back into the garage, and you and Joel begin to follow.
“Ain’t no need to thank me,” he whispers, leaning into your space.
You nod appreciatively. “My presence is thanks enough, I know.”
He nudges you toward the house.
Your dad orders in pizza and you set the table while he and Joel sit to discuss a potential new client. Joel sits at the edge of the table, turned outward to face the sliding doors, elbow hooked over the back of his chair. As you maneuver around them, placing mats down, you can’t help but note how fucking good he looks.
Tousled hair, unshaven beard. A broadness that even his own shirt can barely hold in; from where you’re standing, you can see where his neck meets his toned shoulders, skin tanned from the sun and the tiniest burst of chest hair over his collar…
The doorbell rings and your dad jumps up. “Ain’t got no cash ready. Be right back.”
He jogs off past you down the hall, but your eyes remain locked on Joel, who notices you once your dad’s gone. Or so you think.
“Rude to stare, darlin’,” he tsks, bringing his beer to his lips.
“Wasn’t starin’.”
“No?”
“Uh-uh. You got a stain on your shirt.”
His brows furrow and his head instantly snaps down to his chest. “Where?”
You snort, wandering over to put his plate on the mat. “My bad,” you whisper, leaning over, “must’ve been the light.”
Joel’s breath wavers only for a second, before your dad re-enters the room and he’s forced to compose himself.
“Alright, let’s see…Pepperoni, bleh, keep that one on that side of the table, please, and plain cheese over here.”
“See you haven’t improved Dad’s taste in pizza,” you say to Joel as you pull your chair out beside his and sit down, cross-legged.
“He – he’s immune to change,” he replies, then, only once he’s regained composure, adds, “or improvement of any kind.”
“Hey,” your dad protests, lifting a slice. “Cool it on the insults, here. You’ve been back six days,” he points a greasy finger at you, then steers it in Joel’s direction, “and you’re the one who turned down Lois last month. Talk about improvement, she could turn your life around, son.”
“Who the hell is Lois?” you ask, mouthful of pizza, aiming for chill, but coming across overly interested.
Joel shakes his head, only looking at you briefly from the corners of his eyes. “Receptionist at Clark’s Plant Hire. And I didn’t turn her down.”
“She asked you out?” Your knee brushes against his waist. He feels it; you know from the way his body tenses.
“She…said she’d like to go for a drink, sometime. I said yeah, maybe…some time.”
“Ouch. Poor Lois.”
He turns to face you now. “Don’t give me the same spiel your dad did, alright? I can decide for myself when I’m ready to be…datin’.”
“Wouldn’t he be nice with a receptionist from a plant hire on his arm?” Your dad fades into the background as you and Joel back-and-forth.
“If you don’t think you turned her down, why say you’re not ready to be dating?”
“Ha! See, my little girl,” Dad waves his slice of pizza around, “she got a degree, Joel. She’s smarter ‘n us. She’s got you on that one.”
“What is your degree in, again? Law?” Joel speaks through his teeth.
You beam back, happy to have riled him. “Film.”
“Film. My mistake. Must’ve felt like I was bein’ interrogated or som’.”
You decide to pull it back then. Enough discussing Joel’s love life – it doesn’t interest you much, not for the right reasons, anyway. The conversation shifts naturally to your degree, your graduation, and the year you spent living in the city afterward.
When most of the pizza is gone, the three of you sit idly chatting; the last Rangers game, the neighborhood barbecue coming up, the weather. Right as your dad voices concern about a job he has next week, his cell starts to ring in the living room.
As hasty and tactless as ever, he jumps up and almost knocks his chair flying. You and Joel laugh quietly as he bounds off in search for his phone.
You turn back to Joel, who’s playing with the label of his beer bottle.
“Hey.” You nudge him with your knee. He grunts in response. “Hey,” you say, clearer, this time pulling your legs up and over onto his lap. “Didn’t mean what I said about that Lois lady. I’m sure you had your reasons, and it’s none of my business. Or my dad’s.”
He stifles a laugh, sucking a breath in until his chest meets his chin. Then he lifts his head to look over to you. “Sorry I snapped. Wasn’t all serious, but I don’t want you thinkin’ I’m mad with you.”
“You can be, if you want.” You lean forward. “Just not for long, okay? It’d be a long summer with just my dad to hang with if Sarah’s gone and you ain’t talking to me.”
This time he laughs. For real. You mirror his swollen cheeks, glad to see you’ve amused him. He puts the bottle on the table and his hands fall to your ankles, where he gently rubs with his thumbs.
“When does she get home?” you ask him.
“Couple weeks. Still got finals and all that to worry about.”
You nod knowingly, muttering, “Rough.”
He gently lifts your legs from his lap and stands, towering over you, your chin inches away from his belt buckle as you look up at him. He doesn’t move, just brings a hand down to cup your jaw and tilt your head back ever so slightly with his thumb under your chin.
You can feel your pulse in your throat. You know Joel can, too. You clench between your legs, an ache forming there, and the only thought behind your eyes is him remedying it.
You bring your hands up to settle behind his thighs, trying desperately to send him a message through your doe eyes. Something in the way the corners of his mouth rise almost imperceptibly tells you he hears you loud and clear.
Your dad bursts back into the room like a bat out of hell, and the two of you spring apart.
“Supplier had some trouble with directions,” he mutters, tossing his cell onto the counter.
Joel grumbles in response, then, like nothing at all out of the ordinary just happened, begins gathering the bottles and gestures to you to grab the pizza boxes. You follow him over to the sink where you set the boxes down and he runs the bottles under the faucet, filling them up and pouring the dregs of beer down the drain.
Your dad’s busy clearing the placemats from the table, babbling to himself about work, when you feel Joel’s shoulder lean into yours.
“Trouble,” he murmurs.
You tilt your head and furrow your brows in response.
“You,” he breathes, “are nothin’ but trouble.”
You smile back at him gleefully.
Trouble, indeed.
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ja3yun · 10 months
Text
The Moon That Sometimes Shines | L.HS (TSTAB Alt. Scene)
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lee heeseung x reader
warnings: smut (mdni), fingering, dirty talk, choking, pet names (baby girl, angel), alcohol, slight exhibitionism, if I missed anything lmk!
wc: 3.6k
synopsis: after seeing your ex-lover jaeyun and his fiance being close to one another, heeseung offers you a much needed distraction.
a/n: i accidentally deleted the original post so here I am at 3am re-uploading it :( anyway like i said the first time, this is part of the tstab series original plotline before i changed it but can be read as a stand-alone one-shot since this is an alternative scene.
tstab masterlist
“Y/N! Hurry up, we’re going out tonight.” Eunseo’s pretty voice travels through the door. After confirming it was her you open the door and look at her confused. “Me, you, Heeseung, Jake, and Yeoreum are going out. Like a joint bachelor-bachelorette thingy.” She claps excitedly. 
“Didn’t they already have their parties? You got really stressed when the inflatables you planned went to your elderly neighbour.” A chuckle leaves your lips as you recall the incident. The delivery of nonsensical blowup dicks and penis straws went to Mrs. Kim, a 87-year-old lady, who lives next door to Eunseo and she, unfortunately, opened it. Their relationship was never the same.
Eunseo scowls at the thought, “Please don’t remind me, she thinks I’m a sex pest or something now.” Her hand raised to stop you from saying any further as she carried on, “But this is just to let loose. After that walk and shit, I think they need it.” Nodding you agree and she smiles, “Then get ready! I’ve looked out your fit.” That could only mean one thing: you were going to be cold tonight.
After getting dressed you trail behind Eunseo you walk into the living room to find the rest waiting for you both which seems to be a theme this past week. Eunseo apologises like she always does and then hurries everyone as if she isn’t the reason the taxi fare is already up by £20. 
Heeseung puts his hand on the small of your back, leaning down to whisper, “You look so fucking good, angel. If there wasn’t such a thing as bro code…” he trails off and leaves it there with a cheeky smile. To be honest you felt hot, probably the hottest you have in any of your best friend’s clothes. She had looked out a black corset top with lace detailing at the side, a white mini skirt with perfectly placed black bows on either side of your hips, and black thigh-high boots that were not the easiest to get on. This outfit called for your hair to be curled and eyeliner so sharp that it could open envelopes.
Nudging him you laugh and keep walking, “You couldn’t handle it.” You playfully sway your hips and Heeseung pretends to fall to his knees, a hand clutching his chest. When little moments like this happen, the world suddenly feels like it’s aligned.
The taxi drive is short, and full of chatter and excitement. Yeoreum and Jaeyun seem to have made up, her laughter and his hand on her thigh being your indications. 
The club is busy, filled with people your age and younger just trying to get drunk. Thursdays are always the best day to go out; it’s cheaper and has a more student-based clientele than on a Saturdays when creepy men in their 40s come out from the shadows. Eunseo flashes her signature smile and you guys are let in without any hesitation. You look at her skimpy outfit and think that might have helped the situation.
Music and heat hit you all at once and it’s overwhelming but in the best way possible. The musky smell of alcohol and smoke from the machines feels like a time machine back to your second year of college, a mixture of shame and fondness washing over you as you remember the many hook-ups and walks of shame you did.
Eunseo grabs your hand and raises it as she leads you to the bar to get the first of too many drinks tonight. She orders two double vodkas with lemonade and two Baby Guinnesses, they've become your favourites over the years. As the bartender goes to make them she turns to you, “Are you going to make your move on Heeseung tonight?” A loud sharp laugh leaves your mouth at her question, she really wasn’t letting this go.
“Eunseo, he isn’t my type I have told you this.” The shots come first and you clink it on the bar and shoot it down. “He’s hot but I’m not interested.”
“Those two sentences don’t go together, babe. And what’s one night? You’ve been with plenty of uglier men than him.” Her eyes are on Heeseung at the other side of the bar, buying drinks for him and the bride and groom. 
“I don’t know,” Of course, Heeseung was attractive, even more attractive now than 4 years ago. His perfect nose, attractive side profile, and when he smirked…god when he smirked. But could you truly do that to Jaeyun? 
Your drinks are now in front of you both, “Come on, let’s dance.”
One hand holding your drink and the other holding Eunseo’s hand you lead her to a spot and start to move your hips to the music, letting all the tension you’ve felt go. A genuine smile creeps on your face and you down your drink. And another. And another.
Everyone was enjoying themselves and as your eyes land on Yeoreum and Jaeyun, you realise just how much fun they’re having.
Jaeyun’s hand is caressing her thigh, his tongue lapping up her mouth, and her tits are pressing into his chest. If you were closer you swear you could hear them moaning.
It’s hard to watch, your true love tangled in someone else, but that’s reality now.
Your view is obstructed by a broad chest clad in a loose My Chemical Romance t-shirt. Heeseung.
“What did I tell you about only focusing on me, baby girl?” His hands find home on your waistline and pinch them slightly to get you to look up at him.
“It’s hard, Hee” You confess, eyes glazed from the alcohol and forming tears. It was pathetic how upset you got over Jaeyun and Yeoreum considering you were the reason they found each other. If you hadn't left it would be your mouth smothering him with kisses.
Heeseung’s hands soothe over your hips, applying pressure the closer he gets to your ass. “I know, angel. It’s so hard to see someone you love with someone else.”
His eyes are staring deep into yours as if he’s confessing something to you. 
What you don’t know is that back in school Heeseung was infatuated by you. The way you spoke, the way you laughed, the way you kissed. Whenever you kissed Jaeyun he would see how your tongue would move with his best friends and wish, no, pray that it was his just once.
He didn’t want forever, he just wanted once.
Once just so he could taste you. Heeseung knew you would always belong to his best friend, there was no doubt. Even back in the day he wouldn’t ever come between you. 
But it isn’t like those days anymore. You aren’t Jaeyun’s and Jaeyun isn’t yours. 
Obviously, he felt guilty for even conjuring up such an image of you and him but as you stare up, eyes glistening and hazed he can’t help but push the guilt to the back of his mind. 
“Angel, only look at me from now on, okay?” He shouts it loud enough for you to hear over the club music. 
Is it just you or have his lips gotten bigger over the last few years? 
“Something on my face, Y/N?” 
Oh. You’re staring at him. Yet you can’t stop. His smirk is spiraling you into a tizzy, his tongue poking just enough to lick his bottom lip. Maybe it’s the alcohol talking but you want to kiss him. Really badly want to kiss him.
Instead of responding, you lift your hands to his chest, splaying them over each of his pecks. He’s so toned under the t-shirt you can’t help but squeeze subtlety.
Bringing his lips down to your ear he whispers, “Want a distraction, baby girl?” 
God yes
Heeseung’s breath is hot in your ear and the wetness of his lips is just barely touching your lobe. It’s driving you crazy. But…Jaeyun.
“What abou-”
He cuts you short when his teeth nibble the shell of your ear before he speaks, “Shhh. Told you I would help you this week didn’t I?” You can feel his smile widen as his lips ghost down your neck.
Shutting your eyes you try to focus on your breathing. Is it wrong to indulge in this? Jaeyun is over there with his fiance kissing and touching her, so why do you feel guilty for wanting to do the same with Heeseung? 
Because it’s his best friend you say to yourself.
“C’mon, Y/N. I’m sure if I touched your pretty cunt right now I’d feel how much you want me.” There’s a stir in your stomach as he utters the words into the base of your neck.
Honestly, until now your brain had been so wrapped up in overthinking you hadn’t noticed how wet you had gotten. Somehow from the moment he touched your hips, your pussy pulsed, wishing his hands and mouth were all over it. 
Heeseung’s head lifts and his eyes look into yours just like before, this time they’re filled with desire. He’s begging for the green light, the okay go, to prove his theory right.
And you give him it.
You allow him to touch you somewhere he has been dreaming about for years with a single nod. Sneakily, his hand reaches down and his middle finger runs over your soaked underwear. You bite your lip as he applies some added pressure to your clit. 
“I was right, baby girl.” His arrogance in this situation is only adding fuel to your fire, “You’re fucking soaking. Is it all for me?” 
You can’t look him in the eye out of sheer embarrassment because how did he get you so worked up like this so quickly? The only other person that has been able to do this is Jaeyun.
Leaning down so his lips hover over yours you can tell he’s holding back from kissing you despite his finger literally sitting atop your clit. “Answer me.”
“Yes.” It comes out breathy and needy. “For you.”
Heeseung closes his eyes. There is no going back if he kisses you right now and he knows it. “Tell me to kiss you.” His eyes don’t open but the way his hand massages your cunt you can tell he’s desperate, “Please, baby girl.” 
Instead of words, you reach up to kiss him and let go of all inhibitions. Your actions cause Heeseung’s hand to move away from your vagina and back to gripping your hips firmly.
He inhales deeply while he kisses you like he is trying to use all his senses. Tasting you, hearing you, touching you, he is taking you all in. The only thing he wasn’t doing was looking at you, his eyes shut from the pleasure but he knows how you look because every time you kissed Jaeyun he memorised every detail of your face.
Heeseung’s hands grabbed your ass and you moaned from your throat while his lips still attacked yours, the noise sounds like music to his ears and it just makes him more eager to keep going. The alcohol running through his veins pushes him to his next action.
“Jump.” He instructs and you obey, jumping so you can wrap your legs around his waist. Even the feeling of you like this was heaven to him. He genuinely wished he could have gotten to you first all those years ago but he’ll settle for right now. “You listen to me so well,” Heeseung whispers against your lips and that’s when he sees you’re too far gone with lust to even care what he’s saying. Your kisses get more needy as he carries you to the back of the club.
The on-lookers have faces of disgust as you practically dry hump Heeseung all the way to a dark area in the club but you don’t care, you don’t even notice because all you can focus on is the aching radiating from your core and how his mouth molds perfectly to yours.
“Fuck, angel, you don’t even give a shit if people watch, hmm?” He’s mocking you and all you can do is whimper and ask for more. 
Perching you up on a shallow shelf-like surface attached to the back wall you instantly spread your legs open and he slots himself in between, deepening the kiss. Heeseung’s 6” stature towers over you even when you’re sat on a high surface. He always loved how small you looked when you stood next to him.
His left hand is now lost in your hair making a mess of your once neat curls and his right was keeping you steady on the ledge. Pulling away he looks at your state, “You look so fucked out and I haven’t even started yet, baby girl.” Your skirt has turned into a belt due to it bunching up, leaving your whole bottom half exposed. Well almost. Your thin white panties are the only thing keeping you decent, and Heeseung needs them gone. 
Luckily, the club is so dark and no one can see your uncovered core as Heeseung yanks them down your legs and holds it in front of you with one finger. “I can keep these, yeah?” Before you can answer he’s shoving them in his pocket. In the morning you would be mad because they’re your favourite pair, but right now you couldn’t care less. 
Just like before his middle finger glides in between your folds collecting your juices but as fast as his digit was on you, it was off again, bringing it to his mouth and sucking on it. You can’t properly see his face but you can see how his eyes roll back, “I would eat your little pussy so good if it wasn’t so obvious what I was doing.” He didn’t mind people watching but if he could avoid it he would, and being on his knees with his face buried between your thighs would certainly draw attention. 
“Hee,” Your voice is a whisper but he just hears it and leans down, “Please make me forget.”
Ah. Jaeyun. He almost forgot that’s why you agreed to let him do this. To distract you from his best friend and your broken heart. Guilt and a little something else fill Heeseung’s heart but he quickly pushes the thoughts to the back of his mind when your hand is palming his cock. 
Throwing his head back exposes his adam’s apple and quick as lightening your mouth is on it, kissing it softly. “Jesus fuck, Y/N.” He huffs and his hands push you away, leaving you confused. “I need to touch you, baby girl, I gotta hear those sweet moans, or else I’ll go crazy.” Granted, he’s going to go crazy either way, whether it was from you touching him or him touching you, but he is aware he probably doesn’t have a lot of time and he can’t let this opportunity to make you cum slip from him. “Be good for me angel.” 
One single kiss on your forehead and then he’s giving you what you want. Two of his fingers are teasing your entrance, rubbing circles gently around it. “Can you take the two of them or want me to start with one?” Heeseung might have been clouded by desire but he also wants you to be comfortable, not pushing you too far. 
“I can take it.” You don’t care if you actually can’t, you just need to feel something.
“Of course you can, baby girl. You’re so good.” His words of affirmation are similar yet different to Jaeyun’s. He’s more firm with his words than your ex-lover, like he’s making you think you’re taking the lead but in actual fact, he’s always in charge. “Going to let me make you feel good? Forget about him?”  All you can do is nod and crane your neck up to kiss him but he pulls away and raises his eyebrows, “Not going to ask? After I’ve been so kind to ask you if I can touch you?”
All while he’s speaking down to you, his fingers are still teasing your entrance. He doesn’t stop, that is another difference between Jaeyun and him. When Jaeyun teased you he would stop altogether and have you mewling for him to go back to what he was doing. But Heeseung knows it pays to play the long game, give you a constant taste of what he could offer, and make you beg for something you were already getting. It got him off so much to know his partners needed not what he could give them, but what more he could do to satisfy them. 
“C-can I kiss you.” 
“Yes, you can, angel.” And then without a breath, you’re kissing him, his fingers keeping their circular motions at an agonising pace. “How hard was it to ask, hmm?” He smirks and you could slap him for being so hot and annoying all at once if you weren’t so desperate.
You go to speak but moan instead as he puts some pressure down below, “Huh? You want to ask for something else, angel?” He didn’t have time to be doing this but it was so fun to watch you like this. 
“Can you..” This is so embarrassing. When was the last time you asked for someone to finger you? “Can you fuck me…with your fingers?”
“Would be my pleasure, baby girl.” His middle and ring fingers slip inside you with a little effort, “Jesus, angel, how long has it been since someone fucked you?”
“4 months.” Not that you were counting but it was 4 months and 3 days. If you knew the time right now you could probably pinpoint the exact hours and minutes too. You were so busy with finals for Uni and work you didn’t have the time to indulge in your needs. That was probably why Heeseung was having such an effect on you.
Probably just because it was Heeseung in general.
He’s fucking you open, stretching you out so good you can’t help but grab his band t-shirt for more stability. “Hold my shoulders, it’ll be better.” It’s like you’re his lap dog the way you just follow all his instructions. You mumble an ‘okay’ and grip his shoulders tight. Once he feels you get more secure, he goes harder.
Almost like he is trying to feel every inch of your insides his fingertips pushing hard against your upper walls, just how you like it. As he feels your forehead resting against his chest he knows he’s got you. “You like it when I fuck you like this with my fingers?” and you nod, but that’s not what he’s looking for. His free hand grabs your jaw and forcefully lifts your head to look at him, “You know I need to hear you.” God, he is so hot. 
“I love it, Heeseung.” Your winded words make him smug. 
“You want to ask for anything else?” The grip on your jaw loosens and the back of his hand and fingers glide smoothly over your neck. Again here he is making it seem like you’re in control but you know exactly what he wants, “Anything at all?” 
You almost can’t get the words out because he’s curling his fingers deep inside you, “Ch-”
“I’m sorry, baby girl I didn’t catch that?” He’s so self-satisfied with himself that he's getting everything he ever wanted. 
“Choke me.” 
And just like that his strong hand is wrapping around your throat, squeezing just enough. Heeseung knows the test the waters of your limits but honestly, you don’t have any, none that you know of anyway. 
Heeseung’s hands feel different from Jaeyun’s, stronger, just like his words. The tightness of his hand cutting off your airways makes your eyes roll back and spine arch. “So beautiful, angel.” 
The sweet words leaving his mouth don’t match up to his tight grip. Your head hits the wall sharply as he pushes you back but it only adds to the sensation of pleasure you’re feeling. 
“Hee, m’gonna cum.” It’s not so much a warning because you’re cumming around his fingers. His digits hammer into you, the muscle in his arm ripples as he gives you all he has. Heeseung wants you to remember this he’s going hard and cutting off your air. 
You’re such a beautiful sight.
“Doing so well for me, angel.” His pink glossy lips replace his hand on your throat as he kisses you where he knows there will be bruises. “So fucking beautiful.”
As your chest heaves and lungs gasp for air, you realise this is the first time you haven’t thought about Jaeyun. Mission accomplished, you suppose.
“Heeseung?” 
“Yeah, pretty?” His hand retreats from your pussy as he stands back up to loom over you again.
“Thank you.” Biting your lip you want to say more but you don’t exactly know what to say. 
His fingers tap your mouth, indicating for you to open it and you answer his silent command and open wide. The next thing you know he’s shoving his fingers into your mouth and you taste yourself. This is a new experience for you and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t love it and hope it isn’t the last time you’re sucking your cum off someone’s fingers. And if it happened to be Heeseung again, you definitely wouldn’t say no. 
“Remember this whenever you think about him.” He starts staring deep into your eyes, “And if you ever need a refresher, you know what room I’m in.”
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