#Next chapter is one of my favourites so buckle in its going to be a wild ride

[pinkytoothlesso11]

Challenging Destiny chapter 23

With Morando taken care of, Jim and the team reunite with lost members before heading back to earth.

Aja and Krel reunite with their parents, who are finally recovered, and have an easier time than expected explaining everything to them.

A risky plan is proposed to try and convert Area 49-B to their side, to prepare for revealing magic to the world.

[daydreamgoddess14]

Support System pt. 4

MASTERLIST

CH1 | CH 2 | CH 3

Roy Kent x Reader

I'm on a roll. Roy Kent making me feel things 🥵 This one is a bit angsty but buckle up - we're getting to the good stuff soon!

Chapter 4

Some call it wallowing, some call it self pity, some call it licking your wounds. You don’t give a shit which one it is, you spend the whole of Sunday morning on your sofa under a blanket alternating between tears of shame and being angry at your own stupidity. In what possible world would former footballer and dater of models - actual, beautiful, magazine fronting models, Roy Kent, really want to kiss a single mum in their mid (cough *late*) -thirties? You honestly have to consider the fact that you’ve lost the plot. The fighting and arguing late last year took its toll on you, the split early in December actually helped, but also kind of… didn’t? And now you’re in a position where you can finally make the best of the separation and the first chance you get, you royally cock it up.

Andy has Lexie right up until you need to collect her on Monday afternoon, so you plan your week accordingly. Trying to make sure that you can avoid Roy completely for at least long enough for you to be able to laugh it off. Somewhere around Christmas would probably work for that. Annoyingly, the person you want to reach out to and talk to and cry to is Sara. You’ve exchanged a handful of messages about hangovers but you’ve not been brave enough to tell her anything. Don’t be hungover alone! My mum is cooking, you should come over. Late dinner today cos of the football. A new message appears. You try and put her off, there’s no way you’re going over there without a Lexie buffer. The match kicked off at midday, you’d put it on the TV and then turned it straight off when you realised how much the camera loved focusing on Coach Lasso and his coaching staff. Your damn body betrayed you every time the camera honed in on his surly face. You shuffled further under the blanket, content to wallow alone until another message came through, Please come. I know something’s going on, I thought Roy was going to punch a wall when I asked him if you were ok when he dropped you off. You concede - it doesn’t take much, the urge to avoid Roy was strong, but you didn’t want to have to avoid Sara as well. She sends you the address and an hour later, you’re walking to her parents house in the late March sunshine. Chief door opener, Phoebe lets you in and is instantly dismayed when you have to tell her that Lexie isn’t around today. She soon gets over it though, she’s got uncle Roy playing Princesses and Dragons. Sara ushers you straight into the kitchen to meet her mum. 

“Oh darling! I’ve heard so much about you from… well Sara, Phoebe and Roy actually. And lovely little Lexie as well. Such a shame she couldn’t come, there’s always next time though. It is so lovely to meet you! Come in, sit down. Do you fancy a drink or is your head still a little delicate?” The dainty woman knocks you off your feet with her kindness and sweetness. It reminded you of being in your teens and finding the one parent of your friend group who welcomed you all with open arms, didn’t care if you all swore like troopers and let you sit in the garden all night with a case of warm cider cans in the summer. The home you could go to when you’d argued with your own parents, but still needed home comforts.

“It’s great to meet you. I might be tempted later, I could go for a cup of tea though? I’ll make them, you’re busy.” You get up and start making a round of tea for everyone, working neatly around Sara’s mum and laughing with her at the state of the ‘favourite uncle’ mug Phoebe insisted that Roy always use.

“Thought I heard you.” A deeper voice muttered from the doorway. You bite down on your lip and try to force yourself to act naturally. He'd obviously been there a little while, watching. The only people who knew what had happened last night were you and Roy, and you certainly weren’t going to shout it from the rooftops. You hoped he was on the same page. 

“Try this love,” his mum hands you a spoonful of cheese sauce, you close your eyes and moan in appreciation - it’s incredible.

“God, that’s gorgeous. Can I have the recipe please?”

“Course you can. Remind me in a bit, I’ll swap you for that wonderful lemon sponge recipe.” In the other room, Phoebe calls her nan for something so she prods Roy out of the doorway so she can get through.

“How’s your head?” He asks once she’s gone.

“Fine, nothing a can of coke and three ibuprofen can’t fix.”

“Three? That’s specific."

"Tried and tested. Two isn't enough and four would get me in trouble with people like her," you point at Sara who's just come in. Roy sniggers,

"Her? No way, she's the biggest fucking culprit for wrongly medicating friends and family."

"Your knee got you to Nelson Road didn't it?" She queried, recalling the day he'd gone back after retiring.

"Yeah but half a co-codemol and a shot of whiskey can't be classified as a prescription."

"My slightly alternative suggestions are only for specific people. Not medically authorised." She hugs you and takes the tea gratefully. "Let me guess, three ibuprofen and a can of coke?"

"Bingo." You confirm and she sticks her tongue out at Roy. She can feel the tension in the air between you, a million miles from the laughter and glances you'd shared the night before. 

"Mum wants you to lay the table dickhead." He tells her. 

"OK," she looks to you, "come help me, I need to move it first." 

"There's a cup of tea on the side for you." You tell him as you follow Sara out of the room. 

Standing either side of the dining table, you and Sara look like you could be at war. You both pull at your end of the table, making it longer. 

"The fucks going on with you two?" She whispers, leaning forwards.

"Nothing, just very drunk crossed wires." She looks very sceptical but doesn't push you. She does, however, ensure that you end up sitting next to Roy for dinner. Fortunately, he seems just as embarrassed as you and is reluctant to talk to you much. You're starting to think that it's not so bad, avoiding him could be easy if he’s going to help you out, until he starts drying the plates you've been washing after dinner and dessert. 

"You don't need to do that, you're the fucking guest."

"Which is exactly why I am doing it." You carry on washing up in silence.

"Are we gonna talk about last night or what?" 

"Not if I can help it."

"Probably should though." You stop with your hands in the sink, and turn to him. 

"Roy, I was drunk and stupid and I apologise. I made a horrible mistake-"

"A mistake?"

"Yeah, I mean I must have been crazy drunk to think that I'm the kind of person that you would ever-"

"Hmm. I'd fuckin' stop there." You can't help but carry on, 

"You're like ridiculously gorgeous - it's borderline fucking obscene to be honest - and I'm a normal, boring person and for a tiny drunken moment, I forgot myself. It was a complete mistake, I'm sorry. Now please, I'm begging you, please forget this ever happened." Roy looks stunned while you take the towel from him and dry your hands before passing it back to him. "See you in the week." You say softly, going to the living room to say goodbye to his mum, Sara and Phoebe. 

The next day, you're rushing between meetings trying to eat a quick lunch, check your phone and book Lexie in for the Easter Holiday club at school all at the same time. When you see 10+ missed calls from Andy, your stomach drops to your feet. Your hands shake as you call him back. 

"Lexie's not well, where the fuck are you?"

"It's Monday lunchtime, I'm at work. What happened?"

"I've called you loads, I-" 

"I've been in a meeting, do you need me to come home, or is she OK with you? What do you mean she’s not well?"

"You should want to come home to her." You frown at your phone, resisting the urge to throw it in the nearest bin. 

"Of course I want to come home to her, I'm her mum. However, since I'm also paying for a house alone now and everything that goes with that, I have to make sure I'm doing the right thing and not just what I want. We don't all get to do what we want, Andy."

"I get it, work is more important. Always has been."

"That's not what I said and you know it."

"No, it's fine. I'll get her from school and I'm sure you'll turn up whenever you can."

"Fuck you, Andy. I'm on my way." You hang up on him and start making calls to rearrange your afternoon meetings. In the depths of the underground when your phone signal gives up, you chuck it in your bag and lean heavily against the pushchair space. You roll your ankles, taking some of the weight off your feet for a second. The higher the zone number, the quieter the train gets so you're able to grab a real seat. 

"Penny for 'em?" A gruff voice asks, sitting across from you. You look up and despite your mood, the situation and your Saturday night fuck up, you still smile at him. You wonder when he got on the train, how long he’d been so close to you.

"Hi. Lexie's not well, Andy basically said I was a shit mum for not coming home. So now I'm going home to be called a shit mum to my face. Happy Monday!"

"Fuck, wish I hadn't fucking asked. What's up with Lex?"

"Dunno, he wouldn't tell me. She's probably fine - you know what 8 year olds are like. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Had to go for a suit fitting." You can't help it. Your mind goes there, of course it does. It's been a shit few days. It's only going to get worse, so why wouldn't your brain reward you for keeping going by providing a visual representation of Roy at a suit fitting? Hands skimming over his body, a beautifully tailored suit. As if the standard dark jeans and t-shirt aren’t enough. You’re certain a suit would blow your tiny mind. You daren’t speak so settle for a nod. At the station, it’s pouring with rain. He sees your heels and straight away opens the passenger door of his car for you. “Come on, I’ll take you.” The domesticity of it is a little crushing, you’d bet it’s not all boring lifts to the train station and the park when you date models. More like champagne and sex on tap. You’d take a happy balance if such a thing existed, a domestic luxury of sorts. It sounded like an Instagram Influencer advert for washing powder. You direct Roy to Andy’s flat and take a couple of deep breaths before going to get out of the car. “Shall I wait?”

“No, no, don't do that. You should get back. I’m sure it’ll be fine. Just bracing myself, that’s all.”

“Whatever he says, it’s a fucking lie.”

“How do you know?” You ask quietly.

“Let me guess, you didn’t care about him, drove him away, you’ll do the same to Lexie, work’s more important…? Am I on the right track?” You nod, looking down at your hands in your lap, already ashamed.

“None of that is fucking true. I’ve seen you, you’re… you’re pretty fucking brilliant. You and Lexie are perfect. In one ear, and out the other - don’t listen to a word he says.” He reaches across and takes your hand in his, persuading you to look up. “Don’t let him make you cry.”

“It’s you making me cry, you dumbass.” You laugh a little.

“That’s better. Go get Lexie and forget about him for the rest of the week.” 

“Yes boss. Thanks for the lift.” He gives your hand a little squeeze and you dash out into the rain, trying to get undercover quickly.

Andy leaves you out in the rain for a minute or two. Of course, small punishments wherever he can. Noticeably, Roy doesn’t drive off and waits until he sees you go inside. 

“What’s he doing driving you?” Is the greeting you get when you’re finally allowed in.

“We bumped into each other at the train station, it’s raining and I was going to walk here. Where’s Lexie?”

“Sofa.” He grunts. You take off your soaking jacket, your blouse underneath is no drier, with various wet patches making it transparent in places.You kick off your shoes and go through to what you presume is the living room - you’ve never wanted or been offered a tour of his flat before. Most pick ups and drop offs took place at school so you could go blissful weeks without seeing him. Lexie is laying on the sofa under a blanket watching a film, she visibly brightens at seeing you and scrambles to sit up. You kneel in front of her and gather her into your arms.

“You ok my little one?” She nods, her temperature feels fine and she doesn’t look particularly ill.

“Yeah, I just felt a bit poorly.”

“Been sick?” She shakes her little head. “Ok, shall we go home?” You put her coat on her, get both of your bags and put your wet jacket back on. She holds onto you limply and you know the 10 minute walk is not going to be fun in the rain. “Up you come,” you tell her, gesturing to your back. As soon as she’s got her arms looped around your neck and her little legs around your waist, you step up into your heels. Andy watches with no intention of offering a lift and no comments on the rain outside.

“Dad?” Lexie asks quietly.

“Sorry kiddo, some of us have got some work to finish.” 

“We’re ok babe, we can manage.” You say firmly, you don’t want to argue with him in front of Lexie. Roy’s low voice in your ear: don’t let him make you cry. Fortunately his flat is on the ground floor so there are no stairs to navigate. You step out into the rain and start down the road towards your house. You only just reach the corner onto the main road when you see his car up ahead, pulled over. He nips out into the rain, walks up to meet you and takes Lexie off your back, she cuddles up to him while he takes her back to the car and puts her in the back. Without her on you, you can jog the short distance to the car and the two of you get into the front, your doors slamming in unison. You don’t know what to say. You stare at him as he starts the car and pulls out onto the main road.

“Alright, I waited. Don’t be fucking weird about it.” He mutters, reaching to the backseat and handing you a black sweater. You peel off your soaking jacket, so cold that you don’t give a thought to the state of your blouse underneath until Lexie draws attention to it.

“Mum, I can see your bra!” Lexie giggles from the backseat.

“Yeah, thanks honey. The rain got me.” You pull on the sweater, his scent surrounding you in an overwhelmingly wonderful way. It’s almost enough to distract you from the embarrassment of the wet t-shirt competition. Almost. He gets Lexie out of the car and carries her to the house while you get the bags. She’s soon off inside getting her wet coat and school uniform off, you hover in the small hallway next to Roy. “Thank you for everything today.”

“It’s nothing.” He tries to brush off.

“It’s not nothing, far from it. Lexie’s own dad couldn’t even be arsed to drive her home. Here,” you move to take off the sweater,

“Keep it. Suits you.” He says, halfway out the door. “See you later.” You're still watching the space where his car had been long after it drives off.

[eddiemunsonappreciationsociety]

This is Our Year

Chapter Ten: Touching

warnings: smut, 18+,

I am pinned under Eddie, his mouth is on mine. His hands run down the side of my body, cups the back of my knee and pulls it up around his waist. My skirt is bunched up around my waistband and his hips are between my thighs. He grinds against me as his tongue slips into my mouth and he makes a guttural, animal noise. 

I can feel him, hard against me, I lift my hips up to him and he moans. My heart is slamming against my ribs. My head is spinning. He tastes so delicious, smoke and vanilla. My hands are locked into his hair, securing him to me. I wrap both legs around him, his hands go to my bum and grabs it so hard it hurts, so deliciously. My hand slides between us and I grab him through his jeans. 

"Fuck." he groans  into my mouth. "Can I touch you?"

"Yes." Is all I can gasp out.

He moves us to our sides without being breaking our kiss and his hand slide up my thighs and touches me through my pants. A whimper escapes me.

It's really not long before my toes are curling in pleasure, and I cum so quickly it startles me as I'm yelling his name. He hadn't even gone under my wasitband yet.

"Oh my fucking god." he gasps into my neck as he's kissing and biting the skin there. "You cumming whilst shouting my name is my new favourite song."

He slides his fingers into me, thumb gently touching my clit and I'm pathetically whimpering against his lips as he kisses me again. Soon my legs are uncontrollably shaking and I feel myself getting close again. He takes both my hands in one of his and pins it above my head and his other hand goes back between my thighs.

"Cum again for me, princess." he growls before biting my throat.

At his words I become undone once more and I'm yelling his name.

"We need to stop because I'm about one more buck of your hips away from cumming in my pants." he rolls onto his back and is panting hard.

I lie back, legs still shaking and heart racing. He slides his fingers through mine and gives a little squeeze.

"I'm gonna order us a pizza, roll us a joint and then I'd like to make you cum again before the food gets here."

"You look different in my clothes." Eddie says, tugging on the shirt he'd given me.

I'm sat in Eddie's clothes: a black Led Zeppelin shirt and pair of black sweatpants. I'm lying on his chest, feeling blissful, stoned and post-many-orgasms. He leans over and feeds me a bite of pizza. The small TV perched on Eddied broken check of drawers displays Return to Oz.

"Don't you like it?" I grin up at him.

"I absolutely hate it, let's take everything off right now " he pulls at my top again and rubs his hands across my hips and bum.

He rolls so I'm on top of him, hands still on my ass. We kiss for a long time, his hands just kneading and squeezing me, pulling me down onto him. I grasp the hem of his t-shirt and pull it up and he helps me slide I over his brown curls. His brown eyes burn into mine as my hands find their way to his belt buckle, I feel his breath come faster against my lips as I get his trousers undone.

I remove my hand from his jeans and run my pointed nails over the side of his neck, down my chest and they graze his nipple. He shivers under my touch.

"Fuck" his breath is a sharp intake.

I start to kiss down his neck and chest. His whole body is tense as I hoop my fingers into the edge of his jeans and pull them down.

As soon as I take him in my mouth he won't stop talking, moaning, swearing.

"Fuck, princess." he groans "Your mouth is unbelievable."

His hand finds its way to the back of my head, fistful of my pink curls. It's really not long before I feel his thighs begin to tense.

"Oh my god, I'm gonna cum."

I swallow everything Eddie has to offer, his legs are shaking.

"Oh my god, that was incredible." he gasps, grabbing me as I move to ie back next to him, and kissing me on the mouth.

"I don't usually cum in a minute, by the way." he grins as he picks up half a joint from the ashtray and lights it. "I've just been picturing how your mouth felt since I saw you in the cafeteria weeks ago."

"Did I live up to expectations?" I ask as I take the joint off him and smoke.

"Exceeded them, my brain couldn't even think up a blow job that good."

[fuckyeahdindjarin]

Palomino Masterlist

COMPLETE | Explicit 🔞 NO minors allowed

Jack Daniels x F!Reader

Series tags: Dude ranch cowboy Jack AU | mini-series | solo travel romance | lots of horsey details | self-indulgent AF | set in Wyoming | no physical descriptions of Reader

Note: You guys voted for Palomino to be the next WIP after Consent, and who am I to refuse? But honestly, thank you for voting for Jack, because I've been dying to write this story. If you'd like to be tagged, please comment, reblog or sign up at my taglist.

Part 1: Palomino

Unable to get a refund for a week-long horse-riding pack trip you'd booked with your ex, you decide to go solo. As it turns out, a rebound with a cowboy named Jack while traversing the wild landscapes of Wyoming might just be what you need.

Part 2: Buckskin

It's an eventful first day on the trail, to say the least.

Part 3: Dapple Grey

Tinder is a dangerous game. So is Never Have I Ever.

Part 4: Strawberry Roan

Jack pulls out all the stops for your birthday. All of them.

Part 5: Appaloosa

You and Jack play house for a day.

Part 6: Mustang

On the fifth day, you leave the Halfway House behind, and the conversation turns homeward.

Part 7: Fleabitten

You and Jack spend your last night together in the mountains - for now.

Part 8: Silver Pony

And just like that, your week at the Statesman Ranch comes to an end, leaving you grappling with the prospect of saying goodbye to Jack.

Part 9: Warmblood

The hardest goodbye you’ll ever say.

Oneshots & drabbles

Deleted scenes from the series that I didn't have the word count for.

Bernaise: You watch Jack cook. Deleted scene from Part 4 - Strawberry Roan.

If Only: Jack smiles and brushes a thumb across your cheek. If only you knew.

Peeks into Jack and Darlin's life after the end of the series.

Pressing: Jack marks you as his in an unexpected way.

Real: You call Jack after running into your ex at a wedding.

Cowgirl Aesthetics: 'This dress won't last ten minutes in a real horse yard and you know it, darlin''.'

Headcanons

Miscellaneous headcanons - some requested, some no one asked for.

Silver Pony | Jack’s moustache | Jack and horses | Jack's guilty pleasures | Jack is king of the two step | Jack's allergies | Teak the artist

Visuals

Mostly made/commissioned for A Palomino Farewell.

Special edition chapter banners

Horses of Palomino

Palominogram: About last night

Palominogram: The cellar

Commissioned art

Belt buckle inspiration

Moodboard: Buckskin

Moodboard: Palomino

Horse girl representation

Recipes

Mama Daniels' express chili: featured in Fleabitten

Poppy's chocolate & rum cupcakes: featured in Strawberry Roan

Chapter sneak peeks: two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight

Bonus content

Art and misc. generously gifted by my sweetest friends ❤️

A Palomino Farewell

Palomino playlist

A birthday message from cowboy Jack and Cowboy yearning by the most talented @guiltypleasure-art

Palomino edit by the loveliest Heidi @wildemaven

Moodboard by the sweetest Keira @k-ra

Playlist by sweetest Sil @psychedelic-ink for A Palomino Farewell

Palomino-inspired cocktail recipe by darlin' Skye @iamskyereads

I can't believe that Palomino now has its own cocktail!!! I'm so honoured that Skye created and shared this recipe with us. All the elements are perfect, from the Campfire whiskey (Darlin's favourite time of the day - snuggling with Jack by the fire), apple (If Only reference) and Ginger (who convinced Darlin' not to cancel the trip). I cannot wait to try this cocktail myself, thank you so so much my love ❤️

More notes: This is a very personal story to me as I grew up loving and riding horses. I've been lucky enough to go on several horseriding holidays, and I'm writing directly from experience - except the hot cowboy part, sadly. Even if you don't ride, I hope you enjoy this story, and I will be the happiest writer if I impart to you even a fraction of the joy of exploring the great outdoors from the back of a steady (or speedy) steed.

{ Inspo }

{ Main Masterlist | Taglist }

[soft4gguk]

to build a home | chapter ten

Pairing: Jungkook x reader. ceo!jk + dilf!jk x nanny!oc

Genre: strangers to lovers. angst. fluff. smut.

Word count: 11k

Warnings: oof, i was in a mood when writing this so buckle up buckaroos. subby koo (boy of my dreams), soft dom reader, dry humping, oral sex (f & m), face sitting, orgasm denial, loads of dirty talk, spit bc im like that, its quite graphic (literally 5k of smut lol), protected penetrative sex!, there’s angst in this. lots of it. but also lots of love. soori turns 1!!!! best girl., i think that’s it :)

Author’s note: it’s finally here and this time i will keep it short because i truly don’t want to spoil anything. i do want to say thank you so much for waiting and for your sweet comments throughout my little brain fry – it truly means the world to me and kept me going like you’ll never know. i hope you enjoy, do let me know if you did <333 sending kisses n love, always! x

This is a work of fiction. Please respect the members and their privacy. x

Chapter Ten

We are creatures of habit and you could get used to this one. A tip toe away from your heart convincing your brain that you might as well rely on it – like a basic necessity, falling into the same category as many of the things that keep you going throughout the day. Much like the alarm clock that wakes you up every morning and the prospect of coffee that gets you out of bed. The days are long and growing up is no walk in the park so who are you to push away desire, the things that make a day worthwhile. Your favourite book, takeout in bed, reruns of that one show you’ve seen far too many times yet still holds that wow factor that keeps you coming back.

You look at him and he feels quite like everything that makes a day better.

We are creatures of habit yet we’re awfully spoiled. You believe you don’t need a revolution a day to make up a good life and when something is good – really good – it’s hard for it to lose its wonder.

How much warmth do we need to make a place a home? To put a person right where the heart wants it the most – right where all they come to resemble is that one thing that adds to your idea of vitality.

You’ve only woken up next to Jungkook twice yet the question answers itself as you take him in.

From the sheer blinds that cover his big windows, you can make out the first specks of dawn creeping in. The room is still dark but faint light casts shadows on his face – eyes gently shut, dark eyelashes resting on his cheeks, hair cascading on his forehead, slightly messy from sleep. His mouth forms a pout, lips still swollen from your own’s attack a couple of hours prior. His bare chest follows a steady rhythm, the rise and fall of his peaceful breathing almost lulling you back to sleep. He looks so beautiful, so gentle.

It hurts, to know he hurts.

It makes your heart seize, the idea of something draining that softness out of him, and before you can process the capacity of your feelings, you feel the sharp tinge of tears forming in the corner of your eyes.

The moments between sleep and consciousness are our most vulnerable and you believe you’ve fallen victim to what seeing him in his most vulnerable state can do to your heart.

Your body fights, demanding sleep, but your brain is wide awake, and your heart is, too. Your own vulnerability is snatched out of you as the sea of feelings that dawn upon you has you feeling more awake than you have in years. But the realization just waltzes into your mind with a new set of vulnerability – one that’s far more intrusive, loud. It’s not a characteristic of yours to stray away from the root of a feeling but this one finds you wanting to run. Not necessarily away from him, but far enough so that you can exhaust yourself back into a sleepy state – not so awake, nor aware. A place where feelings morph together, formless, no sharp edges to it. No reality or adversity. Just love.

Your hand moves slowly but there’s little power your brain has to go against the instinct that craves to touch him, feel his soft skin, the warmth he radiates when he’s in this state. The tip of your fingers run down his honey skin, from his forehead to his cheek. You can make out the way his face slightly contorts, frowning at the feeling yet falling into it as it relaxes again. It makes you smile. You brush a piece of fallen dark hair from his eyes that are still peacefully closed.

“You’re so beautiful,” your voice is faint, loud enough for only you to hear it.

And he is. He is beautiful. Every feature of his face, the moles you trace with your shaky fingers – a path of constellations you’d like to gaze at forever. The way his voice sounds, the ring of his laughter when it fills a room. You could get lost in the way he articulates words and on the endless stories he has to tell. There are so many things about Jungkook that have taken bits of your soul at grand scale, settling and making themselves a home. The way he cares is one of them. How despite his pain and the cards life dealt him, he never lost that softness for Soori – never became any less of the parent he always wanted to be. How every last bit of strength and warmth in his heart was reserved for her. How he let her heal him.

Your fingers trace a gentle pattern from his forehead, down his eyelids, past his cheeks, taking a brief detour to run a single one down the bridge of his nose until they finally land on his lips. Something settles inside your chest and you let a tear fall. You let yourself feel.

You’re in love with him.

It’s not abrupt – the way the thought finds you. It’s not loud, or aggressive. It doesn’t shock you nor does it surprise you. It’s gentle, like this morning. Like his steady breathing and his face as he dreams, eyes squinting slightly as he nuzzles his face against the pillow.

“Koo,” you call out his name, hand cupping his cheek.

He’s a heavy sleeper and you don’t know how much luck you’ll have in waking him up but you try – fingers tracing his ear, entwining with his locks of hair, caressing his scalp a little. Unconsciously, he keens into your touch, shoulders rising to his neck as little goosebumps form on his skin at the feel. You can see him fighting wakefulness, your fingers lulling him back into sleep as he gets used to them.

But you want his eyes on yours, desperately. So, you try again, another soft, “Koo,” passing your lips.

“Mm,” he murmurs, arm outstretching until its snaked around your waist. His eyes open quickly and his fatherly instincts have him reaching for the baby monitor.

“Shh, shh…” you soothe, bringing him back to you.

He settles back into the pillows, still half-asleep, eyes closing for a second too long as he asks, “what time is it?”

“Dunno. Early,” your fingers don’t cease their caresses through his hair and he smiles when they find the nape of his neck, soft warm skin against your fingertips.

He groans softly in pure bliss and as much as his brain stays in that subconscious place as sleep struggles to rid him of it, he can feel you. He can feel you and he likes it in a way he doesn’t think he could put words to even if he was fully conscious.

“Can I kiss you?” Your question puts a lazy grin on his face before they form a little pout.

“You don’t have to ask, baby.”

The hand that rests on your waist brings you closer to him, your own snaking itself around the back of his neck, noses touching until all it takes is a breath for his lips to be on yours – ever so slow, ever so indulgent as you let the kiss build momentum on its own. There’s no fixed agenda to the way you want to love on him and your lips mimic your thoughts in an uncoordinated, lazy dance. Your hand falls from his neck to his shoulders, pushing gently until your lips part and his back hits the mattress before you slowly swing a leg around his body, straddling him.

He’s naked under you and he hisses at the sudden contact, the feeling lulling your eyes closed as desire slowly pools in your lower stomach, settling promptly and spreading rapidly – a lingering buzz that dawns upon every inch of your body that wants him. His touch, his mouth, his tongue, his voice as he fucks into you.

“I’m up,” he says, eyes finally snapping open and taking you in. He’s not sure if his eyes are deceiving him but you could very well be an angel – the light that creeps past his blinds outlining every curve of your body in a perfect halo. “You’re so beautiful.”

His words are the exact same ones you murmured to him as he slept a couple of minutes prior and you smile, eyes still penetrating his – not shying away once.

“You’re hard.”

A roll of your hips takes the words right from his tongue, replacing them with a faint moan instead, head sinking into the pillow. His responsiveness only makes you that much eager, setting a steady rhythm as you grind your panty covered pussy into him, soaking the thin fabric as he grows to full mast between your folds. The swollen crown of his cock hits at your clit in perfect, repeated motions and the sweet whines that leave your lips land Jungkook straight into a speedy build up. His hands find your hips, grip tightening as he forces your movements to a halt.

“Ah-ah, baby. Slow down.”

“No.”

Your bluntness makes him let out a low chuckle. “I just woke up, it’s a foul. You’re at an advantage.”

“It’s fair play,” your words sync up with the way your hips sink into his once again, small hand traveling down until it lands where your bodies meet. Jungkook’s eyes widen as he takes in the way you push your panties to the side, not wasting a second as you resume your pace. His big cock sits snuggly between your plump folds and the visual alone has him rolling his eyes to the back of his head, a whine breaking in his throat as you begin to go faster.

He gives into it, not caring about how close he is to blowing his load like this, balls heavy as his release nears – the added pleasure of your ass grinding against them only making matters worse for him. His hands fall to your ass, squeezing tightly right in the place where his handprints form a faint shade of red on your skin – aiding the push and pull of your hips, encouraging you to go faster, taking control. And you let him have it. You let him get lost in how good you feel, in how much he wants to fuck you right now but won’t do it because he likes the sweet torture of feeling you like this – no barrier between you two, not nearly enough for how he wants you but enough to take him there.

“Fuck- you’re so fucking wet, baby.”

Your hands find leverage in his chest, palming at his pecs as your own pleasure takes over your every sense. Your clit throbs, pussy clenching around nothing as you circle your hips, the feeling so good it has your nails digging at his flesh. Your hands relax only to find his nipples, nails scraping gently at the hardened nubs. He hisses and you do it again, emitting a throaty moan from him. It draws him painfully close to the edge and his grip on your ass loosens, hands falling to your outer thighs – fingers kneading at the soft flesh.

“Shit- just like that. You’re gonna make me cum, angel.” His voice is raspy and you’re so very tempted to give him what he wants – what he needs the most.

But you don’t, hips raising quickly as your hand travels up, closing slightly around his neck.

“No.”

Everything about this moment throws Jungkook into a frenzied state of shock. His eyes open, widening slightly as your grip around his thick neck tightens – a growl escaping his lips as his orgasm is stripped away from him and a new wave of arousal threatens to break at his insides. He looks up at you, his breathing erratic, eyes glazy and sweat forming at the base of his forehead, matting his dark hair to his skin. Your free hand comes up, gently brushing the strands away and although the action is tender your gaze darkens, hovering over him in a way that has his breath hitching in his throat – something dropping in his lower stomach.

“I said it’s fair play,” you say. All he can do is gawk at you from his vulnerable position. “I want your mouth.”

“H-Have it,” his voice is shaky, faltered by his jumbled breathing.

Your grip around his neck loosens, but the one around his dark hair tightens – walking forwards on your knees, the mattress sinking the further you travel up his torso. Jungkook runs his tongue over his red lips, taking in his view – face to face with your clothed cunt, the soft skin above the hem of your panties so soft, the remnants of a tan casting a glow to your skin that makes it look golden in this light. From this angle, he can see the faint ink of that tattoo he loves so much – delicate like you, even in this forefront. His gaze travels upwards as you discard his oversized hoodie from your body, your soft breasts bouncing slightly as your hands come back down, fingers lacing through his hair.

“Come here,” he says, growing impatient – wanting to taste you.

“Ask nicely.” Your demand is firm, eyes fixed on his shaky ones.

“I want to taste you. Let me make you feel good- please.” He finally gives.

A hazy grin forms in your lips, expression fully lust driven as you walk your knees the extra inch until your pussy hovers over his face perfectly. His arms snake past your thighs, big hands resting over the flesh, pulling you towards him by the ass until his nose against your clit has you throwing your neck back over your shoulders, sending shivers down your spine.

You close your hand around a fistful of hair, pulling until he’s looking up at you – pupils blown, pleading. “Be good. Or you get nothing.” Your power trip takes the both of you by surprise but you don’t show it. He nods, a slight blush forming on his cheeks as he submits fully to you.

His tongue laps at your entrance over your panties, sloppily drenching the fabric further as he licks thick stripes down your center, nose teasing your clit as you draw slow circles with your hips – eyes closing at the feeling as tiny little whimpers leave your lips. Your fingers on his hair alternate between soft caresses and a tight grasp, seeking leverage as the pleasure picks pace inside of you. Your stomach tightens, hips bucking, giving into his incessant assault on your pussy, no hint of a doubt he could have you coming in your panties in a matter of seconds. But you need his tongue. Your fingers hook down the side of your panties, the feeling alone on the sensitive skin making you shiver. Lowering your hips to his face once again, you let his tongue continue his ministrations.

“So good, baby. That feels so good.”

Your praise incites him further, lips closing around your swollen clit, sucking with enough force to have your body jolting forwards, cheek flushed to his headboard as you let out cries of pleasure, letting him know how good he’s being. How good he’s making you feel.

The noises his actions ignite are obscene to say the least but it only adds to your pleasure. You’re so wet, it drives him insane. Tongue coming out past his chin, licking you clean only to resume that torturous suction on your clit – having you gushing out in seconds, juices slick, honey-like and coating his face from the nose down as he drinks you up. He wants every last bit, likes the effect he has on you.

He circles his tongue around your entrance, teasing a bit but not pushing his luck. The wet muscle finally pushes into your hole, shallow but determined strokes, his head moving to the rhythm as he fucks you with it. Your moans make his cock twitch, painfully hard and leaking pre-cum, making a mess out of his lower stomach. He groans, the sound resonating on your walls, his movements not faltering once – the tip of his nose hitting that sensitive bundle of nerves repeatedly until your legs begin to shake over him, thighs closing around his head.

“Oh my God- there. There. Don’t stop, Jungkook.” Your voice is airy, words getting lost in your whimpers and moans as he does just what you ask him. You look down at him, eyes closed, completely lost in your pleasure and his. Your knees begin to shake as you start to lose strength, your orgasm threatening to tip you over the edge and leave you a trembling mess. You tempt it with one last request. “Suck on my clit- Koo, fuck. I’m gonna cum, baby. I’m gonna-”

Jungkook moans. He moans as he sucks your clit, suctioning the little pearl inside his mouth, feeling you come undone – tongue coming out to lap at your entrance, revelling on the way your pussy pulses as you give into that explosion, coming totally undone on top of him. He opens his eyes, not wanting to miss the way your body shakes and your face contorts in pure, unadulterated pleasure.

Your moans begin to faint as you come down, hips raising as you flinch in oversensitivity, a slight unconscious roll to them that has him flicking his tongue against your clit one last time. You look down at him, lopsided smile adorning your lips, a sheen layer of sweat covering your chest, down the valley between your tits.

“W-Was I good?”

“So, so good.”

You walk backwards, slower than you came up – legs still shaky from your orgasm. Jungkook only stares at you, slow blinks, a fucked-out gaze yet his mind is running in anticipation, wanting nothing more than your hands on him. His legs open, welcoming you in as you sit between them, discarding your ruined panties and throwing them aimlessly to the floor. He follows the trail of your movements, eyes glued to your hands as they travel up his muscular thighs until they’re a jerk of his hips away from landing where he wants you most. He stays still, but his cock twitches, landing back on his pelvis and making him hiss.

“You made a mess,” you say, index finger tracing the skin below his belly button, wetting it with the sticky pre-cum and bringing it to your mouth, past your lips, circling your tongue around it. You taste him, eyes closing for a brief second only to find his own shiny ones, big and doe like – eyebrows scrunched up as he dances the line between pleasure and pain.

“Please, ___.”

“Please what, Koo?”

“P-Please,” he whines, mind strained as he tries to collect his thoughts. “Touch me, baby. Please.” The last word is but an airy whisper and his pleads tug at your heart, his voice so sweet, demeanour so pliant. So surrendered to you.

You decide to give him a little say – a reward for putting full trust on you. Finger still hooked between your lips; you look up at him. “Do you want my mouth? Or my hands…,” the same wet finger travels down, tracing his shaft – making him buck his hips against it, the touch bordering on torturous, in need of friction. Your fingers travel to your pussy, his eyes following their every movement as they dive between your folds, collecting your slick before you circle them slowly against your clit. “My pussy?” Your voice makes him look back at your face, those same pleading eyes. “I’m so wet, Koo…”

“F-fuck- I can see that.” He muses, voice slightly cocky – too much for your liking, at least. You raise a brow at him, narrowing your gaze. “Your pussy, baby. Please let me fuck you.”

Your gaze darkens, eyes squinting slightly and your silence lets him know he’s walked himself into something he doesn’t think he’s able to sit patiently through.

Your body lowers, confirming his suspicions as you wrap your hand around his shaft, pumping as you circle your wrist – rapidly picking pace as your lips close around his head, tongue circling around it before you suck frivolously, not giving him time to settle into one feeling before you’re handing him another.

“Fuck- fuck. I’m gonna cum if you do that.” His tone hints panic, voice lilting at the end as it turns into a moan.

“You won’t.”

“Baby,”

You shoot him a wicked grin before your head lowers once again, resuming your diabolical blowjob that has Jungkook fighting with his own pleasure, his taut stomach muscles tightening as he focuses on his breathing, eyes closing and fingers pulling at his own hair, trying to ground himself. When you take him all the way in, throat closing around his crown, his fist closes around the sheets, knuckles turning white with force.

“Fuck my mouth, Koo. I want to feel you.” Your command is swift and when your eyes meet his he looks like he could cry at any moment, but nonetheless he obliges. So, so good for you as both his hands land gently at the sides of your face, caressing briefly before tightening his grip slightly. His hips push upwards, cock immediately hitting the back of your throat as you close it around his sensitive head. You’re prepared when he fucks into your mouth, gag reflex non-existent as you suction him in – the push and pull of his thrusts and your throat contracting around his dick, making Jungkook’s hands shake against your cheeks.

“C-Can’t- too much, please,” he cries.

Your mouth releases his cock from its tight grip, giving him a couple of languid pumps as your body climbs on top of his, lips finding his own for the first time in what feels like forever to Jungkook.

“I m-missed your lips.” His voice is soft, a combination of his state and the way your mouth feels on his – tender but full of intent, tongue dancing with his as you lean into the kiss, moaning as you taste him, you on him, him on you. The two of you together.

“They’re yours, baby.” Your touch is soft as you push his bangs away from his face, kissing his forehead gently. He whimpers, keening into your touch – his own lips forming a pout, placing a gentle kiss against your throat.

“I need you, please,” his lips travel down, hesitant and sweet, open-mouthed kisses on your collarbones “Want to feel you.”

“You will, Koo. You’ve been so good- made me feel so good, baby.”

He nods sheepishly at your words, eyes closing as you plant one last kiss to his cheek before you’re reaching to his bedside table for a condom. He whines a little at the loss of proximity, wanting your body. Needing to feel you however he can have you. He’s been patient – too patient.

“How do you want me?” You ask, bringing the foil package to your teeth and ripping it open. It takes him awhile to process your question, eyes fixed on your mouth, mind lost in finally having you. You want nothing more than to please him, to follow his every wish.

“Like this. Ride me baby, please.”

And he’s just so polite, his voice so quiet, a little timbre to it – a little shake. So overwhelmed and drawn over the edge. He’s all for you, wanting to give himself to you entirely. He wants to be held, wants to see you as you fuck him – wants it slow. He just wants you.

You comply, straddling his lap once again as you roll the condom on. You’re more than ready to take him, your slick running down your inner thighs and making a mess out of his. But nonetheless, you’re used to the stretch of his fingers and his swollen cock looks intimidating right now. You lower your head, collecting saliva in your mouth before you let it fall, slowly landing on the tip of his cock, making him hiss.

“You’ve been so good, Koo. So good for me. I want you so fucking bad.”

Jungkook nods at your words, a small whine leaving his swollen, bitten red lips. His big eyes are glassy, shaky hands gently grabbing at your hips, bringing your body closer to his. His touch isn’t firm, no set pace to his actions – he’s completely given up to you. Let you claim him, have him. And perhaps this is your way to seal the sea of feelings that you wish you could speak. Your own way of telling him I want you to be mine.

You stare at him, his big expectant eyes looking up at you as if you held the secrets to the most precious resolutions of the world. His touch feels like burning coal on your skin, velvety yet fiery – so beautifully dangerous. You stroke his cheek, your own actions as gentle as his.

“You’re so beautiful, Jungkook.” He shies at your praise, cheeks tinting a soft red, a lopsided smile forming at his lips before he draws them in-between his teeth, biting slightly as his eyes follow the movements of your body. You reach for his cock, pumping once, twice before you align him to your dripping cunt, teasing yourself a little as you roll your hips. He moans, the sensitive tip grazing your clit a couple of times before you’re finally sinking your hips into his, taking him all the way in at once.

“Shit, shit- gahh, baby- you’re so tight.”

“Jungkook,” his name is a moan, leaving your pouty lips and hitting him straight where he wants you most.

“Mm- ff-fuck. Please, baby- fuck me.”

You comply. You give him what he wants because he’s everything you want. Your hands palm at his chest, feeling his heartbeat on your flesh, finding leverage on his firm muscles as you begin the sweet push and pull of your hips. Your eyes never once break away from his, fighting to stay open as he lets pleasure take over him – the feeling of your snug walls around his swollen cock so overwhelmingly good. He’s been on edge for longer than he can find sane words to describe but having you like this makes him want to delay his release for as long as he can. He wants to see you, feel you for a while longer.

You raise your hips until it’s just his crown being swallowed by your pussy, pulsing uncontrollably as you try to bring yourself down – ever so close to the edge, too. Jungkook wants to touch you, run circles with his thumb over your clit, feel how wet you are, have you coming undone over him, around him. Your breath is shaky already and he wants to hear you – to know just what he does to you. But he doesn’t. He lets you see what you do to him, lets you bask on the notion that the effect you have on his body is like nothing he’s experienced before.

He cries when you take him all the way in once again, so deep and forceful his eyes win the fight, shutting close as his back arches, head sinking into the pillows as he feels that steady climb. It feels so good – you feel so good, his eyes prickle with tears, erratic puffs of air leaving his mouth as you ride him faster.

“Feel good, Koo?”

“Yes. Yes, that feels s-so- good. Fuck, ___.”

“I’m so close, baby – fuck me please.”

At your request, he does just that. His feet push into the mattress, his grip on your hips tightening just enough so that he can keep you still as he begins to thrust, cock pistoning into you. You feel so full, mind hazy and knees weak as he hits that spot inside of you repeatedly – not faltering once, putting all the energy he’d been saving into ripping that explosion inside of you. He bites his lips, brows furrowed, eyes on a back and forth between revelling on the way your bodies connect and your bouncing tits above him. Your plump pussy lips are swollen, hugging his cock perfectly. All of you is so fucking perfect.

“Let me touch you, baby. Please let me make you cum,” he asks, voice soft, big eyes pleading and you can only nod your head once – not a single inch of space inside your brain for anything but him and how good he feels inside of you.

His thumb lands on your clit, slipping a few times and he moans over how much you’re dripping around him. He draws tight little circles around your nub and it’s a matter of seconds before you feel that pressure in your lower stomach, hips bucking and legs closing in around him.

“Fuck- I’m gonna cum, Koo. I’m gonna cum,” your high-pitched moans fill the room, a string of yes following as his thumb moves faster, swiftly until the world stops for about a second and you cum – hard and loud around his cock.

“Fuck- yes, baby- yes.” He praises between gritted teeth.

Your head is foggy, limbs weak as you ride the last remnants of your orgasm, gathering in your last stretch of strength as you take a hold of both his wrists, pushing them away from you and pinning them against the mattress. You sit on his cock until he bottoms out, not moving, just letting him feel your walls clench around him. He whimpers, whole body shaking slightly as goosebumps form on his skin, turning his head from you as he lets out a moan.

“Look at me.”

You roll your hips once, clenching around him deliberately and he does – he looks at you, so utterly fucked out, so pushed to his very own limit he can’t even find coherent words, just a soft whisper of your name. You start moving, fucking him again – full control as all he can do is stare at you. You kiss those soft little whines from his lips, tongue licking at his until he’s hissing, his senses so powered up every touch feels like fire on his skin. Another roll of your hips throws him dangerously close to the edge, a loud cry passing his lips, falling straight into your mouth.

“I’m gonna- please let me cum. Please, baby, I’m-”

He’s so sweet, and ever so yours, to deny him.

You kiss him once more, short but deep before you say, “cum for me, Koo. Let go.”

And all it takes is your honeyed words and lips on his once again as you kiss him for him to finally hand all power back to his body as he cums hard, spilling into the condom as you still your movements, feeling the way he throbs, the warmth. You bite on his bottom lip, swallowing his moans as his body jerks and shakes under you, riding the final seconds of his orgasm, longer than expected, taking you both by surprise.

“Oh, fuck…” he says, head spinning. He feels exhausted, fighting with the oversensitivity, not strong enough to move or pull away. Enjoying the feeling of your body on top of his as you relax against him.

You pull away, rolling to the side until your back hits the mattress. You look at him, hand outstretching as your fingers lace themselves in his hair, giggling as the touch makes him shiver.

“That was so good.”

He looks at you, shiny eyes and lazy smile – so dreamy.

“I’m glad you sought justice.”

You laugh. “Fair-play.”

He bites his lip, gaze darkening. “Fair play.”

~

Jungkook’s fingers tap mindlessly to the beat of the music coming from the stereo. One of his hands grips the steering wheel firmly and the other sits between your legs, snaked around your inner thigh as he squeezes. You’re singing along, head leaning from side to side to the rhythm. He turns to you for a brief second, smiling. Your eyes are glued to the view ahead as you enter his parent’s posh neighbourhood. It’s quiet and serene, in perfect tune to what characterizes places like this on a Saturday.

The trees are green and full, the fences tall, keeping the houses out of reach from the world – each its own little bubble. You can tell its old money, vintage cars adorning the classic architecture of the houses. It’s different from Jungkook’s neighbourhood – more intimidating and secluded.

“Did you grow up here?”

“Mhm,” he says, thumb gently caressing the soft skin of your thigh.

“Did you have neighbourhood friends?”

Jungkook chuckles. “Jin and Jiminie lived a couple of blocks away from me.”

“Did you decorate for Halloween?”

He frowns at your question. “Mm, nothing too extravagant. Just your standard.”

“That’s sad. This place has a lot of potential.”

He throws his head back, laughing at your remark. “Soori was very little last year but, I want to dress her up this year. Take her trick or treating or something. She’ll probably be walking by then.”

Your eyes widen in excitement, clapping your hands as you say, “oh, oh, oh! Halloween’s my favorite holiday. Christmas, too. And Valentine’s Day. Easter’s always fun, too.”

“That’s all the holidays, baby.”

“I’m not picky.” You say, smiling and entwining your fingers in his. “What are you going to dress her up as?”

Jungkook drives up his parent’s entryway, retrieving a small remote control that opens the tall gates.

“I don’t know yet,” he ponders for a minute before he turns to you, “maybe you can help me?”

You look at him, big smile forming on your lips as you nod excitedly. “My pleasure.”

The gates open and your mouth gapes, gawking in awe at the sight before you. A French Renaissance style home, cream walls and dark ceilings making up its tall structure. Big windows adorn the walls, framing the tall entrance. A beautifully sculpted garden of red roses and green bushes open way for its magnificence.

“Woah,” you whisper.

“They’re minimalists.” Jungkook teases, sarcasm lacing his tone.

“Can’t believe you grew up in an actual Chateau.” You say, making him chuckle once again.

“I’ll be right back, baby.” Jungkook’s soft lips peck your cheek loudly, making you giggle before you nod.

He smiles, taking one last look at you before he’s exiting the car, walking towards his parent’s front door. It’s a hot summer day and he knows they’re going to be making the most of it, probably having breakfast by the sun in the garden.

He enters their home, pace picking up as he makes his way to the backyard. He can make out the smell of freshly squeezed orange juice and sweet pastries coming from the kitchen, slightly enticing. He wishes he could stay – with you. Eat breakfast with his parents, have them get to know you. If they knew you, really knew you, they’d like you. His father already does, although he’s not so sure how fondly he’d feel of the fact that you’ve grown close enough to comfort to his family. To him and Soori. An unconscious frown adorns his face. Out of all the things he worried about when it came to you, his parents’ opinion was never one. He realizes he might’ve given himself a mental hall pass, having too much on his mind to give it a second thought. After all, Jungkook had set flight on his own at an early age - claiming independence, an unspoken deal between the three of them.

His father had realized his potential, being their only child and chance at keeping The West End a family affair. But Jungkook was far too in tune with his own sense of self – ‘head in the clouds’ his mom would say, condescending, but in her language, a soft way to justify his ways. So, they’d seen eye to eye – he’d take over the business, making use of that innate talent his father had seen in him. And in return, they’d let him do it with passion – his way.

So far, the deal had worked. Jungkook was the man his father had envisioned him as, in surface. An extraordinary CEO, capable of running the business and making it soar to grounds above. Bringing freshness and new approaches to it, something they both deemed important. Not only that but he was a great father, a family man. With these two covered, there was little say they had in his life – another thing all parties involved were aware of.

But what’s so rebellious about the life Jungkook had lived until now? The modern and envied cookie cutter outcome of socialites. He met a beautiful girl and established a serious relationship. They both built respectable names for themselves, a society. The infamous power couple title that was bestowed upon them by the back and forth gossip their relationship brought into their radius. They had a baby, built a family, became the dream of many and set themselves for a destined future together. His parents never dared have a say because there was nothing to object. He’d landed right where he ‘belonged’, as ironic as it sounds.

You go against the morale of everything that his destiny deems to be the right path. It’s the cliché that could land him in misinterpretations if exposed to the public – the love affair with the nanny, younger than him, from a different ‘world’. The thought alone aggravates him, growing defensive over the possibility of anyone putting an adjective that you don’t deserve over your name.

A new set of fears occur him. You are not where his doubt lays – at this point, saying he’s not sure of how important you’ve become in not only his but his daughter’s life would be hypocritical towards himself, a self-inflicted lie. A defense mechanism. It’s the easiest way out, but also the most painful. When he walks towards you in the wake of uncertainty, he feels safe.

What makes him doubt is the side effect, what it would entail for you. You’re so young, so full of life. Would he ever be able to take on the guilt of stripping you off your freedom in the name of what Jungkook feels brewing in his chest.

In the name of something that feels awfully close to love.

His pondering is cut short as he finally reaches the open doors that lead to the garden.

“Darling!” His mother chirps, cup of coffee in hand as she beckons to him.

Soori squeals, jumping excitedly in her high chair, the same one he used to sit on when he was her age. It’s a bit of a relic and a mixture of nostalgia and the soothing feeling that settles upon him when he sees her makes him smile.

“Good morning,” he says, walking straight towards Soori. “Hi, princess. I missed you, baby.” He undoes the straps that restrain her, chubby hands excitedly reaching for him. Once she’s finally in his arms, he brings her closer, placing a loud kiss on her cheek. And then another, repeating the action until she’s squirming, pushing him away as she giggles. He smells her hair, takes a good look at her. He missed her. “How was she?”

“Delightful.” His father says, eyes leaving the newspaper he’s holding for the first time since Jungkook stepped inside veranda.

“Mrs. Lee just changed her. She’s inherited your appetite, honey. Table manners, too.” His mom adds, shaking her head.

“That’s my girl.” Jungkook says, kissing Soori’s cheeks once again.

“Sit down, son. We’ve set up a place for you.” His father tells him, eyes back on his paper as he motions to the chair at the far end of the table.

“Thank you, but I gotta run.”

“You do not, darling. It’s a Saturday.”

“___’s waiting for us in the car.”

He could’ve made up any excuse but he decides to test the waters. His boldness takes everyone in the table by surprise.

His father’s eyes are back on him. “Why’s that?”

“She’s Soori’s nanny.”

“I thought you mentioned she didn’t work on weekends.” His mother muses.

He doesn’t have to lie; he knows this much. More importantly, he doesn’t want to lie. But he can’t find words to explain either. It’s then that he realizes that he’s grown feelings for you that are more complex than he’d originally thought. Complex enough to explain to himself, let alone to other people.

Not to mention his parents.

So, Jungkook lies.

“I’m working today.”

At this, the tension in the room dissipates. But it only grows stronger inside Jungkook’s chest. His mother nods, humming in acknowledgment. His father’s gaze fixes back to the news, silent for a moment before he adds: “Don't work on weekends unless it’s outmost necessary, son.”

“Noted.” He affirms.

“Come by for lunch tomorrow?” His mother approaches them, giving Soori a gentle kiss on the cheek.

“Sure, I’d love that, mom.” She pats him on the cheek, walking him to the front door to see the two of them off.

Once they make it to the tall wooden doors, she pauses, hesitating for a moment as he swings them open. She looks at you, eyes fixed downwards as you wait patiently, sat in the passenger’s seat.

“How old is she?” His mother asks.

“Huh?” Jungkook says, turning to look at her, confusion lacing his features until he follows her line of vision and his eyes land on you. “Oh. Uh- she’s twenty-three.”

“Awfully young.” Her tone is soft, strikingly contrasting her words.

“Yeah.”

“She must need the money. To be working weekends, I mean.”

Jungkook stares at his mother, his eyes trying to fish for something that would give away the motives of her small talk away. He finds nothing, just contemplation. Nonetheless, her tone is suggestive enough to make him feel defensive.

“Anything wrong with that?”

She turns to him, silent for a brief second as she takes him in. “No. Don’t overwork her, that’s all.” She gives him a tight-lipped smile.

“Noted.” He returns it.

~

Soori’s tiny fist grips tightly to your index and middle finger, her other holding tightly to her dad’s thumb. Her steps intercalate with short little jumps here and there as she grows excited. Jungkook bends a little, trying to follow her pace and you do the same – the three of you surrounded by the tall bookshelves that make up the library. It’s empty and a peaceful silence fills the walls, only broken by Soori’s unintelligible babble. But she only adds to the peace, sweet coos warming your heart as she looks around her and smiles at nothing in particular – just taking the world in.

It’s still fifteen minutes until book club and you’ve spent the past ten minutes just like this. So far, this one dates to one of your favourite Saturdays of the Summer, only dethroned by the one that landed Jungkook in one of these same hallways. The Saturday he kissed you.

“I love today.”

You’re sincere, always speaking your mind. Jungkook can almost predict when you’re about to do so – taking in the way you contemplate, dreamy sighs passing your lips, a softness to your eyes that he can only mimic.

“Me too.”

“Thank you.”

He stops in his tracks, looking up at you. “You don’t have to thank me, baby.”

“I want to.”

He loves that about you.

“Hey, what are you doing after? We can wait around in the area and then go get some pizza once you’re done? Mai, Tae and Dae can come with.”

“I’d love that, Koo.”

“Perfect, baby.”

He leans closer to you, still in that bent over position and it makes you giggle. He narrows his eyes at you for a second before that signature pout shapes his lips. His eyes close in anticipation. You kiss his cheek instead.

“Excuse me,” he begins, eyes opening, gasping in mock shock.

You look at him, no longer laughing but simply taking him in. Your smile speaks words that he can’t hear, yet he feels them.

You tell him anyways.

“I like you so much, Jungkook.”

He straightens, taking Soori in his arms, bouncing her on his hips as she mewls, displeased at being back in the air.

“___,” he holds your gaze, his own avalanche of feelings breaking in his chest. So much to say, so little words he can find. He wonders how something so soft can produce such great fears inside of him. He sighs, finding a middle ground. “I like you, too.”

It’s the truth.

But not the whole truth.

~

You smile at Soori as she hands you one of her blocks, taking it from her and when you do, she grabs a hold of another one and proceeds to do the same. You put them in one of her baskets, tidying up after a day of, you will admit, mostly playing. She deserves it – it is her birthday tomorrow after all.

“Thank you, Soo,” you coo at her as she hands you another block. She smiles, seemingly proud of herself, babbling a response your way. “You’re such a big girl. Don’t tell daddy, though.”

“Dada?” She chirps excitedly, head turning frantically towards the front door as she scans the space for him.

“Not yet, baby. Soon though! Let’s finish cleaning.”

She just stares at you, confused for a second but then back to her smiling self, passing you more toys so that you can put them away. She’s so smart – quick for her age and overall, the best baby. You love her so much.

You can’t help but think about that conversation you had with Mai during the hotel inauguration – back when Jungkook was an enigma you were yet to decipher. How she’d told you how Soori was everything good about him. How she perfectly mirrored all his goodness. You look at her now, thinking about him. They’re everything there is to love.

They’re the extra in the ordinary.

So easy to fall for.

The front door swings open, making Soori squeal in excitement, falling to the floor from her standing position against the coffee table. She begins to crawl, attempting to round the sofa and getting frustrated halfway.

You pick her up, holding her in your arms as you walk towards the doorway. “Come on, baby. Let’s say hi to daddy, yeah?”

She claps her hands in excitement, outstretching them towards Jungkook as soon as she sees him. He smiles, warm relief swarming his inside as he sees her.

“Hi, princess. Missed you.”

She falls to his arms, a muffled Dada leaving her tiny lips as he kisses her cheeks with enough force to squish them.

“How was your day,” you ask him.

He mimics his previous actions, holding your face in his hands, squeezing gently as he kisses your cheek.

“Hi, baby. Missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” You blush, never fully getting used to him coming home.

To him coming home to you.

“It was good – happy the week’s over, though. What about yours? Did you two have fun today?” He looks at Soori, bouncing her a little until she’s letting out those soft baby giggles he loves so much.

“Yep. Had the best day ever. We just played.”

You sound genuinely excited and it makes his heart skip a beat – making him melt a little.

“That’s good. A fun last stretch before she’s one,” he kisses her chubby cheeks again.

You squeal in excitement. “I can’t wait.”

Jungkook simply smiles, a fond expression to his face as he looks at his daughter. But his eyes say more than he lets out – his passive demeanour alerting you that something’s on his mind.

“Hey, what are you two doing tonight?” You ask him, brushing Soori’s silky hair from her face. She needs a haircut.

“Mm, didn’t have many plans. Some dinner, maybe a movie.”

His tone is nonchalant but your question weighs heavy on him.

All week had been filled with excitement leading up to Soori’s first birthday – a milestone that they’d both reached. It made him feel proud, not only making it this far but also seeing how perfect his daughter was. In every sense – how she grew and developed new skills every day. Soori was everything Jungkook dreamt of when the first idea of her blossomed in his heart. But this moment wasn’t.

It’d hit him – slowly like painful things often do. You’re envisioning a certain scenario, some mundane and ordinary in nature and then reality settles upon you like an unwelcomed guest that you have to entertain for the sake of nothing that’s justifiable. He didn’t have to entertain the feeling further – simply realizing that Ira wouldn’t be here to witness her first birthday could’ve been enough. But one intrusive thought led to the other, undoing the tight knot he’d wrapped around the part of his heart that still hurt for her.

It was a domino effect, one realization after the other. He thought about him and Soori sat in front of her birthday cake, smiling. How that’d be the family picture that would characterize that day. He wondered if she’ll ask about it when he handed her the box of polaroid’s he’d been collecting with her every milestone. He thought about the way he’s now Dada to her, pained with the idea that soon enough she’ll have to learn Mama. It angered him, how the word felt so empty in comparison to his.

The idea of missing from Soori’s life terrified him. He wanted to be there for her. Birthdays, first days of school, first words and steps. Graduations and celebrations – he felt the vital need to be there. He couldn’t grasp his head around the idea of Ira not wanting the same.

Thinking of his daughter, Jungkook realized that he was enough for her. But in moments like these he felt like his love was scarce. Like his voice was too quiet as he walked her through life.

Four months ago, he thought his plans today would consist of reminiscing on his daughter’s first year of life. Being stripped of that weighs heavy on him.

“Why don’t you two come over for a little bit? Lucy made lasagna and I heard they’re dyeing Jimin’s hair back to black, or at least attempting to.”

Jungkook stares at you, slightly confused as to how you always manage to make him come afloat when that heaviness makes him feel like he’s sinking. How you make him feel like he can breathe.

He hesitates for a second and you almost think of saying something along the lines of it’s cool if not though, don’t worry but you realize how silly that would sound, so you stand your ground; big eyes looking up at him, smile still on your face.

He looks down at Soori who smiles at him. “Yeah, we’d love that.”

~

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeek, baby!” Lucy claps her hands together at the sight of a very giggly Soori, still in her father’s arms as the three of you enter the apartment.

“Soo-Soo!” Jimin comes out of the bathroom, a clear shower cap over his head as he lets the dye settle into his hair.

“You’re a toxic hazard, no getting close to baby.” Lucy says, shoving a hand in his chest and pushing him back. She looks up at Jungkook. “Hi. Can I hold her?”

Jungkook stares at Soori and then back up at her. “Hi. Uh- yeah, sure.”

Soori’s comfortable in Lucy arms, loving the excitement she feels at seeing her – simply basking in the love and attention. It’s so easy, so simple to love her. It makes Jungkook’s heart soothe itself slightly, the idea that the world sees that gentleness in her that he loves so much.

“Can she eat lasagna?”

Lucy’s question makes him chuckle. “Yeah. Just- tiny pieces.”

“Tiny pieces for the tiny baby, gotcha.”

Without wasting another second, she walks towards the kitchen, proceeding to plate it in a small bowl for her.

“We should probably keep an eye out – this place is not babyproof and neither is Lucy.” You say, eyes on them like a hawk.

Jungkook smiles. “She’ll be fine.”

“Do you want lasagna?”

He nods. “Yeah, baby. Thank you.”

You give him a nod and a smile, heading to the kitchen to help Lucy out. Jungkook heads to the bathroom, a frowning Jimin inspecting the DIY dye job he and Lucy had done. There’s still patches of bleached hair, even miscellaneous strands of pink here and there. Jungkook chuckles, hands inside his pockets as he takes his friend in.

“What’s so funny” Jimin sneers when he notices him.

“You? Duh.”

“Duh- what are you? Twelve?”

“Twelve-year-old me could’ve done a better job than that.” Jungkook says, tilting his chin towards his hair.

“Ha-ha, very clever.”

“In fact, twelve-year-old me probably did. Here, sit down.”

Jimin sits down on the toilet seat, eyes following Jungkook as he steps inside the small bathroom. A heart-shaped magnet holds a polaroid of you and Lucy, bright smiles adorning both your faces. It makes him grow soft. He proceeds to put gloves on, hands giving the bleach a mix before he walks towards his friend – inspecting the damage done and crafting a solution.

“How are you?” Jimin asks.

“Me? Fine. Why?” Jungkook doesn’t look at him, eyes fixated on his hair as his fingers move through the strands of hair.

“Because I’ve known you for far more years I wish to at times, dumbass. And if you’re not fine, it’s okay.”

He looks down at Jimin, a snarky remark threatening to leave his lips just so he can cover the sadness that takes over him when reminded of why his friend's sixth sense is ticking. But he’s too tired to pretend.

“She’s turning one tomorrow.”

“Nostalgic or… something else?”

“Something else. Or maybe nostalgic, I don’t know. Maybe it’s nostalgia for something I won’t have. She won’t have.”

“Gguk. Soori has an army of people that love and adore her. Tomorrow’s going to be special. And fun. And she won’t remember anything but we’ll make sure to tell her just how happy she was. How happy we all were.”

Jungkook nods, a faint smile on his lips. “Yeah.”

“And don’t you dare for a fucking minute think you’re not enough for that little girl. Or that she would’ve done any better.”

He looks down at him, confused at his sudden change in demeanour.

“I know that. Soori doesn’t. Or- she won’t. In the future, I mean.”

“That’s far from now, Gguk. I get it- or well, I try to. I understand where you’re coming from. Maybe I see things with a bigger perspective, maybe being on the outside looking in allows me to make things simpler than they are. But I think you need to hear simple answers to the harshness you’re putting on yourself. You love Soori. You’re her world. You need to start understanding that that is the root of all things. That as hard as the road gets, if you have that, wherever it takes you it will be enough.”

Jungkook thinks of the first time he saw his daughter, of all the unspoken promises he made to her when he held her tiny body in his arms. That incessant need he had to make the world a good place for her – even if he could only do with so much. He now realizes that that promise had kickstarted something inside of him. Something that made him softer, more vulnerable. A thing that only grew with her.

He thinks of you. Of his feelings for you that oftentimes feel like a road with a destination he can’t attest for – a place within him he’s never explored before. But he knows that the beginning of it was pure, a thing you would perhaps call love. A thing that only grows, too.

~

You knock on Jungkook’s doorbell, taking a step back and waiting for the door to swing open. You fidget in place, in half excitement and half nerves. Your pink sundress blows in the wind slightly – it’s a perfect summer day, in tune with the perfect summer baby that you can’t wait to cuddle in what you hope is a matter of minutes. You’re carrying a medium-sized pink box, a white ribbon around it, tied in a perfect knot at the top – her birthday present.

The door swings open, a big smile taking over your face immediately at the sight of Soori and Jungkook. He looks at you, takes you in. Your pretty pink dress and white converse. He looks down at Soori, smiling. Your eyes grow shiny at the sight of her. She’s wearing a one-shouldered baby pink tulle dress, a pink bow wrapping around the middle like she’s by far the best present at this birthday party. Hint: she is. She jumps in her dad’s hold excitedly, swinging her little feet back and forth, white converse on hers, too.

You put the box on the floor for a brief moment and right as you come back up, she free-falls into your arms, taking both you and her dad by surprise. She screams, loud giggles leaving her lips at being with you again.

“Happy birthday, bub.” You hold her to you, cheek to cheek, so tight but she lets you cuddle her – something that has become a rare occurrence with most people nowadays. You look up at Jungkook, smiling softly when you say, “and happy first year as a dad, Koo.”

He doesn’t think about it twice, doesn’t double check his surroundings to make sure nobody’s looking. He simply takes one step forwards and wraps you in his arms, Soori included. He hugs you, breathing in your scent, just letting himself enjoy how happy he is to see you – all smiles and party ready, accidentally matching with Soori.

“Thank you for coming.” He means it. Not as a formality, but from a place that acknowledges the comfort that settles through him.

“Thank you for having me.” Your gratitude doesn’t come from formalities either.

“Come in. You hungry? There’s a hot dog stand. Soo already had two.”

“All by herself?” You coo, baby voice on.

“Mhm,” he assures.

“Seriously can’t wait for you to talk, baby girl.”

Jungkook laughs at this, hand softly placed on your back as he walks you towards the backyard.

It’s a safari dreamland – all pink, gold and brown. Balloons taking over the space in various forms and shapes, a tepee at the very back with various animal statues sat at the front – a zebra, an elephant and of course, a giraffe, so realistic you can barely believe your eyes. Her cake sits proudly on a table, a three-piece wonder, courtesy of Lucy, surrounded by delicious looking pastries all matching the décor. Her name sits on top of the cake in blue candied syrup letters: Soori.

“Your wedding is going to have competition, Miss Blue.”

“Oof,” Jungkook says, hand on his heart as he sighs dramatically. “One big day at a time.”

You laugh. “Sorry, sorry. This is amazing, Koo. You’re-”

“What?”

It takes you a minute to answer. “The best. You’re the best dad.”

“Thank you. That means… a lot. Specially today.”

“Not just because of- all this,” you say, “but because she’s perfect, Jungkook. She’s perfect and she’s all you. You did this.”

Jungkook’s face is as serene as ever, small smile forming at his lips. But his heart is going places, an erratic beat to it that forms specks of something so warm inside of him – bursting rapidly, flowing through his every being until it’s leaving his lips.

“You too.”

You turn to him, eyes wide. “Huh?”

“You take care of her. But you do more than that and… I’m grateful. I see her in you. I like seeing her in you.”

Your brain tries to compute words but fails, not being able to think of an answer rather than I love her. I love you. That’s the more than that that he refers to: love.

“I-”

“___!” Mai’s voice startles you, making you jump slightly. She smiles at you, Kenny at her side, smiling too.

“Hi guys,” you say, regaining your composure and steading your heart that had grown frenzied just a couple of seconds ago.

“It’s so good to see you again, ___.” Kenny adds, taking Soori in her arms as she reaches for her. Once she’s finally settled, she looks back at you, changing her mind and going back to you. You take her in your arms, making everyone laugh. “She loves you.”

“Oh, like crazy.” Mai says.

You smile. “It’s nice to see you guys, too.”

She loves you.

Like crazy.

It echoes in Jungkook’s head, louder and louder with each passing second.

~

Soori’s eyes are a carbon copy of her dad’s. Big and doe like. They get puffy underneath when she smiles, just like right now. So shiny they look glassy as she claps to the beat of the people that love her the most singing her happy birthday. She struggles to keep focus on just one thing – eyes zooming from her cake and bright candles to every single person that surrounds the table. She finds your eyes, smiling just like hers and she giggles. She has no idea what’s going on but she loves it. She enjoys the love, the smiles of everyone on her. You’re far away – too far away and she doesn’t know better than associate you with happy moments.

Her arms reach for you, hands opening and closing in grabby motions, whining a little when all you do is wave and smile. Jungkook looks down at her and then at you. You give him a crooked smile, chuckling a bit at her insistence. When everyone breaks out in cheers, clapping loudly, her attention goes back to the crowd. She giggles, clapping along, too.

Jungkook kisses his daughter’s cheek, bringing her closer to him. His voice is a whisper only for her to hear when he says, “happy birthday, princess. Make a wish.”

They lean closer to the cake, his hand gently keeping her from getting too close to the flame.

It’s her wish but he makes it for her.

He doesn’t see it but you’ve got his polaroid ready, finger on the shutter, pushing into it at the most perfect time – big smiles adorning both their faces as they look at each other, ready to blow her candles. He does it for her, another round of applause and coos following, making Soori jump excitedly. She’s so happy, so full of love and life it gives Jungkook just that.

He looks over at you, finding your eyes with his own, his smile only growing bigger when he sees you. You shake the camera in your hand, showing it to him. He mouths a thank you and you wink. Soori finds you, too, whining and squirming until you’re walking closer to her. She falls in your arms once again and points to her cake, determined in having you see it even though she’s being swarmed with kisses and praises by her honorary aunts and uncles – all the people that took part in her first year of life.

It’s picture perfect. More so from afar.

Jungkook’s parents stand at a far end corner of the table, smiles on their faces as they see the moment unfold. They’re not very sentimental people yet they both acknowledge they managed to make just that. It fills them with pride and something they’d never thought they’d experience when Jungkook first came into the world.

He emits warmth – even to them.

“You were right.”

His father’s tone holds that stern nonchalance that characterizes him.

“Mhm,” his mother’s gaze doesn’t falter once. She nods, a tight-lipped smile on her lips as she focuses on you. Her granddaughter in your arms, her son smiling as she feeds Soori a piece of cake. She feels the flash go off before she sees your startled expressions, looking around until she catches Taehyung at the opposite side of the table, shaking the polaroid of you three he’d taken. “What are we going to do about it, darling?”

“I’ll talk to him.”

“No more suffering.” She turns to her husband whose eyes remain on his son. “I want to be there, too.”

“You bend too much for him. Always have.”

“He’s been through enough.”

“Yet he’s walking himself into another mess.”

Jungkook’s mother sighs.

“Head in the clouds, always.”

His father nods. “I’ll draw sense into him.”

He fixes his tie, a curt smile on his face as he rounds the table, walking towards his son.

“Hey, hey- wait! This one’s a bit blurry. Let’s take another one. Smileeeeee!”

Soori’s in your arms and she follows Taehyung’s command, big smile plastered on her face, flashing her perfect set of teeth top and bottom. Her cheeks grow puffy, eyes barely closed with how big she’s smiling. You turn towards the camera, mimicking her actions.

Jungkook does the same, standing behind Soori and leaning his chin on top of her head. She lets out a breathy giggle, taking the two of you by surprise, looking down at her lovingly in perfect sync just as Taehyung takes the picture.

He looks at you and the words that have been echoing inside his mind the whole day take on a new form.

He loves you.

Like crazy.

And picture-perfect captures just that.

~

yeah.

yup!

let me know what you guys thought! i love talking to you guys and i feel like this one’s going to stir some (healthy!) conversations. thank u for all the love and support and for being here, enjoying my lil story. i love u guys sm. i’m sending kisses and infinite love your way <3 xx.

~

★ taglist ★

@roro-in-utopia @yiyi4657 @littlrmills14-blog @namjooningelsewhere @drownforryou @iwanttohitmyself @finelinememories @yukiehyukie @shatzkrinslinzki @bts-fic-recs-mess @kokoandkookie @subtlepjiminie @hobipost @kookiesbreaky @di0rgguk @bloopkook @babyrosieareroses @kookiecrumb @casspirit0705 @eclectictacozinewobbler @tickledpink55 @rjsmochii @dimcorner @miniiimee @vintageroses10 @amyniu @tessxblxckthorn @emotionaltrashcansblog @fangirl125reader @laurynne5 @thickgrinch @dianaxnyc @ruinsofangels @berryonasummerevening @taeslarityy @hisunshiine @preciouschiminie @ruclements @galaxyflab @jalexad @missseoulite @bangtannoonalvg @kootonins @lustremyg

[alkalinefrog]

may I request your top 10 favorie lawlight fics ?? I’m really interested

AIGHT BUCKLE UP BUTTERCUP because I’ve got a lot of feelings about these! Also, people have been asking me for fics featuring:

Ryuk shenanigans

yagami sibling hijinks

whammy kids found family

----- from my bingo card I made a while back. Tbh, I put those on the list to try and manifest the energy into the universe hoping people would bring fics to ME about them lmao. I do have a couple that check the boxes though! 

Also thank you to everyone who’s been recommending me fics!! You’ve all hit the nail on the head and sing straight to my heart! I’m just slow to make my way through them between work. <3

GOING UNDER THE CUT (rip mobile users)

Aight here we go, in no particular order:

“Change OR the one where L and Light get married” by @translightyagami (I’m so sorry I keep tagging you in these alsfjkalsfdj)

The one I never shut up about and am adapting part of into a comic because it’s just that GOOD. :’’’D Light and L get married in front of Watari and Light’s family back at the Whammy orphanage in England. A melancholy yet painfully sweet tale as Light and L reminisce on their history together while getting ready for the ceremony, and their first night together afterwards. Single-handedly sold me on Kira being intrinsically part of Light to boot.

“the forest holds strange creatures” by @translightyagami (I’m sorryyyyyyy I just love your stuff)

An AU where Light’s a paranormal researcher and L’s a reclusive cryptid living in the forest next to a small town. The writing has a fairytale feel to it, and the romance is so gentle. Light’s bunking at Whammy’s small little house, and Near and Mello are there as little kids pestering Light. It’s ADORABLE. Beyond Birthday also shows up in one of the extra chapters as a creepy cashier at a thrift shop for double the fun!

"Sickness” by BlueberryValentine (more fics on their fanfiction.net account!)

The ultimate hurt/comfort + fluff + angst with a happy ending fic. The first fic I read to get back into lawlight a couple months back! Canon divergence starting during the Yotsuba arc. Light is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer while still under investigation. L has to take care of him, and somewhere along the way they fall in love. It carved out a chunk of my heart but luckily filled it back up with a sweet sort of aching.

“Seeking His Hand” by magic__mind

Historical regency AU! L is a rich nobleman courting Light, a humble farm boy, for his hand in marriage. One of the most romantic pieces of literature that I have ever come across. The prose is pure poetry, and their love so pure! This one also has a special place in my heart for its portrayal of Misa! She’s A)a spy who helps L on his cases, B)totally removed from her co-dependence for Light, C)the  bubbly badass she was always meant to be. 100/10 worth the read!

The “Resurrections” Series by Shadow_of_Quill

A modern Orpheus and Euridice story, wherein Light’s spirit leads L back from Hades while he’s still Kira. L is thereby present for the confrontation at the warehouse. Believing that any trace of Light is lost in the man, he executes him right then and there. However, this was a grave mistake, and Light’s soul won’t be as easily revived. (spoilers, they’re both fine in the end) ******* THIS ONE ALSO INCLUDES YAGAMI SIBLING HIJINKS. Sayu plays a HUGE role in bringing Light back!

“Is This The Way It Ends Now?” by Seastar98

The one that checks off ALL the above three boxes!! A “characters watch their own show” fic, wherein the gang receives a mysterious DVD in the middle of the Yotsuba arc. Horrified by what’s to come, Light and L work to make sure their future is brighter than the one they witness. They bring in all three heirs to watch with ‘em, everyone gets character development, and Sayu comes in like black panther in endgame yet again to bring Light back from the darkness! Ryuk pops up in the end and the epilogue and he’s great. The ultimate and most direct fix-it you’re ever gonna get.

“From the Same Star” by Nilahxapiel

This is my only pure “Ryuk Shenanigans” fic, and it’s really really sad :’’’D A short but sweet one-shot wherein Ryuk traverses multiple dimensions, dropping the Death Note at Light’s feet each time. Light and L were always fated to clash, and it’s just as heartbreaking every time. 

“Primitive Liars” by Nilahxapiel

This one’s super popular in the fandom for a reason! The only omegaverse fic that I’ve liked! The A/B/O dynamics and their affect on society are super well developed, and the writer manages to keep L and Light very in character while still developing their budding romance in a believable way. This is an AU where somebody else is Kira, and Light’s genuinely helping L and the task force hunt him down. ***** Naomi Misora lives, the heirs come in, and Sayu actually hops aboard the task force!!! DUDE. BRILLIANT. I also just love the exploration of gender and identity that the author weaves in. Lots of LGBTQ rep!

“and indeed there will be time” by lawlietismyfavorite

The ultimate soulmate AU. People grow to be 18, then stop aging until they meet their one. L is the greatest detective of not only this century, but of six centuries. And then there's Light. (taken straight from the description!) The prose is absolutely breathtaking; like walking through a dream. Can not recommend this fic enough! It’s got my head up in the clouds and looking towards the stars!

“K” by  Dlvvanzor

AU where Light’s a Whammy with the moniker ‘K.’ He and L grow up together along with kiddos covering the rest of the alphabet. A murder-mystery-thriller on top of the romance featuring Beyond Birthday as a main character! Light’s a pathological liar and L’s super into it. They’re the top students at Whammy’s and are tasked with solving a string of homicides happening RIGHT AT THE ORPHANAGE (guess who dunnit). It had me on the edge of my seat, and I binged the whole thing in two days.

i’mMMMM doing more than 10, this’ll just be my ultimate fic rec post 😂

“Change of Circumstances” by wordbombs

Another AU where Light’s a whammy! It’s just a one-shot though, but one of my all time faves!!! I’ve gone back and reread it so many times and drew some stuff for it a couple weeks back. Much more light-hearted than “K”, Light arrives at the orphanage at age four and meets an eleven year old L, and from there they grow up together and fall in love (the age difference is handled really well, L’s not physically present for a lot of Light’s childhood and they bond on a platonic level first). It’s one of the healthiest relationship dynamics that I’ve seen for these two, which is honestly such a breath of fresh air. Matt, Mello, and Near are there too in the background!

“Dial K for Kira” by @kiranatrix

“Light needs some easy money to finance his Kira plans, and notices there’s a big demand for Kira roleplay phone sex. So he figures, “Why not? Pretty sure I’ll be convincing.”He raises some fast cash and plans to shut the whole thing down and get back to writing names, until he gets a request from somebody who wants to “roleplay” as L....“

Taken straight from the description! It’s very VERY NSFW so be warned. I’m too shy to talk about it more alskfjdasldjf sorry BUT IT’S GREAT.

“Dance with Me” and “Birthday Note” by @dotti55fanfiction

These are both one-shots so I’m putting ‘em together! Absolutely adorable tooth-rotting fluff!! “Dance with Me” has Light and L going to a club, while “Birthday Note” features L trying to think of the best present for Light. The dictionary definition of “warm fuzzies.” (Dotti ilu, I still gotta find time to read your longer works)

“you’re a wasp nest” by  raisuki (inthegripofahurricane)

Blind!Light AU! Light and L are both college students who meet when Sayu dares L to break into her house. Yagami sibling hijinksssss! Their quippy dialogue is adorable and it’s just a fun time watching them flirt.

“softly now” by smallestbird (jenwryn)

THANK YOU TO THE ANON WHO SENT ME THIS REC. The softest lawlight one-shot to finish off this list! Light and L share an intimate moment while painting their new apartment. The absolute JOY this fic radiates in a short 700 words!! Read it before bed for the sweetest dreams!

These are just my favourites, but read anything by any of these authors and you will not be disappointed! I might make a separate post later for soulmate AUs because... There’s just too many. :’D

-Alka

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

hey so i'm hoping to get some writing advice about creative burnout? like i seem to write in fits and spurts. some months i can churn out a oneshot or chapter everyday and some months i can do one (1) creative thing only. so i'm wondering how to prevent creative burnout and how to just create more smoothly <3 thank you!

Creative Burnout & How To Ward Against It

First, I’d like to preface this all by saying you’re definitely not alone. You probably already know this, but sometimes it’s nice to be reminded.

I know from personal experience that creative burnout can leave you feeling hopeless, detached from yourself—the kind of identity crisis no one needs in 2020. 

So buckle in, folks. It’s a dosy.

I. The Symptoms

Not to be the local WebMD page here, but signs of burnout can include:

Procrastination (more than usual)

Dreading writing and feeling stuck or overly perfectionistic when you try

Physical tiredness and/or irritability

Feeling like everything is monotonous

It’s more than just writer’s block. It’s a physical and emotional exhaustion response to something that goes deeper than a simple lack of inspiration. In my experience, and from a bit of research, I’ve found that what your brain is really looking for is dopamine.

Dopamine is essentially your brain’s chemical reward system for doing something interesting or exciting to you. As someone who is diagnosed with ADHD, I have chronically low levels of dopamine, so this is a constant struggle for me—but it is absolutely made worse by creative burnout.

II. The Problem

Studies have shown that the more we do A Thing the less that thing will give us dopamine (unless a component of the activity changes regularly). This is because eventually our brains desensitise to the stimuli provided by the activity, and subsequently, we become disengaged.

But it’s not necessarily The Thing (i.e. writing) that becomes boring. Actually, more than a few factors could be at play here, and the first step to finding a solution is to identify the problem.

1. ENVIRONMENT LACKS EXCITEMENT/CHANGE—

Sometimes, the monotony of everyday life can feed creative burnout. This becomes especially applicable in quarantine when you’re not leaving your house.

What we don’t realise is that even something as small as the variables of driving to and from work, or interacting with passing coworkers, gives us dopamine. So if you have the same routine every day that does not involve any added variables, your brain will begin staunching that dopamine supply.

2. EITHER TOO EASY OR TOO CHALLENGING—

In 1975, Hungarian-American psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, coined the term “flow”, which refers to a heightened state of creativity and concentration on an activity. Csikszentmihalyi posited that if your skill level is equal to the level of challenge in any given activity, you will experience this state of flow.

The chart below is taken from Csikszentmihalyi’s own study on the subject of flow and motivation. It examines “your skill level” on the x axis in relation to the “challenge level” on the y axis.

Essentially:

Too much challenge + not enough skill = anxiety, worry (which might lead to procrastination and perfectionism)

Too much skill + not enough challenge = boredom, apathy (which might lead to monotony, irritability, and other depression-like symptoms)

Skill level = Challenge level = Flow

3. NOT ENOUGH “ACTIVE” STIMULATION—

When it comes to dopamine seeking, there is a distinct difference between active and passive stimulation in the brain.

Active stimulation is any form of activity that you have to actively engage in. For instance; exercising, doing a crossword puzzle, or reading a book. These kinds of activities not only give you dopamine, they also facilitate critical thinking and problem solving thought processes, which act as catalysts for creativity.

Passive stimulation, on the other hand, comes in the form of television, social media, and YouTube. It’s anything you can consume without having to actively engage. Passive stimulation will indeed give your brain dopamine, however, it won’t activate your creativity.

The problem also lies in the speed at which you receive the dopamine from passive activities. Passive stimulation is so easy to access that the more you consume, the harder it becomes to pick up active stimulation. Your brain expects a hit of dopamine just by picking up a phone or turning on the TV—it becomes addicted to the quick fix of a Netflix binge.

III. The Solutions

Based on the problems mentioned above, I am going to list a few solutions. Keeping in mind that not every solution will work for everyone, these can act as both preventative measures and remedies for someone who is currently burned out.

1. CHANGE UP YOUR ENVIRONMENT/ROUTINE—

Aim to do at least one thing per day that will add “variables” to the monotony. This can be as simple as going on a long walk, dressing up in that bold outfit you always wanted to wear to the office but never did, or sitting at a different workspace in your home.

Anything you can do that’s simple, but might provide an extra variable to your day to spice things up. Note: this shouldn’t be the same thing every day.

2. CHALLENGE YOURSELF MORE—

If you find yourself bored by your work, try challenging yourself more. This could mean setting goals for yourself that go a bit beyond what you’ve been doing. 

For example, if you’ve been writing 500 words per day, see if you can beat your own word count every day for the next week. If you’ve been writing mainly fluff pieces, switch it up and do an angst piece. See if you can write a book in a month, or start a blog where you don’t write fiction at all!

Anything you can do to add a little kick to your workload. Note: Beware of challenging yourself too much! This can lead straight back into burnout.

3. CHALLENGE YOURSELF LESS—

If you’re on the flip side of that coin, and find that you are anxious, procrastinating, and perfectionistic when it comes to writing, fret not. Just because you’re experiencing any of these things, doesn’t mean you’re incapable of doing the job with your skillset.

It just means your perception of the job needs to be shifted.

Procrastination, at its heart, is a fear of failure, which results in actively avoiding the negative emotions associated with the task that causes this fear. Perfectionism is a type of procrastination that is a combination of a fear of failure and a fear of success (or, more accurately, other’s critiques of your success) all at once.

Neither have anything to do with your actual skillset, but they have everything to do with your perception of your skillset. Obviously, this is a harder thing to fix, as it has to do with deeply ingrained levels of self-esteem.

What I can offer you is a tactic to trick your mind into thinking you’re capable.

If you have a task, big or small, and you are feeling overwhelmed by it (like you might go curl up in bed and scroll Tumblr), immediately break that task up into smaller tasks. Keep breaking up the smaller tasks until you have the smallest possible part of the bigger task without doing nothing.

Then do that smallest possible thing.

If your goal is to write a 2000 word one shot, a small part of that task is writing half of it. An even smaller part of that task is breaking the one shot up into “scenes” and writing one scene. For instance:

Jude wakes up to a sore throat, a runny nose, and a fever.

She tries to go to work, but Cardan, being the mother hen that he is, threatens to never make her another grilled cheese sandwich (her favourite food) ever again if she doesn’t stay home.

Jude agrees begrudgingly, and Cardan sits her down in front of the TV with a bottle of Gatorade. He leaves to go get medicine from the store.

When Cardan comes back, Jude is worse than before. He makes her soup and saltine crackers and spoon feeds her.

She complains the whole time and, in her feverish state, threatens to never buy him another bottle of wine (his favourite food) ever again if he doesn’t let her feed herself.

Each bullet point represents one “scene” of about 200-400 words each. Obviously, there will be more details that you work out as you write. But with these five smaller scenes, your goal is no longer writing the 2000 word one shot. Your goal is writing the first of the five scenes.

If you complete the smallest possible task, you can stop, and you’ll still feel like you’ve accomplished something because you can cross off that task from your list. But chances are, by the time you cross off one task, you may have inspiration enough to keep going.

4. ENGAGE IN ACTIVE STIMULATION—

Since active stimulation has been proven to turn on the creative “tap”, try incorporating more of these activities into your daily routine:

Exercise: As the resident couch potato, I hate to say that exercising is good for creativity, but it is. Even if it’s just going on a short walk, so long as you’re moving.

Reading: Sometimes you have plenty of ideas, but no words to fit those ideas. Fill your well of words by carving out an hour or two each day for reading a good book.

The Creative Process: In the writing world, the creative process is a process of about 20-30 minutes that the writer partakes in every day before they start writing. This process should be creative, but also have nothing to do with writing. You can try colouring in a colouring book, painting, organising a page in your bullet journal. Anything that is creative but does not make you think about everything you have to do that day. Think of it as creative meditation.

Listen to music: Having APD, I personally can’t listen to music while I write. However, studies have shown that if you listen to at least ten songs per day, it will significantly benefit your dopamine levels and overall mood. If you’re like me and prefer to work in silence, maybe stick on a couple songs during your creative process. If you can manage music and writing together, get out those headphones!

5. KEEP A REGULAR SCHEDULE—

I know this is the most cliche point in the book, but it’s valid. This doesn’t mean do the same thing at the same time every day over and over, because ultimately we’re looking to avoid monotony. 

But having pillars of structure to bolster the excitement can definitely work to keep you from slipping into burnout. Going to sleep, waking up, and having your meals at relatively the same time every day are good examples of this. 

Feel free to change up the things you do between breakfast and lunch, but make sure you have those pillars of consistency so your brain knows that a break is on the horizon and doesn’t get tired.

6. PACE YOURSELF—

This is particularly difficult for those of us who are coming out of a creative burnout, but I urge you to pay special attention to this one. If we are suddenly hit by inspiration and the writing is flowing and flowing and flowing, eventually we will hit the point of highest dopamine capacity for writing.

Not putting a check on the flood of inspiration coming out of a creative burnout, I’d argue, is actually a guarantee that many of us will experience burnout all over again. It becomes this vicious cycle in which we are trapped.

While it feels great to write non-stop and receive immediate validation for that work, try to limit yourself to how much you’re writing and how immediately you post your writing (if you plan on posting it).

Whenever I finish a one shot or a chapter of something, I like to allow at least one day for editing before I post. This timeframe is important, because it acts as a buffer of rest between writing marathons. 

You can take however long you need for the editing process, but definitely make sure you have a set amount of time in place. Otherwise, your brain might not have enough time to come down from what is essentially a writing high, and you will always need to reach greater heights in order to achieve that same level of dopamine.

~~~~

Overall, the most important things to take away from all of this are: 

Change up your environment

Keep your brain actively stimulated 

Have pillars of structure between which you can run about chaotically to your heart’s content

PACE YOURSELF!

Hope this helped. Happy writing!

-Em 🖤🗡

Writing Tip Masterlist

Fic Masterlist

Celebrate 2K with me!

[thisbeatchachinglikemoney]

Moonlight

Part 1 of the Boys with Luv series

Pairing: Yoongi x reader (eventual), Yoongi x BTS, dom!Yoongi x sub!Taehyung x sub!Jungkook

Summary: One night when Yoongi is out for a moonlit stroll, he finds a girl dancing in the park all alone. When he approaches her, his whole life changes forever.

Warnings: There is some mention of mental and physical abuse in this chapter, as well as some a theme of depression and mention of self-harm.

Tags:@calling-dips-on-j-hope​, @fic-recs-by-moon​, @luvtaeha, @aretha170​, @xicanacorpse​, @kookieebangtan, @fangirl125reader, @seoul9711​, @channiespup, @lindsayjoy444​​ 

Part 1 | Part 2

Y/N POV:

He was drunk. Again. This time it was worse than the others though. The other times he was drunk enough that he was tired and could not stay awake long enough to actually hurt me anymore than a couple of hits poorly aimed and a handful of harmful words thrown at me. But it was enough for me to fall further into a deep, black void that seemed to have no way out. It was inescapable. I could hear him banging and shouting to himself downstairs. I was in our room, pretending to be asleep. I rarely slept when he was around, scared of what he would do to me when I was unaware. 

That was why I slept while he was out during the day, and then would sneak out at night once I knew he was sleeping. I would go to a park nearby and just sit there and collect my thoughts. Sometimes I would let myself taste the sweet release that I got when I danced, but that was very rare. He banned me from dancing, saying it was like I was cheating on him by showing off my body to other people. And of course, I believed him. 

I guess the only good thing was that he wasn’t my soulmate. Everything was still black and white and all the shades of grey in between for me. But I just couldn’t find the courage in myself to get help to leave him. When I was in the park, I loved to listen to BTS to help myself find the courage to get through the next day. Just enough that I would want to survive. But that didn’t stop the want to die from slipping through some cracks. Small scars littered my wrists. They all looked almost silver to me, but I knew that if I could see colour, they would be red. The colour of blood. 

He laughed when he found out. Said I deserved it. Said I should do it more and maybe, just maybe, if I was lucky I would cut deep enough to end it. 

I could hear his footsteps thumping up the stairs now. I gulped and nestled under the blankets, trying to even out my breathing and slow it down to give the impression I was asleep. I almost flinched when I heard the door open, but I managed to stay still. 

“I know you’re awake.” He said, his voice dangerously calm. His footsteps grew louder until I could feel his breath fan over me. It stunk of cheap whisky and other alcohol. He scoffed. “Of course you’d ignore me. Stupid bitch!” He slapped me across the face, causing me to jolt forward and gasp in pain as red hot sparks shot across my face. I curled into a ball, protecting my face with my arms. “Worthless, good for nothing slut.” He pulled me off the bed and kicked me in the stomach, making me cry out in pain. I began to back away from him, pushing myself along the floor with my hands and feet as he walked towards me. 

My heart was pounding in my chest, my breathing erratic. I was scared. He could kill me. He lifted his foot as if he was going to stamp on my outstretched leg, but I rolled away just in time, earning myself a kick to the side. I whimpered and stumbled to my feet. I looked around for something, anything I could use as a weapon, as something to defend myself. My eyes zeroed in on a lamp. It was a gift from my mother; a metal base that had little knots of the material jutting out from the sides. I knew it was heavy. I knew that it could possibly knock him out.

I ran over to it and picked it up, yanking the plug out of the socket. He walked closer to me, scoffing. “You think you can hurt me with that?” He chuckled. “Sweet,” He began to undo the buckle of his belt and was about to pull it from its confines when I swung at him with the lamp. It was as if the gods were looking down upon me when the metal end connected with his head, knocking him out cold. 

I stared down at his unconscious body, breathing quickly. I tried to calm myself down as I grabbed my phone and shoes, quickly disabling my location services. I had to leave him. Next time, I may not be so lucky. I looked around and stuffed some clothes into a backpack, grabbed a charger and my toothbrush and ran out of the house.

I didn’t have a car. He never let me, since he was under the impression that I could get away with it. Guess he forgot I had two legs and could walk. I shivered slightly, wrapping my arms around myself in an attempt to warm me up. I was only wearing a light hoodie, not realising how cold it was.

But I’d be fine. I could just huddle up underneath some of my clothes - use them as a blanket. I didn’t have any friends I could go to - he had made me get rid of them as well. I suppose it was safer for them; he could have threatened to hurt them to get me to do anything. I looked up at the sky, seeing the moon glowing a bright white light, the beauty of it making me feel calm. The moon was full and round, the streets being illuminated by the moonlight as I made my way to the little park that was my safespace.

Yoongi POV:

“No, no, no, no!” I groaned as my computer froze, the coloured pinwheel spinning around as if to mock me. I slammed my hand down on the desk in frustration, knowing that there was a good chance that all my hours of hard work on this song would be deleted. 

I pushed my chair back harshly and got up, kicking at the chair in annoyance. “Stupid thing. Can’t even work properly.” I glanced at the screen, letting a small sliver of hope through, hoping that the work had been saved and that it was still there, almost at the point of completion. My heart sunk, the screen was black. There goes eight hours or more of hard work for nothing.

I picked up my phone to check the time. It was almost midnight. There was a miriad of texts from my hyung and dongsaengs, urging me to come eat. Hobi had said he had come to get me but I clearly didn’t or wouldn’t hear him so he left. There was food for me in the fridge and Jungkook was waiting up for me. Of course he was, the boy could not sleep without knowing that everyone was in the dorm. 

All seven of us were in a relationship with each other, yet we were not soulmates since it was not allowed between people of the same sex. Stupid homophobic system. But if Kookie was waiting for me, I guess I should stop working now. The boy would force himself to stay awake, which would make him grumpy the next morning. Sometimes he acts like a baby, but who can blame him? He is the maknae after all.

My phone dinged, signalling a text for Taehyung.

Tae ❤️:

Hyung, when are you coming backkkkk? The bed is empty and I’m colddddddd. Pleaseeeee hurryyyyyyyyy

I love youuuuuu

But hurryyyyyyy

I shook my head and chuckled at Taehyung’s cuteness. I decided I would not text him back, but rather call him as I collected my stuff. I clicked on his contact name and put the phone against my ear as I shut off the computer and walked out of Genius Lab, locking the door behind me. 

“Hyung! When are you coming back?!” Tae asked as soon as he picked up the phone.

“Tae, baby. I am on my way, okay? I’m just a bit stressed though, so I may have to have even more cuddles.” I said. Even though I never showed it, I loved having and giving hugs to the members. But only behind closed doors. I could never do it in front of the cameras. It would ruin my bad boy persona. 

“Cuddles!” Tae gasped. “Yay. Hurry, please, hyung.” He pleaded, dragging out the end of the ‘please’, making me chuckle.

“I’m just getting in the car now baby boy. I’ll be back soon. Give me five minutes.” I said as I unlocked my car and got in, throwing my stuff over to the passenger seat. 

“Okay, hyung.” Tae said, smiling. I could hear it in his voice. “Oh, and hyung?”

“Yes baby?” I said as I set the phone in its holder and put it on speaker so I could start driving.

“I have a surprise for you.” He sang, giggling after. “I think you’ll like it a lot.”

“Oh, I look forward to it, baby.” I said as I reached a traffic light that was just outside the building. As I looked around, I caught a glimpse of lace stuffed by the seat. I frowned and reached over, pulling at it to get a closer look at what it was. I smiled and shook my head as I realised that it was a pair of Tae’s panties. He had obviously hidden them in here, seeing how they were strategically concealed.

Wearing lingerie was something Tae loved to do. He wore it all the time, not that any of us complained. He looked so cute, but so beautiful and breathtaking at the same time. My personal favourite was when he wore one of my oversized shirts with a pair of panties underneath, the lace framing his ass perfectly. Tae was the subbiest out of all of us, with Jimin and Jungkook a close second. Jin would sometimes sub and sometimes dom, but me, Joon and Hobi were the doms. I wondered if this is what his surprise would be.

“Oh, baby, I have something of yours.” I said.

“What is it?” Tae asked curiously. I could hear the duvet covers moving around as he shuffled on our bed. Each of us shared a room. It was me and Tae, Jimin and Hobi, and Joon, Jin and Kookie. Some nights, there would be more of us sleeping together, and some nights we would all sleep with each other. That was usually if one of us was really stressed or really upset and needed comfort from everyone. I wouldn’t need that tonight. I knew Tae would be able to cuddle away all my worries. I would be able to make it up tomorrow. I could get one of the others to help me.

“I’ll let you guess, baby. It was in my car and they are lacy.” I hinted. I heard him swallow before he took a deep breath.

“Am I in trouble?” Tae asked, his voice a lot quieter. “I’m sorry, I put them in there as a just in case, you know how you like to rip them off me.” He added quickly.

“I’m not angry at you baby boy.” I said, keeping my voice calm. “It was a nice surprise.”

“It was?” I could hear the smirk in Tae’s voice. “Then you’re going to like what I have for you here in bed... Master...”

As soon as he said this, I felt what could have been all my blood rush to my dick. “I’m almost home, baby.” I said, clearing my throat and palming myself to relieve the feeling I had. I let out quiet and breathy moan.

“Are you touching yourself, master?” Tae asked. “Are you getting your big cock nice and hard for me?”

“I want you ready for me when I get in, puppy.” I said as I pulled the car into the driveway of the apartment complex where our dorm was. 

“I’ll be waiting for you, Master.” Tae said excitedly, ending the call.

I turned off the engine of the car and sat there for a few moments, trying to calm myself down slightly. I would give him a slight punishment - he knew not to leave things in the car, no matter how arousing it would be for me, and he had also teased me slightly.

I walked into the house and spied Jungkook sat on the sofa, mindlessly flicking through the channels on the TV. So, he had waited up for me. Might as well if he wants to join in the fun with me and Tae.

“Kookie, baby.” I said, walking over to squat down in front of him. As I came into his line of vision, a bunny smile formed on his face.

“Hyungie, you’re back.” Jungkook flung his arms around my neck and kissed my cheek.

“Hey, bunny.” I stroked his hair and turned my head to kiss his lips gently. “Baby, TaeTae and I are going to be having some fun in a second. Do you want to join us?”

Jungkook looked at me, his chocolate eyes sparkling. He hummed in agreement and nodded his head. “Bunny wants to help please Master and TaeTae.” He said, instantly slipping into his subspace. 

“Okay, bunny.” I said, standing up with him still wrapped around my neck. He whined when I tried to push him off so I could walk upstairs. “Do you want me to carry you?” My cute little bunny nodded eagerly, so I picked him up and carried him towards mine and Tae’s bedroom. “Alright, bunny, let’s go say hi to TaeTae. Master has to punish him a bit though, first. You can go freshen up first if you want.” I suggested.

Jungkook nodded before leaning forward to kiss me. I reached down and squeezed him through his sweatpants, causing him to let out a shaky whine. “Master, please.” 

“Go freshen up baby. When you’re done you can come straight in.” I said, setting him on his way with a pat to his bum.

I pushed open the door to Tae’s room and saw him kneeling on the bed. But what really took my breath away was what he was wearing. It was a lace bodysuit that had bows decorating it. I couldn’t see his ass, but I already knew that there would be nothing covering it. There were small bows fastened to the tops of his thighs, holding the bodysuit in place. To top it all off he had a collar fastened around his neck.

“Fuck, puppy. Look at you. So beautiful for me.” I said, walking over to him and tracing his lips with my finger. “I believe these belong to you.” I pulled the lace out of my pocket and tossed it at him. He caught it with one hand and smirked at me.

“Did you like your surprise, master?” He asked coyly, looking up at me. I moved my hand to hold his face in place, cupping his chin. 

“I love it, puppy, but you know the rules. You don’t leave things in my car, do you?”

“No, master.” Tae looked down in shame. “‘M sorry. I just wanted it to be there as a backup.”

“Puppy, do you wanna know why I rip them off you?” I asked, kneeling down in front of him. He tilted his head at me in confusion. “Because I love the idea that you are wearing nothing beneath your clothes and that if you have one slip up, you would be exposed.” I trailed my finger down his chest and circled it around his tip.

“Master, please.” He begged. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. It was a mistake.” I could see that he was almost fully hard, his cock was straining against the fabric of his bodysuit.

“You wanna make it up to me? Turn over and on my knee.” I ordered, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Yes, master.” Tae leant across my lap, his stomach resting on my knees. I smirked when I saw his exposed ass, all round and ready for me.

“Now, puppy. Kookie will be joining us soon, so we’d better make your initial punishment quick.” I said, kneading the globes of his ass. It wasn’t as big as Jimin’s, but Tae definitely had a beautiful ass. “How many do you think you deserve, pup?”

“At least 20, master. I was naughty.” Tae almost moaned out.

“Yes you were, puppy. Very naughty. You also teased master when he was coming home.” I sighed. “But, I guess my puppy likes being punished, doesn’t he?” Tae was silent. I smacked his ass hard, causing the flesh to jiggle. “Doesn’t he?” I repeated.

“Yes, master.” He said after he had yelped. I could feel how hard he was pressing against my thigh.

“I think I may give you 25, how does that sound?”

“Good, master.”

“And after each one, you thank me. You need to learn to obey, don’t you puppy?”

“Yes, master. I do.”

“Count, dumb pup.” I began to slap his ass. Each time he counted and thanked me. At 25, he was sobbing in pain and pleasure, rutting against my thigh. I pulled him up so he was straddling my lap. “Such a good boy, taking your punishment so well.” I praised him, making him smile at me lazily. “So I think my puppy deserves a reward?” Tae nodded excitedly so I pushed him down so he was kneeling on the floor.

I stroked his hair out of his face. “I want you to suck me off, pup.” I said, tugging on his hair gently. His hair was always curly and floppy, always soft to the touch. I stroked my fingers through it lazily as he played with the zipper on my pants, before tugging at them to pull them down. I quickly stood up and allowed him to pull them down with my boxers before I sat back down.

His eyes widened when I came into his eyeline, his mouth instantly watering. His hand cautiously reached out and wrapped around me, giving me a few strokes. I inhaled sharply and hissed at the feeling of his calloused palm wrapped around me. “No hands, baby. Just your mouth.” I said after a few seconds, batting his hand away. 

He set his hands on my thighs and sat up a bit so he was level with my dick. His mouth opened eagerly and before I knew it, the tip of my dick was engulfed in his warm, wet mouth. I tilted my head back and groaned, fingers tangling in his hair and tugging, earning some quiet moans from my puppy.

I looked down and saw his big eyes staring up at me as his mouth took more of me in. “Fuck, you look so pretty baby.” I cooed, tracing his lips that were stretched around me. “All stuffed full of my cock. I know you can take more though.” I gently pushed at his head, making him take more of me in until my tip hit the back of his throat. He gagged slightly as tears sprung from his eyes. “Now, you can stay just like that until Jungkook comes and then your real punishment can begin, hmm?”

Taehyung nodded, choking on my dick as it went further down his throat. “Careful pup. Don’t hurt yourself.” I said, wiping away the tears that were trailing down his face from the intrusion in his throat. He always looked so beautiful like this. 

After a couple of minutes, Jungkook came into the room, his mouth opening slightly as he took in the sight in front of him. “Hey bunny.” I said, beckoning him over. “Doesn’t TaeTae look so pretty?”

“TaeTae always looks so pretty, master.” Jungkook said, his voice barely a whisper. 

I took Jungkook’s hand and pulled him on the bed as I pushed Tae off of me. “Okay, here’s what is going to happen. Tae, puppy, you are going to sit on the other side of the bed and watch as I play with Koo until I decide that you can join us.” Taehyung nodded and scrambled to the other side of the bed, his cock hanging heavily between his legs, begging for release. It was a dark colour, signalling how desperate he was for release, but I wasn’t going to let him have it. Not yet. He got himself comfortable and was about to start stroking himself when I added the next part. “And no touching yourself, pup.”

Tae’s bottom lip started to wobble slightly. “Oh, please, master. Please. I need to cum so bad.”

I looked at him and smiled as I helped Kookie undress. “No, dumb pup. You’ve been naughty. You need to prove that you deserve it.”

Tae looked like he had been slapped. “O-Okay, master. I’ll be good.” He said, trapping his hands between his thighs and the mattress. Once I was sure that he wasn’t going to disobey my orders, I turned my attention back to a now naked Jungkook.

“Look at my beautiful boy.” I smiled as I stroked my hand down his chest, feeling his abs, before travelling down to his thighs to squeeze them gently. It was known that Jungkook had a thigh kink. He would always have to have his hands on someone’s thighs, squeezing them and sometimes sucking at them if we were having fun with each other. “He has such big thighs.” I bent my head down to suck at them, causing a whiny moan to spill from his parted lips.

“Master, please.” He looked at me with his doe eyes shining. 

“Please what, bunny? Do you want master to touch you here?” I traced my finger along his dick, earning a quiet groan from him. His dick was long and pretty, the mushroomed head a darker shade than the rest of it. It twitched as I traced the vein along it. I trailed my finger down to his ass. “Or here?” I circled his hole, earning a moan and a breathy yes from him.

I hooked his legs over my shoulders and wrapped my lips around his hole, stroking my tongue over his puckered hole, making him jolt forward slightly. “Ah, Master.” He moaned as I licked at him. He tasted musty and his shower gel and something that was distinctly Jungkook. I prodded at his hole with my tongue before pushing it into him, licking at his walls, coaxing high pitched whines and moans out of him. “Master, I’m so close.” Jungkook cried out, so I pulled away, leaving his hole shining with my saliva.

“Bunny, do you want me to stretch you out first, or can you take me?” I asked, as I kissed him, slipping my tongue into his mouth so he could taste himself on my tongue.

“I can take it, master.” Jungkook said eagerly. I nodded and kissed him again as I pushed my dick against his hole. The head pushed past the ring of muscle with some resistance until I was fully sheathed inside of him. “Ah,” Jungkook had his mouth open in pleasure, beautiful sounds spilling out of me as he adjusted to my size. “You’re so big master. You stretch me out so good. Feel so full.”

He was so warm, wrapped around me, and so tight. He was always tight no matter how often we fucked him, or with how many dicks he was fucked with at once. I moved my hips back before snapping them back in, causing the both of us to moan. Each thrust got faster and harder until Jungkook was a moaning mess, writhing around beneath me. 

There was a whimper from next to us and I looked up to see Taehyung, watching us while tears poured down his face. “Yellow.” Tae hated to be left out when he was in his subspace. He always had to be doing something and not just watching. “Master, please.” He begged when he saw me watching him. “Please, I’m sorry. Just let me join in.”

I looked at Jungkook who had been watching me and him carefully. “Shall we let him join us?” I asked the boy underneath me. He nodded eagerly.

“I wan’ him to ride me.” Jungkook requested. “While you fuck me.”

“Okay, bunny.” I said, stroking his hair. I pulled out of him carefully to get Tae and comfort him. “Hey, puppy, you’re okay. You took your punishment so well. Master is so proud of you.” I said, hugging him tight. “Such a good boy.” I kissed his lips gently as I wiped away his tears. “Especially for telling me you didn’t feel comfortable anymore.”

“Thank you, master.” Taehyung smiled at me, his eyes still slightly teary. I reached down and pumped him a bit, smearing his precum around his dick. 

“Look how wet you are, puppy.” I cooed as he crawled over to Jungkook. He leaned forward to kiss Jungkook. While he did this, I squirted some lube on my fingers and pushed two into him, making sure he was properly stretched out. I thrusted them into him for a bit before adding a third. Once I was sure he was ready, I nodded at him. “Go sit on Kookie’s cock baby.” I said. He lowered himself down slowly, causing both of them to moan loudly. Once Tae was fully seated, I pushed myself back into Kook, making him moan again. “How are you feeling, bun?”

“Feels s’ good.” Kookie said, looking kind of spaced. “Please, ‘m green.” I began to move inside him, making him grip onto Tae’s thighs and moan out loud. Tae began to bounce on his dick, moans coming out of his mouth. I reached around and started to stroke Tae’s dick in time to my thrusts inside Jungkook. Tae’s moans got louder and louder, signalling he was getting very close. I could feel my lower stomach tightening, signalling I was about to come.

“Master, I’m so close.” Jungkook whined, earning a noise of agreement from Tae.

“You can both come.” I allowed, stroking Tae even faster. He began to shake as Kookie began to buck up his hips due to how close he was. I knew Tae would come extra hard if I talked dirty to him, so I did. Jungkook was already close to cumming, but as soon as Tae came I would finish so I didn’t want him to be overstimulated by it all.

“Tae, puppy. Get off Kookie a second.” I said, tapping his bum which was now starting to bruise. Tae looked over his shoulder at me, looking as if he might cry. “You still get to come, puppy. I just wanna see you. Get back on Koo facing me.” I explained. Tae nodded and got off, turning himself around before lowering himself back down. I caught sight of his beautiful face, his mouth open and eyes squeezed shut as Jungkook’s cock split him open. “Now lie down so your back is against Koo’s stomach.” Tae obeyed and let him lie back. “Koo, bun, lift up his legs so I can see your dick going into his pretty hole.” Kook obeyed, wrapping his arms around Tae’s thighs and almost folding him in half. I almost came at the sight in front of me. Tae’s hole was so stretched around Jungkook’s cock, making it become slightly swollen.

I smirked at Tae before stroking around his hole and Kook’s dick with my thumb. “So pretty, puppy, letting bunny stretch you out like this. I bet you can’t wait for him to fill you with his cum, painting your insides white. Or maybe you’d like both of us in there. Imagine how it would feel, both of us splitting your pretty hole open, gaping you out so much all our cum would just come back out of you. Both of our cocks rubbing against your walls.” I reached out and began stroking his cock, seeing his face scrunch up and his body tense. He was right on the edge. “I bet it would make you come instantly. We’d have to maybe put a cock ring on you to stop you cumming too early. But you’d like that wouldn’t you?”

“Yes, master. I’d love it.” Tae was breathless. “Oh, I’m so close.” He whined, letting his head tilt back on Jungkook’s shoulder.

“But we’d have to stretch out your little hole even more.” I smiled, pushing my thumb into his hole alongside Kook’s cock. Tae let out a scream, his body going still.

“You sound so pretty, TaeTae.” Kook said, stroking up and down his thighs. “Bet you’re so wrecked down there.” He reached down and pushed one of his fingers into Tae, next to mine. “Master, can we plug my cum inside him?” Kook asked.

“Of course we can bunny.” I said. “But we need this puppy to cum first.” I looked at Tae, whose body was jerking. “Aww, look at him. He’s going to come so hard.” I stroked him even faster before leaning down and taking his entire length into my mouth. I sucked hard, hollowing out my cheeks. Tae let out a silent scream as he came hard, his body shaking with the force of his orgasm.

I swallowed some of his cum, loving the salty tang of it before leaning over him to kiss Kook, transferring some to his mouth. Kook moaned at the taste, making Tae whine. Of course he wanted to have some. I moved to kiss Tae, transferring the last of it to his mouth. His throat bobbed as he swallowed. 

“You’re such a cumslut, pup.” I chuckled, now starting to thrust hard into Kookie, chasing my own orgasm. Kookie’s breaths started coming out as short, high-pitched moans as his own orgasm drew nearer and nearer.

“I’m gonna cum, master.” Kookie warned as his hole clamped down on me, making me unable to move. The pulsing and constant contracting of his walls made me spill into him as he spilled into Tae. Both of us moaned as we released. I fell forward and leant my head on Tae’s stomach as I caught my breath. 

“Both of you did so good.” I said as I carefully pulled out of Jungkook. “Koo, do you want a plug?” The boy nodded so I moved over to my bedside table and pulled out one of the four plugs I had in there. One for each sub. I walked back over to the pair who were still connected to each other. I pushed the trail of cum that had come out of Kookie back into him and pushed the plug into him.

“And me!” Tae exclaimed. I chuckled and got his out of the drawer. 

“Alright, baby. Let’s get you off Koo, hmm?” I gently pulled him off Koo and pushed the plug into him. “How are you both feeling?” I asked, looking at both of them.

“Tired.” Tae replied.

“Good.” Jungkook replied at the same time. He had a sleepy smile plastered on his face. 

“Okay, that’s good. Tae baby, you gotta stay awake for a bit longer. I need to clean you up, and put some lotion on you.” I said, gently stroking his hair as he looked at me with his eyes half shut. 

He whined slightly, moving so he was sat on my lap. I could feel the plastic of the plug nestled between his ass cheeks pushing into my thigh.  “Can I have a bath?” He asked, his head laying on my shoulder. 

“Sure baby.” I said. “Do you and Koo want to have one together?” I looked at them both as they nodded their heads. “Alright babies.” I stroked Tae’s hair gently. “Let’s take these plugs out of you, okay?” Kook nodded and bent over slightly so I could pull it out of him. He hissed as his hole stretched around the bulbous plastic, followed by the dripping of my cum out of him. “Okay, KooKoo, why don’t you go and start the bath and I’ll get Tae ready.”

“Okay hyungie.” Jungkook pressed a quick kiss to my lips before padding into my adjoined bathroom and starting the bath. 

“Okay, Taebaby, I need you to stand up.” I said softly to the sleepy boy on my lap.

He groaned and looked up at me, his eyes narrowed. “Why?” He asked. 

“I need to take your plug out, love.” I said. “It’s going to hurt you later otherwise.” He opened his mouth to protest but I pressed a finger to his lips. “No buts baby, I’m taking it out.” I laid him down on the bed and gently pulled it out of him, allowing Jungkook’s cum to spill out of him.

“Want some.” Tae whispered, looking at me. I sighed and swiped some of the cum onto my fingers and let him suckle it off.

“Now, bath time.” I said, pulling him up so he was standing on his own two feet and leading him into the bathroom.

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A few hours later, we were all cuddled up in bed. I had had trouble falling asleep - the stress from losing all my work was still looming in the back of my mind. I had told my manager, but he must have been asleep when I sent the message. 

Tae hummed in his sleep as he curled into my side even more, Jungkook spooning him from behind. They both looked peaceful as they slept, not a hint of worry on their perfect faces. 

My phone began to buzz, cutting through the silent atmosphere like a hot knife through butter. I unwrapped Tae from around myself and sat up answering the phone. “Hello?” I asked in a hushed voice as I disentangled myself from the blankets.

“Yoongi-ah? I need those tracks by 8am in the morning. You’re going to have to keep working on them.” My manager said, sounding quite annoyed. My heart began beating faster as I felt the stress and anxiety begin to build back up inside of me. “You should have stayed later and fixed your mistake.” I slipped out of the room and closed the door.

“My mistake?!” I was pissed. It was not my fault that the systems crashed and deleted everything. Do I control all the computers at the company? No! If anything they should be badgering IT to see if they can recover some of the files. “The computers crashed as I went to save it. Can’t IT recover them? That is eight hours of work lost!”

“No they can’t. That’s why I’m calling. I need you to come in right now and try to redo them the same.” He requested. “I’m sorry about this, but I just need those otherwise you will miss the deadline and your mixtape will have to be delayed further.”

“I think we need to get better computers. Those ones are getting kind of old and slow.” I said. 

“Don’t blame the machinery Yoongi-ssi.” He said shortly. “Come in now or no mixtape this year. And you wouldn’t want to disappoint ARMY, would you?”

I scoffed. Now he’s guilt-tripping me. “I’ll be in in about half an hour. Let me get changed and get my stuff together.” I said.

“Okay, I’ll be waiting.” He hung up the phone and I let out a noise of frustration before going back into the room, closing the door as quietly as I could so I wouldn’t wake up the sleeping babies. I looked over at the bed and let a fond smile ghost over my face. Taehyung’s hair had now flopped in front of his face and his arms were outstretched to the spot where I had previously been sleeping.

I felt bad for leaving them alone, but I really didn’t have a choice. I walked into my wardrobe and pulled out a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants and quickly changed into them. I pulled on a beanie and grabbed my lyric books before grabbing a pair of shoes and sliding them on.

I must have been a bit too loud because there was rustling in the bed and I saw Taehyung patting around with his hand. He sat up and squinted at me sleepily. “Hyungie? Where you goin’?” His voice was heavy with sleep. “What time is it?”

“It’s early, love. Go back to sleep. I need to go in to the studio.” I said, walking over to him to kiss him goodbye. “Come on lie back down.”

“But you were there all day yesterday.” He complained, whining slightly.

“I know, baby, I know. But all my work got deleted so I need to go back in to redo it.” I said. “And if I don’t meet the deadline then my mixtape will get pushed back even further and that wouldn’t be fair to ARMY.”

“But these songs aren’t even for your mixtape! They’re blackmailing you!” Taehyung exclaimed. “I wanna come with you.”

“Baby, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” I said, pushing his hair back out of his face.

“No it is! I could help you, and you always say two brains are better than one. We can get it done faster.” He argued, sounding determined. “And we can tell Kookie so he won’t get confused when he wakes up. We can leave him a note. Pleaseeeeee.”

I sighed. “Okay, fine. But get dressed quickly.”

Y/N POV:

I shivered under some of the clothes as I lay on the bench. I was too scared to sleep. He could appear at any moment and drag me home to give me the beating of a lifetime, and this time he could actually kill me.

Every time I heard footsteps I would freeze and not move, hoping that it wasn’t him, and that if it was, he wouldn’t see me. It was getting colder though, and I knew I would have to move in order to keep myself from getting hypothermia. 

I knew there was one thing that would be able to calm me down, and it would also keep me warm. I rifled through my pockets, trying to locate my headphones. My fingers wrapped around the wire and pulled it out. I groaned. They were all tangled and knotted. I began to pick them apart, finally freeing the individual earbuds. I plugged it into my phone and scrolled through my music until I picked a song that I wanted to dance to. Spring Day. It cheered me up a lot, and I loved the dance.

The notes flowed through my body, twisting and turning to the tips of my fingers and the ends of my toes. My body moved like the waves in this ocean of music, bending and stretching at the crests and troughs. I loved it. As I danced, I allowed my thoughts to

I had started dance when I was three. My mother had insisted that I was going to be a prima ballerina, or a professional dancer in a company, so she had me enrolled in any kind of dance you could think of. Baby ballet, baby tap, baby jazz, baby contemporary, baby street dance, baby modern, baby music theatre. Most of my life was spent dancing. As I got older, she put me into singing, art and drama classes. I dropped some of the dance classes: tap, modern and jazz. I was happy.

Then came the arguments. My mother and father started arguing over the amount of money that was being spent on me. We were quite a well-off family, both of my parents has respectable jobs with a decent salary. Income was good, and there was even some wiggle room for nice holidays. That was, until my dad became addicted to alcohol and spent all of our savings on the drink until there was barely anything left. 

My mother had to put some away secretly just to be able to pay for bills and my extra curriculars. But he found out, and that’s when the arguments started. I was eight at the time. He would accuse her of not trusting him, and she would accuse him of being an alcoholic and how that wasn’t a good environment for me to be in. 

The arguing would last for at least three hours each night and would end with one of them storming out the house. Most nights it was my father - probably to get even more drunk. My mother would slam the door to their bedroom and dissolve into tears. I would hear her sobbing herself to sleep, but I was too scared to comfort her.

One day, after a year or so, my father stormed out that door and never came back. My mother said it was for the best; in my mind, though, it was my fault. I was the one who had all the dance lessons and singing lessons and drama lessons and art lessons. I was the one who was using all their money. He liked to tell me that when my mother would storm out. He also liked to hit me. When my mother found the bruises and cuts, she lost it. That was what caused the arguments to get worse.

Things got better after he left. My mother got happier, found a new boyfriend. He was nice, buying me the latest iPhone or laptop. We were all happy.

And then I met him. He was the perfect boyfriend: kind, loving, everything you would want. But that’s the thing about love. It’s blind. It would be a few months before I realised who he was behind the mask he put on everyday. I should have realised that the relationship was moving too quickly. He asked me to move in with him after we had been together for just three months. As soon as I set foot inside that house, the door locked behind me, and the key hidden somewhere I could never find it. 

After a couple of weeks, the verbal abuse started. The name calling and insults and threats over something unimportant, like slightly burnt potatoes. I brushed it off as something normal. After all, it was my fault. I was the one who turned the oven up too high. 

Then came the physical abuse. At first it started off as slaps and small beatings, but it eventually lead up to him getting out his belt and whacking it across my face every night before beating me up with his fists. I don’t know what exactly caused him to do it. Sometimes he said it was me looking at another man, and other times it was just because of my presence. Either way, it was my fault and I deserved them. 

I tried to leave him. But he caught me, and I almost ended up in hospital from the force of his beating. My skin was mottled blue and purple for weeks. It was then I started self-harming. It was my fault.

I twirled as the song came to an end, catching sight of a figure standing in the shadow of the trees. My breath hitched in my throat. Had he found me? If he had, he was going to kill me for sure. 

Yoongi POV:

Just as I had thought Tae had fallen asleep on my couch, bundled up in my hoodie about an hour after we arrived at the studio. We had already retrieved the majority of the songs though.

He had got to work immediately, perching on my lap as he sang the demo song over the backing music, which thankfully I had saved. I loved Taehyung’s voice - it was deep and sultry, which was actually something that contrasted greatly to his personality he showed in private. After we’d been working for about fifty minutes, he began to yawn, curling up and leaning against my shoulder, watching me put together the backing tracks and the vocals and moving things around to create the songs. His favourite was ‘Black Swan’. 

“‘M sleepy, hyungie.” He mumbled against my collarbone.

I reached up and stroked his hair gently. “You can go and sleep on the couch. I’m almost done, baby.” He looked up at me through sleepily squinted eyes.

“You sure? I think I can stay awake a bit longer?” He said, yawning again. When he yawned he sometimes looked like a baby puppy. 

“No, baby, you’re tired.” I said, rubbing his back. “Go on, do you want my hoodie?” I asked.

“Mhm.” He nodded his head. He slid off my lap and made grabby hands at my hoodie. I pulled it off, leaving me in my white v-neck top, and handed it to him. He pulled it on and lay down on the couch, closing his eyes and almost instantly falling asleep. I smiled at him fondly before turning back to my work.

I only had one song left to do - my solo song on the album. I searched through my files, only to realise that my work on it had all disappeared. I groaned and saved everything before shutting my computer down. I needed to go for a quick walk to clear my head. I turned to look at Tae, who was curled on the couch in a deep sleep. The park I would go to to clear my head is only a five minute walk away from here. I would be thirty minutes tops. He wouldn’t wake up hopefully, and if he did, I was only a phone call away. 

I grabbed my extra hoodie and pulled on my jacket, gently closing the door to my studio. I walked out of the building and made my way to the park.

It was cold outside. The air bit at my exposed cheeks and nose as I walked. I pulled a mask on to insulate them. The park was calming and whenever I went there, it was quiet and if there was anyone there, they were elderly and didn’t know who I was. 

I walked through the gate of the park, pushing the squeaky barrier open. It appeared deserted, which wasn’t surprising considering that it was four am. But I still kept my guard up; you never know what crackheads will be around.

I was walking through the trees towards my favourite thinking bench when I saw her. She was dancing to some very familiar choreography. I stopped in my tracks. She was a beautiful dancer. I watched, awestruck as she flawlessly twirled and flipped and turned. It was then I recognised it. It was Jimin’s choreography in Spring Day. She must be a fan. She twirled one last time and stopped, facing me. Her face twisted into a look of terror as she ran to gather her things. On the bench I noticed, was a backpack and a pile of clothes.

“Wait!” I yelled after her, chasing her to talk to her. It was clear that something was troubling her, and I wanted to help her, not caring that she was an ARMY. “Let me help you! Please!” I caught up to her at the bench, where she had slightly calmed down. As soon as we made eye contact, something strange happened. All the greyscale colours in my world that I had grown used to melted away. My eyes were filled with dark greens and blues, clearly because of the darkness, but the moonlight shone down on her.

She was breath-taking. Her hair was a shiny, vibrant, Y/H/C, and her eyes shone like Y/E/C gems. She was holding her breath in surprise, probably recognising who I was.

“You’re Min Yoongi.” She said. “You’re my soulmate. This can’t be happening.” She was shocked and confused.

But I didn’t know what to do. Now that I had found my soulmate, did that mean I had to leave the others? We had never discussed the possibility of this happening. I looked at the girl in front of me and decided that I couldn’t leave her. Not like this. She looked scared, and from the looks of things, she was homeless. I had to look after her. And I swore to myself that I would. Until the end of time.

[bluewhale52]

Little Black Book: The One You Hate (M)

Summary: There are a few names in your Little Black Book, and these seven hold a special place in your heart. Now that you are closing that chapter in your life, you reminisce the time and experience you have had with your seven favourite men, especially with Kim Seokjin, the one you hate.

Pairing: Seokjin x female reader

Rating: Explicit. NO MINORS ALLOWED.

Genre: nonidol!au, strangers to lovers, friends with benefit

WC: 3.9k

Warning: swearing, car blowjob, ass slapping, OC loves going down on Seokjin, sex against a window, sex between coworkers, love-hate relationship between OC and Seokjin (more on OC). I guess that’s about it….

A/N: Many, many, many thanks to @rainbhrts94​ for beta-ing this piece. I was experiencing a burnout and having a hard time putting all my thoughts together, and her reviews and suggestions totally helped getting this fic into its final form. Thank you!!  Also, I’m a total dodo when it comes to Tumblr so with some help from @aroseforyoongi​ and @moccahobi​, I’m reposting this with hope that the link works this time round!

Series Masterlist:  Little Black Book

Kim Seokjin was the bane of your existence. 

The cocky, arrogant IP attorney from the New York office had everyone on your floor in an uproar for weeks. You had seen him making one of the conference rooms his home away from home, with a hoard of lawyers and secretaries going in and out at his beckoning. You were watching them with jealousy. Sure, you were a mere junior in the firm and therefore the lowest in the food chain (just slightly above the interns), but you really wanted to be part of the action. 

Then, somehow, during his  last few days in Seoul, you were picked to help him and his team. Your excitement soon turned sour, as you were constantly on coffee and photocopy duties. How could you prove your worth when you were too busy being worked as Kim Seokjin’s personal server? Why couldn’t he ask one of his groupies? There were plenty of secretaries and PAs throwing themselves at him; you bet one of them would be happy to do this… THIS menial job. It was truly beneath your job description, and you started to simply, truly hate the man.

If that was really the case though, how did you end up in his luxury rental car, bending over towards the driver seat, sucking his cock? How did your mouth end up around his shaft, while your saliva dripped down and coated your fingers around his base? Why were your panties getting wetter with every moan and groan that left his lips? Why did you wish he would just spank your ass instead of tugging your hair? Why, when he came, did you gobble up his seed so greedily and lick him clean? Why did you even feel the need to stick your tongue out to him to show him you had swallowed every single drop?

Seokjin exhaled sharply then looked over at you as he tucked himself back in. “You do this with every visiting attorney?” He leered at you.

You rolled your eyes. “Just the one that pisses me off.”

He chuckled. “I should piss you off more then.”

“Are you going to drive me home or what?”

Seokjin started his car. The engine purred, and you pressed your thighs closer together at the soft vibrations that went through the car. “I promised I’d buy you dinner first, didn’t I?”

You flashed him a saccharine smile. “I had a meal already, thanks.”

Seokjin sniggered as he pulled out of the parking lot. He had offered to drive you home - “the least I can do after all your hard work this week” he had said- and while your little apartment was at the other end of the city from the five-star hotel he was staying, it was indeed the least he could do for you. So when you had settled in his car and buckled your seatbelt, after he had asked if he could buy you dinner, you- in your frustration, because you hated him and you just wanted to go home (god, was that too much to ask)- muttered under your breath on how you would rather suck his dick than have dinner with him. 

You had been taken aback when he broke into a brazen smile, challenging you to eat your own words, and damned if you were going to back down. Deep down, you had wanted to see if this perfect man with the perfect face and the perfect suits tailored around his perfect body (he had legs that went for miles, you hated to admit), also had the perfect dick. 

It turned out that he did, and his perfect dick was perfectly hard when you unzipped him. And so, that was how you went down on Kim Seokjin, giving him a near perfect blowjob, in his car, in the basement parking lot of your firm. (Near perfect because honestly, you could have done a lot more had you had more ample space to move.)

You stole a glance at Seokjin as he drove. His side profile was sharp and too good to be true. Flashes of lights only further highlighted his jaw and cheekbones. You looked away, pouting. 

“I’m flying back tomorrow evening.” He broke the silence. “You gonna miss me?”

You scoffed. “You wish. I’ll finally be able to do real work rather than making you coffee.”

He had the gall to laugh. “I’ll be back in two months. Don’t worry.”

The rest of the drive was quiet. How did you get into this? How could you possibly be so horny for him? Was it your dislike for him that made you like this? You should have known better than blowing him in his car just now. What if he started shooting his mouth off in the office? Or worse, in your personal promised land, THE New York office?

“Seokjin,” you started, “about what happened just now, I’d appreciate it if you keep it to yourself.”

“Of course, I’m not Yuna.”

You tilted your head at the name. Yuna was one of the senior partners’ secretary. “What do you mean?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t know? She’s been telling everyone how good I was in bed.”

“You slept with her?” You couldn’t mask your surprise. “I didn’t hear anything about it. I must’ve been so out of loop with the rumor mills. Wait… Is that why you’ve been asking me to do all that shit? So you don’t have to deal with her?”

“Smart girl.” Seokjin made a turn, stopping just outside your apartment complex. He turned off the engine.

“And here I thought you liked my coffee. And how I photocopied your endless documents.” You said dryly. “Thanks for the ride.”

Seokjin stopped you before you exited his car. “Aren’t you going to invite me to your place?”

You chortled. “Why, you need a goodbye fuck?” You spat it out, but internally, you hoped your playing hard to get was not going to backfire. 

“Hmm,” Seokjin looked out of the car, eyeing your apartment building. “What kind of bedsheets do you have?”

“What do my bedsheets have to do with anything?”

“500 thread count? Or pure linen?” 

You opened the car door and got out. “Bye Seokjin.”

He got out too, walking you to the main entrance. “I’ll buy you some. For next time I’m here. Two months from now.”

You scanned your access card, but he stopped you from opening the door.

“Not gonna kiss me goodnight, sweetheart?”

You turned to him and leaned forward. But instead of kissing him, you stuck your tongue out and licked him, along his jaw, all the way to his ear. You did not miss the shiver that ran through his body when you closed your lips around his earlobe. Smiling smugly,  you opened the door, and as you were about to walk into your safe haven triumphantly, Seokjin slapped your ass. You stilled yourself, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing your reaction. 

“See you in two months, sweetheart.” You heard him chuckle as the door closed behind you.

Kim Seokjin was truly the bane of your existence. 

~~~

He returned to Seoul in two months. You were not keeping track on your calendar, no of course not. You just knew because the commotion was back, as it always was when he stepped into the office. He picked you again to assist his team (Yuna gave you an evil eye for that), and at the end of the work day, when you were filing papers and folders, he slipped a small envelope into your hand. 

“Open it at your desk.” He said in a low whisper. 

You looked at the envelope quizzically before putting it into your pocket. “Is it your credit card? To buy pure linen bed sheets?” You whispered back. 

“Sweetheart, I already bought you a few sets from New York.”

You snorted. Later, when you were back at your desk, you took the envelope out and opened it. You found a note with a gold monogram of Seokjin’s initials at the top. You laughed at the ridiculousness of it. Under his insignia, was a series of digits you assumed to be his mobile number. You saved it in your phone. 

There was something else in the envelope, however. A piece of key card, with the logo of the five-star hotel on one side, and handwritten 4-digit number on the other.  Your eyes widened. Was this an invitation to his hotel room?

You peered out of your cubicle like a meerkat, trying to find where Seokjin was. Then you remembered foolishly you had his number. So you immediately texted him.

– You [18:40] : Seokjin, WTF??? 

– You [18:40] : also, nice stationery

– You [18:40] : it’s me btw

– Seokjin [18:41] : hurry the fuck up. I’ve been waiting for you in my car

You smiled. The time had finally come, you were going to fuck Kim Seokjin.

~~~

You had to admit, high quality bed sheets felt amazing. It hugged your naked body like soft clouds as Seokjin pounded into you relentlessly. His thrusts had caused your body to move, inch by inch, from one end of the bed to the other. You were not complaining though;  the way he rammed himself into you made your breasts bounce back and forth like a pendulum on a string, the feeling was so delicious.

You gripped the edge of the bed as you watched him over you. His usually perfect hair was messy now, his perfect face was void of the usual laser focus expression you normally saw at work and of the arrogant smirk he liked to give you. His broad shoulders and lean torso filled your vision- you had had fun stroking your hands over his pecs, abdomens and biceps. God, you hated how perfectly hot he was. 

You whined pathetically when he plunged his cock and pushed it as deep as he could into you. Seokjin dropped to his elbows, and you welcomed the new weight on top of your body. He stilled, letting his hardness rest inside you. You wrapped your legs around him and could not help but clench around his cock. He groaned against your chest at the sensations. 

“Do that again, sweetheart,” he nibbled and licked your collarbone, “squeeze my cock again.”

You did as he asked, tightening your walls around him before loosening again, repeating the movements and creating your own erotic Kegel exercise around his cock. You could feel Seokjin’s breath faltering on your neck, and before long, you were careening towards your peak.

“Seokjin,” you gasped, “close.”

He remained still, even at your warning. Choosing to work his lips on your neck and up to your ear instead. Finding a spot behind your ear, he licked and nipped at it, sending shudders all over your body and suddenly pushing you to your release. Seokjin held you down as your body shook, willing himself not to come, but the way your pussy walls massaged his cock, it did him in. 

You and Seokjin held each other tight as you both came. Your fingers dug into his shoulders, his hips pressed harder against yours as he shot his seeds inside you. Finally groans and moans gave way to heavy breathing, and as your heart rate slowed down, sanity returned. 

You opened your eyes. “God, don’t do that EVER again.” You slapped his shoulder. “I’m super ticklish there.”

Seokjin hummed, and nipped at the spot again. You yelped, but in the process you also squeezed his flaccid cock, still sheathed fully in you. “Now I know what to do when you talk too much.” He mumbled. 

You tried to wriggle away from his mouth, but the more he teased your spot, the more you moaned, and the more your body became heated again. You were all ready for round two, but your stomach betrayed you, for it growled shamelessly. Seokjin’s eyes widened at the sound, and the two of you burst out laughing.

“OK, I’d better feed you before I fuck you against the window.” He pulled out of you, holding on to the spent condom on his dick. Walking to the bathroom, he gestured to the phone on the bedside table. “Whatever you order, order the same for me.” 

And that was how you spent your first night with Kim Seokjin. Fucked out of your brains and eating room service food in his luxurious hotel room. 

~~~

You gave Seokjin your Saturday nights whenever he was in town, which was only about three to four times a year.. You hated to admit it, but you enjoyed your time with him. It was obvious he liked your company too, and your arrangement worked out well. You both wanted sex with no strings attached. You enjoyed arguing with each other, although it felt like Seokjin lived solely to rile you up to get a reaction out of you. He said he was training you to hold your poker face better; after all, didn’t you want to be a successful attorney like him?

And that was the situation you found yourself in that evening. Seokjin kept prodding at you until your temper snapped, and you roughly pushed him to the chaise in his room. You quickly worked on his jeans and his boxers, pulling them down to his ankles, only to find his cock already hard and weeping with precum.

You cocked an eyebrow at him. “Making me angry turns you on so much, huh?” You wrapped your fingers around his shaft, lazily stroking it a few times before squeezing it gently at the base. Seokjin hissed, but his annoying smirk never went away. 

“You can’t shut up your opponents by going down on every one of them,” he teased, his hand reached out to touch your hair but you swatted it away with your free hand, “no matter how sexy you are when you’re angry.”

You scowled as your hand continued stroking him. Keeping your eyes on his, you closed your lips around the head of his cock, your tongue lapping up his precum. Seokjin sucked in a breath. 

“So what should I do then?” You asked before licking up and down his length. Seokjin threw his head back, enjoying the wetness of your tongue on his hot member. 

“Hmmm… “Seokjin moaned. “Learn to control your temper better, sweetheart. You know how our kind is…”

Seokjin took a deep breath. Your tongue was still busy on his cock. It drove you nuts how addicted you were to the taste of him. “… especially to female attorneys..” Seokjin continued.

“Excuse me?!” you sat up straight, but your hand was still around his member, unconsciously squeezing it a little harder than normal.

“Ouch!” Seokjin yelped. “What are you trying to do? Pull my dick off?”

You sniggered, your grip loosened slightly as you continued to stroke him. “Tell me,” he asked, “how did your last case go? You almost lost because the opposing attorney kept throwing jabs at your gender, am I right?”

Your cheeks reddened. “How did you know about that?” you pouted.

“I get regular updates on you, sweetheart, I like to know how my protege is doing.”

You eyed him skeptically. “Wow, I’m so honored.” Your tone was flat, but your hand started pumping his cock faster. You thought back to the moment you nearly lost your temper in court, and you buried the memory deep. You leaned in and started to take Seokjin’s length into your mouth when it suddenly dawned on you.

“Wait,” Seokjin’s cock popped out of your mouth. “Is that why I didn’t get the promotion? I won that case but I didn’t get my promotion because I was too emotional?”

Seokjin groaned, in desire and in frustration. He looked down at you, kneeled between his legs, eyebrows scrunched up, eyes angry, mouth in a pout, and his hardness in the mercy of your hand. He ran a hair through his hair. 

“Now that you recognise the problem, will you solve it?” 

You nodded.

“So can we please continue?” He asked. 

You nodded again before your mouth returned to his cock. You enveloped your lips around the head, sucking it gently and licking it until you heard him moan. You started taking more of him into your mouth, the muskiness of his scent filling your nose. His hands found your head and held it gently, his fingers carding your hair. 

You continued to lubricate him with your saliva, relaxing your mouth and your throat to take all of him in. You steadied your breathing as you sucked in your cheeks, and you slowly pulled out all the way to the tip, before filling your mouth again. “That’s good sweetheart, you know just how I like it.”

You stupidly beamed at his praise, and it encouraged you to pick up your pace, sucking him faster and harder. His breathing was getting heavier, and you massaged his balls, eager for him to cum in your mouth. “No, no,” he pulled your head, and you came up gasping for breath. “I want to be in you now.”

You and Seokjin undressed immediately, and Seokjin went to the bathroom to retrieve a condom. He rolled the rubber as you positioned yourself by the window. The window felt cold on your back, but your core was wet and hot.  Seokjin lifted you up effortlessly, and your legs immediately wrapped around his waist, and your arms around his neck. 

Seokjin spat into his hand and rubbed his saliva over your cunt. Then the blunt head of his cock was at your entry, and he pushed it in, inch by inch until he was fully inside you. Adjusting his grip, ensuring he got you secured between him and the window, he started to move. Slowly at first, and once your juices were flowing and leaking, he went faster. 

You felt sweat developing on your back, making your body slippery against the glass. You dug your fingers into Seokjin’s shoulders, anchoring yourself up as he continued to pound into you. You turned your head to the side, catching the city skyline in the corner of your eye. 

“God, Seokjin,” you whined wantonly, “When I get that New York position, will you fuck me like this with the New York skyline in the background?”

Seokjin huffed, his hips not missing a beat. “Sweetheart, you’ll never get the New York position.”

You snapped your head back to look at Seokjin, he was still thrusting mercilessly into you. You pulled his hair. “What do you mean I will NEVER get the New York position?”

Seokjin’s smirk was back. He pulled out slowly then he rammed himself back into you hard, making you mewl. “It means…”

He took his time thrusting into you again.

“… you will…”

Another slow and hard thrust.

“… never get…”

He was hitting the sweet spot inside you.

“… the New York position.”

You cried out at his last thrust. “Because I’m too emotional?” you asked breathlessly.

“Because… “ his mouth was inching closer to the sensitive spot on your ear, “we’re closing that office.”

You gasped, at the news and at Seokjin’s sudden change of pace. He was fucking you fast again, pressing your body harder against the window. 

“Wait.. ah, Seokjin… “ you said between pants, “does that mean…”  

You could not finish your question because Seokin began nibbling and sucking your ear, sending your body rigid as the pressure on your cunt was waiting to explode.

“Yeah,” Seokjin panted. “I’ll be back in Seoul for good, sweetheart.”

You threw your head back against the window as Seokjin continued pistoning into you, pushing you towards and over your climax. You wailed in pleasure as the heat enveloped you. He did not let up at the slightest, his hips kept thrusting into you ruthlessly even as you began to sob from the oversensitivity.

Seokjin wrapped his arms around you tightly to move you, and you both collapsed on the bed, his cock still secure in you. He rolled to his back, bringing you on top of him. He slapped your ass. “Can you ride me?”

You pushed yourself up with your arms, your hair curtaining Seokjin’s face. You started to move your hips back and forth as you tried to get your breathing back. The sensitivity in your sex slowly turned into pleasure once again, and you quickened your pace. Seokjin moved his hands to your breasts, squeezing the flesh and flicking the nipples as they swung before him.

“Does… does this mean you’re gonna be my boss?” You asked between moans.

“Do you want me to be your boss?” Seokjin tugged your nipples, causing your back to arch.

“You’ll scold me everyday.”

“And I’ll fuck you every Saturday.” He thrusted up to meet your hips. “You like that?”

“Fuck no…” you felt the heat returning back to your core. “I’ll just hate you even more.”

Seokjin slapped your ass. “Just admit it, sweetheart, I’m your favorite among all your other fuck toys.”

You stammered as Seokjin thrusted up again, and he took the opportunity to pull you down onto his chest. Planting his heels on the bed, he held you down as he started thrusting his hips to plunge his cock into you, fast and hard. You closed your eyes tightly and felt tears slipping down your cheeks as you came closer to your climax.

“Come on sweetheart,” Seokjin whispered in your ears, “give me one more. Milk my cock.”

You cried out as your body jolted and shook. Seokjin kept holding you down, chasing his own release too. His thrusting became more messy, and he finally came too, swearing and groaning loudly.

You stayed still on top of Seokjin, your heart beating out of your chest, and so was his. You both lay on the bed, bodies sticky with sweat, waiting for the haze of your orgasms to pass.

“If you become my boss,” you whispered, “I want no special treatment.”

“Of course not, sweetheart. The only special treatment you get is I feed you after sex.”

You chuckled. “Speaking of…”

Seokjin rolled you over and pulled himself out. “Yeah yeah, order whatever you want.”

~~~

Today

Seokjin walks into your room. You barely glance up, used to him barging in whenever he likes.

“So, Yuna told me there’s a tall drink of water waiting for you in the lobby.” He plopped down on the little settee in your office. “So naturally I went to see. And you’d better get there before Yuna devours him.”

You glance at your watch. It’s ten minutes to 7pm. You smile softly, leave it to your boyfriend to arrive early. “He’s my boyfriend. I told you about him.”

Seokjin ahs. “So, that’s the man who took away my Saturday night fun.”

You glare at him as you tidy up your desk. “Yeah well, he feeds me AND reads me poetry after sex. So, sorry.”

Seokjin stands up as you ready yourself to leave. 

“Besides, now we play Maple Story every Saturday, surely that’s more fun?” You tease him. He chuckles and rubs his chin. He accompanies you walking down the hallway towards the lobby. 

Before you arrive at the glass door separating the inner office from the reception area, you turn to Seokjin and ask, “Do you want to meet him?”

Seokjin thinks for a moment. “Does he know about our history?”

“He knows MY history, but I never share any names with him.” you explain. “He only knows you as my asshole boss.”

“Now I am offended. I thought I was a nice boss!”

“Well, I rant about you too much maybe. But he doesn’t mind, because you know what happens when I get riled up.” You wink. 

Seokjin laughs. “What a lucky bastard. OK, come on, introduce your asshole boss to your boyfriend.”

Published 01022021

[ampintherain]

I’m Yours:

Charlie Gillespie x Reader

Chapter II

Y/N is Kenny Ortega’s ‘niece’ after going through a rough breakup, Kenny decides to fly her over to stay with him, will her broken heart mend?

(Female Reader, NO SMUT, Romance, Friendship, THIS IS MY FIRST EVER FANFIC/IMAGINE, I hope it’s good, Kenny is lifelong family friend so reader calls him Uncle Kenny. I’m British so the writing is going to be British so like ‘mum’ not ‘mom’ yanno?)

GIF by Oeuvrs

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I gazed out of the airplane window, stuffing headphones into my ears, I couldn’t wait to see my Uncle Kenny finally, even if it took me waking up early to catch my (almost) 3 hour flight, I fiddled with the hem of my shirt, flying always made me so nervous, I just hated the way the plane shook as it took off or landed, it never made me feel safe, even though I knew that it was a rare occurrence for the plane to actually crash.

I took out my headphones as the flight attendants went through the pre-flight demonstrations, telling all of the passengers about the fire exits and what to do in case of an emergency, I flipped my phone over on my leg nervously before rolling my eyes to myself, stop being so silly, you’re nineteen, you shouldn’t be nervous all the time. I thought to myself, although it’s easier said than done, the attendants finished up their demonstration and the plane proceeded to take off, the familiar shaking throughost the plane shot itself through me as I took a deep breath in, I placed my headphones back into my ears and closed my eyes, pressing my head firmly against the back of my chair and gripping onto the arm rests firmly, Uncle Kenny knew about my fear of flying and thought that it would be best to get me a seat on the plane nearer the exit door, luckily for me nobody else was sat next to me as the plane was quite empty.

Once the plane was firmly in the air, I decided to scroll through my playlist and find a specific song that I wanted to listen to- Good Day by Surfaces, as the song began to play, I gazed out of the window and watched as the clouds floated past, I rested my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes, feeling my heart rate slow back down to the original beat, I settled further into my chair and saw the seatbelt light flicker, allowing me to unbuckle myself and curl my legs up along the seats, shuffling slightly to rest my head against my neck pillow and on the window, I sighed in content and felt myself slowly slip into sleep.

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I awoke to the plane shaking slightly, feeling myself panic I sat upright and quickly buckled myself back in, I glanced back outside of the window and saw what could only be Vancouver as the plane was begin to lower, I smiled to myself, thinking about how it wasn’t long until I got to see my Uncle Kenny. I removed my neck pillow from my body and fastened it to my rucksack that was placed on the floor by me, I turned my volume down on my phone and watched in excitement as the plane landed on the ground, the pilot steering it into its final bay, I waited a little while longer before having to exit the plane, placing my bag over my shoulder and shuffling out onto the aisle of the plane and exiting out of the door nearby.

I had just finished going through security and collected my suitcase, shuffling through the fairly large crowd, searching for my favourite person on the planet- “Y/n” I heard in a singing tone, I glanced over and smiled widely at my Uncle Kenny holding a sign with my name written on it with purple glitter and stars, Kenny was dancing a small jig, waving the sign from side to side in a Jazz dance like motion, I rolled my eyes and laughed at my uncle, “you’re an idiot!” I said as I made my way closer to him, he opened his arms and stood still with a calming look on his face, there was no sympathy and no look as if I was going to break if he held me too much, it was just- Kenny. That was one of the things I loved most about him, no matter how hurt or how sad I was, he never changed his attitude towards me, it was always the same, calming, compassionate, loving but never pity, he never felt sorry for me in a way that seemed patronising.

“Come here” he said happily, beckoning me into his arms, I pulled my suitcase closer to the man and snuggled into him, Kenny always gave the best hugs, as his arms wrapped around me I could feel an overwhelming sense of emotion- I think it was a mixture of missing my uncle and the sadness that I was trying to hide from the literal heartache that was consuming my entire being from what happened a few nights before, I guess Kenny heard my stifled sniffs as he began to lovingly rub my back, he rocked me back and forth slowly, “sh sh I know darling, I know” he whispered, “come on, let’s not have you crying in the airport hm?” I nodded, looking up at him and wiping my tears away, I leaned back and grabbed the handle of my suitcase, following Kenny out of the airport and into a black Range Rover,

“Thank you for this Uncle Kenny” I breathed out, looking over at him with a smile, “I’ve missed you” I admitted whole heartedly, he took a quick glance over at me and switched on the radio to play the soundtrack from Hamilton, my favourite.

“I’ve missed you too Kiddo, more than anything” he replied, “I hope you don’t mind but we’ve got to go to set after you freshen up” he continued, I nodded in agreement, “I knew you’d understand, you excited to help me out?” He asked

“I can’t wait, thank you again Uncle Kenny, for flying me out here, for letting me help you with the show, I hope I don’t let you down” I admitted, looking over at him once more,

“You..” Kenny started, “Y/n, you could never ever let me down” I smiled over at him once more and rested my head on my arm as I looked out of the window.

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We eventually arrived at Kenny’s apartment, I hopped out of the car and ran to the back to grab my case by Uncle Kenny was already on it, dragging the suitcase behind him as he walked past me, “come on, Star” he said, giving me one the nicknames he’s called me since I was little- he called me Star, Sun and Moon, for reasons I do not know of completely, I was aware of the meaning behind Star (he always thought of me as a star, destined to shine) but Sun and Moon, I have yet to discover, he always told me that I would find out the meanings as I grew older but it has been lost on me. I followed after the man, still in awe of the surroundings around me. Vancouver was beautiful.

“And here is your room” Kenny said as he finished up the tour of his apartment, he opened the door in front of me and I was greeted by a white room with two large windows on the furthest wall, placed strategically to allow the resident of the room to see the beautiful scenery around them, Kenny had added some plants, fairy lights and grey and dusty blue blankets to make it more homely, “blue and grey are still your favourite colours right?” He questioned,

“Been the same since I was eight Kenneth” I replied, “this is amazing” I continued, entering further into the room and placing my case lightly on the bed,

“Alright kiddo,” he said, “here’s your en-suite” he knocked on the door to my right “and the door next to it is your closet, I’ll leave you to freshen up and I’ll see you in 15 minutes?” He questioned, I nodded and smiled at the man as he quietly closed my door, humming to himself.

I turned to my suitcase and quickly started to unpack, placing everything in the correct spaces, I opened up my closet and was greeted with a walk-in wardrobe, nothing too extravagant but also nothing that I’ve ever had before. I left out an oversized top and leggings with my pair of beaten up Vans so I could have something to wear to set. I quickly jumped into the shower and freshened up before brushing my teeth, I towel dried my hair before letting it just dry naturally, I then applied some light makeup and got dressed before coming out of my room, I quickly turned back around on my heels and placed my suitcase into my closet, I then grabbed a few hair ties and rolled them onto my wrist before leaving my room for the second time.

As I walked into the hallway, I saw my Uncle Kenny singing quietly to himself and dancing lightly around the den, I laughed at the sight in front of me.

“I’m ready” I sang, distributing my uncle, he span around and smiled at me, “sorry to interrupt your little dance session” I giggled, Kenny shook his head at me and joined in with my laughter, “right, shall we go?” I questioned, he nodded as I followed after my uncle once again.

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“Don’t be nervous” Uncle Kenny smiled as he parked up his car, how did he know me so well? I breathed out slowly and nodded, jumping out of the car and headed towards the set with him, “they’re all really lovely alright?” He continued to reassure me, “let’s introduce you to them yeah?” He finished, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and tucking me in close to him.

We walked quite a short walk before entering the catering tent, there sat the cast of his new show Julie and the Phantoms, I twiddled my thumbs as I walked slowly towards the long table, I scanned the heads of the people, my eyes lingering on a certain pair of green-blue eyes, they seemed almost hazel, one of his eyes seemed to be drowning in blue, in short, they were beautiful, I quickly glanced away and continued to look briefly at every person at the table. “Is this her Ken?” A blonde boy spoke, smiling over at me, I lowered my head out of pure anxiety,

“It is. Everyone this is my niece- Y/n” Kenny introduced, “I’m truly a lifelong friend of the family, she grew up calling me Uncle Kenny, so she is my niece” he explained, clearly due to the slight confusion written over a few members of the cast.

“Hi” I said, finally mustering up my courage, I smiled at the blonde boy who sat directly in front of where I was stood,

“Hey, come sit, I’m Owen” he smiled, shuffling over and patting the spot next to him, the group of people went round introducing themselves, in order it went- Owen, Jeremy, BooBoo, Madison, Jadah, Savannah, Sacha and Tori, lastly was the boy with the beautiful eyes, he seemed a little older than me, I did find out that Owen was my age, as was Savannah, Tori was one year younger than the three of us, Madison was 14 and Jadah was 13, Sacha was 15, Booboo was 25 and Jeremy was 22.

The only person I hadn’t yet been introduced to was the guy with the beautiful eyes, he was sat directly across from me, and any time I glanced up to him, I could feel my cheeks redden, I tilted my head and smiled at him, ignoring the heat rising in my cheeks “and you... what’s your name?” I questioned,

“I’m Charlie” he replied, “nice to meet you” he smiled back at me.

💜𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔💜

♡︎𝑇𝑎𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡: @thesweetestsinner , @ifilwtmfc ♡︎

[saturatedboy]

The paw of a Lion (Ethan!Winters x Karl!Heisenberg)

(Can be found on my AO3) Requests- Open

Chapter 5 is under the cut

The quiet babbling of the child was concealed by an aeroplane noise being broadcasted from the adult’s mouth. “Here comes the aeroplane,” Ethan had interpreted making an engine noise before moving the green plastic spoon with Rose’s favourite food around in front of her giggling face. Rose, following the movements of the spoon,

had opened her mouth wide in excitement, giggling when Ethan had placed the spoon into her mouth and watched as she clamped her mouth closed around it. Being careful, he slipped the spoon out of her mouth before grabbing a dirtied tissue beside him to dab away any spillage falling out her mouth. The father was silently thankful that his child wasn’t much of a fussy eater, only at the start she was until she realised that ‘hey I’m getting food’ crosses her mind.

Repeating this process whilst making funny faces to make his child laugh, Ethan had glanced at the clock just above the doorway to the hallway to see the time. “Hey Rosemary, how do you feel ‘bout seeing our neighbour. Hmm? You want to- it seems you do with that bright smile of yours.” He discarded the small bottle of baby food into the bin and threw the spoon into the sink before returning to his jumping daughter. Brushing his hand soothingly over her blonde head, he picked her up from under her arms and cradled her into his arms. “Time to get changed.” He spoke more to himself than his intrigued daughter as she stared up at him with her eyes filled with curiosity.

Heading up the stairs, Ethan took the time to think about the actions of the day. He had his tests done, as well as his daughter’s. Next thing he had spoken to two of his neighbours, one refusing to give up on thanking him and the other being quite quiet yet showing her gratitude through her doll. He even got her name which he will try his best to remember since he hadn’t got a clue when there next meeting will be. Then things went slightly downhill but at soon rose when he had been pushed into Heisenberg’s shenanigans. Who knew the Lord was suffering from some memories- maybe he shouldn’t be so harsh on him? He still functions like a human, just has some ‘upgrades’ to him. But, don’t they all.

Pushing open the door to his room, Ethan laid his daughter down on the double bed within his room and moved towards the set of drawers that held a television. Luckily, he was allowed signal to television programmes (even though there were only 2 he was allowed to reach). A sudden image of Lady Dimitrescu watching the child programme crossed his mind, letting him push out a dry chuckle. “I should maybe go see them soon. Maybe the daughters would like to play with Rose?” Looking back at his daughter seeing her move the fabric under her fingers drew a loving smile from the father. “Yeah, they’ll be curious about you alright.” Dragging out a plain white shirt from his drawers, Ethan threw his blue one off and replaced the white one onto his body. Fastening the buttons, he looked over at the body mirror that stood by his wardrobe on the other side of the room near the door to the bathroom and hummed. “Rosemary, talk for tie or stay silent for no tie.” The child looked at her talkative father and clapped, babbling words in her on language. Ethan took the sign and walked back over to the drawer, rummaging through the top ones for a black and blue tie. Taking the black one, he wrapped it around his neck and left it hanging untied.

Dropping down, he opened the bottom drawers to bring a pair of dark grey pants out and a black belt out. “Be right back Rosemary,” Ethan had walked towards the bathroom and left the door open slightly so he could still hear his daughter. He was quick to swap pants, walking out the bathroom whilst buckling his belt up through the pants loops and starting on his tie. Having her father walking around a lot had the baby giggling. Shooting Rose a funny face with his tongue stuck out, Ethan watches her roll about of the bed with her eyes lighting up from the sun glistening through the window. “I look like I’m about to go on a date,” He gave himself one last look in the body mirror before returning back to his daughter, gently picking her up as he let her fiddle with his tie.

His last sentence had been jumbling in his mind as he ascended down his steps to grab his shoes. A date? No no, this wasn’t a date. Just a get together as an apology. That’s it! An apology meal made by Heisenberg and himself. With Rosemary. Like a famil-

A sudden tightness wrapped around his throat as Rose pulled on his tie hard. A small choking noise came out from him as his face scrunched up. With his eyes going slightly wide in pain and shock, he helped his daughter release the tie from her tough grasp and placed her on the ground as he scanned over his shoe choices. Going in simple trainers wouldn’t do- it would look weird with his outfit. But going in smart shoes, that’s what you would wear on a date and this was NOT a date. Taking his trainers, Ethan tied the laces into sloppy bows and picked up Rosemary after, being wary of her grabby hands.

Looking himself up and down then looking at his pride and joy, something seemed off. Missing. “Urgh don’t do this brain. Now what’s missing?” Looking between the two, Ethan felt Rose once again grab his tie. “You’re so grabby today, what’s going on, oh. Right.” Priding her hands off him once again, Ethan made his way to the lounge room and looked at the couch. There was a stuff monkey there sitting next to the television remote. “Ah ha! Do you want him? yeah you do. That’s why you’ve been grabbing papa the whole time.” Ethan progressed onto the stuff animal and grabbed it by its body, handing it to his little Rose who was about to reach for his tie again. Seeing her favourite teddy dangling in front of her face, she had her hands reaching out for it and her mind went completely away from the strange material that she was once holding before. A sense of relief washed over the blonde before handing it to her, seeing her face light up with enjoyment. “Time to head to a meal now. Hopefully it doesn’t turn out wrong” He kissed the top of her head and walked out the room into the hallway once again.

It had been two days since getting back to a somewhat normal life. To think these were the entities he was once trying to kill, them doing the same Vise-versa all because of Mother Miranda. “She’s dead,” A whisper came from him as he approached the door handle to the outside world. “We are out from there.” Twisting the metal knob, the sudden darkness of the outside world was glazing his eyes. Dark clouds swarmed the sky, the sun setting behind them fearing the uprising moon and their army of stars. Looking around as the door shut behind the males, he walked off his porch. The crisp cold swept over his body, making him slightly regret not bringing a jacket with him. However, that didn't matter, his daughter was luckily wrapped up in a long shirt and a really woolly jumper gifted from her mother. She was settled all in warmth.

Taking the left on the dirt road, he followed it around the circle going clock-wise. The house of Heisenberg had gradually grown larger in size as he gained closeness upon it. An unsettling feeling set into Ethan’s stomach as he remembered seeing the boarded-up windows- which were still boarded up at the time. The garage next to it seemed to be closed although the smell of car petrol did not go unnoticed. Holding his daughter closer to himself in one arm, Ethan stepped up to the two floored house and walked straight to the door. Looking to see if his daughter was uncomfortable, which she wasn’t luckily, he raised a first and knocked against the spruce door with a small horse engraving on it. ‘Huh, strange’ Ethan thought, letting his fingers trail over in engraving after knocking three times. ‘How strange, I have a lion engraving on mine.’-

His thoughts and finger trailing were pulled away from the door as it had swung open, revealing the scuffed-up host of the dinner wearing a tank top that had turned grey with splotches of grime and rust. He had a sizzling cigar in his mouth and an annoyed expression on his face for all eyes to see because of the lack of a hat and shades he would usually wear. Soon however, from not seeing his ‘sisters’ dress, he took a step back and tried to wrap his head around what he was seeing. “Erm,” Heisenberg was the first to make a sound. He took a quick look at Ethan, seeing as his white shit he wore nestled nicely against his forearms and his pants highlighted his legs and calf muscles. “T-Totally didn’t...forget?” The cigar that was hanging in his mouth had dropped onto the floor, seeing the other dressed in a formality way.

Biting his lower lip straining a smile, Ethan had struggled to hold in his laughter as he watched the others eyes move about to not stare directly at him. Hunching over being wary of Rose, Ethan let his laughter loose feeling excitement bubble up in his stomach. “You kno-haha. You know,” He spoke, finding it harder to keep his laughter contain to sensible giggle, “I wouldn’t have expected this.” He made a motion with his free arm, the arm moving up and down as though he was presenting Heisenberg to his daughter.

Feeling embarrassed at the given situation, Heisenberg went to protest. “Well- it was shot notice, okay? I’ve been busy and today has been long.” The Ex-Lord defended, biting the inside of his cheek as he glared at the father who had finally loosen his laugh to a soft chuckle. Nodding, not trusting his mouth anymore, Ethan silently agreed at what the Lord was getting at.

“Yes. Yes. You’re quite right. However, it was you who asked for me to come over.” A sigh left Karl’s lips; his shoulders deflated as though a bubble of tense had just been popped within his blades.

“Alright, c’mon. Come in- I need to go wash up.” Moving to the side, Karl let Ethan in along with his little Rose looking around at her new surroundings. From what Ethan could tell as he heard Karl shut the door behind him, the place was rather fitting for Karl’s aesthetic. Unlike his, Karl’s first floor was fully open. However, it seemed the structure was the same, just without the walls. The floor was made from spruce wood, with the four walls being painted in a forest green. He had a love seat along with a couple of arm chairs that surrounded a coffee table with a television in front. Ethan guessed Karl had no idea how to use his television seemingly there was ‘CAUTION’ tape wrapped around it. Pinned on the walls however, there were many tapestries, all different colours and images printed on them. He was surprised he couldn't smell any sort of chemicals in the air, meaning the shorter one was most likely spending all his time in the garage rather than the actual home itself.

“Your place is surprisingly comforting.” Ethan had turned to only just see Karl walking up the steps to the second floor. With a shrug, Karl leaned over the handrail.

“Eh? Tis alright I suppose. Much prefer my factory but it is what it is. Be down in a few.” He called before ascending up the stairs leaving Rose with his little Rose to scout around the room. It was a comfortable temperature, not to cold, not to warm. Being careful, Ethan placed Rose on the floor seeing that there weren’t any hazards about and let her crawl on her hands and knees.

“One day you’ll start walking and I’m going to lose you,” Ethan spoke, watching his daughter fondly as she took off in a sprint crawl away from her father. “Hey, where are you going,” He called out, chasing her as she wondered about thinking her father was chasing her because they were playing a game.

Up on the second floor, Heisenberg had entered the shower fully striped. Letting the water run down his body, he leaned against the wall pointing his head down. “Fuck,” He whispered, dragging a hand down his face. He felt like a complete douche for letting the night slip his mind. Here he was, with Ethan fucking Winters downstairs, as well as his daughter with him. Karl wasn’t even ready for this, everything felt like it was moving too quickly- “What am I thinking,” He breathed out heavily.

Ethan wasn’t his- they couldn’t be moving too quickly with anything. They weren't dating, and that thought hit Karl like a compressor. Grabbing the shampoo, he squirted it into his palm and lathered it up in his palm before scrubbing his scalp hard with it. A soft groan was released from his throat as he hit a certain spot with his fingers coming tangled in the knot of his hair. Pulling hard, a soft pant of a moan left his lips, forcing him to lean back up and crane his neck back. He felt exposed to the cold air, before untangling his fingers from his mess of a hair and tilting his head back under the running water to get rid of the shampoo quickly. He didn’t want to leave Ethan waiting too long.

Going against the idea of using conditioner, He grabbed the body wash after squeezed it into his hands. Throwing the bottle down, he ran his hands over his body harshly. The feeling of his thick hands running over his own chest down to his happy tail had no right t be as exciting as it was. He didn’t understand, was it because Ethan was downstairs? Did he want Ethan to catch him like this? Impurity thoughts channelled through his mind, leaving him in a panting mess. A sudden grasp came to his dick below, making him second guess his fantasies flashing through his mind. Looking down, he saw his hand grasping his dick, the hand moving down to reveal the flushed red head begging for attention. He was uncut, both at the top of his dick and around his lower regions. He didn’t have time to shave, or even find a doctor to circumcise himself. Why should he? He didn’t have a reason to.

Letting go, he watched the skin cover the needy head before going back to washing his body. This was not the time to be getting hard whilst his main guest was downstairs with his little one for the matter. Maybe at a later stage he would do the unimaginable when alone but not when he had guests. Karl knew better than to go ahead and jerk himself off whilst people were about, he learnt that the hard way when being caught by one of his Soldats in the past. Scary time. Ones he prefers to not remember.

Making sure his whole body was clean, he rinsed off the bubbles and turned the shower off. The coldness of his home hit him; he wasn’t use to the temperature just yet. His factory had always been boiling, he loved the feeling of the heat trapping him. He missed the place already- it hadn’t even been 3 days since he last saw it. Wrapping a towel securely around his waist, he left his bathroom not bothering to pick up the dirty clothing he had worn previously and walked towards his bedroom that was very clean. He hadn’t slept there; no he was too busy in the garage part of his hoe. The place was somewhat a safe space already- he felt a little at home there. His bed was untouched, the floor being free of any dirty clothing. Looking about, he walked towards his drawers and opened them up to see a collection of shirts and pants. Grabbing the first things he saw; he unwrapped his towel and let it drop. He didn’t really think much about drying his body fully before pulling the shirt on. It was a brown shirt and dark blue dress pants. Fastening the buttons up on the shirt, he rolled the sleeves to rest just above his elbows and dragged the pants on, finding a bit difficult to pull all the way up. However once up, they fit fine upon his waist. The feeling of wearing something much different to his usual attire was- awkward. He felt like he was about to go to Lady Dimitrescu wedding or something, although he would go in the most unkempt clothing to annoy her. But he had to, he saw how Ethan was dressed. He was well kept, nothing like Karl. Ethan was just-

Ethan was the most perfect creation ever to be created.

“You’re going to look hot for Ethan,” The encouraging words to himself helped him a little to feel safer in the clothing he chosen. He just wouldn’t expect to ever be dressed like this but here he was, prancing around his room thinking about the possibilities that could happen in the next couple of hours. Downstairs he could hear the laughter of Ethan once again accompanied by Rose’s happy cries.

“Huh, this feels like a family moment,” He chuckled to himself as he began to walk away from the bedroom. To hear noise filling the place that wasn’t the dead, but rather people who were alive- this was the closest Karl had ever felt to be a part of a family. The word brought a strained smile to his face. A family. Him and Ethan, and with the little brat to be a family. “Bad Heisenberg, no thinking about shit like that,” He scolded himself before descending this time down the stairs to overlook at Ethan on his knees who were making what seemed to be a toy in his hands, dance for his daughter. “Seem to be enjoying yourself there Ethan,” He spoke, rounding off at the end of the stairs to walk towards the father and daughter who were in the middle of the whole room.

Ethan gave Rose the toy and stood back up, dusting dust off his pants. “And you seem to be having fun dressing up for me, is it?” The teasing tone in his voice did not go unnoticed by the former Lord, a smirk rising onto his features. A deadly glare casting through directed towards the father.

“I could say the same for you darlin’. Even went with a tie. how cute.”

“Alright mister, you got me there. So, what you thinking about cooking good looking?”

“Well, I was- w-what?” The rhyme from Ethan’s words had made Heisenberg feel warm. A fluttering feeling casted over his whole body as he stood in front of Ethan, little Rose between both of their feet. Although he was sure Ethan was just teasing, his words felt real to hear.

“I didn’t say anything, so what we doing,” the words fell quickly from Ethan’s throat, an embarrassed look invading his face as he crossed his arms and tried to give a smug smile to play his words off.

“Yeahhhh, sureee.” Heisenberg watched the pale skin of Ethan's become influenced by a red shade, his nose slightly flaring. Grabbing hold of his shoulder, Heisenberg turned Ethan around and walked towards where the open kitchen was, being careful to not trip over the baby on the floor. ”So if I’m good lookin’, what does that make you buttercup?”

Ethan shook his head disapprovingly, looking at Karl with a raised brow. “It slipped out; nothing was meant by it.”

“Oh, but sweetheart, did it really though~”

“What are we cooking Karl?” Ethan had pretended to not hear any of the nicknames that came from his host- he didn’t want to show any reaction towards them no matter how much a daring grin wanted to be stretched onto his lips. He had to remind himself he only just divorced his ex-wife. He didn’t want to date and neither did he want to feel any sort of attraction towards his own former killers...but was Karl really a former killer- he did try to help him? That was for another time.

“You’ll come aroun’ one day. I don’t know what to make.” Karl leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched Ethan’s facial features change every second, clearly not knowing what emotion he should really be showing at his words. ”You what?” He choked out, sticking with a dumbfounded look.

Karl threw his hands up in surrender. “I don’t know how to cook. I lived of cans Ethan, and coffee. It was either cans, or Duke for me.”

The air between them both became unknowingly colder. Ethan had to give himself a few moments to think. He did feel bad at what Karl just told him, to be living off a one-way ticket for meals or risk getting ill. The man in front of him really didn’t know anything about the outside world. “Okay, luckily I do know how to make food.”

“Like a house wife.” Karl piped up, running a hand threw his wet hair as it dripped water upon his shoulders wearing that sharp grin of his.

“I’m not a house wife Heisenberg.” Ethan began to search through the small fridge that was under one of the few counters in Karl’s kitchen. Looking through, he began to make a mental note to get the Lord to join him on a shopping trip to get food. Clearly the agents had spent more money on building fancy places rather than getting things for survival.

“Damn, back to last names huh? I must really be in trouble with you mister.” Suddenly, a flying tomato came flying at him and hit him in his head. “hey! That was uncalled for.” He spoke just barely managing to catch the vegetable as it bounced off his head. In return, Ethan shrugged and continued to rummaged through his fridge picking out certain items. Karl stood and watched, not complaining about the side view he was getting of Ethan down on his knees-

“Where do you keep your spices?” He asked a she stood back up, shutting the fridge with his foot and looking back to quickly check on Rose.

“Cupboard above you.” Karl answered back, also looking at the baby who was smashing the toy monkey onto the floor. Karl had to sniffle his laughter back, slightly proud of the baby’s destruction.

With a quick bang of the cupboard, Ethan had pushed all the items he got out towards Karl. Leaving them by the shorter one, he went to o wash his hands in the sink. “Karl, can you grab a baking tray, grater and rolling pin” Ethan asked as he wiped his hands down on a towel.

“Ethan, have you forgot I don’t cook?”

“Rolling pin looking like a cylinder, grater looks like-” Karl had begun to laugh at Ethan reciting and describing what kitchen equipment looks like. Banging a closed fist onto his chest, Karl swept stray hairs from out of his face.

“Ethan I’m joking.” Before Ethan could even get annoyed at Karl, Karl had already started to move about the area with a happy jump in his step, glad that Ethan was slightly annoyed at his actions. He loved getting a rise out of the other, it just added on the things he loved-

Loved...yeah. He was in love with Ethan. He wasn’t going to complain against that.

“So, what we making papa?” Heisenberg asked, looking at the ingredients all laid out by all the cutlery he was sent on a quest to gather.

“We are making pizza.” Ethan answered back, already starting on making the pizza sauce from scratch.

“Pizza huh?” Karl ponded out loud, watching as Ethan began to use the grater and great cheese.

“Yes. You can start rolling out the pastry if you want. Grab the rolling pin and use the flour to make sure the pastry doesn’t stick to the counter top.” Giving a playful salute to Ethan, who rolled his eyes out and gave a soft kick to the others leg, Karl stood by Ethan and sprinkled flour on top of the counter. Clapping his hands by Ethan to watch the flour dust go poof in his face, Karl was already moving onto laying out the pastry from its packet on top of the flour.

He was given a sharp pain on his ear as he looked quickly at his attacker with furrowed brows. Ethan had flicked the man on his ear shell and stuck his tongue out like a child. Karl’s ear had swiftly turned red but it didn’t bother the lord much really, it only made him eager to try tease the other. “Gotta try harder sweetheart,” Karl spoke to him, rolling the pastry out and flipping it every now and again.

“Nah no can do. I can’t hurt you.” Ethan called back, moving the cheese and grated away from him before grabbing the baking tray and laying out parchment paper on it. Karl gave a scoff at Ethan's words, stepping away from the pastry and instead standing behind Ethan. Like a snake, Karl wrapped his arms around Ethan’s torso and stood on his tiptoes to look over Ethan’s shoulder.

“You can’t hurt me~” He whispered in his ear, tightening his grip on the father’s torso. In return, Ethan swallowed a lump in his throat and turned, flicking Karl on his nose. The pinch of pain made Karl recall backwards and rub his nose.

“I think I just did. Oops.” Ethan turned back around and picked up the pastry to lay out on the tray. “Want to grab a spoon?” He called behind him, waiting for a response as he worked on stretching the pastry in the tray.

Thinking for a moment, Karl went back to leaning against the counter with his arms crossed right bedside Ethan. “What’s in it for me?” He asked, as he simpered looking pleased with himself.

A ragged sigh came from Ethan’s mouth as he turned and copied Karl’s actions by leaning against the counter. However, he didn’t cross his arms. “How about, you get me the spoon and you’ll get a reward.”

“What is this...reward?” Karl leaned to the side, getting closer towards Ethan’s face. The hesitation from the other left plenty of time for Karl to come up with a total of 6 different ways he could be rewarded for getting cutlery- and none was safe for Rose to hear.

Wetting his lips, Ethan smacked his lips together before speaking slowly and a notch deeper than his usual tone. “The reward will be...a day shopping with me.” And all previous ideas flew out of his head. Karl pulled away from Ethan and pouted.

“That sounds shit.” He spoke, becoming grumpy over the fact of shopping. He had seen Villagers do it in the past, buying things. It just looked, none eventful.

“That’s not all.” Ethan held back a grin as he watched Karl become curious again. “I’ll let you hold my hand the whole day.”

“DEAL!” Ethan watched as Karl sprinted off to a drawer and opened it up, grabbing a large spoon and skipping back to Ethan with it in his hand proudly. “Better keep to your side of the deal now papa. Don’t you be forgetting it.”

“I won't forget- I don’t even think you would let me especially with the way you just acted.” Just to hopefully annoy the Lord, Ethan got him in a headlock and with his knuckled, rubbed them against the top of Karl’s head watching him squirm in his grasp.

“Oh C’MON!” He shouted, pushing out of Ethan’s grip and showing him away. Ethan finally let loose of is laugh and grabbed the counter for support. The sight of Ethan being happy made Karl soft. It was a fuzzy feeling with him. ‘Butterflies...that’s what this is’ he thought trying his best to sketch the view into his mind forever.

“Okay! okay,” Ethan wheezed out, “Back to making the pizza.”

[lifeofkaze]

An Art of Balance #34

Orion Amari x MC

A/N: The penultimate chapter everyone, can you believe it? How far we’ve come together. Just as a little heads up, I will be uploading the last chapter of this story (🥺) in one go with the epilogue. So if you happen to see the epilogue first, know there is a ‘little’ (totally not little) chapter still waiting for you.

Thank you to everyone who let me borrow their OCs, I did a little round up of everyone in this chapter. Lizzie’s wonderful friends are belonging to:

Katriona ,KC’ Cassiopeia: @kc-needs-coffee

Judith Harris: @judediangelo75

Ira Janda, Julian Bennett: @slytherindisaster

Azariah Steele: @cursebreakerfarrier

Henry McClarnon: @thatravenpuffwitch

Also massive thanks to my favourite girl @the-al-chemist for helping with the structure and reading over. You know I love you 💛

Word Count: ~ 5.600

_______________________________________

Chapter 34: Victory

“Hufflepuff is this year’s reigning Quidditch champion!”

Murphy hadn’t even finished shouting into his megaphone when Skye, Lizzie and everyone around them erupted into screams of joy. Skye flung her arms around Lizzie’s neck, hugging her mid-air, half sobbing, half shouting “We did it! We did it!” into her ear over and over again. Lizzie didn’t even have any words to articulate the rush of emotions running through her all at once. She felt euphoric, happy, exhausted and unbelievably relieved that her plan hadn’t backfired on them. Syke was right, they had really done it.

They had won the House Cup.

Still hugging and jumping up and down on their brooms, Lizzie and Skye were slowly drifting downwards, landing roughly on the soft grass. The impact almost knocked them over but they couldn’t care less. They were basking in the cheers coming from the hollering stands, their grins so wide their cheeks were hurting.

Lizzie could see Skye’s father and Professor Sprout giving them standing ovations and even Professor McGonagall was clapping, albeit not as enthusiastically as the rest. Murphy was beaming from ear to ear, remaining silent for once and letting the team have the full attention of the crowd.

One after the other their teammates were landing next to them. Lizzie found herself hugging Judith and even Everett in her enthusiasm; all of their animosities were forgotten over the raw joy of achieving their incredible last minute win. In this moment what had happened wasn’t important anymore; the only thing that counted was that they had reached their common goal and the Cup was theirs.

And then, all of a sudden, Orion was there, his eyes shining with pride and a beaming smile on his face. He swept her into an embrace and spun her around, neither one of them caring the slightest bit what anyone else might be thinking. Lizzie was laughing as she held onto him, feeling nothing but elation; she couldn’t imagine a more perfect moment.

Orion sat her down and Lizzie was swaying for a moment, feeling slightly dizzy from being spun around, too much sunlight and the feeling of Orion’s arms around her. Still smiling, he raised his hand to her face and cupped her cheek, his thumb running over her flushed skin. The expression in his eyes was so soft as they found hers, the butterflies exploding in Lizzie’s stomach seemed to fill her up completely; the fluttery feeling combined with the adrenaline rushing through her body made her feel as if she was still flying.

He opened his mouth to say something when a sudden movement to their side made both of them turn their heads; Judith and Skye had sneaked up on them and were on the verge of upending a giant barrel of butterbeer over their heads. Lizzie tried to move out of its way immediately, but Orion quickly got hold of her wrist and pulled her back.

“You’re staying right where you are,” he laughed before the ice cold liquid was hitting them. Lizzie shrieked and closed her eyes as the butterbeer washed over her face and found its way down the back of her jersey. She buried her face against Orion’s now soaked Quidditch robes and could feel the vibration in his chest as he laughed. She couldn’t help her smile widening as he held her even closer.

“I knew you could do it, Chaser,” he whispered against her hair.

Lizzie pulled away and smiled up at him; a light giggle escaped her as she was taking in their drenched state. “We did it all together.”

Orion gently brushed a strand of wet hair out of her face. “As a team.”

She covered his hand resting on her cheek with hers, her eyes finding his again. His long, dark hair was just as soaked as hers was, but he obviously couldn’t care less. Lizzie’s eyes flickered down to his lips for a moment; the soft smirk forming on them made her hold her breath. Her wish to kiss him right here and now was close to overwhelming.

But before she could give in to it, her gaze flicked over Orion’s shoulder to where she could see the members of the defeated Gryffindor team lying in the grass. The misery they were radiating was a stark contrast to their own overjoyed celebration.

She could see Julian comforting a broken looking Henry; Azariah was lying on his back, staring into the sky with a blank expression and the two Chasers were silently talking between themselves, shaking their heads in disbelief.

Charlie was sitting apart from them; his head was hanging low, his windswept red hair obscuring most of his face. The rest was hidden his hand covering his eyes, while the other was still clutching the Golden Snitch, that was gleaming in the sunlight.

The sight of her friend's devastation felt like a jab to Lizzie’s heart. Her face twisting with sympathy, she placed a hand on Orion’s chest and gently pushed him away. He followed her gaze with a slight frown, before he nodded in comprehension.

He inclined his head in Charlie’s direction. “Go to him; he is in need of a friend right now.”

Lizzie knew she should go and it wasn’t like she didn’t want to; she just didn’t want to let go of Orion again so soon. Sensing her hesitation, he gently nudged her forward.

“Go,” he repeated. “We’ll have our moment later.”

Finally breaking free of him, Lizzie walked past her teammates and towards the Gryffindors. She stopped by every one of them for a moment, either trying to cheer them up or offer some words of comfort. When she reached the lone figure of her best friend, she stopped and knelt down beside him.

“Hey.”

At the sound of her voice, Charlie raised his bleak eyes to look at her for a moment. “Congratulations, I guess,” he managed to croak out before hanging his head again.

“Thank you,” Lizzie answered sincerely. She put a hand on his forearm, squeezing it gently. “You put up an incredible fight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this before.”

Charlie shook his head as if he still couldn’t believe it. “Didn’t help much, did it? You won, we lost; there’s no way of talking around it.”

“It could have gone down either way; it was a matter of seconds.”

“I know,” he sighed. “I can’t believe I caught the Snitch only one bloody moment too late.” He choked out a bitter laugh and held the golden ball up for her to see.

“Looks like it’s me who gets the consolation prize in the end.”

He looked past her to her laughing teammates. “What are you doing over here anyway, champ? Don’t tell me you’re ditching your team for us moping lot?”

Lizzie sat down next to him onto the grass and nudged him with her shoulder. “I’m ditching my team for a friend who could use a bit of comfort right now,” she responded with a smile.

Charlie’s eyes trailed from her towards the Hufflepuffs again, who were busy hoisting a laughing Orion up on their shoulders.

“Even him?”

She had followed his gaze and nodded. “Even him.”

Charlie huffed but gave her a small grin, nonetheless. “That means a lot, Liz, thank you. But you deserved to win this time; you more than anyone.”

Lost in thought, Lizzie had been watching Orion celebrating with their friends. It was only now that she saw Charlie had been watching her in turn. Not sure if he was still talking about the match, Lizzie blushed a deep scarlet that almost matched Charlie’s robes; her flustered state made him grin mischievously.

“You’d better watch out though, pineapple,” he teased her, “there’s always next season. I’ll be damned if I let you defend that title; we’ll make sure the Cup gets back to where it belongs.”

Happy to see Charlie’s fighting spirit return, Lizzie dipped her head back and laughed. “Not if I can help it, Weasley!”

She scrambled to her feet and offered Charlie her hand. “Do I see you at the party later?”

It was a tradition to celebrate the closing of the Quidditch season with a big outdoor event down by the Black Lake. Generally considered one of the highlights of the years, it wasn’t only for the members of the winning House but for everyone in the school. As it was the last chance to have a bit of fun before the stress of their exams would take up all of their focus, most of the students had been looking forward to it for weeks.

Charlie, however, didn’t seem too thrilled at the prospect. He looked Lizzie up and down with a sigh.

“Would you accept a ‘no’ for an answer?”

“No,” Lizzie chuckled.

“Then I don’t think I have a choice, really,” Charlie smirked before wrapping his arm around her shoulder to march her back to her team. “I’ve got to celebrate my favourite badger girl, after all.”

*

Lizzie was probably one of the last ones left in the castle when she was finally able to make her way down to the lake. The sunlight had turned from bright to golden and was painting the landscape around her in an alternating pattern of light and shadow.

After the potion Ira had given her had worn off, the bone crushing hug from a sobbing Penny had made the pain of her injury flare up again with full force. When her knees had buckled from the sharp sting, Orion and Ira had been adamant she’d go to the Hospital Wing at once; her ribs had hurt too badly for Lizzie to even consider objecting.

Madam Pomfrey had been miffed when she had checked her up, muttering something about “This bloody Quidditch business” under her breath. To Lizzie’s relief, Ira’s initial assessment had been right and her ribs weren’t broken after all.

“I’d much rather you’d have come straight to me, Miss Jameson,” Madam Pomfrey had declared sternly. “Teenagers,” she had sighed,” always think they know better.”

She had been watching Lizzie reproachfully while preparing the ingredients for another painkiller potion, which was supposed to get her through the night.

Before she had left, Lizzie had made sure to check up on Brian; as it turned out, he wasn’t allowed to leave the Hospital Wing due to a mild concussion. He was miserable about not being able to celebrate with the rest of them, but otherwise he seemed to be alright.

“Kiss the Cup for me, will you?” he had asked her with a laugh as she had been about to leave.

Lizzie’s answer had been cut short by the scolding look of Madam Pomfrey, who had appeared by Brian’s bedside. “I thought there was an event you were desperate to attend, Miss Jameson,” she had chided her, albeit with the hint of a smile. “If you don’t want to spend the night here alongside your friend, you had better leave now before I change my mind.”

As she was walking along the path that would lead her to the Black Lake, Lizzie was enjoying having a little time on her own. It was a welcome change to the busy moments after the match, when her housemates had flooded the pitch and congratulations had been passed all around. It gave her the opportunity to let everything sink in.

They had won; they had really, actually done it.

Her team had come out on top; even after all the mess that had been going down this year, they had managed to get a grip and pull each other through. Lizzie felt overwhelmingly happy; never before had she been so proud of her team, of Skye, of Orion, even of herself.

She remembered the feeling of weightlessness when Orion had picked her up and spun her around; neither of them had cared about anyone else in that moment and it had felt so right; today, everything was feeling right.

Lizzie smiled to herself as she reached the shoreline, an unmistakable bounce in her steps. Whatever the evening might be bringing, she was looking forward to it; she had earned the right to just enjoy herself for a change.

When Lizzie heard two voices calling her name, she slowed her steps and turned around. It was Andre and Charlie, undoubtedly headed into the same direction as her. Tapping her foot in mock impatience, she waited for them to catch up.

Andre smiled brightly when they reached her. “Look who it is, Charlie.”

“The reigning Quidditch champion,” Charlie continued, now in a decidedly better mood after he’d had time to stomach the match. “May we escort you to your victory party?”

Both boys went up to either side of Lizzie and linked arms with her as they marched her along. She had to giggle at their overly solemn expressions.

“You may,” she laughed. “But why are you so late?”

Charlie rolled his eyes and jerked his head in Andre’s direction. “Someone needed to get dressed properly.”

It was only now that Lizzie noticed the giant badger on Andre’s blue shirt he was wearing under his jacket. She raised her eyebrows in astonishment and chuckled.

“That’s a really nice gesture, Andre, but that’s not quite the right colour.”

Andre merely shrugged, however. “I’ve got to uphold some housepride at least or else Erika might kill me.” He glanced down at his newest design. “That one’s risky enough as it is.”

*

As expected, the party was already in full swing when they arrived. Several stalls had been set up at the shore of the Black Lake and the houselves had given it their all to provide them with delicious food and drinks. They were all centred around a giant bonfire that was blazing brightly in the slowly descending darkness of the evening.

The stalls were decorated in yellow and black banners, as were the comfortable looking seats that had been grouped together all over the place. The image of the Hufflepuff badger was a common sight wherever Lizzie was looking. To add to the atmosphere, numerous strings of fairy lights had been put up in between the branches and down the stems of the trees.

The place was packed with laughing and chatting students; Charlie and Andre went to get something to drink and Lizzie found herself wandering around the site, looking for any sign of her friends.

She spotted the familiar strawberry blond head of KC over to the side of the bonfire. She was sitting in one of the cushioned garden chairs with a bottle of butterbeer in her hand. Her head was dipped back in laughter at something Rath had just said; knowing the tall blonde girl, it had undoubtedly been some wry remark about the course of the game.

Where KC was Murphy was never far and sure enough, he was lounging in the chair next to her. He was gesturing wildly towards the two girls with sparkling eyes, confirming Lizzie’s suspicion that they were indeed still talking about the match.

Sitting next to Murphy, Orion was attentively listening to the ongoing discussion. He was looking as deeply relaxed as Lizzie had ever seen him. As if sensing someone’s attention being on him, he turned his head. As their eyes met, a smile tugged at his lips and he motioned for her to join them with the smallest movement of his head. The shift of Orion’s focus didn’t escape KC; she nudged him with her foot before bending over to him and whispering something into his ear, making Orion laugh and shake his head.

Lizzie felt a smile forming on her face. There was nothing she would have liked more than heading over to her friends right now. For the first time since she had arrived at Hogwarts last September, she felt completely certain of what she wanted; it was as if reaching their shared goal today had cleared her mind of all the doubts that she had been carrying with her.

But there was one thing she had to do first. Although it was incredibly hard to do, she turned her back on her friends and scanned the crowd for a different face.

After a moment, Lizzie spotted who she had been looking for; through a gap in between several groups of people, Lizzie could make out the familiar figure of Rowan. She was on her own and - just like Lizzie herself - she seemed to be searching the crowd as well. When their eyes met, they started walking towards each other.

“I’ve been looking for you!” both girls exclaimed simultaneously when they had reached each other, before they burst into laughter; it felt easy and carefree, almost like it used to be.

“Congratulations on winning the House Cup; you were amazing!” To Lizzie’s surprise, Rowan hugged her tightly. “Penny, Tonks and I were almost dying watching you play; what a match!”

A touch of worry flickered over her face as her eyes dropped to Lizzie’s ribcage, where the Bludger had hit her. “How are your ribs? Ira told us they’re bruised pretty badly.”

“She’s right, but nothing’s broken or anything,” Lizzie shrugged. “Madam Pomfrey gave me another painkiller potion for tonight, but it will probably hurt like hell tomorrow.”

Lizzie didn’t want to talk about her injury right now. She thought about how the whole school must have seen Orion embrace her after the match; Rowan must have done so, too. Lizzie was sick and tired of this ridiculous fight with her; she wanted to sort things out with her friend once and for all.

She took a deep breath. “Listen, Ro, we need to talk.”

Much to her surprise, Rowan responded immediately. “Yes, I know. That’s why I’ve been looking for you; I wanted to apologise.”

Lizzie had already opened her mouth to reply when her brain registered Rowan’s unexpected words. Not knowing what to say, she blinked in confusion.

“You want what now?”

Rowan’s gaze dropped to the ground and she rubbed her arm uncomfortably. “When that Bludger hit you and you were hanging from that banner, I was so scared for you,” she muttered quietly, her eyes still trained on the tips of her shoes. “I mean, we all were, of course; Penny even nearly cried. But Orion was there to help you immediately and even from the Hufflepuff stands you could see how afraid he was for you.”

Rowan raised her eyes to meet Lizzie’s. The different emotions shining in them were hard to pinpoint; it was a mixture of sadness, resignation and, strangely enough, something resembling relief.

“And seeing the two of you after the game was over…” Rowan’s voice trailed off and she swallowed the lump in her throat. “It’s just so obvious how much he cares for you.”

Lizzie slowly breathed out, not quite daring to believe what she was hearing. “So you’re not mad?” she asked tentatively. “I promised you to stay away from him after all.”

Rowan sighed. “Yes, and you did. I’ll be honest with you, I really thought if we could just pretend like none of this had happened, it would make me feel better; and maybe even make the two of us better again, too. I was so hurt and angry at you; you are such an admirable person, Lizzie, so many girls want to be just like you,” Rowan sniffed and her voice broke slightly, “I just didn’t want you to have him on top of it.”

Lizzie felt her own voice becoming breathy. “You don’t have to be like anyone else, Ro; you’re perfect just the way you are.”

But Rowan shook her head and pressed her lips together. “No, I’m not. I deliberately hurt you to feel better about myself. But it didn’t work, I only felt bad for asking something horrible like this from you and making all of us unhappy in the process.”

Her shoulders slumped as she hung her head. “I acted like the worst friend imaginable, I’m so sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Lizzie asked incredulously. “If anyone should apologise, it’s me. I never should have risked our friendship like I did, I should have been honest with you from the beginning.” She laid her hand on Rowan’s arm and smiled when she lifted her head again. “Believe me, Rowan, no matter what you think, you’re always important to me.”

She hesitated to go on and gathered her courage before she continued. “But Orion is, too,” she said timidly. “It’s not for show or about wanting to be with someone I’m not supposed to be with. I really care about him.”

“I know,” Rowan sighed and pushed her glasses up her nose, “I guess I was more intrigued by the idea I had of him than by him himself.”

An encouraging smile formed on Rowan’s face. “But you, Lizzie, you know him, the real him. Not the Quidditch captain or the guy who loves broom balancing and nebulous answers, just him. And believe me, you matter to Orion as well, anyone can see that; you two belong together.”

Not knowing what to say, Lizzie took a step forward and threw her arms around her best friend’s neck. “Thank you.”

She was more than relieved when Rowan returned the hug. “What for,” she laughed before letting go again. She placed her hands on Lizzie’s shoulders, turned her around and pushed her forward.

“Now go and find him before I change my mind.” Rowan’s eyes swept over the crowd and a concerned frown appeared over the top of her glasses. “I need to check on Tulip and Tonks, they were talking about tinkering with some firecrackers earlier.”

She adjusted the Prefect badge on her jumper, gave Lizzie another smile and quickly vanished in the crowd. Lizzie watched after her for a second before she turned around as well.

Just as she started walking towards where Orion was still sitting with their friends, Penny jumped on her out of nowhere grabbing her arm.

“There you are!” she squealed. “Where in Godric’s name have you been?”

Lizzie wanted to reply but didn’t get a chance before Penny forcefully dragged her towards a big group of people standing close to the central bonfire. She was constantly babbling with excitement. “He is here, Lizzie, can you believe it! Ethan Parkin is here. At our victory party! This is incredible, he is incredible, all of this is incredible!”

She tugged at Lizzie’s arm impatiently. “Come on now, he has been asking about you several times already!”

As they were approaching the huge crowd that had gathered near the blazing fire, Lizzie could make out Ethan and Skye standing at its centre. The House Cup was sitting next to them on the grass, its silver handles decorated with black and yellow ribbons. The giant trophy was coming up higher than Skye’s knees; when Madam Hooch and Professor Dumbledore had handed it over to Orion at the ceremony on the pitch, Lizzie had been able to see how he had momentarily struggled to lift it over his head; Lizzie and Skye had only managed to do the same when they had tried it together.

Now, Skye was glancing down at the Cup every now and again, still unable to believe she had finally achieved what she had dreamed of ever since. Her father, on the other hand, paid the glinting trophy no mind; his hand was resting on Skye’s shoulder, his face beaming with pride. He was talking animatedly to his awed onlookers; Lizzie could see Skye was blushing and trying not to roll her eyes. She sighed inwardly; Ethan Parkin was probably talking about his favourite subject: himself and his illustrious adventures with the Wigtown Wanderers.

But when Penny pushed them through the crowd towards the front, Lizzie was surprised to hear that Ethan Parkin wasn’t gushing about his family’s club after all; instead, he was recounting the course of their match in such painstaking details it could have put Murphy to shame. He took a special joy in painting all of Skye’s free throws, goals and special manoeuvres in the brightest colours to the adoring masses; her last move in particular had him bursting with pride.

“If you ask me, that Keeper stood no chance from the moment she got her hands on the Quaffle,” he was declaring just now. “It’s a special technique my Skye has, Parkin family secret, of course; just knew she wouldn’t fail her shot.”

He interrupted his monologue and his eyes lit up as they discovered Lizzie. He nudged Skye with his elbow.

“Look who’s here, Skye; seems like we finally found your missing mate. Wondered where you might be at, lassie.”

Lizzie motioned to her ribcage. “I had to go and get my ribs checked.”

“Aye, that one looked like it hurt. I know what a Bludger to the rips feels like, but let me tell you, a good player always pulls through, no matter what.”

He clapped a heavy hand on Lizzie’s shoulder. “Well done, lass, you did a fine job out there. You lot can learn from this one,” he proclaimed to his fans, still squeezing Lizzie’s shoulder. “Takes some strength of character to recognise when your teammate’s abilities are greater than your own; right decision of Lizzie to pass the Quaffle to Skye, it was the key to their victory.”

Like Skye before, Lizzie was trying not to roll her eyes. “If you say so, Mr. Parkin.”

“How often do I need to tell you, call me Ethan.”

Lizzie smiled noncommittally. “At least one more time, Mr. Parkin.”

He laughed jovially and turned to his fans again, recounting some other detail of their match; Lizzie wasn’t even listening anymore. Using her father’s distraction, Skye took her chance and pulled Lizzie away from the crowd for a moment.

Looking back over her shoulder, she rubbed her neck in embarrassment. “Sorry dad’s so enthusiastic. Don’t listen to him boasting about me, you were smashing today.”

“As were you,” Lizzie smiled.

A smug grin stole onto Skye’s face. “Yeah, we did quite a good job, didn’t we?” Seemingly out of nowhere her expression turned serious again. “But don’t you think I don’t know what you were doing.”

Out of nowhere Skye nudged Lizzie’s shoulder, maybe a bit more forceful than she had meant to.

“Ouch! What was that for!

Skye ignored Lizzie’s complaints. “You were at your favourite distance for that last goal; you always make that shot.” She set her index finger onto Lizzie’s chest to accentuate her words. “Don’t you ever dare to risk a win like that again, you hear me, Jameson?”

Before Lizzie could say anything in her defence, Skye had hugged her tightly. “But thank you anyway.”

Lizzie grinned when Skye abruptly let go of her only seconds later. “What’s that now, Parkin? Are you going soft on me or what?”

Skye huffed and laughed out loud. “You wish, Jameson!”

With a last genuine smile at her friend, Skye returned to her father’s side. Lizzie couldn’t help but smile to herself taking in the scene. Despite all the pressure he had put his daughter through, knowingly or not, Ethan was now looking down at Skye with overwhelming pride; Lizzie wasn’t sure if she had ever seen Skye being happier than in this exact moment.

She stayed with the Parkins for a little while longer until Lizzie felt it wouldn’t be impolite to leave anymore. She was tired of Ethan’s constant droning, even if it was about Quidditch.

Lizzie was impatient to finally get her chance to talk to Orion now, but when she turned to the place her friends had been occupying earlier, she found it deserted; none of them was anywhere to be seen.

Not really knowing what to do, Lizzie started aimlessly strolling around the party, hopping from group to group, chatting with all sorts of people here and there.

So many happy faces were smiling at her as she moved through the crowd, congratulating her and clapping her on the back. Even her Gryffindor friends were seemingly enjoying themselves in this cheerful environment.

Lizzie could see Azariah laughing with Charlie and Andre, his arm draped around Ira’s shoulder; the curly haired Hufflepuff had her head resting against him and smiled from time to time. A bit further on, Julian and Henry were joking with each other, both raising their butterbeers in her direction when they saw her walking by. Sitting a little more secluded from the rest of the crowd, Lizzie could even spot Judith and her boyfriend Talbott; she was surprised to see the evasive Ravenclaw boy make an appearance at such a busy place, but then again, judging by the adoring looks he gave his girlfriend, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for Judith.

Upon seeing all of her friends so relaxed and happy, a warm and fuzzy feeling was spreading inside Lizzie’s chest. As she leaned against a tree and took a sip of her butterbeer, however, she couldn’t help but feel a bit lost without having one of her own close friends to talk to.

Completely lost in her thoughts, the sudden sound of a familiar voice close to her ear almost made her jump out of her skin.

“Looking for someone, Chaser?”

Turning around, Lizzie found Orion standing behind her with a smirk on his face. Trying to ignore her wildly beating heart, Lizzie broke into a smirk of her own.

“What makes you think I’m looking for someone?”

“Aren’t we always looking for something or the other?” he responded casually, but the smile on his lips was mirrored in his eyes..

“I guess you’re right,” Lizzie mused, “but the someone I’ve been looking for is rather hard to catch tonight.”

Orion laughed quietly, the warm sound making Lizzie’s heart skip a beat. “I take it you’re drawing from your own rich pool of experience. You’ve been as elusive as a beam of sunlight this whole year; always visible, but impossible to get hold of.”

“Well, here I am.” She sighed in mock exasperation and rested her elbow on Orion’s shoulder. “But alas, the one I was looking for isn’t.”

Orion chuckled, clearly unimpressed by her teasing. Lizzie fought to not lose her composure as she felt his hand on her back, his touch giving her goosebumps all over.

“Is that so?” he whispered into her ear before drawing back again. “I fear you’ll have to make do with me.”

Lizzie tilted her head and grinned. “I think I can live with that.”

The atmosphere between them felt different; even when they had been nothing but friends, they had never spoken to each other in such a light, teasing manner before. However, this new dynamic felt completely natural. All the tension and strain that had hung between them for the better part of the year had vanished into thin air; Lizzie was loving every second of it.

Her breath hitched as she felt Orion adjust his hand on her back, his fingers grazing lightly over her spine.

“In fact,” he conceded, “Rowan mentioned you were looking for me.”

Surprised, Lizzie raised her eyebrows. “She did?”

Although Rowan had said she was alright with it, Lizzie was still glad to see that she had actually meant it. The thought of not having to lie to anyone anymore felt wonderful and strange at the same time.

“I’m as surprised as you are. I take it, the two of you were finally able to make peace?”

Lizzie sighed with relief. “Yes, neither one of us was what you’d call a perfect friend lately.”

Orion’s smile grew softer. “Perfection is a matter of perspective, isn’t it?”

Unable to think of a witty response, Lizzie’s cheeks blushed a deep scarlet and her eyes dropped to the ground. The atmosphere had shifted yet again, and she could feel the butterflies dancing in her stomach; she wasn’t entirely sure whether they were stemming more from nerves or excitement.

She was spared an answer, however, when a high, whistling sound suddenly cut through the air, directly followed by a mix of shrieks and laughter. The unmistakable cackling of Tonks and Tulip was clearly discernible above it; Lizzie recalled Rowan’s concern about seeing them meddling with some firecrackers.

Unimpressed by the commotion, Orion shot her a sideways glance. “What do you say, let’s leave the crowd to themselves and their fireworks for a bit?”

Lizzie tore her gaze away from the colourful sparks erupting over where the two troublemakers were undoubtedly working their magic and smiled at him.

“Sounds like a good plan, Captain.”

They left their spot under the tree and moved through the crowd that was flocking towards the commotion. Orion was walking in front of Lizzie, quickly gaining ground on her as the stream of people was thickening.

Breathing in deeply, Lizzie gathered her courage and lightly placed a hand on his arm before he was out of reach.

“Wait for me, will you?”

Orion looked back over his shoulder and waited for her to catch up with him. When she was closer, Lizzie let her hand travel down from where she had touched him to his hand, interlacing her fingers with his. Her heart was beating frantically as she felt the slight pressure of his fingers against the back of her hand.

Neither of them saw the surprised looks they were attracting as they broke free from the crowd, nor the badly contained smiles of their friends as they passed them. And even if Lizzie had noticed, at this very moment, she couldn’t have cared less.

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch 2. The Contest.

Summary: Life at SHIELD isn’t always missions and seriousness, as a good natured shooting contest between Katie and Clint shows. The questions is, as the two dead-shots face off, who will be the winner? Steve has utter faith in his best friend, so much so he’s willing to bet money on her. But is this just another ten bucks he’s gonna lose?

Either way, both are left contemplating their feelings towards one another and fast come to the realisation that they run deeper than they want to admit

Pairing: Steve Rogers X OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Language!!

A/N: A huge thank you to @angrybirdcr​ for her lovely little edit below of Katie and Clint. She’s kingly agreed to pull a few edits together for me in honour of my relaunch so keep your eyes peeled…

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 1

 Katie had no idea why she’d agreed to any of this. Actually, that was a lie, she knew exactly why she’d agreed to this, it was all down to Evans who had decided that STRIKE were long overdue a competition of sorts and had organised a shooting-slash-obstacle course tournament. Eight members had entered, going into random draws and competing against one another over the past week. Out of those eight, two now remained. Her and Clint.

A shooting contest between two Avengers was always going to draw big attention, so it was hardly surprising, therefore, that the SHIELD agents were running a book. Clint was odds on favourite to win, but Steve had so far refused to take part, that is until ten minutes or so before the contest was supposed to start. He was stood outside the shooting range, eyes focussed on Katie and Clint as they both stood checking their equipment, a crowd steadily gathering behind him.

“I know she’s good, but she really doesn’t stand a chance.” Natasha drawled as she stood at his side. Her matter-of-fact tone caused something in his chest to stir, the lack of faith everyone bar Evans and Lawson from the lab seemed to be displaying in Katie over Clint riled him and he turned to Natasha, a smirk flickering over his face as he repeated the words Katie had said to him the first night they’d met.

“Ten bucks says you’re wrong.” He stuck his hand out.

Natasha raised an eyebrow at him, before shaking his hand “Alright Rogers, you’re on.”

His hands returned to his belt buckle and both Katie and Clint signalled they were ready.

Evans went into the room, it was soundproof unless you pushed the button to listen in, which Rumlow did, of course.

“Okay you both no the rules but I’m gonna repeat ‘em just in case. No pushing or shoving of your opponent because that’s just a shitty thing to do.” Evans said, his Texan drawl loud as his hand scratched at his ginger beard. “Perfect kill shots are an extra half-point. Twenty minute time limit is in force. If you’re tied on score then we’ll go to the number of kill shots made.” Evans looked at them and they both nodded, Katie licking her lips. “Now. To your starting lines. You may go when the barriers open.” Evans nodded and held his right hand up, three fingers extended “May the odds be ever in your favour…”

Steve had no idea what that was a reference too, but he heard the rest of the people around him snigger. Katie threw her head back in a laugh as Clint mimicked Evan’s hand gesture as the other Sniper left the room.

The two opponents both looked out over the room from their starting positions at the obstacles which were constructed out of crates and various other objects. Katie cracked her neck side to side as Clint raised his pistol again, looking down the barrel before he turned his head to meet Katie’s gaze. She put her gun back into its thigh holster and turned to her old SO.

“May the best woman win.” she smirked, as she felt the blood pounding in her ears. Then, with a loud klaxon, the barriers opened in front of them and they both shot forward.

It might have been a friendly competition, but Katie wasn’t someone who liked losing so she was playing to win, and that was obvious from the determination written all over her face. Steve felt a surge of pride as he watched her leaping from obstacle to obstacle, landing shot after shot. After she hit her fourth target head easily and ahead of Clint, Steve heard Natasha hiss through her teeth.

“Ok, so maybe she has a little chance…”

He didn’t reply, simply watched, silently willing her on.

As the minutes ticked on, the two continued, both making leaps, dropping into rolls, and ducking behind corners. Katie took another shot, and paused for a split second, if she was counting correctly there were two more to go and five minutes left on the clock. She looked up for her next target and saw Clint was blocking her way, knelt down, aiming at his own. Katie knew the sensible thing to do would be to wait, but then she was a Stark, being sensible wasn’t one of her main attributes. With a smirk she re-holstered her gun and sprinted as fast as she could, launching herself forward into a perfect front flip, catapulting right over the top of Clint before she immediately slid onto a knee and brought the handgun back up, aiming at the target.

Outside the room there was a lot of cheering and cat calls at her display of acrobatics.

Katie moved to her final target, back against a large crate, aimed but then missed and Steve closed his eyes- that would cost her.

“Shit!” She exclaimed, doubling over to catch her breath as at that point the klaxon sounded again to say they were out of time. She stood up, cocking the safety on her pistol before stowing it away as Clint walked over to her, pulling her into a hug.

“Sharp shooting, Nova!” He grinned, ruffling at her hair. Both of them turned as the doors open and a few agents walked in, back slapping them both as Evans collected the targets and went to tally up the points.

“That was impressive!” Steve smiled as he crossed the room. “Both of you.”

“Yeah, not bad Stark.” Nat added, appraisingly

“Thanks.” Katie nodded, taking a drink of the bottle of water Clint handed to her. She was red faced, sweating but absolutely thrilled, pumped full of adrenaline. She placed her hands on her hips and took a deep breath

“And we have the results!” Evans said and Clint threw his arm round Katie as hers slid round his waist. “Stark you missed one giving you nine and three kill shots, taking you to ten point five.” Cheers rang around at the pretty damned good score and Katie grinned as Evans waited until the applause died down before he continued. “However, Barton hit each target, giving him ten plus four kill shots, taking him to twelve over all meaning he is the winner of this year’s STRIKE Shoot Off!”

“Damned it!” Katie groaned, shaking Clint’s hand as various cheers and complaints went up and people started to cash in their bets.

“You’re fired.” Steve heard a familiar voice say. Spinning round, he saw Fury handing over a fifty to an agent whose name escaped him and Steve bit back a smile. The Director had bet on Katie. That one mistake had been costly.

“Cough up Rogers.” Nat held out her hand and he turned to her, sighing and fished in his pocket for a note, handing it to her.

“You bet on me?” Katie looked at him, surprised.

“Course I did, Doll.” he said immediately.

 “Yeah I didn’t, sorry Stark.” Nat took the ten-note off him “Clint’s never lost a challenge yet.”

“He nearly did.” Steve looked at Katie proudly before he glanced back at Natasha. “Was worth the bet to see you get so twitchy Romanoff.”

“Seriously?”  Clint turned to Natasha. “You got twitchy?”

“I’ll admit at one point I thought Stark might have just shaded it.” Nat narrowed her eyes at Steve who simply shrugged, hands dropping to the front of his belt buckle.

“To be fair, there was one point where I thought that too.” Clint smiled, and Katie felt a surge of pride in her chest as he pulled the magazine out of his pistol. “Did good Nova, I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks Clint.” she smiled at him.

“So, who fancies a drink?” Barton looked around, clapping his hands together.

“I’m game.” Katie nodded as she stripped down her weapon.

Natasha hummed in agreement and then Steve realised they were all looking at him. He hesitated, he really did need to train as he hadn’t had a decent run that morning and he’d be restless all evening otherwise, but after that…why not?

"I gotta work out first but if you tell me where you’re going I’ll join you when I’m done.”

“Take a day off!” Nat drawled, examining her nails. Steve was about to reply but Katie got there first.

“If he doesn’t work out he’s a right crank! And no one likes a Cranky Cap.”

“You know what Stark?” Steve started but she simply stuck her tongue out at him causing him to roll his eyes, fighting to keep the smile off his face.

“Why don’t we try the new sports bar on the high-street, what’s it called again?” Clint suggested.

“Home Run?” Nat asked.

“Yeah that’s it.” he nodded “Couple of doors down from the Burger joint.”

“I’ll find it.” Steve said as Clint nodded, making for the door, Natasha following.  Katie turned to Steve, smiling at him as he surveyed the room.

"You did a good job,” he nodded to the obstacle course “Did it take you back to fighting Aliens?”

“Not quite the same, you know? No returning gunfire… no life-or-death stakes… no Captain America cushioning my fall when we got blown out of a bank window,” she teased. He laughed, as she started to back up towards the door. “I won’t take up your workout time. See you at the bar?”

“You never take up my time, Honey.” He smiled back, honestly, before he felt the flush rise up his neck. What a dumbass thing to say. “See you later.” He nodded.

With that she took her leave, tugging her hair out the ponytail as she left, allowing the gentle waves to cascade down her back.

********

Half an hour or so later, after Katie had showered and changed, the three Avengers were making the twenty minute or so walk to the bar downtown.

“You know I still can’t believe I got to within a point and a half of you.” Katie nudged Clint.

“Me neither actually.” Natasha mused. “I thought it was gonna be a whitewash.”

“Nice to know you have so much faith in me, Widow.” Katie scoffed and Nat snorted.

“Tell you who did have faith, other than Rogers… Fury.” She looked at Katie who grinned from ear to ear.

“Hang on…the boss bet against me?” Clint stopped. With a heavy sigh he shook his head. “Damned, that hurts.”

“Don’t take it personally.” Katie shrugged as they reached the bar. With a loud snort, Clint opened the door to let the girls step in first and then he joined them, looking around at the new surroundings. It was low lit but piled with sports memorabilia held in various glass cases around the room and on the walls. They took the time to look at most of it on their way to the bar where Clint bought the first round. Drinks in hand, they headed to a plush, leather seated booth and settled down.

The three friends fell into an easy chat, and then the inevitable teasing about Rumlow fancying Katie started up and she groaned. Clint and Nat enjoyed ribbing her about him and she had to admit, he wasn’t subtle to be fair. He’d asked her out three times now and she’d politely declined but it didn’t stop her friends from enjoying teasing her about it. Clint and Nat took turns in trying to highlight Rumlow’s more endearing qualities. They managed a sum total of three when Clint leaned back in his chair and shrugged.

“Yeah, that’s all I got. I’m out.” He grinned as Katie laughed, raising her glass to her mouth to drain the last of her beer.

“Yeah, he’s not relationship materiel.” Nat shrugged

“But you could just fuck him, get what you need and kick him out before breakfast.” Clint suggested causing Katie to choke down her mouthful of European lager and pick up the beer mat nearest her.

Steve chose that exact moment to walk into the bar. He watched as the beer mat hit Clint straight between the eyes, and Katie threw her head back in pure, unadulterated laughter. Something in the Captain’s chest stirred as he watched her, that wonderful smile and laugh filling her face.

“Hey.” He greeted them as they all looked up. “You guys need another drink?”

“Cheers Cap, three beers.” Clint motioned round the table and Steve headed off to the bar. Katie watched him go, eye trained on his ass which looked remarkably fine in those dark denims, then, realising what she was doing and who she was with, she let out silent groan as she turned back to see Clint and Nat exchanging a glance, a glance between two people who had just discovered the best secret ever.

“What?” she shrugged, trying to keep her face as straight as possible. “Girl can look, right?”

“Nova, you ain’t just looking, you’re practically drooling.” Clint grinned. “You soft on Cap?”

“No, I just happen to…” She hesitated as she stumbled for the words “…appreciate what my father had a hand in producing, that’s all.”

“Bullshit!” Natasha snorted as Clint roared with laughter. “You’re hot for Rogers.”

“No, I’m…”

“You know, considering you’re a secret agent your poker face is really shit!” Clint pointed at her

“Oh fuck off, the both of you.” She spluttered and the pair of them continued to chuckle, exchanging looks in that infuriating way they did, until Steve returned, setting down the four pints which he easily held in his hands and slid into the spare seat next to Katie.

Thankfully, Natasha and Clint decided to leave their teasing alone and the four of them struck up a conversation talking about everything and anything. A few more pints were drunk and when it came back to Clint’s turn to buy he came back from the bar, a wicked grin on his face.

“Oh, no I know that look!” Katie pointed at him and Clint shrugged, placing her pint down in front of her before he sat down.

“Yeah, she’s right.” Natasha eyed him. “What you up to?”

“I’m just in the mood for another challenge.” Clint leaned forward, his eyebrows raising up and down as he spoke.

“Like what?” Katie folded her arms

“Which one of you…” he said, waving his finger between her and Nat, “…can down a pint fastest?”

“Is that really wise?” Steve asked and Katie smirked.

“Not for Nat, no.”

The red head quirked an eyebrow, “I’m game if you are.”

Katie shrugged as Clint chuckled and pounded his hand on the table. “Alright then, Ladies! On your marks…”

As soon as Clint had done counting down Katie raised the glass to her mouth and chugged, draining it in four seconds flat before turning it upside down on top of her head. Natasha wasn’t even half way through hers before she groaned and set it down, trying to supress a burp.

Steve couldn’t help but look at Katie, his mouth falling open.

"What?” she laughed, shrugging as the Captain exchanged a look with Clint. “I spent three years at University, drinking with boys.”

“Yeah well I’ll stick to Vodka.” Nat shook her head “Fancy that as a challenge?”

“Not a chance.” Katie scoffed, “Although Cap could.”

“He could, but he won’t” Steve sternly shot her a look “Because it wouldn’t be fair.”

Katie rolled her eyes pouting.

“You do know I’m Russian, right. Well, I was.” Nat leaned back on the bench. “I was practically weaned on the stuff.”

“Yes, I know that, but I can’t get drunk.” Steve shrugged. “My metabolism burns it off too fast.”

“Cap,” Clint sighed, shaking his head, “that might just be the saddest thing I have ever heard.”

“Even sadder than when you heard you were shipping off to guard Thor’s hammer?” Nat asked. Clint considered her point for a moment, and shrugged.

“Hmmmm. Maybe the same level of sadness at learning I was about to head to Butt-fuck America for an undefined amount of time, yes.”

Steve choked into his beer. Besides him Katie laughed and as Steve looked at Clint, the archer snorted and shook his head.

“Cap. I’m serious. It was legit in the middle of the fucking desert. Nothing for miles.”

“Hey, what happened to that one eyed puppy we found?” Katie asked suddenly.

“Err, I took him to some friends.” Clint answered after a slight pause. “Their kids love him, he’s living the best life.”

Katie and Natasha shared a smile, both understood friends to mean his family and his own kids.

“Still eating Pizza?” Katie asked.

“Pizza?” Steve asked, frowning. “Who feeds a dog pizza?”

“Well he was a bit like you in that respect. Do anything for a double pepperoni with extra cheese.” Katie nudged him with her elbow

“As long as its New York style.” Steve drained his glass, matter of factly.

“Admit it, you enjoyed it when it took you to Second City” Katie eyed him.

“You been to Seconds?” Clint asked. “Thought you swore you wouldn’t go back after that waiter said he wanted to give you a real slice of Chicago to talk about?”

“He did not!” Natasha giggled.

Katie groaned “He did.”

“Now, I wish I’d seen that.”  Nat grinned as Clint let out a loud snort.

“She went full Supernova in three seconds flat. Dragged him over the counter and everything.”

“You didn’t?” Steve glanced at her, although he knew the answer from the look on her face as she groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Look… we had just got back from a week’s stake out in Saudi Arabia…” she sighed, shrugging as Clint and Natasha laughed “I was tired and fending off the advances of some greasy, 40 something year old man politely really wasn’t top of my list.”

“Why not? You do it every day to Rumlow” Nat smirked.

At the mention of his name Steve felt his eyes narrow. He hated the way the STRIKE leader blatantly eyed Katie up at every given chance. It was disrespectful.

“Don’t start that again” Katie rolled her eyes.

“He’s not a bad looking guy.” Nat persisted. “You could do worse.”

“You like him so much you fuck him!” Katie’s voice was snappy. Romanoff leaned back in her chair, eyeing her over half full glass, smirking.

“Touched a nerve, Stark?”

“No, you’re just talking crap, as usual.” she shot back, standing up. “My round.”

Steve moved so that she could get out from the booth and watched her head to the bar.

“Think we need to lay off the whole Rumlow thing.” Clint snorted, turning Nat. “She’s clearly not interested.”

“She’s obviously looking for someone a little less…” Nat pondered and Clint cut in.

“Of an ass hat?”

Steve snorted and Natasha shrugged.

“I was gonna say a little more of a gentleman but…if the cap fits…” Her eyes flashed to Steve and he looked at her, his eyebrows pulling together as he felt the heat flushing to his neck. She simply shrugged, in her usual nonchalant way before she changed the subject.

****

A few hours later Clint and Nat decided they’d had enough and left to grab a taxi. When Clint was in town he always stayed with Nat, prompting Steve to wonder if there was anything going on beyond the platonic friendship. He pondered it for a moment, deciding to just ask the question.

 “Is there something between them?” he nodded to the pair as they left.

“No.” Katie shook her head “Absolutely not.”

“How are you so sure?”

“Okay, I’ll tell you, but don’t be pissed I haven’t told you before…” she said, pausing “Clint…he’s married, has two kids.”

“What?” Steve choked on his beer.

“They have a place, somewhere, I don’t know exactly but it’s off SHIELD’s books and no one knows bar me, Nat and Fury.”

“Huh.” Steve pondered the information for a moment and Katie took a deep breath.

“Look, sorry I didn’t tell you but…”

“It’s okay.” Steve smiled. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel a little bit disappointed she hadn’t told him before, but he understood, she was loyal to a fault. “I get it, he’s your friend.”

“Yeah I know but he’s not my best friend.” she batted her eyelids at him.

“Hmmm, stop buttering me up.”

“Has it worked?”

“Yes.” He deadpanned, draining his glass and she grinned “Same again?”

They had a couple more before Katie decided she was one pint away from being drunk and Steve found himself a little bit disappointed she wanted to leave. He was enjoying spending the time with her. It felt different to their usual trips out, she’d been more relaxed than he had seen her in a long time, enjoying the gentle touches she made to his arm and leg when she was teasing him.

His mind flicked back to Natasha’s little comment before and he found himself wondering if the red head knew something he didn’t. Was there something there on Katie’s part too? As he studied her for a moment as she pulled on her jacket, talking to him, he shook himself out of it. No, why would someone like her look twice at someone like him.

He managed to tune back into what she was saying, telling her no way was he giving her a lift home on the back of his bike without a helmet, causing her to pout and bat her lashes at him in an outrageously over the top manner causing him to snort.

“That ain’t gonna work either.” He shook his head and she shrugged.

“Worth a shot.” She chuckled as they made their way to the door. “And speaking of shots, you really shouldn’t have told Nat you can’t get drunk and whooped her ass at a vodka necking contest.” Her arm linked into his as they walked, and she leaned into him a little, her head laying against his upper bicep.

“Now that would have been dishonest. “Steve smirked. “Surely you’re not saying I should use my enhancement to my advantage in such a situation?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” she nodded.

Steve laughed, sticking his arm out to hail a cab for her.

“But then you’re a very honest kinda guy.”

“I have my moments.” He turned to face her

“Moments? Nah ah, you can’t lie for shit!” she grinned at him.

“No, I can’t lie to you for shit, Sweetheart” He rolled his eyes “You know me too well.”

“Hmmm, true.” she nodded in agreement as the car stopped at the curb and Steve opened the door for her.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Steve asked, not particularly happy she was cabbing back alone, it was times like this he wished he had a car. “I can walk back for my bike.”

“I can handle myself, I’m a trained killer remember?” she raised her hands and made gun signs at him with her fingers. He shook his head, smiling.

“You’re an idiot.” He snorted a laugh.

“But you love me!” She grinned, standing on her toes to give him a peck on the cheek. “G’night, Soldier.”

“Call me when you’re home.” He instructed “And if I ain’t heard from you in twenty…” he raised his voice so the cab driver could hear.

She shook her head, smiling as she climbed into the taxi and waved as it pulled off.

It wasn’t long before she was home and once she made her way into her bedroom, Katie kicked off her boots, flopped down onto her bed and pulled out her phone, better do as Captain Badass instructed or knowing him he’d turn up and kick the door in.

“So I’m home Old timer…” she said, when he answered and from his sigh she knew he would be rolling his eyes.

“Less of the old” he retorted, the clinking of cutlery and plates rattling in the background.

“What you doing?” she asked.

“Making food.”

“You can’t cook.”

“Yes I can.”

“So why have you never cooked for me?” she asked indignantly, feeling somewhat annoyed that she always did the cooking for the two of them.

“Because you’re better at it.” He replied, simply. “And I’ve made you grilled cheese before. And soup. Now drink some water and go to sleep.”

“God you’re so bossy.” she grumbled.

“Someone has to be, you’re a law unto yourself.”

“If I say it will you do what I said?”

“Maybe, probably, definitely maybe” she shrugged to herself.

“Then you’re awesome. Goodnight, Doll.”

“Night Stevie.”

****

Steve cut the call, placing his phone down on the counter as he thought back over the day, waiting for his food to heat up. For the first time in a long time he actually felt completely at ease. Ease with his life both in and out of SHIELD.

Up until a few weeks ago it had still felt slightly confusing, and it still did with the STRIKE team sometimes. At first he had been tentative, not trying to step on Rumlow’s toes but that had quickly settled and the two of them had fallen into a pretty good working relationship. As much as Rumlow could rile him, Steve knew that the man was good at his job, and Steve was equally good at his. He was the tactician, Rumlow organised the troops. But sometimes, well, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Sometimes he felt interest, but it was often coloured by the lingering disillusionment that his team were merely humouring him as the blue eyed all American hero he had been painted to be.

But never once had he felt like that with Katie.

And then his apartment seemed to blur in front of him, causing him to realise this went way beyond some daft crush. He was really falling in deep. The heat travelled up his chest into his neck and he felt his palms become sweaty. He dropped his arms to wipe them on his jeans as the fizzy feeling left his body, but stayed by him, swirling around until he could practically hear it. This really, really wouldn’t do. She was his best friend, a work colleague, the daughter of one of his friends from the forties…and then there was Peggy.

Not for the first time Steve delved into the reasons he’d been drawn to Katie, comparing her to Peggy. Both women had strong personalities, an unwavering sense of justice and ethics, a deep well of compassion, loyalty, and the air of authority that put more than one man in his place, including himself. They were both incredibly beautiful, filled with passion, devotion and ambition…

Abandoning his food, his appetite lost completely, he threw the remains into the bin and headed into his bedroom, intending to do what he did best when it came to women. 

Stick his head in the sand and hope to God it all went away.

****

Once she’d cleaned her face of make-up and pulled on a pair of pyjamas, Katie collapsed into her pillow, thinking about what a good day it had been. She hadn’t disgraced herself at the contest, had a good evening in the pub afterwards, and to top it off Fury and Steve had actually backed her in said contest.

At the thought of Steve, it reminded her she needed some water. Heading to the kitchen she grabbed a glass, filled it, and then made her way back to bed, this time snuggling down under the covers as she smiled to herself.

It was kind of nice to have Steve looking out for her, even if he was a bossy bastard about drinking water. It showed he cared. And it wasn’t just that, it was the way he was so comfortable with her. The gentle touches to her arm and lower back, the fact he called her doll or sweetheart. The smile that he flashed her that could light up his entire face, and those eyes, those god damned beautiful eyes that could drown her in seconds.

Her stomach was suddenly crawling with those damned butterflies, the same ones she had been feeling on or off around him now since Thanksgiving. And they fluttered from her stomach to her chest

“You’re hot for Rogers…”

Natasha and Clint had both hit the nail on the head, and that nail was getting harder and harder to ignore. She had feelings for Captain fucking America. Her dad’s friend, her best friend.

Groaning, she rolled over and shoved her head into the pillows. “I’m so fucked.”

**** Chapter 3

**Original Posting**

[henryobsessed]

Baby Boy Henry - Chapter 37

Word Count: 2387

Previous Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Marnie chuckled softly, her man was getting daring. If the driver looked into the back all he would see would be a tired couple heading to their wedding night destination. Marnie's head was laying on his shoulder and Henry's head was resting against hers. But what he could not see was Henry's hand that was gently massaging its way up her thigh. Even though the sheer silvery dress the feel of his fingers sent heat through the fabric as he grew bolder and bolder. Holding back a gasp, she buried her face in his neck as his fingers found her pleasure spot. Too embarrassed at his brazen touch she reached out covering his hand with hers as she whispered, "Stop being such a naughty boy."

He grinned at her totally unapologetic as he whispered back, "what are you going to do about it Ma?"

Just as she was about to speak the driver pulled up to a beautiful hotel overlooking the water. Picking his hand up and moving it to his own lap she whispered back, "You'll see pumpkin."

Henry shivered at the warning in Ma's voice, he knew they were playing, especially as they both were their true ages. But his slip up of using her dominant name Ma was picked up and followed with her favourite name for him when he was little. He wondered if it was just her being tired and nervous about tonight. They had done a lot of exploring but they had discussed before that she wanted to wait till their wedding night if and when they had one, that was when she would celebrate by joining their bodies completely in union. Chuckling, he knew he needed to keep tonight light. Stepping out of the car he quickly walked around and opened it for Marnie as the driver handed them the small bag he had packed for the night. The driver wished them a fun night with a wink then left them as they headed into the reception.

Marnie gasped as she walked into the honeymoon suite, the room was beautifully decorated with rose petals, softly lit candles and a bottle of wine, but what drew her was the balcony. Walking to it immediately she stepped out to a stunning view of the moonlight glistening on the calm waters. It was cold but she was so entranced by the view that she startled as she felt warm arms wrap around her. "Princess, you will catch a chill if you stand out here too long."

She melted against him at his concerned tone. Turning she snuggled into his arms. "But you're so warm we could stay out here all night and I would not feel the cold."

Grunting a bit at her answer he picked her up, her squeal muffled by his chest as he pulled her inside. "You might not be but my balls are trying to hide up inside me from the cold and I need you to warm them up."

Pulling an arm free she playfully slapped his chest. "Henry! you really are being naughty tonight. Where did my prince go? He gave me a fairy tale wedding isn't he meant to give me a romantic first night too?"

He chuckled seeing the fire and mischief in her eyes. Walking over to the wall he switched the lights off, the moonlight and candles now the only light in the room. Looking at her face in shadow, he lowered his head capturing her lips gently then slowly increasing in his passion. He knew he had startled her as she had stiffened at the contact, but once she surrendered to his mouth then tongue, she melted matching his intensity. His hands sought out the zipper at the back of her dress slowly lowering it, his fingers caressing her soft skin as he slipped the garment to the floor. He felt his fire increase as her gentle fingers swiftly removed his shirt and started on his belt buckle. Their lips not parting as their clothes found the floor. The only thing left was their undergarments as Henry surprised her once more by lifting her bridal style laying her on the bed their lips still devouring each other.

He reached his hands behind her arched back unclipping her bra and releasing her breasts so that all that separated them was their underwear. Pulling away, he smiled cheekily at his bride, "Was that romantic, my lady?"

Whilst he waited for her reply he began to pull and suck the skin around her ears and neck. Panting Marnie replied, "I forgot what I was expecting the moment you turned the lights out, ooo there that's it keep sucking there ooo." The more he sucked her neck the more she writhed under him, her hips lifting to meet his. Stirring, his already hardening cock began to ache with pleasure.

Groaning, he pressed her down, halting her hip movements. "Princess settle down, otherwise you'll make me cum before I even get inside you."

Her lips moved closer to his ear whispering, "And what if that was my intention pumpkin?"

She laughed at his groan of frustration, she knew what she was doing. They had been playing near the edge for some time now, to the point she could read his body's ripples and shudders. But as much as she wanted to tease him and maybe even cause a premature finish tonight, she too ached to finally feel him inside her. Despite her fear of the pain, her mother had told her about, all those years ago. In fact, one of her final conversations had been about the birds and the bees before her untimely death. Her explanation of how painful that first moment could be had been a contributor to her hesitation to go "all the way" so far. But tonight, she would hold back no longer. She was not completely innocent and knew that once the pain was over there would be a lot of pleasure.

Deciding to remove temptation he shifted his hips away from hers. This made Marnie giggle, "Can't stand the heat, pumpkin?"

Smirking he pulled himself up on his elbows, looking down at her, he kissed her lightly before he breathed, "Just preparing the way for the final act, my lady." Before she had a chance to reply he leaned back down and seared her lips once more. Leaning his hips to the side, his hands explored, kneading her breasts before sliding down to his ultimate goal. Heat filled her cheeks and fluid flooded her as he began kneading and rubbing against the fabric of her cotton panties. Unable to hold it in her moan filled his mouth. Her lips slipping from his as she groaned, her head pushing back into the pillow as her hips pressed up into his hand.

Henry loved seeing his princess come undone, it was the most sensual and exquisite sight, one he knew he would never get tired of. As he continued to pleasure her, he felt the wetness seep through the thin fabric separating his hand from her heat. Her gasps and pants increased, rolling towards him, her hands sought out his throbbing cock. A mutual pleasuring ensued as he rubbed, and she pulled, until he felt her curl up into him a shuddering gasp falling from her lips as she fell apart. She stilled, trying to catch her breath. He pulled her close, gently running his fingers in circles across her back and kissing her neck as she calmed in his arms. They stayed that way for a few moments until his cock demanded attention. Rolling her onto her back again his hands gently slip the sopping garment off her lower body. Next, his boxer briefs found their home on the floor. Shifting his weight, he looked down at his precious bride, her cheeks flushed red from her orgasm, her lips plump and pink from their kissing. Her hair messed about the pillow, curls flowing around in ribbons down her neck. She never looked so beautiful to him than in that moment.

Marnie could feel his hot hard muscle sitting snug against her labia. Even just resting there the heat she could feel was exquisite. Looking up, she studied his blue eyes that seem to be shimmering with what could only describe as love. She reached up a hand to cup his cheek, "I love you, Mr Cavill, I love you sooo much."

The shimmer became more like unshed tears as he whispered back, "I Love you, Mrs Cavill." At that moment she felt him push into her. He was big, and she could feel the hardened velvet muscle pressing, gripping against the walls of her canal. Grateful for the lubrication she clenched anticipating the pain. Instead, she felt intense pressure and fullness as he seemed to come flush with her hips. He was all the way in, and it felt amazing, she could not help the giggle that spilt out.

"Princess, what's so funny?" A small frown formed on his face, his lips pouting.

Sorry now she cooed, "Sorry my love, but I was anticipating the sting of pain that I have been warned about my whole life. Instead, you feel so good, so big, I could feel you moving the whole way but no pain."

Henry breathed a sigh; he had been worried at her reaction when she giggled as he bottomed out. Actually, it was a good distraction. She had squeezed him so tightly as he pushed in he was surprised he had not cum as he hit balls deep. Softly he smiled at her, "Well, you're not a teenager, and a lot of things can cause you to lose your hymen. But that's not a bad thing, you feel so tight and amazing. Are you ok if I move?" She bit her lip then nodded.

Pleased, he began to pull out, he could see the pleasure then pout on her face as he pulled back until just the tip was left then pushed back faster this time causing her to groan loudly, "Ohhhh yes, Henry please do that again." Smirking to himself he started up a rocking rhythm that pulled more moans and cries from his bride.

It was almost too much, an overwhelming feeling. He continued to thrust into her, each time he would shift his body so not only was he filling every space inside, he was thrusting over her already sensitive clit. Her body heated, her middle pulling and contracting until she cried, "Henry I'm cumming!" Once again her body curled up into his, her walls clenching around him, a powerful rippling that pulled him in deeper causing him to lose his control. A deep guttural moan left his throat as he too began to orgasm.

Both bodies clenched together until each one released and relaxed. Henry fell to her side laying flat pulling her body on top of his still balls deep, he stayed inside her as she snuggled into his chest. Contentment flowed over them both as they fell into a light sleep.

-------------

Marnie rested her arms on the balcony railing, the sun catching the ring on her hand, its brilliant pink diamond glistening in the morning light. She sighed and looked out over the water; warm arms wrapped around her bringing a contented smile to her face. His lips gently grazed her ear sending a pleasant shiver down her spine. "Good morning Mrs Cavill, I missed you in our bed."

She chuckled as his right hand rested over hers, "I could see the sun rising over the ocean and had to come to look it was an amazing sunrise, but you were sleeping so peacefully I didn't want to wake you."

Henry kissed her neck and hummed into her skin causing warmth to fill her middle. "Wake me, next time princess, I would have loved watching that with you."

She rested her head back against his shoulder, her body aching from their night of fun. She had woken earlier in the morning he was still hard within her. Rocking against him had been a fun way to wake him up as they had repeated their earlier build of pleasure. Her body now sore she wondered aloud, "So what are we going to do today?" He chuckled, using the newly given access to her neck the opportunity to suck gently causing uninvited moans to break from her mouth, "Henry, please."

Lifting his head he looked down at their hands now intertwined. "You know there is one thing we should do before we step out of this hotel together. Something nice for my Cavillers," smirking he lifted his phone.

Henry had woken to an empty bed, looking to the balcony he had seen a vision. His wife was surrounded by sunlight giving her an almost otherworldly glow. He quietly found his phone and had taken a picture before moving out to join her. Now his arms wrapped around her he hovered the phone over their hands as he took a photo, "What do you think wife of mine? Does it look ok?"

She looked at the photo, the sun causing the rings on their hands to sparkle in the photo, "That looks magical".

He uploaded it to his Instagram with the caption, "Wanted to let my Cavillers know something incredible happened last night. When you find something special don't let it get away." #IgotHitched #Kalsgotanewmommy #MrsCavill. Marnie laughed as his phone blew up with messages of well wishes, crying faces and angry rants.

Amazement and unease filled her face as she realised how sheltered she had been from his celebrity life. Seeing the frown he squeezed her tight and whispered, "If we could survive the last Little adventure, we can survive anything. So let the new adventure begin."

She smiled at that, leaning her head back against his shoulder she looked out over the expanse of the ocean. Yes, this would be a new adventure and together she knew they could overcome anything big or Little.

The End      

Masterlist

A/N Ahhhhhh another story finished. I always feel excited and sad when I finish a story. I can move on and start something new but a piece of my heart will be left here. Thank you for sharing this journey with me see you soon  Selah

Tagged people are those who have liked this story so far, if you wish to be added or removed please let me know :)

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[theincuhusbands]

The Jealous Cold Shoulder - (James x Reader)

Summary – James has been acting cold and distant towards Y/N and their sick of it. He was their best friend. The one they always wanted to talk to and their determined to get to the bottom of this, Will things get worse if they call him out on it?

Warnings – Strong Language, Fighting, Kissing, Long, Stressed Reader

Word Count – 1963

I smiled as I snuggled into my new fluffy blanket, relishing in its warmth. I had been so stressed out about school lately, I’d barely had a moment to think. Matthew created this blanket for me while I was at school so now, I get to snuggle up in the library and read my favourite book for the billionth time.

When I mentioned that I was going to go read in the library I had hoped that someone would join me… but he didn’t seem interested. Usually, James and I could spend hours in the library by the fire talking about our favourite books or my favourite TV shows, that’s what made me fall head over heels for him. The way he said my name, like sweet honey dripping off his lips, could make me buckle at the knees. His laugh echoing throughout the room filling it beautifully, but recently, it’s as if he’s put off by the thought of spending time with me.

I understand that I might not be the best to be around when I’m stressed but I guess he must be quite stressed too, with the company and all. With all my feelings aside, I miss spending time with him.

I sigh as I flick through the chapters of my book trying to find my favourite one. Today it doesn’t seem to be bringing the usual joy. I eventually find the page and start reading but it doesn’t take long for me to put the book back on the shelf.

I guess just not today…

My attention is quickly drawn to the hall as I see the blurs of Matthew running away from Sam. I giggle as I start to run after them, sliding around corners in my socks to catch up. I eventually catch Sam and lunge for him, jumping onto his back. All three of us laugh as I gently hit Sam on the back.

We snap out of it though as soon as we hear a very annoyed “Ahem.”

I look up to see James standing with a spilt coffee all over his grey jumper. I hear Sam snicker and look to see Matthew trying to hide his smile. I walk over to James and try to take his cup but he yanks it away from me, just spilling more tea onto the floor and himself. “You three should watch where you’re going.” His voice was stern and powerful.

I was used to him telling Matthew and Sam off but he had NEVER spoke to me like that. “Em, what?” James looks down at me with disgust in his eyes. The look shoots right through me making my stomach drop to the floor. That one look made me feel worse than anything anyone’s ever said to me, well maybe besides my father.

“I expected better from you.”

I cross my arms and snort back. “Yeah, well this is my house. I’ll do what I want asshole.”

James looks at me for a second studying my face. I don’t think he was expecting me to say anything back, least of all that. “Your behaving like a little girl. Y/N. What would your grandfather say if he could see you right now?”

I felt blood rush to my face as I took a step back lowering my face to the floor. The venom dripping from his voices cut through me like a knife. The name he used to say so sweetly, now used against me. I felt utterly humiliated. I look to the side to see Sam and Matthew’s faces. Their twisted in anger or mortification… to be honest it could be either. Sam’s fists were balled up. “That’s too far James.”

In that moment something in James’s eyes snapped. His face fell as the realisation sunk in of what he had just said. I felt my eyes start to well with tears and my vision become blurry. I furiously wiped my tears with my sleeve.

“Y/N I-“

“Get away from me!” I lashed out screaming. James tried to step forward to say something but before the words could come out, I cut him off. “Don’t talk to me you bastard!” I quickly turned on my heal, running out of the room as more and more tears fell from my eyes.

I ran to my bedroom and slammed the door shut, sliding down it I sob harder and harder into my hands. What did I do to him?! I hear loud knocking on the door as someone tries the knob. “Your highness? Can I come in?”

There’s no point in punishing Erik… He didn’t do anything wrong. I stand up and open the door, standing back into the middle of my room. Erik comes in quietly and locks the door. When he sees me his face melts. “Highness...”

He sweeps me up into a bear hug, wrapping me tightly in his arms as I sob into his chest. Erik sighs leaning his head on top of mine. “Highness… if your grandfather saw you now… he’d be proud beyond compare! Think of all the things you’ve accomplished!” I sniffle and look up at Erik.

“It’s not even that that bothers me… he knows that stings and he said it anyway… why would he say that though?”

Erik smiles weakly. “Because as smart as my brother likes to think he is. He really isn’t, especially not when it comes to- …”

I look up at Erik puzzled waiting for him to finish his sentence but he never does. “When it comes to?” Erik goes a slight shade of pink probably realising he’s said too much. “You… Highness” I pull back from Erik slightly moving over to sit on my bed. “Me?”

Erik nods as he makes his way over to my nightstand. He picks up a small framed photo of all the boys, Diana, Saero and I at the beach. We’re all laughing and having fun. It’s definitely one of my favourites! And not just because James has his arm around me. “When it comes to you Highness… although it may not seem like it right now… James cares a great deal about you. More than I’ve seen him care about anyone who isn’t one of us…”

“Then why would he-“

“He’s confused. He’s not good at this sort of stuff. I know it’s horrible but just let him work himself out.” Erik sits beside me gently pressing the frame into my hands. I gently run my fingers over James’s face. I nod slowly and Erik leans in to hug me.

-------

By the time seven o’clock rolls around, Sam, Damien and Matthew have all asked me to come down and join them for dinner. Each time I declined though. I have decided to plunge myself back into school work, working on a 5,000-word scripted essay due for next month.

I sit with my headphones on, listening to the new album I bought. I was about half way through it when I felt a gently tap on my shoulder. I turned around taking my headphones off and jumped in surprise to see James.

His face was torn in guilt. His eyebrows were glued together and his eyes were filled with sadness. His hair was slightly messy and ruffled, a really odd thing for the perfectionist. The sight of him almost made me forget all the anger and sadness. Almost.

“What are you doing in here?”

“I knocked but you didn’t answer…”

“Ever think that was because I didn’t want to talk to you?”

It was a lie of course. I had been hoping all afternoon that he would come upstairs so we could get over this. I had been looking over my shoulder every few minutes hoping to see him standing there however, he seemed to have believed me. He sighs and runs his hands through his messy hair. “I… deserved that…”

He walks over to the side of my desk, perching himself on it. “I’m sorry Y/N… I really am… I just got so… angry…”

“but why?” I stood up from my chair looking at his face, hoping for any sign, any hint of an answer. His gaze dropped from my face to the ground at my feet. “Y/N please come down stairs and eat… you shouldn’t have to-“

“Don’t tell me what to do James.” I warn him. Not viciously but with enough warning in there that he knew I was serious. He nods, still refusing to make eye contact with me. This was too strange. I had to know.

“James tell me why you were angry.”

My voice sounded more like a plea than I would have wish but it finally got James to lift his eyes, if only for a moment. “I… if I say- you must promise to eat.” I nod to him sitting on my bed, getting comfortable and preparing for whatever he is about to say. “I was jealous… you were spending time with Sam and Matthew…” I look at him, dumbfounded in shock. He was jealous of Matthew and Sam? I couldn’t help but let out a shocked simple laugh. James looked at me, his face still covered in guilt.

“But you’ve been avoiding-“

And it suddenly clicked. It was a clear as day to me. I could hear Erik’s words ringing in my ears.

James cares a great deal about you, He’s not good at this sort of stuff. 

and now he’s jealous of Sam and Matthew.

Suddenly I became determined. I had to make him say it. Out loud. “And why were you jealous?” He says nothing. He doesn’t move. He’s silent. I look up at him, I can feel my face burning and my fists ball up as I stand on my knees.

“Why?”

“…”

“Say it!”

“I’m in love with you Y/N…”

I sit back down, in stunned silence. He actually said it. I stare at him saying nothing, almost in a hazy daze. He stares back at me, looking almost terrified. “Y/N say something… please…”

“Why?” It’s nothing more than a whisper but it’s all I can manage. I feel tears start to form in my eyes. “Why ignore me? Why say what you did? Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

James shakes his head looking to the ground. “Because I love you and it scares me… Y/N I don’t know what to do. I’ve never felt like this before…”

“Well, me neither.” The tears start to overflow as a couple spill out my cheeks. James looks at me shocked. He walks over to me and kneels in front of my bed to be at my level. He gently lifts his hand to wipe a couple of stray tears. “What did you just-“

I cut him off by grabbing his shirt and pulling him in for a kiss. The kiss is needy and passionate and he responds almost immediately. My hands wonder to his chest as his hands roam up my body and tangle themselves into my hair. I pull him closer to me and toss him onto the bed, climbing on top of him. “I love you too… I don’t know what I’d do without you… please don’t shut me out.”

James shakes his head as he cups my face with his hands. “Not anymore love…” He kisses me again except this time it’s softer, more tender. I lean into it, wanting to be as close to James as possible. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him even closer to me. After a while we pull apart to catch our breath and James’s half-smile makes my heart skip a beat. He’s utterly gorgeous.

“Will you join me for dinner now, Y/N?

My face flushes red as I nod, grinning ear to ear. “I’d love to.”

[loverlele]

Oblivious

Spencer Reid x Bi!Female Reader

Warnings: bad language, a bit of sex talk

A/N: Happy pride month! I know there’s lots of evil things going on in the world at the moment so I wanted to bring a bit of happiness back, even if it is just for a few minutes. I have a Bi!Spencer Reid x Male Reader one shot (possibly a mini series) coming soon, as well as a Lesbian!Emily Prentiss one shot in the works.  Let me know if you want a part 2, possibly a smutty chapter? Who knows ;) anyways enough of my rambling, enjoy :)

Word count: 2023

“Hey good job today angel face” Morgan says from opposite me as I pack up my bags to head home. “Everyone’s going for drinks in a bit, fancy coming?”

“Since when have I ever said no to drinks with my favourite man?” I sarcastically shoot back.

“Well considering Reid hasn't asked you out for drinks, I can't comment on that one sunshine.” I pick up a piece of paper from my desk and throw it at him. Unfortunately I have a shit sense of aim, so it ended up going way to the right of Derek and hitting Emily square in the forehead. 

“Oops, sorry Em!” I say, skipping over to my best friend and kissing the spot it collided with her face at. Unable to contain her laughter anymore, she erratically waved her hands in front of her face to get to back off. I do, not before messing her hair up with my fingers.

“Uhhhh, what have I walked into?” comes a voice from my left. I spin round and see Spencer stood next to my desk with a puzzled expression on my face. I sheepishly smile at him, looking at Derek for help. 

“Y/N once again tried to hit me with a flying object, but her awful aim stopped that from happening and it hit Em instead” Derek laughed out. With a fake anger look on my face I kept on Derek and held him in a fake chokehold. I didn't think twice at how immature it might make me seem, but once I heard Spencer’s adorable laugh I knew I didn't need to second guess myself.

“Hey you adorable human being, get your own man” Garcia says as she walks up to the mess that has unravelled. I rub Derek’s head firmly before sliding off his shoulders, placing my feet firmly on the ground. Well, so I thought. As it seemed though, the earth hated me. As my feet made contact with the ground, my knees buckled and I fell backwards. A firm, but soft pair of hands caught me and helped me steady myself. I didn't need to turn around to look at who had caught me, I could recognise those hands from a mile away. 

“Thanks you” I muttered slowly pulling myself off him.

“No problem.”

Feeling the tensions rise in the air I turn my attention back to Garcia, who is now perching on Emily’s desk with a smirk on her face. That little shit, I mutter to myself. Thankfully, my comment wasn't heard by anyone. “For your information Pen, I don't need no man thank you. I am perfectly capable of making my own bad decisions without a helping hand.”

“Amen to that girl!” Emily calls out.

“What about a woman?” Derek asks as we collectively make our way to the lifts. We all manage to fit into one life and I press the button before leaning around Spencer to whack his arm.

“Bite me Derek Morgan.”

“I’m sure Emily would happily do that” he retorts, smirking. This time it was Emily’s turn to whack Derek’s arm. The sounds of bickering between Emily and Derek fill the elevator.

As we get get down to the car park the bickering stops and a wave of realisation hits me like a gust of wind. “Fuck” I mutter, pulling out my phone to see who could come get me.

“Hey, you okay?” a quiet voices comes from besides me.

“Jesus Christ Spence, you scared me!”

“Sorry I didn't mean to. Seriously, are you okay? I don't see your car” he says, quickly scanning the car park for signs of my car.

“My car’s in the garage getting its suspension fixed. I forgot to ask my roommate to pick me up from work tonight and now its 10pm and she's probably already out. Oh my god, how am I going to get home-”

“Hey it’s okay, we’ll go to yours to grab what you need before heading to the bar to meet the others. Come on, hop in” he says, opening the passenger side door before scooting round to the drivers side and getting in. It didn't take long for me to make up my mind, I mean it was either go with him or try to find my own way home AND then my way to the bar we were all set to meet at 11. I got in, shooting him a smile and we head off.

        - AT THE BAR -

“Hey! Finally you showed up, we were beginning to think you weren't coming” JJ says and we approach the booth.

“Don’t be silly, we don't do this very often anymore. I wouldn't miss it for the world” I say scooting into the booth, situating myself between Emily and Spencer. Oh great, this won't be awkward at all, I say to myself. Almost as if he'd read my mind (or, most likely, the awkwardness I was displaying) Spencer’s leg shifted slightly and met mine. I looked up at him slightly, yet his focus was on Morgan and debating on what alcohol would get them drunk the fastest.

After a few drinks everyone seems to have loosened up a bit. I mean, even Spencer was on his third drink of the night. The norm for this team is as the number of drinks consumed got higher, the more secrets (or “tea” as Penelope would sometimes put it) were revealed. And tonight proved no different that normal.

“Let’s do truth or drink guys!” Penelope half shouted. The bar we were at is one of our favourite ones to go to together and tonight was pretty loud in here. Meaning as the surroundings got louder, the louder we all became. Even though every single one of us groaned at the idea, we all knew better than to disagree with a tipsy Penelope. It started off relatively innocent and calm, until it got to Derek’s turn Derek, having been waiting for 10 minutes already, knew exactly what and who he wanted to ask. It was no surprise to me when he pointed at me.

“Little miss sunshine, ready for your question?”

“I was born ready baby, give it to me.”

“Do you have a preference of who you date?And if so, what is it.”

That fucker. Not a drinking session goes by that I don't get asked about my sexuality  I mean don't get me wrong, I love educating people and I love the sight on Derek’s face when I end up getting the number of a girl he’s expressed interest in. Taking a swig of my drink, I ponder on the question for a few moments before replying,

“I have a ‘type’ of women that I find myself automatically gravitating myself towards. I mean I guess I have a type of guy I like too. I don't know, I just go with what my heart says most of the time.”

“You still need to describe it sunshine” he says, smirking into his drink. It’s not as if we haven't had this discussion before, and by ‘we’ I mean Derek and myself. He knew what it was, he just wanted to see me suffer.

“I hate you” I groan, shuffling around to get comfortable before I answer Derek’s question. I take a big swig of my drink as I go to reply “red headed girls with a quick temper.”

“And the guys?” Spencer says, breaking his silence and looking at me.

“Brown mess hair, bit of a dork, goofy, tall, thinks Halloween is the best holiday of the year” I say, drawing my lips into a small smirk and taking another sip of my drink. Spencer doesn't even blink twice at my reply. Idiot.

Everyone’s questions seemed a lot tamer than mind. For example, JJ would be asked “what's the most romantic thing Will’s ever done for you?” and Derek’s would be “so you wish you had more freedom with your work hours?”. But mine, “craziest place you've had sex?” or “one person you'd happily let jump your bones right now?” (10 points if you guess who asked that one). After a few rounds I squeezed through the crowd and up to the bar for refills, and shots. I was under strict instructions to get at least 20 shots, no less. 

“Hey can I have the same again, but with 20 shots as well?” shooting the bar tender a smile and giving the name of the open tab.

“Sure things hun, what shots do you want?” she asks.

“Surprise me,” I say, not really knowing what to order. I feel a tap on my shoulder, alerting me that someone was behind me. I spin around to see the most gorgeous red head stood in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, the laughing was easing at the table and I could see the glances they were all giving in my direction. Great, an audience is just what I need. 

“Hey, so I hope I’m not over stepping by saying I think you're one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen here.”

“Hi, that’s so sweet of you! You are absolutely stunning yourself” I say, feeling 5 sets of eyes on me. 

“Um would it be possible for me to get your number?” she asks, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. It’s not that I don't find you ridiculously attractive, I um” I trail off slightly, glancing back and locking eyes with the messy haired brunette at my table. He flashes me a small, yet sad smile before turning his attention to JJ. “It wouldn't be fair to either of us if I did that because my hearts already with someone else.”

“It’s cool, I get it. Whoever they are is a lucky person” she says, smiling sweetly before turning and walking away. I turn back to the bar and grab the tray of drinks, slowly making my way back to the table. This time, when I reach the table, its quiet and all eyes are on me.

“What?” I ask, as I hand out the drinks and put the shots in a circe in the middle of the table. I scoot back into the booth, regaining my seat in between Spencer and Emily.

“Why did you turn her down?” Derek asks in disbelief, “in the 5 years I've known you I have never seen you turn down someone that quickly. Especially not a smoking hot red head like that!”

“You say that as if it's a crime Derek. I wasn't interested, I said no and we parted ways. End of conversation.”

“But why?” Spencer asks, “she’s exactly your type.”

“Yeah and so are you yet you're still an oblivious fuck” I mutter. Something in the air changed the second those words fell out of my mouth. I couldn't quite figure out if it was a good change or not.

“What was that Y/N?” Derek asks, smirking.

“What I said was not meant for your ears so shut it” I ramble looking over at Spencer, who’s still staring at me and seemingly in a world of his own. I try to study his face, looking for some kind of answer or reply to what I’d just said.

Sensing the obvious tension in the air Penelope did the best thing she could think of doing, shouting out the words “SHOT TIME EVERYONE!”. That seemed to do the trick as it knocked Spencer out of whatever alternate timeline he was in. He grabs 2 shots, placing one in front of you and keeping the other in his hand.

“To friendship” JJ said, raising her shot glass to the roof.

“To friendship!” the others yelled, clinking glasses and putting back the shots.

Spencer’s hand found its way to your thigh under the table, squeezing it tightly as he muttered, “to friendship.” downing the shot. His eyes locked on mine.

“To friendship” I say, pulling my lips to the glass with a smirk and downing it.  Hmm, maybe he's completely oblivious after all, I say to myself before locking hands with Spencer under the table.