#I don't know if I'm ever going to finish this

[moonymarvel]

I was scared to take a breath, didn't want you to move your head... (Bob Reynolds x female reader *SMUT MINORS DNI*)

🂱︎ pairing: Bob Reynolds x Thunderbolts/New Avengers female reader

🂱︎ synopsis: You're upset after a recon mission with Yelena goes slightly wrong, and Bob jumps at the opportunity to comfort you. He suggests to put on a film, and in the cosy movie room in the dim lights it leads to the two of you to become closer and more intimate than you ever have before.

🂱︎ genres: fluff fluff! friends with feelings as @em1i2a3 calls it, friends to lovers.

🂱 warnings: SMUTTY SMUT SMUT MINORS DNI! unprotected sex, p in v, fingering, praise kink, mentions of anxiety, mentions of wounds/injuries, mentions of Bob's previous drug use

🂱 notes: this is a bit long lol I kinda didn't know where I was going with it at first whoops... inspired by the line of lyrics in the title from the Sombr song 'back to friends' !

You let out a soft groan as your weight shifted on your bed, your muscles aching, bones still healing, and your heart pounding.

You'd been on a recon mission with Yelena last night, when things went sideways and the getaway car you drove flipped on its head, rolling a few times as you and Lena had no choice but to jump out of the car.

You'd both limped your way back to the tower to meet the medical team, your arm around Yelena's waist holding her up. Your rib was fractured and you had bruising all over your body, but Yelena wasn't so lucky. She had jumped out straight into some concrete, meaning she had to be monitored for a few days in the hospital wing for head injury and trauma.

You were at least able to sleep in your own bed after being patched up, but you couldn't help but feel drowned with guilt as Yelena was bedridden for the next few days.

"Lena? It's me." You opened the curtain slowly, holding an assortment of breakfast foods for her. You made sure to give her a wide selection, settling on a bowl of oatmeal with bananas and peanut butter drizzled on top, a plate of bacon and eggs, and her favorite pastries from the bakery across the road.

"Oh thank god thought I was hallucinating the smell of those pastries--" She said excitedly, reaching her arms out to you fingers motioning to hand her the food.

She dug in hastily, and despite the events of last night she seemed alright, considering.

"Yelena I'm sorry. I-- I should've gotten us out of there earlier-- quicker." You said sat on the edge of her hospital bed criss-cross-applesauce pulling apart a spare pastry she insisted you have.

"Don't even worry about it. This is all just precautions, honestly these idiots don't know the extent of things I went through in the red room, these injuries are nothing." She said with that thick Russian accent, so nonchalantly talking about her dark past. You stayed silent, still guilt ridden and full of regret.

"Hey, y/n. It's okay, I promise." Yelena reached over to hold your shoulder, the edges of her mouth covered in crumbs.

"You got me back! And we were fine. So fine. Really." She added reassuringly. You nodded, and gave her a small smile.

"Now stop disrespecting Mr Krispy Kream and eat your donut instead of pulling it apart." She finished, and you let out a soft chuckle, grateful for her ability to make light of these situations.

You both continued eating, and when nothing was left but empty bowls and crumbs you got up and took the tray of food to the kitchen.

You turned the corner and saw a familiar figure hovered over the sink, sweatshirt rolled up to his forearms, hair messy and falling over his face.

"Good morning Bob." You say, making your way over to the sink behind him.

"Y/n! Hey, morning!" He replies, tone happy and light that you couldn't help but crack a small smile.

"I heard about last night... A--Are you okay?" He asked, hands busy with the dishes and covered in soap.

"I'm f-fine. Yeah. Could've been worse I guess." You reply softly, leaning on the counter, hand clutching your bandaged side. You wince under your breath, and notice the purple and red hues beneath your skin that cover your hand.

You look up and meet Bob's worried gaze, hair falling over his face as his attempts to push it away, which just resulted in him leaving bits of soap on his temple. His lips were pressed in a thin line, eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"y/n, are you okay?" He repeated. He always did this, saw right through you and your excuses. You both have grown quite close since moving into the tower, as you both had insomnia and anxiety. You'd find yourself up at odd hours of the night, with only Bob and a good book keeping you company.

He knew you better than anyone else on the team, always somehow knowing exactly what you needed. On the other hand your presence calmed Bob, hushing the constant buzz that constantly filled his head.

After especially hard missions, you'd come back to the compound to Bob doing some cleaning up, and upon seeing your tired figure enter, he'd immediately get to work on making you a cup of tea or hot chocolate.

During larger gatherings or meetings you'd pick up Bob's nervous ticks, when he'd start pulling at the loose threads of his sweater, or start to rub his eyes a little too often, and you'd find yourself giving him a gentle nudge or a reassuring squeeze with your hand to calm him.

Bob would knock at your door to check on you on the days you wouldn't leave your room, and make sure you'd eaten.

You'd stand up for Bob when Valentina or anyone else was putting too much pressure on him, and made sure that he was on top of his medication and therapy exercises.

"y/n?" You'd zoned out completely, and Bob was now stood in front of you, blue eyes full of worry.

"It's my fault." You whispered.

"w-what do you mean?" Bob asked, wiping his damp hands on the sides of his trousers, leaving behind even more wet marks on his clothes.

"Yelena... It was a simple recon mission. I just needed to get her out-- now she's in the hospital wing-- I just feel-- like I failed." Your vision clouded slightly, and you looked to the floor to avoid Bob's gaze.

He studied you for a second, before he gently lifted your chin up.

"I saw Yelena this morning, she's alright y/n. She's going to be okay." His fingers were soft and tender on your chin, and you looked up at him through teary eyes.

"I don't want to be the reason anyone else gets hurt." You whisper, and you knew Bob understood.

He didn't say anything, but he pulled you in for a gentle hug. He was slightly wet from doing the dishes, but you didn't really care. You buried your head into his soft sweatshirt inhaling the scent of him, with a little bit of dishwashing soap, and let a tear slide down your cheek. Then another, and another.

"Shhh. It's okay." Bob whispered, head resting on top of yours, holding you tightly. He couldn't help but catch a whiff of your shampoo, the one you lent him once and he's been obsessed with ever since. It smelled of coconut and vanilla, and he's since associated those scents with you.

He just stood there with you, and time seemed to slow when he held you in his arms, the rest of the world melting away.

You'd pulled apart from him eyes slightly red and cheeks stained with tears, a little embarrassed at your emotional outburst.

"I-I'm sorry Bob. Oh shit, I got your favorite sweatshirt all drenched I'm so sorry." You added, wiping your hands over his shoulder as if that would dry the spots from your tears, only to feel his hard muscles underneath his sweatshirt.

"Don't worry, this sweatshirt's had it's fair share of tear stains before." Bob replies, a slight blush tinting his cheeks at the feeling of your hands on him.

"d-do you wanna maybe put on a film? Get your mind off of it?" He adds.

"Y-yeah... I would love that actually." You're grateful for a distraction, and you grab some tissues from the cupboard dabbing away the leftover moisture on your face. You hear Bob shuffle around the kitchen behind you, pulling out two mugs, some chocolate powder, and milk. You take it upon yourself to grab some microwave popcorn from another cupboard, Bob shyly stepping aside to give you room.

You microwave the popcorn as Bob finishes up the drinks, the two of you stood silent but comfortable as the hum of the microwave filled the room.

"The rest of the team are gone by the way, they're out on mission... so we have the movie room to ourselves if--if that's where you wanna watch a film." Bob adds, stirring the liquid chocolate and adding the toppings just the way you like it.

"That's perfect" You chuckle

"No Alexei speaking over the dialogue or Walker acting like he's some film critic." You add. He flashes you a shy smile, mugs of finished hot chocolate in either hand.

"Ready?" He asks. The microwave dings and you grab the bag out of it, filling the room with the buttery smell.

You follow Bob's lead into the large movie room upstairs, cluttered with pillows, blankets, and some large couches all pointed towards the massive screen.

After minutes of discussing what film to put on, you both settle on a comedy film neither of you had seen before.

You make yourself comfortable on the couch, pulling over some blankets and a small table to put your hot chocolate down on. Bob sinks into the space next to you, hot chocolate already half empty with a hint of whipped cream covering his top lip.

"How have you had that much already! The films not even started yet!" You tease.

"I was hungry!"

You laugh, and if Bob could bottle up the sound and play it whenever, he would.

You lean over, closing the small gap between the two of you. Bob freezes, unsure of what to do but scared that whatever he does will ruin the moment.

He's not sure what to expect, but your hand comes up to cup his face and your thumb lightly swipes the whipped cream off his top lip.

Your finger was soft, gentle, but he could feel the small calluses that littered your skin from years of hero work.

You had your eyes locked on his lips, and you could have held his face in your hand forever.

You pull away, and Bob clears his throat, snapping himself out of your mesmerising touch.

"T-thanks"

"No problem."

The film opening credits begin to play and you settle into your seat, the couch so perfectly comfortable and cosy that you relax in no time.

Bob sits awkwardly next to you, not quite as relaxed, as he remembers the feeling of your hand on his face and your finger on his lips.

About a third into the film, Bob feels the slightest weight on his shoulder, and looks over to you completely slumped over on him, a light snore escaping your lips. The popcorn bag had now fallen from your hands leaving a pool of kernels on the floor, but Bob doesn't dare move to clean it up.

"y/n?" He whispers softly. There's no reply. You were exhausted after all, and the couch's soft embrace easily lulled you to sleep.

You moved, and Bob tenses, you slide down from his shoulder and he has to reposition himself to make sure you don't wake with a crick in your neck.

As slowly and carefully as he can, he slides lower down on the couch, arm coming around your shoulder. He hesitates, arm suspended in midair as if afraid to touch you. That's when you nuzzle into him in your sleep, head rested on his chest, your hand landing on his stomach.

You looked peaceful, angelic, and if it mean't Bob had to stay in this position forever just for you to get the rest you deserved than so be it.

He finally settled his arm on you, drapping it over your shoulder and side.

Bob tried his best to focus on the film, but the blooming feeling in his chest kept peeling his attention from the screen. Bob could happily drown in the smell of your hair, and tattoo the feeling of your skin on his. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears, almost scared if he took a breath too deep or moved even an inch you'd wake and he'd never have the privilege of being this close to you ever again.

He spent the rest of the film breathing as shallow as he could, even holding his breath every time you stirred. This moment was sacred to him, holding you close as you were at your most vulnerable. He drew small circles on your back, relaxing into the rhythm of your breathing.

Little did you know that ever since you and Bob moved into the tower, he became your sanctuary, your safe space. He'd enter the room and you'd calm, he'd give you a soft smile and you'd melt.

The sound of the film's score woke you from your slumber, the credits of the film rolling on the screen. You realised your position, and how you were now laid diagonally on the couch on your side with your leg over Bob's lap, head on his chest, and arm across his stomach.

You looked up slowly, to see Bob eyes focused on the screen. He almost looked like a statue, with the contours of his features being especially obvious in the dim light. He was still, almost too still. Wait, was he breathing?

"Bob?" You spoke softly, lifting your head up from on his chest.

"y/n, y-you're awake." He turned to look down at you, still looking a bit tense.

"yeah sorry, didn't mean to fall asleep... shit that position must've been so uncomfortable for you I'm so sorry--" You sit up, immediately regretting it as he warmth of him by your side fades.

"N-no, please don't be sorry... I was perfectly comfortable, and I'm glad you got some rest." He added shuffling over on the couch to give you a bit of space, even though all he wanted to do was pull you close again.

"Damn. I don't think I've had a nap, in years..." you let out a small yawn and stretch your arms up, your shirt lifting giving Bob a peak of your midriff. He swallowed at that tiny flash of skin, immediately feeling guilty for looking.

"you okay? how was the film?" you asked. Bob seemed to be looking everywhere but you, suddenly extremely interested in the details of walls behind you.

"yeah I'm all good... erm- the film, yeah uh-- it was alright, not my taste-- maybe- erm I didn't follow it really--" His eyes keep darting around the room, as if afraid to look at you for too long. He runs a hand through his loose curls, a slight redness appearing on the tips of his ears.

"Bob. You didn't watch it properly, did you?" You interrupt his rambling, and looks as if he's just been caught doing something he shouldn't have.

You laugh, and there's that sound Bob wished he could bottle up again.

"Did you fall asleep too then? Maybe it wasn't a very good film." You add, looking over at the credits rolling on the screen.

"something like that..." He finally looks up to meet your eyes, and just from that quick nap Bob can already see you've perked up massively.

"So uh- how are you feeling?" Bob asks, leaning over to finally tidy up the spilled popcorn.

"Better. A lot better, thank you Bob." You join him, scooting over on the couch your thigh making contact with his as you both lean over collecting the pieces. Your hands touch as you reach for the same kernel, the contact sending electricity up your arm.

"Sorry." He says under his breath through a small chuckle.

"Don't be." You add looking over to him, your beautiful bright eyes piercing right through all the walls that protect Bob's heart.

You collect what's left of the mess and put it aside for now, not wanting to leave Bob's side just yet.

"Shit y/n, you're bleeding." You look down on your side and see red.

"Fuck, what time is it? I think I need to change the dressing of my stitches." You press a hand on your side, feeling the sting from the stitches below.

"The spare bandages are in my room, I'll just sort this and I'll see you in a bit." You get up, wincing slightly, hyperaware of the pain on your side.

"W-wait, I can help you." Bob is stood now as well, eyebrows knitted together in concern.

"Y-you don't have to do that Bob, you've done enough already--"

"No please, I want to help. Let me help you." His voice is soft, tender, laced with something deeper than just care. Your stomach grew warm at the thought.

"Okay... Thank you." You say quietly through a small smile.

You make your way down the corridor, Bob trailing behind you like a lost puppy dog transfixed on your scent.

You open the door to your room and rummage through the first aid kit you left next to your bed last night.

Bob is standing awkwardly in the doorway, unsure of what to do.

"You can come in Bob" You say over your shoulder, collecting the bandages and anti-septic cream.

Bob steps into your room shyly, taking specific note of how the room smells like you. He looked around, observing the state of your room. Posters were put up all over your wall as if the blank white paint behind them frightened you, you had a stack of books balanced precariously on your bedside table, and you had a Playstation 5 by a stack of games in the corner next to the TV.

"Sorry, I'm in need of a tidy." You felt a bit exposed, and you would almost be embarassed if it was anyone else but Bob. But you knew he'd never judge you, never.

"No no, don't apologize... The room is so perfectly, you..." He trailed off, eyes wide reading the countless movie titles on the posters that cluttered your wall. He just missed the slight blush that appeared on your cheeks, that warmth in your core bubbling up again.

You settled down on your bed as Bob timidly took a seat next to you.

"I'm assuming you know how to do this, right?" You asked, you didn't doubt he knew what he was doing, but you thought you'd give him one last chance to back out.

"y-yeah... I had to take care of myself anytime I did anything-- stupid-- whenever I was on-- y'know..." He said, almost ashamed. While your heart dropped everytime he brought up his past, you also couldn't help but feel proud of how far he'd come, and how strong he is. He dropped his gaze down to his lap, looking guilty he brought it up at all. You took one of his hands and gave it a gentle squeeze, reassuring him that he would never have to be alone like that again.

"Sorry, um, yeah. I can do this." He looked up at you through his hair, giving your hand a gentle squeeze in return. You pulled away and put the bandages and cream between the two of you, and awkwardly turned so your back was faced to him.

"Um, can I lift this up?" Bob asked as he fiddled with the hem of your shirt.

"Oh, yeah of course... Um, it may be easier if I just take it off." You didn't give Bob enough time to respond, as you pulled your shirt over your head and held it to your front. Bob swallowed, grateful you were faced away as his cheeks burned.

"Sorry, was that okay?" You asked, realising you must've taken him by surprise.

"Y-yeah of course, as long as you're comfortable." Bob couldn't peel his eyes off your bare back, which moved everytime you took a breath. You had a long line of stitches that stretched down from your right shoulder blade all the way to your side, with other patches of bruising cluttering your shoulder and arm.

Even through your injuries though, Bob couldn't help but find you beautiful. You had freckles that looked like paint speckled on a canvas, with a few older scars that looked like shooting stars across in the night sky.

He snapped himself back to reality, taking the time to gently remove the dressing that had been stained red. The light touch of his fingers on your back made you shiver, the warmth in your stomach growing.

Bob did good work with cleaning up the bleeding, and reapplying a new bandage. The moment was quiet, but intimate, something heavy weighing in the air between you two.

"Thanks..." You said, looking over your shoulder at him. His hand was still on your back, large and warm, pressed on the bandage as if he didn't want to detach from you.

"You're welcome..." He said in a low, quiet voice that made the skin under his touch tingle. Bob's hand took on a mind of it's own as he trailed a finger across your spine, making your whole body shiver. You didn't say anything as he continued lining his finger across your back, like he was painting a picture.

"That... feels really nice..." Your eyes fluttered closed, sinking into his touch. You let out a relaxed exhale, all your pain going numb under the gentle touch of Bob.

Bob was quiet, transfixed, almost no longer himself. Maybe it was the Sentry taking over for a second, or maybe it was just Bob, finally giving into the desire he'd had for you for so long.

Then he did something so soft and tender that it broke the unspoken tension between the two of you. He planted a gentle kiss on the top of your shoulder. Then another on the top of your spine, and another right behind your ear.

"Bob..." You said softly, leaning into him, the feeling of his lips on your skin making you feel drunk.

The sound of his name snapped him out of his trance, eyes going wide and pulling away, leaving your back bare and cold again.

"Shit-- uh... s-sorry... I hope that was okay... I- I don't know what came over me." Bob was flushed, almost terrified at himself for getting carried away.

"N-no please... I-- I liked it.. I-- like you Bob..." You said laying out your heart to him.

You turned to him, still clutching your shirt to your chest. His hair had fallen over his eyes, his pupils blown. You saw a shimmer of something yellow in his eyes, something golden, for a split second, then it was gone.

"I want you, Bob. Only you" Your tone was soft, but desperate, your need for him growing.

"I want all of you."

"Y/n, you drive me crazy." And with that he surged forward connecting your lips with his. The kiss was hungry, but tender still, like he was drinking you up like sweet honey. His hand came up to cup your cheeks, your hands still clutching your shirt. He tasted like chocolate and butter, lips slightly chapped and hands slightly calloused.

You both twisted and manouvered around each other on the bed, as gracefully as you could and without hurting your injuries, never unlocking lips. He settled you down softly onto your pillow hands cupping the back of your head, positioning his body on top of you.

Your side stung just the slighest, but not nearly enough for you to want to stop the moment. Your hands found his mess of curls, letting go of the thin cotton shirt that separated your bodies.

Bob pulled away, breathless, resting his forehead on yours, his hand and forearm next to your head bearing his weight.

"C-can I-" He says fingers tangling with the bottom of your shirt. You nod, and he slowly peels the fabric away exposing your upper body to him.

"God... you're beautiful." His voice was low and husky, but the compliment was soft, leaving his lips like he's wanted to say that to you forever. One of his hands began to explore your body, starting from you stomach, up to your breasts. You were aching under his touch, and when his finger even slightly grazed your nipple you let out a soft moan.

"fuck y/n, do that again for me." And with that he latched onto your nipple, sucking lightly, other hand fondling the opposite breast. You let out another moan, louder this time, giving him exactly what he asked for.

Bob was careful not to touch any of your lingering bruises as his hand continued to roam your body, lips still on your nipple eyes closed shut trying to memorise the feeling. One of his slipped under your shorts, immediately finding your soaked center.

He came up from sucking on you starved for air, looking up at you with his stunning blue eyes. He wished he could frame the way you looked, bottom lip trapped between your teeth, hair falling perfectly around your face as you moaned his name.

His fingers made contact with the wet spot on your panties, softly grazing the top of the fabric.

"f-fuck Bob..." He'd barely even touched you and you could already feel yourself begin to unravel.

"Is this okay?" He asked, not in the shy tone he usually spoke with but a deeper, hungrier, more powerful voice.

"yes-- yes--" You answered between gasps and moans as he slipped his hand into your panties, finding your sensitive bud with ease.

"aw baby, so wet already." His voice rang with that same dark tone again, and you looked into his eyes and caught just a glimpse of the golden honey the flashed in the blue.

He dipped a finger in you with ease, and you let out a moan, pushing your head back into the pillow. This gave Bob access to your neck, immediately littering your skin with soft, wet kisses.

He pumped his finger in and out, while kissing you like you were holy. He added another digit, and the feeling made your hand fly to his head, and pull at his loose curls.

"Yes baby, that's it..." his husky tone made your eyes roll back into your head, feeling the tight knot in your lower belly become more intense.

He latched on to your nipple once more, sucking and biting just the right amount that the feeling teetered between pain and pleasure.

"F-fuck Bob-- I'm gonna--" He didn't need telling, he could feel you tighten around his fingers and could hear your moans growing louder and more intense. He continued on pumping his fingers, kissing up your chest and neck,

"I've got you baby, cum for me please." You didn't need to be told twice, feeling the knot come undone as the pleasure reached its peak. Bob helped you ride out the high, littering your neck with soft kisses in between compliments.

You heaved, catching your breath. Bob kept his fingers in you for just a moment longer, savoring the feeling of being inside you.

You opened your eyes to his blue ones taking in your beautiful form, still flushed and glistening from your finish.

He slowly pulled his fingers from beneath you, and lifted his fingers to his lips, and sucking them clean.

"fuck Bob." You moaned, already aching for more.

"I love it when you moan my name." He said in his husky voice before pressing his lips on yours, letting you taste yourself as his tongue explored your mouth.

His hand came up to your side, ever so gently and still very much conscious of your injuries, which was in complete contrast to how hungrily he was kissing you, and the pressure you felt pressed up against you.

You reached down, making contact with him through his trousers, making him break the kiss to moan.

"y/n-- I-- you don't have to do that." Bob said between breaths. He was big, and you could feel him aching beneath your palm.

"you--you're still hurt-- please- don't feel like you have to do anything f-for me--" He could barely get a word out, his eyes squeezing shut as he fought the urge to unravel at your touch.

"I want to make you feel good Bob. I want to feel all of you." Bob's eyes shot open at your words, pupils wide and blown, and with one swift movement, he had you on top of him, and sat up to meet your lips.

He cradled you with arms that felt like they were molded in marble, as he kissed you as if he were drunk on the taste of you.

You could feel him pulsing beneath you, the only thing separating the two of you being his sweatpants now wet with excitement.

You start to move, craving his touch and needing friction between your legs, when he pulls away suddenly, like he's snapped out of a trance.

"You feel any bit of pain, we stop. This isn't worth it if I hurt you y/n." He had a serious tone to his voice you'd never quite heard before, but it was laced with such protectiveness and care that you knew this man would go to the ends of the earth for you.

"Yes Bob... And don't worry, I'm not made of glass." You reply playfully, already missing the feeling of his lips on yours.

"Not glass, definitely not glass." He kissed you again, cradling your body flush onto his. You traced your fingers down his body, feeling the dips and curves of his frame. Your fingers played with the frayed hems of his sweater, ever so slightly making contact with the skin beneath. You physically felt him twitch.

You pulled the sweater off, to finally reveal the physique that can only be described as heaven sent. He was toned, strong, but not overly big, and still littered with signs of Bob and his past. He was beautiful, godly, but still warm and human.

"y/n? Is something wrong?" You'd realised you hadn't spoke or moved in a second, Bob's deep voice pulling you back into the moment.

"Bob, you're beautiful." Was all you could bring yourself to say. It left your lips almost like you didn't mean to say it, like it was a secret that you didn't dare share so you could keep him all to yourself.

Bob was speechless, but his smile grew showing the creases on his temples, and the sparkle of his eyes.

"and you're perfect." His lips were on yours again in no time, and he held firmly on your hip with one hand as he began lowering his sweats down his body with the other. It wasn't graceful, but with your help he was finally bare before you.

He was flushed at the tip, and so, so incredibly big.

He lined himself up to your entrance, and slowly, you lowered yourself onto him.

You went slow, feeling every inch of him filling you up. Your head dropped onto his shoulder, and he said small praises into your hair as you took him all in.

He allowed you a moment, even through gritted teeth as your walls were so warm and tight around him. When he felt you move and lift yourself up, only then did he start thrusting up to meet you.

"You're taking me so well beautiful..." He had one hand down on the bed for support, the other holding you as your hips continued to meet in the middle.

You felt him deep in your core and it wasn't long till your legs gave out from beneath you.

"Bob--" You barely got his name out between moans, feeling the waves of pleasure all over your body.

"I know baby, I know. Do it with me okay? Just hold on a little longer." He could feel you tightening around him, and hear your moans getting loader. He kissed your neck, and worshipped your body with his free hand.

"Please--" The feeling was overwhelming now, but he continued to thrust into you at an even pace. You knocked your head back when he made contact with your nipple, his mouth doing it's magic as his thrusts became harder, sloppier, hungrier.

"You've done so good beautiful, come with me now okay? You've done so good." His praises were more than enough to send you over the edge, and your moans were music to his ears as he released deep inside you. Throughout it all Bob watched you like you were divine, hyperaware of how perfectly the two of you fit together like this.

You collapsed onto him, and he slowly let himself fall back onto the bed, cradling you again gently. You laid in comfortable silence, still catching breath and calming down.

It wasn't long however till you felt a small tingle at your back, drawing your attention back to the whole reason you two were here.

"crap. I think my stitches broke again."

[flowersforbucky]

begging for more joaquin fics pretty please, your writing is AMAZING, im in the middle of finals rn and it would heal me😩

hiiii!! i know this wasn't a formal request, and i plan to write something longer for joaquín soon, but here's a little blurb to hold you over until then! best of luck on your finals ✨️🫶🏻

reader is an adult/in college, not explicit but mdni, joaquín calls reader princesa, 432 words

“Baby,” Joaquín's voice startles you, causing you to lose your place on the page you'd been reading. Well, trying to read. After hours of near nonstop studying, all of the words on the page had started to blur together. You aren’t even sure how many times you’ve attempted to re-read the same paragraph at this point.

“You’ve gotta take a break. Get some fresh air, stretch your legs, eat something…”

He stands behind your desk chair, placing his hands on your shoulders. You look up at him as he massages his strong hands over the tops of your arms. He looks down at you with big, brown puppy dog eyes and you’re immediately flooded with guilt – you know you’ve barely paid any attention to him today, and you hate it as much as he does.

“I can’t,” you groan, closing your eyes at the sensation of his hands on your stiff muscles. “Not yet. I need to get through the rest of this chapter, and then three more after that before I can even think about taking a brea—”

He removes his hands, spinning your chair around to face him. Before you can protest, he drops to his knees in front of you.

“Nonsense,” he objects. He spreads your thighs ever so slightly, wedging himself between your legs. He rests his elbows on your thighs, propping his head in his hands. “You’ve been preparing for these finals for weeks, baby. You know this shit like the back of your hand. Burning yourself out the day before your test isn’t going to do you any good.”

You sigh, knowing that he has a point. You lean forward, running your fingers through his hair before pressing your lips to his forehead.

“I’m just nervous. And ready for this to be over. I miss you.”

He laughs. “Well, I'm right here. Why don’t we go get some food? When we get back home, I’ll help you finish up this chapter.”

Your stomach has been growling for the last hour. You suppose taking a break for some much needed food and much needed time with your boyfriend isn’t a totally bad idea.

He's too cute to say no to.

“Okay. But I get to pick where we eat.”

He breaks into a toothy grin that immediately boosts your mood tenfold. He stands, hoisting you up with him. With his arms now wrapped around you, he pulls you flush against him before slating his lips over yours. There’s a faint hint of his favorite energy drink on his lips; fruity and familiar.

“Anything you want, princesa.”

♡♡♡♡♡♡

i don't do super short drabbles very often but this ask planted a tiny little idea in my head so 🤗

[lo1k-diamonds]

Moving On 💜

You can sleep with me.

PAIRING: Hoseok x (f) Reader

SUMMARY: All you wanted was to help your best friend move in with her fiancé, Jin — you just didn't know putting up with Hoseok came with the deal. And now there's only one bed.

WORD COUNT: 22.2k

GENRE: enemies to lovers, one bed trope, smut, oneshot (is renovating a house a genre? 🤣)

RATING: Explicit

WARNINGS: bickering, arguing, Jin is a whole mood and sometimes he doesn't help, unfinished business, misunderstandings, Hoseok is actually a sweetheart and vulnerable and goals, alcohol (no one does things drunk), sexual tension, dirty talking, brief masturbation, exhibitionism (kinda), oh brat reader 💯, soft Dom Hoseok, oral f rec, fingering, unprotected sex, biting, his hand around your throat once, pulling out, reader can't get enough of him 🤷‍♀️

A.N.: So... I had the idea for this fic one year ago, when I renovated my place and moved in. I'm trying to go through my WIP folder, what can I say? Better late than never. Also, that's where some of the knowledge comes from, but don't take it at face value 😅 I did most of the painting, not the rest 🤣 Anyway, enjoy 😉 Thank you, Raven @eerieedits, for the banner! This is another entry for Bangtan Writers HQ's Second Quarter 2025 event: ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’.

Masterlist | AO3 | Wattpad

As soon as you exited the bus, you heard a familiar voice shouting your name. Ahn Hyeonseo was easy to spot at the Gwangju bus terminal — she was the beautiful girl jumping around and waving for you to find her between the crowd of families, the elderly, and a few young people. You waved back and got your luggage from the bus luggage compartment before making your way to her.

She squealed in your ear as she hugged you, “I’m so happy you’re here!!!”

You hugged your best friend with a sigh, then pulled away. “There are way too many people here,” you complained, telling her in so many words that you wanted to leave.

She led the way from the terminal to the nearby, overcrowded parking lot. “Because of the festival. I’m happy we scheduled this well in advance, or I’m not sure how you’d get a ticket.” 

“It’s why we picked this weekend anyway.” You shrugged as you dragged your luggage at least half your size behind you.

She raised an eyebrow as she eyed it. “Yeah… And you need all that for a weekend?”

You scoffed. “This is just what I might need to help you,” you underlined, poking her with your elbow as she grinned. “My clothes are in my backpack,” you added, showing her your big backpack that she certainly noticed when she hugged you.

She smiled widely as she unlocked the car and helped you load your things inside. “I got everything you told me to, and you can always wear my clothes.”

You pushed the trunk door closed. “These are just for the details… I don’t know what I’ll encounter.”

Hyeonseo laughed playfully as she got into the driver's seat, and you got into the shotgun seat. You were teasing her because she had only sent you a few photos, hoping to convince you to visit and see for yourself. That made things more complicated because you didn’t just want to visit, you wanted to help her restore the house she had bought with her fiancé. But Hyeonseo preferred to keep up the mystery.

“Don't exaggerate, you've seen the whole place. I've sent you enough photos and videos.”

“Not of the details,” you complained, and she shrugged. 

“People were working, so everything was covered anyway. Now that the electricity, plumbing, floors, and all that is done, we can finally finish it.” She had a massive smile as she drove you to her new home. “I'm very excited about it.”

“How was the move-in?”

“We took two days off and already slept there tonight.” She glanced at you with sparkles in her eyes. “I love it. I’m so happy we did this, even if it literally makes me broke for the rest of my life.”

You grimaced ever so slightly, but stopped yourself from commenting negatively.

“It was a good investment,” you told her, observing the streets that would witness your best friend building her family. “It was a good find for where it is and everything.”

“Yeah, it’s just the amount of work it needed,” she sighed. She gave you the latest update about the roof, and you recognized the long sigh of someone who wanted to spare you the stressful details. “But it’s finally done. We’ve moved in, everything is in boxes everywhere, and we can now work on the details. That’s where you come in.”

She smiled sheepishly, and you felt lighter. “I thought you’d want to settle in asap and overlook the details.”

“Well, Jin is right — if we don’t do it now, we will never do it. And since we can get help, we decided to push through it,” she explained as you observed the residential neighbourhood you were now in. “Our kitchen isn’t finished, we only have a few pieces of furniture… It’s a work in progress. Actually, that’s one thing we need your help with,” she added, as though suddenly remembering. “We thought to replace the built-in closets, but it’s really expensive. So we wanted you to take a look and tell us if they can be recovered.”

“That’s not a problem.”

“There’s also— Ah, you’ll see,” she cut herself short when she entered her new driveway. 

A pickup was already parked there, and you automatically assumed someone was still working at the house. More importantly, you leaned forward to look out of the windshield at their new home. It had two floors, plus an attic, and it looked quite nice, with black tiles on the roof and large windows. Who knew your best friend would become a homeowner?

“Come, let’s get you inside,” she said, already getting your luggage from the trunk. “I have to call the furniture store again, it’s getting late.” 

Hyeonseo huffed and refused to let you carry everything by yourself. Instead, she went ahead and entered the place through the garage, welcoming you inside her home for the first time.

“Come in!!!” she almost squealed, putting your luggage to the side and forcing you to put your backpack down too.

You were already in awe, eying the whole place. It was spacious, with an open concept and large windows at the front, providing ample light to an almost empty living room, aside from the materials and machines left there and the air conditioning unit up in the corner. The wood floor was beautiful and matched the vibe of a fixer-upper. The kitchen also looked brand new, but you could see what Hyeonseo meant with it not being finished — there was no stove, for example.

“We’re supposed to get a bunch of things still today, I’m so excited!” She clapped her hands. “Chairs, a dining table, and a couch. Finally, it will start looking a bit more proper!”

“Tell me you have a bed,” you asked, suddenly worried.

Hyeonseo laughed. “First thing we assembled — our bed and the guest room’s bed.” You sighed, and she waved at you to follow. “Come, I’ll show you the rest!”

You wanted to stop and observe things a bit more carefully, but Hyeonseo dragged you along to the first floor after a glimpse at the bathroom. Instantly, you noticed the dark blue stains on the wood stair treads and halted. Glancing behind you, you noticed that the ground-floor wooden floor had no stains.

“What happened here?” you asked, reaching to touch a particularly dark stain to feel how thick it was.

“Some walls upstairs were blue and they didn’t protect the floors while painting,” Hyeonseo revealed, then heaved a deep breath. “The renovating team fixed the floors, but not the stairs. They proposed it, but it was expensive, and it would mean not being able to access the rooms for a while, which didn’t work for us. We needed to move in this week,” she reminded you as she climbed the rest of the stairs, and you nodded.

“Yeah, well, it’s not a lot, it just takes a lot of time… I might be able to do something about it.”

Hyeonseo sighed in relief, happy to count on you. Once on the first floor, she proudly showed you the second bathroom and the master bedroom. You nodded, noting that the only pieces of furniture you’d seen so far were that bed and a couple of chairs in the living room. The ladders didn’t count. Nor did the yet-to-be-assembled furniture, like the bookshelves, closets, and desk, still sitting in piles of wood planks and bolts in the living room.

“You painted the rooms already?” you asked, and she nodded.

“Just the bedrooms, so we could learn to do it and already sleep here. What do you think? That main wall was dark blue before.” She pointed at the main wall behind their bed, and you nodded, approving the very light orange tone they had chosen instead.

“It’s nice, it opens the room and makes it softer.” You walked around, noticing the corners and the skirting board. “You even protected the skirting board and taped the other wall for a perfect line. I’m impressed.”

“You told us to!”

You smirked. “Sure, but you did it properly.” Hyeonseo rolled her eyes, and you raised an eyebrow at the built-in closet. “Is that the one?”

You approached it carefully, instantly entranced by the beautiful flower engravings on the wooden sliding doors. However, once close, you scowled. “They got paint on the closets too?! How clumsy can they be?”

Hyeonseo sighed. “Yeah, they left it a mess.”

You slid the closet door open and started feeling the shelves and the back of the closet. You hummed as you did, glad that it didn’t look like there was much damage to be fixed.

“Well, the closet might look old, but the wood is sound. I think just some sanding and treatment with oil should be enough.”

“That’s wonderful news!” your best friend beamed. “Let me show you your room.”

You followed her to the room next door, which had a queen-sized bed and a similar built-in closet. You were about to make your way to it to check it out, but Hyeonseo guided you away gently by the shoulders. “You can check it later. Think about this,” she coaxed, turning you to look at the sun-lit room. “You can visit anytime,” she gushed, hugging you dearly. “We’re just a three-hour drive away!”

You smiled and held her back, eternally thankful for her.

“Now come and check the attic!” She beamed at you, grabbing your hand to drag you along. “It’s the only part they finished before we bought it,” she explained as she went up the narrow wooden stairs.

You placed your hand on the wooden railing and compared it with the other set leading to the ground floor. The Korean pine wood you were touching had been recently installed, and it still had a fresh, new smell. It was the same type of wood as the older set leading to the ground floor, but that one needed work. Starting by removing those horrible dark blue paint stains—

“Oh, hi!!” Hyeonseo beamed again, already out of your sight.

You pressed your lips and hurried to follow your best friend to the attic before she called you out for geeking about the wood of her stairs.

You instantly heard Jin’s voice replying to her and smiled, but your stomach dropped as the attic came into view.

“Hobi!” Hyeonseo all but shouted and jumped into his arms, and you almost missed the last step and fell face-first onto the beautiful varnished floor. 

Only Jin seemed to notice your almost tumble; he hid a smirk as you kept going, sniffling casually. By then, your brain couldn’t take in the spacious, raised-ceiling, well-lit room. You were just staring at the man hugging Hyeonseo, anticipating being able to see his face at any moment and confirm that it was, in fact—

Hyeonseo’s feet touched the floor when Hoseok put her down. “Ah! The pickup outside! I didn’t recognize it!”

Hoseok smiled casually as he let her step back into Jin’s orbit. “It’s my father’s. I grabbed a bunch of things from him just in case.”

“I told you the roof was fixed.” Jin shrugged, placing a hand on Hyeonseo’s shoulder, only to make her slide to the side so he could greet you.

“I have other things as well,” Hoseok said as his eyes landed on you, and you stopped breathing. 

For a split second, you didn’t know how to feel. He looked good five years later, with clearer skin and a sturdier build. Even if he still looked scrawny under his cargo pants and white tank top, he was taller and stronger. His eyes were just as scrutinizing as you remembered, even with soft locks of hair falling over them. Yet, they were all you could see until Jin got in your line of sight.

“There she is!”

You raised your eyes to meet Jin’s just in time to be swept off your feet and squeezed empty like a balloon while trying not to squeak like one.

“Don’t kill her, put her down,” Hyeonseo chuckled, tapping her fiancé’s shoulder. Jin put you down with a grin as she told him, “We need her alive.”

“That we do,” he agreed, then turned to Hoseok. “I’m guessing you remember each other.”

You almost gasped. Instead, your eyes jumped to Hoseok’s, remembering everything. Your gut churned as his features remained stoic. All he did was bow, and you bowed back.

“Hello.”

You mumbled a hello back before pointing behind you. “I’ll go check the other closet now.”

“Now?” Jin asked, confused. “You can do that later!” he suggested, but you were already going down the stairs.

“In case we need to buy something extra,” you retorted, projecting your voice so he could still hear you.

You heard feet behind you and knew Hyeonseo was following you down. You waited in the second bedroom, then closed the door behind her.

“What the hell?!” you whispered-shouted, widening your eyes at her.

“What?”

You instantly knew she was feigning her naivety. “You know we don’t get along!!”

She rolled her eyes. “That was in high school.”

You opened your mouth, then closed it, biting your lip. Reeling your frustration in. “Why is he here anyway?”

“Besides being Jin’s best friend,” she underlined, “he also knows what he’s doing. His dad is a contractor, and Hoseok has helped him his whole life with renovating houses. He brought a lot of materials and machines so we could do this right and for free.”

You groaned. “Aren’t you lucky with your friends?”

She beamed at you with the wildest smile, but you were still uneasy.

“Why this weekend?” you insisted. “I know you say it’s just high school and that it was five years ago, but you know me better than that.”

“I know,” she acknowledged, sighing. “This wasn’t the plan. He was supposed to have come last weekend, but plans changed at the last minute, so it happened like this.”

“And I don’t suppose he could come back later?” you asked, and she smiled sheepishly.

“Not really… His mom moved to Seoul, and his dad lives more than two hours away. He drove all the way on purpose to help us. Sorry,” she added before opening the bedroom door to shout back at Jin. “WHAT?”

You didn’t hear what he was asking, only that Hobi would stay there the weekend at the same time as you. Maybe he’d leave soon. Clearly, the place was almost done anyway. All that was left were details, and you could handle those.

You took a deep breath, using that thought to soothe yourself. It was temporary. And it was all water under the bridge anyway. It all happened a long time ago.

“Not yet! Come,” Hyeonseo called you to follow her. “I have to call the furniture retailer and then order something for dinner.”

You heaved a deep breath, throwing a woeful eye at the built-in closet before following her out. You didn’t want to be anywhere Hoseok was, nor did you want to pretend otherwise.

You could appreciate Jin and Hyeonseo’s effort, though. She called the furniture retailer, which confirmed delivery soon, then ordered fried chicken. Meanwhile, she bantered with Jin the whole time, who focused on trying to create cocktails without knowing where anything was.

“It’s written on the box!” Hyeonseo facepalmed, and Jin started whining just to push her buttons.

“Yeah, I know! But it’s not in the box that says bar!! Did you throw my shaker away?”

“No!!” she denied with a screech as she pushed boxes left and right, trying to find the right one. “How else would you make me drinks?”

“Right? Then you have to find it,” he teased, then scoffed. “Otherwise I’ll never again be able to—”

“Ah!!! Found it!” she claimed victoriously as she stood from her knees with a small box containing a cocktail shaker and other things.

“Woah!! How was I supposed to find it?! You called the box ‘tools’!!”

“It is a tool… to make drinks…” she tried, putting the box in his hands. He scoffed and she insisted, “The tool boxes are all yours anyway.”

He gasped. “There’s more than one?!”

She forced an angelic smile, then darted away, and Jin kept whining about her. You knew it was all playful and guessed Hoseok knew as hell, only he wasn’t listening. He was inspecting the sockets and light switches to ensure they were installed correctly. When a socket almost broke apart in his hand when he touched it, you guessed all of them needed to be checked.

He glanced at you, then kept going as though you could be anyone, and it annoyed you. He was the douchebag, why the hell was he ignoring you? 

You spun on your heels. “I’m going to—”

“No way!” Jin stopped you, leaning over the counter as though he would run after you if he had to. “You had a long trip, and you just got here. Sit while I make you a drink.”

Your mood lightened as the evening progressed. Hyeonseo and Jin kept playfully bickering while she made fun of him for not making proper drinks, settling instead for soju and beer bottles. The fried chicken arrived not long after, and the conversation between the four of you was decent, even if you and Hoseok never really addressed or answered each other. You never thought you’d ever be sitting down on the floor eating fried chicken with your bare hands with him, but there you were.

You were almost done eating when the doorbell rang. Hyeonseo instantly sprang up to go get it with Jin echoing close behind her, “Finally!!!”

You glanced at Hoseok, who lowered his eyes quickly as the couple got the door. Instantly, you could hear how relieved they sounded, but it was short-lived.

“This can’t be right,” Hyeonseo challenged, and you turned to look. 

There were six beige textile dining chairs with light oak legs and a gorgeous matching dining table that made you gasp quietly. It was beautiful craftsmanship with a smoke finish that just made you want to slide your hand on its surface.

“Where is the couch?”

That was the question that sparked a long, back-and-forth discussion. The delivery guys had no idea; it wasn’t on their delivery sheet. It was past closing time, so at first they couldn’t contact the retailer. Eventually, they managed to, but everything was correct on their side — chairs, table, and couch. Finally, the store said something had happened at the warehouse, and even though Hoseok offered to go get the couch himself, the manager had sad news.

“It was shipped to our warehouse in Daegu by mistake,” he said over the phone on speaker. “I can promise you’ll get it, but only on Monday.”

“It’s two hours away,” Hoseok said, and Hyeonseo shook her head.

“Two and a half hours, which makes five. You’re not going at this hour—”

“They can’t give it to you even if you go. The paperwork must be sorted before it can be delivered to you. I’ll do it personally, but they only reopen on Monday. I’m sorry.”

There seemed to be no workaround, so the call ended, and the delivery guys left.

After a moment of silence, Jin decided, “We’ll pay for your hotel room.”

“Don’t be silly,” Hoseok instantly shook his head.

“It’s the only option.” Hyeonseo exchanged a look with Jin, then continued, “Your dad is too far away.”

“The fuel is cheaper than a hotel,” Hoseok argued, and she shrugged.

“But the four-hour drive is not worth it.”

“You blew through all your savings, absolutely not,” Hoseok insisted, throwing a look at Jin as well. “I can book my own hotel room, it’s fine—”

“Everything is likely booked because of the festival,” Jin breathed, and you knew before he finished talking that Hyeonseo would groan and curse their luck.

“Damn it, you’re right!”

Hoseok still tried, “Well, there must be one room left somewhere—”

“You can sleep with me,” you offered.

Everyone turned to look at you, even him, and the silence stretched. It was the first time he was looking at you as though he saw you, and his features hardened.

Next to him, Hyeonseo raised her voice, “I’ll ask my parents for money and—”

“What?!” Hoseok interjected, then shook his head firmly. “I can sleep on the floor.”

“You can sleep with me,” you repeated firmly, trying as best you could not to be annoyed. 

He looked at you again, and you could see the vexation sparkling in his eyes. You kept your eyes on his, daring him to say he was so petty about stupid high school drama that he’d rather sleep on the floor.

“We can’t ask you to do that,” Hyeonseo protested, and you shrugged.

“We’re both adults. Besides, we’re not strangers,” you pointed out, letting the room take in your laidbackness. 

Hours before, you had told Hyeonseo she should have known better than to invite Hoseok while you were there, and now you were saying it was fine to sleep in the same bed. And that was the thing — it was logical. Because there was a difference between what you’d prefer and the situation at hand. You were not that petty. 

Hoseok kept scrutinizing you as though he could read your mind, and you held his stare relaxedly, with nothing to hide. “I don't bite, you know.”

He rolled his eyes as Jin and Hyeonseo exchanged a look, but then they looked at Hoseok, and you noticed the hope in their eyes. You didn’t doubt they’d call their parents and get money to pay for a place somewhere, even if it cost hundreds of thousands or millions of Korean won a night. But you also knew there was no way Hoseok would go for that. And there was no way they’d let him pay it, so—

“Fine,” Hoseok accepted as he shrugged. His hands were in his pockets, and you couldn’t help the irritation. Not even a thank you, a bow, an acknowledgment, or any indication that he’d make this an endurable experience. You couldn’t believe you had ever fallen for him. Even as a teen, how were you so stupid? He was not a soft-spoken or gentle person. He was unrefined and ungrateful.

“Shouldn’t you also promise not to bite her?” Jin asked Hoseok, and Hyeonseo elbowed her fiancé. Hoseok didn’t bother answering, and you couldn’t tell if Jin was serious or trying to lighten the mood. He insisted, “No, I’m serious. I think it’s only healthy to establish boundaries. See, I should have forbidden you from hitting me from the start, now it’s a bad habit,” he explained as he caught Hyeonseo’s hands mid air trying to stop him from saying nonsense and making things weird. “We’re a cautionary tale, kids. Listen well to—”

“Oh, stop it,” she whined, and Jin smiled and kissed her forehead.

“It’s getting late,” Hobi commented, interrupting them. “Maybe we should decide on how to make this weekend the most efficient.”

He grabbed his beer and waved at the hosts to sit first on their new dining chairs. You couldn’t help but smile as Hyeonseo and Jin sat and touched the new table, kicking their feet and giggling — their house was coming together little by little. 

Hoseok gave them a minute before settling on a chair next to Jin, and you finally mimicked him — you grabbed your soju and sat next to Hyeonseo.

“Okay, let’s make a list and then establish priorities,” Hoseok started, and everyone agreed. “Have you bought the stove?”

“Yes, we can pick it up tomorrow morning,” Jin replied.

“Okay, I can install it. I noticed that some sockets and light switches are not installed properly, and one of them is broken. We need to buy that too. Now, lamps,” he pointed above their heads, “you only have the light bulbs or nothing at all. We need to get something too, have you decided what you want?”

“We wanted something modern and simplistic,” Hyeonseo told him, and Jin nodded.

“Pick something, I can also install them. Same for garden lights. What else?” Hoseok mused, looking around. “We’ll need to paint the whole ground floor, bathrooms, and corridors. I noticed the damage and cracks on the wall.”

“We were told it was normal,” Hyeonseo mumbled, instantly worried, and Hoseok nodded.

“It is, it’s the house breathing, and probably from paintings and shelves and things like that from the previous owners. But I’ll patch those up before we paint. I also noticed that the doors look old, and the built-in closets are not looking great either. Have you considered replacing them?”

Hyeonseo shook her head, but you spoke first, “That’s why I’m here. They need a bit of work, but they should be great after I’m done with them.”

He didn’t instantly reply, and both Jin and Hyeonseo stayed quiet. Hoseok just looked at you as though he was evaluating whether he had misjudged your role in this renovation, and you couldn’t care less about his opinion. 

You turned to the couple. “I’ll also remove the stains from the stairs. Though for that, I need you to buy the proper remover tomorrow as well.”

Hoseok hummed. “Okay, that’s a lot of work for two days. Maybe we should start prepping still tonight.”

You scoffed. “No way,” you disagreed, then shrugged. “We’re four adults and two of us know what we’re doing. As long as we have everything we need, this will go fast.”

He huffed. “Still. Prepping now is time we don’t have to spend tomorrow.”

You rolled your eyes and turned to Hyeonseo. “You have the paint you want?”

“Yes.”

“Did you pick special paint for the bathrooms?” Hoseok asked. “Because of the humidity—”

“I told them to get waterproof paint,” you interrupted.

“She did, we have it,” Jin confirmed, eyeing the two of you as though you were children about to fight.

You looked away from Hoseok to Hyeonseo. “So the most efficient way of doing things will be that you and Jin go get your stove and the ceiling and garden lights while Hoseok handles the wall patches, and I check the sockets and light switches.”

“You know how to do that?” Hoseok asked, and you couldn’t help your sarcasm.

“What else are you going to ask me? If I can change a light bulb?”

His features sharpened, but Hyeonseo spoke first, “Alright, and then?”

“Then Hoseok can install the stove so we can eat lunch while the others prep the floors, skirting boards, and windows. I wouldn’t tape the doors cause I plan on sanding them and painting them anyway. Then, after lunch, if the patches are dry, we can sand them and start painting. That will take the longest, but with three people, you’ll go fast.”

“Why, what will you do?” Hoseok asked with a hint of cynicism.

“I’ll start with the stairs because they will take the longest. Then I’ll handle the closets and then the doors. If you could sand them beforehand, that would be great.”

He scoffed with derision before smiling. “There’s one flaw in your plan.”

“What?”

“The spackling paste needs at least twenty-four hours to dry.”

You frowned. “No, it doesn’t, a couple of hours is enough.”

“No, that’s not good enough.”

You rolled your eyes. “It’s to fix little—”

“Doesn’t matter how little it is, the paint won't adhere nicely and it will be noticeable in the long run,” he argued, and you heaved a deep breath.

“Guys—” Hyeonseo tried.

“Fine,” you relented, though as annoyed as ever. “Then we only paint the walls and ceilings without patches and leave the others for Sunday.”

Hoseok didn’t even blink. “Once you open the paint bucket, the color might change.”

You had to snicker. “Over twelve hours? Give me a break!”

“It’s best to do it in one go,” Hoseok insisted.

“Sure, it’s best, but we only have two days!”

“If we start tonight, we can get it all done.”

“We’re too tired to start tonight, we can start tomorrow!” you argued, leaning over the table towards him.

“We won't be able to finish it.”

“Whatever we can’t finish, they can. They’ll at least know what to do. They can paint anytime!”

He rolled his eyes. “They need to live too. They have everything in boxes. They don’t even have closets to put their clothes or shoes in—”

You bristled. “You worry about your part, I’ll worry about mine!!”

“Okay, let’s calm down,” Jin suggested, rising from his chair. “How about a drink? A toast?”

Hyeonseo instantly picked up on his cue. “That’s a great idea! Another beer? And for you, soju?” You gave her a look, but eventually nodded and got up alongside her. Hoseok stood up too, and you ignored him. You had to swallow your pride and tone it down; there was no use in wasting your time with him.

Jin was back in a second and opened the bottles, then passed them around. Then, he raised his. “To moving in with my starlight and to surviving this,” he started, and Hyeonseo elbowed him.

“To our best man and maid of honor for being by our sides every step of our lives. We love you,” she added, teary-eyed, and you reached an arm around her. You didn’t want to fight or stress her out even more. She knew that, you could see it in her fond smile as she eyed you. 

“Right, thank you also for helping us finish our house and saving us a lot of money!” Jin added cheekily, and you all had to smile.

“Jjan!”

Four bottles clinked together, and you were still smiling when your eyes crossed Hoseok’s. His expression was so much lighter and tender that it was like a gut punch. He looked just like when you were teenagers at parties or school, laughing and playing around. It was nonsensical, but your heart fluttered just as it had back then. You had to press your lips before taking a sip from your drink. It was as though your heart had forgotten all that had happened on your prom night.

But he was quick to remind you why you had fallen out. He put the bottle down and headed toward his tools in the far corner of the living room. “I’ll patch the walls tonight so we can paint tomorrow.”

You widened your eyes, instantly irked, and Hyeonseo put her hand on your shoulder, shaking her head. Jin hurried to follow Hoseok while you bristled. “Why does he have to be like this?!”

“Let him,” she told you with a shrug. “It’s his body and energy, right? Don’t worry about him, let’s get you settled in.”

You appreciated Hyeonseo's help with your bags and even more the time alone with her. With the move and her wedding planning, you barely had time to talk. 

She turned to you, then propped herself up on one elbow beside you on the bed. “Do you think they're still at it?”

You nodded. You had suggested that Hoseok take the morning to do spackling because you believed he'd need more than two hours. You hadn't even been talking that long.

You tapped your fingers on the mattress over the sheet, then got up and neared the built-in closet in that room. You stood your ground that you’d only really start tomorrow, but the fact that Hoseok was getting things done already made you a little restless. It wasn’t a competition, but…

Hyeonseo called your name, and you hummed while you inspected the closet in the same way you had the other one earlier. No blue stains there, so that was a plus.

“Is it really okay for Hoseok to sleep here?”

You didn't answer, frowning as you felt something on a shelf that you weren't expecting. 

“I was thinking that maybe he could sleep with Jin while I—”

“Shit!!” you exclaimed.

“What?”

She got up to join you as you started hitting the shelf until it dislodged, and you could take it out. 

“Shit,” you bit again and she looked at the wooden shelf in your hand. “See this?” You pointed at the edge — it looked rugged, frail, and friable, as if it were about to break apart. “It's rotten. I think a few of them have it. Something must have spilled in there, and they didn't clean it properly at the time.”

“Okay… can you fix it?”

You were fretful as you realized the problem. “I can, but I didn't bring wood with me or tools to cut wood. I do have glue, but that’s about it.”

“Okay, but… is it really a big deal?”

You looked at her in disbelief. “I’m not going to let you use a closet that is rotting! It’s not impossible to fix, I just don’t have the tools!”

She nodded, knowing you well enough — you said you’d do it and you didn’t like failing your best friend. “I can ask Hobi.”

Your eyes instantly widened as though she had lost her mind. “I don’t want to ask him!” you blurted out louder than you needed to, and you instantly regretted it. Hyeonseo raised an eyebrow, and you swallowed dryly, reeling your irritation back in. This wasn’t about you. “But I will.”

“I can ask,” she suggested, and you shook your head.

“No, I need to ask.”

Hyeonseo didn’t question you, and you were thankful for it. You followed her out of the room downstairs as you mused over how to go about this. You decided that being professional was the best way to handle the situation. For Hyeonseo and Jin, Hoseok would surely agree.

You found him on a ladder, sanding a hole in the wall, likely from a nail used to hang up a painting. On your way, you notice multiple patches already spackled, and you have to give it to him — he’s fast and efficient. Hyeonseo turned to the kitchen to talk to Jin, but you didn’t. You stopped right next to Hoseok.

“What?” he asked quietly, feeling the hole and surrounding wall with a digit before passing the brown sandpaper a few more times.

“I need to ask you something.”

He didn’t stop working or tell you to go on, so you couldn’t help seething underneath your composure.

Still, you continued, “Did you bring any tools to work with wood?”

“I did.”

Your expression instantly morphed from concealed anger to hope. “What did you bring?”

“I have a track saw.”

“And bar clamps?”

He finally put the sandpaper in a pocket of his cargo pants and turned to look at you. “Yeah, why?”

You instantly explained the situation to him, transparent about what you needed and why. You knew you sounded overly concerned about something simple, but he didn’t snicker or mock. Instead, by the time you were done explaining what you needed and what you planned on doing, he was down from the ladder, listening to you intently. 

“What type of wood do you need?”

“A type of soft pine wood. It’s inside the closet, so I can turn the shelf around and it won’t be visible even if the color is slightly different.”

He nodded. “What size?”

You raised your hand. “About twenty by ten? I’m not sure yet, I haven’t cut the rot out yet.”

“How many?”

“Two that I’ve noticed so far.”

“So, four bar clamps would be enough?” he asked, and you nodded. “I’ll check, give me a sec.”

You held back from following him and simply stayed put, waiting expectantly. You couldn’t believe you were nervous and hopeful that Hoseok would help you with this. But at the same time, you didn’t care that it was him as long as you could do it. Built-in closets were expensive, and you didn’t want to leave without fixing them. On one hand, you could just buy new shelves, but on the other, that felt like wasted money when it was something you knew how to fix.

When he came back, you rushed to him. He had six bar clamps in one hand and a couple of planks of wood that you instantly took off his hands. You analyzed the thickness, color, and size while he put the bar clamps down in the corner next to his tools.

“What do you think?” he asked, stopping next to you with his hands on his waist.

“They’ll do,” you told him with relief relaxing your shoulders. “Should I go take the measurements now?”

His eyebrows raised in a moment of surprise, and you pressed your lips. You surprised yourself by asking his opinion.

“No, that’s okay,” he said quietly, extending his hands so you could give him the planks. “Maybe we could start with the closets tomorrow morning? That way, you can leave the wood gluing until Sunday while you get the stairs done.”

You nodded, gave him the planks so he could put them down, and pressed your lips, noticing the bucket with spackling paste hanging on the ladder.

“Cool,” he told you before getting back on the ladder. 

You kept your lips pressed as he grabbed his metal spackle knife. You cleared your throat. “And the sockets and light switches?”

“I can check them, don’t worry.”

He gathered paste on his spackle knife and applied it to the wall, and you ended up sighing. “Do you need help?”

“I’m almost done,” he muttered, focused on what he was doing. “A couple more and I’ll be done.”

He got down from the ladder, and if he could see your uneasiness, he didn’t say anything. So you simply nodded and let him be. After informing Hyeonseo and Jin about Hoseok helping you with everything in the morning, you headed to bed, but sleep didn’t come easily.

Hoseok said he’d be done soon. What was taking so long? You huffed and played with the sheet while you waited, getting irked. Why did you care anyway?

You sighed and looked at the ceiling. While you almost berated him for wanting to start tonight, it was the fact that he did that that gave you extra time to handle the unexpected wood rot in the built-in closet. Not only that, but he simply offered to help instead of flat out refusing or even taking a jab. He ended up being way more professional than you were, making you uneasy with your own attitude. You wanted things to go smoothly.

It was almost two in the morning by the time he entered the bedroom. He did so quietly in case you were sleeping, so you croaked hurriedly, “I’m not sleeping yet.”

He paused and looked at you, already under the sheets, then nodded. He had a bag with him that he dropped against the wall on the opposite side of the room, then suddenly stopped, and turned to look back at you.

You instantly tensed up and stammered, “Do you prefer this side of the bed?”

He looked down and turned away, kneeling to search for something inside his bag. “No.”

You pressed your lips as your heart started racing inside your chest. You were hyperaware of the t-shirt and shorts you had on, of the softness of the sheets you were lying on, and of what else you could potentially feel once he joined you in bed. Of course, you were no longer a teenager, but he was still… attractive and off-putting and…

He found a t-shirt and kept rummaging for something else while you swallowed dryly. He was just a hot guy you once pinned after. That was a long time ago.

He pulled a pair of shorts out and got up with the clothes in his hands, and you spoke without thinking, “I can turn around if you want.”

He blinked at you, but you were already turning to give him privacy. Instantly, your whole body heated up like crazy. Why would he change here? You were here; that would be weird. And now it would be embarrassing in any case, whether he stayed or left to change somewhere else.

You berated yourself in your head for being stupid. You should have been asleep instead of saying—

A muffled sound reached your ears, making you feel even hotter. You could imagine his cargo pants hitting the floor or his tank top, and something thrummed under your skin, making you rub your thighs together. For a second, you closed your eyes. You still remembered what it was like to be around him during high school. The way he laughed or held the door open for you. You were good friends, although for you, he was so much more.

The bed dipped behind you, and you burned. A wave of heat scorched your spine up to your neck as Hoseok settled behind you, and you could barely breathe.

He whispered, “Can I turn off the light?”

“Wait.”

Your breath hitched with your plea, and your cheeks flushed. You didn’t know your voice could sound like that, and you could only pray that he didn’t notice.

You turned back around to face him and found him looking at you with a raised eyebrow, arm stretched out to the light switch on the wall.

“I…” Your voice trailed off as you looked down. He was under the sheet, right there, an arm's length away. You cleared your voice. “Do you need a blanket?”

He observed your whole face for a second before answering, “No, do you?”

You shook your head. “I think I’ll be too hot.”

Your heart skipped a beat, and you realized you said it out loud. He didn’t even blink, but your cheeks were burning. Suddenly, you felt like breathing was impossible while he looked at you like that.

At least until he turned off the light. “Yeah, I get that.”

You didn’t know why you were reacting this way. If anything, he turned off the lights, so it had to mean he was done for the night. No more talking, looking at each other, and certainly no touching or wondering or—

You pushed a tense breath through your gritted teeth. You weren’t making any sense.

You turned your head to his side in the dark. He hadn’t moved next to you, which meant you were both just staring at the ceiling, awkward and stiff next to each other.

“Okay, listen,” you croaked out once more. “I know this is awkward, but it’s just sleeping. Can we agree to be normal and just get through this?”

“Are you saying I’m not normal?”

“N— No, I’m just—” You struggled to find words, especially because everything pointed to you not being the normal one. “I just meant that we could cooperate since we’re in this situation.”

“Am I not cooperating?”

“You are, I’m just saying that— Gosh, just—” The more you stumbled all over your words, the more you had no idea what you even meant anymore. “You can trust me, that’s all.”

You looked at him in the dark again, wondering if he’d have a snarky remark or if he’d call you out for blushing and acting weird, unlike him. You braced yourself for it, thinking what excuse you could give, and as you waited, the silence stretched. You frowned; maybe he had fallen asleep?

But eventually, he whispered, “Okay.”

You woke up slowly, so warm and snuggly, you didn’t want to move or open your eyes. You were hugging the most wonderful pillow, warm and soft, with an earthy, citrusy masculine scent that had you dreaming of walking through sun-warmed soil and citrus groves. You buried your nose a bit more, wondering why the fabric was soft but the pillow itself was so sturdy—

Your eyes snapped open, and you pulled back, gasping mutely before your hand covered your mouth. Your heart raced inside your chest as you realized you were spooning Hoseok, burying your face in his back, and getting crazed by his cologne. Your eyes widened impossibly; how crazy were you?! Yet before you could understand what the heck happened, Hoseok’s arm moved and felt the space behind him. Your stomach twisted as you slid further away from his reach, your heart about to come out of your mouth with how fast it was racing. 

Whatever he thought was missing was not enough to wake him up or make him turn around. Thinking you stood a chance, you pulled the sheet closer to his back before sliding away and putting your legs out of the bed. You hugged your chest for a moment, willing yourself to calm down before getting up, grabbing your things, and rushing to the bathroom. It looked like you were the first one up, and maybe that was a good thing, because you needed to do some serious soul-searching to figure yourself out.

It was just Hoseok. You didn’t even like him, hadn’t for many years. Hadn’t since he misled you, broke your heart, hurt you, making you angrier than you had ever felt. And humiliated and blindsided and—

You clenched your teeth as you washed your face. Right. That Hoseok. You weren’t seventeen anymore, but it didn’t hurt to remember what happened. Maybe your attraction to him was undeniable, but he still didn’t deserve a second of your attention, let alone whatever was happening to you. You were there to help Jin and Hyeonseo, nothing more.

When you got downstairs, you were glad to find the happy couple scrambling to prepare whatever was left for breakfast and brewing coffee. It gave you a moment to sit down, chill, and wait for Hoseok to wake up. 

Five minutes later, Hoseok was already downstairs and ready to have coffee, so you finished yours in an instant to get to work.

Hoseok's calling halted you in your tracks. “Wait, let’s decide what our morning looks like first.” You pressed your lips and nodded, rejoining the three of them in the kitchen. He turned to the couple. “Have you decided on the lights you want?”

“Yeah, we stayed up last night deciding,” Hyeonseo beamed, and Jin grabbed his phone to show what they had picked.

You didn’t have much to say; their options were modern and seamless, easily blending in with their aesthetic.

“Okay, so the plan is the same,” Hoseok concluded, glancing at you. “You go with Hyeonseo to get the stove, the lights you selected, and the stain remover. Meanwhile, we’ll get the closets started. We should take care of the sockets and light switches before we prep for painting. Also, you need to get covers for the floor.”

“We saved cardboard boxes to use them as protection,” Hyeonseo shared with a smile, nudging you.

“Good idea,” Hoseok agreed, and your lips twitched in the hint of a smile. Of course it was.

Everyone agreed on what to do, so you went ahead upstairs. Now you were paranoid that there could be more rot you hadn’t found, so the quicker you were sure the built-in closets were fine, the better.

You grabbed your toolbox and got started in your room, removing the doors, drawers, and shelves from the closet, and laying them on the floor out of the way in a corner of the room. The two shelves that had rotted were placed to one side, and fortunately, everything else seemed to be in good condition. You tapped everywhere extra times and felt each surface to make extra sure everything was fine. Once you were certain, you moved to the master bedroom and repeated the same process there.

Fortunately, no rot there, but the front of the sliding doors had dark blue stains on the flower carvings. Once everything was dismantled, you knelt and felt the paint splashes with your finger, and that was how Hoseok found you.

“Need help?”

“No, it’s okay. The ones with the rot are in our room,” you told him, stopping what you were doing to show them to him.

Once there, you let him evaluate them himself as you discussed how you’d like them cut and fixed.

“Okay, so about five centimeters more?” he asked, and you nodded. “Do you want me to measure them and cut the new wood to size?”

“Yeah, I’ll glue them then,” you agreed, already thinking about what you had to do there while he helped with that.

He nodded. “You got it.”

You glanced at him as he left with the shelves to be cut, but didn’t notice his expression. You assumed you could trust him, given his experience, and weren’t shy about letting him do it. You had a long day ahead of you anyway.

You started getting the metal shelf pins off the closet, then unscrewed the handles of the drawers and the drawer frames. Despite the age of the wood and the carelessness with whatever liquid had rotted the shelves, the closet was at least relatively well-preserved. 

When you looked up, you frowned. You were a bit short, but that closet rod was really up high. Even Hyeonseo would have difficulties using it. You should probably lower it a bit once you were done.

You jumped a few times to try to get the closet rod to come off, but it was screwed in. So your next step was to search for a ladder downstairs. You grabbed the first one you could find that was truly just a two-step folding ladder and got back to it. You had to get on your tippy toes with your screwdriver to reach the bracket and try to unscrew it, all while the metal step moaned under your feet.

Gritting through it, you smiled when the bracket came loose. However, as soon as it did, you realized it was a terrible idea to support your weight on the rod itself. As soon as it loosened, it gave way under your weight, and you fell forward.

Except a pair of hands grabbed you by the waist before you could fall inside the closet. A ruckus echoed all around you, and you cowered, covering your ears. The rod clattered inside the closet below your feet as wood shelves were tossed to the side on the floor.

Seeing them made you realize you were pressed firmly to someone’s chest. Someone who stepped on the ladder and steadied you firmly.

“Are you okay?”

You shuddered and looked over your shoulder. Hoseok was so close, letting you down slowly as your legs gave in. He supported your weight until your feet were safely on the floor. You turned to him, the adrenaline making you tremble. And yet he kept his hands firmly on your waist, making you blush even more as you tried to calm down.

“What were you doing?” he asked, and you finally saw the tension in his shoulders. “Why are you using the short ladder if you can't reach it?”

“Because— I—” you stammered, losing yourself in his eyes for a second. “Because I thought you’d need the big one.”

“I was cutting the wood pieces outside,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, well, for the…lights.”

He huffed and gave you a look, and you pressed your lips. Right as you did and realized it was unlikely your heart would stop racing for as long as his hands stayed on your waist, you heard the sound of racing footsteps up the stairs.

“Is everything okay?!” Hyeonseo shouted, but it was Jin who showed up first.

“We heard—”

He stumbled on his feet and words at the sight of Hoseok dropping his hands at your sides. Jin’s eyes were comically widened when his fiancé entered the room, looking spooked.

You cleared your throat. “It’s okay. It was just noise; nothing serious happened. Thanks for the help,” you added, looking at Hoseok for a moment. “I still need to take the rod from the other closet as well, so…”

“I’ll do it,” he offered, and you frowned.

“No, I will do it.”

He sighed. “Just let me do it.”

“No!” You squinted. “I can perfectly do it myself!”

“You won’t reach it.”

You scoffed. “I can definitely reach it!”

“It’s not safe.”

“Guys—”

“Well, then help me.”

Hyeonseo called your name, and you both finally turned to her. “Should we get the other ladder?”

Jin was already exiting the room when you said, “There’s no need. This one is already here,” you remarked, with your eyes on Hoseok. You were blatantly going against his advice, but it didn’t feel like an argument. It felt like something else.

“Be reasonable,” he breathed, and you leaned toward him.

“I am. I’ll do it, and you’ll help me.”

Hyeonseo looked at Jin while you folded the two-step ladder and exited the room with Hoseok not far behind you.

“Well, we’ll go get the stove then,” Jin announced, not getting much of a response. Hyeonseo patted his shoulder, then grabbed his hand to drag him downstairs.

You didn’t see his face of disbelief because you were busy setting the ladder in front of the built-in closet in the master bedroom.

“How should I help you?”

“Stabilize the ladder.”

You stepped on it, screwdriver in hand, and he huffed. “It’s not enough,” he complained, and you smiled, already on your tiptoes to get the bracket uncrewed.

“Then stabilize me.”

He circled the ladder to get in front of you, settling his firm hands on your waist. You had a smug smile as you got the rod, but it vanished when you looked down. Hoseok was at your chest level, looking at you with dark eyes. It made your knees weak, and he was quick to grab you and put you down on the floor again.

This time, he removed his hands quickly, pushing you out of your haze. You swallowed dryly. “Thanks. See? Reached it very well,” you told him. He nodded, and you set the rod aside. “So, the shelves. We need to glue the pieces together.”

You weren’t even surprised he helped you, but you were thankful. It went faster as you applied the glue and set the pieces in position while he tightened the bar clamps to keep everything locked tight.

“There,” he said, once everything was done. You left everything drying in the hallway so the rooms wouldn’t smell. “Now you can move on to the stairs and handle the closets tomorrow.”

You shook your head. “First, the sockets and light switches.”

“I can handle that,” he suggested as you both went down the stairs.

“No, it’s faster like this. This way, if they need to buy extra, we can call them while they’re at the store.”

Hoseok turned to you when you both got to the ground floor and nodded. “Thank you.”

You weren’t supposed to have fun with Hoseok, but you wouldn’t deny it happened. You made it a competition to check every socket and light switch as fast as possible, and it was super tight. You won, checking your half first, but Hoseok dismissed it by saying he had caught two broken sockets. He had to call Jin and Hyeonseo to ask them to buy new sockets, explaining what type was needed, and you grinned. It was still a win in your book.

When the couple returned, you were quick to say you’d fix those sockets while Hoseok installed the stove. While he took the time to prepare, you noticed he kept an eye on you. You couldn’t help a smug smile while you connected the three cables in the correct color code, housed properly in the backbox, before you screwed the faceplate over it. You did it in record time, and when you got up to move to the other one, you saw him turning away with a smile on his face. You didn’t know why, but impressing him made you really fuzzy for some reason.

After that, you evaluated the stairs more seriously. You knew that even if the stains weren’t extensive, you had to do it properly — every stair tread multiple times. You weren’t even sure a whole afternoon would be enough.

You huffed and turned away, grabbing painter’s tape to start prepping alongside Jin and Hyeonseo. You even got on the high ladder to protect the fire alarm on the ceiling and noticed Hoseok glancing at you every now and then.

Hoseok and Jin installed the bedroom and bathroom lights after that, and you decided that helping with lunch was more efficient than just hanging around. It gave you more time to talk to Hyeonseo and ensure everyone got an early lunch.

“How's your shop coming along?” she asked you as she cooked and you chopped vegetables.

“You mean my online store?” you asked, and she nodded. “I have enough commissions on Etsy and other platforms to do nothing else. Working on those items means I have content to upload on social media, and I have enough views that I make some money from that already.”

“Can you believe that? Remember when restoring things was just a hobby you did in your parents' living room?”

You nodded, giving her the chopped onions. “And now I have a room in my apartment that’s my workshop.”

She took them and kept cooking. “Maybe one day you’ll have a physical store!”

You crinkled your nose and grabbed plates and chopsticks to set the table. “Not sure it will ever be worth it, especially in Seoul.”

“Seoul?” You turned around to Hoseok and Jin, now seemingly done with the lights. For now. “You live in Seoul?”

“Yeah.”

“Where?” Hoseok asked, grabbing the glasses and water jar. Jin passed behind him and you to help his fiancée.

“Seocho-gu…”

“Seocho-gu??” Hoseok almost choked as he placed what he was carrying on the dining table, same as you. “I live there! Where?”

“Nambusunhwan-ro, in a street that leads to the Daehang Hospital.”

“That’s so close to where I live! Woah, the world is small!”

You pressed your lips and nodded slowly while setting the table alongside him. “And you work there too?”

“Not there, I teach in Hongdae.”

“You’re also a teacher?”

“Oh, you’re a teacher?”

You shook your head as Jin and Hyeonseo carried the many side dishes to the table. “Like Hyeonseo, I mean,” you clarified, working with everyone to finish everything and start eating.

It gave Hyeonseo the opportunity to talk about her school and kids, and finally sigh, “I’m happy I teach kids before they become teens.”

“Yeah, I teach adults. It’s much better,” Hoseok acknowledged before turning to you. “But you don’t teach.”

“No, I restore old items like furniture and chandeliers and sell them online.”

“Ohhhh.” Hoseok nodded. “That explains it.”

You raised an eyebrow. “What do you teach?”

“I’m a dance instructor.”

You didn’t hide your surprise. “So you don’t work with your dad?”

“Fuck no,” he grumbled.

The conversation evolved in another direction, but you stayed behind, wondering if you ever knew Hoseok at all. You were friends for a year in high school; good friends, you’d say. You remembered him talking about his parents' divorce, for example, but not about the time he spent with his dad. You knew he enjoyed dancing, but you never knew he took it seriously. You realized after that you probably didn’t know him well, if he could blindside you like that, but now you were realizing you never knew him at all.

Everyone helped clean up, and while Jin put on music to cheer up the place, you couldn’t help but chuckle. He had pulled Hyeonseo to the middle of the room to dance while you and Hoseok handled the dirty dishes, and it was a sight to see. 

“It’s our song!” she laughed as Jin swung her around. To call it dancing would probably be too much, but the song did say ‘shut up and dance with me’ multiple times.

You glanced at Hoseok, who was quietly next to you, just looking at them with a soft expression, and you guessed he remembered it too. Jin and Hyeonseo were always like this, all the way back in high school. They were the living proof that young love could grow and evolve into something beautiful.

Once you finished with the kitchen, you let Hoseok handle the painting with the couple while you turned to the stairs. You were already dreading the amount of time it would take and the stinky smell, but it was for a good cause.

You opened the windows up and downstairs, put on gloves, and then prepared the gel that would remove the paint. You decided to do two steps at a time, tread and riser, top to bottom, so that while one set had the solvent, you could already scrape the previous and not get burned. Grabbing your brush, you glanced at Hoseok, who was starting to paint the kitchen ceiling after they had spent some time protecting the cupboards and surfaces. He didn’t say anything about the stairs, and you sighed. Even he didn’t want to get involved.

You covered the first two steps with the gel and stepped away to breathe normal air for a second. After fifteen minutes, you started scraping the gel and paint with a spatula, and Hyeonseo clapped behind you.

“It’s working!!”

You glanced at her, then sighed. “This is going to take a while.”

“And now?” Hyeonseo asked behind you. 

You sighed and turned to her, shutting off your electric sander and wiping the sweat off your brow with your shirt. She was clearly worried about you, and you didn’t have the energy to react whatsoever.

It had been seven hours since you started with the stairs, and you could feel Hyeonseo’s discomfort every time she checked up on you. First, she thought it would go really fast—until she realized you had to apply the solvent, wait twenty minutes, scrape it off, and clean the grime at least twice from every tread and riser. All fourteen steps.

You touched the diluent with your forearm, so that got you a small burn mark that she freaked out about. When you tried assuring her it wouldn’t happen again, she assumed it was because you were done. But you still had to sand everything multiple times.

So you had been using your electric sander for the past couple of hours. First with heavy grit, then medium grit, then fine grit. Hyeonseo had checked on you a couple of times, but she didn’t understand that you couldn’t stop. If you did, you wouldn’t be able to lift a finger anymore.

You put the electric sander down and passed your hand on the last step. “It’s going well.”

“Are you done?”

You chuckled. “No.”

“It’s almost eight… we were thinking of going out for dinner and checking out the festival.”

You suppressed a laugh. “Sure. Not sure I can survive that, but sure.”

Hyeonseo sighed while the men kept painting, now in the bathroom, you believed. “You’re not supposed to kill yourself doing this.”

You rolled your eyes. “Don’t exaggerate.”

You grabbed a pot of wood filler that matched the Korean pine wood color of the stairs and a putty knife, and climbed up the stairs again.

Hyeonseo’s eyes widened. “What are you doing now?!”

“Fixing your stairs,” you informed, getting to work filling every crack and hole you saw.

“But— The paint is gone, so—”

“Stop worrying,” you told her. “Let me do my thing.”

She sighed.

You opened your eyes and instantly groaned — shit, everything hurt.

Raising your head from the pillow, you looked around the dark room with a frown. You had fallen asleep. Shit.

Your eyes drifted to the closed door. What was that noise?

You got up from bed, feeling even more dead than when you lay down just for a minute to rest your eyes. That was a terrible idea, you mused as you got out of the bedroom and followed the noise. 

What you found made you stagger atop the stairs. Hoseok was sitting on the second step of the stairs, counting from the bottom, using a delta sander to get the corners perfectly, judging by his gentle and precise technique.

You shook your head. “Wait,” you said, going down the stairs, and he stopped to look at you. “The filler has to dry.”

“And it did,” he agreed, grabbing a sheet of sandpaper to sand the nosing of the step.

You were baffled. “How long did I sleep?”

He glanced at his wristwatch. “About three hours.”

You cursed vilely. “And nobody woke me up?!”

“You needed the rest.”

“And you didn’t?!”

“Everybody took a nap,” he told you with a light smile, and your eyes widened.

“You too?”

He nodded. “You didn’t flinch when I lay down or when I got up.” You rubbed your eyes, slightly embarrassed, and he continued, “Jin and Hyeonseo are getting ready for dinner, and then it’s our turn.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Dinner?”

“We’re going to a barbecue place,” he said casually, basically telling you not to worry, and you deflated. As long as you weren’t ruining anyone’s plans.

“What do you think?” you asked, kneeling to feel the texture of the stairs.

“You did a wonderful job,” he complimented, and you looked at him as he analyzed the details. “Stains are gone, every surface is smooth and balanced. You even picked the right color for the filler. A second sanding and it will basically become invisible.”

“It’s already pretty good,” you commented, scrutinizing the bigger patches you had fixed that were barely noticeable after Hoseok sanded once.

“Indeed.”

You felt the nosing of the step you were on and pressed your lips. “Thanks for the help.”

He got up, and you did the same, towering over him ever so slightly. 

“Not a problem.”

Your eyes locked on his, and you didn’t know what to say. For the first time in years, you were actually fine with him. Anger and frustration were no longer bubbling under your skin, making you believe you had moved on from what happened. Though the more your heart beat, the more you questioned how he drew you in like this.

“You were right, you know,” you whispered, and his eyes lowered to your lips. It likely didn’t mean anything, but your heart skipped a beat or two. “I should have started last night. I wouldn’t have been able to do anything properly so far without your help. And I’ve only started the closets and the stairs,” you remarked with a sigh. ”I don’t know how I’m going to do the doors as well.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he instantly reassured you, raising his eyes to yours again. His tone was warm and intimate, and it made you shudder. “I’ll sand them tomorrow, and they can paint them later. They’re pros at it now.”

He said it jokingly, and you chuckled, letting that warmth envelop you.

He licked his lips. “I know how exhausting it can be, and we don’t have much time. So don’t worry about anything. Whatever you need, you can ask me.”

You searched his eyes and saw nothing but honesty, and your heart was unrestrained. Logically, you knew exactly what he was saying, but your stupid heart was still racing. You observed his features, both gentle and sharp, as he looked at you. You could swear his eyes had as much intensity as yours, but you had to doubt yourself. Were you still pining after Hoseok? Were you really over him if all it took was a few whispers for him to steal your heart again, even after so many years?

“Oh, you woke up!” Jin exclaimed from the top of the stairs, and you turned around. “You can go ahead and shower.”

You pressed your lips and eyed Hoseok before climbing up the stairs again.

You didn’t know how you got here.

“Come on!” Hoseok insisted with a lopsided smile and a glint in his eyes. 

He held your hand and you blushed, stammering, “I can't…”

“Oh, come on!” he insisted. “I’ve already heard you snore. There are no secrets between us.”

You heard Jin and Hyeonseo laugh behind you, and let Hoseok drag you closer to the crowd of people dancing.

Thinking again, you knew how you got there. You all ate barbecue and had a few drinks, and now you were tipsy with a dance instructor insisting you should embarrass yourself in front of your friends. And what was worse, you didn’t mind.

He turned to you and grabbed your hand, spinning you once to loosen you up. “Just relax.”

You tried moving side to side along to the music, but you were no good. You couldn’t even look at him, your eyes were nailed to the floor as he tried to get you to follow his lead with your hand. Suffice it to say it wasn’t working.

“It’s no use,” you told him, unable to meet his eyes. “I’m just no good.”

“Nonsense,” he breathed, pulling you close. The music shifted to something more commercial that you recognised, but didn’t pay much mind to. “Just hold onto me.”

He wrapped your arms around him, then wrapped his around your middle. Your heart skipped a beat, and you had to look away, afraid your red cheeks would be too obvious. So you hugged his chest and let him swing you both to the song’s rhythm.

You closed your eyes, breathing in the earthy citrusy cologne while his firm chest acted as a pillow. Little by little, you relaxed, letting the moment sway you and take you. The lyrics spoke of running away and young love, and your mind blanked as he guided you ever so gently. His hips were moving to the beat, and although he wasn’t forcing you to match him, you found yourself doing it. Your hips had a mind of their own and swiveled to match his, and his posture changed.

You looked up at him, flushed and slightly embarrassed. You weren’t really just dancing with the way you were glued together. His body was firm, warm, relentless, pressed to you, never once leaving you behind. On the contrary, his hips responded to yours the same way his hands brushed up and down your body in feather-like touches, covering you with goosebumps all over.

What were you two doing?

“That’s it,” he murmured, and you looked up at him. He raised his fingers to brush your hair out of your face. “You’re doing so well.”

A familiar burn spread through your whole body, making you swallow dryly and lose sight of reality for a second. You wanted him. Your fingers curled around his neck, and his weren’t shy about pressing your waist. In another world, you would have kissed him already. You were burning, breathlessly swivelling your hips with him in a crowd, gushing between your legs, and eager to jump him. There was no way you felt all that without him feeling something. And on top of that, his eyes were fixed on you. He wasn’t looking away, or eager for it to be over. He was pressing you closer, guiding your bodies, breathing at the same tempo as you, licking his lips as though he wanted to taste you.

The music halted for a moment, and a message was broadcast through the speakers, but you weren’t paying attention. Hoseok hadn’t let you go; neither of you had moved. 

While you pondered over what you could say, a voice from behind you snapped you back to reality.

“Woah! You’ll have to teach us how to dance like that for our wedding!”

Hoseok let go of you slowly, and you let him, loosening your grip as well. You wondered if his eyes held a question before they turned to your best friend.

“I will, don’t worry!” Hoseok replied with a grin. “Anyone can feel the rhythm. It’s easy to achieve this, I do it all the time,” he answered, seemingly proud of himself, and you felt the flame inside you wither until it was snuffed out.

“Really?” Hyeonseo asked with a teasing tone, but you were no longer listening.

“Excuse me.”

You spun around, letting your feet take you as far away as possible. You frowned as you walked, confused about the feeling twisting your guts. So what if Hoseok was a good teacher and bragged about it? Why was that making you so furious?

Sitting on a street bench while the crowds passed you by, you took a deep breath. You knew why, even if it was hard to admit. You thought you two had something special. There was tension and want, and you believed you weren’t the only one feeling it. But you were. Again.

Suddenly, there were tears in your eyes. You felt seventeen again, crying and wondering where you went wrong. What you did wrong, what you interpreted wrong. But you were twenty three now, and you refused to go through the same shit for the same guy. Fuck that!

You didn't want to worry Hyeonseo, so you made your way back. You found them chatting in a way that made you think they were waiting for you to get back. You lied about going to the bathroom, and before you could reveal your intentions to leave, Hoseok grabbed your hand.

“Come on, let’s teach them together,” he proposed with a sparkly smile.

You pulled your hand free. “I don’t feel like it. I’m sure you can find someone else here to do that.” You turned to Jin and Hyeonseo with a small smile. “I’m going home. I’m really tired.”

Hyeonseo looked at Jin, who nodded. “Sure, we can all go—”

“No, I’ll go ahead. I already called a taxi.” You bit your tongue; since when did you lie so much? “You guys should enjoy yourselves a bit longer.”

You said your goodbyes quickly and were thankful Hyeonseo knew you well enough not to insist. She told you she’d text you the code to get inside the house, and you were on your way.

Growing up in Gwangju meant you knew exactly where the taxi street of the festival was, and you headed there without a second thought. Once there, you got in line — it was almost three am, so many people were already leaving.

Not even a minute later, you heard someone calling your name, and you turned, surprised. Hoseok was making his way to you in between people, and for a moment, your breath hitched. He looked dazzling in jeans and a leather jacket, his firm body framed perfectly. To think you were pressed to his firm chest, wrapped in those arms… 

You could almost forget he made you feel like an idiot. Almost.

You were ready to ignore him, but he reached you quickly, bowing to the other people waiting in line.

“I almost lost you,” he complained, clearing his throat, and you raised an eyebrow.

“Why did you follow me?”

“Because I wanted to talk to you. I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” he said. Seeing you remained skeptical, he continued, “I didn’t mean you were easy or something.” He scratched the back of his head. “When I said I do it all the time—”

“You just meant that you can teach anyone,” you interjected stoically, and he paused.

He dropped his hand as the queue moved forward. “Right. So then, why are you upset? It’s why you’re leaving, right?”

Your lips twitched. “I’m not upset. I was just reminded of why we never got along in the first place.”

He frowned. “Never? That’s not even true.”

You rolled your eyes as you became the first in line. “Whatever.”

You could see out of the corner of your eyes the way he clenched his jaw and looked away before turning to you again. “Well, what is it? Maybe if we talked about it—”

“I don’t need to talk about it. And I don’t want to. I know everything I need to know.”

He huffed and shifted his weight from one foot to the other constantly as though his frustration was physical. “Doesn’t sound like you do,” he commented with a hint of bitterness. “Maybe if we talked you’d be able to form sound opinions instead of just assuming shit and acting like you know everything.”

Your eyes widened. “Assuming?! You literally just said it!”

“You’re making up whatever story in your head,” he insisted, eying you harshly. “You hear what you want to hear.”

You scoffed before you could help it. “Yeah, right!”

A taxi stopped in front of you right on time. You spun on your heels and got in, and Hoseok grabbed the door when you reached to close it.

Instantly, your eyes were locked in a mute argument. You even expected him to shut the door behind you, seeing as he was just as annoyed as you. Instead, he was preventing you from closing it.

“Miss?”

You couldn’t even turn to look at the driver; you couldn’t lose.

Hoseok stepped closer to the car and muttered, “Don’t be like this. Let me go with you.”

You gritted your teeth and seriously pondered kicking him in the shin and closing the door, leaving him there. It was only the thought of how Jin and Hyeonseo would have been disappointed that made you roll your eyes and swallow a grumble before letting go of the door and moving along in the backseat of the car.

You told the driver the address, and Hoseok rode in the taxi with you. Why was he even there? Surely not to make sure you made it safely. Although he might have promised that to Jin and Hyeonseo so they’d stay at the festival and enjoy themselves. He was likely just tired…but you’d be damned if you cared.

As soon as you entered Jin and Hyeonseo’s place, you stormed your way to the bedroom you were sharing. You changed clothes hastily, turned off the lights, and threw yourself over the bed diagonally, spreading the pillows around you and hugging a few. You’d be damned if you wouldn’t sleep properly tonight.

You couldn’t fall asleep. Hoseok entered the room not ten minutes later and you could feel the air thickening around you. By the time he hit your foot with his knee, the lights were back on and he was pissed.

“Move.”

You ignored him, and he bumped your foot with his knee multiple times. 

“Move, I want to sleep.”

“Not my problem,” you grumbled, and he scoffed.

“Indeed, but you’re mine. Get out of the way.”

“No,” you grumbled again, muffled. “I’m withdrawing the invitation; you can sleep somewhere else.”

You could almost hear the way he was fuming. “You’re fucking unbelieveable, you know that?! First, you get angry and don’t want to talk about it. Then, you withdraw your invitation? Fuck! I can trust you my ass! You’re so two-faced!”

By the time he was done, you were sitting up in bed, baffled and angry. “What?!”

He had no issues facing you head-on. “You heard me. You extend an olive branch one second and shit all over people the next. I’ve never met anyone as two-faced as you.”

“How fucking dare you!” you screeched as you kicked the sheets to get up from bed. “You’re the one who plays people, pretending to be all vulnerable and hurt, only to use them and throw them away like trash! Who the fuck are you to call me two-faced?!”

His anger was visible on his clenched jaw and flared nostrils as you shouted at him. He frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”

You scoffed. “As if you don’t know.”

He threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “I won’t know until you tell me! Stop assuming shit!”

“Stop playing dumb!”

“When did I?” he asked you to your face, and you crossed your arms over your chest.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to fall for it again.”

Hoseok groaned and pressed his palms to his eyes. “Fuck, you’re just like back then! The second I think I can trust you, you flip a switch and turn into someone else completely!”

“What?”

“Hyeonseo said I had you all wrong, that it was all a misunderstanding, but she’s wrong,” he told you, facing you head-on again. His eyes were harsh, and his tone accusatory. “This is just who you are. It’s bad enough our paths crossed twice; let’s not do it again.”

He grabbed his bag from the floor and stormed off with you hot on his tail.

“What are you talking about?!”

You chased him all the way downstairs, then stood frozen as he went outside to his pickup to get a blanket. When he started to make a makeshift place to sleep in the corner of the living room, you lost it.

“Argh, you’re fucking impossible!” you exploded, gripping your hair by the roots. “I flipped a switch?! I literally go to the bathroom, and the next thing I know, you’re kissing someone! Right after telling me you were so heartbroken you couldn’t stand the thought of being with someone! Are you serious?!”

He had taken off his jacket and thrown it on the blanket. He snickered. “Next thing you know? My, do you have selective amnesia or something?”

Your brow furrowed. “What?”

“You didn’t go to the bathroom, did you?”

You were stunned. “What?”

“I heard you!” he accused, all signs of mockery morphed into anger. “I followed you to suggest holding your drink, only to hear you giggling with your friends about how pathetic I was.”

You paled but instantly shook your head. “I never said that.”

“Your friends did, and you just laughed! Two-faced,” he underlined.

You gaped, frowning as you tried to remember what he was talking about. “I was— I don't know, I— Maybe they did say that, I don’t remember. But I wouldn’t have.”

He scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, and you bristled. He was so sure of himself, but what did it matter?

“What does that have to do with anything? I didn’t ‘flip a switch,’” you insisted. “They called you that, not me. So what does that have to do with what you did?”

“You thought I was so pathetic, and I just—” His expression soothed as his voice quieted. “I didn’t want to be.”

“You never were.”

He scoffed derisively, and you rubbed your eyes for a second, wanting to kick yourself.

“Listen, they just—even I, we were just…mean,” you explained with regret. You weren’t proud of who you were in high school. “Young and stupid and mean.”

Hoseok listened with harsh yet glistening eyes. “I opened my heart to you and you ran to tell them.”

“That is not true.”

You stiffened, and he instantly retorted, “Yeah, right.”

“I don’t care what you heard, that is not true,” you stated resolutely. “I never told anyone a word of what you told me. I might not have refuted them when they called you that, I might have played along, but I’d never break your trust.”

He had a painful smile, holding back a snicker as you spoke, until he blew up, “Oh, come on! You expect me to believe that?”

“It’s the truth.”

“So you mean to tell me you went along with them and still never told them the things I told you when I believed we were friends.” You nodded, and he insisted, “You went along with them saying those things about me, but were still actually my friend.” You nodded again, and he threw his hands up in the air. “Does that even make sense?!”

“It’s the truth,” you repeated.

“Why would I believe you?”

Your breath hitched as you realized the answer to what he was asking. He was angry and maybe hurt; you could see it in his face. You, on the other hand, didn’t know how to feel. You were talking, actually talking, for the first time in years. But you never expected it would mean you’d have to tell him this.

But then again, it didn’t matter anymore. It was a long time ago.

You pressed your lips to hide a sad smile. “Because it’s the truth. Not just because you had told me things as friends that I would never repeat to someone else, but because I didn’t want them to look at you twice, I…had this big fat crush on you and didn’t want any of them to get any ideas.”

He wasn’t just stupefied, you could see in his wide eyes that his thought process was completely busted. “What??”

It made you blush and rub your eyes again before you blurted, “We became closer friends when you opened up about your ex, and I… I didn’t want to make a move because it would have been too soon, and I didn’t want to be a rebound, but I was hoping we could… I don’t know,” you sighed, looking away, embarrassed. “But then you invited me to prom, so I thought maybe you were over her, so I thought what the hell, why not? I was so excited that night, just waiting for the right moment to say something, but then I saw you kissing whoever that was and I just—I was fucking pissed ‘cause that wasn’t even a rejection, that was… Why invite me to prom if you wanted to be with someone else? It just—”

You stopped yourself, feeling the anger bubbling up in your chest once more. You rubbed your eyes and sighed, calming down. He looked befuddled; he probably didn’t remember any of it.

“I didn’t,” he blurted out, and you looked at him. “That girl, I… I didn’t want to be with her; I didn’t even like her. I was just pissed after hearing you and your friends saying I was pathetic for being heartbroken over my ex and…I felt betrayed. You were literally the only girl I trusted at the time, who I thought…Who I wanted to spend time with. And then you said those things and I just…I didn’t want to be pathetic,” he admitted, heaving a deep breath. “That girl caught me alone and confessed, and when she kissed me, I felt…validated. Like I was not worthless. Of course, I told her I didn’t feel the same way, and she was cool about it. Otherwise, I would have felt pretty shity about it.”

“You were never worthless, much less because you had feelings. I’m glad she made you feel good about yourself.” You looked down, a frown on your lips. She did what you couldn’t. “Regardless of what they said, you were never pathetic. They were allergic to vulnerability and needed to be bitches about it, that’s all. Hell, me too. I’m sorry about that.”

He nodded with his shiny eyes focused on you. “Even if I know now how you felt at the time…I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do with all of this information.”

You shrugged. “You don’t have to do anything, it’s in the past. Though…about today,” you started, then heaved a deep breath as you rubbed your pink cheeks. “I’m not gonna lie, it felt just like back then. There I am, thinking something special is happening, only for you to dismiss it like it’s nothing. It’s easy to achieve this, I do it all the time,” you mimicked his voice, and he groaned.

“No, I knew it was bullshit as soon as I said it,” he confessed, scratching the back of his head. “Even Hyeonseo called me out for it.”

“‘Cause you realized it wasn’t that good to begin with, ‘cause I’m a terrible dancer?”

You spoke really fast, and he chuckled, “No, because it just isn’t true. The way we danced, especially when you’re not comfortable with it, is not easy. At all. Even seasoned dancers need months to be that smooth, sometimes even couples can’t do it, and you just— No, that was all us. I don’t do that all the time, it’s not something easy to teach.”

You frowned. “Dancing?”

“Chemistry.”

Your breath hitched as you stared at him. You couldn’t help the confusion or the way your heart raced. “I thought…” you croaked, “it wasn’t real.”

His eyes were locked with yours. “I think we can agree that it is.”

Your breath deepened as a familiar burn climbed up your chest. The air was thickening again as you stared at each other, but you stayed in place. Even if you both agreed that there was chemistry between you, you weren’t sure what to do with it. You weren’t sure you wanted to follow through…or that he did.

When he stalked slowly in your direction, you stood at attention. Your skin tingled under his eyes, roaming over your legs, past your pajama shorts and t-shirt to your eyes. By then, he was already in front of you, less than an arm away, and you struggled. You were almost dizzy with want, pushing your nails into your palms to hold yourself back. When he took another step closer, the faint scent of his cologne made you sigh and look up. You were radiating heat at that point, keeping your desire in check while wanting nothing but for him to grab you.

He seemed to be waiting for something, so you closed the distance between your bodies. Your stomach pressed to his, and your curiosity got the best of you. You looked down, wondering if you’d get to feel—

His hand raised your chin to make you look up at him. Instantly, the fire you were trying to contain reared its ugly head. Your hands found their way to his shirt, clutching it as though you were containing a visceral need to pull it off, all while you looked into his eyes. Your core ached for something to clench around and you almost begged him to fuck that crisp tension out of you.

Your lips parted as he leaned in, covering you with a shudder as his free hand palmed your waist, pulling you to him by the arch of your back. But then, all too fast, you both blinked.

The sound of car doors slamming closed hit you, and time didn’t stop to let you two figure it out together. Instead, Hoseok’s eyes flickered to your lips, but you weren’t able to say anything. By the time the first key was pressed into the front door lock pad, he had already lowered his hands and released you. 

You couldn’t protest because in a second, Jin was opening the front door with Hyeonseo not far behind him.

“Oh, hey guys,” Jin said with a smile, then closed the door behind his fiancée. “We thought you’d be sleeping already.”

“Is everything okay?” Hyeonseo asked, eying you as she took off her jacket. 

“Yes,” you croaked.

“We were just heading to bed,” Hoseok told them, then gave you a fleeting look before going ahead. “Good night!”

You offered Hyeonseo a small smile to reassure her and waved at Jin before following Hoseok upstairs. You closed the bedroom door behind you, and seeing the mess of pillows and sheets you had left behind, you were a little embarrassed.

“Sorry,” you muttered, getting on the bed to align the pillows and pull the sheet to lie stretched and proper. “I wasn’t thinking. I was just pissed.”

For a second, he frowned, but then he seemed to remember. “If you want me to sleep downstairs—”

“I don’t,” you cut in, sitting on your side of the bed. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “It’s okay, I shouldn’t have… assumed the worst.”

“That I’m two-faced?”

He hummed as he neared the bed. 

“So you…also assume things?”

Your tease made him chuckle. “I guess I’m at fault, too.”

You smiled and got under the sheet comfortably. Only then did you notice he was just standing there. “What’s wrong?”

“I left my bag downstairs.”

You raised an eyebrow, imagining Hyeonseo’s questions if she saw Hoseok with his bag. “And you don’t want to go grab it?”

“Not really.”

He stepped out of his shoes, then sighed, putting one knee on the bed, and you stopped him. “Get them off.”

He raised an eyebrow, and you looked at his jeans.

“You shouldn’t get in bed with outside clothes.”

He looked down at your legs under the sheets, then back at you, and you simply held his gaze. Now that you had found common ground, you were confident that teasing him a little wouldn’t hurt.

It helped that Hoseok was precisely the kind of man who made your knees weak. You asked, and so he got rid of his jeans in a flash, casually tossing them and his t-shirt back before getting into bed with you just in boxers. As if his chiseled abs wouldn’t have you drooling. As if he weren’t half-hard. As if he didn’t know you’d eat him with your eyes. As if he didn’t want you to.

You both lay back on your pillows, and your eyelids became heavy. The light was still on, but you were comfortable and warm, and all of a sudden, it was hard to keep your eyes open. You still wanted Hoseok, but you were so tired, you were getting dizzy.

You felt his eyes on you and turned to him with a sheepish smile. “I’m really tired,” you confessed, and he nodded.

“Same, I’m hanging on by a thread.”

You smiled and licked your lips. “Can I…?”

“Hug me to sleep?” 

He raised an eyebrow and your eyes widened as you gasped. Did he know about last night?!

He simply smirked. “Yeah, come here. Oh, wait,” he told you before reaching the light switch on the wall. Then he settled back and grabbed your hand over the sheet, pulling you closer. You snuggled up to him, then sighed comfortably, and he held you close.

You woke up snuggly and warm, with a citrusy perfume near your nose and your legs tangled with someone else’s. You didn’t question it, stretching lazily before pulling away slightly. You slept like a rock, but still felt the exhaustion from the previous day. Just thinking you had another day like it ahead of you made you groan under your breath.

Hoseok turned around to face you, and it made you blink a bit more awake. He looked raw and vulnerable, with his hair disheveled and eyes barely open. Instantly, it made you feel a little breathless, a little hot, and a little exposed.

“Hey,” he whispered, and your cheeks warmed.

“Hey,” you rasped back, covering your face with your hands. “I must look horrible.”

He chuckled. “You look the same as always.”

You peeked between your fingers. “So I always look terrible?”

He was caught off guard and laughed quietly. “No, you never do.”

You lowered your hands and stayed like that, just observing one another, until you asked quietly. “We were friends… How come you never told me about your dad?”

“What do you mean?”

“You talked about the divorce, your sister, your mom, your ex… but not about your dad.”

He looked down for a moment before answering, “I just… didn’t want to talk about him. Our relationship was always…complicated. He left my mom, and then he would insist on taking me to construction sites for long weekends and vacations so I could learn the trade. He refused to listen to what I wanted. Meanwhile, my mom worked two jobs to support my dreams of becoming a dancer. She pushed me to go to Seoul and supported me while my dad all but threatened to disown me if I followed my dreams.” His expression hinted at bitterness before he looked at you again. “You can imagine I didn’t want to talk about him.”

You nodded. “And now?”

“He’s changed,” Hoseok acknowledged softly. “I think he accepted that it’s up to me to do what I want to do and that I’m good enough to do it. So we’re okay now. I see him a couple of times a year.” You nodded, and he quieted. “What about you? I remember your mom was sick five years ago.”

“She was, she’s been in remission for three years. My parents moved to Jeju Island to have a peaceful life there, and I’m hoping that will help.”

“You must miss them.”

“I do… Feels like everyone is super far away now.”

“But as it turns out, we live in the same neighbourhood,” he reminded you, and you raised a corner of your mouth.

“So it seems.”

“You can call me, you know,” he offered. “If you need anything.”

Your face was warm. “Thank you.”

“You can also call me just… Just because. If you want to.”

You weren’t used to seeing Hoseok hesitate, and yet, somehow, it made you relax. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?” he asked, as though he couldn’t believe your answer, and you grinned.

“Maybe,” you teased, and he smirked. You felt warm again, seeing that smile, but also incredibly at ease.

His eyes returned to yours with a sharper edge to them, and you were instantly stirred up.

“You had a crush on me?”

“Yeah.”

His eyes roamed your features for a brief moment. “I wish the timing were different.”

“I don’t,” you admitted. “I was not the greatest person back then.”

“And now?” He raised an eyebrow, and you chuckled.

“Still a work in progress.”

He nodded, smiling too. “I wasn't great back then either. I was insecure. Thought my world was ending when my ex left, and that I had to be in a relationship to mean something.”

You nodded slowly. “Was that why you dated so many people afterwards?”

“It’s also the way people act. I don’t know about you, but my friends are constantly dating someone.”

You shrugged. “If you call that dating. I don’t get the obsession with saying you’re dating when you know it’s going to last a couple of weeks tops.”

“It has to be serious enough to avoid a stigma, but not serious enough ‘cause a relationship takes too much work.”

You raised your eyebrows. “Wow, exactly. Well said!”

“Thanks. It’s my conclusion after years of therapy to process how my parents’ divorce made me link my self-worth to my relationship status.”

Your chin dropped. “Woah!”

He smiled. “Once I realized I was following a pattern, I thought therapy would help. I had internalized that being alone meant I was less, without realizing that I didn’t even want to be with some of those people. I just said yes so I wouldn’t be alone.”

You pressed your lips. “And now?”

“I’ve been single for two years, and it’s nice.” He smiled, stretching a bit before asking, “And you?”

“I haven’t really thought much about dating,” you admitted, shrugging. “I’ve been developing my business for a year, and it takes most of my time.”

“That makes sense,” he said, adjusting the pillow under his head.

“Some pillow talk we’re having,” you joked, and he cleared his throat.

“Sorry, did I make things weird?”

“No, not at all. It reminds me of when we were friends.”

You remembered all the breaks you would spend just the two of you talking at the back of the school or in some park.

“Maybe that’s why it's so easy to talk to you,” he mused, observing your expression.

“You mean you don’t talk about this with every girl you get in bed?”

“No,” he stated, then joined you in laughing quietly. “Also, you got me in bed.”

“That’s true. Had to take charge,” you confessed with mock modesty. “Now, I have you right where I want you.”

“Do you?”

Your smile dissipated when you realized what you had said and how he was looking at you. Instantly, heat spread from your cheeks down your neck, and you had to swallow. “I—I mean, not that I’d force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

“You mean besides forcing me to strip before getting into bed?”

You almost choked. “I didn’t mean it like that!”

“I know.” He smiled, and his hand moved near yours over the sheet, but he didn’t touch you. “If last night was an isolated thing, that’s okay. It’s cool, I promise.”

You instantly remembered the way his hand pressed you, arching your back and hitching your breath. “It wasn’t…I mean, it wasn’t alcohol or anything like that,” you said, your voice more and more quiet as the tension spread down your neck. “If anything, it feels like whenever we’re together, we…”

“Have chemistry?”

You hummed.

“Was it like this in high school? And I was just blind to it?” he asked in disbelief.

“It wasn’t like this… Wanting to kiss you and wanting you are two different things,” you explained, despite feeling like you were dipping into dangerous waters.

“So you want me?” he asked, and you felt almost assaulted by his dark, meaningful eyes. Your core clenched around nothing at the thought of being under this man. The way he turned you on was wild.

“I do…” As soon as the admission was out of your lips, he moved closer, and you had to put your hands on his chest to stop him. “But we’re not alone.”

Your tone was firm, more to tame your desires than to stop him, but he still halted. He was close enough that you could see the moles on his face, but he had yet to touch you. 

He eyed you intently. “And if we were?”

“We’re not…”

“But if we were?” he insisted. 

You swallowed, rubbing your legs together. “I already told you I want you.”

His lips curved in a tease. “I want to hear what else you want.”

You raised your chin. “You haven’t told me what you want yet.”

“I’ll tell you, then,” he whispered, making you shudder from head to toe. He got up on his elbow, and you rolled to face up. “I want to look at you. I want you to take your clothes off for me.”

You couldn’t help but smile. “If only you had asked before…”

“I still can.”

You hummed, unashamedly running your eyes down his exposed torso. He didn’t have the broadest shoulders, but every piece of him was defined and soft, like a taunt for you to scratch and bite. It was torture to see all that flesh but not touch it.

“I want you to touch me,” he spoke again, drawing your gaze up. “I want you to touch me and grab me with the same hunger you have in your eyes right now.”

You let out a small, tense breath as you eyed his chest again, unabashedly taking advantage. “And then?”

“Are you sure you want to know?”

You chuckled. “I might need ideas to spice up my shower.”

He groaned mutely, then gently tucked the sheet to frame your silhouette without touching you. It made your body temperature surge as you let him find his way to seeing your form without stripping you. The more he observed and wondered, the more sensual and wanted you felt. You didn’t know if you wanted to rub your legs together or spread them open for him.

“I want to touch you,” he breathed, then looked at you. “Lick and feel every curve until I know you by heart. I want to eat you out. I want to know how you taste, wet like that for me.”

Your eyebrow quirked, but you stayed quiet, letting his words burn you a bit more intensely than his presence alone did.

“I want your hips on me again. Need to appreciate the way they match mine.” His eyes caught you opening your legs under the sheets, but you didn’t close them. “And I want to fuck you. I can’t hide it,” he whispered, adjusting his posture as though he was eager to get in between your legs, if only you let him. “I need to know what you look like when I fuck all sense out of you.”

“Wouldn’t that be something,” you breathed, sneaking your hands down your stomach.

“You—”

A bang interrupted him and covered you with goosebumps from head to toe.

Neither of you breathed as you waited patiently for the sound of a car engine to roar to life, and then for it to move away from the driveway.

Your eyes were locked, both surely thinking the exact same thing — Jin and Hyeonseo were likely gone to grab breakfast. You were alone.

“Tell me what you want,” he rasped, his muscles flexing as he stayed in place.

“You.”

“Don’t just say that,” he scolded lightly, adjusting himself on his knees.

“It’s what I want,” you insisted, more than aching for him. “I want everything you said.” You leaned in a bit. “Make me scream your name.”

He ripped the sheet from over you and froze. You bit your lip but couldn’t find it in you to look innocent. Not when your hand was buried in your sex.

“I can’t believe you,” he breathed before throwing the sheet to the end of the bed.

“You never said I couldn’t,” you argued, giving up on solo pleasure when you could have him. 

He caught your wrist as he settled between your legs. “I said I want you.”

“And I want you, too. Hey,” you called, letting your voice register lower. “I’d let you watch.”

He shook his head and forced your wrist to the mattress next to your head as he covered your body with his to reach your lips. His mouth wasn’t soft at the dawn of a first kiss; it was rough and helpless with want. Your free hand instantly gripped his hair, keeping him close as your bodies adjusted to each other, and in a second, your world was overturned.

He didn’t just take two seconds to push his tongue inside you; he took two seconds to melt you to a liquid state. In a split second, he was kissing you like he owned you, matching every whimper and sigh with more. If you needed to breathe, he bit your lip. If you needed to moan, he swallowed it. 

He wasn’t shy about pressing his cock to your thigh, nor about palming your curves as he said he would. You could only shudder and whimper with the way he touched and squeezed you, especially when he grabbed your ass. He even parted your mouths to hide in the crook of your neck and have both hands free to squeeze your asscheeks, pressing you to him.

You had to moan, swiveling your hips to get friction.

“You and your perfect ass,” he grumbled, giving it a few more squeezes. “On the ladder, the stairs, last night… Fucking tease.”

“Didn’t know you were staring,” you breathed, and he raised his head.

“Didn’t you?”

“No. No, trust me.” You smiled, gyrating your hips as you cradled his cheeks. “Or I would have made it much worse.”

He let his mouth crash to yours harshly before pulling away. “You fucking tease… I’ll take my time with you—”

“No,” you cut in, holding his head so he’d look at you. “We don’t know how long we have.” You could see Hoseok’s gears turning, so you insisted, “You have to fuck me. I need to feel you. I need you to fuck this tension out of me.” He groaned, and you didn’t give up. “Need you to make me scream your name while creaming your cock. It will be therapeutic,” you promised, earning a smirk. “Please.”

It took Hoseok one second to ponder your request. The next, he was already on his knees.

“Take them off.”

“What?” 

“Take them off,” he repeated, glancing at your shorts. His hands dipped inside his boxers to stroke himself, and you almost melted at the sight.

Instead, you swallowed. “We don't have much time.”

“Get your clothes off before I rip them off.”

Heat flushed through you as you gushed between your legs, and you scrambled to as he asked. Normally, you’d like that moment to be sensual, but all you could think of was Hoseok between your legs.

He clearly was thinking of that too, because as you got rid of your pajama t-shirt and shorts and underwear, he kept stroking himself in front of you. He wasn’t shy about grunting, licking his lips, cursing, or spreading the precum on the tip of his dick right under your hungry eyes. Especially when you leaned back down and spread your legs for him.

“Holy shit,” he almost choked, falling to his elbows on the bed right before pressing his face to your wet cunt.

Your moan echoed in the empty room as you clenched from the surprise. Your hands gripped his hair firmly, and you cursed yourself, bucking your hips against his starving mouth. You watched him eating you out, groaning into you as he drooled all over your slicked folds. That was such a power trip for some reason. Like you knew you were his kryptonite, like you knew he should have been fucking for years, like you knew he wouldn’t be able to resist you as soon as he tasted you.

But the past didn’t matter; you need him now.

“Fuck, Hoseok, wait,” you breathed between moans, finding it hard to not press his face to your sopping pussy.

He hummed, and you tried sorting out your thoughts.

“We don’t know how long we have,” you reminded him, cursing him when his tongue started drumming on your clit. “Fuck! You either fuck me now, or—!”

You keened desperately when three digits pushed through your warm walls, stretching you with a few pumps. Looking at him, his eyes were almost wicked as he saw you trying not to writhe in pleasure.

“So bossy…” he commented, licking his lips. “Lucky we’re in a hurry.”

You whimpered and curled your toes with the way he fucked you with his fingers, but stayed otherwise quiet because he grabbed his hard cock in his other hand.

“It’s a shame, really,” you breathed, and he surely thought you were teasing him, because he quickly leaned in to nip a nipple, making you jolt. “I also didn’t get to touch you and grab you.”

“Can still make it happen,” he told you, sitting back between your legs with his cock still in his hand.

You smiled. “That sounds good,” you breathed, reaching out to meet his busy hand. 

While he looked down at your hand taking over from his, stroking him gently, you observed his reactions. The way his eyes hooded, or his lip raised, containing a moan when you squeezed a little more. He enjoyed watching what you were doing, and you enjoyed watching him. Even when his fingers inside you lost focus, you were set on that one goal — to see him fall apart.

“So hard,” you whispered, licking your lips. “Come on,” you coaxed, slowly pulling him by his dick to close the gap between you.

He followed your lead, removing his fingers from your sopping pussy to replace them with the tip of his cock. He moaned quietly then, as he rubbed his shaft on your slick, hungrily passing a heavy hand up your stomach to your chest. He pinched a nipple just to tease you, then pressed the head of his cock through your entrance.

You couldn’t even catch your breath, whimpering uninterruptedly as your core hugged the head of his cock. You cursed him, feeling your legs trembling as you spread them as much as you could. Your core throbbed wildly with the stretch, and you thought that was the peak for you, but then he topped it off with his fingers on your clit.

You finally let go and arched your back, so completely overturned by pleasure, you felt like you were in a tempestuous sea. You couldn’t suppress your moans, hold back the way you gripped the sheets or moved to sink further down his cock. Instead, you mumbled incoherently, begging him to poke your insides, but he smiled and kept fucking you exactly like this.

“I don’t know,” he taunted, but you could see the sweat trickling down his temple as he held back. “I think you can cum just with the tip.”

“Fuck, I can— But I want you whole— I didn’t say make me cum,” you pointed out a bit more firmly than your previous moans. “I said, make me scream your name.”

He growled your name, then gripped your hips and fell over you, sinking as far inside you as he could, bottoming out with a groan. You could only scream and throw your head back, letting the pain mix with the delight of having him tucked to the base inside you. It was so good, your nails were piercing the sheets as you clenched like a vice around him.

Looking at him, you knew you had a victorious look on your face. He smirked. “Got what you wanted all along, huh?”

“Not yet,” you breathed, then locked your legs behind him. “Fuck me, Hoseok. Please—”

He grabbed your legs further up around his waist, then finally gave in and gave you exactly what you wanted. Everything heightened your senses so much that you were speechless, finally rid of all your thoughts and judgments. The way he breathed heavily into your neck, stealing nips and licks while hearing you moan attentively. The way he gripped your asscheeks to fuck you as deeply as possible, groaning mutely against your skin. He wanted you, craved you, just like you craved him. The slap of skins, the sloppy mess between your bodies, the citrus cologne as you bit his shoulder — that was what dreams were made of. 

You knew you wouldn’t hold for long, but you didn’t expect to last minutes. You were in the zone, matching your hips to his, when he bit your neck hard. Your hands instantly darted to grab him, your nails sinking into the skin of his shoulders, but still, he didn’t release you. Instead, he rutted into you like he needed to fuck you. Like he was in too deep to stop. Like he knew you needed to take his cock just once more before you’d fall apart.

You wanted to scream his name, and it was the first thing out of your mouth as soon as the wildfire spread through you in waves. You were surprised when his hand darted to cover your mouth, but he didn’t stop pounding into you, and so if anything, you came even harder. His mouth replaced his hand once you became breathless, gently kissing you and coaxing the last quakes out of you, until you stilled.

Your senses returned to you slowly, and two things were immediately clear to you: one, Hoseok was still hard as fuck inside you, and two, you were no longer alone.

“Fuckin hell,” he cursed, moving ever so gently inside you, and your hands darted to his asscheeks to stop him.

“They’re here?!” you whispered, suddenly so anxious your chest felt tight. You could hear faint noises from downstairs.

“You didn’t hear them coming in?” he asked, surprised. You were clearly spooked, so he reassured you, brushing your cheek gently, “The door slammed like seconds into your orgasm. I didn’t want to ruin it for you, so I didn’t stop.”

You gasped. “What if they heard?!”

“They didn’t.” You gave him a look, and he kept reassuring you, “They didn’t. I covered your mouth, I promise you they didn’t hear a thing.” You heaved a breath, hugging him, and he nuzzled your hair. “But I did… you sounded so fucking hot, I almost burst. Fuckin hell,” he groaned, moving once tentatively inside you. “Fuckin heaven, rather,” he corrected himself, then pulled away to look at you. “But I know you’ll want to stop—”

Your hands darted to his ass again, this time to prevent him from pulling out, at the same time your phone buzzed on the floor next to the bed. You didn’t even glance away; your eyes locked with his as they were. You couldn’t help it; you couldn’t explain.

“What?” he asked, eying you curiously.

Your phone buzzed again, and you whispered, “If they can’t hear it…”

Your voice trailed off as you bit your lip, and he chuckled darkly, leaning back in to nuzzle you. “Then what?”

“Then why stop?”

He laughed a bit more, quietly dragging his nose down your neck. “You naughty girl… I love that idea,” he whispered, withdrawing his hips for a moment before sinking into you again.

You had to curl your toes and bite your lip, but suddenly, you were exhilarated. You felt dirty, but it was so good to have him fucking you slowly while you tried your best not to make a sound. Your eyes stayed locked, spreading a hellish fire down your chest because he saw you. He saw you taking his cock, fighting the urge to moan and let the world know how good he felt. He knew how turned on you were from fucking under people’s noses like this. And all it did was make him fuck you harder, wanting to spill all his cum inside a little whore like you—

You could swear a second orgasm was right within your grasp when you heard voices talking loudly downstairs. Hoseok halted this time, looking at you while he listened attentively. Then, your phone buzzed again, and this time, you didn’t ignore it. 

Hoseok almost slipped out of you as you contorted yourself to reach the bloody thing on the floor. Then you gasped.

Hyeonseo had texted you multiple times: 

[Are you okay?] 2:43

[Are you hungover? I can make soup.] 9:12

[We got breakfast.] 9:39

[You can come down.] 10:01

[Are you okay? You’re still not up yet.] 10:03

You heard steps on the stairs and hurried to type:

[I’m fine, gonna shower first. Hoseok is still asleep.] 10:04

You looked at him with eyes like saucers, and he didn’t react. He stayed still, listening to Hyeonseo turning back down the stairs and telling Jin something.

“I told her I’d shower first and that you’re still asleep,” you informed him, rubbing your eyes. What the hell were you thinking?

“Okay, good,” he breathed, then pressed a kiss to your lips.

His hips instantly moved again, slowly but breathtakingly, and you knitted your eyebrows to keep quiet. You grabbed onto him while he fucked you, snapping his hips to yours with such precision, you started seeing stars. You were so turned on, the sloppy, gushing sounds where your bodies met thrilled you even more.

“I wonder if she had called you,” he whispered before licking up the column of your neck to reach your ear. “Wonder how you would have reacted, trying to talk to her while I fuck you like this.”

You licked your lips, eyes closed, shuddering from head to toe at the thought. “Maybe next time,” you said, though your voice broke apart.

Hoseok smiled at you and pressed his lips to yours firmly, halting his thrusts completely. You sighed into the kiss, imagining he’d continue, but he pulled out and away, getting up from bed.

You sulked instantly. Usually, you were very uptight about your privacy and behavior, but right now, you wanted to finish what you both had started.

You were about to open your mouth when Hoseok said, “Let’s get you in the shower.”

You turned to him, eyes wide. “What?”

He was already back in his boxers, his hand out for you to grab. “Don’t argue with me.”

You sulked further. You thought he was done, and it soured your mood.

So you put your hand in his and let him pull you up to your feet with a huge pout. It just didn’t feel right to—

Hoseok stole a kiss from you, then grabbed a folded towel nearby and wrapped it around you, making you raise an eyebrow while he smirked. “Stay quiet.”

You tucked the towel more firmly around you as he led you out of the room. Once out, you could hear Jin and Hyeonseo cooking while music played in the background, likely from one of their phones.

Hoseok pulled you by the hand to the bathroom and, to your surprise, closed and locked the door behind him. Then, he gently pushed you into the walk-in shower. You stumbled back, eyes fixed on his, wondering what he was up to.

In a flash, his hand grabbed your towel and maneuvered you against the sidewall of the shower. Your back hit the cold tiles while he caged you in, making your knees weak in anticipation. All he had to do was stretch his arm and start the shower, and you were both unleashed.

You gasped as the water spray barely caught your leg, but you had no time to think about it because he kissed you. You dared to breathe more heavily and even to whimper when he pulled your towel loose, his hands instantly grabbing your tits to pinch your nipples. He swallowed your cries, ever so mindful, and it made you gush even more. This was a man who wanted to be with you, was willing to be risqué, but still took your limits as a priority. You just wanted him even more.

As his hands trailed your sides, his mouth followed, licking every inch of skin within reach. It made you close your eyes as you leaned back against the wall, letting every touch send shivers down your spine. He kneeled in front of you, licking and nibbling, then he looked up at you before reaching your sex. Made you clench right in front of him before his lips ever touched yours. You even blushed at how much you wanted him to do crazy things to you.

As though he had heard your thoughts, he smirked and tilted your body to show him your side. Instantly, he bit your round hip, making you bite your own fist not to make a sound. The pain mixed with a pleasurable sting stunned you so much that you were nimble in his hands as he turned you around. Then, he spread your legs and asscheeks, pulling you to him, and in a second, your moan echoed in the bathroom.

He pulled his mouth away from your dripping folds. “You have to be quiet,” he warned you, and you nodded, covering your mouth as he dove in again.

His mouth on your slit was something sinful. The way he grabbed your hips to fall back on his face, and the way your hips urged you to follow, was demented. You could barely spare a thought for how important it was to keep your mouth shut. 

He must have realized it, because soon after, he got up behind you, covering your arched back with his chest to reach your ear. “Something for next time,” he suggested, biting your earlobe. “Want you to touch yourself at the same time and come, but I think you’ll be too loud.”

You could only catch your breath and look at him over your shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey,” he cooed, turning your chin slightly to meet his eyes. “Don’t say sorry. I like the thought of doing this again.”

You looked at him, blushing even more if that was possible, while he just smiled at you. 

Then, you felt his fingers gently rubbing your clit. “Can I?”

You nodded instantly, kissing him to stifle your whimpers as he kept caressing you. You were dazed, at the mercy of his wishes, and when he pressed the tip of his cock to your core, you easily groaned in bliss.

You pressed your hips flush to his, making him take a deep breath near your ear as you appreciated being full again.

“Fuckin heaven,” he muttured to your ear before grabbing your hips.

For a second, you thought you’d lose all sense of reason, but you were sensible enough to put your hand on the wall and press your mouth to it as Hoseok slammed his cock into you again and again. At times, you pressed your forehead instead, but the way he pushed inside you made it almost impossible to hold back your cries. It was everything, both in its entirety and in the details. The way he was holding his breath while pouding into you as though your cunt was the best he had ever fucked. Or maybe the way he grabbed you, muttering how your ass was perfect and your wet pussy was heaven. And then, perhaps it was the way he tried not to cum, pressing you flat to the wall as he kissed your face. As he made it personal by making you cream his cock thoroughly as he slowed his thrusts.

“Can you cum again?” he almost groaned, swiveling his hips.

“Yeah,” you breathed.

“How?”

“Fingers.”

He licked and nipped down your neck, and you weren’t sure he heard you. But surely enough, his fingers found your clit and rubbed in circles.

“Good?”

“Up and down,” you stammered as you shuddered, your nails looking for something on the wall to hold onto, but there was nothing.

As soon as his hand moved as you requested, you tensed from head to toe.

“Fuck,” he groaned behind you, pushing himself even further inside you. He was so deep, you could feel him in your throat. “You feel so good,” he grunted. “Close? I won’t last long.”

“Just—” You could barely breathe. You let your head fall back to his shoulder. “Just undo me.”

He kissed your neck before supporting himself on the wall with his free hand, and the way he moved was just different. He wasn’t trying to fuck you as quick and hard as possible, it was something else. His fingers were attentive to move as you had asked, bringing you so close with a simple rub that your toes were curling. But it was also the way he covered you like a cape, moved his hips with you to deepen the feeling, making you constantly feel like all you breathed, tasted, and felt was him. To the point that all you needed was a little push, so you moved closer to the wall, exposing your neck while you tried to grab his hand taking support there. 

He didn’t get it at first, thinking you wanted him to cover your mouth for your orgasm. So you had to pull on his hand until you tucked it snugly around your throat, and then he got it. He pressed you by the neck to him, and you were finally tucked in. Exposed and vulnerable, while safe and thoroughly fucked.

In that position and with his hands all over you, you didn’t need much to cum. The fire building between your legs was uncontrollable, and the way he poked your insides, bliss. A few thrusts deep inside you, making you moan desperately, and you unravelled. You had a mind to cover your mouth to stifle the cries, greedily meeting him thrust for thrust to make the climax last as much as possible.

Because of this, you almost prevented him from pulling out. He had to hold your waist so you wouldn’t fall back on his dick, making him cum inside you. You looked at him as you felt him cumming over your ass and in your fucked out daze, you thought he was wonderful. Just very fucking wonderful as he groaned and shuddered, spurting ropes of cum on your skin.

When he opened his eyes to meet yours, you smiled, and he kissed you. Not once, not twice, just so many gentle kisses, you forgot about the world.

“Are you okay?” he asked the moment he pulled away to look at you.

“Perfect, you?”

He chuckled and brushed your cheek. “You could say that.”

You wouldn’t complain about having his lips on yours again, but you still gasped when you felt the water touch your arm. It shouldn’t have surprised you, you knew the shower was running next to you, but still. You were too much in your daze.

“Shower, remember?” he whispered, and you sighed, shifting to stand under the stream fully. You wiped the water out of your eyes as he turned you around, stealing another kiss. “I’ll see you after?”

“Absolutely,” you breathed, and stood there as you watched him leave the bathroom.

You weren’t exactly sure how, but you were just getting started. You were just with him, and all you could think about was being with him again. This time, in your apartment, with nothing but neighbours whom you didn’t give a shit about to feel inconvenienced by you fucking him without restrictions. All day, all night, until you got that horny bug out of you. If ever.

“Okay, but won’t you listen to me?” you asked Jin with a huff as you dragged your luggage outside.

“How about you come and do that some other weekend? Before the wedding, preferably,” Jin suggested, and you shook your head in disbelief.

Yet before you could say anything, Hoseok tapped your shoulder. “May I?”

You looked at him, and he tapped you again. “Oh, right,” you agreed, giving him your backpack, which he proceeded to load into his pickup along with your luggage. You turned back to Jin. “It’s unlikely that I will be able to.”

“And if Hobi does it?” Hyeonseo suggested, coming outside with a few snacks for you to take on your trip back.

“I might not have the time, so listen to her,” Hoseok shouted from his pickup, and Jin sighed.

Once more, you thoroughly explained how to apply the finish on the stairs; only the most essential step. “Do it as soon as you can before stepping on it damages the surface. I’d say as soon as you get your couch tomorrow. It takes a few days, but then you have beautiful stairs for a lifetime.”

Jin mumbled something you didn’t get, and Hyeonseo patted his shoulder. “We’ll do it, don’t worry. That’s all that’s left, right?”

“Yup, the closets are done. The stairs almost,” you said with a bit of a grimace. “The doors…”

“Sanded, you guys can paint them tomorrow,” Hoseok said, joining you. “All the lights, the stove, and the ceilings are done. Now you can paint what is left, you will be done tomorrow for sure.”

“Did you add the silicone sealant in the shower downstairs?” you asked, remembering suddenly, and he nodded.

“Yup, all done.”

Hyeonseo had tears in her eyes. “Thank you so much, guys, you’ve done so much for us!”

“Now, make sure to take care of the place,” Hoseok teased Jin with a look.

“Maybe we’ll invite you over once a year. Just to catch up,” Jin suggested angelically, and Hyeonseo elbowed him. Everyone chuckled. “You two seem to be getting along much better now,” Jin noted, scratching his chin. “So tell me: did Hobi ever promise not to bite you?”

“Jin!” Hyeonseo gasped.

“It does help to settle boundaries from the start.”

They started bickering, and you subtly closed your jacket lapels a bit more. You weren’t sure that was an innocent comment, given that you had a few marks around your neck.

“Don’t listen to him,” Hyeonseo sighed, then turned to you and Hoseok again. “You sure it’s okay to take her to the bus station?”

“Of course! Not a problem at all,” Hoseok reassured her with a smile. “Should we get going? I still plan on returning to Seoul tonight.”

You nodded and hugged Hyeonseo. “Thank you for dinner and for everything. See you soon!”

You also hugged Jin, ignoring his quips, then made your way to Hoseok’s pickup. You sat shotgun and instantly let it sink in: Hyeonseo and Jin were waving at you as Hoseok got into the driver's seat next to you. You glanced at him, your heart skipping a beat all so easily. You, sitting there, pretending you tolerated a man you not only had balls deep inside you earlier this morning, but intended to have again as soon as possible.

“You good?” he asked as he prepared everything, including the temperature, GPS, and music. You nodded, ready, and he glanced at you. “You know, we live in the same neighbourhood in Seoul. If you want, I can take you. I just have to drop off the pickup at my dad’s and get my car.” You stayed quiet as he buckled his seatbelt. Then, he looked at you. “If you’re comfortable.”

“You want to be with me inside a car for three hours?”

You raised an eyebrow teasingly, and he chuckled. “Actually, close to four with the detour. But there are worse things. I enjoy the company.”

You nodded and waved again at the couple while Hoseok drove you out of the driveway and away.

At the house, Hyeonseo and Jin waved until your car disappeared.

Then Hyeonseo asked, “Did we succeed?”

Jin nodded. “Yes, we did!”

Hyeonseo raised her hand, and Jin instantly high-fived her. “Mission accomplished.”

[morningstar-the-king-himself]

He still thought about Michael despite being with Alastor and Charlie. Mostly, for the sake of their relationship going forward, Lucifer will take the week to reassure Michael. His brother's blessing is something he wants...but he'll mention it later to Alastor. Calls and text will have to be their main form of communication for the week.

The interaction between the two had his heart beating happily. His eyes widened and he felt his eyes sting with happy tears he blinked away. He winks at Charlie and nods at her idea. He'll make it up to Alastor later in case this is one of those 'breaking rules' things.

He helps to set the table with Charlie, and when Alastor does go and get the main treat, Lucifer grabs a tart from the side, and adjusts the others so they look like a full plate still, before breaking it in half and giving one part to Charlie. They 'toast' before he takes a big bite!

Lucifer stills for a moment. His body gets a sudden feeling of de ja vu before he zones back in and smiles at Charlie and finishes up his half of the tart.

He does his best to make sure he and Charlie don't have any crumbs as they make their way to the table. He makes it about half way through dinner when he feels a bit...light headed.

"I'm so sorry, dearheart, I think I need to lie down for a moment..."

He excuses himself and goes to lie on the couch. He can hear small whispers but he can't really make out the words. There's clatter of dishes and noises of cleaning up and he hopes he hasn't spoiled the evening.

He begins to hum. He doesn't know why. It's just something to do and the vibrations help to anchor him...and it's a melody that's stuck in his head...one he can't remember ever hearing before but it's clear yet distant in his mind...there should be words but he doesn't know them...but he knows the melody.

[*begins to lightly hum "More Than Anything"*]

"You can pursue music." Michael tried. He would pull every string on Earth and Heaven to make his brother famous if that was his wish! Anything but his damnation. It was extra frustrating because if it was nearly anyone else, Michael would be encouraging this soft, domestic, life; but he knew with Alastor, it was only a matter of time before he temps Lucifer to truly sin...

Michael returned the smile and hugged his twin. "Yeah... I have nothing to worry about... You just know I want the best for you."

━━☽☆☾━━

Charlie gasped and squealed happily as she was picked up. "Yeah!" She cheered, kicking her feet excitedly. "Papa always says only the best for you!"

Alastor flushed as he closed the door. "I'm going to stop speaking to you." He threaten.

"No, you won't~"

"Oh? Why not?" He asked with a serious look, but Charlie just beamed.

"Because you love me~"

A smile broke out over his face, and he took one of her hands, squeezing it. "Drat, so quick-witted, I am seen through again." He lemented, but sure didn’t seem to care. "I love you more than the stars and Heaven above."

"And I love you from the deepest depths." She responded sweetly before looking to Lucifer. "And you too~" She added before sighing dramatically. "Papa says we have to eat his meatloaf and potatoes first." She informed sadly, then whispered to him. "We should split one when he goes to get it out of the oven."

[asneakyfox]

not sure where exactly i'm going with this but something i always think is interesting about ofmd s2, and very unlike a lot of fic & speculation from before the season dropped, is that they chose to make the previous ed-izzy relationship completely implode BEFORE stede is back in the picture. by the time stede, ed and izzy are all conscious and present on the revenge at once izzy has already permanently given up on the idea of re-creating the sort of relationship he used to imagine he had with blackbeard.

from a doylist pov this is partly just because the writers pretty clearly never had any interest in playing stede-ed-izzy as love triangle in the way that a lot of fandom saw it. but it does something interesting to how the redemption arc goes.

because it really changes izzy's arc for the season to have ed reject him while stede is firmly out of the picture, while both ed and izzy have no reason to think they will ever see stede bonnet again. because if stede had been there when izzy said "i have...love for you" and ed scoffed, izzy would have thought ed was rejecting him in favor of stede. he'd think, if only stede weren't around this wouldn't have happened. i think in that circumstance izzy would have never given up hope that if stede were removed from the picture somehow then he could resume his pre-stede-bonnet relationship with ed.

but what happened instead is ed made it absolutely clear that EVEN IF STEDE IS NOT AN OPTION he still does not want or need the kind of relationship with izzy that izzy wants the two of them to have. he would in fact literally rather die.

and then i thought about it a little more and, well, almost the next thing izzy does is blame ed's behavior on "your feelings for stede bonnet," right? and taken literally what he's blaming on ed's feelings for stede is the atmosphere on the ship, the way ed's treating the crew, etc. but actually i don't think that's what he means.

i think he's still - understandably - stewing in rejection at that moment, and he wants to find a narrative that lets him understand why it happened and save some face, if only to himself. so he really wants to think, edward rejected me because of his feelings for stede bonnet, if it weren't for that homewrecker he would have accepted my love confession. so he wants to believe that, and he starts to say it out loud. he pretends he's talking about the atmosphere on the ship, but he doesn't mean the atmosphere, what he means is you rejected my love because of your feelings for stede bonnet.

and ed shoots him before he can finish that sentence.

i don't think either izzy or ed really consciously understands what izzy was trying to say there. i'm not sure ed even subconsciously understands it either tbh. so i don't think ed like intended to send a message about izzy's love confession there, he just wanted to make sure izzy didn't get stede's name out right here in front of everybody. but narratively, symbolically, that gunshot is shattering the lie izzy wants to tell himself along with izzy's kneecap.

and this makes a bit more sense out of why izzy tells stede first that ed shot him for mentioning stede's name, and then later that ed shot him for saying he loved him. because he knows the first one is literally what happened. but there's a reason he feels like it was the second, and he's not exactly wrong to think of it that way.

[buckys-arm-and-rios-dagger]

Thinking about Bucky being sterile.

((CW: mentions of non-consensual Castration, discussions of infertility, Reader is implied to be AFAB))

Maybe HYDRA forcibly castrated him, maybe it was just an unfortunate side effect of the Serum variant he got, but regardless it does its job.

And to be clear, I don't think kids are something Bucky wants at this point (or even really thinks he deserves). But you have to remember that he’s from a time period where getting married and having kids was the expected thing a person did, whether he wants them or not not being able to have kids the old fashioned way has to be something that weighs on him in some capacity. Also just the idea that, be it intentional or not, HYDRA stripped him of the ability to even have the choice to have kids is something that feels like a way that they'll always have control over him and his sexuality and his ability to perform.

Maybe it's something that doesnt even really cross his mind until he meets you, and he realizes things are going well, and at some point you two are probably going to sleep together and it's going to come up. And he's terrified.

Because he trusts you.

Because he loves you.

You had had been so understanding, so patient. You'd gone at his pace in terms of physical affection, even though it meant that it was weeks into your relationship before you could even touch him. You'd held his hand and kissed his knuckles while he told you of his past as the Soldier, and had held him when it all became to much, wiping his tears with your thumb and whispering that it was okay, that no one was going to hurt him like that again. You were gentle, and patient, and kind, Bucky knew that.

But what if this was it? What if this was the straw that broke the camel's back, and you finally understood that he was no good, that you were better off without him?

He tried to push it from his mind and enjoy whatever time he got with you.

Trying to make as many good memories as possible so that he could hold onto them when you finally wised up and realized that he was ruined.

This comes to a head one night the two of you are getting hotter and heavier than you've ever been before, unable to keep your hands off each other. He gasps when your hands start to find their way to his belt, pulling away instantly with nervous eyes.

'N-no, it's not..." he struggles to find the words, 'there's something you need to know about me, my body..."

"Bucky?" You ask, wanting to both move closer and give him the space he needs all at once, "Sweetheart, what's wrong? Were we moving too fast?"

You hold his hand as he recounts what was done to him to render him sterile, and he tries to hold onto the memory of your warm hand in his, to memorize every detail for when you leave him behind. You're still holding it when he finishes.

"I understand if you want to leave," Bucky stares at the ground, "I won't stop you."

"Bucky..." you feel your throat tightening, "this doesn't change how I feel about you. Why would you think that it would?"

"Because I'm ruined." Every word in his trembling voice is a sledgehammer blow to your heart, "because I'm damaged goods. Because I can't have sex like a normal person, and if kids are something you want in the future I can't give them to you."

His eyes are filled with unshed tears as you take his face in your hands.

"Look at me, love," you can feel tears streaming down your cheeks, "you are not ruined, do you hear me? You're not. What they did to you was horrific, it was inhumane, but it didn't turn you into damaged goods. I don't care that you can't have sex like a ""normal person"". I will make as many adjustments as you need. I would do anything to make sure you feel safe and comfortable. Especially with something so vulnerable. And as far as kids go? If sometime way, way in the future we decide we want kids, there are other ways, Baby. That's not the only way. And even if it was, I wouldn't care. I just want to be with you, do you understand me? I just want you."

He hugs you tight, burying his face in your shoulder and crying softly as you stroke his hair.

"You have me, Bucky," you whisper, pressing soft kisses to his hair, "you have me, no matter what."

Maybe the two of you end up having sex that night, maybe you don't. It doesn't really matter by that point. And obviously, he's not magically healed of his trauma, he still struggles with his self worth, and his body, but you’re there to help him.

You make him feel good, feel safe. Like he's more than the things that were done to him, that he's worth more than what HYDRA took from him.

He loves you more than he can ever say.

Anyways this got long and ramble-y, but I just got thinking about how Bucky being sterilized would effect him and his self worth and his relationships and got thinking.

[sillyuin]

Mission: Love letter

Genre: fluff and pinch of humor.

Pairing: Jeonghan x female!reader.

Warnings: Firts person P.O.V, some cursing, Stayc's Sumin appears briefly just because.

- Yuin’s note: Let me get this straight. I wrote this long ago but didn't posted it bc I'm really insecure about it. However, here it is after all. I am cringe and I am free. Lowkey is a experimental fic, so let me know what you guys think.

🎵 Now playing: Blush - Wooah

“Just tell him how you feel, it’s not that complicated.” 

Yes, it sounded simple, but only when he said it.

After all, it wasn’t about Joshua or his complicated feelings; it was about me, being unable to express my feelings and breathing at the same time. No wonder why. 

Even though he was just a human like me, he was Yoon Jeonghan, a.k.a. the crush of basically half the campus, a.k.a everyone’s favorite, including me. Handsome, smart, cool and with a smile that could melt even the coldest hearts.

My elbows were propped on the table as my chin was resting in my hands, maybe that would somehow help me think (spoiler: it didn’t). I had already finished my slice of carrot cake and the huge red tea I had ordered, maybe out of anxiety or because it was almost dinner time and I skipped lunch. Joshua, on the other hand, was taking his time to savor his snack.

“I wish it were that easy,” I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “I tried once and we know what happened.”

“Ah, yes,” Joshua covered his mouth as he laughed, even though he knew how mad I get about that story, “I’m sorry, but honestly… It was hilarious.”

“Josh!”

“Just try not to trip on your way to the bathroom... Again.”

“You’re a jerk, and you know it,” I said, still pointing an accusing finger at him, but he kept stifling his laughter. “Bro be serious!”

“Alright,” Joshua cleared his throat and adjusted in his seat, giving a more serious appearance with his serene face. “How long have we been friends?”

“Since…Middle school?”

“Very good! Middle school. Tell me, in these… Ten-like years of friendship, have I ever lied to you?”

I snorted. We both knew the answer to that question.

“In serious situations,” Joshua added.

“…Never.”

“Then,” he leaned forward a bit over the table to get closer to me, his eyes fixed on mine in a way that it was almost scary, “Why don’t you believe me when I tell you it’s not that complicated?”

I swallowed hard. How could I argue? He sounded very convincing, still, I refused to agree with him.

“It’s not that easy,” I stammered, “I already messed up once, and now it could be twice... Or three...”

“This time it won’t be at a party, full of people… And definitely no alcohol.”

“I thought it would help me be more extroverted!”

“To be an alcoholic, maybe.”

Talking to Joshua didn’t seem to be helping as much as I thought, and I was starting to lose my patience. Maybe it was a bad idea to ask for his advice, even if he and Jeonghan were roommates.

Joshua took a breath and gently wiped away the tears forming in his eyes. “Thanks, I haven’t laughed that much in a long time,” he said. With that, he cleared his throat and adopted his serious posture again. “Listen, Y/N, if you’re so worried about that, why don’t you write it down?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Like a love letter?”

“Yeah. If your problem is speaking, then write it.”

“Josh, I’m not in high school” I was disgusted with the idea and it showed. “What would Hannie think if I gave him a letter to confess?”

“You know what I think?” Joshua raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “You think it is indeed a good idea, but you don't wanna do it because you’re scared”.

I was ready to fight him when my phone started ringing. My roommate’s name showed on the screen. She told me how she had left her keys inside the room and was locked out; I could barely understand due to her nervous explanation. I had to leave Joshua to go help her, however, at this point I guess it was a relief.

As I hung up the phone, I noticed he was looking at his phone screen with a wide, satisfied smile on his face, and it was somehow chilling.

“Done!~” he put his phone aside and took a sip of his drink.

“…What’s done?” I asked, fearing his answer.

“Tomorrow you’ll have breakfast with Jeonghan,” Joshua clapped softly, which seemed more like blatant mockery than a celebration, then emphasized his next sentence with the sasiest voice he ever made: “He’ll be waiting for you at nine, at our usual spot. So I recommend you start thinking about your outfit; on your date.”

“Joshua Hong, what the hell did you do?!”

He took another sip of his drink, unmoved; it was his song of victory. I had no more excuses. No words could express how upset I felt, but at that point I couldn't back down without feeling guilty. I was cornered.

Joshua looked at his wristwatch and made a fake expression of astonishment, “You’re late and Sumin is waiting for you.”

I gave him one last blank stare and quickly grabbed my backpack, before leaving I left some bills on the table.

“Next time I’ll let you starve.”

He laughed mockingly. “Oh, don’t forget to wear a cute blush too!”

“Dear Jeonghan, I hope this letter finds you well…” No, it sounded too formal.

“Hey Hannie, how are you? I hope I’m not being inopportune…” No, it sounded too fake; I don’t talk like that.

I didn’t even know how to start. Just thinking about Jeonghan reading this letter made my mind a complete mess; I felt like my chest was going to explode. I didn’t know a confession could be so problematic. Even worse, it was already past ten at night: I was running out of time and hadn’t even written the first line.

What could I do?

Then, my roommate’s voice burst into my room, pulling me (for the better) out of the hole it was in my head.

“I’m buying some snacks, do you want me to bring you anything?” she asked.

“Yes, please, and…” I paused and shrugged a little in my chair, “Sumin, can I ask you for help with something?”

She nodded several times, expectating.

“I need to write… a love letter” I took a deep breath, “And I don’t know how…”

“Ah! Finally!” she interrupted, way too happy. “You’re finally going to confess to Jeonghan!”

I remained silent and expressionless, but the blush on my cheeks could be seen from across the city.

“Yeah… I need help writing the letter.”

“I’ve never written a letter, not that type,” Sumin crossed her arms, her thoughtful gaze wandering around the room. “Shouldn’t you just write what you feel?”

Damn it, Joshua said the same thing. I felt that it wasn’t enough. Maybe she understood from my devastated expression that it wasn’t helping.

“Oh!” She looked at me, smiling. “Tell me, what do you like most about Jeonghan?”

Where to even begin? It wasn’t just his pleasant voice, or the elegance he radiated with his mere presence. Jeonghan was much more than a flawless hair and an enviable sense of style. 

It was about the way he always found me, even in a room full of people, and made me feel part of something. In how his bright smile can comfort me after a tough day. In the comfortable moments of silence that could last minutes or hours. And I could go on talking about him for hours without stopping…

“That’s so sweet!” Sumin exclaimed. “You must write it!”

Were those just my thoughts, or did I actually say it? Damn it. 

I sighed, distrustfully. “Don’t you think it’s a bit… cheesy?”

“But, you are cheesy!” Sumin laughed as I wondered if she really thinks before speaking. “And we all love you like that. Everything will be fine.”

Sumin’s words gave me a little encouragement, so I took a deep breath and resolved to write no matter what. I thanked her and went back to my computer; I’d have time later to transfer it to a more presentable physical sheet.

“I’m getting your snack now,” and before leaving, Sumin turned around to add: “Oh, and don’t forget to put on some nice blush tomorrow.”

“You’re the second person who tells me that today… Don’t you have anything else you want to share?”

Sumin smiled awkwardly and that said a lot, but I had no time to argue about her involvement in the mission: love letter. For now, there was a lot of work to do. I was resolved to confess to Jeonghan, and now no one could stop me.

It was almost nine in the morning and I had been waiting for ten minutes at our spot, a small fountain on the boulevard two blocks from my building. A thousand scenarios were running through my head all night long. I felt a tension I had never experienced, and my restless hands playing with a lock of hair was perhaps the smallest of my problems.

However, all of them vanished for a moment when I saw him approaching in the distance. Jeonghan was coming towards me, and I could only stare, admiring him: his angelic face, his gorgeous hair, the beautiful outfit he had chosen… Could somebody like me meet his standards?

His voice brought me back to reality, and I was aware again of my numb body. I tried to disguise the nerves attacking me, but I was never good at pretending, not in front of him.

“Y/N! Good morning,” he said, trying to catch his breath, “I’m late, I’m sorry.”

“D-don’t worry,” I stammered, “it was my fault, I arrived too early.”

“Is something wrong? You sound a little down,” he stepped closer, looking straight into my eyes. “Are you feeling well?”

I took a step back and cleared my throat.

“Of course! Couldn’t be better,” of course not, but he didn't have to know. “Should we go?”

We walked for a few minutes in complete silence. I thought of many ways to start a conversation, and all of them were discarded before they left my mouth; no idea seemed good enough. 

On the other hand he was too quiet, more than he usually is, and a terrifying thought struck me. Maybe he didn’t want to be there? Could Jeonghan be doing this just because Joshua asked him? I sighed and immediately felt his hand resting on my shoulder, making me jump slightly.

“Did you hear what I said?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, of course…” I tried not to sound distracted. “…What you said.” But I was convinced I sounded like an idiot.

“So, where do you wanna go?” he smiled, and I could tell he was a bit confused.

I quickly looked to the side and there was an empty bus stop, so I asked him if we could go talk for a moment. We sat down and I took a breath before speaking, clutching the small bag that was resting on my lap with both hands.

“Jeonghan,” I paused briefly before continuing, his eyes locked on me were somehow intimidating, “…there’s something I want to give you.”

And as I reached into my bag to pull out the letter, he placed his hand on top of mine.

“Wait,” he said firmly, “I want to tell you something first.” I felt almost as if my entire body had paralyzed.

He sat up straight in his chair and cleared his throat, a soft smile on his lips.

“We’ve been friends for a while, and we made a lot of happy memories,” he suddenly stopped speaking and swallowed. “You’re a valuable person to me and… I would like you to continue being… that special person for a long time.”

“Of course,” I said without hesitating.

“Really?”.

“Of course! After all, we’re friends.”

He fell silent, but then he covered his mouth to stifle his laughter. At that point, I wasn’t understanding a thing, and I think my face completely gave me away.

“Y/N, I’m trying to tell you… that I like you.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’ve liked you for a while and…”

“That was my line!” I interrupted. Apparently, I spoke too loudly because he froze in his spot.

Jeonghan raised an eyebrow. “—Excuse me?”

I pulled the letter from my bag and placed it in front of him. Jeonghan looked at it, blinking at me several times and his mouth fell. I just couldn’t look him in the eyes anymore, my cheeks were burning so much that I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me.

And as if everything I was feeling in my stomach wasn’t enough, Jeonghan began to laugh in such a charming way …For a moment, I was convinced I wouldn't live to tell.

“Are you serious?” he asked, taking the letter and looking it over. Was he nervous? Was he uncomfortable enough and couldn’t speak? I don’t know.

I kept my gaze down, as if I were guilty of something, and after breathing slowly a couple of times, I gathered the courage to speak.

“I didn’t know how to express it… So I wrote you a letter.”

“This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever given me!” he exclaimed. I felt my heart skip a beat. “You put so much effort into it, and I just said it like that, now I feel bad.”

“No, it’s okay!” I nodded several times; he just smiled. “But… Is it true?”

“What thing?”

“That I… You like me that way?” I looked away. It felt really silly to ask, but I still couldn't believe what was happening.

I felt his hand cupping my jaw with a gentle touch, forcing me to look at him. His gaze was so kind it felt unreal.

“And why not?” his fingers played with a lock of my hair. “You’re beautiful. Who wouldn’t fall for that adorable flushed face?”

Joshua’s words echoed in my head. Have these two talked about me in the past? And how much?

“Also,” he added, tucking my bangs behind my ear, “you’re attentive and with the purest heart I’ve ever seen. Just look at this cute letter!”

“You… You really think that about me?” I whispered, still incredulous.

“Since we met. So, tell me,” he cleared his throat. “Would you like to have a date with me?”

Jeonghan extended his hand to me, and I accepted it, nodding at his invitation. My hand rested against his, and he took it, as if it were made of glass, leaning in to place a small kiss on my knuckles. Then he made a movement with his head to tell me that we could leave, and so we continued on our way, fingers intertwined and taking our first step into this new chapter of our lives.

“By the way,” I said halfway, “please read the letter when you’re alone.”

“Why?” he asked playfully, “Too cheesy to handle?”

“That sounds very familiar,” I narrowed my eyes, suspicious. He looked at me like a culprit and smiled, trying to hide it. “Tell me, does anyone else know about this?”

“well, maybe I talked about one, or two things, with someone…” His wandering gaze spoke for itself.

“Hannie…”

“I didn’t say names… Or anything about a plan…”

“So there was a plan involved!” Embarrassing wasn’t enough. I felt like a complete idiot.

“I’ll be honest, nobody mentioned a letter, you really surprised me… And,” Jeonghan shrugged, “You’re a… little obvious.”

“... What do you mean by “a little”?!”

Jeonghan let out a poorly disguised chuckle and put his arm over my shoulders, leaning in to kiss my cheek.

“We can discuss it later, it’s our first date, I’m starving, and I can’t wait for you to tell me all about theis letter…” 

“You can read it later!”

“No, tell me! Tell me now!”

[nostalgebraist]

When you finish writing a big story and you became very close the characters, was there a time after where you were like "i kind of want to revisit these characters again, but i should probably just let the story be, they deserve to rest" Im not talking about wanting to write a sequel, is more about still coming up with fun ideas for them, maybe a little scene or something, but choosing not to do anything with it because it'd feel disrespectful to the ending you gave them?

This doesn't happen to me, no.

The reason is that, once I finish the story, my sense of "being close to the characters" suddenly vanishes. And, although there are rare moments where it (briefly) returns, it mostly stays gone.

I can't remember if I've ever talked about this in detail before, but – when I'm in the process of writing a story, especially near the end, the characters feel "real" to me in a very strong and kind of uncanny way.

I don't actually believe that they exist as independent entities from me (much less sentient ones), but it does almost feel like that's true, when I'm in the thick of the writing process.

I have no trouble intellectually distinguishing fiction from reality, even in the state I'm describing. But my emotional and intuitive relationship with my characters, when I'm in that state, is pretty similar to the one I have with real people I know in real life. And there are a bunch of... uh, mental phenomena?... associated with this that I'm slightly afraid to describe because I worry they'll sound like hallucinations or delusions if I don't add a lot of caveats.

For example, when I'm alone in a room writing (especially if I'm writing in the middle of the night), I sometimes feel like it's not just me in the room, that the character I'm writing about is "there with me," in much the same way I'd be aware of someone real person's presence if I knew they were in the room but didn't happen to be looking in their direction. Or: sometimes I feel like the characters' voices are "flowing through me," that I'm merely taking dictation from them – and will sometimes even think to myself: "man, I'm so grateful that the character is helping me write this part, because if I tried to do it all by myself there's no way I would get it right." And it takes a moment before I realize, wait, no, I am writing it by myself – at least in a literal and physical sense.

Basically if you read this post, and then sort of read between the lines of it under the assumption that I'm downplaying how weird the experience actually is because I'm worried an accurate account would make me sound kind of unhinged... then you will have roughly the right impression of what the writing experience is like for me.

Whatever is going on here, it feels like it's probably on some kind of spectrum that also contains stuff like tulpas, multiple systems, and maybe also the way that children can sometimes get really deeply wrapped up in their imaginary play. I don't know how common this stuff is among writers (maybe it is common but rarely talked about?). It's not something I've experienced anywhere else in life; I don't experience it with other people's fictional characters or stories, or with fantasies I have that aren't associated with a work in progress, and I don't remember ever experiencing it before I started writing fiction as an adult.

Anyway, as I said at the top, the moment I finish writing a story, this phenomenon simply turns off, suddenly and completely. The transition is very noticeable when it happens, and makes me feel something akin to grief or loneliness over the brief span between the moment it starts and the moment it is fully completed – like I've just lost a bunch of close friends at once.

With Almost Nowhere, I remember a very specific feeling – on the evening of the day when I finished writing – that the characters were "departing 'into' the finished book," reverting to a lesser existence as "mere words" rather than "real people," as though they had been plastic toys animated by Terra Ignota's Bridger, and were now turning back into toys again. It made me sad, for a little while, but once they'd fully "lost their reality" I no longer cared, because it was that same sense of reality that made me care, and now it was gone.

So, to finish answering your question: I don't feel an urge to return to my old characters, because it feels intuitively obvious that doing this is impossible. That anything else I wrote about them would be inauthentic, somehow, in a way that the original work wasn't. They were "there," before, but they're "gone," now. This difference is very stark, and very hard to ignore.

(As I noted above, they do sometimes "come back" to me – very rarely, and very briefly, but that is enough for a proof of concept. Perhaps, if I were to try, I could find some way to "bring them back" for longer intervals. But I doubt I will ever try that. I feel a bit afraid of the concept for several reasons – for one thing, the "inauthenticity" I just mentioned squicks me out and I'd prefer not to come too close to it, and I also have a baseline wariness of doing stuff that seems too much like messing around with my own mental health. There's also a "catch-22" involved here, where I don't feel motivated about the characters the way I used to, and that means I'm not even motivated to do things that would generate that motivation. The "target" of the effort won't appeal strongly to me until I've already gone to the trouble of obtaining it, which means the effort doesn't feel justified in the first place.)

[amoracreations]

.˚☁︎Chance x singer reader☁︎.˚

[First ever fanfic I made! Hope you guys like it! I apologise as well if my grammar is mess up]

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ────── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ────── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆

‧₊˚ ⋅Your lovely voice.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Chance just got out of a toxic relationship with that certain someone, and now, he's been visiting your place all the time, or sometimes you visit them. You care for him, comfort him, and sometimes you sing for him with one of your covers. He has always been close to you even before getting into a toxic relationship. But It's best to move on from it.

Earlier in the day, You and your friends were starting to practice the song cover however, before you guys started, Chance texted you, telling him that he needed something.

“Hey I know you're busy today, but I really really need you right now”

You sighed and texted him back, telling him that you're not available right now

“Chance I'm sorry, but I can't right now because I'm practising today with my band. I'll call you later, cya”

You put away your phone and started the practice. Chance, of course, didn't listen and decided to visit the music studio that you and your band work in. Once arriving at the place with an annoyed expression, he stops mid way and watches you rock on the stage. He couldn't stay mad honestly, Yet his jealousy is still there to taunt him for what he had done to the past, the reminder of how stupid he was that he couldn't bare to look at you while you sing. Why can't he really? He wasn't sure. Yet still, hearing your voice is something that he's hypnosis. Honestly, to him, he wished he could say those three words, but he can't for now.

After a few hours had passed, you and your band were finally finished. You got out of the room first before you saw chance sleeping on the sofa waiting. You smile and walk up to him. With a quick tap on the shoulder.

“Wakey wakey rich prince~” you said with a teasing look.

He woke up and looked around before seeing your face.

“Huh what- oh uhhh hey” He said while adjusting his glasses. “Damn you took so long dummy I fell Asleep” He smirk and stood up.

“Geez don't be so damn dramatic. You know how important it is to make songs as singer.” You roll your eyes and cross your arms.

Chance smirks for a little while before he leans in and whispers into your ear.

“Hey..uhh..listening umm there something I wanted to tell you.. Is it okay to have some privacy? I just don't want your friends to hear us”

You were confused at first, but seeing like this is kinda worrying. So you nodded and decided to go outside with him.

“Alright we're here now, so..what is it that you wanted to tell me so badl-”

Before you say something next, he pins you down on the walls, looking directly at you, His face is almost close to yours.

“I..I love you..and I'm sorry that I could told you this before beacause i never got the courage to say so myself...you had help me more than I helped myself…I want you..no…I need you”

He leaned in Inches away from your lips. Hearing his voice made you flustered and shocked for the first time, but this was moving too fast.

“Chance..this is going so fast..omg I.. I don't what to say” You look away, still flustered before, force you to look at him. He then held your cheek and started to caressed them.

“I need you please, and i know it's selfish right now but I just can't help it…I want to feel whole again but with you this time..I know you could be so much better than the previous one..your voice is what I want"

your heart skip a beat trying to find The words to say. You took a deep breath and said in a sincere tone.

“Then promise this a for both of us..please love me truly and respectfully..I know your relationship in the past is not pretty and I don't want it to repeat again..I promise to love you too chance..and I hope you will too..”

Chance tears up silently before nodding in agreement.

“I promise…I'll try to improve myself just for you..”

You smile softly before leaning in to the kiss. Chance wasn't surprised because he was happy to be finally accepted once again. You vow a promise to treat him better with love and care even if it's challenging for the two of you.

─── ⋆⋅✦ ⋅⋆ ────── ⋅⋆ ⋅✦ ⋅⋆ ────── ⋅⋆✦⋆

[thecomfywriter]

good morning plebeians!

first of all, let's start with a weather broadcast. today is a rainy/cloudy day. it's gonna rain until mid-afternoon, and then sundry skies for the rest of the evening.

BUT GET THIS--HEAT WAVE IS OVER.

SLAYYYYY

i need to acc stop saying slay. my roommate during uni is the reason why i started, i'm pretty sure. she said slay a lot, and at a certain point, i started saying it back. i love when people rub off on you like that tho. i know i've rubbed off on a lot of people when i was younger, but i don't think i've touched someone's soul like that recently.

ANYWAYS, WHY AM I BEING SENTIMENTAL????

okay, in other news, eoj word count is 22k. i didn't finish the 1.5, but i did finish the 1 chapter, so imma try and go for another one today. mwah, i love the AK case, this is genuinely so hype.

real talk tho... DO I SEEM LIKE A SADIST TO YOU GUYS??? BECAUSE WHY ARE ALL MY WRITEBLR MUTUALS (except leah and smihi mwah mwah <3) SAYING I AM????

I'M NOT.

i dont ENJOY the tragic endings my characters receive. but its the natural conclusions to their stories, a lot of the time. i can't have the lc arc as a plot arc and NOT have the character end up with lifelong ptsd and long-term therapy? sure, they'll be happier at the end, but it just doesn't feel right to me to say "happily ever after..." no matter how badly i want to.

same thing with the war arc. i can't have a whole WAR ARC, and then not have some of the soldier come out with critical injuries, psychological damage, ruined cities, and deaths. it sucks, and i don't enjoy it, but i can't VOID that.

anyways, i know they're kidding lmao its not that serious, but i still wanted to yamble about why i make the choices i make, so womp womp.

anyhow, writing time!

happy writing!

[multiversefanfics]

My Little Flower (Part 3)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader Warning: mention of injury, angsty, Bucky being a little dummy. Summary: You retired from being an avenger and decided to live next to Sam's sister and her boys, but you got roped back in when the world was in trouble. Word Count: 1,219 My Little Flower - Part 2

The mission was a blur, you don't remember any of it. All you know is that Bucky was injured, and you were not happy about it. Sam said all Bucky wanted was you. You stood in the doorway of the room Bucky was laying in, you wanted nothing more than to take care of him, but how would that look to everyone else?

"You gonna stand there all day, doll?" Bucky leaned on his elbows looking up at you.

"How are you feeling?" You walked in and sat on the edge of the bed

He adjusted himself, turning over to face you. "Nothing like a shot to the shoulder to get your motor running. Y'know."

"I can't help but feel like this is my fault." You looked down at your hands, fumbling with your fingers.

Bucky sat up, wincing slightly, "Hey, look at me." He placed his finger under your chin and turned your head towards him. "It is not your fault, not even a little bit."

You and Bucky stared at each other for a bit, inching closer and closer to each other. Suddenly, the door opened, and the two of you jumped back, looking over at who walked in the door. It was Sam and Joaquin, you slid away from Bucky, trying your best to keep your distance.

"Hey, can we talk to Bucky in private?" Joaquin spoke, looking at you with pleading eyes.

You nodded and walked out of the room. You went into the kitchen to get Bucky some water and something to eat. You were starting to fall for Bucky, there was just something about him that made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

You finished up his sandwich and started to walk back upstairs. The door was slightly open, and you heard them talking. You weren't one to eavesdrop, but you heard your name and couldn't help but listen in.

"You and Y/N are getting pretty cozy." Sam chirped, patting Bucky's shoulder.

Bucky chuckled and shook his head. "We're just friends, that's all."

"Aren't you two going on a date?" Joaquin spoke after a minute of silence

"I mean, yeah, but it's nothing." Bucky sat up against the headboard. "Just a friendly dinner."

"Buck, I've never seen you so happy before. Are you sure it's just a friendly dinner?" Sam leaned his elbows on his knees, staring at Bucky

"Yeah, I mean, she's a great girl, but I don't want to lead her on or anything." Bucky looked over at the door, he realized you heard every word. He mentally smacked himself

You honestly heard enough, you placed the tray on the floor and walked back down the stairs. You went down to the dock and sat down, you leaned your arm on the side, your head on your arm, staring out at the water.

You felt as though you were stupid for thinking Bucky could actually like you, he says he doesn't want to lead you on yet that's exactly what he was doing. One minute he's super sweet, acts like you're the best thing to ever happen to him, then the next he's claiming you're just a friend and the tone of his voice is pure disgust.

You heard footsteps getting closer to you on the dock, you didn't recognize them, soon they stopped right next to you. You looked over and saw Karli. You sighed and rolled your eyes, looking back at the water.

"Come to burn down my house like you burned down my shop?" your voice laced with annoyance

She chuckled and sat down beside you. "No, I want to offer you a deal."

You looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.

"I will have your shop rebuilt." You perked up a bit "If, you help me get Sam off my back."

Your shoulders slumped, and you went back to resting your head on your arm.

"Honestly, Karli." You took a deep breath. "I give up, I have nothing left. So, if you want to hurt me, kill me, burn my house down, do it. I'm done."

She let out a sigh, "Y/N, I'm not going to hurt or kill you. I just want you guys off my back. Let me finish what I started."

"I'm off your back, I told you, I'm done. Do whatever you want, but I'm not going to be able to convince those three to stop, so you're going to have to find another way to get them off your back."

"Karli! Get away from her." Bucky shouted as he walked up to the both of you, with Sam and Joaquin right behind him.

"Cute, how he pretends to care about me." You scoffed and rolled your eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bucky stopped in his tracks and looked over at you

You stood up and marched over to him. "I heard you, I heard everything you said to Joaquin and Sam. You've been talking a lot about me behind my back, and it's always you saying we're just friends or that I'm not your type."

You took a step back to regain the space between you two. You sighed and looked over at Sam and Joaquin, then back at Bucky.

"Don't pretend to care about me now." You laughed coldly and looked back at Karli. "Do what you need to do, I don't care." You walked back to your house and into your room.

Karli stood up and faced them. "Well, boys, this has been fun. See ya around." She smirked and walked away.

"You're just going to let her walk away?" Sam looked over at Bucky

"Why would I go after Karli?" Bucky raised an eyebrow

"I'm not talking about Karli, I'm talking about Y/N." Sam stepped toward Bucky

Bucky sighed and looked at the house, then back at Sam.

"I doubt she wants to talk to me." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at Sam

"I don't care, go fix it." Sam and Joaquin walked over to Sarah's that way Bucky could talk to you.

Bucky was now in front of your bedroom door. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He heard shuffling on the other side of the door, and before he knew it, you swung the door open. You glared up at him and crossed your arms over your chest.

"What?" You snapped, Bucky flinched a bit, but kept his composure.

"I'm really sorry, there's no excuse for what I said. Honestly, it's been so long since I've fallen for someone, I don't want to fall too fast." He exhaled deeply, he held out his hands for you. You hesitantly placed your hands over his.

"I am madly in love with you, I have never in my life felt like this before. I don't want to mess this up, please say you forgive me." He gave your hands a little squeeze.

You sighed and shook your head. "I need some time, please."

Bucky nodded and brought your hands to his lips, softly kissing them. He gently let your hands fall and walked away without a second glance. You leaned against the doorframe and watched him walk down the stairs.

Bucky was on a mission to make it up to you, and he knew exactly what to do.

A/N: I hope you guys like it if you want to be a part of the taglist comment here.

Main Masterlist - Bucky Barnes Masterlist

Taglist: @megamindsecretlair @tdbooth @kjah97 @kandis-mom @angelilacsworld @sleepysongbirdsings @samfreakingwinchester @iwudbutnah @cherryresidence @fairylatte7

[blluesiide]

And I, I Had a Feeling That I Belonged

happy pride month! once again back with another pride collection drabble featuring Bisexual!Spencer with some loving mentions of Ethan :) bi!Spence's first pride parade. enjoy. I love you all. title from Tracy Chapman's 'fast car'.

"This might be a bit cold, okay?" You gently speak.

Spencer nods, hands coming up to hold your waist as you lift his chin. You're standing between his legs in the bathroom, a face painting pallet resting on the counter. You're painting a rainbow on his cheek for his first pride parade.

He flinches a little, trying to resist the urge to scrunch up his nose at the cold feeling. When it's done, you rinse the brush, dipping it into the other colors to paint a little bisexual flag on his other cheek. His eyes are big, looking up at you in anticipation.

His hands curl into the fabric of your shirt, thumb absentmindedly drawing soft circles.

When it's finished, you blow a little to help it dry, patting it down with a little powder before pressing a warm kiss to his forehead. He hugs your midsection, mindful not to smear the paint on your clothing. "Can I see?"

"Go ahead. I'm gonna put this away."

You exit the bathroom to return the supplies to their rightful drawer, and Spencer swallows hard, standing up as his hands flex at his side. When he steps in front of the mirror and sees the flags branded on his own skin, he feels oddly euphoric. A heat arises behind his eyes and he blinks rapidly, not wanting to ruin your beautiful work. When you return, you find him staring at himself, really looking.

You don't say anything, but you place a loving hand on his back, rub a few circles into it and smile.

"You ready?" You prompt quietly.

"Yeah," he nods "Yes. I'm... I'm ready." Your hand trails down, interlocking your fingers. He smiles softly at you, and you grab your things and head out.

His first pride. He never had time to think about what he liked when he was a kid. Even into his teenage years, he was more worried about his mom than anything else. He has no time for crushes, especially not when nobody came near him to begin with. It wasn't until he met Ethan that he became aware that he could even fall for someone at all.

First it was gazing over his features, quiet study sessions in the library, his dorm... Late nights and hushed voices, gentle teasing, until Spencer realized he didn't mind the proximity. Until the heat in his cheeks and the fluttering of his heart were clearly caused by feelings far beyond simple friendship.

It was nice, that time. He looks back on it fondly, his heart still fluttering when he thinks of the times he would look up to find Ethan's eyes already locked on his, that soft smirk on his lips as he admired him.

It broke his heart when Ethan decided to leave, his feelings burning at the tip of his tongue. He swallowed them down, knowing there was no point in telling him, now. If he was unhappy, he didn't want to make him stay. If being a musician in New Orleans was what he needed, then so be it. Spencer chalked it up to his bad luck, another person he cared for leaving him in the end.

There's a part of Spencer that will always care for him. A part of him that will always fluster when they meet again, and Ethan steps into his personal space, something he's never once objected to. He's only ever felt that ease with one other person, you.

You, who showed him nothing but love and support. You, who had infinite patience for him, his job, his lifestyle. You, who always left the light on for him. You, who painted his sexuality on his cheeks. You, with your hand in his as you attend his first ever pride parade, a celebration of pure queer joy and elation. A celebration of the self, of the community, of belonging. Something Spencer never thought he would have a sense of in his life.

To see the joy, the lack of fear, the wild acceptance and celebration of everyone, every shape, size, color, background, all coming together to support and love one another... It brings tears to his eyes again.

He's never felt so happy. So, free. So, himself.

When the final float passes you by, the energy doesn't end. People walk the streets, adorned in flags and colors of all kinds, holding hands with their loved ones, celebrating on sidewalks and in front of businesses. He looks around and sees people of all ages, and realizes that he, too, could grow older and be happy. That he could live, and have a future, and that everything isn't bad in the world.

It strikes him deeply, how important this all is. He swallows down a lump in his throat, apologizing to his younger self for not looking into this sooner. For not knowing. For everything bad he's ever said to himself.

"Happy Pride!" A person shouts as they walk past, and he doesn't even think, just shouts back, "Happy Pride!"

A soft sob slips past his lips, and he turns towards you, who quickly reaches up to catch his tears, "Honey, your makeup!" You softly say, protecting the flags from his tears.

He lets out a wet laugh, cups your cheeks and kisses you firmly. "I love you." He whispers.

"I love you," you return. "So much."

"Thank you." He murmurs, kissing you again. "Thank you."

That night, after the paint has been washed away, he still feels it. The joy, the celebration. The pride. This is a part of him. Intrinsically, undeniably.

He wouldn't have it any other way.

[reginaphalangelobster]

Chrysanthemum

Aaron Hotchner x GN!Reader (platonic)

Summary: You and your closest friend go after an unsub alone.

Warnings: death, brief description of injuries.

Word Count: 1.5k

A/n: This is my first Criminal Minds fic (I've posted) and I hope it's good! Thank you so much to @mameeta for this request via my Flowers Ask Game, I really loved writing this.

You had worked at the BAU for practically forever. You were regarded as one of the best detectives that worked there. You were great with the families due to your soft, kind nature. You were always able to get the information you needed and comfort them at the same time, never upsetting them or stepping over the line. You had a fantastic analytical mind, being able to decode cryptic messages alongside Reid. You were also particularly good at dealing with the bureaucracy of it all. After cases you often helped Hotch deal with the overwhelming paperwork. He never wanted to abuse your generosity so every time you offered to help there would always be the same conversation. You'd knock on his door and walk into his office.

"You busy?" You'd ask, knowing the answer was always yes.

"Just paperwork" He'd say without lifting his eyes from the stack of files he had to sort through.

"Need a hand?"

"I've got it"

"I don't have anything to do this afternoon, you look like you could use some help"

"You don't need to go out of your way"

"It wouldn't be any trouble"

"Don't you have your own paperwork to do?"

"Finished it"

"What about the rest of the team, I'm sure Morgan wouldn't turn you down"

"I already did his, everyone else's is done too"

"Don't you have anything to do at home?"

"Not really"

"You know if you do this you'll be knee deep in case files and performance reviews?"

"Oh, how invigorating!"

He laughed, incredibly lightly, a miracle on your part "Alright then, want to start with this pile" He said, pointing to one of three piles stacked a foot high.

You picked up the top file and started to work.

You had little conversations here and there, generally talking about nothing but sometimes you spoke about things, real things. Hotch's divorce, Jack, nightmares you both had about tough cases. Without realising it, all of that excess paperwork turned the two of you from colleagues to friends, best friends, who'd do anything for each other.

One morning Hotch finally asked you the question he'd had in the back of his mind ever since you met. He was walking past your desk when he spotted the same old vase, the vase that always contained a single chrysanthemum.

"Why do you always have one flower on your desk?"

"Good morning Aaron, I'm good, how are you?"

"Sorry, good morning"

You sighed lightly as you shook your head "It's a chrysanthemum, it holds deep meaning in European and Asian culture"

"What meaning?"

"There are a variety of meanings, that's part of what I like about them. The white ones are mostly for funerals, like a farewell to someone you cared about. That's why I only have colourful ones. The colourful ones generally symbolise love, happiness and immortality"

"Why is immortality important to you? Considering our job especially"

"This job is why. Immortality isn't being alive and breathing forever, at least not to me. It's living forever in the memories of those who cared about you. It means, when you're gone the people you loved will think of you fondly and you'll live forever in their hearts"

Hotch didn't say anything for a moment, contemplating your explanation, not exactly expecting something so profound.

"A bit much for eight thirty on a Tuesday, huh?"

You both laughed lightly and continued on with your day.

You were jolted awake by the piercing ring of your phone, at this hour you knew who it was.

"Hotch, this had better be an emer-"

"The jet leaves in twenty, be there"

The tone in his voice told you that this was bad, bad for the BAU was terrible so you got to the jet as quickly as you could. The second everyone was there he started the briefing.

"We're going to San Francisco, thirty one people were shot in either the chest, neck or head two hours ago. A week ago the same thing happened with nineteen victims then eight hours later there were another twenty six"

"Why weren't we called in earlier?" Morgan asked angrily.

"I don't know" Hotch said through gritted teeth, probably angrier than Morgan but trying to keep things professional.

"Do we know anything else? Any attempts to contact the media?" Reid asked.

"No"

"Any similarities in the victims?" Prentiss asked.

"No"

"What about the locations of the shootings?" You asked.

"No, all we know is there is a dangerous mass shooter loose in San Francisco and he's escalating quickly"

The rest of the flight was sat in silence. Not much changed when you landed, you all separated and did what you could but there wasn't much luck until the next wave of victims.

JJ ran into the room you were all in.

"There's been another shooting, thirty eight dead in Pioneer Park"

Just as the team were about to walk out the door Hotch's phone rang.

"Agent Hotchner"

"Do I know you?"

"I think so, you've been following my work recently"

He put his hand over then phone and motioned for Garcia over the monitor "It's the unsub"

"Tracing the call now"

He turned back to the phone and put it on speaker "You've been busy"

"I have, it's nice to see someone appreciating all the trouble I went to. You are enjoying yourself, aren't you?"

He sighed deeply, knowing the only way to work with this unsub would be to play to his ego "Yes, you're outdoing yourself. More victims each time"

"Yes, I do like this recent, escalation"

"Recent? So you've done this before?"

"Ooh, you're a quick one! Tell you what, if you meet me at Coit Tower, alone, I'll tell you all about the others, sound good agent?"

"You should know by now that I can't meet you alone"

"And you should know by now that you can't afford not to, see you at four, Aaron"

"He hung up, Garcia, did you find him?"

"Sorry sir, he knows his way around tech, couldn't even get a cell tower"

Hotch sighed and held his head low, rubbing his temples.

"You know you can't meet him alone" You said to him.

"I have to, who knows how many people he's killed, or how many more are next"

"It's too dangerous"

"I have to go"

"I-" Just as you were about to argue further your phone buzzed.

"I think it's the unsub" You said, showing the phone to Hotch.

"Go with him, it'll be fun" He read aloud.

"That's strange" Reid started "Everything this unsub has done has been set to a strict plan, the timings of the shootings, the locations, his contradictory messages might mean it's a set up"

"We have to go, even if it is" You replied.

"Guys" Prentiss said quietly "It's 3:45"

"The drive to Coit Tower will take approximately sixteen minutes with the current state of traffic" Reid added.

"We'd better go then" You said to Hotch.

The two of you left and drove as fast as you could. You didn't even have enough time to put vests on but you couldn't wait. You got there at 4:02, you only made it a few steps out of the car when you saw the unsub standing in the middle of the street, gun pointed at Hotch. You didn't have enough time to take out your guns before you heard the unsub.

"You're late"

Then he pulled the trigger. You could see it in his eyes and you didn't have time to think, so you just did. You turned around and wrapped your arms around Hotch, shielding him from the bullets that littered your body. You heard the faint sound of panic in the crowd and over your radio, the cops stationed a few blocks back began to move in. You heard their gunshots as they killed the unsub and you heard the sirens of the approaching ambulance. You looked up and saw Hotch, holding your body as you collapsed, blood pouring out of your back as you fell to the ground. Your vision began to blur and darken in from the corners, after your eyes went black the last thing you heard was Hotch, his voice broken and desperate as he softly begged.

"Stay with me, please, just stay with me"

The wind blew softly as birds chirped their sweet songs. Leaves crunched underfoot as Hotch slowly walked across the ground, wishing he wasn't where he was. He finally reached his destination, he stood there for hours, silent. There was nothing that he could say, nothing that would fix things, nothing that could turn back time or reshape reality, nothing that mattered.

He crouched down slowly and placed a large bouquet of white chrysanthemums on a cold, grey gravestone, your gravestone. A few tears began to roll down his cheeks as he read your name over and over again.

He thought back to what you said earlier and he knew that even though he failed at keeping you alive here, you would live forever in his heart, just as you wanted.

We have charged in battle array with the rose and the chrysanthemum - Okakura Kakuzō

Tags

@pinkthick @craftytacopiecash @meryuniverse @aliljaybird @macbaetwo @castielshunterwife @scarletluvsdanno @twentyonetornmyheart @neospacedoctor @destiel-1967-sammy @yigashimei @something0193 @ursamajor17 @colorfulavenuecollection @fairytailnerd1024-blog @daithideolishmer18 @am-i-the-villain-co @mameeta @bblessed @maximum-uwu @bbywonu

[plutoenjoyer]

jooyeon — bath time

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

genre: fluff 𓇬 wc: 1.6k

tags: gender neutral reader but lmk if i missed anyrhing, fluff, established relationship, not beta read, drabble

warnings: none

summary: your boyfriend comes home from tour and you do your best to make him relax.

notes at the end

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

"joo, you good in there?"

you shout from behind a shut door, knocking gently as to not startle him.

you get a muffled "uh huh", confirming he was settled in.

you smile to yourself a little. you missed this.

you're about to head off—it might be a good use of your time to go finish doing some laundry or put away some dishes you left out to air dry. but before you can walk away, you hear him call out to you, the faint sound of sloshing water following his movements.

"actually," he begins, voice soft and tinged with a slight rasp that only comes out when he's tired or at ease or both, "wanna come in? ... doors unlocked,"

you're more than willing to help out, but it's uncommon for him to do something like this. "ah? okay!" you respond with just the slightest lift to your voice, hoping you don't come off too eager but also not uninterested, which he probably wouldn't care about but you absolutely do (as someone who very often gets tested).

you give the door a light knock before entering, and you see jooyeon with his eyes shut, head laid back against the rim of the tub and a sea of bubbles surrounding him. you giggle at the sight, unable to hold back the laughter. he doesn't open his eyes to look at you but the slight quirk of his lips at the sound of your laughter lets you know he's paying attention.

"you look relaxed. do you like the bubble mix i got you?" you grin at him, happy that he's using your gift well.

"mm," he sighs, "warm. feels nice. smells good."

as you approach, you sit beside the tub on the stool you have for when you can't reach the top shelf of the medicine cabinet. your bathroom is by no means nice—perhaps the best thing about it is the deepness of the tub—but if it could serve jooyeon's aching body well, so be it. you could find ways to make it as spa like as you could, just for him.

"good, i'm glad," your voice goes soft as you watch him soak in the warm bubble bath. laying your head down against the side of the tub, you smile fondly. when he's like this, his features free of any stress or fatigue, he looks more boyish than ever. it makes it all the more obvious to you just how much he's been carrying on his shoulders everyday. it may not be his most polished look but you love his slightly chapped lips and unkempt eyebrows, strands of his long hair damp and curling around his forehead. the suds from the bubble mix slightly obscure the moles peppering his collarbone and chest that you think are adorable. there's a lively color to his cheeks as the heat rises up from the water, and you can't help but feel like you did a good job preparing this for him. even through the steam you can tell he's enjoying himself, "you deserve it the most, baby," you coo at him, sounding a bit silly with how you've squished your cheek against the tub.

he only bothers to pry his eyes open and lazily squint at you when he hears you get closer, and gives you a dreamy, toothy smile. you can tell he's tired because he doesn't try and kiss you as a greeting like he always does when you get even the slightest bit close to him. "thank you, y/n. this is so freakin' awesome," his usual boyish vernacular always seeps through somehow.

you snicker at him softly in agreement. as you look upon his figure, you're reminded of something else you could do for him.

"do you want help? i can wash your hair for you," you take the chance to reach out and brush some of the hair out of his face, tucking it behind his ear as if that would do anhthing—its the thought that counts. you just like to touch him when you can.

"mm," he hums as he leans into your touch, "but you already did all this for me already. i know you're tired too, it's been a long day."

"you're kidding," you pout at him, tapping him lightly on the nose in protest, "you just got back from tour and i haven't seen you i weeks. let me pamper you! and, i know your shoulders have been aching. so no 'buts'." you try your best to scrunch your eyebrows and nose, but you know how silly it looks to pretend and be strict with him.

"okay, okay," he lets out a raspy laugh watching how you're already reaching for your plethora of nicely scented hair care products. he knows how stubborn you can be when you've set your mind on something, and even more so when it comes to his wellbeing.

you tap on his damp shoulder to signal him to flip around, and he does so with no objection.

this part comes easily to you. you begin by turning the handle on the detachable shower head and begin soaking his hair with warm water, gently running your fingers through it. you make sure to avoid getting it in his eyes. you think it's cute that he still shuts his eyes with all his might instead of just closing them normally as if it negates the risk of getting water there any more than usual.

then, when you're finished, you try and replicate all the head spa videos you watch on youtube by rubbing the soap between your palms to create a lather before massaging it into his scalp. you take special care in how and where you soak the soap through his hair, trying to make it as slow, thorough, and relaxing as possible. your hand movements, after a certain point, begin to gain a rhythm, your only intention to get him to relax. the only sound in the room for a bit is the subtle sound of soap suds being gently scrubbed with your nails.

"joo?" you ask softly, wondering how he's doing. you've taken his silence as a signal you're doing well, and from your angle you can see how his shoulders droop with ease from the lack of tension.

you get another hmm in response.

"whatcha thinkin' about?" you make some light conversation with him as your hands press even deeper into his skin, trying to work out all the knots in his neck and shoulder area.

"mostly just trying not to fall asleep," he smiles sleepily, "and also that i like you a lot." the loving tone of his voice makes you want to melt. with the way he normally is as a spirited, cheerful guy (what is otherwise known as 'being loud as hell), you take these moments of softness with him to heart.

"that's good to know." you nod in agreement, still working your hands. you're so focused you don't even stop to think about how your arms are beginning to ache, "i happen to like you a lot too,"

"wow, 'a lot'? i'm flattered, really," he jokes with you, but the sarcastic bite he's going for falls flat with how drowsy he's beginning to sound. at this signal, you wrap up your massage, and with another pass of the shower head, his hair is clean.

you smile at your work, resting your hands on the curve of his shoulder between the neck, "there! all done."

his dark brown eyes turn up to look at you, and you just have to admire how blissful he looks with that cute grin that shows off his slight snaggletooth. "felt nice," is all he chooses to say. you giggle wholeheartedly and give him a quick kiss on the forehead.

"okay! soak as long as you want. i'll go clean up and get ready for bed, too." you prepare to stand up and let him be, but then with a swish of the water and bubbles on his hands, he grabs your forearm before you can get up.

"you're going?" his eyes are so puppy-like you find it hard not to clutch at your chest with how much it makes you feel. he's turned to face you now, the upper half of his body now leaning against the side of the tub, one hand propped against the rim and the other gracefully moving to interlock his fingers with yours. whatever energy he had left in him, you really didn't know where he managed to find it.

teasingly, you scoff but make no move to let go of him, "you'll have me all night, joo, i promise. or can you really not stand to be without me for a few minutes anymore?"

"yup, exactly that," he replies so immediately and nonchalantly that you feel the urge to poke him in the nose again, "oh! if i get out now, can you help me dry off?"

"like, your hair? or, like ... all of you," you raise your brow at him quizzically, trying not to smirk with the implications you're hinting at.

"i meant my hair, weirdo," he laughs, but then gives you a serious look and a wiggle of his eyebrows that makes you want to cringe but also kiss him at the same time, "but that could definitely be arranged,"

snickering at the madness that comes out of his mouth, you can't help but fall in love with him even more, "oh my god you're such a dork," you meet his expectant brown eyes that make you hesitant to ever say no to him, "i mean, if you really want me too—"

that's all it takes for him to immediately errupt in a cheer like he's gotten a birthday gift, and tries to get out of the tub, in which you shriek and try to both find a towel for him and cover your eyes at the same time.

... you cherish these moments just as much as the rest.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

notes: hi guys! trying to ease myself back into the swing of writing since i miss the community here a bunch ;; it's crazy how easy it is for me to write jooyeon compared to anyone else lol. i hope this was coherent and someone enjoyed in the least!!! 😭 i hope you're all doing well! take care of yourselves in the upcoming summer heat 💗

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thank you for reading<3

[neteyamssyulang]

Pairing: Rafayel x fem reader

Warnings: Mentions of SH, abusive parents, angst with some fluff

Word count: 1,531

A/N: I’ll update this later to look pretty soon, for now enjoy <3 I can’t believe this is my first rafayel fic😭🩵

Pain, that's all you've ever known. Your parents weren't really around much, leaving you to fend for yourself.

Sure you had friends but they could only do so much, not to mention you always felt like a burden to them.

So when you found this one game you were instantly hooked to it, of course your favorite was the purple haired fishie.

You spent hours and hours on the game, his voice like a soothing melody which made you feel at peace for once.

It was a calm Saturday morning, sunlight streaming in through the blinds. You awoke to the sound of a notification on your phone, so reaching for the nightstand you picked up your phone unlocking it.

Rafayel: Good morning cutie, don't forget our promise

A smile grazed your lips, the new morning feature was your favorite, besides the sleep feature they added not long ago.

Opening up the app, you were met with the song submerged eclipse followed by the familiar background of all the boys.

Once in you immediately did your dailies before going to the study option with Rafayel, now sitting at your desk with homework that needed to be done.

It was peaceful, almost like he was really there with you. What you wouldn't give if he was real, unfortunately you just had this for now.

The moment was soon interrupted by your mother who barged in, "Good your up, be useful and clean the house yeah? It's gotten quite- disgusting since you've been lazy"

Confused, you looked to your mom "But I clean everyday and I'm doing homework right n-" , you were cut off by a sharp sensation on your cheek. Tears welt in yours eyes as she spoke "Ungrateful child, do as your told!"

With that she left, you just sat there for a few moments more clutching your cheek. Why was this your life? You tried your hardest to deal with this but your strength was starting to go away again.

It frightened you to your core, there was only so much you could take until you were back to using again. If it weren't for your friends you'd probably be 6ft deep right now, they were the only ones who knew what you did.

Sighing, you stood up leaving your phone on the desk and headed downstairs. The sight that greeted you was nauseating, trash was dumped all over the floors, some on the couch and rugs.

Well time to get to work.

2 hours passed, you managed to clean up all the trash, mop the floors, scrub the couch and rugs just in time since your parents came back as you were still kneeling on the rug.

"So, you are useful. Good" is all your mom spoke, she then turned on her heels and walked away with your dad following behind her.

Now that you were done, you left the living room and headed back upstairs to take a quick shower, cleaning your body of that gunk then got out now dressed in some silk pajamas and went back to your desk to finish up the homework.

Luckily it was easy so it could be done in no time, what you didn't know was that he was watching you.

He saw, he knew what was happening to you and it killed him that he couldn't help you at first.

Breaking the fourth wall was easy once he knew mc was just a puppet, you were the person he truly loved.

So he had found a way to bring you to his world, it wouldn't be permanent, atleast not yet but he could still show you the love you deserved, the love you needed.

Apparently you had fallen asleep, but when you awoke you weren't at your desk no.. your head lifted, eyes meeting his own.

Were you dreaming? Surely you were.. however his heartbeat beneath the hand you hand on his chest said he wasn't a dream, that he was really here with you.

As if reading your thoughts, he smiled softly and spoke "I'm here cutie, it's not a dream." He leaned in, lips gently kissing your head "Your safe now"

For your time there he took you to all his favorite spots, whether it be restaurants or just places he went to be alone at times, neither of you wanted to be apart from the other

One day he planned a whole picnic, taking you to a beautiful but secluded spot by whitesand bay.

He layed down the blanket, gesturing you to get on first before he did. Once you both sat down he placed the basket in between you both.

"Soo what did you bring?" You asked, already eyeing the basket. Rafayel chuckled softly "Impatient are we now?" but then opened the basket.

Inside were all your favorite foods he had learned, tears started to prick in your eyes. It was just about the food, it was about everything.

For once in your life you actually felt loved and cared for, it was heartbreaking that this wouldn't be permanent.

Seeing the tears start flow, Rafayel reached over, carefully bringing you closer so that now you were in his lap. His large hands soothingly rubbed your back while you let everything out soaking his shirt, not like he minded anyway.

Pulling away after awhile, you used your sleeve to wipe the rest of your tears while murmuring "Thank you..for everything Rafayel"

A small smile grazed his lips, hands going to cup your face "You deserve it cutie, I will make this permanent soon I promise"

With that, you both just enjoyed each other's company while eating the food he packed, occasionally he tried taking yours playfully to which you swatted his hand making him pout.

He never could make it permanent though, not in time. The following day would be your last together, so he took you out to the arcade, winning you any plushie you wanted, got icecream together, went to a Photo Booth, anything to see that beautiful smile again.

You both ended up walking along the beach after everything, hand in hand. Suddenly he stopped, making you stop aswell.

Turning to him, you tilted your head confused seeing his expression "Raffie? What's wrong?"

He turned, facing you fully "I have one last gift, but I cannot give it to you without your ok."

Rafayels gaze flickered from your eyes to your lips, the question clear. Your hands moved to his shoulders as you spoke softly "Go ahead"

Breathing a sigh of relief, his hands went to your hips, gently pulling you closer then leaned down, capturing your lips with his own.

His lips felt like heaven, so perfect and soft, knowing it was your first kiss he happily guided you while holding you closer.

As much as you would love to continue, you knew it wouldn't be possible. Breaking the kiss, you both just held one another, a tear rolling down Rafayels cheek.

In just an instant you were gone, no goodbyes, no confessions, no nothing. There was so much he wanted to say to you, so much he wanted to show you.

While you were transported back to your own world, Rafayel collapsed to his knees back on whitesand bay. Pearls collected on the sand from his tears, his heart felt like breaking all over again.

As soon as you went home, appearing in your desk as if you had never left, your parents were there cleaning everything out as they had assumed you ran away.

They weren't overjoyed seeing you though, your mother just felt rage. Walking over she grabbed you by your hair "You have the nerve to return after leaving?! Who do you take us for? A charity? Get out!"

Your mother dragged you by your hair out the room, downstairs, to the front door where she opened it and threw you out into the pouring rain all while your father watched silently, but his gaze was soft for once until your mother looked back at him.

"Your no child of mine, you disgust me" she spat, turning and slammed the door in your face.

Tears streamed down your face, you could feel a panic attack starting up. Getting up, you held yourself as you began running somewhere, anywhere.

You don't know how far you ran, didn't even realize you were on a bridge now with the river flowing below you.

Taking a deep breath, you climbed atop the railing. Was this a good solution? No, but you had no more strength left, no more willpower.

Memories of yours and Rafayels time together started playing in your mind, those were the ones you would always hold in your heart.

Without a second thought, you fell forwards off the bridge. The wind rushing around you till the cold water engulfed your body, the force of the impact knocked the air from your lungs causing you to pass out instantly.

As your body started sinking deeper and deeper into pitch darkness, arms suddenly wrapped around you.

In the depths his markings began glowing, long hair flowing in the water while holding your limp body close "It's not your time yet my beloved.."

[nialls-golf-putt]

A/N: Fluffy silly goofy boyfriend on vacation. Adorable. You're welcome. And lmk if we want more of him. (Also it's very dialog heavy, oops?)

C/W : None I think, for once? a bit of swearing.

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"That is definitely not appropriate for summer," You said, barely holding back your laughter at how ridiculous he looked.

"What d'you mean, princess. I look like an absolute dreamboat. This is how everyone should dress on vacation."

As much as you loved the stupid man, this time, he did not. He was currently wearing a bright yellow mackintosh over his grey shorts. You still had no idea when he'd snuck it into the suitcases.

"It's not going to rain today, Niall. Or like, at any point all of next week," You sighed fondly, watching him give you a small twirl. Right there at the hotel breakfast buffet.

"It can double as like, a sun cover. I won't get tanned-"

"You burn anyway, baby. And I bought plenty of sunscreen," You said, giving him a small look as you bit into your croissant. "You're taking that off when we go back to the room to get my bag. Honestly, sweetheart, you don't need to declare to everyone that we're tourists with no business being out in the sun."

"You've got no sense of whimsy, pet," Niall mock grumbled, sitting back down in the chair.

"Because nothing screams whimsy like a raincoat in an Italian summer." You rolled your eyes, chuckling under your breath. "Besides, aren't you hot in that-"

"Absolutely sweatin' my balls off. I'll take it off when we're back at the room. Only cause I'm sweaty. Not cause you said." He said, nudging your foot playfully with his.

"Keep telling yourself that," You said, shaking your head, laughing as he flicked a small piece of bacon at you, catching it and eating it instead.

"You'll thank me when we're at the beach," You said, leaning in to kiss his cheek, smiling wider when you saw the look in his eyes at the mention of the beach.

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"This isn't thankin' you, for the record," Niall said out of nowhere. He was lying on a towel spread out in the sand, fingers digging in through the fabric as he just watched you splashing about in the water for a few minutes. "But it is hot as balls here. Would've looked silly carting that piece of plastic around."

"Told you so," You stuck your tongue out at me.

"Yeah, yeah, little miss genius," He rolled his eyes, kicking a bit of sand playfully at you, laughing at the offended look on your face. HIs smile turned to a warning one as you got out of the water, hands cupped carefully, advancing towards him with a gleam in your eyes.

"Princess, have I ever told you how much I love you in a bikini-"

"Oh no," You said, grinning even wider. "That's not gonna work right now."

"Don't you dare, ba-"

You didn't even let him finish, splashing him with the warm water. "C'mon," You mumbled, tugging at his -. "It's nice and warm, stop just sitting here and drinking beer."

"It's a perfectly respectable way to spend the vacation-" He started, but grudgingly lifted his arms anyway, letting you pull it off. "I didn't pack board shorts- Or anything else, for that matter." He said, standing up as you held your hand out to him.

"Doesn't matter. It'll dry out in a bit," You said, already pulling him with you into the water.

"It'll dry all-"

"Stop talking, Ni, honestly-" You shut him up with a kiss, pulling back after a few moments. "You taste like salty beer. I don't like it." You said, scrunching your nose. "Plus you're all stubbly. Please shave when we're back."

"Anything else to add to the list of complaints, m'lady?" He rolled his eyes, splashing you with his hand.

"Comb your hair, too," You said playfully. "And I'd like a coke once we're out of here."

"Oh no, I know that look. You're gonna say something soppy enough to make a hallmark movie writer cringe," Niall teased playfully, kissing your forehead, then pushing your salt-sticky hair back, chuckling at the way you rolled your eyes at him.

He sighed dramatically, pulling you closer, his fingers dancing along your waist. You smiled up at him, arms wrapping around his neck.

"Lucky for you I love corny shit. Hit me."

"piss off,* you giggled, punching his arm playfully, rolling your eyes as he dramatically winced. "Just thinking how much I love you, drama queen and all."

"I resent that allegation but I'm not gonna fight you in it, princess,' he grinned, planting another kiss on your forehead before holding out his forearm. "M'lady,"

When you raised an eyebrow, smiling amusedly, he rolled his eyes as though it was obvious.

"We have a coca cola to get, for the lady. And the gentleman requires another beer.*

"Stop talking in the third person you silly doof." You grinned, looping your arm through his, shutting him up with your lips before he could protest again. "C'mon, let's go get that coke. And your beer."

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